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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.

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At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2003

Switching skeletons: hydrostatic support in molting crabs

Skeletal support systems are essential for support, movement, muscular antagonism, and locomotion. Crustaceans shed their rigid exoskeleton at each molt yet are still capable of forceful movement. We hypothesize that the soft water-inflated body of newly molted crabs may rely on a hydrostatic skeleton, similar to that of worms and polyps. We measured internal hydrostatic pressure and the force exerted during claw adduction and observed a strong correlation between force and hydrostatic pressure, consistent with hydrostatic skeletal support. This alternation between the two basic skeletal types may be widespread among arthropods.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS1992

Spatial orientation of the vestibular system

1. A simplified three-dimensional state space model of visual vestibular interaction was formulated. Matrix and dynamical system operators representing coupling from the semicircular canals and the visual system to the velocity storage integrator were incorporated into the model. 2. It was postulated that the system matrix for a tilted position was a composition of two linear transformations of the system matrix for the upright position. One transformation modifies the eigenvalues of the system matrix while another rotates the pitch and roll eigenvectors with the head, while maintaining the yaw axis eigenvector approximately spatially invariant. Using this representation, the response characteristics of the pitch, roll, and yaw eye velocity were obtained in terms of the eigenvalues and associated eigenvectors. 3. Using OKAN data obtained from monkeys and comparing to the model predictions, the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the system matrix were identified as a function of tilt to the side or of tilt to the prone positions, using a modification of the Marquardt algorithm. The yaw eigenvector for right-side-down tilt and for downward pitch cross-coupling was approximately 30 degrees from the spatial vertical. For the prone position, the eigenvector was computed to be approximately 20 degrees relative to the spatial vertical. For both side-down and prone positions, oblique OKN induced along eigenvector directions generated OKAN which decayed to zero along a straight line with approximately a single time constant. This was verified by a spectral analysis of the residual sequence about the straight line fit to the decaying data. The residual sequence was associated with a narrow autocorrelation function and a wide power spectrum. 4. Parameters found using the Marquardt algorithm were incorporated into the model. Diagonal matrices in a head coordinate frame were introduced to represent the direct pathway and the coupling of the visual system to the integrator. Model simulations predicted the behavior of yaw and pitch OKN and OKAN when the animal was upright, as well as the cross-coupling in the tilted position. The trajectories in velocity space were also accurately simulated. 5. There were similarities between the monkey eigenvectors and human perception of the spatial vertical. For side-down tilts and downward eye velocity cross-coupling, there was only an Aubert (A) effect. For upward eye velocity cross-coupling there were both Muller (E) and Aubert (A) effects. The mean of the eigenvectors for upward and downward eye velocities overlay human 1 x g perceptual data.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS).

NASA Discipline Neuroscience↗
NASA NTRS2005

Small Dog-Like Quadruped Robot Powered With McKibben Air Muscles

Planetary surface robotic exploration is typically done by wheeled robots, which are limited to traveling on relatively flat terrain. The goal of this project was to design a bio-inspired robot to mimic the movements and agility of animals to navigate in various types of natural terrain, such as found on Mars. My objective for the summer was to design and construct a quadruped robot with a locomotion gait similar to a small dog. The design includes four legs and an actuated flexible spine for added mobility and performance; each leg has three joints - hip, knee, and ankle. I created 3D CAD models and machined the pieces for the assemblies of each part. One of the key areas of concern is weight vs. power issues for the driving force of locomotion. To maximize the power-to-weight ratio, I used McKibben air muscles to drive the motion of the quadruped. The prototype went through several iterations to analyze performance, with adjustments made to each assembly. We expect the final working prototype will be capable of standing unassisted and pronking into the air without active control. It will serve as a research platform for future bio-inspired control algorithms.

Lacy, John M.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Assessment of potential impact of magnetic fields from a subsea high-voltage DC power cable on migrating green sturgeon, Acipenser medirostris

