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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1986

Utility of remotely sensed data for identification of soil conservation practices

Discussed are a variety of remotely sensed data sources that may have utility in the identification of conservation practices and related linear features. Test sites were evaluated in Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi, and Oklahoma using one or more of a variety of remotely sensed data sources, including color infrared photography (CIR), LANDSAT Thematic Mapper (TM) data, and aircraft-acquired Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner (TIMS) data. Both visual examination and computer-implemented enhancement procedures were used to identify conservation practices and other linear features. For the Kansas, Mississippi, and Oklahoma test sites, photo interpretations of CIR identified up to 24 of the 109 conservation practices from a matrix derived from the SCS National Handbook of Conservation Practices. The conservation practice matrix was modified to predict the possibility of identifying the 109 practices at various photographic scales based on the observed results as well as photo interpreter experience. Some practices were successfully identified in TM data through visual identification, but a number of existing practices were of such size and shape that the resolution of the TM could not detect them accurately. A series of computer-automated decorrelation and filtering procedures served to enhance the conservation practices in TM data with only fair success. However, features such as field boundaries, roads, water bodies, and the Urban/Ag interface were easily differentiated. Similar enhancement techniques applied to 5 and 10 meter TIMS data proved much more useful in delineating terraces, grass waterways, and drainage ditches as well as the features mentioned above, due partly to improved resolution and partly to thermally influenced moisture conditions. Spatially oriented data such as those derived from remotely sensed data offer some promise in the inventory and monitoring of conservation practices as well as in supplying parameter data for a variety of computer-implemented agricultural models.

Pelletier, R. E.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Mission Operations with an Autonomous Agent

The Remote Agent (RA) is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) system which automates some of the tasks normally reserved for human mission operators and performs these tasks autonomously on-board the spacecraft. These tasks include activity generation, sequencing, spacecraft analysis, and failure recovery. The RA will be demonstrated as a flight experiment on Deep Space One (DSI), the first deep space mission of the NASA's New Millennium Program (NMP). As we moved from prototyping into actual flight code development and teamed with ground operators, we made several major extensions to the RA architecture to address the broader operational context in which PA would be used. These extensions support ground operators and the RA sharing a long-range mission profile with facilities for asynchronous ground updates; support ground operators monitoring and commanding the spacecraft at multiple levels of detail simultaneously; and enable ground operators to provide additional knowledge to the RA, such as parameter updates, model updates, and diagnostic information, without interfering with the activities of the RA or leaving the system in an inconsistent state. The resulting architecture supports incremental autonomy, in which a basic agent can be delivered early and then used in an increasingly autonomous manner over the lifetime of the mission. It also supports variable autonomy, as it enables ground operators to benefit from autonomy when L'@ey want it, but does not inhibit them from obtaining a detailed understanding and exercising tighter control when necessary. These issues are critical to the successful development and operation of autonomous spacecraft.

Pell, Barney↗
NASA NTRS1996

Simulator Evaluation of a New Cockpit Descent Procedure

An experiment was conducted to evaluate flight crew performance of the "Precision Descent," a new cockpit procedure designed to support the Descent Advisor (DA), one of the components in a new air traffic control advisory system called the "Center-TRACON Automation System" (CTAS). The DA predicts when aircraft will reach a specific waypoint on the arrival route, and presents controllers with clearance advisories designed to improve the sequencing of arriving aircraft. The effectiveness of the DA depends on the aircraft's descent trajectory: where it begins descent, what speed it maintains, how fast and at what altitude it crosses the bottom-of-descent waypoint. The Precision Descent allows controllers to assign these descent parameters to the flight crew. A Field Evaluation of the DA was conducted in Denver in 1995. Three separate clearances using standard ATC phraseology were used to support the cockpit descent procedure during this evaluation. The number and length of these clearances caused problems for both controllers and flight crews, causing readback errors, repeat requests and procedure misunderstandings. These observations led to a focus group meeting in which controller and pilot participants in the 1995 FE assisted in the redesign of the procedure. The Precision Descent eliminates one clearance used in the earlier study, and greatly reduces the length of the remaining clearances. This was accomplished by using non-standard clearance phraseology that relies on a published procedure chart for correct interpretation. Eight type-rated flight crews flew eight Precision Descents in a Boeing 747-400 simulator. No training was provided: crews received either a procedure chart or a procedure chart with a flight manual bulletin describing procedure techniques. Video and digital data were recorded for each descent. Preliminary results indicate that moving information from the verbal clearance to the chart was successful: the shorter clearances and the procedure's default crossing restriction were understood, and procedure compliance of 81% was observed across all descents on six independent compliance measures. Some readback errors and procedure misunderstandings were still observed, however; particularly when descent clearances deviated from the normative procedure.

