Sridhar, B. | Engineering Papers

NASA NTRS2017

Efficient Trajectory Options Allocation for the Collaborative Trajectory Options Program

The Collaborative Trajectory Options Program (CTOP) is a Traffic Management Initiative (TMI) intended to control the air traffic flow rates at multiple specified Flow Constrained Areas (FCAs), where demand exceeds capacity. CTOP allows flight operators to submit the desired Trajectory Options Set (TOS) for each affected flight with associated Relative Trajectory Cost (RTC) for each option. CTOP then creates a feasible schedule that complies with capacity constraints by assigning affected flights with routes and departure delays in such a way as to minimize the total cost while maintaining equity across flight operators. The current version of CTOP implements a Ration-by-Schedule (RBS) scheme, which assigns the best available options to flights based on a First-Scheduled-First-Served heuristic. In the present study, an alternative flight scheduling approach is developed based on linear optimization. Results suggest that such an approach can significantly reduce flight delays, in the deterministic case, while maintaining equity as defined using a Max-Min fairness scheme.

Rodionova, O.↗

NASA NTRS1996

Estimating Distances To Objects From Motion In Images

In developmental method of estimating distances between moving platform and nearby stationary objects, positions of objects relative to moving platform deduced from apparent motions of those objects in images generated by video camera affixed to platform. Estimates enhanced by use of extended Kalman filter. Developed for use in controlling military helicopters in low-altitude evasive maneuvers, also potentially applicable in robotics and in autonomous navigation of vehicles in general.

Sridhar, B.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Discrete range clustering using Monte Carlo methods

For automatic obstacle avoidance guidance during rotorcraft low altitude flight, a reliable model of the nearby environment is needed. Such a model may be constructed by applying surface fitting techniques to the dense range map obtained by active sensing using radars. However, for covertness, passive sensing techniques using electro-optic sensors are desirable. As opposed to the dense range map obtained via active sensing, passive sensing algorithms produce reliable range at sparse locations, and therefore, surface fitting techniques to fill the gaps in the range measurement are not directly applicable. Both for automatic guidance and as a display for aiding the pilot, these discrete ranges need to be grouped into sets which correspond to objects in the nearby environment. The focus of this paper is on using Monte Carlo methods for clustering range points into meaningful groups. One of the aims of the paper is to explore whether simulated annealing methods offer significant advantage over the basic Monte Carlo method for this class of problems. We compare three different approaches and present application results of these algorithms to a laboratory image sequence and a helicopter flight sequence.

Chatterji, G. B.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Passive range estimation for rotorcraft low-altitude flight

The automation of rotorcraft low-altitude flight presents challenging problems in control, computer vision and image understanding. A critical element in this problem is the ability to detect and locate obstacles, using on-board sensors, and modify the nominal trajectory. This requirement is also necessary for the safe landing of an autonomous lander on Mars. This paper examines some of the issues in the location of objects using a sequence of images from a passive sensor, and describes a Kalman filter approach to estimate the range to obstacles. The Kalman filter is also used to track features in the images leading to a significant reduction of search effort in the feature extraction step of the algorithm. The method can compute range for both straight line and curvilinear motion of the sensor. A laboratory experiment was designed to acquire a sequence of images along with sensor motion parameters under conditions similar to helicopter flight. Range estimation results using this imagery are presented.

Sridhar, B.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Passive range estimation for rotorcraft low-altitude flight

The automation of rotorcraft low-altitude flight presents challenging problems in control, computer vision and image understanding. A critical element in this problem is the ability to detect and locate obstacles, using on-board sensors, and modify the nominal trajectory. This requirement is also necessary for the safe landing of an autonomous lander on Mars. This paper examines some of the issues in the location of objects using a sequence of images from a passive sensor, and describes a Kalman filter approach to estimate the range to obstacles. The Kalman filter is also used to track features in the images leading to a significant reduction of search effort in the feature extraction step of the algorithm. The method can compute range for both straight line and curvilinear motion of the sensor. A laboratory experiment was designed to acquire a sequence of images along with sensor motion parameters under conditions similar to helicopter flight. Range estimation results using this imagery are presented.

