Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Image navigation”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 667 records · Page 37
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2000

The Athena Pancam and Color Microscopic Imager (CMI)

The Athena Mars rover payload includes two primary science-grade imagers: Pancam, a multispectral, stereo, panoramic camera system, and the Color Microscopic Imager (CMI), a multispectral and variable depth-of-field microscope. Both of these instruments will help to achieve the primary Athena science goals by providing information on the geology, mineralogy, and climate history of the landing site. In addition, Pancam provides important support for rover navigation and target selection for Athena in situ investigations. Here we describe the science goals, instrument designs, and instrument performance of the Pancam and CMI investigations.

Bell, J. F., III↗
NASA NTRS2001

ScienceOrganizer System and Interface Summary

ScienceOrganizer is a specialized knowledge management tool designed to enhance the information storage, organization, and access capabilities of distributed NASA science teams. Users access ScienceOrganizer through an intuitive Web-based interface that enables them to upload, download, and organize project information - including data, documents, images, and scientific records associated with laboratory and field experiments. Information in ScienceOrganizer is "threaded", or interlinked, to enable users to locate, track, and organize interrelated pieces of scientific data. Linkages capture important semantic relationships among information resources in the repository, and these assist users in navigating through the information related to their projects.

Keller, Richard M.↗
NASA NTRS2010

AutoGNC Testbed

A simulation testbed architecture was developed and implemented for the integration, test, and development of a TRL-6 flight software set called Auto- GNC. The AutoGNC software will combine the TRL-9 Deep Impact AutoNAV flight software suite, the TRL-9 Virtual Machine Language (VML) executive, and the TRL-3 G-REX guidance, estimation, and control algorithms. The Auto- GNC testbed was architected to provide software interface connections among the AutoNAV and VML flight code written in C, the G-REX algorithms in MATLAB and C, stand-alone image rendering algorithms in C, and other Fortran algorithms, such as the OBIRON landmark tracking suite. The testbed architecture incorporates software components for propagating a high-fidelity truth model of the environment and the spacecraft dynamics, along with the flight software components for onboard guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C). The interface allows for the rapid integration and testing of new algorithms prior to development of the C code for implementation in flight software. This testbed is designed to test autonomous spacecraft proximity operations around small celestial bodies, moons, or other spacecraft. The software is baselined for upcoming comet and asteroid sample return missions. This architecture and testbed will provide a direct improvement upon the onboard flight software utilized for missions such as Deep Impact, Stardust, and Deep Space 1.

Carson, John M., III↗
NASA NTRS2013

Ionospheric Simulation System for Satellite Observations and Global Assimilative Modeling Experiments (ISOGAME)

ISOGAME is designed and developed to assess quantitatively the impact of new observation systems on the capability of imaging and modeling the ionosphere. With ISOGAME, one can perform observation system simulation experiments (OSSEs). A typical OSSE using ISOGAME would involve: (1) simulating various ionospheric conditions on global scales; (2) simulating ionospheric measurements made from a constellation of low-Earth-orbiters (LEOs), particularly Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) radio occultation data, and from ground-based global GNSS networks; (3) conducting ionospheric data assimilation experiments with the Global Assimilative Ionospheric Model (GAIM); and (4) analyzing modeling results with visualization tools. ISOGAME can provide quantitative assessment of the accuracy of assimilative modeling with the interested observation system. Other observation systems besides those based on GNSS are also possible to analyze. The system is composed of a suite of software that combines the GAIM, including a 4D first-principles ionospheric model and data assimilation modules, an Internal Reference Ionosphere (IRI) model that has been developed by international ionospheric research communities, observation simulator, visualization software, and orbit design, simulation, and optimization software. The core GAIM model used in ISOGAME is based on the GAIM++ code (written in C++) that includes a new high-fidelity geomagnetic field representation (multi-dipole). New visualization tools and analysis algorithms for the OSSEs are now part of ISOGAME.

