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At least 721 records · Page 40
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1982

A performance analysis study of a complex G field experiment

A performance analysis on data from an experiment which illustrates the degradation of tracking performance as the human is subjected to an environmental stressor is presented. The performance changes are defined and the statistical properties of human tracking with and without the stress effects examined. Performance is evaluated using an extension of a phase plane technique. A quantiative determination of stress effects on performance is defined explicitly in terms of parameters of a density function identified from the empirical data. The distribution functions which characterize tracking in a phase plane representation of the closed loop error signal are determined.

Repperger, D. W.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Tracking Virtual Trajectories

Current models of smooth pursuit eye movements assume that it is largely driven by retinal image motion. We tested this hypothesis by measuring pursuit of elliptical motion (3.2s, 0.9 Hz, 1.4 deg x 1.6 deg, 4 randomly interleaved phases) of either a small spot ("real" motion) or of a line-figure diamond viewed through apertures such that only the motion of four isolated oblique line segments was visible ("virtual" motion). Each segment moved sinusoidally along a linear trajectory yet subjects perceived a diamond moving along an elliptical path behind the aperture. We found, as expected, that real motion produced accurate tracking (N = 2) with mean gain (over horizontal and vertical) of 0.9, mean phase of -6 deg (lag), mean relative phase (H vs V) of 90 +/- 8 deg (RMS error). Virtual motion behind an X-shaped aperture (N= 4 with one naive) yielded a mean gain of 0.7, mean phase of -11 deg, mean relative phase of 87 +/- 15 deg. We also measured pursuit with the X-shaped aperture using a higher segment luminance which prevents the segments from being grouped into a coherently moving diamond while keeping the motion otherwise identical. In this incoherent case, the same four subjects no longer showed consistent elliptical tracking (RMS error in relative phase rose to 60 deg) suggesting that perceptual coherence is critical. Furthermore, to rule out tracking of the centroid, we also used vertical apertures so that all segment motion was vertical (N = 3). This stimulus still produced elliptical tracking (mean relative phase of 84 +/- 19 deg), albeit with a lower gain (0.6). These data show that humans can track moving objects reasonably accurately even when the trajectory can only be derived by spatial integration of motion signals. Models that merely seek to minimize retinal or local stimulus motion cannot explain these results.

Stone, Leland S.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Manufacturing Challenges and Benefits when Scaling the HIAD Stacked-Torus Aeroshell to a 15m Class System

Over a decade of work has been conducted in the development of NASA's Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) deployable aeroshell technology. This effort has included multiple ground test campaigns and flight tests culminating in the HIAD project's second generation (Gen-2) aeroshell system. The HIAD project team has developed, fabricated, and tested stacked-torus inflatable structures (IS) with flexible thermal protection systems (F-TPS) ranging in diameters from 3-6m, with cone angles of 60 and 70 deg. To meet NASA and commercial near term objectives, the HIAD team must scale the current technology up to 12-15m in diameter. The HIAD project's experience in scaling the technology has reached a critical juncture. Growing from a 6m to a 15m class system will introduce many new structural and logistical challenges to an already complicated manufacturing process. Although the general architecture and key aspects of the HIAD design scale well to larger vehicles, details of the technology will need to be reevaluated and possibly redesigned for use in a 15m-class HIAD system. These include: layout and size of the structural webbing that transfers load throughout the IS, inflatable gas barrier design, torus diameter and braid construction, internal pressure and inflation line routing, adhesives used for coating and bonding, and F-TPS gore design and seam fabrication. The logistics of fabricating and testing the IS and the F-TPS also become more challenging with increased scale. Compared to the 6m aeroshell (the largest HIAD built to date), a 12m aeroshell has four times the cross-sectional area, and a 15m one has over six times the area. This means that fabrication and test procedures will need to be reexamined to account for the sheer size and weight of the aeroshell components. This will affect a variety of steps in the manufacturing process, such as: stacking the tori during assembly, stitching the structural webbing, initial inflation of tori, and stitching of F-TPS gores. Additionally, new approaches and hardware will be required for handling and ground testing of both individual tori and the fully assembled HIADs. There are also noteworthy benefits of scaling up the HIAD aeroshell to 15m-class system. Two complications in working with handmade textiles structures are the non-linearity of the materials and the role of human accuracy during fabrication. Larger, more capable, HIAD structures should see much larger operational loads, potentially bringing the structural response of the materials out of the non-linear regime and into the preferred linear response range. Also, making the reasonable assumption that the magnitude of fabrication accuracy remains constant as the structures grow, the relative effect of fabrication errors should decrease as a percentage of the textile component size. Combined, these two effects improve the predictive capability and the uniformity of the structural response for a 12-15m class HIAD. In this paper, the challenges and associated mitigation plans related to scaling up the HIAD stacked-torus aeroshell to a 15m class system will be discussed. In addition, the benefits of enlarging the structure will be further explored.