Abstract Empirical evidence suggests that marine animals perceive and orient to local distortions in the earth’s natural magnetic field. Magnetic fields (MFs) generated by electrified underwater cables may produce similar local distortions in the earth’s main field. Concern exists that these distortions may impact migration movements of MF-sensitive animals. The Trans Bay Cable (TBC) is a ± 200-kV, 400-megawatt, 85-km high-voltage direct current transmission line buried through San Francisco Bay (37° 56′ 8.81″ N, 122° 27′ 0.19″ W). Detections of adult green sturgeon implanted with acoustic transmitters were used from six cross-bay receiver arrays from 2006 to 2015 to investigate how inbound and outbound migration movements through lower portions of their route to/from upstream breeding grounds are related to the TBC’s energization status (off/on) and other local environmental variables. Here, we assess how these variables impacted transit success, misdirection from the migration route, transit times, and migration path locations within stretches between the Bay’s mouth and the start of the Sacramento River. Overall, there was varied evidence for any effect on migration behavior associated with cable status (off/on). A higher percentage of inbound fish successfully transited after the cable was energized, but this effect was nonsignificant in models including temperature. Outbound fish took longer to transit after cable energization. Inbound and outbound migration path locations were not significantly influenced by cable energization, but results suggest a potential subtle relationship between energization and both inbound and outbound paths. Overall, additional migration-based studies are needed to investigate the impact of anthropogenic cables on marine species.

Wyman, Megan T. (ORCID:0000000256844603)↗
NASA NTRS1992

Stabilization of gaze during circular locomotion in darkness. II. Contribution of velocity storage to compensatory eye and head nystagmus in the running monkey

1. Yaw eye in head (Eh) and head on body velocities (Hb) were measured in two monkeys that ran around the perimeter of a circular platform in darkness. The platform was stationary or could be counterrotated to reduce body velocity in space (Bs) while increasing gait velocity on the platform (Bp). The animals were also rotated while seated in a primate chair at eccentric locations to provide linear and angular accelerations similar to those experienced while running. 2. Both animals had head and eye nystagmus while running in darkness during which slow phase gaze velocity on the body (Gb) partially compensated for body velocity in space (Bs). The eyes, driven by the vestibuloocular reflex (VOR), supplied high-frequency characteristics, bringing Gb up to compensatory levels at the beginning and end of the slow phases. The head provided substantial gaze compensation during the slow phases, probably through the vestibulocollic reflex (VCR). Synchronous eye and head quick phases moved gaze in the direction of running. Head movements occurred consistently only when animals were running. This indicates that active body and limb motion may be essential for inducing the head-eye gaze synergy. 3. Gaze compensation was good when running in both directions in one animal and in one direction in the other animal. The animals had long VOR time constants in these directions. The VOR time constant was short to one side in one animal, and it had poor gaze compensation in this direction. Postlocomotory nystagmus was weaker after running in directions with a long VOR time constant than when the animals were passively rotated in darkness. We infer that velocity storage in the vestibular system had been activated to produce continuous Eh and Hb during running and to counteract postrotatory afterresponses. 4. Continuous compensatory gaze nystagmus was not produced by passive eccentric rotation with the head stabilized or free. This indicates that an aspect of active locomotion, most likely somatosensory feedback, was responsible for activating velocity storage. 5. Nystagmus was compared when an animal ran in darkness and in light. the beat frequency of eye and head nystagmus was lower, and the quick phases were larger in darkness. The duration of head and eye quick phases covaried. Eye quick phases were larger when animals ran in darkness than when they were passively rotated. The maximum velocity and duration of eye quick phases were the same in both conditions. 6. The platform was counterrotated under one monkey in darkness while it ran in the direction of its long vestibular time constant.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS).

NASA Discipline Neuroscience↗
NASA NTRS1970

A bibliography of wildlife movements and tracking systems

A bibliography is presented consisting of 1,005 references concerned with animal orientation, homing, navigation, migration, and home range movements, and the various methods of tracking and monitoring such behavior through biotelemetry, radar, and various banding and tagging techniques. A majority of the publications appeared between 1950 and 1970, although the most intensive search was made of the 1965-1970 period. A small number of older articles and books were included because they appeared to have some special or unusual value. The references have been organized in two ways. First, they are grouped in primary categories on the basis of the behavior involved such as orientation, homing, etc., and the methods of tracking. Second, within each of the resulting major areas, the items are arranged in terms of the species of animal. This sequence is maintained throughout the bibliography and in many cases represents a rank order according to the number of publications found.

Werber, M.↗
DOE OSTI2021

A miniaturized long-life acoustic transmitter for animal tracking in marine environments

Marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) energy devices are early-stage technologies and their impacts to ocean life and environment are largely unknown, which consequently limits the progress of deploying these devices at commercial scale. Optical and acoustic imaging have been the primary technologies for monitoring marine animals’ behavior at existing or potential MHK sites. However, these technologies lack the ability to identify individual animals, which makes them less useful in identifying protected species as well as studying the animals’ long-term behavior. Implantable acoustic transmitters with unique identification codes could be used as a complementary technology. To minimize the tag burden on the tagged animal (and hence the resulting bias) and to satisfy the long-term monitoring needs, it is desired that the implanted transmitter be as small and light as possible and can last for as long as possible. To date, the smallest acoustic transmitters suitable for marine animal tracking have relatively short service life and detection range (up to 200 m). In this report, we introduce a new miniaturized acoustic transmitter which operates at 208.3 kHz. It offers a smaller dry weight (0.45 g), a significantly longer service life (140 days at a 5-second ping rate) as well as a greater detection range than the existing commercial counterparts, which will help obtain more comprehensive movement and behavioral information of animals around MHK energy devices.

