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At least 91 records · Page 5

Enhancement of the NMSU Channel Error Simulator to Provide User-Selectable Link Delays

This is the third in a continuing series of reports describing the development of the Space-to-Ground Link Simulator (SGLS) to be used for testing data transfers under simulated space channel conditions. The SGLS is based upon Virtual Instrument (VI) software techniques for managing the error generation, link data rate configuration, and, now, selection of the link delay value. In this report we detail the changes that needed to be made to the SGLS VI configuration to permit link delays to be added to the basic error generation and link data rate control capabilities. This was accomplished by modifying the rate-splitting VIs to include a buffer the hold the incoming data for the duration selected by the user to emulate the channel link delay. In sample tests of this configuration, the TCP/IP(sub ftp) service and the SCPS(sub fp) service were used to transmit 10-KB data files using both symmetric (both forward and return links set to 115200 bps) and unsymmetric (forward link set at 2400 bps and a return link set at 115200 bps) link configurations. Transmission times were recorded at bit error rates of 0 through 10(exp -5) to give an indication of the link performance. In these tests. we noted separate timings for the protocol setup time to initiate the file transfer and the variation in the actual file transfer time caused by channel errors. Both protocols showed similar performance to that seen earlier for the symmetric and unsymmetric channels. This time, the delays in establishing the file protocol also showed that these delays could double the transmission time and need to be accounted for in mission planning. Both protocols also showed a difficulty in transmitting large data files over large link delays. In these tests, there was no clear favorite between the TCP/IP(sub ftp) and the SCPS(sub fp). Based upon these tests, further testing is recommended to extend the results to different file transfer configurations.

Horan, Stephen↗

TDCOSMO VIII. A key test of systematics in the hierarchical method of time-delay cosmography

The largest source of systematic errors in the time-delay cosmography method likely arises from the lens model mass distribution, where an inaccurate choice of model could in principle bias the value of $H$ 0 . A Bayesian hierarchical framework has been proposed which combines lens systems with kinematic data, constraining the mass profile shape at a population level. The framework has been previously validated using a small sample of lensing galaxies drawn from hydro-simulations. The goal of this work is to expand the validation to a more general set of lenses consistent with observed systems, as well as confirm the capacity of the method to combine two lens populations: one which has time delay information and one which lacks time delays and has systematically different image radii. For this purpose, we generated samples of analytic lens mass distributions made of baryons+dark matter and fit the subsequent mock images with standard power-law models. Corresponding kinematics data were also emulated. The hierarchical framework applied to an ensemble of time-delay lenses allowed us to correct the $H$ 0 bias associated with model choice to find $H$ 0 within 1.5σ of the fiducial value. We then combined this set with a sample of corresponding lens systems which have no time delays and have a source at lower $z$, resulting in a systematically smaller image radius relative to their effective radius. The hierarchical framework has successfully accounted for this effect, recovering a value of $H$ 0 which is both more precise (σ ~ 2%) and more accurate (0.7% median offset) than the time-delay set alone. This result confirms that non-time-delay lenses can nonetheless contribute valuable constraining power to the determination of $H$ 0 via their kinematic constraints, assuming they come from the same global population as the time-delay set.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Prospective memory in dynamic environments: effects of load, delay, and phonological rehearsal

A new paradigm was developed to examine prospective memory performance in a visual-spatial task that resembles some aspects of the work of air traffic controllers. Two experiments examined the role of workload (number of aeroplanes that participants directed), delay (between receipt of prospective instructions and execution), and phonological rehearsal. High workload increased prospective memory errors but increasing delay from 1-3 or 5 minutes had no effect. Shadowing aurally presented text reduced prospective memory performance, presumably because it prevented verbal rehearsal of the prospective instructions. However, performance on the foreground task of directing aeroplanes to routine destinations was affected only by workload and not by opportunity for rehearsal. Our results suggest that ability to maintain performance on a routine foreground task while performing a secondary task--perhaps analogous to conversation--does not predict ability to retrieve a prospective intention to deviate from the routine.

