Smart Climatology Applications for Undersea Warfare

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-09-01

Comparisons of these climatologies with existing Navy climatologies based on the Generalized Digital Environmental Model ( GDEM ) reveal differences in sonic...undersea warfare. 15. NUMBER OF PAGES 117 14. SUBJECT TERMS antisubmarine warfare, climate variations, climatology, GDEM , ocean, re...climatologies based on the Generalized Digital Environmental Model ( GDEM ) to our smart ocean climatologies reveal a number of differences. The

Object-based classification of global undersea topography and geomorphological features from the SRTM30_PLUS data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dekavalla, Maria; Argialas, Demetre

2017-07-01

The analysis of undersea topography and geomorphological features provides necessary information to related disciplines and many applications. The development of an automated knowledge-based classification approach of undersea topography and geomorphological features is challenging due to their multi-scale nature. The aim of the study is to develop and evaluate an automated knowledge-based OBIA approach to: i) decompose the global undersea topography to multi-scale regions of distinct morphometric properties, and ii) assign the derived regions to characteristic geomorphological features. First, the global undersea topography was decomposed through the SRTM30_PLUS bathymetry data to the so-called morphometric objects of discrete morphometric properties and spatial scales defined by data-driven methods (local variance graphs and nested means) and multi-scale analysis. The derived morphometric objects were combined with additional relative topographic position information computed with a self-adaptive pattern recognition method (geomorphons), and auxiliary data and were assigned to characteristic undersea geomorphological feature classes through a knowledge base, developed from standard definitions. The decomposition of the SRTM30_PLUS data to morphometric objects was considered successful for the requirements of maximizing intra-object and inter-object heterogeneity, based on the near zero values of the Moran's I and the low values of the weighted variance index. The knowledge-based classification approach was tested for its transferability in six case studies of various tectonic settings and achieved the efficient extraction of 11 undersea geomorphological feature classes. The classification results for the six case studies were compared with the digital global seafloor geomorphic features map (GSFM). The 11 undersea feature classes and their producer's accuracies in respect to the GSFM relevant areas were Basin (95%), Continental Shelf (94.9%), Trough (88

Quantifying Hurricane Wind Speed with Undersea Sound

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-06-01

even detect hurricanes using practical linear arrays at long ranges in these environments. 2.6 Conclusions We have shown that the wind- generated noise...application in other seismic research where a sensor on land measures signals generated by sources at sea. For example undersea earthquakes [124] and...at 100 Hz for a 64-element A/2-spaced horizontal broadside array as a function of steering angle for hurricane generated noise in the North Atlantic

Trace Explosives Signatures from World War II Unexploded Undersea Ordnance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Darrach, M. R.; Chutjian, A.; Plett, G. A.

1998-01-01

Trace explosives signatures of TNT and DNT have been extracted from multiple sediment samples adjacent to unexploded undersea ordnance at Halifax Harbor, Canada. The ordnance was hurled into the harbor during a massive explosion some 50 years earlier, in 1945 after World War II had ended. Laboratory sediment extractions were made using the solid-phase microextraction (SPME) method in seawater and detection using the Reversal Electron Attachment Detection (READ) technique and, in the case of DNT, a commercial gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (GC/MS). Results show that, after more than 50 years in the environment, ordnance that appeared to be physically intact gave good explosives signatures at the parts per billion level, whereas ordnance that had been cracked open during the explosion gave no signatures at the 10 parts per trillion sensitivity level. These measurements appear to provide the first reported data of explosives signatures from undersea unexploded ordnance.

Development of a highly maneuverable unmanned underwater vehicle on the basis of quad-copter dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amin, Osman Md; Karim, Md. Arshadul; Saad, Abdullah His

2017-12-01

At present, research on unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) has become a significant & familiar topic for researchers from various engineering fields. UUV is of mainly two types - AUV (Autonomous Underwater vehicle) & ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle). There exist a significant number of published research papers on UUV, where very few researchers emphasize on the ease of maneuvering and control of UUV. Maneuvering is important for underwater vehicle in avoiding obstacles, installing underwater piping system, searching undersea resources, underwater mine disposal operations, oceanographic surveys etc. A team from Dept. of Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering of MIST has taken a project to design a highly maneuverable unmanned underwater vehicle on the basis of quad-copter dynamics. The main objective of the research is to develop a control system for UUV which would be able to maneuver the vehicle in six DOF (Degrees of Freedom) with great ease. For this purpose we are not only focusing on controllability but also designing an efficient hull with minimal drag force & optimized propeller using CFD technique. Motors were selected on the basis of the simulated thrust generated by propellers in ANSYS Fluent software module. Settings for control parameters to carry out different types of maneuvering such as hovering, spiral, one point rotation about its centroid, gliding, rolling, drifting and zigzag motions were explained in short at the end.

Exploring Science Applications for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Aboard UNOLS Ships

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bailey, R.; Lachenmeier, T.; Hatfield, M. C.

2014-12-01

The University of Alaska Fairbanks has been expanding the use of small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) for science support from a variety of ships for several years. The ease and safety of flying from research vessels offers the science community lower cost access to overhead surveys of marine mammals without impact on sensitive populations, monitoring of AUV operations and collection of transmitted data, extensive surveys of sea ice during formation, melt, and sea temperatures through multiple seasons. As FAA expands access to the Arctic airspace over the Chukchi, Beaufort, and Bering Seas, the opportunities to employ UAS in science applications will become easier to exploit. This presentation describes the changes coming through new FAA rules, through the Alaska FAA Test Site, the Pan-Pacific UAS Test Range Complex which includes Oregon and Hawaii, and even Iceland. Airspace access advances associated with recent operations including the NASA-sponsored MIZOPEX, whale detection, and forming sea ice work in October will be presented, as well as a glider UAS connected to very high altitude balloons collecting atmospheric data. Development of safety procedures for use of UAS on UNOLS ships will be discussed.

2024 Unmanned Undersea Warfare Concept

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-01

mine. Assumptions are that the high-tech mine would have a 400 - meter range that spans 360 degrees, a 90% probability of detecting a HVU, and a 30...motor volume – The electric propulsion motor is assumed to be 0.127 cubic meters . A common figure of 24” x 18” x 18” is assumed. This size will allow...regard to propagation loss is assumed to be 400 HZ. Using Excel spreadsheet modeling, the maximum range is determined by finding that range resulting in

WASTE MINIZATION OPPORTUNITY ASSESSMENT: NAVAL UNDERSEA WARFARE ENGINEERING STATION - KEYPORT, WA

EPA Science Inventory

This report describes the application of EPA's waste minimization assessment procedures to a torpedo maintenance facility at the Naval Undersea Warfare Engineering Station, Keyport, WA. he assessment focused on the Mark 48 shop and the Mark 46 shop. hese shops service the Mark 48...

Living in contained environments: Research implications from undersea habitats. [undersea habitats

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Helmreich, Robert L.

1986-01-01

A cost-reward model is used to frame a discussion of differences in observed behavior of individuals and groups in confined environments. It has been observed that the high cost of functioning in a stressful environment is likely to produce poor performance when anticipated rewards are low but that participants can manage the stress and achieve high performance if they anticipate high rewards. The high-reward environment is exemplified by early undersea habitats such as Sealab and Tektite and by early space missions. Other aspects of behavior occur in all confined environments and point to an important area for future research. Of particular interest are intergroup conflicts arising between the confined group and its external control. Also, individual differences in personality seem always to have an impact in confined environments. Recent research has focused on: (1) predicting performance and adjustment based on instrumental and expressive aspects of the self; (2) the differential predictive power of achievement striving and irritation/irritability in Type A personalities; and (3) the nature and role of leadership in small, isolated groups.

Unmanned aircraft systems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Unmanned platforms have become increasingly more common in recent years for acquiring remotely sensed data. These aircraft are referred to as Unmanned Airborne Vehicles (UAV), Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), Remotely Piloted Vehicles (RPV), or Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), the official term used...

Polygons of global undersea features for geographic searches

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hartwell, Stephen R.; Wingfield, Dana K.; Allwardt, Alan O.; Lightsom, Frances L.; Wong, Florence L.

2018-01-01

A shapefile of 311 undersea features from all major oceans and seas has been created as an aid for retrieving georeferenced information resources. Geospatial information systems with the capability to search user-defined, polygonal geographic areas will be able to utilize this shapefile or secondary products derived from it, such as linked data based on well-known text representations of the individual polygons within the shapefile. Version 1.1 of this report also includes a linked data representation of 299 of these features and their spatial extents.

A biorobotic pectoral fin for autonomous undersea vehicles.

PubMed

Tangorra, James L; Davidson, S Naomi; Madden, Peter G; Lauder, George V; Hunter, Ian W

2006-01-01

A biorobotic fin for autonomous undersea vehicles (AUVs) was developed based on studies of the anatomy, kinematics, and hydrodynamics of the bluegill sunfish pectoral fin. The biorobotic fin was able to produce many of the complex fin motions used by the sunfish during steady swimming and was used to investigate mechanisms of thrust production and control. This biorobotic fin is an excellent experimental tool and is an important first step towards developing propulsive devices that give AUVs maneuvering characteristics that match and exceed those of highly maneuverable fish.

The undersea habitat as a space station analog: Evaluation of research and training potential

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Helmreich, Robert L.; Wilhelm, John A.

1985-01-01

An evaluation is given of the utility of undersea habitats for both research and training on behavioral issues relative to the space station. The feasibility of a particular habitat, La Chalupa, is discussed.

Control Automation in Undersea Search and Manipulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weltman, Gershon; Freedy, Amos

1974-01-01

Automatic decision making and control mechanisms of the type termed "adaptive" or "intelligent" offer unique advantages for exploration and manipulation of the undersea environment, particularly at great depths. Because they are able to carry out human-like functions autonomously, such mechanisms can aid and extend the capabilities of the human operator. This paper reviews past and present work in the areas of adaptive control and robotics with the purpose of establishing logical guidelines for the application of automatic techniques underwater. Experimental research data are used to illustrate the importance of information feedback, personnel training, and methods of control allocation in the interaction between operator and intelligent machine.

77 FR 61401 - Notice of Availability of Government-Owned Inventions; Available for Licensing

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-09

... FOR UNMANNED UNDERSEA VEHICLES//Patent No. 7,721,666: HULL-MOUNTED LINE RETRIEVAL AND RELEASE SYSTEM... EXTERNALLY MOUNTED SLEWING CRANE FOR SHIPPING CONTAINERS// Patent No. 7,730,843: HULL-MOUNTED LINE RETRIEVAL...

Atmospheric Aerosol Sampling with Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in Alaska: Instrument Development, Payload Integration, and Measurement Campaigns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barberie, S. R.; Saiet, E., II; Hatfield, M. C.; Cahill, C. F.

2014-12-01

Atmospheric aerosols remain one of biggest variables in understanding global climate. The number of feedback loops involved in aerosol processes lead to nonlinear behavior at the systems level, making confident modeling and prediction difficult. It is therefore important to ground-truth and supplement modeling efforts with rigorous empirical measurements. To this end, the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration (ACUASI) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks has developed a new cascade DRUM-style impactor to be mounted aboard a variety of unmanned aircraft and work in tandem with an optical particle counter for the routine collection of atmospheric aerosols. These UAS-based aerosol samplers will be employed for measurement campaigns in traditionally hazardous conditions such as volcanic plumes and over forest fires. Here we report on the development and laboratory calibration of the new instrument, the integration with UAS, and the vertical profiling campaigns being undertaken.

NATO Undersea Research Centre Marine Mammal Risk Mitigation Rules and Procedures

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-11-01

Ryan November 2009 Report Documentation Page Form ApprovedOMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated to...information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports ... REPORT DATE NOV 2009 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED 00-00-2009 to 00-00-2009 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE NATO Undersea Research Centre Marine

Waste minimization opportunity assessment: Naval Undersea Warfare Engineering Station, Keyport, Washington. Project summary

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed a systematic approach to identify, select and implement options to reduce or eliminate hazardous waste. The report describes the application of the waste minimization assessment procedures to a torpedo maintenance facility at the Naval Undersea Warfare Engineering Station in Keyport, WA (NUWES Keyport).

Asymmetry in Maritime Access and Undersea Anti-Access/Area-Denial Strategies

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-08-31

locate sanctuaries in proximity to civilian, historic, or cultural centers. These factors present interesting policy issues and rules -of-engagement...the U.S. perception of the undersea threat, U.S. policy toward accepting damage or loss of warships and logistics ships, and U.S. rules of engagement...be addressed through the development of new policies, rules of engagement, or renegotiation of treaties. An operational capability may be meaningless

Formulation of an integrated robust design and tactics optimization process for undersea weapon systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frits, Andrew P.

In the current Navy environment of undersea weapons development, the engineering aspect of design is decoupled from the development of the tactics with which the weapon is employed. Tactics are developed by intelligence experts, warfighters, and wargamers, while torpedo design is handled by engineers and contractors. This dissertation examines methods by which the conceptual design process of undersea weapon systems, including both torpedo systems and mine counter-measure systems, can be improved. It is shown that by simultaneously designing the torpedo and the tactics with which undersea weapons are used, a more effective overall weapon system can be created. In addition to integrating torpedo tactics with design, the thesis also looks at design methods to account for uncertainty. The uncertainty is attributable to multiple sources, including: lack of detailed analysis tools early in the design process, incomplete knowledge of the operational environments, and uncertainty in the performance of potential technologies. A robust design process is introduced to account for this uncertainty in the analysis and optimization of torpedo systems through the combination of Monte Carlo simulation with response surface methodology and metamodeling techniques. Additionally, various other methods that are appropriate to uncertainty analysis are discussed and analyzed. The thesis also advances a new approach towards examining robustness and risk: the treatment of probability of success (POS) as an independent variable. Examining the cost and performance tradeoffs between high and low probability of success designs, the decision-maker can make better informed decisions as to what designs are most promising and determine the optimal balance of risk, cost, and performance. Finally, the thesis examines the use of non-dimensionalization of parameters for torpedo design. The thesis shows that the use of non-dimensional torpedo parameters leads to increased knowledge about the

Habitability issues in long duration undersea and space missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parker, J. F., Jr.; Every, M. G.

1972-01-01

The report reviews a number of studies in the area of habitability. Emphasis was placed on extracting from these studies that information most relevant to any long-term mission in confinement. It is concluded that, whereas the basic laws of habitability are known, there is much yet to be learned concerning development of social structures in small groups in relative isolation, planning for necessary hygiene needs, development of proper work spaces, and construction of internal and external communications systems. With respect to testing for habitability and the documentation of habitability principles, the space program was found to be considerably more advanced than was the program for undersea missions.

Locating and Evaluating Sea-Disposed Munitions--Examples from the Hawaii Undersea Military Munitions Assessment (HUMMA) Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edwards, M.; Wilkens, R. H.; Kelley, C.; de Carlo, E. H.; MacDonald, K.; Garcia, S.; Vanwoerkom, M.; Payne, Z.; Dupra, V.; Rosete, M.; Cox, M.; Fineran, S.; King, J. C.; Carton, G.

2009-12-01

The Army, under its Environmental Quality Technology (EQT) Program funded the HUMMA Project to assess the location of, and potential risk to human health posed by, sea disposed munitions (discarded military munitions (DMM)) at a study site south of Pearl Harbor, Hawai‘i known as HI-05. These conventional and chemical munitions are believed to have been exposed to undersea biochemical and mechanical erosion since the late 1940’s. To locate <2-meter long DMM at depths of 300-600 meters, we used a series of nested surveys beginning with an IMI-120 sidescan sonar survey of HI-05. From backscatter data gridded into 0.5-2m cells, we identified trails of highly reflective targets as candidate study sites. We initially surveyed these sites using a towed video camera. Subsequently, during a 12-day program aboard the R/V Kaimikai-o-Kanaloa, we surveyed selected targets using PISCES submersibles and an RCV-150 remotely operated vehicle operated by the Hawaii Undersea Research Lab. Every trail of reflective targets identified in the IMI-120 data was subsequently shown to contain DMM of various types. In combination with completing optical surveys to augment the IMI-120 acoustic data, the PISCES submersibles collected 96 sediment and 24 water samples within 1 and 2 meters of high-interest DMM as well as comparative background sites. The Edgewood Chemical and Biological Center supported dive operations to ensure crew personnel were not exposed to chemical agents (CA) and processed samples on board to determine if CA was present. The processed samples were then packaged and shipped to various shore-based laboratories to determine the presence of energetics and metals. Upon completion of the diving program, various species of locally consumed snapper and shrimp were collected near several of the sediment and water sample sites for analogous laboratory analyses. Our approach proved to be highly successful, identifying in a 5-day long IMI-120 survey the location of dozens of

Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) Information Study

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-11-28

Maritime Unmanned System NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization xi The use or disclosure of the information on this sheet is subject to the... Unmanned Aerial System UDA Underwater Domain Awareness UNISIPS Unified Sonar Image Processing System USV Unmanned Surface Vehicle UUV Unmanned Underwater...data distribution to ashore systems , such as the delay, its impact and the benefits to the overall MDA and required metadata for efficient search and

Manned-Unmanned Teaming of Aircraft - Literature Search

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-12-01

unmanned aircraft reconnaissance system MQ 8B Fire Scout vertical takeoff and landing unmanned system MQ 5B Hunter medium altitude unmanned aerial...201140, and allows their crew to view sensor data from unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and send data from the helicopter’s sensors to the ground.35 No...Helicopter, AAI unmanned Aircraft Systems , and Textron Inc. It opened in December 2012 in Huntsville Alabama. It will enable “a software and

Effects of EMF emissions from undersea electric cables on coral reef fish.

PubMed

Kilfoyle, Audie K; Jermain, Robert F; Dhanak, Manhar R; Huston, Joseph P; Spieler, Richard E

2018-01-01

The objective of this study was to determine if electromagnetic field (EMF) emissions from undersea power cables impacted local marine life, with an emphasis on coral reef fish. The work was done at the South Florida Ocean Measurement Facility of Naval Surface Warfare Center in Broward County, Florida, which has a range of active undersea detection and data transmission cables. EMF emissions from a selected cable were created during non-destructive visual fish surveys on SCUBA. During surveys, the transmission of either alternating current (AC), direct current (DC), or none (OFF) was randomly initiated by the facility at a specified time. Visual surveys were conducted using standardized transect and point-count methods to acquire reef fish abundances and species richness prior to and immediately after a change in transmission frequency. The divers were also tasked to note the reaction of the reef fish to the immediate change in EMF during a power transition. In general, analysis of the data did not find statistical differences among power states and any variables. However, this may be a Type II error as there are strong indications of a potential difference of a higher abundance of reef fish at the sites when the power was off, and further study is warranted. Bioelectromagnetics. 39:35-52, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Accelerating the Kill Chain via Future Unmanned Aircraft

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-04-01

Controller JTRS Joint Tactical Radio System Lasercom Laser communications LDHD Low Density High Demand LEO Low Earth Orbit LGB Laser Guided Bomb...published the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Roadmap 2005 that included the terms Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) and Unmanned Aircraft (UA). This...comprehensive publication used the term Unmanned Aircraft Systems when referring to the entire system and the term Unmanned Aircraft when referring only to the

Analysis of Unmanned Systems in Military Logistics

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-12-01

opportunities to employ unmanned systems to support logistic operations. 14. SUBJECT TERMS unmanned systems, robotics , UAVs, UGVs, USVs, UUVs, military...Industrial Robots at Warehouses / Distribution Centers .............................................................................. 17 2. Unmanned...Autonomous Robot Gun Turret. Source: Blain (2010)................................................... 33 Figure 4. Robot Sentries for Base Patrol

Unmanned Systems Roadmap 2007-2032

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-01-01

Today's military has seen an evolution in technology that is creating an entirely new capability to project power through the use of unmanned systems while reducing the risk to human life. The contributions of unmanned systems continue to increase. A...

Natural interaction for unmanned systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, Glenn; Purman, Ben; Schermerhorn, Paul; Garcia-Sampedro, Guillermo; Lanting, Matt; Quist, Michael; Kawatsu, Chris

2015-05-01

Military unmanned systems today are typically controlled by two methods: tele-operation or menu-based, search-andclick interfaces. Both approaches require the operator's constant vigilance: tele-operation requires constant input to drive the vehicle inch by inch; a menu-based interface requires eyes on the screen in order to search through alternatives and select the right menu item. In both cases, operators spend most of their time and attention driving and minding the unmanned systems rather than on being a warfighter. With these approaches, the platform and interface become more of a burden than a benefit. The availability of inexpensive sensor systems in products such as Microsoft Kinect™ or Nintendo Wii™ has resulted in new ways of interacting with computing systems, but new sensors alone are not enough. Developing useful and usable human-system interfaces requires understanding users and interaction in context: not just what new sensors afford in terms of interaction, but how users want to interact with these systems, for what purpose, and how sensors might enable those interactions. Additionally, the system needs to reliably make sense of the user's inputs in context, translate that interpretation into commands for the unmanned system, and give feedback to the user. In this paper, we describe an example natural interface for unmanned systems, called the Smart Interaction Device (SID), which enables natural two-way interaction with unmanned systems including the use of speech, sketch, and gestures. We present a few example applications SID to different types of unmanned systems and different kinds of interactions.

Waste-minimization opportunity assessment: Naval Undersea Warfare Engineering Station, Keyport, Washington. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

The report describes the application of EPA's waste minimization assessment procedures to a torpedo maintenance facility at the Naval Undersea Warfare Engineering Station, Keyport, WA. The assessment focused on the Mark 48 shop and the Mark 46 shop. These shops service the Mark 48 torpedo and the Mark 46 torpedo respectively. The five waste minimization options presented are volume reduction of contaminated clothing, automated cleaning of parts, automated fuel tank draining, modification of the deep sink draining schedule and recycling of mineral spirits.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems for Disaster Relief: Tornado Alley

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DeBusk, Wesley M.

2009-01-01

Unmanned aerial vehicle systems are currently in limited use for public service missions worldwide. Development of civil unmanned technology in the United States currently lags behind military unmanned technology development in part because of unresolved regulatory and technological issues. Civil unmanned aerial vehicle systems have potential to augment disaster relief and emergency response efforts. Optimal design of aerial systems for such applications will lead to unmanned vehicles which provide maximum potentiality for relief and emergency response while accounting for public safety concerns and regulatory requirements. A case study is presented that demonstrates application of a civil unmanned system to a disaster relief mission with the intent on saving lives. The concept utilizes unmanned aircraft to obtain advanced warning and damage assessments for tornados and severe thunderstorms. Overview of a tornado watch mission architecture as well as commentary on risk, cost, need for, and design tradeoffs for unmanned aerial systems are provided.

Occupational accidents aboard merchant ships

PubMed Central

Hansen, H; Nielsen, D; Frydenberg, M

2002-01-01

Objectives: To investigate the frequency, circumstances, and causes of occupational accidents aboard merchant ships in international trade, and to identify risk factors for the occurrence of occupational accidents as well as dangerous working situations where possible preventive measures may be initiated. Methods: The study is a historical follow up on occupational accidents among crew aboard Danish merchant ships in the period 1993–7. Data were extracted from the Danish Maritime Authority and insurance data. Exact data on time at risk were available. Results: A total of 1993 accidents were identified during a total of 31 140 years at sea. Among these, 209 accidents resulted in permanent disability of 5% or more, and 27 were fatal. The mean risk of having an occupational accident was 6.4/100 years at sea and the risk of an accident causing a permanent disability of 5% or more was 0.67/100 years aboard. Relative risks for notified accidents and accidents causing permanent disability of 5% or more were calculated in a multivariate analysis including ship type, occupation, age, time on board, change of ship since last employment period, and nationality. Foreigners had a considerably lower recorded rate of accidents than Danish citizens. Age was a major risk factor for accidents causing permanent disability. Change of ship and the first period aboard a particular ship were identified as risk factors. Walking from one place to another aboard the ship caused serious accidents. The most serious accidents happened on deck. Conclusions: It was possible to clearly identify work situations and specific risk factors for accidents aboard merchant ships. Most accidents happened while performing daily routine duties. Preventive measures should focus on workplace instructions for all important functions aboard and also on the prevention of accidents caused by walking around aboard the ship. PMID:11850550

Undersea line planned to transmit to an island

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

The electric utility serving Nantucket Island in Massachusetts, which until now has generated its own power, plans to lay 25 miles of transmission cable to connect with New England's mainland grid. The line will allow the utility to purchase less costly power and retire several old generators, improving both reliability and air quality on the island. Nantucket Electric Co. says the 33-Mw submarine link, costing at least $23 million, probably will connect with a line near the elbow on Cape Cod. The undersea cable will be as deep as 60 ft. Nantucket Electric plans to form a partnership within amore » few months with a mainland utility or private producer that would help finance the project and sell the power. The island utility has preliminary approval by the state Industrial Finance Agency for a tax-exempt bond issue to finance the cable, contingent on its finding a partner.« less

The Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory's 25th Anniversary Expedition to the South Pacific

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, J. R.; Wiltshire, J. C.; Malahoff, A.

2005-12-01

The Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL) was established by NOAA at the University of Hawaii 25 years ago as part of its National Undersea Research Program. HURL's mission is to study deep water marine processes in the Pacific Ocean through a competitive proposal and review process. The dual Pisces IV and Pisces V 2000-meter manned submersibles, an RCV-150 1000-meter ROV, and multibeam equipped support ship R/V Ka'imikai-o-Kanaloa ( KoK) were largely acquired from the petroleum industry then adapted and upgraded to carry out cutting edge scientific expeditions. These studies range from active submarine volcanoes, delicate precious coral gardens, endangered marine mammal and fisheries management, to engineering surveys and deployment of observatory systems. HURL successfully completed a major 5-month expedition to the South Pacific during March-August 2005, working in the waters of New Zealand, Tonga, American Samoa, and the U.S. Line Islands covering a distance of nearly 14,500 nautical miles. This mission was significant in both the scientific merit and scope of operations, consisting of 8 different cruise legs at 21 study sites, with 12 chief and co-chief scientists, 58 total science team participants, and completing 61 out of 56 scheduled Pisces science dives, 17 ROV dives, 5 multibeam survey areas, 6 CTD rosette deployments, and 7 instrument mooring recoveries. The $3.5 million expedition was funded by an international partnership with New Zealand agencies (GNS & NIWA) and the University of Kiel in Germany along with the NOAA Office of Exploration and National Undersea Research Program. While most of the individual cruise legs focused on active submarine volcanoes of the Tonga-Kermadec Islands Arc and the Samoan hot spot chain with their hydrothermal systems and associated biological communities, others concentrated on marine protected areas including those of American Samoa and the remote atolls of the Line Islands of the Central Pacific. These studies

33 CFR 334.1410 - Pacific Ocean, at Makapuu Point, Waimanalo, Island of Oahu, Hawaii, Makai Undersea Test Range.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Pacific Ocean, at Makapuu Point, Waimanalo, Island of Oahu, Hawaii, Makai Undersea Test Range. 334.1410 Section 334.1410 Navigation and... RESTRICTED AREA REGULATIONS § 334.1410 Pacific Ocean, at Makapuu Point, Waimanalo, Island of Oahu, Hawaii...

33 CFR 334.1410 - Pacific Ocean, at Makapuu Point, Waimanalo, Island of Oahu, Hawaii, Makai Undersea Test Range.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Pacific Ocean, at Makapuu Point, Waimanalo, Island of Oahu, Hawaii, Makai Undersea Test Range. 334.1410 Section 334.1410 Navigation and... RESTRICTED AREA REGULATIONS § 334.1410 Pacific Ocean, at Makapuu Point, Waimanalo, Island of Oahu, Hawaii...

33 CFR 334.1410 - Pacific Ocean, at Makapuu Point, Waimanalo, Island of Oahu, Hawaii, Makai Undersea Test Range.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Pacific Ocean, at Makapuu Point, Waimanalo, Island of Oahu, Hawaii, Makai Undersea Test Range. 334.1410 Section 334.1410 Navigation and... RESTRICTED AREA REGULATIONS § 334.1410 Pacific Ocean, at Makapuu Point, Waimanalo, Island of Oahu, Hawaii...

33 CFR 334.1410 - Pacific Ocean, at Makapuu Point, Waimanalo, Island of Oahu, Hawaii, Makai Undersea Test Range.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Pacific Ocean, at Makapuu Point, Waimanalo, Island of Oahu, Hawaii, Makai Undersea Test Range. 334.1410 Section 334.1410 Navigation and... RESTRICTED AREA REGULATIONS § 334.1410 Pacific Ocean, at Makapuu Point, Waimanalo, Island of Oahu, Hawaii...

33 CFR 334.1410 - Pacific Ocean, at Makapuu Point, Waimanalo, Island of Oahu, Hawaii, Makai Undersea Test Range.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Pacific Ocean, at Makapuu Point, Waimanalo, Island of Oahu, Hawaii, Makai Undersea Test Range. 334.1410 Section 334.1410 Navigation and... RESTRICTED AREA REGULATIONS § 334.1410 Pacific Ocean, at Makapuu Point, Waimanalo, Island of Oahu, Hawaii...

NASA 14 Day Undersea Missions: A Short-Duration Spaceflight Analog for Immune System Dysregulation?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crucian, B. E.; Stowe, R. P.; Mehta, S. K.; Chouker, A.; Feuerecker, M.; Quiriarte, H.; Pierson, D. L.; Sams, C. F.

2011-01-01

This poster paper reviews the use of 14 day undersea missions as a possible analog for short duration spaceflight for the study of immune system dysregulation. Sixteen subjects from the the NASA Extreme Enviro nment Mission Operations (NEEMO) 12, 13 and 14 missions were studied for immune system dysregulation. The assays that are presented in this poster are the Virleukocyte subsets, the T Cell functions, and the intracellular/secreted cytokine profiles. Other assays were performed, but are not included in this presntation.

Development of a Geospatial Data-Sharing Method for Unmanned Vehicles Based on the Joint Architecture for Unmanned Systems (JAUS)

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-08-01

the Office of the Secretary of Defense chartered the Joint Architecture for Unmanned Ground Systems ( JAUGS ) Working Group to address these concerns...The JAUGS Working Group was tasked with developing an initial standard for interoperable unmanned ground systems. In 2002, the charter of the... JAUGS Working Group was 1 2 modified such that their efforts would extend to all unmanned systems, not only ground systems. The standard was

A Survey of Missions for Unmanned Undersea Vehicles

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-01-01

cable that crosses the Taiwan Strait. The survey produced a complete video recording of the cable and the surrounding seabed. A more-capable...commands (much like wire-guided tor- pedoes ) have become possible. We regard this vehicle variety as a type of ROV. This study treats both AUVs and...infrastructure, or areas where its components are buried, is required to detect damage and possible tampering. Video equipment, with supporting light

NEEMO 7 undersea mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thirsk, Robert; Williams, David; Anvari, Mehran

2007-02-01

The NEEMO 7 mission was the seventh in a series of NASA-coordinated missions utilizing the Aquarius undersea habitat in Florida as a human space mission analog. The primary research focus of this mission was to evaluate telementoring and telerobotic surgery technologies as potential means to deliver medical care to astronauts during spaceflight. The NEEMO 7 crewmembers received minimal pre-mission training to perform selected medical and surgical procedures. These procedures included: (1) use of a portable ultrasound to locate and measure abdominal organs and structures in a crewmember subject; (2) use of a portable ultrasound to insert a small needle and drain into a fluid-filled cystic cavity in a simulated patient; (3) surgical repair of two arteries in a simulated patient; (4) cystoscopy and use of a ureteral basket to remove a renal stone in a simulated patient; and (5) laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a simulated patient. During the actual mission, the crewmembers performed the procedures without or with telementoring and telerobotic assistance from experts located in Hamilton, Ontario. The results of the NEEMO 7 medical experiments demonstrated that telehealth interventions rely heavily on a robust broadband, high data rate telecommunication link; that certain interventional procedures can be performed adequately by minimally trained individuals with telementoring assistance; and that prior clinical experience does not always correlate with better procedural performance. As space missions become longer in duration and take place further from Earth, enhancement of medical care capability and expertise will be required. The kinds of medical technologies demonstrated during the NEEMO 7 mission may play a significant role in enabling the human exploration of space beyond low earth orbit, particularly to destinations such as the Moon and Mars.

A Historical Review of Training Requirements for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems, and Manned Operations (1997-2014)

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-08-01

There are several mature Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) and Small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS) training programs available for analysis. Many of these programs were developed by the various branches with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) in con...

Coexistence Analysis of Civil Unmanned Aircraft Systems at Low Altitudes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Yuzhe

2016-11-01

The requirement of unmanned aircraft systems in civil areas is growing. However, provisioning of flight efficiency and safety of unmanned aircraft has critical requirements on wireless communication spectrum resources. Current researches mainly focus on spectrum availability. In this paper, the unmanned aircraft system communication models, including the coverage model and data rate model, and two coexistence analysis procedures, i. e. the interference and noise ratio criterion and frequency-distance-direction criterion, are proposed to analyze spectrum requirements and interference results of the civil unmanned aircraft systems at low altitudes. In addition, explicit explanations are provided. The proposed coexistence analysis criteria are applied to assess unmanned aircraft systems' uplink and downlink interference performances and to support corresponding spectrum planning. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed assessments and analysis procedures satisfy requirements of flexible spectrum accessing and safe coexistence among multiple unmanned aircraft systems.

Cloud-based distributed control of unmanned systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Kim B.; Powell, Darren N.; Yetman, Charles; August, Michael; Alderson, Susan L.; Raney, Christopher J.

2015-05-01

Enabling warfighters to efficiently and safely execute dangerous missions, unmanned systems have been an increasingly valuable component in modern warfare. The evolving use of unmanned systems leads to vast amounts of data collected from sensors placed on the remote vehicles. As a result, many command and control (C2) systems have been developed to provide the necessary tools to perform one of the following functions: controlling the unmanned vehicle or analyzing and processing the sensory data from unmanned vehicles. These C2 systems are often disparate from one another, limiting the ability to optimally distribute data among different users. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific (SSC Pacific) seeks to address this technology gap through the UxV to the Cloud via Widgets project. The overarching intent of this three year effort is to provide three major capabilities: 1) unmanned vehicle control using an open service oriented architecture; 2) data distribution utilizing cloud technologies; 3) a collection of web-based tools enabling analysts to better view and process data. This paper focuses on how the UxV to the Cloud via Widgets system is designed and implemented by leveraging the following technologies: Data Distribution Service (DDS), Accumulo, Hadoop, and Ozone Widget Framework (OWF).

Engineering Development Program of a Closed Aluminum-Oxygen Semi-cell System for an Unmanned Underwater Vehicle: An Update

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gregg, Dane W.; Hall, Susan E.

1996-01-01

Most emerging unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV) missions require significantly longer range and endurance than is achievable with existing battery technology. The Aluminum-Oxygen (Al-O2) semi-cell is a candidate technology capable of providing a significant improvement in endurance compared to the silver-zinc battery technology currently in use in UUVs and compares favorably to other proposed UUV power systems not only in performance, but also in safety and logistics. An Al-O2 semi-cell system is under development, consisting of a cell stack, gas management, oxygen storage, electrolyte management coolant and controller subsystems. It is designed to replace the existing silver-zinc battery and meet existing weight, volume, electrical and thermal requirements, therefore minimizing modification to the UUV. A detailed system design is complete. A component and material endurance test to evaluate compatibility and reliability of various materials and components is complete. Sub=scale (short stack) system testing is complete. A full-scale demonstration unit is now under construction for testing in the second half of 1995. The full scale demonstration test will simulate environmental conditions of the operational system. This paper summarizes the results of the extensive short stack and endurance test programs, describes the plan for full-scale testing, and concludes with a brief discussion of future directions for this technology.

The Need for US Coast Guard Underwater Mission Development

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-04-23

vehicles and proliferation of fiber optic cables, raising the level of human interactions in the underwater environment. Besides the benefits from the...unmanned underwater vehicles, proliferation of fiber optic cables, and observation posts on the ocean floor will raise the level of human interactions...world’s demand for wood grows.39 As technology progresses, undersea infrastructure will continue to expand. Already, underwater fiber optic communication

Video framerate, resolution and grayscale tradeoffs for undersea telemanipulator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ranadive, V.; Sheridan, T. B.

1981-01-01

The product of Frame Rate (F) in frames per second, Resolution (R) in total pixels and grayscale in bits (G) equals the transmission band rate in bits per second. Thus for a fixed channel capacity there are tradeoffs between F, R and G in the actual sampling of the picture for a particular manual control task in the present case remote undersea manipulation. A manipulator was used in the MASTER/SLAVE mode to study these tradeoffs. Images were systematically degraded from 28 frames per second, 128 x 128 pixels and 16 levels (4 bits) grayscale, with various FRG combinations constructed from a real-time digitized (charge-injection) video camera. It was found that frame rate, resolution and grayscale could be independently reduced without preventing the operator from accomplishing his/her task. Threshold points were found beyond which degradation would prevent any successful performance. A general conclusion is that a well trained operator can perform familiar remote manipulator tasks with a considerably degrade picture, down to 50 K bits/ sec.

Designing Unmanned Systems with Greater Autonomy: Using a Federated, Partially Open Systems Architecture Approach

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-01

system UAV unmanned aircraft vehicle UCI User -Computer Interface UCS UAS control segment Abbreviations xxix UGS unmanned ground system UGV unmanned ...made substantial progress in the deployment of more capable sensors, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), and other unmanned systems (UxS). Innovative...progress in fielding more, and more capable unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to meet the needs of warfighters

Trace Gas Quantification with Small Unmanned Aerial Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schuyler, T. J.; Guzman, M. I.; Bailey, S.; Jacob, J.

2017-12-01

Measurements of atmospheric composition are generally performed with advanced instrumentation from ground stations using tall towers and weather balloons or with manned aircraft. Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) are a promising technology for atmospheric monitoring of trace atmospheric gases as they can bridge the gap between the regions of the atmospheric boundary layer measured by ground stations and aircraft. However, in general, the sophisticated instrumentation required for these measurements are heavy, preventing its deployment with small UAS. In order to successfully detect and quantify these gases, sensor packages aboard UAS must be lightweight, have low-power consumption, and possess limits of detection on the ppm scale or below with reasonably fast response times. Thus, a new generation of portable instrument is being developed in this work to meet these requirements employing new sensing packages. The cross sensitivity of these sensors to several gases is examined through laboratory testing of the instrument under variable environmental conditions prior to performing field measurements. Datasets include timestamps with position, temperature, relative humidity, pressure, along with variable mixing ratio values of important greenhouse gases. The work will present an analysis of the results gathered during authorized flights performed during the second CLOUD-MAP§ field campaign held in June 2017. §CLOUD-MAP: Collaboration Leading Operational UAS Development for Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics, a 4-year NSF funded effort.

Delegation control of multiple unmanned systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flaherty, Susan R.; Shively, Robert J.

2010-04-01

Maturing technologies and complex payloads coupled with a future objective to reduce the logistics burden of current unmanned aerial systems (UAS) operations require a change to the 2-crew employment paradigm. Increased automation and operator supervisory control of unmanned systems have been advocated to meet the objective of reducing the crew requirements, while managing future technologies. Specifically, a delegation control employment strategy has resulted in reduced workload and higher situation awareness for single operators controlling multiple unmanned systems in empirical studies1,2. Delegation control is characterized by the ability for an operator to call a single "play" that initiates prescribed default actions for each vehicle and associated sensor related to a common mission goal. Based upon the effectiveness of delegation control in simulation, the U.S. Army Aeroflightdynamics Directorate (AFDD) developed a Delegation Control (DelCon) operator interface with voice recognition implementation for play selection, real-time play modification, and play status with automation transparency to enable single operator control of multiple unmanned systems in flight. AFDD successfully demonstrated delegation control in a Troops-in-Contact mission scenario at Ft. Ord in 2009. This summary showcases the effort as a beneficial advance in single operator control of multiple UAS.

Coastal Survey Using Unmanned Aerial Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, G.

2012-12-01

Generating high-resolution 3-dimensional costal imagery from imagery collected on small-unmanned aircraft is opening many opportunities to study marine wildlife and its use of costal habitats as well as climate change effects on northern coasts where storm surges are radically altering the coastline. Additionally, the technology is being evaluated for oil spill response planning and preparation. The University of Alaska Fairbanks works extensively with small-unmanned aircraft and recently began evaluating the aircraft utility for generating survey grade mapping of topographic features. When generating 3-D maps of coastal regions however there are added challenges that the University have identified and are trying to address. Recent projects with Alaska fisheries and BP Exploration Alaska have demonstrated that small-unmanned aircraft can support the generation of map-based products that are nearly impossible to generate with other technologies.

Unmanned airship development and remote sensing applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boschma, James H.

2001-10-01

This paper discusses the development of unmanned airships for military use during the past decade, and the current status of the Small Airship Surveillance System, Low Intensity Target Exploitation (SASS LITE) platform. Topics covered will also include various missions planned and conducted, and technological advances expected to be implemented on unmanned airships in the near future.

Memory and metacognition in dangerous situations: investigating cognitive impairment from gas narcosis in undersea divers.

PubMed

Hobbs, Malcolm; Higham, Philip A; Kneller, Wendy

2014-06-01

The current study tested whether undersea divers are able to accurately judge their level of memory impairment from inert gas narcosis. Inert gas narcosis causes a number of cognitive impairments, including a decrement in memory ability. Undersea divers may be unable to accurately judge their level of impairment, affecting safety and work performance. In two underwater field experiments, performance decrements on tests of memory at 33 to 42 m were compared with self-ratings of impairment and resolution. The effect of depth (shallow [I-II m] vs. deep [33-42 m]) was measured on free-recall (Experiment I; n = 41) and cued-recall (Experiment 2; n = 39) performance, a visual-analogue self-assessment rating of narcotic impairment, and the accuracy of judgements-of-learning JOLs). Both free- and cued-recall were significantly reduced in deep, compared to shallow, conditions. This decrement was accompanied by an increase in self-assessed impairment. In contrast, resolution (based on JOLs) remained unaffected by depth. The dissociation of memory accuracy and resolution, coupled with a shift in a self-assessment of impairment, indicated that divers were able to accurately judge their decrease in memory performance at depth. These findings suggest that impaired self-assessment and resolution may not actually be a symptom of narcosis in the depth range of 33 to 42 m underwater and that the divers in this study were better equipped to manage narcosis than prior literature suggested. The results are discussed in relation to implications for diver safety and work performance.

Infrared Sensor on Unmanned Aircraft Transmits Time-Critical Wildfire Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pestana, Mark

2010-01-01

Since 2006, NASA fs Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) and Ames Research Center have been perfecting and demonstrating a new capability for geolocation of wildfires and the real-time delivery of data to firefighters. Managed for the Western States Fire Mission, the Ames-developed Autonomous Modular Scanner (AMS), mounted beneath a wing of DFRC fs MQ-9 Ikhana remotely piloted aircraft, contains an infrared sensor capable of discriminating temperatures within 0.5 F (approx. = 0.3 C), up to 1,000 F (approx. = 540 C). The AMS operates like a digital camera with specialized filters to detect light energy at visible, infrared, and thermal wavelengths. By placing the AMS aboard unmanned aircraft, one can gather information and imaging for thousands of square miles, and provide critical information about the location, size, and terrain around fires to commanders in the field. In the hands of operational agencies, the benefits of this NASA research and development effort can support nationwide wildfire fighting efforts. The sensor also provides data for post-burn and vegetation regrowth analyses. The MQ-9 Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), a version of the Predator-B, can operate over long distances, staying aloft for over 24 hours, and controlled via a satellite-linked command and control system. This same link is used to deliver the fire location data directly to fire incident commanders, in less than 10 minutes from the time of overflight. In the current method, similarly equipped short-duration manned aircraft, with limited endurance and range, must land, hand-carry, and process data, and then deliver information to the firefighters, sometimes taking several hours in the process. Meanwhile, many fires would have moved over great distances and changed direction. Speed is critical. The fire incident commanders must assess a very dynamic situation, and task resources such as people, ground equipment, and retardant-dropping aircraft, often in mountainous terrain obscured by

Small unmanned aircraft and the U.S. Forest Service : benefits, costs, and recommendations for using small unmanned aircraft in Forest Service operations

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-08-01

This paper provides information to Forest Service leadership about how the agency could use unmanned aircraft across different programs, especially in program areas where aircraft use is currently limited. It draws from published uses of unmanned air...

STS 134, 135 and 26S Return Samples: Air Quality aboard Shuttle (STS-134) and International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

James, John T.