Decellerators↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Lander Lighting Solution to Reduce Pilot & Autonomous Approach Errors

The south pole lighting environment will have harsh low inclination sunlight, making overhead judgement of surface features difficult. Autonomous solutions are great, however, the need for visual monitoring and independent go/no-go decisions remain. Our project proposes that lunar landing systems will be better served by including a powerful landing light system that improves visibility of surfaces from overhead by illuminating the ground at critical distances for the crew to make last minute decisions regarding an approach. The project utilized computer-based optical modeling software to predict requirements for a potential landing light system. The analysis based the lamp prediction from commercially available LED chip sets and lamp optics. The goal was to illustrate a method to raise the surface contrast of a landing site within an acceptable contrast threshold for most camera systems and human observers to recognize hazards that would not be noticed with low inclination sunlight alone. The Apollo lunar landings benefitted from overhead sun or dark conditions. The surface lighting at the Lunar South Pole is a harsh environment where surfaces are lit from a low inclination angle by the sun (from the side). This change in lighting condition precipitates a need for updated lunar landing systems that facilitate improved recognition of landing sites, and thereby increase pilot awareness of landing hazards. The reliance on LIDAR and other autonomous mechanisms alone is risky given the known usage of visual monitoring for operator concurrence on current spacecraft programs and present-day autonomous land-based vehicles. Visual monitoring via cameras or windows requires the surface contrast to be within 3 orders of magnitude for reasonable recognition of objects. Artificial overhead illumination, when sufficiently sized, provides a means to even out contrast problems created by low inclination sunlight, potentially reducing piloting errors. Current vehicle requirements do not specify this type of guidance for the purpose of increasing mission success. An optical ray-trace simulation model was developed in Zemax Optics Studio to predict the best combination of LED power, LED optics, lamp quantity, and lamp location to raise the surface contrast to within 2 orders of magnitude from 3 orders required to further increased visibility and reduce risk. The project considered the following design constraints: potential base diameter of lander, approach distance(s) for a go-no-go decision point (200 meter), solar inclination angle (2-7), lunar surface reflectance (10%), LED chip sets, LED focusing optics, LED power, lamp quantity, lamp locations, and illumination diameter of lunar surface landing zone. The results can be used to establish minimum design constraints for vehicle landing light systems. With a solar inclination angle ranging from 2-7 degrees, the horizontal illumination of the lunar surface is attenuated by about 10% when compared to overhead illumination from the Sun. This modifies the sun's maximum of 130,000 lux to 13,000 lux horizontal illuminance. The artificial lighting system was designed to provide an 18-meter-wide illumination zone, to create viewing clearances around a 6-meter-wide lander. The system provides an average illuminance of 300 lux, meeting the 2 orders of magnitude criteria. The solution utilized modern Chip On Board LEDs, that each utilized 17 watts, with focusing Total Internal Reflection (TIR) lenses. A lighting system of 300 LEDs was arrayed along the "bottom" of a “lander”. With 17 watts per LED, the system is estimated to require 5100 watts. This is a large amount of power, but it would only be needed during critical phases during the landing. LED lighting systems can be dimmed, and it is assumed that as the lander arrives closer to the landing site, the lighting system power can be adjusted as needed to produce the necessary surface illuminance. The designed reduction of contrast improves reliability of safety assessments using real time visible light camera systems and out the window viewing by the crew.