Pi, Xiaoqing↗
NASA NTRS2018

Application of Machine-Learning Algorithms for On-Board Asteroid Shape Model Determination

The Application of Machine-learning Algorithms for On-board Asteroid Shape Model Determination project will develop an innovative system for spacecraft navigation to expand the capability of small spacecraft to meet the critical challenges associated with small-body exploration. Such challenges include accurate navigation in a microgravity environment and precision targeting of particular locations on an asteroid surface for sample collection. This on-board system will cut the computational "umbilical" back to Earth-currently necessary for the generation of a global shape model that requires thousands of images with sufficient resolution and adequate variation of incidence and emission angles, processed manually by a team of experts on Earth for several months. Small satellites have limited bandwidth and are unable to downlink the data volume required for this processing, restricting their ability to perform deep-space asteroid exploration.

Machine learning algorithms↗
NASA NTRS2003

Investigation of Space Interferometer Control Using Imaging Sensor Output Feedback

Numerous space interferometry missions are planned for the next decade to verify different enabling technologies towards very-long-baseline interferometry to achieve high-resolution imaging and high-precision measurements. These objectives will require coordinated formations of spacecraft separately carrying optical elements comprising the interferometer. High-precision sensing and control of the spacecraft and the interferometer-component payloads are necessary to deliver sub-wavelength accuracy to achieve the scientific objectives. For these missions, the primary scientific product of interferometer measurements may be the only source of data available at the precision required to maintain the spacecraft and interferometer-component formation. A concept is studied for detecting the interferometer's optical configuration errors based on information extracted from the interferometer sensor output. It enables precision control of the optical components, and, in cases of space interferometers requiring formation flight of spacecraft that comprise the elements of a distributed instrument, it enables the control of the formation flying vehicles because independent navigation or ranging sensors cannot deliver the high-precision metrology over the entire required geometry. Since the concept can act on the quality of the interferometer output directly, it can detect errors outside the capability of traditional metrology instruments, and provide the means needed to augment the traditional instrumentation to enable enhanced performance. Specific analyses performed in this study include the application of signal-processing and image-processing techniques to solve the problems of interferometer aperture baseline control, interferometer pointing, and orientation of multiple interferometer aperture pairs.

Cheng, Victore H. L.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Investigation of Space Interferometer Control Using Imaging Sensor Output Feedback

Numerous space interferometry missions are planned for the next decade to verify different enabling technologies towards very-long-baseline interferometry to achieve high-resolution imaging and high-precision measurements. These objectives will require coordinated formations of spacecraft separately carrying optical elements comprising the interferometer. High-precision sensing and control of the spacecraft and the interferometer-component payloads are necessary to deliver sub-wavelength accuracy to achieve the scientific objectives. For these missions, the primary scientific product of interferometer measurements may be the only source of data available at the precision required to maintain the spacecraft and interferometer-component formation. A concept is studied for detecting the interferometer's optical configuration errors based on information extracted from the interferometer sensor output. It enables precision control of the optical components, and, in cases of space interferometers requiring formation flight of spacecraft that comprise the elements of a distributed instrument, it enables the control of the formation-flying vehicles because independent navigation or ranging sensors cannot deliver the high-precision metrology over the entire required geometry. Since the concept can act on the quality of the interferometer output directly, it can detect errors outside the capability of traditional metrology instruments, and provide the means needed to augment the traditional instrumentation to enable enhanced performance. Specific analyses performed in this study include the application of signal-processing and image-processing techniques to solve the problems of interferometer aperture baseline control, interferometer pointing, and orientation of multiple interferometer aperture pairs.

