ELISA, a demonstrator environment for information systems architecture design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Panem, Chantal

1994-01-01

This paper describes an approach of reusability of software engineering technology in the area of ground space system design. System engineers have lots of needs similar to software developers: sharing of a common data base, capitalization of knowledge, definition of a common design process, communication between different technical domains. Moreover system designers need to simulate dynamically their system as early as possible. Software development environments, methods and tools now become operational and widely used. Their architecture is based on a unique object base, a set of common management services and they host a family of tools for each life cycle activity. In late '92, CNES decided to develop a demonstrative software environment supporting some system activities. The design of ground space data processing systems was chosen as the application domain. ELISA (Integrated Software Environment for Architectures Specification) was specified as a 'demonstrator', i.e. a sufficient basis for demonstrations, evaluation and future operational enhancements. A process with three phases was implemented: system requirements definition, design of system architectures models, and selection of physical architectures. Each phase is composed of several activities that can be performed in parallel, with the provision of Commercial Off the Shelves Tools. ELISA has been delivered to CNES in January 94, currently used for demonstrations and evaluations on real projects (e.g. SPOT4 Satellite Control Center). It is on the way of new evolutions.

Software Repository

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Merwarth, P., D.

1983-01-01

The Common Software Module Repository (CSMR) is computerized library system with high product and service visibility to potential users. Online capabilities of system allow both librarian and user to interact with library. Librarian is responsible for maintaining information in CSMR library. User searches library to locate software modules that meet his or her current needs.

Analyses of requirements for computer control and data processing experiment subsystems: Image data processing system (IDAPS) software description (7094 version), volume 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

A description of each of the software modules of the Image Data Processing System (IDAPS) is presented. The changes in the software modules are the result of additions to the application software of the system and an upgrade of the IBM 7094 Mod(1) computer to a 1301 disk storage configuration. Necessary information about IDAPS sofware is supplied to the computer programmer who desires to make changes in the software system or who desires to use portions of the software outside of the IDAPS system. Each software module is documented with: module name, purpose, usage, common block(s) description, method (algorithm of subroutine) flow diagram (if needed), subroutines called, and storage requirements.

The UARS and open data concept and analysis study. [upper atmosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mittal, M.; Nebb, J.; Woodward, H.

1983-01-01

Alternative concepts for a common design for the UARS and OPEN Central Data Handling Facility (CDHF) are offered. Costs for alternative implementations of the UARS designs are presented, showing that the system design does not restrict the implementation to a single manufacturer. Processing demands on the alternative UARS CDHF implementations are then discussed. With this information at hand together with estimates for OPEN processing demands, it is shown that any shortfall in system capability for OPEN support can be remedied by either component upgrades or array processing attachments rather than a system redesign. In addition to a common system design, it is shown that there is significant potential for common software design, especially in the areas of data management software and non-user-unique production software. Archiving the CDHF data are discussed. Following that, cost examples for several modes of communications between the CDHF and Remote User Facilities are presented. Technology application is discussed.

Achieving AFRL Universal FADEC Vision With Open Architecture Addressing Capability and Obsolescence for Military and Commercial Applications (Preprint)

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-11-01

engines will involve a family of common components. It will consist of a real - time operating system and partitioned application software (AS...system will employ a standard hardware and software architecture. It will consist of a real time operating system and partitioned application...Inputs - Enables Large Cost Reduction 3. Software - FAA Certified Auto Code - Real Time Operating System - Commercial

Reliability Engineering for Service Oriented Architectures

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-02-01

Common Object Request Broker Architecture Ecosystem In software , an ecosystem is a set of applications and/or services that grad- ually build up over time...Enterprise Service Bus Foreign In an SOA context: Any SOA, service or software which the owners of the calling software do not have control of, either...SOA Service Oriented Architecture SRE Software Reliability Engineering System Mode Many systems exhibit different modes of operation. E.g. the cockpit

Object-Oriented Technology-Based Software Library for Operations of Water Reclamation Centers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Otani, Tetsuo; Shimada, Takehiro; Yoshida, Norio; Abe, Wataru

SCADA systems in water reclamation centers have been constructed based on hardware and software that each manufacturer produced according to their design. Even though this approach used to be effective to realize real-time and reliable execution, it is an obstacle to cost reduction about system construction and maintenance. A promising solution to address the problem is to set specifications that can be used commonly. In terms of software, information model approach has been adopted in SCADA systems in other field, such as telecommunications and power systems. An information model is a piece of software specification that describes a physical or logical object to be monitored. In this paper, we propose information models for operations of water reclamation centers, which have not ever existed. In addition, we show the feasibility of the information model in terms of common use and processing performance.

OAST Space Theme Workshop. Volume 3: Working group summary. 4: Software (E-4). A. Summary. B. Technology needs (form 1). C. Priority assessment (form 2)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

Only a few efforts are currently underway to develop an adequate technology base for the various themes. Particular attention must be given to software commonality and evolutionary capability, to increased system integrity and autonomy; and to improved communications among the program users, the program developers, and the programs themselves. There is a need for quantum improvement in software development methods and increasing the awareness of software by all concerned. Major thrusts identified include: (1) data and systems management; (2) software technology for autonomous systems; (3) technology and methods for improving the software development process; (4) advances related to systems of software elements including their architecture, their attributes as systems, and their interfaces with users and other systems; and (5) applications of software including both the basic algorithms used in a number of applications and the software specific to a particular theme or discipline area. The impact of each theme on software is assessed.

CrossTalk: The Journal of Defense Software Engineering. Volume 23, Number 2, March/April 2010

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-04-01

SDLC phase. 4. Developing secure software depends on understanding the operational con- text in which it will be used. This con- text includes... its development . BSI leverages the Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) and the Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) efforts. To...system integrators providing sys- tems (both IT and warfighting) to the Concept Refinement Technology Development System Development and

A Software Defined Radio Based Airplane Communication Navigation Simulation System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, L.; Zhong, H. T.; Song, D.

2018-01-01

Radio communication and navigation system plays important role in ensuring the safety of civil airplane in flight. Function and performance should be tested before these systems are installed on-board. Conventionally, a set of transmitter and receiver are needed for each system, thus all the equipment occupy a lot of space and are high cost. In this paper, software defined radio technology is applied to design a common hardware communication and navigation ground simulation system, which can host multiple airplane systems with different operating frequency, such as HF, VHF, VOR, ILS, ADF, etc. We use a broadband analog frontend hardware platform, universal software radio peripheral (USRP), to transmit/receive signal of different frequency band. Software is compiled by LabVIEW on computer, which interfaces with USRP through Ethernet, and is responsible for communication and navigation signal processing and system control. An integrated testing system is established to perform functional test and performance verification of the simulation signal, which demonstrate the feasibility of our design. The system is a low-cost and common hardware platform for multiple airplane systems, which provide helpful reference for integrated avionics design.

A database for TMT interface control documents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gillies, Kim; Roberts, Scott; Brighton, Allan; Rogers, John

2016-08-01

The TMT Software System consists of software components that interact with one another through a software infrastructure called TMT Common Software (CSW). CSW consists of software services and library code that is used by developers to create the subsystems and components that participate in the software system. CSW also defines the types of components that can be constructed and their roles. The use of common component types and shared middleware services allows standardized software interfaces for the components. A software system called the TMT Interface Database System was constructed to support the documentation of the interfaces for components based on CSW. The programmer describes a subsystem and each of its components using JSON-style text files. A command interface file describes each command a component can receive and any commands a component sends. The event interface files describe status, alarms, and events a component publishes and status and events subscribed to by a component. A web application was created to provide a user interface for the required features. Files are ingested into the software system's database. The user interface allows browsing subsystem interfaces, publishing versions of subsystem interfaces, and constructing and publishing interface control documents that consist of the intersection of two subsystem interfaces. All published subsystem interfaces and interface control documents are versioned for configuration control and follow the standard TMT change control processes. Subsystem interfaces and interface control documents can be visualized in the browser or exported as PDF files.

Securing Ground Data System Applications for Space Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pajevski, Michael J.; Tso, Kam S.; Johnson, Bryan

2014-01-01

The increasing prevalence and sophistication of cyber attacks has prompted the Multimission Ground Systems and Services (MGSS) Program Office at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to initiate the Common Access Manager (CAM) effort to protect software applications used in Ground Data Systems (GDSs) at JPL and other NASA Centers. The CAM software provides centralized services and software components used by GDS subsystems to meet access control requirements and ensure data integrity, confidentiality, and availability. In this paper we describe the CAM software; examples of its integration with spacecraft commanding software applications and an information management service; and measurements of its performance and reliability.

49 CFR Appendix C to Part 236 - Safety Assurance Criteria and Processes

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... system (all its elements including hardware and software) must be designed to assure safe operation with... unsafe errors in the software due to human error in the software specification, design, or coding phases... (hardware or software, or both) are used in combination to ensure safety. If a common mode failure exists...

System Software Framework for System of Systems Avionics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ferguson, Roscoe C.; Peterson, Benjamin L; Thompson, Hiram C.

2005-01-01

Project Constellation implements NASA's vision for space exploration to expand human presence in our solar system. The engineering focus of this project is developing a system of systems architecture. This architecture allows for the incremental development of the overall program. Systems can be built and connected in a "Lego style" manner to generate configurations supporting various mission objectives. The development of the avionics or control systems of such a massive project will result in concurrent engineering. Also, each system will have software and the need to communicate with other (possibly heterogeneous) systems. Fortunately, this design problem has already been solved during the creation and evolution of systems such as the Internet and the Department of Defense's successful effort to standardize distributed simulation (now IEEE 1516). The solution relies on the use of a standard layered software framework and a communication protocol. A standard framework and communication protocol is suggested for the development and maintenance of Project Constellation systems. The ARINC 653 standard is a great start for such a common software framework. This paper proposes a common system software framework that uses the Real Time Publish/Subscribe protocol for framework-to-framework communication to extend ARINC 653. It is highly recommended that such a framework be established before development. This is important for the success of concurrent engineering. The framework provides an infrastructure for general system services and is designed for flexibility to support a spiral development effort.

47 CFR 32.2690 - Intangibles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES UNIFORM SYSTEM OF ACCOUNTS... purpose computer software and for network software. Subsidiary records for this account shall also include..., not including software, having a life of one year or less shall be charged directly to Account 6564...

Software For Clear-Air Doppler-Radar Display

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnston, Bruce W.

1990-01-01

System of software developed to present plan-position-indicator scans of clear-air Doppler radar station on color graphical cathode-ray-tube display. Designed to incorporate latest accepted standards for equipment, computer programs, and meteorological data bases. Includes use of Ada programming language, of "Graphical-Kernel-System-like" graphics interface, and of Common Doppler Radar Exchange Format. Features include portability and maintainability. Use of Ada software packages produced number of software modules reused on other related projects.

Reuseable Objects Software Environment (ROSE): Introduction to Air Force Software Reuse Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cottrell, William L.

1994-01-01

The Reusable Objects Software Environment (ROSE) is a common, consistent, consolidated implementation of software functionality using modern object oriented software engineering including designed-in reuse and adaptable requirements. ROSE is designed to minimize abstraction and reduce complexity. A planning model for the reverse engineering of selected objects through object oriented analysis is depicted. Dynamic and functional modeling are used to develop a system design, the object design, the language, and a database management system. The return on investment for a ROSE pilot program and timelines are charted.

Large Scale Portability of Hospital Information System Software

PubMed Central

Munnecke, Thomas H.; Kuhn, Ingeborg M.

1986-01-01

As part of its Decentralized Hospital Computer Program (DHCP) the Veterans Administration installed new hospital information systems in 169 of its facilities during 1984 and 1985. The application software for these systems is based on the ANS MUMPS language, is public domain, and is designed to be operating system and hardware independent. The software, developed by VA employees, is built upon a layered approach, where application packages layer on a common data dictionary which is supported by a Kernel of software. Communications between facilities are based on public domain Department of Defense ARPA net standards for domain naming, mail transfer protocols, and message formats, layered on a variety of communications technologies.

A Common Interface Real-Time Multiprocessor Operating System for Embedded Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-03-04

Pressman , a design methodology should show hierarchical organization, lead to modules exhibiting independent functional characteristics, and be derived...Boehm, Barry W. "Software Engineering," Tutorial: Software Design Strategies, 2nd Edition. 35-50. Los Angeles CA: IEEE Computer Society Press, 1981... Pressman , Roger S. Software Engineering: A Practitioner’s Approach, Second Edi- tion. McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1988. 59. Quinn, Michael J

Software life cycle methodologies and environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fridge, Ernest

1991-01-01

Products of this project will significantly improve the quality and productivity of Space Station Freedom Program software processes by: improving software reliability and safety; and broadening the range of problems that can be solved with computational solutions. Projects brings in Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) technology for: Environments such as Engineering Script Language/Parts Composition System (ESL/PCS) application generator, Intelligent User Interface for cost avoidance in setting up operational computer runs, Framework programmable platform for defining process and software development work flow control, Process for bringing CASE technology into an organization's culture, and CLIPS/CLIPS Ada language for developing expert systems; and methodologies such as Method for developing fault tolerant, distributed systems and a method for developing systems for common sense reasoning and for solving expert systems problems when only approximate truths are known.

Scalability Assessments for the Malicious Activity Simulation Tool (MAST)

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-09-01

the scalability characteristics of MAST. Specifically, we show that an exponential increase in clients using the MAST software does not impact...an exponential increase in clients using the MAST software does not impact network and system resources significantly. Additionally, we...31 1. Hardware .....................................31 2. Software .....................................32 3. Common PC

cFE/CFS (Core Flight Executive/Core Flight System)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wildermann, Charles P.

2008-01-01

This viewgraph presentation describes in detail the requirements and goals of the Core Flight Executive (cFE) and the Core Flight System (CFS). The Core Flight Software System is a mission independent, platform-independent, Flight Software (FSW) environment integrating a reusable core flight executive (cFE). The CFS goals include: 1) Reduce time to deploy high quality flight software; 2) Reduce project schedule and cost uncertainty; 3) Directly facilitate formalized software reuse; 4) Enable collaboration across organizations; 5) Simplify sustaining engineering (AKA. FSW maintenance); 6) Scale from small instruments to System of Systems; 7) Platform for advanced concepts and prototyping; and 7) Common standards and tools across the branch and NASA wide.

Common Database Interface for Heterogeneous Software Engineering Tools.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-12-01

SUB-GROUP Database Management Systems ;Programming(Comuters); 1e 05 Computer Files;Information Transfer;Interfaces; 19. ABSTRACT (Continue on reverse...Air Force Institute of Technology Air University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Information Systems ...Literature ..... 8 System 690 Configuration ......... 8 Database Functionis ............ 14 Software Engineering Environments ... 14 Data Manager

Open Architecture SDR for Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Carl; Long, Chris; Liebetreu, John; Reinhart, Richard C.

2005-01-01

This paper describes an open-architecture SDR (software defined radio) infrastructure that is suitable for space-based operations (Space-SDR). SDR technologies will endow space and planetary exploration systems with dramatically increased capability, reduced power consumption, and significantly less mass than conventional systems, at costs reduced by vigorous competition, hardware commonality, dense integration, reduced obsolescence, interoperability, and software re-use. Significant progress has been recorded on developments like the Joint Tactical Radio System (JSTRS) Software Communication Architecture (SCA), which is oriented toward reconfigurable radios for defense forces operating in multiple theaters of engagement. The JTRS-SCA presents a consistent software interface for waveform development, and facilitates interoperability, waveform portability, software re-use, and technology evolution.

A Core Plug and Play Architecture for Reusable Flight Software Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilmot, Jonathan

2006-01-01

The Flight Software Branch, at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), has been working on a run-time approach to facilitate a formal software reuse process. The reuse process is designed to enable rapid development and integration of high-quality software systems and to more accurately predict development costs and schedule. Previous reuse practices have been somewhat successful when the same teams are moved from project to project. But this typically requires taking the software system in an all-or-nothing approach where useful components cannot be easily extracted from the whole. As a result, the system is less flexible and scalable with limited applicability to new projects. This paper will focus on the rationale behind, and implementation of the run-time executive. This executive is the core for the component-based flight software commonality and reuse process adopted at Goddard.

Stereo Navi 2.0: software for stereotaxic surgery of the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus).

PubMed

Tokuno, Hironobu; Tanaka, Ikuko; Umitsu, Yoshitomo; Nakamura, Yasuhisa

2009-11-01

Recently, we reported our web-accessible digital brain atlas of the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) at http://marmoset-brain.org:2008. Using digital images obtained during construction of this website, we developed stand-alone software for navigation of electrodes or injection needles for stereotaxic electrophysiological or anatomical experiments in vivo. This software enables us to draw lines on exchangeable section images, measure the length and angle of lines, superimpose a stereotaxic reference grid on the image, and send the image to the system clipboard. The software, Stereo Navi 2.0, is freely available at our brain atlas website.

Ground System Harmonization Efforts at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Dan

2011-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the efforts made at Goddard Space Flight Center in harmonizing the ground systems to assist in collaboration in space ventures. The key elements of this effort are: (1) Moving to a Common Framework (2) Use of Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) Standards (3) Collaboration Across NASA Centers (4) Collaboration Across Industry and other Space Organizations. These efforts are working to bring into harmony the GSFC systems with CCSDS standards to allow for common software, use of Commercial Off the Shelf Software and low risk development and operations and also to work toward harmonization with other NASA centers

Dypas: A dynamic payload scheduler for shuttle missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Stephen

1988-01-01

Decision and analysis systems have had broad and very practical application areas in the human decision making process. These software systems range from the help sections in simple accounting packages, to the more complex computer configuration programs. Dypas is a decision and analysis system that aids prelaunch shutlle scheduling, and has added functionality to aid the rescheduling done in flight. Dypas is written in Common Lisp on a Symbolics Lisp machine. Dypas differs from other scheduling programs in that it can draw its knowledge from different rule bases and apply them to different rule interpretation schemes. The system has been coded with Flavors, an object oriented extension to Common Lisp on the Symbolics hardware. This allows implementation of objects (experiments) to better match the problem definition, and allows a more coherent solution space to be developed. Dypas was originally developed to test a programmer's aptitude toward Common Lisp and the Symbolics software environment. Since then the system has grown into a large software effort with several programmers and researchers thrown into the effort. Dypas is currently using two expert systems and three inferencing procedures to generate a many object schedule. The paper will review the abilities of Dypas and comment on its functionality.

System administrator`s guide to CDPS. Version 1.0

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

Didier, B.T.; Portwood, M.H.

The System Administrator`s Guide to CDPS is intended for those responsible for setting up and maintaining the hardware and software of a Common Mapping Standard (CMS) Date Production System (CDPS) installation. This guide assists the system administrator in performing typical administrative functions. It is not intended to replace the Ultrix Documentation Set that should be available for a DCPS installation. The Ultrix Documentation Set will be required to provide details on referenced Ultrix commands as well as procedures for performing Ultrix maintenance functions. There are six major sections in this guide. Section 1 introduces the system administrator to CDPS andmore » describes the assumptions that are made by this guide. Section 2 describes the CDPS platform configuration. Section 3 describes the platform preparation that is required to install the CDPS software. Section 4 describes the CPS software and its installation procedures. Section 5 describes the CDS software and its installation procedures. Section 6 describes various operation and maintenance procedures. Four appendices are also provided. Appendix A contains a list of used acronyms. Appendix B provides a terse description of common Ultrix commands that are used in administrative functions. Appendix C provides sample CPS and CDS configuration files. Appendix D provides a required list and a recommended list of Ultrix software subsets for installation on a CDPS platform.« less

Software Requirements Specification for an Ammunition Management System

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-09-01

thesis takes the form of a software requirements specification. Such a specification, according to Pressman [Ref. 7], establishes a complete...defined by Pressman , is depicted in Figure 1.1. 11 Figure 1.1 Generalized Software Life Cycle The common thread which binds the various phases together...application of software engineering principles requires an established methodology. This methodology, according to Pressman [Ref. 8:p. 151 is an

Data Telemetry and Acquisition System for Acoustic Signal Processing Investigations.

