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NASA NTRS1993

Vision based obstacle detection and grouping for helicopter guidance

Electro-optical sensors can be used to compute range to objects in the flight path of a helicopter. The computation is based on the optical flow/motion at different points in the image. The motion algorithms provide a sparse set of ranges to discrete features in the image sequence as a function of azimuth and elevation. For obstacle avoidance guidance and display purposes, these discrete set of ranges, varying from a few hundreds to several thousands, need to be grouped into sets which correspond to objects in the real world. This paper presents a new method for object segmentation based on clustering the sparse range information provided by motion algorithms together with the spatial relation provided by the static image. The range values are initially grouped into clusters based on depth. Subsequently, the clusters are modified by using the K-means algorithm in the inertial horizontal plane and the minimum spanning tree algorithms in the image plane. The object grouping allows interpolation within a group and enables the creation of dense range maps. Researchers in robotics have used densely scanned sequence of laser range images to build three-dimensional representation of the outside world. Thus, modeling techniques developed for dense range images can be extended to sparse range images. The paper presents object segmentation results for a sequence of flight images.

Sridhar, Banavar↗

NASA NTRS1993

Random errors of oceanic monthly rainfall derived from SSM/I using probability distribution functions

Global averages and random errors associated with the monthly oceanic rain rates derived from the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) data using the technique developed by Wilheit et al. (1991) are computed. Accounting for the beam-filling bias, a global annual average rain rate of 1.26 m is computed. The error estimation scheme is based on the existence of independent (morning and afternoon) estimates of the monthly mean. Calculations show overall random errors of about 50-60 percent for each 5 deg x 5 deg box. The results are insensitive to different sampling strategy (odd and even days of the month). Comparison of the SSM/I estimates with raingage data collected at the Pacific atoll stations showed a low bias of about 8 percent, a correlation of 0.7, and an rms difference of 55 percent.

Chang, Alfred T. C.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Enhanced data reduction of the velocity data on CETA flight experiment

A newly developed technique for enhanced data reduction provides an improved procedure that allows least squares minimization to become possible between data sets with an unequal number of data points. This technique was applied in the Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) experiment on the STS-37 Shuttle flight in April 1991 to obtain the velocity profile from the acceleration data. The new technique uses a least-squares method to estimate the initial conditions and calibration constants. These initial conditions are estimated by least-squares fitting the displacements indicated by the Hall-effect sensor data to the corresponding displacements obtained from integrating the acceleration data. The velocity and displacement profiles can then be recalculated from the corresponding acceleration data using the estimated parameters. This technique, which enables instantaneous velocities to be obtained from the test data instead of only average velocities at varying discrete times, offers more detailed velocity information, particularly during periods of large acceleration or deceleration.

Finley, Tom D.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Program Predicts Microstructural Changes In Materials

MCFET computer program, named for combined Monte Carlo Finite Element Technique, implements specialized microstructural-lattice simulation technique. Developed to simulate microstructural evolution in material systems in which modulated phases occur and directionality of modulation influenced by internal and external stresses. Written in FORTRAN.

Gayda, J.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Heating And Positioning In A Microwave Cavity

Two reports describe theoretical and experimental studies of microwave dielectrophoretic positioning of spherical sample of lossy dielectric material in microwave resonant cavity and heating of positioned sphere by electro-magnetic field. Studies part of continuing effort to develop techniques for containerless processing of materials in microgravity. Previous studies in this series described in "Microwave Dielectrophoretic Levitation in Microgravity" (NPO-18824).

Jackson, Henry W.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Laser-Induced Fluorescence Helps Diagnose Plasma Processes

Technique developed to provide in situ monitoring of rates of ion sputter erosion of accelerator electrodes in ion thrusters also used for ground-based applications to monitor, calibrate, and otherwise diagnose plasma processes in fabrication of electronic and optical devices. Involves use of laser-induced-fluorescence measurements, which provide information on rates of ion etching, inferred rates of sputter deposition, and concentrations of contaminants.