2011-01-01

This is a very limited set of samples on which to perform an air quality assessment. However, based on these samples, we have no reason to believe that nominal ISS air is unsafe to breathe. We must continue to be vigilant when dealing with nominal atmospheres in ISS. New, unmanned modules require special attention when the crew first enters. Carbon Monoxide Accumulation aboard ISS: Beginning in late 2008 the nominal concentrations of CO began increasing gradually (Figure 1). The results from samples returned on this flight indicate that the CO concentrations, after dropping in late 2009, have cycled upward and then settled back to concentrations near 2 mg/m3. In any case, these changes are well below the 180-day SMAC for CO, which is17 mg/m3. There is no threat to crew health. Carbon Dioxide: This anthropogenic compound has drawn much attention recently because of the possibility that it could contribute to the effects of intracranial hypertension experienced because of spaceflight-induced fluid shifts. From now on we will maintain a plot (Figure 2) of carbon dioxide concentrations ( SD) by averaging the values found in the 3-5 mini-GSC samples taken each month in diverse locations of the ISS. This will enable us to estimate the average exposure of crewmembers to carbon dioxide during their stay aboard the ISS. In general, concentrations are being maintained below 3.5 mmHg. Figure 1

Preliminary Considerations for Classifying Hazards of Unmanned Aircraft Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hayhurst, Kelly J.; Maddalon, Jeffrey M.; Miner, Paul S.; Szatkowski, George N.; Ulrey, Michael L.; DeWalt, Michael P.; Spitzer, Cary R.

2007-01-01

The use of unmanned aircraft in national airspace has been characterized as the next great step forward in the evolution of civil aviation. To make routine and safe operation of these aircraft a reality, a number of technological and regulatory challenges must be overcome. This report discusses some of the regulatory challenges with respect to deriving safety and reliability requirements for unmanned aircraft. In particular, definitions of hazards and their classification are discussed and applied to a preliminary functional hazard assessment of a generic unmanned system.

Engineering development program of a closed aluminum-oxygen semi-cell system for an unmanned underwater vehicle: An update

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gregg, Dane W.; Hall, Susan E.

1995-04-01

Most emerging unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV) missions require significantly longer range and endurance than is achievable with existing battery technology. The Aluminum-Oxygen (Al-O2) semi-cell is a candidate technology capable of providing a significant improvement in endurance compared to the silver-zinc battery technology currently used in UUVs and compares favorably to other proposed UUV power systems not only in performance, but also in safety and logistics. An Al-O2 semi-cell system is under development by Loral Defense Systems-Akron (Loral) for the ARPA/Navy 44 in. diameter UUV test vehicle. The power plant consists of a cell stack, gas management, oxygen storage, electrolyte management, coolant and controller subsystems, designed to replace the existing silver-zinc battery and meet existing weight, volume, electrical and thermal requirements, therefore minimizing modifications to the UUV. A detailed system design is complete. A component and material endurance test to evaluate compatibility and reliability of various material arid components is complete. Sub scale (Short stack) system testing is completed. A full-scale demonstration unit is now under construction in the second half of 1995. The full scale demonstration test will simulate environmental conditions of the operational system. This paper summarizes the results of the extensive short stack and endurance test programs, describes the plan for full-scale testing, and concludes with a brief discussions of future directions for this technology. This program is sponsored by ARPA Maritime Systems Technology Office under NASA contract NAS3-26715.

Research on Aerodynamic Characteristics of Composite powered Unmanned Airship

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yu; Wang, Yun; Wang, Lu; Ma, Chengyu; Xia, Jun

2017-10-01

The main structure of the composite powered unmanned airship is consists of airbags and four-rotor system, which airbag increases the available lift, and has more advantages in terms of load and flight when compared with the traditional four-rotor. In order to compare the aerodynamic performance of the composite powered unmanned airship and the traditional four-rotor, the SIMPLE algorithm and the RNG k-epsilon model method are be used. The energy consumption of the composite powered unmanned airship is lesser than the traditional four-rotor under the same load and range was found.

Testing the Intelligence of Unmanned Autonomous Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-01-01

decisions without the operator. The term autonomous is also used interchangeably with intelligent, giving rise to the name unmanned autonomous system ( UAS ...For the purposes of this article, UAS describes an unmanned system that makes decisions based on gathered information. Because testers should not...make assumptions about the decision process within a UAS , there is a need for a methodology that completely tests this decision process without biasing

The Hawaii Undersea Military Munitions Assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edwards, Margo H.; Shjegstad, Sonia M.; Wilkens, Roy; King, James C.; Carton, Geoff; Bala, Deserie; Bingham, Brian; Bissonnette, Martine C.; Briggs, Christian; Bruso, Natalie S.; Camilli, Rich; Cremer, Max; Davis, Roger B.; DeCarlo, Eric H.; DuVal, Carter; Fornari, Daniel J.; Kaneakua-Pia, Iolana; Kelley, Christopher D.; Koide, Shelby; Mah, Christopher L.; Kerby, Terry; Kurras, Gregory J.; Rognstad, Mark R.; Sheild, Lukas; Silva, Jeff; Wellington, Basil; Woerkom, Michael Van

2016-06-01

The Hawaii Undersea Military Munitions Assessment (HUMMA) is the most comprehensive deep-water investigation undertaken by the United States to look at sea-disposed chemical and conventional munitions. HUMMA's primary scientific objective is to bound, characterize and assess a historic deep-water munitions sea-disposal site to determine the potential impact of the ocean environment on sea-disposed munitions and of sea-disposed munitions on the ocean environment and those that use it. Between 2007 and 2012 the HUMMA team conducted four field programs, collecting hundreds of square kilometers of acoustic data for high-resolution seafloor maps, tens of thousands of digital images, hundreds of hours of video of individual munitions, hundreds of physical samples acquired within two meters of munitions casings, and a suite of environmental data to characterize the ocean surrounding munitions in the study area. Using these data we examined six factors in the study area: (1) the spatial extent and distribution of munitions; (2) the integrity of munitions casings; (3) whether munitions constituents could be detected in sediment, seawater or animals near munitions; (4) whether constituent levels at munitions sites differed significantly from levels at reference control sites; (5) whether statistically significant differences in ecological population metrics could be detected between the two types of sites; and (6) whether munitions constituents or their derivatives potentially pose an unacceptable risk to human health. Herein we provide a general overview of HUMMA including overarching goals, methodologies, physical characteristics of the study area, data collected and general results. Detailed results, conclusions and recommendations for future research are discussed in the accompanying papers included in this volume.

U.S. Army unmanned aircraft systems roadmap 2010-2035

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-01-01

The Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Roadmap outlines how the U.S. Army will develop, organize, and employ UAS from 2010 to 2035 across full spectrum operations. The Army UAS Roadmap is nested with the Unmanned Systems (UMS) Initial Capabilities Docume...

Unmanned ground vehicles for integrated force protection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carroll, Daniel M.; Mikell, Kenneth; Denewiler, Thomas

2004-09-01

The combination of Command and Control (C2) systems with Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) provides Integrated Force Protection from the Robotic Operation Command Center. Autonomous UGVs are directed as Force Projection units. UGV payloads and fixed sensors provide situational awareness while unattended munitions provide a less-than-lethal response capability. Remote resources serve as automated interfaces to legacy physical devices such as manned response vehicles, barrier gates, fence openings, garage doors, and remote power on/off capability for unmanned systems. The Robotic Operations Command Center executes the Multiple Resource Host Architecture (MRHA) to simultaneously control heterogeneous unmanned systems. The MRHA graphically displays video, map, and status for each resource using wireless digital communications for integrated data, video, and audio. Events are prioritized and the user is prompted with audio alerts and text instructions for alarms and warnings. A control hierarchy of missions and duty rosters support autonomous operations. This paper provides an overview of the key technology enablers for Integrated Force Protection with details on a force-on-force scenario to test and demonstrate concept of operations using Unmanned Ground Vehicles. Special attention is given to development and applications for the Remote Detection Challenge and Response (REDCAR) initiative for Integrated Base Defense.

Shaping the future of naval warfare with unmanned systems

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-07-01

This report presents the findings of a study conducted for the purpose of understanding how unmanned systems can enhance the readiness of U.S. Naval forces. The document presents reasons why unmanned systems should be adopted by the Navy, and makes t...

Cooperative remote sensing and actuation using networked unmanned vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chao, Haiyang

This dissertation focuses on how to design and employ networked unmanned vehicles for remote sensing and distributed control purposes in the current information-rich world. The target scenarios are environmental or agricultural applications such as river/reservoir surveillance, wind profiling measurement, and monitoring/control of chemical leaks, etc. AggieAir, a small and low-cost unmanned aircraft system, is designed based on the remote sensing requirements from environmental monitoring missions. The state estimation problem and the advanced lateral flight controller design problem are further attacked focusing on the small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platform. Then the UAV-based remote sensing problem is focused with further flight test results. Given the measurements from unmanned vehicles, the actuation algorithms are needed for missions like the diffusion control. A consensus-based central Voronoi tessellation (CVT) algorithm is proposed for better control of the diffusion process. Finally, the dissertation conclusion and some new research suggestions are presented.

Development of Autonomous Optimal Cooperative Control in Relay Rover Configured Small Unmanned Aerial Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-01

Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan that identified small unmanned aerial systems ( SUAS ) as “a profound technological...advances in small unmanned aerial systems ( SUAS ) cooperative control. The end state objective of the research effort was to flight test an autonomous...requirements were captured in the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan . The flight plan

78 FR 12259 - Unmanned Aircraft System Test Site Program

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-22

...-0061] Unmanned Aircraft System Test Site Program AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT... Defense, develop a test site program for the integration of unmanned aircraft systems in to the National Airspace System. The overall purpose of this test site program is to develop a body of data and operational...

Submarine groundwater discharge into the coast revealed by water chemistry of man-made undersea liquefied petroleum gas cavern

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Jin-Yong; Cho, Byung Wook

2008-10-01

SummaryThe occurrence of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) as well as its supply of many nutrients and metals to coastal seawaters is now generally known. However, previous studies have focused on the chemical and radiological analysis of groundwater, surface seawater, shallow marine sediments and their pore waters, as well as the measurement of upward flow through the marine sediments, as end members of the discharge process. In this study, chemical and isotopic analysis results of marine subsurface waters are reported. These were obtained from deep boreholes of an undersea liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) storage cavern, located about 8 km off the western coast of Korea. The cavern is about 130-150 m below the sea bottom, which is covered by a 4.8-19.5 m silty clay stratum. An isotopic composition (δ 2H and δ 18O) of the marine subsurface waters falls on a mixing line between terrestrial groundwater and seawater. Vertical EC profiling at the cavern boreholes revealed the existence of a fresh water zone. An increase in the contents of ferrous iron and manganese and a decrease in levels of nitrate, bicarbonate and cavern seepage were recorded in August 2006, indicating a decreased submarine groundwater flux originating from land, mainly caused by an elevated cavern gas pressure. It is suggested in this study that the main source of fresh waters in the man-made undersea cavern is the submarine groundwater discharge mainly originating from the land.

Quarantine provisions for unmanned extra-terrestrial missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

This document sets forth requirements applicable to unmanned planetary flight programs which are necessary to enable the Associate Administrator for Space Science to fulfill those responsibilities pertaining to planetary quarantine as stated in NPD 8020.7 and NPD 8020.10A. This document is specifically directed to the control of terrestrial microbial contamination associated with unmanned space vehicles intended to encounter, orbit, flyby, or otherwise be in the vicinity of extra-terrestrial solar system bodies. The requirements of this document apply to all unmanned planetary flight programs. This includes solar system exploratory missions to the major planets as well as missions to planet satellites, or to other solar system objects that may be of scientific interest. This document is not applicable to terrestrial (including lunar) missions and manned missions. NASA officials having cognizance of applicable flight programs will invoke these requirements in such directives or contractual instruments as may be necessary to assure their implementation.

Intelligent autonomy for unmanned naval systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steinberg, Marc

2006-05-01

This paper provides an overview of the development and demonstration of intelligent autonomy technologies for control of heterogeneous unmanned naval air and sea vehicles and describes some of the current limitations of such technologies. The focus is on modular technologies that support highly automated retasking and fully autonomous dynamic replanning for up to ten heterogeneous unmanned systems based on high-level mission objectives, priorities, constraints, and Rules-of-Engagement. A key aspect of the demonstrations is incorporating frequent naval operator evaluations in order to gain better understanding of the integrated man/machine system and its tactical utility. These evaluations help ensure that the automation can provide information to the user in a meaningful way and that the user has a sufficient level of control and situation awareness to task the system as needed to complete complex mission tasks. Another important aspect of the program is examination of the interactions of higher-level autonomy algorithms with other relevant components that would be needed within the decision-making and control loops. Examples of these are vision and other sensor processing algorithms, sensor fusion, obstacle avoidance, and other lower level vehicle autonomous navigation, guidance, and control functions. Initial experiments have been completed using medium and high-fidelity vehicle simulations in a virtual warfare environment and inexpensive surrogate vehicles in flight and in-water demonstrations. Simulation experiments included integration of multi-vehicle task allocation, dynamic replanning under constraints, lower level autonomous vehicle control, automatic assessment of the impact of contingencies on plans, management of situation awareness data, operator alert management, and a mixed-initiative operator interface. In-water demonstrations of a maritime situation awareness capability were completed in both a river and a harbor environment using unmanned surface

75 FR 2925 - Sixteenth Plenary Meeting: RTCA Special Committee 203: Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-19

... Special Committee 203: Unmanned Aircraft Systems AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. ACTION: Notice of RTCA Special Committee 203: Unmanned Aircraft Systems. SUMMARY: The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of a meeting of RTCA Special Committee 203: Unmanned Aircraft Systems. DATES...

Simulation-Based Acceptance Testing for Unmanned Ground Vehicles

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-05-12

Ground Robotic Reliability Center (GRRC) at the University of Michigan in 2010, the focus of his research has been on unmanned ground vehicles...Jong Lee is a former student of the University of Michigan’s Ground Robotics Reliability Center (GRRC). He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree...methods to improve reliability of Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) systems. His primary research interests include robotic systems and control

An overview of Ball Aerospace cryogen storage and delivery systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marquardt, J.; Keller, J.; Mills, G.; Schmidt, J.

2015-12-01

Starting on the Gemini program in the 1960s, Beech Aircraft (now Ball Aerospace) has been designing and manufacturing dewars for a variety of cryogens including liquid hydrogen and oxygen. These dewars flew on the Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle spacecraft providing fuel cell reactants resulting in over 150 manned spaceflights. Since Space Shuttle, Ball has also built the liquid hydrogen fuel tanks for the Boeing Phantom Eye unmanned aerial vehicle. Returning back to its fuel cell days, Ball has designed, built and tested a volume-constrained liquid hydrogen and oxygen tank system for reactant delivery to fuel cells on unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs). Herein past history of Ball technology is described. Testing has been completed on the UUV specific design, which will be described.

46 CFR 151.02-5 - Design of unmanned barges.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Design of unmanned barges. 151.02-5 Section 151.02-5... CARRYING BULK LIQUID HAZARDOUS MATERIAL CARGOES Equivalents § 151.02-5 Design of unmanned barges. (a) In order not to inhibit design and application, the Commandant may approve vessels of novel design, both...

ARM Unmanned Aerial Systems Implementation Plan

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schmid, Beat; Ivey, Mark

Recent advances in Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) coupled with changes in the regulatory environment for operations of UAS in the National Airspace increase the potential value of UAS to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility. UAS include unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and tethered balloon systems (TBS). The roles UAVs and TBSs could play within the ARM Facility, particularly science questions they could help address, have been discussed in several workshops, reports, and vision documents, including: This document describes the implementation of a robust and vigorous program for use of UAV and TBS formore » the science missions ARM supports.« less

The NEEMO Project: A Report on how NASA Utilizes the "Aquarius" Undersea Habitat as an Analog for Long-Duration Space Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reagan, Marc; Todd, William

2003-01-01

NEEMO is the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations, a cooperative project between NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NEEMO was created and is managed by the Mission Operations Directorate at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. On the NOAA side, the National Undersea Research Center (NURC) in Key Largo, FL, with the help of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, manages and operates the Aquarius Program. NEEMO was developed by astronaut training specialists to utilize an undersea research habitat as a multi-objective mission analog for long-duration space flight. Each mission was designed to expose astronauts to extreme environments for training purposes and to research crew behavior, habitability, and space analog life sciences. All of this was done much in the model of a space mission utilizing specific crew procedures, mission rules and timelines. Objectives of the missions were very diverse and contained many of the typical space mission type activities such as EV As (also known as extra vehicular activities), in-habitat science and research, and educational, public outreach, and media events. Five missions, dubbed NEEMO 1-5, were conducted between October 2001 and July 2003, the longest of which (NEEMO 5) lasted 14 days.

46 CFR 151.02-5 - Design of unmanned barges.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 5 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Design of unmanned barges. 151.02-5 Section 151.02-5 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) CERTAIN BULK DANGEROUS CARGOES BARGES CARRYING BULK LIQUID HAZARDOUS MATERIAL CARGOES Equivalents § 151.02-5 Design of unmanned barges. (a) In order not to inhibit design and application...

46 CFR 151.02-5 - Design of unmanned barges.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 5 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Design of unmanned barges. 151.02-5 Section 151.02-5 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) CERTAIN BULK DANGEROUS CARGOES BARGES CARRYING BULK LIQUID HAZARDOUS MATERIAL CARGOES Equivalents § 151.02-5 Design of unmanned barges. (a) In order not to inhibit design and application...

46 CFR 151.02-5 - Design of unmanned barges.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 46 Shipping 5 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Design of unmanned barges. 151.02-5 Section 151.02-5 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) CERTAIN BULK DANGEROUS CARGOES BARGES CARRYING BULK LIQUID HAZARDOUS MATERIAL CARGOES Equivalents § 151.02-5 Design of unmanned barges. (a) In order not to inhibit design and application...

Unmanned spacecraft for research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Graves, C. D.

1972-01-01

The applications of unmanned spacecraft for research purposes are discussed. Specific applications of the Communication and Navigation satellites and the Earth Observations satellites are described. Diagrams of communications on world-wide basis using synchronous satellites are developed. Photographs of earth resources and geology obtained from space vehicles are included.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-05-31

Project , which is part of the trol, Communications and Intelligence In response to congressional...direction in Program Executive Office, Cruise Mis- (C31), the working group includes repre- FY88 to consolidate the management of siles Project and Unmanned...34* Support test and evaluation of ated with the draw down of the Pioneer Invest selectively in safety potential UAV payloads system as it is replaced by the

Unmanned Mine of the 21st Centuries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Semykina, Irina; Grigoryev, Aleksandr; Gargayev, Andrey; Zavyalov, Valeriy

2017-11-01

The article is analytical. It considers the construction principles of the automation system structure which realize the concept of «unmanned mine». All of these principles intend to deal with problems caused by a continuous complication of mining-and-geological conditions at coalmine such as the labor safety and health protection, the weak integration of different mining automation subsystems and the deficiency of optimal balance between a quantity of resource and energy consumed by mining machines and their throughput. The authors describe the main problems and neck stage of mining machines autonomation and automation subsystem. The article makes a general survey of the applied «unmanned technology» in the field of mining such as the remotely operated autonomous complexes, the underground positioning systems of mining machines using infrared radiation in mine workings etc. The concept of «unmanned mine» is considered with an example of the robotic road heading machine. In the final, the authors analyze the techniques and methods that could solve the task of underground mining without human labor.

ICAROUS: Integrated Configurable Architecture for Unmanned Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Consiglio, Maria C.

2016-01-01

NASA's Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) project aims at enabling near-term, safe operations of small UAS vehicles in uncontrolled airspace, i.e., Class G airspace. A far-term goal of UTM research and development is to accommodate the expected rise in small UAS traffic density throughout the National Airspace System (NAS) at low altitudes for beyond visual line-of-sight operations. This video describes a new capability referred to as ICAROUS (Integrated Configurable Algorithms for Reliable Operations of Unmanned Systems), which is being developed under the auspices of the UTM project. ICAROUS is a software architecture comprised of highly assured algorithms for building safety-centric, autonomous, unmanned aircraft applications. Central to the development of the ICAROUS algorithms is the use of well-established formal methods to guarantee higher levels of safety assurance by monitoring and bounding the behavior of autonomous systems. The core autonomy-enabling capabilities in ICAROUS include constraint conformance monitoring and autonomous detect and avoid functions. ICAROUS also provides a highly configurable user interface that enables the modular integration of mission-specific software components.

Unmanned planetary spacecraft chemical rocket propulsion.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burlage, H., Jr.; Gin, W.; Riebling, R. W.

1972-01-01

Review of some chemical propulsion technology advances suitable for future unmanned spacecraft applications. Discussed system varieties include liquid space-storable propulsion systems, advanced liquid monopropellant systems, liquid systems for rendezvous and landing applications, and low-thrust high-performance solid-propellant systems, as well as hybrid space-storable systems. To optimize the performance and operational characteristics of an unmanned interplanetary spacecraft for a particular mission, and to achieve high cost effectiveness of the entire system, it is shown to be essential that the type of spacecraft propulsion system to be used matches, as closely as possible the various requirements and constraints. The systems discussed are deemed to be the most promising candidates for some of the anticipated interplanetary missions.

Model Identification and Control System Design for the Lambda Unmanned Research Vehicle

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-09-01

AD-A241 859 D T IC_ _ _ _ _ __ OCT 21921MODEL IDENTIFICATION AND CONTROL SYSTEM DESIGN FOR THE LAMBDA UNMANNED RESEARCH VEHICLE: THESIS Gerald A...23 191K MODEL IDENTIFICATION AND CONTROL SYSTEM DESIGN FOR THE LAMBDA UNMANNED RESEARCH VEHICLE THESIS Gerald A. Swift, First Lieutenant, USAF AFIT...UNMANNED RESEARCH VEHICLE THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the School of Engineering of the Air Force Institute of Technology Air University in Partial

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Background and Issues for Congress

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-11-21

services are buying million dollar UAVs using operations and maintenance funding that has never been specifically authorized for UAVs and for which...H.R. 2863, H.Rept. 109-119, H.R. 2863, S.Rept. 109-141 CRS-43 135 Peter La Franchi . “Directory: Unmanned Air Vehicles.” Flight International, June...Communications and Electronics FY2006, February 2005, TUAV (B00301), Item No. 62, p. 1 of 16. 162 Peter La Franchi . “Directory: Unmanned Air Vehicles

Unmanned Aircraft: A Pilot's Perspective

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pestana, Mark E.

2010-01-01

This slide presentation reviews some of the challenges of "piloting" a unmanned aircraft. The topic include the pilot-vehicle interact design, the concept of pilot/operator, and role of NASA's Ikhana UAS in the western states fire mission.

Advanced imaging of transportation infrastructure using unmanned aircraft systems : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-01-01

The University of Alaska Fairbanks has been conducting research into unmanned : aircraft systems (UAS) since 2000, with more missions and mission diversity than : any other university. With the creation of the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft : Sy...

Unmanned aircraft system bridge inspection demonstration project phase II final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-06-01

An Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) is defined by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as an aircraft operated without the possibility of direct human intervention from within the aircraft. Unmanned aircraft are familiarly referred to as drones, a...

From Undersea to Outer Space: The STS-40 Jellyfish Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

This is an educational production featuring 'Ari', animated jellyfish who recounts his journey into space. Jellyfish were flown aboard the shuttle to study the effects of microgravity on living organisms. Topics Ari explores are: microgravity, life sciences, similarities between jellyfish and humans, and the life cycle and anatomy of a jellyfish.

The Role of Unmanned Aerial Systems-Sensors in Air Quality Research

EPA Science Inventory

The use of unmanned aerial systems (UASs) and miniaturized sensors for a variety of scientific and security purposes has rapidly increased. UASs include aerostats (tethered balloons) and remotely controlled, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) including lighter-than-air vessels, fix...

Unmanned Aircraft House Hearing

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-02-15

Dr. Gerald Dillingham, Director, Civil Aviation Issues, Government Accounting Office (GAO), talks during a House Subcommittee on Oversight hearing titled "Operating Unmanned Aircraft Systems in the National Airspace System: Assessing Research and Development Efforts to Ensure Safety" on Friday, Feb. 15, 2013 at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The Role of Unmanned Aerial Systems/Sensors in Air Quality Research

EPA Science Inventory

The use of unmanned aerial systems (UASs) for a variety of scientific and security purposes has rapidly increased. UASs include aerostats (tethered balloons) and remotely controlled, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) including lighter-than-air vessels, fixed wing airplanes, and he...

DAIDALUS: Detect and Avoid Alerting Logic for Unmanned Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Munoz, Cesar; Narkawicz, Anthony; Hagen, George; Upchurch, Jason; Dutle, Aaron; Consiglio, Maria; Chamberlain, James

2015-01-01

This paper presents DAIDALUS (Detect and Avoid Alerting Logic for Unmanned Systems), a reference implementation of a detect and avoid concept intended to support the integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems into civil airspace. DAIDALUS consists of self-separation and alerting algorithms that provide situational awareness to UAS remote pilots. These algorithms have been formally specified in a mathematical notation and verified for correctness in an interactive theorem prover. The software implementation has been verified against the formal models and validated against multiple stressing cases jointly developed by the US Air Force Research Laboratory, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, and NASA. The DAIDALUS reference implementation is currently under consideration for inclusion in the appendices to the Minimum Operational Performance Standards for Unmanned Aircraft Systems presently being developed by RTCA Special Committee 228.

The Ground Control Room as an Enabling Technology in the Unmanned Aerial System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gear, Gary; Mace, Thomas

2007-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the development of the ground control room as an required technology for the use of an Unmanned Aerial system. The Unmanned Aerial system is a strategic component of the Global Observing System, which will serve global science needs. The unmanned aerial system will use the same airspace as manned aircraft, therefore there will be unique telemetry needs.

Development and prospect of unmanned aerial vehicles for agricultural production management

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Unmanned aerial vehicles have been developed and applied to support agricultural production management. Compared to piloted aircrafts, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) can focus on small crop fields in lower flight altitude than regular airplanes to perform site-specific management with high precisi...

Droning On: American Strategic Myopia Toward Unmanned Aerial Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-12-01

torpedo, nicknamed the “Bug.”3 This system consisted of pre-set pneumatic and electrical controls that stabilized and guided it toward...race their homemade drones around Mount Damavand.88 These competitions and DIY efforts provide short-term innovation of unmanned technologies. This...an even greater threat to the homeland comes from homegrown or lone wolf actor’s possession of unmanned technology. DIY kits aid in building drones

A survey of unmanned ground vehicles with applications to agricultural and environmental sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonadies, Stephanie; Lefcourt, Alan; Gadsden, S. Andrew

2016-05-01

Unmanned ground vehicles have been utilized in the last few decades in an effort to increase the efficiency of agriculture, in particular, by reducing labor needs. Unmanned vehicles have been used for a variety of purposes including: soil sampling, irrigation management, precision spraying, mechanical weeding, and crop harvesting. In this paper, unmanned ground vehicles, implemented by researchers or commercial operations, are characterized through a comparison to other vehicles used in agriculture, namely airplanes and UAVs. An overview of different trade-offs of configurations, control schemes, and data collection technologies is provided. Emphasis is given to the use of unmanned ground vehicles in food crops, and includes a discussion of environmental impacts and economics. Factors considered regarding the future trends and potential issues of unmanned ground vehicles include development, management and performance. Also included is a strategy to demonstrate to farmers the safety and profitability of implementing the technology.

TALON: a universal unmanned ground vehicle platform, enabling the mission to be the focus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wells, Peter; Deguire, Dan

2005-05-01

Foster-Miller's unmanned ground vehicle, TALON, was originally developed under DARPA's Tactical Mobile Robotics (TMR) program. TALON has evolved over the years and has proven to be a robust, mobile, universal platform. As a result of the advances made in the evolution of TALON, new and far-reaching opportunities have been realized for unmanned ground vehicles. In recent conflicts such as in Afghanistan and Iraq, unmanned systems have played an important role and have extended the reach and capabilities of the War fighter. Technological advances have transformed unmanned vehicles in to useful tools and in some cases are used in lieu of sending in a soldier. Unmanned ground vehicles have seen recent and persistent success, as shown in theater, in the explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) and improvised ordinance disposal (IED) missions. Foster-Miller's TALON has experienced over ten thousand EOD and IED missions in Iraq alone. The success of the unmanned system has resulted in the doctrine "Send the robot in first". Foster-Miller has taken the role of the unmanned vehicle in yet another direction. Foster-Miller has transformed the TALON from a "practical" to "tactical" system. Through the combined efforts of Foster-Miller and the US Army, TALON has been involved in a weaponization program. To date, Foster-Miller has outfitted the TALON with 11 systems. As one can see, the unmanned ground vehicle is much more than a mobility platform.

Development of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Site-Specific Crop Production Management

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) have been developed and applied to support the practice of precision agriculture. Compared to piloted aircrafts, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle can focus on much smaller crop fields with much lower flight altitude than regular airplanes to perform site-specific management ...

47 CFR 80.217 - Suppression of interference aboard ships.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 5 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Suppression of interference aboard ships. 80.217 Section 80.217 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND SPECIAL... interference aboard ships. (a) A voluntarily equipped ship station receiver must not cause harmful interference...

47 CFR 80.217 - Suppression of interference aboard ships.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 5 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Suppression of interference aboard ships. 80.217 Section 80.217 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND SPECIAL... interference aboard ships. (a) A voluntarily equipped ship station receiver must not cause harmful interference...

47 CFR 80.217 - Suppression of interference aboard ships.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 5 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Suppression of interference aboard ships. 80.217 Section 80.217 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND SPECIAL... interference aboard ships. (a) A voluntarily equipped ship station receiver must not cause harmful interference...

Reliability Assessment for Low-cost Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freeman, Paul Michael

Existing low-cost unmanned aerospace systems are unreliable, and engineers must blend reliability analysis with fault-tolerant control in novel ways. This dissertation introduces the University of Minnesota unmanned aerial vehicle flight research platform, a comprehensive simulation and flight test facility for reliability and fault-tolerance research. An industry-standard reliability assessment technique, the failure modes and effects analysis, is performed for an unmanned aircraft. Particular attention is afforded to the control surface and servo-actuation subsystem. Maintaining effector health is essential for safe flight; failures may lead to loss of control incidents. Failure likelihood, severity, and risk are qualitatively assessed for several effector failure modes. Design changes are recommended to improve aircraft reliability based on this analysis. Most notably, the control surfaces are split, providing independent actuation and dual-redundancy. The simulation models for control surface aerodynamic effects are updated to reflect the split surfaces using a first-principles geometric analysis. The failure modes and effects analysis is extended by using a high-fidelity nonlinear aircraft simulation. A trim state discovery is performed to identify the achievable steady, wings-level flight envelope of the healthy and damaged vehicle. Tolerance of elevator actuator failures is studied using familiar tools from linear systems analysis. This analysis reveals significant inherent performance limitations for candidate adaptive/reconfigurable control algorithms used for the vehicle. Moreover, it demonstrates how these tools can be applied in a design feedback loop to make safety-critical unmanned systems more reliable. Control surface impairments that do occur must be quickly and accurately detected. This dissertation also considers fault detection and identification for an unmanned aerial vehicle using model-based and model-free approaches and applies those

Cadastral Audit and Assessments Using Unmanned Aerial Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cunningham, K.; Walker, G.; Stahlke, E.; Wilson, R.

2011-09-01

Ground surveys and remote sensing are integral to establishing fair and equitable property valuations necessary for real property taxation. The International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) has embraced aerial and street-view imaging as part of its standards related to property tax assessments and audits. New technologies, including unmanned aerial systems (UAS) paired with imaging sensors, will become more common as local governments work to ensure their cadastre and tax rolls are both accurate and complete. Trends in mapping technology have seen an evolution in platforms from large, expensive manned aircraft to very small, inexpensive UAS. Traditional methods of photogrammetry have also given way to new equipment and sensors: digital cameras, infrared imagers, light detection and ranging (LiDAR) laser scanners, and now synthetic aperture radar (SAR). At the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), we work extensively with unmanned aerial systems equipped with each of these newer sensors. UAF has significant experience flying unmanned systems in the US National Airspace, having begun in 1969 with scientific rockets and expanded to unmanned aircraft in 2003. Ongoing field experience allows UAF to partner effectively with outside organizations to test and develop leading-edge research in UAS and remote sensing. This presentation will discuss our research related to various sensors and payloads for mapping. We will also share our experience with UAS and optical systems for creating some of the first cadastral surveys in rural Alaska.

Aboard the Space Shuttle.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steinberg, Florence S.

This 32-page pamphlet contains color photographs and detailed diagrams which illustrate general descriptive comments about living conditions aboard the space shuttle. Described are details of the launch, the cabin, the condition of weightlessness, food, sleep, exercise, atmosphere, personal hygiene, medicine, going EVA (extra-vehicular activity),…

The application demand analysis of advanced photoelectric technology in the future unmanned vehicle loads

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Lei; Cao, Wei; Li, Shengcai; Lu, Peng

2018-01-01

Introduced some unmanned vehicles development present situation, points out that the main development trend of photoelectric technology, analyzes the basic ability requirement of unmanned vehicles, in the future war system demonstrates the photoelectric information transmission, battlefield situational awareness, photoelectric integrated optoelectronic technology such as against the application of the unmanned vehicles demand in the future.

Astronaut Eugene Cernan sleeping aboard Apollo 17 spacecraft

NASA Image and Video Library

1972-12-17

AS17-162-24049 (7-19 Dec. 1972) --- A fellow crewman took this picture of astronaut Eugene A. Cernan dozing aboard the Apollo 17 spacecraft during the final lunar landing mission in NASA's Apollo program. Also, aboard Apollo 17 were astronaut Ronald E. Evans, command module pilot, and scientist-astronaut Harrison H. "Jack" Schmitt, lunar module pilot. Cernan was the mission commander.

Unmanned Aircraft House Hearing

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-02-15

Dr. Edgar Waggoner, Director, Integrated Systems research Program Office, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), takes notes during a House Subcommittee on Oversight hearing titled "Operating Unmanned Aircraft Systems in the National Airspace System: Assessing Research and Development Efforts to Ensure Safety" on Friday, Feb. 15, 2013 at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Unmanned Ground Systems Roadmap

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-07-01

6 1.3.1 RDECOM, Academia, Industry ..................................................................................... 6 1.3.2 Rapid...for unmanned capabilities can be supported and from which PORs can be facilitated when necessary  The RS JPO formed a Government/ Industry Working...products. 1.3.1 RDECOM, Academia, Industry Given the RS JPO‟s close working relations with academia, industry partners and the RDECOM Labs, the

A Queueing Model for Supervisory Control of Unmanned Autonomous Vehicles

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-09-01

Autonomous Vehicles Joseph DiVita, PhD Robert L. Morris Maria Olinda Rodas SSC Pacific Approved...298 (Rev. 8/98) Prescribed by ANSI Std. Z39.18 09–2013 Final A Queueing Model for Supervisory Control of Unmanned Autonomous Vehicles Joseph...Mission Area: Command and Control, Queueing Model; Supervisory Control; Unmanned Autonomous Vehicles M. O. Rodas U U U U 38 (619)

NASA 14 Day Undersea Missions: A Short-Duration Spaceflight Analog for Immune System Dysregulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crucian, B. E.; Stowe, R. P.; Mehta, S. K.; Quiriarte, H.; Pierson, D. L.; Sams, C. F.

2010-01-01

BACKGROUND Spaceflight-associated immune dysregulation (SAID) occurs during spaceflight and may represent specific clinical risks for exploration-class missions. An appropriate ground analog for spaceflight-associated immune dysregulation would offer a platform for ground-evaluation of various potential countermeasures. This study evaluated the NASA Undersea Mission Operations ( NEEMO ), consisting of 14 day undersea deployment at the Aquarius station, as an analog for SAID. Sixteen Aquanauts from missions NEEMO-12, 13 and 14 participated in the study. RESULTS Mid-mission alterations leukocyte distribution occurred, including granulocytosis and elevations in central-memory CD8+ T-cells. General T cell function was reduced during NEEMO missions in roughly 50% of subjects. Secreted cytokines profiles were evaluated following whole blood stimulation with CD3/CD28 (T cells) or LPS (monocytes). T cell production of IFNg, IL-5, IL-10, IL-2, TNFa and IL-6 were all reduced before and during the mission. Conversely, monocyte production of TNFa, IL-10, IL-6, IL-1b and IL-8 were elevated during mission, moreso at the MD-14 timepoint. Antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) viral capsid antigen and early antigen were increased in approximately 40% of the subjects. Changes in EBV tetramer-positive CD8+ T-cells exhibited a variable pattern. Antibodies against Cytomegalovirus (CMV) were marginally increased during the mission. Herpesvirus reactivation was determined by PCR. EBV viral load was generally elevated at L-6. Higher levels of salivary EBV were found during the NEEMO mission than before and after as well as than the healthy controls. No VZV or CMV was found in any pre, during and after NEEMO mission or control samples. Plasma cortisol was elevated at L-6. CONCLUSION Unfortunately, L-6 may be too near to mission start to be an appropriate baseline measurement. The general immune changes in leukocyte distribution, T cell function, cytokine production, virus specific

Sensor data fusion for automated threat recognition in manned-unmanned infantry platoons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wildt, J.; Varela, M.; Ulmke, M.; Brüggermann, B.

2017-05-01

To support a dismounted infantry platoon during deployment we team it with several unmanned aerial and ground vehicles (UAV and UGV, respectively). The unmanned systems integrate seamlessly into the infantry platoon, providing automated reconnaissance during movement while keeping formation as well as conducting close range reconnaissance during halt. The sensor data each unmanned system provides is continuously analyzed in real time by specialized algorithms, detecting humans in live videos of UAV mounted infrared cameras as well as gunshot detection and bearing by acoustic sensors. All recognized threats are fused into a consistent situational picture in real time, available to platoon and squad leaders as well as higher level command and control (C2) systems. This gives friendly forces local information superiority and increased situational awareness without the need to constantly monitor the unmanned systems and sensor data.

Tactical 3D model generation using structure-from-motion on video from unmanned systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harguess, Josh; Bilinski, Mark; Nguyen, Kim B.; Powell, Darren

2015-05-01

Unmanned systems have been cited as one of the future enablers of all the services to assist the warfighter in dominating the battlespace. The potential benefits of unmanned systems are being closely investigated -- from providing increased and potentially stealthy surveillance, removing the warfighter from harms way, to reducing the manpower required to complete a specific job. In many instances, data obtained from an unmanned system is used sparingly, being applied only to the mission at hand. Other potential benefits to be gained from the data are overlooked and, after completion of the mission, the data is often discarded or lost. However, this data can be further exploited to offer tremendous tactical, operational, and strategic value. To show the potential value of this otherwise lost data, we designed a system that persistently stores the data in its original format from the unmanned vehicle and then generates a new, innovative data medium for further analysis. The system streams imagery and video from an unmanned system (original data format) and then constructs a 3D model (new data medium) using structure-from-motion. The 3D generated model provides warfighters additional situational awareness, tactical and strategic advantages that the original video stream lacks. We present our results using simulated unmanned vehicle data with Google Earth™providing the imagery as well as real-world data, including data captured from an unmanned aerial vehicle flight.

Veggie Project - Harvesting Chinese Cabbage aboard the ISS

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-02-17

At Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Veggie Project Manager Nicole Dufour instructs astronaut Peggy Whitson during the harvest of Chinese cabbage aboard the International Space Station. While the space station crew will get to eat some of the Chinese cabbage, the rest is being saved for scientific study back at Kennedy Space Center. This is the fifth crop grown aboard the station, and the first Chinese cabbage.

The critical role of personality and organizational factors as determinants of reactions to restricted and stressful environments. [undersea habitats

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Helmreich, Robert L.

1987-01-01

Research into the impact of personality factors on groups in various settings is reviewed as an introduction to a brief discussion of personality and group behavior research needs relevant to the space program. Significant findings of some earlier research are summarized, and methodological problems are touched on. The study of intergroup and intragroup conflict in a stressful environment, as exemplified particularly by undersea habitats, is seen as being of consequence for long-term space missions. It is concluded that adequate research can only be conducted as an adjunct to data collection from operational stressful environments, and not from laboratory experiments.

Breakaway: A Look at the Integration of Aerial Refueling and Unmanned Aircraft Systems in Future Operations

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-06-15

possibility of air refueling unmanned platforms that will prolong their loiter time. Because of the senior leader pressure to get a persistent presence...future force of 2025 will undoubtedly include many unmanned aircraft and manned aircraft. This thesis investigates how aerial refueling and unmanned...leader pressure to get a persistent presence of unmanned aircraft through air refueling, they might have waived the “sanity check” for this, or

The role of human-automation consensus in multiple unmanned vehicle scheduling.

PubMed

Cummings, M L; Clare, Andrew; Hart, Christin

2010-02-01

This study examined the impact of increasing automation replanning rates on operator performance and workload when supervising a decentralized network of heterogeneous unmanned vehicles. Futuristic unmanned vehicles systems will invert the operator-to-vehicle ratio so that one operator can control multiple dissimilar vehicles connected through a decentralized network. Significant human-automation collaboration will be needed because of automation brittleness, but such collaboration could cause high workload. Three increasing levels of replanning were tested on an existing multiple unmanned vehicle simulation environment that leverages decentralized algorithms for vehicle routing and task allocation in conjunction with human supervision. Rapid replanning can cause high operator workload, ultimately resulting in poorer overall system performance. Poor performance was associated with a lack of operator consensus for when to accept the automation's suggested prompts for new plan consideration as well as negative attitudes toward unmanned aerial vehicles in general. Participants with video game experience tended to collaborate more with the automation, which resulted in better performance. In decentralized unmanned vehicle networks, operators who ignore the automation's requests for new plan consideration and impose rapid replans both increase their own workload and reduce the ability of the vehicle network to operate at its maximum capacity. These findings have implications for personnel selection and training for futuristic systems involving human collaboration with decentralized algorithms embedded in networks of autonomous systems.

Unmanned powered balloons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Korn, A. O.

1975-01-01

In the late 1960's several governmental agencies sponsored efforts to develop unmanned, powered balloon systems for scientific experimentation and military operations. Some of the programs resulted in hardware and limited flight tests; others, to date, have not progressed beyond the paper study stage. Balloon system designs, materials, propulsion units and capabilities are briefly described, and critical problem areas are pointed out which require further study in order to achieve operational powered balloon systems capable of long duration flight at high altitudes.

47 CFR 97.11 - Stations aboard ships or aircraft.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Stations aboard ships or aircraft. 97.11... SERVICES AMATEUR RADIO SERVICE General Provisions § 97.11 Stations aboard ships or aircraft. (a) The installation and operation of an amateur station on a ship or aircraft must be approved by the master of the...

47 CFR 97.11 - Stations aboard ships or aircraft.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Stations aboard ships or aircraft. 97.11... SERVICES AMATEUR RADIO SERVICE General Provisions § 97.11 Stations aboard ships or aircraft. (a) The installation and operation of an amateur station on a ship or aircraft must be approved by the master of the...

47 CFR 97.11 - Stations aboard ships or aircraft.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 5 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Stations aboard ships or aircraft. 97.11... SERVICES AMATEUR RADIO SERVICE General Provisions § 97.11 Stations aboard ships or aircraft. (a) The installation and operation of an amateur station on a ship or aircraft must be approved by the master of the...

47 CFR 97.11 - Stations aboard ships or aircraft.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 5 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Stations aboard ships or aircraft. 97.11... SERVICES AMATEUR RADIO SERVICE General Provisions § 97.11 Stations aboard ships or aircraft. (a) The installation and operation of an amateur station on a ship or aircraft must be approved by the master of the...

47 CFR 97.11 - Stations aboard ships or aircraft.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 5 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Stations aboard ships or aircraft. 97.11... SERVICES AMATEUR RADIO SERVICE General Provisions § 97.11 Stations aboard ships or aircraft. (a) The installation and operation of an amateur station on a ship or aircraft must be approved by the master of the...

Systems Engineering Approach to Develop Guidance, Navigation and Control Algorithms for Unmanned Ground Vehicle

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-01

identification and tracking algorithm. 14. SUBJECT TERMS unmanned ground vehicles , pure pursuit, vector field histogram, feature recognition 15. NUMBER OF...located within the various theaters of war. The pace for the development and deployment of unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) was, however, not keeping...DEVELOPMENT OF UNMANNED GROUND VEHICLES The development and fielding of UGVs in an operational role are not a new concept in the battlefield. In

3D Reconfigurable MPSoC for Unmanned Spacecraft Navigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dekoulis, George

2016-07-01

This paper describes the design of a new lightweight spacecraft navigation system for unmanned space missions. The system addresses the demands for more efficient autonomous navigation in the near-Earth environment or deep space. The proposed instrumentation is directly suitable for unmanned systems operation and testing of new airborne prototypes for remote sensing applications. The system features a new sensor technology and significant improvements over existing solutions. Fluxgate type sensors have been traditionally used in unmanned defense systems such as target drones, guided missiles, rockets and satellites, however, the guidance sensors' configurations exhibit lower specifications than the presented solution. The current implementation is based on a recently developed material in a reengineered optimum sensor configuration for unprecedented low-power consumption. The new sensor's performance characteristics qualify it for spacecraft navigation applications. A major advantage of the system is the efficiency in redundancy reduction achieved in terms of both hardware and software requirements.