DTIC Science & Technology

1996-02-20

were VME- based computer systems operating under the VxWorks real - time operating system . Each system shared a common hardware and software... real - time operating system . It interfaces to the Berg PCM Decommutator board, which searches for the embedded synchronization word in the data and re...software were built on top of this architecture. The multi-tasking, message queue and memory management facilities of the VxWorks real - time operating system are

National Cycle Program (NCP) Common Analysis Tool for Aeropropulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Follen, G.; Naiman, C.; Evans, A.

1999-01-01

Through the NASA/Industry Cooperative Effort (NICE) agreement, NASA Lewis and industry partners are developing a new engine simulation, called the National Cycle Program (NCP), which is the initial framework of NPSS. NCP is the first phase toward achieving the goal of NPSS. This new software supports the aerothermodynamic system simulation process for the full life cycle of an engine. The National Cycle Program (NCP) was written following the Object Oriented Paradigm (C++, CORBA). The software development process used was also based on the Object Oriented paradigm. Software reviews, configuration management, test plans, requirements, design were all apart of the process used in developing NCP. Due to the many contributors to NCP, the stated software process was mandatory for building a common tool intended for use by so many organizations. The U.S. aircraft and airframe companies recognize NCP as the future industry standard for propulsion system modeling.

Process description language: an experiment in robust programming for manufacturing systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spooner, Natalie R.; Creak, G. Alan

1998-10-01

Maintaining stable, robust, and consistent software is difficult in face of the increasing rate of change of customers' preferences, materials, manufacturing techniques, computer equipment, and other characteristic features of manufacturing systems. It is argued that software is commonly difficult to keep up to date because many of the implications of these changing features on software details are obscure. A possible solution is to use a software generation system in which the transformation of system properties into system software is made explicit. The proposed generation system stores the system properties, such as machine properties, product properties and information on manufacturing techniques, in databases. As a result this information, on which system control is based, can also be made available to other programs. In particular, artificial intelligence programs such as fault diagnosis programs, can benefit from using the same information as the control system, rather than a separate database which must be developed and maintained separately to ensure consistency. Experience in developing a simplified model of such a system is presented.

Advanced Transport Operating System (ATOPS) control display unit software description

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Slominski, Christopher J.; Parks, Mark A.; Debure, Kelly R.; Heaphy, William J.

1992-01-01

The software created for the Control Display Units (CDUs), used for the Advanced Transport Operating Systems (ATOPS) project, on the Transport Systems Research Vehicle (TSRV) is described. Module descriptions are presented in a standardized format which contains module purpose, calling sequence, a detailed description, and global references. The global reference section includes subroutines, functions, and common variables referenced by a particular module. The CDUs, one for the pilot and one for the copilot, are used for flight management purposes. Operations performed with the CDU affects the aircraft's guidance, navigation, and display software.

NASA Data Acquisition System Software Development for Rocket Propulsion Test Facilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Herbert, Phillip W., Sr.; Elliot, Alex C.; Graves, Andrew R.

2015-01-01

Current NASA propulsion test facilities include Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, Plum Brook Station in Ohio, and White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico. Within and across these centers, a diverse set of data acquisition systems exist with different hardware and software platforms. The NASA Data Acquisition System (NDAS) is a software suite designed to operate and control many critical aspects of rocket engine testing. The software suite combines real-time data visualization, data recording to a variety formats, short-term and long-term acquisition system calibration capabilities, test stand configuration control, and a variety of data post-processing capabilities. Additionally, data stream conversion functions exist to translate test facility data streams to and from downstream systems, including engine customer systems. The primary design goals for NDAS are flexibility, extensibility, and modularity. Providing a common user interface for a variety of hardware platforms helps drive consistency and error reduction during testing. In addition, with an understanding that test facilities have different requirements and setups, the software is designed to be modular. One engine program may require real-time displays and data recording; others may require more complex data stream conversion, measurement filtering, or test stand configuration management. The NDAS suite allows test facilities to choose which components to use based on their specific needs. The NDAS code is primarily written in LabVIEW, a graphical, data-flow driven language. Although LabVIEW is a general-purpose programming language; large-scale software development in the language is relatively rare compared to more commonly used languages. The NDAS software suite also makes extensive use of a new, advanced development framework called the Actor Framework. The Actor Framework provides a level of code reuse and extensibility that has previously been difficult to achieve using LabVIEW. The

GUIdock: Using Docker Containers with a Common Graphics User Interface to Address the Reproducibility of Research

PubMed Central

Yeung, Ka Yee

2016-01-01

Reproducibility is vital in science. For complex computational methods, it is often necessary, not just to recreate the code, but also the software and hardware environment to reproduce results. Virtual machines, and container software such as Docker, make it possible to reproduce the exact environment regardless of the underlying hardware and operating system. However, workflows that use Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) remain difficult to replicate on different host systems as there is no high level graphical software layer common to all platforms. GUIdock allows for the facile distribution of a systems biology application along with its graphics environment. Complex graphics based workflows, ubiquitous in systems biology, can now be easily exported and reproduced on many different platforms. GUIdock uses Docker, an open source project that provides a container with only the absolutely necessary software dependencies and configures a common X Windows (X11) graphic interface on Linux, Macintosh and Windows platforms. As proof of concept, we present a Docker package that contains a Bioconductor application written in R and C++ called networkBMA for gene network inference. Our package also includes Cytoscape, a java-based platform with a graphical user interface for visualizing and analyzing gene networks, and the CyNetworkBMA app, a Cytoscape app that allows the use of networkBMA via the user-friendly Cytoscape interface. PMID:27045593

GUIdock: Using Docker Containers with a Common Graphics User Interface to Address the Reproducibility of Research.

PubMed

Hung, Ling-Hong; Kristiyanto, Daniel; Lee, Sung Bong; Yeung, Ka Yee

2016-01-01

Reproducibility is vital in science. For complex computational methods, it is often necessary, not just to recreate the code, but also the software and hardware environment to reproduce results. Virtual machines, and container software such as Docker, make it possible to reproduce the exact environment regardless of the underlying hardware and operating system. However, workflows that use Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) remain difficult to replicate on different host systems as there is no high level graphical software layer common to all platforms. GUIdock allows for the facile distribution of a systems biology application along with its graphics environment. Complex graphics based workflows, ubiquitous in systems biology, can now be easily exported and reproduced on many different platforms. GUIdock uses Docker, an open source project that provides a container with only the absolutely necessary software dependencies and configures a common X Windows (X11) graphic interface on Linux, Macintosh and Windows platforms. As proof of concept, we present a Docker package that contains a Bioconductor application written in R and C++ called networkBMA for gene network inference. Our package also includes Cytoscape, a java-based platform with a graphical user interface for visualizing and analyzing gene networks, and the CyNetworkBMA app, a Cytoscape app that allows the use of networkBMA via the user-friendly Cytoscape interface.

Getting from x to y without Crashing: Computer Syntax in Mathematics Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jeffrey, David J.

2010-01-01

When we use technology to teach mathematics, we hope to focus on the mathematics, restricting the computer software systems to providing support for our pedagogy. It is a matter of common experience, however, that students can become distracted or frustrated by the quirks of the particular software system being used. Here, experience using the…

Assessing and Managing Quality of Information Assurance

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-11-01

such as firewalls, antivirus scanning tools and mechanisms for user authentication and authorization. Advanced mission-critical systems often...imply increased risk to DoD information systems. The Process and Organizational Maturity (POM) class focuses on the maturity of the software and...include architectural quality. Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) is a recent example that highlights the connection between software quality and

Final Technical Report - Center for Technology for Advanced Scientific Component Software (TASCS)

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

Sussman, Alan

2014-10-21

This is a final technical report for the University of Maryland work in the SciDAC Center for Technology for Advanced Scientific Component Software (TASCS). The Maryland work focused on software tools for coupling parallel software components built using the Common Component Architecture (CCA) APIs. Those tools are based on the Maryland InterComm software framework that has been used in multiple computational science applications to build large-scale simulations of complex physical systems that employ multiple separately developed codes.

Framework for Development of Object-Oriented Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perez-Poveda, Gus; Ciavarella, Tony; Nieten, Dan

2004-01-01

The Real-Time Control (RTC) Application Framework is a high-level software framework written in C++ that supports the rapid design and implementation of object-oriented application programs. This framework provides built-in functionality that solves common software development problems within distributed client-server, multi-threaded, and embedded programming environments. When using the RTC Framework to develop software for a specific domain, designers and implementers can focus entirely on the details of the domain-specific software rather than on creating custom solutions, utilities, and frameworks for the complexities of the programming environment. The RTC Framework was originally developed as part of a Space Shuttle Launch Processing System (LPS) replacement project called Checkout and Launch Control System (CLCS). As a result of the framework s development, CLCS software development time was reduced by 66 percent. The framework is generic enough for developing applications outside of the launch-processing system domain. Other applicable high-level domains include command and control systems and simulation/ training systems.

Using the K-25 C TD Common File System: A guide to CFSI (CFS Interface)

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

Not Available

1989-12-01

A CFS (Common File System) is a large, centralized file management and storage facility based on software developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory. This manual is a guide to use of the CFS available to users of the Cray UNICOS system at Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc., in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Development of a Real-Time General-Purpose Digital Signal Processing Laboratory System.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-12-01

should serve several important purposes: to familiarize students with the use of common DSP tools in an instructional environment, to serve as a research ...of Dayton Research Institute researchers for DSP software and DSP system design insight. 3. Formulation of statement of requirements for development...Neither the University of Dayton nor its Research Institute have a DSP computer system. While UD offered no software or DSP system design information

Expert system verification and validation study: ES V/V Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

French, Scott; Hamilton, David

1992-01-01

The primary purpose of this document is to build a foundation for applying principles of verification and validation (V&V) of expert systems. To achieve this, some V&V as applied to conventionally implemented software is required. Part one will discuss the background of V&V from the perspective of (1) what is V&V of software and (2) V&V's role in developing software. Part one will also overview some common analysis techniques that are applied when performing V&V of software. All of these materials will be presented based on the assumption that the reader has little or no background in V&V or in developing procedural software. The primary purpose of part two is to explain the major techniques that have been developed for V&V of expert systems.

Advanced Transport Operating System (ATOPS) color displays software description microprocessor system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Slominski, Christopher J.; Plyler, Valerie E.; Dickson, Richard W.

1992-01-01

This document describes the software created for the Sperry Microprocessor Color Display System used for the Advanced Transport Operating Systems (ATOPS) project on the Transport Systems Research Vehicle (TSRV). The software delivery known as the 'baseline display system', is the one described in this document. Throughout this publication, module descriptions are presented in a standardized format which contains module purpose, calling sequence, detailed description, and global references. The global reference section includes procedures and common variables referenced by a particular module. The system described supports the Research Flight Deck (RFD) of the TSRV. The RFD contains eight cathode ray tubes (CRTs) which depict a Primary Flight Display, Navigation Display, System Warning Display, Takeoff Performance Monitoring System Display, and Engine Display.

2018 Ground Robotics Capabilities Conference and Exhibiton

DTIC Science & Technology

2018-04-11

Transportable Robot System (MTRS) Inc 1 Non -standard Equipment (approved) Explosive Ordnance Disposal Common Robotic System-Heavy (CRS-H) Inc 1 AROC: 3-Star...and engineering • AI risk mitigation methodologies and techniques are at best immature – E.g., V&V; Probabilistic software analytics; code level...controller to minimize potential UxS mishaps and unauthorized Command and Control (C2). • PSP-10 – Ensure that software systems which exhibit non

Managing Variation in Services in a Software Product Line Context

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-05-01

Oriented Domain Analysis ( FODA ) Feasibility Study (CMU/SEI-90-TR-021, ADA235785). Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, 1990...the systems in the product line, and a plan for building the systems. Product line scope and product line analysis define the boundaries and...systems, as well as expected ways in which they may vary. Product line analysis applies established modeling techniques to engineer the common and

Advancements in Curriculum and Assessment by the Use of IMMEX Technology in the Organic Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cox, Charles T., Jr.; Cooper, Melanie M.; Pease, Rebecca; Buchanan, Krystal; Hernandez-Cruz, Laura; Stevens, Ron; Picione, John; Holme, Thomas

2008-01-01

The use of web-based software and course management systems for the delivery of online assessments in the chemistry classroom is becoming more common. IMMEX software, like other web-based software, can be used for delivering assessments and providing feedback, but differs in that it offers additional features designed to give insights and promote…

Avionics upgrade strategies for the Space Shuttle and derivatives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swaim, Richard A.; Wingert, William B.

Some approaches aimed at providing a low-cost, low-risk strategy to upgrade the shuttle onboard avionics are described. These approaches allow migration to a shuttle-derived vehicle and provide commonality with Space Station Freedom avionics to the extent practical. Some goals of the Shuttle cockpit upgrade include: offloading of the main computers by distributing avionics display functions, reducing crew workload, reducing maintenance cost, and providing display reconfigurability and context sensitivity. These goals are being met by using a combination of off-the-shelf and newly developed software and hardware. The software will be developed using Ada. Advanced active matrix liquid crystal displays are being used to meet the tight space, weight, and power consumption requirements. Eventually, it is desirable to upgrade the current shuttle data processing system with a system that has more in common with the Space Station data management system. This will involve not only changes in Space Shuttle onboard hardware, but changes in the software. Possible approaches to maximizing the use of the existing software base while taking advantage of new language capabilities are discussed.

Space Communication and Navigation Testbed Communications Technology for Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reinhart, Richard

2013-01-01

NASA developed and launched an experimental flight payload (referred to as the Space Communication and Navigation Test Bed) to investigate software defined radio, networking, and navigation technologies, operationally in the space environment. The payload consists of three software defined radios each compliant to NASAs Space Telecommunications Radio System Architecture, a common software interface description standard for software defined radios. The software defined radios are new technology developed by NASA and industry partners. The payload is externally mounted to the International Space Station truss and available to NASA, industry, and university partners to conduct experiments representative of future mission capability. Experiment operations include in-flight reconfiguration of the SDR waveform functions and payload networking software. The flight system communicates with NASAs orbiting satellite relay network, the Tracking, Data Relay Satellite System at both S-band and Ka-band and to any Earth-based compatible S-band ground station.

Integrated Modeling Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mosier, Gary; Stone, Paul; Holtery, Christopher

2006-01-01

The Integrated Modeling Environment (IME) is a software system that establishes a centralized Web-based interface for integrating people (who may be geographically dispersed), processes, and data involved in a common engineering project. The IME includes software tools for life-cycle management, configuration management, visualization, and collaboration.

Software for Classroom Music Making.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ely, Mark C.

1992-01-01

Describes musical instrument digital interface (MIDI), a communication system that uses digital data to enable MIDI-equipped instruments to communicate with each other. Includes discussion of music editors, sequencers, compositional software, and commonly used computers. Suggests uses for the technology for students and teachers. Urges further…

A Unique Software System For Simulation-to-Flight Research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chung, Victoria I.; Hutchinson, Brian K.

2001-01-01

"Simulation-to-Flight" is a research development concept to reduce costs and increase testing efficiency of future major aeronautical research efforts at NASA. The simulation-to-flight concept is achieved by using common software and hardware, procedures, and processes for both piloted-simulation and flight testing. This concept was applied to the design and development of two full-size transport simulators, a research system installed on a NASA B-757 airplane, and two supporting laboratories. This paper describes the software system that supports the simulation-to-flight facilities. Examples of various simulation-to-flight experimental applications were also provided.

CAD/CAE Integration Enhanced by New CAD Services Standard

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Claus, Russell W.

2002-01-01

A Government-industry team led by the NASA Glenn Research Center has developed a computer interface standard for accessing data from computer-aided design (CAD) systems. The Object Management Group, an international computer standards organization, has adopted this CAD services standard. The new standard allows software (e.g., computer-aided engineering (CAE) and computer-aided manufacturing software to access multiple CAD systems through one programming interface. The interface is built on top of a distributed computing system called the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA). CORBA allows the CAD services software to operate in a distributed, heterogeneous computing environment.

Performance of the engineering analysis and data system 2 common file system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Debrunner, Linda S.

1993-01-01

The Engineering Analysis and Data System (EADS) was used from April 1986 to July 1993 to support large scale scientific and engineering computation (e.g. computational fluid dynamics) at Marshall Space Flight Center. The need for an updated system resulted in a RFP in June 1991, after which a contract was awarded to Cray Grumman. EADS II was installed in February 1993, and by July 1993 most users were migrated. EADS II is a network of heterogeneous computer systems supporting scientific and engineering applications. The Common File System (CFS) is a key component of this system. The CFS provides a seamless, integrated environment to the users of EADS II including both disk and tape storage. UniTree software is used to implement this hierarchical storage management system. The performance of the CFS suffered during the early months of the production system. Several of the performance problems were traced to software bugs which have been corrected. Other problems were associated with hardware. However, the use of NFS in UniTree UCFM software limits the performance of the system. The performance issues related to the CFS have led to a need to develop a greater understanding of the CFS organization. This paper will first describe the EADS II with emphasis on the CFS. Then, a discussion of mass storage systems will be presented, and methods of measuring the performance of the Common File System will be outlined. Finally, areas for further study will be identified and conclusions will be drawn.

A Software Platform for Post-Processing Waveform-Based NDE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roth, Donald J.; Martin, Richard E.; Seebo, Jeff P.; Trinh, Long B.; Walker, James L.; Winfree, William P.

2007-01-01

Ultrasonic, microwave, and terahertz nondestructive evaluation imaging systems generally require the acquisition of waveforms at each scan point to form an image. For such systems, signal and image processing methods are commonly needed to extract information from the waves and improve resolution of, and highlight, defects in the image. Since some similarity exists for all waveform-based NDE methods, it would seem a common software platform containing multiple signal and image processing techniques to process the waveforms and images makes sense where multiple techniques, scientists, engineers, and organizations are involved. This presentation describes NASA Glenn Research Center's approach in developing a common software platform for processing waveform-based NDE signals and images. This platform is currently in use at NASA Glenn and at Lockheed Martin Michoud Assembly Facility for processing of pulsed terahertz and ultrasonic data. Highlights of the software operation will be given. A case study will be shown for use with terahertz data. The authors also request scientists and engineers who are interested in sharing customized signal and image processing algorithms to contribute to this effort by letting the authors code up and include these algorithms in future releases.

Event Oriented Design and Adaptive Multiprocessing

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-08-31

System 5 2.3 The Classification 5 2.4 Real-Time Systems 7 2.5 Non Real-Time Systems 10 2.6 Common Characterizations of all Software Systems 10 2.7... Non -Optimal Guarantee Test Theorem 37 6.3.2 Chetto’s Optimal Guarantee Test Theorem 37 6.3.3 Multistate Case: An Extended Guarantee 39 Test Theorem...which subdivides all software systems according to the way in which they operate, such as interactive, non interactive, real-time, etc. Having defined

Software model of a machine vision system based on the common house fly.

PubMed

Madsen, Robert; Barrett, Steven; Wilcox, Michael

2005-01-01

The vision system of the common house fly has many properties, such as hyperacuity and parallel structure, which would be advantageous in a machine vision system. A software model has been developed which is ultimately intended to be a tool to guide the design of an analog real time vision system. The model starts by laying out cartridges over an image. The cartridges are analogous to the ommatidium of the fly's eye and contain seven photoreceptors each with a Gaussian profile. The spacing between photoreceptors is variable providing for more or less detail as needed. The cartridges provide information on what type of features they see and neighboring cartridges share information to construct a feature map.

Space Communication and Navigation SDR Testbed, Overview and Opportunity for Experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reinhart, Richard C.

