Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “autonomous experiment”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 181 records · Page 10
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2015

AMO EXPRESS: A Command and Control Experiment for Crew Autonomy Onboard the International Space Station

NASA is investigating a range of future human spaceflight missions, including both Mars-distance and Near Earth Object (NEO) targets. Of significant importance for these missions is the balance between crew autonomy and vehicle automation. As distance from Earth results in increasing communication delays, future crews need both the capability and authority to independently make decisions. However, small crews cannot take on all functions performed by ground today, and so vehicles must be more automated to reduce the crew workload for such missions. NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems Program funded Autonomous Mission Operations (AMO) project conducted an autonomous command and control experiment on-board the International Space Station that demonstrated single action intelligent procedures for crew command and control. The target problem was to enable crew initialization of a facility class rack with power and thermal interfaces, and involving core and payload command and telemetry processing, without support from ground controllers. This autonomous operations capability is enabling in scenarios such as initialization of a medical facility to respond to a crew medical emergency, and representative of other spacecraft autonomy challenges. The experiment was conducted using the Expedite the Processing of Experiments for Space Station (EXPRESS) rack 7, which was located in the Port 2 location within the U.S Laboratory onboard the International Space Station (ISS). Activation and deactivation of this facility is time consuming and operationally intensive, requiring coordination of three flight control positions, 47 nominal steps, 57 commands, 276 telemetry checks, and coordination of multiple ISS systems (both core and payload). Utilization of Draper Laboratory's Timeliner software, deployed on-board the ISS within the Command and Control (C&C) computers and the Payload computers, allowed development of the automated procedures specific to ISS without having to certify and employ novel software for procedure development and execution. The procedures contained the ground procedure logic and actions as possible to include fault detection and recovery capabilities.

Stetson, Howard K.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Developing Technologies for Biological Experiments in Deep Space

NASA Ames Research Center is the leader in developing autonomous nanosatellites or CubeSats to address strategic knowledge gaps about the effects of space travel on biological organisms, including GeneSat, PharmaSat, and EcAMSat. Now that NASA has set its sights on human exploration in deep space, such missions require significant technological and biomedical countermeasures to protect astronauts from chronic radiation exposure. CubeSats can inform these countermeasures by querying relevant space environments with model organisms and/or biosensors. BioSentinel will be the first interplanetary CubeSat to study the biological response to space radiation outside low Earth orbit in almost 50 years. BioSentinel is an autonomous platform able to support biology and to investigate the effects of space radiation on a model organism in interplanetary deep space. It will fly onboard Artemis-1, from which it will be deployed on a lunar fly-by trajectory and into a heliocentric orbit. BioSentinel, a 6U CubeSat (1U = 10-cm cube), will measure the DNA damage response to ambient space radiation in a model organism, which will be compared to information provided by an onboard radiation spectrometer and to data obtained on the ISS and on Earth. Even though the primary objective of the mission is to develop an autonomous spacecraft capable of conducting biological experiments in deep space, the 4U BioSensor science payload contained within the free-flyer is an adaptable instrument that can perform bio measurements with different microorganisms and in multiple space environments, including the ISS, lunar gateway, and on the surface of the Moon. Thus, nanosatellites like BioSentinel can be used to study the effects of both reduced gravity and space radiation and can house different organisms to answer specific science questions. In addition to their flexibility, nanosatellites also provide a low-cost alternative to more complex and larger missions, and require minimal crew support, if any

biosenses↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Developing Technologies for Biological Experiments in Deep Space

NASA Ames Research Center is the leader in developing autonomous nanosatellites or CubeSats to address strategic knowledge gaps about the effects of space travel on biological organisms, including GeneSat, PharmaSat, and EcAMSat. Now that NASA has set its sights on human exploration in deep space, such missions require significant technological and biomedical countermeasures to protect astronauts from chronic radiation exposure. CubeSats can inform these countermeasures by querying relevant space environments with model organisms and/or biosensors. BioSentinel will be the first interplanetary CubeSat to study the biological response to space radiation outside low Earth orbit in almost 50 years. BioSentinel is an autonomous platform able to support biology and to investigate the effects of space radiation on a model organism in interplanetary deep space. It will fly onboard Artemis-1, from which it will be deployed on a lunar fly-by trajectory and into a heliocentric orbit. BioSentinel, a 6U CubeSat (1U = 10-cm cube), will measure the DNA damage response to ambient space radiation in a model organism, which will be compared to information provided by an onboard radiation spectrometer and to data obtained on the ISS and on Earth. Even though the primary objective of the mission is to develop an autonomous spacecraft capable of conducting biological experiments in deep space, the 4U BioSensor science payload contained within the free-flyer is an adaptable instrument that can perform bio measurements with different microorganisms and in multiple space environments, including the ISS, lunar gateway, and on the surface of the Moon. Thus, nanosatellites like BioSentinel can be used to study the effects of both reduced gravity and space radiation and can house different organisms to answer specific science questions. In addition to their flexibility, nanosatellites also provide a low-cost alternative to more complex and larger missions, and require minimal crew support, if any.

