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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1988

Telerobotics - Problems and research needs

With major emphasis on simulation, a university laboratory telerobotics facility permits problems to be approached by groups of graduate students. Helmet-mounded displays provide realism; the slaving of the display to the human operator's viewpoint gives a sense of 'telepresence' that may be useful for prolonged tasks. Using top-down three-dimensional model control of distant images allows distant images to be reduced to a few parameters to update the model used for display to the human operator in a preview mode to circumvent, in part, the communication delay. Also, the model can be used as a format for supervisory control and permit short-term local autonomous operations. Image processing algorithms can be made simpler and faster without trying to construct sensible images from the bottom. Control studies of telerobots lead to preferential manual control modes and basic paradigms for human motion and thence, perhaps, to redesign of robotic control, trajectory path planning, and rehabilitation prosthetics.

Stark, Lawrence↗
NASA NTRS2018

Project Link!: Dynamics and Control of In-Flight Wing Tip Docking

Project Link! is a NASA-led effort to study the feasibility of multi-aircraft aerial docking systems. In these systems, a group of vehicles physically link to each other during flight to form a larger ensemble vehicle with increased aerodynamic performance and mission utility. This paper presents a dynamic model and control architecture for a system of fixed-wing vehicles with this capability. The dynamic model consists of the 6 degree-of-freedom fixed-wing aircraft equations of motion, a spring-damper-magnet system to represent the linkage force between constituent vehicles, and the NASA-Burnham-Hallock wingtip vortex model to represent the close-proximity aerodynamic interactions between constituents before the linking occurs. The control architecture consists of a guidance algorithm to autonomously drive the constituents towards their linking partners and an inner-loop angular rate controller. A simulation was constructed from the model, and the flight dynamic modes of the linked system were compared to the individual vehicles. Simulation results for both before and after linking are presented.

Cooper, John R.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Haptic-Multimodal Flight Control System Update

The rapidly advancing capabilities of autonomous aircraft suggest a future where many of the responsibilities of today s pilot transition to the vehicle, transforming the pilot s job into something akin to driving a car or simply being a passenger. Notionally, this transition will reduce the specialized skills, training, and attention required of the human user while improving safety and performance. However, our experience with highly automated aircraft highlights many challenges to this transition including: lack of automation resilience; adverse human-automation interaction under stress; and the difficulty of developing certification standards and methods of compliance for complex systems performing critical functions traditionally performed by the pilot (e.g., sense and avoid vs. see and avoid). Recognizing these opportunities and realities, researchers at NASA Langley are developing a haptic-multimodal flight control (HFC) system concept that can serve as a bridge between today s state of the art aircraft that are highly automated but have little autonomy and can only be operated safely by highly trained experts (i.e., pilots) to a future in which non-experts (e.g., drivers) can safely and reliably use autonomous aircraft to perform a variety of missions. This paper reviews the motivation and theoretical basis of the HFC system, describes its current state of development, and presents results from two pilot-in-the-loop simulation studies. These preliminary studies suggest the HFC reshapes human-automation interaction in a way well-suited to revolutionary ease-of-use.

Goodrich, Kenneth H.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia: time domain characterization using autoregressive moving average analysis

Fourier-based techniques are mathematically noncausal and are therefore limited in their application to feedback-containing systems, such as the cardiovascular system. In this study, a mathematically causal time domain technique, autoregressive moving average (ARMA) analysis, was used to parameterize the relations of respiration and arterial blood pressure to heart rate in eight humans before and during total cardiac autonomic blockade. Impulse-response curves thus generated showed the relation of respiration to heart rate to be characterized by an immediate increase in heart rate of 9.1 +/- 1.8 beats.min-1.l-1, followed by a transient mild decrease in heart rate to -1.2 +/- 0.5 beats.min-1.l-1 below baseline. The relation of blood pressure to heart rate was characterized by a slower decrease in heart rate of -0.5 +/- 0.1 beats.min-1.mmHg-1, followed by a gradual return to baseline. Both of these relations nearly disappeared after autonomic blockade, indicating autonomic mediation. Maximum values obtained from the respiration to heart rate impulse responses were also well correlated with frequency domain measures of high-frequency "vagal" heart rate control (r = 0.88). ARMA analysis may be useful as a time domain representation of autonomic heart rate control for cardiovascular modeling.

