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Transportable Applications Environment (TAE) Plus: A NASA tool used to develop and manage graphical user interfaces

The Transportable Applications Environment (TAE) Plus was built to support the construction of graphical user interfaces (GUI's) for highly interactive applications, such as real-time processing systems and scientific analysis systems. It is a general purpose portable tool that includes a 'What You See Is What You Get' WorkBench that allows user interface designers to layout and manipulate windows and interaction objects. The WorkBench includes both user entry objects (e.g., radio buttons, menus) and data-driven objects (e.g., dials, gages, stripcharts), which dynamically change based on values of realtime data. Discussed here is what TAE Plus provides, how the implementation has utilized state-of-the-art technologies within graphic workstations, and how it has been used both within and without NASA.

Szczur, Martha R.

PACE Water Resources: Demonstrating the Use of NASA's PACE Hyperspectral Ocean Color Instrument Data for Enhanced Coastal Management

This project developed tools to support the future use of Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) hyperspectral imagery in water resource monitoring and research by NASA DEVELOP teams and members of the PACE applications community. We sought to address a need for support in processing and visualizing hyperspectral PACE Ocean Color Instrument (OCI) data among researchers and decision-makers working in coastal water quality management and harmful algal bloom (HAB) monitoring. To supplement the day of simulated PACE imagery available, we used Aqua MODIS earth observations with Level 3 processing from March 2022 to build a Python graphical user interface (GUI) for visualizing ocean biogeochemical parameters relevant to the early detection and monitoring of HABs. We used simulated PACE OCI Level 2 data derived from the Python Top of Atmosphere Simulation Tool (PyTOAST) to build Jupyter Notebooks for band subset and selection. The Level 3 PACE Viewer components support users with quick visualizations as well as the creation of geoTIFFs and time-series. The Level 2 Jupyter Notebooks address users’ concerns over the volume and complexity of hyperspectral imagery. The PACE Viewer is useful for visual inspection and netCDF data processing but should not be used for geospatial analysis. Once PACE launches, this tool will alleviate the technical burdens of working with hyperspectral data and support the early detection and monitoring of HABs using PACE satellite imagery.

Python Top of Atmosphere Simulation Tool

X-Windows Information Sharing Protocol Widget Class

The X-Windows Information Sharing Protocol (ISP) Widget Class ("Class") is used here in the object-oriented-programming sense of the word) was devised to simplify the task of implementing ISP graphical-user-interface (GUI) computer programs. ISP programming tasks require many method calls to identify, query, and interpret the connections and messages exchanged between a client and an ISP server. Most X-Windows GUI programs use widget sets or toolkits to facilitate management of complex objects. The widget standards facilitate construction of toolkits and application programs. The X-Windows Information Sharing Protocol (ISP) Widget Class encapsulates the client side of the ISP programming libraries within the framework of an X-Windows widget. Using the widget framework, X-Windows GUI programs can interact with ISP services in an abstract way and in the same manner as that of other graphical widgets, making it easier to write ISP GUI client programs. Wrapping ISP client services inside a widget framework enables a programmer to treat an ISP server interface as though it were a GUI. Moreover, an alternate subclass could implement another communication protocol in the same sort of widget.

Barry, Matthew R.

Surface Modeling and Grid Generation for Iced Airfoils (SmaggIce)

Many of the troubles associated with problem solving are alleviated when there is a model that can be used to represent the problem. Through the Advanced Graphics and Visualization (G-VIS) Laboratory and other facilities located within the Research Analysis Center, the Computer Services Division (CSD) is able to develop and maintain programs and software that allow for the modeling of various situations. For example, the Icing Research Branch is devoted to investigating the effect of ice that forms on the wings and other airfoils of airplanes while in flight. While running tests that physically generate ice and wind on airfoils within the laboratories and wind tunnels on site are done, it would be beneficial if most of the preliminary work could be done outside of the lab. Therefore, individuals from within CSD have collaborated with Icing Research in order to create SmaggIce. This software allows users to create ice patterns on clean airfoils or open files containing a variety of icing situations, manipulate and measure these forms, generate, divide, and merge grids around these elements for more explicit analysis, and specify and rediscretize subcurves. With the projected completion date of Summer 2005, the majority of the focus of the Smagglce team is user-functionality and error handling. My primary responsibility is to test the Graphical User Interface (GUI) in SmaggIce in order to ensure the usability and verify the expected results of the events (buttons, menus, etc.) within the program. However, there is no standardized, systematic way in which to test all the possible combinations or permutations of events, not to mention unsolicited events such as errors. Moreover, scripting tests, if not done properly and with a view towards inevitable revision, can result in more apparent errors within the software and in effect become useless whenever the developers of the program make a slight change in the way a specific process is executed. My task therefore requires a brief yet intense study into GUI coverage criteria and creating algorithms for GUI implementation. Nevertheless, there are still heavily graphical features of SmaggIceSmaggIce that must be either corrected or redesigned before its release. A particular feature of SmaggIce is the ability to smooth out curves created by control points that form an arbitrary shape into something more acquiescent to gridding (while maintaining the integrity of the data). This is done by a mathematical model known as Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline (NURBS) curves. Existing NURBS code is written in FORTRAN-77 with static arrays for holding information. My new assignment is to allow for dynamic memory allocation within the code and to make it possible for the developers to call out functions from the NURBS code using C.