Leitner, Jesse A.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites

Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) are bowling-ball sized spherical satellites. They will be used inside the space station to test a set of well-defined instructions for spacecraft performing autonomous rendezvous and docking maneuvers. Three free-flying spheres will fly within the cabin of the station, performing flight formations. Each satellite is self-contained with power, propulsion, computers and navigation equipment. The results are important for satellite servicing, vehicle assembly and formation flying spacecraft configurations. SPHERES is a testbed for formation flying by satellites, the theories and calculations that coordinate the motion of multiple bodies maneuvering in microgravity. To achieve this inside the ISS cabin, bowling-ball-sized spheres perform various maneuvers (or protocols), with one to three spheres operating simultaneously . The Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) experiment will test relative attitude control and station-keeping between satellites, re-targeting and image plane filling maneuvers, collision avoidance and fuel balancing algorithms, and an array of geometry estimators used in various missions. SPHERES consists of three self-contained satellites, which are 18 sided polyhedrons that are 0.2 meter in diameter and weigh 3.5 kilograms. Each satellite contains an internal propulsion system, power, avionics, software, communications, and metrology subsystems. The propulsion system uses CO2, which is expelled through the thrusters. SPHERES satellites are powered by AA batteries. The metrology subsystem provides real-time position and attitude information. To simulate ground station-keeping, a laptop will be used to transmit navigational data and formation flying algorithms. Once these data are uploaded, the satellites will perform autonomously and hold the formation until a new command is given.

Miller, David W.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Health Literacy and Patient Preparation in Radiology

Health literacy is the capacity of an individual to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. Unfortunately, more than half of Canadians cannot adequately navigate the health care system because they have limited health literacy. Patients with low health literacy may have limited reading abilities and poorer comprehension of written preparation documents. An important consideration in the radiation sciences for these patients is the ability to follow preparation requirements for diagnostic imaging procedures. It has been suggested that patients with limited health literacy are often less prepared for diagnostic examinations, and as a result, tend to have examinations of poorer diagnostic quality. Medical radiation technologists play an important role in educating patients regarding medical imaging examinations and helping them to properly prepare for these procedures. The purpose of this article is to define health literacy, provide some practical strategies to help medical radiation technologists identify patients with limited health literacy, and how to address limited health literacy issues to improve the quality of diagnostic imaging examinations.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
NASA NTRS1976

Mapping islands, reefs and shoals in the oceans surrounding Australia

The author has identified the following significant results. Two geometric distortion tests of the same scene using different ground control identification methods have produced different estimates of the magnitude of geometric distortions of the image frame. A comparison of imagery with hydrographic charts shows that the imagery displays shoals and reefs which are close to the water surface. Such information can be used during the compilation of new maps of such regions, in the checking of existing hydrographic charts, or for navigation warning.

Turner, L. G.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Recent advances in electroluminescent displays applicable to future crew-station interfaces

The operative principles and progress to date on producing thin-film electroluminescent displays (TFEL) are discussed. TFEL displays consist of conductive, insulating and phosphor film layers deposited on a glass substrate. Applying a 200 V potential between the rows and columns in a multiplexed mode causes light to be emitted. Varying the voltage varies the grey level. The panels provide adequate contrast in full sunlight, and have demanded only 4-6 W for 15 sq in. displays. Alphanumeric, graphics, and video images have been generated with a 51 line by 80 character display. The upper limit on the panel size has not yet been defined. Efforts are under way to produce multicolor displays using red and blue phosphors. Trial units are being studied for avionics displays for, e.g., navigation, multipurpose displays, and attitude/direction indicators.

Miller, M. R.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Finding the path to a better Mars rover

A Microrover Flight Experiment (MFEX) based on a basic Rocky 4 design and conducted in the framework of the NASA Mars Environmental Survey (MESUR) Pathfinder program is described. The MFEX rover design features six powered wheels attached by a set of 'bogie levers' to a single body. The rover is designed to perform technology, science, and mission experiments. Instruments on the rover mechanisms will determine wheel-soil interactions, detect hazards, and determine navigational errors. Science data will be gathered using an alpha-proton-X-ray spectrometer against one or more rocks, and possible soil. The pathfinder will also serve as an engineering test of a transport and landing system for the MESUR network mission and the rover will image the lander to assess its condition.