Aerospace Medicine↗

Microwave radiometer measurement of water vapor path delay: Data reduction techniques

Data reduction techniques are developed to compensate for water vapor path delay, a limiting error source in geodetic measurements made with very long baseline interferometry and in radio ranging to spacecraft. It is shown that water vapor path delay is proportional to a linear combination of saturation-corrected sky brightness temperatures, measured on and off the water vapor line. The effects of emission from liquid water droplets in clouds as well as most of the oxygen emission are removed by the off-line channel. Sky brightness temperatures are saturation-corrected or 'linearized' using estimates of effective sky temperatures made from surface temperature. Tipping curves are used to remove instrumental error. Coefficients are found by two methods: from a regression analysis of measured brightness temperatures versus radiosonde measured delay, and from a regression analysis of theoretical brightness temperatures versus radiosonde measured delay. In each case the coefficients are adjusted for differing climatic conditions by measurements of surface temperature, pressure, and relative humidity. Regression solutions are constrained to remove liquid water contributions and to give the correct slope for radiometer versus radiosonde path delay.

Claflin, E. S.↗

Tropospheric Correction for InSAR Using Interpolated ECMWF Data and GPS Zenith Total Delay

To mitigate atmospheric errors caused by the troposphere, which is a limiting error source for spaceborne interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) imaging, a tropospheric correction method has been developed using data from the European Centre for Medium- Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and the Global Positioning System (GPS). The ECMWF data was interpolated using a Stretched Boundary Layer Model (SBLM), and ground-based GPS estimates of the tropospheric delay from the Southern California Integrated GPS Network were interpolated using modified Gaussian and inverse distance weighted interpolations. The resulting Zenith Total Delay (ZTD) correction maps have been evaluated, both separately and using a combination of the two data sets, for three short-interval InSAR pairs from Envisat during 2006 on an area stretching from northeast from the Los Angeles basin towards Death Valley. Results show that the root mean square (rms) in the InSAR images was greatly reduced, meaning a significant reduction in the atmospheric noise of up to 32 percent. However, for some of the images, the rms increased and large errors remained after applying the tropospheric correction. The residuals showed a constant gradient over the area, suggesting that a remaining orbit error from Envisat was present. The orbit reprocessing in ROI_pac and the plane fitting both require that the only remaining error in the InSAR image be the orbit error. If this is not fulfilled, the correction can be made anyway, but it will be done using all remaining errors assuming them to be orbit errors. By correcting for tropospheric noise, the biggest error source is removed, and the orbit error becomes apparent and can be corrected for

Webb, Frank H.↗

The Carrier's Liability for Damage Caused by Delay in International Air Transport

Delay in the air transport occurs when passengers, baggage or cargo do not arrive at their destination at the time indicated in the contract of carriage. The causes of delay in the carriage of passengers are booking errors or double booking, delayed departure of aircraft, incorrect information regarding the time of departure, failure to land at the scheduled destination and changes in flight schedule or addition of extra landing stops. Delay in the carriage of baggage or cargo may have different causes: no reservation, lack of space, failure to load the baggage or cargo at the right place, or to deliver the covering documents at the right place. The Montreal Convention of 1999 Article 19 provides that 'The carrier is liable for damage occasioned by delay in the carriage by air of passengers, baggage or cargo. Nevertheless, the carder shall not be liable for damage occasioned by delay if it proves that it and its servants and agents took all measures that could reasonably be required to avoid the damage or that it was impossible for it or them to take such measures'. The Montreal Convention Article 22 provides liability limits of the carrier in case of delay for passengers and their baggage and for cargo. In the carriage of persons, the liability of the carrier for each passenger is limited to 4,150 SDR. In the carriage of baggage, the liability of the carrier is limited to 1,000 SDR for each passenger unless a special declaration as to the value of the baggage has been made. In the carriage of cargo, the liability of the carrier is limited to 17 SDR per kilogram unless a special declaration as to the value of the cargo has been made. The Montreal Convention Article 19 has shortcomings: it is silent on the duration of the liability for carriage,andit does not make any distinction between persons and good. It does not give any indication concerning the circumstances to be taken into account in cases of delay, and about the length of delay. In conclusion, it is desirable to define the period of carriage with accuracy, and to insert the word 'unreasonable' in Article 19.