2013-01-01

NASA has developed an experimental flight payload (referred to as the Space Communication and Navigation (SCAN) Test Bed) to investigate software defined radio (SDR) communications, networking, and navigation technologies, operationally in the space environment. The payload consists of three software defined radios each compliant to NASAs Space Telecommunications Radio System Architecture, a common software interface description standard for software defined radios. The software defined radios are new technology developments underway by NASA and industry partners launched in 2012. The payload is externally mounted to the International Space Station truss to conduct experiments representative of future mission capability. Experiment operations include in-flight reconfiguration of the SDR waveform functions and payload networking software. The flight system will communicate with NASAs orbiting satellite relay network, the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System at both S-band and Ka-band and to any Earth-based compatible S-band ground station. The system is available for experiments by industry, academia, and other government agencies to participate in the SDR technology assessments and standards advancements.

Industrial energy systems and assessment opportunities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barringer, Frank Leonard, III

Industrial energy assessments are performed primarily to increase energy system efficiency and reduce energy costs in industrial facilities. The most common energy systems are lighting, compressed air, steam, process heating, HVAC, pumping, and fan systems, and these systems are described in this document. ASME has produced energy assessment standards for four energy systems, and these systems include compressed air, steam, process heating, and pumping systems. ASHRAE has produced an energy assessment standard for HVAC systems. Software tools for energy systems were developed for the DOE, and there are software tools for almost all of the most common energy systems. The software tools are AIRMaster+ and LogTool for compressed air systems, SSAT and 3E Plus for steam systems, PHAST and 3E Plus for process heating systems, eQUEST for HVAC systems, PSAT for pumping systems, and FSAT for fan systems. The recommended assessment procedures described in this thesis are used to set up an energy assessment for an industrial facility, collect energy system data, and analyze the energy system data. The assessment recommendations (ARs) are opportunities to increase efficiency and reduce energy consumption for energy systems. A set of recommended assessment procedures and recommended assessment opportunities are presented for each of the most common energy systems. There are many assessment opportunities for industrial facilities, and this thesis describes forty-three ARs for the seven different energy systems. There are seven ARs for lighting systems, ten ARs for compressed air systems, eight ARs for boiler and steam systems, four ARs for process heating systems, six ARs for HVAC systems, and four ARs for both pumping and fan systems. Based on a history of past assessments, average potential energy savings and typical implementation costs are shared in this thesis for most ARs. Implementing these ARs will increase efficiency and reduce energy consumption for energy systems in industrial facilities. This thesis does not explain all energy saving ARs that are available, but does describe the most common ARs.

Generic Software Architecture for Prognostics (GSAP) User Guide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Teubert, Christopher Allen; Daigle, Matthew John; Watkins, Jason; Sankararaman, Shankar; Goebel, Kai

2016-01-01

The Generic Software Architecture for Prognostics (GSAP) is a framework for applying prognostics. It makes applying prognostics easier by implementing many of the common elements across prognostic applications. The standard interface enables reuse of prognostic algorithms and models across systems using the GSAP framework.

Software platform virtualization in chemistry research and university teaching

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

Background Modern chemistry laboratories operate with a wide range of software applications under different operating systems, such as Windows, LINUX or Mac OS X. Instead of installing software on different computers it is possible to install those applications on a single computer using Virtual Machine software. Software platform virtualization allows a single guest operating system to execute multiple other operating systems on the same computer. We apply and discuss the use of virtual machines in chemistry research and teaching laboratories. Results Virtual machines are commonly used for cheminformatics software development and testing. Benchmarking multiple chemistry software packages we have confirmed that the computational speed penalty for using virtual machines is low and around 5% to 10%. Software virtualization in a teaching environment allows faster deployment and easy use of commercial and open source software in hands-on computer teaching labs. Conclusion Software virtualization in chemistry, mass spectrometry and cheminformatics is needed for software testing and development of software for different operating systems. In order to obtain maximum performance the virtualization software should be multi-core enabled and allow the use of multiprocessor configurations in the virtual machine environment. Server consolidation, by running multiple tasks and operating systems on a single physical machine, can lead to lower maintenance and hardware costs especially in small research labs. The use of virtual machines can prevent software virus infections and security breaches when used as a sandbox system for internet access and software testing. Complex software setups can be created with virtual machines and are easily deployed later to multiple computers for hands-on teaching classes. We discuss the popularity of bioinformatics compared to cheminformatics as well as the missing cheminformatics education at universities worldwide. PMID:20150997

Software platform virtualization in chemistry research and university teaching.

PubMed

Kind, Tobias; Leamy, Tim; Leary, Julie A; Fiehn, Oliver

2009-11-16

Modern chemistry laboratories operate with a wide range of software applications under different operating systems, such as Windows, LINUX or Mac OS X. Instead of installing software on different computers it is possible to install those applications on a single computer using Virtual Machine software. Software platform virtualization allows a single guest operating system to execute multiple other operating systems on the same computer. We apply and discuss the use of virtual machines in chemistry research and teaching laboratories. Virtual machines are commonly used for cheminformatics software development and testing. Benchmarking multiple chemistry software packages we have confirmed that the computational speed penalty for using virtual machines is low and around 5% to 10%. Software virtualization in a teaching environment allows faster deployment and easy use of commercial and open source software in hands-on computer teaching labs. Software virtualization in chemistry, mass spectrometry and cheminformatics is needed for software testing and development of software for different operating systems. In order to obtain maximum performance the virtualization software should be multi-core enabled and allow the use of multiprocessor configurations in the virtual machine environment. Server consolidation, by running multiple tasks and operating systems on a single physical machine, can lead to lower maintenance and hardware costs especially in small research labs. The use of virtual machines can prevent software virus infections and security breaches when used as a sandbox system for internet access and software testing. Complex software setups can be created with virtual machines and are easily deployed later to multiple computers for hands-on teaching classes. We discuss the popularity of bioinformatics compared to cheminformatics as well as the missing cheminformatics education at universities worldwide.

Architectural Implementation of NASA Space Telecommunications Radio System Specification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peters, Kenneth J.; Lux, James P.; Lang, Minh; Duncan, Courtney B.

2012-01-01

This software demonstrates a working implementation of the NASA STRS (Space Telecommunications Radio System) architecture specification. This is a developing specification of software architecture and required interfaces to provide commonality among future NASA and commercial software-defined radios for space, and allow for easier mixing of software and hardware from different vendors. It provides required functions, and supports interaction with STRS-compliant simple test plug-ins ("waveforms"). All of it is programmed in "plain C," except where necessary to interact with C++ plug-ins. It offers a small footprint, suitable for use in JPL radio hardware. Future NASA work is expected to develop into fully capable software-defined radios for use on the space station, other space vehicles, and interplanetary probes.

ControlShell - A real-time software framework

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schneider, Stanley A.; Ullman, Marc A.; Chen, Vincent W.

1991-01-01

ControlShell is designed to enable modular design and impplementation of real-time software. It is an object-oriented tool-set for real-time software system programming. It provides a series of execution and data interchange mechansims that form a framework for building real-time applications. These mechanisms allow a component-based approach to real-time software generation and mangement. By defining a set of interface specifications for intermodule interaction, ControlShell provides a common platform that is the basis for real-time code development and exchange.

Open environments to support systems engineering tool integration: A study using the Portable Common Tool Environment (PCTE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eckhardt, Dave E., Jr.; Jipping, Michael J.; Wild, Chris J.; Zeil, Steven J.; Roberts, Cathy C.

1993-01-01

A study of computer engineering tool integration using the Portable Common Tool Environment (PCTE) Public Interface Standard is presented. Over a 10-week time frame, three existing software products were encapsulated to work in the Emeraude environment, an implementation of the PCTE version 1.5 standard. The software products used were a computer-aided software engineering (CASE) design tool, a software reuse tool, and a computer architecture design and analysis tool. The tool set was then demonstrated to work in a coordinated design process in the Emeraude environment. The project and the features of PCTE used are described, experience with the use of Emeraude environment over the project time frame is summarized, and several related areas for future research are summarized.

Advanced Transport Operating System (ATOPS) color displays software description: MicroVAX system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Slominski, Christopher J.; Plyler, Valerie E.; Dickson, Richard W.

1992-01-01

This document describes the software created for the Display MicroVAX computer used for the Advanced Transport Operating Systems (ATOPS) project on the Transport Systems Research Vehicle (TSRV). The software delivery of February 27, 1991, known as the 'baseline display system', is the one described in this document. Throughout this publication, module descriptions are presented in a standardized format which contains module purpose, calling sequence, detailed description, and global references. The global references section includes subroutines, functions, and common variables referenced by a particular module. The system described supports the Research Flight Deck (RFD) of the TSRV. The RFD contains eight Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs) which depict a Primary Flight Display, Navigation Display, System Warning Display, Takeoff Performance Monitoring System Display, and Engine Display.

Engine Structures Modeling Software System (ESMOSS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

Engine Structures Modeling Software System (ESMOSS) is the development of a specialized software system for the construction of geometric descriptive and discrete analytical models of engine parts, components, and substructures which can be transferred to finite element analysis programs such as NASTRAN. The NASA Lewis Engine Structures Program is concerned with the development of technology for the rational structural design and analysis of advanced gas turbine engines with emphasis on advanced structural analysis, structural dynamics, structural aspects of aeroelasticity, and life prediction. Fundamental and common to all of these developments is the need for geometric and analytical model descriptions at various engine assembly levels which are generated using ESMOSS.

libdrdc: software standards library

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erickson, David; Peng, Tie

2008-04-01

This paper presents the libdrdc software standards library including internal nomenclature, definitions, units of measure, coordinate reference frames, and representations for use in autonomous systems research. This library is a configurable, portable C-function wrapped C++ / Object Oriented C library developed to be independent of software middleware, system architecture, processor, or operating system. It is designed to use the automatically-tuned linear algebra suite (ATLAS) and Basic Linear Algebra Suite (BLAS) and port to firmware and software. The library goal is to unify data collection and representation for various microcontrollers and Central Processing Unit (CPU) cores and to provide a common Application Binary Interface (ABI) for research projects at all scales. The library supports multi-platform development and currently works on Windows, Unix, GNU/Linux, and Real-Time Executive for Multiprocessor Systems (RTEMS). This library is made available under LGPL version 2.1 license.

The Impact of Contextual Factors on the Security of Code

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-12-30

in which a system is resourced, overseen, managed and assured will have a lot to do with how successfully it performs in actual practice. Software is...ensure proper and adequate system assurance . Because of the high degree of skill and specialization required, details about software and systems are...whole has to be carefully coordinated in order to assure against the types of faults that are the basis for most of the exploits listed in the Common

A Simple Interactive Software Package for Plotting, Animating, and Calculating

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Engelhardt, Larry

2012-01-01

We introduce a new open source (free) software package that provides a simple, highly interactive interface for carrying out certain mathematical tasks that are commonly encountered in physics. These tasks include plotting and animating functions, solving systems of coupled algebraic equations, and basic calculus (differentiating and integrating…

Reusable Rack Interface Controller Common Software for Various Science Research Racks on the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lu, George C.

2003-01-01

The purpose of the EXPRESS (Expedite the PRocessing of Experiments to Space Station) rack project is to provide a set of predefined interfaces for scientific payloads which allow rapid integration into a payload rack on International Space Station (ISS). VxWorks' was selected as the operating system for the rack and payload resource controller, primarily based on the proliferation of VME (Versa Module Eurocard) products. These products provide needed flexibility for future hardware upgrades to meet everchanging science research rack configuration requirements. On the International Space Station, there are multiple science research rack configurations, including: 1) Human Research Facility (HRF); 2) EXPRESS ARIS (Active Rack Isolation System); 3) WORF (Window Observational Research Facility); and 4) HHR (Habitat Holding Rack). The RIC (Rack Interface Controller) connects payloads to the ISS bus architecture for data transfer between the payload and ground control. The RIC is a general purpose embedded computer which supports multiple communication protocols, including fiber optic communication buses, Ethernet buses, EIA-422, Mil-Std-1553 buses, SMPTE (Society Motion Picture Television Engineers)-170M video, and audio interfaces to payloads and the ISS. As a cost saving and software reliability strategy, the Boeing Payload Software Organization developed reusable common software where appropriate. These reusable modules included a set of low-level driver software interfaces to 1553B. RS232, RS422, Ethernet buses, HRDL (High Rate Data Link), video switch functionality, telemetry processing, and executive software hosted on the FUC computer. These drivers formed the basis for software development of the HRF, EXPRESS, EXPRESS ARIS, WORF, and HHR RIC executable modules. The reusable RIC common software has provided extensive benefits, including: 1) Significant reduction in development flow time; 2) Minimal rework and maintenance; 3) Improved reliability; and 4) Overall reduction in software life cycle cost. Due to the limited number of crew hours available on ISS for science research, operational efficiency is a critical customer concern. The current method of upgrading RIC software is a time consuming process; thus, an improved methodology for uploading RIC software is currently under evaluation.

A General Water Resources Regulation Software System in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

LEI, X.

2017-12-01

To avoid iterative development of core modules in water resource normal regulation and emergency regulation and improve the capability of maintenance and optimization upgrading of regulation models and business logics, a general water resources regulation software framework was developed based on the collection and analysis of common demands for water resources regulation and emergency management. It can provide a customizable, secondary developed and extensible software framework for the three-level platform "MWR-Basin-Province". Meanwhile, this general software system can realize business collaboration and information sharing of water resources regulation schemes among the three-level platforms, so as to improve the decision-making ability of national water resources regulation. There are four main modules involved in the general software system: 1) A complete set of general water resources regulation modules allows secondary developer to custom-develop water resources regulation decision-making systems; 2) A complete set of model base and model computing software released in the form of Cloud services; 3) A complete set of tools to build the concept map and model system of basin water resources regulation, as well as a model management system to calibrate and configure model parameters; 4) A database which satisfies business functions and functional requirements of general water resources regulation software can finally provide technical support for building basin or regional water resources regulation models.

Systems biology driven software design for the research enterprise.

PubMed

Boyle, John; Cavnor, Christopher; Killcoyne, Sarah; Shmulevich, Ilya

2008-06-25

In systems biology, and many other areas of research, there is a need for the interoperability of tools and data sources that were not originally designed to be integrated. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of systems biology, and its association with high throughput experimental platforms, there is an additional need to continually integrate new technologies. As scientists work in isolated groups, integration with other groups is rarely a consideration when building the required software tools. We illustrate an approach, through the discussion of a purpose built software architecture, which allows disparate groups to reuse tools and access data sources in a common manner. The architecture allows for: the rapid development of distributed applications; interoperability, so it can be used by a wide variety of developers and computational biologists; development using standard tools, so that it is easy to maintain and does not require a large development effort; extensibility, so that new technologies and data types can be incorporated; and non intrusive development, insofar as researchers need not to adhere to a pre-existing object model. By using a relatively simple integration strategy, based upon a common identity system and dynamically discovered interoperable services, a light-weight software architecture can become the focal point through which scientists can both get access to and analyse the plethora of experimentally derived data.

Reuse and Interoperability of Avionics for Space Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hodson, Robert F.

2007-01-01

The space environment presents unique challenges for avionics. Launch survivability, thermal management, radiation protection, and other factors are important for successful space designs. Many existing avionics designs use custom hardware and software to meet the requirements of space systems. Although some space vendors have moved more towards a standard product line approach to avionics, the space industry still lacks similar standards and common practices for avionics development. This lack of commonality manifests itself in limited reuse and a lack of interoperability. To address NASA s need for interoperable avionics that facilitate reuse, several hardware and software approaches are discussed. Experiences with existing space boards and the application of terrestrial standards is outlined. Enhancements and extensions to these standards are considered. A modular stack-based approach to space avionics is presented. Software and reconfigurable logic cores are considered for extending interoperability and reuse. Finally, some of the issues associated with the design of reusable interoperable avionics are discussed.

Repository-Based Software Engineering Program: Working Program Management Plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1993-01-01

Repository-Based Software Engineering Program (RBSE) is a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sponsored program dedicated to introducing and supporting common, effective approaches to software engineering practices. The process of conceiving, designing, building, and maintaining software systems by using existing software assets that are stored in a specialized operational reuse library or repository, accessible to system designers, is the foundation of the program. In addition to operating a software repository, RBSE promotes (1) software engineering technology transfer, (2) academic and instructional support of reuse programs, (3) the use of common software engineering standards and practices, (4) software reuse technology research, and (5) interoperability between reuse libraries. This Program Management Plan (PMP) is intended to communicate program goals and objectives, describe major work areas, and define a management report and control process. This process will assist the Program Manager, University of Houston at Clear Lake (UHCL) in tracking work progress and describing major program activities to NASA management. The goal of this PMP is to make managing the RBSE program a relatively easy process that improves the work of all team members. The PMP describes work areas addressed and work efforts being accomplished by the program; however, it is not intended as a complete description of the program. Its focus is on providing management tools and management processes for monitoring, evaluating, and administering the program; and it includes schedules for charting milestones and deliveries of program products. The PMP was developed by soliciting and obtaining guidance from appropriate program participants, analyzing program management guidance, and reviewing related program management documents.

Logic Model Checking of Time-Periodic Real-Time Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Florian, Mihai; Gamble, Ed; Holzmann, Gerard

2012-01-01

In this paper we report on the work we performed to extend the logic model checker SPIN with built-in support for the verification of periodic, real-time embedded software systems, as commonly used in aircraft, automobiles, and spacecraft. We first extended the SPIN verification algorithms to model priority based scheduling policies. Next, we added a library to support the modeling of periodic tasks. This library was used in a recent application of the SPIN model checker to verify the engine control software of an automobile, to study the feasibility of software triggers for unintended acceleration events.

Leak detection by mass balance effective for Norman Wells line

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

Liou, J.C.P.

Mass-balance calculations for leak detection have been shown as effective as a leading software system, in a comparison based on a major Canadian crude-oil pipeline. The calculations and NovaCorp`s Leakstop software each detected 4% (approximately) or greater leaks on Interprovincial Pipe Line (IPL) Inc.`s Norman Wells pipeline. Insufficient data exist to assess performances of the two methods for leaks smaller than 4%. Pipeline leak detection using such software-based systems are common. Their effectiveness is measured by how small and how quickly a leak can be detected. Algorithms used and measurement uncertainties determine leak detectability.

NASA Integrated Network Monitor and Control Software Architecture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shames, Peter; Anderson, Michael; Kowal, Steve; Levesque, Michael; Sindiy, Oleg; Donahue, Kenneth; Barnes, Patrick

2012-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Space Communications and Navigation office (SCaN) has commissioned a series of trade studies to define a new architecture intended to integrate the three existing networks that it operates, the Deep Space Network (DSN), Space Network (SN), and Near Earth Network (NEN), into one integrated network that offers users a set of common, standardized, services and interfaces. The integrated monitor and control architecture utilizes common software and common operator interfaces that can be deployed at all three network elements. This software uses state-of-the-art concepts such as a pool of re-programmable equipment that acts like a configurable software radio, distributed hierarchical control, and centralized management of the whole SCaN integrated network. For this trade space study a model-based approach using SysML was adopted to describe and analyze several possible options for the integrated network monitor and control architecture. This model was used to refine the design and to drive the costing of the four different software options. This trade study modeled the three existing self standing network elements at point of departure, and then described how to integrate them using variations of new and existing monitor and control system components for the different proposed deployments under consideration. This paper will describe the trade space explored, the selected system architecture, the modeling and trade study methods, and some observations on useful approaches to implementing such model based trade space representation and analysis.

