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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 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2006

An Alternative for Emergency Preemption of Traffic Lights

An electronic communication-and-control system has been developed as a prototype of advanced means of automatically modifying the switching of traffic lights to give priority to emergency vehicles. This system could be used alternatively or in addition to other emergency traffic-light-preemption systems, including a variety of systems now in use as well as two proposed systems described in "Systems Would Preempt Traffic Lights for Emergency Vehicles" (NPO-30573), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 28, No. 10 (October 2004), page 36. Unlike those prior systems that depend on detection of sounds and/or lights emitted by emergency vehicles, this system is not subject to severe range limitations. This system can be retrofitted into any pre-existing traffic-light-control system, without need to modify that system other than to make a minimal number of wire connections between the two systems. This system comprises several subsystems, including a transponder and interface circuitry on each emergency vehicle, a monitoring and control unit at each intersection equipped with traffic lights, and a wide-area two-way radio communication network that connects the emergency vehicles and intersection units. Computers in the various intersections and vehicle units run special-purpose software that implements the traffic- light-preemption scheme. The operations of the intersection and vehicle units are synchronized by use of Global Positioning System (GPS) timing signals. The transponder in each vehicle estimates its own position and velocity by use of GPS signals, deductive ("dead") reckoning, data from the onboard diagnostic (OBD) computer of the vehicle, and/or triangulation of beacon signals. When the operator of an emergency vehicle turns on its flashing lights and sirens in response to a request for an emergency response, the transponder unit goes into action, reading the OBD data to determine speed and acceleration, and reading and gathering further navigational data as described above. The position, velocity, and acceleration data are combined with vehicle-identification data in a prescribed format, and the resulting set of data is transmitted to the intersections within communication range of the transponder.

Foster, Conrad↗
NASA NTRS1974

System and method for character recognition

A character recognition system is disclosed in which each character in a retina, defining a scanning raster, is scanned with random lines uniformly distributed over the retina. For each type of character to be recognized the system stores a probability density function (PDF) of the random line intersection lengths and/or a PDF of the random line number of intersections. As an unknown character is scanned, the random line intersection lengths and/or the random line number of intersections are accumulated and based on a comparison with the prestored PDFs a classification of the unknown character is performed.

Hong, J. P.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The vectorization of a ray tracing program for image generation

Ray tracing is a widely used method for producing realistic computer generated images. Ray tracing involves firing an imaginary ray from a view point, through a point on an image plane, into a three dimensional scene. The intersections of the ray with the objects in the scene determines what is visible at the point on the image plane. This process must be repeated many times, once for each point (commonly called a pixel) in the image plane. A typical image contains more than a million pixels making this process computationally expensive. A traditional ray tracing program processes one ray at a time. In such a serial approach, as much as ninety percent of the execution time is spent computing the intersection of a ray with the surface in the scene. With the CYBER 205, many rays can be intersected with all the bodies im the scene with a single series of vector operations. Vectorization of this intersection process results in large decreases in computation time. The CADLAB's interest in ray tracing stems from the need to produce realistic images of mechanical parts. A high quality image of a part during the design process can increase the productivity of the designer by helping him visualize the results of his work. To be useful in the design process, these images must be produced in a reasonable amount of time. This discussion will explain how the ray tracing process was vectorized and gives examples of the images obtained.

Plunkett, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Incident beam polarization for laser Doppler velocimetry employing a sapphire cylindrical window

For laser Doppler velocimetry studies employing sapphire windows as optical access ports, the birefringency of sapphire produces an extra beam intersection volume which serves to effectively smear the acquired velocity flow field data. It is shown that for a cylindrical window geometry, the extra beam intersection volume may be eliminated with minimal decrease in the fringe visibility of the remaining intersection volume by suitably orienting the polarizations of the initial laser beams. For horizontally incident beams, these polarizations were measured at three intersection locations within the cylinder. It was found that the measured polarization angles agreed with the theoretical predictions.

