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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1999

Autonomous Formation Flying from the Ground to Flight

The cost of on-orbit operations remains a significant and increasingly visible concern in the support of satellite missions. Headway has been made in automating some ground operations; however, increased mission complexity and more precise orbital constraints have compelled continuing human involvement in mission design and maneuver planning operations. AI Solutions, Inc. in cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) has tackled these more complex problems through the development of AutoCon(TM) as a tool for an automated solution. NASA is using AutoCon(TM) to automate the maneuver planning for the Earth Orbiter-1 (EO-1) mission. AutoCon(TM) was developed originally as a ground system tool. The EO-1 mission will be using a scaled version of AutoCon(TM) on-board the EO-1 satellite to command orbit adjustment maneuvers. The flight version of AutoCon(TM) plans maneuvers based on formation flying algorithms developed by GSFC, JPL, and other industry partners. In its fully autonomous mode, an AutoCon(TM) planned maneuver will be executed on-board the satellite without intervention from the ground. This paper describes how AutoCon(TM) automates maneuver planning for the formation flying constraints of the EO-1 mission. AutoCon(TM) was modified in a number of ways to automate the maneuver planning on-board the satellite. This paper describes how the interface and functionality of AutoCon(TM) were modified to support the on-board system. A significant component of this modification was the implementation of a data smoother, based on a Kalman filter, that ensures that the spacecraft states estimated by an on-board GPS receiver are as accurate as possible for maneuver planning. This paper also presents the methodology used to scale the AutoCon(TM) functionality to fit and execute on the flight hardware. This paper also presents the modes built into the system that allow the incremental phasing in of autonomy. New technologies for autonomous operations are usually received with significant, and probably appropriate, trepidation. A number of safeguards have been designed in both AutoCon(TM) and the interfacing systems to alleviate the potential of mission-impacting anomalies from the on-board autonomous system. This paper describes the error checking, input data integrity validation, and limits set on maneuvers in AutoCon(TM) and the on-board system.

Chapman, Keith B.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Computer Technology for Industry

In this age of the computer, more and more business firms are automating their operations for increased efficiency in a great variety of jobs, from simple accounting to managing inventories, from precise machining to analyzing complex structures. In the interest of national productivity, NASA is providing assistance both to longtime computer users and newcomers to automated operations. Through a special technology utilization service, NASA saves industry time and money by making available already developed computer programs which have secondary utility. A computer program is essentially a set of instructions which tells the computer how to produce desired information or effect by drawing upon its stored input. Developing a new program from scratch can be costly and time-consuming. Very often, however, a program developed for one purpose can readily be adapted to a totally different application. To help industry take advantage of existing computer technology, NASA operates the Computer Software Management and Information Center (COSMIC)(registered TradeMark),located at the University of Georgia. COSMIC maintains a large library of computer programs developed for NASA, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy and other technology-generating agencies of the government. The Center gets a continual flow of software packages, screens them for adaptability to private sector usage, stores them and informs potential customers of their availability.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2005

