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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.

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At least 361 records · Page 20
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Radioactive Source Localization via Bayesian Particle Filter

In the event of a misplaced radioactive source or other emergency situation, measuring a radiation field, mapping its distribution, and determining a source location are essential tasks to ameliorating the situation. However, radiation fields may be extremely hazardous to human surveyors and minimizing received radiation doses is just as essential. Robots appear to be a potential solution to these problems. Beyond simply measuring radiation, the robot's computer processing capabilities offer a way to apply complex data analysis methods to radiation measurements in real-time. Methods which predict likely source locations can then feed this information into other processes, potentially improving path planning and enabling more efficient measurements. Given a robot mounted with a gamma-ray detector, can we: develop a methodology to account for detector performance across a wide range of source angles, distances, and photon energies? operate an autonomously navigating robot to effectively survey and characterize an area of interest? implement a data analysis method, conventionally used in measurements of motion, for source localization purposes? An open-source TurtleBot 3 robot, running Robot Operating System (ROS) on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, was fitted with a Kromek GR1{sup R} Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) solid-state gamma-ray detector. As a part of ROS, the packages OpenSlam, gmapping, and amcl were used to perform Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM), determining the robot's position and mapping the surrounding area. Data was acquired via Lidar mounted on top the TurtleBot 3. Detector Calibration Fit: The equation was fit to 365 counts of various energies, distances, and angles. A MATLAB{sup R} program was written to simulate measurements taken a robot on a random walk, with count data and positions discretized into finite element pixels. Using this program, a sample of 100 runs was performed on a map with a simulated source at the center, with a total of 200 of 2 pixels each. Similarly, multiple runs of the filter were performed on recorded robot measurement data. In both simulation and real tests, when corrected for errors (particles placed outside of bounds or on the robot, and simulation-specific errors), corresponding t-tests of predicted x and y-coordinates were within a 95% confidence interval of the actual position. For the real trial, these positions are slightly skewed right in the x-axis as the robot remained mainly to the left side of the source within the sample area. These simulations demonstrate potential validity for the usage of a particle filter as method of radioactive source localization. In the future, true real-time implementation and data fusion may further augment the performance of the robot to localize lost sources. Additionally, identification of multiple sources, determination of source types, and usage of a collimator are areas to potentially be explored.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
NASA NTRS2002

Brahms Mobile Agents: Architecture and Field Tests

We have developed a model-based, distributed architecture that integrates diverse components in a system designed for lunar and planetary surface operations: an astronaut's space suit, cameras, rover/All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV), robotic assistant, other personnel in a local habitat, and a remote mission support team (with time delay). Software processes, called agents, implemented in the Brahms language, run on multiple, mobile platforms. These mobile agents interpret and transform available data to help people and robotic systems coordinate their actions to make operations more safe and efficient. The Brahms-based mobile agent architecture (MAA) uses a novel combination of agent types so the software agents may understand and facilitate communications between people and between system components. A state-of-the-art spoken dialogue interface is integrated with Brahms models, supporting a speech-driven field observation record and rover command system (e.g., return here later and bring this back to the habitat ). This combination of agents, rover, and model-based spoken dialogue interface constitutes a personal assistant. An important aspect of the methodology involves first simulating the entire system in Brahms, then configuring the agents into a run-time system.

Clancey, William J.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Wireless Sensor Network Handles Image Data

To relay data from remote locations for NASA s Earth sciences research, Goddard Space Flight Center contributed to the development of "microservers" (wireless sensor network nodes), which are now used commercially as a quick and affordable means to capture and distribute geographical information, including rich sets of aerial and street-level imagery. NASA began this work out of a necessity for real-time recovery of remote sensor data. These microservers work much like a wireless office network, relaying information between devices. The key difference, however, is that instead of linking workstations within one office, the interconnected microservers operate miles away from one another. This attribute traces back to the technology s original use: The microservers were originally designed for seismology on remote glaciers and ice streams in Alaska, Greenland, and Antarctica-acquiring, storing, and relaying data wirelessly between ground sensors. The microservers boast three key attributes. First, a researcher in the field can establish a "managed network" of microservers and rapidly see the data streams (recovered wirelessly) on a field computer. This rapid feedback permits the researcher to reconfigure the network for different purposes over the course of a field campaign. Second, through careful power management, the microservers can dwell unsupervised in the field for up to 2 years, collecting tremendous amounts of data at a research location. The third attribute is the exciting potential to deploy a microserver network that works in synchrony with robotic explorers (e.g., providing ground truth validation for satellites, supporting rovers as they traverse the local environment). Managed networks of remote microservers that relay data unsupervised for up to 2 years can drastically reduce the costs of field instrumentation and data rec