Crane, Barry↗
NASA NTRS1993

Telemetry Monitoring and Display Using LabVIEW

The Measurement Technology Center of the Instrumentation Section configures automated data acquisition systems to meet the diverse needs of JPL's experimental research community. These systems are based on personal computers or workstations (Apple, IBM/Compatible, Hewlett-Packard, and Sun Microsystems) and often include integrated data analysis, visualization and experiment control functions in addition to data acquisition capabilities. These integrated systems may include sensors, signal conditioning, data acquisition interface cards, software, and a user interface. Graphical programming is used to simplify configuration of such systems. Employment of a graphical programming language is the most important factor in enabling the implementation of data acquisition, analysis, display and visualization systems at low cost. Other important factors are the use of commercial software packages and off-the-shelf data acquisition hardware where possible. Understanding the experimenter's needs is also critical. An interactive approach to user interface construction and training of operators is also important. One application was created as a result of a competative effort between a graphical programming language team and a text-based C language programming team to verify the advantages of using a graphical programming language approach. With approximately eight weeks of funding over a period of three months, the text-based programming team accomplished about 10% of the basic requirements, while the Macintosh/LabVIEW team accomplished about 150%, having gone beyond the original requirements to simulate a telemetry stream and provide utility programs. This application verified that using graphical programming can significantly reduce software development time. As a result of this initial effort, additional follow-on work was awarded to the graphical programming team.

graphical user interface LabVIEW graphical program↗
NASA NTRS1978

Building Specifications

The building in the top photo is the new home of the National Permanent Savings Bank in Washington, D.C., designed by Hartman-Cox Architects. Its construction was based on a money-saving method of preparing building specifications which derived from NASA technology developed to obtain quality construction while holding down cost of launch facilities, test centers and other structures. Written technical specifications spell out materials and components to be used on construction projects and identify the quality tests each item must pass. Specifications can have major impact on construction costs. Poorly formulated specifications can lead to unacceptable construction which must be replaced, unnecessarily high materials costs, safety hazards, disputes and often additional costs due to delays and litigation. NASA's Langley Research Center developed a novel approach to providing accurate, uniform, cost-effective specifications which can be readily updated to incorporate new building technologies. Called SPECSINTACT, it is a computerized - system accessible to all NASA centers involved in construction programs. The system contains a comprehensive catalog of master specifications applicable to many types of construction. It enables designers of any structure to call out relevant sections from computer storage and modify them to fit the needs of the project at hand. Architects and engineers can save time by concentrating their efforts on needed modifications rather than developing all specifications from scratch. Successful use of SPECSINTACT has led to a number of spinoff systems. One of the first was MASTERSPEC, developed from NASA's experience by Production Systems for Architects and Engineers, Inc., an organization established by the American Institute of Architects. MASTERSPEC, used in construction of the bank building pictured, follows the same basic format as SPECSINTACT and can be used in either automated or manual modes. The striking appearance of the bank building shows that, while MASTERSPEC saves time and money, its use involves no sacrfice in architectural design freedom. The Naval Engineering Facilities Command employs an automated specifications system based on SPECSINTACT. The Public Buildings Service of the General Services Administration used SPECSINTACT as a starting point in a plan to make its guideline specifications available to architects and engineers on a nationwide computer network. Public Technology, Inc., a NASA Technology Application Team, is working with Production Systems for Architects and Engineers, Inc., to promote widespread use of the system by state and local governments for cost benefits to taxpayers.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2010

A Hardware Model Validation Tool for Use in Complex Space Systems

One of the many technological hurdles that must be overcome in future missions is the challenge of validating as-built systems against the models used for design. We propose a technique composed of intelligent parameter exploration in concert with automated failure analysis as a scalable method for the validation of complex space systems. The technique is impervious to discontinuities and linear dependencies in the data, and can handle dimensionalities consisting of hundreds of variables over tens of thousands of experiments.