Integrated Information Support System (IISS). Volume 5. Common Data Model Subsystem. Part 27. Distributed Request Supervisor Product Specification.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-11-01

McAuto) Transaction Manager Subsystem during 1984/1985 period. On-Line Software Responsible for programming the International (OSI) Communications...Network Transaction Manager (NTM) in 1981/1984 period. Software Performance Responsible for directing the Engineering (SPE) work on performance...computer software Contained herein are theoretical and/or SCAN Project 1prierity sao referenoes that In so way reflect Air Forceowmed or -developed $62 LO

Commonality and Variability Analysis for Xenon Family of Separation Virtual Machine Monitors (CVAX)

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-07-18

technical approach is a systematic application of Software Product Line Engineering (SPLE). A systematic application requires describing the family and... engineering Software family September 2016 – October 2016 OSD/OUSD/ATL/ASD(R&E)/RDOffice of Information Systems & Cyber Security RD / ASD(R&E) / AT&L...by the evolving open-source Xen hypervisor. The technical approach is a systematic application of Software Product Line Engineering (SPLE). A

Specificity of software cooperating with an optoelectronic sensor in the pulse oximeter system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cysewska-Sobusiak, Anna; Wiczynski, Grzegorz; Jedwabny, Tomasz

1995-06-01

Specificity of a software package composed of two parts which control an optoelectronic sensor of the computer-aided system made to realize the noninvasive measurements of the arterial blood oxygen saturation as well as some parameters of the peripheral pulse waveform, has been described. Principles of the transmission variant of the one and only noninvasive measurement method, so-called pulse oximetry, has been utilized. The software co-ordinates the suitable cooperation of an IBM PC compatible microcomputer with the sensor and one specialized card. This novel card is a key part of the whole measuring system which some application fields are extended in comparison to pulse oximeters commonly attainable. The user-friendly MS Windows graphical environment which creates the system to be multitask and non-preemptive, has been used to design the specific part of the programming presented here. With this environment, sophisticated tasks of the software package can be performed without excessive complication.

FFI: A software tool for ecological monitoring

Treesearch

Duncan C. Lutes; Nathan C. Benson; MaryBeth Keifer; John F. Caratti; S. Austin Streetman

2009-01-01

A new monitoring tool called FFI (FEAT/FIREMON Integrated) has been developed to assist managers with collection, storage and analysis of ecological information. The tool was developed through the complementary integration of two fire effects monitoring systems commonly used in the United States: FIREMON and the Fire Ecology Assessment Tool. FFI provides software...

Acquiring Software Design Schemas: A Machine Learning Perspective

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harandi, Mehdi T.; Lee, Hing-Yan

1991-01-01

In this paper, we describe an approach based on machine learning that acquires software design schemas from design cases of existing applications. An overview of the technique, design representation, and acquisition system are presented. the paper also addresses issues associated with generalizing common features such as biases. The generalization process is illustrated using an example.

ALFA: The new ALICE-FAIR software framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Turany, M.; Buncic, P.; Hristov, P.; Kollegger, T.; Kouzinopoulos, C.; Lebedev, A.; Lindenstruth, V.; Manafov, A.; Richter, M.; Rybalchenko, A.; Vande Vyvre, P.; Winckler, N.

2015-12-01

The commonalities between the ALICE and FAIR experiments and their computing requirements led to the development of large parts of a common software framework in an experiment independent way. The FairRoot project has already shown the feasibility of such an approach for the FAIR experiments and extending it beyond FAIR to experiments at other facilities[1, 2]. The ALFA framework is a joint development between ALICE Online- Offline (O2) and FairRoot teams. ALFA is designed as a flexible, elastic system, which balances reliability and ease of development with performance using multi-processing and multithreading. A message- based approach has been adopted; such an approach will support the use of the software on different hardware platforms, including heterogeneous systems. Each process in ALFA assumes limited communication and reliance on other processes. Such a design will add horizontal scaling (multiple processes) to vertical scaling provided by multiple threads to meet computing and throughput demands. ALFA does not dictate any application protocols. Potentially, any content-based processor or any source can change the application protocol. The framework supports different serialization standards for data exchange between different hardware and software languages.

Micrometeoroid and Orbital Debris (MMOD) Shield Ballistic Limit Analysis Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ryan, Shannon

2013-01-01

This software implements penetration limit equations for common micrometeoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) shield configurations, windows, and thermal protection systems. Allowable MMOD risk is formulated in terms of the probability of penetration (PNP) of the spacecraft pressure hull. For calculating the risk, spacecraft geometry models, mission profiles, debris environment models, and penetration limit equations for installed shielding configurations are required. Risk assessment software such as NASA's BUMPERII is used to calculate mission PNP; however, they are unsuitable for use in shield design and preliminary analysis studies. The software defines a single equation for the design and performance evaluation of common MMOD shielding configurations, windows, and thermal protection systems, along with a description of their validity range and guidelines for their application. Recommendations are based on preliminary reviews of fundamental assumptions, and accuracy in predicting experimental impact test results. The software is programmed in Visual Basic for Applications for installation as a simple add-in for Microsoft Excel. The user is directed to a graphical user interface (GUI) that requires user inputs and provides solutions directly in Microsoft Excel workbooks.

Evolution of Secondary Software Businesses: Understanding Industry Dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tyrväinen, Pasi; Warsta, Juhani; Seppänen, Veikko

Primary software industry originates from IBM's decision to unbundle software-related computer system development activities to external partners. This kind of outsourcing from an enterprise internal software development activity is a common means to start a new software business serving a vertical software market. It combines knowledge of the vertical market process with competence in software development. In this research, we present and analyze the key figures of the Finnish secondary software industry, in order to quantify its interaction with the primary software industry during the period of 2000-2003. On the basis of the empirical data, we present a model for evolution of a secondary software business, which makes explicit the industry dynamics. It represents the shift from internal software developed for competitive advantage to development of products supporting standard business processes on top of standardized technologies. We also discuss the implications for software business strategies in each phase.

75 FR 16817 - Meeting for Software Developers on the Technical Specifications for Common Formats for Patient...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-02

... Software Developers on the Technical Specifications for Common Formats for Patient Safety Data Collection... software developers can provide input on these technical specifications for the Common Formats Version 1.1... specifications, which provide direction to software developers that plan to implement the Common Formats...

Space Station Freedom electrical power system hardware commonality with the United States Polar Platform

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rieker, Lorra L.; Haraburda, Francis M.

1989-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has adopted the policy to achieve the maximum practical level of commonality for the Space Station Freedom program in order to significantly reduce life cycle costs. Commonality means using identical or similar hardware/software for meeting common sets of functionally similar requirements. Information on how the concept of commonality is being implemented with respect to electric power system hardware for the Space Station Freedom and the U.S. Polar Platform is presented. Included is a historical account of the candidate common items which have the potential to serve the same power system functions on both Freedom and the Polar Platform.

A Comparison and Evaluation of Real-Time Software Systems Modeling Languages

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Evensen, Kenneth D.; Weiss, Kathryn Anne

2010-01-01

A model-driven approach to real-time software systems development enables the conceptualization of software, fostering a more thorough understanding of its often complex architecture and behavior while promoting the documentation and analysis of concerns common to real-time embedded systems such as scheduling, resource allocation, and performance. Several modeling languages have been developed to assist in the model-driven software engineering effort for real-time systems, and these languages are beginning to gain traction with practitioners throughout the aerospace industry. This paper presents a survey of several real-time software system modeling languages, namely the Architectural Analysis and Design Language (AADL), the Unified Modeling Language (UML), Systems Modeling Language (SysML), the Modeling and Analysis of Real-Time Embedded Systems (MARTE) UML profile, and the AADL for UML profile. Each language has its advantages and disadvantages, and in order to adequately describe a real-time software system's architecture, a complementary use of multiple languages is almost certainly necessary. This paper aims to explore these languages in the context of understanding the value each brings to the model-driven software engineering effort and to determine if it is feasible and practical to combine aspects of the various modeling languages to achieve more complete coverage in architectural descriptions. To this end, each language is evaluated with respect to a set of criteria such as scope, formalisms, and architectural coverage. An example is used to help illustrate the capabilities of the various languages.

The feasibility of using UML to compare the impact of different brands of computer system on the clinical consultation.

PubMed

Kumarapeli, Pushpa; de Lusignan, Simon; Koczan, Phil; Jones, Beryl; Sheeler, Ian

2007-01-01

UK general practice is universally computerised, with computers used in the consulting room at the point of care. Practices use a range of different brands of computer system, which have developed organically to meet the needs of general practitioners and health service managers. Unified Modelling Language (UML) is a standard modelling and specification notation widely used in software engineering. To examine the feasibility of UML notation to compare the impact of different brands of general practice computer system on the clinical consultation. Multi-channel video recordings of simulated consultation sessions were recorded on three different clinical computer systems in common use (EMIS, iSOFT Synergy and IPS Vision). User action recorder software recorded time logs of keyboard and mouse use, and pattern recognition software captured non-verbal communication. The outputs of these were used to create UML class and sequence diagrams for each consultation. We compared 'definition of the presenting problem' and 'prescribing', as these tasks were present in all the consultations analysed. Class diagrams identified the entities involved in the clinical consultation. Sequence diagrams identified common elements of the consultation (such as prescribing) and enabled comparisons to be made between the different brands of computer system. The clinician and computer system interaction varied greatly between the different brands. UML sequence diagrams are useful in identifying common tasks in the clinical consultation, and for contrasting the impact of the different brands of computer system on the clinical consultation. Further research is needed to see if patterns demonstrated in this pilot study are consistently displayed.

Systems biology driven software design for the research enterprise

PubMed Central

Boyle, John; Cavnor, Christopher; Killcoyne, Sarah; Shmulevich, Ilya

2008-01-01

Background In systems biology, and many other areas of research, there is a need for the interoperability of tools and data sources that were not originally designed to be integrated. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of systems biology, and its association with high throughput experimental platforms, there is an additional need to continually integrate new technologies. As scientists work in isolated groups, integration with other groups is rarely a consideration when building the required software tools. Results We illustrate an approach, through the discussion of a purpose built software architecture, which allows disparate groups to reuse tools and access data sources in a common manner. The architecture allows for: the rapid development of distributed applications; interoperability, so it can be used by a wide variety of developers and computational biologists; development using standard tools, so that it is easy to maintain and does not require a large development effort; extensibility, so that new technologies and data types can be incorporated; and non intrusive development, insofar as researchers need not to adhere to a pre-existing object model. Conclusion By using a relatively simple integration strategy, based upon a common identity system and dynamically discovered interoperable services, a light-weight software architecture can become the focal point through which scientists can both get access to and analyse the plethora of experimentally derived data. PMID:18578887

DyNAMiC Workbench: an integrated development environment for dynamic DNA nanotechnology

PubMed Central

Grun, Casey; Werfel, Justin; Zhang, David Yu; Yin, Peng

2015-01-01

Dynamic DNA nanotechnology provides a promising avenue for implementing sophisticated assembly processes, mechanical behaviours, sensing and computation at the nanoscale. However, design of these systems is complex and error-prone, because the need to control the kinetic pathway of a system greatly increases the number of design constraints and possible failure modes for the system. Previous tools have automated some parts of the design workflow, but an integrated solution is lacking. Here, we present software implementing a three ‘tier’ design process: a high-level visual programming language is used to describe systems, a molecular compiler builds a DNA implementation and nucleotide sequences are generated and optimized. Additionally, our software includes tools for analysing and ‘debugging’ the designs in silico, and for importing/exporting designs to other commonly used software systems. The software we present is built on many existing pieces of software, but is integrated into a single package—accessible using a Web-based interface at http://molecular-systems.net/workbench. We hope that the deep integration between tools and the flexibility of this design process will lead to better experimental results, fewer experimental design iterations and the development of more complex DNA nanosystems. PMID:26423437

An efficient approach to integrated MeV ion imaging.

PubMed

Nikbakht, T; Kakuee, O; Solé, V A; Vosuoghi, Y; Lamehi-Rachti, M

2018-03-01

An ionoluminescence (IL) spectral imaging system, besides the common MeV ion imaging facilities such as µ-PIXE and µ-RBS, is implemented at the Van de Graaff laboratory of Tehran. A versatile processing software is required to handle the large amount of data concurrently collected in µ-IL and common MeV ion imaging measurements through the respective methodologies. The open-source freeware PyMca, with image processing and multivariate analysis capabilities, is employed to simultaneously process common MeV ion imaging and µ-IL data. Herein, the program was adapted to support the OM_DAQ listmode data format. The appropriate performance of the µ-IL data acquisition system is confirmed through a case study. Moreover, the capabilities of the software for simultaneous analysis of µ-PIXE and µ-RBS experimental data are presented. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Adding Support to the ALMA Common Software for Real-Time Operations through the Usage of a POSIX-Compliant RTOS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tobar, R. J.; von Brand, H.; Araya, M. A.; Juerges, T.

2010-12-01

The ALMA Common Software (ACS) framework lacks of the real-time capabilities to control the antennas’ instrumentation — as has been probed by previous works — which has lead to non-portable workarounds to the problem. Indeed, the time service used in ACS, based in the Container/Component model, presents plenty of results that confirm this statement. This work addresses the problem of design and integrate a real-time service for ACS, providing to the framework an implementation such that the control operations over the different instruments could be done within real-time constraints. This implementation is compared with the current time service, showing the difference between the two systems when subjecting them to common scenarios. Also, the new implementation is done following the POSIX specification, ensuring interoperability and portability through different operating systems.

Data Processing And Machine Learning Methods For Multi-Modal Operator State Classification Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hearn, Tristan A.

2015-01-01

This document is intended as an introduction to a set of common signal processing learning methods that may be used in the software portion of a functional crew state monitoring system. This includes overviews of both the theory of the methods involved, as well as examples of implementation. Practical considerations are discussed for implementing modular, flexible, and scalable processing and classification software for a multi-modal, multi-channel monitoring system. Example source code is also given for all of the discussed processing and classification methods.

Discovering objects in a blood recipient information system.

PubMed

Qiu, D; Junghans, G; Marquardt, K; Kroll, H; Mueller-Eckhardt, C; Dudeck, J

1995-01-01

Application of object-oriented (OO) methodologies has been generally considered as a solution to the problem of improving the software development process and managing the so-called software crisis. Among them, object-oriented analysis (OOA) is the most essential and is a vital prerequisite for the successful use of other OO methodologies. Though there are already a good deal of OOA methods published, the most important aspect common to all these methods: discovering objects classes truly relevant to the given problem domain, has remained a subject to be intensively researched. In this paper, using the successful development of a blood recipient information system as an example, we present our approach which is based on the conceptual framework of responsibility-driven OOA. In the discussion, we also suggest that it may be inadequate to simply attribute the software crisis to the waterfall model of the software development life-cycle. We are convinced that the real causes for the failure of some software and information systems should be sought in the methodologies used in some crucial phases of the software development process. Furthermore, a software system can also fail if object classes essential to the problem domain are not discovered, implemented and visualized, so that the real-world situation cannot be faithfully traced by it.

Design and Multicentric Implementation of a Generic Software Architecture for Patient Recruitment Systems Re-Using Existing HIS Tools and Routine Patient Data

PubMed Central

Trinczek, B.; Köpcke, F.; Leusch, T.; Majeed, R.W.; Schreiweis, B.; Wenk, J.; Bergh, B.; Ohmann, C.; Röhrig, R.; Prokosch, H.U.; Dugas, M.

2014-01-01

Summary Objective (1) To define features and data items of a Patient Recruitment System (PRS); (2) to design a generic software architecture of such a system covering the requirements; (3) to identify implementation options available within different Hospital Information System (HIS) environments; (4) to implement five PRS following the architecture and utilizing the implementation options as proof of concept. Methods Existing PRS were reviewed and interviews with users and developers conducted. All reported PRS features were collected and prioritized according to their published success and user’s request. Common feature sets were combined into software modules of a generic software architecture. Data items to process and transfer were identified for each of the modules. Each site collected implementation options available within their respective HIS environment for each module, provided a prototypical implementation based on available implementation possibilities and supported the patient recruitment of a clinical trial as a proof of concept. Results 24 commonly reported and requested features of a PRS were identified, 13 of them prioritized as being mandatory. A UML version 2 based software architecture containing 5 software modules covering these features was developed. 13 data item groups processed by the modules, thus required to be available electronically, have been identified. Several implementation options could be identified for each module, most of them being available at multiple sites. Utilizing available tools, a PRS could be implemented in each of the five participating German university hospitals. Conclusion A set of required features and data items of a PRS has been described for the first time. The software architecture covers all features in a clear, well-defined way. The variety of implementation options and the prototypes show that it is possible to implement the given architecture in different HIS environments, thus enabling more sites to successfully support patient recruitment in clinical trials. PMID:24734138

Design and multicentric implementation of a generic software architecture for patient recruitment systems re-using existing HIS tools and routine patient data.

PubMed

Trinczek, B; Köpcke, F; Leusch, T; Majeed, R W; Schreiweis, B; Wenk, J; Bergh, B; Ohmann, C; Röhrig, R; Prokosch, H U; Dugas, M

2014-01-01

(1) To define features and data items of a Patient Recruitment System (PRS); (2) to design a generic software architecture of such a system covering the requirements; (3) to identify implementation options available within different Hospital Information System (HIS) environments; (4) to implement five PRS following the architecture and utilizing the implementation options as proof of concept. Existing PRS were reviewed and interviews with users and developers conducted. All reported PRS features were collected and prioritized according to their published success and user's request. Common feature sets were combined into software modules of a generic software architecture. Data items to process and transfer were identified for each of the modules. Each site collected implementation options available within their respective HIS environment for each module, provided a prototypical implementation based on available implementation possibilities and supported the patient recruitment of a clinical trial as a proof of concept. 24 commonly reported and requested features of a PRS were identified, 13 of them prioritized as being mandatory. A UML version 2 based software architecture containing 5 software modules covering these features was developed. 13 data item groups processed by the modules, thus required to be available electronically, have been identified. Several implementation options could be identified for each module, most of them being available at multiple sites. Utilizing available tools, a PRS could be implemented in each of the five participating German university hospitals. A set of required features and data items of a PRS has been described for the first time. The software architecture covers all features in a clear, well-defined way. The variety of implementation options and the prototypes show that it is possible to implement the given architecture in different HIS environments, thus enabling more sites to successfully support patient recruitment in clinical trials.

Software Considerations for Subscale Flight Testing of Experimental Control Laws

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murch, Austin M.; Cox, David E.; Cunningham, Kevin

2009-01-01

The NASA AirSTAR system has been designed to address the challenges associated with safe and efficient subscale flight testing of research control laws in adverse flight conditions. In this paper, software elements of this system are described, with an emphasis on components which allow for rapid prototyping and deployment of aircraft control laws. Through model-based design and automatic coding a common code-base is used for desktop analysis, piloted simulation and real-time flight control. The flight control system provides the ability to rapidly integrate and test multiple research control laws and to emulate component or sensor failures. Integrated integrity monitoring systems provide aircraft structural load protection, isolate the system from control algorithm failures, and monitor the health of telemetry streams. Finally, issues associated with software configuration management and code modularity are briefly discussed.

Technical Basis for Evaluating Software-Related Common-Cause Failures

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

Muhlheim, Michael David; Wood, Richard

2016-04-01

The instrumentation and control (I&C) system architecture at a nuclear power plant (NPP) incorporates protections against common-cause failures (CCFs) through the use of diversity and defense-in-depth. Even for well-established analog-based I&C system designs, the potential for CCFs of multiple systems (or redundancies within a system) constitutes a credible threat to defeating the defense-in-depth provisions within the I&C system architectures. The integration of digital technologies into the I&C systems provides many advantages compared to the aging analog systems with respect to reliability, maintenance, operability, and cost effectiveness. However, maintaining the diversity and defense-in-depth for both the hardware and software within themore » digital system is challenging. In fact, the introduction of digital technologies may actually increase the potential for CCF vulnerabilities because of the introduction of undetected systematic faults. These systematic faults are defined as a “design fault located in a software component” and at a high level, are predominately the result of (1) errors in the requirement specification, (2) inadequate provisions to account for design limits (e.g., environmental stress), or (3) technical faults incorporated in the internal system (or architectural) design or implementation. Other technology-neutral CCF concerns include hardware design errors, equipment qualification deficiencies, installation or maintenance errors, instrument loop scaling and setpoint mistakes.« less

A first-generation software product line for data acquisition systems in astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

López-Ruiz, J. C.; Heradio, Rubén; Cerrada Somolinos, José Antonio; Coz Fernandez, José Ramón; López Ramos, Pablo

2008-07-01

This article presents a case study on developing a software product line for data acquisition systems in astronomy based on the Exemplar Driven Development methodology and the Exemplar Flexibilization Language tool. The main strategies to build the software product line are based on the domain commonality and variability, the incremental scope and the use of existing artifacts. It consists on a lean methodology with little impact on the organization, suitable for small projects, which reduces product line start-up time. Software Product Lines focuses on creating a family of products instead of individual products. This approach has spectacular benefits on reducing the time to market, maintaining the know-how, reducing the development costs and increasing the quality of new products. The maintenance of the products is also enhanced since all the data acquisition systems share the same product line architecture.