Li, Huidong↗
DOE OSTI2023

Control of multi-agent systems: Results, open problems, and applications

The purpose of this review article is to present some recent results on the modeling and control of large systems of agents. We focus on particular applications where the agents are capable of independent actions instead of simply reacting to external forces. In the literature, such agents were referred to as autonomous, intelligent, self-propelled, greedy, and others. The main applications we have in mind are social systems (as opinion dynamics), pedestrians’ movements (also called crowd dynamics), animal groups, and vehicular traffic. We note that the last three examples include physical constraints; however, the agents are able to inject energy into the system, thus preventing the typical conservation of momentum and energy. In addition, the control problems posed by such systems are new and require innovative methods. We illustrate some ideas developed recently, including the use of sparse controls, limiting the total variation of controls, and defining new control problems for measures. After reviewing various approaches, we discuss some future research directions of potential interest. The latter encompasses both new types of equations and new types of limiting procedures to connect several scales at which a system can be represented. We conclude by illustrating a recent real-life experiment using autonomous vehicles on an open highway to smooth traffic waves. This opens the door to a new era of interventions to control real-time multi-agent systems and to increase the societal impact of such interventions guided by control research.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
NASA NTRS1974

Compact telemetry package for remote monitoring of neutron responses in animals

Battery-powered telemeter includes FM transmitter and is light enough to be mounted on animal's head. Animal has complete freedom of movement while its neuron responses are transmitted to receiver in laboratory. Construction may also be applied to monitor blood pressure, body temperature, and different muscular signals.

Baker, C. D.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Studies of Vestibular Neurons in Normal, Hyper- and Hypogravity

During the past year, pre-, in- and postflight studies were conducted in association with the Axon project for Bion 10 (Cosmos 2229). Recordings were made during pre- and postflight studies, from 118 horizontal semicircular canal afferents and 27 vestibular nucleus neurons in 7 rhesus monkeys; 137 pulse rotation protocols alone were executed (548 acceleration and deceleration responses were curve fit). Usable data was obtained from 127 horizontal afferents concerning their spontaneous discharge. Curve fits and analysis was made of sinusoidal and sum of sinusoidal responses from 42 and 35 horizontal afferents, respectively. Also recordings were made from neurons inflight from the two flight animals. The mean spontaneous rate varied from 128 spikes/sec. during preflight to 92 spikes/sec during postflight (day 5) - a change of 28%. In direct contrast to the results of Cosmos 2044, the best fitted neural adaptation operator (k) and the gain of the pulse response were decreased during post flight when compared to preflight. Surprisingly, the best fitted gain and k values for the sum of sines were slightly elevated during post flight tests. The gain and phase of single sine responses were compared for pre- and post flight tests and compared to a larger population of afferents. In contrast to Cosmos 2044 results where on the first day of post flight testing the gains of the best fitted sine response were skewed toward the higher values of the Miles and Braitman distribution, the gain of the best fitted sine responses during the first day of post flight testing (day 2) during Cosmos 2229 were exactly on the mode of the Miles and Braitman distribution. Thus, at least for the periodic stimuli, (pulses and sine waves) we found no change in gain and neural adaptation during post flight testing following Cosmos 2229. This conclusion is different from the one derived following the Cosmos 2044 flight. Cosmos flight 2229 differed from Cosmos flight 2044 in several significant ways: For example, during preflight, (1) The animals preflight training was different (less well trained on the gaze task) and (2) the animals were exposed to more experimental manipulations (surgical and rotational). Inflight, (1) the animals were required to make a pointing gesture (motor response) in association with eye movements to obtain reward, (2) the inflight diet was different (more balanced), (3) the feeder for one of the animals clogged following 9 days of flight resulting in evident dehydration and probably less head motion exposure in that monkey and (4) there was limited video taping of the monkeys in space. During postflight, (1) we were unable to test the flight animals until 26 hours postflight as compared to 14.5 hours during Cosmos 2044, (2) the animals received significantly more exposure to motion stimuli during postflight testing than during Cosmos 2044. These differences in the vestibular environment will require analysis of several parameters other than just neural and eye movement responses. For example, computer programs will have to be written and used to recover and quantify the number of head movements made by each animal during flight. This activity is critical to the production of neural adaptation and increased gain.