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NASA NTRS2004

"Smart" Magnetic Fluids Experiment Operated on the International Space Station

InSPACE is a microgravity fluid physics experiment that was operated on the International Space Station (ISS) in the Microgravity Science Glovebox from late March 2003 through early July 2003. (InSPACE is an acronym for Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates From Colloidal Emulsions.) The purpose of the experiment is to obtain fundamental data of the complex properties of an exciting class of smart materials termed magnetorheological (MR) fluids. MR fluids are suspensions, or colloids, comprised of small (micrometer-sized) superparamagnetic particles in a nonmagnetic medium. Colloids are suspensions of very small particles suspended in a liquid. (Examples of other colloids are blood, milk, and paint.) These controllable fluids can quickly transition into a nearly solid state when exposed to a magnetic field and return to their original liquid state when the magnetic field is removed. Controlling the strength of the magnetic field can control the relative stiffness of these fluids. MR fluids can be used to improve or develop new seat suspensions, robotics, clutches, airplane landing gear, and vibration damping systems. The principal investigator for InSPACE is Professor Alice P. Gast of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The InSPACE hardware was developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center. The InSPACE samples were delivered to the ISS in November 2002, on the Space Shuttle Endeavour, on Space Station Utilization Flight UF-2/STS113. Operations began on March 31, 2003, with the processing of three different particle size samples at multiple test parameters. This investigation focused on determining the structural organization of MR colloidal aggregates when exposed to a pulsing magnetic field. On Earth, the aggregates take the shape of footballs with spiky tips. This characteristic shape may be influenced by the pull of gravity, which causes most particles initially suspended in the fluid to sediment, (i.e., settle and collect at the bottom of the cell). In the absence of sedimentation effects on the ISS, the behavior and shape of these MR aggregate structures are dominated exclusively by magnetic and surface tension forces. The microscopic detail of these structures was imaged under two orthogonal camera views. The video was downlinked to the InSPACE team at Glenn's Telescience Support Center and to MIT and also recorded onboard the ISS on videotapes that will be brought back to the ground by the space shuttles. The study examined the effect on the structure formation by varying the magnetic field strength and pulse frequency, and particle size. Fundamental data that characterized the structure formation were obtained. InSPACE completed its last planned test run on July 2, 2003. Operations occurred on 21 days over approximately a 3-month period. Forty-one test points were completed during 26 test runs. During the initial testing, the procedures followed by the crew were modified to maximize the observation of some unexpected and interesting aggregate behavior. As a result Dr. Gast has reported on the formation of aggregate shapes that are more extended and diverse than those observed on the ground. Sheets of magnetic material folded over in a labyrinth pattern and large columnar aggregates with complex interfaces with the surrounding fluid are examples of the interesting structures that have been observed on the ISS. In light of these early findings, the understanding of the fundamental properties of MR fluids on the basis of ground-based observations may need to be reconsidered.The experiments on the ISS have provided a vast amount of video data for analysis. While this analysis is ongoing, plans are being made for additional experimental runs. For this purpose, additional hardware and cells containing samples of different magnetic particles and sizes are being fabricated for a future launch to the ISS. The InSPACE hardware will remain on orbit until this testing is completed.

