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At least 37 records · Page 2

A Bayesian Approach to Estimating Coupling Between Neural Components: Evaluation of the Multiple Component, Event-Related Potential (mcERP) Algorithm

Accurate measurement of single-trial responses is key to a definitive use of complex electromagnetic and hemodynamic measurements in the investigation of brain dynamics. We developed the multiple component, Event-Related Potential (mcERP) approach to single-trial response estimation. To improve our resolution of dynamic interactions between neuronal ensembles located in different layers within a cortical region and/or in different cortical regions. The mcERP model assets that multiple components defined as stereotypic waveforms comprise the stimulus-evoked response and that these components may vary in amplitude and latency from trial to trial. Maximum a posteriori (MAP) solutions for the model are obtained by iterating a set of equations derived from the posterior probability. Our first goal was to use the ANTWERP algorithm to analyze interactions (specifically latency and amplitude correlation) between responses in different layers within a cortical region. Thus, we evaluated the model by applying the algorithm to synthetic data containing two correlated local components and one independent far-field component. Three cases were considered: the local components were correlated by an interaction in their single-trial amplitudes, by an interaction in their single-trial latencies, or by an interaction in both amplitude and latency. We then analyzed the accuracy with which the algorithm estimated the component waveshapes and the single-trial parameters as a function of the linearity of each of these relationships. Extensions of these analyses to real data are discussed as well as ongoing work to incorporate more detailed prior information.

Shah, Ankoor S.↗

Performance Monitoring and Assessment of Neuro-Adaptive Controllers for Aerospace Applications Using a Bayesian Approach

Modem aircraft, UAVs, and robotic spacecraft pose substantial requirements on controllers in the light of ever increasing demands for reusability, affordability, and reliability. The individual systems (which are often nonlinear) must be controlled safely and reliably in environments where it is virtually impossible to analyze-ahead of time- all the important and possible scenarios and environmental factors. For example, system components (e.g., gyros, bearings of reaction wheels, valves) may deteriorate or break during autonomous UAV operation or long-lasting space missions, leading to a sudden, drastic change in vehicle performance. Manual repair or replacement is not an option in such cases. Instead, the system must be able to cope with equipment failure and deterioration. Controllability of the system must be retained as good as possible or re-established as fast as possible with a minimum of deactivation or shutdown of the system being controlled. In such situations the control engineer has to employ adaptive control systems that automatically sense and correct themselves whenever drastic disturbances and/or severe changes in the plant or environment occur.

Gupta, Pramod↗

Performance Monitoring and Assessment of Neuro-Adaptive Controllers for Aerospace Applications Using a Bayesian Approach

Modern exploration missions require modern control systems-control systems that can handle catastrophic changes in the system's behavior, compensate for slow deterioration in sustained operations, and support fast system ID. Adaptive controllers, based upon Neural Networks have these capabilities, but they can only be used safely if proper verification & validation (V&V) can be done. In this paper we present our V & V approach and simulation result within NASA's Intelligent Flight Control Systems (IFCS).

Gupta, Pramod↗

Coping with Trial-to-Trial Variability of Event Related Signals: A Bayesian Inference Approach

In electro-neurophysiology, single-trial brain responses to a sensory stimulus or a motor act are commonly assumed to result from the linear superposition of a stereotypic event-related signal (e.g. the event-related potential or ERP) that is invariant across trials and some ongoing brain activity often referred to as noise. To extract the signal, one performs an ensemble average of the brain responses over many identical trials to attenuate the noise. To date, h s simple signal-plus-noise (SPN) model has been the dominant approach in cognitive neuroscience. Mounting empirical evidence has shown that the assumptions underlying this model may be overly simplistic. More realistic models have been proposed that account for the trial-to-trial variability of the event-related signal as well as the possibility of multiple differentially varying components within a given ERP waveform. The variable-signal-plus-noise (VSPN) model, which has been demonstrated to provide the foundation for separation and characterization of multiple differentially varying components, has the potential to provide a rich source of information for questions related to neural functions that complement the SPN model. Thus, being able to estimate the amplitude and latency of each ERP component on a trial-by-trial basis provides a critical link between the perceived benefits of the VSPN model and its many concrete applications. In this paper we describe a Bayesian approach to deal with this issue and the resulting strategy is referred to as the differentially Variable Component Analysis (dVCA). We compare the performance of dVCA on simulated data with Independent Component Analysis (ICA) and analyze neurobiological recordings from monkeys performing cognitive tasks.