Correia, Manning J.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Habituation and adaptation of the vestibuloocular reflex: a model of differential control by the vestibulocerebellum

We habituated the dominant time constant of the horizontal vestibuloocular reflex (VOR) of rhesus and cynomolgus monkeys by repeated testing with steps of velocity about a vertical axis and adapted the gain of the VOR by altering visual input with magnifying and reducing lenses. After baseline values were established, the nodulus and ventral uvula of the vestibulocerebellum were ablated in two monkeys, and the effects of nodulouvulectomy and flocculectomy on VOR gain adaptation and habituation were compared. The VOR time constant decreased with repeated testing, rapidly at first and more slowly thereafter. The gain of the VOR was unaffected. Massed trials were more effective than distributed trials in producing habituation. Regardless of the schedule of testing, the VOR time constant never fell below the time constant of the semicircular canals (approximately 5 s). This finding indicates that only the slow component of the vestibular response, the component produced by velocity storage, was habituated. In agreement with this, the time constant of optokinetic after-nystagmus (OKAN) was habituated concurrently with the VOR. Average values for VOR habituation were obtained on a per session basis for six animals. The VOR gain was adapted by natural head movements in partially habituated monkeys while they wore x 2.2 magnifying or x 0.5 reducing lenses. Adaptation occurred rapidly and reached about +/- 30%, similar to values obtained using forced rotation. VOR gain adaptation did not cause additional habituation of the time constant. When the VOR gain was reduced in animals with a long VOR time constant, there were overshoots in eye velocity that peaked at about 6-8 s after the onset or end of constant-velocity rotation. These overshoots occurred at times when the velocity storage integrator would have been maximally activated by semicircular canal input. Since the activity generated in the canals is not altered by visual adaptation, this finding indicates that the gain element that controls rapid changes in eye velocity in the VOR is separate from that which couples afferent input to velocity storage. Nodulouvulectomy caused a prompt and permanent loss of habituation, returning VOR time constants to initial values. VOR gain adaptation, which is lost after flocculectomy, was unaffected by nodulouvulectomy. Flocculectomy did not alter habituation of the VOR or of OKAN. Using a simplified model of the VOR, the decrease in the duration of vestibular nystagmus due to habituation was related to a decrement in the dominant time constant of the velocity storage integrator (1/h0).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS).

NASA Discipline Neuroscience↗
DOE OSTI2022

Decoding Golden Eagle Movement Behavior from High-Resolution, Variable-Rate Telemetry Data Through Bayesian Filtering

The recent advances in animal tracking technology have enabled the collection of a vast amount of in situ data regarding the movement of wildlife at high spatiotemporal resolution. These data are usually available at variable time resolutions and contains noise (error) originating from GPS fixes. Decoding movement characteristics, particularly of flying animals, from telemetry data while handling these factors is a challenging yet important task for conservation purposes. Typically, this task is broken into two subtasks: resampling, and model calibration. The resampling subtask converts the variable rate positional data into a constant time interval data, while the model calibration subtask uses the resampled data to tune time-invariant parameters of the proposed models. For telemetry data at high temporal resolutions (order of 1 second), it is very challenging to decouple noise from actual movements using interpolation-based resampling techniques. Any errors introduced during resampling can significantly alter the the calibration and prediction attributes of the movement model. We address this problem through a unified Bayesian state-space framework that can handle both the resampling and calibration tasks in a single step. In addition, we use the speed and heading of the bird from telemetry data to regularize the position information of the bird. We use a Kalman filtering approach to include these nonlinearly related motion parameters within the state space framework. We cross-validated to quantify how this inclusion affects the model performance in estimating true bird movements. The relationship between the true state of the bird and environmental and topographical covariates is then represented parametrically. These parameters are then tuned using stochastic sampling strategies like Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC). We use the telemetry data collected from golden eagles in the western USA to demonstrate the applicability of this approach to build a predictive, probabilistic movement model. Our preliminary results show that this approach provides improved predictive performance in terms of capturing higher-order motion parameters such as angular and horizontal accelerations, which may have simpler and more direct relationships with environmental covariates than corresponding speeds. In this talk, we will demonstrate how this state-space approach benefits the prediction capabilities of a movement model in simulating golden eagle paths through a wind power plant in Wyoming given certain atmospheric conditions. The model outcomes are aimed at informing mitigation strategies that can minimize the potential for collisions of golden eagles with wind turbines.

