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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 127 records · Page 7

Elucidating and predicting the dynamic evolution of water and land systems due to natural and energy-related forcings

Focal Area(s): 3. Insight gleaned from complex data (both observed and simulated) using AI, big data analytics, and other advanced methods, including explainable AI and physics- or knowledge-guided AI; & 1. Data acquisition and assimilation enabled by machine learning, AI, and advanced methods including experimental/network design/optimization, unsupervised learning (including deep learning), and hardware-related efforts involving AI (e.g., edge computing). Science Challenge: Interactions between water, land, and energy systems are complex and occur on a variety of scales, ranging from local to basinal to regional. Accurately predicting the behavior of ground water and surface water systems for 5-10 years and beyond requires an understanding of the current system and the ability to model both the natural system at scale and human-induced forcings related to energy and other activities. Artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) combined with modern compilation and integration efforts for U.S. groundwater and surface water systems present potential solutions to bolstering detailed physics-based models of these systems. Big data tied with ML and physics-based modeling can drive breakthroughs in understanding the earth system, but research is often impeded by data access (e.g., privacy issues), quality, formats, gaps, multi-source, multi-scale, integration, and spatiotemporal challenges. Effective integration of real data and simulated (synthetic) data that fill gaps is critical. Overcoming these complex data and model integration challenges will enable a transformational approach to acquiring enhanced understanding of environmental systems.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Integrating Applied Energy and BER Smart Data Capabilities to Develop a DOE Data Fabric for Energy-Water R&D

Focal Area(s): 1) Data acquisition and assimilation enabled by machine learning, AI, and advanced methods including experimental/network design/optimization, unsupervised learning (including deep learning), and hardware-related efforts involving AI (e.g., edge computing). Science Challenge: DOE R&D, including DOE’s Basic Energy Research (BER)’s Environmental Systems Science Division (EESSD) program and DOE’s applied energy research (AER) programs (EERE, FE, and NE) are producers and consumers of Earth systems datasets. This white paper focuses on the first topic area from the call in relation to how crosscutting resources and innovations from DOE’s EESSD and AER can be brought to bear to mutual benefit and more efficient energy-water, Earth system data resources through improved. The overarching challenge posed by this call focuses on how DOE can directly leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to engineer a substantial (paradigm-changing) improvement in Earth System Predictability? While stemming from DOE BER’s EESSD program, this is a challenge that is faced and also being addressed by DOE’s AER programs. Over the past decade plus, FE, EERE, and NE programs have made important strides towards addressing this need. These strides are in many ways highly complementary to EESSD’s MODEX efforts. Energy water systems spanning metocean to groundwater to surface water systems all are data driven whether for basic energy or applied energy. These are remote, multi-variate, complex natural, and in many cases engineered, systems. Key needs and challenges of both EESSD and AER include developing data-focused tools to enhance data search and discovery to fill in knowledge gaps (address sparse data challenge), and rapidly transform datasets, including disparate and multi-source data. Leveraging DOE on-premise computing (HPC, exascale) infrastructure supports the computing-intensive algorithms required to execute these data acquisition and transformation processes to derive enriched knowledge and data, driving AI/ML and big data analytics for these systems. The opportunity lies in combining BER and AER efforts to provide a more robust, advanced, efficient and complete computing data fabric to address energy-water data acquisition and assimilation needs which currently pose significant impediments to AI/ML predictions and research.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Integrating Models with Real-time Field Data for Extreme Events: From Field Sensors to Models and Back with AI in the Loop

Focal Area(s): This whitepaper is responsive to focal area (1) Data acquisition and assimilation enabled by machine learning, AI, and advanced methods including experimental/network design/optimization, unsupervised learning (including deep learning), and hardware-related efforts involving AI (e.g., edge computing). We discuss Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) enabled integration of real-time data into the extreme event modeling workflow to improve the predictive capabilities of these models, and deliver real-time feedback to remote sensors, including software and data engineering challenges.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Observational Capabilities to Capture Water Cycle Event Dynamics and Impacts in the Age of AI