Ding, Mingzhou↗

Applications of Bayesian Statistics to Problems in Gamma-Ray Bursts

This presentation will describe two applications of Bayesian statistics to Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBS). The first attempts to quantify the evidence for a cosmological versus galactic origin of GRBs using only the observations of the dipole and quadrupole moments of the angular distribution of bursts. The cosmological hypothesis predicts isotropy, while the galactic hypothesis is assumed to produce a uniform probability distribution over positive values for these moments. The observed isotropic distribution indicates that the Bayes factor for the cosmological hypothesis over the galactic hypothesis is about 300. Another application of Bayesian statistics is in the estimation of chance associations of optical counterparts with galaxies. The Bayesian approach is preferred to frequentist techniques here because the Bayesian approach easily accounts for galaxy mass distributions and because one can incorporate three disjoint hypotheses: (1) bursts come from galactic centers, (2) bursts come from galaxies in proportion to luminosity, and (3) bursts do not come from external galaxies. This technique was used in the analysis of the optical counterpart to GRB970228.

Meegan, Charles A.↗

Integrated Software Health Management for Aircraft GN and C

Modern aircraft rely heavily on dependable operation of many safety-critical software components. Despite careful design, verification and validation (V&V), on-board software can fail with disastrous consequences if it encounters problematic software/hardware interaction or must operate in an unexpected environment. We are using a Bayesian approach to monitor the software and its behavior during operation and provide up-to-date information about the health of the software and its components. The powerful reasoning mechanism provided by our model-based Bayesian approach makes reliable diagnosis of the root causes possible and minimizes the number of false alarms. Compilation of the Bayesian model into compact arithmetic circuits makes SWHM feasible even on platforms with limited CPU power. We show initial results of SWHM on a small simulator of an embedded aircraft software system, where software and sensor faults can be injected.

Schumann, Johann↗

Bayesian Retrieval of Complete Posterior PDFs of Oceanic Rain Rate From Microwave Observations

This paper presents a new Bayesian algorithm for retrieving surface rain rate from Tropical Rainfall Measurements Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager (TMI) over the ocean, along with validations against estimates from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR). The Bayesian approach offers a rigorous basis for optimally combining multichannel observations with prior knowledge. While other rain rate algorithms have been published that are based at least partly on Bayesian reasoning, this is believed to be the first self-contained algorithm that fully exploits Bayes Theorem to yield not just a single rain rate, but rather a continuous posterior probability distribution of rain rate. To advance our understanding of theoretical benefits of the Bayesian approach, we have conducted sensitivity analyses based on two synthetic datasets for which the true conditional and prior distribution are known. Results demonstrate that even when the prior and conditional likelihoods are specified perfectly, biased retrievals may occur at high rain rates. This bias is not the result of a defect of the Bayesian formalism but rather represents the expected outcome when the physical constraint imposed by the radiometric observations is weak, due to saturation effects. It is also suggested that the choice of the estimators and the prior information are both crucial to the retrieval. In addition, the performance of our Bayesian algorithm is found to be comparable to that of other benchmark algorithms in real-world applications, while having the additional advantage of providing a complete continuous posterior probability distribution of surface rain rate.

Chiu, J. Christine↗

Bayesian Framework Approach for Prognostic Studies in Electrolytic Capacitor under Thermal Overstress Conditions

Electrolytic capacitors are used in several applications ranging from power supplies for safety critical avionics equipment to power drivers for electro-mechanical actuator. Past experiences show that capacitors tend to degrade and fail faster when subjected to high electrical or thermal stress conditions during operations. This makes them good candidates for prognostics and health management. Model-based prognostics captures system knowledge in the form of physics-based models of components in order to obtain accurate predictions of end of life based on their current state of heal th and their anticipated future use and operational conditions. The focus of this paper is on deriving first principles degradation models for thermal stress conditions and implementing Bayesian framework for making remaining useful life predictions. Data collected from simultaneous experiments are used to validate the models. Our overall goal is to derive accurate models of capacitor degradation, and use them to remaining useful life in DC-DC converters.

