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At least 1,099 records · Page 61

A walk through the planned CS building

Using the architectural plan views of our future computer science building as test objects, we have completed the first stage of a Building walkthrough system. The inputs to our system are AutoCAD files. An AutoCAD converter translates the geometrical information in these files into a format suitable for 3D rendering. Major model errors, such as incorrect polygon intersections and random face orientations, are detected and fixed automatically. Interactive viewing and editing tools are provided to view the results, to modify and clean the model and to change surface attributes. Our display system provides a simple-to-use user interface for interactive exploration of buildings. Using only the mouse buttons, the user can move inside and outside the building and change floors. Several viewing and rendering options are provided, such as restricting the viewing frustum, avoiding wall collisions, and selecting different rendering algorithms. A plan view of the current floor, with the position of the eye point and viewing direction on it, is displayed at all times. The scene illumination can be manipulated, by interactively controlling intensity values for 5 light sources.

Khorramabadi, Delnaz↗

Progress in the Simulation of Steady and Time-Dependent Flows with 3D Parallel Unstructured Cartesian Methods

The proposed paper will present recent extensions in the development of an efficient Euler solver for adaptively-refined Cartesian meshes with embedded boundaries. The paper will focus on extensions of the basic method to include solution adaptation, time-dependent flow simulation, and arbitrary rigid domain motion. The parallel multilevel method makes use of on-the-fly parallel domain decomposition to achieve extremely good scalability on large numbers of processors, and is coupled with an automatic coarse mesh generation algorithm for efficient processing by a multigrid smoother. Numerical results are presented demonstrating parallel speed-ups of up to 435 on 512 processors. Solution-based adaptation may be keyed off truncation error estimates using tau-extrapolation or a variety of feature detection based refinement parameters. The multigrid method is extended to for time-dependent flows through the use of a dual-time approach. The extension to rigid domain motion uses an Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerlarian (ALE) formulation, and results will be presented for a variety of two- and three-dimensional example problems with both simple and complex geometry.

Aftosmis, M. J.↗

The BATSE Earth Occultation Catalog of Low Energy Gamma Ray Sources

The Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE), aboard the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO), provided a record of the hard X-ray/low energy gamma ray sky between April 1991 and June 2000. During that time, a catalog of known sources was derived from existing catalogs such as HEAO A-4 (Levine et al. 1984), as well as new transient sources discovered with BATSE and other X-ray monitors operating in the CGRO era. The Earth Occultation Technique (Harmon et al. 2001, astro-ph/0109069) was used to monitor a combination of these sources, mostly galactic, totaling to about 175 objects. The catalog will present the global properties of these sources and their probability of detection (greater than 10 mCrab, 20-100 keV) with BATSE. Systematic errors due to unknown sources or background components are included. Cursory analyses to search for new transients (35-80 mCrab in the 20-100 keV band) and super-orbital periods in known binary sources are also presented. Whole mission light curves and associated data production/analysis tools are being delivered to the High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC) for public use.

Harmon, B. A.↗

Performance Effects of Display Incogruity in a Digital and Analog Clock Reading Task

In an era of increasing automation, it is important to design displays and input devices that minimize human error. In this context, information concerning the human response to the detection of incongruous information is important. Such incongruous information can be operationalized as unexpected (perhaps erroneous) information on which a decision by the human or operation by an automated system is based. In the aviation environment, decision making when faced with inadequate, incomplete, or incongruous information may occur in a failure scenario. An additional challenge facing the human operator in automated environments is maintaining alertness or vigilance. The vigilance issue is of particular concern as a factor that may interact with performance when faced with inadequate, incomplete, or incongruous information. From the literature on eye-scan behavior we know that the time spent looking at a particular display or indicator is a function of the type of information one is trying to discern from the display. For example, quick glances are all it takes for confirming that an indicator is in a normal position or range, whereas a continuous look of several seconds may be required for confirmation that a complex control input is having the desired effect. Important to consider is that while an extended look takes place, visual input from other sources may be missed. Much like an extended look, the interpretation of incongruous information may require extra time. The present experiment was designed to explore the performance consequences of a decision making task when incongruous information was presented. For this experiment a display incongruity was created on a subset of trials of a clock reading laboratory task. Display incongruity was made possible through presentation of 'impossible' times (e.g. 1:65 or 11:90). Subjects made 'same' 'different' decisions and keyboard responses to pairings of Analog-Analog (AA), Digital-Digital (DD), and Analog- Digital (AD), display combinations. For trials during which display incongruities were not presented, based on prior research comparing digital and analog clock displays, it would be expected that the Digital-Digital condition would result in the shortest response times and the Analog-Analog and Analog-Digital conditions would have longer response times. The performance consequence expected on trials with incongruous times would be very long response times.

