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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 1,477 records · Page 82
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1985

Space station: The role of software

Software will play a critical role throughout the Space Station Program. This presentation sets the stage and prompts participant interaction at the Software Issues Forum. The presentation is structured into three major topics: (1) an overview of the concept and status of the Space Station Program; (2) several charts designed to lay out the scope and role of software; and (3) information addressing the four specific areas selected for focus at the forum, specifically: software management, the software development environment, languages, and standards. NASA's current thinking is highlighted and some of the relevant critical issues are raised.

Hall, D.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Robot dynamics in reduced gravity environment

Robot dynamics and control will become an important issue for productive platforms in space. Robotic operations will be necessary for both man tended stations and for the efficient performance of routine operations in a manned platform. The current constraints on the use of robotic devices in a microgravity environment appears to be due to safety concerns and an anticipated increase in acceleration levels due to manipulator motion. The robot used for the initial studies was a UMI RTX robot, which was adapted to operate in a materials processing workcell to simulate sample changing in a microgravity environment. The robotic cell was flown several times on the KC-135 aircraft at Ellington Field. The primary objective of the initial flights was to determine operating characteristics of both the robot and the operator in the variable gravity of the KC-135 during parabolic maneuvers. It was demonstrated that the KC-135 aircraft can be used for observing dynamics of robotic manipulators. The difficulties associated with humans performing teleoperation tasks during varying G levels were also observed and can provide insight into some areas in which the use of artificial techniques would provide improved system performance. Additionally a graphic simulation of the workcell was developed on a Silicon Graphics Workstation using the IGRIP simulation language from Deneb Robotics. The simulation is intended to be used for predictive displays of the robot operating on the aircraft. It is also anticipated that this simulation can be useful for off-line programming of tasks in the future.

Workman, Gary L.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Modula-2*: An extension of Modula-2 for highly parallel programs

Parallel programs should be machine-independent, i.e., independent of properties that are likely to differ from one parallel computer to the next. Extensions are described of Modula-2 for writing highly parallel, portable programs meeting these requirements. The extensions are: synchronous and asynchronous forms of forall statement; and control of the allocation of data to processors. Sample programs written with the extensions demonstrate the clarity of parallel programs when machine-dependent details are omitted. The principles of efficiently implementing the extensions on SIMD, MIMD, and MSIMD machines are discussed. The extensions are small enough to be integrated easily into other imperative languages.

Tichy, Walter F.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Agent oriented programming

The goal of our research is a methodology for creating robust software in distributed and dynamic environments. The approach taken is to endow software objects with explicit information about one another, to have them interact through a commitment mechanism, and to equip them with a speech-acty communication language. System-level applications include software interoperation and compositionality. A government application of specific interest is an infrastructure for coordination among multiple planners. Daily activity applications include personal software assistants, such as programmable email, scheduling, and new group agents. Research topics include definition of mental state of agents, design of agent languages as well as interpreters for those languages, and mechanisms for coordination within agent societies such as artificial social laws and conventions.

Shoham, Yoav↗
NASA NTRS1961

An Input Routine Using Arithmetic Statements for the IBM 704 Digital Computer

An input routine has been designed for use with FORTRAN or SAP coded programs which are to be executed on an IBM 704 digital computer. All input to be processed by the routine is punched on IBM cards as declarative statements of the arithmetic type resembling the FORTRAN language. The routine is 850 words in length. It is capable of loading fixed- or floating-point numbers, octal numbers, and alphabetic words, and of performing simple arithmetic as indicated on input cards. Provisions have been made for rapid loading of arrays of numbers in consecutive memory locations.

Turner, Don N.↗
NASA NTRS2007

ISPATOM: A Generic Real-Time Data Processing Tool Without Programming

Information Sharing Protocol Advanced Tool of Math (ISPATOM) is an application program allowing for the streamlined generation of comps, which subscribe to streams of incoming telemetry data, perform any necessary computations on the data, then send the data to other programs for display and/or further processing in NASA mission control centers. Heretofore, the development of comps was difficult, expensive, and time-consuming: Each comp was custom written manually, in a low-level computing language, by a programmer attempting to follow requirements of flight controllers. ISPATOM enables a flight controller who is not a programmer to write a comp by simply typing in one or more equation( s) at a command line or retrieving the equation(s) from a text file. ISPATOM then subscribes to the necessary input data, performs all of necessary computations, and sends out the results. It sends out new results whenever the input data change. The use of equations in ISPATOM is no more difficult than is entering equations in a spreadsheet. The time involved in developing a comp is thus limited to the time taken to decide on the necessary equations. Thus, ISPATOM is a real-time dynamic calculator.