NASA Discipline Regulatory Physiology↗
NASA NTRS1989

The JPL telerobotic Manipulator Control and Mechanization (MCM) subsystem

The Manipulator Control and Mechanization (MCM) subsystem of the telerobot system provides the real-time control of the robot manipulators in autonomous and teleoperated modes and real time input/output for a variety of sensors and actuators. Substantial hardware and software are included in this subsystem which interfaces in the hierarchy of the telerobot system with the other subsystems. The other subsystems are: run time control, task planning and reasoning, sensing and perception, and operator control subsystem. The architecture of the MCM subsystem, its capabilities, and details of various hardware and software elements are described. Important improvements in the MCM subsystem over the first version are: dual arm coordinated trajectory generation and control, addition of integrated teleoperation, shared control capability, replacement of the ultimate controllers with motor controllers, and substantial increase in real time processing capability.

Hayati, Samad↗
NASA NTRS1988

Automation and robotics

The Autonomous Systems focus on the automation of control systems for the Space Station and mission operations. Telerobotics focuses on automation for in-space servicing, assembly, and repair. The Autonomous Systems and Telerobotics each have a planned sequence of integrated demonstrations showing the evolutionary advance of the state-of-the-art. Progress is briefly described for each area of concern.

Montemerlo, Melvin↗
NASA NTRS1988

High level intelligent control of telerobotics systems

A high level robot command language is proposed for the autonomous mode of an advanced telerobotics system and a predictive display mechanism for the teleoperational model. It is believed that any such system will involve some mixture of these two modes, since, although artificial intelligence can facilitate significant autonomy, a system that can resort to teleoperation will always have the advantage. The high level command language will allow humans to give the robot instructions in a very natural manner. The robot will then analyze these instructions to infer meaning so that is can translate the task into lower level executable primitives. If, however, the robot is unable to perform the task autonomously, it will switch to the teleoperational mode. The time delay between control movement and actual robot movement has always been a problem in teleoperations. The remote operator may not actually see (via a monitor) the results of high actions for several seconds. A computer generated predictive display system is proposed whereby the operator can see a real-time model of the robot's environment and the delayed video picture on the monitor at the same time.

Mckee, James↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Towards Autonomous Lunar Resource Excavation via Deep Reinforcement Learning

To support sustainable infrastructure on the Moon, NASA needs to leverage lunar resources for in-situ processing and construction. NASA’s Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot (RASSOR) is principally designed to mine and deliver regolith for these tasks. To reliably perform these operations on the lunar surface, RASSOR's sensors and control systems need to be robust and maximize information extracted from a reduced sensor payload. Herein, we present our findings from the Intelligent Capabilities Enhanced RASSOR project. We created reduced-order simulation environments in which we applied reinforcement learning algorithms to learn autonomous trenching controllers and produced state estimation architectures. We developed two simulations: a 2D excavation simulation used to facilitate parameter selection, and a 3D simulation developed using a game physics engine to simulate simplified soil interactions and incorporate robotic agents parameterized by dynamic models. Within these simulations, we learned autonomous excavation routines that exceed excavation efficiency measures as compared against RASSOR's existing control and teleoperation-based methods.

RASSOR↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Towards Autonomous Lunar Resource Excavation via Deep Reinforcement Learning

To support sustainable infrastructure on the Moon, NASA needs to leverage lunar resources for in-situ processing and construction. NASA’s Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot (RASSOR) is principally designed to mine and deliver regolith for these tasks. To reliably perform these operations on the lunar surface, RASSOR's sensors and control systems need to be robust and maximize information extracted from a reduced sensor payload. Herein, we present our findings from the Intelligent Capabilities Enhanced RASSOR project. We created reduced-order simulation environments in which we applied reinforcement learning algorithms to learn autonomous trenching controllers and produced state estimation architectures. We developed two simulations: a 2D excavation simulation used to facilitate parameter selection, and a 3D simulation developed using a game physics engine to simulate simplified soil interactions and incorporate robotic agents parameterized by dynamic models. Within these simulations, we learned autonomous excavation routines that exceed excavation efficiency measures as compared against RASSOR's existing control and teleoperation-based methods.

RASSOR↗
NASA NTRS1981

Attitude and articulation control system testing for Project Galileo

A type of facility required to integrate and test a complex autonomous spacecraft subsystem is presented, using the attitude and articulation control subsystem (AACS) of Project Galileo as an example. The equipment created for testing the AACS at both the subsystem and spacecraft system levels is described, including a description of the support equipment (SE) architecture in its two main configurations, closed loop simulation techniques, the user interface to the SE, and plans for the use of the facility beyond the test period. This system is capable of providing a flight-like functional environment through the use of accurate real-time models and carefully chosen points of interaction, and flexible control capability and high visibility to the test operator.