Detail design of empennage of an unmanned aerial vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarker, Md. Samad; Panday, Shoyon; Rasel, Md; Salam, Md. Abdus; Faisal, Kh. Md.; Farabi, Tanzimul Hasan

2017-12-01

In order to maintain the operational continuity of air defense systems, unmanned autonomous or remotely controlled unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) plays a great role as a target for the anti-aircraft weapons. The aerial vehicle must comply with the requirements of high speed, remotely controlled tracking and navigational aids, operational sustainability and sufficient loiter time. It can also be used for aerial reconnaissance, ground surveillance and other intelligence operations. This paper aims to develop a complete tail design of an unmanned aerial vehicle using Systems Engineering approach. The design fulfils the requirements of longitudinal and directional trim, stability and control provided by the horizontal and vertical tail. Tail control surfaces are designed to provide sufficient control of the aircraft in critical conditions. Design parameters obtained from wing design are utilized in the tail design process as required. Through chronological calculations and successive iterations, optimum values of 26 tail design parameters are determined.

Unmanned Aircraft Systems Roadmap 2005-2030

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2005-01-01

This document presents the Department of Defense's (DoD) roadmap for developing and employing unmanned aircraft systems over the next 25 years (2005 to 2030). It describes the missions identified by theater warfighters to which systems could be appli...

A Discussion of Aerodynamic Control Effectors (ACEs) for Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wood, Richard M.

2002-01-01

A Reynolds number based, unmanned air vehicle classification structure has been developed which identifies four classes of unmanned air vehicle concepts. The four unmanned air vehicle (UAV) classes are; Micro UAV, Meso UAV, Macro UAV, and Mega UAV. In a similar fashion a labeling scheme for aerodynamic control effectors (ACE) was developed and eleven types of ACE concepts were identified. These eleven types of ACEs were laid out in a five (5) layer scheme. The final section of the paper correlated the various ACE concepts to the four UAV classes and ACE recommendations are offered for future design activities.

Perspectives on Unmanned Aircraft Classification for Civil Airworthiness Standards

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maddalon, Jeffrey M.; Hayhurst, Kelly J.; Koppen, Daniel M.; Upchurch, Jason M.; Morris, A. Terry; Verstynen, Harry A.

2013-01-01

The use of unmanned aircraft in the National Airspace System (NAS) has been characterized as the next great step forward in the evolution of civil aviation. Although use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in military and public service operations is proliferating, civil use of UAS remains limited in the United States today. This report focuses on one particular regulatory challenge: classifying UAS to assign airworthiness standards. This paper provides observations related to how the current regulations for classifying manned aircraft could apply to UAS.

Swarming Unmanned Aircraft Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-09-01

systems may become a viable part of strategy and tactics in the future. Specific to Unmanned Aircraft Sys- tems ( UAS ). they see a strong and central...system itself. They do not want to limit direct access to only Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) trained UAS operators. Rather, they feel that...Collaborating (SASC) characteristics within swarms of UAS that support operations. Technical Approach The approach taken to model this system begins with an

Development of an unmanned maritime system reference architecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duarte, Christiane N.; Cramer, Megan A.; Stack, Jason R.

2014-06-01

The concept of operations (CONOPS) for unmanned maritime systems (UMS) continues to envision systems that are multi-mission, re-configurable and capable of acceptable performance over a wide range of environmental and contextual variability. Key enablers for these concepts of operation are an autonomy module which can execute different mission directives and a mission payload consisting of re-configurable sensor or effector suites. This level of modularity in mission payloads enables affordability, flexibility (i.e., more capability with future platforms) and scalability (i.e., force multiplication). The modularity in autonomy facilitates rapid technology integration, prototyping, testing and leveraging of state-of-the-art advances in autonomy research. Capability drivers imply a requirement to maintain an open architecture design for both research and acquisition programs. As the maritime platforms become more stable in their design (e.g. unmanned surface vehicles, unmanned underwater vehicles) future developments are able to focus on more capable sensors and more robust autonomy algorithms. To respond to Fleet needs, given an evolving threat, programs will want to interchange the latest sensor or a new and improved algorithm in a cost effective and efficient manner. In order to make this possible, the programs need a reference architecture that will define for technology providers where their piece fits and how to successfully integrate. With these concerns in mind, the US Navy established the Unmanned Maritime Systems Reference Architecture (UMS-RA) Working Group in August 2011. This group consists of Department of Defense and industry participants working the problem of defining reference architecture for autonomous operations of maritime systems. This paper summarizes its efforts to date.

Reducing environmental damage through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles as the best available technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fedulova, E. A.; Akulov, A. O.; Rada, A. O.; Alabina, T. A.; Savina, Ju Ju

2018-01-01

The article examines the possibilities of using unmanned aerial vehicles as the best available technologies in the field of agriculture and mining. The object of the study is the use of unmanned aerial vehicles as the best available technology. The main areas of application of this technology are identified: agro technical operations, aerial photography of mining operations. The technology of unmanned aerial vehicles is compared with the technologies of ground agricultural machinery. The research methodology includes an expert evaluation of the unmanned aerial vehicle technology belonging to the class of the best available technologies by the criteria: the level of environmental impact, resource saving, the use of low-waste, non-waste processes, the existence of at least two objects, economic efficiency. Expert evaluations were processed using the apparatus of fuzzy sets, which make it possible to construct membership functions. This allowed us to prove that the technology of unmanned aerial vehicles belongs to a fuzzy set of the best available technologies. The results of the research show that the use of unmanned aerial vehicles provides a saving of resources, especially non-renewable combustible minerals, reduces emissions and discharges of pollutants into the atmosphere, and also reduces soil erosion. Unmanned aerial vehicles should be included in the national directories of the best available technologies for the mining industry and agriculture.

Sense-and-Avoid Equivalent Level of Safety Definition for Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Revision 9

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

Since unmanned aircraft do not have a pilot on-board the aircraft, they cannot literally comply with the "see and avoid" requirement beyond a short distance from the location of the unmanned pilot. No performance standards are presently defined for unmanned Sense and Avoid systems, and the FAA has no published approval criteria for a collision avoidance system. Before the FAA can develop the necessary guidance (rules / regulations / policy) regarding the see-and-avoid requirements for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), a concise understanding of the term "equivalent level of safety" must be attained. Since this term is open to interpretation, the UAS industry and FAA need to come to an agreement on how this term can be defined and applied for a safe and acceptable collision avoidance capability for unmanned aircraft. Defining an equivalent level of safety (ELOS) for sense and avoid is one of the first steps in understanding the requirement and developing a collision avoidance capability. This document provides a functional level definition of see-and-avoid as it applies to unmanned aircraft. The sense and avoid ELOS definition is intended as a bridge between the see and avoid requirement and the system level requirements for unmanned aircraft sense and avoid systems. Sense and avoid ELOS is defined in a rather abstract way, meaning that it is not technology or system specific, and the definition provides key parameters (and a context for those parameters) to focus the development of cooperative and non-cooperative sense and avoid system requirements.

Sociological aspects of permanent manned occupancy of space.

PubMed

Bluth, B J

1981-01-01

The author examines human experiences with isolation and confined groups to determine the sociological aspects of social isolation in space. Precedent experiences include Antarctic stations, oceanographic research vessels, submarines, undersea laboratories, and space simulators. The Soviet experience with multiple-person crews on the Salyut 6 space station is explored. Sociological aspects of isolation and confinement aboard a space station include physiological stress, social and psychological stress, group size and composition, group organization, architectural programming, privacy, and work/rest scheduling.

Unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, Predator B in flight.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2001-01-01

Predator B unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, shown here, under NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) project. ALTAIR/PREDATOR B -- General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., is developing the Altair version of its Predator B unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, shown here, under NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) project. NASA plans to use the Altair as a technology demonstrator testbed aircraft to validate a variety of command and control technologies for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), as well as demonstrate the capability to perform a variety of Earth science missions. The Altair is designed to carry an 700-lb. payload of scientific instruments and imaging equipment for as long as 32 hours at up to 52,000 feet altitude. Ten-foot extensions have been added to each wing, giving the Altair an overall wingspan of 84 feet with an aspect ratio of 23. It is powered by a 700-hp. rear-mounted TPE-331-10 turboprop engine, driving a three-blade propeller. Altair is scheduled to begin flight tests in the fourth quarter of 2002, and be acquired by NASA following successful completion of those basic airworthiness tests in early 2003 for evaluation of over-the-horizon control, detect, see and avoid and other technologies required to allow UAVs to operate safely with other aircraft in the national airspace.

Unmanned Systems in Perspective

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-05-22

sized warhead designed for precision engagement of small targets.56 Medea Benjamin of Code Pink calls it a “robotic suicide bomber . . . an unmanned...Other writers decry a coming age of “ suicide drones,” evidently unaware of the irony of the phrase.125 Admiral Dennis Blair, former US Director of... temptation to meddle, but instant responsiveness, in most cases, is an illusion. The exception to the myth of the “instant kill” further strengthens

Detection and Classification of UXO Using Unmanned Undersea Electromagnetic Sensing Platforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schultz, G.; Keranen, J.; McNinch, J.; Miller, J.

2017-12-01

Important seafloor applications, including mine countermeasures, unexploded ordnance (UXO) surveys, salvage, and underwater hazards, require the detection, geo-registration, and characterization of man-made targets on, or below, the seafloor. Investigations in littoral environments can be time-consuming and expensive due to the challenges of accurately tracking underwater assets, the difficulty of quick or effective site reconnaissance activities, high levels of clutter in nearshore areas, and lack of situational awareness and real-time feedback to operators. Consequently, a high payoff exists for effective methods using sensor and data fusion, feature extraction, and effective payload integration and deployment for improved assessments of littoral infrastructure. We present technology development and demonstration results from multiple technology research, development, and demonstration projects over the last 3 years that have been focused on advancing seafloor target detection, tracking, and classification for specific environmental and defense missions. We focus on challenges overcome in integrating and testing new miniaturized passive magnetic and controlled-source electromagnetic sensors on a variety of remotely and autonomously operated sensing platforms (ROVs, AUVs and bottom crawling systems). In particular, we present aspects of the design, development, and testing of array configurations of miniaturized atomic magnetometers/gradiometers and multi-dimensional electromagnetic (EM) sensor arrays. Results from nearshore (surf zone and marsh in North Carolina) and littoral experiments (bays and reef areas of Florida Gulf and Florida Keys) are presented.

Undersea research vehicle for 20,000-ft depths

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1985-05-01

This article describes the design and operation of a remotely operated underwater vehicle called RUM III. The vehicle is capable of working to depths of 20,000 feet and is designed to do more work at greater depths than any other unmanned research vehicle. RUM III is about the size of a compact car and its design provides deep ocean research capabilities now only available with manned submersibles, and does so without the limitations of manned devices. It is suitable for a variety of geological, geophysical and ecological studies, and can also be used by scientists to conduct detailed investigations inmore » regions of the ocean floor that are relatively easy to see with cameras and sonar, but difficult to sample directly because of hostile deep-sea environments. RUM III is light enough to sit and maneuver on soft ocean-bottom sediments.« less

Fuel-cell powered unmanned ground vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meldrum, Jay S.; Green, Christopher A.; Gwaltney, Geoffrey D.; Bradley, Scott A.; Keith, Jason M.; Podlesak, Thomas F.

2007-04-01

The use of alternative energy technology for vehicle propulsion and auxiliary power is becoming more important. Work is being performed at Michigan Technological University's Keweenaw Research Center on an Army Research Laboratory cooperative agreement to develop two unmanned ground vehicles for military applications. A wide range of alternative energy technologies were investigated, and hydrogen-powered proton exchange membrane fuel cells were identified as the most appropriate alternative energy source. This is due to some development and commercialization which makes the technology "drop-in plug-in" for immediate use. We present research work on a small unmanned ground vehicle demonstration platform where the fuel cell is the only power source. We also present research work on the integration of a fuel cell onto a large existing platform. The dual-power capability of this vehicle can provide a modest level of propulsion in "engine-off mode" and may also be used to power directed energy devices which have applications in countermine and similar threat technologies.

A survey of unmanned ground vehicles with applications to agricultural and environmental sensing

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Unmanned ground vehicles have been utilized in the last few decades in an effort to increase the efficiency of agriculture, in particular, by reducing labor needs. Unmanned vehicles have been used for a variety of purposes including: soil sampling, irrigation management, precision spraying, mechanic...

Arctic Oil Spill Mapping and Response Using Unmanned Aerial Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cunningham, K. W.

2011-12-01

The University of Alaska Fairbanks works extensively with unmanned aerial systems and various sensor payloads used in mapping. Recent projects with Royal Dutch Shell and British Petroleum have demonstrated that unmanned aerial systems, including fixed and rotary winged platforms, can provide quick response to oil spill mapping in a variety of flight conditions, including those not well suited for manned aerial systems. We describe this collaborative research between the University and oil companies exploring and developing oil resources in Alaska and the Arctic.

Unmanned aircraft systems for transportation decision support.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-11-30

Our nation relies on accurate geospatial information to map, measure, and monitor transportation infrastructure and the surrounding landscapes. This project focused on the application of Unmanned Aircraft systems (UAS) as a novel tool for improving e...

Pregnancy outcomes after paternal radiofrequency field exposure aboard fast patrol boats.

PubMed

Baste, Valborg; Moen, Bente E; Oftedal, Gunnhild; Strand, Leif Age; Bjørge, Line; Mild, Kjell Hansson

2012-04-01

To investigate adverse reproductive outcomes among male employees in the Royal Norwegian Navy exposed to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields aboard fast patrol boats. Cohort study of Royal Norwegian Navy servicemen linked to the Medical Birth Registry of Norway, including singleton offspring born between 1967 and 2008 (n = 37,920). Exposure during the last 3 months before conception (acute) and exposure more than 3 months before conception (nonacute) were analyzed. Perinatal mortality and preeclampsia increased after service aboard fast patrol boats during an acute period and also after increased estimated radiofrequency exposure during an acute period, compared with service aboard other vessels. No associations were found between nonacute exposure and any of the reproductive outcomes. Paternal work aboard fast patrol boats during an acute period was associated with perinatal mortality and preeclampsia, but the cause is not clear.

Supporting Remote Sensing Research with Small Unmanned Aerial Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, R. C.; Shanks, P. C.; Kritis, L. A.; Trani, M. G.

2014-11-01

We describe several remote sensing research projects supported with small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) operated by the NGA Basic and Applied Research Office. These sUAS collections provide data supporting Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR), NGA University Research Initiative (NURI), and Cooperative Research And Development Agreements (CRADA) efforts in addition to inhouse research. Some preliminary results related to 3D electro-optical point clouds are presented, and some research goals discussed. Additional details related to the autonomous operational mode of both our multi-rotor and fixed wing small Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS) platforms are presented.

Applying Lessons Learned from Space Safety to Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Risk Assessments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Devoid, Wayne E.

2013-09-01

This paper will examine the application of current orbital launch risk methodology to assessing risk for unmanned aerial vehicle flights over populated areas. Major differences, such as the added complexity of lifting bodies, accounting for pilots-in-the-loop, and the complexity of using current population data to estimate risk for unmanned aerial vehicles, will be highlighted.

Intelligent unmanned vehicle systems suitable for individual or cooperative missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, Matthew O.; McKay, Mark D.; Wadsworth, Derek C.

2007-04-01

The Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has been researching autonomous unmanned vehicle systems for over fifteen years. Areas of research have included unmanned ground and aerial vehicles used for hazardous and remote operations as well as teamed together for advanced payloads and mission execution. Areas of application include aerial particulate sampling, cooperative remote radiological sampling, and persistent surveillance including real-time mosaic and geo-referenced imagery in addition to high-resolution still imagery. Both fixed-wing and rotary airframes are used possessing capabilities spanning remote control to fully autonomous operation. Patented INL-developed auto steering technology is taken advantage of to provide autonomous parallel path swathing with either manned or unmanned ground vehicles. Aerial look-ahead imagery is utilized to provide a common operating picture for the ground and air vehicles during cooperative missions. This paper will discuss the various robotic vehicles, including sensor integration, used to achieve these missions and anticipated cost and labor savings.

Shaping future Naval warfare with unmanned systems, the impact across the fleet, and joint considerations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hudson, E. C.; Johnson, Gordon; Summey, Delbert C.; Portmann, Helmut H., Jr.

2004-09-01

This paper discusses a comprehensive vision for unmanned systems that will shape the future of Naval Warfare within a larger Joint Force concept, and examines the broad impact that can be anticipated across the Fleet. The vision has been articulated from a Naval perspective in NAVSEA technical report CSS/TR-01/09, Shaping the Future of Naval Warfare with Unmanned Systems, and from a Joint perspective in USJFCOM Rapid Assessment Process (RAP) Report #03-10 (Unmanned Effects (UFX): Taking the Human Out of the Loop). Here, the authors build on this foundation by reviewing the major findings and laying out the roadmap for achieving the vision and truly transforming how we fight wars. The focus is on broad impact across the Fleet - but the implications reach across all Joint forces. The term "Unmanned System" means different things to different people. Most think of vehicles that are remotely teleoperated that perform tasks under remote human control. Actually, unmanned systems are stand-alone systems that can execute missions and tasks without direct physical manned presence under varying levels of human control - from teleoperation to full autonomy. It is important to note that an unmanned system comprises a lot more than just a vehicle - it includes payloads, command and control, and communications and information processing.

Unmanned Aircraft System Applications in International Railroads

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2018-02-01

This report summarizes the current uses and issues associated with Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in railroad applications, and provides the use cases employed by railroads. The report highlights global UAS market outlooks as well as regulations tha...

Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport utilities metering, Phase 1

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Carroll, D.M.

Pacific Northwest Laboratory developed this report for the US Navy's Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport, Rhode Island (NUWC). The purpose of the report was to review options for metering electricity and steam used in the NUWC compound, and to make recommendations to NUWC for implementation under a follow-on project. An additional NUWC concern is a proposed rate change by the servicing utility, Newport Electric, which would make a significant shift from consumption to demand billing, and what effect that rate change would have on the NUWC utility budget. Automated, remote reading meters are available which would allow NUWC tomore » monitor its actual utility consumption and demand for both the entire NUWC compound and by end-use in individual buildings. Technology is available to perform the meter reads and manipulate the data using a personal computer with minimal staff requirement. This is not meant to mislead the reader into assuming that there is no requirement for routine preventive maintenance. All equipment requires routine maintenance to maintain its accuracy. While PNL reviewed the data collected during the site visit, however, it became obvious that significant opportunities exist for reducing the utility costs other than accounting for actual consumption and demand. Unit costs for both steam and electricity are unnecessarily high, and options are presented in this report for reducing them. Additionally, NUWC has an opportunity to undertake a comprehensive energy resource management program to significantly reduce its energy demand, consumption, and costs.« less

Unmanned vehicles for maritime spill response case study: Exercise Cathach.

PubMed

Dooly, Gerard; Omerdic, Edin; Coleman, Joseph; Miller, Liam; Kaknjo, Admir; Hayes, James; Braga, Jóse; Ferreira, Filipe; Conlon, Hugh; Barry, Hugh; Marcos-Olaya, Jesús; Tuohy, Thomas; Sousa, João; Toal, Dan

2016-09-15

This paper deals with two aspects, namely a historical analysis of the use of unmanned vehicles (UAVs ROVs, AUVs) in maritime spill incidents and a detailed description of a multi-agency oil and HNS incident response exercise involving the integration and analysis of unmanned vehicles environmental sensing equipment. The exercise was a first in terms of the level of robotic systems deployed to assist in survey, surveillance and inspection roles for oil spills and harmful and noxious substances. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

78 FR 18932 - Public Meeting: Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Site Program; Privacy Approach

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-28

... operation of the UAS Test Sites. They are not intended to pre-determine the long- term policy and regulatory...-0061] Public Meeting: Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Site Program; Privacy Approach AGENCY: Federal... the unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) test site program. The FAA is seeking the views from the public...

Apollo 6 unmanned space mission launch

NASA Image and Video Library

1968-04-04

S68-27364 (4 April 1968) --- The Apollo 6 (Spacecraft 020/Saturn 502) unmanned space mission was launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida. The liftoff of the huge Apollo/Saturn V space vehicle occurred at 7:00:01.5 a.m. (EST), April 4, 1968.

Tip-over Prevention Through Heuristic Reactive Behaviors for Unmanned Ground Vehicles

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-05-01

Systems Center Pacific Unmanned Systems Group 53406 Woodward Road San Diego, CA 92152 ABSTRACT Skid-steer teleoperated robots are commonly used by...Reactive Behaviors Further author information: (Send correspondence to K.T.) K.T.: E-mail: kurt.talke@navy.mil, SPIE Proc. 9084: Unmanned Systems ...5d. PROJECT NUMBER 5e. TASK NUMBER 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center

Unmanned Systems Roadmap 2007-2032

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-01-01

Report Documentation Page Form ApprovedOMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour...subject to a penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control number. 1 . REPORT DATE...unmanned systems technology to ensure an effective return on the Department’s investment. 1 . Reconnaissance and Surveillance. Some form of reconnaissance

The ADEPT Framework for Intelligent Autonomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ricard, Michael; Kolitz, Stephan

2003-01-01

This paper describes the design and implementation of Draper Laboratory's All-Domain Execution and Planning Technology (ADEPT) architecture for intelligent autonomy. Intelligent autonomy is the ability to plan and execute complex activities in a manner that provides rapid, effective response to stochastic and dynamic mission events. Thus, intelligent autonomy enables the high-level reasoning and adaptive behavior for an unmanned vehicle that is provided by an operator in man-in-the-loop systems. Draper s intelligent autonomy has architecture evolved over a decade and a half beginning in the mid 1980's culminating in an operational experiment funded under DARPA's Autonomous Minehunting and Mapping Technologies (AMMT) unmanned undersea vehicle program. ADEPT continues to be refined through its application to current programs that involve air vehicles, satellites and higher-level planning used to direct multiple vehicles. The objective of ADEPT is to solidify a proven, dependable software approach that can be quickly applied to new vehicles and domains. The architecture can be viewed as a hierarchical extension of the sense-think-act paradigm of intelligence and has strong parallels with the military's Observe-Orient-Decide-Act (OODA) loop. The key elements of the architecture are planning and decision-making nodes comprising modules for situation assessment, plan generation, plan implementation and coordination. A reusable, object-oriented software framework has been developed that implements these functions. As the architecture is applied to new areas, only the application specific software needs to be developed. This paper describes the core architecture in detail and discusses how this has been applied in the undersea, air, ground and space domains.

ICAROUS - Integrated Configurable Algorithms for Reliable Operations Of Unmanned Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Consiglio, María; Muñoz, César; Hagen, George; Narkawicz, Anthony; Balachandran, Swee

2016-01-01

NASA's Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) project aims at enabling near-term, safe operations of small UAS vehicles in uncontrolled airspace, i.e., Class G airspace. A far-term goal of UTM research and development is to accommodate the expected rise in small UAS traffic density throughout the National Airspace System (NAS) at low altitudes for beyond visual line-of-sight operations. This paper describes a new capability referred to as ICAROUS (Integrated Configurable Algorithms for Reliable Operations of Unmanned Systems), which is being developed under the UTM project. ICAROUS is a software architecture comprised of highly assured algorithms for building safety-centric, autonomous, unmanned aircraft applications. Central to the development of the ICAROUS algorithms is the use of well-established formal methods to guarantee higher levels of safety assurance by monitoring and bounding the behavior of autonomous systems. The core autonomy-enabling capabilities in ICAROUS include constraint conformance monitoring and contingency control functions. ICAROUS also provides a highly configurable user interface that enables the modular integration of mission-specific software components.

Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) Lessons Learned

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-11-01

iii 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 1 1.1... INTRODUCTION 1.1 PURPOSE The purpose of this effort is to compile Lessons Learned from the unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) programs that could be relevant to... introduction of gunpowder, this lesson was no longer valid. Castles crumbled and new lessons had to be learned. One such lesson was that the faster

Radon measurements aboard the Kuiper Airborne Observatory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kritz, Mark A.; Rosner, Stefan W.

1995-01-01

We have carried out three (piggyback) radon-related projects aboard the KAO. The first, which was limited to upper tropospheric measurements while in level flight, revealed the systematic occurrence of unexpectedly high radon concentrations in this region of the atmosphere. The second project was an instrument development project, which led to the installation of an automatic radon measurement system aboard the NASA ER-2 High Altitude Research Aircraft. In the third, we installed a new system capable of collecting samples during the normal climb and descent of the KAO. The results obtained in these projects have resulted in significant contributions to our knowledge of atmospheric transport processes, and are currently playing a key role in the validation of global circulation and transport models.

Time-Coordination Strategies and Control Laws for Multi-Agent Unmanned Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Puig-Navarro, Javier; Hovakimyan, Naira; Allen, B. Danette

2017-01-01

Time-critical coordination tools for unmanned systems can be employed to enforce the type of temporal constraints required in terminal control areas, ensure minimum distance requirements among vehicles are satisfied, and successfully perform coordinated missions. In comparison with previous literature, this paper presents an ampler spectrum of coordination and temporal specifications for unmanned systems, and proposes a general control law that can enforce this range of constraints. The constraint classification presented con- siders the nature of the desired arrival window and the permissible coordination errors to define six different types of time-coordination strategies. The resulting decentralized coordination control law allows the vehicles to negotiate their speeds along their paths in response to information exchanged over the communication network. This control law organizes the different members in the fleet hierarchically per their behavior and informational needs as reference agent, leaders, and followers. Examples and simulation results for all the coordination strategies presented demonstrate the applicability and efficacy of the coordination control law for multiple unmanned systems.

Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport utilities metering, Phase 1

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Carroll, D.M.

Pacific Northwest Laboratory developed this report for the US Navy`s Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport, Rhode Island (NUWC). The purpose of the report was to review options for metering electricity and steam used in the NUWC compound, and to make recommendations to NUWC for implementation under a follow-on project. An additional NUWC concern is a proposed rate change by the servicing utility, Newport Electric, which would make a significant shift from consumption to demand billing, and what effect that rate change would have on the NUWC utility budget. Automated, remote reading meters are available which would allow NUWC tomore » monitor its actual utility consumption and demand for both the entire NUWC compound and by end-use in individual buildings. Technology is available to perform the meter reads and manipulate the data using a personal computer with minimal staff requirement. This is not meant to mislead the reader into assuming that there is no requirement for routine preventive maintenance. All equipment requires routine maintenance to maintain its accuracy. While PNL reviewed the data collected during the site visit, however, it became obvious that significant opportunities exist for reducing the utility costs other than accounting for actual consumption and demand. Unit costs for both steam and electricity are unnecessarily high, and options are presented in this report for reducing them. Additionally, NUWC has an opportunity to undertake a comprehensive energy resource management program to significantly reduce its energy demand, consumption, and costs.« less

Evaluation of Routine Atmospheric Sounding Measurements using Unmanned Systems (ERASMUS)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bland, Geoffrey

2016-06-30

The use of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) with miniature sensor systems for atmospheric research is an important capability to develop. The Evaluation of Routine Atmospheric Sounding Measurements using Unmanned Systems (ERASMUS) project, lead by Dr. Gijs de Boer of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES- a partnership of NOAA and CU-Boulder), is a significant milestone in realizing this new potential. This project has clearly demonstrated that the concept of sUAS utilization is valid, and miniature instrumentation can be used to further our understanding of the atmospheric boundary layer in the arctic.

Comparison of aerial imagery from manned and unmanned aircraft platforms for monitoring cotton growth

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) have emerged as a low-cost and versatile remote sensing platform in recent years, but little work has been done on comparing imagery from manned and unmanned platforms for crop assessment. The objective of this study was to compare imagery taken from multiple cameras ...

Micro-unmanned aerodynamic vehicle

DOEpatents

Reuel, Nigel [Rio Rancho, NM; Lionberger, Troy A [Ann Arbor, MI; Galambos, Paul C [Albuquerque, NM; Okandan, Murat [Albuquerque, NM; Baker, Michael S [Albuquerque, NM

2008-03-11

A MEMS-based micro-unmanned vehicle includes at least a pair of wings having leading wing beams and trailing wing beams, at least two actuators, a leading actuator beam coupled to the leading wing beams, a trailing actuator beam coupled to the trailing wing beams, a vehicle body having a plurality of fulcrums pivotally securing the leading wing beams, the trailing wing beams, the leading actuator beam and the trailing actuator beam and having at least one anisotropically etched recess to accommodate a lever-fulcrum motion of the coupled beams, and a power source.

Integrated Flight Path Planning System and Flight Control System for Unmanned Helicopters

PubMed Central

Jan, Shau Shiun; Lin, Yu Hsiang

2011-01-01

This paper focuses on the design of an integrated navigation and guidance system for unmanned helicopters. The integrated navigation system comprises two systems: the Flight Path Planning System (FPPS) and the Flight Control System (FCS). The FPPS finds the shortest flight path by the A-Star (A*) algorithm in an adaptive manner for different flight conditions, and the FPPS can add a forbidden zone to stop the unmanned helicopter from crossing over into dangerous areas. In this paper, the FPPS computation time is reduced by the multi-resolution scheme, and the flight path quality is improved by the path smoothing methods. Meanwhile, the FCS includes the fuzzy inference systems (FISs) based on the fuzzy logic. By using expert knowledge and experience to train the FIS, the controller can operate the unmanned helicopter without dynamic models. The integrated system of the FPPS and the FCS is aimed at providing navigation and guidance to the mission destination and it is implemented by coupling the flight simulation software, X-Plane, and the computing software, MATLAB. Simulations are performed and shown in real time three-dimensional animations. Finally, the integrated system is demonstrated to work successfully in controlling the unmanned helicopter to operate in various terrains of a digital elevation model (DEM). PMID:22164029

Integrated flight path planning system and flight control system for unmanned helicopters.

PubMed

Jan, Shau Shiun; Lin, Yu Hsiang

2011-01-01

This paper focuses on the design of an integrated navigation and guidance system for unmanned helicopters. The integrated navigation system comprises two systems: the Flight Path Planning System (FPPS) and the Flight Control System (FCS). The FPPS finds the shortest flight path by the A-Star (A*) algorithm in an adaptive manner for different flight conditions, and the FPPS can add a forbidden zone to stop the unmanned helicopter from crossing over into dangerous areas. In this paper, the FPPS computation time is reduced by the multi-resolution scheme, and the flight path quality is improved by the path smoothing methods. Meanwhile, the FCS includes the fuzzy inference systems (FISs) based on the fuzzy logic. By using expert knowledge and experience to train the FIS, the controller can operate the unmanned helicopter without dynamic models. The integrated system of the FPPS and the FCS is aimed at providing navigation and guidance to the mission destination and it is implemented by coupling the flight simulation software, X-Plane, and the computing software, MATLAB. Simulations are performed and shown in real time three-dimensional animations. Finally, the integrated system is demonstrated to work successfully in controlling the unmanned helicopter to operate in various terrains of a digital elevation model (DEM).

Predicting Airborne Particle Levels Aboard Washington State School Buses

PubMed Central

Adar, Sara D.; Davey, Mark; Sullivan, James R.; Compher, Michael; Szpiro, Adam; Liu, L.-J. Sally

2008-01-01

School buses contribute substantially to childhood air pollution exposures yet they are rarely quantified in epidemiology studies. This paper characterizes fine particulate matter (PM2.5) aboard school buses as part of a larger study examining the respiratory health impacts of emission-reducing retrofits. To assess onboard concentrations, continuous PM2.5 data were collected during 85 trips aboard 43 school buses during normal driving routines, and aboard hybrid lead vehicles traveling in front of the monitored buses during 46 trips. Ordinary and partial least square regression models for PM2.5 onboard buses were created with and without control for roadway concentrations, which were also modeled. Predictors examined included ambient PM2.5 levels, ambient weather, and bus and route characteristics. Concentrations aboard school buses (21 μg/m3) were four and two-times higher than ambient and roadway levels, respectively. Differences in PM2.5 levels between the buses and lead vehicles indicated an average of 7 μg/m3 originating from the bus's own emission sources. While roadway concentrations were dominated by ambient PM2.5, bus concentrations were influenced by bus age, diesel oxidative catalysts, and roadway concentrations. Cross validation confirmed the roadway models but the bus models were less robust. These results confirm that children are exposed to air pollution from the bus and other roadway traffic while riding school buses. In-cabin air pollution is higher than roadway concentrations and is likely influenced by bus characteristics. PMID:18985175

Predicting airborne particle levels aboard Washington State school buses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adar, Sara D.; Davey, Mark; Sullivan, James R.; Compher, Michael; Szpiro, Adam; Sally Liu, L.-J.

School buses contribute substantially to childhood air pollution exposures yet they are rarely quantified in epidemiology studies. This paper characterizes fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) aboard school buses as part of a larger study examining the respiratory health impacts of emission reducing retrofits. To assess onboard concentrations, continuous PM 2.5 data were collected during 85 trips aboard 43 school buses during normal driving routines, and aboard hybrid lead vehicles traveling in front of the monitored buses during 46 trips. Ordinary and partial least squares regression models for PM 2.5 onboard buses were created with and without control for roadway concentrations, which were also modeled. Predictors examined included ambient PM 2.5 levels, ambient weather, and bus and route characteristics. Average concentrations aboard school buses (21 μg m -3) were four and two-times higher than ambient and roadway levels, respectively. Differences in PM 2.5 levels between the buses and lead vehicles indicated an average of 7 μg m -3 originating from the bus's own emission sources. While roadway concentrations were dominated by ambient PM 2.5, bus concentrations were influenced by bus age, diesel oxidative catalysts, and roadway concentrations. Cross-validation confirmed the roadway models but the bus models were less robust. These results confirm that children are exposed to air pollution from the bus and other roadway traffic while riding school buses. In-cabin air pollution is higher than roadway concentrations and is likely influenced by bus characteristics.

Virtual Teleoperation for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-01-24

Gilbert, S., “Wayfinder: Evaluating Multitouch Interaction in Supervisory Control of Unmanned Vehicles,” Proceedings of ASME 2nd World Conference on... interactive virtual reality environment that fuses available information into a coherent picture that can be viewed from multiple perspectives and scales...for multimodal interaction • Generally abstracted controller hardware and graphical interfaces facilitating deployment on a variety of VR platform

Cooperative Control of Multiple Unmanned Autonomous Vehicles

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-06-03

I I Final Report 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERS Cooperative Control of Multiple Unmanned Autonomous Vehicles F49620-01-1-0337 6. AUTHOR(S... Autonomous Vehicles Final Report Kendall E. Nygard Department of Computer Science and Operations Research North Dakota State University Fargo, ND 58105-5164

78 FR 69928 - First Meeting: RTCA Special Committee 228-Minimum Operational Performance Standards for Unmanned...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-21

... 228--Minimum Operational Performance Standards for Unmanned Aircraft Systems AGENCY: Federal Aviation...--Minimum Operational Performance Standards for Unmanned Aircraft Systems. SUMMARY: The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of a meeting of RTCA Special Committee 228--Minimum Operational Performance...

78 FR 38093 - First Meeting: RTCA Special Committee 228-Minimum Operational Performance Standards for Unmanned...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-25

... 228--Minimum Operational Performance Standards for Unmanned Aircraft Systems AGENCY: Federal Aviation...--Minimum Operational Performance Standards for Unmanned Aircraft Systems. SUMMARY: The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of a meeting of RTCA Special Committee 228--Minimum Operational Performance...

Mock Certification Basis for an Unmanned Rotorcraft for Precision Agricultural Spraying

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hayhurst, Kelly J.; Maddalon, Jeffrey M.; Neogi, Natasha A.; Verstynen, Harry A.; Buelow, Barry; McCormick, G. Frank

2015-01-01

This technical report presents the results of a case study using a hazard-based approach to develop preliminary design and performance criteria for an unmanned agricultural rotorcraft requiring airworthiness certification. This case study is one of the first in the public domain to examine design and performance criteria for an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) in tandem with its concept of operations. The case study results are intended to support development of airworthiness standards that could form a minimum safety baseline for midsize unmanned rotorcraft performing precision agricultural spraying operations under beyond visual line-of-sight conditions in a rural environment. This study investigates the applicability of current methods, processes, and standards for assuring airworthiness of conventionally piloted (manned) aircraft to assuring the airworthiness of UAS. The study started with the development of a detailed concept of operations for precision agricultural spraying with an unmanned rotorcraft (pp. 5-18). The concept of operations in conjunction with a specimen unmanned rotorcraft were used to develop an operational context and a list of relevant hazards (p. 22). Minimum design and performance requirements necessary to mitigate the hazards provide the foundation of a proposed (or mock) type certification basis. A type certification basis specifies the applicable standards an applicant must show compliance with to receive regulatory approval. A detailed analysis of the current airworthiness regulations for normal-category rotorcraft (14 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 27) was performed. Each Part 27 regulation was evaluated to determine whether it mitigated one of the relevant hazards for the specimen UAS. Those regulations that did were included in the initial core of the type certification basis (pp. 26-31) as written or with some simple modifications. Those regulations that did not mitigate a recognized hazard were excluded from the certification

76 FR 76430 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Documents Required Aboard Private Aircraft

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-07

... certificate of registration, which is also called a ``pink slip'' and is a duplicate copy of the Aircraft... Activities: Documents Required Aboard Private Aircraft AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department... Required Aboard Private Aircraft. This is a proposed extension of an information collection that was...

The development of ground unmanned vehicles, driver assistance systems and components according to patent publications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saykin, A. M.; Tuktakiev, G. S.; Zhuravlev, A. V.; Zaitseva, E. P.

2018-02-01

The paper contains the analysis of the main trends in the patenting of ground unmanned vehicles, driver assistance systems (ADAS) and unmanned vehicle components abroad during the period from 2010 to 2016. The conclusion was made that the intensity of their patenting abroad increased.

The Application of Unmanned Rotary-Wing Aircraft in Tactical Logistics in Support of Joint Operations

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-12-13

Reconnaissance Squadrons with a fixed-wing unmanned aircraft troop or company, and is in the market for an autonomous cargo unmanned rotary-wing...Warwick, Graham. “Sky Patrol.” Aviation Week & Space Technology 174, no. 32 (September 3, 2012): 55. Military & Government Collection, EBSCOhost

Unmanned aerial systems for photogrammetry and remote sensing: A review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colomina, I.; Molina, P.

2014-06-01

We discuss the evolution and state-of-the-art of the use of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) in the field of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (PaRS). UAS, Remotely-Piloted Aerial Systems, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or simply, drones are a hot topic comprising a diverse array of aspects including technology, privacy rights, safety and regulations, and even war and peace. Modern photogrammetry and remote sensing identified the potential of UAS-sourced imagery more than thirty years ago. In the last five years, these two sister disciplines have developed technology and methods that challenge the current aeronautical regulatory framework and their own traditional acquisition and processing methods. Navety and ingenuity have combined off-the-shelf, low-cost equipment with sophisticated computer vision, robotics and geomatic engineering. The results are cm-level resolution and accuracy products that can be generated even with cameras costing a few-hundred euros. In this review article, following a brief historic background and regulatory status analysis, we review the recent unmanned aircraft, sensing, navigation, orientation and general data processing developments for UAS photogrammetry and remote sensing with emphasis on the nano-micro-mini UAS segment.

A novel real-time health monitoring system for unmanned vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, David C.; Ouyang, Lien; Qing, Peter; Li, Irene

2008-04-01

Real-time monitoring the status of in-service structures such as unmanned vehicles can provide invaluable information to detect the damages to the structures on time. The unmanned vehicles can be maintained and repaired in time if such damages are found. One typical cause of damages of unmanned vehicles is from impacts caused by bumping into some obstacles or being hit by some objects such as hostile fire. This paper introduces a novel impact event sensing system that can detect the location of the impact events and the force-time history of the impact events. The system consists of the Piezo-electric sensor network, the hardware platform and the analysis software. The new customized battery-powered impact event sensing system supports up to 64-channel parallel data acquisition. It features an innovative low-power hardware trigger circuit that monitors 64 channels simultaneously. The system is in the sleep mode most of the time. When an impact event happens, the system will wake up in micro-seconds and detect the impact location and corresponding force-time history. The system can be combined with the SMART sensing system to further evaluate the impact damage severity.

Sensing Hazards with Operational Unmanned Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hood, R. E.

2016-12-01

The Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is working with the National Weather Service, the National Ocean Service, other Federal agencies, private industry, and academia to evaluate the feasibility of UAS observations to provide time critical information needed for situational awareness, prediction, warning, and damage assessment of hazards. This activity is managed within a portfolio of projects entitled "Sensing Hazards with Operational Unmanned Technology (SHOUT)." The diversity of this portfolio includes evaluations of high altitude UAS observations for high impact oceanic storms prediction to low altitude UAS observations of rivers, severe storms, and coastal areas for pre-hazard situational awareness and post-hazard damage assessments. Each SHOUT evaluation project begins with a proof-of-concept field demonstration of a UAS observing strategy for a given hazard and then matures to joint studies of both scientific data impact along with cost and operational feasibility of the observing strategy for routine applications. The technology readiness and preliminary evaulation results will be presented for several UAS observing strategies designed for improved observations of oceanic storms, floods, severe storms, and coastal ecosystem hazards.

FY2009-2034 Unmanned Systems Integrated Roadmap

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-04-20

FY2009–2034 Unmanned Systems Integrated Roadmap Page i Report Documentation Page Form ApprovedOMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for the...56 A.1.7 XM-156 Class I ...60 A.1.11 Improved Gnat Extended Range ( I -Gnat-ER) “Warrior Alpha” / Extended Range/Multi- purpose (ER/MP) Block

Texas as seen from the Apollo 6 unmanned spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1968-01-01

Texas is photographed from the Apollo 6 (Spacecraft 020/Saturn 502) unmanned space mission. Seen in this photograph are Tyler, Longview, Marshall, Sabine and Sulphur Rivers, Caddo Lake, and the Texarkana Reservoir.

Towards collaboration between unmanned aerial and ground vehicles for precision agriculture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhandari, Subodh; Raheja, Amar; Green, Robert L.; Do, Dat

2017-05-01

This paper presents the work being conducted at Cal Poly Pomona on the collaboration between unmanned aerial and ground vehicles for precision agriculture. The unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), equipped with multispectral/hyperspectral cameras and RGB cameras, take images of the crops while flying autonomously. The images are post processed or can be processed onboard. The processed images are used in the detection of unhealthy plants. Aerial data can be used by the UAVs and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) for various purposes including care of crops, harvest estimation, etc. The images can also be useful for optimized harvesting by isolating low yielding plants. These vehicles can be operated autonomously with limited or no human intervention, thereby reducing cost and limiting human exposure to agricultural chemicals. The paper discuss the autonomous UAV and UGV platforms used for the research, sensor integration, and experimental testing. Methods for ground truthing the results obtained from the UAVs will be used. The paper will also discuss equipping the UGV with a robotic arm for removing the unhealthy plants and/or weeds.

Effects of Hearing Protection Device Attenuation on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Audio Signatures

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-01

acoustic signatures of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs). The results could be used to select appropriate HPDs for environments where noise from UASs may be...formed earplugs passively reduce noise by using foam to efficiently absorb sound. Preformed earplugs attenuate by using either level-dependent or non...domain. In this study, a program using these techniques will be created to simulate these HPD ratings and its effects on acoustic signatures of unmanned

33 CFR 149.335 - When are people prohibited from being on an unmanned deepwater port?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false When are people prohibited from being on an unmanned deepwater port? 149.335 Section 149.335 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD... EQUIPMENT Lifesaving Equipment Unmanned Deepwater Port Requirements § 149.335 When are people prohibited...

33 CFR 149.335 - When are people prohibited from being on an unmanned deepwater port?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false When are people prohibited from being on an unmanned deepwater port? 149.335 Section 149.335 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD... EQUIPMENT Lifesaving Equipment Unmanned Deepwater Port Requirements § 149.335 When are people prohibited...

33 CFR 149.335 - When are people prohibited from being on an unmanned deepwater port?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false When are people prohibited from being on an unmanned deepwater port? 149.335 Section 149.335 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD... EQUIPMENT Lifesaving Equipment Unmanned Deepwater Port Requirements § 149.335 When are people prohibited...

33 CFR 149.335 - When are people prohibited from being on an unmanned deepwater port?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false When are people prohibited from being on an unmanned deepwater port? 149.335 Section 149.335 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD... EQUIPMENT Lifesaving Equipment Unmanned Deepwater Port Requirements § 149.335 When are people prohibited...

33 CFR 149.335 - When are people prohibited from being on an unmanned deepwater port?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false When are people prohibited from being on an unmanned deepwater port? 149.335 Section 149.335 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD... EQUIPMENT Lifesaving Equipment Unmanned Deepwater Port Requirements § 149.335 When are people prohibited...

A biologically inspired approach to modeling unmanned vehicle teams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cortesi, Roger S.; Galloway, Kevin S.; Justh, Eric W.