Pivirotto, Donna S.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Dynamic Server-Based KML Code Generator Method for Level-of-Detail Traversal of Geospatial Data

Web-based geospatial client applications such as Google Earth and NASA World Wind must listen to data requests, access appropriate stored data, and compile a data response to the requesting client application. This process occurs repeatedly to support multiple client requests and application instances. Newer Web-based geospatial clients also provide user-interactive functionality that is dependent on fast and efficient server responses. With massively large datasets, server-client interaction can become severely impeded because the server must determine the best way to assemble data to meet the client applications request. In client applications such as Google Earth, the user interactively wanders through the data using visually guided panning and zooming actions. With these actions, the client application is continually issuing data requests to the server without knowledge of the server s data structure or extraction/assembly paradigm. A method for efficiently controlling the networked access of a Web-based geospatial browser to server-based datasets in particular, massively sized datasets has been developed. The method specifically uses the Keyhole Markup Language (KML), an Open Geospatial Consortium (OGS) standard used by Google Earth and other KML-compliant geospatial client applications. The innovation is based on establishing a dynamic cascading KML strategy that is initiated by a KML launch file provided by a data server host to a Google Earth or similar KMLcompliant geospatial client application user. Upon execution, the launch KML code issues a request for image data covering an initial geographic region. The server responds with the requested data along with subsequent dynamically generated KML code that directs the client application to make follow-on requests for higher level of detail (LOD) imagery to replace the initial imagery as the user navigates into the dataset. The approach provides an efficient data traversal path and mechanism that can be flexibly established for any dataset regardless of size or other characteristics. The method yields significant improvements in userinteractive geospatial client and data server interaction and associated network bandwidth requirements. The innovation uses a C- or PHP-code-like grammar that provides a high degree of processing flexibility. A set of language lexer and parser elements is provided that offers a complete language grammar for writing and executing language directives. A script is wrapped and passed to the geospatial data server by a client application as a component of a standard KML-compliant statement. The approach provides an efficient means for a geospatial client application to request server preprocessing of data prior to client delivery. Data is structured in a quadtree format. As the user zooms into the dataset, geographic regions are subdivided into four child regions. Conversely, as the user zooms out, four child regions collapse into a single, lower-LOD region. The approach provides an efficient data traversal path and mechanism that can be flexibly established for any dataset regardless of size or other characteristics.

Baxes, Gregory↗
NASA NTRS2022

On-board Absolute Localization Based on Orbital Imagery for a Future Mars Science Helicopter

Future Mars Rotorcraft require advanced navigationcapabilities to enable all terrain access over long distance flightsthat are executed fully autonomously. A critical component toenable precision navigation during long traverses is the abilityto perform on-board absolute localization to eliminate drift inposition estimates of the on-board odometry algorithm. Inthis paper, we present an approach for on-board map-basedlocalization to provide global reference position based on orbitalor aerial image maps. Our approach builds on a vision-basedlocalization method to localize against a map derived fromHiRISE image products – an ortho-projected image (orthoimage) and a corresponding digital elevation map. The mapis pre-computed using a feature-based approach. Features arestored with their 3D world coordinates, and a descriptor to codethe local image intensity information in the vicinity of the featurelocation. An on-board matching algorithm uses this informationto match visual features in a query image acquired during flight,guided by a pose prior from the on-board range-visual-inertialstate estimator (Range-VIO). Valid matches are then used bya perspective-n-point (PnP) algorithm to estimate the absolutepose of the vehicle in a global frame. We demonstrate andevaluate our approach on simulated data, and data from UASflights.

Balaram, J. Bob↗
NASA NTRS1993

An atlas of monthly mean distributions of SSMI surface wind speed, ARGOS buoy drift, AVHRR/2 sea surface temperature, and ECMWF surface wind components during 1990

The following monthly mean global distributions for 1990 are proposed with a common color scale and geographical map: 10-m height wind speed estimated from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSMI) on a United States (US) Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) spacecraft; sea surface temperature estimated from the advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR/2) on a U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) spacecraft; Cartesian components of free drifting buoys which are tracked by the ARGOS navigation system on NOAA satellites; and Cartesian components on the 10-m height wind vector computed by the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF). Charts of monthly mean value, sampling distribution, and standard deviation values are displayed. Annual mean distributions are displayed.