T A Clark↗
NASA NTRS1989

Stereoscopic distance perception

Limited cue, open-loop tasks in which a human observer indicates distances or relations among distances are discussed. By open-loop tasks, it is meant tasks in which the observer gets no feedback as to the accuracy of the responses. What happens when cues are added and when the loop is closed are considered. The implications of this research for the effectiveness of visual displays is discussed. Errors in visual distance tasks do not necessarily mean that the percept is in error. The error could arise in transformations that intervene between the percept and the response. It is argued that the percept is in error. It is also argued that there exist post-perceptual transformations that may contribute to the error or be modified by feedback to correct for the error.

Foley, John M.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Revealing Relationships among Relevant Climate Variables with Information Theory

The primary objective of the NASA Earth-Sun Exploration Technology Office is to understand the observed Earth climate variability, thus enabling the determination and prediction of the climate's response to both natural and human-induced forcing. We are currently developing a suite of computational tools that will allow researchers to calculate, from data, a variety of information-theoretic quantities such as mutual information, which can be used to identify relationships among climate variables, and transfer entropy, which indicates the possibility of causal interactions. Our tools estimate these quantities along with their associated error bars, the latter of which is critical for describing the degree of uncertainty in the estimates. This work is based upon optimal binning techniques that we have developed for piecewise-constant, histogram-style models of the underlying density functions. Two useful side benefits have already been discovered. The first allows a researcher to determine whether there exist sufficient data to estimate the underlying probability density. The second permits one to determine an acceptable degree of round-off when compressing data for efficient transfer and storage. We also demonstrate how mutual information and transfer entropy can be applied so as to allow researchers not only to identify relations among climate variables, but also to characterize and quantify their possible causal interactions.

Knuth, Kevin H.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Astronaut Biography Project for Countermeasures of Human Behavior and Performance Risks in Long Duration Space Flights

This final report will summarize research that relates to human behavioral health and performance of astronauts and flight controllers. Literature reviews, data archival analyses, and ground-based analog studies that center around the risk of human space flight are being used to help mitigate human behavior and performance risks from long duration space flights. A qualitative analysis of an astronaut autobiography was completed. An analysis was also conducted on exercise countermeasure publications to show the positive affects of exercise on the risks targeted in this study. The three main risks targeted in this study are risks of behavioral and psychiatric disorders, risks of performance errors due to poor team performance, cohesion, and composition, and risks of performance errors due to sleep deprivation, circadian rhythm. These three risks focus on psychological and physiological aspects of astronauts who venture out into space on long duration space missions. The purpose of this research is to target these risks in order to help quantify, identify, and mature countermeasures and technologies required in preventing or mitigating adverse outcomes from exposure to the spaceflight environment

Banks, Akeem↗
NASA NTRS2011

Enhanced Fuel-Optimal Trajectory-Generation Algorithm for Planetary Pinpoint Landing

An enhanced algorithm is developed that builds on a previous innovation of fuel-optimal powered-descent guidance (PDG) for planetary pinpoint landing. The PDG problem is to compute constrained, fuel-optimal trajectories to land a craft at a prescribed target on a planetary surface, starting from a parachute cut-off point and using a throttleable descent engine. The previous innovation showed the minimal-fuel PDG problem can be posed as a convex optimization problem, in particular, as a Second-Order Cone Program, which can be solved to global optimality with deterministic convergence properties, and hence is a candidate for onboard implementation. To increase the speed and robustness of this convex PDG algorithm for possible onboard implementation, the following enhancements are incorporated: 1) Fast detection of infeasibility (i.e., control authority is not sufficient for soft-landing) for subsequent fault response. 2) The use of a piecewise-linear control parameterization, providing smooth solution trajectories and increasing computational efficiency. 3) An enhanced line-search algorithm for optimal time-of-flight, providing quicker convergence and bounding the number of path-planning iterations needed. 4) An additional constraint that analytically guarantees inter-sample satisfaction of glide-slope and non-sub-surface flight constraints, allowing larger discretizations and, hence, faster optimization. 5) Explicit incorporation of Mars rotation rate into the trajectory computation for improved targeting accuracy. These enhancements allow faster convergence to the fuel-optimal solution and, more importantly, remove the need for a "human-in-the-loop," as constraints will be satisfied over the entire path-planning interval independent of step-size (as opposed to just at the discrete time points) and infeasible initial conditions are immediately detected. Finally, while the PDG stage is typically only a few minutes, ignoring the rotation rate of Mars can introduce 10s of meters of error. By incorporating it, the enhanced PDG algorithm becomes capable of pinpoint targeting.

