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At least 1,315 records · Page 73

Development of an automated diode-laser-based multicomponent gas sensor

The implementation and application of a portable fiber-coupled trace-gas sensor for the detection of several trace gases, including CO2, CH4, and H2CO, are reported. This particular sensor is based on a cw fiber-amplified near-infrared (distributed Bragg reflector) diode laser and an external cavity diode laser that are frequency converted in a periodically poled lithium niobate crystal to the mid-IR spectroscopic fingerprint region (3.3-4.4 micrometers). A continuous absorption spectrum of CH4 and H2CO from 3.37 to 3.10 micrometers with a spectral resolution of 40 MHz (approximately 0.0013 cm-1) demonstrated the spectral performance that can be achieved by means of automated wavelength tuning and phase matching with stepper motor control. Autonomous long-term detection of ambient CO2 and CH4 over a 3- and 7-day period was also demonstrated.

NASA Discipline Environmental Health↗

Automated Portable Test (APT) System: overview and prospects

The Automated Portable Test (APT) System is a notebook-sized, computer-based, human-performance and subjective-status assessment system. It is now being used in a wide range of environmental studies (e.g., simulator aftereffects, flight tests, drug effects, and hypoxia). Three questionnaires and 15 performance tests have been implemented, and the adaptation of 30 more tests is underway or is planned. The APT System is easily transportable, is inexpensive, and has the breadth of expansion options required for field and laboratory applications. The APT System is a powerful and expandable tool for human assessment in remote and unusual environments.

Aerospace Medicine/instrumentation↗

Predicting survival in heart failure case and control subjects by use of fully automated methods for deriving nonlinear and conventional indices of heart rate dynamics

BACKGROUND: Despite much recent interest in quantification of heart rate variability (HRV), the prognostic value of conventional measures of HRV and of newer indices based on nonlinear dynamics is not universally accepted. METHODS AND RESULTS: We have designed algorithms for analyzing ambulatory ECG recordings and measuring HRV without human intervention, using robust methods for obtaining time-domain measures (mean and SD of heart rate), frequency-domain measures (power in the bands of 0.001 to 0.01 Hz [VLF], 0.01 to 0.15 Hz [LF], and 0.15 to 0.5 Hz [HF] and total spectral power [TP] over all three of these bands), and measures based on nonlinear dynamics (approximate entropy [ApEn], a measure of complexity, and detrended fluctuation analysis [DFA], a measure of long-term correlations). The study population consisted of chronic congestive heart failure (CHF) case patients and sex- and age-matched control subjects in the Framingham Heart Study. After exclusion of technically inadequate studies and those with atrial fibrillation, we used these algorithms to study HRV in 2-hour ambulatory ECG recordings of 69 participants (mean age, 71.7+/-8.1 years). By use of separate Cox proportional-hazards models, the conventional measures SD (P<.01), LF (P<.01), VLF (P<.05), and TP (P<.01) and the nonlinear measure DFA (P<.05) were predictors of survival over a mean follow-up period of 1.9 years; other measures, including ApEn (P>.3), were not. In multivariable models, DFA was of borderline predictive significance (P=.06) after adjustment for the diagnosis of CHF and SD. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that HRV analysis of ambulatory ECG recordings based on fully automated methods can have prognostic value in a population-based study and that nonlinear HRV indices may contribute prognostic value to complement traditional HRV measures.

Non-NASA Center↗

Automated testing of the Deep Space Network's Uplink Subsystem

This paper describes some of the lessons we learned in implementing two different Tcl-basedtest frameworks used to automate testing of the Deep Space Network's new Uplink Subsystem, and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each. The first framework was external to the Uplink Subsystem's software and provided complete control of the environment; the second was integrated with the software and provided less control, but motivated more and better testing. Some implementation details of the second frameworkare discussed as well.

DSN automated testing Tcl/Tk↗

Automated workflow for engineering services

This paper describes a prototype of an automated workflow system, developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, that provides navigation and telecommunication services.

automated workflow web services database legacy ap↗

Automated Consultation for the Diagnosis of Interplanetary Telecommunications

SHARP (Spacecraft Health Automated Reasoning Program) is a knowledge-based system for the diagnosis of problems in NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) telecommunications system. This system provides the means of communication between a spacecraft and operations personnel at Jet Propulsion Laboratory. SHARP analyzes problems that occur in both the on-board spacecraft telecom subsystem, and the DSN.