Formal Safety Certification of Aerospace Software

In principle, formal methods offer many advantages for aerospace software development: they can help to achieve ultra-high reliability, and they can be used to provide evidence of the reliability claims which can then be subjected to external scrutiny. However, despite years of research and many advances in the underlying formalisms of specification, semantics, and logic, formal methods are not much used in practice. In our opinion this is related to three major shortcomings. First, the application of formal methods is still expensive because they are labor- and knowledge-intensive. Second, they are difficult to scale up to complex systems because they are based on deep mathematical insights about the behavior of the systems (t.e., they rely on the "heroic proof"). Third, the proofs can be difficult to interpret, and typically stand in isolation from the original code. In this paper, we describe a tool for formally demonstrating safety-relevant aspects of aerospace software, which largely circumvents these problems. We focus on safely properties because it has been observed that safety violations such as out-of-bounds memory accesses or use of uninitialized variables constitute the majority of the errors found in the aerospace domain. In our approach, safety means that the program will not violate a set of rules that can range for the simple memory access rules to high-level flight rules. These different safety properties are formalized as different safety policies in Hoare logic, which are then used by a verification condition generator along with the code and logical annotations in order to derive formal safety conditions; these are then proven using an automated theorem prover. Our certification system is currently integrated into a model-based code generation toolset that generates the annotations together with the code. However, this automated formal certification technology is not exclusively constrained to our code generator and could, in principle, also be integrated with other code generators such as RealTime Workshop or even applied to legacy code. Our approach circumvents the historical problems with formal methods by increasing the degree of automation on all levels. The restriction to safety policies (as opposed to arbitrary functional behavior) results in simpler proof problems that can generally be solved by fully automatic theorem proves. An automated linking mechanism between the safety conditions and the code provides some of the traceability mandated by process standards such as DO-178B. An automated explanation mechanism uses semantic markup added by the verification condition generator to produce natural-language explanations of the safety conditions and thus supports their interpretation in relation to the code. It shows an automatically generated certification browser that lets users inspect the (generated) code along with the safety conditions (including textual explanations), and uses hyperlinks to automate tracing between the two levels. Here, the explanations reflect the logical structure of the safety obligation but the mechanism can in principle be customized using different sets of domain concepts. The interface also provides some limited control over the certification process itself. Our long-term goal is a seamless integration of certification, code generation, and manual coding that results in a "certified pipeline" in which specifications are automatically transformed into executable code, together with the supporting artifacts necessary for achieving and demonstrating the high level of assurance needed in the aerospace domain.

Denney, Ewen↗
NASA NTRS2009

Automated Targeting for the MER Rovers

The Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science System (AEGIS) will soon provide automated targeting for remote sensing instruments on the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission, which currently which currently has two rovers exploring the surface of Mars. Currently, targets for rover remote-sensing instruments, especially narrow field-of-view instruments (such as the MER Mini- TES spectrometer or the 2011 Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Mission ChemCam Spectrometer), must be selected manually based on imagery already on the ground with the operations team. AEGIS enables the rover flight software to analyze imagery onboard in order to autonomously select and sequence targeted remote-sensing observations in an opportunistic fashion. In this paper, we first provide some background information on the larger autonomous science framework in which AEGIS was developed. We then describe how AEGIS was specifically developed and tested on the JPL FIDO rover. Finally we discuss how AEGIS will be uploaded and used on the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission in early 2009.

rover autonomy↗
NASA NTRS2001

Cockpit Adaptive Automation and Pilot Performance

The introduction of high-level automated systems in the aircraft cockpit has provided several benefits, e.g., new capabilities, enhanced operational efficiency, and reduced crew workload. At the same time, conventional 'static' automation has sometimes degraded human operator monitoring performance, increased workload, and reduced situation awareness. Adaptive automation represents an alternative to static automation. In this approach, task allocation between human operators and computer systems is flexible and context-dependent rather than static. Adaptive automation, or adaptive task allocation, is thought to provide for regulation of operator workload and performance, while preserving the benefits of static automation. In previous research we have reported beneficial effects of adaptive automation on the performance of both pilots and non-pilots of flight-related tasks. For adaptive systems to be viable, however, such benefits need to be examined jointly in the context of a single set of tasks. The studies carried out under this project evaluated a systematic method for combining different forms of adaptive automation. A model for effective combination of different forms of adaptive automation, based on matching adaptation to operator workload was proposed and tested. The model was evaluated in studies using IFR-rated pilots flying a general-aviation simulator. Performance, subjective, and physiological (heart rate variability, eye scan-paths) measures of workload were recorded. The studies compared workload-based adaptation to to non-adaptive control conditions and found evidence for systematic benefits of adaptive automation. The research provides an empirical basis for evaluating the effectiveness of adaptive automation in the cockpit. The results contribute to the development of design principles and guidelines for the implementation of adaptive automation in the cockpit, particularly in general aviation, and in other human-machine systems. Project goals were met or exceeded. The results of the research extended knowledge of automation-related performance decrements in pilots and demonstrated the positive effects of adaptive task allocation. In addition, several practical implications for cockpit automation design were drawn from the research conducted. A total of 12 articles deriving from the project were published.