Acikmese, Behcet↗
NASA NTRS2016

Manufacturing Challenges and Benefits When Scaling the HIAD Stacked-Torus Aeroshell to a 15 Meter Class System

Over a decade of work has been conducted in the development of NASA's Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) deployable aeroshell technology. This effort has included multiple ground test campaigns and flight tests culminating in the HIAD project's second generation (Gen-2) aeroshell system. The HIAD project team has developed, fabricated, and tested stacked-torus inflatable structures (IS) with flexible thermal protection systems (F-TPS) ranging in diameters from 3-6 meters, with cone angles of 60 and 70 degrees. To meet NASA and commercial near-term objectives, the HIAD team must scale the current technology up to 12-15 meters in diameter. Therefore, the HIAD project's experience in scaling the technology has reached a critical juncture. Growing from a 6-meter to a 15-meter class system will introduce many new structural and logistical challenges to an already complicated manufacturing process. Although the general architecture and key aspects of the HIAD design scale well to larger vehicles, details of the technology will need to be reevaluated and possibly redesigned for use in a 15-meter-class HIAD system. These include: layout and size of the structural webbing that transfers load throughout the IS, inflatable gas barrier design, torus diameter and braid construction, internal pressure and inflation line routing, adhesives used for coating and bonding, and F-TPS gore design and seam fabrication. The logistics of fabricating and testing the IS and the F-TPS also become more challenging with increased scale. Compared to the 6-meter aeroshell (the largest HIAD built to date), a 12-meter aeroshell has four times the cross-sectional area, and a 15-meter one has over six times the area. This means that fabrication and test procedures will need to be reexamined to account for the sheer size and weight of the aeroshell components. This will affect a variety of steps in the manufacturing process, such as: stacking the tori during assembly, stitching the structural webbing, initial inflation of tori, and stitching of F-TPS gores. Additionally, new approaches and hardware will be required for handling and ground testing of both individual tori and the fully assembled HIADs. There are also noteworthy benefits of scaling up the HIAD aeroshell to a 15m-class system. Two complications in working with handmade textile structures are the non-linearity of the material components and the role of human accuracy during fabrication. Larger, more capable, HIAD structures should see much larger operational loads, potentially bringing the structural response of the material components out of the non-linear regime and into the preferred linear response range. Also, making the reasonable assumption that the magnitude of fabrication accuracy remains constant as the structures grow, the relative effect of fabrication errors should decrease as a percentage of the textile component size. Combined, these two effects improve the predictive capability and the uniformity of the structural response for a 12-15-meter HIAD. In this presentation, a handful of the challenges and associated mitigation plans will be discussed, as well as an update on current manufacturing and testing that addressing these challenges.

Infatables↗
NASA NTRS2016

Manufacturing Challenges and Benefits when Scaling the HIAD Stacked-Torus Aeroshell to a 15m-Class System