RAD-ADAPT: Software for modelling clonogenic assay data in radiation biology.

PubMed

Zhang, Yaping; Hu, Kaiqiang; Beumer, Jan H; Bakkenist, Christopher J; D'Argenio, David Z

2017-04-01

We present a comprehensive software program, RAD-ADAPT, for the quantitative analysis of clonogenic assays in radiation biology. Two commonly used models for clonogenic assay analysis, the linear-quadratic model and single-hit multi-target model, are included in the software. RAD-ADAPT uses maximum likelihood estimation method to obtain parameter estimates with the assumption that cell colony count data follow a Poisson distribution. The program has an intuitive interface, generates model prediction plots, tabulates model parameter estimates, and allows automatic statistical comparison of parameters between different groups. The RAD-ADAPT interface is written using the statistical software R and the underlying computations are accomplished by the ADAPT software system for pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic systems analysis. The use of RAD-ADAPT is demonstrated using an example that examines the impact of pharmacologic ATM and ATR kinase inhibition on human lung cancer cell line A549 after ionizing radiation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Secure Distributed Operating System Design Project

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-06-01

a di- verse group of people . Its organization isolates different aspects of the project, such as expected results, preliminary results, and technical...modeled after these procedures. " Automation: computers are commonly used to automate tasks previously performed by people ; many of these tasks are... people commonly con- sidered the threats anticipated to the system and mechanisms that are used to prevent those threats. Both hardware and software

Common System and Software Testing Pitfalls

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-11-03

GEN- TTE -1) Target Platform Difficult to Access (GEN- TTE -2) → Inadequate Test Environments (GEN- TTE -3) Poor Fidelity of Test Environments (GEN- TTE -4...Inadequate Test Environment Quality (GEN- TTE -5) Test Environments Inadequately Tested (GEN- TTE -6) [new pitfall] Inadequate Test Configuration...Management (GEN- TTE -7) 29Common System/SW Testing PitfallsDonald G. Firesmith, 3 November 2014 General Pitfalls – Automated Testing [new pitfall category

The opportunities for and challenges of common integrated electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, J. R.; Retterer, Bernard L.; Cloud, Harley A.

1994-02-01

This document summarizes a portion of IDA's work concerning common integrated electronics and the potential cost savings of using common electronic hardware and software. It addresses trends in avionics costs and recent experiences in applying common electronic standards to weapon programs as a way to reduce costs. The following essential elements of a program to acquire common integrated electronics are explored: (1) integrated system architecture; (2) advanced technology programs; (3) open system standards; (4) standard common modules; and (5) associated management and policies. The principal recommendation is that OSD support and coordinate such a-program by taking a strong leadership role and setting standards policy.

The ALMA software architecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwarz, Joseph; Farris, Allen; Sommer, Heiko

2004-09-01

The software for the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) is being developed by many institutes on two continents. The software itself will function in a distributed environment, from the 0.5-14 kmbaselines that separate antennas to the larger distances that separate the array site at the Llano de Chajnantor in Chile from the operations and user support facilities in Chile, North America and Europe. Distributed development demands 1) interfaces that allow separated groups to work with minimal dependence on their counterparts at other locations; and 2) a common architecture to minimize duplication and ensure that developers can always perform similar tasks in a similar way. The Container/Component model provides a blueprint for the separation of functional from technical concerns: application developers concentrate on implementing functionality in Components, which depend on Containers to provide them with services such as access to remote resources, transparent serialization of entity objects to XML, logging, error handling and security. Early system integrations have verified that this architecture is sound and that developers can successfully exploit its features. The Containers and their services are provided by a system-orienteddevelopment team as part of the ALMA Common Software (ACS), middleware that is based on CORBA.

The MUSOS (MUsic SOftware System) Toolkit: A computer-based, open source application for testing memory for melodies.

PubMed

Rainsford, M; Palmer, M A; Paine, G

2018-04-01

Despite numerous innovative studies, rates of replication in the field of music psychology are extremely low (Frieler et al., 2013). Two key methodological challenges affecting researchers wishing to administer and reproduce studies in music cognition are the difficulty of measuring musical responses, particularly when conducting free-recall studies, and access to a reliable set of novel stimuli unrestricted by copyright or licensing issues. In this article, we propose a solution for these challenges in computer-based administration. We present a computer-based application for testing memory for melodies. Created using the software Max/MSP (Cycling '74, 2014a), the MUSOS (Music Software System) Toolkit uses a simple modular framework configurable for testing common paradigms such as recall, old-new recognition, and stem completion. The program is accompanied by a stimulus set of 156 novel, copyright-free melodies, in audio and Max/MSP file formats. Two pilot tests were conducted to establish the properties of the accompanying stimulus set that are relevant to music cognition and general memory research. By using this software, a researcher without specialist musical training may administer and accurately measure responses from common paradigms used in the study of memory for music.

Development of NASA's Space Communications and Navigation Test Bed Aboard ISS to Investigate SDR, On-Board Networking and Navigation Technologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reinhart, Richard C.; Kacpura, Thomas J.; Johnson, Sandra K.; Lux, James P.

2010-01-01

NASA is developing an experimental flight payload (referred to as the Space Communication and Navigation (SCAN) Test Bed) to investigate software defined radio (SDR), networking, and navigation technologies, operationally in the space environment. The payload consists of three software defined radios each compliant to NASA s Space Telecommunications Radio System Architecture, a common software interface description standard for software defined radios. The software defined radios are new technology developments underway by NASA and industry partners. Planned for launch in early 2012, the payload will be externally mounted to the International Space Station truss and conduct experiments representative of future mission capability.

Status report of the SRT radiotelescope control software: the DISCOS project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orlati, A.; Bartolini, M.; Buttu, M.; Fara, A.; Migoni, C.; Poppi, S.; Righini, S.

2016-08-01

The Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT) is a 64-m fully-steerable radio telescope. It is provided with an active surface to correct for gravitational deformations, allowing observations from 300 MHz to 100 GHz. At present, three receivers are available: a coaxial LP-band receiver (305-410 MHz and 1.5-1.8 GHz), a C-band receiver (5.7-7.7 GHz) and a 7-feed K-band receiver (18-26.5 GHz). Several back-ends are also available in order to perform the different data acquisition and analysis procedures requested by scientific projects. The design and development of the SRT control software started in 2004, and now belongs to a wider project called DISCOS (Development of the Italian Single-dish COntrol System), which provides a common infrastructure to the three Italian radio telescopes (Medicina, Noto and SRT dishes). DISCOS is based on the Alma Common Software (ACS) framework, and currently consists of more than 500k lines of code. It is organized in a common core and three specific product lines, one for each telescope. Recent developments, carried out after the conclusion of the technical commissioning of the instrument (October 2013), consisted in the addition of several new features in many parts of the observing pipeline, spanning from the motion control to the digital back-ends for data acquisition and data formatting; we brie y describe such improvements. More importantly, in the last two years we have supported the astronomical validation of the SRT radio telescope, leading to the opening of the first public call for proposals in late 2015. During this period, while assisting both the engineering and the scientific staff, we massively employed the control software and were able to test all of its features: in this process we received our first feedback from the users and we could verify how the system performed in a real-life scenario, drawing the first conclusions about the overall system stability and performance. We examine how the system behaves in terms of network load and system load, how it reacts to failures and errors, and what components and services seem to be the most critical parts of our architecture, showing how the ACS framework impacts on these aspects. Moreover, the exposure to public utilization has highlighted the major flaws in our development and software management process, which had to be tuned and improved in order to achieve faster release cycles in response to user feedback, and safer deploy operations. In this regard we show how the introduction of testing practices, along with continuous integration, helped us to meet higher quality standards. Having identified the most critical aspects of our software, we conclude showing our intentions for the future development of DISCOS, both in terms of software features and software infrastructures.

Reconfigurable vision system for real-time applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Torres-Huitzil, Cesar; Arias-Estrada, Miguel

2002-03-01

Recently, a growing community of researchers has used reconfigurable systems to solve computationally intensive problems. Reconfigurability provides optimized processors for systems on chip designs, and makes easy to import technology to a new system through reusable modules. The main objective of this work is the investigation of a reconfigurable computer system targeted for computer vision and real-time applications. The system is intended to circumvent the inherent computational load of most window-based computer vision algorithms. It aims to build a system for such tasks by providing an FPGA-based hardware architecture for task specific vision applications with enough processing power, using the minimum amount of hardware resources as possible, and a mechanism for building systems using this architecture. Regarding the software part of the system, a library of pre-designed and general-purpose modules that implement common window-based computer vision operations is being investigated. A common generic interface is established for these modules in order to define hardware/software components. These components can be interconnected to develop more complex applications, providing an efficient mechanism for transferring image and result data among modules. Some preliminary results are presented and discussed.

A Model Independent S/W Framework for Search-Based Software Testing

PubMed Central

Baik, Jongmoon

2014-01-01

In Model-Based Testing (MBT) area, Search-Based Software Testing (SBST) has been employed to generate test cases from the model of a system under test. However, many types of models have been used in MBT. If the type of a model has changed from one to another, all functions of a search technique must be reimplemented because the types of models are different even if the same search technique has been applied. It requires too much time and effort to implement the same algorithm over and over again. We propose a model-independent software framework for SBST, which can reduce redundant works. The framework provides a reusable common software platform to reduce time and effort. The software framework not only presents design patterns to find test cases for a target model but also reduces development time by using common functions provided in the framework. We show the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed framework with two case studies. The framework improves the productivity by about 50% when changing the type of a model. PMID:25302314

Agile Data Management with the Global Change Information System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duggan, B.; Aulenbach, S.; Tilmes, C.; Goldstein, J.

2013-12-01

We describe experiences applying agile software development techniques to the realm of data management during the development of the Global Change Information System (GCIS), a web service and API for authoritative global change information under development by the US Global Change Research Program. Some of the challenges during system design and implementation have been : (1) balancing the need for a rigorous mechanism for ensuring information quality with the realities of large data sets whose contents are often in flux, (2) utilizing existing data to inform decisions about the scope and nature of new data, and (3) continuously incorporating new knowledge and concepts into a relational data model. The workflow for managing the content of the system has much in common with the development of the system itself. We examine various aspects of agile software development and discuss whether or how we have been able to use them for data curation as well as software development.

The ALMA Common Software as a Basis for a Distributed Software Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raffi, Gianni; Chiozzi, Gianluca; Glendenning, Brian

The Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) is a joint project involving astronomical organizations in Europe, North America and Japan. ALMA will consist of 64 12-m antennas operating in the millimetre and sub-millimetre wavelength range, with baselines of more than 10 km. It will be located at an altitude above 5000 m in the Chilean Atacama desert. The ALMA Computing group is a joint group with staff scattered on 3 continents and is responsible for all the control and data flow software related to ALMA, including tools ranging from support of proposal preparation to archive access of automatically created images. Early in the project it was decided that an ALMA Common Software (ACS) would be developed as a way to provide to all partners involved in the development a common software platform. The original assumption was that some key middleware like communication via CORBA and the use of XML and Java would be part of the project. It was intended from the beginning to develop this software in an incremental way based on releases, so that it would then evolve into an essential embedded part of all ALMA software applications. In this way we would build a basic unity and coherence into a system that will have been developed in a distributed fashion. This paper evaluates our progress after 1.5 year of work, following a few tests and preliminary releases. It analyzes the advantages and difficulties of such an ambitious approach, which creates an interface across all the various control and data flow applications.

TMT approach to observatory software development process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buur, Hanne; Subramaniam, Annapurni; Gillies, Kim; Dumas, Christophe; Bhatia, Ravinder

2016-07-01

The purpose of the Observatory Software System (OSW) is to integrate all software and hardware components of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) to enable observations and data capture; thus it is a complex software system that is defined by four principal software subsystems: Common Software (CSW), Executive Software (ESW), Data Management System (DMS) and Science Operations Support System (SOSS), all of which have interdependencies with the observatory control systems and data acquisition systems. Therefore, the software development process and plan must consider dependencies to other subsystems, manage architecture, interfaces and design, manage software scope and complexity, and standardize and optimize use of resources and tools. Additionally, the TMT Observatory Software will largely be developed in India through TMT's workshare relationship with the India TMT Coordination Centre (ITCC) and use of Indian software industry vendors, which adds complexity and challenges to the software development process, communication and coordination of activities and priorities as well as measuring performance and managing quality and risk. The software project management challenge for the TMT OSW is thus a multi-faceted technical, managerial, communications and interpersonal relations challenge. The approach TMT is using to manage this multifaceted challenge is a combination of establishing an effective geographically distributed software team (Integrated Product Team) with strong project management and technical leadership provided by the TMT Project Office (PO) and the ITCC partner to manage plans, process, performance, risk and quality, and to facilitate effective communications; establishing an effective cross-functional software management team composed of stakeholders, OSW leadership and ITCC leadership to manage dependencies and software release plans, technical complexities and change to approved interfaces, architecture, design and tool set, and to facilitate effective communications; adopting an agile-based software development process across the observatory to enable frequent software releases to help mitigate subsystem interdependencies; defining concise scope and work packages for each of the OSW subsystems to facilitate effective outsourcing of software deliverables to the ITCC partner, and to enable performance monitoring and risk management. At this stage, the architecture and high-level design of the software system has been established and reviewed. During construction each subsystem will have a final design phase with reviews, followed by implementation and testing. The results of the TMT approach to the Observatory Software development process will only be preliminary at the time of the submittal of this paper, but it is anticipated that the early results will be a favorable indication of progress.

Addressing failures in exascale computing

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

Snir, Marc; Wisniewski, Robert W.; Abraham, Jacob A.

2014-05-01

We present here a report produced by a workshop on “Addressing Failures in Exascale Computing” held in Park City, Utah, August 4–11, 2012. The charter of this workshop was to establish a common taxonomy about resilience across all the levels in a computing system; discuss existing knowledge on resilience across the various hardware and software layers of an exascale system; and build on those results, examining potential solutions from both a hardware and software perspective and focusing on a combined approach. The workshop brought together participants with expertise in applications, system software, and hardware; they came from industry, government, andmore » academia; and their interests ranged from theory to implementation. The combination allowed broad and comprehensive discussions and led to this document, which summarizes and builds on those discussions.« less

Addressing Failures in Exascale Computing

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

Snir, Marc; Wisniewski, Robert; Abraham, Jacob

2014-01-01

We present here a report produced by a workshop on Addressing failures in exascale computing' held in Park City, Utah, 4-11 August 2012. The charter of this workshop was to establish a common taxonomy about resilience across all the levels in a computing system, discuss existing knowledge on resilience across the various hardware and software layers of an exascale system, and build on those results, examining potential solutions from both a hardware and software perspective and focusing on a combined approach. The workshop brought together participants with expertise in applications, system software, and hardware; they came from industry, government, andmore » academia, and their interests ranged from theory to implementation. The combination allowed broad and comprehensive discussions and led to this document, which summarizes and builds on those discussions.« less

Flight dynamics software in a distributed network environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jeletic, J.; Weidow, D.; Boland, D.

1995-01-01

As with all NASA facilities, the announcement of reduced budgets, reduced staffing, and the desire to implement smaller/quicker/cheaper missions has required the Agency's organizations to become more efficient in what they do. To accomplish these objectives, the FDD has initiated the development of the Flight Dynamics Distributed System (FDDS). The underlying philosophy of FDDS is to build an integrated system that breaks down the traditional barriers of attitude, mission planning, and navigation support software to provide a uniform approach to flight dynamics applications. Through the application of open systems concepts and state-of-the-art technologies, including object-oriented specification concepts, object-oriented software, and common user interface, communications, data management, and executive services, the FDD will reengineer most of its six million lines of code.

The software architecture to control the Cherenkov Telescope Array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oya, I.; Füßling, M.; Antonino, P. O.; Conforti, V.; Hagge, L.; Melkumyan, D.; Morgenstern, A.; Tosti, G.; Schwanke, U.; Schwarz, J.; Wegner, P.; Colomé, J.; Lyard, E.

2016-07-01

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) project is an initiative to build two large arrays of Cherenkov gamma- ray telescopes. CTA will be deployed as two installations, one in the northern and the other in the southern hemisphere, containing dozens of telescopes of different sizes. CTA is a big step forward in the field of ground- based gamma-ray astronomy, not only because of the expected scientific return, but also due to the order-of- magnitude larger scale of the instrument to be controlled. The performance requirements associated with such a large and distributed astronomical installation require a thoughtful analysis to determine the best software solutions. The array control and data acquisition (ACTL) work-package within the CTA initiative will deliver the software to control and acquire the data from the CTA instrumentation. In this contribution we present the current status of the formal ACTL system decomposition into software building blocks and the relationships among them. The system is modelled via the Systems Modelling Language (SysML) formalism. To cope with the complexity of the system, this architecture model is sub-divided into different perspectives. The relationships with the stakeholders and external systems are used to create the first perspective, the context of the ACTL software system. Use cases are employed to describe the interaction of those external elements with the ACTL system and are traced to a hierarchy of functionalities (abstract system functions) describing the internal structure of the ACTL system. These functions are then traced to fully specified logical elements (software components), the deployment of which as technical elements, is also described. This modelling approach allows us to decompose the ACTL software in elements to be created and the ow of information within the system, providing us with a clear way to identify sub-system interdependencies. This architectural approach allows us to build the ACTL system model and trace requirements to deliverables (source code, documentation, etc.), and permits the implementation of a flexible use-case driven software development approach thanks to the traceability from use cases to the logical software elements. The Alma Common Software (ACS) container/component framework, used for the control of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is the basis for the ACTL software and as such it is considered as an integral part of the software architecture.

Research in software allocation for advanced manned mission communications and tracking systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Warnagiris, Tom; Wolff, Bill; Kusmanoff, Antone

1990-01-01

An assessment of the planned processing hardware and software/firmware for the Communications and Tracking System of the Space Station Freedom (SSF) was performed. The intent of the assessment was to determine the optimum distribution of software/firmware in the processing hardware for maximum throughput with minimum required memory. As a product of the assessment process an assessment methodology was to be developed that could be used for similar assessments of future manned spacecraft system designs. The assessment process was hampered by changing requirements for the Space Station. As a result, the initial objective of determining the optimum software/firmware allocation was not fulfilled, but several useful conclusions and recommendations resulted from the assessment. It was concluded that the assessment process would not be completely successful for a system with changing requirements. It was also concluded that memory requirements and hardware requirements were being modified to fit as a consequence of the change process, and although throughput could not be quantitized, potential problem areas could be identified. Finally, inherent flexibility of the system design was essential for the success of a system design with changing requirements. Recommendations resulting from the assessment included development of common software for some embedded controller functions, reduction of embedded processor requirements by hardwiring some Orbital Replacement Units (ORUs) to make better use of processor capabilities, and improvement in communications between software development personnel to enhance the integration process. Lastly, a critical observation was made regarding the software integration tasks did not appear to be addressed in the design process to the degree necessary for successful satisfaction of the system requirements.

