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This paper presents an introductory view of Artificial Intelligence (AI). In addition to defining AI, it discusses the foundations on which it rests, research in the field, and current and potential applications.
This paper reviews recent studies of all-electric aircraft that use electric-only secondary power and flight critical fly-by-wire flight controls, and brings to the attention of the power system designer the intrinsic advantages of such aircraft. The all-electric aircraft is made possible by the development of rare earth magnet materials and fault tolerant systems technologies. Recent studies have shown all-electric aircraft to be more efficient than conventional designs and offer substantial operating costs reductions. Compared to present aircraft, an all-electric transport can save at least 10 percent in fuel burn. The cornerstone of an all-electric aircraft is the electric secondary power system. This paper reviews the major features of flight critical electric secondary power systems. Research required to lay the foundation for an all-electric aircraft is briefly discussed.
The last version of Edwin Land's retinex model for human vision's lightness and color constancy has been implemented. Previous research has established the mathematical foundations of Land's retinex but has not examined specific design issues and their effects on the properties of the retinex operation. Here we describe the signal processing design of the retinex. We find that the placement of the logarithmic function is important and produces best results when placed after the surround formation. We also find that best rendition is obtained for a 'canonical' gain-offset applied after the retinex operation.
The last version of Edwin Land's retinex model for human vision's lightness and color constancy has been implemented. Previous research has established the mathematical foundations of Land's retinex but has not examined specific design issues and their effects on the properties of the retinex operation. We have sought to define a practical implementation of the retinex without particular concern for its validity as a model for human lightness and color perception. Here we describe issues involved in designing the surround function. We find that there is a trade-off between rendition and dynamic range compression that is governed by the surround space constant. Various functional forms for the retinex surround are evaluated and a Gaussian form is found to perform better than the inverse square suggested by Land. Preliminary testing led to the design of a Gaussian surround with a space constant of 80 pixels as a reasonable compromise between dynamic range compression and rendition.
We propose, during the pre-EOS phase to: (1) develop, with other MODIS Team Members, a means of discriminating different major biome types with NDVI and other AVHRR-based data. (2) develop a simple ecosystem process model for each of these biomes, BIOME-BGC (3) relate the seasonal trend of weekly composite NDVI to vegetation phenology and temperature limits to develop a satellite defined growing season for vegetation; and (4) define physiologically based energy to mass conversion factors for carbon and water for each biome. Our final core at-launch product will be simplified, completely satellite driven biome specific models for net primary production. We will build these biome specific satellite driven algorithms using a family of simple ecosystem process models as calibration models, collectively called BIOME-BGC, and establish coordination with an existing network of ecological study sites in order to test and validate these products. Field datasets will then be available for both BIOME-BGC development and testing, use for algorithm developments of other MODIS Team Members, and ultimately be our first test point for MODIS land vegetation products upon launch. We will use field sites from the National Science Foundation Long-Term Ecological Research network, and develop Glacier National Park as a major site for intensive validation.
Soft computing is a general term for algorithms that learn from human knowledge and mimic human skills. Example of such algorithms are fuzzy inference systems and neural networks. Many applications, especially in control engineering, have demonstrated their appropriateness in building intelligent systems that are flexible and robust. Although recent research have shown that certain class of neuro-fuzzy controllers can be proven bounded and stable, they are implementation dependent and difficult to apply to the design and validation process. Many practitioners adopt the trial and error approach for system validation or resort to exhaustive testing using prototypes. In this paper, we describe our on-going research towards establishing necessary theoretic foundation as well as building practical tools for the verification and validation of soft-computing systems. A unified model for general neuro-fuzzy system is adopted. Classic non-linear system control theory and recent results of its applications to neuro-fuzzy systems are incorporated and applied to the unified model. It is hoped that general tools can be developed to help the designer to visualize and manipulate the regions of stability and boundedness, much the same way Bode plots and Root locus plots have helped conventional control design and validation.
We propose, during the pre-EOS phase to: (1) develop, with other MODIS Team Members, a means of discriminating different major biome types with NDVI and other AVHRR-based data; (2) develop a simple ecosystem process model for each of these biomes, BIOME-BGC; (3) relate the seasonal trend of weekly composite NDVI to vegetation phenology and temperature limits to develop a satellite defined growing season for vegetation; and (4) define physiologically based energy to mass conversion factors for carbon and water for each biome. Our final core at-launch product will be simplified, completely satellite driven biome specific models for net primary production. We will build these biome specific satellite driven algorithms using a family of simple ecosystem process models as calibration models, collectively called BIOME-BGC, and establish coordination with an existing network of ecological study sites in order to test and validate these products. Field datasets will then be available for both BIOME-BGC development and testing, use for algorithm developments of other MODIS Team Members, and ultimately be our first test point for MODIS land vegetation products upon launch. We will use field sites from the National Science Foundation Long-Term Ecological Research network, and develop Glacier National Park as a major site for intensive validation.