Davies, Misty Dawn↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Astrobee: Improving Capabilities for Free Flying Robotic Technology Demonstrations

The Astrobee Project has completed three years operating inside the ISS. Three Astrobee Free Flyers reached the ISS in April 2019 and are currently hosting a variety of users. During this time, Astrobee has advanced the state of the art in free-flying robots on ISS, operated over 100 sessions, logged over 750 hours of free-flyer operation, and made several capability improvements. Astrobee’s primary objective is to provide a highly flexible and capable free-flying robotic research platform to enable future guest scientist investigations. However, Astrobee is also demonstrating the feasibility of intra-vehicular robots (IVR) for performing key caretaking functions within exploration vehicles as part of NASA’s Moon-to-Mars exploration strategy. IVR capabilities will be especially vital during uncrewed mission phases. For example, current plans call for the lunar Gateway to be uncrewed >85% of the time. Astrobee’s baseline implementation supports free-flying camera and sensor survey use cases. Astrobee guest scientists can deploy software updates and hardware payloads to extend its capabilities. Astrobee is continuously improving its navigation robustness, general flight software maturity, and ISS interior maps, both through the baseline Astrobee operations and with the help of the ISAAC project. Astrobee began with mapping, localization, and operations in the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), and has expanded to mapping in Node 2 and the US Lab. Astrobee has improved localization and operational robustness through improved mapping processes, algorithm updates (Soussan 2022) that reduce the occurrences of lost localization as well as developed recovery techniques to return to a good localization fix when loss of localization does occur. Future guest science experiments currently in development could demonstrate cargo transfer, fault isolation, free flyer and stationary robot collaboration, microgravity fluid transfer, and new docking mechanisms, among others. This presentation will focus on 1) Astrobee technical capabilities 2) What Astrobee can provide to a guest science experiment 3) Astrobee’s recent improvements 4) Possibilities for using Astrobee for future investigations. Soussan, R., Kumar, V., Coltin, B. and Smith, T. (2022) AstroLoc: An Efficient and Robust Localizer for a Free-flying Robot, Proc. Int. Conf. Rob. Autom. (ICRA) [to appear]

Astrobee↗
NASA NTRS1984

What Pilots like (and Don't Like) About the New Cockpit Technology

Pilot's perceptions of the new cockpit technology in the B-767 are discussed. Although the data reported were taken from the introductory experience of the B-767, it is felt that similar, if not identical, results would be obtained with any other new cockpit technology aircraft, i.e., the A310. The following conclusions were drawn from the information collected thus far: A large majority of the pilots enjoy flying the B-767 more than the older airplanes. The pilots accept the new cockpit technology, and they choose to use it because they find it useful. The pilots are aware of the possible loss of flying skill with the presence of automation, and they hand fly (usually with flight director) to prevent this loss. There is no evidence of loss of skills from the data collected. The primary points of confusion or surprise were autothrottle/autopilot interactions; the autopilot during the wrong way or not capturing the course; and achieving desired results with the Flight Management System/Control Display Unit (FMS/CDU). The pilots felt training for the FMS/CDU could be improved, and they especially wanted more hands on experience.

Curry, R. E.↗
NASA NTRS1993

JSC flight experiment recommendation in support of Space Station robotic operations

The man-tended configuration (MTC) of Space Station Freedom (SSF) provides a unique opportunity to move robotic systems from the laboratory into the mainstream space program. Restricted crew access due to the Shuttle's flight rate, as well as constrained on-orbit stay time, reduces the productivity of a facility dependent on astronauts to perform useful work. A natural tendency toward robotics to perform maintenance and routine tasks will be seen in efforts to increase SSF usefulness. This tendency will provide the foothold for deploying space robots. This paper outlines a flight experiment that will capitalize on the investment in robotic technology made by NASA over the past ten years. The flight experiment described herein provides the technology demonstration necessary for taking advantage of the expected opportunity at MTC. As a context to this flight experiment, a broader view of the strategy developed at the JSC is required. The JSC is building toward MTC by developing a ground-based SSF emulation funded jointly by internal funds, NASA/Code R, and NASA/Code M. The purpose of this ground-based Station is to provide a platform whereby technology originally developed at JPL, LaRC, and GSFC can be integrated into a near flight-like condition. For instance, the Automated Robotic Maintenance of Space Station (ARMSS) project integrates flat targets, surface inspection, and other JPL technologies into a Station analogy for evaluation. Also, ARMSS provides the experimental platform for the Capaciflector from GSPC to be evaluated for its usefulness in performing ORU change out or other tasks where proximity detection is required. The use and enhancement of these ground-based SSF models are planned for use through FY-93. The experimental data gathered from tests in these facilities will provide the basis for the technology content of the proposed flight experiment.