J. Raymond Comstock, Jr.↗

Constraints on Short Gamma-ray Burst Models with Optical Limits of GRB 050509b

We have obtained deep optical images with the Very Large Telescope at ESO of the first well-localized short-duration gamma-ray burst, GRB 050509b. We observed in the V and R bands at epochs starting at approx. 2 days after the GRB trigger and lasting up to three weeks. We detect no variable objects inside the small Swift/XRT X-ray error circle down to 5(sigma) limiting magnitudes of V = 26.5 and R = 25.2. The X-ray error circle includes a giant elliptical galaxy at z = 0.225, which has been proposed as the likely host of this GRB. Our limits indicate that if the GRB originated at z = 0.225, any supernova-like event accompanying the GRB would have to be over 100 times fainter than normal Type Ia SNe or Type IC hypernovae, 5 times fainter than the faintest known Ia or IC SNe, and fainter than the faintest known Type II SNe. Moreover, we use the optical limits to constrain the energetics of the GRB outflow, and conclude that there was very little radioactive material produced during the GRB explosion. These limits strongly constrain progenitor models for this short GRB. Subject headings: gamma rays: bursts - supernovae

Hjorth, J.↗

SIM-Lite Update

Discussion focus on: SIM-Lite Instrument Update - 6m baseline, 50cm, approximately 900M cost; Technology Update - Systematic errors and floor; SIM-Lite terrestrial planet discovery capability; Double blind multiple planet study summary; and the changing landscape of exoplanet science and the role of SIM-Lite. Slides include technology to flight component engineering; instrumental systematic errors; ultra deep search for Earth clones; double blind test, astrometric detection of Earths in multiplanet systems; the current era of exoplanet science and where SIM-Lite fits in; the next frontier and where SIM-Lite fits in, why SIM is unique in discovering Earths; imaging planet status is uncertain without masses and ages; SIM role in establishing how planetary systems form and evolve; and SIM probes of broad planet mass range around young stars.

exoplanets↗

Improved Calibration through SMAP RFI Change Detection

Anthropogenic Radio-Frequency Interference (RFI) drove both the SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive) microwave radiometer hardware and Level 1 science algorithm designs to use new technology and techniques for the first time on a spaceflight project. Care was taken to provide special features allowing the detection and removal of harmful interference in order to meet the error budget. Nonetheless, the project accepted a risk that RFI and its mitigation would exceed the 1.3-K error budget. Thus, RFI will likely remain a challenge afterwards due to its changing and uncertain nature. To address the challenge, we seek to answer the following questions: How does RFI evolve over the SMAP lifetime? What calibration error does the changing RFI environment cause? Can time series information be exploited to reduce these errors and improve calibration for all science products reliant upon SMAP radiometer data? In this talk, we address the first question.

Passive L-band radiometer↗

A Mixed Real and Floating-Point Solver

Reasoning about mixed real and floating-point constraints is essential for developing accurate analysis tools for floating-point pro- grams. This paper presents FPRoCK, a prototype tool for solving mixed real and floating-point formulas. FPRoCK transforms a mixed formula into an equisatisfiable one over the reals. This formula is then solved using an off-the-shelf SMT solver. FPRoCK is also integrated with the PRECiSA static analyzer, which computes a sound estimation of the round-off error of a floating-point program. It is used to detect infeasible computational paths, thereby improving the accuracy of PRECiSA.

