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At least 1,351 records · Page 75

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS1977

Real time control of satellite tracking station operation for millimeter wave experiments and associated data processing

Real time control, data collection, and data reduction of an earth-satellite millimeter wave system are discussed. Experiment control and data processing requirements are considered with attention to signal data acquisition, weather data acquisition, support and control functions, task classifications, the fundamental data acquisition procedure, and the computer-experiment interface. The general analysis is applied to a description of the Communications Technology Satellite system and its hardware.

Kauffman, S. R.↗

NASA NTRS1978

Processing by data and program blocks

A processing system is presented that implements simultaneously the efficiency of the special-purpose processor and the total applicability of the general-purpose computer - characteristics commonly thought of as being mutually exclusive. This is achieved through specializing the machine by programming the hardware structure, rather than by adding software systems to it. Data are organized in circulating pages which form a multiplicity of local dynamic memories for each process. Programs are made up of modules, each describing a transient special-purpose machine. A characteristic of this approach is that the processes are data-driven, rather than program-driven. The programming language presents significant flexibility and efficiency in modeling certain classes of problems, and it may be of interest as an implementation model in a broader context. Applications to real-time processing of radar signals are reported. The relevance of characteristics of this system to problems in multiprogramming and multiprocessing systems is discussed.

Schaffner, M. R.↗

NASA NTRS1980

The Spacelab Experiment Interface Device (SEID)

The Spacelab experiment interface device (SEID) is described which simulates the electrical, and logical connections of the Spacelab remote acquisition unit (RAU), the interface functions of the Spacelab experiment computer software, and the electrical aspects of the high rate multiplexer. Simulated RAU interfaces include PCM serial channels (up to four), user time clock (UTC), flexible inputs (up to 128) and discrete outputs (up to 64). Connectors are logically compatible with the rau. be instructed to execute sequences of input/output commands to the RAU, similar to those performed during flight. This approximation of the experiment computer software is adequate to detect interface problems and prevent these from occurring during Spacelab payload integration. The SEID hardware is a microprocessor based system, utilizing an 8085 microprocessor with 6K of PROM and 4K of static RAM. The basic unit is augmented with an LSI-11 microcomputer to provide disk storage and a more dynamic environment for generation of control data. A simulation of the general monitoring loop is provided to emulate Spacelab system timing.

Kallus, R.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Ground Software Maintenance Facility (GSMF) system manual

The Ground Software Maintenance Facility (GSMF) is designed to support development and maintenance of spacelab ground support software. THE GSMF consists of a Perkin Elmer 3250 (Host computer) and a MITRA 125s (ATE computer), with appropriate interface devices and software to simulate the Electrical Ground Support Equipment (EGSE). This document is presented in three sections: (1) GSMF Overview; (2) Software Structure; and (3) Fault Isolation Capability. The overview contains information on hardware and software organization along with their corresponding block diagrams. The Software Structure section describes the modes of software structure including source files, link information, and database files. The Fault Isolation section describes the capabilities of the Ground Computer Interface Device, Perkin Elmer host, and MITRA ATE.

Derrig, D.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Scientific computing environment for the 1980s

An emerging scientific computing environment in which computers are used not only to solve large-scale models, but are also integrated into the daily activities of scientists and engineers, is discussed. The requirements of the scientific user in this environment are reviewed, and the hardware environment is described, including supercomputers, work stations, mass storage, and communications. Significant increases in memory capacity to keep pace with performance increases, the introduction of powerful graphics displays into the work station, and networking to integrate many computers are stressed. The emerging system software environment is considered, including the operating systems, communications software, and languages. New scientific user tools and utilities that will become available are described.

Bailey, F. R.↗

NASA NTRS1990

The Meteorological Measurement System on the NASA ER-2 aircraft

A Meteorological Measurement System (MMS) was designed and installed on one of the NASA high-altitude ER-2 aircraft (NASA 706). The MMS provides in situ measurements of free-stream pressure (+ or - 0.3 mb), temperature (+ or - 0.3 C), and wind vector (+ or - 1 m/s). It incorporates a high-resolution inertial navigation system specially configured for scientific applications, a radome differential pressure system for measurements of the airflow angles, and a compact, computer-controlled data acquisition system to sample, process and store 45 variables on tape and on disk. The MMS hardware and software development is described, and resolution and accuracy of the instrumentation discussed. Custom software facilitates preflight system checkout, inflight data acquisition, and fast postflight data download. It accommodates various modes of MMS data: analog and digital, serial and parallel, and synchronous and asynchronous. Flight results are presented to demonstrate the capability of the system.

Scott, Stan G.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Real time visual tracking of targets in six dimensions

Six dimensional target information is produced by a target tracking vision system for use in real time target tracking by a robotic system. The vision system described in this paper produces three axes of position data and three axes of orientation data using a single camera which views a three dimensional target. The system performs target detection, target discrimination and determines the target position and orientation relative to the camera. As the target information is determined, it is communicated to a computer which is controlling the robot motion in real time. Details of the image processing algorithms and image processing hardware used in the vision system are discussed in the paper.

