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NASA NTRS1995

Bicycle ergometer instrumentation to determine muscle and bone forces during exercise

It is hypothesized that bone loss experienced by astronauts in zero gravity conditions may be curtailed by appropriate exercise. According to Wolf's law, bone regenerates when muscles produce stresses by pulling on the bone during daily activity and/or exercise on Earth. to use this theory to prevent or decrease bone loss, one needs to quantify musculoskeletal loads and relate them to bone density changes. In the context of the space program, it is desirable to determine musculoskeletal loads during exercise (using the bicycle ergometer in this case) so that one may make similar measurements on Earth and in space. In this manner, load measurements on Earth may be used as reference to generate similar loads during exercise in space. The work reported in this document entails a musculoskeletal load measurement system that, when complete, will provide forces at muscle insertion points and other contact points, on bone. This data will be used by Dr. Beth A. Todd, who is also a SSF working with Dr. Shackelford, as input to a finite element model of bone sections to determine stress distributions. A bicycle ergometer has been instrumented to measure parameters needed to determine musculoskeletal forces during exercise. A primary feature of the system is its compactness. It uses small/light sensors without line-of-sight requirements. The system developed includes sensors, signal processing, a data acquisition system, and software to collect the data. The sensors used include optical encoders to measure position and orientation of the pedal (foot), accelerometers to determine kinematic parameters of the shank and thigh, load cells to measure pedal forces on the sagittal plane, and EMG probes to measure muscle activity. The signals are processed using anti-aliasing filters and amplifiers. The sensors' output is digitized using 30 channels of a board mounted inside a 486 class PC. A program sets the data acquisition parameters and collects data during a time period specified by the user. The data is put directly into a file on the hard disk in binary form. The 30 channels are sampled at 200 KHz, and each 30 channel scan is done at a rate of 1000 Hz. The instrumented ergometer has been flown in the KC-135 zero-gravity (zero-g) flight to collect information needed to determine musculoskeletal forces under these conditions. Similar information has been collected in 1-g conditions for comparision with the results from the zero-g case. At this time, the sets of data from both experiments are being processed. An existing methodology will be used to determine the kinematic parameters of the shank and thigh using accelerometer and encoder data. This methodology was developed during the fellow's previous NASA/ASEE fellowship and thanks to a Director's Grant. In the future, a methodology to determine the musculoskeletal forces using Newton's Law of Motion and optimization techniques will be developed to determine forces exerted by particular muscles.

Figueroa, Fernando↗

NASA NTRS1995

Joint Synchronization Of Viterbi And Reed-Solomon Decoders

Synchronization times reduced to reduce loss of data. Scheme for decoding received doubly encoded binary-data signal provides for joint synchronization of two decoders. Applies to concatenated error-correcting channel coding communication system in which, at transmitter, data first encoded by interleaved Reed-Solomon code (block code), then by convolutional code.

Statman, Joseph I.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Techniques for video compression

In this report, we present our study on multiprocessor implementation of a MPEG2 encoding algorithm. First, we compare two approaches to implementing video standards, VLSI technology and multiprocessor processing, in terms of design complexity, applications, and cost. Then we evaluate the functional modules of MPEG2 encoding process in terms of their computation time. Two crucial modules are identified based on this evaluation. Then we present our experimental study on the multiprocessor implementation of the two crucial modules. Data partitioning is used for job assignment. Experimental results show that high speedup ratio and good scalability can be achieved by using this kind of job assignment strategy.