Parasuraman, Raja↗
NASA NTRS2015

Using Publish-Subscribe Messaging for System Status and Automation

The NASA Goddard Mission Services Evolution Center (GMSEC) system is a message-based plug-and-play open system architecture used in many of NASA mission operations centers. This presentation will focus on the use of GMSEC standard messages to report and analyze the status of a system and enable the automation of the system's components. In GMSEC systems, each component reports its status using a keep-alive message and also publishes status and activities as log messages. In addition, the components can accept functional directive messages from the GMSEC message bus. Over the past several years, development teams have found ways to utilize these messages to create innovative display pages and increasingly sophisticated approaches to automation. This presentation will show the flexibility and value of the message-based approach to system awareness and automation.

Enterprise↗
NASA NTRS2005

Fast Algorithms for Model-Based Diagnosis

Two improved new methods for automated diagnosis of complex engineering systems involve the use of novel algorithms that are more efficient than prior algorithms used for the same purpose. Both the recently developed algorithms and the prior algorithms in question are instances of model-based diagnosis, which is based on exploring the logical inconsistency between an observation and a description of a system to be diagnosed. As engineering systems grow more complex and increasingly autonomous in their functions, the need for automated diagnosis increases concomitantly. In model-based diagnosis, the function of each component and the interconnections among all the components of the system to be diagnosed (for example, see figure) are represented as a logical system, called the system description (SD). Hence, the expected behavior of the system is the set of logical consequences of the SD. Faulty components lead to inconsistency between the observed behaviors of the system and the SD. The task of finding the faulty components (diagnosis) reduces to finding the components, the abnormalities of which could explain all the inconsistencies. Of course, the meaningful solution should be a minimal set of faulty components (called a minimal diagnosis), because the trivial solution, in which all components are assumed to be faulty, always explains all inconsistencies. Although the prior algorithms in question implement powerful methods of diagnosis, they are not practical because they essentially require exhaustive searches among all possible combinations of faulty components and therefore entail the amounts of computation that grow exponentially with the number of components of the system.

Fijany, Amir↗
NASA NTRS1991

Human-centered aircraft automation: A concept and guidelines

Aircraft automation is examined and its effects on flight crews. Generic guidelines are proposed for the design and use of automation in transport aircraft, in the hope of stimulating increased and more effective dialogue among designers of automated cockpits, purchasers of automated aircraft, and the pilots who must fly those aircraft in line operations. The goal is to explore the means whereby automation may be a maximally effective tool or resource for pilots without compromising human authority and with an increase in system safety. After definition of the domain of the aircraft pilot and brief discussion of the history of aircraft automation, a concept of human centered automation is presented and discussed. Automated devices are categorized as a control automation, information automation, and management automation. The environment and context of aircraft automation are then considered, followed by thoughts on the likely future of automation of that category.

Billings, Charles E.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Vision technology/algorithms for space robotics applications

The thrust of automation and robotics for space applications has been proposed for increased productivity, improved reliability, increased flexibility, higher safety, and for the performance of automating time-consuming tasks, increasing productivity/performance of crew-accomplished tasks, and performing tasks beyond the capability of the crew. This paper provides a review of efforts currently in progress in the area of robotic vision. Both systems and algorithms are discussed. The evolution of future vision/sensing is projected to include the fusion of multisensors ranging from microwave to optical with multimode capability to include position, attitude, recognition, and motion parameters. The key feature of the overall system design will be small size and weight, fast signal processing, robust algorithms, and accurate parameter determination. These aspects of vision/sensing are also discussed.

