Mariner Mars science Data Automation System.
RT Data Automation System automatically controls and synchronizes data-gathering sequence of cruise instruments of Mariner IV spacecraft
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RT Data Automation System automatically controls and synchronizes data-gathering sequence of cruise instruments of Mariner IV spacecraft
Applications of a multidisciplinary system of computer programs to selected analytical and optimization problems encountered in an aircraft design are described. The depth of the analyses and optimizations permits such detailed output as individual stringer sizes and pressure distributions. Data flow from one program to another is performed in a hands-off manner in the modular and open-ended system. Numerical examples show how this automation permits multidisciplinary trade-off studies, typical of a preliminary design process to be based on such a level of detail in each discipline that normally would not be available at this stage of the process.
To automate the data acquisition procedure, a real-time contour detection and data acquisition system for the left ventricular outline was developed using video techniques. The X-ray image of the contrast-filled left ventricle is stored for subsequent processing on film (cineangiogram), video tape or disc. The cineangiogram is converted into video format using a television camera. The video signal from either the TV camera, video tape or disc is the input signal to the system. The contour detection is based on a dynamic thresholding technique. Since the left ventricular outline is a smooth continuous function, for each contour side a narrow expectation window is defined in which the next borderpoint will be detected. A computer interface was designed and built for the online acquisition of the coordinates using a PDP-12 computer. The advantage of this system over other available systems is its potential for online, real-time acquisition of the left ventricular size and shape during angiocardiography.
The development of a low-cost reliable turnaround process to employ the MOTV in enhancing the utilization of the geosynchronous space region is analyzed. It is indicated that a routine effective turnaround/maintenance plan must make maximum use of flight data for maintenance planning, a high degree of test automation, and MOTV maintainability features in order to minimize tests, facilitate repair, and reduce manpower requirements. An effective turnaround plan provides a payback of reduced risks.
Preliminary planning has been performed to support NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in the coordination of the field experiment to be conducted in Central Tennessee, Northern Alabama, and Mississippi during the Spring/Summer of 1986. The goal of Satellite Precipitation and Cloud Experiments (SPACE) is to investigate mesoscale cloud/precipitation systems and development of associated satellite remote sensing technology. The field program will incorporate remote sensing observations from aircraft, satellite imagery, radar observations, ground based lightning measurements, rawinsonde observations, and various surface meteorological observations. The coordination of existing and special observation networks will provide a data base for analysis of precipitation events and provide ground truth comparisons for remote sensing capabilities. Existing surface-based observational networks include National Weather Service Meso/Alpha Scale Rawinsonde, radar, and surface measurements; the Tennessee Valley Authority automated and manual precpitation recording stations; and NASA/MSFC lightning measurement stations. Special observational features to be implemented include a meso/beta scale rawinsonde network, a special surface observational network within the rawinsonde network, and the installation of a RADAP II/ICRAD data processing unit on the National Weather Service radar at Nashville, TN. Initial coordination of these observational requirements to accomplish the goals of SPACE have been performed.
The Deep Space Network (DSN), the largest, most sensitive scientific communications and radio navigation network in the world, is considered. Focus is made on the telemetry processing, monitor and control, and ground data transport architectures of the DSN ground information system envisioned for the year 2000. The telemetry architecture will be unified from the front-end area to the end user. It will provide highly automated monitor and control of the DSN, automated configuration of support activities, and a vastly improved human interface. Automated decision support systems will be in place for DSN resource management, performance analysis, fault diagnosis, and contingency management.