Walsh, Peter M.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Visualization of fluid dynamics at NASA Ames

Some of the hardware and software tools and techniques in use at NASA's numerical aerodynamic simulation facility for the analysis of computational fluid dynamics are described. The visualization process can be illustrated by video tapes and stereo pictures. Although these visualization tools have dramatically improved the ability to conduct research in fluid dynamics, a comparison of the current environment for analysis with an 'ideal' environment illustrates that there are still major improvements that should be made. The most time-consuming task in future analyses of the increasingly complex computer simulations will be the extraction and clear display of the key features. In addition, the interface between the workstation and the scientist should be improved significantly. Current research on techniques for creating these improvements is described.

Watson, V.↗

NASA NTRS1987

CFD activities at NASA. Marshall Space Flight Center (validation)

Computational fluid dynamics objectives are presented for Marshall Space Flight Center. Topics covered include: codes in use, applications to hardware development, and the Center's benchmark plan for the future. All results are presented in viewgraph format.

Schutzenhofer, Luke A.↗

NASA NTRS1996

Software Development Technologies for Reactive, Real-Time, and Hybrid Systems

The research is directed towards the design and implementation of a comprehensive deductive environment for the development of high-assurance systems, especially reactive (concurrent, real-time, and hybrid) systems. Reactive systems maintain an ongoing interaction with their environment, and are among the most difficult to design and verify. The project aims to provide engineers with a wide variety of tools within a single, general, formal framework in which the tools will be most effective. The entire development process is considered, including the construction, transformation, validation, verification, debugging, and maintenance of computer systems. The goal is to automate the process as much as possible and reduce the errors that pervade hardware and software development.

Manna, Zohar↗

NASA NTRS1997

A Comparison of PETSC Library and HPF Implementations of an Archetypal PDE Computation

Two paradigms for distributed-memory parallel computation that free the application programmer from the details of message passing are compared for an archetypal structured scientific computation a nonlinear, structured-grid partial differential equation boundary value problem using the same algorithm on the same hardware. Both paradigms, parallel libraries represented by Argonne's PETSC, and parallel languages represented by the Portland Group's HPF, are found to be easy to use for this problem class, and both are reasonably effective in exploiting concurrency after a short learning curve. The level of involvement required by the application programmer under either paradigm includes specification of the data partitioning (corresponding to a geometrically simple decomposition of the domain of the PDE). Programming in SPAM style for the PETSC library requires writing the routines that discretize the PDE and its Jacobian, managing subdomain-to-processor mappings (affine global- to-local index mappings), and interfacing to library solver routines. Programming for HPF requires a complete sequential implementation of the same algorithm, introducing concurrency through subdomain blocking (an effort similar to the index mapping), and modest experimentation with rewriting loops to elucidate to the compiler the latent concurrency. Correctness and scalability are cross-validated on up to 32 nodes of an IBM SP2.

Hayder, M. Ehtesham↗

NASA NTRS2002

Database Reports Over the Internet

Most of the summer was spent developing software that would permit existing test report forms to be printed over the web on a printer that is supported by Adobe Acrobat Reader. The data is stored in a DBMS (Data Base Management System). The client asks for the information from the database using an HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) form in a web browser. JavaScript is used with the forms to assist the user and verify the integrity of the entered data. Queries to a database are made in SQL (Sequential Query Language), a widely supported standard for making queries to databases. Java servlets, programs written in the Java programming language running under the control of network server software, interrogate the database and complete a PDF form template kept in a file. The completed report is sent to the browser requesting the report. Some errors are sent to the browser in an HTML web page, others are reported to the server. Access to the databases was restricted since the data are being transported to new DBMS software that will run on new hardware. However, the SQL queries were made to Microsoft Access, a DBMS that is available on most PCs (Personal Computers). Access does support the SQL commands that were used, and a database was created with Access that contained typical data for the report forms.

Dean Lance Smith↗

NASA NTRS2000

A dual-task investigation of automaticity in visual word processing

An analysis of activation models of visual word processing suggests that frequency-sensitive forms of lexical processing should proceed normally while unattended. This hypothesis was tested by having participants perform a speeded pitch discrimination task followed by lexical decisions or word naming. As the stimulus onset asynchrony between the tasks was reduced, lexical-decision and naming latencies increased dramatically. Word-frequency effects were additive with the increase, indicating that frequency-sensitive processing was subject to postponement while attention was devoted to the other task. Either (a) the same neural hardware shares responsibility for lexical processing and central stages of choice reaction time task processing and cannot perform both computations simultaneously, or (b) lexical processing is blocked in order to optimize performance on the pitch discrimination task. Either way, word processing is not as automatic as activation models suggest.

