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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 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

A Magnetoencephalographic/Encephalographic (MEG/EEG) Brain-Computer Interface Driver for Interactive iOS Mobile Videogame Applications Utilizing the Hadoop Ecosystem, MongoDB, and Cassandra NoSQL Databases

In Phase I, we collected data on five subjects yielding over 90% positive performance in Magnetoencephalographic (MEG) mid-and post-movement activity. In addition, a driver was developed that substituted the actions of the Brain Computer Interface (BCI) as mouse button presses for real-time use in visual simulations. The process was interfaced to a flight visualization demonstration utilizing left or right brainwave thought movement, the user experiences, the aircraft turning in the chosen direction, or on iOS Mobile Warfighter Videogame application. The BCI’s data analytics of a subject’s MEG brain waves and flight visualization performance videogame analytics were stored and analyzed using the Hadoop Ecosystem as a quick retrieval data warehouse. In Phase II portion of the project involves the Emotiv Encephalographic (EEG) Wireless Brain–Computer interfaces (BCIs) allow for people to establish a novel communication channel between the human brain and a machine, in this case, an iOS Mobile Application(s). The EEG BCI utilizes advanced and novel machine learning algorithms, as well as the Spark Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG), Cassandra NoSQL database environment, and also the competitor NoSQL MongoDB database for housing BCI analytics of subject’s response and users’ intent illustrated for both MEG/EEG brainwave signal acquisition. The wireless EEG signals that were acquired from the OpenVibe and the Emotiv EPOC headset can be connected via Bluetooth to an iPhone utilizing a thin Client architecture. The use of NoSQL databases were chosen because of its schema-less architecture and Map Reduce computational paradigm algorithm for housing a user’s brain signals from each referencing sensor. Thus, in the near future, if multiple users are playing on an online network connection and an MEG/EEG sensor fails, or if the connection is lost from the smartphone and the webserver due to low battery power or failed data transmission, it will not nullify the NoSQL document-oriented (MongoDB) or column-oriented Cassandra databases. Additionally, NoSQL databases have fast querying and indexing methodologies, which are perfect for online game analytics and technology. In Phase II, we collected data on five MEG subjects, yielding over 90% positive performance on iOS Mobile Applications with Objective-C and C++, however on EEG signals utilized on three subjects with the Emotiv wireless headsets and (n < 10) subjects from the OpenVibe EEG database the Variational Bayesian Factor Analysis Algorithm (VBFA) yielded below 60% performance and we are currently pursuing extending the VBFA algorithm to work in the time-frequency domain referred to as VBFA-TF to enhance EEG performance in the near future. The novel usage of NoSQL databases, Cassandra and MongoDB, were the primary main enhancements of the BCI Phase II MEG/EEG brain signal data acquisition, queries, and rapid analytics, with MapReduce and Spark DAG demonstrating future implications for next generation biometric MEG/EEG NoSQL databases.

McClay, Wilbert↗
DOE OSTI2012

Combining Modeling and Gaming for Predictive Analytics

Many of our most significant challenges involve people. While human behavior has long been studied, there are recent advances in computational modeling of human behavior. With advances in computational capabilities come increases in the volume and complexity of data that humans must understand in order to make sense of and capitalize on these modeling advances. Ultimately, models represent an encapsulation of human knowledge. One inherent challenge in modeling is efficient and accurate transfer of knowledge from humans to models, and subsequent retrieval. The simulated real-world environment of games presents one avenue for these knowledge transfers. In this paper we describe our approach of combining modeling and gaming disciplines to develop predictive capabilities, using formal models to inform game development, and using games to provide data for modeling.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
NASA NTRS2010

Serious Games that Improve Performance

Serious games can help people function more effectively in complex settings, facilitate their role as team members, and provide insight into their team's mission. In such games, coordination and cooperation among team members are foundational to the mission's success and provide a preview of what individuals and the team as a whole could choose to do in a real scenario. Serious games often model events requiring life-or-death choices, such as civilian rescue during chemical warfare. How the players communicate and what actions they take can determine the number of lives lost or saved. However, merely playing a game is not enough to realize its most practical value, which is in learning what actions and communication methods are closest to what the mission requires. Teams often play serious games in isolation, so when the game is complete, an analytical stage is needed to extract the strategies used and examine each strategy's success relative to the others chosen. Recognizing the importance of this next stage, Noblis has been developing Game Analysis, software that parses individual game play into meaningful units and generates a strategic analysis. Trainers create a custom game-specific grammar that reflects the objects and range of actions allowable in a particular game, which Game Analysis then uses to parse the data and generate a practical analysis. Trainers have then enough information to represent strategies in tools, such as Gantt and heat map charts. First-responder trainees in North Carolina have already partnered Hot-Zone and Game Analysis with great success.