The Defense Technology Transfer Information System (DTTIS) is a scalable data system built to grow and adapt to changing conditions. It collects information from each technology transfer offices, patent attorneys, innovators, and more. It automates workflows to standardize and streamline technology transfer business rules. This resulting in improved efficiency, standardized processes and reducing errors. DTTIS is a search and reporting engine built on patented NASA's Technology Transfer System (NTTS) core software platform.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Lockheed Martin Space Company (LMSC), Sunpower Inc., and NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) have been developing an Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG) for use as a power system on space science missions. This generator will make use of the free-piston Stirling convertors to achieve higher conversion efficiency than currently available alternatives. NASA GRC is supporting the development of the ASRG by providing extended operation of several Sunpower Inc. Advanced Stirling Convertors (ASCs). In the past year and a half, eight ASCs have operated in continuous, unattended mode in both air and thermal vacuum environments. Hardware, software, and procedures were developed to prepare each convertor for extended operation with intended durations on the order of tens of thousands of hours. Steps taken to prepare a convertor for long-term operation included geometry measurements, thermocouple instrumentation, evaluation of working fluid purity, evacuation with bakeout, and high purity charge. Actions were also taken to ensure the reliability of support systems, such as data acquisition and automated shutdown checkouts. Once a convertor completed these steps, it underwent short-term testing to gather baseline performance data before initiating extended operation. These tests included insulation thermal loss characterization, low-temperature checkout, and full-temperature and power demonstration. This paper discusses the facilities developed to support continuous, unattended operation, and the processing results of the eight ASCs currently on test.
Present LANDSAT data formats are reviewed to clarify how the geodetic location and registration capabilities were defined for P-tape products and RBV data. Since there is only one geometric model used in the master data processor, geometric location accuracy of P-tape products depends on the absolute accuracy of the model and registration accuracy is determined by the stability of the model. Due primarily to inaccuracies in data provided by the LANDSAT attitude management system, desired accuracies are obtained only by using ground control points and a correlation process. The verification of system performance with regards to geodetic location requires the capability to determine pixel positions of map points in a P-tape array. Verification of registration performance requires the capability to determine pixel positions of common points (not necessarily map points) in 2 or more P-tape arrays for a given world reference system scene. Techniques for registration verification can be more varied and automated since map data are not required. The verification of LACIE extractions is used as an example.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Lockheed Martin Space Company (LMSC), Sunpower Inc., and NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) have been developing an Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG) for use as a power system on space science missions. This generator will make use of the free-piston Stirling convertors to achieve higher conversion efficiency than currently available alternatives. NASA GRC is supporting the development of the ASRG by providing extended operation of several Sunpower Inc. Advanced Stirling Convertors (ASCs). In the past year and a half, eight ASCs have operated in continuous, unattended mode in both air and thermal vacuum environments. Hardware, software, and procedures were developed to prepare each convertor for extended operation with intended durations on the order of tens of thousands of hours. Steps taken to prepare a convertor for long-term operation included geometry measurements, thermocouple instrumentation, evaluation of working fluid purity, evacuation with bakeout, and high purity charge. Actions were also taken to ensure the reliability of support systems, such as data acquisition and automated shutdown checkouts. Once a convertor completed these steps, it underwent short-term testing to gather baseline performance data before initiating extended operation. These tests included insulation thermal loss characterization, low-temperature checkout, and full-temperature and power demonstration. This paper discusses the facilities developed to support continuous, unattended operation, and the processing results of the eight ASCs currently on test.
We describe the application of machine classification techniques to the development of an automated tool for the reduction of a large scientific data set. The 2nd Palomar Observatory Sky Survey provides comprehensive photographic coverage of the northern celestial hemisphere. The photographic plates are being digitized into images containing on the order of 10(exp 7) galaxies and 10(exp 8) stars. Since the size of this data set precludes manual analysis and classification of objects, our approach is to develop a software system which integrates independently developed techniques for image processing and data classification. Image processing routines are applied to identify and measure features of sky objects. Selected features are used to determine the classification of each object. GID3* and O-BTree, two inductive learning techniques, are used to automatically learn classification decision trees from examples. We describe the techniques used, the details of our specific application, and the initial encouraging results which indicate that our approach is well-suited to the problem. The benefits of the approach are increased data reduction throughput, consistency of classification, and the automated derivation of classification rules that will form an objective, examinable basis for classifying sky objects. Furthermore, astronomers will be freed from the tedium of an intensely visual task to pursue more challenging analysis and interpretation problems given automatically cataloged data.