Lee, Kang Bin↗

ACTS 118x Final Report High-Speed TCP Interoperability Testing

With the recent explosion of the Internet and the enormous business opportunities available to communication system providers, great interest has developed in improving the efficiency of data transfer using the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) of the Internet Protocol (IP) suite. The satellite system providers are interested in solving TCP efficiency problems associated with long delays and error-prone links. Similarly, the terrestrial community is interested in solving TCP problems over high-bandwidth links. Whereas the wireless community is interested in improving TCP performance over bandwidth constrained, error-prone links. NASA realized that solutions had already been proposed for most of the problems associated with efficient data transfer over large bandwidth-delay links (which include satellite links). The solutions are detailed in various Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Request for Comments (RFCs). Unfortunately, most of these solutions had not been tested at high-speed (155+ Mbps). Therefore, the NASA's ACTS experiments program initiated a series of TCP experiments to demonstrate scalability of TCP/IP and determine how far the protocol can be optimized over a 622 Mbps satellite link. These experiments were known as the 118i and 118j experiments. During the 118i and 118j experiments, NASA worked closely with SUN Microsystems and FORE Systems to improve the operating system, TCP stacks. and network interface cards and drivers. We were able to obtain instantaneous data throughput rates of greater than 520 Mbps and average throughput rates of 470 Mbps using TCP over Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) over a 622 Mbps Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) OC12 link. Following the success of these experiments and the successful government/industry collaboration, a new series of experiments. the 118x experiments. were developed.

Ivancic, William D.↗

Multiple point least squares equalization in a room

Equalization filters designed to minimize the mean square error between a delayed version of the original electrical signal and the equalized response at a point in a room have previously been investigated. In general, such a strategy degrades the response at positions in a room away from the equalization point. A method is presented for designing an equalization filter by adjusting the filter coefficients to minimize the sum of the squares of the errors between the equalized responses at multiple points in the room and delayed versions of the original, electrical signal. Such an equalization filter can give a more uniform frequency response over a greater volume of the enclosure than can the single point equalizer above. Computer simulation results are presented of equalizing the frequency responses from a loudspeaker to various typical ear positions, in a room with dimensions and acoustic damping typical of a car interior, using the two approaches outlined above. Adaptive filter algorithms, which can automatically adjust the coefficients of a digital equalization filter to achieve this minimization, will also be discussed.

Elliott, S. J.↗

Precision Time Protocol Synchronization Under Network Impairments

This bulletin examines how network anomalies disrupt Precision Time Protocol synchronization on long terrestrial links used for grid timing. Using a CAST testbed with emulated impairments, we measured delay, offset, and time interval error while monitoring packet rates. Symmetric delays did not perturb synchronization, whereas asymmetric delays produced false offsets; jitters were largely filtered out, but they delayed synchronization recovery; moderate packet loss was tolerated, while severe loss forced holdover and loss of synchronization.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

TAILSIM Users Guide

The TAILSIM program uses a 4th order Runge-Kutta method to integrate the standard aircraft equations-of-motion (EOM). The EOM determine three translational and three rotational accelerations about the aircraft's body axis reference system. The forces and moments that drive the EOM are determined from aerodynamic coefficients, dynamic derivatives, and control inputs. Values for these terms are determined from linear interpolation of tables that are a function of parameters such as angle-of-attack and surface deflections. Buildup equations combine these terms and dimensionalize them to generate the driving total forces and moments. Features that make TAILSIM applicable to studies of tailplane stall include modeling of the reversible control System, modeling of the pilot performing a load factor and/or airspeed command task, and modeling of vertical gusts. The reversible control system dynamics can be described as two hinged masses connected by a spring. resulting in a fifth order system. The pilot model is a standard form of lead-lag with a time delay applied to an integrated pitch rate and/or airspeed error feedback. The time delay is implemented by a Pade approximation, while the commanded pitch rate is determined by a commanded load factor. Vertical gust inputs include a single 1-cosine gust and a continuous NASA Dryden gust model. These dynamic models. coupled with the use of a nonlinear database, allow the tailplane stall characteristics, elevator response, and resulting aircraft response, to be modeled. A useful output capability of the TAILSIM program is the ability to display multiple post-run plot pages to allow a quick assessment of the time history response. There are 16 plot pages currently available to the user. Each plot page displays 9 parameters. Each parameter can also be displayed individually. on a one plot-per-page format. For a more refined display of the results the program can also create files of tabulated data. which can then be used by other plotting programs. The TAILSIM program was written straightforwardly assuming the user would want to change the database tables, the buildup equations, the output parameters. and the pilot model parameters. A separate database file and input file are automatically read in by the program. The use of an include file to set up all common blocks facilitates easy changing of parameter names and array sizes.

Hiltner, Dale W.↗

Modified univibrator compensates for output timing errors

One-stage, delay compensation amplifier, added to conventional univibrator circuitry time-synchronizes the trailing edge of the output pulse with the origin of the input pulse. The trailing edge is independent of the amplitude of the input pulse.