McGowan, Clement, III↗
DOE OSTI2015

Evaluating Moving Target Defense with PLADD

This project evaluates the effectiveness of moving target defense (MTD) techniques using a new game we have designed, called PLADD, inspired by the game FlipIt. PLADD extends FlipIt by incorporating what we believe are key MTD concepts. We have analyzed PLADD and proven the existence of a defender strategy that pushes a rational attacker out of the game, demonstrated how limited the strategies available to an attacker are in PLADD, and derived analytic expressions for the expected utility of the game’s players in multiple game variants. We have created an algorithm for finding a defender’s optimal PLADD strategy. We show that in the special case of achieving deterrence in PLADD, MTD is not always cost effective and that its optimal deployment may shift abruptly from not using MTD at all to using it as aggressively as possible. We believe our effort provides basic, fundamental insights into the use of MTD, but conclude that a truly practical analysis requires model selection and calibration based on real scenarios and empirical data. We propose several avenues for further inquiry, including (1) agents with adaptive capabilities more reflective of real world adversaries, (2) the presence of multiple, heterogeneous adversaries, (3) computational game theory-based approaches such as coevolution to allow scaling to the real world beyond the limitations of analytical analysis and classical game theory, (4) mapping the game to real-world scenarios, (5) taking player risk into account when designing a strategy (in addition to expected payoff), (6) improving our understanding of the dynamic nature of MTD-inspired games by using a martingale representation, defensive forecasting, and techniques from signal processing, and (7) using adversarial games to develop inherently resilient cyber systems.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗
NASA NTRS1971

Development and application of a gradient method for solving differential games

A technique for solving n-dimensional games is developed and applied to two pursuit-evasion games. The first is a two-dimensional game similar to the homicidal chauffeur but modified to resemble an airplane-helicopter engagement. The second is a five-dimensional game of two airplanes at constant altitude and with thrust and turning controls. The performance function to be optimized by the pursuer and evader was the distance between the evader and a given target point in front of the pursuer. The analytic solution to the first game reveals that both unique and nonunique solutions exist. A comparison between the gradient results and the analytic solution shows a dependence on the nominal controls in regions where nonunique solutions exist. In the unique solution region, the results from the two methods agree closely. The results for the five-dimensional two-airplane game are also shown to be dependent on the nominal controls selected and indicate that initial conditions are in a region of nonunique solutions.

Roberts, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Propulsion System Modeling and Simulation

The Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory at the School of Aerospace Engineering in Georgia Institute of Technology has developed a core competency that enables propulsion technology managers to make technology investment decisions substantiated by propulsion and airframe technology system studies. This method assists the designer/manager in selecting appropriate technology concepts while accounting for the presence of risk and uncertainty as well as interactions between disciplines. This capability is incorporated into a single design simulation system that is described in this paper. This propulsion system design environment is created with a commercially available software called iSIGHT, which is a generic computational framework, and with analysis programs for engine cycle, engine flowpath, mission, and economic analyses. iSIGHT is used to integrate these analysis tools within a single computer platform and facilitate information transfer amongst the various codes. The resulting modeling and simulation (M&S) environment in conjunction with the response surface method provides the designer/decision-maker an analytical means to examine the entire design space from either a subsystem and/or system perspective. The results of this paper will enable managers to analytically play what-if games to gain insight in to the benefits (and/or degradation) of changing engine cycle design parameters. Furthermore, the propulsion design space will be explored probabilistically to show the feasibility and viability of the propulsion system integrated with a vehicle.

Tai, Jimmy C. M.↗
DOE OSTI2012

Technosocial Predictive Analytics for Security Informatics

Challenges to the security, health, and sustainable growth of our society keep escalating asymmetrically due to the growing pace of globalization and global change. The increasing velocity of information sharing, social networking, economic forces, and environmental change has resulted in a rapid increase in the number and frequency of “game-changing moments” that a community can face. Social movements that once took a decade to build now take a year; shifts in public opinion that once took a year to take root now take a couple of months. More and more frequently, these critical moments occur too suddenly for the affected communities to succeed in countering the consequent adversities or seizing the emerging opportunities. Now more than ever, we need anticipatory reasoning technologies to forecast and manage change in order to secure and improve our way of life and the environment we inhabit.

analytical gaming↗
NASA NTRS1972

Concentration of Airline Operations at Individual Airports

It is shown that it is a natural property of air transportation networks for competitive airlines to concentrate their operations at individual airports serving a given market. This implies that a strategy of developing satellite airports is doomed to failure unless the competitives behavior of the airlines is restricted. The results are demonstrated by tracing out the implications of observed patterns of traveller behavior as regards choice of carrier on the optimal game strategy for any particular airline. Analytic results for a two airline, two airport situation are extrapolated to the more general case, and specific supportive evidence from current operations are cited.