biosenses↗
NASA NTRS1988

Isothermal dendritic growth: A low gravity experiment

The Isothermal Dendritic Growth Experiment is an active crystal growth experiment designed to test dendritic growth theory at low undercoolings where convection prohibits such studies at 1 g. The experiment will be essentially autonomous, though limited in-flight interaction through a computer interface is planned. One of the key components of the apparatus will be a crystal growth chamber capable of achieving oriented single crystal dendritic growth. Recent work indicates that seeding the chamber with a crystal of the proper orientation will not, in and of itself, be sufficient to meet this requirement. Additional flight hardware and software required for the STS flight experiment are currently being developed at NASA Lewis Research Center and at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Glicksman, M. E.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Enabling Modular Autonomous Feedback‐Loops in Materials Science through Hierarchical Experimental Laboratory Automation and Orchestration

Abstract Materials acceleration platforms (MAPs) operate on the paradigm of integrating combinatorial synthesis, high‐throughput characterization, automatic analysis, and machine learning. Within a MAP, one or multiple autonomous feedback loops may aim to optimize materials for certain functional properties or to generate new insights. The scope of a given experiment campaign is defined by the range of experiment and analysis actions that are integrated into the experiment framework. Herein, the authors present a method for integrating many actions within a hierarchical experimental laboratory automation and orchestration (HELAO) framework. They demonstrate the capability of orchestrating distributed research instruments that can incorporate data from experiments, simulations, and databases. HELAO interfaces laboratory hardware and software distributed across several computers and operating systems for executing experiments, data analysis, provenance tracking, and autonomous planning. Parallelization is an effective approach for accelerating knowledge generation provided that multiple instruments can be effectively coordinated, which the authors demonstrate with parallel electrochemistry experiments orchestrated by HELAO. Efficient implementation of autonomous research strategies requires device sharing, asynchronous multithreading, and full integration of data management in experimental orchestration, which to the best of the authors’ knowledge, is demonstrated for the first time herein.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1987

Isothermal dendritic growth - A low gravity experiment

The Isothermal Dendritic Growth Experiment has been designed to test dendritic growth theory at low undercoolings, under microgravity conditions in the Space Shuttle Cargo Bay-borne Material Science Laboratory. The experiment will be essentially autonomous, although limited in-flight interaction through a computer interface is planned. A crystal growth chamber able to yield oriented single-crystal dendritic growth will be incorporated; 'seeding' the chamber with a crystal of the requisite orientation will not in itself meet this requirement.

Glicksman, M. E.↗
NASA NTRS1991

TRAC based sensing for autonomous rendezvous

This paper describes a TRAC (Targeting Reflective Alignment Concept) based sensing system for use in an autonomous rendezvous and docking experiment. The proposed experiment will utilize a COMET (COMmercial Experiment Transporter) based target satellite and a second chase vehicle. The sensor system consists of a target mounted on the target vehicle and a vision based sensor on the chase vehicle. The target has both active and passive components to enable the evaluation of both technologies. The chase vehicle will possess structured lighting and a single off the shelf camera.

Everett, Louis J.↗
NASA NTRS1996

A Benchmark Problem for Development of Autonomous Structural Modal Identification

This paper summarizes modal identification results obtained using an autonomous version of the Eigensystem Realization Algorithm on a dynamically complex, laboratory structure. The benchmark problem uses 48 of 768 free-decay responses measured in a complete modal survey test. The true modal parameters of the structure are well known from two previous, independent investigations. Without user involvement, the autonomous data analysis identified 24 to 33 structural modes with good to excellent accuracy in 62 seconds of CPU time (on a DEC Alpha 4000 computer). The modal identification technique described in the paper is the baseline algorithm for NASA's Autonomous Dynamics Determination (ADD) experiment scheduled to fly on International Space Station assembly flights in 1997-1999.