Berka, Reginald B.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Assessment of Air Traffic Controller Acceptability of Aircrew Route Change Requests

NASA developed the traffic aware strategic aircrew requests concept for a cockpit automation that identifies route improvements and advises the aircrew to request the change from the air traffic controller. In order to increase the chance of air traffic control approval, the automation ensures that the route is clear of known traffic, weather, and airspace restrictions. Hence the technology is anticipated to provide benefits in areas such as flight efficiency, flight schedule compliance, passenger comfort, and pilot and controller workload. In support of a field trial of a prototype of the technology, observations were conducted at the Atlanta and Jacksonville air traffic control centers to identify the main factors that affect the acceptability of aircrew requests by air traffic controllers. Observers shadowed air traffic controllers as the test flight pilot made pre-scripted requests to invoke acceptability issues and then they interviewed voluntarily fifty controllers with experience ranging from one to thirty-five years. The most common reason for rejecting requests is conflicting with traffic followed by violating air traffic procedures, increasing sector workload, and conflicting with major arrival and departure flows and flow restrictions. Quantitative parameters such as the distance that a route should maintain from sector boundaries and special use airspace were identified and recommended for inclusion in the automation.

Flight Optimization; Field Trial↗
NASA NTRS2017

Assessment of Air Traffic Controller Acceptability of Aircrew Route Change Requests

NASA developed the traffic aware strategic aircrew requests concept for a cockpit automation that identifies route improvements and advises the aircrew to request the change from the air traffic controller. In order to increase the chance of air traffic control approval, the automation ensures that the route is clear of known traffic, weather, and airspace restrictions. Hence the technology is anticipated to provide benefits in areas such as flight efficiency, flight schedule compliance, passenger comfort, and pilot and controller workload. In support of a field trial of a prototype of the technology, observations were conducted at the Atlanta and Jacksonville air traffic control centers to identify the main factors that affect the acceptability of aircrew requests by air traffic controllers. Observers shadowed air traffic controllers as the test flight pilot made pre-scripted requests to invoke acceptability issues and then they interviewed voluntarily fifty controllers with experience ranging from one to thirty-five years. The most common reason for rejecting requests is conflicting with traffic followed by violating air traffic procedures, increasing sector workload, and conflicting with major arrival and departure flows and flow restrictions. Quantitative parameters such as the distance that a route should maintain from sector boundaries and special use airspace were identified and recommended for inclusion in the automation.

Flight Optimization; Field Trial↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Role of Trust and Usability in Enabling Spaceflight Crew Autonomy

Future long duration exploration missions will require an increased use of onboard automated systems as spaceflight crews venture further than before and have longer communications delays with ground support. The design of these systems must support appropriate crew trust and have sufficient usability to enable spaceflight crew autonomy or risk being misused while crews wait to communicate with ground support. We evaluated trust & usability in our self-scheduling tool, Playbook, for crew mission timelines. Data was collected in a controlled lab experiment with 31 participants. Participants in the study conducted two tasks: scheduling, where participants were responsible for scheduling a majority of a day's operational tasks, and rescheduling, where participants were provided a schedule and asked to reschedule higher priority activities. We found a significant correlation between system trust and usability, irrespective of self-scheduling tasks. We conclude that system usability may play a bigger role in how trust is learned while conducting novel crew autonomy tasks such as self-scheduling. Future research should investigate the role of usability to encourage appropriate trust in onboard automated crew systems and enable crew autonomy.

crew autonomy↗
NASA NTRS1985

Concept development evaluation for John Deere/UA STS middeck experiment location

The purpose of this effort was to consider and evaluate some specific concepts for performing a number of extremely low gravity (i.e., microgravity) experiments involving the directional solidification of samples of high carbon, cast iron alloys. The specific experiments considered herein were conceived to permit scientific investigation of the resultant microstructures and mechanical properties of the test samples after the microgravity environment processing. This study was limited to consideration of the NASA/MSFC furnace payloads, referred to herein as the Automated Directional Solidification Furnace (ADSF) systems. Three ADSF systems were reviewed and are as follows: (1) Low temperature ADSF (ADSF-1); (2) High temperature ADSF (ADSF-2); and (3) Advanced ADSF (AADSF).