Kulkarni, Chetan S.↗

Health Management and Prognostics for Electric Aircraft Powertrain

W and c Any air borne vehicle needs incorporating safety as key parameter of measure, and inclusion of autonomy raises the critical need for safety under autonomous operations. Management of faults and component degradation is key as complexity in autonomous operations grow over the period of time. Therefore, in addition to basic operational requirements, an autonomous electric vehicle should be able to make accurate estimates of its current system health and take the correct decisions to complete its mission successfully. Real-time safety and state-awareness tools are therefore essential for the vehicle to be able to reach its destination in a safe and successful manner. The need for safety assurance and health management capabilities is particularly relevant for aircraft electric propulsion systems, which are relatively new and with limited historical to learn. They are critical systems requiring high power density along with reliability, resilience, efficient management of weight, and operational costs. A model- based fault diagnosis and prognostics approach of complex critical systems can successfully accomplish the safety and state awareness goal for such electric propulsion systems, enabling autonomous decision making capability for safe and efficient operation. To identify critical components in the system a Qualitative Bayesian approach using FMECA is implemented. This requires the assessment of some quantities representing the state of the electric unmanned aerial systems (e-UAS), as well as look-ahead forecasts of such states during the entire flight, presented in form of safety metrics (SM). In-service data and performance data gathered from degraded components sup- ports diagnostic and prognostic methods for these systems, but this data can be difficult to obtain as weight and packaging restrictions reduce redundancy and instrumentation on-board the vehicle. Therefore, an model-based framework should be capable or operating with limited data. In addition to data scarcity, the variability of such complex critical systems re- quires the model-based framework to reason in the presence of uncertainty, such as sensor noise, and modeling imperfections. Quantification of errors and uncertainties in the measured states and quantities is therefore a fundamental step for a precise estimation of such SMs; un-modeled uncertainty may result in erroneous state assessment and un- reliable predictions of future states of e-UAVs. Typical, centralized model-based schemes suffer from inherent disadvantages such as computational complexity, single point of failure, and scalability issues, and therefore may fail in such a complex scenario. This paper presents a methodology for developing a system level diagnostics and prognostics approach using a Qualitative Bayesian FMECA approach along with a formal uncertainty management framework for an e-UAS. In this work we demonstrate the efficacy of the framework to predict effects of sub-system level degradation on vehicle operation incorporating uncertainty management to predict future behavior under different operating conditions.

Kulkarni, Chetan↗

NASA's Human Mission to a Near-Earth Asteroid: Landing on a Moving Target

This paper describes a Bayesian approach for comparing the productivity and cost-risk tradeoffs of sending versus not sending one or more robotic surveyor missions prior to a human mission to land on an asteroid. The expected value of sample information based on productivity combined with parametric variations in the prior probability an asteroid might be found suitable for landing were used to assess the optimal number of spacecraft and asteroids to survey. The analysis supports the value of surveyor missions to asteroids and indicates one launch with two spacecraft going simultaneously to two independent asteroids appears optimal.

precursor decision making↗

Failure detection system design methodology

The design of a failure detection and identification system consists of designing a robust residual generation process and a high performance decision making process. The design of these two processes are examined separately. Residual generation is based on analytical redundancy. Redundancy relations that are insensitive to modelling errors and noise effects are important for designing robust residual generation processes. The characterization of the concept of analytical redundancy in terms of a generalized parity space provides a framework in which a systematic approach to the determination of robust redundancy relations are developed. The Bayesian approach is adopted for the design of high performance decision processes. The FDI decision problem is formulated as a Bayes sequential decision problem. Since the optimal decision rule is incomputable, a methodology for designing suboptimal rules is proposed. A numerical algorithm is developed to facilitate the design and performance evaluation of suboptimal rules.

Chow, E. Y.↗

Mapping Land Cover Types in Amazon Basin Using 1km JERS-1 Mosaic

In this paper, the 100 meter JERS-1 Amazon mosaic image was used in a new classifier to generate a I km resolution land cover map. The inputs to the classifier were 1 km resolution mean backscatter and seven first order texture measures derived from the 100 m data by using a 10 x 10 independent sampling window. The classification approach included two interdependent stages: 1) a supervised maximum a posteriori Bayesian approach to classify the mean backscatter image into 5 general land cover categories of forest, savannah, inundated, white sand, and anthropogenic vegetation classes, and 2) a texture measure decision rule approach to further discriminate subcategory classes based on taxonomic information and biomass levels. Fourteen classes were successfully separated at 1 km scale. The results were verified by examining the accuracy of the approach by comparison with the IBGE and the AVHRR 1 km resolution land cover maps.

Saatchi, Sassan S.↗

Adaptive age replacement

Bayesian approach to adaptive age replacement treated by dynamic programming

BAYESIAN STATISTICS↗