Krishen, Kumar↗
NASA NTRS2004

Automated Extraction of Flow Features

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations are routinely performed as part of the design process of most fluid handling devices. In order to efficiently and effectively use the results of a CFD simulation, visualization tools are often used. These tools are used in all stages of the CFD simulation including pre-processing, interim-processing, and post-processing, to interpret the results. Each of these stages requires visualization tools that allow one to examine the geometry of the device, as well as the partial or final results of the simulation. An engineer will typically generate a series of contour and vector plots to better understand the physics of how the fluid is interacting with the physical device. Of particular interest are detecting features such as shocks, recirculation zones, and vortices (which will highlight areas of stress and loss). As the demand for CFD analyses continues to increase the need for automated feature extraction capabilities has become vital. In the past, feature extraction and identification were interesting concepts, but not required in understanding the physics of a steady flow field. This is because the results of the more traditional tools like; iso-surface, cuts and streamlines, were more interactive and easily abstracted so they could be represented to the investigator. These tools worked and properly conveyed the collected information at the expense of a great deal of interaction. For unsteady flow-fields, the investigator does not have the luxury of spending time scanning only one "snapshot" of the simulation. Automated assistance is required in pointing out areas of potential interest contained within the flow. This must not require a heavy compute burden (the visualization should not significantly slow down the solution procedure for (co-processing environments). Methods must be developed to abstract the feature of interest and display it in a manner that physically makes sense.

Dorney, Suzanne↗
NASA NTRS2005

Automated Extraction of Flow Features

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations are routinely performed as part of the design process of most fluid handling devices. In order to efficiently and effectively use the results of a CFD simulation, visualization tools are often used. These tools are used in all stages of the CFD simulation including pre-processing, interim-processing, and post-processing, to interpret the results. Each of these stages requires visualization tools that allow one to examine the geometry of the device, as well as the partial or final results of the simulation. An engineer will typically generate a series of contour and vector plots to better understand the physics of how the fluid is interacting with the physical device. Of particular interest are detecting features such as shocks, re-circulation zones, and vortices (which will highlight areas of stress and loss). As the demand for CFD analyses continues to increase the need for automated feature extraction capabilities has become vital. In the past, feature extraction and identification were interesting concepts, but not required in understanding the physics of a steady flow field. This is because the results of the more traditional tools like; isc-surface, cuts and streamlines, were more interactive and easily abstracted so they could be represented to the investigator. These tools worked and properly conveyed the collected information at the expense of a great deal of interaction. For unsteady flow-fields, the investigator does not have the luxury of spending time scanning only one "snapshot" of the simulation. Automated assistance is required in pointing out areas of potential interest contained within the flow. This must not require a heavy compute burden (the visualization should not significantly slow down the solution procedure for co-processing environments). Methods must be developed to abstract the feature of interest and display it in a manner that physically makes sense.

Dorney, Suzanne↗
NASA NTRS2004

Intelligent Automation Approach for Improving Pilot Situational Awareness

Automation in the aviation domain has been increasing for the past two decades. Pilot reaction to automation varies from highly favorable to highly critical depending on both the pilot's background and how effectively the automation is implemented. We describe a user-centered approach for automation that considers the pilot's tasks and his needs related to accomplishing those tasks. Further, we augment rather than replace how the pilot currently fulfills his goals, relying on redundant displays that offer the pilot an opportunity to build trust in the automation. Our prototype system automates the interpretation of hydraulic system faults of the UH-60 helicopter. We describe the problem with the current system and our methodology for resolving it.

Spirkovska, Lilly↗
NASA NTRS1972

The optimal control of merging aircraft-derivation of the hybrid air traffic controller.

The Federal Aviation Administration has initiated a program to automate its existing manual air traffic handling procedures. One procedure, whose automation is expected to increase controller efficiency by 2.6 to 2.9 times, is known as aircraft merging. This procedure is concerned with the merging of N aircraft, which are distributed among K feeder routes, into one or more final routes. The question of obtaining an exactly realizable and easily implementable automatic controller for merging is discussed. The optimal control of a linear system with state and control constraints is considered.