Hammond, Brandy M.

Configuring the HYSPLIT Model for National Weather Service Forecast Office and Spaceflight Meteorology Group Applications

For expedience in delivering dispersion guidance in the diversity of operational situations, National Weather Service Melbourne (MLB) and Spaceflight Meteorology Group (SMG) are becoming increasingly reliant on the PC-based version of the HYSPLIT model run through a graphical user interface (GUI). While the GUI offers unique advantages when compared to traditional methods, it is difficult for forecasters to run and manage in an operational environment. To alleviate the difficulty in providing scheduled real-time trajectory and concentration guidance, the Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU) configured a Linux version of the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) (HYSPLIT) model that ingests the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) guidance, such as the North American Mesoscale (NAM) and the Rapid Update Cycle (RUC) models. The AMU configured the HYSPLIT system to automatically download the NCEP model products, convert the meteorological grids into HYSPLIT binary format, run the model from several pre-selected latitude/longitude sites, and post-process the data to create output graphics. In addition, the AMU configured several software programs to convert local Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model output into HYSPLIT format.

Dreher, Joseph G.

Matlab GUI for a Fluid Mixer

The Test and Engineering Directorate at NASA John C. Stennis Space Center developed an interest to study the modeling, evaluation, and control of a liquid hydrogen (LH2) and gas hydrogen (GH2) mixer subsystem of a ground test facility. This facility carries out comprehensive ground-based testing and certification of liquid rocket engines including the Space Shuttle Main engine. A software simulation environment developed in MATLAB/SIMULINK (M/S) will allow NASA engineers to test rocket engine systems at relatively no cost. In the progress report submitted in February 2004, we described the development of two foundation programs, a reverse look-up application using various interpolation algorithms, a variety of search and return methods, and self-checking methods to reduce the error in returned search results to increase the functionality of the program. The results showed that these efforts were successful. To transfer this technology to engineers who are not familiar with the M/S environment, a four-module GUI was implemented allowing the user to evaluate the mixer model under open-loop and closed-loop conditions. The progress report was based on an udergraduate Honors Thesis by Ms. Jamie Granger Austin in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Tulane University, during January-May 2003, and her continued efforts during August-December 2003. In collaboration with Dr. Hanz Richter and Dr. Fernando Figueroa we published these results in a NASA Tech Brief due to appear this year. Although the original proposal in 2003 did not address other components of the test facility, we decided in the last few months to extend our research and consider a related pressurization tank component as well. This report summarizes the results obtained towards a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for the evaluation and control of the hydrogen mixer subsystem model and for the pressurization tank each taken individually. Further research would combine the two components - mixer and tank, for a more realistic simulation tool.