This is the first annual report to the U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command for the three year project "Advanced Soft Tissue Modeling for Telemedicine and Surgical Simulation" supported by grant No. DAMD17-01-1-0673 to The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, to which the NASA Glenn Research Center is a subcontractor through Space Act Agreement SAA 3-445. The objective of this report is to extend popular one-dimensional (1D) fractional-order viscoelastic (FOV) materials models into their three-dimensional (3D) equivalents for finitely deforming continua, and to provide numerical algorithms for their solution.
This is a report of my activities as a NASA Fellow during the summer of 2002 at the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The core of these activities is the assigned project: the Virtual Test Bed (VTB) from the Spaceport Engineering and Technology Directorate. The VTB Project has its foundations in the NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) Intelligent Launch & Range Operations program. The objective of the VTB project is to develop a new and unique collaborative computing environment where simulation models can be hosted and integrated in a seamless fashion. This collaborative computing environment will be used to build a Virtual Range as well as a Virtual Spaceport. This project will work as a technology pipeline to research, develop, test and validate R&D efforts against real time operations without interfering with the actual operations or consuming the operational personnel s time. This report will also focus on the systems issues required to conceptualize and provide form to a systems architecture capable of handling the different demands.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Balloon Program has been, and will continue to be, committed to improving the capabilities of balloons to support science missions. Fundamental to vehicle improvement is a program of technology development that will enable improved flight performance throughout the next decade. The program s technology thrust areas include: materials, vehicle design & development, structural analysis, operations & support systems, performance modeling and planetary balloons. Building on the foundations of the 18-year research and development program, a technology roadmap has been generated which identifies specific areas of interest to NASA and the vision of future developments. The major components of the roadmap are: vehicle systems, balloon-craft systems, operational and safety support systems, and planetary vehicles. Current technology activities include nanocomposite balloon films, a new balloon designed to lift 3600 kgs to 36 km, a balloon rotation rate study and Mars pumpkin balloon investigations. The technology roadmap, as well as specific projects and recent advancements, will be presented.
This is a report of my activities as a NASA Fellow during the summer of 2003 at the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The core of these activities is the assigned project: the Virtual Test Bed (VTB) from the Spaceport Engineering and Technology Directorate. The VTB Project has its foundations in the NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) Intelligent Launch & Range Operations program (ILRO). The objective of the VTB project is to develop a unique collaborative computing environment where simulation models can be hosted and integrated in a seamless fashion. This collaborative computing environment will have as emphasis operational models. This report will focus on the decisions about the different simulation modeling environments considered, simulation platform development, technology and operational models assessment, and computing infrastructure implementation.
The Aviation Particle Emissions Workshop was held on November 18 19, 2003, in Cleveland, Ohio. It was sponsored by the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) under the Vehicle Systems Program (VSP) and the Ultra- Efficient Engine Technology (UEET) Project. The objectives were to build a sound foundation for a comprehensive particulate research roadmap and to provide a forum for discussion among U.S. stakeholders and researchers. Presentations included perspectives from the Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, NASA, and United States airports. There were five interactive technical sessions: sampling methodology, measurement methodology, particle modeling, database, inventory and test venue, and air quality. Each group presented technical issues which generated excellent discussion. The five session leads collaborated with their members to present summaries and conclusions to each content area.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Balloon Program technology development efforts are fundamental to improving the capabilities of the balloon systems, better understanding of the flight dynamics, and to support the science missions throughout the next decade. Building on the foundations of the 20-year research and development program, a technology roadmap has been generated which identifies specific areas of interest to NASA and the vision of future developments. The major components of the roadmap are: vehicle systems, ballooncraft systems, operational and safety support systems, and planetary vehicles. Within each of these major components, technologies are targeted that will provide both better understanding and foster advancements. The Program's technology thrust areas are directed both in broad efforts that touch on a number of the major components as well as specific tasks that address elements within a specific component. Advances in vehicle systems have focused on producing better balloon designs. This is being attempted through the use of improved inputs into the ba!loon des@ process. Central to this is an increasing the understanding of materials used to fabricate balloons. Testing techniques have been improved with better bi-axial characterization of the balloon materials. More realistic radiative properties of the balloon films and components have also been made. Analytical assessments of the balloon designs are also key in improving balloon designs. These analytical assessments have been accomplished using improving analysis tools and an increased understanding of the float environment. Details of these improvements will be presented. To help improve the operational and flight safety of the balloons, improved flight performance predictions have been made using new analytical tools as well as incorporating the increased understanding of the float environment. These two have combined to allow for improved post-flight balloon performance correlations. A potential to significantly improve the potential safety of a long duration flight can be accomplished using some form of a trajectory modification system. An overview of the development efforts for a trajectory modification system will be presented. A number of efforts will be presented that are focused on the improvement of the ballooncraft systems. Planetary ballooning activities have benefited from a number of separate but related technology advancements made by the NASA Balloon Program's technology developments. The tools, techniques, and advancements made for balloon design and balloon analysis are directly applicable to the processes to develop planetary balloons for either Mars or Venus. An overview of the NASA Balloon Program's role in these efforts and testing will be presented. The technology roadmap, as well as specific projects and recent advancements, will be presented. This overview will demonstrate the technology advancements made by the NASA Balloon Program are focusing on leading balloon developments into the future.