Wu, Chwan-Hwa↗

NASA NTRS1995

Weight distributions for turbo codes using random and nonrandom permutations

This article takes a preliminary look at the weight distributions achievable for turbo codes using random, nonrandom, and semirandom permutations. Due to the recursiveness of the encoders, it is important to distinguish between self-terminating and non-self-terminating input sequences. The non-self-terminating sequences have little effect on decoder performance, because they accumulate high encoded weight until they are artificially terminated at the end of the block. From probabilistic arguments based on selecting the permutations randomly, it is concluded that the self-terminating weight-2 data sequences are the most important consideration in the design of constituent codes; higher-weight self-terminating sequences have successively decreasing importance. Also, increasing the number of codes and, correspondingly, the number of permutations makes it more and more likely that the bad input sequences will be broken up by one or more of the permuters. It is possible to design nonrandom permutations that ensure that the minimum distance due to weight-2 input sequences grows roughly as the square root of (2N), where N is the block length. However, these nonrandom permutations amplify the bad effects of higher-weight inputs, and as a result they are inferior in performance to randomly selected permutations. But there are 'semirandom' permutations that perform nearly as well as the designed nonrandom permutations with respect to weight-2 input sequences and are not as susceptible to being foiled by higher-weight inputs.

Dolinar, S.↗

NASA NTRS1996

Bit Error Probability for Maximum Likelihood Decoding of Linear Block Codes

In this paper, the bit error probability P(sub b) for maximum likelihood decoding of binary linear codes is investigated. The contribution of each information bit to P(sub b) is considered. For randomly generated codes, it is shown that the conventional approximation at high SNR P(sub b) is approximately equal to (d(sub H)/N)P(sub s), where P(sub s) represents the block error probability, holds for systematic encoding only. Also systematic encoding provides the minimum P(sub b) when the inverse mapping corresponding to the generator matrix of the code is used to retrieve the information sequence. The bit error performances corresponding to other generator matrix forms are also evaluated. Although derived for codes with a generator matrix randomly generated, these results are shown to provide good approximations for codes used in practice. Finally, for decoding methods which require a generator matrix with a particular structure such as trellis decoding or algebraic-based soft decision decoding, equivalent schemes that reduce the bit error probability are discussed.

Lin, Shu↗

NASA NTRS1995

Application of Bacteriorhodopsin Films in an Adaptive-Focusing Schlieren System

The photochromic property of bacteriorhodopsin films is exploited in the application of a focusing schlieren optical system for the visualization of optical phase information. By encoding an image on the film with light of one wavelength and reading out with a different wavelength, the readout beam can effectively see the photographic negative of the original image. The potential advantage of this system over previous focusing schlieren systems is that the updatable nature of the bacteriorhodopsin film allows system adaptation. I discuss two image encoding and readout techniques for the bacteriorhodopsin and use film transmission characteristics to choose the more appropriate method. I demonstrate the system principle with experimental results using argon-ion and He-Cd lasers as the two light sources of different wavelengths, and I discuss current limitations to implementation with a white-light source.

Downie, John D.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Application of Bacteriorhodopsin Films in an Adaptive-Focusing Schlieren System

Downie, John D.↗

NASA NTRS1997

Digital Signal Processing Based Biotelemetry Receivers

This is an attempt to develop a biotelemetry receiver using digital signal processing technology and techniques. The receiver developed in this work is based on recovering signals that have been encoded using either Pulse Position Modulation (PPM) or Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) technique. A prototype has been developed using state-of-the-art digital signal processing technology. A Printed Circuit Board (PCB) is being developed based on the technique and technology described here. This board is intended to be used in the UCSF Fetal Monitoring system developed at NASA. The board is capable of handling a variety of PPM and PCM signals encoding signals such as ECG, temperature, and pressure. A signal processing program has also been developed to analyze the received ECG signal to determine heart rate. This system provides a base for using digital signal processing in biotelemetry receivers and other similar applications.

Singh, Avtar↗

NASA NTRS1995

Microelectronics Instrument Products Shock and Vibration Electro-Optics: Acceptance Data Package - Section B

The motor/encoder (henceforth referred to as the UUT) test sequence began with a baseline functional evaluation, which demonstrated that the motor satisfied the operating torque, cogging torque, winding resistance, and mechanical requirements of SOW. In addition, the encoder electrical requirements were verified, as well as the alignment of the encoder outputs relative to the motor shaft position. There were no discrepancies observed in this portion of the test. The UUT was then exposed to a number of environments, including thermal vacuum, thermal cycling, random and sine vibration, and mechanical shock. During the thermal environments, the performance of the UUT under load was verified at specified points in the cycles, as described in ATP 20049. In addition, the UUT was bench tested between the two thermal environments. No anomalies were observed during the thermal tests. The vibration and shock tests were performed by East-West Technology Corporation, West Babylon, New York. The UUT was delivered to the lab in a sealed vibration fixture in order to maintain the cleanliness levels required by the SOW. In addition, a three ounce load was attached to the motor shaft. The attachment method of this load caused damage to the shaft and bearing during random vibration of S/N 0003 on April 28, 1995, and is described further in NCR 00168.