Software-Defined Radio for Space-to-Space Communications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fisher, Ken; Jih, Cindy; Moore, Michael S.; Price, Jeremy C.; Abbott, Ben A.; Fritz, Justin A.

2011-01-01

A paper describes the Space- to-Space Communications System (SSCS) Software- Defined Radio (SDR) research project to determine the most appropriate method for creating flexible and reconfigurable radios to implement wireless communications channels for space vehicles so that fewer radios are required, and commonality in hardware and software architecture can be leveraged for future missions. The ability to reconfigure the SDR through software enables one radio platform to be reconfigured to interoperate with many different waveforms. This means a reduction in the number of physical radio platforms necessary to support a space mission s communication requirements, thus decreasing the total size, weight, and power needed for a mission.

Low-noise correlation measurements based on software-defined-radio receivers and cooled microwave amplifiers.

PubMed

Nieminen, Teemu; Lähteenmäki, Pasi; Tan, Zhenbing; Cox, Daniel; Hakonen, Pertti J

2016-11-01

We present a microwave correlation measurement system based on two low-cost USB-connected software defined radio dongles modified to operate as coherent receivers by using a common local oscillator. Existing software is used to obtain I/Q samples from both dongles simultaneously at a software tunable frequency. To achieve low noise, we introduce an easy low-noise solution for cryogenic amplification at 600-900 MHz based on single discrete HEMT with 21 dB gain and 7 K noise temperature. In addition, we discuss the quantization effects in a digital correlation measurement and determination of optimal integration time by applying Allan deviation analysis.

Generic control software connecting astronomical instruments to the reflective memory data recording system of VLTI - bossvlti

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pozna, E.; Ramirez, A.; Mérand, A.; Mueller, A.; Abuter, R.; Frahm, R.; Morel, S.; Schmid, C.; Duc, T. Phan; Delplancke-Ströbele, F.

2014-07-01

The quality of data obtained by VLTI instruments may be refined by analyzing the continuous data supplied by the Reflective Memory Network (RMN). Based on 5 years experience providing VLTI instruments (PACMAN, AMBER, MIDI) with RMN data, the procedure has been generalized to make the synchronization with observation trouble-free. The present software interface saves not only months of efforts for each instrument but also provides the benefits of software frameworks. Recent applications (GRAVITY, MATISSE) supply feedback for the software to evolve. The paper highlights the way common features been identified to be able to offer reusable code in due course.

Standardized Sky Partitioning for the Next Generation Astronomy and Space Science Archives

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lal, Nand (Technical Monitor); McLean, Brian

2004-01-01

The Johns Hopkins University and Space Telescope Science Institute are working together on this project to develop a library of standard software for data archives that will benefit the wider astronomical community. The ultimate goal was to develop and distribute a software library aimed at providing a common system for partitioning and indexing the sky in manageable sized regions and provide complex queries on the objects stored in this system. Whilst ongoing maintenance work will continue the primary goal has been completed. Most of the next generation sky surveys in the different wavelengths like 2MASS, GALEX, SDSS, GSC-II, DPOSS and FIRST have agreed on this common set of utilities. In this final report, we summarize work on the work elements assigned to the STScI project team.

Multiphysics Simulations: Challenges and Opportunities

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

Keyes, David; McInnes, Lois C.; Woodward, Carol

2013-02-12

We consider multiphysics applications from algorithmic and architectural perspectives, where ‘‘algorithmic’’ includes both mathematical analysis and computational complexity, and ‘‘architectural’’ includes both software and hardware environments. Many diverse multiphysics applications can be reduced, en route to their computational simulation, to a common algebraic coupling paradigm. Mathematical analysis of multiphysics coupling in this form is not always practical for realistic applications, but model problems representative of applications discussed herein can provide insight. A variety of software frameworks for multiphysics applications have been constructed and refined within disciplinary communities and executed on leading-edge computer systems. We examine several of these, expose somemore » commonalities among them, and attempt to extrapolate best practices to future systems. From our study, we summarize challenges and forecast opportunities.« less

Statechart Analysis with Symbolic PathFinder

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pasareanu, Corina S.

2012-01-01

We report here on our on-going work that addresses the automated analysis and test case generation for software systems modeled using multiple Statechart formalisms. The work is motivated by large programs such as NASA Exploration, that involve multiple systems that interact via safety-critical protocols and are designed with different Statechart variants. To verify these safety-critical systems, we have developed Polyglot, a framework for modeling and analysis of model-based software written using different Statechart formalisms. Polyglot uses a common intermediate representation with customizable Statechart semantics and leverages the analysis and test generation capabilities of the Symbolic PathFinder tool. Polyglot is used as follows: First, the structure of the Statechart model (expressed in Matlab Stateflow or Rational Rhapsody) is translated into a common intermediate representation (IR). The IR is then translated into Java code that represents the structure of the model. The semantics are provided as "pluggable" modules.

Analysis of Access Control Policies in Operating Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Hong

2009-01-01

Operating systems rely heavily on access control mechanisms to achieve security goals and defend against remote and local attacks. The complexities of modern access control mechanisms and the scale of policy configurations are often overwhelming to system administrators and software developers. Therefore, mis-configurations are common, and the…

Development of a Common User Interface for the Launch Decision Support System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scholtz, Jean C.

1991-01-01

The Launch Decision Support System (LDSS) is software to be used by the NASA Test Director (NTD) in the firing room during countdown. This software is designed to assist the NTD with time management, that is, when to resume from a hold condition. This software will assist the NTD in making and evaluating alternate plans and will keep him advised of the existing situation. As such, the interface to this software must be designed to provide the maximum amount of information in the clearest fashion and in a timely manner. This research involves applying user interface guidelines to a mature prototype of LDSS and developing displays that will enable the users to easily and efficiently obtain information from the LDSS displays. This research also extends previous work on organizing and prioritizing human-computer interaction knowledge.

Coordinated Fault Tolerance for High-Performance Computing

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

Dongarra, Jack; Bosilca, George; et al.

2013-04-08

Our work to meet our goal of end-to-end fault tolerance has focused on two areas: (1) improving fault tolerance in various software currently available and widely used throughout the HEC domain and (2) using fault information exchange and coordination to achieve holistic, systemwide fault tolerance and understanding how to design and implement interfaces for integrating fault tolerance features for multiple layers of the software stack—from the application, math libraries, and programming language runtime to other common system software such as jobs schedulers, resource managers, and monitoring tools.

Web-Based Environment for Maintaining Legacy Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tigges, Michael; Thompson, Nelson; Orr, Mark; Fox, Richard

2007-01-01

Advanced Tool Integration Environment (ATIE) is the name of both a software system and a Web-based environment created by the system for maintaining an archive of legacy software and expertise involved in developing the legacy software. ATIE can also be used in modifying legacy software and developing new software. The information that can be encapsulated in ATIE includes experts documentation, input and output data of tests cases, source code, and compilation scripts. All of this information is available within a common environment and retained in a database for ease of access and recovery by use of powerful search engines. ATIE also accommodates the embedment of supporting software that users require for their work, and even enables access to supporting commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software within the flow of the experts work. The flow of work can be captured by saving the sequence of computer programs that the expert uses. A user gains access to ATIE via a Web browser. A modern Web-based graphical user interface promotes efficiency in the retrieval, execution, and modification of legacy code. Thus, ATIE saves time and money in the support of new and pre-existing programs.

A streamlined build system foundation for developing HPC software

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

White, Chris; Harrison, Cyrus; Hornung, Richard

2017-02-09

BLT bundles custom CMake macros, unit testing frameworks for C++ and Fortran, and a set of smoke tests for common HPC dependencies. The combination of these three provides a foundation for quickly bootstrapping a CMale-based system for developing HPC softward.

Common Sense Conversion: Can You Read Me?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crawford, Walt

1988-01-01

Discusses basic approaches and available software for five categories of file conversion: (1) converting between different computers with different operating systems; (2) converting between different computers with the same operating systems; (3) converting between different applications on the same computer; (4) converting between different…

MDTraj: A Modern Open Library for the Analysis of Molecular Dynamics Trajectories.

PubMed

McGibbon, Robert T; Beauchamp, Kyle A; Harrigan, Matthew P; Klein, Christoph; Swails, Jason M; Hernández, Carlos X; Schwantes, Christian R; Wang, Lee-Ping; Lane, Thomas J; Pande, Vijay S

2015-10-20

As molecular dynamics (MD) simulations continue to evolve into powerful computational tools for studying complex biomolecular systems, the necessity of flexible and easy-to-use software tools for the analysis of these simulations is growing. We have developed MDTraj, a modern, lightweight, and fast software package for analyzing MD simulations. MDTraj reads and writes trajectory data in a wide variety of commonly used formats. It provides a large number of trajectory analysis capabilities including minimal root-mean-square-deviation calculations, secondary structure assignment, and the extraction of common order parameters. The package has a strong focus on interoperability with the wider scientific Python ecosystem, bridging the gap between MD data and the rapidly growing collection of industry-standard statistical analysis and visualization tools in Python. MDTraj is a powerful and user-friendly software package that simplifies the analysis of MD data and connects these datasets with the modern interactive data science software ecosystem in Python. Copyright © 2015 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

MDTraj: A Modern Open Library for the Analysis of Molecular Dynamics Trajectories

PubMed Central

McGibbon, Robert T.; Beauchamp, Kyle A.; Harrigan, Matthew P.; Klein, Christoph; Swails, Jason M.; Hernández, Carlos X.; Schwantes, Christian R.; Wang, Lee-Ping; Lane, Thomas J.; Pande, Vijay S.

2015-01-01

As molecular dynamics (MD) simulations continue to evolve into powerful computational tools for studying complex biomolecular systems, the necessity of flexible and easy-to-use software tools for the analysis of these simulations is growing. We have developed MDTraj, a modern, lightweight, and fast software package for analyzing MD simulations. MDTraj reads and writes trajectory data in a wide variety of commonly used formats. It provides a large number of trajectory analysis capabilities including minimal root-mean-square-deviation calculations, secondary structure assignment, and the extraction of common order parameters. The package has a strong focus on interoperability with the wider scientific Python ecosystem, bridging the gap between MD data and the rapidly growing collection of industry-standard statistical analysis and visualization tools in Python. MDTraj is a powerful and user-friendly software package that simplifies the analysis of MD data and connects these datasets with the modern interactive data science software ecosystem in Python. PMID:26488642

influx_s: increasing numerical stability and precision for metabolic flux analysis in isotope labelling experiments.

PubMed

Sokol, Serguei; Millard, Pierre; Portais, Jean-Charles

2012-03-01

The problem of stationary metabolic flux analysis based on isotope labelling experiments first appeared in the early 1950s and was basically solved in early 2000s. Several algorithms and software packages are available for this problem. However, the generic stochastic algorithms (simulated annealing or evolution algorithms) currently used in these software require a lot of time to achieve acceptable precision. For deterministic algorithms, a common drawback is the lack of convergence stability for ill-conditioned systems or when started from a random point. In this article, we present a new deterministic algorithm with significantly increased numerical stability and accuracy of flux estimation compared with commonly used algorithms. It requires relatively short CPU time (from several seconds to several minutes with a standard PC architecture) to estimate fluxes in the central carbon metabolism network of Escherichia coli. The software package influx_s implementing this algorithm is distributed under an OpenSource licence at http://metasys.insa-toulouse.fr/software/influx/. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

A study of software standards used in the avionics industry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hayhurst, Kelly J.

1994-01-01

Within the past decade, software has become an increasingly common element in computing systems. In particular, the role of software used in the aerospace industry, especially in life- or safety-critical applications, is rapidly expanding. This intensifies the need to use effective techniques for achieving and verifying the reliability of avionics software. Although certain software development processes and techniques are mandated by government regulating agencies, no one methodology has been shown to consistently produce reliable software. The knowledge base for designing reliable software simply has not reached the maturity of its hardware counterpart. In an effort to increase our understanding of software, the Langley Research Center conducted a series of experiments over 15 years with the goal of understanding why and how software fails. As part of this program, the effectiveness of current industry standards for the development of avionics is being investigated. This study involves the generation of a controlled environment to conduct scientific experiments on software processes.

Dependency visualization for complex system understanding

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

Smart, J. Allison Cory

1994-09-01

With the volume of software in production use dramatically increasing, the importance of software maintenance has become strikingly apparent. Techniques now sought and developed for reverse engineering and design extraction and recovery. At present, numerous commercial products and research tools exist which are capable of visualizing a variety of programming languages and software constructs. The list of new tools and services continues to grow rapidly. Although the scope of the existing commercial and academic product set is quite broad, these tools still share a common underlying problem. The ability of each tool to visually organize object representations is increasingly impairedmore » as the number of components and component dependencies within systems increases. Regardless of how objects are defined, complex ``spaghetti`` networks result in nearly all large system cases. While this problem is immediately apparent in modem systems analysis involving large software implementations, it is not new. As will be discussed in Chapter 2, related problems involving the theory of graphs were identified long ago. This important theoretical foundation provides a useful vehicle for representing and analyzing complex system structures. While the utility of directed graph based concepts in software tool design has been demonstrated in literature, these tools still lack the capabilities necessary for large system comprehension. This foundation must therefore be expanded with new organizational and visualization constructs necessary to meet this challenge. This dissertation addresses this need by constructing a conceptual model and a set of methods for interactively exploring, organizing, and understanding the structure of complex software systems.« less

The caCORE Software Development Kit: streamlining construction of interoperable biomedical information services.

PubMed

Phillips, Joshua; Chilukuri, Ram; Fragoso, Gilberto; Warzel, Denise; Covitz, Peter A

2006-01-06

Robust, programmatically accessible biomedical information services that syntactically and semantically interoperate with other resources are challenging to construct. Such systems require the adoption of common information models, data representations and terminology standards as well as documented application programming interfaces (APIs). The National Cancer Institute (NCI) developed the cancer common ontologic representation environment (caCORE) to provide the infrastructure necessary to achieve interoperability across the systems it develops or sponsors. The caCORE Software Development Kit (SDK) was designed to provide developers both within and outside the NCI with the tools needed to construct such interoperable software systems. The caCORE SDK requires a Unified Modeling Language (UML) tool to begin the development workflow with the construction of a domain information model in the form of a UML Class Diagram. Models are annotated with concepts and definitions from a description logic terminology source using the Semantic Connector component. The annotated model is registered in the Cancer Data Standards Repository (caDSR) using the UML Loader component. System software is automatically generated using the Codegen component, which produces middleware that runs on an application server. The caCORE SDK was initially tested and validated using a seven-class UML model, and has been used to generate the caCORE production system, which includes models with dozens of classes. The deployed system supports access through object-oriented APIs with consistent syntax for retrieval of any type of data object across all classes in the original UML model. The caCORE SDK is currently being used by several development teams, including by participants in the cancer biomedical informatics grid (caBIG) program, to create compatible data services. caBIG compatibility standards are based upon caCORE resources, and thus the caCORE SDK has emerged as a key enabling technology for caBIG. The caCORE SDK substantially lowers the barrier to implementing systems that are syntactically and semantically interoperable by providing workflow and automation tools that standardize and expedite modeling, development, and deployment. It has gained acceptance among developers in the caBIG program, and is expected to provide a common mechanism for creating data service nodes on the data grid that is under development.

Investigating Advances in the Acquisition of Secure Systems Based on Open Architecture, Open Source Software, and Software Product Lines

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-01-27

example is found in games converted to serve a purpose other than entertainment , such as the development and use of games for science, technology, and...These play-session histories can then be further modded via video editing or remixing with other media (e.g., adding music ) to better enable cinematic...available OSS (e.g., the Linux Kernel on the Sony PS3 game console2) that game system hackers seek to undo. Finally, games are one of the most commonly

OSI for hardware/software interoperability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wood, Richard J.; Harvey, Donald L.; Linderman, Richard W.; Gardener, Gary A.; Capraro, Gerard T.

1994-03-01

There is a need in public safety for real-time data collection and transmission from one or more sensors. The Rome Laboratory and the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization are pursuing an effort to bring the benefits of Open System Architectures (OSA) to embedded systems within the Department of Defense. When developed properly OSA provides interoperability, commonality, graceful upgradeability, survivability and hardware/software transportability to greatly minimize life cycle costs, integration and supportability. Architecture flexibility can be achieved to take advantage of commercial accomplishments by basing these developments on vendor-neutral commercially accepted standards and protocols.

ENCOMPASS: A SAGA based environment for the compositon of programs and specifications, appendix A

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Terwilliger, Robert B.; Campbell, Roy H.

1985-01-01

ENCOMPASS is an example integrated software engineering environment being constructed by the SAGA project. ENCOMPASS supports the specification, design, construction and maintenance of efficient, validated, and verified programs in a modular programming language. The life cycle paradigm, schema of software configurations, and hierarchical library structure used by ENCOMPASS is presented. In ENCOMPASS, the software life cycle is viewed as a sequence of developments, each of which reuses components from the previous ones. Each development proceeds through the phases planning, requirements definition, validation, design, implementation, and system integration. The components in a software system are modeled as entities which have relationships between them. An entity may have different versions and different views of the same project are allowed. The simple entities supported by ENCOMPASS may be combined into modules which may be collected into projects. ENCOMPASS supports multiple programmers and projects using a hierarchical library system containing a workspace for each programmer; a project library for each project, and a global library common to all projects.

Formal Methods Case Studies for DO-333

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cofer, Darren; Miller, Steven P.

2014-01-01

RTCA DO-333, Formal Methods Supplement to DO-178C and DO-278A provides guidance for software developers wishing to use formal methods in the certification of airborne systems and air traffic management systems. The supplement identifies the modifications and additions to DO-178C and DO-278A objectives, activities, and software life cycle data that should be addressed when formal methods are used as part of the software development process. This report presents three case studies describing the use of different classes of formal methods to satisfy certification objectives for a common avionics example - a dual-channel Flight Guidance System. The three case studies illustrate the use of theorem proving, model checking, and abstract interpretation. The material presented is not intended to represent a complete certification effort. Rather, the purpose is to illustrate how formal methods can be used in a realistic avionics software development project, with a focus on the evidence produced that could be used to satisfy the verification objectives found in Section 6 of DO-178C.

Java RMI Software Technology for the Payload Planning System of the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bryant, Barrett R.

1999-01-01

The Payload Planning System is for experiment planning on the International Space Station. The planning process has a number of different aspects which need to be stored in a database which is then used to generate reports on the planning process in a variety of formats. This process is currently structured as a 3-tier client/server software architecture comprised of a Java applet at the front end, a Java server in the middle, and an Oracle database in the third tier. This system presently uses CGI, the Common Gateway Interface, to communicate between the user-interface and server tiers and Active Data Objects (ADO) to communicate between the server and database tiers. This project investigated other methods and tools for performing the communications between the three tiers of the current system so that both the system performance and software development time could be improved. We specifically found that for the hardware and software platforms that PPS is required to run on, the best solution is to use Java Remote Method Invocation (RMI) for communication between the client and server and SQLJ (Structured Query Language for Java) for server interaction with the database. Prototype implementations showed that RMI combined with SQLJ significantly improved performance and also greatly facilitated construction of the communication software.

Talking Back: Weapons, Warfare, and Feedback

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-04-01

realize that these laws are not laws of physics . They don’t allow for performance or effectiveness comparisons either as they don’t have a common...the weapon’s next software update. Software updates are done by physical connections like most legacy systems as well as by secure data link...Generally the land based Air Force squadrons use physical connections due to the increased reliability, while sea based squadrons use the wireless

Measurements over distributed high performance computing and storage systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, Elizabeth; Myers, Tom

1993-01-01

A strawman proposal is given for a framework for presenting a common set of metrics for supercomputers, workstations, file servers, mass storage systems, and the networks that interconnect them. Production control and database systems are also included. Though other applications and third part software systems are not addressed, it is important to measure them as well.

