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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 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1962

Sequential Phenomena in Psychophysical Judgments: A Theoretical Analysis

This paper deals with an analysis of psychophysical detection experiments designed to assess the limit of a human observer's level of sensitivity. A mathematical theory or the detection process is introduced that, in contrast to previous theories, provides an analysis of the sequential effects observed in psychophysical data. Two variations of the detection task are considered: information feedback and no-information feedback. In the feedback situation the subject is given information concerning the correctness of his responses, whereas in the no-feedback situation he is not. Data from a visual detection experiment with no-information feedback, and from an auditory detection experiment with information feedback are analyzed in terms of the theory. Finally, some general results are derived concerning the relationship between performance in the feedback situation and the no-feedback situation.

Atkinson, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Development of a multicomponent force and moment balance for water tunnel applications, volume 2

The principal objective of this research effort was to develop a multicomponent strain gauge balance to measure forces and moments on models tested in flow visualization water tunnels. Static experiments (which are discussed in Volume 1 of this report) were conducted, and the results showed good agreement with wind tunnel data on similar configurations. Dynamic experiments, which are the main topic of this Volume, were also performed using the balance. Delta wing models and two F/A-18 models were utilized in a variety of dynamic tests. This investigation showed that, as expected, the values of the inertial tares are very small due to the low rotating rates required in a low-speed water tunnel and can, therefore, be ignored. Oscillations in pitch, yaw and roll showed hysteresis loops that compared favorably to data from dynamic wind tunnel experiments. Pitch-up and hold maneuvers revealed the long persistence, or time-lags, of some of the force components in response to the motion. Rotary-balance experiments were also successfully performed. The good results obtained in these dynamic experiments bring a whole new dimension to water tunnel testing and emphasize the importance of having the capability to perform simultaneous flow visualization and force/moment measurements during dynamic situations.

Suarez, Carlos J.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Water Surface Currents, Short Gravity-Capillary Waves and Radar Backscatter

Despite their importance for air-sea interaction and microwave remote sensing of the ocean surface, intrinsic properties of short gravity-capillary waves are not well established. This is largely due to water surface currents and their effects on the direct measurements of wave parameters conducted at a fixed point. Frequencies of small scale waves propagating on a surface which itself is in motion, are subject to Doppler shifts. Hence, the high frequency tail of the wave spectra obtained from such temporal observations is smeared. Conversion of this smeared measured-frequency spectra to intrinsic-frequency (or wavenumber) spectra requires corrections for the Doppler shifts. Such attempts in the past have not been very successful in particular when field data were used. This becomes evident if the amplitude modulation of short waves by underlying long waves is considered. Microwave radar studies show that the amplitude of a short wave component attains its maximum value near the crests and its minimum in the troughs of the long waves. Doppler-shifted wave data yield similar results but much larger in modulation magnitude, as expected. In general, Doppler shift corrections reduce the modulation magnitude. Overcorrection may result in a negligible modulation or even in a strong modulation with the maximum amplitude in the wave troughs. The latter situation is clearly contradictory to our visual observations as well as the radar results and imply that the advection by currents is overestimated. In this study, a differential-advection approach is used in which small scale waves are advected by the currents evaluated not at the free surface, but at a depth proportional to their wavelengths. Applicability of this approach is verified by the excellent agreement in phase and magnitude of short-wave modulation between results based on radar and on wave-gauge measurements conducted on a lake.

Atakturk, Serhad S.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Development and Implementation of Real-Time Information Delivery Systems for Emergency Management