Barbieri, Enrique

Enabling a Voice Management System for Space Applications

The sustainable missions beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) envisioned for NASA’s Artemis program will require autonomous capabilities. Moreover, Artemis mission crews will need a means to efficiently interact with a spacecraft’s autonomous systems. This interaction can be facilitated by voice and speech communications because voice-based controls enable users to interact hands- and eyes-free, allowing the user to better focus on critical tasks. The goal of our project was to explore the knowledge and technology needed to successfully design effective Voice User Interfaces (VUIs) for autonomous systems utilizing Human Centered Design (HCD) principles. The focus of the human factors’ aspect of engineering, pays close attention to psychological and physiological principles in the development of autonomous crew operation systems. A main objective was to understand how a crew member, through voice interaction, could efficiently and intuitively communicate with a notional autonomous vehicle system manager. This project was a part of the NASA Moon to Mars eXploration Systems and Habitation (M2M X-Hab) 2020 Academic Innovation Challenge. The work from the BLiSS Team, at the University of Michigan, resulted in the design of a system persona, Diego, to which an astronaut may quickly build trust with autonomous systems, to alleviate known stressors on mental health expected during long duration space missions. Optimal software to facilitate integration of the system persona into a reference Lunar orbiting Gateway station was defined. Additionally, a Speech to Text (STT) system and a Graphical User Interface (GUI) that could be implemented in future missions was developed on an Internet of Things (IOT) platform. The Voice User Interface (VUI) design for the M2M X-Hab 2020 project leveraged previous technology developed by the BLiSS team to incorporate a voice-based interface into NASA’s Platform for Autonomous Systems (NPAS) software. This required technologies to convert voice to text, conduct semantic interpretations, and convert responses from the autonomous system to text and to speech; additionally, the spacecraft background noise environment was assessed, a noise mitigation technique was developed, and a relatable personality for the autonomous system was developed in order to facilitate human-like conversations. The success of our effort was largely due to the diversity of the team that included expertise in Space Systems Engineering, Human Computer Interaction, Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, Biomedical Engineering, and Applied Physics. The diverse perspectives fostered elaborate discussions, resulting in the conception of three main subsystems: (1) User-System, (2) NPAS-System, and (3) Environment-System. The VUI was unique and had to be efficient and intuitive. For this project, 5 subteams were formed, each with a separate objective, Voice Design team, Background Noise Mitigation team, Software Integration team and Graphical User Interface team. The BLiSS team crafted a personality for the VUI to enable human-like conversation and drive user adoption and trust. User surveys were completed and used to help determine the required VUI system personality traits by capturing perspectives and expectations of prospective “Artemis Generation Astronauts”. To further simulate human-like conversations, the system had to be able to quickly interpret user speech and be able to integrate with NASA’s NPAS platform for quick and reliable information transfer. The outcomes of our research were: (1) a working prototype user interface, that is compatible with NASA’s NPAS platform; (2) software that demonstrates the ability of the VUI system to interpret user requests and respond appropriately; (3) the capability to implement fully expanded conversations between user and system using intuitive communication in four request categories; and (4) software and hardware recommendations that optimize the system’s ability to operate in a noisy environment. Our research has laid the foundation for the development of VUI’s for autonomy, and provides a baseline for future VUI developments.

Voice user interface

Station Program Note Pull Automation

Upon commencement of my internship, I was in charge of maintaining the CoFR (Certificate of Flight Readiness) Tool. The tool acquires data from existing Excel workbooks on NASA's and Boeing's databases to create a new spreadsheet listing out all the potential safety concerns for upcoming flights and software transitions. Since the application was written in Visual Basic, I had to learn a new programming language and prepare to handle any malfunctions within the program. Shortly afterwards, I was given the assignment to automate the Station Program Note (SPN) Pull process. I developed an application, in Python, that generated a GUI (Graphical User Interface) that will be used by the International Space Station Safety & Mission Assurance team here at Johnson Space Center. The application will allow its users to download online files with the click of a button, import SPN's based on three different pulls, instantly manipulate and filter spreadsheets, and compare the three sources to determine which active SPN's (Station Program Notes) must be reviewed for any upcoming flights, missions, and/or software transitions. Initially, to perform the NASA SPN pull (one of three), I had created the program to allow the user to login to a secure webpage that stores data, input specific parameters, and retrieve the desired SPN's based on their inputs. However, to avoid any conflicts with sustainment, I altered it so that the user may login and download the NASA file independently. After the user has downloaded the file with the click of a button, I defined the program to check for any outdated or pre-existing files, for successful downloads, to acquire the spreadsheet, convert it from a text file to a comma separated file and finally into an Excel spreadsheet to be filtered and later scrutinized for specific SPN numbers. Once this file has been automatically manipulated to provide only the SPN numbers that are desired, they are stored in a global variable, shown on the GUI, and transferred over to a new Excel worksheet for comparison. I managed to get my application to acquire the CSWG (Computer Safety Working Group) and the SPNWG (Space Station Working Group) SPN's with just two mouse clicks for each pull, as opposed to several from the original process. When all three pulls are performed, an Excel sheet containing all three different results will be generated for the user to compare and determine which SPN's will be presented or reviewed the following month. The experience from this internship has been spectacular. As a high school senior who will begin attending college in the fall, this internship has been both educationally and occupationally beneficial. The internship has allowed me the opportunities to learn new programming languages, effectively network with NASA personnel from a variety of departments at JSC, and allowed me to learn new professional skills and etiquette. My internship at NASA's Johnson Space Center has further motivated me to pursue a Master's degree in Software Engineering and strive for a prosperous career with NASA as a civil servant.