Agui, Juan H.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Athlete: A Mobility and Manipulation System for the Moon

A robotic vehicle called ATHLETE - the All-Terrain Hex-Limbed, Extra-Terrestrial Explorer is described, along with initial results of Field tests of two prototype vehicles. This vehicle concept is capable of efficient rolling mobility on moderate terrain and walking mobility on extreme terrain. Each limb has a quick-disconnect tool adapter so that it can perform general purpose handling, assembly, maintenance, and servicing tasks using any or all of the limbs.

mobility↗
DOE OSTI2022

Autonomous aerial flight path inspection using advanced manufacturing techniques

Robotic systems have shown capabilities to perform inspection tasks in dangerous and difficult-to-access environments, such as those found in different components of power plants. However, most of the current robotic inspection technology is designed for specific components. Aerial robots, commonly termed as Drones, have raised an option to inspect a wider range of structural components. Nevertheless, current aerial inspecting technology still relies on a human pilot with limited line of sight, field of view and a reduced perception as the drone flies away, which prevents performing close-quarter inspection in intricate, structurally complex and GPS-denied environments. This work introduces offline inspection path generation methods based on robotics-integrated to manufacturing techniques. One method uses computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) techniques and the other an additive manufacturing (AM) approach to generate the flight path. That is to say, the drone would fly along the path described by a 3D (Three Dimensional) printer’s extruder or a CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machining tool, enabling to fly very close the structure even in physical structures with a complex geometry. Once the trajectories are generated, they are introduced for its validation in the Gazebo robotics simulator. Simulation results demonstrate the proper performance of the method and confirm that this approach can be used for close inspection of structural components.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Concept Study of Robotic Camera-Based Foreign Object Detection for EV Wireless Charging

Wireless charging of an electric vehicle (EV) is an emerging charging technology promising convenient, autonomous, and highly efficient EV charging without requiring heavy gauge cables. However, due to the strong electromagnetic field created by this process that surrounds the wireless charger, the presence of foreign objects can detrimentally interact with it, thus affecting wireless power transfer (WPT) performance or leading to harmful and unwanted safety risks. This paper presents the results for a concept study on a robotic camera-based foreign object detection (FOD) system, as a supplement to the industry-existing overlapped FOD coil array method, for EV wireless charging. A Raspberry PI 4 control board and compatible Raspberry PI Camera Module 2 are used to implement camera-based object detection. The FOD program was developed using a state-of-the-art deep learning object detection model with the OpenCV and Pytorch library and is compatible with camera module hardware. A dry-run test with Raspberry PI and a camera module was conducted and the preliminary FOD function was verified. The feasibility assessment is also validated by comparing the performance of five existing state-of-the-art deep learning object detection models for vehicles, animals, persons, and metals subsets, respectively. Satisfactory performance on the benchmark datasets is observed by the tests, but further improvements are needed in future work when detecting small-sized metallic objects. A programable robotic car is also under development as ongoing work for carrying the Raspberry PI and camera module while moving for the maintenance process.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
NASA NTRS1987

Overview of Fiber-Optical Sensors

Design, development, and sensitivity of sensors using fiber optics reviewed. State-of-the-art and probable future developments of sensors using fiber optics described in report including references to work in field. Serves to update previously published surveys. Systems incorporating fiber-optic sensors used in medical diagnosis, navigation, robotics, sonar, power industry, and industrial controls.

Depaula, Ramon P.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Mobility Sub-System for the Exploration Technology Rover

A new six-wheeled robotic roving vehicle was developed for NASA's Exploration Technology (ET) program. The rover which is called the Field, Integrated, Design, and Operations (FIDO) rover is being used for advanced technology development. In addition, copies of FIDO's Mobility Sub-System (MSS) are being used for software development in several NASA projects, including the prototype for the flight Athena Rover of the Mars Sample Return (MSR) 2003 mission. The focus of this paper is the work done on the MSS, specifically the development and test of the wheel drive actuators, which are fundamental to vehicle mobility.