The disaster management community has an on-going need for real-time data and information, especially during catastrophic events. Currently, twin engine or jet aircraft with limited altitude and duration capabilities collect much of the data. Flight safety is also an issue. Clearly, much of the needed data could be delivered via over-the-horizon transfer through a uninhabited aerial vehicles (UAV) platform to mission managers at various locations on the ground. In fact, because of the ability to stay aloft for long periods of time, and to fly above dangerous situations, UAV's are ideally suited for disaster missions. There are numerous situations that can be considered disastrous for the human population. Some, such as fire or flood, can continue over a period of days. Disaster management officials rely on data from the site to respond in an optimum way with warnings, evacuations, rescue, relief, and to the extent possible, damage control. Although different types of disasters call for different types of response, most situations can be improved by having visual images and other remotely sensed data available. "Disaster Management" is actually made up of a number of activities, including: - Disaster Prevention and Mitigation - Emergency Response Planning - Disaster Management (real-time deployment of resources, during an event) - Disaster / Risk Modeling All of these activities could benefit from real-time information, but a major focus for UAV-based technology is in real-time deployment of resources (i.e., emergency response teams), based on changing conditions at the location of the event. With all these potential benefits, it is desirable to demonstrate to user agencies the ability to perform disaster management missions as described. The following demonstration project is the first in a program designed to prove the feasibility of supporting disaster missions with UAV technology and suitable communications packages on-board. A several-year program is envisioned, in which a broad range of disaster-related activities are demonstrated to the appropriate user communities.

Wegener, Steve↗
NASA NTRS2006

Safe Use of Hydrogen and Hydrogen Systems

This is a viewgraph presentation that is a course for teaching the safe use of hydrogen. The objectives of the course are 1. To familiarize the student with H2 safety properties 2. To enable the identification, evaluations and addressing of H2 system hazards 3. To teach: a. Safe practices for, b. Design, c. Materials selection, d. H2 system operation, e. Physical principles and empirical observations on which these safe practices are based, f. How to respond to emergency situations involving H2, g How to visualize safety concepts through in-class exercises, h. Identify numerous parameters important to H2 safety.

Maes, Miguel↗
NASA NTRS1990

Terminal weather information management

Since the mid-1960's, microburst/windshear events have caused at least 30 aircraft accidents and incidents and have killed more than 600 people in the United States alone. This study evaluated alternative means of alerting an airline crew to the presence of microburst/windshear events in the terminal area. Of particular interest was the relative effectiveness of conventional and data link ground-to-air transmissions of ground-based radar and low-level windshear sensing information on microburst/windshear avoidance. The Advanced Concepts Flight Simulator located at Ames Research Center was employed in a line oriented simulation of a scheduled round-trip airline flight from Salt Lake City to Denver Stapleton Airport. Actual weather en route and in the terminal area was simulated using recorded data. The microburst/windshear incident of July 11, 1988 was re-created for the Denver area operations. Six experienced airline crews currently flying scheduled routes were employed as test subjects for each of three groups: (1) A baseline group which received alerts via conventional air traffic control (ATC) tower transmissions; (2) An experimental group which received alerts/events displayed visually and aurally in the cockpit six miles (approx. 2 min.) from the microburst event; and (3) An additional experimental group received displayed alerts/events 23 linear miles (approx. 7 min.) from the microburst event. Analyses of crew communications and decision times showed a marked improvement in both situation awareness and decision-making with visually displayed ground-based radar information. Substantial reductions in the variability of decision times among crews in the visual display groups were also found. These findings suggest that crew performance will be enhanced and individual differences among crews due to differences in training and prior experience are significantly reduced by providing real-time, graphic display of terminal weather hazards.

Lee, Alfred T.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Theoretical Model of Static and Dynamic Field-of-View (FOV) using NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL)