Dershowitz, Adam↗
NASA NTRS1994

User Interface Technology for Formal Specification Development

Formal specification development and modification are an essential component of the knowledge-based software life cycle. User interface technology is needed to empower end-users to create their own formal specifications. This paper describes the advanced user interface for AMPHION1 a knowledge-based software engineering system that targets scientific subroutine libraries. AMPHION is a generic, domain-independent architecture that is specialized to an application domain through a declarative domain theory. Formal specification development and reuse is made accessible to end-users through an intuitive graphical interface that provides semantic guidance in creating diagrams denoting formal specifications in an application domain. The diagrams also serve to document the specifications. Automatic deductive program synthesis ensures that end-user specifications are correctly implemented. The tables that drive AMPHION's user interface are automatically compiled from a domain theory; portions of the interface can be customized by the end-user. The user interface facilitates formal specification development by hiding syntactic details, such as logical notation. It also turns some of the barriers for end-user specification development associated with strongly typed formal languages into active sources of guidance, without restricting advanced users. The interface is especially suited for specification modification. AMPHION has been applied to the domain of solar system kinematics through the development of a declarative domain theory. Testing over six months with planetary scientists indicates that AMPHION's interactive specification acquisition paradigm enables users to develop, modify, and reuse specifications at least an order of magnitude more rapidly than manual program development.

Lowry, Michael↗
NASA NTRS1988

Development of a prototype commonality analysis tool for use in space programs

A software tool to aid in performing commonality analyses, called Commonality Analysis Problem Solver (CAPS), was designed, and a prototype version (CAPS 1.0) was implemented and tested. The CAPS 1.0 runs in an MS-DOS or IBM PC-DOS environment. The CAPS is designed around a simple input language which provides a natural syntax for the description of feasibility constraints. It provides its users with the ability to load a database representing a set of design items, describe the feasibility constraints on items in that database, and do a comprehensive cost analysis to find the most economical substitution pattern.

Yeager, Dorian P.↗
NASA NTRS1971

An on-line system for hand-printed input

The capability of graphic input/output systems is described. Topics considered are a character recognizer and dictionary building program, an initial flow chart element input program, and a system entitled The Assistant Mathematician, which uses ordinary mathematics to specify numeric computation. All three parts are necessary to allow a user to carry on a mathematical dialogue with the computer in the language and notation of his discipline or problem domain.

Williams, T. G.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Small Interactive Image Processing System (SMIPS) system description

The Small Interactive Image Processing System (SMIPS) operates under control of the IBM-OS/MVT operating system and uses an IBM-2250 model 1 display unit as interactive graphic device. The input language in the form of character strings or attentions from keys and light pen is interpreted and causes processing of built-in image processing functions as well as execution of a variable number of application programs kept on a private disk file. A description of design considerations is given and characteristics, structure and logic flow of SMIPS are summarized. Data management and graphic programming techniques used for the interactive manipulation and display of digital pictures are also discussed.

Moik, J. G.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Analysis of IUE spectra using the interactive data language

The Interactive Data Language (IDL) is used to analyze high resolution spectra from the IUE. Like other interactive languages, IDL is designed for use by the scientist rather than the professional programmer, allowing him to conceive of his data as simple entities and to operate on this data with minimal difficulty. A package of programs created to analyze interstellar absorption lines is presented as an example of the graphical power of IDL.

Joseph, C. L.↗
NASA NTRS1981

An advanced programmable/reconfigurable color graphics display system for crew station technology research

The hardware configuration, software organization, and applications software for the NASA IKONAS color graphics display system are described. The systems were created at the Langley Research Center Display Device Laboratory to develop, evaluate, and demonstrate advanced generic concepts, technology, and systems integration techniques for electronic crew station systems of future civil aircraft. A minicomputer with 64K core memory acts as a host for a raster scan graphics display generator. The architectures of the hardware system and the graphics display system are provided. The applications software features a FORTRAN-based model of an aircraft, a display system, and the utility program for real-time communications. The model accepts inputs from a two-dimensional joystick and outputs a set of aircraft states. Ongoing and planned work for image segmentation/generation, specialized graphics procedures, and higher level language user interface are discussed.