This whitepaper is responsive to focal area (1) Data acquisition and assimilation enabled by machine learning (ML), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and advanced methods. Here we describe how Earth observations specific to water cycle disturbances can be collected in parallel with and integrated into future model development, and make use of the latest technologies other than AI/ ML such as 5G/satellite, edge computing, big data technologies, and cloud computing.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Data Fusion to Enhance Quality Control and Analysis with Instruments at the Marine and Coastal Research Laboratory

Deploying environmental monitoring instruments in the marine environment can be challenging, facing challenges around device survivability, biofouling and corrosion, and consistent data collection. This project explores the use of data fusion – the process of integrating multiple data sources to produce more consistent, accurate, and useful information – to build a consistent long-term monitoring system at the Marine and Coastal Research Laboratory (MCRL) in Sequim, Washington. Unused instruments that had been acquired from past projects were inventoried and deployments planned on the MCRL pier and floating dock. A total of 8 instruments were deployed including a tide gauge, hydrophone, acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP), photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) sensors, meteorological station, and three water quality sensors. Deployments were planned to be well-protected around the pier structure and a maintenance schedule was created for cleaning and recalibration. An automated data pipeline was created to aggregate data on edge computers that push data to Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud storage every 15 minutes, performing automated quality control and data transformations using the Time Series Data Analytical Toolkit (TSDAT). Continued efforts are underway to maintain this system into the future, take a data-driven approach to maintenance scheduling, improve the reliability of the system, and share the data with a variety of end-users.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

UT Austin's 2022 Sandia Day (Summary Report)

On March 30th and 31st, 2022, the University of Texas at Austin (UT) Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) hosted Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) for “Sandia Day at UT Austin” to understand the status of the strategic partnership and explore opportunities for partnership growth. The event brought together more than 115 UT and Sandia participants including executive leadership, researchers, faculty, staff, and students. Sandia Day primarily consisted of a half-day leadership meeting, a research poster session and networking event, and three break-out sessions focused on strategic priority areas: Microelectronics, Energy and Climate Security, and High-Performance and Edge Computing. Appendix A contains the full Sandia Day agenda. Additional meetings and workshops (adjunct meetings) were held in conjunction with Sandia Day to maximize partnership exploration. Adjunct meetings were Hypersonics, Decarbonization, Disinformation, and Battery Workshops. A summary of Sandia Day events, sessions, and meetings follows.

42 ENGINEERING↗

The Importance of Scientific Visualization on Novel Hardware

Innovation in HPC hardware and adoption of heterogeneous systems has led to a variety of unique programming models. This has led to a challenge for scientific visualization software (and indeed all HPC software) to take full advantage of recent generations of supercomputing. Edge computing, where hardware is specialized for the needs of the particular application, exacerbates the problem. VTK-m has had many successes on this front by providing device-agnostic algorithms that compare favorably to implementations written to specific devices as shown in Table 1. However, VTK-m has focused mostly on GPU and traditional CPU multicore technology. There are numerous processor technologies, both existing and potential future, that are not being addressed by current R&D efforts.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Dynamic Decarbonization through Autonomous Physics-Centric Deep Learning and Optimization of Building Operations (Abstract only)

This project directly addresses the primary goal of Area of Interest 2 in the CRADA call: to advance optimization-based integrated energy management systems in commercial and residential buildings. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and its industry partner PassiveLogic aim to accomplish this by reaching three key objectives. First, to ensure a broad impact in the building controls industry, PNNL will extend its open-source library for predictive control synthesis by augmenting its capabilities with data-driven self-learning of building models and auto-calibration of predictive controllers. The effort will focus on building use cases selected in collaboration with PassiveLogic. The team will specifically address the development of methods for data-driven adaptation of building models, investigation of model architectures that best address specific building types, and automated synthesis of differentiable predictive controllers that optimize diverse objectives. Second, PNNL will collaborate with PassiveLogic to integrate the aforementioned methods with PasiveLogic’s advanced controls platform. The collaborative integration effort will inform the developments under the first objective by providing specific data on the attainable performance of model learning on resource-constrained edge computing platforms. This software integration effort will increase the technical maturity of the developed libraries by exploring the use of software integration tools and methods. Third, PNNL and PassiveLogic will work to improve the technology readiness of the developed predictive controllers by testing their performance in relevant test environments, such as high-fidelity simulation, hardware in the loop, and actual test buildings.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Physics-guided Machine Learning: from Supervised Deep Networks to Unsupervised Lightweight Models [Slides]