Delgado, Ivan

Software and Algorithms for Biomedical Image Data Processing and Visualization

A new software equipped with novel image processing algorithms and graphical-user-interface (GUI) tools has been designed for automated analysis and processing of large amounts of biomedical image data. The software, called PlaqTrak, has been specifically used for analysis of plaque on teeth of patients. New algorithms have been developed and implemented to segment teeth of interest from surrounding gum, and a real-time image-based morphing procedure is used to automatically overlay a grid onto each segmented tooth. Pattern recognition methods are used to classify plaque from surrounding gum and enamel, while ignoring glare effects due to the reflection of camera light and ambient light from enamel regions. The PlaqTrak system integrates these components into a single software suite with an easy-to-use GUI (see Figure 1) that allows users to do an end-to-end run of a patient s record, including tooth segmentation of all teeth, grid morphing of each segmented tooth, and plaque classification of each tooth image. The automated and accurate processing of the captured images to segment each tooth [see Figure 2(a)] and then detect plaque on a tooth-by-tooth basis is a critical component of the PlaqTrak system to do clinical trials and analysis with minimal human intervention. These features offer distinct advantages over other competing systems that analyze groups of teeth or synthetic teeth. PlaqTrak divides each segmented tooth into eight regions using an advanced graphics morphing procedure [see results on a chipped tooth in Figure 2(b)], and a pattern recognition classifier is then used to locate plaque [red regions in Figure 2(d)] and enamel regions. The morphing allows analysis within regions of teeth, thereby facilitating detailed statistical analysis such as the amount of plaque present on the biting surfaces on teeth. This software system is applicable to a host of biomedical applications, such as cell analysis and life detection, or robotic applications, such as product inspection or assembly of parts in space and industry.

Talukder, Ashit

Telerobotic ground-remote operations

The Telerobotic Ground-Remote Operations task consists of development of a demonstration local-site operator control station that includes a graphical user interface (GUI) for control of a remote robot, and development of operator-assisted perception algorithms and software that will provide flexible and accurate world modeling capabilities. The topics covered are presented in view graph form and include: (1) local site development configuration; (2) system design; (3) operator control station (local site) software block diagram; (4) operator-assisted perception; and (5) program status.

Bon, Bruce

The X-windows interactive navigation data editor

A new computer program called the X-Windows Interactive Data Editor (XIDE) was developed and demonstrated as a prototype application for editing radio metric data in the orbit-determination process. The program runs on a variety of workstations and employs pull-down menus and graphical displays, which allow users to easily inspect and edit radio metric data in the orbit data files received from the Deep Space Network (DSN). The XIDE program is based on the Open Software Foundation OSF/Motif Graphical User Interface (GUI) and has proven to be an efficient tool for editing radio metric data in the navigation operations environment. It was adopted by the Magellan Navigation Team as their primary data-editing tool. Because the software was designed from the beginning to be portable, the prototype was successfully moved to new workstation environments. It was also itegrated into the design of the next-generation software tool for DSN multimission navigation interactive launch support.

Rinker, G. C.

GRAPEVINE: Grids about anything by Poisson's equation in a visually interactive networking environment

A proven 3-D multiple-block elliptic grid generator, designed to run in 'batch mode' on a supercomputer, is improved by the creation of a modern graphical user interface (GUI) running on a workstation. The two parts are connected in real time by a network. The resultant system offers a significant speedup in the process of preparing and formatting input data and the ability to watch the grid solution converge by replotting the grid at each iteration step. The result is a reduction in user time and CPU time required to generate the grid and an enhanced understanding of the elliptic solution process. This software system, called GRAPEVINE, is described, and certain observations are made concerning the creation of such software.

Sorenson, Reese L.