Developing an objective field-of-view methodology for studying vehicle window placement has been somewhat difficult. It is not surprising that considerable effort has been directed at specific problems of visibility from vehicles. Aeronautical design engineers know when designing an aircraft cockpit, the pilot must have an adequate view for approaching and landing on an airfield. However, compromise between the ergonomic preference for the largest possible viewing envelope and the practicalities of arranging a structure that is lightweight and strong will always plague the cockpit’s transparent area’s size and shape. The human’s visual sense, when operating any kind of vehicle, is the main source of the vast majority of information needed to drive or fly safely. However, vehicle design can affect a driver’s visual performance for satisfying their need for information. For any vehicle, be it an automobile or a spacecraft, the visibility quantity is the sum total of the visual access to the environment as defined by the window placement of that vehicle. The Alternate Multiple Mission Space Exploration Vehicle (AMMSEV) configuration is much like a large cargo truck where there is no direct visual access to the rear of the vehicle or the rear sides of the vehicle; thus, making the forward and side views of greater importance to the situational awareness of the crew if obstructions are creating visual issues. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) tested a new theoretical model for Field-of-View (FOV) of spacecraft windows in NASA’s own Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL). The NBL is an essential tool for design, testing and development of future space exploration hardware for upcoming NASA operational missions. Using water, with its natural propensity for giving a human the perception of dynamic body motion under a weightless or partial gravity conditions, gives human factors investigators a vigorous space-like environment to study new methods of collecting dynamic field-of-view for future exploration vehicle designs.

Human Factors↗
NASA NTRS1978

Human problem solving performance in a fault diagnosis task

It is proposed that humans in automated systems will be asked to assume the role of troubleshooter or problem solver and that the problems which they will be asked to solve in such systems will not be amenable to rote solution. The design of visual displays for problem solving in such situations is considered, and the results of two experimental investigations of human problem solving performance in the diagnosis of faults in graphically displayed network problems are discussed. The effects of problem size, forced-pacing, computer aiding, and training are considered. Results indicate that human performance deviates from optimality as problem size increases. Forced-pacing appears to cause the human to adopt fairly brute force strategies, as compared to those adopted in self-paced situations. Computer aiding substantially lessens the number of mistaken diagnoses by performing the bookkeeping portions of the task.

Rouse, W. B.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Multi-modal information processing for visual workload relief

The simultaneous performance of two single-dimensional compensatory tracking tasks, one with the left hand and one with the right hand, is discussed. The tracking performed with the left hand was considered the primary task and was performed with a visual display or a quickened kinesthetic-tactual (KT) display. The right-handed tracking was considered the secondary task and was carried out only with a visual display. Although the two primary task displays had afforded equivalent performance in a critical tracking task performed alone, in the dual-task situation the quickened KT primary display resulted in superior secondary visual task performance. Comparisons of various combinations of primary and secondary visual displays in integrated or separated formats indicate that the superiority of the quickened KT display is not simply due to the elimination of visual scanning. Additional testing indicated that quickening per se also is not the immediate cause of the observed KT superiority.

Burke, M. W.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Helicopter visual aid system

The helicopter visual aid system has been built and flight tested in situations representative of actual flight missions. The mechanisms discussed contributed greatly to the successful performance of the system throughout the 160 hours of flight testing. It has demonstrated that the visual aid concept can provide improved daytime visual capability, greatly improved nighttime capability, surveillance from greater distances and/or altitudes, covert operation at night through the use of the IR searchlight, and a photographic recording at the scene being viewed.

Baisley, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Developing Tests of Visual Dependency

Astronauts develop neural adaptive responses to microgravity during space flight. Consequently these adaptive responses cause maladaptive disturbances in balance and gait function when astronauts return to Earth and are re-exposed to gravity. Current research in the Neuroscience Laboratories at NASA-JSC is focused on understanding how exposure to space flight produces post-flight disturbances in balance and gait control and developing training programs designed to facilitate the rapid recovery of functional mobility after space flight. In concert with these disturbances, astronauts also often report an increase in their visual dependency during space flight. To better understand this phenomenon, studies were conducted with specially designed training programs focusing on visual dependency with the aim to understand and enhance subjects ability to rapidly adapt to novel sensory situations. The Rod and Frame test (RFT) was used first to assess an individual s visual dependency, using a variety of testing techniques. Once assessed, subjects were asked to perform two novel tasks under transformation (both the Pegboard and Cube Construction tasks). Results indicate that head position cues and initial visual test conditions had no effect on an individual s visual dependency scores. Subjects were also able to adapt to the manual tasks after several trials. Individual visual dependency correlated with ability to adapt manual to a novel visual distortion only for the cube task. Subjects with higher visual dependency showed decreased ability to adapt to this task. Ultimately, it was revealed that the RFT may serve as an effective prediction tool to produce individualized adaptability training prescriptions that target the specific sensory profile of each crewmember.