Machine learning yields great potentials in improving imaging performance (i.e., accuracy and efficiency). The incorporation of governing equation will improve generalization and alleviate label scarcity. Employ physical properties can reduce model complexity and significantly save training cost without compromising accuracy. Combining SciML imaging and edge computing would allow broader applications in energy, medicine, and other domains.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Developing an Energy-Conscious Traffic Signal Control System for Optimized Fuel Consumption in Connected Vehicle Environments

The project titled “Developing an Energy-Conscious Traffic Signal Control System for Optimized Fuel Consumption in Connected Vehicle Environments” addresses energy-related challenges associated with adaptive traffic control systems by integrating connected vehicles (CV) and connected infrastructure (CI). The system developed in this project, a CV-based adaptive traffic control system, aims to improve fuel consumption in mixed traffic environments by capitalizing on emerging CV and CI communication technologies, as well as leveraging recent advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI), optimization, and edge computing. The system was tested at the MLK Smart Corridor, an urban testbed managed by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) and the City of Chattanooga. The system was validated through extensive simulations, both Software-in-the-Loop (SILS) and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HILS), and was further implemented and tested in real-world conditions at several intersections along the corridor. The Fuel Consumption Performance Index (FC-PI) and the Ecological Performance Index (Eco-PI) were developed as the key components for evaluating the system’s impact on fuel consumption and emissions. These metrics provided a comprehensive means of understanding the impact of traffic signal control optimization in mixed traffic environments. The report presents an in-depth analysis of the Eco-PI, FC-PI, adaptive traffic control system integration, and the testing and field implementation of the system. The results demonstrate significant reductions in fuel consumption and emissions, showcasing the system’s capability to contribute to more sustainable urban traffic management. The report also documents the challenges encountered and recommendations for scaling and further improving the system.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Human-Building Collaboration: Toward lighting enabled collaborative system design

The profession of lighting design is evolving as contemporary lighting systems increasingly rely on cutting-edge computational technologies, sensors, and IOT systems. This trend requires designers to incorporate ideas of automation, dynamic controls, and user-system interaction into their design logic. However, real-time lighting simulations are constrained by inherent limitations arising from the reductive assumptions inevitably introduced in simulated lighting environments. This raises the question of how can designers account for the discrepancies between simulated and real lighting environments, and how can collaboration between humans and autonomous lighting systems bridge this gap. To address this question, we propose a protocol for designing collaborative interactions between humans and systems. Furthermore, this protocol builds on the Human-Lighting System Interaction Framework and demonstrates how human and system intelligence can be combined to fine-tune lighting qualities in a given space. Our paper shows how interactive lighting systems can customize lighting based on user preferences in real-time and how global lighting configurations can be adjusted over time. Specifically, we demonstrate: a) Human-system collaboration assumptions and goals, as well as how the protocol can be integrated into digitally programmable lighting systems. b) Implementations of collaboration that reveal how system autonomy, performance, and user experience are improved over short and long-term timeframes. c) How lighting design can be enhanced beyond simulation-driven design optimization capacities. The associated affordances and limitations are discussed with respect to existing lighting simulation design frameworks.

autonomous systems↗

FAST (FAST AUTONOMOUS SCANNING TOOLKIT)

SF-23-006 FAST (FAST AUTONOMOUS SCANNING TOOLKIT)The software is deployed on an edge computing device at the beamline computer attached to a scanning microscope. It iteratively analyzes the data collected, then identifies new scan positions to scan next and directs the positioners that move the sample (or probe beam) to these positions. Overall, it identifies a sparse set of scan positions that are sufficient to image the full sample. This can reduce the scan time by >60%.