Youngblood, W. W.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Robotic servicing system for space material experiment

A containerless image furnace with an electrostatic positioning device has been developed as one of the material experiment facilities on the Japanese experimental module (JEM). It is characterized by heating/melting/cooling the sample whose position is kept without any contacts by actively controlled electrostatic force exerted between the sample and a set of electrodes. The experiment using the image furnace requires various servicing operations. We have been developing a robotic servicing system with an internal robot accommodated in the rack as an alternative to the crew. It aims to reduce the load on the crew by automating regular tasks and to increase the flexibility applicable to simple irregular tasks by introducing a remote teleoperation scheme. The present robot has poor capability to replace the crew. In order to compensate it, introducing of the concept of the robot friendliness and improving the controllability of the teleoperation by the ground operator aids are essential. In this paper, we identify the tasks to be performed by the robotic servicing system and discuss the way to compensate the capability of the robot. In addition we describe the evaluation tests using an experimental model.

Yamawaki, Toshihiko↗
NASA NTRS1994

Microgravity Flight - Accommodating Non-Human Primates

Spacelab Life Sciences-3 (SLS-3) was scheduled to be the first United States man-tended microgravity flight containing Rhesus monkeys. The goal of this flight as in the five untended Russian COSMOS Bion flights and an earlier American Biosatellite flight, was to understand the biomedical and biological effects of a microgravity environment using the non-human primate as human surrogate. The SLS-3/Rhesus Project and COSMOS Primate-BIOS flights all utilized the rhesus monkey Macaca mulatta. The ultimate objective of all flights with an animal surrogate has been to evaluate and understand biological mechanisms at both the system and cellular level, thus enabling rational effective countermeasures for future long duration human activity under microgravity conditions and enabling technical application to correction of common human physiological problems within earth's gravity, e.g., muscle strength and reloading, osteoporosis, immune deficiency diseases. Hardware developed for the SLS-3/Rhesus Project was the result of a joint effort with the French Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) extending over the last decade. The flight hardware design and development required implementation of sufficient automation to insure flight crew and animal bio-isolation and maintenance with minimal impact to crew activities. A variety of hardware of varying functional capabilities was developed to support the scientific objectives of the original 22 combined French and American experiments, along with 5 Russian co-investigations, including musculoskeletal, metabolic, and behavioral studies. Unique elements of the Rhesus Research Facility (RRF) included separation of waste for daily delivery of urine and fecal samples for metabolic studies and a psychomotor test system for behavioral studies along with monitored food measurement. As in untended flights, telemetry measurements would allow monitoring of thermoregulation, muscular, and cardiac responses to weightlessness. In contrast, the five completed Cosmos/Bion flights, lacked the metabolic samples and behavioral task monitoring, but did facilitate studies of the neurovestibular system during several of the flights. The RRF accommodated two adult 8-11 kg rhesus monkeys, while the Russian experiments and hardware were configured for a younger animal in the 44 kg range. Both the American and Russian hardware maintained a controlled environmental system, specifically temperature, humidity, a timed lighting cycle, and had means for providing food and fluids to the animal(s). Crew availability during a Shuttle mission was to be an optimal condition for retrieval and refrigeration of the animal urine samples along with a manual calcein injection which could lead to greater understanding of bone calcium incorporation. A special portable bioisolation glove box was under development to support this aspect of the experiment profile along with the capability of any contingency human intervention. As a result of recent U.S./Russian negotiations, funding for Space Station, and a series of other events, the SLS-3 mission was cancelled and applicable Rhesus Project experiments incorporated into the Russian Bion 11 and 12 missions. A presentation of the RRF and COSMOS/Bion rhesus hardware is presented along with current plans for the hardware.

Dalton, Bonnie P.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Microgravity Flight: Accommodating Non-Human Primates