Kindrat, Alexandra N.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Effects of Chronic Sleep Restriction on Multiple Object Tracking

The ability to simultaneously track numerous moving objects in the presence of irrelevant stimuli is essential for carrying out a variety of tasks. Sleep loss has been found to impair neurocognitive functioning and, as a result, attentional processing capacity is reduced. A common form of sleep loss is chronic sleep restriction (CSR), in which an inadequate amount of sleep is obtained over consecutive days. The objective of the current study was to determine if performance on the multiple object tracking (MOT) task was adversely impacted by a week of CSR. Twelve healthy participants (6 males, 6 females) kept a fixed sleep-wake schedule, with a constant waketime, at home for four weeks (activity monitors worn on the participant’s nondominant wrist were used to confirm compliance). Weeks one and three were deemed washout weeks, during which participants maintained a 9-hour sleep-wake schedule. Weeks two and four were deemed experimental weeks, during which participants were randomly assigned a 5-hour (CSR) and 9-hour (sleep satiation) sleep-wake schedule. Following night seven of each experimental week, participants completed a 13-hour laboratory visit under dim light (less than 15 lux) where they maintained a constant posture and were provided with hourly isocaloric snacks. MOT was presented at approximately 6 and 8 hours after waking. Participants were required to track four, five, or six moving targets in the presence of identical distractors (always 12 total objects). It was found that participants slept significantly less during the week of CSR compared to the week of sleep satiation. There was no difference in the overall proportion of correct MOT responses following the CSR and sleep satiation weeks. However, an additional analysis examining only the 6 target condition found that the proportion of correct responses was significantly lower following the week of CSR. These findings suggest that CSR has an adverse impact on tracking performance when the cognitive demand was higher. This has implications for individuals, such as air traffic controllers and truck drivers, who must visually track multiple moving objects under high workload situations, often while chronically sleep deprived.

sleep restriction↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Virtual Reality Planning Environment for High-Risk, High-Latency Teleoperation

In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing has the potential to enable larger-scale and longer-lived infrastructure projects in space. Servicing in particular has the potential to vastly increase the usable lifetimes of satellites, both newly launched and existing. However, some of these servicing tasks require delicate manipulation and, to apply to existing satellites, need to be able to operate on structures that were not designed for servicing and, in some cases, where the exact shape of the structure is not known in advance. For this reason, human-in-the-loop ground-based teleoperation is the only option for some missions. Ground-based teleoperation presents its own difficulties. In addition to the challenge of performing delicate operations in constrained spaces, communication with the servicing platform is subject to a variable time delay on the order of 2-7 seconds, and the only visual feedback comes from camera views with limited situational awareness and viewing angles.

Teleoperation↗
NASA NTRS2014

NASA VERVE: Interactive 3D Visualization Within Eclipse

At NASA, we develop myriad Eclipse RCP applications to provide situational awareness for remote systems. The Intelligent Robotics Group at NASA Ames Research Center has developed VERVE - a high-performance, robot user interface that provides scientists, robot operators, and mission planners with powerful, interactive 3D displays of remote environments.VERVE includes a 3D Eclipse view with an embedded Java Ardor3D scenario, including SWT and mouse controls which interact with the Ardor3D camera and objects in the scene. VERVE also includes Eclipse views for exploring and editing objects in the Ardor3D scene graph, and a HUD (Heads Up Display) framework allows Growl-style notifications and other textual information to be overlayed onto the 3D scene. We use VERVE to listen to telemetry from robots and display the robots and associated scientific data along the terrain they are exploring; VERVE can be used for any interactive 3D display of data.VERVE is now open source. VERVE derives from the prior Viz system, which was developed for Mars Polar Lander (2001) and used for the Mars Exploration Rover (2003) and the Phoenix Lander (2008). It has been used for ongoing research with IRG's K10 and KRex rovers in various locations. VERVE was used on the International Space Station during two experiments in 2013 - Surface Telerobotics, in which astronauts controlled robots on Earth from the ISS, and SPHERES, where astronauts control a free flying robot on board the ISS.We will show in detail how to code with VERVE, how to interact between SWT controls to the Ardor3D scenario, and share example code.