Lindemann, Randel↗
NASA NTRS2010

NASA Tech Briefs, November 2010

Topics covered include: Portable Handheld Optical Window Inspection Device; Salience Assignment for Multiple-Instance Data and Its Application to Crop Yield Prediction; Speech Acquisition and Automatic Speech Recognition for Integrated Spacesuit Audio Systems ; Predicting Long-Range Traversability from Short-Range Stereo-Derived Geometry; Browser-Based Application for Telemetry Monitoring of Robotic Assets; Miniature Low-Noise G-Band I-Q Receiver; Methods of Using a Magnetic Field Response Sensor Within Closed, Electrically Conductive Containers; Differential Resonant Ring YIG Tuned Oscillator; Microfabricated Segmented-Involute-Foil Regenerator for Stirling Engines; Reducing Seal Adhesion in Low Impact Docking Systems; Optimal Flow Control Design; Corrosion-Resistant Container for Molten-Material Processing; Reusable Hot-Wire Cable Cutter; Deployment of a Curved Truss; High-Volume Airborne Fluids Handling Technologies to Fight Wildfires; Modeling of Alkane Oxidation Using Constituents and Species; Fabrication of Lanthanum Telluride 14-1-11 Zintl High-Temperature Thermoelectric Couple; A Computer Model for Analyzing Volatile Removal Assembly; Analysis of Nozzle Jet Plume Effects on Sonic Boom Signature; Optical Sidebands Multiplier; Single Spatial-Mode Room-Temperature-Operated 3.0 to 3.4 micrometer Diode Lasers; Self-Nulling Beam Combiner Using No External Phase Inverter; Portable Dew Point Mass Spectrometry System for Real-Time Gas and Moisture Analysis; Maximum Likelihood Time-of-Arrival Estimation of Optical Pulses via Photon-Counting Photodetectors; Handheld White Light Interferometer for Measuring Defect Depth in Windows; Decomposition Algorithm for Global Reachability on a Time-Varying Graph; Autonomous GN and C for Spacecraft Exploration of Comets and Asteroids; Efficient Web Services Policy Combination; Using CTX Image Features to Predict HiRISE-Equivalent Rock Density; Isolation of the Paenibacillus phoenicis, a Spore-Forming Bacterium; Monolithically Integrated, Mechanically Resilient Carbon-Based Probes for Scanning Probe Microscopy; Cell Radiation Experiment System; Process to Produce Iron Nanoparticle Lunar Dust Simulant Composite; Inversion Method for Early Detection of ARES-1 Case Breach Failure; Use of ILTV Control Laws for LaNCETS Flight Research;and Evaluating Descent and Ascent Trajectories Near Non-Spherical Bodies.

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DOE OSTI2025

Development of a Multi-Robot System for Autonomous Inspection of Nuclear Waste Tank Pits

This paper introduces the overall design plan, development timeline, and preliminary progress of the Autonomous Pit Exploration System project. This project aims to develop an advanced multi-robot system for the efficient inspection of nuclear waste-storage tank pits. The project is structured into three phases: Phase 1 involves data collection and interface definition in collaboration with Hanford Site experts and university partners, focusing on tank riser geometry and hardware solutions. Phase 2 includes the selection of sensors and robot components, detailed mechanical design, and prototyping. Phase 3 integrates all components into a cohesive system managed by a master control package which also incorporates digital twin and surrogate models, and culminates in comprehensive testing and validation at a simulated tank pit at the Idaho National Laboratory. Additionally, the system’s communication design ensures coordinated operation through shared data, power, and control signals. For transportation and deployment, an electric vehicle (EV) is chosen to support the system for a full 10 h shift with better regulatory compliance for field deployment. A telescopic arm design is selected for its simple configuration and superior reach capability and controllability. Preliminary testing utilizes an educational robot to demonstrate the feasibility of splitting computational tasks between edge and cloud computers. Successful simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) tasks validate our distributed computing approach. More design considerations are also discussed, including radiation hardness assurance, SLAM performance, software transferability, and digital twinning strategies.

Nuclear waste management↗
NASA NTRS2009

Science Operations for the 2008 NASA Lunar Analog Field Test at Black Point Lava Flow, Arizona

Surface science operations on the Moon will require merging lessons from Apollo with new operation concepts that exploit the Constellation Lunar Architecture. Prototypes of lunar vehicles and robots are already under development and will change the way we conduct science operations compared to Apollo. To prepare for future surface operations on the Moon, NASA, along with several supporting agencies and institutions, conducted a high-fidelity lunar mission simulation with prototypes of the small pressurized rover (SPR) and unpressurized rover (UPR) (Fig. 1) at Black Point lava flow (Fig. 2), 40 km north of Flagstaff, Arizona from Oct. 19-31, 2008. This field test was primarily intended to evaluate and compare the surface mobility afforded by unpressurized and pressurized rovers, the latter critically depending on the innovative suit-port concept for efficient egress and ingress. The UPR vehicle transports two astronauts who remain in their EVA suits at all times, whereas the SPR concept enables astronauts to remain in a pressurized shirt-sleeve environment during long translations and while making contextual observations and enables rapid (less than or equal to 10 minutes) transfer to and from the surface via suit-ports. A team of field geologists provided realistic science scenarios for the simulations and served as crew members, field observers, and operators of a science backroom. Here, we present a description of the science team s operations and lessons learned.