Bayesian methods↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Can Tracked Great Frigatebirds (Fregata minor) be Used to Measure the Dynamics of the Planetary Boundary Layer Height?

Observing the dynamics of the planetary boundary layer (PBL) will require creative combinations of space-based and in-situ measurements. Animals fitted with biologgers have been used to gather data and parameterize physical models in various settings and may be a useful addition to the suite of space-based measurements that NASA is considering. For example, great frigatebirds (Fregata minor) generally fly below 700m but have been shown to routinely climb up to 2,000 meters during the day, occasionally reaching heights over 4,000 meters. This suggests that they may be tracking boundary layer height dynamics as they soar and glide on air currents with little energetic cost. We show here that the high-altitude climbing heights of great frigatebirds carrying GPS/accelerometer biologgers (e-obs GmbH Bird Solar 15g) at Palmrya Atoll, Pacific Ocean, are consistent with the long-term climatology (2006-2019) of the local planetary boundary layer height, and that these soaring heights can be reliably extracted from the tag data. Additional study is needed to determine how well movement data from tracked birds can constrain PBL height, but this work demonstrates the potential for animal-borne sensors to complement space-based measurements. Biologging data were contributed by the USGS and the Nature Conservancy's Palmyra Bluewater Research (PBR) study and analyzed as part of NASA’s Internet of Animals project.

Planetary Boundary Layer Height↗
NASA NTRS1980

Effect of restricted motion in high temperature on enzymatic activity of the pancreas

Effects of 30 day hypodynamia coupled with high temperature (35-36 C) on enzymatic activity of the pancreas of male adult rats were studied. The test animals were divided into four groups. Group one served as controls (freedom of movement and a temperature of 25-26 C, considered optimal). The remaining animals were divided into three additional groups: Group two freedom of movement but high temperature (35-36 C); group three hypodynamia but an optimal temperature; group four hypodynamia and 35-36 C. Considerable change in the enzymatic activity in the pancreas of the four groups is observed in three experimental groups (two, three, and four) as compared to the control (group one). The results indicate that adaption of the organism to the thermal factor and restricted movement is accompanied by a change in the enzymatic spectrum of the pancreas. With the combined effect of these two stresses under conditions of the adaption of the organism especially sharp shifts occur in the enzymatic activity.

Abdusattarov, A.↗
NASA NTRS1992

System identification of perilymphatic fistula in an animal model

An acute animal model has been developed in the chinchilla for the study of perilymphatic fistulas. Micropunctures were made in three sites to simulate bony, round window, and oval window fistulas. The eye movements in response to pressure applied to the external auditory canal were recorded after micropuncture induction and in preoperative controls. The main pressure stimulus was a pseudorandom binary sequence (PRBS) that rapidly changed between plus and minus 200 mm of water. The PRBS stimulus, with its wide frequency bandwidth, produced responses clearly above the preoperative baseline in 78 percent of the runs. The response was better between 0.5 and 3.3 Hz than it was below 0.5 Hz. The direction of horizontal eye movement was toward the side of the fistula with positive pressure applied in 92 percent of the runs. Vertical eye movements were also observed. The ratio of vertical eye displacement to horizontal eye displacement depended upon the site of the micropuncture induction. Thus, such a ratio measurement may be clinically useful in the noninvasive localization of perilymphatic fistulas in humans.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS1992

Investigations of rhesus monkey video-task performance: evidence for enrichment

We have developed the Language Research Center's Computerized Test System (LRC-CTS) for psychological research. Basically, the LRC-CTS is a battery of software tasks--computerized versions of many of the classic testing paradigms of cognitive and comparative psychology--and the hardware required to administer them. An XT- or 386-compatible computer is connected to a color monitor, onto which computer-generated stimuli are presented. Sound feedback is delivered through an external speaker/amplifier, and a joystick is used as an input device. The animals reach through the mesh of their home cages to manipulate the joystick, which causes isomorphic movements of a cursor on the screen thereby allowing animals to respond according to the varied demands of the tasks. Correct responses are rewarded with a fruit-flavored chow pellet. Using this technology, we have trained and tested rhesus monkeys, a variety of apes, human adults, and normally developing or mentally retarded human children. Other labs using the LRC-CTS are beginning to report encouraging results with other monkey species as well. From this research, a number of interesting and important psychological findings have resulted. In the present paper, however, evidence will be reviewed which suggests that the LRC-CTS is an effective means of providing environmental enrichment to singly housed rhesus monkeys.

Non-NASA Center↗