Over a decade of work has been conducted in the development of NASAs Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) deployable aeroshell technology. This effort has included multiple ground test campaigns and flight tests culminating in the HIAD projects second generation (Gen-2) aeroshell system. The HIAD project team has developed, fabricated, and tested stacked-torus inflatable structures (IS) with flexible thermal protection systems (F-TPS) ranging in diameters from 3-6m, with cone angles of 60 and 70 deg. To meet NASA and commercial near term objectives, the HIAD team must scale the current technology up to 12-15m in diameter. Therefore, the HIAD projects experience in scaling the technology has reached a critical juncture. Growing from a 6m to a 15m-class system will introduce many new structural and logistical challenges to an already complicated manufacturing process.Although the general architecture and key aspects of the HIAD design scale well to larger vehicles, details of the technology will need to be reevaluated and possibly redesigned for use in a 15m-class HIAD system. These include: layout and size of the structural webbing that transfers load throughout the IS, inflatable gas barrier design, torus diameter and braid construction, internal pressure and inflation line routing, adhesives used for coating and bonding, and F-TPS gore design and seam fabrication. The logistics of fabricating and testing the IS and the F-TPS also become more challenging with increased scale. Compared to the 6m aeroshell (the largest HIAD built to date), a 12m aeroshell has four times the cross-sectional area, and a 15m one has over six times the area. This means that fabrication and test procedures will need to be reexamined to ac-count for the sheer size and weight of the aeroshell components. This will affect a variety of steps in the manufacturing process, such as: stacking the tori during assembly, stitching the structural webbing, initial inflation of tori, and stitching of F-TPS gores. Additionally, new approaches and hardware will be required for handling and ground testing of both individual tori and the fully assembled HIADs.There are also noteworthy benefits of scaling up the HIAD aeroshell to a 15m-class system. Two complications in working with handmade textile structures are the non-linearity of the material components and the role of human accuracy during fabrication. Larger, more capable, HIAD structures should see much larger operational loads, potentially bringing the structural response of the material components out of the non-linear regime and into the preferred linear response range. Also, making the reasonable assumption that the magnitude of fabrication accuracy remains constant as the structures grow, the relative effect of fabrication errors should decrease as a percentage of the textile component size. Combined, these two effects improve the predictive capability and the uniformity of the structural response for a 12-15m HIAD.In this presentation, a handful of the challenges and associated mitigation plans will be discussed, as well as an update on current 12m aeroshell manufacturing and testing that is addressing these challenges

Infatables↗
NASA NTRS1998

Incorporating Endmember Variability into Spectral Mixture Analysis Through Endmember Bundles

Variation in canopy structure and biochemistry induces a concomitant variation in the top-of-canopy spectral reflectance of a vegetation type. Hence, the use of a single endmember spectrum to track the fractional abundance of a given vegetation cover in a hyperspectral image may result in fractions with considerable error. One solution to the problem of endmember variability is to increase the number of endmembers used in a spectral mixture analysis of the image. For example, there could be several tree endmembers in the analysis because of differences in leaf area index (LAI) and multiple scatterings between leaves and stems. However, it is often difficult in terms of computer or human interaction time to select more than six or seven endmembers and any non-removable noise, as well as the number of uncorrelated bands in the image, limits the number of endmembers that can be discriminated. Moreover, as endmembers proliferate, their interpretation becomes increasingly difficult and often applications simply need the aerial fractions of a few land cover components which comprise most of the scene. In order to incorporate endmember variability into spectral mixture analysis, we propose representing a landscape component type not with one endmember spectrum but with a set or bundle of spectra, each of which is feasible as the spectrum of an instance of the component (e.g., in the case of a tree component, each spectrum could reasonably be the spectral reflectance of a tree canopy). These endmember bundles can be used with nonlinear optimization algorithms to find upper and lower bounds on endmember fractions. This approach to endmember variability naturally evolved from previous work in deriving endmembers from the data itself by fitting a triangle, tetrahedron or, more generally, a simplex to the data cloud reduced in dimension by a principal component analysis. Conceptually, endmember variability could make it difficult to find a simplex that both surrounds the data cloud and has vertices that are realistic endmember spectra with reflectances between 0 and 1. In this paper, we create endmember bundles and bounding fraction images for an AVIRIS subscene simulated with a plant canopy radiative transfer model. The simulated subscene is spatially patterned after a subscene from the AVIRIS image acquired August, 1993 over La Copita, Texas. In addition, for comparison, we performed a traditional unmixing with image endmembers.

Bateson, C. Ann↗
NASA NTRS2000

Collision in space

On June 25, 1997, the Russian supply spacecraft Progress 234 collided with the Mir space station, rupturing Mir's pressure hull, throwing it into an uncontrolled attitude drift, and nearly forcing evacuation of the station. Like many high-profile accidents, this collision was the consequence of a chain of events leading to the final piloting errors that were its immediate cause. The discussion in this article does not resolve the relative contributions of the actions and decisions in this chain. Neither does it suggest corrective measures, many of which are straightforward and have already been implemented by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Russian Space Agency. Rather, its purpose is to identify the human factors that played a pervasive role in the incident. Workplace stress, fatigue, and sleep deprivation were identified by NASA as contributory factors in the Mir-Progress collision (Culbertson, 1997; NASA, forthcoming), but other contributing factors, such as requiring crew to perform difficult tasks for which their training is not current, could potentially become important factors in future situations.