2008-04-01

Cooperative motion control of teams of agile unmanned vehicles presents modeling challenges at several levels. The "microscopic equations" describing individual vehicle dynamics and their interaction with the environment may be known fairly precisely, but are generally too complicated to yield qualitative insights at the level of multi-vehicle trajectory coordination. Interacting particle models are suitable for coordinating trajectories, but require care to ensure that individual vehicles are not driven in a "costly" manner. From the point of view of the cooperative motion controller, the individual vehicle autopilots serve to "shape" the microscopic equations, and we have been exploring the interplay between autopilots and cooperative motion controllers using a multivehicle hardware-in-the-loop simulator. Specifically, we seek refinements to interacting particle models in order to better describe observed behavior, without sacrificing qualitative understanding. A recent analogous example from biology involves introducing a fixed delay into a curvature-control-based feedback law for prey capture by an echolocating bat. This delay captures both neural processing time and the flight-dynamic response of the bat as it uses sensor-driven feedback. We propose a comparable approach for unmanned vehicle modeling; however, in contrast to the bat, with unmanned vehicles we have an additional freedom to modify the autopilot. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of this biologically guided modeling approach.

Gradient field of undersea sound speed structure extracted from the GNSS-A oceanography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yokota, Yusuke; Ishikawa, Tadashi; Watanabe, Shun-ichi

2018-06-01

After the twenty-first century, the Global Navigation Satellite System-Acoustic ranging (GNSS-A) technique detected geodetic events such as co- and postseismic effects following the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake and slip-deficit rate distributions along the Nankai Trough subduction zone. Although these are extremely important discoveries in geodesy and seismology, more accurate observation that can capture temporal and spatial changes are required for future earthquake disaster prevention. In order to upgrade the accuracy of the GNSS-A technique, it is necessary to understand disturbances in undersea sound speed structures, which are major error sources. In particular, detailed temporal and spatial variations are difficult to observe accurately, and their effect was not sufficiently extracted in previous studies. In the present paper, we reconstruct an inversion scheme for extracting the effect from GNSS-A data and experimentally apply this scheme to the seafloor sites around the Kuroshio. The extracted gradient effects are believed to represent not only a broad sound speed structure but also a more detailed structure generated in the unsteady disturbance. The accuracy of the seafloor positioning was also improved by this new method. The obtained results demonstrate the feasibility of using the GNSS-A technique to detect a seafloor crustal deformation for oceanography research.

A System to Integrate Unmanned Undersea Vehicles with a Submarine Host Platform

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-06-06

Charging pad (while UUV stowed) High Conceptual High based on electric car battery recharging system Technology has not been demonstrated for......and Evaluation EB General Dynamics Corp. – Electric Boat Division EMP Electromagnetic Pulse FMECA Failure Mode Effects and Criticality Analysis

Conceptual Design of Future Undersea Unmanned Vehicle (UUV) System for Mine Disposal

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-01-01

disproportionate effect of a single mine strike might be enough to threaten mission accomplishment of combat forces. Some potential impacts of enemy mining...parameters, which include vehicle conditions, hotel power, payload conditions, and environmental conditions. The vehicle configuration options are...transit, execution of mission, return transit, and recovery. Each of them is defined by key mission and environmental parameters such as range

Counter unmanned aerial system testing and evaluation methodology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kouhestani, C.; Woo, B.; Birch, G.

2017-05-01

Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) are increasing in flight times, ease of use, and payload sizes. Detection, classification, tracking, and neutralization of UAS is a necessary capability for infrastructure and facility protection. We discuss test and evaluation methodology developed at Sandia National Laboratories to establish a consistent, defendable, and unbiased means for evaluating counter unmanned aerial system (CUAS) technologies. The test approach described identifies test strategies, performance metrics, UAS types tested, key variables, and the necessary data analysis to accurately quantify the capabilities of CUAS technologies. The tests conducted, as defined by this approach, will allow for the determination of quantifiable limitations, strengths, and weaknesses in terms of detection, tracking, classification, and neutralization. Communicating the results of this testing in such a manner informs decisions by government sponsors and stakeholders that can be used to guide future investments and inform procurement, deployment, and advancement of such systems into their specific venues.

Cooperative Surveillance and Pursuit Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Unattended Ground Sensors

PubMed Central

Las Fargeas, Jonathan; Kabamba, Pierre; Girard, Anouck

2015-01-01

This paper considers the problem of path planning for a team of unmanned aerial vehicles performing surveillance near a friendly base. The unmanned aerial vehicles do not possess sensors with automated target recognition capability and, thus, rely on communicating with unattended ground sensors placed on roads to detect and image potential intruders. The problem is motivated by persistent intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and base defense missions. The problem is formulated and shown to be intractable. A heuristic algorithm to coordinate the unmanned aerial vehicles during surveillance and pursuit is presented. Revisit deadlines are used to schedule the vehicles' paths nominally. The algorithm uses detections from the sensors to predict intruders' locations and selects the vehicles' paths by minimizing a linear combination of missed deadlines and the probability of not intercepting intruders. An analysis of the algorithm's completeness and complexity is then provided. The effectiveness of the heuristic is illustrated through simulations in a variety of scenarios. PMID:25591168

Review of U.S. Army Unmanned Aerial Systems Accident Reports: Analysis of Human Error Contributions

DTIC Science & Technology

2018-03-20

USAARL Report No. 2018-08 Review of U.S. Army Unmanned Aerial Systems Accident Reports: Analysis of Human Error Contributions By Kathryn A...3 Statistical Analysis Approach ..............................................................................................3 Results...1 Introduction The success of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) operations relies upon a variety of factors, including, but not limited to

STBC AF relay for unmanned aircraft system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adachi, Fumiyuki; Miyazaki, Hiroyuki; Endo, Chikara

2015-01-01

If a large scale disaster similar to the Great East Japan Earthquake 2011 happens, some areas may be isolated from the communications network. Recently, unmanned aircraft system (UAS) based wireless relay communication has been attracting much attention since it is able to quickly re-establish the connection between isolated areas and the network. However, the channel between ground station (GS) and unmanned aircraft (UA) is unreliable due to UA's swing motion and as consequence, the relay communication quality degrades. In this paper, we introduce space-time block coded (STBC) amplify-and-forward (AF) relay for UAS based wireless relay communication to improve relay communication quality. A group of UAs forms single frequency network (SFN) to perform STBC-AF cooperative relay. In STBC-AF relay, only conjugate operation, block exchange and amplifying are required at UAs. Therefore, STBC-AF relay improves the relay communication quality while alleviating the complexity problem at UAs. It is shown by computer simulation that STBC-AF relay can achieve better throughput performance than conventional AF relay.

Unmanned Aircraft Systems Roadmap, 2005-2030

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-01-01

directly addresses the dangerous mission of attacking or degrading integrated air defense systems. The attributes that make the use of unmanned...meter of reinforced concrete covered by one meter of soil . The Air Force hopes to deploy it by 2007 on the F-15E, followed by deployment on several... degradation from repeated analog-digital-analog conversions. For this reason, multispectral versions of digital focal arrays are critical. Additionally

Ikhana: Unmanned Aircraft System Western States Fire Missions. Monographs in Aerospace History, Number 44

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Merlin, Peter W.

2009-01-01

In 2006, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., obtained a civil version of the General Atomics MQ-9 unmanned aircraft system and modified it for research purposes. Proposed missions included support of Earth science research, development of advanced aeronautical technology, and improving the utility of unmanned aerial systems in general. The project team named the aircraft Ikhana a Native American Choctaw word meaning intelligent, conscious, or aware in order to best represent NASA research goals. Building on experience with these and other unmanned aircraft, NASA scientists developed plans to use the Ikhana for a series of missions to map wildfires in the western United States and supply the resulting data to firefighters in near-real time. A team at NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif., developed a multispectral scanner that was key to the success of what became known as the Western States Fire Missions. Carried out by team members from NASA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, National Interagency Fire Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., these flights represented an historic achievement in the field of unmanned aircraft technology.

Remote operation of the Black Knight unmanned ground combat vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valois, Jean-Sebastien; Herman, Herman; Bares, John; Rice, David P.

2008-04-01

The Black Knight is a 12-ton, C-130 deployable Unmanned Ground Combat Vehicle (UGCV). It was developed to demonstrate how unmanned vehicles can be integrated into a mechanized military force to increase combat capability while protecting Soldiers in a full spectrum of battlefield scenarios. The Black Knight is used in military operational tests that allow Soldiers to develop the necessary techniques, tactics, and procedures to operate a large unmanned vehicle within a mechanized military force. It can be safely controlled by Soldiers from inside a manned fighting vehicle, such as the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Black Knight control modes include path tracking, guarded teleoperation, and fully autonomous movement. Its state-of-the-art Autonomous Navigation Module (ANM) includes terrain-mapping sensors for route planning, terrain classification, and obstacle avoidance. In guarded teleoperation mode, the ANM data, together with automotive dials and gages, are used to generate video overlays that assist the operator for both day and night driving performance. Remote operation of various sensors also allows Soldiers to perform effective target location and tracking. This document covers Black Knight's system architecture and includes implementation overviews of the various operation modes. We conclude with lessons learned and development goals for the Black Knight UGCV.

Infrared Stereo Calibration for Unmanned Ground Vehicle Navigation

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-05-01

Josh Harguess: E -mail: joshua.harguess@navy.mil, Telephone: 1 619 553 0777 SPIE Proc. 9084: Unmanned Systems Technology XVI, Baltimore, MD, May 6-8...G., Diniz , H., Silvino, S., and de Andrade, R., “Thermal/visible au- tonomous stereo visio system calibration methodology for non-controlled

NASA Dryden Flight Research Center: Unmanned Aircraft Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pestana, Mark

2010-01-01

This slide presentation reviews several topics related to operating unmanned aircraft in particular sharing aspects of unmanned aircraft from the perspective of a pilot. There is a section on the Global Hawk project which contains information about the first Global Hawk science mission, (i.e., Global Hawk Pacific (GloPac). Included in this information is GloPac science highlights, a listing of the GloPac Instruments. The second Global Hawk science mission was Genesis and Rapid Intensification Process (GRIP), for the NASA Hurricane Science Research Team. Information includes the instrumentation and the flights that were undertaken during the program. A section on Ikhana is next. This section includes views of the Ground Control Station (GCS), and a discussion of how the piloting of UAS is different from piloting in a manned aircraft. There is also discussion about displays and controls of aircraft. There is also discussion about what makes a pilot. The last section relates the use of Ikhana in the western states fire mission.

Unmanned surface vessel (USV) systems for bridge inspection : [summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-08-01

Florida Atlantic University researchers studied the : use of unmanned surface vessels (USVs) for bridge : inspection. The general concept is that a bridge : inspection team would use an USV to perform an : initial survey of structures underwater and ...

Applications of unmanned aerial vehicles in weed science

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

For most producers, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are a novelty that has been little employed in their agricultural operations. An UAV will not fix every problem on the farm, but there are some practical applications for which UAVs have demonstrated value. Three examples of how UAVs have been used...

ARV robotic technologies (ART): a risk reduction effort for future unmanned systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaster, Jeffrey F.

2006-05-01

The Army's ARV (Armed Robotic Vehicle) Robotic Technologies (ART) program is working on the development of various technological thrusts for use in the robotic forces of the future. The ART program will develop, integrate and demonstrate the technology required to advance the maneuver technologies (i.e., perception, mobility, tactical behaviors) and increase the survivability of unmanned platforms for the future force while focusing on reducing the soldiers' burden by providing an increase in vehicle autonomy coinciding with a decrease in the total number user interventions required to control the unmanned assets. This program will advance the state of the art in perception technologies to provide the unmanned platform an increasingly accurate view of the terrain that surrounds it; while developing tactical/mission behavior technologies to provide the Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) the capability to maneuver tactically, in conjunction with the manned systems in an autonomous mode. The ART testbed will be integrated with the advanced technology software and associated hardware developed under this effort, and incorporate appropriate mission modules (e.g. RSTA sensors, MILES, etc.) to support Warfighter experiments and evaluations (virtual and field) in a military significant environment (open/rolling and complex/urban terrain). The outcome of these experiments as well as other lessons learned through out the program life cycle will be used to reduce the current risks that are identified for the future UGV systems that will be developed under the Future Combat Systems (FCS) program, including the early integration of an FCS-like autonomous navigation system onto a tracked skid steer platform.

Protein crystallization aboard the Space Shuttle and the Mir space station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Delbaere, Louis T. J.; Vandonselaar, Margaret; Prasad, Lata; Quail, J. W.; Birnbaum, George I.; Delucas, Lawrence J.; Moore, Karen; Bugg, Charles E.

1993-01-01

Two different protein crystallizations, namely ,the free Fab fragment of the Je142 monoclonal antibody and the complex of Fab fragment/HPr with antigen, were performed aboard the Discovery Space Shuttle flights and the Mir space station, respectively. Medium sized crystals of the Je142 Fab fragment were obtained. The Je142 Fab fragment/Hpr complex produced two medium-sized crystals after two months aboard the Mir space station. Microgravity was found to eliminate the tendency of these crystals to form clusters.

78 FR 68360 - Unmanned Aircraft System Test Site Program

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-14

...-0061] Unmanned Aircraft System Test Site Program AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT...'') test site program; response to comments. SUMMARY: On February 22, 2013 the FAA published and requested public comment on the proposed privacy requirements (the ``Draft Privacy Requirements'') for UAS test...

Design considerations to improve cognitive ergonomic issues of unmanned vehicle interfaces utilizing video game controllers.

PubMed

Oppold, P; Rupp, M; Mouloua, M; Hancock, P A; Martin, J

2012-01-01

Unmanned (UAVs, UCAVs, and UGVs) systems still have major human factors and ergonomic challenges related to the effective design of their control interface systems, crucial to their efficient operation, maintenance, and safety. Unmanned system interfaces with a human centered approach promote intuitive interfaces that are easier to learn, and reduce human errors and other cognitive ergonomic issues with interface design. Automation has shifted workload from physical to cognitive, thus control interfaces for unmanned systems need to reduce mental workload on the operators and facilitate the interaction between vehicle and operator. Two-handed video game controllers provide wide usability within the overall population, prior exposure for new operators, and a variety of interface complexity levels to match the complexity level of the task and reduce cognitive load. This paper categorizes and provides taxonomy for 121 haptic interfaces from the entertainment industry that can be utilized as control interfaces for unmanned systems. Five categories of controllers were based on the complexity of the buttons, control pads, joysticks, and switches on the controller. This allows the selection of the level of complexity needed for a specific task without creating an entirely new design or utilizing an overly complex design.

Soyuz 25 Return Samples: Assessment of Air Quality Aboard the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

James, John T.

2011-01-01

Six mini-grab sample containers (m-GSCs) were returned aboard Soyuz 25. The toxicological assessment of 6 m-GSCs from the ISS is shown. The recoveries of the 3 internal standards, C-13-acetone, fluorobenzene, and chlorobenzene, from the GSCs averaged 76, 108 and 88%, respectively. Formaldehyde badges were not returned aboard Soyuz 25.

Unmanned Systems Integrated Roadmap FY2011-2036

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-10-01

neuroscience , and cognition science may lead to the implementation of some of the most critical functionalities of heterogeneous, sensor net...Roadmap FY2011-2036 69 7.4.5.4 Encryption Unmanned systems incorporation of data encryption includes National Security Agency ( NSA ) Type 1 (for...see DODI 4660). Numerous other policies and initiatives are under development within the NSA to significantly streamline the certification processes

Use of micro unmanned aerial vehicles for roadside condition assessment

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-12-01

Micro unmanned aerial vehicles (MUAVs) that are equipped with digital imaging systems and global : positioning systems provide a potential opportunity for improving the effectiveness and safety of roadside : condition and inventory surveys. This stud...

Transitioning Unmanned Technologies for Earth Science Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wardell, L. J.; Douglas, J.

2008-12-01

Development of small unmanned aerial systems (UAS) has progressed dramatically in recent years along with miniaturization of sensor technology. This confluence of development paths has resulted in greater capability in smaller, less expensive platforms allowing research to be performed where manned airborne platforms are impractical or dangerous. Recent applications include small UAS for studies involving hurricanes, volcanic activity, sea ice changes, glacier melt, biological monitoring of land and sea species, wildfire monitoring, and others. However, the majority of UAS employed in these investigations were originally developed for non-civilian applications and many of the required interfaces are locked behind proprietary specifications, requiring expensive customization by the manufacturer to transform a military UAS into one suitable for civilian work. A small UAS for scientific research should be standards-based, low-cost, user friendly, field serviceable, and be designed to accept a range of payloads. The AV8R UAS is one example of an unmanned system that has been developed for specific application to earth observation missions. This system is designed to be operated by the user with difficult environmental conditions and field logistics in mind. Numerous features and innovations that advance this technology as a research tool as well as its planned science missions will be presented. Most importantly, all interfaces to the system required for successful design and integration of various payloads will be openly available. The environment of open, standards based development allow the small technologies companies that serve as the backbone for much of the technology development to participate in the rapid development of industry capabilities. This is particularly true with UAS technologies. Programs within the USA such as the STTR foster collaborations with small businesses and university researchers. Other innovations related to autonomous unmanned systems

Prospective Architectures for Onboard vs Cloud-Based Decision Making for Unmanned Aerial Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sankararaman, Shankar; Teubert, Christopher

2017-01-01

This paper investigates propsective architectures for decision-making in unmanned aerial systems. When these unmanned vehicles operate in urban environments, there are several sources of uncertainty that affect their behavior, and decision-making algorithms need to be robust to account for these different sources of uncertainty. It is important to account for several risk-factors that affect the flight of these unmanned systems, and facilitate decision-making by taking into consideration these various risk-factors. In addition, there are several technical challenges related to autonomous flight of unmanned aerial systems; these challenges include sensing, obstacle detection, path planning and navigation, trajectory generation and selection, etc. Many of these activities require significant computational power and in many situations, all of these activities need to be performed in real-time. In order to efficiently integrate these activities, it is important to develop a systematic architecture that can facilitate real-time decision-making. Four prospective architectures are discussed in this paper; on one end of the spectrum, the first architecture considers all activities/computations being performed onboard the vehicle whereas on the other end of the spectrum, the fourth and final architecture considers all activities/computations being performed in the cloud, using a new service known as Prognostics as a Service that is being developed at NASA Ames Research Center. The four different architectures are compared, their advantages and disadvantages are explained and conclusions are presented.

Distributed pheromone-based swarming control of unmanned air and ground vehicles for RSTA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sauter, John A.; Mathews, Robert S.; Yinger, Andrew; Robinson, Joshua S.; Moody, John; Riddle, Stephanie

2008-04-01

The use of unmanned vehicles in Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition (RSTA) applications has received considerable attention recently. Cooperating land and air vehicles can support multiple sensor modalities providing pervasive and ubiquitous broad area sensor coverage. However coordination of multiple air and land vehicles serving different mission objectives in a dynamic and complex environment is a challenging problem. Swarm intelligence algorithms, inspired by the mechanisms used in natural systems to coordinate the activities of many entities provide a promising alternative to traditional command and control approaches. This paper describes recent advances in a fully distributed digital pheromone algorithm that has demonstrated its effectiveness in managing the complexity of swarming unmanned systems. The results of a recent demonstration at NASA's Wallops Island of multiple Aerosonde Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs) and Pioneer Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) cooperating in a coordinated RSTA application are discussed. The vehicles were autonomously controlled by the onboard digital pheromone responding to the needs of the automatic target recognition algorithms. UAVs and UGVs controlled by the same pheromone algorithm self-organized to perform total area surveillance, automatic target detection, sensor cueing, and automatic target recognition with no central processing or control and minimal operator input. Complete autonomy adds several safety and fault tolerance requirements which were integrated into the basic pheromone framework. The adaptive algorithms demonstrated the ability to handle some unplanned hardware failures during the demonstration without any human intervention. The paper describes lessons learned and the next steps for this promising technology.

Development of an Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program: ACUASI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Webley, P. W.; Cahill, C. F.; Rogers, M.; Hatfield, M. C.

2017-12-01

The Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration (ACUASI) has developed a comprehensive program that incorporates pilots, flight/mission planners, geoscientists, university undergraduate and graduate students, and engineers together as one. We lead and support unmanned aircraft system (UAS) missions for geoscience research, emergency response, humanitarian needs, engineering design, and policy development. We are the University of Alaska's UAS research program, lead the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Pan-Pacific UAS Test Range Complex (PPUTRC) with Hawaii, Oregon, and Mississippi and in 2015 became a core member of the FAA Center of Excellence for UAS Research, managed by Mississippi State University. ACUASI's suite of aircraft include small hand-launched/vertical take-off and landing assets for short-term rapid deployment to large fixed-wing gas powered systems that provide multiple hours of flight time. We have extensive experience in Arctic and sub-Arctic environments and will present on how we have used our aircraft and payloads in numerous missions that include beyond visual line of sight flights, mapping the river ice-hazard in Alaska during spring break-up, and providing UAS-based observations for local Alaskans to navigate through the changing ice shelf of Northern Alaska. Several sensor developments of interest in the near future include building payloads for thermal infrared mapping at high spatial resolutions, combining forward and nadir looking cameras on the same UAS aircraft for topographic mapping, and using neutral density and narrow band filters to map very high temperature thermally active hazards, such as forest fires and volcanic eruptions. The ACUASI team working together provide us the experience, tools, capabilities, and personnel to build and maintain a world class research center for unmanned aircraft systems as well as support both real-time operations and geoscience research.

Analog FM/FM versus digital color TV transmission aboard space station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hart, M. M.

1985-01-01

Langley Research Center is developing an integrated fault tolerant network to support data, voice, and video communications aboard Space Station. The question of transmitting the video data via dedicated analog channels or converting it to the digital domain for consistancy with the test of the data is addressed. The recommendations in this paper are based on a comparison in the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), the type of video processing required aboard Space Station, the applicability to Space Station, and how they integrate into the network.

Integrating intrinsic mobility into unmanned ground vehicle systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brosinsky, Chris A.; Penzes, Steven G.; Buehler, Martin G.; Steeves, Carl

2001-09-01

The ability of an Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) to successfully move about in its environment is enabled by the synergistic combination of perception, control and platform (mobility and utility). Vast effort is being expended on the former technologies but little demonstrable evidence has been produced to indicate that the latter (mobility/utility) has been considered as an integral part of the UGV systems level capability; a concept commonly referred to as intrinsic mobility. While past work described the rationale for hybrid locomotion, this paper aims to demonstrate that integrating intrinsic mobility into a UGV systems mobility element or 'vehicle' will be a key contributor to the magnitude of autonomy that the system can achieve. This paper serves to provide compelling evidence that 1) intrinsic mobility improvements provided by hybrid locomotion configurations offer the best generic mobility, that 2) strict attention must be placed on the optimization of both utility (inherent vehicle capabilities) and mobility and that 3) the establishment of measures of performance for unmanned vehicle mobility is an unmet and latent need.

Unmanned and Unattended Response Capability for Homeland Defense

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

BENNETT, PHIL C.

2002-11-01

An analysis was conducted of the potential for unmanned and unattended robotic technologies for forward-based, immediate response capabilities that enables access and controlled task performance. The authors analyze high-impact response scenarios in conjunction with homeland security organizations, such as the NNSA Office of Emergency Response, the FBI, the National Guard, and the Army Technical Escort Unit, to cover a range of radiological, chemical and biological threats. They conducted an analysis of the potential of forward-based, unmanned and unattended robotic technologies to accelerate and enhance emergency and crisis response by Homeland Defense organizations. Response systems concepts were developed utilizing new technologiesmore » supported by existing emerging threats base technologies to meet the defined response scenarios. These systems will pre-position robotic and remote sensing capabilities stationed close to multiple sites for immediate action. Analysis of assembled systems included experimental activities to determine potential efficacy in the response scenarios, and iteration on systems concepts and remote sensing and robotic technologies, creating new immediate response capabilities for Homeland Defense.« less

[Micron]ADS-B Detect and Avoid Flight Tests on Phantom 4 Unmanned Aircraft System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arteaga, Ricardo; Dandachy, Mike; Truong, Hong; Aruljothi, Arun; Vedantam, Mihir; Epperson, Kraettli; McCartney, Reed

2018-01-01

Researchers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California and Vigilant Aerospace Systems collaborated for the flight-test demonstration of an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast based collision avoidance technology on a small unmanned aircraft system equipped with the uAvionix Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast transponder. The purpose of the testing was to demonstrate that National Aeronautics and Space Administration / Vigilant software and algorithms, commercialized as the FlightHorizon UAS"TM", are compatible with uAvionix hardware systems and the DJI Phantom 4 small unmanned aircraft system. The testing and demonstrations were necessary for both parties to further develop and certify the technology in three key areas: flights beyond visual line of sight, collision avoidance, and autonomous operations. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Vigilant Aerospace Systems have developed and successfully flight-tested an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Detect and Avoid system on the Phantom 4 small unmanned aircraft system. The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Detect and Avoid system architecture is especially suited for small unmanned aircraft systems because it integrates: 1) miniaturized Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast hardware; 2) radio data-link communications; 3) software algorithms for real-time Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast data integration, conflict detection, and alerting; and 4) a synthetic vision display using a fully-integrated National Aeronautics and Space Administration geobrowser for three dimensional graphical representations for ownship and air traffic situational awareness. The flight-test objectives were to evaluate the performance of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Detect and Avoid collision avoidance technology as installed on two small unmanned aircraft systems. In December 2016, four flight tests

Unmanned aerial vehicle applications for highway transportation : initial stage reference search.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-11-01

Identification of research (2006present) focusing on autonomous micro unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for transportation applications, including the examination of other industries that may also utilize micro UAVs.

Evaluation and development of unmanned aircraft (UAV) for UDOT needs.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-05-01

This research involved the use of high-resolution aerial photography obtained from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) to aid UDOT in monitoring and documenting State Roadway structures and associated issues. Using geo-referenced UAV high resolution aeria...

A Recovery System for Unmanned Underwater Vehicles

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-09-28

300170 1 of 10 A RECOVERY SYSTEM FOR UNMANNED UNDERWATER VEHICLES STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT INTEREST [0001] The invention described herein may...6 of 10 forces cannot be easily predicted and can be strong enough to require a significantly larger handling system and significantly more...the sea state, the ship handling system , the capture mechanism and the design of the capture mechanism 400. [0024] The water jets 100 will increase

UPenn Multi-Robot Unmanned Vehicle System (MAGIC)

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-05-05

unclassified Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8-98) Prescribed by ANSI Std Z39-18 UPenn Multi-Robot Unmanned Vehicle System (MAGIC) AFOSR Final Report PI... user interface, the Strategy/Plan operator allows the system to autonomously task the nearest available UGVs to plan and coordinate their movements and...threats in a dynamic urban environment with minimal human guidance. The custom hardware systems consist of robust and complementary sensors, integrated

Human factors implications of unmanned aircraft accidents : flight-control problems

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-04-01

This research focuses on three types of flight control problems associated with unmanned aircraft systems. The : three flight control problems are: 1) external pilot difficulties with inconsistent mapping of the controls to the : movement of the airc...

Unmanned surface vessel (USV) systems for bridge inspection : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-08-01

The use of unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) for bridge inspection has been explored. The following issues were considered: (1) the requirements of and : current techniques utilized in on-water bridge inspection; (2) USV design and configuration consi...

Skid steer fuel cell powered unmanned ground vehicle (Burro)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meldrum, Jay S.; Green, Christopher A.

2008-04-01

The use of alternative energy technology for vehicle propulsion and auxiliary power is becoming more important. Work is being performed at Michigan Technological University's Keweenaw Research Center on an Army Research Laboratory cooperative agreement to develop two unmanned ground vehicles for military applications. A wide range of alternative energy technologies were investigated. Hydrogen-powered proton exchange membrane fuel cells were identified as the most appropriate alternative energy source. This is due to some development and commercialization which makes the technology "drop-in plug-in" for immediate use. We have previously presented research work on a small unmanned ground vehicle demonstration platform where the fuel cell is the only power source. We now present research work on the integration of a fuel cell onto a larger skid steer platform. The dual-power capability of this vehicle can provide a modest level of propulsion in "engine-off mode" and may also be used to power directed energy devices which have applications in countermine and similar threat technologies.

Diagnostic Reasoning using Prognostic Information for Unmanned Aerial Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schumann, Johann; Roychoudhury, Indranil; Kulkarni, Chetan

2015-01-01

With increasing popularity of unmanned aircraft, continuous monitoring of their systems, software, and health status is becoming more and more important to ensure safe, correct, and efficient operation and fulfillment of missions. The paper presents integration of prognosis models and prognostic information with the R2U2 (REALIZABLE, RESPONSIVE, and UNOBTRUSIVE Unit) monitoring and diagnosis framework. This integration makes available statistically reliable health information predictions of the future at a much earlier time to enable autonomous decision making. The prognostic information can be used in the R2U2 model to improve diagnostic accuracy and enable decisions to be made at the present time to deal with events in the future. This will be an advancement over the current state of the art, where temporal logic observers can only do such valuation at the end of the time interval. Usefulness and effectiveness of this integrated diagnostics and prognostics framework was demonstrated using simulation experiments with the NASA Dragon Eye electric unmanned aircraft.

Unmanned Aerial Systems: Further Actions Needed to Fully Address Air Force and Army Pilot Workforce Challenges

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-16

UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEMS Further Actions Needed to Fully Address Air Force and Army Pilot Workforce Challenges...Armed Services, U.S. Senate March 16, 2016 UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEMS Further Actions Needed to Fully Address Air Force and Army Pilot Workforce ...High-performing organizations use complete and current data to inform their strategic human capital planning and remain open to reevaluating workforce

Unmanned Aerial Systems: Air Force and Army Should Improve Strategic Human Capital Planning for Pilot Workforces

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-01-01

UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEMS Air Force and Army Should Improve Strategic Human Capital Planning for Pilot Workforces...Should Improve Strategic Human Capital Planning for Pilot Workforces What GAO Found The Air Force and the Army have not fully applied four of the five...key principles for effective strategic human capital planning for managing pilots of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) that are important for resolving

Unmanned launch vehicle impacts on existing major facilities : V23

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1984-10-18

This study measures the impact on the existing major facilities of Space Launch Complex (SLC-6) to accommodate the launching of an Unmanned Launch Vehicle (ULV). Modifications to the existing facilities were determined for two basic vehicle concepts,...

Stability of Dosage Forms in the Pharmaceutical Payload Aboard Space Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Du, Brian J.; Daniels, Vernie; Boyd, Jason L.; Crady, Camille; Satterfield, Rick; Younker, Diane R.; Putcha, Lakshmi

2009-01-01

Efficacious pharmaceuticals with adequate shelf lives are essential for successful space medical operations. Stability of pharmaceuticals, therefore, is of paramount importance for assuring the health and wellness of astronauts on future space exploration missions. Unique physical and environmental factors of space missions may contribute to the instability of pharmaceuticals, e.g., radiation, humidity and temperature variations. Degradation of pharmaceutical formulations can result in inadequate efficacy and/or untoward toxic effects, which could compromise astronaut safety and health. Methods: Four identical pharmaceutical payload kits containing 31 medications in different dosage forms (liquid, tablet, capsule, ointment and suppository) were transported to the International Space Station aboard the Space Shuttle (STS-121). One of the 4 kits was stored on the Shuttle and the other 3 were stored on the International Space Station (ISS) for return to Earth at 6-month interval aboard a pre-designated Shuttle flight for each kit. The kit stored on the Shuttle was returned to Earth aboard STS-121 and 2 kits from ISS were returned on STS 117 and STS-122. Results: Analysis of standard physical and chemical parameters of degradation was completed for pharmaceuticals returned by STS-121 after14 days, STS - 117 after11 months and STS 122 after 19 months storage aboard ISS. Analysis of all flight samples along with ground-based matching controls was completed and results were compiled. Conclusion: Evaluation of results from the shuttle (1) and ISS increments (2) indicate that the number of formulations degraded in space increased with duration of storage in space and was higher in space compared to their ground-based counterparts. Rate of degradation for some of the formulations tested was faster in space than on Earth. Additionally, some of the formulations included in the medical kits were unstable, more so in space than on the ground. These results indicate that the

An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Cluster Network Cruise System for Monitor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Jirong; Tao, Jinpeng; Xin, Guipeng

2018-06-01

The existing maritime cruising system mainly uses manned motorboats to monitor the quality of coastal water and patrol and maintenance of the navigation -aiding facility, which has the problems of high energy consumption, small range of cruise for monitoring, insufficient information control and low visualization. In recent years, the application of UAS in the maritime field has alleviated the phenomenon above to some extent. A cluster-based unmanned network monitoring cruise system designed in this project uses the floating small UAV self-powered launching platform as a carrier, applys the idea of cluster, and combines the strong controllability of the multi-rotor UAV and the capability to carry customized modules, constituting a unmanned, visualized and normalized monitoring cruise network to realize the functions of maritime cruise, maintenance of navigational-aiding and monitoring the quality of coastal water.

Delivery of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ivancic, William D.; Sullivan, Donald V.

2011-01-01

To support much of NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Program science, NASA has acquired two Global Hawk Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Two major missions are currently planned using the Global Hawk: the Global Hawk Pacific (GloPac) and the Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) missions. This paper briefly describes GloPac and GRIP, the concept of operations and the resulting requirements and communication architectures. Also discussed are requirements for future missions that may use satellite systems and networks owned and operated by third parties.

Texas as seen from the Apollo 6 unmanned spacecraft

NASA Image and Video Library

1968-04-06

AS6-02-1455 (4 April 1968) --- Texas is photographed from the Apollo 6 (Spacecraft 020/Saturn 502) unmanned space mission. Seen in this photograph are Midland, Brownfield, Big Spring, J. B. Thomas Lake, headwaters of Colorado and Brazos Rivers, and the west Texas gas and oil fields.

Vegetation Versus Man-Made Object Detection from Imagery for Unmanned Vehicles in Off-Road Environments

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-05-01

saliency, natural scene statistics 1. INTRODUCTION Research into the area of autonomous navigation for unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) has accelerated in...recent years. This is partly due to the success of programs such as the DARPA Grand Challenge1 and the dream of driverless cars ,2 but is also due to the...NOTES 14. ABSTRACT There have been several major advances in autonomous navigation for unmanned ground vehicles in controlled urban environments in

Unmanned Carrier-Based Aircraft System: Debate over Systems Role Led to Focus on Aerial Refueling

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-24

Unmanned Carrier-Based Aircraft System: Debate over System’s Role Led to Focus on Aerial Refueling Prior to February 2016, the Navy had planned to...award of the air system development contract by about 3 years from 2014 to 2017. In that report, we also found that knowledge the Navy had obtained...strike 1Pub. L. No. 113-66, § 213(d) (2013). 2GAO, Unmanned Carrier-Based Aircraft System: Navy Needs

Scalable autonomous operations of unmanned assets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jung, Sunghun

Although there have been great theoretical advances in the region of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) autonomy, applications of those theories into real world are still hesitated due to unexpected disturbances. Most of UAVs which are currently used are mainly, strictly speaking, Remotely Piloted Vehicles (RPA) since most works related with the flight control, sensor data analysis, and decision makings are done by human operators. To increase the degree of autonomy, many researches are focused on developing Unmanned Autonomous Aerial Vehicle (UAAV) which can takeoff, fly to the interested area by avoiding unexpected obstacles, perform various missions with decision makings, come back to the base station, and land on by itself without any human operators. To improve the performance of UAVs, the accuracies of position and orientation sensors are enhanced by integrating a Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) or a solar compass to a UAV; Position sensor accuracy of a GPS sensor on a UAV is improved by referencing the position of a UGV which is calculated by using three GPS sensors and Weighted Centroid Localization (WCL) method; Orientation sensor accuracy is improved as well by using Three Pixel Theorem (TPT) and integrating a solar compass which composed of nine light sensors to a magnetic compass. Also, improved health management of a UAV is fulfilled by developing a wireless autonomous charging station which uses four pairs of transmitter and receiver magnetic loops with four robotic arms. For the software aspect, I also analyze the error propagation of the proposed mission planning hierarchy to achieve the safest size of the buffer zone. In addition, among seven future research areas regarding UAV, this paper mainly focuses on developing algorithms of path planning, trajectory generation, and cooperative tactics for the operations of multiple UAVs using GA based multiple Traveling Salesman Problem (mTSP) which is solved by dividing into m number of Traveling Salesman

Testing of Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-02-12

Emissions - Intra-system EMC TOP 1-2-51253 TOP 1-2-51154 TOP 2-2-61355 Determines whether the item tested meets the electromagnetic radiation ...effects, static electricity, and lightning criteria and the maximum electromagnetic radiation environment to which the test item may be exposed...Form 298 (Rev. 8-98) Prescribed by ANSI Std. Z39-18 2-2-540 Testing of Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) Systems 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 5d

Using flight simulators aboard ships: human side effects of an optimal scenario with smooth seas.

PubMed

Muth, Eric R; Lawson, Ben

2003-05-01

The U.S. Navy is considering placing flight simulators aboard ships. It is known that certain types of flight simulators can elicit motion adaptation syndrome (MAS), and also that certain types of ship motion can cause MAS. The goal of this study was to determine if using a flight simulator during ship motion would cause MAS, even when the simulator stimulus and the ship motion were both very mild. All participants in this study completed three conditions. Condition 1 (Sim) entailed "flying" a personal computer-based flight simulator situated on land. Condition 2 (Ship) involved riding aboard a U.S. Navy Yard Patrol boat. Condition 3 (ShipSim) entailed "flying" a personal computer-based flight simulator while riding aboard a Yard Patrol boat. Before and after each condition, participants' balance and dynamic visual acuity were assessed. After each condition, participants filled out the Nausea Profile and the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire. Following exposure to a flight simulator aboard a ship, participants reported negligible symptoms of nausea and simulator sickness. However, participants exhibited a decrease in dynamic visual acuity after exposure to the flight simulator aboard ship (T[25] = 3.61, p < 0.05). Balance results were confounded by significant learning and, therefore, not interpretable. This study suggests that flight simulators can be used aboard ship. As a minimal safety precaution, these simulators should be used according to current safety practices for land-based simulators. Optimally, these simulators should be designed to minimize MAS, located near the ship's center of rotation and used when ship motion is not provocative.

Aboard the Space Shuttle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Steinberg, F. S.

1980-01-01

Livability aboard the space shuttle orbiter makes it possible for men and women scientists and technicians in reasonably good health to join superbly healthy astronauts as space travelers and workers. Features of the flight deck, the mid-deck living quarters, and the subfloor life support and house-keeping equipment are illustrated as well as the provisions for food preparation, eating, sleeping, exercising, and medical care. Operation of the personal hygiene equipment and of the air revitalization system for maintaining sea level atmosphere in space is described. Capabilities of Spacelab, the purpose and use of the remote manipulator arm, and the design of a permanent space operations center assembled on-orbit by shuttle personnel are also depicted.

An apparatus for preparing benthic samples aboard ship

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pepper, Phillip N.; Girard, Thomas L.; Stapanian, Martin A.

2001-01-01

We describe a safe and effective apparatus for washing and reducing the volume of benthic samples collected by grab samplers aboard ship. The sample is transferred directly from the dredge to the apparatus and then washed with water pumped through pipes in the apparatus and from onboard hoses. Wastewater and materials smaller than 0.541 mm in diameter are washed overboard. Larger materials, including benthic organisms, collect on an upper 0.64-cm screen and on a lower 30-mm-mesh stainless steel bolt cloth. A collection jar is screwed into the bottom of the apparatus. Therefore, transfer of sample material from the apparatus to the jar is quick and easy. This apparatus has several advantages for use aboard ship over others described in the literature, especially in rough seas, in cold weather, and at night. The apparatus provides a safe and convenient platform for washing and reducing samples, and samples can be prepared while the vessel is traveling at full speed.

Cost estimating procedure for unmanned satellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greer, H.; Campbell, H. G.

1980-11-01

Historical costs from 11 unmanned satellite programs were analyzed. From these data, total satellite cost estimating relationships (CERs) were developed for use during preliminary design studies. A time-related factor, which it is believed accounts for differences in technology, was observed in the data. Stratification of the data by type of payload was also found to be necessary. Cost differences that stem from production quantity variations were accounted for by adjustment factors developed from standard learning curve theory. An example to illustrate use of the CERs is provided.

GreenHouse Observations of the Stratosphere and Troposphere (GHOST): a novel shortwave infrared spectrometer developed for the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Humpage, Neil; Bösch, Hartmut; Palmer, Paul I.; Parr-Burman, Phil M.; Vick, Andrew J. A.; Bezawada, Naidu N.; Black, Martin; Born, Andrew J.; Pearson, David; Strachan, Jonathan; Wells, Martyn

2014-10-01

The tropospheric distribution of greenhouse gases (GHGs) depends on surface flux variations, atmospheric chemistry and transport processes over a range of spatial and temporal scales. Accurate and precise atmospheric concentration observations of GHGs can be used to infer surface flux estimates, though their interpretation relies on unbiased atmospheric transport models. GHOST is a novel, compact shortwave infrared spectrometer which will observe tropospheric columns of CO2, CO, CH4 and H2O (along with the HDO/H2O ratio) during deployment on board the NASA Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle. The primary science objectives of GHOST are to: 1) test atmospheric transport models; 2) evaluate satellite observations of GHG column observations over oceans; and 3) complement in-situ tropopause transition layer observations from other Global Hawk instruments. GHOST comprises a target acquisition module (TAM), a fibre slicer and feed system, and a multiple order spectrograph. The TAM is programmed to direct solar radiation reflected by the ocean surface into a fibre optic bundle. Incoming light is then split into four spectral bands, selected to optimise remote observations of GHGs. The design uses a single grating and detector for all four spectral bands. We summarise the GHOST concept and its objectives, and describe the instrument design and proposed deployment aboard the Global Hawk platform.

Remote sensing with unmanned aircraft systems for precision agriculture applications

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Federal Aviation Administration is revising regulations for using unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in the national airspace. An important potential application of UAS may be as a remote-sensing platform for precision agriculture, but simply down-scaling remote sensing methodologies developed usi...

Developing Autonomy for Unmanned Surface Vehicles by Using Virtual Environments

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-10-11

successfully evolved for a wide variety of behaviors as obstacle avoidance (Barate and Manzanera 2007; Nehmzow 2002), wall-following ( Dain 1998...Advances in unmanned marine vehicles pp 311-328 Dain R (1998) Developing mobile robot wall-following algorithms using ge- netic programming. Applied

Integrated assignment and path planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murphey, Robert A.

2005-11-01

A surge of interest in unmanned systems has exposed many new and challenging research problems across many fields of engineering and mathematics. These systems have the potential of transforming our society by replacing dangerous and dirty jobs with networks of moving machines. This vision is fundamentally separate from the modern view of robotics in that sophisticated behavior is realizable not by increasing individual vehicle complexity, but instead through collaborative teaming that relies on collective perception, abstraction, decision making, and manipulation. Obvious examples where collective robotics will make an impact include planetary exploration, space structure assembly, remote and undersea mining, hazardous material handling and clean-up, and search and rescue. Nonetheless, the phenomenon driving this technology trend is the increasing reliance of the US military on unmanned vehicles, specifically, aircraft. Only a few years ago, following years of resistance to the use of unmanned systems, the military and civilian leadership in the United States reversed itself and have recently demonstrated surprisingly broad acceptance of increasingly pervasive use of unmanned platforms in defense surveillance, and even attack. However, as rapidly as unmanned systems have gained acceptance, the defense research community has discovered the technical pitfalls that lie ahead, especially for operating collective groups of unmanned platforms. A great deal of talent and energy has been devoted to solving these technical problems, which tend to fall into two categories: resource allocation of vehicles to objectives, and path planning of vehicle trajectories. An extensive amount of research has been conducted in each direction, yet, surprisingly, very little work has considered the integrated problem of assignment and path planning. This dissertation presents a framework for studying integrated assignment and path planning and then moves on to suggest an exact

Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas as seen from the Apollo 6 unmanned spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1968-01-01

Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, as photographed from the Apollo 6 (Spacecraft 020/Saturn 502) unmanned space mission. Visible in this photograph are Shreveport, Texarkana, El Dorado, Lake Gaddo, Texarkana Reservoir, Red River, and cloud cover.

Astronaut Catherine G. Coleman aboard KC-135 aircraft

NASA Image and Video Library

1994-05-28

S94-35542 (June 1994) --- Astronaut Catherine G. Coleman, mission specialist, gets a preview of next year?s United States Microgravity Laboratory (USML-2) mission aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. The weightless experience was afforded by a special parabolic pattern flown by NASA?s KC-135 ?zero gravity? aircraft.

Formation stability analysis of unmanned multi-vehicles under interconnection topologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Aolei; Naeem, Wasif; Fei, Minrui

2015-04-01

In this paper, the overall formation stability of an unmanned multi-vehicle is mathematically presented under interconnection topologies. A novel definition of formation error is first given and followed by the proposed formation stability hypothesis. Based on this hypothesis, a unique extension-decomposition-aggregation scheme is then employed to support the stability analysis for the overall multi-vehicle formation under a mesh topology. It is proved that the overall formation control system consisting of N number of nonlinear vehicles is not only asymptotically stable, but also exponentially stable in the sense of Lyapunov within a neighbourhood of the desired formation. This technique is shown to be applicable for a mesh topology but is equally applicable for other topologies. A simulation study of the formation manoeuvre of multiple Aerosonde UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), in 3-D space, is finally carried out verifying the achieved formation stability result.