Attention↗

NASA NTRS2007

Visual Navigation - SARE Mission

The SARE Earth Observing and Technological Mission is part of the Argentinean Space Agency (CONAE - Comision Nacional de Actividades Espaciales) Small and Technological Payloads Program. The Argentinean National Space Program requires from the SARE program mission to test in a real environment of several units, assemblies and components to reduce the risk of using these equipments in more expensive Space Missions. The objective is to make use those components with an acceptable maturity in design or development, but without any heritage at space. From the application point of view, this mission offers new products in the Earth Observation data market which are listed in the present paper. One of the technological payload on board of the SARE satellite is the sensor Ground Tracker. It computes the satellite attitude and orbit in real time (goal) and/or by ground processing. For the first operating mode a dedicated computer and mass memory are necessary to be part of the mentioned sensor. For the second operational mode the hardware and software are much simpler.

Alonso, Roberto↗

NASA NTRS2008

Computer-implemented system and method for automated and highly accurate plaque analysis, reporting, and visualization

A computer-implemented system and method of intra-oral analysis for measuring plaque removal is disclosed. The system includes hardware for real-time image acquisition and software to store the acquired images on a patient-by-patient basis. The system implements algorithms to segment teeth of interest from surrounding gum, and uses a real-time image-based morphing procedure to automatically overlay a grid onto each segmented tooth. Pattern recognition methods are used to classify plaque from surrounding gum and enamel, while ignoring glare effects due to the reflection of camera light and ambient light from enamel regions. The system integrates these components into a single software suite with an easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI) that allows users to do an end-to-end run of a patient record, including tooth segmentation of all teeth, grid morphing of each segmented tooth, and plaque classification of each tooth image.

Kemp, James Herbert↗

NASA NTRS2004

Portable Electromyograph

A portable electronic apparatus records electromyographic (EMG) signals in as many as 16 channels at a sampling rate of 1,024 Hz in each channel. The apparatus (see figure) includes 16 differential EMG electrodes (each electrode corresponding to one channel) with cables and attachment hardware, reference electrodes, an input/output-and-power-adapter unit, a 16-bit analog-to-digital converter, and a hand-held computer that contains a removable 256-MB flash memory card. When all 16 EMG electrodes are in use, full-bandwidth data can be recorded in each channel for as long as 8 hours. The apparatus is powered by a battery and is small enough that it can be carried in a waist pouch. The computer is equipped with a small screen that can be used to display the incoming signals on each channel. Amplitude and time adjustments of this display can be made easily by use of touch buttons on the screen. The user can also set up a data-acquisition schedule to conform to experimental protocols or to manage battery energy and memory efficiently. Once the EMG data have been recorded, the flash memory card is removed from the EMG apparatus and placed in a flash-memory- card-reading external drive unit connected to a personal computer (PC). The PC can then read the data recorded in the 16 channels. Preferably, before further analysis, the data should be stored in the hard drive of the PC. The data files are opened and viewed on the PC by use of special- purpose software. The software for operation of the apparatus resides in a random-access memory (RAM), with backup power supplied by a small internal lithium cell. A backup copy of this software resides on the flash memory card. In the event of loss of both main and backup battery power and consequent loss of this software, the backup copy can be used to restore the RAM copy after power has been restored. Accessories for this device are also available. These include goniometers, accelerometers, foot switches, and force gauges.

De Luca, Gianluca↗

NASA NTRS2019

Big Data, Cloud, and Earth Science

Given the reality of a Big Data future, we need to reevaluate our ability to quickly process immense amounts of data while maintaining our responsibility of stewarding our archives. At National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), our Science Missions Directorate and Earth Science Data Systems have been exploring the commercial cloud as a potential mechanism for data ingest, archive, and distribution since 2015. This talk will discuss our timeline and strategies being employed and will discuss the process of introducing commercial cloud entities into a largely on-premise hardware-reliant approach to ingest, archive, and distribution. We will address topics such as vendor lock-in, varying compute and costing strategies, and end-user adoption. Please join us for an open and authentic conversation about the opportunities we are embracing and the risks we are undertaking as a part of this evolution.

Informatics↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Incorporating ADAPT-VQE with a Sparse Wavefunction Circuit Simulator to Find Compact Quantum Circuits for Chemical Applications

We implemented the ADAPT-VQE algorithm into our recent classical sparse wavefunction circuit simulator to demonstrate that classical resources can (1) efficiently find a physically motivated compact wavefunction ansatz for further refinement on near-term quantum hardware and (2) benchmark expected results of VQE-based algorithms once the quantum hardware is available to study large-scale applications. In particular, we study the role of the ADAPT-VQE operator pool, molecular basis set selection, and variations such as TETRIS-ADAPT-VQE on the performance of our classical circuit simulator. This work demonstrates the promise of using classical resources to generate highly accurate wavefunctions that can be prepared on quantum hardware to initiate other quantum algorithms such as phase estimation. Our approach harnesses the power of high-performance computing resources with the more limited available quantum computers to map a path toward quantum advantage for electronic structure calculations in chemistry and materials science.

Quantum Computing↗