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

Keyes, D.; McInnes, L. C.; Woodward, C.

This report is an outcome of the workshop Multiphysics Simulations: Challenges and Opportunities, sponsored by the Institute of Computing in Science (ICiS). Additional information about the workshop, including relevant reading and presentations on multiphysics issues in applications, algorithms, and software, is available via https://sites.google.com/site/icismultiphysics2011/. We consider multiphysics applications from algorithmic and architectural perspectives, where 'algorithmic' includes both mathematical analysis and computational complexity and 'architectural' includes both software and hardware environments. Many diverse multiphysics applications can be reduced, en route to their computational simulation, to a common algebraic coupling paradigm. Mathematical analysis of multiphysics coupling in this form is not alwaysmore » practical for realistic applications, but model problems representative of applications discussed herein can provide insight. A variety of software frameworks for multiphysics applications have been constructed and refined within disciplinary communities and executed on leading-edge computer systems. We examine several of these, expose some commonalities among them, and attempt to extrapolate best practices to future systems. From our study, we summarize challenges and forecast opportunities. We also initiate a modest suite of test problems encompassing features present in many applications.« less

Clinical Data Systems to Support Public Health Practice: A National Survey of Software and Storage Systems Among Local Health Departments.

PubMed

McCullough, J Mac; Goodin, Kate

2016-01-01

Numerous software and data storage systems are employed by local health departments (LHDs) to manage clinical and nonclinical data needs. Leveraging electronic systems may yield improvements in public health practice. However, information is lacking regarding current usage patterns among LHDs. To analyze clinical and nonclinical data storage and software types by LHDs. Data came from the 2015 Informatics Capacity and Needs Assessment Survey, conducted by Georgia Southern University in collaboration with the National Association of County and City Health Officials. A total of 324 LHDs from all 50 states completed the survey (response rate: 50%). Outcome measures included LHD's primary clinical service data system, nonclinical data system(s) used, and plans to adopt electronic clinical data system (if not already in use). Predictors of interest included jurisdiction size and governance type, and other informatics capacities within the LHD. Bivariate analyses were performed using χ and t tests. Up to 38.4% of LHDs reported using an electronic health record (EHR). Usage was common especially among LHDs that provide primary care and/or dental services. LHDs serving smaller populations and those with state-level governance were both less likely to use an EHR. Paper records were a common data storage approach for both clinical data (28.9%) and nonclinical data (59.4%). Among LHDs without an EHR, 84.7% reported implementation plans. Our findings suggest that LHDs are increasingly using EHRs as a clinical data storage solution and that more LHDs are likely to adopt EHRs in the foreseeable future. Yet use of paper records remains common. Correlates of electronic system usage emerged across a range of factors. Program- or system-specific needs may be barriers or facilitators to EHR adoption. Policy makers can tailor resources to address barriers specific to LHD size, governance, service portfolio, existing informatics capabilities, and other pertinent characteristics.

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

Malczynski, Leonard A.

This guide addresses software quality in the construction of Powersim{reg_sign} Studio 8 system dynamics simulation models. It is the result of almost ten years of experience with the Powersim suite of system dynamics modeling tools (Constructor and earlier Studio versions). It is a guide that proposes a common look and feel for the construction of Powersim Studio system dynamics models.

State Analysis: A Control Architecture View of Systems Engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rasmussen, Robert D.

2005-01-01

A viewgraph presentation on the state analysis process is shown. The topics include: 1) Issues with growing complexity; 2) Limits of common practice; 3) Exploiting a control point of view; 4) A glimpse at the State Analysis process; 5) Synergy with model-based systems engineering; and 6) Bridging the systems to software gap.

Intelligent Tutoring Systems: Formalization as Automata and Interface Design Using Neural Networks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Curilem, S. Gloria; Barbosa, Andrea R.; de Azevedo, Fernando M.

2007-01-01

This article proposes a mathematical model of Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS), based on observations of the behaviour of these systems. One of the most important problems of pedagogical software is to establish a common language between the knowledge areas involved in their development, basically pedagogical, computing and domain areas. A…

A Scientific Software Product Line for the Bioinformatics domain.

PubMed

Costa, Gabriella Castro B; Braga, Regina; David, José Maria N; Campos, Fernanda

2015-08-01

Most specialized users (scientists) that use bioinformatics applications do not have suitable training on software development. Software Product Line (SPL) employs the concept of reuse considering that it is defined as a set of systems that are developed from a common set of base artifacts. In some contexts, such as in bioinformatics applications, it is advantageous to develop a collection of related software products, using SPL approach. If software products are similar enough, there is the possibility of predicting their commonalities, differences and then reuse these common features to support the development of new applications in the bioinformatics area. This paper presents the PL-Science approach which considers the context of SPL and ontology in order to assist scientists to define a scientific experiment, and to specify a workflow that encompasses bioinformatics applications of a given experiment. This paper also focuses on the use of ontologies to enable the use of Software Product Line in biological domains. In the context of this paper, Scientific Software Product Line (SSPL) differs from the Software Product Line due to the fact that SSPL uses an abstract scientific workflow model. This workflow is defined according to a scientific domain and using this abstract workflow model the products (scientific applications/algorithms) are instantiated. Through the use of ontology as a knowledge representation model, we can provide domain restrictions as well as add semantic aspects in order to facilitate the selection and organization of bioinformatics workflows in a Scientific Software Product Line. The use of ontologies enables not only the expression of formal restrictions but also the inferences on these restrictions, considering that a scientific domain needs a formal specification. This paper presents the development of the PL-Science approach, encompassing a methodology and an infrastructure, and also presents an approach evaluation. This evaluation presents case studies in bioinformatics, which were conducted in two renowned research institutions in Brazil. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

BEARS: a multi-mission anomaly response system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roberts, Bryce A.

2009-05-01

The Mission Operations Group at UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory operates a highly automated ground station and presently a fleet of seven satellites, each with its own associated command and control console. However, the requirement for prompt anomaly detection and resolution is shared commonly between the ground segment and all spacecraft. The efficient, low-cost operation and "lights-out" staffing of the Mission Operations Group requires that controllers and engineers be notified of spacecraft and ground system problems around the clock. The Berkeley Emergency Anomaly and Response System (BEARS) is an in-house developed web- and paging-based software system that meets this need. BEARS was developed as a replacement for an existing emergency reporting software system that was too closedsource, platform-specific, expensive, and antiquated to expand or maintain. To avoid these limitations, the new system design leverages cross-platform, open-source software products such as MySQL, PHP, and Qt. Anomaly notifications and responses make use of the two-way paging capabilities of modern smart phones.

High pressure common rail injection system modeling and control.

PubMed

Wang, H P; Zheng, D; Tian, Y

2016-07-01

In this paper modeling and common-rail pressure control of high pressure common rail injection system (HPCRIS) is presented. The proposed mathematical model of high pressure common rail injection system which contains three sub-systems: high pressure pump sub-model, common rail sub-model and injector sub-model is a relative complicated nonlinear system. The mathematical model is validated by the software Matlab and a virtual detailed simulation environment. For the considered HPCRIS, an effective model free controller which is called Extended State Observer - based intelligent Proportional Integral (ESO-based iPI) controller is designed. And this proposed method is composed mainly of the referred ESO observer, and a time delay estimation based iPI controller. Finally, to demonstrate the performances of the proposed controller, the proposed ESO-based iPI controller is compared with a conventional PID controller and ADRC. Copyright © 2016 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

GUIdock-VNC: using a graphical desktop sharing system to provide a browser-based interface for containerized software

PubMed Central

Mittal, Varun; Hung, Ling-Hong; Keswani, Jayant; Kristiyanto, Daniel; Lee, Sung Bong

2017-01-01

Abstract Background: Software container technology such as Docker can be used to package and distribute bioinformatics workflows consisting of multiple software implementations and dependencies. However, Docker is a command line–based tool, and many bioinformatics pipelines consist of components that require a graphical user interface. Results: We present a container tool called GUIdock-VNC that uses a graphical desktop sharing system to provide a browser-based interface for containerized software. GUIdock-VNC uses the Virtual Network Computing protocol to render the graphics within most commonly used browsers. We also present a minimal image builder that can add our proposed graphical desktop sharing system to any Docker packages, with the end result that any Docker packages can be run using a graphical desktop within a browser. In addition, GUIdock-VNC uses the Oauth2 authentication protocols when deployed on the cloud. Conclusions: As a proof-of-concept, we demonstrated the utility of GUIdock-noVNC in gene network inference. We benchmarked our container implementation on various operating systems and showed that our solution creates minimal overhead. PMID:28327936

Documenting Models for Interoperability and Reusability ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Many modeling frameworks compartmentalize science via individual models that link sets of small components to create larger modeling workflows. Developing integrated watershed models increasingly requires coupling multidisciplinary, independent models, as well as collaboration between scientific communities, since component-based modeling can integrate models from different disciplines. Integrated Environmental Modeling (IEM) systems focus on transferring information between components by capturing a conceptual site model; establishing local metadata standards for input/output of models and databases; managing data flow between models and throughout the system; facilitating quality control of data exchanges (e.g., checking units, unit conversions, transfers between software languages); warning and error handling; and coordinating sensitivity/uncertainty analyses. Although many computational software systems facilitate communication between, and execution of, components, there are no common approaches, protocols, or standards for turn-key linkages between software systems and models, especially if modifying components is not the intent. Using a standard ontology, this paper reviews how models can be described for discovery, understanding, evaluation, access, and implementation to facilitate interoperability and reusability. In the proceedings of the International Environmental Modelling and Software Society (iEMSs), 8th International Congress on Environmental Mod

GUIdock-VNC: using a graphical desktop sharing system to provide a browser-based interface for containerized software.

PubMed

Mittal, Varun; Hung, Ling-Hong; Keswani, Jayant; Kristiyanto, Daniel; Lee, Sung Bong; Yeung, Ka Yee

2017-04-01

Software container technology such as Docker can be used to package and distribute bioinformatics workflows consisting of multiple software implementations and dependencies. However, Docker is a command line-based tool, and many bioinformatics pipelines consist of components that require a graphical user interface. We present a container tool called GUIdock-VNC that uses a graphical desktop sharing system to provide a browser-based interface for containerized software. GUIdock-VNC uses the Virtual Network Computing protocol to render the graphics within most commonly used browsers. We also present a minimal image builder that can add our proposed graphical desktop sharing system to any Docker packages, with the end result that any Docker packages can be run using a graphical desktop within a browser. In addition, GUIdock-VNC uses the Oauth2 authentication protocols when deployed on the cloud. As a proof-of-concept, we demonstrated the utility of GUIdock-noVNC in gene network inference. We benchmarked our container implementation on various operating systems and showed that our solution creates minimal overhead. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

Medium Fidelity Simulation of Oxygen Tank Venting

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sweet, Adam; Kurien, James; Lau, Sonie (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The item to he cleared is a medium-fidelity software simulation model of a vented cryogenic tank. Such tanks are commonly used to transport cryogenic liquids such as liquid oxygen via truck, and have appeared on liquid-fueled rockets for decades. This simulation model works with the HCC simulation system that was developed by Xerox PARC and NASA Ames Research Center. HCC has been previously cleared for distribution. When used with the HCC software, the model generates simulated readings for the tank pressure and temperature as the simulated cryogenic liquid boils off and is vented. Failures (such as a broken vent valve) can be injected into the simulation to produce readings corresponding to the failure. Release of this simulation will allow researchers to test their software diagnosis systems by attempting to diagnose the simulated failure from the simulated readings. This model does not contain any encryption software nor can it perform any control tasks that might be export controlled.

Applications of software-defined radio (SDR) technology in hospital environments.

PubMed

Chávez-Santiago, Raúl; Mateska, Aleksandra; Chomu, Konstantin; Gavrilovska, Liljana; Balasingham, Ilangko

2013-01-01

A software-defined radio (SDR) is a radio communication system where the major part of its functionality is implemented by means of software in a personal computer or embedded system. Such a design paradigm has the major advantage of producing devices that can receive and transmit widely different radio protocols based solely on the software used. This flexibility opens several application opportunities in hospital environments, where a large number of wired and wireless electronic devices must coexist in confined areas like operating rooms and intensive care units. This paper outlines some possible applications in the 2360-2500 MHz frequency band. These applications include the integration of wireless medical devices in a common communication platform for seamless interoperability, and cognitive radio (CR) for body area networks (BANs) and wireless sensor networks (WSNs) for medical environmental surveillance. The description of a proof-of-concept CR prototype is also presented.

An introduction to quantitative remote sensing. [data processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lindenlaub, J. C.; Russell, J.

1974-01-01

The quantitative approach to remote sensing is discussed along with the analysis of remote sensing data. Emphasis is placed on the application of pattern recognition in numerically oriented remote sensing systems. A common background and orientation for users of the LARS computer software system is provided.

CICADA, CCD and Instrument Control Software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, Peter J.; Brooks, Mick; Meatheringham, Stephen J.; Roberts, William H.

Computerised Instrument Control and Data Acquisition (CICADA) is a software system for control of telescope instruments in a distributed computing environment. It is designed using object-oriented techniques and built with standard computing tools such as RPC, SysV IPC, Posix threads, Tcl, and GUI builders. The system is readily extensible to new instruments and currently supports the Astromed 3200 CCD controller and MSSSO's new tip-tilt system. Work is currently underway to provide support for the SDSU CCD controller and MSSSO's Double Beam Spectrograph. A core set of processes handle common communication and control tasks, while specific instruments are ``bolted'' on using C++ inheritance techniques.

Protection against hostile algorithms in UNIX software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radatti, Peter V.

1996-03-01

Protection against hostile algorithms contained in Unix software is a growing concern without easy answers. Traditional methods used against similar attacks in other operating system environments such as MS-DOS or Macintosh are insufficient in the more complex environment provided by Unix. Additionally, Unix provides a special and significant problem in this regard due to its open and heterogeneous nature. These problems are expected to become both more common and pronounced as 32 bit multiprocess network operating systems become popular. Therefore, the problems experienced today are a good indicator of the problems and the solutions that will be experienced in the future, no matter which operating system becomes predominate.

Mercury: Reusable software application for Metadata Management, Data Discovery and Access

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Devarakonda, Ranjeet; Palanisamy, Giri; Green, James; Wilson, Bruce E.

2009-12-01

Mercury is a federated metadata harvesting, data discovery and access tool based on both open source packages and custom developed software. It was originally developed for NASA, and the Mercury development consortium now includes funding from NASA, USGS, and DOE. Mercury is itself a reusable toolset for metadata, with current use in 12 different projects. Mercury also supports the reuse of metadata by enabling searching across a range of metadata specification and standards including XML, Z39.50, FGDC, Dublin-Core, Darwin-Core, EML, and ISO-19115. Mercury provides a single portal to information contained in distributed data management systems. It collects metadata and key data from contributing project servers distributed around the world and builds a centralized index. The Mercury search interfaces then allow the users to perform simple, fielded, spatial and temporal searches across these metadata sources. One of the major goals of the recent redesign of Mercury was to improve the software reusability across the projects which currently fund the continuing development of Mercury. These projects span a range of land, atmosphere, and ocean ecological communities and have a number of common needs for metadata searches, but they also have a number of needs specific to one or a few projects To balance these common and project-specific needs, Mercury’s architecture includes three major reusable components; a harvester engine, an indexing system and a user interface component. The harvester engine is responsible for harvesting metadata records from various distributed servers around the USA and around the world. The harvester software was packaged in such a way that all the Mercury projects will use the same harvester scripts but each project will be driven by a set of configuration files. The harvested files are then passed to the Indexing system, where each of the fields in these structured metadata records are indexed properly, so that the query engine can perform simple, keyword, spatial and temporal searches across these metadata sources. The search user interface software has two API categories; a common core API which is used by all the Mercury user interfaces for querying the index and a customized API for project specific user interfaces. For our work in producing a reusable, portable, robust, feature-rich application, Mercury received a 2008 NASA Earth Science Data Systems Software Reuse Working Group Peer-Recognition Software Reuse Award. The new Mercury system is based on a Service Oriented Architecture and effectively reuses components for various services such as Thesaurus Service, Gazetteer Web Service and UDDI Directory Services. The software also provides various search services including: RSS, Geo-RSS, OpenSearch, Web Services and Portlets, integrated shopping cart to order datasets from various data centers (ORNL DAAC, NSIDC) and integrated visualization tools. Other features include: Filtering and dynamic sorting of search results, book-markable search results, save, retrieve, and modify search criteria.

IMAT graphics manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stockwell, Alan E.; Cooper, Paul A.

1991-01-01

The Integrated Multidisciplinary Analysis Tool (IMAT) consists of a menu driven executive system coupled with a relational database which links commercial structures, structural dynamics and control codes. The IMAT graphics system, a key element of the software, provides a common interface for storing, retrieving, and displaying graphical information. The IMAT Graphics Manual shows users of commercial analysis codes (MATRIXx, MSC/NASTRAN and I-DEAS) how to use the IMAT graphics system to obtain high quality graphical output using familiar plotting procedures. The manual explains the key features of the IMAT graphics system, illustrates their use with simple step-by-step examples, and provides a reference for users who wish to take advantage of the flexibility of the software to customize their own applications.

Development of structural model of adaptive training complex in ergatic systems for professional use

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Obukhov, A. D.; Dedov, D. L.; Arkhipov, A. E.

2018-03-01

The article considers the structural model of the adaptive training complex (ATC), which reflects the interrelations between the hardware, software and mathematical model of ATC and describes the processes in this subject area. The description of the main components of software and hardware complex, their interaction and functioning within the common system are given. Also the article scrutinizers a brief description of mathematical models of personnel activity, a technical system and influences, the interactions of which formalize the regularities of ATC functioning. The studies of main objects of training complexes and connections between them will make it possible to realize practical implementation of ATC in ergatic systems for professional use.

Software Design for Interactive Graphic Radiation Treatment Simulation Systems*

PubMed Central

Kalet, Ira J.; Sweeney, Christine; Jacky, Jonathan

1990-01-01

We examine issues in the design of interactive computer graphic simulation programs for radiation treatment planning (RTP), as well as expert system programs that automate parts of the RTP process, in light of ten years of experience at designing, building and using such programs. An experiment in object-oriented design using standard Pascal shows that while some advantage is gained from the design, it is still difficult to achieve modularity and to integrate expert system components. A new design based on the Common LISP Object System (CLOS) is described. This series of designs for RTP software shows that this application benefits in specific ways from object-oriented design methods and appropriate languages and tools.

Multidisciplinary Concurrent Design Optimization via the Internet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodard, Stanley E.; Kelkar, Atul G.; Koganti, Gopichand

2001-01-01

A methodology is presented which uses commercial design and analysis software and the Internet to perform concurrent multidisciplinary optimization. The methodology provides a means to develop multidisciplinary designs without requiring that all software be accessible from the same local network. The procedures are amenable to design and development teams whose members, expertise and respective software are not geographically located together. This methodology facilitates multidisciplinary teams working concurrently on a design problem of common interest. Partition of design software to different machines allows each constituent software to be used on the machine that provides the most economy and efficiency. The methodology is demonstrated on the concurrent design of a spacecraft structure and attitude control system. Results are compared to those derived from performing the design with an autonomous FORTRAN program.

On-Board Software Reference Architecture for Payloads

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bos, Victor; Rugina, Ana; Trcka, Adam

2016-08-01

The goal of the On-board Software Reference Architecture for Payloads (OSRA-P) is to identify an architecture for payload software to harmonize the payload domain, to enable more reuse of common/generic payload software across different payloads and missions and to ease the integration of the payloads with the platform.To investigate the payload domain, recent and current payload instruments of European space missions have been analyzed. This led to a Payload Catalogue describing 12 payload instruments as well as a Capability Matrix listing specific characteristics of each payload. In addition, a functional decomposition of payload software was prepared which contains functionalities typically found in payload systems. The definition of OSRA-P was evaluated by case studies and a dedicated OSRA-P workshop to gather feedback from the payload community.