An Innovative Unmanned System for Advanced Environmental Monitoring: Design and Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marsella, Ennio; Giordano, Laura; Evangelista, Lorenza; Iengo, Antonio; di Filippo, Alessandro; Coppola, Aniello

2015-04-01

The paper summarizes the design and development of a new technology and tools for real-time coordination and control of unmanned vehicles for advanced environmental monitoring. A new Unmanned System has been developed at Institute for Coastal Marine Environmental - National Research Council (Italy), in the framework of two National Operational Programs (PON): Technological Platform for Geophysical and Environmental Marine Survey-PITAM and Integrated Systems and Technologies for Geophysical and Environmental Monitoring in coastal-marine areas-STIGEAC. In particular, the system includes one Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and two Unmanned Marine Vehicles (UMV). Major innovations concern the implementation of a new architecture to control each drone and/or to allow the cooperation between heterogeneous vehicles, the integration of distributed sensing techniques and real-time image processing capabilities. Part of the research in these projects involves, therefore, an architecture, where the ground operator can communicate with the Unmanned Vehicles at various levels of abstraction using pointing devices and video viewing. In detail, a Ground Control Station (GCS) has been design and developed to allow the government in security of the drones within a distance up to twenty kilometers for air explorations and within ten nautical miles for marine activities. The Ground Control Station has the following features: 1. hardware / software system for the definition of the mission profiles; 3. autonomous and semi-autonomous control system by remote control (joystick or other) for the UAV and UMVs; 4. integrated control system with comprehensive visualization capabilities, monitoring and archiving of real-time data acquired from scientific payload; 5. open structure to future additions of systems, sensors and / or additional vehicles. In detail, the UAV architecture is a dual-rotor, with an endurance ranging from 55 to 200 minutes, depending on payload weight (maximum 26 kg) and

Characteristic Model of a Shock Absorber in an Unmanned Ground Vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Danko, Ján; Milesich, Tomáš; Bugár, Martin; Madarás, Juraj

2012-12-01

The paper deals with mathematical models for the shock absorber of an unmanned ground vehicle. The possibility of mathematically modeling the shock absorber is discussed. Specific types of mathematical models are described and the experimental measurement of a shock absorber is made. For modeling the characteristics of the shock absorber the modified Bouc-Wen model (Spencer model) is selected. From the mathematical model, a simulation model in Matlab/Simulink is created. The identification of the Spencer model parameters is performed and force-velocity and force-displacement characteristics of the shock absorber of an unmanned ground vehicle is made. In the conclusions, the simulated characteristics are verified and evaluated by the measured characteristics.

Unmanned aircraft systems: a new tool for DOT inspections : final report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-10-31

The NextGen Air Transportation Program (NGAT) at North Carolina State University (NCSU) collaborated with the NCDOT departments (Location and Surveys, Photogrammetry, Aviation, etc.) to analyze the potential role of small Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS...

Self-unloading, unmanned, reusable lunar lander project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cowan, Kevin; Lewis, Ron; Mislinski, Philip; Rivers, Donna; Smith, Solar; Vasicek, Clifford; Verona, Matt

1991-01-01

A payload delivery system will be required to support the buildup and operation of a manned lunar base. In response, a self-unloading, unmanned, reusable lunar lander was conceptually designed. The lander will deliver a 7000 kg payload, with the same dimensions as a space station logistics module, from low lunar orbit to any location on the surface of the moon. The technical aspects of the design is introduced as well as the management structure and project cost.

Indoor Unmanned Airship System Airborne Control Module Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

YongXia, Gao; YiBo, Li

By adopting STC12C5A60S2 SCM as a system control unit, assisted by appropriate software and hardware resources, we complete the airborne control module's design of unmanned airship system. This paper introduces hardware control module's structure, airship-driven composition and software realization. Verified by the China Science and Technology Museum special-shaped airship,this control module can work well.

US monkey and rat experiments flown on the Soviet Satellite Cosmos 1514

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mains, R. C. (Editor); Gomersall, E. W. (Editor)

1986-01-01

On December 14, 1983, the U.S.S.R. launched Cosmos 1514, an unmanned spacecraft carrying biological and radiation physics experiments from nine countries, including five from the United States. This was the fourth flight with U.S. experiments aboard one of the Soviet unmanned spacecraft. The Cosmos 1514 flight was limited to five days duration because it was the first nonhuman primate flight. Cosmos 1514 marked a significant departure from earlier flights both in terms of Soviet goals and the degree of cooperation between the U.S.S.R. and the United States. This flight included more than 60 experiments on fish, crawfish eggs, plants and seeds, 10 Wistar pregnant rats, and 2 young adult rhesus monkeys as human surrogates. United States specialist participated in postflight data transfer and specimen transfer, and conducted rat neonatal behavioral studies. An overview of the mission is presented focusing on preflight, on-orbit, and postflight activites pertinent to the five U.S. experiments aboard Cosmos.

Monitoring nitrogen status of potatoes using small unmanned aircraft system

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) are potential remote-sensing platforms to manage fertilization for precision agriculture. An experiment was established in an irrigated potato field with different N fertilization rates, and a small parafoil was used to acquire color-infrared images over the 20...

78 FR 67309 - Earth Stations Aboard Aircraft

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-12

... Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i), 154(j), 157(a), 302(a), 303(c), 303(e), 303(f), 303(g... Commission's Earth Station Aboard Aircraft, Report and Order (Order), which adopted licensing and service...-orbit space stations operating in the 10.95-11.2 GHz, 11.45-11.7 GHz, 11.7-12.2 GHz and 14.0-14.5 GHz...

A Case for Hypogravity Studies Aboard ISS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paloski, William H.

2014-01-01

Future human space exploration missions being contemplated by NASA and other spacefaring nations include some that would require long stays upon bodies having gravity levels much lower than that of Earth. While we have been able to quantify the physiological effects of sustained exposure to microgravity during various spaceflight programs over the past half-century, there has been no opportunity to study the physiological adaptations to gravity levels between zero-g and one-g. We know now that the microgravity environment of spaceflight drives adaptive responses of the bone, muscle, cardiovascular, and sensorimotor systems, causing bone demineralization, muscle atrophy, reduced aerobic capacity, motion sickness, and malcoordination. All of these outcomes can affect crew health and performance, particularly after return to a one-g environment. An important question for physicians, scientists, and mission designers planning human exploration missions to Mars (3/8 g), the Moon (1/6 g), or asteroids (likely negligible g) is: What protection can be expected from gravitational levels between zero-g and one-g? Will crewmembers deconditioned by six months of microgravity exposure on their way to Mars experience continued deconditioning on the Martian surface? Or, will the 3/8 g be sufficient to arrest or even reverse these adaptive changes? The implications for countermeasure deployment, habitat accommodations, and mission design warrant further investigation into the physiological responses to hypogravity. It is not possible to fully simulate hypogravity exposure on Earth for other than transient episodes (e.g., parabolic flight). However, it would be possible to do so in low Earth orbit (LEO) using the centrifugal forces produced in a live-aboard centrifuge. As we're not likely to launch a rotating human spacecraft into LEO anytime in the near future, we could take advantage of rodent subjects aboard the ISS if we had a centrifuge that could accommodate the rodent

Multispectral and DSLR sensors for assessing crop stress in corn and cotton using fixed-wing unmanned air systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valasek, John; Henrickson, James V.; Bowden, Ezekiel; Shi, Yeyin; Morgan, Cristine L. S.; Neely, Haly L.

2016-05-01

As small unmanned aircraft systems become increasingly affordable, reliable, and formally recognized under federal regulation, they become increasingly attractive as novel platforms for civil applications. This paper details the development and demonstration of fixed-wing unmanned aircraft systems for precision agriculture tasks. Tasks such as soil moisture content and high throughput phenotyping are considered. Rationale for sensor, vehicle, and ground equipment selections are provided, in addition to developed flight operation procedures for minimal numbers of crew. Preliminary imagery results are presented and analyzed, and these results demonstrate that fixed-wing unmanned aircraft systems modified to carry non-traditional sensors at extended endurance durations can provide high quality data that is usable for serious scientific analysis.

The remote characterization of vegetation using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle photography

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) can fly in place of piloted aircraft to gather remote sensing information on vegetation characteristics. The type of sensors flown depends on the instrument payload capacity available, so that, depending on the specific UAV, it is possible to obtain video, aerial phot...

Operator Selection for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Operators: A Comparison of Video Game Players and Manned Aircraft Pilots

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-11-01

AFRL-RH-WP-TR-2010-0057 Operator Selection for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Operators: A Comparison of Video Game Players and Manned Aircraft...Oct-2008 - 30-Nov-2009 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Operator Selection for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Operators: A Comparison of Video Game Players...training regimens leading to a potential shortage of qualified UAS pilots. This study attempted to discover whether video game players (VGPs) possess

An embedded vision system for an unmanned four-rotor helicopter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lillywhite, Kirt; Lee, Dah-Jye; Tippetts, Beau; Fowers, Spencer; Dennis, Aaron; Nelson, Brent; Archibald, James

2006-10-01

In this paper an embedded vision system and control module is introduced that is capable of controlling an unmanned four-rotor helicopter and processing live video for various law enforcement, security, military, and civilian applications. The vision system is implemented on a newly designed compact FPGA board (Helios). The Helios board contains a Xilinx Virtex-4 FPGA chip and memory making it capable of implementing real time vision algorithms. A Smooth Automated Intelligent Leveling daughter board (SAIL), attached to the Helios board, collects attitude and heading information to be processed in order to control the unmanned helicopter. The SAIL board uses an electrolytic tilt sensor, compass, voltage level converters, and analog to digital converters to perform its operations. While level flight can be maintained, problems stemming from the characteristics of the tilt sensor limits maneuverability of the helicopter. The embedded vision system has proven to give very good results in its performance of a number of real-time robotic vision algorithms.

Camera aboard 'Friendship 7' photographs John Glenn during spaceflight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1962-01-01

A camera aboard the 'Friendship 7' Mercury spacecraft photographs Astronaut John H. Glenn Jr. during the Mercury-Atlas 6 spaceflight (00302-3); Photographs Glenn as he uses a photometer to view the sun during sunsent on the MA-6 space flight (00304).

Overmanned and Undertrained: Preparing UAS Crewmembers for Unmanned Close Air Support

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-22

collection and artillery observation platform to a much more sophisticated mission platform capable of unmanned cargo delivery, laser designation, electronic...VMU Mission Essential Task List ..............................................................................30 iv Table of Contents...Marine Corps ...........................................................................2 VMU Squadrons: Aircraft, Operations, and Missions

Determination of OB/OD/SF Emission Factors using Unmanned Aerial Systems

EPA Science Inventory

Instrumented, unmanned aerial systems (UASs) have been used successfully in eight campaigns since 2010 to determine emission factors from open burning (OB), open detonation (OD), and static firing (SF) demilitarization activities. These systems have sampled directly from the plu...

Modeling and Simulation of an Unmanned Ground Vehicle Power System

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-08-07

Modeling and Simulation of an Unmanned Ground Vehicle Power System John Broderick Jack Hartner Dawn Tilbury Ella Atkins Sponsored by U.S...5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) John Broderick ; Jack Hartner; Dawn Tilbury; Ella Atkins 5d. PROJECT

Detection of nitrogen deficiency in potatoes using unmanned aircraft systems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) are recognized as potentially important remote-sensing platforms for precision agriculture. We set up a nitrogen rate experiment in 2013 with ‘Ranger Russet’ potatoes by applying four rates of nitrogen fertilizer (112, 224, 337, and 449 kg N/ha) in a randomized...

Nonlinear ionospheric responses to large-amplitude infrasonic-acoustic waves generated by undersea earthquakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zettergren, M. D.; Snively, J. B.; Komjathy, A.; Verkhoglyadova, O. P.

2017-02-01

Numerical models of ionospheric coupling with the neutral atmosphere are used to investigate perturbations of plasma density, vertically integrated total electron content (TEC), neutral velocity, and neutral temperature associated with large-amplitude acoustic waves generated by the initial ocean surface displacements from strong undersea earthquakes. A simplified source model for the 2011 Tohoku earthquake is constructed from estimates of initial ocean surface responses to approximate the vertical motions over realistic spatial and temporal scales. Resulting TEC perturbations from modeling case studies appear consistent with observational data, reproducing pronounced TEC depletions which are shown to be a consequence of the impacts of nonlinear, dissipating acoustic waves. Thermospheric acoustic compressional velocities are ˜±250-300 m/s, superposed with downward flows of similar amplitudes, and temperature perturbations are ˜300 K, while the dominant wave periodicity in the thermosphere is ˜3-4 min. Results capture acoustic wave processes including reflection, onset of resonance, and nonlinear steepening and dissipation—ultimately leading to the formation of ionospheric TEC depletions "holes"—that are consistent with reported observations. Three additional simulations illustrate the dependence of atmospheric acoustic wave and subsequent ionospheric responses on the surface displacement amplitude, which is varied from the Tohoku case study by factors of 1/100, 1/10, and 2. Collectively, results suggest that TEC depletions may only accompany very-large amplitude thermospheric acoustic waves necessary to induce a nonlinear response, here with saturated compressional velocities ˜200-250 m/s generated by sea surface displacements exceeding ˜1 m occurring over a 3 min time period.

Applicability of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Research on Aeolian Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Algimantas, Česnulevičius; Artūras, Bautrėnas; Linas, Bevainis; Donatas, Ovodas; Kęstutis, Papšys

2018-02-01

Surface dynamics and instabilities are characteristic of aeolian formation. The method of surface comparison is regarded as the most appropriate one for evaluation of the intensity of aeolian processes and the amount of transported sand. The data for surface comparison can be collected by topographic survey measurements and using unmanned aerial vehicles. Time cost for relief microform fixation and measurement executing topographic survey are very high. The method of unmanned aircraft aerial photographs fixation also encounters difficulties because there are no stable clear objects and contours that enable to link aerial photographs, to determine the boundaries of captured territory and to ensure the accuracy of surface measurements. Creation of stationary anchor points is irrational due to intense sand accumulation and deflation in different climate seasons. In September 2015 and in April 2016 the combined methodology was applied for evaluation of intensity of aeolian processes in the Curonian Spit. Temporary signs (marks) were installed on the surface, coordinates of the marks were fixed using GPS and then flight of unmanned aircraft was conducted. The fixed coordinates of marks ensure the accuracy of measuring aerial imagery and the ability to calculate the possible corrections. This method was used to track and measure very small (micro-rank) relief forms (5-10 cm height and 10-20 cm length). Using this method morphometric indicators of micro-terraces caused by sand dunes pressure to gytia layer were measured in a non-contact way. An additional advantage of the method is the ability to accurately link the repeated measurements. The comparison of 3D terrain models showed sand deflation and accumulation areas and quantitative changes in the terrain very clearly.

Rapid detection of Colorado potato beetle damage using small unmanned aircraft

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Remote sensing with small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) has potential applications in agriculture because low flight altitudes allow image acquisition at very high spatial resolution. Damage to potato fields by the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) rapidly increases from initial...

Determination of OB/OD/SF Emission Factors Using Unmanned Aerial Systems

EPA Science Inventory

A presentation to the Demilitarization Symposium. This proposal will present the methods of tethered aerostat and unmanned aerial system for collection of plume samples and determination of emission factors form open burning, open detonation, and static firing for weapon demilita...

A summary of unmanned aircraft accident/incident data : human factors implications

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2004-12-01

A review and analysis of unmanned aircraft (UA) accident data was conducted to identify important human factors issues related to their use. UA accident data were collected from the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force. Classification of the accident data ...

Energy harvesting concepts for small electric unmanned systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qidwai, Muhammad A.; Thomas, James P.; Kellogg, James C.; Baucom, Jared N.

2004-07-01

In this study, we identify and survey energy harvesting technologies for small electrically powered unmanned systems designed for long-term (>1 day) time-on-station missions. An environmental energy harvesting scheme will provide long-term, energy additions to the on-board energy source. We have identified four technologies that cover a broad array of available energy sources: solar, kinetic (wind) flow, autophagous structure-power (both combustible and metal air-battery systems) and electromagnetic (EM) energy scavenging. We present existing conceptual designs, critical system components, performance, constraints and state-of-readiness for each technology. We have concluded that the solar and autophagous technologies are relatively matured for small-scale applications and are capable of moderate power output levels (>1 W). We have identified key components and possible multifunctionalities in each technology. The kinetic flow and EM energy scavenging technologies will require more in-depth study before they can be considered for implementation. We have also realized that all of the harvesting systems require design and integration of various electrical, mechanical and chemical components, which will require modeling and optimization using hybrid mechatronics-circuit simulation tools. This study provides a starting point for detailed investigation into the proposed technologies for unmanned system applications under current development.

Demonstration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems Use for Traffic Incident Management (UAS-TIM)

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-12-01

Previous investigations into technologies that can improve incident response, monitoring, and clearance resulted in the potential application of Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) for use in Traffic Incident Management (TIM). An initial investigation of UA...

Development of a low-volume sprayer for an unmanned autonomous helicopter

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

An UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) can fly over much smaller areas with much lower flight altitudes than conventional, piloted airplanes. In agriculture, UAVs have been mainly developed and used for chemical application and remote sensing. Application of fertilizers and chemicals is frequently needed ...

Aircraft Survivability: Unmanned Aircraft Systems Survivability. Fall 2008

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-01-01

until June 2005. Upon deactivation, LtCol Matthews became the “Marine JCAT of One” and was assigned to the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing as a drilling ...strain gauges along with high- speed video. Seven tests were accomplished (Figure 5): four with no airflow, and three with 200 knots of airflow across...collection for manned and unmanned systems to support vulnerability testing and analysis. As Figure 7 illustrates, the system uses advanced metrology

Accuracy Assessment of Professional Grade Unmanned Systems for High Precision Airborne Mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mostafa, M. M. R.

2017-08-01

Recently, sophisticated multi-sensor systems have been implemented on-board modern Unmanned Aerial Systems. This allows for producing a variety of mapping products for different mapping applications. The resulting accuracies match the traditional well engineered manned systems. This paper presents the results of a geometric accuracy assessment project for unmanned systems equipped with multi-sensor systems for direct georeferencing purposes. There are a number of parameters that either individually or collectively affect the quality and accuracy of a final airborne mapping product. This paper focuses on identifying and explaining these parameters and their mutual interaction and correlation. Accuracy Assessment of the final ground object positioning accuracy is presented through real-world 8 flight missions that were flown in Quebec, Canada. The achievable precision of map production is addressed in some detail.

Control and Non-Payload Communications Links for Integrated Unmanned Aircraft Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kerczewski, Robert J.; Griner, James H.

2012-01-01

Technology for unmanned aircraft has advanced so rapidly in recent years that many new applications to public and commercial use are being proposed and implemented. In many countries, emphasis is now being placed on developing the means to allow unmanned aircraft to operate within non-segregated airspace along with commercial, cargo and other piloted and passenger-carrying aircraft.In the U.S., Congress has mandated that the Federal Aviation Administration reduce and remove restrictions on unmanned aircraft operations in a relatively short time frame. To accomplish this, a number of technical and regulatory hurdles must be overcome. A key hurdle involve the communications link connecting the remote pilot located at a ground control station with the aircraft in the airspace, referred to as the Control and Non-Payload Communications (CNPC) link. This link represents a safety critical communications link, and thus requires dedicated and protected aviation spectrum as well as national and international standards defining the operational requirements the CNPC system. The CNPC link must provide line-of-site (LOS) communications, primarily through a ground-based communication system, and beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) communication achieved using satellite communications. In the U.S., the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is charged with providing the technical body of evidence to support spectrum allocation requirements and national and international standards development for the CNPC link. This paper provides a description of the CNPC system, an overview of NASA's CNPC project, and current results in technology assessment, air-ground propagation characterization, and supporting system studies and analyses will be presented.

Morphing unmanned aerial vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gomez, Juan Carlos; Garcia, Ephrahim

2011-10-01

Research on aircraft morphing has exploded in recent years. The motivation and driving force behind this has been to find new and novel ways to increase the capabilities of aircraft. Materials advancements have helped to increase possibilities with respect to actuation and, hence, a diversity of concepts and unimagined capabilities. The expanded role of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has provided an ideal platform for exploring these emergent morphing concepts since at this scale a greater amount of risk can be taken, as well as having more manageable fabrication and cost requirements. This review focuses on presenting the role UAVs have in morphing research by giving an overview of the UAV morphing concepts, designs, and technologies described in the literature. A presentation of quantitative information as well as a discussion of technical issues is given where possible to begin gaining some insight into the overall assessment and performance of these technologies.

Autonomous unmanned air vehicles (UAV) techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsu, Ming-Kai; Lee, Ting N.

2007-04-01

The UAVs (Unmanned Air Vehicles) have great potentials in different civilian applications, such as oil pipeline surveillance, precision farming, forest fire fighting (yearly), search and rescue, boarder patrol, etc. The related industries of UAVs can create billions of dollars for each year. However, the road block of adopting UAVs is that it is against FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and ATC (Air Traffic Control) regulations. In this paper, we have reviewed the latest technologies and researches on UAV navigation and obstacle avoidance. We have purposed a system design of Jittering Mosaic Image Processing (JMIP) with stereo vision and optical flow to fulfill the functionalities of autonomous UAVs.

Tactical Unmanned Ground Vehicle Related Research References (BTA Study)

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-03-01

draw bar pull - 4,297 lbs; Engine - 65 hp air cooled diesel engine ; dual electrical motors, hydrostatic drive; Observation - three closed-circuit...8217 Munitions and Chemical Command. Commander, U. S. Army Chemical Research, Development, and Engineering Center. 40..... "Unmanned Air Vehicles Payloads...8217 Larry Brantley Advanced Systems Concepts Office Research, Development, and Engineering Center MARCH 1993 edetone qArs nal, Alabama 35898-5000

Advanced Fiber Optic-Based Sensing Technology for Unmanned Aircraft Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Richards, Lance; Parker, Allen R.; Piazza, Anthony; Ko, William L.; Chan, Patrick; Bakalyar, John

2011-01-01

This presentation provides an overview of fiber optic sensing technology development activities performed at NASA Dryden in support of Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Examples of current and previous work are presented in the following categories: algorithm development, system development, instrumentation installation, ground R&D, and flight testing. Examples of current research and development activities are provided.

Homeland Security: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Border Surveillance

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-07-08

outfit the Predator B with a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system17 and a moving target indicator (MTI) radar. Adding SAR and MTI to the Predator B’s...Predator Squadrons,” Inside the Air Force, June 7, 2002. 17 For more information about Synthetic Aperture Radar, see http://www.sandia.gov/radar...contributed to the seizing of more than 22,000 pounds of marijuana and the apprehension of 5,000 illegal immigrants,” others disagree.24 “Unmanned aircraft

A fault-tolerant control architecture for unmanned aerial vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drozeski, Graham R.

Research has presented several approaches to achieve varying degrees of fault-tolerance in unmanned aircraft. Approaches in reconfigurable flight control are generally divided into two categories: those which incorporate multiple non-adaptive controllers and switch between them based on the output of a fault detection and identification element, and those that employ a single adaptive controller capable of compensating for a variety of fault modes. Regardless of the approach for reconfigurable flight control, certain fault modes dictate system restructuring in order to prevent a catastrophic failure. System restructuring enables active control of actuation not employed by the nominal system to recover controllability of the aircraft. After system restructuring, continued operation requires the generation of flight paths that adhere to an altered flight envelope. The control architecture developed in this research employs a multi-tiered hierarchy to allow unmanned aircraft to generate and track safe flight paths despite the occurrence of potentially catastrophic faults. The hierarchical architecture increases the level of autonomy of the system by integrating five functionalities with the baseline system: fault detection and identification, active system restructuring, reconfigurable flight control; reconfigurable path planning, and mission adaptation. Fault detection and identification algorithms continually monitor aircraft performance and issue fault declarations. When the severity of a fault exceeds the capability of the baseline flight controller, active system restructuring expands the controllability of the aircraft using unconventional control strategies not exploited by the baseline controller. Each of the reconfigurable flight controllers and the baseline controller employ a proven adaptive neural network control strategy. A reconfigurable path planner employs an adaptive model of the vehicle to re-shape the desired flight path. Generation of the revised

Autonomous Acquisition of Science Quality Spectra from Unmanned Aerial Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mandl, Daniel; Campbell, Petya; Sohlberg, Robert; Cappelaere, Pat; Ong, Lawrence

2017-01-01

This is a presentation on a technique for using Unmanned Aerial Systems with intelligent sensing to create science quality data. In this particular case, the team used two spectrometers with high spectral resolution and developed a technique to have the spectrometers self calibrate so that it is possible to take the measurements within the allocated 10 minute flight times. Because there is both upwelling and downwelling foreoptics on each of the two spectrometers, it becomes slow to set the calibration up for all four possibilities which relates to the integration time and then take the measurements. If light conditions change too rapidly then the measurements won't be scaled so that the spectra max is at least 85% of the instrument max but not saturated. This process was more difficult then it appeared due to the complexity of determining the integration time before light conditions changed and before the battery runs our of charge to fly the Unmanned Aerial System. This presentation goes over the results for the first few flight days and the planned future flight experiments.

Pegasus XL CYGNSS Prepared for Launch Aboard Orbital ATK's L-101

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-12-10

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Skid Strip the Orbital ATK L-1011 Stargazer aircraft is being prepared to launch NASA's Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System, or CYGNSS, spacecraft. The eight micro satellites are aboard an Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket strapped to the underside of the Stargazer. CYGNSS is scheduled for its airborne launch aboard the Pegasus XL rocket from the Skid Strip on Dec. 12. CYGNSS will make frequent and accurate measurements of ocean surface winds throughout the life cycle of tropical storms and hurricanes. The data that CYGNSS provides will enable scientists to probe key air-sea interaction processes that take place near the core of storms, which are rapidly changing and play a critical role in the beginning and intensification of hurricanes.

21 CFR 1240.90 - Approval of treatment aboard conveyances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Approval of treatment aboard conveyances. 1240.90 Section 1240.90 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) REGULATIONS UNDER CERTAIN OTHER ACTS ADMINISTERED BY THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION CONTROL OF...

Design of an Active Bumper with a Series Elastic Actuator for Pedestrian Protection of Small Unmanned Vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Terumasa, Narukawa; Tomoki, Tsuge; Hiroshi, Yamamoto; Takahiro, Suzuki

2016-09-01

When autonomous unmanned vehicles are operated on sidewalks, the vehicles must have high safety standards such as avoiding injury when they come in contact with pedestrians. In this study, we established a design for preventing serious injury when such collisions occur. We designed an active bumper with a series elastic actuator, with the goal of avoiding serious injury to a pedestrian in a collision with a small unmanned vehicle. The series elastic actuator comprised an elastic element in series with a table driven by a ball screw and servo motor. The active bumper was used to control the contact force between a vehicle and a pedestrian. The optimal force for minimizing the deflection of the object of the collision was derived, and the actuator controlled to apply this optimal force. Numerical simulations showed that the active bumper was successful in improving the collision safety of small unmanned vehicles.

Detection of nitrogen deficiency in potatoes using small unmanned aircraft systems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) are recognized as potentially important remote-sensing platforms for precision agriculture. However, research is required to determine which sensors and data processing methods are required to use sUAS in an efficient and cost-effective manner. We set up a ni...

Human-Guided Management of Collaborating Unmanned Vehicles in Degraded Communication Environments

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-05-01

system operated by the U.S. Air Force exemplifies the utility of unmanned systems. Predator drones have been employed extensively in intelligence...Massachusetts, USA), 2005. [50] Flint, M., T. Khobanova, and M. Curry , “Decentralized control using global optimization,” in Pro- ceedings of the AIAA

The Hawai'i Undersea Research Laboratory: Applying Innovative Deep-sea Technologies Toward Research, Service, and Stewardship in Marine Protected Areas of the Pacific Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, J. R.

2012-12-01

The Hawai'i Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL) is the only U.S. deep submergence facility in the Pacific Rim tasked with supporting undersea research necessary to fulfill the mission, goals, and objectives of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), along with other national interests of importance. Over 30 years of submersible operations have resulted in nearly 1900 dives representing 9300 hours underwater, and a benthic ecology database derived from in-house video record logging of over 125,000 entries based on 1100 unique deep-sea animal identifications in the Hawaiian Archipelago. As a Regional Center within the Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER), HURL conducts undersea research in offshore and nearshore waters of the main and Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and waters of the central, southern, and western Pacific. HURL facilities primarily support marine research projects that require data acquisition at depths greater than wet diving methods. These consist of the research vessel Ka'imikai-o-Kanaloa (KOK), human occupied submersibles Pisces IV and Pisces V (2000 m), a new remotely operated vehicle (6000 m), and a multibeam bathymetric sonar system (11,000 m). In addition, HURL has also supported AAUS compliant wet diving since 2003, including technical mixed gas/rebreather work. While ecosystem studies of island, atoll, and seamount flanks are the largest component of the HURL science program, many other thematic research areas have been targeted including extreme and unique environments, new resources from the sea, episodic events to long term changes, and the development of innovative technologies. Several examples of HURL's contributions to marine protected areas (MPAs) include: (a) A long term presence in the pristine ecosystems of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Researchers from National Marine Fisheries have used HURL assets to study endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal habitat

Small unmanned aircraft systems for remote sensing and Earth science research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hugenholtz, Chris H.; Moorman, Brian J.; Riddell, Kevin; Whitehead, Ken

2012-06-01

To understand and predict Earth-surface dynamics, scientists often rely on access to the latest remote sensing data. Over the past several decades, considerable progress has been made in the development of specialized Earth observation sensors for measuring a wide range of processes and features. Comparatively little progress has been made, however, in the development of new platforms upon which these sensors can be deployed. Conventional platforms are still almost exclusively restricted to piloted aircraft and satellites. For many Earth science research questions and applications these platforms do not yet have the resolution or operational flexibility to provide answers affordably. The most effective remote sensing data match the spatiotemporal scale of the process or feature of interest. An emerging technology comprising unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), is poised to offer a viable alternative to conventional platforms for acquiring high-resolution remote sensing data with increased operational flexibility, lower cost, and greater versatility (Figure 1).

The NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Unmanned Aircraft System Service Capabilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bauer, Jeff

2007-01-01

Over 60 years of Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) expertise at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center are being leveraged to provide capability and expertise to the international UAS community. The DFRC brings together technical experts, UAS, and an operational environment to provide government and industry a broad capability to conduct research, perform operations, and mature systems, sensors, and regulation. The cornerstone of this effort is the acquisition of both a Global Hawk (Northrop Grumman Corporation, Los Angeles, California) and Predator B (General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., San Diego, California) unmanned aircraft system (UAS). In addition, a test range for small UAS will allow developers to conduct research and development flights without the need to obtain approval from civil authorities. Finally, experts are available to government and industry to provide safety assessments in support of operations in civil airspace. These services will allow developers to utilize limited resources to their maximum capability in a highly competitive environment.

The NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Unmanned Aircraft System Service Capabilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bauer, Jeff

2007-01-01

Over 60 years of Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) expertise at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Dryden Flight Research Center are being leveraged to provide capability and expertise to the international UAS community. The DFRC brings together technical experts, UAS, and an operational environment to provide government and industry a broad capability to conduct research, perform operations, and mature systems, sensors, and regulation. The cornerstone of this effort is the acquisition of both a Global Hawk (Northrop Grumman Corporation, Los Angeles, California) and Predator B (General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., San Diego, California) unmanned aircraft system (UAS). In addition, a test range for small UAS will allow developers to conduct research and development flights without the need to obtain approval from civil authorities. Finally, experts are available to government and industry to provide safety assessments in support of operations in civil airspace. These services will allow developers to utilize limited resources to their maximum capability in a highly competitive environment.

The effective use of unmanned aerial vehicles for local law enforcement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gasque, Leighton

This qualitative study was done to interview local law enforcement in Murfreesboro, Tennessee to determine if unmanned aerial vehicles could increase the safety of policy officers. Many police officers face dangerous scenarios on a daily basis; however, officers must also perform non-criminal related responsibilities that could put them in hazardous situations. UAVs have multiple capabilities that can decrease the number of hazards in an emergency situation whether it is environmental, traffic related, criminal activity, or investigations. Officers were interviewed to find whether or not unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) could be useful manpower on the police force. The study was also used to find whether or not officers foresee UAVs being used in law enforcement. The study revealed that UAVs could be used to add useful manpower to law enforcement based on the capabilities a UAV may have. Police officers cannot confirm whether or not they would be able to use a UAV until further research is conducted to examine the relation of costs to usage.

Automatic forest-fire measuring using ground stations and Unmanned Aerial Systems.

PubMed

Martínez-de Dios, José Ramiro; Merino, Luis; Caballero, Fernando; Ollero, Anibal

2011-01-01

This paper presents a novel system for automatic forest-fire measurement using cameras distributed at ground stations and mounted on Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). It can obtain geometrical measurements of forest fires in real-time such as the location and shape of the fire front, flame height and rate of spread, among others. Measurement of forest fires is a challenging problem that is affected by numerous potential sources of error. The proposed system addresses them by exploiting the complementarities between infrared and visual cameras located at different ground locations together with others onboard Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). The system applies image processing and geo-location techniques to obtain forest-fire measurements individually from each camera and then integrates the results from all the cameras using statistical data fusion techniques. The proposed system has been extensively tested and validated in close-to-operational conditions in field fire experiments with controlled safety conditions carried out in Portugal and Spain from 2001 to 2006.

Automatic Forest-Fire Measuring Using Ground Stations and Unmanned Aerial Systems

PubMed Central

Martínez-de Dios, José Ramiro; Merino, Luis; Caballero, Fernando; Ollero, Anibal

2011-01-01

This paper presents a novel system for automatic forest-fire measurement using cameras distributed at ground stations and mounted on Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). It can obtain geometrical measurements of forest fires in real-time such as the location and shape of the fire front, flame height and rate of spread, among others. Measurement of forest fires is a challenging problem that is affected by numerous potential sources of error. The proposed system addresses them by exploiting the complementarities between infrared and visual cameras located at different ground locations together with others onboard Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). The system applies image processing and geo-location techniques to obtain forest-fire measurements individually from each camera and then integrates the results from all the cameras using statistical data fusion techniques. The proposed system has been extensively tested and validated in close-to-operational conditions in field fire experiments with controlled safety conditions carried out in Portugal and Spain from 2001 to 2006. PMID:22163958

Real-Time Risk Assessment Framework for Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ancel, Ersin; Capristan, Francisco M.; Foster, John V.; Condotta, Ryan

2017-01-01

The new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Small Unmanned Aircraft rule (Part 107) marks the first national regulations for commercial operation of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) under 55 pounds within the National Airspace System (NAS). Although sUAS flights may not be performed beyond visual line-of-sight or over non- participant structures and people, safety of sUAS operations must still be maintained and tracked at all times. Moreover, future safety-critical operation of sUAS (e.g., for package delivery) are already being conceived and tested. NASA's Unmanned Aircraft System Trac Management (UTM) concept aims to facilitate the safe use of low-altitude airspace for sUAS operations. This paper introduces the UTM Risk Assessment Framework (URAF) which was developed to provide real-time safety evaluation and tracking capability within the UTM concept. The URAF uses Bayesian Belief Networks (BBNs) to propagate off -nominal condition probabilities based on real-time component failure indicators. This information is then used to assess the risk to people on the ground by calculating the potential impact area and the effects of the impact. The visual representation of the expected area of impact and the nominal risk level can assist operators and controllers with dynamic trajectory planning and execution. The URAF was applied to a case study to illustrate the concept.

RQ-2 Pioneer: The Flawed System that Redefined US Unmanned Aviation

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-02-01

Periscope.com, “RQ-2 Pioneer,” http://www.militaryperiscope.com/weapons/aircraft/rpv- dron /w0004685.html 28 Ibid. 29 Jane’s Unmanned Aerial...Military Periscope.com, “RQ-2 Pioneer.” http://www.militaryperiscope.com/weapons/aircraft/rpv- dron /w0004685.html Polmar, Norman, The Naval

The use of small unmanned aircraft by the Washington State Department of Transportation

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-06-01

Small, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly affordable, easy to transport and launch, : and can be equipped with cameras that provide information usable for transportation agencies. The : Washington State Department of Transportation cond...

Integrated Unmanned Air-Ground Robotics System, Volume 4

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-08-20

3) IPT Integrated Product Team IRP Intermediate Power Rating JAUGS TBD JCDL TBD Joint Vision 2020 TBD Km Kilometer lbs. pounds MAE Mechanical and...compatible with emerging JCDL and/or JAUGS . 2.3.2.2. Payload must be “plug and play.” 2.3.3. Communications 2.3.3.1. System communications shall be robust...Power JCDL JAUGS Joint Architecture for Unmanned Ground Systems JP-8 Jet Propulsion Fuel 8 km Kilometer lbs. Pounds LOS Line Of Sight MAE Mechanical

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project KDP-C Review

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grindle, Laurie; Sakahara, Robert; Hackenberg, Davis; Johnson, William

2017-01-01

The topics discussed are the UAS-NAS project life-cycle and ARMD thrust flow down, as well as the UAS environments and how we operate in those environments. NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards, CA, is leading a project designed to help integrate unmanned air vehicles into the world around us. The Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the National Airspace System project, or UAS in the NAS, will contribute capabilities designed to reduce technical barriers related to safety and operational challenges associated with enabling routine UAS access to the NAS. The project falls under the Integrated Systems Research Program office managed at NASA Headquarters by the agency's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. NASA's four aeronautics research centers - Armstrong, Ames Research Center, Langley Research Center, and Glenn Research Center - are part of the technology development project. With the use and diversity of unmanned aircraft growing rapidly, new uses for these vehicles are constantly being considered. Unmanned aircraft promise new ways of increasing efficiency, reducing costs, enhancing safety and saving lives 460265main_ED10-0132-16_full.jpg Unmanned aircraft systems such as NASA's Global Hawks (above) and Predator B named Ikhana (below), along with numerous other unmanned aircraft systems large and small, are the prime focus of the UAS in the NAS effort to integrate them into the national airspace. Credits: NASA Photos 710580main_ED07-0243-37_full.jpg The UAS in the NAS project envisions performance-based routine access to all segments of the national airspace for all unmanned aircraft system classes, once all safety-related and technical barriers are overcome. The project will provide critical data to such key stakeholders and customers as the Federal Aviation Administration and RTCA Special Committee 203 (formerly the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics) by conducting integrated, relevant system-level tests to adequately address

The Role of Spatial Ability in the Relationship Between Video Game Experience and Route Effectiveness Among Unmanned Vehicle Operators

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-12-01

1  THE ROLE OF SPATIAL ABILITY IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VIDEO GAME EXPERIENCE AND ROUTE EFFECTIVENESS AMONG UNMANNED VEHICLE OPERATORS...ABSTRACT Effective route planning is essential to the successful operation of unmanned vehicles. Video game experience has been shown to affect...route planning and execution, but why video game experience helps has not been addressed. One answer may be that spatial skills, necessary for route

Evolution of A Distributed Live, Virtual, Constructive Environment for Human in the Loop Unmanned Aircraft Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murphy, James R.; Otto, Neil M.

2017-01-01

NASA's Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the National Airspace System Project is conducting human in the loop simulations and flight testing intended to reduce barriers associated with enabling routine airspace access for unmanned aircraft. The primary focus of these tests is interaction of the unmanned aircraft pilot with the display of detect and avoid alerting and guidance information. The project's integrated test and evaluation team was charged with developing the test infrastructure. As with any development effort, compromises in the underlying system architecture and design were made to allow for the rapid prototyping and open-ended nature of the research. In order to accommodate these design choices, a distributed test environment was developed incorporating Live, Virtual, Constructive, (LVC) concepts. The LVC components form the core infrastructure support simulation of UAS operations by integrating live and virtual aircraft in a realistic air traffic environment. This LVC infrastructure enables efficient testing by leveraging the use of existing assets distributed across multiple NASA Centers. Using standard LVC concepts enable future integration with existing simulation infrastructure.

Evolution of A Distributed Live, Virtual, Constructive Environment for Human in the Loop Unmanned Aircraft Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murphy, Jim; Otto, Neil

2017-01-01

NASA's Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the National Airspace System Project is conducting human in the loop simulations and flight testing intended to reduce barriers associated with enabling routine airspace access for unmanned aircraft. The primary focus of these tests is interaction of the unmanned aircraft pilot with the display of detect and avoid alerting and guidance information. The projects integrated test and evaluation team was charged with developing the test infrastructure. As with any development effort, compromises in the underlying system architecture and design were made to allow for the rapid prototyping and open-ended nature of the research. In order to accommodate these design choices, a distributed test environment was developed incorporating Live, Virtual, Constructive, (LVC) concepts. The LVC components form the core infrastructure support simulation of UAS operations by integrating live and virtual aircraft in a realistic air traffic environment. This LVC infrastructure enables efficient testing by leveraging the use of existing assets distributed across multiple NASA Centers. Using standard LVC concepts enable future integration with existing simulation infrastructure.

Evaluation of Routine Atmospheric Sounding Measurements Using Unmanned Systems (ERASMUS) Field Campaign Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

de Boer, Gijs; Lawrence, Dale; Palo, Scott

The Evaluation of Routine Atmospheric Sounding Measurements using Unmanned Systems (ERASMUS) campaign was proposed with two central goals; to obtain scientifically relevant measurements of quantities related to clouds, aerosols, and radiation, including profiles of temperature, humidity, and aerosol particles, the structure of the arctic atmosphere during transitions between clear and cloudy states, measurements that would allow us to evaluate the performance of retrievals from U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility remote sensors in the Arctic atmosphere, and information on the spatial variability of heat and moisture fluxes from the arctic surface; and to demonstratemore » unmanned aerial system (UAS) capabilities in obtaining measurements relevant to the ARM and ASR programs, particularly for improving our understanding of Arctic clouds and aerosols.« less

Sensor deployment on unmanned ground vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerhart, Grant R.; Witus, Gary

2007-10-01

TARDEC has been developing payloads for small robots as part of its unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) development programs. These platforms typically weigh less than 100 lbs and are used for various physical security and force protection applications. This paper will address a number of technical issues including platform mobility, payload positioning, sensor configuration and operational tradeoffs. TARDEC has developed a number of robots with different mobility mechanisms including track, wheel and hybrid track/wheel running gear configurations. An extensive discussion will focus upon omni-directional vehicle (ODV) platforms with enhanced intrinsic mobility for positioning sensor payloads. This paper also discusses tradeoffs between intrinsic platform mobility and articulated arm complexity for end point positioning of modular sensor packages.

Emission Measurements of Open Area Combustion Sources with an Unmanned Aerial System

EPA Science Inventory

miniaturized sensor/sampler system (“Kolibri”) on a six-motor, unmanned aerial system (UAS) was used to quantify emissions from open burning of obsolete military propellants. The UAS afforded the ability to sample plume emissions at altitude and from a safe distance ...

An Adaptive Altitude Information Fusion Method for Autonomous Landing Processes of Small Unmanned Aerial Rotorcraft

PubMed Central

Lei, Xusheng; Li, Jingjing

2012-01-01

This paper presents an adaptive information fusion method to improve the accuracy and reliability of the altitude measurement information for small unmanned aerial rotorcraft during the landing process. Focusing on the low measurement performance of sensors mounted on small unmanned aerial rotorcraft, a wavelet filter is applied as a pre-filter to attenuate the high frequency noises in the sensor output. Furthermore, to improve altitude information, an adaptive extended Kalman filter based on a maximum a posteriori criterion is proposed to estimate measurement noise covariance matrix in real time. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is proved by static tests, hovering flight and autonomous landing flight tests. PMID:23201993

Design of Genetic Algorithms for Topology Control of Unmanned Vehicles

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-01-01

decentralised topology control mechanism distributed among active running software agents to achieve a uniform spread of terrestrial unmanned vehicles...14. ABSTRACT We present genetic algorithms (GAs) as a decentralised topology control mechanism distributed among active running software agents to...inspired topology control algorithm. The topology control of UVs using a decentralised solution over an unknown geographical terrain is a challenging

The Evaluation of Methicillin Resistance in Staphylococcus aboard the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ott, C. M.; Bassinger, V. J.; Fontenot, S. L.; Castro, V. A.; Pierson, D. L.