Salvia, Rocco↗

Preliminary error budget for an optical ranging system: Range, range rate, and differenced range observables

Future missions to the outer solar system or human exploration of Mars may use telemetry systems based on optical rather than radio transmitters. Pulsed laser transmission can be used to deliver telemetry rates of about 100 kbits/sec with an efficiency of several bits for each detected photon. Navigational observables that can be derived from timing pulsed laser signals are discussed. Error budgets are presented based on nominal ground stations and spacecraft-transceiver designs. Assuming a pulsed optical uplink signal, two-way range accuracy may approach the few centimeter level imposed by the troposphere uncertainty. Angular information can be achieved from differenced one-way range using two ground stations with the accuracy limited by the length of the available baseline and by clock synchronization and troposphere errors. A method of synchronizing the ground station clocks using optical ranging measurements is presented. This could allow differenced range accuracy to reach the few centimeter troposphere limit.

Folkner, W. M.↗

The cool-star spectral catalog: A uniform collection of IUE SWP-LOs

Over the past decade and a half of its operations, the International Ultraviolet Explorer has recorded low-dispersion spectrograms in the 1150-2000 A interval of more than 800 stars of late spectral type (F-M). The sub-2000 A region contains a number of emission lines that are key diagnostics of physical conditions in the high-excitation chromospheres and subcoronal 'transition zones' of such stars. Many of the sources have been observed a number of times, and the available collection of SWP-LO exposures in the IUE Archives exceeds 4,000. With support from the Astrophysics Data Program, we have assembled the archival material into a catalog of IUE far-UV fluxes of late-type stars. In order to ensure uniform processing of the spectra, we: (1) photometrically corrected the raw vidicon images with a custom version of the 1985 SWP ITF; (2) identified and eliminated, sharp cosmic-ray 'hits' by means of a spatial filter; (3) extracted the spectral traces with the 'optimal' (weighted-slit) strategy; and (4) calibrated them against a well-characterized reference source, the DA white dwarf G191-B2B. Our approach is similar to that adopted by the IUE Project for its 'Final Archive', but our implementation is specialized to the case of chromospheric emission-line sources. We measured the resulting SWP-LO spectra using a semi-autonomous algorithm that establishes a smooth continuum by numerical filtering, and then fits the significant emissions (or absorptions) by means of a constrained Bevington-type multiple-Gaussian procedure. The algorithm assigns errors to the fitted fluxes - or upper limits in the absence of a significant detection - according to a model based on careful measurements of the noise properties of the IUE's intensified SEC cameras. Here, we describe the 'visualization' strategies we adopted to ensure human-review of the semi-autonomous processing and measuring algorithms; the derivation of the noise model and the assignment of errors; and the structure of the final catalog as delivered to the Astrophysics Data System.

Ayres, T.↗

Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) Project Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document SMAP L1B Radiometer Data Product: L1B_TB

The purpose of the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) radiometer calibration algorithm is to convert Level 0 (L0) radiometer digital counts data into calibrated estimates of brightness temperatures referenced to the Earth's surface within the main beam. The algorithm theory in most respects is similar to what has been developed and implemented for decades for other satellite radiometers; however, SMAP includes two key features heretofore absent from most satellite borne radiometers: radio frequency interference (RFI) detection and mitigation, and measurement of the third and fourth Stokes parameters using digital correlation. The purpose of this document is to describe the SMAP radiometer and forward model, explain the SMAP calibration algorithm, including approximations, errors, and biases, provide all necessary equations for implementing the calibration algorithm and detail the RFI detection and mitigation process. Section 2 provides a summary of algorithm objectives and driving requirements. Section 3 is a description of the instrument and Section 4 covers the forward models, upon which the algorithm is based. Section 5 gives the retrieval algorithm and theory. Section 6 describes the orbit simulator, which implements the forward model and is the key for deriving antenna pattern correction coefficients and testing the overall algorithm.