Sridhar, B.↗

NASA NTRS1993

A robust line extraction and matching algorithm

This paper presents an algorithm for extracting straight lines from intensity mages and describes a line matching algorithm for solving the line correspondence problem. The line extraction process begins by detecting edges in the intensity image. Next, line support regions are formed where image points (pixels) have similar gradient orientation. A line fitting algorithm is then used to fit a line to the points in the line support region based on a least means square fitting algorithm. Finally, line segments are linked together to form the final lines by using an adaptive line linking method; this results in much stronger lines and a smaller set of lines to be considered. Once the lines are detected in a sequence of images, a line matching algorithm is used to match lines in one image to the lines in the other image. The images are either from a motion or stereo sequence. The matched lines may then be used with the sensor position and orientation data to estimate range to objects corresponding to the lines. We present results based on applying the line extraction and line matching algorithms to a synthetic image and an outdoor scene captured by a camera on a helicopter.

Hussien, B.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Vision-based stereo ranging as an optimal control problem

The recent interest in the use of machine vision for flight vehicle guidance is motivated by the need to automate the nap-of-the-earth flight regime of helicopters. Vision-based stereo ranging problem is cast as an optimal control problem in this paper. A quadratic performance index consisting of the integral of the error between observed image irradiances and those predicted by a Pade approximation of the correspondence hypothesis is then used to define an optimization problem. The necessary conditions for optimality yield a set of linear two-point boundary-value problems. These two-point boundary-value problems are solved in feedback form using a version of the backward sweep method. Application of the ranging algorithm is illustrated using a laboratory image pair.

Menon, P. K. A.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Passive range estimation for rotorcraft low-altitude flight

The automation of rotorcraft low-altitude flight presents challenging problems in control, computer vision and image understanding. A critical element in this problem is the ability to detect and locate obstacles, using on-board sensors, and modify the nominal trajectory. This requirement is also necessary for the safe landing of an autonomous lander on Mars. This paper examines some of the issues in the location of objects using a sequence of images from a passive sensor, and describes a Kalman filter approach to estimate the range to obstacles. The Kalman filter is also used to track features in the images leading to a significant reduction of search effort in the feature extraction step of the algorithm. The method can compute range for both straight line and curvilinear motion of the sensor. A laboratory experiment was designed to acquire a sequence of images along with sensor motion parameters under conditions similar to helicopter flight. Range estimation results using this imagery are presented.

Sridhar, B.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Passive obstacle location for rotorcraft guidance

Nap-of-the-earth flight mode is extremely demanding on the rotorcraft pilots. This fact has motivated the research in automating various components of low altitude rotorcraft flight operations. Concurrent with the development of guidance laws, efforts are under way to develop systems for locating the terrain and the obstacles using inputs from passive electrooptical sensors such as TV cameras and infrared imagers. A passive obstable location algorithm that uses image sequences from cameras undergoing translational and rotational motion is developed. The algorithm is in a general form and can operate in multicamera imaging environments. Performance results using an image sequence from an airborne camera are given.

Menon, P. K. A.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Vision-based optimal obstacle-avoidance guidance for rotorcraft

An optimal guidance scheme for vision-based obstacle avoidance is developed. The proposed approach is useful for automating low-altitude rotorcraft flight. It explicitly accounts for the discrete nature of range information available from vision-based sensors and uses a linear combination of flight time, square of the vehicle acceleration and the square of the distance to various sensed obstacles as the performance index. A sixth-order, three-degree-of-freedom nonlinear point-mass vehicle model is included in the analysis. Numerical results using a sample image sequence is given.

Menon, P. K. A.↗

NASA NTRS1991

A fast algorithm for image-based ranging

Image-based ranging has emerged as a critical issue in the low altitude operation of flight vehicles such as rotorcraft and planetary landers. These flight regimes require ranging systems for recovering the geometry of the terrain and obstacles for use with guidance algorithms. The development of a ranging equation combining image irradiance together with various order spatial partial derivatives and the vehicle motion parameters is discussed. The ranging equation is in the form of a polynomial in scene depth. Two-dimensional linear filters are then used to compute the coefficients of this polynomial to result in a fast image-based ranging algorithm. Performance of the algorithm is demonstrated using laboratory images.