Schatz, J. G.↗
NASA NTRS1974

The role of manned extravehicular activity in reducing the cost of space payloads

Substantial cost savings and performance improvement will result by the use of Extravehicular Activity (EVA) to supplement or replace automation. Taking an all-pallet version of Langley Research Center's Advanced Technology Laboratory payload as an example, $54.5 million should be saved by EVA over automation, considering deployment and stowing only. Additional savings should accrue when reduced-reliability equipment (where permitted) is substituted for high reliability equipment and EVA is used for repairs. More comprehensively, launch and operation costs could also be reduced by elimination of the need to return to the ground for repairs; and production spending might be reduced when an entire vehicle was saved by manned EVA repair not feasible via automation. Potential disadvantages include increased cost due to development and manufacture of EVA equipment, payload provisions to enable EVA interfaces, training, orbiter modification, and prevention of EVA-caused contamination. Possible applications to the Space Shuttle missions are discussed.

Alton, L. R.↗
NASA NTRS1983

New Directions: 1982-2000

The major objective of the Deep Space Network in the period 1983-2000 is the fulfillment of the extremely diverse telecommunications requirements of the known and anticipated users. Deep space exploration projects will continue to occupy a dominant role, although in the mid-1980s, with the completion of the Networks Consolidation Program, high Earth orbiter projects will become substantial users of the Network. Also playing an increasingly important role in the Network of the next decade will be non-flight projects, such as Geodynamics, Radio Astronomy, Radar Astronomy, and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). The major challenge in meeting the primary Network objective of the next decade will be that of providing increased performance as required by users at costs which can be borne by NASA in an environment of limited resources. Emphasis will be on increased commonality, flexibility, and automation to reduce maintenance and operations costs, and lower mission costs.

Renzetti, N. A.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Operational requirements - system concepts

Nine research areas that are most critical to the issue of cockpits for the single pilot are discussed. Helicopter are addressed in this report. They are as follows: (1) automation priority issues; (2) increased complexity of systems; (3) cockpit workload highest in navigation; (4) auto hover and flight trim controls; (5) voice technology in integrated form; (6) systems must have visual and auditory declutter modes; (7) cockpit should be designed to be NBC resistant; and (8) considerations for spillover to civilian public service.

Voorhees, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Analysis of remote operating systems for space-based servicing operations. Volume 2: Study results

The developments in automation and robotics have increased the importance of applications for space based servicing using remotely operated systems. A study on three basic remote operating systems (teleoperation, telepresence and robotics) was performed in two phases. In phase one, requirements development, which consisted of one three-month task, a group of ten missions were selected. These included the servicing of user equipment on the station and the servicing of the station itself. In phase two, concepts development, which consisted of three tasks, overall system concepts were developed for the selected missions. These concepts, which include worksite servicing equipment, a carrier system, and payload handling equipment, were evaluated relative to the configurations of the overall worksite. It is found that the robotic/teleoperator concepts are appropriate for relatively simple structured tasks, while the telepresence/teleoperator concepts are applicable for missions that are complex, unstructured tasks.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1986

Towards automatic Markov reliability modeling of computer architectures

The analysis and evaluation of reliability measures using time-varying Markov models is required for Processor-Memory-Switch (PMS) structures that have competing processes such as standby redundancy and repair, or renewal processes such as transient or intermittent faults. The task of generating these models is tedious and prone to human error due to the large number of states and transitions involved in any reasonable system. Therefore model formulation is a major analysis bottleneck, and model verification is a major validation problem. The general unfamiliarity of computer architects with Markov modeling techniques further increases the necessity of automating the model formulation. This paper presents an overview of the Automated Reliability Modeling (ARM) program, under development at NASA Langley Research Center. ARM will accept as input a description of the PMS interconnection graph, the behavior of the PMS components, the fault-tolerant strategies, and the operational requirements. The output of ARM will be the reliability of availability Markov model formulated for direct use by evaluation programs. The advantages of such an approach are (a) utility to a large class of users, not necessarily expert in reliability analysis, and (b) a lower probability of human error in the computation.

Liceaga, C. A.↗