2005-01-01

The International Space Station (ISS) represents a semi-closed environment with a high level of crewmember interaction. As community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has emerged as a health concern in environments with susceptible hosts in close proximity, an evaluation of isolates of clinical and environmental Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase negative Staphylococcus was performed to determine if this trend was also present in astronauts aboard ISS or the space station itself. Rep-PCR fingerprinting analysis of archived ISS isolates confirmed our earlier studies indicating a transfer of S. aureus between crewmembers. In addition, this fingerprinting also indicated a transfer between crewmembers and their environment. While a variety of S. aureus were identified from both the crewmembers and the environment, phenotypic evaluations indicated minimal methicillin resistance. However, positive results for the Penicillin Binding Protein, indicative of the presence of the mecA gene, were detected in multiple isolates of archived Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus haemolyticus. Phenotypic analysis of these isolates confirmed their resistance to methicillin. While MRSA has not been isolated aboard ISS, the potential exists for the transfer of the gene, mecA, from coagulase negative environmental Staphylococcus to S. aureus creating MRSA strains. This study suggests the need to expand environmental monitoring aboard long duration exploration spacecraft to include antibiotic resistance profiling.

Enabling unmanned capabilities in the tactical wheeled vehicle fleet of the future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zych, Noah

2012-06-01

From transporting troops and weapons systems to supplying beans, bullets, and Band-Aids to front-line warfighters, tactical wheeled vehicles serve as the materiel backbone anywhere there are boots on the ground. Drawing from the U.S. Army's Tactical Wheeled Vehicle Strategy and the Marine Corps Vision & Strategy 2025 reports, one may conclude that the services have modest expectations for the introduction of large unmanned ground systems into operational roles in the next 15 years. However, the Department of Defense has already invested considerably in the research and development of full-size UGVs-and commanders deployed in both Iraq and Afghanistan have advocated the urgent fielding of early incarnations of this technology, believing it could make a difference on their battlefields today. For military UGVs to evolve from mere tactical advantages into strategic assets with developed doctrine, they must become as trustworthy as a well-trained warfighter in performing their assigned task. Starting with the Marine Corps' ongoing Cargo Unmanned Ground Vehicle program as a baseline, and informed by feedback from previously deployed subject matter experts, this paper examines the gaps which presently exist in UGVs from a mission-capable perspective. It then considers viable near-term technical solutions to meet today's functional requirements, as well as long-term development strategies to enable truly robust performance. With future conflicts expected to be characterized by increasingly complex operational environments and a broad spectrum of rapidly adapting threats, one of the largest challenges for unmanned ground systems will be the ability to exhibit agility in unpredictable circumstances.

Lightweight carbon nanotube-based structural-energy storage devices for micro unmanned systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rivera, Monica; Cole, Daniel P.; Hahm, Myung Gwan; Reddy, Arava L. M.; Vajtai, Robert; Ajayan, Pulickel M.; Karna, Shashi P.; Bundy, Mark L.

2012-06-01

There is a strong need for small, lightweight energy storage devices that can satisfy the ever increasing power and energy demands of micro unmanned systems. Currently, most commercial and developmental micro unmanned systems utilize commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) lithium polymer batteries for their energy storage needs. While COTS lithium polymer batteries are the industry norm, the weight of these batteries can account for up to 60% of the overall system mass and the capacity of these batteries can limit mission durations to the order of only a few minutes. One method to increase vehicle endurance without adding mass or sacrificing payload capabilities is to incorporate multiple system functions into a single material or structure. For example, the body or chassis of a micro vehicle could be replaced with a multifunctional material that would serve as both the vehicle structure and the on-board energy storage device. In this paper we present recent progress towards the development of carbon nanotube (CNT)-based structural-energy storage devices for micro unmanned systems. Randomly oriented and vertically aligned CNT-polymer composite electrodes with varying degrees of flexibility are used as the primary building blocks for lightweight structural-supercapacitors. For the purpose of this study, the mechanical properties of the CNT-based electrodes and the charge-discharge behavior of the supercapacitor devices are examined. Because incorporating multifunctionality into a single component often degrades the properties or performance of individual structures, the performance and property tradeoffs of the CNT-based structural-energy storage devices will also be discussed.

Evaluating the use of unmanned aerial vehicles for transportation purposes : [parts A-D].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-03-01

Advances in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology have enabled these tools to become : easier to use and afford. In a budget-limited environment, these flexible remote sensing : technologies can help address transportation agency needs in operatio...

Unmanned Ground Vehicle Perception Using Thermal Infrared Cameras

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rankin, Arturo; Huertas, Andres; Matthies, Larry; Bajracharya, Max; Assad, Christopher; Brennan, Shane; Bellut, Paolo; Sherwin, Gary

2011-01-01

TIR cameras can be used for day/night Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) autonomous navigation when stealth is required. The quality of uncooled TIR cameras has significantly improved over the last decade, making them a viable option at low speed Limiting factors for stereo ranging with uncooled LWIR cameras are image blur and low texture scenes TIR perception capabilities JPL has explored includes: (1) single and dual band TIR terrain classification (2) obstacle detection (pedestrian, vehicle, tree trunks, ditches, and water) (3) perception thru obscurants

Methods for Evaluating the Temperature Structure-Function Parameter Using Unmanned Aerial Systems and Large-Eddy Simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wainwright, Charlotte E.; Bonin, Timothy A.; Chilson, Phillip B.; Gibbs, Jeremy A.; Fedorovich, Evgeni; Palmer, Robert D.

2015-05-01

Small-scale turbulent fluctuations of temperature are known to affect the propagation of both electromagnetic and acoustic waves. Within the inertial-subrange scale, where the turbulence is locally homogeneous and isotropic, these temperature perturbations can be described, in a statistical sense, using the structure-function parameter for temperature, . Here we investigate different methods of evaluating , using data from a numerical large-eddy simulation together with atmospheric observations collected by an unmanned aerial system and a sodar. An example case using data from a late afternoon unmanned aerial system flight on April 24 2013 and corresponding large-eddy simulation data is presented and discussed.

An Analysis of Human Causal Factors in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Accidents

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-12-01

202 • Drugs/over-the-counter medication/supplements (not prescribed) PP 203 • Nutrition/ diet PP 204 • Inadequate rest (self-imposed) PP 205...2008). A survey of unmanned aircraft systems regulation: Status and future perspectives. Paper presented at 16th Mediterranean Conference on Control

Unmanned Multiple Exploratory Probe System (MEPS) for Mars observation. Volume 2: Calculations and derivations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adams, Daniel E.; Crumbly, Christopher M.; Delp, Steve E.; Guidry, Michelle A.; Lisano, Michael E.; Packard, James D.; Striepe, Scott A.

1988-01-01

This volume of the final report on the unmanned Multiple Exploratory Probe System (MEPS) details all calculations, derivations, and computer programs that support the information presented in the first volume.

All weather collision avoidance for unmanned aircraft systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Contarino, Mark

2010-04-01

For decades, military and other national security agencies have been denied unfettered access to the National Air Space (NAS) because their unmanned aircraft lack a highly reliable and effective collision avoidance capability. The controlling agency, the Federal Aviation Administration, justifiably demands "no harm" to the safety of the NAS. To overcome the constraints imposed on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) use of the NAS, a new, complex, conformable collision avoidance system has been developed - one that will be effective in all flyable weather conditions, overcoming the shortfalls of other sensing systems, including radar, lidar, acoustic, EO/IR, etc., while meeting form factor and cost criteria suitable for Tier II UAS operations. The system also targets Tier I as an ultimate goal, understanding the operational limitations of the smallest UASs may require modification of the design that is suitable for Tier II and higher. The All Weather Sense and Avoid System (AWSAS) takes into account the FAA's plan to incorporate ADS-B (out) for all aircraft by 2020, and it is intended to make collision avoidance capability available for UAS entry into the NAS as early as 2013. When approved, UASs can fly mission or training flights in the NAS free of the constraints presently in place. Upon implementation this system will achieve collision avoidance capability for UASs deployed for national security purposes and will allow expansion of UAS usage for commercial or other civil purposes.

Integrated consensus-based frameworks for unmanned vehicle routing and targeting assignment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barnawi, Waleed T.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly deployed in complex and dynamic environments to perform multiple tasks cooperatively with other UAVs that contribute to overarching mission effectiveness. Studies by the Department of Defense (DoD) indicate future operations may include anti-access/area-denial (A2AD) environments which limit human teleoperator decision-making and control. This research addresses the problem of decentralized vehicle re-routing and task reassignments through consensus-based UAV decision-making. An Integrated Consensus-Based Framework (ICF) is formulated as a solution to the combined single task assignment problem and vehicle routing problem. The multiple assignment and vehicle routing problem is solved with the Integrated Consensus-Based Bundle Framework (ICBF). The frameworks are hierarchically decomposed into two levels. The bottom layer utilizes the renowned Dijkstra's Algorithm. The top layer addresses task assignment with two methods. The single assignment approach is called the Caravan Auction Algorithm (CarA) Algorithm. This technique extends the Consensus-Based Auction Algorithm (CBAA) to provide awareness for task completion by agents and adopt abandoned tasks. The multiple assignment approach called the Caravan Auction Bundle Algorithm (CarAB) extends the Consensus-Based Bundle Algorithm (CBBA) by providing awareness for lost resources, prioritizing remaining tasks, and adopting abandoned tasks. Research questions are investigated regarding the novelty and performance of the proposed frameworks. Conclusions regarding the research questions will be provided through hypothesis testing. Monte Carlo simulations will provide evidence to support conclusions regarding the research hypotheses for the proposed frameworks. The approach provided in this research addresses current and future military operations for unmanned aerial vehicles. However, the general framework implied by the proposed research is adaptable to any unmanned

Microgravity Science Glovebox Aboard the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

In the Destiny laboratory aboard the International Space Station (ISS), European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain is seen working at the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG). He is working with the PROMISS experiment, which will investigate the growth processes of proteins during weightless conditions. The PROMISS is one of the Cervantes program of tests (consisting of 20 commercial experiments). The MSG is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC).

KSC-04pd1497

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-07-07

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The boat with NEEMO-6 personnel ties up at the dock in Key Largo after a training session offshore at NASA’s undersea research station, named Aquarius. At right is Bill Todd, project lead. The NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 6 (NEEMO-6) mission involves spacewalk-like diving excursions and field-testing a variety of biomedical equipment designed to help astronauts living aboard the International Space Station. The NEEMO-6 team comprises astronaut John Herrington, mission commander, astronauts Doug Wheelock and Nick Patrick, and biomedical engineer Tara Ruttley. To prepare for their 10-day stay, the team had dive training twice a day at the Life Support Buoy, anchored above Aquarius.

KSC-04pd1496

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-07-07

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A boat returns to the dock in Key Largo from a training session offshore at NASA’s undersea research station, named Aquarius. At left is Marc Reagan, lead on the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 6 (NEEMO-6) mission. In the bow is astronaut John Herrington, mission commander. The others are support personnel. Members of the team also include astronauts Doug Wheelock and Nick Patrick, and biomedical engineer Tara Ruttley. To prepare for their 10-day stay, the team had dive training twice a day. While stationed in Aquarius, the team conducted spacewalk-like diving excursions and field-testing a variety of biomedical equipment designed to help astronauts living aboard the International Space Station.

Unmanned Ground Vehicle Navigation and Coverage Hole Patching in Wireless Sensor Networks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Guyu

2013-01-01

This dissertation presents a study of an Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) navigation and coverage hole patching in coordinate-free and localization-free Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). Navigation and coverage maintenance are related problems since coverage hole patching requires effective navigation in the sensor network environment. A…

Search and Pursuit with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Road Networks

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-11-01

production volume in each area for use in consumer electronics. Simultaneously, a shift in defense strategy towards unmanned vehicles, particularly...Vöcking. Randomized pursuit-evasion in graphs. Combinatorics, Probability and Computing, 12:225–244, May 2003. [3] AeroVironment Inc. Raven Product Data...Ali and Mubarak Shah. COCOA - tracking in aerial imagery. In SPIE Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance Systems and Applications, 2006

Crew Members - First Manned Apollo Flight - Unmanned Mission Launch - Cape

NASA Image and Video Library

1968-01-22

S68-18700 (22 Jan. 1968) --- Two prime crew members of the first manned Apollo space flight were present at Cape Kennedy for the launch of the Apollo V (LM-1/Saturn 204) unmanned space mission. On left is astronaut Walter M. Schirra Jr.; and on right is astronaut R. Walter Cunningham. In background is the Apollo V stack at Launch Complex 37 ready for launch.

Maritime Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems (TUAS) in Navy Strike Groups Can Improve Maritime Domain Awareness for the Operational Commander

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-10-31

Proposal, staff study, 5 September 2007. 4 Thomas H. Kean, and Lee Hamilton. The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National...January 2008. http://www.cnaf.navy.mil/nae/main.asp?ItemID=12.   41  Tim Dunigan, “Vertical Take-off and Landing Tactical Unmanned Air Vehicle...September 2007. Berner , Robert A. The Effective Use of Multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Surface Search and Control. Ft. Belvoir: Defense

Fuel cell powered small unmanned aerial systems (UASs) for extended endurance flights

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, Deryn; Jiang, R.; Dunbar, Z.; Grew, Kyle; McClure, J.

2015-05-01

Small unmanned aerial systems (UASs) have been used for military applications and have additional potential for commercial applications [1-4]. For the military, these systems provide valuable intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and target acquisition (ISRTA) capabilities for units at the infantry, battalion, and company levels. The small UASs are light-weight, manportable, can be hand-launched, and are capable of carrying payloads. Currently, most small UASs are powered by lithium-ion or lithium polymer batteries; however, the flight endurance is usually limited less than two hours and requires frequent battery replacement. Long endurance small UAS flights have been demonstrated through the implementation of a fuel cell system. For instance, a propane fueled solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack has been used to power a small UAS and shown to extend mission flight time. The research and development efforts presented here not only apply to small UASs, but also provide merit to the viability of extending mission operations for other unmanned systems applications.

The Development of Human Factor Guidelines for Unmanned Aircraft System Control Stations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hobbs, Alan

2014-01-01

Despite being referred to as unmanned some of the major challenges confronting unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) relate to human factors. NASA is conducting research to address the human factors relevant to UAS access to non-segregated airspace. This work covers the issues of pilot performance, interaction with ATC, and control station design. A major outcome of this research will be recommendations for human factors design guidelines for UAS control stations to support routine beyond-line-of-sight operations in the US national airspace system (NAS). To be effective, guidelines must be relevant to a wide range of systems, must not be overly prescriptive, and must not impose premature standardization on evolving technologies. In developing guidelines, we recognize that existing regulatory and guidance material may already provide adequate coverage of certain issues. In other cases suitable guidelines may be found in existing military or industry human factors standards. In cases where appropriate existing standards cannot be identified, original guidelines will be proposed.

Peculiarities of ultrastructure of Chlorella cells growing aboard the Bion-10 during 12 days

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Popova, A. F.; Sytnik, K. M.

The ultrastructure of Chlorella cells grown in darkness on a solid agar medium with organic additions aboard the Bion-1O biosatellite was studied. Certain differences in submicroscopic organization of organelles in the experimental cells were revealed compared to the Earth control. The changes are registered mainly in ultrastructure of energetic organelles - mitochondria and plastids of the experimental cells, in particular, an increase of mitochondria and their cristae size, as well as an increase of the total volume of mitochondrion per cell were established. The decrease of the starch amount in the plastid stroma and the electron density of the latter was also observed. In many experimental cells, the increase of condensed chromatin in the nuclei has been noted. Ultrastructural rearrangements in cells after laboratory experiment realized according to the thermogram registered aboard the Bion-10 were insignificant compared to the flight experiment. Data obtained are compared to results of space flight experiments carried out aboard the Bion-9 (polycomponent aquatic system) and the orbital station Mir (solid agar medium).

Project Prospector: Unmanned Exploration and Apollo Support Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1969-01-01

Prior to the establishment of a manned lunar observatory or base, it is essential that a compendium of information be available on the environment, composition, structure, and topography of the moon. In an effort to satisfy this need for improved and detailed information, NASA has undertaken a lunar program which ranges from the utilization of circumlunar flight vehicles, equipped with automatic photographic and radiation measuring equipment which responds to commands from the earth, to actual determination of surface composition and features obtained from unmanned instrumented spacecraft which impact the moon.

Unmanned Aircraft Systems For CryoSat-2 Validation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crocker, Roger Ian; Maslanik, James A.

2011-02-01

A suite of sensors has been assembled to map surface elevation with fine-resolution from small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The sensor package consists of a light detecting and ranging (LIDAR) instrument, an inertial measurement unit (IMU), a GPS module, and digital still and video cameras. It has been utilized to map ice sheet topography in Greenland and to measure sea ice freeboard and roughness in Fram Strait. Data collected during these campaigns illustrate its potential to compliment ongoing CryoSat-2 (CS-2) calibration and validation efforts.

Astronauts Don Lind observes growth of crystals in VCGS aboard orbiter

NASA Image and Video Library

1985-04-30

51B-01-007 (30 April 1985) --- Astronaut Don L. Lind, 51-B Spacelab 3 mission specialist, observes the growth of mercuric iodide crystal in the vapor crystal growth system (VCGS) on the Spacelab 3 science module aboard the orbiter Challenger.

MQ-9 Reaper Unmanned Aircraft System (MQ-9 Reaper)

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-12-01

Selected Acquisition Report ( SAR ) RCS: DD-A&T(Q&A)823-424 MQ-9 Reaper Unmanned Aircraft System (MQ-9 Reaper) As of FY 2017 President’s Budget...Defense Acquisition Management Information Retrieval (DAMIR) March 23, 2016 16:18:05 UNCLASSIFIED MQ-9 Reaper December 2015 SAR March 23, 2016 16:18:05...2015 SAR March 23, 2016 16:18:05 UNCLASSIFIED 3 PB - President’s Budget PE - Program Element PEO - Program Executive Officer PM - Program Manager

Optimal Collision Avoidance Trajectories for Unmanned/Remotely Piloted Aircraft

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-12-26

projected operational tempos (OPTEMPOs)” [15]. The Oce of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Unmanned Systems Roadmap [15] goes on to say that the airspace...methods [63]. In an indirect method, the researcher derives the first- order necessary conditions for optimality “via the calculus of variations and...region around the ownship using a variation of a superquadric. From [116], the standard equation for a superellipsoid appears as: ✓ x a1 ◆ 2 ✏ 2

National Unmanned Aircraft Systems Project Office

USGS Publications Warehouse

Goplen, Susan E.; Sloan, Jeff L.

2015-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Project Office leads the implementation of UAS technology in the Department of the Interior (DOI). Our mission is to support the transition of UAS into DOI as a new cost-effective tool for collecting remote-sensing data to monitor environmental conditions, respond to natural hazards, recognize the consequences and benefits of land and climate change and conduct wildlife inventories. The USGS is teaming with all DOI agencies and academia as well as local, State, and Tribal governments with guidance from the Federal Aviation Administration and the DOI Office of Aviation Services (OAS) to lead the safe, efficient, costeffective and leading-edge adoption of UAS technology into the scientific research and operational activities of the DOI.

MS Lucid places samples in the TEHOF aboard the Spektr module

NASA Image and Video Library

1997-03-26

STS079-S-082 (16-26 Sept. 1996) --- Cosmonaut guest researcher Shannon W. Lucid and Valeri G. Korzun, her Mir-22 commander, are pictured on the Spektr Module aboard Russia's Earth-orbiting Mir Space Station. Korzun was the third of four commanders that Lucid served with during her record-setting 188 consecutive days in space. Later, Lucid returned to Earth with her fourth commander-astronaut William F. Readdy-and five other NASA astronauts to complete the STS-79 mission. During the STS-79 mission, the crew used an IMAX camera to document activities aboard the space shuttle Atlantis and the various Mir modules. A hand-held version of the 65mm camera system accompanied the STS-79 crew into space in Atlantis' crew cabin. NASA has flown IMAX camera systems on many Shuttle missions, including a special cargo bay camera's coverage of other recent Shuttle-Mir rendezvous and/or docking missions.

Detection of potato beetle damage using remote sensing from small unmanned aircraft systems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Remote sensing with small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) has potential applications in agriculture because low flight altitudes allow image acquisition at very high spatial resolution. We set up experiments at the Oregon State University Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center (HAREC...

78 FR 20168 - Twenty Fourth Meeting: RTCA Special Committee 203, Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-03

... Washington, DC, on March 28, 2013. Paige Williams, Management Analyst, NextGen, Business Operations Group... Introductions Review Meeting Agenda Review/Approval of Twenty Third Plenary Meeting Summary Leadership Update... for Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Minimum Aviation System Performance Standards Other Business Adjourn...

Unmanned aircraft missions for rangeland remote sensing applications in the US National Airspace

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In recent years, civilian applications of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) have increased considerably due to their greater availability and the miniaturization of sensors, GPS, inertial measurement units, and other hardware. UAS are well suited for rangeland remote sensing applications, because of the...

Apollo experience report: Guidance and control systems. Mission control programmer for unmanned missions AS-202, Apollo 4, and Apollo 6

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holloway, G. F.

1975-01-01

An unmanned test flight program required to evaluate the command module heat shield and the structural integrity of the command and service module/Saturn launch vehicle is described. The mission control programer was developed to provide the unmanned interface between the guidance and navigation computer and the other spacecraft systems for mission event sequencing and real-time ground control during missions AS-202, Apollo 4, and Apollo 6. The development of this unmanned programer is traced from the initial concept through the flight test phase. Detailed discussions of hardware development problems are given with the resulting solutions. The mission control programer functioned correctly without any flight anomalies for all missions. The Apollo 4 mission control programer was reused for the Apollo 6 flight, thus being one of the first subsystems to be reflown on an Apollo space flight.

Managing the integration and harmonization of national airspace for unmanned and manned systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mumm, Hans

This dissertation examines the leadership challenge created by the requirement to integrate unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into the national airspace system (NAS). The lack of UAV-related federal rules and regulations is a primary factor prolonging this integration. This effort focuses primarily on the leadership portion of the solution and not the technological requirements. The research explores an adaptation of the complexity theory that offers a potential leadership framework for the government, industry, and academia to use for achieving the full integration of UAVs into the NAS. Due to the large number of stakeholders and the multitude of interrelated issues, a complexity-theory-leadership methodology was created and examined as a potential way to help the FAA accelerate their rule-making efforts. This dissertation focuses on United States UAV issues. The United States is one of the leaders in the unmanned systems arena, to include the first significant use of recoverable autonomous weaponized systems in combat. Issues such as airspace, airworthiness, social issues, privacy issues, regulations, and the lack of policies, procedures, or governance are universal for all countries that are active in this technology area. This qualitative dissertation makes use of the grounded theory methodology as it combines a literature review and research along with interviews with subject matter experts, and information gained from attending UAV related gatherings/discussions. The investigation uncovered significant FAA process impediments as well as some possible break through concepts that could work well with the complexity-theory-leadership methodology. Keywords: Complexity theory, leadership, change management, UAV, unmanned aerial vehicle, National Airspace, NAS, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration.

Autonomous vertical autorotation for unmanned helicopters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dalamagkidis, Konstantinos

Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) are considered the stepping stone for the integration of civil unmanned vehicles in the National Airspace System (NAS) because of their low cost and risk. Such systems are aimed at a variety of applications including search and rescue, surveillance, communications, traffic monitoring and inspection of buildings, power lines and bridges. Amidst these systems, small helicopters play an important role because of their capability to hold a position, to maneuver in tight spaces and to take off and land from virtually anywhere. Nevertheless civil adoption of such systems is minimal, mostly because of regulatory problems that in turn are due to safety concerns. This dissertation examines the risk to safety imposed by UAS in general and small helicopters in particular, focusing on accidents resulting in a ground impact. To improve the performance of small helicopters in this area, the use of autonomous autorotation is proposed. This research goes beyond previous work in the area of autonomous autorotation by developing an on-line, model-based, real-time controller that is capable of handling constraints and different cost functions. The approach selected is based on a non-linear model-predictive controller, that is augmented by a neural network to improve the speed of the non-linear optimization. The immediate benefit of this controller is that a class of failures that would otherwise result in an uncontrolled crash and possible injuries or fatalities can now be accommodated. Furthermore besides simply landing the helicopter, the controller is also capable of minimizing the risk of serious injury to people in the area. This is accomplished by minimizing the kinetic energy during the last phase of the descent. The presented research is designed to benefit the entire UAS community as well as the public, by allowing for safer UAS operations, which in turn also allow faster and less expensive integration of UAS in the NAS.

Integrating Unmanned Aerial Vehicles into Surveillance Systems in Complex Maritime Environments

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-09-01

endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aerial Surveillance System and 31 provides the U.S. Navy with demonstration capability primarily for doctrine , concept of...measures against information leakage Implement corresponding doctrines 1.4 Set up communication with other partners Set up communication with...Command and control for joint maritime operations. Joint publication 3-32, change 1. Retrieved from http://www.dtic.mil/ doctrine /new_pubs

What good are unmanned aircraft systems for agricultural remote sensing and precision agriculture?

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Civilian applications of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS, also called drones) are rapidly expanding into crop production. UAS acquire high spatial resolution remote sensing imagery that can be used three different ways in agriculture. One is to assist crop scouts looking for problems in crop fields....

Rangeland resource assessment, monitoring, and management using unmanned aerial vehicle-based remote sensing

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Civilian applications of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) have rapidly been expanding recently. Thanks to military development many civil UAVs come via the defense sector. Although numerous UAVs can perform civilian tasks, the regulations imposed by FAA in the national airspace system and military e...

Manned/Unmanned Common Architecture Program (MCAP) net centric flight tests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, Dale

2009-04-01

Properly architected avionics systems can reduce the costs of periodic functional improvements, maintenance, and obsolescence. With this in mind, the U.S. Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate (AATD) initiated the Manned/Unmanned Common Architecture Program (MCAP) in 2003 to develop an affordable, high-performance embedded mission processing architecture for potential application to multiple aviation platforms. MCAP analyzed Army helicopter and unmanned air vehicle (UAV) missions, identified supporting subsystems, surveyed advanced hardware and software technologies, and defined computational infrastructure technical requirements. The project selected a set of modular open systems standards and market-driven commercial-off-theshelf (COTS) electronics and software, and, developed experimental mission processors, network architectures, and software infrastructures supporting the integration of new capabilities, interoperability, and life cycle cost reductions. MCAP integrated the new mission processing architecture into an AH-64D Apache Longbow and participated in Future Combat Systems (FCS) network-centric operations field experiments in 2006 and 2007 at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), New Mexico and at the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) in 2008. The MCAP Apache also participated in PM C4ISR On-the-Move (OTM) Capstone Experiments 2007 (E07) and 2008 (E08) at Ft. Dix, NJ and conducted Mesa, Arizona local area flight tests in December 2005, February 2006, and June 2008.

Integration of unmanned systems for tactical operations within hostile environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maddux, Gary A.; Bosco, Charles D.; Lawrence, James D.

2006-05-01

The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) is currently investigating techniques and technologies for the integration of a small unmanned aerial vehicle (SUAV) with small unmanned ground vehicles (SUGV). Each vehicle has its own set of unique capabilities, but the efficient integration of the two for a specific application requires modifying and integrating both systems. UAH has been flying and testing an autonomously-controlled small helicopter, called the Flying Bassett (Base Airborne Surveillance and Sensing for Emergency Threat Tracking) for over a year. Recently, integrated operations were performed with four SUGVs, the Matilda (Mesa Robotics, Huntsville, AL), the US Navy Vanguard, the UAH Rover, and the Penetrator (Mesa Robotics). The program has progressed from 1) building an air and ground capability for video and infrared surveillance, 2) integration with ground vehicles in realistic scenarios, to 3) deployment and recovery of ground vehicles. The work was done with the cooperation of the US Army at Ft. Benning, GA and Redstone Arsenal, AL, the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Huntsville, AL, the US Naval Reserve in Knoxville, TN, and local emergency organizations. The results so far have shown that when the air and ground systems are employed together, their utility is greatly enhanced.

Float Package and the Data Rack aboard the DC-9

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

Ted Brunzie and Peter Mason observe the float package and the data rack aboard the DC-9 reduced gravity aircraft. The float package contains a cryostat, a video camera, a pump and accelerometers. The data rack displays and record the video signal from the float package on tape and stores acceleration and temperature measurements on disk.

Measurement of OH, H2SO4, MSA, and HNO3 Aboard the P-3B Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eisele, F. L.

2003-01-01

This paper addresses the measurement of OH, H2SO4, MSA, and HNO3 aboard the P-3B aircraft under the following headings: 1) Performance Report; 2) Highlights of OH, H2SO4, and MSA Measurements Made Aboard the NASA P-3B During TRACE-P; 3) Development and characteristics of an airborne-based instrument used to measure nitric acid during the NASA TRACE-P field experiment.

Integrating the Unmanned Aircraft System into the National Airspace System

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-06-18

Comprehensive Planning and a Results-Oriented Training Strategy are needed to Support Growing Inventories , GAO-10-331. (Washington, DC: Government...integration of manned and unmanned flight is a challenge facing bureaucratic inertia and in need of our government’s emphasis on resolution. This paper...26 Due to lack of funding in 1979, the remaining 60 UAVs in the U.S Air Force inventory were deactivated and put into storage. The following 10

Unmanned Aircraft Systems - Is the Commander Getting What is Needed?

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-02-23

launched strike missions , communications relay operations, and ballistic missile tracking, to name a few.3 The focus on unmanned aviation systems is...with which to execute their mission . The commanders of a mere century ago would be awed by the capabilities of today’s force. Interestingly enough...these systems is so great that there is no branch of the United States military that does not depend upon them to accomplish missions of one

Modeling and Simulation of an Unmanned Ground Vehicle Power System

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-03-28

Wilhelm, A. N., Surgenor, B. W., and Pharoah, J. G., “Design and evaluation of a micro-fuel-cell-based power system for a mobile robot,” Mechatronics ... Embedded Control Systems ], Control Engineering, 91–116, Birkhuser Boston (2005). [12] Alur, R., Courcoubetis, C., Halbwachs, N., Henzinger, T., Ho, P.-H...Modeling and Simulation of an Unmanned Ground Vehicle Power System John Brodericka∗, Jack Hartnerb, Dawn Tilburya, and Ella Atkinsa aThe University

Emerging Trends in China’s Development of Unmanned Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-01

missions is another area of emphasis, as highlighted by reports about such systems’ use during the 2008 Sichuan earth - quake , and unmanned systems could...China Strategic Perspectives No. 5, National Defense University, September 2012. 27 “Drones Dispatched to Capture Images of Quake -Hit Regions,” Xinhua...china-deliver-packages-even-a- birthday-cake/ “Drones Dispatched to Capture Images of Quake -Hit Regions,” Xinhua, April 20, 2013. Easton, Ian M

U.S. Navy Employment Options for Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs)

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-01

sessions, modifying and extrapolating from the original concepts. Assessing Suitability We assessed the suitability of the USV concepts of employment...test and demonstration 1 U.S. Department of the Navy, The Navy Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) Master Plan, July 23, 2007. The TRL system was originally ...of interest, the USV uses its sonar to capture imagery. The USV then returns to its point of origin for recovery of the sonar system and the newly

An Autonomous Gps-Denied Unmanned Vehicle Platform Based on Binocular Vision for Planetary Exploration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, M.; Wan, X.; Shao, Y. Y.; Li, S. Y.

2018-04-01

Vision-based navigation has become an attractive solution for autonomous navigation for planetary exploration. This paper presents our work of designing and building an autonomous vision-based GPS-denied unmanned vehicle and developing an ARFM (Adaptive Robust Feature Matching) based VO (Visual Odometry) software for its autonomous navigation. The hardware system is mainly composed of binocular stereo camera, a pan-and tilt, a master machine, a tracked chassis. And the ARFM-based VO software system contains four modules: camera calibration, ARFM-based 3D reconstruction, position and attitude calculation, BA (Bundle Adjustment) modules. Two VO experiments were carried out using both outdoor images from open dataset and indoor images captured by our vehicle, the results demonstrate that our vision-based unmanned vehicle is able to achieve autonomous localization and has the potential for future planetary exploration.

Explosive propulsion applications. [to future unmanned missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nakamura, Y.; Varsi, G.; Back, L. H.

1974-01-01

The feasibility and application of an explosive propulsion concept capable of supporting future unmanned missions in the post-1980 era were examined and recommendations made for advanced technology development tasks. The Venus large lander mission was selected as the first in which the explosive propulsion concept can find application. A conceptual design was generated and its performance, weight, costs, and interaction effects determined. Comparisons were made with conventional propulsion alternatives. The feasibility of the explosive propulsion system was verified for planetology experiments within the dense atmosphere of Venus as well as the outer planets. Additionally, it was determined that the Venus large lander mission could be augmented ballistically with a significant delivery margin.

Robust obstacle detection for unmanned surface vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Yueming; Zhang, Xiuzhi

2018-03-01

Obstacle detection is of essential importance for Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USV). Although some obstacles (e.g., ships, islands) can be detected by Radar, there are many other obstacles (e.g., floating pieces of woods, swimmers) which are difficult to be detected via Radar because these obstacles have low radar cross section. Therefore, detecting obstacle from images taken onboard is an effective supplement. In this paper, a robust vision-based obstacle detection method for USVs is developed. The proposed method employs the monocular image sequence captured by the camera on the USVs and detects obstacles on the sea surface from the image sequence. The experiment results show that the proposed scheme is efficient to fulfill the obstacle detection task.

Path planning and energy management of solar-powered unmanned ground vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaplan, Adam

Many of the applications pertinent to unmanned vehicles, such as environmental research and analysis, communications, and information-surveillance and reconnaissance, benefit from prolonged vehicle operation time. Conventional efforts to increase the operational time of electric-powered unmanned vehicles have traditionally focused on the design of energy-efficient components and the identification of energy efficient search patterns, while little attention has been paid to the vehicle's mission-level path plan and power management. This thesis explores the formulation and generation of integrated motion-plans and power-schedules for solar-panel equipped mobile robots operating under strict energy constraints, which cannot be effectively addressed through conventional motion planning algorithms. Transit problems are considered to design time-optimal paths using both Balkcom-Mason and Pseudo-Dubins curves. Additionally, a more complicated problem to generate mission plans for vehicles which must persistently travel between certain locations, similar to the traveling salesperson problem (TSP), is presented. A comparison between one of the common motion-planning algorithms and experimental results of the prescribed algorithms, made possible by use of a test environment and mobile robot designed and developed specifically for this research, are presented and discussed.

Autonomous navigation and obstacle avoidance for unmanned surface vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Larson, Jacoby; Bruch, Michael; Ebken, John

2006-05-01

The US Navy and other Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) organizations are increasingly interested in the use of unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) for a variety of missions and applications. In order for USVs to fill these roles, they must be capable of a relatively high degree of autonomous navigation. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, San Diego is developing core technologies required for robust USV operation in a real-world environment, primarily focusing on autonomous navigation, obstacle avoidance, and path planning.

Repeated aeromagnetic surveys in Shinmoe-dake volcano, Japan by using unmanned helicopter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koyama, T.; Kaneko, T.; Ohminato, T.; Watanabe, A.; Takeo, M.; Yanagisawa, T.; Honda, Y.

2016-12-01

We repeatedly conducted aeromagnetic surveys at Shinmoe-dake volcano, Japan by using unmanned helicopter, and elucidated magnetization structure and its temporal change. At the beginning of 2011, Shinmoe-dake volcano has done magmatic eruptions. After ceasing activities of volcanic eruptions, the first aeromagnetic survey by an unmanned helicopter was performed in the western part of Shinmoe-dake volcano in May 2011. The advantage to use unmanned vehicle for volcanic survey is ability of the safe flight in lower altitude with precise tracks. It enable us forthcoming repeated survey on the same tracks and elucidate the temporal changes of the magnetic fields. The geomagnetic total intensity measurement flight was conducted by installing cesium optical pumping magnetometer on the helicopter, in which the measurement line intervals were almost 100 m and the altitudes were also fixed at almost 100 m above the ground except above the crater. Total measurement length was about 85 km. The data analysis revealed that the averaged magnetization is about 1.5 A/m, typical value of andesite rock, and some horizontal anomalies can be shown.After that, we conducted four repeated surveys so far, and notable temporal changes are detected just around the crater of Shinmoe-dake volcano due to gaining magnetization by cooling of lava which has accumulated in the crater at the 2011 eruptions. The cooling rate just follows square root of elapsed time from the eruptive events, and thus the cooling is being simply done by thermal diffusion. Magnetizing, however, goes on too fast to be done by thermal diffusion only at the surface of lava, and so the cooling may be very effectively done also inside the lava by evaporating water.In this paper, we'll show the detailed results of measurements and discuss the temporal changes of magnetization.

Analysis of the Sustainment Organization and Process for the Marine Corps’ RQ-11B Raven Small Unmanned Aircraft System (SUAS)

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-01

Vehicle UAS Unmanned Aircraft System UCAV Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles xvii UNS Universal Needs Statement USMC United States Marine Corps VLC ...she helped motivate me to finish this project—as challenging as it may be to work under the conditions set by an infant. And, finally, thanks to...In every aspect of program management, the DoD acquisition workforce is constantly challenged to balance cost, schedule, and performance. In a

Initial Study of an Effective Fast-Time Simulation Platform for Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Xue, Min; Rios, Joseph

2017-01-01

Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (sUAVs), typically 55 lbs and below, are envisioned to play a major role in surveilling critical assets, collecting important information, and delivering goods. Large scale small UAV operations are expected to happen in low altitude airspace in the near future. Many static and dynamic constraints exist in low altitude airspace because of manned aircraft or helicopter activities, various wind conditions, restricted airspace, terrain and man-made buildings, and conflict-avoidance among sUAVs. High sensitivity and high maneuverability are unique characteristics of sUAVs that bring challenges to effective system evaluations and mandate such a simulation platform different from existing simulations that were built for manned air traffic system and large unmanned fixed aircraft. NASA's Unmanned aircraft system Traffic Management (UTM) research initiative focuses on enabling safe and efficient sUAV operations in the future. In order to help define requirements and policies for a safe and efficient UTM system to accommodate a large amount of sUAV operations, it is necessary to develop a fast-time simulation platform that can effectively evaluate requirements, policies, and concepts in a close-to-reality environment. This work analyzed the impacts of some key factors including aforementioned sUAV's characteristics and demonstrated the importance of these factors in a successful UTM fast-time simulation platform.

Numerical simulation of unmanned aerial vehicle under centrifugal load and optimization of milling and planing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yunsheng; Lu, Xinghua

2018-05-01

The mechanical parts of the fuselage surface of the UAV are easily fractured by the action of the centrifugal load. In order to improve the compressive strength of UAV and guide the milling and planing of mechanical parts, a numerical simulation method of UAV fuselage compression under centrifugal load based on discrete element analysis method is proposed. The three-dimensional discrete element method is used to establish the splitting tensile force analysis model of the UAV fuselage under centrifugal loading. The micro-contact connection parameters of the UAV fuselage are calculated, and the yield tensile model of the mechanical components is established. The dynamic and static mechanical model of the aircraft fuselage milling is analyzed by the axial amplitude vibration frequency combined method. The correlation parameters of the cutting depth on the tool wear are obtained. The centrifugal load stress spectrum of the surface of the UAV is calculated. The meshing and finite element simulation of the rotor blade of the unmanned aerial vehicle is carried out to optimize the milling process. The test results show that the accuracy of the anti - compression numerical test of the UAV is higher by adopting the method, and the anti - fatigue damage capability of the unmanned aerial vehicle body is improved through the milling and processing optimization, and the mechanical strength of the unmanned aerial vehicle can be effectively improved.

Initial Study of An Effective Fast-Time Simulation Platform for Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Xue, Min; Rios, Joseph

2017-01-01

Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (sUAVs), typically 55 lbs and below, are envisioned to play a major role in surveilling critical assets, collecting important information, and delivering goods. Large scale small UAV operations are expected to happen in low altitude airspace in the near future. Many static and dynamic constraints exist in low altitude airspace because of manned aircraft or helicopter activities, various wind conditions, restricted airspace, terrain and man-made buildings, and conflict-avoidance among sUAVs. High sensitivity and high maneuverability are unique characteristics of sUAVs that bring challenges to effective system evaluations and mandate such a simulation platform different from existing simulations that were built for manned air traffic system and large unmanned fixed aircraft. NASA's Unmanned aircraft system Traffic Management (UTM) research initiative focuses on enabling safe and efficient sUAV operations in the future. In order to help define requirements and policies for a safe and efficient UTM system to accommodate a large amount of sUAV operations, it is necessary to develop a fast-time simulation platform that can effectively evaluate requirements, policies, and concepts in a close-to-reality environment. This work analyzed the impacts of some key factors including aforementioned sUAV's characteristics and demonstrated the importance of these factors in a successful UTM fast-time simulation platform.

Evaluation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) for Weather and Climate using the Multi-testbed approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baker, B.; Lee, T.; Buban, M.; Dumas, E. J.

2017-12-01

Evaluation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) for Weather and Climate using the Multi-testbed approachC. Bruce Baker1, Ed Dumas1,2, Temple Lee1,2, Michael Buban1,21NOAA ARL, Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division, Oak Ridge, TN2Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge, TN The development of a small Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS) testbeds that can be used to validate, integrate, calibrate and evaluate new technology and sensors for routine boundary layer research, validation of operational weather models, improvement of model parameterizations, and recording observations within high-impact storms is important for understanding the importance and impact of using sUAS's routinely as a new observing platform. The goal of the multi-testbed approach is to build a robust set of protocols to assess the cost and operational feasibility of unmanned observations for routine applications using various combinations of sUAS aircraft and sensors in different locations and field experiments. All of these observational testbeds serve different community needs, but they also use a diverse suite of methodologies for calibration and evaluation of different sensors and platforms for severe weather and boundary layer research. The primary focus will be to evaluate meteorological sensor payloads to measure thermodynamic parameters and define surface characteristics with visible, IR, and multi-spectral cameras. This evaluation will lead to recommendations for sensor payloads for VTOL and fixed-wing sUAS.

A Summary of NASA Research Exploring the Acoustics of Small Unmanned Aerial Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zawodny, Nikolas S.; Christian, Andrew; Cabell, Randolph

2018-01-01

Proposed uses of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) have the potential to expose large portions of communities to a new noise source. In order to understand the potential noise impact of sUAS, NASA initiated acoustics research as one component of the 3-year DELIVER project, with the goal of documenting the feasibility of using existing aircraft design tools and methods on this class of vehicles. This paper summarizes the acoustics research conducted within the DELIVER project. The research described here represents an initial study, and subsequent research building on the findings of this work has been proposed for other NASA projects. The paper summarizes acoustics research in four areas: measurements of noise generated by flyovers of small unmanned aerial vehicles, measurements in controlled test facilities to understand the noise generated by components of these vehicles, computational predictions of component and full vehicle noise, and psychoacoustic tests including auralizations conducted to assess human annoyance to the noise generated by these vehicles.

Supporting the Use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems(UAS) for Global Science Observations in Civil and Segregated Airspace

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mulac, B. L.; Reider. K/

2010-01-01

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) are growing more popular within the earth science community as a way to augment measurements currently made with manned aircraft. UAS arc uniquely suited for applications that require long dwell times and/or in locations that are generally too dangerous for manned aircraft. Environmental monitoring in areas like the Arctic or obtaining data within a hurricane are just a couple of examples of many applications to which UAS are ideally suited. However, UAS are not without their challenges. Most unmanned aircraft are unable to meet current airspace regulations that are in place for manned aircraft, and specific airspace standards and regulations for unmanned aircraft do not exist. As a result, gaining access to civil airspace for flights is very difficult around the world. Under Term of Reference 48 within the ISPRS Commission 1, WGI/I: Standardization of Aircraft Interfaces, efforts have been made to understand and quantify the current state of UAS airspace access on a global scale. The results of these efforts will be presented along with examples of successful science missions that have been conducted internationally during the past year.

Acquision of Geometrical Data of Small Rivers with AN Unmanned Water Vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sardemann, H.; Eltner, A.; Maas, H.-G.

2018-05-01

Rivers with small- and medium-scaled catchments have been increasingly affected by extreme events, i.e. flash floods, in the last years. New methods to describe and predict these events are developed in the interdisciplinary research project EXTRUSO. Flash flood events happen on small temporal and spatial scales, stressing the necessity of high-resolution input data for hydrological and hydrodynamic modelling. Among others, the benefit of high-resolution digital terrain models (DTMs) will be evaluated in the project. This article introduces a boat-based approach for the acquisition of geometrical and morphological data of small rivers and their banks. An unmanned water vehicle (UWV) is used as a multi-sensor platform to collect 3D-point clouds of the riverbanks, as well as bathymetric measurements of water depth and river morphology. The UWV is equipped with a mobile Lidar, a panorama camera, an echo sounder and a positioning unit. Whole (sub-) catchments of small rivers can be digitalized and provided for hydrological modelling when UWV-based and UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) based point clouds are fused.

Compact survey and inspection day/night image sensor suite for small unmanned aircraft systems (EyePod)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bird, Alan; Anderson, Scott A.; Linne von Berg, Dale; Davidson, Morgan; Holt, Niel; Kruer, Melvin; Wilson, Michael L.