Menon, P. K. A.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Image based range determination

Flight vehicles operating at low altitudes such as rotorcraft require range determination schemes for locating the terrain and obstacles. The development of a ranging scheme combining image sequences from vehicle mounted passive imaging sensors and the vehicle motion variables obtained from an on-board inertial navigation system is described. This approach can handle sequences from more than one imaging device. Derivation of the numerical algorithm and the performance results using a laboratory image sequence are given. Other applications of the proposed approach include ranging schemes for autonomous planetary rovers and telerobots.

Menon, P. K. A.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Kalman filter based range estimation for autonomous navigation using imaging sensors

The ability to detect and locate obstacles using on-board sensors and modify the nominal trajectory is necessary for safe landing of an autonomous lander on Mars. This paper examines some of the issues in the location of objects using a sequence of images from a passive sensor, and describes a Kalman filter approach to improve the range estimation to obstacles. The filter is also used to track features in the images leading to a significant reduction of search effort in the feature extraction step of the algorithm. The lack of suitable flight imagery data presents a problem in the verification of concepts for obstacle detection. An experiment is designed to acquire a sequence of images along with sensor motion parameters and the range estimation results using this imagery are presented.

Sridhar, B.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Passive navigation using image irradiance tracking

Rotorcraft operating at low altitudes require navigational schemes for locating the terrain and obstacles. Due to the covert nature of missions to be accomplished, a passive navigation scheme is desirable. This paper describes the development of a passive navigation scheme combining image sequences from a vehicle mounted camera with vehicle motion variables. Geometric properties of perspective projection together with an image irradiance tracking scheme at each pixel are used to determine the range to various objects within the field-of-view. Derivation of the numerical algorithm and simulation results are given. Other applications of the proposed approach include navigation for autonomous planetary rovers and telerobots.

Menon, P. K. A.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Design of a precision pointing control system for the space infrared telescope facility

This paper describes the design of a precision pointing control system for the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF). Mission requirements and their impact on control system design are discussed along with the original features of the control strategy. Simulation of the total system is described, and the most significant results are presented.

Sridhar, B.↗

NASA NTRS1985

The design of a precision pointing contol system for the Space Infrared Telescope Facility

The design and performance simulation of the Space Infrared Telescope Facility pointing and control system are described. The system design is constrained by such considerations as image stability, maneuver capability, cryogen lifetime, and structural flexibility. The primary design driver is the requirement to rapidly execute small angle reorientations of the telescope's optical axis. The flexibility of the spacecraft was simulated using a simplified multibody model which provided an approximation of the primary bending modes. The rather conventional attitude control system design of PID type with a 0.5 Hz bandwidth was enhanced to meet the small angle maneuver requirements by the use of three techniques: (1) a feedforward loop to improve the time response; (2) torque shaping to minimize structural excitation; and (3) active image stabilization to remove residual pointing error and jitter. Simulation results indicate that the system has the desired performance and can be designed using techniques and hardware well within the state-of-the-art.

Sridhar, B.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Pointing and control system design study for the space infrared telescope facility (SIRTF)

The design and performance of pointing and control systems for two space infrared telescope facility vehicles were examined. The need for active compensation of image jitter using the secondary mirror or other optical elements was determined. In addition, a control system to allow the telescope to perform small angle slews, and to accomplish large angle slews at the rate of 15 deg per minute was designed. Both the 98 deg and the 28 deg inclination orbits were examined, and spacecraft designs were developed for each. The results indicate that active optical compensation of line-of-sight errors is not necessary if the system is allowed to settle for roughly ten seconds after a slew maneuver. The results are contingent on the assumption of rigid body dynamics, and a single structural mode between spacecraft and telescope. Helium slosh for a half full 4000 liter tank was analyzed, and did not represent a major control problem.

Lorell, K. R.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Configuration management and automatic control of an augmentor wing aircraft with vectored thrust

An advanced structure for automatic flight control logic for powered-lift aircraft operating in terminal areas is under investigation at Ames Research Center. This structure is based on acceleration control; acceleration commands are constructed as the sum of acceleration on the reference trajectory and a corrective feedback acceleration to regulate path tracking errors. The central element of the structure, termed a Trimmap, uses a model of the aircraft aerodynamic and engine forces to calculate the control settings required to generate the acceleration commands. This report describes the design criteria for the Trimmap and derives a Trimmap for Ames experimental augmentor wing jet STOL research aircraft.

Cicolani, L. S.↗