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NASA NTRS1999

Instrumentation and Methods to Measure Dynamic Forces During Exercise Using the Horizontal Exercise Machine

It is hypothesized that bone loss experienced by astronauts in zero gravity conditions may be curtailed by appropriate exercise. According to Wolf's law, bone regenerates when muscles produce stresses by pulling on the bone during daily activity and/or exercise on Earth. To use this theory to prevent or decrease bone loss, one needs to quantify musculoskeletal loads and relate them to bone density changes. In the context of the space program, it is desirable to determine musculoskeletal loads during exercise so that one may make similar measurements on Earth and in space. In this manner, load measurements on Earth may be used as reference to generate similar loads during exercise in space. A research project to investigate the effects of high-resistive exercise to decrease bone density loss underzero-gravity conditions is being carried out in Life Sciences Research Laboratories at NASA JSC. The project consists of a bed-rest study whereby subjects remain in horizontal position for seventeen weeks. During the study, a subset of those subjects executes a regime of resistive exercises in the horizontal exercise machine (HEM). The HEM was designed so that subjects remain horizontal while exercising to minimize gravity loading even during exercise. Bone density of each subject is measured throughout the duration of their participation. The objective of the study is to determine if the resistive exercises are effective in diminishing or eliminating bone loss. My participation in this project relates to instrumentation, measurement, and processing of signals from displacement sensors (optical encoders) and load-cells. Measurement of displacements will be used to determine the motion of the body during exercise, and load measurements will be used (along with displacement data) to determine forces and torques exerted on each section of the body during exercise. Further, I have assisted in specifying new sensors to be added to the HEM and to a new prototype resistive exercise machine called the Interim Resistive Exercise Device (IRED). New load cells and encoders should be mounted in these devices to obtain more complete kineto-dynamic information. This report includes a description of the instrumentation that was built to perform measurements in the HEM and the IRED, along with the software that was developed to collect the measurements. It also includes examples of measurements taken in the HEM. Finally, a plan is laid out that describes how these measurements may be used to determine forces exerted by muscles for each exercise.

Figueroa, Fernando↗

NASA NTRS1998

Decision Processes in Discrimination: Fundamental Misrepresentations of Signal Detection Theory

In the first part of this article, I describe a new approach to studying decision making in discrimination tasks that does not depend on the technical assumptions of signal detection theory (e.g., normality of the encoding distributions). Applying these new distribution-free tests to data from three experiments, I show that base rate and payoff manipulations had substantial effects on the participants' encoding distributions but no effect on their decision rules, which were uniformly unbiased in equal and unequal base rate conditions and in symmetric and asymmetric payoff conditions. In the second part of the article, I show that this seemingly paradoxical result is readily explained by the sequential sampling models of discrimination. I then propose a new, "model-free" test for response bias that seems to more properly identify both the nature and direction of the biases induced by the classical bias manipulations.

Balakrishnan, J. D.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Low Density Parity Check Codes Based on Finite Geometries: A Rediscovery and More

Low density parity check (LDPC) codes with iterative decoding based on belief propagation achieve astonishing error performance close to Shannon limit. No algebraic or geometric method for constructing these codes has been reported and they are largely generated by computer search. As a result, encoding of long LDPC codes is in general very complex. This paper presents two classes of high rate LDPC codes whose constructions are based on finite Euclidean and projective geometries, respectively. These classes of codes a.re cyclic and have good constraint parameters and minimum distances. Cyclic structure adows the use of linear feedback shift registers for encoding. These finite geometry LDPC codes achieve very good error performance with either soft-decision iterative decoding based on belief propagation or Gallager's hard-decision bit flipping algorithm. These codes can be punctured or extended to obtain other good LDPC codes. A generalization of these codes is also presented.