KANDEL, SAUGAT↗

Real-Time 3D Visualization

Butler Hine, former director of the Intelligent Mechanism Group (IMG) at Ames Research Center, and five others partnered to start Fourth Planet, Inc., a visualization company that specializes in the intuitive visual representation of dynamic, real-time data over the Internet and Intranet. Over a five-year period, the then NASA researchers performed ten robotic field missions in harsh climes to mimic the end- to-end operations of automated vehicles trekking across another world under control from Earth. The core software technology for these missions was the Virtual Environment Vehicle Interface (VEVI). Fourth Planet has released VEVI4, the fourth generation of the VEVI software, and NetVision. VEVI4 is a cutting-edge computer graphics simulation and remote control applications tool. The NetVision package allows large companies to view and analyze in virtual 3D space such things as the health or performance of their computer network or locate a trouble spot on an electric power grid. Other products are forthcoming. Fourth Planet is currently part of the NASA/Ames Technology Commercialization Center, a business incubator for start-up companies.

Source record↗

Support of Integrated Health Management (IHM) through Automated Analyses of Flowfield-Derived Spectrographic Data

Flow-field analysis techniques under continuing development at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center are the foundation for a new type of health monitoring instrumentation for propulsion systems and a vast range of other applications. Physics, spectroscopy, mechanics, optics, and cutting-edge computer sciences merge to make recent developments in such instrumentation possible. Issues encountered in adaptation of such a system to future space vehicles, or retrofit in existing hardware, are central to the work. This paper is an overview of the collaborative efforts results, current efforts, and future plans.

Patrick, Marshall C.↗

Networked Array Recorder (NeAR) Microphones for Field-Deployed Phased Arrays

An innovative edge-computing concept known as NeAR (Networked Array Recorder) has been developed to provide enhancements to existing field-deployable microphone phased arrays utilized for aeroacoustic flyover measurements of airframe and propulsive noise sources. The proposed system allows for the elimination of multiple miles of sensor wiring in an array installation, thereby improving the scalability of the overall system, increasing the fault-tolerance of the hardware, and reducing the effort needed to build-up and tear-down an array in the field. A demonstration of the NeAR concept was performed at Edwards Air Force Base in California in March – April, 2018, where twelve individual NeAR microphones were deployed as a piggyback on a conventional phased array system deployed for airframe noise flyover testing. The microphones operated successfully during the demonstration with good time history and spectral correlations shown between the NeAR units and conventional microphones located nearby in the array. The NeAR concept has spinoffs beyond its use for phased arrays, including applications in remote environmental sensing and noise monitoring.

Cull.iton, William G.↗

AEGIS: Autonomous Entity Global Intelligence System for Urban Air Mobility

This paper presents a global intelligence system that synthesizes aerial vehicles’ real-time physical data, planned actions, and historical behavior into engineered data frames representing the collective state of the airspace and suitable for efficient machine learning consumption. These data frames are then learnt by a deep neural net to build a prediction model that estimates the expected evolution path of the current state, thereby identifying potential future conflicts. This approach lends itself to an automated early warning system that the aerial vehicles can implement onboard with a suitable edge computing module more efficiently and effectively than non-AI methods, and eventually take preventive or corrective measures towards self/collaborative resolution of the issues. Contrary to a centralized early warning system where all vehicles’ task-space eventually converges to a global optimum state, the presented distributed global intelligence system brings in a balance between local utility functions of each vehicle and the global operating framework. This contributes to effectively handle the potential massive scaling in urban air mobility in the near future.

Artificial Intelligence↗

3D-CHESS: Decentralized, Distributed, Dynamic, and Context-aware Heterogeneous Sensor Systems

This paper describes the objectives and current status of the 3D-CHESS project which aims to demonstrate a new Earth observing strategy based on a context-aware Earth observing sensor web. This sensor web consists of a set of nodes with a knowledge base, heterogeneous sensors, edge computing, and autonomous decision-making capabilities. Context awareness is defined as the ability for the nodes to gather, exchange, and leverage contextual information (e.g., state of the Earth system, state and capabilities of itself and of other nodes in the network, and how those states relate to the dy- namic mission objectives) to improve decision making and planning. The current goal of the project is to demonstrate proof of concept by comparing the performance of a 3D- CHESS sensor web with that of status quo architectures in the context of a multi-sensor inland hydrologic and ecologic monitoring system.

David, Cedric H.↗