2010-04-01

EyePod is a compact survey and inspection day/night imaging sensor suite for small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). EyePod generates georeferenced image products in real-time from visible near infrared (VNIR) and long wave infrared (LWIR) imaging sensors and was developed under the ONR funded FEATHAR (Fusion, Exploitation, Algorithms, and Targeting for High-Altitude Reconnaissance) program. FEATHAR is being directed and executed by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in conjunction with the Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) and FEATHAR's goal is to develop and test new tactical sensor systems specifically designed for small manned and unmanned platforms (payload weight < 50 lbs). The EyePod suite consists of two VNIR/LWIR (day/night) gimbaled sensors that, combined, provide broad area survey and focused inspection capabilities. Each EyePod sensor pairs an HD visible EO sensor with a LWIR bolometric imager providing precision geo-referenced and fully digital EO/IR NITFS output imagery. The LWIR sensor is mounted to a patent-pending jitter-reduction stage to correct for the high-frequency motion typically found on small aircraft and unmanned systems. Details will be presented on both the wide-area and inspection EyePod sensor systems, their modes of operation, and results from recent flight demonstrations.

Carbon Dioxide Removal Troubleshooting aboard the International Space Station (ISS) during Space Shuttle (STS) Docked Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Matty, Christopher M.; Cover, John M.

2009-01-01

The International Space Station (ISS) represents a largely closed-system habitable volume which requires active control of atmospheric constituents, including removal of exhaled Carbon Dioxide (CO2). The ISS provides a unique opportunity to observe system requirements for (CO2) removal. CO2 removal is managed by the Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) aboard the US segment of ISS and by Lithium Hydroxide (LiOH) aboard the Space Shuttle (STS). While the ISS and STS are docked, various methods are used to balance the CO2 levels between the two vehicles, including mechanical air handling and management of general crew locations. Over the course of ISS operation, several unexpected anomalies have occurred which have required troubleshooting, including possible compromised performance of the CDRA and LiOH systems, and possible imbalance in CO2 levels between the ISS and STS while docked. This paper will cover efforts to troubleshoot the CO2 removal systems aboard the ISS and docked STS.

Occupational Safety and Health Conditions Aboard Small- and Medium-Size Fishing Vessels: Differences among Age Groups

PubMed Central

Zytoon, Mohamed A.; Basahel, Abdulrahman M.

2017-01-01

Although marine fishing is one of the most hazardous occupations, research on the occupational safety and health (OSH) conditions aboard marine fishing vessels is scarce. For instance, little is known about the working conditions of vulnerable groups such as young and aging fishermen. The objective of the current paper is to study the OSH conditions of young and aging fishermen compared to middle-aged fishermen in the small- and medium-size (SM) marine fishing sector. A cross-sectional study was designed, and 686 fishermen working aboard SM fishing vessels were interviewed to collect information about their safety and health. The associations of physical and psychosocial work conditions with safety and health outcomes, e.g., injuries, illnesses and job satisfaction, are presented. The results of the current study can be utilized in the design of effective accident prevention and OSH training programs for the three age groups and in the regulation of working conditions aboard fishing vessels. PMID:28245578

Occupational Safety and Health Conditions Aboard Small- and Medium-Size Fishing Vessels: Differences among Age Groups.

PubMed

Zytoon, Mohamed A; Basahel, Abdulrahman M

2017-02-24

Although marine fishing is one of the most hazardous occupations, research on the occupational safety and health (OSH) conditions aboard marine fishing vessels is scarce. For instance, little is known about the working conditions of vulnerable groups such as young and aging fishermen. The objective of the current paper is to study the OSH conditions of young and aging fishermen compared to middle-aged fishermen in the small- and medium-size (SM) marine fishing sector. A cross-sectional study was designed, and 686 fishermen working aboard SM fishing vessels were interviewed to collect information about their safety and health. The associations of physical and psychosocial work conditions with safety and health outcomes, e.g., injuries, illnesses and job satisfaction, are presented. The results of the current study can be utilized in the design of effective accident prevention and OSH training programs for the three age groups and in the regulation of working conditions aboard fishing vessels.

Optimization of the choice of unmanned aerial vehicles used to monitor the implementation of selected construction projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Skorupka, Dariusz; Duchaczek, Artur; Waniewska, Agnieszka; Kowacka, Magdalena

2017-07-01

Due to their properties unmanned aerial vehicles have huge number of possibilities for application in construction engineering. The nature and extent of construction works performedmakes the decision to purchase the right equipment significant for the possibility for its further use while monitoring the implementation of these works. Technical factors, such as the accuracy and quality of the applied measurement instruments are especially important when monitoring the realization of construction projects. The paper presents the optimization of the choice of unmanned aerial vehicles using the Bellinger method. The decision-making analysis takes into account criteria that are particularly crucial by virtue of the range of monitoring of ongoing construction works.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Non Line of Sight Chemical Detection Final Report

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-12-01

aircraft system that is used to perform point detection of chemical warfare agents and collection of vapor, liquid, and solid samples. A modular payload...Standoff Quadcopter Unmanned aircraft system Modular payload 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT 18. NUMBER OF...Manufacturing Division, modular payloads are being developed to perform point detection and CBRNE sampling. The available UAS is a quadcopter capable of

Ideal Directed-Energy System To Defeat Small Unmanned Aircraft System Swarms

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-05-21

AIR COMMAND AND STAFF COLLEGE AIR UNIVERSITY IDEAL DIRECTED- ENERGY SYSTEM TO DEFEAT SMALL UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM SWARMS by David F. Pina...directed energy (DE) developmental systems indicate this class of weapons is the best solution. A review of several continuous wave laser, pulsed high...powered microwave, and electronic warfare/jamming systems indicate the following attributes as ideal for a future directed energy weapon (DEW) system

Test Operations Procedure (TOP) 02-2-546 Teleoperated Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) Latency Measurements

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-01-11

discrete system components or measurements of latency in autonomous systems. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Unmanned Ground Vehicles, Basic Video Latency, End-to... discrete system components or measurements of latency in autonomous systems. 1.1 Basic Video Latency. Teleoperation latency, or lag, describes

Considerations of Unmanned Aircraft Classification for Civil Airworthiness Standards

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maddalon, Jeffrey M.; Hayhurst, Kelly J.; Morris, A. Terry; Verstynen, Harry A.

2013-01-01

The use of unmanned aircraft in the National Airspace System (NAS) has been characterized as the next great step forward in the evolution of civil aviation. Although use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in military and public service operations is proliferating, civil use of UAS remains limited in the United States today. This report focuses on one particular regulatory challenge: classifying UAS to assign airworthiness standards. Classification is useful for ensuring that meaningful differences in design are accommodated by certification to different standards, and that aircraft with similar risk profiles are held to similar standards. This paper provides observations related to how the current regulations for classifying manned aircraft, based on dimensions of aircraft class and operational aircraft categories, could apply to UAS. This report finds that existing aircraft classes are well aligned with the types of UAS that currently exist; however, the operational categories are more difficult to align to proposed UAS use in the NAS. Specifically, the factors used to group manned aircraft into similar risk profiles do not necessarily capture all relevant UAS risks. UAS classification is investigated through gathering approaches to classification from a broad spectrum of organizations, and then identifying and evaluating the classification factors from these approaches. This initial investigation concludes that factors in addition to those currently used today to group manned aircraft for the purpose of assigning airworthiness standards will be needed to adequately capture risks associated with UAS and their operations.

Absolute High-Precision Localisation of an Unmanned Ground Vehicle by Using Real-Time Aerial Video Imagery for Geo-referenced Orthophoto Registration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuhnert, Lars; Ax, Markus; Langer, Matthias; Nguyen van, Duong; Kuhnert, Klaus-Dieter

This paper describes an absolute localisation method for an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) if GPS is unavailable for the vehicle. The basic idea is to combine an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to the ground vehicle and use it as an external sensor platform to achieve an absolute localisation of the robotic team. Beside the discussion of the rather naive method directly using the GPS position of the aerial robot to deduce the ground robot's position the main focus of this paper lies on the indirect usage of the telemetry data of the aerial robot combined with live video images of an onboard camera to realise a registration of local video images with apriori registered orthophotos. This yields to a precise driftless absolute localisation of the unmanned ground vehicle. Experiments with our robotic team (AMOR and PSYCHE) successfully verify this approach.

Aptitude and Trait Predictors of Manned and Unmanned Aircraft Pilot Job Performance

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-04-22

actually fly RPAs. To address this gap, the present study evaluated pre-accession trait (Big Five personality domains) and aptitude (spatial...knowledge, and personality traits that predict successful job performance for manned aircraft pilots also predict successful job performance for RPA...aptitude and personality traits , job performance, remotely-piloted aircraft, unmanned aircraft systems 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17

Wageningen UR Unmanned Aerial Remote Sensing Facility - Overview of activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartholomeus, Harm; Keesstra, Saskia; Kooistra, Lammert; Suomalainen, Juha; Mucher, Sander; Kramer, Henk; Franke, Jappe

2016-04-01

To support environmental management there is an increasing need for timely, accurate and detailed information on our land. Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) are increasingly used to monitor agricultural crop development, habitat quality or urban heat efficiency. An important reason is that UAS technology is maturing quickly while the flexible capabilities of UAS fill a gap between satellite based and ground based geo-sensing systems. In 2012, different groups within Wageningen University and Research Centre have established an Unmanned Airborne Remote Sensing Facility. The objective of this facility is threefold: a) To develop innovation in the field of remote sensing science by providing a platform for dedicated and high-quality experiments; b) To support high quality UAS services by providing calibration facilities and disseminating processing procedures to the UAS user community; and c) To promote and test the use of UAS in a broad range of application fields like habitat monitoring, precision agriculture and land degradation assessment. The facility is hosted by the Laboratory of Geo-Information Science and Remote Sensing (GRS) and the Department of Soil Physics and Land Management (SLM) of Wageningen University together with the team Earth Informatics (EI) of Alterra. The added value of the Unmanned Aerial Remote Sensing Facility is that compared to for example satellite based remote sensing more dedicated science experiments can be prepared. This includes for example higher frequent observations in time (e.g., diurnal observations), observations of an object under different observation angles for characterization of BRDF and flexibility in use of camera's and sensors types. In this way, laboratory type of set ups can be tested in a field situation and effects of up-scaling can be tested. In the last years we developed and implemented different camera systems (e.g. a hyperspectral pushbroom system, and multispectral frame cameras) which we operated in projects all

Astronaut Edwin Aldrin undergoes zero-gravity training aboard KC-135

NASA Image and Video Library

1969-07-15

S69-39269 (10 July 1969) --- Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission, undergoes zero-gravity training aboard a U.S. Air Force KC-135 jet aircraft from nearby Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. Aldrin is wearing an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), the type of equipment which he will wear on the lunar surface.

Long distance telementoring. A novel tool for laparoscopy aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.

PubMed

Cubano, M; Poulose, B K; Talamini, M A; Stewart, R; Antosek, L E; Lentz, R; Nibe, R; Kutka, M F; Mendoza-Sagaon, M

1999-07-01

As general surgeons perform a growing number of laparoscopic operations in increasingly specialized environments, the ability to obtain expert advice during procedures becomes more important. Technological advances in video and computer communications are enabling surgeons to procure expertise quickly and efficiently. In this article, we present laparoscopic procedures completed through an intercontinental telementoring system and the first telementored laparoscopic procedures performed aboard a naval vessel. Video, voice, and data streams were linked between the USS Abraham Lincoln Aircraft Carrier Battlegroup cruising the Pacific Ocean and locations in Maryland and California, creating the Battlegroup Telemedicine (BGTM) system. Three modes of BGTM communication were used: intraship, ship to ship, and ship to shore. Five laparoscopic inguinal hernia repairs were completed aboard the Lincoln under telementoring guidance from land-based surgeons thousands of miles away. In addition, the BGTM system proved invaluable in obtaining timely expertise on a wide variety of surgical and medical problems that would otherwise have required a shore visit. Successful intercontinental laparoscopic telementoring aboard a naval vessel was accomplished using "off-the-shelf" components. In many instances, the high risk and cost of transporting patients to land-based facilities was averted because of the BGTM system. Also, the relationship between the on-site and telementoring surgeon was critical to the success of this experiment. Long-distance telementoring is an invaluable tool in providing instantly available expertise during laparoscopic procedures.

Living at Sea: Learning from Communal Life Aboard Sail Training Vessels

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCulloch, Ken

2007-01-01

This paper considers features of domestic and social life aboard sail training vessels, exploring the particular character of life at sea, and how these features contribute to the distinctive character of sail training experience as a context for learning. Methodologically, the study lies in the sociological tradition of ethnography, focusing on…

Feasibility study to determine the economic and operational benefits of utilizing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-04-01

This project explored the feasibility of using Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs) in Georgia : Department of Transportation (GDOT) operations. The research team conducted 24 interviews with : personnel in four GDOT divisions. Interviews focused on (1) th...

47 CFR 25.227 - Blanket licensing provisions for Earth Stations Aboard Aircraft (ESAAs) receiving in the 10.95-11...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... Aboard Aircraft (ESAAs) receiving in the 10.95-11.2 GHz (space-to-Earth), 11.45-11.7 GHz (space-to-Earth), and 11.7-12.2 GHz (space-to-Earth) frequency bands and transmitting in the 14.0-14.5 GHz (Earth-to... SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS Technical Standards § 25.227 Blanket licensing provisions for Earth Stations Aboard...

47 CFR 25.227 - Blanket licensing provisions for Earth Stations Aboard Aircraft (ESAAs) receiving in the 10.95-11...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... Aboard Aircraft (ESAAs) receiving in the 10.95-11.2 GHz (space-to-Earth), 11.45-11.7 GHz (space-to-Earth), and 11.7-12.2 GHz (space-to-Earth) frequency bands and transmitting in the 14.0-14.5 GHz (Earth-to... SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS Technical Standards § 25.227 Blanket licensing provisions for Earth Stations Aboard...

Dynamics of omnidirectional unmanned rescue vehicle with mecanum wheels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Typiak, Andrzej; Łopatka, Marian Janusz; Rykała, Łukasz; Kijek, Magdalena

2018-01-01

The work presents the dynamic equations of motion of a unmanned six-wheeled vehicle with mecanum wheels for rescue applications derived with the of Lagrange equations of the second kind with multipliers. Analysed vehicle through using mecanum wheels has three degrees of freedom and can move on a flat ground in any direction with any configuration of platform's frame. In order to derive dynamic equations of motion of mentioned object, kinetic potential of the system and generalized forces affecting the system are determined. The results of a solution of inverse dynamics problem are also published.

Wave-Powered Unmanned Surface Vehicle as a Station-Keeping Gateway Node for Undersea Distributed Networks

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-09-01

the vehicles has the same payload in order to determine performance differences and changes in ocean conditions between the Wave Gliders as they transit...and different materials for the vehicle, engineers were able to determine some characteristics of a wave-powered vehicle. The intended use of this wave...small waves, a pressure difference is created, making the wave larger and larger. The waves then coalesce with each other creating longer waves that

An Energy Dense-AI-NaBH4-PEMFC Based Power Generator for Unmanned Undersea Vehicles

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-01

1]. Although different types of batteries involving lithium , e.g., primary (Li-SOCb) and rechargeable (Li- ion , Li-polymer) batteries , potentially...development of innovative beyond battery -only technological capabilities would be necessary. The main objective of the proposed work is to develop an...increasing the endurance of UUVs. Lithium is commonly used in battery technology because it is the lightest metal , so higher energy densities are possible

Effects of Dynamically Weighting Autonomous Rules in an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Flocking Model

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-18

methods of flight plan optimization, and yielded such techniques as: parallel A* (Gudaitis, 1994), Multi-Objective Traveling Salesman algorithms...1 Problem Statement...currently their utilization comes with a price: Problem Statement “Today’s unmanned systems require significant human interaction to operate. As

78 FR 59974 - Centennial Challenges 2014 Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Airspace Operations Challenge (AOC)

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-30

... NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION Centennial Challenges 2014 Unmanned Aircraft Systems... wish to compete may now register. Centennial Challenges is a program of prize competitions to stimulate...: http://www.uasaoc.org For general information on the NASA Centennial Challenges Program please visit...

Pipeline monitoring with unmanned aerial vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kochetkova, L. I.

2018-05-01

Pipeline leakage during transportation of combustible substances leads to explosion and fire thus causing death of people and destruction of production and accommodation facilities. Continuous pipeline monitoring allows identifying leaks in due time and quickly taking measures for their elimination. The paper describes the solution of identification of pipeline leakage using unmanned aerial vehicles. It is recommended to apply the spectral analysis with input RGB signal to identify pipeline damages. The application of multi-zone digital images allows defining potential spill of oil hydrocarbons as well as possible soil pollution. The method of multi-temporal digital images within the visible region makes it possible to define changes in soil morphology for its subsequent analysis. The given solution is cost efficient and reliable thus allowing reducing timing and labor resources in comparison with other methods of pipeline monitoring.

KSC-04pd1505

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-07-08

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the water for a practice dive in the ocean offshore from Key Largo are the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 6 (NEEMO-6) mission team: (left to right) Tara Ruttley, a biomedical engineer, and astronauts Nick Patrick, John Herrington and Doug Wheelock. The NEEMO-6 mission involves exposing an astronaut/scientist crew to a real mission experience in an extreme environment - the NOAA undersea station Aquarius - to prepare for future space flight. Spacewalk-like diving excursions and field-tests on a variety of biomedical equipment are designed to help astronauts living aboard the International Space Station. To prepare for their 10-day stay, the team had dive training twice a day at the Life Support Buoy, anchored above Aquarius.

KSC-04pd1506

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-07-08

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A dive boat is moored to the Life Support Buoy, anchored above the NOAA undersea station Aquarius, offshore from Key Largo. Underwater is the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 6 (NEEMO-6) mission team: (left to right) Tara Ruttley, a biomedical engineer, and astronauts Nick Patrick, John Herrington and Doug Wheelock. The NEEMO-6 mission involves exposing an astronaut/scientist crew to a real mission experience in an extreme environment - Aquarius - to prepare for future space flight. Spacewalk-like diving excursions and field-tests on a variety of biomedical equipment are designed to help astronauts living aboard the International Space Station. To prepare for their 10-day stay, the team had dive training twice a day at the Life Support Buoy.

KSC-04pd1501

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-07-08

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Onboard the dive boat, members of the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 6 (NEEMO-6) mission don dive suits. From left are Tara Ruttley, a biomedical engineer, and astronauts Nick Patrick and Doug Wheelock. John Herrington is mission commander. The NEEMO-6 mission involves exposing an astronaut/scientist crew to a real mission experience in an extreme environment - the NOAA undersea station Aquarius offshore from Key Largo - to prepare for future space flight. Spacewalk-like diving excursions and field-tests on a variety of biomedical equipment are designed to help astronauts living aboard the International Space Station. To prepare for their 10-day stay, the team had dive training twice a day at the Life Support Buoy, anchored above Aquarius.

KSC-04pd1510

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-07-11

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the water for a practice dive in the ocean offshore from Key Largo is astronaut John Herrington. He is commander of the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 6 (NEEMO-6) mission team. The others are Nick Patrick, Doug Wheelock, and Tara Ruttley, a biomedical engineer. The NEEMO-6 mission involves exposing an astronaut/scientist crew to a real mission experience in an extreme environment - the NOAA undersea station Aquarius - to prepare for future space flight. Spacewalk-like diving excursions and field-tests on a variety of biomedical equipment are designed to help astronauts living aboard the International Space Station. To prepare for their 10-day stay, the team had dive training twice a day at the Life Support Buoy, anchored above Aquarius.

KSC-04pd1504

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-07-08

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the water for a practice dive in the ocean offshore from Key Largo is astronaut John Herrington. He is commander of the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 6 (NEEMO-6) mission team. The others are Nick Patrick, Doug Wheelock, and Tara Ruttley, a biomedical engineer. The NEEMO-6 mission involves exposing an astronaut/scientist crew to a real mission experience in an extreme environment - the NOAA undersea station Aquarius - to prepare for future space flight. Spacewalk-like diving excursions and field-tests on a variety of biomedical equipment are designed to help astronauts living aboard the International Space Station. To prepare for their 10-day stay, the team had dive training twice a day at the Life Support Buoy, anchored above Aquarius.

Navigation and Hazard Avoidance for High-Speed Unmanned Ground Vehicles in Rough Terrain

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-07-07

Potential Field Navigation of High Speed Vehicles on Rough Terrain,” Robotica , Vol. 25, No. 4, pp 409-424, July 2007 Udengaard, M., and Iagnemma, K...Navigation of Unmanned Ground Vehicles on Uneven Terrain using Potential Fields," to appear in Robotica , 2007 [16] Spenko, M., Kuroda, Y., Dubowsky, S

CURV 3: Characteristics and mission applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perkins, W. W.; Brady, L. K.

1984-03-01

The Cable-Controlled Underwater Recovery Vehicle (CURV) program was begun by NOSC for the specific purpose of developing economical systems to recover test ordnance at NOSC's Long Beach and San Clemente Island test ranges. CURV 3 is the latest in this series of tethered, unmanned, remotely controlled vehicles and its present capabilities far exceed the original CURV 1. Originally conceived for use as a search and recovery vehicle, CURV has evolved into a versatile and easily adaptable multipurpose work vehicle capable of performing search and recovery tasks as well as pursuing test, evaluation, exploration, and work projects. Basically, CURV is a composite of integrated subsystems including such items as propulsion, search and navigation, optics, hydraulics, and tools. Because it is unmanned and does not require life support or other complex support systems, CURV is able to perform most undersea tasks more economically and efficiently than maned systems. Also, since it is powered and controlled from the surface, CURV has a continuous, unlimited operating capability. Under emergency conditions, the vehicle can operate to 10,000-foot depths. CURV can be easily transported to any spot in the world. Upon arrival of the vehicle, control van, cable, and support gear can be mounted on a suitable ship of opportunity.

Human Systems Integration and Automation Issues in Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McCauley, Michael E.; Matsangas, Panagiotis

2004-01-01

The goal of this report is to identify Human System Integration (HSI) and automation issues that contribute to improved effectiveness and efficiency in the operation of U.S. military Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (SUAVs). HSI issues relevant to SUAV operations are reviewed and observations from field trials are summarized. Short-term improvements are suggested research issues are identified and an overview is provided of automation technologies applicable to future SUAV design.

Melon yield prediction using small unmanned aerial vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Tiebiao; Wang, Zhongdao; Yang, Qi; Chen, YangQuan

2017-05-01

Thanks to the development of camera technologies, small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS), it is possible to collect aerial images of field with more flexible visit, higher resolution and much lower cost. Furthermore, the performance of objection detection based on deeply trained convolutional neural networks (CNNs) has been improved significantly. In this study, we applied these technologies in the melon production, where high-resolution aerial images were used to count melons in the field and predict the yield. CNN-based object detection framework-Faster R-CNN is applied in the melon classification. Our results showed that sUAS plus CNNs were able to detect melons accurately in the late harvest season.

Multispectral remote sensing from unmanned aircraft: image processing workflows and applications for rangeland environments

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Using unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) as remote sensing platforms offers the unique ability for repeated deployment for acquisition of high temporal resolution data at very high spatial resolution. Most image acquisitions from UAS have been in the visible bands, while multispectral remote sensing ap...

The Impact of Human-Automation Collaboration in Decentralized Multiple Unmanned Vehicle Control

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-01-01

based decentralized auctions for robust task allocation ,[ IEEE Trans. Robot., vol. 25, no. 4, pp...operators can aid such systems by bringing their knowledge- based reasoning and experience to bear. Given a decentralized task planner and a goal- based ...experience to bear. Given a decentralized task planner and a goal- based operator interface for a network of unmanned vehicles in a search, track,

Development of a Vision-Based Situational Awareness Capability for Unmanned Surface Vessels

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-09-01

used to provide an SA capability for USVs. This thesis addresses the following research questions: (1) Can a computer vision– based technique be...BLANK 51 VI. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS A. CONCLUSION This research demonstrated the feasibility of using a computer vision– based ...VISION- BASED SITUATIONAL AWARENESS CAPABILITY FOR UNMANNED SURFACE VESSELS by Ying Jie Benjemin Toh September 2017 Thesis Advisor: Oleg

Stability of Formulations Contained in the Pharmaceutical Payload Aboard Space Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Putcha, Lakshmi; Du, Brian; Daniels, Vernie; Boyd, Jason L.; Crady, Camille; Satterfield, Rick

2008-01-01

Efficacious pharmaceuticals with adequate shelf life are essential for successful space medical operations in support of space exploration missions. Physical and environmental factors unique to space missions such as vibration, G forces and ionizing radiation may adversely affect stability of pharmaceuticals intended for standard care of astronauts aboard space missions. Stable pharmaceuticals, therefore, are of paramount importance for assuring health and wellness of astronauts in space. Preliminary examination of stability of formulations from Shuttle and International Space Station (ISS) medical kits revealed that some of these medications showed physical and chemical degradation after flight raising concern of reduced therapeutic effectiveness with these medications in space. A research payload experiment was conducted with a select set of formulations stowed aboard a shuttle flight and on ISS. The payload consisted of four identical pharmaceutical kits containing 31 medications in different dosage forms that were transported to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard the Space Shuttle, STS 121. One of the four kits was stored on the shuttle and the other three were stored on the ISS for return to Earth at six months intervals on a pre-designated Shuttle flight for each kit; the shuttle kit was returned to Earth on the same flight. Standard stability indicating physical and chemical parameters were measured for all pharmaceuticals returned from the shuttle and from the first ISS increment payload along with ground-based matching controls. Results were compared between shuttle, ISS and ground controls. Evaluation of data from the three paradigms indicates that some of the formulations exhibited significant degradation in space compared to respective ground controls; a few formulations were unstable both on the ground and in space. An increase in the number of pharmaceuticals from ISS failing USP standards was noticed compared to those from the shuttle

Commercial opportunities in bioseparations and physiological testing aboard Space Station Freedom

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hymer, W. C.

1992-01-01

The Center for Cell Research (CCR) is a NASA Center for the Commercial Development of Space which has as its main goal encouraging industry-driven biomedical/biotechnology space projects. Space Station Freedom (SSF) will provide long duration, crew-tended microgravity environments which will enhance the opportunities for commercial biomedical/biotechnology projects in bioseparations and physiological testing. The CCR bioseparations program, known as USCEPS (for United States Commercial Electrophoresis Program in Space), is developing access for American industry to continuous-flow electrophoresis aboard SSF. In space, considerable scale-up of continuous free-flow electrophoresis is possible for cells, sub cellular particles, proteins, growth factors, and other biological products. The lack of sedemination and buoyancy-driven convection flow enhances purity of separations and the amount of material processed/time. Through the CCR's physiological testing program, commercial organizations will have access aboard SSF to physiological systems experiments (PSE's); the Penn State Biomodule; and telemicroscopy. Physiological systems experiments involve the use of live animals for pharmaceutical product testing and discovery research. The Penn State Biomodule is a computer-controlled mini lab useful for projects involving live cells or tissues and macro molecular assembly studies, including protein crystallization. Telemicroscopy will enable staff on Earth to manipulate and monitor microscopic specimens on SSF for product development and discovery research or for medical diagnosis of astronaut health problems. Space-based product processing, testing, development, and discovery research using USCEPS and CCR's physiological testing program offer new routes to improved health on Earth. Direct crew involvement-in biomedical/biotechnology projects aboard SSF will enable better experimental outcomes. The current data base shows that there is reason for considerable optimism

Mission Accomplished: Deep Submergence Science Routinely Supported Using Multiple Vehicles Throughout the Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory's 2005 South Pacific Expedition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kerby, T.; Smith, J. R.; Shackelford, R.; Wiltshire, J. C.; Malahoff, A.

2005-12-01

The Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL) recently completed an internationally partnered 5-month, 14,500 nautical mile multiple leg expedition to the South Pacific that included 21 study sites in the waters of American Samoa, New Zealand, Tonga, and the U.S. Line Islands to commemorate its 25th anniversary of supporting deep submergence science in the Pacific Ocean. During this voyage, HURL successfully operated its two human occupied vehicles ( Pisces IV and Pisces V) each capable of diving to 2000 m from their support ship, the R/V Ka'imikai-o-Kanaloa ( KoK). In addition, a remotely operated vehicle ( RCV-150) with a nearly 1000-m depth limit was utilized alternately with the Pisces HOV's. The size and organized placement of these vehicles on the compact but efficiently run KoK (70-m length, 2000-tons displacement, 14 crew) allowed for deployment of a CTD rosette system and recovery of instrument package moorings during the same cruise leg. The Pisces submersibles are 20-ft long, 13-ton, 3-person vehicles with 7-10 hours duration, up to 350-lb payload capacities, and three forward looking viewports. The small size of the Pisces' relative to much larger deeper diving HOV's increases their agility, thus allowing maneuvering into more difficult sampling site terrain. The smaller package also facilitates rapid launch (8 min avg, stdev=1) and recovery (12 min avg, stdev=2) in heavier seas (up to sea state 5), as routinely experienced in the South Pacific during the austral winter. In addition to the enhanced safety aspect of having two compatible submersibles aboard, scientific efficiency has benefited by allowing the rotation of vehicles on extended deployments prior to battery servicing, thus maintaining an overall dive time average of 7.1 hr (stdev=1.52) for an average dive depth of 891 m (stdev=431) in 2005. Having the two fully operational submersibles also provides a contingency for equipment malfunction while on site that saved 7 dive days in 2005 alone

Applications suitable for unmanned and autonomous missions utilizing the Tactical Amphibious Ground Support (TAGS) platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lewis, Paul J.; Torrie, Mitchel R.; Omilon, Paul M.

2004-09-01

The value of unmanned vehicles is directly related to the applications to which it can be successfully applied. Many applications exist and have been identified as suitable for unmanned vehicles, especially those involving dull, dirty, difficult, and dangerous tasks. This paper will highlight applications, missions, and capabilities that have been demonstrated on the TAGS platform to date as well as future application and mission considerations. When evaluating real world applications for this type of vehicle, one must take into account and balance the complexity inherent to the control and safeguarding requirements of a large autonomous ground vehicle with the simplicity required for commercial or military field use. In addition, suitability for a particular application may be limited by the size, weight, fuel consumption, reliability, terrain crossing capability, and other abilities of a vehicle and the intelligent software system and sensors commanding it.

The use of models to predict potential contamination aboard orbital vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boraas, Martin E.; Seale, Dianne B.

1989-01-01

A model of fungal growth on air-exposed, nonnutritive solid surfaces, developed for utilization aboard orbital vehicles is presented. A unique feature of this testable model is that the development of a fungal mycelium can facilitate its own growth by condensation of water vapor from its environment directly onto fungal hyphae. The fungal growth rate is limited by the rate of supply of volatile nutrients and fungal biomass is limited by either the supply of nonvolatile nutrients or by metabolic loss processes. The model discussed is structurally simple, but its dynamics can be quite complex. Biofilm accumulation can vary from a simple linear increase to sustained exponential growth, depending on the values of the environmental variable and model parameters. The results of the model are consistent with data from aquatic biofilm studies, insofar as the two types of systems are comparable. It is shown that the model presented is experimentally testable and provides a platform for the interpretation of observational data that may be directly relevant to the question of growth of organisms aboard the proposed Space Station.

Development of an unmanned agricultural robotics system for measuring crop conditions for precision aerial application

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

An Unmanned Agricultural Robotics System (UARS) is acquired, rebuilt with desired hardware, and operated in both classrooms and field. The UARS includes crop height sensor, crop canopy analyzer, normalized difference vegetative index (NDVI) sensor, multispectral camera, and hyperspectral radiometer...

Unmanned aerial vehicle: A unique platform for low-altitude remote sensing for crop management

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) provide a unique platform for remote sensing to monitor crop fields that complements remote sensing from satellite, aircraft and ground-based platforms. The UAV-based remote sensing is versatile at ultra-low altitude to be able to provide an ultra-high-resolution imag...

Application of high resolution images from unmanned aerial vehicles for hydrology and range science

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A common problem in many natural resource disciplines is the lack of high-enough spatial resolution images that can be used for monitoring and modeling purposes. Advances have been made in the utilization of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in hydrology and rangeland science. By utilizing low fligh...

Commercial investments in Combustion research aboard ISS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schowengerdt, F. D.

2000-01-01

The Center for Commercial Applications of Combustion in Space (CCACS) at the Colorado School of Mines is working with a number of companies planning commercial combustion research to be done aboard the International Space Station (ISS). This research will be conducted in two major ISS facilities, SpaceDRUMS™ and the Fluids and Combustion Facility. SpaceDRUMS™, under development by Guigne Technologies, Ltd., of St. John's Newfoundland, is a containerless processing facility employing active acoustic sample positioning. It is capable of processing the large samples needed in commercial research and development with virtually complete vibration isolation from the space station. The Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF), being developed by NASA-Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, is a general-purpose combustion furnace designed to accommodate a wide range of scientific experiments. SpaceDRUMS™ will be the first commercial hardware to be launched to ISS. Launch is currently scheduled for UF-1 in 2001. The CCACS research to be done in SpaceDRUMS™ includes combustion synthesis of glass-ceramics and porous materials. The FCF is currently scheduled to be launched to ISS aboard UF-3 in 2002. The CCACS research to be done in the FCF includes water mist fire suppression, catalytic combustion and flame synthesis of ceramic powders. The companies currently planning to be involved in the research include Guigne International, Ltd., Technology International, Inc., Coors Ceramics Company, TDA Research, Advanced Refractory Technologies, Inc., ADA Technologies, Inc., ITN Energy Systems, Inc., Innovative Scientific Solutions, Inc., Princeton Instruments, Inc., Environmental Engineering Concepts, Inc., and Solar Turbines, Inc. Together, these companies are currently investing almost $2 million in cash and in-kind annually toward the seven commercial projects within CCACS. Total private investment in CCACS research to date is over $7 million. .

Neural-network-based navigation and control of unmanned aerial vehicles for detecting unintended emissions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zargarzadeh, H.; Nodland, David; Thotla, V.; Jagannathan, S.; Agarwal, S.

2012-06-01

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are versatile aircraft with many applications, including the potential for use to detect unintended electromagnetic emissions from electronic devices. A particular area of recent interest has been helicopter unmanned aerial vehicles. Because of the nature of these helicopters' dynamics, high-performance controller design for them presents a challenge. This paper introduces an optimal controller design via output feedback control for trajectory tracking of a helicopter UAV using a neural network (NN). The output-feedback control system utilizes the backstepping methodology, employing kinematic, virtual, and dynamic controllers and an observer. Optimal tracking is accomplished with a single NN utilized for cost function approximation. The controller positions the helicopter, which is equipped with an antenna, such that the antenna can detect unintended emissions. The overall closed-loop system stability with the proposed controller is demonstrated by using Lyapunov analysis. Finally, results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control design for positioning the helicopter for unintended emissions detection.

Determination of the Actual Land Use Pattern Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Multispectral Camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dindaroğlu, T.; Gündoğan, R.; Gülci, S.

2017-11-01

The international initiatives developed in the context of combating global warming are based on the monitoring of Land Use, Land Use Changes, and Forests (LULUCEF). Determination of changes in land use patterns is used to determine the effects of greenhouse gas emissions and to reduce adverse effects in subsequent processes. This process, which requires the investigation and control of quite large areas, has undoubtedly increased the importance of technological tools and equipment. The use of carrier platforms and commercially cheaper various sensors have become widespread. In this study, multispectral camera was used to determine the land use pattern with high sensitivity. Unmanned aerial flights were carried out in the research fields of Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University campus area. Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (multi-propeller hexacopter) was used as a carrier platform for aerial photographs. Within the scope of this study, multispectral cameras were used to determine the land use pattern with high sensitivity.

Unmanned aircraft systems in wildlife research: Current and future applications of a transformative technology

USGS Publications Warehouse

Christie, Katherine S.; Gilbert, Sophie L.; Brown, Casey L.; Hatfield, Michael; Hanson, Leanne

2016-01-01

Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) – also called unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones – are an emerging tool that may provide a safer, more cost-effective, and quieter alternative to traditional research methods. We review examples where UAS have been used to document wildlife abundance, behavior, and habitat, and illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of this technology with two case studies. We summarize research on behavioral responses of wildlife to UAS, and discuss the need to understand how recreational and commercial applications of this technology could disturb certain species. Currently, the widespread implementation of UAS by scientists is limited by flight range, regulatory frameworks, and a lack of validation. UAS are most effective when used to examine smaller areas close to their launch sites, whereas manned aircraft are recommended for surveying greater distances. The growing demand for UAS in research and industry is driving rapid regulatory and technological progress, which in turn will make them more accessible and effective as analytical tools.

Use of Unmanned Aerial Systems to Study Atmospheric Processes During Sea Ice Freeze Up

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Boer, G.; Lawrence, D.; Weibel, D.; Borenstein, S.; Bendure, A.; Solomon, A.; Intrieri, J. M.

2017-12-01

In October 2016, a team of scientists deployed to Oliktok Point, Alaska to make atmospheric measurements as part of the Evaluation of Routine Atmospheric Sounding measurements using Unmanned Systems (ERASMUS) and Inaugural Campaigns for ARM Research using Unmanned Systems (ICARUS) campaigns. The deployment included operations using the University of Colorado DataHawk2 UAS. The DataHawk2 was configured to make measurements of atmospheric thermodynamics, wind and surface temperature, providing information on lower tropospheric thermodynamic structure, turbulent surface fluxes, and surface temperature. During this campaign, the team experienced a variety of weather regimes and witnessed the development of near shore sea ice. In this presentation, we will give an overview of the measurements obtained during this time and how they were used to better understand freeze up processes in this coastal environment. Additionally, we will provide insight into how these platforms are being used for evaluation of a fully-coupled sea ice forecast model operated by NOAA's Physical Sciences Division.

GaN-based THz advanced quantum cascade lasers for manned and unmanned systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anwar, A. F. M.; Manzur, Tariq; Lefebvre, Kevin R.; Carapezza, Edward M.

2009-09-01

In recent years the use of Unmanned Autonomous Vehicles (UAV) has seen a wider range of applications. However, their applications are restricted due to (a) advanced integrated sensing and processing electronics and (b) limited energy storage or on-board energy generation to name a few. The availability of a wide variety of sensing elements, operating at room temperatures, provides a great degree of flexibility with an extended application domain. Though sensors responding to a variable spectrum of input excitations ranging from (a) chemical, (b) biological, (c) atmospheric, (d) magnetic and (e) visual/IR imaging have been implemented in UAVs, the use of THz as a technology has not been implemented due to the absence of systems operating at room temperature. The integration of multi-phenomenological onboard sensors on small and miniature unmanned air vehicles will dramatically impact the detection and processing of challenging targets, such as humans carrying weapons or wearing suicide bomb vests. Unmanned air vehicles have the potential of flying over crowds of people and quickly discriminating non-threat humans from treat humans. The state of the art in small and miniature UAV's has progressed to vehicles of less than 1 pound in weight but with payloads of only a fraction of a pound. Uncooled IR sensors, such as amorphous silicon and vanadium oxide microbolometers with MRT's of less than 70mK and requiring power of less than 250mW, are available for integration into small UAV's. These sensors are responsive only up to approximately 14 microns and do not favorably compare with THz imaging systems for remotely detecting and classifying concealed weapons and bombs. In the following we propose the use of THz GaN-based QCL operating at room temperature as a possible alternative.

Soft X-ray Focusing Telescope Aboard AstroSat: Design, Characteristics and Performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, K. P.; Stewart, G. C.; Westergaard, N. J.; Bhattacharayya, S.; Chandra, S.; Chitnis, V. R.; Dewangan, G. C.; Kothare, A. T.; Mirza, I. M.; Mukerjee, K.; Navalkar, V.; Shah, H.; Abbey, A. F.; Beardmore, A. P.; Kotak, S.; Kamble, N.; Vishwakarama, S.; Pathare, D. P.; Risbud, V. M.; Koyande, J. P.; Stevenson, T.; Bicknell, C.; Crawford, T.; Hansford, G.; Peters, G.; Sykes, J.; Agarwal, P.; Sebastian, M.; Rajarajan, A.; Nagesh, G.; Narendra, S.; Ramesh, M.; Rai, R.; Navalgund, K. H.; Sarma, K. S.; Pandiyan, R.; Subbarao, K.; Gupta, T.; Thakkar, N.; Singh, A. K.; Bajpai, A.

2017-06-01

The Soft X-ray focusing Telescope (SXT), India's first X-ray telescope based on the principle of grazing incidence, was launched aboard the AstroSat and made operational on October 26, 2015. X-rays in the energy band of 0.3-8.0 keV are focussed on to a cooled charge coupled device thus providing medium resolution X-ray spectroscopy of cosmic X-ray sources of various types. It is the most sensitive X-ray instrument aboard the AstroSat. In its first year of operation, SXT has been used to observe objects ranging from active stars, compact binaries, supernova remnants, active galactic nuclei and clusters of galaxies in order to study its performance and quantify its characteriztics. Here, we present an overview of its design, mechanical hardware, electronics, data modes, observational constraints, pipeline processing and its in-orbit performance based on preliminary results from its characterization during the performance verification phase.

Multimodal control of sensors on multiple simulated unmanned vehicles.

PubMed

Baber, C; Morin, C; Parekh, M; Cahillane, M; Houghton, R J

2011-09-01

The use of multimodal (speech plus manual) control of the sensors on combinations of one, two, three or five simulated unmanned vehicles (UVs) is explored. Novice controllers of simulated UVs complete a series of target checking tasks. Two experiments compare speech and gamepad control for one, two, three or five UVs in a simulated environment. Increasing the number of UVs has an impact on subjective rating of workload (measured by NASA-Task Load Index), particularly when moving from one to three UVs. Objective measures of performance showed that the participants tended to issue fewer commands as the number of vehicles increased (when using the gamepad control), but, while performance with a single UV was superior to that of multiple UVs, there was little difference across two, three or five UVs. Participants with low spatial ability (measured by the Object Perspectives Test) showed an increase in time to respond to warnings when controlling five UVs. Combining speech with gamepad control of sensors on UVs leads to superior performance on a secondary (respond-to-warnings) task (implying a reduction in demand) and use of fewer commands on primary (move-sensors and classify-target) tasks (implying more efficient operation). STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: Benefits of multimodal control for unmanned vehicles are demonstrated. When controlling sensors on multiple UVs, participants with low spatial orientation scores have problems. It is proposed that the findings of these studies have implications for selection of UV operators and suggests that future UV workstations could benefit from multimodal control.

Project Icarus: The First Unmanned Interstellar Mission - Robotic Expansion and Technological Growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Long, K. F.

This paper discusses the important role of `disruptive technology' in altering the assessment on when the first unmanned interstellar probe mission is possible. Historical estimates suggest that such a mission is likely possible in the 23rd or 24th century. This paper argues that if such assessments also consider the role of high-growth exponential technology trends then in fact the first unmanned mission may be possible much earlier. The case study of a 100 year flyby space probe mission to Alpha Centauri 4.3 light years distance is examined, with an ideal cruise speed of 2,700 AU/year. Starting from an assumed mission capacity of 5 AU/year in 2020 a simple assessment shows that assuming a greater than ~8% technology growth annually in mission capacity (as measured by the attainment of cruise speed) it may be possible to launch an interstellar probe by around the year 2100. This depends upon significant and sustained science and technology research investment being made, particularly into space propulsion engineering in the near-term. This paper is a submission of the Project Icarus Study Group.

The Design and Construction of a Shiplaunched VTOL Unmanned Air Vehicle

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-06-01

Heppenheimer , T. A ., "The Light Stuff: Burt Rutan Transforms Aircraft Design," High Technolonv. pp. 29-35, December 1986. 16. Alexander, J., Foam...AD-A238 053III 1111 II IIII II OII~ NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL Monterey, California OTIC J UL 1 1 1991 THESIS THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF A ...8217 € (Include Security Classification) THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF A SHIPLAUNCHED VTOL UNMANNED AIR VEHICLE 12. PERSONAL AUTHOR(S) Blanchette, Bryan M

Design of an unmanned, reusable vehicle to de-orbit debris in Earth orbit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aziz, Shahed; Cunningham, Timothy W.; Moore-Mccassey, Michelle

1990-01-01

The space debris problem is becoming more important because as orbital missions increase, the amount of debris increases. It was the design team's objective to present alternative designs and a problem solution for a deorbiting vehicle that will alleviate the problem by reducing the amount of large debris in earth orbit. The design team was asked to design a reusable, unmanned vehicle to de-orbit debris in earth orbit. The design team will also construct a model to demonstrate the system configuration and key operating features. The alternative designs for the unmanned, reusable vehicle were developed in three stages: selection of project requirements and success criteria, formulation of a specification list, and the creation of alternatives that would satisfy the standards set forth by the design team and their sponsor. The design team selected a Chain and Bar Shot method for deorbiting debris in earth orbit. The De-orbiting Vehicle (DOV) uses the NASA Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle (OMV) as the propulsion and command modules with the deorbiting module attached to the front.

OPTIC: Orbiting Plutonian Topographic Image Craft Proposal for an Unmanned Mission to Pluto

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kelly, Jonathan E.; Hein, Randall John; Meyer, David Lee; Robinson, David Mark; Endre, Mark James; Summers, Eric W.