Pappa, Richard S.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Autonomous Commanding of the WIRE Spacecraft

This paper presents the end-to-end design architecture for an autonomous commanding capability to be used on the Wide Field Infrared Explorer (WIRE) mission for the uplink of command loads during unattended station contacts. The WIRE mission is the fifth and final mission of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Small Explorer (SMEX) series to be launched in March of 1999. Its primary mission is the targeting of deep space fields using an ultra-cooled infrared telescope. Due to its mission design WIRE command loads are large (approximately 40 Kbytes per 24 hours) and must be performed daily. To reduce the cost of mission operations support that would be required in order to uplink command loads, the WIRE Flight Operations Team has implemented an autonomous command loading capability. This capability allows completely unattended operations over a typical two- day weekend period. The key factors driving design and implementation of this capability were: 1) Integration with already existing ground system autonomous capabilities and systems, 2) The desire to evolve autonomous operations capabilities based upon previous SMEX operations experience 3) Integration with ground station operations - both autonomous and man-tended, 4) Low cost and quick implementation, and 5) End-to-end system robustness. A trade-off study was performed to examine these factors in light of the low-cost, higher-risk SMEX mission philosophy. The study concluded that a STOL (Spacecraft Test and Operations Language) based script, highly integrated with other scripts used to perform autonomous operations, was best suited given the budget and goals of the mission. Each of these factors is discussed to provide an overview of the autonomous operations capabilities implemented for the mission. The capabilities implemented on the WIRE mission are an example of a low-cost, robust, and efficient method for autonomous command loading when implemented with other autonomous features of the ground system. They can be used as a design and implementation template by other small satellite missions interested in evolving toward autonomous and lower cost operations.

Prior, Mike↗
NASA NTRS2004

Hand-Eye Calibration of Robonaut

NASA's Human Space Flight program depends heavily on Extra-Vehicular Activities (EVA's) performed by human astronauts. EVA is a high risk environment that requires extensive training and ground support. In collaboration with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), NASA is conducting a ground development project to produce a robotic astronaut's assistant, called Robonaut, that could help reduce human EVA time and workload. The project described in this paper designed and implemented a hand-eye calibration scheme for Robonaut, Unit A. The intent of this calibration scheme is to improve hand-eye coordination of the robot. The basic approach is to use kinematic and stereo vision measurements, namely the joint angles self-reported by the right arm and 3-D positions of a calibration fixture as measured by vision, to estimate the transformation from Robonaut's base coordinate system to its hand coordinate system and to its vision coordinate system. Two methods of gathering data sets have been developed, along with software to support each. In the first, the system observes the robotic arm and neck angles as the robot is operated under external control, and measures the 3-D position of a calibration fixture using Robonaut's stereo cameras, and logs these data. In the second, the system drives the arm and neck through a set of pre-recorded configurations, and data are again logged. Two variants of the calibration scheme have been developed. The full calibration scheme is a batch procedure that estimates all relevant kinematic parameters of the arm and neck of the robot The daily calibration scheme estimates only joint offsets for each rotational joint on the arm and neck, which are assumed to change from day to day. The schemes have been designed to be automatic and easy to use so that the robot can be fully recalibrated when needed such as after repair, upgrade, etc, and can be partially recalibrated after each power cycle. The scheme has been implemented on Robonaut Unit A and has been shown to reduce mismatch between kinematically derived positions and visually derived positions from a mean of 13.75cm using the previous calibration to means of 1.85cm using a full calibration and 2.02cm using a suboptimal but faster daily calibration. This improved calibration has already enabled the robot to more accurately reach for and grasp objects that it sees within its workspace. The system has been used to support an autonomous wrench-grasping experiment and significantly improved the workspace positioning of the hand based on visually derived wrench position. estimates.

Nickels, Kevin↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Microbial Optical Data Processing: A Key Step in the Metabolic Assessment of Lunar Explorer Instrument for Space Biology Applications (LEIA) and Biosentinel’s Payload Data

The BioSensor payload platform on BioSentinel and LEIA autonomously collects optical data from microbial model organisms in liquid culture. The BioSensor is designed to monitor metabolic activity using absorbance measurements of cell density and alamarBlue, a readily available colorimetric redox indicator dye. BioSentinel, a pioneering NASA CubeSat, uses yeast to study deep space radiation. LEIA investigates radiation and lunar gravity response. The experimental setup includes 16 wells equipped with three LEDs (570, 630, and 850 nm) and their corresponding photodetectors. One well is a calibration control without biology while the rest have desiccated cultures. Autonomous rehydration initiates the experiment. Data from the BioSensor are received from the flight and ground units, enabling comparison to uncover location-based metabolic rate variations. This study presents a Python Jupyter notebook developed for efficient data processing of multiple CSV files containing date and time columns, temperature, and well illumination data. It offers a user-friendly interface while maintaining computational power, automatically recognizing and iteratively processing data files in a user-input path. A Hampel filter with a short window eliminates outlier artifacts from sensor dropout. Because absorbance is a relative measurement, conversion from raw illumination requires defining a “blank” value, so the first data points are averaged to provide the necessary denominator. A cube-root function correction mitigates undesired drift caused by air pockets during the fluidic card filling phase, maintaining optical path length consistency. Beer-Lambert's law is applied to further convert absorbance values to cell and dye form concentrations, the desired science parameters. The processed data are saved and visualized as SVG plots. Future plans include extracting specific science parameters from the processed data like growth rate and metabolic rate, and identification of features corresponding to metabolic and phenotypic shifts such as starvation, shifts from aerobic to anaerobic growth, and osmotic stresses.