Lock, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Incident beam polarization for laser Doppler velocimetry employing a sapphire cylindrical window

For laser Doppler velocimetry studies employing sapphire windows as optical access ports, the birefringency of sapphire produces an extra beam intersection volume which serves to effectively smear the acquired velocity flow field data. It is shown that for a cylindrical window geometry, the extra beam intersection volume may be eliminated with minimal decrease in the fringe visibility of the remaining intersection volume by suitably orienting the polarizations of the initial laser beams. For horizontally incident beams, these polarizations were measured at three intersection locations within the cylinder. It was found that the measured polarization angles agreed with the theoretical predictions.

Lock, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Distributed traffic signal control using fuzzy logic

We present a distributed approach to traffic signal control, where the signal timing parameters at a given intersection are adjusted as functions of the local traffic condition and of the signal timing parameters at adjacent intersections. Thus, the signal timing parameters evolve dynamically using only local information to improve traffic flow. This distributed approach provides for a fault-tolerant, highly responsive traffic management system. The signal timing at an intersection is defined by three parameters: cycle time, phase split, and offset. We use fuzzy decision rules to adjust these three parameters based only on local information. The amount of change in the timing parameters during each cycle is limited to a small fraction of the current parameters to ensure smooth transition. We show the effectiveness of this method through simulation of the traffic flow in a network of controlled intersections.

Chiu, Stephen↗
NASA NTRS2002

Calibration Plans for the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM)

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) is an international effort led by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the U.S.A. and the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) for the purpose of improving research into the global water and energy cycle. GPM will improve climate, weather, and hydrological forecasts through more frequent and more accurate measurement of precipitation world-wide. Comprised of U.S. domestic and international partners, GPM will incorporate and assimilate data streams from many spacecraft with varied orbital characteristics and instrument capabilities. Two of the satellites will be provided directly by GPM, the core satellite and a constellation member. The core satellite, at the heart of GPM, is scheduled for launch in November 2007. The core will carry a conical scanning microwave radiometer, the GPM Microwave Imager (GMI), and a two-frequency cross-track-scanning radar, the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR). The passive microwave channels and the two radar frequencies of the core are carefully chosen for investigating the varying character of precipitation over ocean and land, and from the tropics to the high-latitudes. The DPR will enable microphysical characterization and three-dimensional profiling of precipitation. The GPM-provided constellation spacecraft will carry a GMI radiometer identical to that on the core spacecraft. This paper presents calibration plans for the GPM, including on-board instrument calibration, external calibration methods, and the role of ground validation. Particular emphasis is on plans for inter-satellite calibration of the GPM constellation. With its Unique instrument capabilities, the core spacecraft will serve as a calibration transfer standard to the GPM constellation. In particular the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar aboard the core will check the accuracy of retrievals from the GMI radiometer and will enable improvement of the radiometer retrievals. Observational intersections of the core with the constellation spacecraft are essential in applying this technique to the member satellites. Information from core spacecraft retrievals during intersection events will be transferred to the constellation radiometer instruments in the form of improved calibration and, with experience, improved radiometric algorithms. In preparation for the transfer standard technique, comparisons using the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) with sun-synchronous radiometers have been conducted. Ongoing research involves study of critical variables in the inter-comparison, such as correlation with spatial-temporal separation of intersection events, frequency of intersection events, variable azimuth look angles, and variable resolution cells for the various sensors.

Bidwell, S. W.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Cellular-based preemption system

A cellular-based preemption system that uses existing cellular infrastructure to transmit preemption related data to allow safe passage of emergency vehicles through one or more intersections. A cellular unit in an emergency vehicle is used to generate position reports that are transmitted to the one or more intersections during an emergency response. Based on this position data, the one or more intersections calculate an estimated time of arrival (ETA) of the emergency vehicle, and transmit preemption commands to traffic signals at the intersections based on the calculated ETA. Additional techniques may be used for refining the position reports, ETA calculations, and the like. Such techniques include, without limitation, statistical preemption, map-matching, dead-reckoning, augmented navigation, and/or preemption optimization techniques, all of which are described in further detail in the above-referenced patent applications.