Mir Project↗
NASA NTRS1992

Deep Space Network information system architecture study

The purpose of this article is to describe an architecture for the Deep Space Network (DSN) information system in the years 2000-2010 and to provide guidelines for its evolution during the 1990s. The study scope is defined to be from the front-end areas at the antennas to the end users (spacecraft teams, principal investigators, archival storage systems, and non-NASA partners). The architectural vision provides guidance for major DSN implementation efforts during the next decade. A strong motivation for the study is an expected dramatic improvement in information-systems technologies, such as the following: computer processing, automation technology (including knowledge-based systems), networking and data transport, software and hardware engineering, and human-interface technology. The proposed Ground Information System has the following major features: unified architecture from the front-end area to the end user; open-systems standards to achieve interoperability; DSN production of level 0 data; delivery of level 0 data from the Deep Space Communications Complex, if desired; dedicated telemetry processors for each receiver; security against unauthorized access and errors; and highly automated monitor and control.

Beswick, C. A.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Research Opportunities in Space Propulsion

Rocket propulsion determines the primary characteristics of any space vehicle; how fast and far it can go, its lifetime, and its capabilities. It is the primary factor in safety and reliability and the biggest cost driver. The extremes of heat and pressure produced by propulsion systems push the limits of materials used for manufacturing. Space travel is very unforgiving with little room for errors, and so many things can go wrong with these very complex systems. So we have to plan for failure and that makes it costly. But what is more exciting than the roar of a rocket blasting into space? By its nature the propulsion world is conservative. The stakes are so high at every launch, in terms of payload value or in human life, that to introduce new components to a working, qualified system is extremely difficult and costly. Every launch counts and no risks are tolerated, which leads to the space world's version of Catch-22:"You can't fly till you flown." The last big 'game changer' in propulsion was the use of liquid hydrogen as a fuel. No new breakthrough, low cost access to space system will be developed without new efficient propulsion systems. Because there is no large commercial market driving investment in propulsion, what propulsion research is done is sponsored by government funding agencies. A further difficulty in propulsion technology development is that there are so few new systems flying. There is little opportunity to evolve propulsion technologies and to update existing systems with results coming out of research as there is in, for example, the auto industry. The biggest hurdle to space exploration is getting off the ground. The launch phase will consume most of the energy required for any foreseeable space exploration mission. The fundamental physical energy requirements of escaping earth's gravity make it difficult. It takes 60,000 kJ to put a kilogram into an escape orbit. The vast majority (-97%) of the energy produced by a launch vehicle is used to get propellants off the ground to be burned later. A modem launch vehicle is usually able to put no more than 1.5%-3% of its total liftoff weight into low earth orbit.