Strauss, M. G.↗

Orbit-determination performance of Doppler data for interplanetary cruise trajectories. Part 2: 8.4-GHz performance and data-weighting strategies

A consider error covariance analysis was performed in order to investigate the orbit-determination performance attainable using two-way (coherent) 8.4-GHz (X-band) Doppler data for two segments of the planned Mars Observer trajectory. The analysis includes the effects of the current level of calibration errors in tropospheric delay, ionospheric delay, and station locations, with particular emphasis placed on assessing the performance of several candidate elevation-dependent data-weighting functions. One weighting function was found that yields good performance for a variety of tracking geometries. This weighting function is simple and robust; it reduces the danger of error that might exist if an analyst had to select one of several different weighting functions that are highly sensitive to the exact choice of parameters and to the tracking geometry. Orbit-determination accuracy improvements that may be obtained through the use of calibration data derived from Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites also were investigated, and can be as much as a factor of three in some components of the spacecraft state vector. Assuming that both station-location errors and troposphere calibration errors are reduced simultaneously, the recommended data-weighting function need not be changed when GPS calibrations are incorporated in the orbit-determination process.

Ulvestad, J. S.↗

Practical Challenges in Real-Time Demand Response

We report on a real-time demand response experiment with 100 controllable devices. The experiment reveals several key challenges in the deployment of a real-time demand response program, including time delays, uncertainties, characterization errors, multiple timescales, and nonlinearity, which have been largely ignored in previous studies. To resolve these practical issues, we develop and implement a two-level multi-loop control structure integrating feed-forward proportional-integral controllers and optimization solvers in closed loops, which eliminates steady-state errors and improves the dynamical performance of the overall building response. Furthermore, the proposed methods are validated by Hardware-in-the-Loop (HiL) tests.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Precise interferometric tracking of spacecraft at low sun-earth-probe angles

When a spacecraft is at low sun-earth-probe (SEP) angle, phase perturbations induced in the spacecraft's signal by the solar plasma can impede the acquisition of meaningful spacecraft Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) measurements. This phenomenon imposes limitations on our ability to successfully acquire the spacecraft signal, and also introduces unmodeled errors into data that are successfully acquired. In this paper, an analysis of the solar plasma induced error on interferometric delay rate as a function of SEP angle is performed. In addition, the probability of correct signal phase connection as a function of SEP angle and plasma variability is calculated for 2.3 GHz and 8.4 GHz signals. In December 1986, an experiment was conducted to demonstrate VLBI navigation at low SEP angles, using the Voyager 2 spacecraft. The results of this experiment are consistent with the conclusions reached in the low SEP analysis and are also consistent with a theoretical error model for water vapor fluctuations in the earth's troposphere.

Kahn, Robert D.↗

Leveraging Qubit Loss Detection in Fault-Tolerant Quantum Algorithms

Qubit loss errors constitute a dominant source of noise in many quantum hardware systems, particularly in neutral-atom quantum computers. We develop a theoretical framework to effectively detect and correct loss errors in logical algorithms and leverage such loss information in decoding. Considering general quantum error correction codes and logical circuits, we introduce a delayed-erasure decoder for experimentally motivated error models which leverages information from delayed loss detection to accurately correct loss errors, even when the precise moment of the error is unknown. Using this decoder, we identify strategies for detecting and correcting loss errors based on the logical circuit structure. For deep circuits prior to logical measurement, we explore methods to integrate loss detection into syndrome extraction with minimal overhead, identifying optimal strategies depending on the qubit loss fraction in the noise and hardware capabilities. In contrast, we find that many key algorithmic subroutines involve frequent gate teleportation, shortening the circuit depth before logical measurement and naturally replacing qubits with no additional experimental overhead. We simulate this setting using a toy model algorithm for small-angle synthesis and find a significant performance improvement as the loss fraction increases. These results provide a path forward for advancing large-scale fault-tolerant quantum computation in systems with loss error detection.

atoms↗

Robust cooperative control strategy for a platoon of connected and autonomous vehicles against sensor errors and control errors simultaneously in a real-world driving environment