1990-01-01

The proposal for an unmanned probe to Pluto is presented and described. The Orbiting Plutonian Topographic Image Craft's (OPTIC's) trip will take twenty years and after its arrival, will begin its data collection which includes image and radar mapping, surface spectral analysis, and magnetospheric studies. This probe's design was developed based on the request for proposal of an unmanned probe to Pluto requirements. The distinct problems which an orbiter causes for each subsystem of the craft are discussed. The final design revolved around two important factors: (1) the ability to collect and return the maximum quantity of information on the Plutonian system; and (2) the weight limitations which the choice of an orbiting craft implied. The velocity requirements of this type of mission severely limited the weight available for mission execution-owing to the large portion of overall weight required as fuel to fly the craft with present technology. The topics covered include: (1) scientific instrumentation; (2) mission management; (3) power and propulsion; (4) attitude and articulation control; (5) structural subsystems; and (6) command, control, and communication.

Temporal variation of dose rate distribution around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station using unmanned helicopter.

PubMed

Sanada, Yukihisa; Orita, Tadashi; Torii, Tatsuo

2016-12-01

Aerial radiological survey using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was applied to measurement surface contamination around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station (FDNPS). An unmanned helicopter monitoring system (UHMS) was developed to survey the environmental effect of radioactive cesium scattered as a result of the FDNPS accident. The UHMS was used to monitor the area surrounding the FDNPS six times from 2012 to 2015. Quantitative changes in the radioactivity distribution trend were revealed from the results of these monitoring runs. With this information, we found that the actual reduction of dose rate was faster than the one calculated with radiocesium physical half-life. It is indicated that the attenuation effect of radiation by radiocesium penetration in soil is dominant as for reason of reduction of dose rate. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Degradation of electro-optic components aboard LDEF

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blue, M. D.

1993-01-01

Remeasurement of the properties of a set of electro-optic components exposed to the low-earth environment aboard the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) indicates that most components survived quite well. Typical components showed some effects related to the space environment unless well protected. The effects were often small but significant. Results for semiconductor infrared detectors, lasers, and LED's, as well as filters, mirrors, and black paints are described. Semiconductor detectors and emitters were scarred but reproduced their original characteristics. Spectral characteristics of multi-layer dielectric filters and mirrors were found to be altered and degraded. Increased absorption in black paints indicates an increase in absorption sites, giving rise to enhanced performance as coatings for baffles and sunscreens.

Working aboard the Mir space station.

PubMed

Reiter, T

1996-11-01

For more than ten years, the Mir station has been the World's only permanently manned laboratory in low earth orbit. With an orbital inclination of 51.6 degrees, its ground track covers more than 85% of the Earth's surface, where approximately 95% of the population lives. For the transfer of up to three crew members per trip to and from Mir, the 6.9 t Soyuz spacecraft is used. In general, the station's crew is changed every six months, with an overlap during the exchange of between one and two weeks. A Progress spacecraft (an unmanned derivative of the Soyuz vehicle) visits the station every three months to resupply it, with up to 2.1 t of payload, and to reboost it to maintain its nominal orbital altitude. The station's core module, injected into orbit in February 1986, contains the central control post for most onboard systems, the computer for attitude control, and the telemetry and communications system. It also contains the station's largest work space, which is 7.0 m long and varies in width between 1.5 and 2.5 m.

CRUSER (Consortium for Robotics and Unmanned Systems Education and Research)

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-07-08

LPI) comms: covert and innovative networks – such as the “Digital Semaphore ” concept being taken to field experimentation in FY13. 3)  UxS support of...Resolution Full Motion Video for Unmanned Systems and Remote Sensing Jeff Weekley, NPS Digital Semaphore Dr. Don Brutzman, NPS •  7-10 May 2012... Semaphore CRUSER  Thread  1   Sept  2011   Warfare   InnovaKon   Workshop   May  2012   Technical   ConKnuum   Apr  2013

The Ninevah Mission: A design summary for an unmanned mission to Venus, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

The design summary for an unmanned mission to the planet Venus, with code name Ninevah, is presented. The design includes a Hohmann transfer trajectory analysis, propulsion trade study, an overview of the communication and instrumentation systems, power requirements, probe and lander analysis, and a weight and cost analysis.

Support requirements for remote sensor systems on unmanned planetary missions, phase 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1971-01-01

The results of a study to determine the support requirements for remote sensor systems on unmanned planetary flyby and orbiter missions are presented. Sensors and experiment groupings for selected missions are also established. Computer programs were developed to relate measurement requirements to support requirements. Support requirements were determined for sensors capable of performing required measurements at various points along the trajectories of specific selected missions.

Evaluation of Routine Atmospheric Sounding Measurements using Unmanned Systems (ERASMUS) Science Plan

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

de Boer, G; Argrow, B; Bland, G

2015-12-01

The use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) is becoming increasingly popular for a variety of applications. One way in which these systems can provide revolutionary scientific information is through routine measurement of atmospheric conditions, particularly properties related to clouds, aerosols, and radiation. Improved understanding of these topics at high latitudes, in particular, has become very relevant because of observed decreases in ice and snow in polar regions.

78 FR 14920 - Earth Stations Aboard Aircraft Communicating With Fixed-Satellite Service Geostationary-Orbit...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-08

... broadband services, including Internet access, to passengers and flight crews aboard commercial airliners... available for download over the Internet at http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-12-161A1...

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) associated DTM quality evaluation and hazard assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Mei-Jen; Chen, Shao-Der; Chao, Yu-Jui; Chiang, Yi-Lin; Chang, Kuo-Jen

2014-05-01

Taiwan, due to the high seismicity and high annual rainfall, numerous landslides triggered every year and severe impacts affect the island. Concerning to the catastrophic landslides, the key information of landslide, including range of landslide, volume estimation and the subsequent evolution are important when analyzing the triggering mechanism, hazard assessment and mitigation. Thus, the morphological analysis gives a general overview for the landslides and been considered as one of the most fundamental information. We try to integrate several technologies, especially by Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and multi-spectral camera, to decipher the consequence and the potential hazard, and the social impact. In recent years, the remote sensing technology improves rapidly, providing a wide range of image, essential and precious information. Benefited of the advancing of informatics, remote-sensing and electric technologies, the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry mas been improve significantly. The study tries to integrate several methods, including, 1) Remote-sensing images gathered by Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and by aerial photos taken in different periods; 2) field in-situ geologic investigation; 3) Differential GPS, RTK GPS and Ground LiDAR field in-site geoinfomatics measurements; 4) Construct the DTMs before and after landslide, as well as the subsequent periods using UAV and aerial photos; 5) Discrete element method should be applied to understand the geomaterial composing the slope failure, for predicting earthquake-induced and rainfall-induced landslides displacement. First at all, we evaluate the Microdrones MD4-1000 UAV airphotos derived Digital Terrain Model (DTM). The ground resolution of the DSM point cloud of could be as high as 10 cm. By integrated 4 ground control point within an area of 56 hectares, compared with LiDAR DSM and filed RTK-GPS surveying, the mean error is as low as 6cm with a standard deviation of 17cm. The quality of the

Synthesis of the unmanned aerial vehicle remote control augmentation system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tomczyk, Andrzej, E-mail: A.Tomczyk@prz.edu.pl

Medium size Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) usually flies as an autonomous aircraft including automatic take-off and landing phases. However in the case of the on-board control system failure, the remote steering is using as an emergency procedure. In this reason, remote manual control of unmanned aerial vehicle is used more often during take-of and landing phases. Depends on UAV take-off mass and speed (total energy) the potential crash can be very danger for airplane and environment. So, handling qualities of UAV is important from pilot-operator point of view. In many cases the dynamic properties of remote controlling UAV are notmore » suitable for obtaining the desired properties of the handling qualities. In this case the control augmentation system (CAS) should be applied. Because the potential failure of the on-board control system, the better solution is that the CAS algorithms are placed on the ground station computers. The method of UAV handling qualities shaping in the case of basic control system failure is presented in this paper. The main idea of this method is that UAV reaction on the operator steering signals should be similar - almost the same - as reaction of the 'ideal' remote control aircraft. The model following method was used for controller parameters calculations. The numerical example concerns the medium size MP-02A UAV applied as an aerial observer system.« less

The Rise of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle and its Effect on Manned Tactical Aviation

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-06-16

changes, including the addition of greater numbers of UAVs to their inventory . 4 The UAV while providing valuable information they do so at a cost...have some form of manned and unmanned platforms. Estimates of the world’s UAV inventory include more than 600 types of UAVs in over forty countries...

MQ-8 Fire Scout Unmanned Aircraft System (MQ-8 Fire Scout)

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-12-01

Selected Acquisition Report ( SAR ) RCS: DD-A&T(Q&A)823-253 MQ-8 Fire Scout Unmanned Aircraft System (MQ-8 Fire Scout) As of FY 2017 President’s...Budget Defense Acquisition Management Information Retrieval (DAMIR) March 8, 2016 11:20:32 UNCLASSIFIED MQ-8 Fire Scout December 2015 SAR March 8, 2016...Scout December 2015 SAR March 8, 2016 11:20:32 UNCLASSIFIED 3 PB - President’s Budget PE - Program Element PEO - Program Executive Officer PM - Program

President Nixon welcomes the Apollo 11 astronauts aboard the U.S.S. Hornet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1969-01-01

President Richard M. Nixon welcomes the Apollo 11 astronauts aboard the U.S.S. Hornet. Already confined to the Mobile Quarantine Facility are (left to right) Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, command module pilot; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot.

Commander Bowersox Tends to Zeolite Crystal Samples Aboard Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

Expedition Six Commander Ken Bowersox spins Zeolite Crystal Growth sample tubes to eliminate bubbles that could affect crystal formation in preparation of a 15 day experiment aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Zeolites are hard as rock, yet are able to absorb liquids and gases like a sponge. By using the ISS microgravity environment to grow better, larger crystals, NASA and its commercial partners hope to improve petroleum manufacturing and other processes.

Arctic Atmospheric Measurements Using Manned and Unmanned Aircraft, Tethered Balloons, and Ground-Based Systems at U.S. DOE ARM Facilities on the North Slope Of Alaska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivey, M.; Dexheimer, D.; Roesler, E. L.; Hillman, B. R.; Hardesty, J. O.

2016-12-01

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) provides scientific infrastructure and data to the international Arctic research community via research sites located on the North Slope of Alaska and an open data archive maintained by the ARM program. In 2016, DOE continued investments in improvements to facilities and infrastructure at Oliktok Point Alaska to support operations of ground-based facilities and unmanned aerial systems for science missions in the Arctic. The Third ARM Mobile Facility, AMF3, now deployed at Oliktok Point, was further expanded in 2016. Tethered instrumented balloons were used at Oliktok to make measurements of clouds in the boundary layer including mixed-phase clouds and to compare measurements with those from the ground and from unmanned aircraft operating in the airspace above AMF3. The ARM facility at Oliktok Point includes Special Use Airspace. A Restricted Area, R-2204, is located at Oliktok Point. Roughly 4 miles in diameter, it facilitates operations of tethered balloons and unmanned aircraft. R-2204 and a new Warning Area north of Oliktok, W-220, are managed by Sandia National Laboratories for DOE Office of Science/BER. These Special Use Airspaces have been successfully used to launch and operate unmanned aircraft over the Arctic Ocean and in international airspace north of Oliktok Point.A steady progression towards routine operations of unmanned aircraft and tethered balloon systems continues at Oliktok. Small unmanned aircraft (DataHawks) and tethered balloons were successfully flown at Oliktok starting in June of 2016. This poster will discuss how principal investigators may apply for use of these Special Use Airspaces, acquire data from the Third ARM Mobile Facility, or bring their own instrumentation for deployment at Oliktok Point, Alaska.

Unmanned Multiple Exploratory Probe System (MEPS) for Mars observation. Volume 1: Trade analysis and design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adams, Daniel E.; Crumbly, Christopher M.; Delp, Steve E.; Guidry, Michelle A.; Lisano, Michael E.; Packard, James D.; Striepe, Scott A.

1988-01-01

This report presents the unmanned Multiple Exploratory Probe Systems (MEPS), a space vehicle designed to observe the planet Mars in preparation for manned missions. The options considered for each major element are presented as a trade analysis, and the final vehicle design is defined.

Mitigating the Impact of Sensor Uncertainty on Unmanned Aircraft Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jack, Devin P.; Hoffler, Keith D.; Sturdy, James L.

2017-01-01

Without a pilot onboard an aircraft, a Detect-and-Avoid (DAA) system, in conjunction with surveillance sensors, must be used to provide the remotely-located Pilot-in-Command sufficient situational awareness in order to keep the Unmanned Aircraft (UA) safely separated from other aircraft. To facilitate safe operations of UA within the U.S.' National Airspace System, the uncertainty associated with surveillance sensors must be accounted for. An approach to mitigating the impact of sensor uncertainty on achievable separation has been developed to support technical requirements for DAA systems.

Formal Analysis of Extended Well-Clear Boundaries for Unmanned Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Munoz, Cesar; Narkawicz, Anthony

2016-01-01

This paper concerns the application of formal methods to the definition of a detect and avoid concept for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). In particular, it illustrates how formal analysis was used to explain and correct unexpected behaviors of the logic that issues alerts when two aircraft are predicted not to be well clear from one another. As a result of this analysis, a recommendation was proposed to, and subsequently adopted by, the US standards organization that defines the minimum operational requirements for the UAS detect and avoid concept.

Medium Altitude Endurance Unmanned Air Vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ernst, Larry L.

1994-10-01

The medium altitude endurance unmanned air vehicle (MAE UAV) program (formerly the tactical endurance TE UAV) is a new effort initiated by the Department of Defense to develop a ground launched UAV that can fly out 500 miles, remain on station for 24 hours, and return. It will transmit high resolution optical, infrared, and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of well-defended target areas through satellite links. It will provide near-real-time, releasable, low cost/low risk surveillance, targeting and damage assessment complementary to that of satellites and manned aircraft. The paper describes specific objectives of the MAE UAV program (deliverables and schedule) and the program's unique position as one of several programs to streamline the acquisition process under the cognizance of the newly established Airborne Reconnaissance Office. I discuss the system requirements and operational concept and describe the technical capabilities and characteristics of the major subsystems (airframe, propulsion, navigation, sensors, communication links, ground station, etc.) in some detail.

Electrical Grounding Architecture for Unmanned Spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

This handbook is approved for use by NASA Headquarters and all NASA Centers and is intended to provide a common framework for consistent practices across NASA programs. This handbook was developed to describe electrical grounding design architecture options for unmanned spacecraft. This handbook is written for spacecraft system engineers, power engineers, and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) engineers. Spacecraft grounding architecture is a system-level decision which must be established at the earliest point in spacecraft design. All other grounding design must be coordinated with and be consistent with the system-level architecture. This handbook assumes that there is no one single 'correct' design for spacecraft grounding architecture. There have been many successful satellite and spacecraft programs from NASA, using a variety of grounding architectures with different levels of complexity. However, some design principles learned over the years apply to all types of spacecraft development. This handbook summarizes those principles to help guide spacecraft grounding architecture design for NASA and others.

Atmospheric Observations from Unmanned Aircraft Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Newman, Paul A.

2008-01-01

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs) provide a new and exciting avenue for atmospheric observations. NASA has a number of UASs. Amongst these are the Ikhana (24 hrs., 7000 km), the Altair (120 hrs., 6500 km), the Aerosonde (30 hrs., 3000 km), and the Global Hawk (30 hrs., 22,000 km). This presentation provides a brief history of UASs which is followed by a description of their capabilities. The presentation concludes by describing an example mission - the UAS Aura Validation Experiment (UAS-AVE). This mission will be flown on the NASA Global Hawk in the Spring/Summer of 2009. The goals fo the mission are to: 1) provide Aura validation observations, 2) sample the break up of the Arctic polar vortex, 3) observed cross-Pacific transport of aerosols and pollutants such as ozone, and 4) sample intense water advective events that impact the U.S. west coast (atmospheric rivers). Because of their range and duration, UASs provide new and exciting opportunities for atmospheric science.

NASA and Industry Partners Co-sponsor 2015 Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management (UTM) Convention

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-08-07

With issues about drones becoming front page news, NASA recently co-sponsored the 2015 Unmanned Aerial Systems Traffic Management Convention. Held at NASA’s Ames Research Center, the event brought together representatives from the public, from industry, academia, government and the international community to shape the future of low-altitude air traffic management.

DETERMINING ELECTRONIC AND CYBER ATTACK RISK LEVEL FOR UNMANNED AIRCRAFT IN A CONTESTED ENVIRONMENT

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-08-01

AIR COMMAND AND STAFF COLLEGE AIR UNIVERSITY DETERMINING ELECTRONIC AND CYBER ATTACK RISK LEVEL FOR UNMANNED AIRCRAFT IN A CONTESTED ENVIRONMENT...iii ABSTRACT During operations in a contested air environment, adversary electronic warfare (EW) and cyber-attack capability will pose a high...10 Russian Federation Electronic Warfare Systems ...................................................12 Chinese Cyber Warfare Program

The Impact of Conflicting Spatial Representations in Airborne Unmanned Aerial System Sensor Control

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-02-01

Spatial Discordance 1 Running head: SPATIAL DISCORDANCE IN AIRBORNE UAS OPERATIONS The impact of conflicting spatial...representations in airborne unmanned aerial system sensor control Joseph W Geeseman, James E Patrey, Caroline Davy, Katherine Peditto, & Christine Zernickow...system (UAS) simulation while riding in the fuselage of an airborne Lockheed P-3 Orion. The P-3 flew a flight profile of intermittent ascending

Distributed Pheromone-Based Swarming Control of Unmanned Air and Ground Vehicles for RSTA

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-03-20

Forthcoming in Proceedings of SPIE Defense & Security Conference, March 2008, Orlando, FL Distributed Pheromone -Based Swarming Control of Unmanned...describes recent advances in a fully distributed digital pheromone algorithm that has demonstrated its effectiveness in managing the complexity of...onboard digital pheromone responding to the needs of the automatic target recognition algorithms. UAVs and UGVs controlled by the same pheromone algorithm

Delayed Monocular SLAM Approach Applied to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

PubMed

Munguia, Rodrigo; Urzua, Sarquis; Grau, Antoni

2016-01-01

In recent years, many researchers have addressed the issue of making Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) more and more autonomous. In this context, the state estimation of the vehicle position is a fundamental necessity for any application involving autonomy. However, the problem of position estimation could not be solved in some scenarios, even when a GPS signal is available, for instance, an application requiring performing precision manoeuvres in a complex environment. Therefore, some additional sensory information should be integrated into the system in order to improve accuracy and robustness. In this work, a novel vision-based simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) method with application to unmanned aerial vehicles is proposed. One of the contributions of this work is to design and develop a novel technique for estimating features depth which is based on a stochastic technique of triangulation. In the proposed method the camera is mounted over a servo-controlled gimbal that counteracts the changes in attitude of the quadcopter. Due to the above assumption, the overall problem is simplified and it is focused on the position estimation of the aerial vehicle. Also, the tracking process of visual features is made easier due to the stabilized video. Another contribution of this work is to demonstrate that the integration of very noisy GPS measurements into the system for an initial short period of time is enough to initialize the metric scale. The performance of this proposed method is validated by means of experiments with real data carried out in unstructured outdoor environments. A comparative study shows that, when compared with related methods, the proposed approach performs better in terms of accuracy and computational time.

Micro Unmanned Surface Vehicle for Shallow Littoral Data Sampling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murphy, R. R.; Wilde, G.

2016-02-01

This paper describes the creation of an autonomous air boat that can be carried by one person, called a micro unmanned surface vehicle (USV), for sensor sampling in shallow littoral areas such as inlets and creeks. A USV offers advantages over other types of unmanned marine vehicles. Unlike an autonomous underwater vehicle, the Challenge 1.0 air boat can operate in shallow water of less than 15 cm depth and maintain network connectivity for control and data sampling. A USV does not require a tether, like a remotely operated marine vehicle (ROV), which would limit the distance and mobility. However, a USV operating in shallow littoral areas poses several challenges. Navigation is a challenge since rivers and bays may have semi-submerged obstacles and there may be no depth maps; the approach taken in the Challenge 1.0 project is to let the operator specify a safe area of the water by visual inspection and then the USV autonomously creates a path to optimally sample the collision free area. Navigation is also a challenge because of platform dynamics-the USV we describe is a non-holonomic vehicle; this paper explores spiral paths rather than boustrophedon paths. Another challenge is the quality of sensing. Water-based sensing is noisy and thus a reading at a single point may not reflect the overall value. In practice, areas are sampled rather than a single point, but the noise in the point values within the sampled area produce a survey with widely varying numbers and are difficult for humans to interpret. This paper implements an inverse distance weighting interpolation algorithm to produce a visual "heatmap" that reliably portrays the smoothed data.

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project FY16 Annual Review

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grindle, Laurie; Hackenberg, Davis

2016-01-01

This presentation gives insight into the research activities and efforts being executed in order to integrate unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system. This briefing is to inform others of the UAS-NAS FY16 progress and future directions.

Apollo 7 crew arrives aboard recovery ship, U.S.S. Essex

NASA Image and Video Library

1968-10-15

S68-49744 (22 Oct. 1968) --- The Apollo 7 crew is welcomed aboard the USS Essex, the prime recovery ship for the mission. Left to right, are astronauts Walter M. Schirra Jr., commander; Donn F. Eisele, command module pilot; and Walter Cunningham, lunar module pilot. In left background is Dr. Donald E. Stullken, NASA Recovery Team Leader from the Manned Spacecraft Center's (MSC) Landing and Recovery Division.

A survey of hybrid Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saeed, Adnan S.; Younes, Ahmad Bani; Cai, Chenxiao; Cai, Guowei

2018-04-01

This article presents a comprehensive overview on the recent advances of miniature hybrid Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). For now, two conventional types, i.e., fixed-wing UAV and Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) UAV, dominate the miniature UAVs. Each type has its own inherent limitations on flexibility, payload, flight range, cruising speed, takeoff and landing requirements and endurance. Enhanced popularity and interest are recently gained by the newer type, named hybrid UAV, that integrates the beneficial features of both conventional ones. In this survey paper, a systematic categorization method for the hybrid UAV's platform designs is introduced, first presenting the technical features and representative examples. Next, the hybrid UAV's flight dynamics model and flight control strategies are explained addressing several representative modeling and control work. In addition, key observations, existing challenges and conclusive remarks based on the conducted review are discussed accordingly.

Formal Methods in Air Traffic Management: The Case of Unmanned Aircraft Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Munoz, Cesar A.

2015-01-01

As the technological and operational capabilities of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) continue to grow, so too does the need to introduce these systems into civil airspace. Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the National Airspace System is a NASA research project that addresses the integration of civil UAS into non-segregated airspace operations. One of the major challenges of this integration is the lack of an onboard pilot to comply with the legal requirement that pilots see and avoid other aircraft. The need to provide an equivalent to this requirement for UAS has motivated the development of a detect and avoid (DAA) capability to provide the appropriate situational awareness and maneuver guidance in avoiding and remaining well clear of traffic aircraft. Formal methods has played a fundamental role in the development of this capability. This talk reports on the formal methods work conducted under NASA's Safe Autonomous System Operations project in support of the development of DAA for UAS. This work includes specification of low-level and high-level functional requirements, formal verification of algorithms, and rigorous validation of software implementations. The talk also discusses technical challenges in formal methods research in the context of the development and safety analysis of advanced air traffic management concepts.

KSC-04pd1503

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-07-08

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Getting ready to enter the water on a practice dive in the ocean offshore from Key Largo is Nick Patrick. He is a member of the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 6 (NEEMO-6) mission team. The others are astronauts John Herrington, mission commander, and Doug Wheelock, plus Tara Ruttley, a biomedical engineer. The NEEMO-6 mission involves exposing an astronaut/scientist crew to a real mission experience in an extreme environment - the NOAA undersea station Aquarius - to prepare for future space flight. Spacewalk-like diving excursions and field-tests on a variety of biomedical equipment are designed to help astronauts living aboard the International Space Station. To prepare for their 10-day stay, the team had dive training twice a day at the Life Support Buoy, anchored above Aquarius.

Small catchments DEM creation using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gafurov, A. M.

2018-01-01

Digital elevation models (DEM) are an important source of information on the terrain, allowing researchers to evaluate various exogenous processes. The higher the accuracy of DEM the better the level of the work possible. An important source of data for the construction of DEMs are point clouds obtained with terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). In this paper, we present the results of constructing a DEM on small catchments using UAVs. Estimation of the UAV DEM showed comparable accuracy with the TLS if real time kinematic Global Positioning System (RTK-GPS) ground control points (GCPs) and check points (CPs) were used. In this case, the main source of errors in the construction of DEMs are the errors in the referencing of survey results.

Investigation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission aboard the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan, 2006.

PubMed

Buff, Ann M; Deshpande, Swati J; Harrington, Theresa A; Wofford, Taylor S; O'Hara, Timothy W; Carrigan, Kenichi; Martin, Nicholas J; McDowell, Jackie C; Ijaz, Kashef; Jensen, Paul A; Lambert, Lauren A; Moore, Marisa; Oeltmann, John E

2008-06-01

Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) was diagnosed in a sailor aboard the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan; an investigation was conducted to determine a screening strategy for 1,172 civilian passengers who were aboard during a temporary guest rider program. Sailors were screened for latent TB infection (LTBI) and TB disease. A case-control study was conducted among sailors to determine factors associated with new LTBI. No secondary TB disease was identified; 13% of close contacts had new LTBI. Factors associated with new LTBI among sailors were having been born outside the United States (adjusted odds ratio = 2.80; 95% confidence interval, 1.55--5.07) and being a carrier air wing member (adjusted odds ratio = 2.89; 95% confidence interval, 1.83--4.58). Among 38 civilian passengers berthed near the patient, 1 (3%) had LTBI. The investigation results indicated that Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission was minimal and eliminated unnecessary TB screening for 1,134 civilians which saved public health resources.

A Novel Device Addressing Design Challenges for Passive Fluid Phase Separations Aboard Spacecraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weislogel, M. M.; Thomas, E. A.; Graf, J. C.

2009-07-01

Capillary solutions have long existed for the control of liquid inventories in spacecraft fluid systems such as liquid propellants, cryogens and thermal fluids for temperature control. Such large length scale, `low-gravity,' capillary systems exploit container geometry and fluid properties—primarily wetting—to passively locate or transport fluids to desired positions for a variety of purposes. Such methods have only been confidently established if the wetting conditions are known and favorable. In this paper, several of the significant challenges for `capillary solutions' to low-gravity multiphase fluids management aboard spacecraft are briefly reviewed in light of applications common to life support systems that emphasize the impact of the widely varying wetting properties typical of aqueous systems. A restrictive though no less typifying example of passive phase separation in a urine collection system is highlighted that identifies key design considerations potentially met by predominately capillary solutions. Sample results from novel scale model prototype testing aboard a NASA low-g aircraft are presented that support the various design considerations.

Group 3 Unmanned Aircraft Systems Maintenance Challenges Within The Naval Aviation Enterprise

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-12-01

cross winds . We again went through the mishap processes and reviewed training and maintenance records. A couple months later, there was a third crash...gas turbine engines powering aircraft with humans on board (DON, 2017). Group 3 unmanned aircraft utilize a sealed fuel system. The tank is filled...aircraft do not use gas turbine engines. They use either rotary Wankle or piston driven engines with much simpler fuel delivery systems such as carburetors

Counter-Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Warfare: Kill Authorizations for the Carrier Strike Group

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-10

COUNTER-UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE WARFARE: KILL AUTHORIZATIONS FOR THE CARRIER STRIKE GROUP A thesis presented to the Faculty...the Carrier Strike Group 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) LCDR Joshua C. Mattingly, U.S...including armed UAVs in an offensive role, but counter- UAV warfare is a new warfare area within the larger realm of air defense. Small Group 1 and 2

Low-cost unmanned lunar lander

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Daniel, Walter K.

1992-01-01

Two student groups designed unmanned landers to deliver 200 kilogram payloads to the lunar surface. Payloads could include astronomical telescopes, small lunar rovers, and experiments related to future human exploration. Requirements include the use of existing hardware where possible, use of a medium-class launch vehicle, an unobstructed view of the sky for the payload, and access to the lunar surface for the payload. The projects were modeled after Artemis, a project that the NASA Office of Exploration is pursuing with a planned first launch in 1996. The Lunar Scout design uses a Delta 2 launch vehicle with a Star 48 motor for insertion into the trans-lunar trajectory. During the transfer, the solar panels will be folded inward and the spacecraft will be powered by rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries. The lander will use a combination of a solid rocket motor and hydrazine thrusters for the descent to the lunar surface. The solar arrays will be deployed after landing. The lander will provide power for operations to the payload during the lunar day; batteries will provide 'stay-alive' power during the lunar night. A horn antenna on the lander will provide communications between the payload and the earth.

Insect detection and nitrogen management for irrigated potatoes using remote sensing from small unmanned aircraft systems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Remote sensing with small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) has potential applications in agriculture because low flight altitudes allow image acquisition at very high spatial resolution. We set up experiments at the Oregon State University Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center with d...

Rangeland remote sensing applications with unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in the national airspace: challenges and experiences

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In recent years, civilian applications of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) have increased considerably due to their greater availability and the miniaturization of sensors, GPS, inertial measurement units, and other hardware. UAS are well suited for rangeland remote sensing applications, because of the...

Unmanned air vehicle (UAV) ultra-persitence research

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dron, S. B.

2012-03-01

Sandia National Laboratories and Northrop Grumman Corporation Integrated Systems, Unmanned Systems (NGIS UMS) collaborated to further ultra-persistence technologies for unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). The greatest shortfalls in UAV capabilities have been repeatedly identified as (1) insufficient flight persistence or 'hang time,' (2) marginal electrical power for running higher power avionics and payload systems, and (3) inadequate communications bandwidth and reach. NGIS UMS requested support from Sandia to develop an ultra-persistent propulsion and power system (UP3S) for potential incorporation into next generation UAV systems. The team members tried to determine which energy storage and power generation concepts could most effectively pushmore » UAV propulsion and electrical power capabilities to increase UAV sortie duration from days to months while increasing available electrical power at least two-fold. Primary research and development areas that were pursued included these goals: perform general system engineering and integration analyses; develop initial thermal and electrical power estimates; provide mass, volume, dimensional, and balance estimates; conduct preliminary safety assessments; assess logistics support requirements; perform, preliminary assessments of any security and safeguards; evaluate options for removal, replacement, and disposition of materials; generally advance the potential of the UP3S concept. The effort contrasted and compared eight heat sources technologies, three power conversion, two dual cycle propulsion system configurations, and a single electrical power generation scheme. Overall performance, specific power parameters, technical complexities, security, safety, and other operational features were successfully investigated. Large and medium sized UAV systems were envisioned and operational flight profiles were developed for each concept. Heat source creation and support challenges for domestic and expeditionary operations were

Further Exploring the Potential for Assimilation of Unmanned Aircraft Observations to Benefit Hurricane Analyses and Forecasts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sippel, Jason A.; Zhang, Fuqing; Weng, Yonghui; Braun, Scott A.; Cecil, Daniel J.

2015-01-01

This study explores the potential of assimilating data from multiple instruments onboard high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft to improve hurricane analyses and forecasts. A recent study found a significant positive impact on analyses and forecasts of Hurricane Karl when an ensemble Kalman filter was used to assimilate data from the High-altitude Imaging Wind and Rain Airborne Profiler (HIWRAP), a new Doppler radar onboard the NASA Global Hawk (GH) unmanned airborne system. The GH can also carry other useful instruments, including dropsondes and the Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD), which is a new radiometer that estimates large swaths of wind speeds and rainfall at the ocean surface. The primary finding is that simultaneously assimilating data from HIWRAP and the other GH-compatible instruments results in further analysis and forecast improvement for Karl. The greatest improvement comes when HIWRAP, HIRAD, and dropsonde data are simultaneously assimilated.

Achieving integrated convoys: cargo unmanned ground vehicle development and experimentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zych, Noah; Silver, David; Stager, David; Green, Colin; Pilarski, Thomas; Fischer, Jacob

2013-05-01

The Cargo UGV project was initiated in 2010 with the aim of developing and experimenting with advanced autonomous vehicles capable of being integrated unobtrusively into manned logistics convoys. The intent was to validate two hypotheses in complex, operationally representative environments: first, that unmanned tactical wheeled vehicles provide a force protection advantage by creating standoff distance to warfighters during ambushes or improvised explosive device attacks; and second, that these UGVs serve as force multipliers by enabling a single operator to control multiple unmanned assets. To assess whether current state-of-the-art autonomous vehicle technology was sufficiently capable to permit resupply missions to be executed with decreased risk and reduced manpower, and to assess the effect of UGVs on customary convoy tactics, the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory and the Joint Ground Robotics Enterprise sponsored Oshkosh Defense and the National Robotics Engineering Center to equip two standard Marine Corps cargo trucks for autonomous operation. This paper details the system architecture, hardware implementation, and software modules developed to meet the vehicle control, perception, and planner requirements compelled by this application. Additionally, the design of a custom human machine interface and an accompanying training program are described, as is the creation of a realistic convoy simulation environment for rapid system development. Finally, results are conveyed from a warfighter experiment in which the effectiveness of the training program for novice operators was assessed, and the impact of the UGVs on convoy operations was observed in a variety of scenarios via direct comparison to a fully manned convoy.

Decentralized robust nonlinear model predictive controller for unmanned aerial systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garcia Garreton, Gonzalo A.

The nonlinear and unsteady nature of aircraft aerodynamics together with limited practical range of controls and state variables make the use of the linear control theory inadequate especially in the presence of external disturbances, such as wind. In the classical approach, aircraft are controlled by multiple inner and outer loops, designed separately and sequentially. For unmanned aerial systems in particular, control technology must evolve to a point where autonomy is extended to the entire mission flight envelope. This requires advanced controllers that have sufficient robustness, track complex trajectories, and use all the vehicles control capabilities at higher levels of accuracy. In this work, a robust nonlinear model predictive controller is designed to command and control an unmanned aerial system to track complex tight trajectories in the presence of internal and external perturbance. The Flight System developed in this work achieves the above performance by using: 1. A nonlinear guidance algorithm that enables the vehicle to follow an arbitrary trajectory shaped by moving points; 2. A formulation that embeds the guidance logic and trajectory information in the aircraft model, avoiding cross coupling and control degradation; 3. An artificial neural network, designed to adaptively estimate and provide aerodynamic and propulsive forces in real-time; and 4. A mixed sensitivity approach that enhances the robustness for a nonlinear model predictive controller overcoming the effect of un-modeled dynamics, external disturbances such as wind, and measurement additive perturbations, such as noise and biases. These elements have been integrated and tested in simulation and with previously stored flight test data and shown to be feasible.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) data analysis for fertilization dose assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kavvadias, Antonis; Psomiadis, Emmanouil; Chanioti, Maroulio; Tsitouras, Alexandros; Toulios, Leonidas; Dercas, Nicholas

2017-10-01

The growth rate monitoring of crops throughout their biological cycle is very important as it contributes to the achievement of a uniformly optimum production, a proper harvest planning, and reliable yield estimation. Fertilizer application often dramatically increases crop yields, but it is necessary to find out which is the ideal amount that has to be applied in the field. Remote sensing collects spatially dense information that may contribute to, or provide feedback about, fertilization management decisions. There is a potential goal to accurately predict the amount of fertilizer needed so as to attain an ideal crop yield without excessive use of fertilizers cause financial loss and negative environmental impacts. The comparison of the reflectance values at different wavelengths, utilizing suitable vegetation indices, is commonly used to determine plant vigor and growth. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have several advantages; because they can be deployed quickly and repeatedly, they are flexible regarding flying height and timing of missions, and they can obtain very high-resolution imagery. In an experimental crop field in Eleftherio Larissa, Greece, different dose of pre-plant and in-season fertilization was applied in 27 plots. A total of 102 aerial photos in two flights were taken using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle based on the scheduled fertilization. Α correlation of experimental fertilization with the change of vegetation indices values and with the increase of the vegetation cover rate during those days was made. The results of the analysis provide useful information regarding the vigor and crop growth rate performance of various doses of fertilization.

78 FR 19172 - Earth Stations Aboard Aircraft Communicating with Fixed-Satellite Service Geostationary-Orbit...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-29

... FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 47 CFR Parts 2 and 25 [IB Docket No. 12-376; FCC 12-161] Earth Stations Aboard Aircraft Communicating with Fixed-Satellite Service Geostationary-Orbit Space Stations AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission. ACTION: Proposed rule; correction. SUMMARY: The Federal...

Space Suit Portable Life Support System (PLSS) 2.0 Unmanned Vacuum Environment Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watts, Carly; Vogel, Matthew

2016-01-01

For the first time in more than 30 years, an advanced space suit Portable Life Support System (PLSS) design was operated inside a vacuum chamber representative of the flight operating environment. The test article, PLSS 2.0, was the second system-level integrated prototype of the advanced PLSS design, following the PLSS 1.0 Breadboard that was developed and tested throughout 2011. Whereas PLSS 1.0 included five technology development components with the balance the system simulated using commercial-off-the-shelf items, PLSS 2.0 featured first generation or later prototypes for all components less instrumentation, tubing and fittings. Developed throughout 2012, PLSS 2.0 was the first attempt to package the system into a flight-like representative volume. PLSS 2.0 testing included an extensive functional evaluation known as Pre-Installation Acceptance (PIA) testing, Human-in-the-Loop testing in which the PLSS 2.0 prototype was integrated via umbilicals to a manned prototype space suit for 19 two-hour simulated EVAs, and unmanned vacuum environment testing. Unmanned vacuum environment testing took place from 1/9/15-7/9/15 with PLSS 2.0 located inside a vacuum chamber. Test sequences included performance mapping of several components, carbon dioxide removal evaluations at simulated intravehicular activity (IVA) conditions, a regulator pressure schedule assessment, and culminated with 25 simulated extravehicular activities (EVAs). During the unmanned vacuum environment test series, PLSS 2.0 accumulated 378 hours of integrated testing including 291 hours of operation in a vacuum environment and 199 hours of simulated EVA time. The PLSS prototype performed nominally throughout the test series, with two notable exceptions including a pump failure and a Spacesuit Water Membrane Evaporator (SWME) leak, for which post-test failure investigations were performed. In addition to generating an extensive database of PLSS 2.0 performance data, achievements included requirements and

M and S supporting unmanned autonomous systems (UAxS) concept development and experimentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biagini, Marco; Scaccianoce, Alfio; Corona, Fabio; Forconi, Sonia; Byrum, Frank; Fowler, Olivia; Sidoran, James L.

2017-05-01

The development of the next generation of multi-domain unmanned semi and fully autonomous C4ISR systems involves a multitude of security concerns and interoperability challenges. Conceptual solutions to capability shortfalls and gaps can be identified through Concept Development and Experimentation (CD and E) cycles. Modelling and Simulation (M and S) is a key tool in supporting unmanned autonomous systems (UAxS) CD and E activities and addressing associated security challenges. This paper serves to illustrate the application of M and S to UAxS development and highlight initiatives made by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) M and S Centre of Excellence (CoE) to facilitate interoperability. The NATO M and S CoE collaborates with other NATO and Nations bodies in order to develop UAxS projects such as the Allied Command for Transformation Counter Unmanned Autonomous Systems (CUAxS) project or the work of Science and Technology Organization (STO) panels. Some initiatives, such as Simulated Interactive Robotics Initiative (SIRI) made the baseline for further developments and to study emerging technologies in M and S and robotics fields. Artificial Intelligence algorithm modelling, Robot Operating Systems (ROS), network operations, cyber security, interoperable languages and related data models are some of the main aspects considered in this paper. In particular, the implementation of interoperable languages like C-BML and NIEM MilOps are discussed in relation to a Command and Control - Simulation Interoperability (C2SIM) paradigm. All these technologies are used to build a conceptual architecture to support UAxS CD and E.In addition, other projects that the NATO M and S CoE is involved in, such as the NATO Urbanization Project could provide credible future operational environments and benefit UAxS project development, as dual application of UAxS technology in large urbanized areas.In conclusion, this paper contains a detailed overview regarding how applying

Possibilities for Using LIDAR and Photogrammetric Data Obtained with AN Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Levee Monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bakuła, K.; Ostrowski, W.; Szender, M.; Plutecki, W.; Salach, A.; Górski, K.

2016-06-01

This paper presents the possibilities for using an unmanned aerial system for evaluation of the condition of levees. The unmanned aerial system is equipped with two types of sensor. One is an ultra-light laser scanner, integrated with a GNSS receiver and an INS system; the other sensor is a digital camera that acquires data with stereoscopic coverage. Sensors have been mounted on the multirotor, unmanned platform the Hawk Moth, constructed by MSP company. LiDAR data and images of levees the length of several hundred metres were acquired during testing of the platform. Flights were performed in several variants. Control points measured with the use of the GNSS technique were considered as reference data. The obtained results are presented in this paper; the methodology of processing the acquired LiDAR data, which increase in accuracy when low accuracy of the navigation systems occurs as a result of systematic errors, is also discussed. The Iterative Closest Point (ICP) algorithm, as well as measurements of control points, were used to georeference the LiDAR data. Final accuracy in the order of centimetres was obtained for generation of the digital terrain model. The final products of the proposed UAV data processing are digital elevation models, an orthophotomap and colour point clouds. The authors conclude that such a platform offers wide possibilities for low-budget flights to deliver the data, which may compete with typical direct surveying measurements performed during monitoring of such objects. However, the biggest advantage is the density and continuity of data, which allows for detection of changes in objects being monitored.

COEFUV: A Computer Implementation of a Generalized Unmanned Vehicle Cost Model.

DTIC Science & Technology

1978-10-01

78 T N OMBER . C A FEUCNTER CLASSIF lED DAS-TRRNL mh~hhhh~hhE DAS-TR-78-4 DAS-TR-78-4 coI COEFUV: A COMPUTER IMPLEMENTATION OF A IM GENERALIZED ...34 and the time to generate them are important. Many DAS participants supported this effort. The authors wish to acknow- ledge Richard H. Anderson for...conflict and the on-going COMBAT ANGEL program at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, there is not a generally accepted costing methodology for unmanned vehicles

Modeling and Identification for Vector Propulsion of an Unmanned Surface Vehicle: Three Degrees of Freedom Model and Response Model.

PubMed

Mu, Dongdong; Wang, Guofeng; Fan, Yunsheng; Sun, Xiaojie; Qiu, Bingbing

2018-06-08

This paper presents a complete scheme for research on the three degrees of freedom model and response model of the vector propulsion of an unmanned surface vehicle. The object of this paper is “Lanxin”, an unmanned surface vehicle (7.02 m × 2.6 m), which is equipped with a single vector propulsion device. First, the “Lanxin” unmanned surface vehicle and the related field experiments (turning test and zig-zag test) are introduced and experimental data are collected through various sensors. Then, the thrust of the vector thruster is estimated by the empirical formula method. Third, using the hypothesis and simplification, the three degrees of freedom model and the response model of USV are deduced and established, respectively. Fourth, the parameters of the models (three degrees of freedom model, response model and thruster servo model) are obtained by system identification, and we compare the simulated turning test and zig-zag test with the actual data to verify the accuracy of the identification results. Finally, the biggest advantage of this paper is that it combines theory with practice. Based on identified response model, simulation and practical course keeping experiments are carried out to further verify feasibility and correctness of modeling and identification.

Manning and Maintainability of a Submarine Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (UUV) Program: A Systems Engineering Case Study

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-09-01

OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS Ao Operational Availability ACOMMS Acoustic Communications ADO Advanced Development Office ALV Autonomous Land...commercial entities that have opened their doors to share their ideas, answer my questions, and give valuable feedback during the writing process...missions and systems used by both industry and military entities . After the discussion of generic use of UUVs, the next 2 focus is on submarine

Fuel Cells: A Real Option for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Propulsion

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

The possibility of implementing fuel cell technology in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) propulsion systems is considered. Potential advantages of the Proton Exchange Membrane or Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEMFC) and Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFC), their fuels (hydrogen and methanol), and their storage systems are revised from technical and environmental standpoints. Some operating commercial applications are described. Main constraints for these kinds of fuel cells are analyzed in order to elucidate the viability of future developments. Since the low power density is the main problem of fuel cells, hybridization with electric batteries, necessary in most cases, is also explored. PMID:24600326

Autonomous Planning and Replanning for Mine-Sweeping Unmanned Underwater Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gaines, Daniel M.

2010-01-01

This software generates high-quality plans for carrying out mine-sweeping activities under resource constraints. The autonomous planning and replanning system for unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) takes as input a set of prioritized mine-sweep regions, and a specification of available UUV resources including available battery energy, data storage, and time available for accomplishing the mission. Mine-sweep areas vary in location, size of area to be swept, and importance of the region. The planner also works with a model of the UUV, as well as a model of the power consumption of the vehicle when idle and when moving.