Transportable Applications Environment (TAE) Plus - A NASA productivity tool used to develop graphical user interfaces

The Transportable Applications Environment (TAE) Plus, developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, is an advanced portable user interface development environment which simplifies the process of creating and managing complex application graphical user interfaces (GUIs), supports prototyping, allows applications to be oported easily between different platforms, and encourages appropriate levels of user interface consistency between applications. This paper discusses the capabilities of the TAE Plus tool, and how it makes the job of designing and developing GUIs easier for the application developers. The paper also explains how tools like TAE Plus provide for reusability and ensure reliability of UI software components, as well as how they aid in the reduction of development and maintenance costs.

Szczur, Martha R.

Transportable Applications Environment (TAE) Plus: A NASA tool for building and managing graphical user interfaces

The Transportable Applications Environment (TAE) Plus, developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, is an advanced portable user interface development which simplifies the process of creating and managing complex application graphical user interfaces (GUI's). TAE Plus supports the rapid prototyping of GUI's and allows applications to be ported easily between different platforms. This paper will discuss the capabilities of the TAE Plus tool, and how it makes the job of designing and developing GUI's easier for application developers. TAE Plus is being applied to many types of applications, and this paper discusses how it has been used both within and outside NASA.

Szczur, Martha R.

Flowfield computer graphics

The objectives of this research include supporting the Aerothermodynamics Branch's research by developing graphical visualization tools for both the branch's adaptive grid code and flow field ray tracing code. The completed research for the reporting period includes development of a graphical user interface (GUI) and its implementation into the NAS Flowfield Analysis Software Tool kit (FAST), for both the adaptive grid code (SAGE) and the flow field ray tracing code (CISS).

Desautel, Richard

GPS system simulation methodology

The following topics are presented: background; Global Positioning System (GPS) methodology overview; the graphical user interface (GUI); current models; application to space nuclear power/propulsion; and interfacing requirements. The discussion is presented in vugraph form.

Ewing, Thomas F.

SeaWiFS technical report series. Volume 10: Modeling of the SeaWiFS solar and lunar observations

Post-launch stability monitoring of the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWifs) will include periodic sweeps of both an onboard solar diffuser plate and the moon. The diffuser views will provide short-term checks and the lunar views will monitor long-term trends in the instrument's radiometric stability. Models of the expected sensor response to these observations were created on the SeaWiFS computer at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) using the Interactive Data Language (IDL) utility with a graphical user interface (GUI). The solar model uses the area of intersecting circles to simulate the ramping of sensor response while viewing the diffuser. This model is compared with preflight laboratory scans of the solar diffuser. The lunar model reads a high-resolution lunar image as input. The observations of the moon are simulated with a bright target recovery algorithm that includes ramping and ringing functions. Tests using the lunar model indicate that the integrated radiance of the entire lunar surface provides a more stable quantity than the mean of radiances from centralized pixels. The lunar model is compared to ground-based scans by the SeaWiFS instrument of a full moon in December 1992. Quality assurance and trend analyses routines for calibration and for telemetry data are also discussed.

Woodward, Robert H.

Stanford Aerospace Research Laboratory research overview

Over the last ten years, the Stanford Aerospace Robotics Laboratory (ARL) has developed a hardware facility in which a number of space robotics issues have been, and continue to be, addressed. This paper reviews two of the current ARL research areas: navigation and control of free flying space robots, and modelling and control of extremely flexible space structures. The ARL has designed and built several semi-autonomous free-flying robots that perform numerous tasks in a zero-gravity, drag-free, two-dimensional environment. It is envisioned that future generations of these robots will be part of a human-robot team, in which the robots will operate under the task-level commands of astronauts. To make this possible, the ARL has developed a graphical user interface (GUI) with an intuitive object-level motion-direction capability. Using this interface, the ARL has demonstrated autonomous navigation, intercept and capture of moving and spinning objects, object transport, multiple-robot cooperative manipulation, and simple assemblies from both free-flying and fixed bases. The ARL has also built a number of experimental test beds on which the modelling and control of flexible manipulators has been studied. Early ARL experiments in this arena demonstrated for the first time the capability to control the end-point position of both single-link and multi-link flexible manipulators using end-point sensing. Building on these accomplishments, the ARL has been able to control payloads with unknown dynamics at the end of a flexible manipulator, and to achieve high-performance control of a multi-link flexible manipulator.

Ballhaus, W. L.