Spacelab Life Sciences-3 (SLS-3) was scheduled to be the first United States man-tended microgravity flight containing Rhesus monkeys. The goal of this flight as in the five untended Russian COSMOS Bion flights and an earlier American Biosatellite flight, was to understand the biomedical and biological effects of a microgravity environment using the non-human primate as human surrogate. The SLS-3/Rhesus Project and COSMOS Primate-BIOS flights all utilized the rhesus monkey, Macaca mulatta. The ultimate objective of all flights with an animal surrogate has been to evaluate and understand biological mechanisms at both the system and cellular level, thus enabling rational effective countermeasures for future long duration human activity under microgravity conditions and enabling technical application to correction of common human physiological problems within earth's gravity, e.g., muscle strength and reloading, osteoporosis, immune deficiency diseases. Hardware developed for the SLS-3/Rhesus Project was the result of a joint effort with the French Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) extending over the last decade. The flight hardware design and development required implementation of sufficient automation to insure flight crew and animal bio-isolation and maintenance with minimal impact to crew activities. A variety of hardware of varying functional capabilities was developed to support the scientific objectives of the original 22 combined French and American experiments, along with 5 Russian co-investigations, including musculoskeletal, metabolic, and behavioral studies. Unique elements of the Rhesus Research Facility (RRF) included separation of waste for daily delivery of urine and fecal samples for metabolic studies and a psychomotor test system for behavioral studies along with monitored food measurement. As in untended flights, telemetry measurements would allow monitoring of thermoregulation, muscular, and cardiac responses to weightlessness. In contrast, the five completed Cosmos/Bion flights, lacked the metabolic samples and behavioral task monitoring, but did facilitate studies of the neurovestibular system during several of the flights. The RRF accommodated two adult 8-11 kg rhesus monkeys, while the Russian experiments and hardware were configured for a younger animal in the 44 kg range. Both the American and Russian hardware maintained a controlled environmental system, specifically temperature, humidity, a timed lighting cycle, and had means for providing food and fluids to the animal(s). Crew availability during a Shuttle mission was to be an optimal condition for retrieval and refrigeration of the animal urine samples along with a manual calcein injection which could lead to greater understanding of bone calcium incorporation. A special portable bioisolation glove box was under development to support this aspect of the experiment profile along with the capability of any contingency human intervention. As a result of recent U.S./Russian negotiations, funding for Space Station, and a series of other events, the SLS-3 mission was cancelled and applicable Rhesus Project experiments incorporated into the Russian Bion 11 and 12 missions. A presentation of the RRF and COSMOS/Bion rhesus hardware is presented along with current plans for the hardware.

Dalton, Bonnie P.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Microgravity Flight - Accommodating Non-Human Primates

Spacelab Life Sciences-3 (SLS-3) was scheduled to be the first United States man-tended microgravity flight containing Rhesus monkeys. The goal of this flight as in the five untended Russian COSMOS Bion flights and an earlier American Biosatellite flight, was to understand the biomedical and biological effects of a microgravity environment using the non-human primate as human surrogate. The SLS-3/Rhesus Project and COSMOS Primate-BIOS flights all utilized the rhesus monkey, Macaca mulatta. The ultimate objective of all flights with an animal surrogate has been to evaluate and understand biological mechanisms at both the system and cellular level, thus enabling rational effective countermeasures for future long duration human activity under microgravity conditions and enabling technical application to correction of common human physiological problems within earth's gravity, e.g., muscle strength and reloading, osteoporosis, immune deficiency diseases. Hardware developed for the SLS-3/Rhesus Project was the result of a joint effort with the French Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) extending over the last decade. The flight hardware design and development required implementation of sufficient automation to insure flight crew and animal bio-isolation and maintenance with minimal impact to crew activities. A variety of hardware of varying functional capabilities was developed to support the scientific objectives of the original 22 combined French and American experiments, along with 5 Russian co-investigations, including musculoskeletal, metabolic, and behavioral studies. Unique elements of the Rhesus Research Facility (RRF) included separation of waste for daily delivery of urine and fecal samples for metabolic studies and a psychomotor test system for behavioral studies along with monitored food measurement. As in untended flights, telemetry measurements would allow monitoring of thermoregulation, muscular, and cardiac responses to weightlessness. In contrast, the five completed Cosmos/Bion flights, lacked the metabolic samples and behavioral task monitoring, but did facilitate studies of the neurovestibular system during several of the flights.

Dalton, Bonnie P.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Adaptive Multi-Agent Systems for Constrained Optimization

Product Distribution (PD) theory is a new framework for analyzing and controlling distributed systems. Here we demonstrate its use for distributed stochastic optimization. First we review one motivation of PD theory, as the information-theoretic extension of conventional full-rationality game theory to the case of bounded rational agents. In this extension the equilibrium of the game is the optimizer of a Lagrangian of the (probability distribution of) the joint state of the agents. When the game in question is a team game with constraints, that equilibrium optimizes the expected value of the team game utility, subject to those constraints. The updating of the Lagrange parameters in the Lagrangian can be viewed as a form of automated annealing, that focuses the MAS more and more on the optimal pure strategy. This provides a simple way to map the solution of any constrained optimization problem onto the equilibrium of a Multi-Agent System (MAS). We present computer experiments involving both the Queen s problem and K-SAT validating the predictions of PD theory and its use for off-the-shelf distributed adaptive optimization.

Macready, William↗