Metadata (data about data) is a critical component of data discovery, description, evaluation, documentation, and preservation. Developing and propagating metadata standards has been a longstanding area of activity in WMO and beyond. The WIS2 and WIGOS metadata models are being actively developed and maintained by dedicated task teams, established under the WMO Expert Team on Metadata. The metadata representations and vocabularies are governed by well-established processes within WMO. These standards are being used in a number of metadata/data exchange activities (e.g., WMO Information System 2.0 (WIS2), WIGOS (WMDR), Climate Data Management Systems (CMDS), etc.). It should also be noted that the application of the WIS2 and WIGOS standards fully support the WMO Unified Data Policy and open data policy as well as greatly enhance the value of observations by fostering data F.A.I.R.ness. Furthermore, the WMO metadata standards can serve as the foundation for a framework that will facilitate metadata mapping between the existing schemas used in well-established data centres, e.g., WMO WDCGG (World Data Centre for Greenhouse Gases) and NOAA ObsPack (Observation Package Data Products) and to automate metadata exchange between data centres as well as with WMO. These activities will play a central role in integrating measurements sponsored by various member countries and organizations to provide a more comprehensive characterization of the temporal and spatial distribution of the greenhouse gases. At the same time, this metadata exchange can lead to member countries and partner organizations improving their current metadata collection process for data discoverability, interoperability, and (re)usability. This presentation will describe metadata activities in the context of WIS2 and WIGOS and how they apply to GGGW data integration via metadata mapping and exchange.
Understanding fungal lipid biology and metabolism is critical for antifungal target discovery as lipids play central roles in cellular processes. Nuances in lipid structural differences can significantly impact their functions, making it necessary to characterize lipids in detail to enable and understanding of their roles in these complex systems. In particular, lipid double bond (DB) locations are an important component of lipid structure that can only be determined using a few specialized analytical techniques. Ozone-induced dissociation mass spectrometry (OzID-MS) is one such technique that uses ozone to break lipid DBs, producing pairs of characteristic fragments that allow the determination of DB positions. In this work we apply OzID-MS and LipidOz software to analyze the complex lipids of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strains transfected with different fatty acid desaturases from Histoplasma capsulatum to determine the specific unsaturated lipids produce. The automated data analysis in LipidOz made the determination of DB positions from this large dataset more practical, but manual verification for all targets was still time-consuming. The DL model reduces manual involvement in data analysis, but since it was trained using mammalian lipid extracts, the prediction accuracy on yeast-derived data was reduced. We addressed both shortcomings by retraining the DL model to act as a pre-filter to prioritize targets for automated analysis, providing confident manually verified results but requiring less computational time and manual effort. Our workflow resulted in the determination of novel DB positions and enzymatic specificity.