microwave radiometers↗

Observation of Stratospheric Ozone with NIES Lidar System in Tsukuba, Japan

Lidars are expected to play important roles in an international monitoring network of the stratosphere such as the Network for the Detection of Stratospheric Change (NDSC). The National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) in Tsukuba constructed an ozone lidar system in March 1988 and started observation in August 1988. The lidar system has a 2-m telescope and injection locked XeCl and XeF excimer lasers which can measure ozone profiles (15-45 km) and temperature profiles (30-80 km). From December 1991, lidar observations have been carried out in which the second Stokes line of the stimulated Raman scattering of a KrF laser has been used. Ozone profiles obtained with the NIES lidar system are compared with the data provided by the SAGE II satellite sensor. Results showed good agreement for the individual and the zonal mean profiles. Variations of ozone with various time scales at each altitude can be studied using the data obtained with the NIES ozone lidar system. Seasonal variations are easily found at 20 km, 30 km, and 35 km, which are qualitatively understood as a result of dynamical and photochemical effects. Systematic errors of ozone profiles due to the Pinatubo stratospheric aerosols have been detected using multi-wavelength observation.

Nakane, H.↗

Comparative Analysis of Daytime Fire Detection Algorithms, Using AVHRR Data for the 1995 Fire Season in Canda: Perspective for MODIS

Two fixed-threshold Canada Centre for Remote Sensing and European Space Agency (CCRS and ESA) and three contextual GIGLIO, International Geosphere and Biosphere Project, and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (GIGLIO, IGBP, and MODIS) algorithms were used for fire detection with Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data acquired over Canada during the 1995 fire season. The CCRS algorithm was developed for the boreal ecosystem, while the other four are for global application. The MODIS algorithm, although developed specifically for use with the MODIS sensor data, was applied to AVHRR in this study for comparative purposes. Fire detection accuracy assessment for the algorithms was based on comparisons with available 1995 burned area ground survey maps covering five Canadian provinces. Overall accuracy estimations in terms of omission (CCRS=46%, ESA=81%, GIGLIO=75%, IGBP=51%, MODIS=81%) and commission (CCRS=0.35%, ESA=0.08%, GIGLIO=0.56%, IGBP=0.75%, MODIS=0.08%) errors over forested areas revealed large differences in performance between the algorithms, with no relevance to type (fixed-threshold or contextual). CCRS performed best in detecting real forest fires, with the least omission error, while ESA and MODIS produced the highest omission error, probably because of their relatively high threshold values designed for global application. The commission error values appear small because the area of pixels falsely identified by each algorithm was expressed as a ratio of the vast unburned forest area. More detailed study shows that most commission errors in all the algorithms were incurred in nonforest agricultural areas, especially on days with very high surface temperatures. The advantage of the high thresholds in ESA and MODIS was that they incurred the least commission errors.

Ichoku, Charles↗

Stability Error Budget for an Aggressive Coronagraph on a 3.8 m Telescope

We evaluate in detail the stability requirements for a band-limited coronagraph with an inner working angle as small as 2 lambda/D coupled to an off-axis, 3.8-m diameter telescope. We have updated our methodologies since presenting a stability error budget for the Terrestrial Planet Finder Coronagraph mission that worked at 4 lambda/D and employed an 8th-order mask to reduce aberration sensitives. In the previous work, we determined the tolerances relative to the total light leaking through the coronagraph. Now, we separate the light into a radial component, which is readily separable from a planet signal, and an azimuthal component, which is easily confused with a planet signal. In the current study, throughput considerations require a 4th-order coronagraph. This, combined with the more aggressive working angle, places extraordinarily tight requirements on wavefront stability and opto-mechanical stability. We find that the requirements are driven mainly by coma that leaks around the coronagraph mask and mimics the localized signal of a planet, and pointing errors that scatter light into the background, decreasing SNR. We also show how the requirements would be relaxed if a low-order aberration detection system could be employed.

error budget↗

Alaska Transportation & Infrastructure Identifying Permafrost Subsidence Using NASA Earth Observations to Pinpoint Road and Infrastructure Vulnerability in Fairbanks, Alaska