Garry W. D.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Techniques for generation of control and guidance signals derived from optical fields, part 2

The development is reported of a high resolution technique for the detection and identification of landmarks from spacecraft optical fields. By making use of nonlinear regression analysis, a method is presented whereby a sequence of synthetic images produced by a digital computer can be automatically adjusted to provide a least squares approximation to a real image. The convergence of the method is demonstrated by means of a computer simulation for both elliptical and rectangular patterns. Statistical simulation studies with elliptical and rectangular patterns show that the computational techniques developed are able to at least match human pattern recognition capabilities, even in the presence of large amounts of noise. Unlike most pattern recognition techniques, this ability is unaffected by arbitrary pattern rotation, translation, and scale change. Further development of the basic approach may eventually allow a spacecraft or robot vehicle to be provided with an ability to very accurately determine its spatial relationship to arbitrary known objects within its optical field of view.

Hemami, H.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Real-time obstacle avoidance using harmonic potential functions

This paper presents a new formulation of the artificial potential approach to the obstacle avoidance problem for a mobile robot or a manipulator in a known environment. Previous formulations of artificial potentials for obstacle avoidance have exhibited local minima in a cluttered environment. To build an artificial potential field, harmonic functions that completely eliminate local minima even for a cluttered environment are used. The panel method is employed to represent arbitrarily shaped obstacles and to derive the potential over the whole space. Based on this potential function, an elegant control strategy is proposed for the real-time control of a robot. The harmonic potential, the panel method, and the control strategy are tested with a bar-shaped mobile robot and a three-degree-of-freedom planar redundant manipulator.

Kim, Jin-Oh↗
NASA NTRS1991

Autonomous rough terrain navigation - Lessons learned

Because of light-time delays, a planetary rover located on Mars or beyond will probably need to be able to navigate autonomously, in order to do significant exploration. Recent work at JPL has explored several different autonomous navigation strategies. This work includes highly deliberative methods that require large amounts of computation and internal storage but yield very planful behavior to more reactive systems that require less resources but whose behavior is more difficult to model. This paper briefly presents these methods, the results from experiments both in simulation and in the field, and some conclusions on the value of different approaches, and their possible impact on the structure of the robot and the mission architecture.

Miller, David P.↗
NASA NTRS1995

STS-69 Flight Day 9 Video File

The song, 'He's A Tramp', from the Walt Disney cartoon movie, 'Lady and the Tramp', awakened the astronauts, Cmdr. Dave Walker, Pilot Ken Cockrell, and Mission Specialists Jim Voss, Jim Newman, and Mike Gernhardt, on the ninth day of the STS-69 mission. The Wake Shield Facility (WSF) was again unberthed from the shuttle cargo bay and , using the shuttle's robot arm, held over the side of the shuttle for five hours where it collected data on the electrical field build-up around the spacecraft as part of the Charging Hazards and Wake Studies Experiment (CHAWS). Voss and Gernhardt rehearsed their Extravehicular Activity (EVA) spacewalk, which was planned for the next day. Earth views included cloud cover, a hurricane, and its eye.

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NASA NTRS2001

Making the EZ Choice

Analytical Mechanics Associates, Inc. (AMA), of Hampton, Virginia, created the EZopt software application through Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding from NASA's Langley Research Center. The new software is a user-friendly tool kit that provides quick and logical solutions to complex optimal control problems. In its most basic form, EZopt converts process data into math equations and then proceeds to utilize those equations to solve problems within control systems. EZopt successfully proved its advantage when applied to short-term mission planning and onboard flight computer implementation. The technology has also solved multiple real-life engineering problems faced in numerous commercial operations. For instance, mechanical engineers use EZopt to solve control problems with robots, while chemical plants implement the application to overcome situations with batch reactors and temperature control. In the emerging field of commercial aerospace, EZopt is able to optimize trajectories for launch vehicles and perform potential space station- keeping tasks. Furthermore, the software also helps control electromagnetic devices in the automotive industry.

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