Beattie, J. R.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Lessons learned from an Ada conversion project

Recognizing the importance of building software with the robustness to accommodate rapid advances in technology, developers have focused on methods which preserve both past and future investment in software and in providing an advanced software engineering environment that frees the engineer, to the greatest extent possible, from the more routine aspects of software design and development. The software engineer is permitted to concentrate on the creative aspects of problem resolution. Standard languages such as Ada maximize portability across hardware and operating systems. Standard interfaces which enhance portability and permit the incorporation of new technology as it becomes available have been developed. Software design and development techniques which maximize portability receive increasing emphasis. Experience gained in porting an Ada application between two widely varying environments is evaluated in light of current practices to maximize software portability.

Porter, Tim↗

NASA NTRS1993

Earth observing scanning polarimeter

Climate forcing by tropospheric aerosols is receiving increased attention because of the realization that the climate effects may be large, while our knowledge of global aerosol characteristics and temporal changes is very poor. Tropospheric aerosols cause a direct radiative forcing due simply to their scattering and absorption of solar radiation, as well as an indirect effect as cloud condensation nuclei which can modify the shortwave reflectivity of clouds. Sulfate aerosols tend to increase planetary albedo through both the direct and indirect effects; a cooling due to anthropogenic sulfate aerosols has been estimated of order 1 W/sq m, noting that this is similar in magnitude to the present anthropogenic greenhouse gas warming. Other aerosols, including those from biomass burning and wind-blown desert dust are also of potential climatic importance. At present, the only global monitoring of tropospheric aerosols is a NOAA operational product, aerosol optical thickness, obtained using channel-1 (0.58-0.68 mu m) radiances from the AVHRR. With this single channel radiance data, one must use an approach which is based on the inferred excess of reflected radiance owing to scattering by the aerosols over that expected from theoretical calculations. This approach is suited only for situations where the surface has a low albedo that is well known a priori. Thus, the NOAA operational product is restricted to coverage over the ocean at AVHRR scan angles well away from sun glint, and aerosol changes are subject to confusion with changes caused by either optically thin or subpixel clouds. Because optically thin aerosols have only a small effect on the radiance, accurate measurements for optical thickness less than 0.1 (which is a typical background level) are precluded. Moreover, some of the largest and most important aerosol changes are expected over land. The Earth Observing Scanning Polarimeter (EOSP) instrument, based upon design heritage and analysis techniques developed for planetary missions, will retrieve tropospheric aerosol characteristics from measurements of multispectral radiance and polarization. Moreover, the same radiance and polarization measurements will also provide very precise information on cloud properties and maps of surface characteristics for cloud-free regions. These capabilities also give EOSP the unique ability to discriminate aerosol from clouds and surface.

Travis, Larry↗

NASA NTRS1992

Temperature/pressure and water vapor sounding with microwave spectroscopy

Two intense microwave spectra lines exist in the martian atmosphere that allow unique sounding capabilities: water vapor at 183 GHz and the (2-1) rotational line of CO at 230 GHz. Microwave spectra line sounding is a well-developed technique for the Earth's atmosphere for sounding from above from spacecraft and airplanes, and from below from fixed surface sites. Two simple instruments for temperature sounding on Mars (the CO line) and water vapor measurements are described. The surface sounder proposed for the MESUR sites is designed to study the boundary layer water vapor distribution and the temperature/pressure profiles with vertical resolution of 0.25 km up to 1 km with reduced resolution above approaching a scale height. The water channel will be sensitive to a few tenths of a micrometer of water and the temperature profile will be retrieved to an accuracy between 1 and 2 K. The latter is routinely done on the Earth using oxygen lines near 60 GHz. The measurements are done with a single-channel heterodyne receiver looking into a 10-cm mirror that is canned through a range of elevation angles plus a target load. The frequency of the receiver is sweep across the water and CO lines generating the two spectra at about 1-hr intervals throughout the mission. The mass and power for the proposed instrument are 2 kg and 5-8 W continuously. The measurements are completely immune to the atmospheric dust and ice particle loads. It was felt that these measurements are the ultimate ones to properly study the martian boundary layer from the surface to a few kilometers. Sounding from above requires an orbiting spacecraft with multichannel microwave spectrometers such as the instrument proposed for MO by a subset of the authors, a putative MESUR orbiter, and a proposed Discovery mission called MOES. Such an instrument can be built with less than 10 kg and use less than 15 W. The obvious advantage of this approach is that the entire atmosphere can be sounded for temperature and water vapor in a few hours with somewhat better than a scale height resolution. If a bigger mirror is used (greater than 30 cm) limb sounding geometry can be employed and half scale height resolution achieved to altitudes up to at least 60 km. Again, the measurements are immune to dust and ice loads. Water vapor sensitivity of 0.1 micrometer can be achieved (even with a nadir instrument) and temperature profiles retrieved to an accuracy of better than 2 K from the surface to about 60 km. Winds can be measured from the doppler shifts of CO lines in the limb sounding mode.