3D Visualization↗
NASA NTRS1972

The measurement of driver describing functions in simulated steering control tasks

Measurements of driver describing functions in steering control tasks have been made using a driving simulator. The task was to regulate against a random crosswind gust input on a straight roadway, in order to stay in the center of the lane. Although driving is a multiloop task in general, the forcing function and situation were configured so that an inner-loop visual cue feedback of heading angle of heading rate would dominate, and the driver's response was interpreted to be primarily single-loop. The driver describing functions were measured using an STI describing function analyzer. Three replications for each subject showed good repeatability within a subject. There were some intersubject differences as expected, but the crossover frequencies, effective time delays, and stability margins were generally consistent with the prior data and models for similar manual control tasks. The results further confirm the feasibility of measuring human operator response properties in nominal control tasks with full (real-world) visual field displays.

Weir, D. H.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Re-Design and Beat Testing of the Man-Machine Integration Design and Analysis System: MIDAS

The Man-machine Design and Analysis System (MIDAS) is a human factors design and analysis system that combines human cognitive models with 3D CAD models and rapid prototyping and simulation techniques. MIDAS allows designers to ask 'what if' types of questions early in concept exploration and development prior to actual hardware development. The system outputs predictions of operator workload, situational awareness and system performance as well as graphical visualization of the cockpit designs interacting with models of the human in a mission scenario. Recently, MIDAS was re-designed to enhance functionality and usability. The goals driving the redesign include more efficient processing, GUI interface, advances in the memory structures, implementation of external vision models and audition. These changes were detailed in an earlier paper. Two Beta test sites with diverse applications have been chosen. One Beta test site is investigating the development of a new airframe and its interaction with the air traffic management system. The second Beta test effort will investigate 3D auditory cueing in conjunction with traditional visual cueing strategies including panel-mounted and heads-up displays. The progress and lessons learned on each of these projects will be discussed.

Shively, R. Jay↗
NASA NTRS1998

Dual adaptation and adaptive generalization of the human vestibulo-ocular reflex

In two experiments, we examined the possibility that the human vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) is subject to dual adaptation (the ability to adapt to a sensory rearrangement more rapidly and/or more completely after repeated experience with it) and adaptive generalization (the ability to adapt more readily to a novel sensory rearrangement as a result of prior dual adaptation training). In Experiment 1, the subjects actively turned the head during alternating exposure to a visual-vestibular rearrangement (target/head gain = 0.5) and the normal situation (target/head gain = 0.0). These conditions produced both adaptation and dual adaptation of the VOR but no evidence of adaptive generalization when tested with a target/head gain of 1.0. Experiment 2, in which exposure to the 0.5 gain entailed externally controlled (i.e., passive) whole body rotation, resulted in VOR adaptation but no dual adaptation. As in Experiment 1, no evidence of adaptive generalization was found.

NASA Discipline Neuroscience↗
NASA NTRS2009

Synthetic and Enhanced Vision System for Altair Lunar Lander

Past research has demonstrated the substantial potential of synthetic and enhanced vision (SV, EV) for aviation (e.g., Prinzel & Wickens, 2009). These augmented visual-based technologies have been shown to significantly enhance situation awareness, reduce workload, enhance aviation safety (e.g., reduced propensity for controlled flight -into-terrain accidents/incidents), and promote flight path control precision. The issues that drove the design and development of synthetic and enhanced vision have commonalities to other application domains; most notably, during entry, descent, and landing on the moon and other planetary surfaces. NASA has extended SV/EV technology for use in planetary exploration vehicles, such as the Altair Lunar Lander. This paper describes an Altair Lunar Lander SV/EV concept and associated research demonstrating the safety benefits of these technologies.

Prinzell, Lawrence J., III↗