Laboratory astrophysics and complementary theoretical calculations are the foundations of astronomical and planetary research and will remain so for many generations to come. From the level of scientific conception to that of the scientific return, it is our understanding of the underlying processes that allows us to address fundamental questions regarding the origins and evolution of galaxies, stars, planetary systems, and life in the cosmos. In this regard, laboratory astrophysics is much like detector and instrument development at NASA and NSF; these efforts are necessary for the astronomical research being funded by the agencies. The NASA Laboratory Astrophysics Workshop met at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) from 14-16 February, 2006 to identify the current laboratory data needed to support existing and future NASA missions and programs in the Astrophysics Division of the Science Mission Directorate (SMD). Here we refer to both laboratory and theoretical work as laboratory astrophysics unless a distinction is necessary. The format for the Workshop involved invited talks by users of laboratory data, shorter contributed talks and poster presentations by both users and providers that highlighted exciting developments in laboratory astrophysics, and breakout sessions where users and providers discussed each others' needs and limitations. We also note that the members of the Scientific Organizing Committee are users as well as providers of laboratory data. As in previous workshops, the focus was on atomic, molecular, and solid state physics.
Atomic oxygen's unique characteristic of oxidizing primarily hydrogen, carbon, and hydrocarbon polymers at surface levels has been applied in the restoration of artwork, detection of document forgeries, and removal of bacterial contaminants from surgical implants. The Electro-Physics Branch at Glenn Research Center built on corrosion studies of long-duration coatings for use in space, and applied atomic oxygen's selectivity to instances where elements need to be removed from a surface. Atomic oxygen is able to remove organic compounds high in carbon (mostly soot) from fire-damaged artworks without causing a shift in the paint color. First successfully tested on oil paintings, the team then applied the restoration technique to acrylics, watercolors, and ink. The successful art restoration process was well-publicized, and soon a multinational, nonprofit professional organization dedicated to the art of forensic analysis of documents had successfully applied this process in the field of forgery detection. The gas has biomedical applications as well-Atomic Oxygen technology can be used to decontaminate orthopedic surgical hip and knee implants prior to surgery, and additional collaborative research between the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and the Glenn team shows that this gas's roughening of surfaces improves cell adhesion, which is important for the development of new drugs.
Opportunities: I. Engage NASA team (examples) a) Research and technology calls . provide suggestions to AES, HRP, OCT. b) Use NASA@Work to solicit other ideas; (possibly before R+D calls). II. Stimulate collaboration (examples) a) NHHPC. b) Wharton Mack Center for Technological Innovation (Feb 2013). c) International ] DLR ] :envihab (July 2013). d) Accelerated research models . NSF, Myelin Repair Foundation. III. Engage public Prizes (open platform: InnoCentive, yet2.com, NTL; Rice Business Plan, etc.) IV. Use same methods to engage STEM.
Research on the CHREC Space Processor (CSP) takes a multifaceted hybrid approach to embedded space computing. Working closely with the NASA Goddard SpaceCube team, researchers at the National Science Foundation (NSF) Center for High-Performance Reconfigurable Computing (CHREC) at the University of Florida and Brigham Young University are developing hybrid space computers that feature an innovative combination of three technologies: commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) devices, radiation-hardened (RadHard) devices, and fault-tolerant computing. Modern COTS processors provide the utmost in performance and energy-efficiency but are susceptible to ionizing radiation in space, whereas RadHard processors are virtually immune to this radiation but are more expensive, larger, less energy-efficient, and generations behind in speed and functionality. By featuring COTS devices to perform the critical data processing, supported by simpler RadHard devices that monitor and manage the COTS devices, and augmented with novel uses of fault-tolerant hardware, software, information, and networking within and between COTS devices, the resulting system can maximize performance and reliability while minimizing energy consumption and cost. NASA Goddard has adopted the CSP concept and technology with plans underway to feature flight-ready CSP boards on two upcoming space missions.
The Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Request (TASAR) concept applies onboard automation for the purpose of advising the pilot of route modifications that would be beneficial to the flight. Leveraging onboard computing platforms with connectivity to avionics and diverse data sources on and off the aircraft, TASAR introduces a new, powerful capability for in-flight trajectory management to the cockpit and its flight crew that is anticipated to induce a significant culture change in airspace operations. Flight crews empowered by TASAR and its derivative technologies could transform from today’s flight plan followers to proactive trajectory managers, taking an initial critical step towards increasing autonomy in the airspace system. TASAR was developed as a catalyst for operational autonomy, a future vision where the responsibilities and authorities of trajectory management reside with the aircraft operator and are distributed among participating aircraft, thus fulfilling a vision dating back decades and enabling a fully scalable airspace system. This NASA Technical Paper maps TASAR to its foundational vision and traces its research and development from initial concept generation to an operational evaluation by a U.S. airline in revenue service, the final stage before technology transfer and commercialization.