SHARP spacecraft health automated reasoning progra↗

Automated Consultation for the Diagnosis for Interplanetary Telecommunications

SHARP (Spacecraft Health Automated Reasoning Program) is a knowledge-based consultant for diagnosing problems in NASA'a Deep Space Network (DSN) telecommunications link in near real-time...This paper describes the most recent version, which is an operational system used by spacecraft mission contollers; previous versions are described elsewhere...

DSN deep space network↗

(abstract) Automated Constraint Checking of Spacecraft Command Sequences

Making certain that spacecraft command sequences do not violate any constraints is often tedious and expensive in terms of both personnel and software development. To reduce this cost, we have pursued the development of a flexible system for specifying models of spacecraft behavior in response to commands as well as constraints on that behavior. The potential need for modeling complex spacecraft behavior required that the system be designed to be usable both on a conventional workstation and a parallel supercomputer. Finally, it needed to be intuitive enough for the the intended mission operations users to easily design sets of rules and models to automate tedious, resource-consuming constraint checking of commands. We have defined a Specification And Verification Environment (SAVE) for spacecraft flight rules.

automation spacecraft command sequences constraint↗

Reducing costs of the modified Antarctic Mapping mission through automated planning

This paper describes the automated mission planning system for MAMM, which dramatically reduced mission-planning costs to just a few workweeks, and enabled rapid generation of 'what-if' scenarios for evaluating mission-design trades. This latter capability informed several critical design decisions and was instrumental in accurately costing the mission.

reduce mission costs↗

Testing of Haar-Like Feature in Region of Interest Detection for Automated Target Recognition (ATR) System

The objectives of this project were to develop a ROI (Region of Interest) detector using Haar-like feature similar to the face detection in Intel's OpenCV library, implement it in Matlab code, and test the performance of the new ROI detector against the existing ROI detector that uses Optimal Trade-off Maximum Average Correlation Height filter (OTMACH). The ROI detector included 3 parts: 1, Automated Haar-like feature selection in finding a small set of the most relevant Haar-like features for detecting ROIs that contained a target. 2, Having the small set of Haar-like features from the last step, a neural network needed to be trained to recognize ROIs with targets by taking the Haar-like features as inputs. 3, using the trained neural network from the last step, a filtering method needed to be developed to process the neural network responses into a small set of regions of interests. This needed to be coded in Matlab. All the 3 parts needed to be coded in Matlab. The parameters in the detector needed to be trained by machine learning and tested with specific datasets. Since OpenCV library and Haar-like feature were not available in Matlab, the Haar-like feature calculation needed to be implemented in Matlab. The codes for Adaptive Boosting and max/min filters in Matlab could to be found from the Internet but needed to be integrated to serve the purpose of this project. The performance of the new detector was tested by comparing the accuracy and the speed of the new detector against the existing OTMACH detector. The speed was referred as the average speed to find the regions of interests in an image. The accuracy was measured by the number of false positives (false alarms) at the same detection rate between the two detectors.

neural network↗

How do Air Traffic Controllers Use Automation and Tools Differently During High Demand Situations?

In a human-in-the-loop simulation, two air traffic controllers managed identical airspace while burdened with higher than average workload, and while using advanced tools and automation designed to assist with scheduling aircraft on multiple arrival flows to a single meter fix. This paper compares the strategies employed by each controller, and investigates how the controllers' strategies change while managing their airspace under more normal workload conditions and a higher workload condition. Each controller engaged in different methods of maneuvering aircraft to arrive on schedule, and adapted their strategies to cope with the increased workload in different ways. Based on the conclusions three suggestions are made: that quickly providing air traffic controllers with recommendations and information to assist with maneuvering and scheduling aircraft when burdened with increased workload will improve the air traffic controller's effectiveness, that the tools should adapt to the strategy currently employed by a controller, and that training should emphasize which traffic management strategies are most effective given specific airspace demands.

ATC↗

An Automated Sample Processing System for Planetary Exploration

An Automated Sample Processing System (ASPS) for wet chemistry processing of organic materials on the surface of Mars has been jointly developed by Ball Aerospace and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The mechanism has been built and tested to demonstrate TRL level 4. This paper describes the function of the system, mechanism design, lessons learned, and several challenges that were overcome.

traditional mechanical components↗