Gelerman, W.↗
DOE OSTI2018

Women in Science: Fermilab cybersecurity analyst Jeny Teheran

With 11 February marking the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, female physicists, engineers and computer scientists from CERN and from Fermilab share their experiences of building a career in science. Jeny Teheran is a security analyst and cybersecurity researcher at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. That means keeping up with and taking care of hardware and software vulnerabilities so that the experiments can carry out their science in a secure manner. It's a fast-paced job where you have to come with the best solution you can put in place, right in the moment. "I would recommend this job because it challenges you. It pushes you to be on top of your game. You have to improve your analytical skills; you have to react fast; you have to communicate better." - Jeny says. Jeny came to Fermilab from the Caribbean coast of Colombia. She grew up in a house with few toys but lots of books, and says she has always felt close to science. With a degree in systems and computing engineering, she arrived at Fermilab four years ago as an intern to work on the offline production team for neutrino experiments. A year later, she was hired as a security analyst. "And I'm loving it," she says. Credits: Video production - Fermilab Creative Services Music Copyright: Universal Production Music Astral Light Chevalier Idea originally conceived by Tanya Levshina, Fermilab and Maria Dimou, CERN.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2015

The Art of War: Beyond Memory-one Strategies in Population Games

We show that the history of play in a population game contains exploitable information that can be successfully used by sophisticated strategies to defeat memory-one opponents, including zero determinant strategies. The history allows a player to label opponents by their strategies, enabling a player to determine the population distribution and to act differentially based on the opponent’s strategy in each pairwise interaction. For the Prisoner’s Dilemma, these advantages lead to the natural formation of cooperative coalitions among similarly behaving players and eventually to unilateral defection against opposing player types. We show analytically and empirically that optimal play in population games depends strongly on the population distribution. For example, the optimal strategy for a minority player type against a resident TFT population is ALLC, while for a majority player type the optimal strategy versus TFT players is ALLD. Such behaviors are not accessible to memory-one strategies. Drawing inspiration from Sun Tzu’s the Art of War, we implemented a non-memory-one strategy for population games based on techniques from machine learning and statistical inference that can exploit the history of play in this manner. Via simulation we find that this strategy is essentially uninvadable and can successfully invade (significantly more likely than a neutral mutant) essentially all known memory-one strategies for the Prisoner’s Dilemma, including ALLC (always cooperate), ALLD (always defect), tit-for-tat (TFT), winstay-lose-shift (WSLS), and zero determinant (ZD) strategies, including extortionate and generous strategies.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Cyber Threat Screening Using a Queuing-Based Game-Theoretic Approach

Dynamic and uncertain security environments, such as cyber systems, often involve strategic interactions among multiple decision-making agents. In this paper, we consider a cybersecurity setting where a system administrator (defender) has to screen malicious service requests of an attacker who seeks to exhaust available cyber resources and inconvenience users with normal requests. We propose a novel cyber-threat inspection model, based on Stackelberg games, that unies aspects of Threat Security Games with the Erlang-B queuing framework to provide equilibrium strategies for both the attacker and defender. In our proposed model, the defender seeks to determine the optimal number of inspection nodes required to maximize detection probability of malicious requests, while the attacker maximizes the probability of legitimate requests dropping out of the system. We derive analytical expressions of the equilibrium solutions of the proposed Stackelberg game under realistic assumptions on system observability and payoff structure of the players. A numerical case study is presented, and steps for further research are identified.

Cybersecurity, Stackelberg game, Erlang-B loss sys↗
DOE OSTI2016

Local Voltage Control in Distribution Networks: A Game-Theoretic Perspective

Inverter-based voltage regulation is gaining importance to alleviate emerging reliability and power-quality concerns related to distribution systems with high penetration of photovoltaic (PV) systems. This paper seeks contribution in the domain of reactive power compensation by establishing stability of local Volt/VAr controllers. In lieu of the approximate linear surrogate used in the existing work, the paper establishes existence and uniqueness of an equilibrium point using nonlinear AC power flow model. Key to this end is to consider a nonlinear dynamical system with non-incremental local Volt/VAr control, cast the Volt/VAr dynamics as a game, and leverage the fixed-point theorem as well as pertinent contraction mapping argument. Numerical examples are provided to complement the analytical results.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Quantum blackjack: Advantages offered by quantum strategies in communication-limited games