Muhleman, D. O.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Data indexing techniques for the EUVE all-sky survey

This poster describes techniques developed for manipulating large full-sky data sets for the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer project. The authors have adapted the quatrilateralized cubic sphere indexing algorithm to allow us to efficiently store and process several types of large data sets, such as full-sky maps of photon counts, exposure time, and count rates. A variation of this scheme is used to index sparser data such as individual photon events and viewing times for selected areas of the sky, which are eventually used to create EUVE source catalogs.

Lewis, J.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Transparent data service with multiple wireless access

The rapid introduction of digital wireless networks is an important part of the emerging digital communications scene. The introduction of Digital Cellular, LEO and GEO Satellites, and Personal Communications Services poses both a challenge and an opportunity for the data user. On the one hand wireless access will introduce significant new portable data services such as personal notebooks, paging, E-mail, and fax that will put the information age in the user's pocket. On the other hand the challenge of creating a seamless and transparent environment for the user in multiple access environments and across multiple network connections is formidable. A summary of the issues associated with developing techniques and standards that can support transparent and seamless data services is presented. The introduction of data services into the radio world represents a unique mix of RF channel problems, data protocol issues, and network issues. These problems require that experts from each of these disciplines fuse the individual technologies to support these services.

Dean, Richard A.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Time dependent behavior of a graphite/thermoplastic composite and the effects of stress and physical aging

Two complimentary studies were performed to determine the effects of stress and physical aging on the matrix dominated time dependent properties of IM7/8320 composite. The first of these studies, experimental in nature, used isothermal tensile creep/aging test techniques developed for polymers and adapted them for testing of the composite material. From these tests, the time dependent transverse (S22) and shear (S66) compliance's for an orthotropic plate were found from short term creep compliance measurements at constant, sub-T(sub g) temperatures. These compliance terms were shown to be affected by physical aging. Aging time shift factors and shift rates were found to be a function of temperature and applied stress. The second part of the study relied upon isothermal uniaxial tension tests of IM7/8320 to determine the effects of physical aging on the nonlinear material behavior at elevated temperature. An elastic/viscoplastic constitutive model was used to quantify the effects of aging on the rate-independent plastic and rate-dependent viscoplastic response. Sensitivity of the material constants required by the model to aging time were determined for aging times up to 65 hours. Verification of the analytical model indicated that the effects of prior aging on the nonlinear stress/strain/time data of matrix dominated laminates can be predicted.

Gates, Thomas S.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Participation in TOMS missions

In the past year we have been investigating a new algorithm for the derivation of column sulfur dioxide, column ozone, and aerosol optical depth from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) High Density TOMS (HDT) archived albedos. Simulations of the measured albedos were made using a radiative transfer model, and a technique developed to separate the effects of the aerosol optical depth from the absorption optical depth. The retrieval adopted obtained values from the three parameters with high accuracy. This retrieval was then applied to the TOMS data.