Rasmussen, R. D.↗
NASA NTRS2016

An Inertial Dual-State State Estimator for Precision Planetary Landing with Hazard Detection and Avoidance

The navigation filter architecture successfully deployed on the Morpheus flight vehicle is presented. The filter was developed as a key element of the NASA Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology (ALHAT) project and over the course of 15 free fights was integrated into the Morpheus vehicle, operations, and flight control loop. Flight testing completed by demonstrating autonomous hazard detection and avoidance, integration of an altimeter, surface relative velocity (velocimeter) and hazard relative navigation (HRN) measurements into the onboard dual-state inertial estimator Kalman flter software, and landing within 2 meters of the vertical testbed GPS-based navigation solution at the safe landing site target. Morpheus followed a trajectory that included an ascent phase followed by a partial descent-to-landing, although the proposed filter architecture is applicable to more general planetary precision entry, descent, and landings. The main new contribution is the incorporation of a sophisticated hazard relative navigation sensor-originally intended to locate safe landing sites-into the navigation system and employed as a navigation sensor. The formulation of a dual-state inertial extended Kalman filter was designed to address the precision planetary landing problem when viewed as a rendezvous problem with an intended landing site. For the required precision navigation system that is capable of navigating along a descent-to-landing trajectory to a precise landing, the impact of attitude errors on the translational state estimation are included in a fully integrated navigation structure in which translation state estimation is combined with attitude state estimation. The map tie errors are estimated as part of the process, thereby creating a dual-state filter implementation. Also, the filter is implemented using inertial states rather than states relative to the target. External measurements include altimeter, velocimeter, star camera, terrain relative navigation sensor, and a hazard relative navigation sensor providing information regarding hazards on a map generated on-the-fly.

Bishop, Robert H.↗
NASA NTRS2012

NASA Tech Briefs, April 2012

Topics include: Computational Ghost Imaging for Remote Sensing; Digital Architecture for a Trace Gas Sensor Platform; Dispersed Fringe Sensing Analysis - DFSA; Indium Tin Oxide Resistor-Based Nitric Oxide Microsensors; Gas Composition Sensing Using Carbon Nanotube Arrays; Sensor for Boundary Shear Stress in Fluid Flow; Model-Based Method for Sensor Validation; Qualification of Engineering Camera for Long-Duration Deep Space Missions; Remotely Powered Reconfigurable Receiver for Extreme Environment Sensing Platforms; Bump Bonding Using Metal-Coated Carbon Nanotubes; In Situ Mosaic Brightness Correction; Simplex GPS and InSAR Inversion Software; Virtual Machine Language 2.1; Multi-Scale Three-Dimensional Variational Data Assimilation System for Coastal Ocean Prediction; Pandora Operation and Analysis Software; Fabrication of a Cryogenic Bias Filter for Ultrasensitive Focal Plane; Processing of Nanosensors Using a Sacrificial Template Approach; High-Temperature Shape Memory Polymers; Modular Flooring System; Non-Toxic, Low-Freezing, Drop-In Replacement Heat Transfer Fluids; Materials That Enhance Efficiency and Radiation Resistance of Solar Cells; Low-Cost, Rugged High-Vacuum System; Static Gas-Charging Plug; Floating Oil-Spill Containment Device; Stemless Ball Valve; Improving Balance Function Using Low Levels of Electrical Stimulation of the Balance Organs; Oxygen-Methane Thruster; Lunar Navigation Determination System - LaNDS; Launch Method for Kites in Low-Wind or No-Wind Conditions; Supercritical CO2 Cleaning System for Planetary Protection and Contamination Control Applications; Design and Performance of a Wideband Radio Telescope; Finite Element Models for Electron Beam Freeform Fabrication Process Autonomous Information Unit for Fine-Grain Data Access Control and Information Protection in a Net-Centric System; Vehicle Detection for RCTA/ANS (Autonomous Navigation System); Image Mapping and Visual Attention on the Sensory Ego-Sphere; HyDE Framework for Stochastic and Hybrid Model-Based Diagnosis; and IMAGESEER - IMAGEs for Education and Research.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1980

A propulsion and steering control system for the Mars rover

The design of a propulsion and steering control system for the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute prototype autonomous Mars roving vehicle is presented. The vehicle is propelled and steered by four independent electric motors. The control system must regulate the speeds of the motors so they work in unison during turns and on irregular terrain. An analysis of the motor coordination problem on irregular terrain, where each motor must supply a different torque at a different speed is presented. A procedure was developed to match the output of each motor to the varying load. A design for the control system is given. The controller uses a microprocessor which interprets speed and steering commands from an off-board computer, and produces the appropriate drive voltages for the motors.