In a real-world driving environment, a platoon of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) is subject to many internal and external disturbances, resulting in uncertain vehicle dynamics. In general, the disturbances can be categorized into two types: disturbances due to vehicle sensor errors (e.g., GPS error) and disturbances due to vehicle control errors (e.g., actuator delay). In the literature, many control strategies have been proposed to improve the robustness of the CAV platoon against uncertain vehicle dynamics induced by these disturbances. However, most of these strategies only consider one type of disturbance and cannot tackle both types of disturbances simultaneously. Furthermore, they are designed to maximize the benefits of each vehicle in the platoon independently, which can deteriorate the performance of the platoon. Here, to address these problems, this study proposes a robust cooperative control (RCC) strategy to maneuver the vehicles in the platoon cooperatively to counteract the impacts of both types of disturbances. The RCC strategy is developed based on a minimax problem, where the maximization subproblem seeks to find the worst inputs for the uncertainty terms in the vehicle dynamics equation to minimize the platoon performance, while the minimization subproblem seeks to find the optimal control decisions for all subsequent vehicles to maximize the platoon performance in the worst case. To solve the minimax problem, this study proposes a globally convergent solution algorithm. It can solve the minimax problem very efficiently to enable real time deployment of the RCC strategy. Numerical application indicates that compared to the existing methods, the RCC strategy can dramatically improve the robustness of the CAV platoon against the uncertain vehicle dynamics induced by both vehicle state detection errors and vehicle control errors. Therefore, it can maneuver the CAV platoon safely and efficiently in a real-world driving environment.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Advanced Control Algorithms for Compensating the Phase Distortion Due to Transport Delay in Human-Machine Systems

The desire to create more complex visual scenes in modern flight simulators outpaces recent increases in processor speed. As a result, simulation transport delay remains a problem. New approaches for compensating the transport delay in a flight simulator have been developed and are presented in this report. The lead/lag filter, the McFarland compensator and the Sobiski/Cardullo state space filter are three prominent compensators. The lead/lag filter provides some phase lead, while introducing significant gain distortion in the same frequency interval. The McFarland predictor can compensate for much longer delay and cause smaller gain error in low frequencies than the lead/lag filter, but the gain distortion beyond the design frequency interval is still significant, and it also causes large spikes in prediction. Though, theoretically, the Sobiski/Cardullo predictor, a state space filter, can compensate the longest delay with the least gain distortion among the three, it has remained in laboratory use due to several limitations. The first novel compensator is an adaptive predictor that makes use of the Kalman filter algorithm in a unique manner. In this manner the predictor can accurately provide the desired amount of prediction, while significantly reducing the large spikes caused by the McFarland predictor. Among several simplified online adaptive predictors, this report illustrates mathematically why the stochastic approximation algorithm achieves the best compensation results. A second novel approach employed a reference aircraft dynamics model to implement a state space predictor on a flight simulator. The practical implementation formed the filter state vector from the operator s control input and the aircraft states. The relationship between the reference model and the compensator performance was investigated in great detail, and the best performing reference model was selected for implementation in the final tests. Theoretical analyses of data from offline simulations with time delay compensation show that both novel predictors effectively suppress the large spikes caused by the McFarland compensator. The phase errors of the three predictors are not significant. The adaptive predictor yields greater gain errors than the McFarland predictor for short delays (96 and 138 ms), but shows smaller errors for long delays (186 and 282 ms). The advantage of the adaptive predictor becomes more obvious for a longer time delay. Conversely, the state space predictor results in substantially smaller gain error than the other two predictors for all four delay cases.

Guo, Liwen↗

A simple attitude data filter for three-axis attitude initialization for autonomous ascent of Shuttle-launched spacecraft

A method for accurately initializing spacecraft attitude after release from the Orbiter is described. It is noted that the method is suitable for an autonomous ascent to mission orbit. Test results are given from a FORTRAN simulation of the estimation algorithm using measurement data from a detailed spacecraft dynamics simulation program. The technique here is orbital yaw-gyrocompassing. Attitude is estimated through a Kalman filter, using pitch and roll measurements from an earth sensor, while gyro data provide the system dynamics information. In the tests described, gyro and earth sensor data are generated by an existing control system simulation of earth-search and yaw-gyrocompassing attitude dynamics; they include realistic errors such as delays, random noise and quantization effects. The estimated attitude history is compared with the true attitude history from the simulation program to assess the accuracy and convergence of the filter in the presence of noisy measurements and disturbances, including thruster firings for momentum control. It is noted that since the earth sensor provides direct measurements of pitch and roll, the main criterion of filter performance is yaw accuracy.

Joshi, R. T.↗