A rapidly warming Arctic has compromised the structural integrity of critical infrastructure through accelerated permafrost thaw and thermokarst development underlying these areas. Infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and airports across the state of Alaska are particularly at risk, as permafrost underlies ~85% of the state. However, monitoring the impacts of permafrost thaw on infrastructure is largely limited to in situ observations and frequently identified after the damage is evident. In order to assist transportation and infrastructure decision-makers in Alaska, this project identified and quantified areas of surface subsidence near critical infrastructure. Seasonal interferograms were created using Sentinel-1 C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and L-band Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle SAR (UAVSAR) data to identify areas experiencing surface deformation. Additionally, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) datasets were used to validate select interferograms created between 2017 and 2019. Validation of subsidence detection across platforms was performed over a 7x8 sq. kilometer field site for 2017. The strongest relationship in spatial deformation is observed between Sentinel-1 and UAVSAR with a residual root mean square error of 20 mm. These results suggest that both UAVSAR and Sentinel-1 platforms are capable of detecting surface subsidence. The higher resolution of UAVSAR is better able to resolve localized subsidence features of less than 80 meters, but is limited by temporal resolution. In conjunction, UAVSAR and Sentinel-1 can provide complementary spatial and temporal resolutions for subsidence analysis in the absence of in situ data.

DEVELOP Tech Paper↗

Improved Phase-Lock Detector

Single detection channel is used alternately by in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) signals, under control of a dither switch. By eliminating errors caused by unbalance of the I and Q channels, this dither-balanced detector reduces false locking. Can be used to improve detection probability and reduce false alarm probability for any loop that must acquire signal with low signal-to-noise ratio.

Bronstein, L. M.↗

Entanglement-Enhanced Neyman-Pearson Target Detection

Quantum illumination (QI) provides entanglement-enabled target-detection enhancement, despite operating in an entanglement-breaking environment. Existing experimental studies of QI have utilized a Bayesian approach, assuming that the target is equally likely to be present or absent before detection, to demonstrate an advantage over classical target detection. However, such a premise breaks down in practical operational scenarios in which the prior probability is unknown, thereby hindering QI's applicability to real-world target-detection scenarios. In this work, we adopt the Neyman-Pearson criterion in lieu of the error probability for equally likely target absence or presence as our figure of merit for QI. We demonstrate an unconditional quantum advantage over the optimal classical-illumination protocol as benchmarked by the receiver operating characteristic, which examines detection probability versus false-alarm probability without resorting to known prior probabilities. Our work represents a critical advancement in adapting quantum-enhanced sensing to practical operational settings.

Ward, William↗

Automatic identification and quantification of dense microcracks in high-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites through deep learning-based computer vision

Highlights: • A method is presented to detect, locate, quantify, and visualize dense microcracks in HPFRCC. • Quantification of dense microcracks is realized using deep learning method for the first time. • The presented method uses deep learning models that are trained using a realistic dataset size. • The presented method has a high computation efficiency for identifying and quantifying cracks. • The presented method provides crack width with errors up to 50 μm and a R{sup 2} value of 0.984. High-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites (HPFRCCs) feature high mechanical strengths, crack resistance, and durability. Under excessive loading, HPFRCCs demonstrate dense microcracks that are difficult to identify using existing methods. This study presents a computer vision method for identification, quantification, and visualization of microcracks in HPFRCCs based on deep learning. The presented method integrates multiple deep learning models and computer vision techniques in a hierarchical architecture. The crack pattern (e.g., number, width, and spacing of cracks) are automatically determined from pictures without human intervention. This study shows that the presented method achieves an accuracy of 0.992 for crack detection and an accuracy finer than 50 μm (R{sup 2} > 0.984) for quantification of crack width when deep learning models are trained using only 200 pictures of HPFRCCs and 200 pictures of conventional concrete with incorporation of data augmentation. The presented method is expected to be also applicable to other materials featuring complex cracks.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