Montoya, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Distributed Visualization for Computational Fluid Dynamics

Distributed concurrent visualization and computation in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is not a new concept. Specialized applications such as Realtime Interactive Particle-tracer (RIP) and vendor specific tools like Distributed Graphics Language (DGL) have been in use for some time. This paper describes a current project underway at NASA Lewis Research Center to provide the CFD researcher with an easy method for incorporating distributed processing concepts into program development. Details on the FORTRAN capable interface to a set of network and visualization functions are presented along with some results from initial CFD case studies that employ these techniques.

Don J Sosoka↗
NASA NTRS1993

Automatic specification of reliability models for fault-tolerant computers

The calculation of reliability measures using Markov models is required for life-critical processor-memory-switch structures that have standby redundancy or that are subject to transient or intermittent faults or repair. The task of specifying these models is tedious and prone to human error because of the large number of states and transitions required in any reasonable system. Therefore, model specification is a major analysis bottleneck, and model verification is a major validation problem. The general unfamiliarity of computer architects with Markov modeling techniques further increases the necessity of automating the model specification. Automation requires a general system description language (SDL). For practicality, this SDL should also provide a high level of abstraction and be easy to learn and use. The first attempt to define and implement an SDL with those characteristics is presented. A program named Automated Reliability Modeling (ARM) was constructed as a research vehicle. The ARM program uses a graphical interface as its SDL, and it outputs a Markov reliability model specification formulated for direct use by programs that generate and evaluate the model.

Liceaga, Carlos A.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Program Simulates Spacecraft Communication Scenarios

Dynamic Environment Communications Alalysis Testbed (DECAT) computer program is modular simulation program. Computes effects of motion, antenna radiation patterns, noise, interference, and other phenomena. Flexibility enables users to analyze many communications scenarios quickly and easily, eliminating need for users to create specific computer programs. Users create simulations involving any number of vehicles, receivers, transmitters, and antennas via graphical user interface (GUI). DECAT GUI implemented by use of software tool called "Transportable Applications Environment Plus" (TAE Plus). Written in C language. Graphical user interface requires TAE Plus, Version 5.1 package available from COSMIC (GSC-13463).

Land, Kenneth P.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Software For Computer-Aided Design Of Control Systems

Computer Aided Engineering System (CAESY) software developed to provide means to evaluate methods for dealing with users' needs in computer-aided design of control systems. Interpreter program for performing engineering calculations. Incorporates features of both Ada and MATLAB. Designed to be flexible and powerful. Includes internally defined functions, procedures and provides for definition of functions and procedures by user. Written in C language.

Wette, Matthew↗
NASA NTRS1994

HiRel: Hybrid Automated Reliability Predictor (HARP) integrated reliability tool system, (version 7.0). Volume 2: HARP tutorial

The Hybrid Automated Reliability Predictor (HARP) integrated Reliability (HiRel) tool system for reliability/availability prediction offers a toolbox of integrated reliability/availability programs that can be used to customize the user's application in a workstation or nonworkstation environment. The Hybrid Automated Reliability Predictor (HARP) tutorial provides insight into HARP modeling techniques and the interactive textual prompting input language via a step-by-step explanation and demonstration of HARP's fault occurrence/repair model and the fault/error handling models. Example applications are worked in their entirety and the HARP tabular output data are presented for each. Simple models are presented at first with each succeeding example demonstrating greater modeling power and complexity. This document is not intended to present the theoretical and mathematical basis for HARP.

Rothmann, Elizabeth↗
NASA NTRS1990

Automatically structuring and translating CLIPS

Expert systems become more valuable when they can be integrated into production environments. Code that is written for easy maintainability and that can be ported to different machines can be easily integrated. This paper discusses two ports of CLIPS, implemented using the Metapack translation system developed by Abacus Programming Corporation. One translation converts positional form CLIPS into 'structured' or 'template' CLIPS, a form that is more easily maintained. The other translation converts either form of CLIPS into OPS83, a semantically similar forward-chaining language that has somewhat higher performance resulting from its being compiled.

Geissman, James R.↗