Hudson, Robert D.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Feasibility study of a synthesis procedure for array feeds to improve radiation performance of large distorted reflector antennas

There were several tangible products that resulted from the reflector antenna research program. The initial technical effort was to develop techniques to compensate for distortions over the surface of the main reflector of a large reflector antenna system. An in-depth investigation of this problem resulted in a new technique for the electronic correction of surface errors. A journal article on the findings describe the use of the iterative sampling method. Shortly after the 'Mission to Planet Earth' program started, we began investigating the use of large reflector antennas in geostationary orbit for passive earth remote sensing. A study panel was coordinated by Virginia Tech to set technical goals for the effort. These were used to guide the design of several antennas. The original interest stemmed from an industrial (Reynolds Metals) need and currently involves work with industry (Prodelin Corporation) on high technology, low cost reflectors. The intervening years (1987 - 1993) is the period of this report and Virginia Tech's reflector antenna activity then was exclusively with NASA LaRC.

Stutzman, W. L.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Surface chemistry of liquid metals

The fundamental surface chemistry of the behavior of liquid metals spreading on a solid substrate is not at all well understood. Each of these questions involves knowing the details of the structure of interfaces and their dynamics. For example the structure of a monolayer of tin oxide on pure liquid tin is unknown. This is in contrast to the relatively large amount of data available on the structure of copper oxide monolayers on solid, pure copper. However, since liquid tin has a vapor pressure below 10(exp -10)torr for a reasonable temperature range above its melting point, it is possible to use the techniques of surface science to study the geometric, electronic and vibrational structures of these monolayers. In addition, certain techniques developed by surface chemists for the study of liquid systems can be applied to the ultra-high vacuum environment. In particular we have shown that light scattering spectroscopy can be used to study the surface tension tensor of these interfaces. The tin oxide layer in particular is very interesting in that the monolayer is rigid but admits of bending. Ellipsometric microscopy allows the visualization of monolayer thick films and show whether island formation occurs at various levels of dosing.

Mann, J. Adin, Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Measuring track densities in lunar grains by image analysis

We have developed techniques to use digitized scanning electron micrographs and computer image analysis programs to measure track densities in lunar soil grains. Tracks were formed by highly ionizing solar energetic particles and cosmic rays during near surface exposure on the Moon. The track densities are related to the exposure conditions (depth and time). Distributions of the number of grains as a function of their track densities can reveal the modality of soil maturation. We used a sample that had already been etched in 6 N NaOH at 118 C for 15 h to reveal tracks. We determined that back-scattered electron images taken at 50 percent contrast and approximately 49.8 percent brightness produced suitable high contrast images for analysis. We ascertained gray-scale thresholds of interest: 0-230 for tracks, 231 for masked regions, and 232-255 for background. We found no need to set an upper size limit for distinguishing tracks. We did use lower limits to exclude noise: 16 pixels at 15000x, 4 pixels at 10000x, 2 pixels at 6800x, and 0 pixels at 4600x. We used computer counting and measurement of area to obtain track densities. We found an excellent correlation with manual measurements for track densities below 1x10(exp 8) sq cm. For track densities between 1x10(exp 8) sq cm to 1x10(exp 9) sq cm, we found that a regression formula using the percentage area covered by tracks gave good agreement with manual measurements. Finally we used these new techniques to obtain a track density distribution that gave more detail and was more rapidly obtained than using manual techniques 15 years ago.

Blanford, George E.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Modifications of the Griesmer bound

The Griesmer bound is a classical technique (developed in 1960) for estimating the minimum length n required for a binary linear code with a given dimension k and minimum distance d. In this article, a unified derivation of the Griesmer bound and two new variations on it are presented. The first variation deals with linear codes which contain the all-ones vector; such codes are quite common and are useful in practice because of their 'transparent' properties. The second variation deals with codes that are constrained to contain a word of weight greater than or equal to M. In both cases these constraints (the all-ones word or a word of high weight) can increase the minimum length of a code with given k and d.

Mceliece, R. J.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Institute for Computational Mechanics in Propulsion (ICOMP)

The Institute for Computational Mechanics in Propulsion (ICOMP) is operated by the Ohio Aerospace Institute (OAI) and the NASA Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The purpose of ICOMP is to develop techniques to improve problem-solving capabilities in all aspects of computational mechanics related to propulsion. This report describes the accomplishments and activities at ICOMP during 1993.

Feiler, Charles E.↗