Space biology↗
NASA NTRS2008

A Three-Dimensional Variational Data Assimilation Scheme for the Regional Ocean Modeling System: Implementation and Basic Experiments

A three-dimensional variational data assimilation scheme for the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS), named ROMS3DVAR, has been described in the work of Li et al. (2008). In this paper, ROMS3DVAR is applied to the central California coastal region, an area characterized by inhomogeneity and anisotropy, as well as by dynamically unbalanced flows. A method for estimating the model error variances from limited observations is presented, and the construction of the inhomogeneous and anisotropic error correlations based on the Kronecker product is demonstrated. A set of single observation experiments illustrates the inhomogeneous and anisotropic error correlations and weak dynamic constraints used. Results are presented from the assimilation of data gathered during the Autonomous Ocean Sampling Network (AOSN) experiment during August 2003. The results show that ROMS3DVAR is capable of reproducing complex flows associated with upwelling and relaxation, as well as the rapid transitions between them. Some difficulties encountered during the experiment are also discussed.

California coastal ocean↗
NASA NTRS2004

Mechanisms of postspaceflight orthostatic hypotension: low alpha1-adrenergic receptor responses before flight and central autonomic dysregulation postflight

Although all astronauts experience symptoms of orthostatic intolerance after short-duration spaceflight, only approximately 20% actually experience presyncope during upright posture on landing day. The presyncopal group is characterized by low vascular resistance before and after flight and low norepinephrine release during orthostatic stress on landing day. Our purpose was to determine the mechanisms of the differences between presyncopal and nonpresyncopal groups. We studied 23 astronauts 10 days before launch, on landing day, and 3 days after landing. We measured pressor responses to phenylephrine injections; norepinephrine release with tyramine injections; plasma volumes; resting plasma levels of chromogranin A (a marker of sympathetic nerve terminal release), endothelin, dihydroxyphenylglycol (DHPG, an intracellular metabolite of norepinephrine); and lymphocyte beta(2)-adrenergic receptors. We then measured hemodynamic and neurohumoral responses to upright tilt. Astronauts were separated into two groups according to their ability to complete 10 min of upright tilt on landing day. Compared with astronauts who were not presyncopal on landing day, presyncopal astronauts had 1). significantly smaller pressor responses to phenylephrine both before and after flight; 2). significantly smaller baseline norepinephrine, but significantly greater DHPG levels, on landing day; 3). significantly greater norepinephrine release with tyramine on landing day; and 4). significantly smaller norepinephrine release, but significantly greater epinephrine and arginine vasopressin release, with upright tilt on landing day. These data suggest that the etiology of orthostatic hypotension and presyncope after spaceflight includes low alpha(1)-adrenergic receptor responsiveness before flight and a remodeling of the central nervous system during spaceflight such that sympathetic responses to baroreceptor input become impaired.

Clinical Trial↗
DOE OSTI2020

1.2 Mfps standalone X-ray detector for Time-Resolved Experiments

We present a standalone and autonomous X-ray detector capable of operation with the speed of up to1.2Mfps. The detector utilizes UFXC32k hybrid pixel detectors for sensing X-rays, Spartan-6 LX45 FPGA placed in commercially available sbRIO 9628 controller for data acquisition and processing including a compression with zero-suppression algorithm. A Linux-RT system working on the 400 MHz Dual-Core CPU is used for FPGA control and data streaming to the higher-level system over 1 Gbps Ethernet connection. 1.2 M frames per second is achieved in so-called burst mode of operation while in zerodead-time mode 70 kfps is possible. Due to efficient data compression in FPGA there’s no need of using high-speed transceivers and Frame-Grabber cards on the data server side and the detector can stream the data infinitely over standard 1 Gbps network connection. Operation modes were tested at Advanced Photon Source Synchrotron at Argonne National Laboratory.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