Rodgers, Stephen L.↗
NASA NTRS2010

NASA Tech Briefs, May 2010

Topics covered include: Instrument for Analysis of Greenland's Glacier Mills Cryogenic Moisture Apparatus; A Transportable Gravity Gradiometer Based on Atom Interferometry; Three Methods of Detection of Hydrazines; Crossed, Small-Deflection Energy Analyzer for Wind/Temperature Spectrometer; Wavefront Correction for Large, Flexible Antenna Reflector; Novel Micro Strip-to-Waveguide Feed Employing a Double-Y Junction; Thin-Film Ferro Electric-Coupled Microstripline Phase Shifters With Reduced Device Hysteresis; Two-Stage, 90-GHz, Low-Noise Amplifier; A 311-GHz Fundamental Oscillator Using InP HBT Technology; FPGA Coprocessor Design for an Onboard Multi-Angle Spectro-Polarimetric Imager; Serrating Nozzle Surfaces for Complete Transfer of Droplets; Turbomolecular Pumps for Holding Gases in Open Containers; Triaxial Swirl Injector Element for Liquid-Fueled Engines; Integrated Budget Office Toolbox; PLOT3D Export Tool for Tecplot; Math Description Engine Software Development Kit; Astronaut Office Scheduling System Software; ISS Solar Array Management; Probabilistic Structural Analysis Program; SPOT Program; Integrated Hybrid System Architecture for Risk Analysis; System for Packaging Planetary Samples for Return to Earth; Offset Compound Gear Drive; Low-Dead-Volume Inlet for Vacuum Chamber; Simple Check Valves for Microfluidic Devices; A Capillary-Based Static Phase Separator for Highly Variable Wetting Conditions; Gimballing Spacecraft Thruster; Finned Carbon-Carbon Heat Pipe with Potassium Working Fluid; Lightweight Heat Pipes Made from Magnesium; Ceramic Rail-Race Ball Bearings; Improved OTEC System for a Submarine Robot; Reflector Surface Error Compensation in Dual-Reflector Antennas; Enriched Storable Oxidizers for Rocket Engines; Planar Submillimeter-Wave Mixer Technology with Integrated Antenna; Widely Tunable Mode-Hop-Free External-Cavity Quantum Cascade Laser; Non-Geiger-Mode Single-Photon Avalanche Detector with Low Excess Noise; Using Whispering-Gallery-Mode Resonators for Refractometry; RF Device for Acquiring Images of the Human Body; Reactive Collision Avoidance Algorithm; Fast Solution in Sparse LDA for Binary Classification; Modeling Common-Sense Decisions in Artificial Intelligence; Graph-Based Path-Planning for Titan Balloons; Nanolaminate Membranes as Cylindrical Telescope Reflectors; Air-Sea Spray Airborne Radar Profiler Characterizes Energy Fluxes in Hurricanes; Large Telescope Segmented Primary Mirror Alignment; and Simplified Night Sky Display System.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1979

Man-machine interfaces in LACIE/ERIPS

One of the most important aspects of the interactive portion of the LACIE/ERIPS software system is the way in which the analysis and decision-making capabilities of a human being are integrated with the speed and accuracy of a computer to produce a powerful analysis system. The three major man-machine interfaces in the system are (1) the use of menus for communications between the software and the interactive user; (2) the checkpoint/restart facility to recreate in one job the internal environment achieved in an earlier one; and (3) the error recovery capability which would normally cause job termination. This interactive system, which executes on an IBM 360/75 mainframe, was adapted for use in noninteractive (batch) mode. A case study is presented to show how the interfaces work in practice by defining some fields based on an image screen display, noting the field definitions, and obtaining a film product of the classification map.

Duprey, B. B.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Perceptual-components architecture for digital video

A perceptual-components architecture for digital video partitions the image stream into signal components in a manner analogous to that used in the human visual system. These components consist of achromatic and opponent color channels, divided into static and motion channels, further divided into bands of particular spatial frequency and orientation. Bits are allocated to an individual band in accord with visual sensitivity to that band and in accord with the properties of visual masking. This architecture is argued to have desirable features such as efficiency, error tolerance, scalability, device independence, and extensibility.

Watson, Andrew B.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Accuracy and adaptation of reaching and pointing in pitched visual environments

Visually perceived eye level (VPEL) and the ability of subjects to reach with an unseen limb to targets placed at VPEL were measured in a statically pitched visual surround (pitchroom). VPEL was shifted upward and downward by upward and downward room pitch, respectively. Accuracy in reaching to VPEL represented a compromise between VPEL and actual eye level. This indicates that VPEL shifts reflect in part a change in perceived location of objects. When subjects were provided with terminal visual feedback about their reaching, accuracy improved rapidly. Subsequent reaching, with the room vertical, revealed a negative aftereffect (i.e., reaching errors that were opposite those made initially in the pitched room). In a second study, pointing accuracy was assessed for targets located both at VPEL and at other positions. Errors were similar for targets whether located at VPEL or elsewhere. Additionally, pointing responses were restricted to a narrower range than that of the actual target locations. The small size of reaching and pointing errors in both studies suggests that factors other than a change in perceived location are also involved in VPEL shifts.

NASA Center ARC↗