Turner, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Test and validation for robot arm control dynamics simulation

The Flight Telerobotic Servicer (FTS) program will require an ability to develop, in a cost effective manner, many simulation models for design, analysis, performance evaluation, and crew training. Computational speed and the degree of modeling fidelity associated with each simulation must be commensurate with problem objectives. To demonstrate evolving state-of-the-art general purpose multibody modeling capabilities, to validate these by laboratory testing, and to expose their modeling shortcomings, two focus problems at the opposite ends of the simulation spectrum are defined: (1) Coarse Acquisition Control Dynamics. Create a real time man-in-the-control-loop simulator. Provide animated graphical display of robot arm dynamics and tactile feedback sufficient for cueing the operator. Interface simulator software with human operated tactile feedback controller; i.e., the Kraft mini-master. (2) Fine, Precision Mode Control Dynamics. Create a high speed, high fidelity simulation model for the design, analysis, and performance evaluation of autonomous 7 degree-of-freedom (DOF) trajectory control algorithms. This model must contain detail dynamic models for all significant dynamics elements within the robot arm, such as joint drive mechanisms.

Yae, K. Harold↗
NASA NTRS2012

Mini AERCam for In-Space Inspection

The NASA Johnson Space Center Engineering Directorate has developed the Miniature Autonomous Extravehicular Robotic Camera (Mini AERCam) as a free-flying, robotic inspection vehicle intended for future external inspection and remote viewing of human spacecraft. The Mini AERCam technology demonstration unit has been successfully integrated into the approximate form and function of a nanosatellite flight system by leveraging the success of AERCam Sprint flight system and related free-flyer technology development. The Mini AERCam free flyer can be operated via remote piloting from a control station supporting teleoperation and supervised autonomous commanding, with functions such as automatic stationkeeping, point-to-point maneuvering, and automatic docking. Free-flyer testing has been conducted on an air-bearing table and in a six degree-of-freedom closed-loop orbital simulation, and enhancements have been made to provide additional capabilities for future space-based inspection. This presentation will provide a technical overview of the Mini AERCam development, including strategies for spacecraft integration.

Fredrickson, Steven E.↗
NASA NTRS2002

The Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) Attitude Control System

The Microwave Anisotropy Probe mission is designed to produce a map of the cosmic microwave background radiation over the entire celestial sphere by executing a fast spin and a slow precession of its spin axis about the Sun line to obtain a highly interconnected set of measurements. The spacecraft attitude is sensed and controlled using an Inertial Reference Unit, two Autonomous Star Trackers, a Digital Sun Sensor, twelve Coarse Sun Sensors, three Reaction Wheel Assemblies, and a propulsion system. This paper describes the design of the attitude control system that carries out this mission and presents some early flight experience.

Markley, F. Landis↗
NASA NTRS2002

The Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) Mission

The Microwave Anisotropy Probe mission is designed to produce a map of the cosmic microwave background radiation over the entire celestial sphere by executing a fast spin and a slow precession of its spin axis about the Sun line to obtain a highly interconnected set of measurements. The spacecraft attitude is sensed and controlled using an Inertial Reference Unit, two Autonomous Star Trackers, a Digital Sun Sensor, twelve Coarse Sun Sensors, three Reaction Wheel Assemblies, and a propulsion system. This paper describes the design of the attitude control system that carries out this mission and presents some early flight experience.

Markley, F. Landis↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Automated Airspace Management: Concept, Development, and Testing

For many decades, researchers at NASA Ames Research Center have worked to make the air-transportation system more efficient, predictable, and effective. Since about 2005 one important aspect of this research has been the development of an autonomous system for air-traffic control. This system, known as the Autoresolver, is designed to perform most of the roles that air-traffic controllers perform including ensuring separation between aircraft, creating routes around weather and other avoidance volumes, and sequencing and scheduling aircraft across points in space. The recent, rapid expansion of new aircraft operations and types, including urban air mobility aircraft and small unmanned aerial systems, have only increased the need for highly automated systems to control the predicted traffic demand. This talk will focus on the development of the Autoresolver - from concept to testing. It will also discuss the National Airspace (NAS) Digital Twin simulation platform, created to facilitate rapid testing and improvement of the algorithm and with the hope of proving the automation in a high-fidelity environment. An open question that will be discussed is how to ensure that the system-level emergent behavior of independently developed autonomous algorithms is what is desired.

autonomy↗