Halpern, D.↗
NASA NTRS1993

An atlas of monthly mean distributions of SSMI surface wind speed, ARGOS buoy drift, AVHRR/2 sea surface temperature, and ECMWF surface wind components during 1991

The following monthly mean global distributions for 1991 are presented with a common color scale and geographical map: 10-m height wind speed estimated from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSMI) on a United States Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) spacecraft; sea surface temperature estimated from the advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR/2) on a U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) spacecraft; Cartesian components of free-drifting buoys which are tracked by the ARGOS navigation system on NOAA satellites; and Cartesian components of the 10-m height wind vector computed by the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF). Charts of monthly mean value, sampling distribution, and standard deviation value are displayed. Annual mean distributions are displayed.

Halpern, D.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Equipping an FPGA-Based Mars Rover With an LN-200 IMU

The Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) currently navigating the surface of Mars are outfitted with an advanced stereovision correlation algorithm which allows them to "see" three-dimensionally and autonomously avoid obstac'les in their path. A bottleneck of this system is that it is computationally intense and requires 3 minutes of processing for every correlated image and path choice. Taking advantage of the optimization and reprogrammability of FPGAs, the Mobility Avionics lab has reduced this process to under a second. The lab is demonstrating the advancement with a prototype rover, complete with an LN-200 inertial measurement unit (IMU), which is a flight spare from MER. The LN-200 is a space-grade, six degrees-of-freedom IMU using three fiber-optic gyroscopes and three silicon accelerometers and no moving parts. It has particular power-sequencing needs and communicates with a specialized serial protocol (SDLC over RS-422), requiring specific hardware and software for proper functionality and interfacing with an FPGA. The process of incorporating the LN-200 into the system is described herein.

Zola, Nicholas J.↗
NASA NTRS2021

A Semi-Empirical Scheme for Bathymetric Mapping in Shallow Water by ICESat-2 and Sentinel-2: A Case Study in the South China Sea

To derive shallow water bathymetry for coastal areas, a common approach is to deploy a scanning airborne bathymetric light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system or a shipborne echosounder for ground surveys. However, recent advancements in satellite remote sensing, including the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) offer new tools for generating satellite derived bathymetry (SDB). The key payload onboard ICESat-2 is the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS), a micro-pulse, photon-counting LiDAR system, simultaneously emitting six separate 532 nm beams at 10 kHz pulse rate. However, despite its high resolution, the major limitation for bathymetry is that ICESat-2 only provides along-track height profiles, leaving observation gaps between the parallel ground tracks. Merging ICESat-2 observations with optical multispectral imagery, as demonstrated herein, provides an effective solution for deriving a full scene of water depth in light of the spectral attenuation behavior. This study aims to combine ICESat-2 and Sentinel-2 optical data to derive shallow water bathymetry (depth <20 m) at six islands and reefs in the South China Sea. ICESat-2 ATL03 point clouds of georeferenced photons are first filtered to determine the seafloor elevation along the ground track. Results indicate a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 0.26–0.61 m as compared with independent observations from an airborne LiDAR campaign. Next, three semi-empirical functions, namely the Modified Linear/Polynomial/Exponential Ratio Models with its kernel formed by the log ratio between Sentinel-2′s green and blue bands, are used to fit the spectral data with ICESat-2 height profiles. After water depth mapping using the trained model, independent ICESat-2 point clouds are used to validate the Sentinel-2 derived bathymetry. The RMSE values of the three models using the weighted average of multiple images for these six islands are within 0.50–0.90 m in 0–15 m deep. We also demonstrate that a synthesis of satellite laser altimetry and optical remote sensing can produce SDB results that potentially meet the requirement of category C in Zones of Confidence (ZOC) of the Electronic Navigational Chart (ENC) in 0–8 m deep. It is foreseen that ICESat-2 will be a helpful tool for mapping coastal and shallow waters around the world especially where bathymetric data are unavailable.

Coastal Bathymetry↗