Bachelder, Aaron D.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Traffic-Light-Preemption Vehicle-Transponder Software Module

A prototype wireless data-communication and control system automatically modifies the switching of traffic lights to give priority to emergency vehicles. The system, which was reported in several NASA Tech Briefs articles at earlier stages of development, includes a transponder on each emergency vehicle, a monitoring and control unit (an intersection controller) at each intersection equipped with traffic lights, and a central monitoring subsystem. An essential component of the system is a software module executed by a microcontroller in each transponder. This module integrates and broadcasts data on the position, velocity, acceleration, and emergency status of the vehicle. The position, velocity, and acceleration data are derived partly from the Global Positioning System, partly from deductive reckoning, and partly from a diagnostic computer aboard the vehicle. The software module also monitors similar broadcasts from other vehicles and from intersection controllers, informs the driver of which intersections it controls, and generates visible and audible alerts to inform the driver of any other emergency vehicles that are close enough to create a potential hazard. The execution of the software module can be monitored remotely and the module can be upgraded remotely and, hence, automatically

Bachelder, Aaron↗
NASA NTRS2013

Generating Inviscid and Viscous Fluid-Flow Simulations over an Aircraft Surface Using a Fluid-Flow Mesh

Fluid-flow simulation over a computer-generated aircraft surface is generated using inviscid and viscous simulations. A fluid-flow mesh of fluid cells is obtained. At least one inviscid fluid property for the fluid cells is determined using an inviscid fluid simulation that does not simulate fluid viscous effects. A set of intersecting fluid cells that intersects the aircraft surface are identified. One surface mesh polygon of the surface mesh is identified for each intersecting fluid cell. A boundary-layer prediction point for each identified surface mesh polygon is determined. At least one boundary-layer fluid property for each boundary-layer prediction point is determined using the at least one inviscid fluid property of the corresponding intersecting fluid cell and a boundary-layer simulation that simulates fluid viscous effects. At least one updated fluid property for at least one fluid cell is determined using the at least one boundary-layer fluid property and the inviscid fluid simulation.

Rodriguez, David L.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Evaluation of feasibility of mapping seismically active faults in Alaska

The author has identified the following significant results. The Yukon-Tanana uplands north and east of Fairbanks appear, on ERTS-1 imagery, to be composed of a number of large-scale (approximately 100 kilometers square) crustal blocks. The boundaries of these blocks appear to be defined by a number of northeast-striking lineaments which form the major river valleys of the area. Principal among these are the valleys of the Salcha River, the Cehan River, and the Chatanika River. These lineaments are all seismically active, and are thus presumed to be faults. This parallel set of lineaments appears to be intersected at various angles by a secondary set of faults trending generally north to south. The larger earthquakes in the area occur at the intersections of the two sets. It appears that seismicity of this part of Alaska may be conceptually represented by the grinding together of rigid blocks, with earthquakes occurring along their common boundaries and at the intersections where three or more blocks come in contact.

Gedney, L. D.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Weather watch studies by means of an optical technique

A series of articles is presented on a passive, optical, cross beam system. The passive, optical, cross beam system was evaluated as a remote sensor of atmospheric conditions. The system employed the light scattered from natural aerosols to sense atmospheric mean and turbulent motion. A space-time correlation of the output of two optical sensors was used to evaluate the mean convective wind speed. In approximately 20% of the tests, signal-to-noise levels were sufficient to allow estimation of convective wind speeds. The feasibility of employing intersecting beams to evaluate the atmospheric turbulent motion was also investigated. The intersecting beams produced maximums in the space-time correlation curves for other than zero delay. The non-zero time delay maximums indicate the cross beam system was detecting aerosol layers in the atmosphere, rather than information from the common intersecting volume.