Kou, Yu↗

NASA NTRS1968

Use of a Magnetic Azimuth-Indicator System Developed for Balloon Payloads of the Planetary Entry Parachute Program

An azimuth-sensing system was used for continuous ground monitoring of the azimuth orientation of the balloon-borne Planetary Entry Parachute Program (PEPP) spacecraft. The system utilized two magnetic field sensors located in the spacecraft so as to produce a unique set of voltage outputs for any azimuth. Electronics onboard the spacecraft encoded the magnetometer outputs and fed the encoded signal to a C-band modulator which imposed the intelligence onto the radar tracking beacon pulses. A conveniently located ground radar received the modulated pulses and the magnetometer outputs were reproduced after demodulation. For fast, direct readout, an X-Y plotter was calibrated to cross plot the reproduced signal of the two magnetometers on a combination rectangular-polar graph indicating the correct true azimuth in real time. The method was used successfully on three of the PEPP balloon-borne spacecraft to determine when the spacecraft was pointed in the most advantageous direction for release from the balloon, at 130,000 ft altitude. The use of such a system of azimuth monitoring is suitable to balloon payloads which are virtually stable with respect to the horizontal but may be rotating about the vertical axis. Angular accuracies within plus or minus 10 deg. could generally be expected.

Darnell, Wayne L.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Low-Frequency Otolith Function in Microgravity: A Re-Evaluation of the Otolith Tilt-Translation Reinterpretation (OTTR) Hypothesis

On Earth, the low-frequency afferent signal from the otoliths encodes head tilt with respect to the gravitational vertical, and the higher frequency components reflect both tilt and linear acceleration of the head. In microgravity, static tilt of the head does not influence otolith output, and the relationship between sensory input from the vestibular organs, and the visual, proprioceptive and somatosensory systems, would be disrupted. Several researchers have proposed that in 0-g this conflict may induce a reinterpretation of all otolith signals by the brain to encode only linear translation (otolith tilt-translation reinterpretation or OTTR). Ocular counter-rolling (OCR) is a low-frequency otolith-mediated reflex, which generates compensatory torsional eye movements (rotation about the visual axis) towards the spatial vertical during static roll tilt with a gain of approximately 10%. Transient linear acceleration and off-axis centrifugation at a constant angular velocity can also generate OCR. According to the OTTR hypothesis, OCR should be reduced in microgravity, and immediately upon return from a 0-g environment. Results to date have been inconclusive. OCR was reduced following the 10 day Spacelab-1 mission in response to leftward roll tilts (28-56% in 3 subjects and unchanged in one subject), and sinusoidal linear oscillations at 0.4 and 0.8 Hz. OCR gain declined 70% in four monkeys following a 14 day COSMOS mission. Following a 30 day MIR mission OCR gain decreased in one astronaut, but increased in two others following a 180 day mission. We have studied the affect of microgravity on low-frequency otolith function as part of a larger study of the interaction of vision and the vestibular system. This experiment (E-047) involved off-axis centrifugation of payload crewmembers and flew aboard the recent Neurolab mission (STS 90). Presented below are preliminary results focusing on perception and the OCR response during both centrifugation and static tilt.

Moore, Steven T.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Microelectronics Instrument Products Shock and Vibration Electro-optics: C-Qualification Test Report

In this test report all measurements made during testing are recorded in ATP 20049 DS data sheets and are included in the log. The motor/encoder (henceforth referred to as the UUT) test sequence began with a baseline functional evaluation, which demonstrated that the motor satisfied the operating torque, cogging torque, winding resistance, and mechanical requirements of SOW. In addition, the encoder electrical requirements were verified, as well as the alignment of the encoder outputs relative tc, the motor shaft position. There were no discrepancies observed in this portion of the test. The UUT was then exposed to a number of environments, including thermal vacuum, thermal cycling, random and sine vibration, and mechanical shock. During the thermal environments, the performance of the UUT under load was verified at specified points in the cycles, as described in ATP 20049. In addition, the UUT was bench tested between the two thermal environments. No anomalies were observed during the thermal tests. The load attachment method was subsequently corrected, and vibration of S/N 0002 began while 0003 was being repaired.