The R-Matrix code SAMMY is a widely used nuclear data evaluation code focused on the resolved range, which includes corrections for experimental effects. The code is still mostly written in Fortran 77, and uses a memory management system suitable for the time of its initial writing (1984). A modernization effort is under way to bring the code in-line with modern software development practices. A continuous-integration testing framework was added, automating the large existing set of test cases. It is run on every commit. The memory management was updated to current standard practices suitable for modern software analysis tools. The code can be obtained from https://code.ornl.gov/RNSD/SAMMY. The resonance parameters and covariance information are now stored in C++ objects shared by SAMMY and AMPX, the processing code that generates nuclear data libraries for SCALE. This allows for easier maintenance and access to the resonance parameters inside and outside of SAMMY. This feature is already used by accessing and changing parameters in memory in the Bayesian Monte Carlo Evaluation Framework for Cross Sections Nuclear Data and Integral Benchmark Experiments project, Further plans include the switch to the ENDF reading and writing routines in AMPX, as these routines are more robust, easier to maintain, and support more features. Of note here is support for the new GNDS format. Previously it wasn’t easy to share the full covariance matrix for evaluations containing more than one isotope due to limitations on the ENDF format; this is now supported in GNDS. The data are currently available in a binary SAMMY format and can be exported to GNDS to make them more widely available and sharable. The next step will be to use the same resonance processing code at 0K in AMPX and SAMMY as one of the available Reich-Moore R-Matrix formalism. The first step toward this goal is to isolate the reconstruction into a module that takes resonance parameters as its input and does not depend on SAMMY global parameters. This goal has been achieved and it should now be possible to more easily change the resonance formalism and add enhancements as the Phenomenological R-Matrix parameterization of direct, doorway, and compound nuclear reactions discussed elsewhere on this conference. This concerted modernization and enhancement effort provides multiple advantages to the nuclear data community. It will allow parameter optimization using enhanced formalisms, including experimental effects, that better match complex experimental data. Then those evaluated parameters can immediately be passed off to AMPX to be reconstructed with the exact same cross section model and be put into a data library for subsequent testing using SCALE and the Valid Benchmark suite or other suitable benchmark suites.
The Magellan data is a treasure-trove for scientific analysis of venusian geology, providing far more detail than was previously available from Pioneer Venus, Venera 15/16, or ground-based radar observations. However, at this point, planetary scientists are being overwhelmed by the sheer quantities of data collected--data analysis technology has not kept pace with our ability to collect and store it. In particular, 'small-shield' volcanos (less than 20 km in diameter) are the most abundant visible geologic feature on the planet. It is estimated, based on extrapolating from previous studies and knowledge of the underlying geologic processes, that there should be on the order of 10(exp 5) to 10(exp 6) of these volcanos visible in the Magellan data. Identifying and studying these volcanos is fundamental to a proper understanding of the geologic evolution of Venus. However, locating and parameterizing them in a manual manner is very time-consuming. Hence, we have undertaken the development of techniques to partially automate this task. The goal is not the unrealistic one of total automation, but rather the development of a useful tool to aid the project scientists. The primary constraints for this particular problem are as follows: (1) the method must be reasonably robust; and (2) the method must be reasonably fast. Unlike most geological features, the small volcanos of Venus can be ascribed to a basic process that produces features with a short list of readily defined characteristics differing significantly from other surface features on Venus. For pattern recognition purposes the relevant criteria include the following: (1) a circular planimetric outline; (2) known diameter frequency distribution from preliminary studies; (3) a limited number of basic morphological shapes; and (4) the common occurrence of a single, circular summit pit at the center of the edifice.
Scientific payload objectives definition, and systems engineering for automated biological laboratory for exploration of life on Mars
Report describes a prototype computer-automated ultrasonic system developed for the inspection of weldments. This system can be operated in three modes: manual, automatic, and computer-controlled. In the computer-controlled mode, the system will automatically acquire, process, analyze, store, and display ultrasonic inspection data in real-time. Flaw size (in cross-section), location (depth), and type (porosity-like or crack-like) can be automatically discerned and displayed. The results and pertinent parameters are recorded.
The ORSER System as implemented on the Penn State University Computation Center's IBM main frame is an exceptionally useful mechanism for instructing the present and future remote sensing community in the theory and practice of automated analysis of digitized data. From its beginning, the system was used as the hands-on back-bone of a graduate level "Multispectral Remote Sensing" one-term course taught annually in the School of Forest Resources. It was also used at the end of a senior-level undergraduate "Introduction to Remote Sensing" course, and in teaching a variety of short courses, ranging in length from a few days for small groups of remote sensing consultants with specific application interests, to a 2-week course oganized by NASA for regional and urban planners who had little or no previous exposure to remote sensing. Because of its modular construction, the ORSER is suitable for all classes of remote sensing users. Although in a beginning course only 6 to 10 of the programs are generally used, the researcher has a set of about 35 programs available for his analyses.