Turner, R. E.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Procedure for locating 10 km UTM grid on Alabama County general highway maps

Each county highway map has a geographic grid of degrees and tens of minutes in both longitude and latitude in the margins and within the map as intersection crosses. These will be used to locate the universal transverse mercator (UTM) grid at 10 km intervals. Since the maps used may have stretched or shrunk in height and/or width, interpolation should be done between the 10 min intersections when possible. A table of UTM coordinates of 10 min intersections is required and included. In Alabama, all eastings are referred to a false easting of 500,000 m at 87 deg W longitude (central meridian, CM).

Paludan, C. T. N.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Technology of welding aluminum alloys-I

Systems approach to high-quality aluminum welding uses square-butt joints, kept away from sharp contour changes. Intersecting welds are configured for T-type intersections rather than crossovers. Differences in panel thickness are accommodated with transition step areas where thickness increases or decreases within weld, but never at intersection.

Harrison, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS1978

A geometry package for generation of input data for a three-dimensional potential-flow program

The preparation of geometric data for input to three-dimensional potential flow programs was automated and simplified by a geometry package incorporated into the NASA Langley version of the 3-D lifting potential flow program. Input to the computer program for the geometry package consists of a very sparse set of coordinate data, often with an order of magnitude of fewer points than required for the actual potential flow calculations. Isolated components, such as wings, fuselages, etc. are paneled automatically, using one of several possible element distribution algorithms. Curves of intersection between components are calculated, using a hybrid curve-fit/surface-fit approach. Intersecting components are repaneled so that adjacent elements on either side of the intersection curves line up in a satisfactory manner for the potential-flow calculations. Many cases may be run completely (from input, through the geometry package, and through the flow calculations) without interruption. Use of the package significantly reduces the time and expense involved in making three-dimensional potential flow calculations.

Halsey, N. D.↗
NASA NTRS1979

A simplified method of evaluating the stress wave environment of internal equipment

A simplified method called the transfer function technique (TFT) was devised for evaluating the stress wave environment in a structure containing internal equipment. The TFT consists of following the initial in-plane stress wave that propagates through a structure subjected to a dynamic load and characterizing how the wave is altered as it is transmitted through intersections of structural members. As a basis for evaluating the TFT, impact experiments and detailed stress wave analyses were performed for structures with two or three, or more members. Transfer functions that relate the wave transmitted through an intersection to the incident wave were deduced from the predicted wave response. By sequentially applying these transfer functions to a structure with several intersections, it was found that the environment produced by the initial stress wave propagating through the structure can be approximated well. The TFT can be used as a design tool or as an analytical tool to determine whether a more detailed wave analysis is warranted.

Colton, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Some important geometrical features of conic-section-generated offset reflector antennas

Geometrical characteristics of conic-section-generated offset reflectors are studied in a unified fashion. Some unique geometrical features of the reflector rim constructed from the intersection of the reflector surface and a cone or cylinder are explored in detail. It is found that the intersection curve (rim) of the rotationally generated conic-section reflector surface and a circular cone with its tip at the focal point is always a planar curve and has a circular projection on the focal plane only for the offset parabolic reflector. Furthermore, in this case, the line going through the center of the circle, parallel to the focal axis, and the central axis of the cone do not intersect the reflector surface at the same point. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate some unique features of offset parabolic reflectors.

Jamnejad-Dailami, V.↗
NASA NTRS1982

A study of viscous flow in stator and rotor passages

A numerical technique to predict the viscous behavior in the three-dimensional domain of rotating and stationary blade passages is presented. The analysis is based upon the numerical integration of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. An approach is taken to combine the three momentum equations and the continuity equation into two sets of vorticity transport-stream function equations. These equations are expressed along families of arbitrarily defined orthogonally intersecting surfaces placed within the blade passage. Unlike the stream surfaces, the arbitrary surfaces allow fluid to flow across. The numerical code employs a nonorthogonal body fitted coordinate system on each of the intersecting surfaces. The solution process involves the iterative combination of the solutions on the two families of intersecting surfaces for a complete solution. The results of flow in thin blade stationary and rotating polar ducts is presented.

Sheoran, Y.↗