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NASA NTRS2000

Intelligent Tutoring Systems for Procedural Task Training of Remote Payload Operations at NASA

Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs) encode and apply the subject matter and teaching expertise of experienced instructors to provide students with individualized instruction automatically. ITSs complement training simulators by providing automated instruction when it is not economical or feasible to dedicate an instructor to each student during training simulations. Despite their proven training effectiveness and favorable operating cost, however, relatively few ITSs are in use. This is largely because it is usually costly and difficult to encode the task knowledge used by the ITS to evaluate the student's actions and assess the student's performance. Procedural tasks are tasks for which there exist procedures, guidelines, and strategies that determine the correct set of steps to be taken within each situation. To lower the cost and difficulty of creating tutoring systems for procedural task training, Stottler Henke Associates, Inc. (SHAI) worked closely with the Operations Training Group at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center to develop the Task Tutor Toolkit (T (exp 3)), a generic tutoring system shell and scenario authoring tool. The Task Tutor Toolkit employs a case-based reasoning approach where the instructor creates a procedure template that specifies the range of student actions that are "correct" within each scenario. Because each procedure template is specific to a single scenario, the system can employ relatively simple reasoning methods to represent a correct set of actions and assess student performance. This simplicity enables a non-programmer to specify task knowledge quickly and easily by via graphical user interface, using a "demonstrate, generalize, and annotate" paradigm, that recognizes the range of possible valid actions and infers principles understood (or misunderstood) by the student when those actions are carried out. The Task Tutor Toolkit was also designed to be modular and general, so that it can be interfaced with a wide range of training simulators and support a variety of training domains. SHAI and NASA applied the Task Tutor Toolkit to create the Remote Payload Operations Tutor (RPOT). RPOT is a specific tutoring system application which lets scientists who are new to space mission operations learn to monitor and control their experiments aboard the International Space Station according to NASA payload regulations, guidelines, and procedures. The RPOT simulator lets students practice these skills by monitoring the telemetry variable values of a simple, hypothetical experiment, sending commands to the experiment, coordinating with NASA personnel via voice communication loops, and submitting and retrieving information via documents and forms. At the end of each scenario, RPOT displays the principles correctly or incorrectly demonstrated by the student, along with explanations and background information. The effectiveness of RPOT and the Task Tutor Toolkit are currently under evaluation at NASA.

Ong, James↗

NASA NTRS2000

A Unified Approach to Model-Based Planning and Execution

Writing autonomous software is complex, requiring the coordination of functionally and technologically diverse software modules. System and mission engineers must rely on specialists familiar with the different software modules to translate requirements into application software. Also, each module often encodes the same requirement in different forms. The results are high costs and reduced reliability due to the difficulty of tracking discrepancies in these encodings. In this paper we describe a unified approach to planning and execution that we believe provides a unified representational and computational framework for an autonomous agent. We identify the four main components whose interplay provides the basis for the agent's autonomous behavior: the domain model, the plan database, the plan running module, and the planner modules. This representational and problem solving approach can be applied at all levels of the architecture of a complex agent, such as Remote Agent. In the rest of the paper we briefly describe the Remote Agent architecture. The new agent architecture proposed here aims at achieving the full Remote Agent functionality. We then give the fundamental ideas behind the new agent architecture and point out some implication of the structure of the architecture, mainly in the area of reactivity and interaction between reactive and deliberative decision making. We conclude with related work and current status.

Muscettola, Nicola↗

NASA NTRS1996

Video Compression

Optivision developed two PC-compatible boards and associated software under a Goddard Space Flight Center Small Business Innovation Research grant for NASA applications in areas such as telerobotics, telesciences and spaceborne experimentation. From this technology, the company used its own funds to develop commercial products, the OPTIVideo MPEG Encoder and Decoder, which are used for realtime video compression and decompression. They are used in commercial applications including interactive video databases and video transmission. The encoder converts video source material to a compressed digital form that can be stored or transmitted, and the decoder decompresses bit streams to provide high quality playback.

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