Here, we examine the advantages that quantum strategies afford in communication-limited games. Inspired by the card game blackjack, we focus on cooperative, two-party sequential games in which a single classical bit of communication is allowed from the player who moves first to the player who moves second. Within this setting, we explore the usage of quantum entanglement between the players and find analytic and numerical conditions for quantum advantage over classical strategies. Furthermore, using these conditions, we study a family of blackjack-type games with varying numbers of card types, and find a range of parameters where quantum advantage is achieved.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2019

Survival probabilities in the Sisyphus random walk model with absorbing traps

We analyze the dynamics of the Sisyphus random walk model, a discrete Markov chain in which the walkers may randomly return to their initial position x{sub 0}. In particular, we present a remarkably compact derivation of the time-dependent survival probability function S(t;x{sub 0}) which characterizes the random walkers in the presence of an absorbing trap at the origin. The survival probabilities are expressed in a compact mathematical form in terms of the x{sub 0}-generalized Fibonacci-like numbers G{sub t}{sup (x{sub 0})}. Interestingly, it is proved that, as opposed to the standard random walk model in which the survival probabilities depend linearly on the initial distance x{sub 0} of the walkers from the trap and decay asymptotically as an inverse power of the time, in the Sisyphus random walk model the asymptotic survival probabilities decay exponentially in time and are characterized by a non-trivial (non-linear) dependence on the initial gap x{sub 0} from the absorbing trap. We use the analytically derived results in order to analyze the underlying dynamics of the ‘survival-game’, a highly risky investment strategy in which non-absorbed agents receive a reward P(t) which gradually increases in time.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2013

Extending The Realm of Optimization for Complex Systems: Uncertainty, Competition, And Dynamics

Research reported addressed these topics: the development of analytical and algorithmic tools for distributed computation of Nash equilibria; synchronization in mean-field oscillator games, with an emphasis on learning and efficiency analysis; questions that combine learning and computation; questions including stochastic and mean-field games; modeling and control in the context of power markets.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Experimental Wargaming with SIGNAL

Wargames are a common tool for investigating complex conflict scenarios and have a long history of informing military and strategic study. Historically, these games have often been one-offs, may not rigorously collect data, and have been built primarily for exploration rather than developing data-driven analytical conclusions. Experimental wargaming, a new wargaming approach that employs the basic principles of experimental design to facilitate an objective basis for exploring fundamental research questions around human behavior (such as understanding conflict escalation), is a potential tool that can be used in combination with existing wargaming approaches. The Project on Nuclear Gaming, a consortium involving the University of California, Berkeley, Sandia National Laboratories, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, developed an experimental wargame, SIGNAL, to explore questions surrounding conflict escalation and strategic stability in the nuclear context. To date, the SIGNAL experimental wargame has been played hundreds of times by thousands of players from around the world, creating the largest database of wargame data for academic purposes known to the authors. Here, this paper discusses the design of SIGNAL, focusing on how the principles of experimental design influenced this design.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗
DOE OSTI2016

A game theory perspective on environmental assessment: What games are played and what does this tell us about decision making rationality and legitimacy?

Game theory provides a useful theoretical framework to examine the decision process operating in the context of environmental assessment, and to examine the rationality and legitimacy of decision-making subject to Environmental Assessment (EA). The research uses a case study of the Environmental Impact Assessment and Sustainability Appraisal processes undertaken in England. To these are applied an analytical framework, based on the concept of decision windows to identify the decisions to be assessed. The conditions for legitimacy are defined, based on game theory, in relation to the timing of decision information, the behaviour type (competitive, reciprocal, equity) exhibited by the decision maker, and the level of public engagement; as, together, these control the type of rationality which can be brought to bear on the decision. Instrumental rationality is based on self-interest of individuals, whereas deliberative rationality seeks broader consensus and is more likely to underpin legitimate decisions. The results indicate that the Sustainability Appraisal process, conducted at plan level, is better than EIA, conducted at project level, but still fails to provide conditions that facilitate legitimacy. Game theory also suggests that Sustainability Appraisal is likely to deliver ‘least worst’ outcomes rather than best outcomes when the goals of the assessment process are considered; this may explain the propensity of such ‘least worst’ decisions in practise. On the basis of what can be learned from applying this game theory perspective, it is suggested that environmental assessment processes need to be redesigned and better integrated into decision making in order to guarantee the legitimacy of the decisions made. - Highlights: • Decision legitimacy is defined in terms of game theory. • Game theory is applied to EIA and SA decision windows. • Game theory suggests least worst outcomes prevail. • SA is more likely to be perceived legitimate than EIA.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