Control and Information Systems for the National Ignition Facility

DOE PAGES

Brunton, Gordon; Casey, Allan; Christensen, Marvin; ...

2017-03-23

Orchestration of every National Ignition Facility (NIF) shot cycle is managed by the Integrated Computer Control System (ICCS), which uses a scalable software architecture running code on more than 1950 front-end processors, embedded controllers, and supervisory servers. The ICCS operates laser and industrial control hardware containing 66 000 control and monitor points to ensure that all of NIF’s laser beams arrive at the target within 30 ps of each other and are aligned to a pointing accuracy of less than 50 μm root-mean-square, while ensuring that a host of diagnostic instruments record data in a few billionths of a second.more » NIF’s automated control subsystems are built from a common object-oriented software framework that distributes the software across the computer network and achieves interoperation between different software languages and target architectures. A large suite of business and scientific software tools supports experimental planning, experimental setup, facility configuration, and post-shot analysis. Standard business services using open-source software, commercial workflow tools, and database and messaging technologies have been developed. An information technology infrastructure consisting of servers, network devices, and storage provides the foundation for these systems. Thus, this work is an overview of the control and information systems used to support a wide variety of experiments during the National Ignition Campaign.« less

Control and Information Systems for the National Ignition Facility

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

Brunton, Gordon; Casey, Allan; Christensen, Marvin

Orchestration of every National Ignition Facility (NIF) shot cycle is managed by the Integrated Computer Control System (ICCS), which uses a scalable software architecture running code on more than 1950 front-end processors, embedded controllers, and supervisory servers. The ICCS operates laser and industrial control hardware containing 66 000 control and monitor points to ensure that all of NIF’s laser beams arrive at the target within 30 ps of each other and are aligned to a pointing accuracy of less than 50 μm root-mean-square, while ensuring that a host of diagnostic instruments record data in a few billionths of a second.more » NIF’s automated control subsystems are built from a common object-oriented software framework that distributes the software across the computer network and achieves interoperation between different software languages and target architectures. A large suite of business and scientific software tools supports experimental planning, experimental setup, facility configuration, and post-shot analysis. Standard business services using open-source software, commercial workflow tools, and database and messaging technologies have been developed. An information technology infrastructure consisting of servers, network devices, and storage provides the foundation for these systems. Thus, this work is an overview of the control and information systems used to support a wide variety of experiments during the National Ignition Campaign.« less

A versatile nondestructive evaluation imaging workstation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chern, E. James; Butler, David W.

1994-01-01

Ultrasonic C-scan and eddy current imaging systems are of the pointwise type evaluation systems that rely on a mechanical scanner to physically maneuver a probe relative to the specimen point by point in order to acquire data and generate images. Since the ultrasonic C-scan and eddy current imaging systems are based on the same mechanical scanning mechanisms, the two systems can be combined using the same PC platform with a common mechanical manipulation subsystem and integrated data acquisition software. Based on this concept, we have developed an IBM PC-based combined ultrasonic C-scan and eddy current imaging system. The system is modularized and provides capacity for future hardware and software expansions. Advantages associated with the combined system are: (1) eliminated duplication of the computer and mechanical hardware, (2) unified data acquisition, processing and storage software, (3) reduced setup time for repetitious ultrasonic and eddy current scans, and (4) improved system efficiency. The concept can be adapted to many engineering systems by integrating related PC-based instruments into one multipurpose workstation such as dispensing, machining, packaging, sorting, and other industrial applications.

A versatile nondestructive evaluation imaging workstation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chern, E. James; Butler, David W.

1994-02-01

Ultrasonic C-scan and eddy current imaging systems are of the pointwise type evaluation systems that rely on a mechanical scanner to physically maneuver a probe relative to the specimen point by point in order to acquire data and generate images. Since the ultrasonic C-scan and eddy current imaging systems are based on the same mechanical scanning mechanisms, the two systems can be combined using the same PC platform with a common mechanical manipulation subsystem and integrated data acquisition software. Based on this concept, we have developed an IBM PC-based combined ultrasonic C-scan and eddy current imaging system. The system is modularized and provides capacity for future hardware and software expansions. Advantages associated with the combined system are: (1) eliminated duplication of the computer and mechanical hardware, (2) unified data acquisition, processing and storage software, (3) reduced setup time for repetitious ultrasonic and eddy current scans, and (4) improved system efficiency. The concept can be adapted to many engineering systems by integrating related PC-based instruments into one multipurpose workstation such as dispensing, machining, packaging, sorting, and other industrial applications.

Intelligent systems and advanced user interfaces for design, operation, and maintenance of command management systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Potter, William J.; Mitchell, Christine M.

1993-01-01

Historically, command management systems (CMS) have been large and expensive spacecraft-specific software systems that were costly to build, operate, and maintain. Current and emerging hardware, software, and user interface technologies may offer an opportunity to facilitate the initial formulation and design of a spacecraft-specific CMS as well as to develop a more generic CMS system. New technologies, in addition to a core CMS common to a range of spacecraft, may facilitate the training and enhance the efficiency of CMS operations. Current mission operations center (MOC) hardware and software include Unix workstations, the C/C++ programming languages, and an X window interface. This configuration provides the power and flexibility to support sophisticated and intelligent user interfaces that exploit state-of-the-art technologies in human-machine interaction, artificial intelligence, and software engineering. One of the goals of this research is to explore the extent to which technologies developed in the research laboratory can be productively applied in a complex system such as spacecraft command management. Initial examination of some of these issues in CMS design and operation suggests that application of technologies such as intelligent planning, case-based reasoning, human-machine systems design and analysis tools (e.g., operator and designer models), and human-computer interaction tools (e.g., graphics, visualization, and animation) may provide significant savings in the design, operation, and maintenance of the CMS for a specific spacecraft as well as continuity for CMS design and development across spacecraft. The first six months of this research saw a broad investigation by Georgia Tech researchers into the function, design, and operation of current and planned command management systems at Goddard Space Flight Center. As the first step, the researchers attempted to understand the current and anticipated horizons of command management systems at Goddard. Preliminary results are given on CMS commonalities and causes of low re-use, and methods are proposed to facilitate increased re-use.

Maximizing reuse: Applying common sense and discipline

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Waligora, Sharon; Langston, James

1992-01-01

Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC)/System Sciences Division (SSD) has maintained a long-term relationship with NASA/Goddard, providing satellite mission ground-support software and services for 23 years. As a partner in the Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) since 1976, CSC has worked closely with NASA/Goddard to improve the software engineering process. This paper examines the evolution of reuse programs in this uniquely stable environment and formulates certain recommendations for developing reuse programs as a business strategy and as an integral part of production. It focuses on the management strategy and philosophy that have helped make reuse successful in this environment.

CheMentor Software System by H. A. Peoples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reid, Brian P.

1997-09-01

CheMentor Software System H. A. Peoples. Computerized Learning Enhancements: http://www.ecis.com/~clehap; email: clehap@ecis.com; 1996 - 1997. CheMentor is a series of software packages for introductory-level chemistry, which includes Practice Items (I), Stoichiometry (I), Calculating Chemical Formulae, and the CheMentor Toolkit. The first three packages provide practice problems for students and various types of help to solve them; the Toolkit includes "calculators" for determining chemical quantities as well as the Practice Items (I) set of problems. The set of software packages is designed so that each individual product acts as a module of a common CheMentor program. As the name CheMentor implies, the software is designed as a "mentor" for students learning introductory chemistry concepts and problems. The typical use of the software would be by individual students (or perhaps small groups) as an adjunct to lectures. CheMentor is a HyperCard application and the modules are HyperCard stacks. The requirements to run the packages include a Macintosh computer with at least 1 MB of RAM, a hard drive with several MB of available space depending upon the packages selected (10 MB were required for all the packages reviewed here), and the Mac operating system 6.0.5 or later.

Space Station Module Power Management and Distribution System (SSM/PMAD)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, William (Compiler); Britt, Daniel (Compiler); Elges, Michael (Compiler); Myers, Chris (Compiler)

1994-01-01

This report provides an overview of the Space Station Module Power Management and Distribution (SSM/PMAD) testbed system and describes recent enhancements to that system. Four tasks made up the original contract: (1) common module power management and distribution system automation plan definition; (2) definition of hardware and software elements of automation; (3) design, implementation and delivery of the hardware and software making up the SSM/PMAD system; and (4) definition and development of the host breadboard computer environment. Additions and/or enhancements to the SSM/PMAD test bed that have occurred since July 1990 are reported. These include: (1) rehosting the MAESTRO scheduler; (2) reorganization of the automation software internals; (3) a more robust communications package; (4) the activity editor to the MAESTRO scheduler; (5) rehosting the LPLMS to execute under KNOMAD; implementation of intermediate levels of autonomy; (6) completion of the KNOMAD knowledge management facility; (7) significant improvement of the user interface; (8) soft and incipient fault handling design; (9) intermediate levels of autonomy, and (10) switch maintenance.

A loosely coupled framework for terminology controlled distributed EHR search for patient cohort identification in clinical research.

PubMed

Zhao, Lei; Lim Choi Keung, Sarah N; Taweel, Adel; Tyler, Edward; Ogunsina, Ire; Rossiter, James; Delaney, Brendan C; Peterson, Kevin A; Hobbs, F D Richard; Arvanitis, Theodoros N

2012-01-01

Heterogeneous data models and coding schemes for electronic health records present challenges for automated search across distributed data sources. This paper describes a loosely coupled software framework based on the terminology controlled approach to enable the interoperation between the search interface and heterogeneous data sources. Software components interoperate via common terminology service and abstract criteria model so as to promote component reuse and incremental system evolution.

Digital Topographic Support System (DTSS).

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-07-29

effects applications software, a word processing package and a Special Purpose Product Builder ( SPPB ) in terms common to his Job. Through the MI, the...communicating with the TA in terms he understands, the applications software, the SPPB and the GIS form the underlying tools which perform the computations and...displayed on the monitors or plotted on paper or Mylar. The SPPB will guide the TA enabling him to design products which are not included in the applications

Agile Software Development in Defense Acquisition: A Mission Assurance Perspective

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-23

based information retrieval system, we might say that this program works like a hive of bees , going out for pollen and bringing it back to the hive...developers ® Six Siqma is reqistered in the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office by Motorola ^_ 33 @ AEROSPACE Major Areas in a Typical Software...requirements - Capturing and evaluating quality metrics, identifying common problem areas **» Despite its positive impact on quality, pair programming

Metrics of a Paradigm for Intelligent Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hexmoor, Henry

1999-01-01

We present metrics for quantifying organizational structures of complex control systems intended for controlling long-lived robotic or other autonomous applications commonly found in space applications. Such advanced control systems are often called integration platforms or agent architectures. Reported metrics span concerns about time, resources, software engineering, and complexities in the world.

Beam Instrument Development System

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

DOOLITTLE, LAWRENCE; HUANG, GANG; DU, QIANG

Beam Instrumentation Development System (BIDS) is a collection of common support libraries and modules developed during a series of Low-Level Radio Frequency (LLRF) control and timing/synchronization projects. BIDS includes a collection of Hardware Description Language (HDL) libraries and software libraries. The BIDS can be used for the development of any FPGA-based system, such as LLRF controllers. HDL code in this library is generic and supports common Digital Signal Processing (DSP) functions, FPGA-specific drivers (high-speed serial link wrappers, clock generation, etc.), ADC/DAC drivers, Ethernet MAC implementation, etc.

The International Planetary Data Alliance (IPDA): Activities in 2010-2012

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crichton, Daniel; Beebe, Reta; Kasaba, Yasumasa; Sarkissian, Alain; Capria, Maria Teresa; Hughes, Steven; Osuna, Pedro

2012-07-01

The IPDA is an international collaboration of space agencies with a mission of providing access to scientific data returned from solar system missions archived at international data centers. In order to improve access and share scientific data, the IPDA was founded to develop data and software standards. The IPDA has focused on promoting standards that drive common methods for collecting and describing planetary science data. An initial starting point for developing such a standard has been the internationalization of NASA's Planetary Data System (PDS) standard, which has become a de-facto standard. The IPDA has also focused on developing software standards that promote interoperability through the use of common software protocols allowing agencies to link their systems together. The IPDA has made significant progress since its inaugural meeting in 2006 adopting standards and developing collaborations across agencies to ensure data is captured in common formats. It has also grown to approximately eight agencies represented by a number of different groups through the IPDA Steering Committee [1]. The IPDA Steering Committee oversees the execution of projects. Over the past two years, the IPDA Steering Committee has conducted a number of focused projects around the development of these standards to enable interoperability, construction of compatible archives, and the operation of the IPDA as a whole. These projects have helped to establish the IPDA and to bring together the collaboration. Two key projects have been: development of a common protocol for data exchange, the Planetary Data Access Protocol (PDAP); and collaboration with the NASA Planetary Data System (PDS) on the next generation PDS standards, PDS4.. Both of these are progressing well and have draft standards that are now being tested. More recently, the IPDA has formed a Technical Experts Group (TEG) that is responsible for the technical architecture and implementation of the projects. As agencies implement archive systems, it is essential that the standards and software support exists and provide guidance to ensure that agencies can develop IPDA compatible archives. This talk will cover the results of the IPDA projects over the 2010-2012 timeframe. It will also discuss the plans for the next two years including the focus on ensuring that the IPDA standards for both the system and data are accessible for use by the international planetary science community. Finally, it will discuss progress on linking planetary archive systems together so scientists can access archived data regardless of the location. [1] http://planetarydata.org/members

Flexible and Secure Computer-Based Assessment Using a Single Zip Disk

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ko, C. C.; Cheng, C. D.

2008-01-01

Electronic examination systems, which include Internet-based system, require extremely complicated installation, configuration and maintenance of software as well as hardware. In this paper, we present the design and development of a flexible, easy-to-use and secure examination system (e-Test), in which any commonly used computer can be used as a…

76 FR 16785 - Meeting for Software Developers on the Technical Specifications for Common Formats for Patient...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-25

... Software Developers on the Technical Specifications for Common Formats for Patient Safety Data Collection... designed as an interactive forum where PSOs and software developers can provide input on these technical... updated event descriptions, forms, and technical specifications for software developers. As an update to...

ExpertEyes: open-source, high-definition eyetracking.

PubMed

Parada, Francisco J; Wyatte, Dean; Yu, Chen; Akavipat, Ruj; Emerick, Brandi; Busey, Thomas

2015-03-01

ExpertEyes is a low-cost, open-source package of hardware and software that is designed to provide portable high-definition eyetracking. The project involves several technological innovations, including portability, high-definition video recording, and multiplatform software support. It was designed for challenging recording environments, and all processing is done offline to allow for optimization of parameter estimation. The pupil and corneal reflection are estimated using a novel forward eye model that simultaneously fits both the pupil and the corneal reflection with full ellipses, addressing a common situation in which the corneal reflection sits at the edge of the pupil and therefore breaks the contour of the ellipse. The accuracy and precision of the system are comparable to or better than what is available in commercial eyetracking systems, with a typical accuracy of less than 0.4° and best accuracy below 0.3°, and with a typical precision (SD method) around 0.3° and best precision below 0.2°. Part of the success of the system comes from a high-resolution eye image. The high image quality results from uncasing common digital camcorders and recording directly to SD cards, which avoids the limitations of the analog NTSC format. The software is freely downloadable, and complete hardware plans are available, along with sources for custom parts.

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.

Modular space vehicle boards, control software, reprogramming, and failure recovery

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

Judd, Stephen; Dallmann, Nicholas; McCabe, Kevin

A space vehicle may have a modular board configuration that commonly uses some or all components and a common operating system for at least some of the boards. Each modular board may have its own dedicated processing, and processing loads may be distributed. The space vehicle may be reprogrammable, and may be launched without code that enables all functionality and/or components. Code errors may be detected and the space vehicle may be reset to a working code version to prevent system failure.

Decision Engines for Software Analysis Using Satisfiability Modulo Theories Solvers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bjorner, Nikolaj

2010-01-01

The area of software analysis, testing and verification is now undergoing a revolution thanks to the use of automated and scalable support for logical methods. A well-recognized premise is that at the core of software analysis engines is invariably a component using logical formulas for describing states and transformations between system states. The process of using this information for discovering and checking program properties (including such important properties as safety and security) amounts to automatic theorem proving. In particular, theorem provers that directly support common software constructs offer a compelling basis. Such provers are commonly called satisfiability modulo theories (SMT) solvers. Z3 is a state-of-the-art SMT solver. It is developed at Microsoft Research. It can be used to check the satisfiability of logical formulas over one or more theories such as arithmetic, bit-vectors, lists, records and arrays. The talk describes some of the technology behind modern SMT solvers, including the solver Z3. Z3 is currently mainly targeted at solving problems that arise in software analysis and verification. It has been applied to various contexts, such as systems for dynamic symbolic simulation (Pex, SAGE, Vigilante), for program verification and extended static checking (Spec#/Boggie, VCC, HAVOC), for software model checking (Yogi, SLAM), model-based design (FORMULA), security protocol code (F7), program run-time analysis and invariant generation (VS3). We will describe how it integrates support for a variety of theories that arise naturally in the context of the applications. There are several new promising avenues and the talk will touch on some of these and the challenges related to SMT solvers. Proceedings

GDSCalc: A Web-Based Application for Evaluating Discrete Graph Dynamical Systems

PubMed Central

Elmeligy Abdelhamid, Sherif H.; Kuhlman, Chris J.; Marathe, Madhav V.; Mortveit, Henning S.; Ravi, S. S.

2015-01-01

Discrete dynamical systems are used to model various realistic systems in network science, from social unrest in human populations to regulation in biological networks. A common approach is to model the agents of a system as vertices of a graph, and the pairwise interactions between agents as edges. Agents are in one of a finite set of states at each discrete time step and are assigned functions that describe how their states change based on neighborhood relations. Full characterization of state transitions of one system can give insights into fundamental behaviors of other dynamical systems. In this paper, we describe a discrete graph dynamical systems (GDSs) application called GDSCalc for computing and characterizing system dynamics. It is an open access system that is used through a web interface. We provide an overview of GDS theory. This theory is the basis of the web application; i.e., an understanding of GDS provides an understanding of the software features, while abstracting away implementation details. We present a set of illustrative examples to demonstrate its use in education and research. Finally, we compare GDSCalc with other discrete dynamical system software tools. Our perspective is that no single software tool will perform all computations that may be required by all users; tools typically have particular features that are more suitable for some tasks. We situate GDSCalc within this space of software tools. PMID:26263006

GDSCalc: A Web-Based Application for Evaluating Discrete Graph Dynamical Systems.

PubMed

Elmeligy Abdelhamid, Sherif H; Kuhlman, Chris J; Marathe, Madhav V; Mortveit, Henning S; Ravi, S S

2015-01-01

Discrete dynamical systems are used to model various realistic systems in network science, from social unrest in human populations to regulation in biological networks. A common approach is to model the agents of a system as vertices of a graph, and the pairwise interactions between agents as edges. Agents are in one of a finite set of states at each discrete time step and are assigned functions that describe how their states change based on neighborhood relations. Full characterization of state transitions of one system can give insights into fundamental behaviors of other dynamical systems. In this paper, we describe a discrete graph dynamical systems (GDSs) application called GDSCalc for computing and characterizing system dynamics. It is an open access system that is used through a web interface. We provide an overview of GDS theory. This theory is the basis of the web application; i.e., an understanding of GDS provides an understanding of the software features, while abstracting away implementation details. We present a set of illustrative examples to demonstrate its use in education and research. Finally, we compare GDSCalc with other discrete dynamical system software tools. Our perspective is that no single software tool will perform all computations that may be required by all users; tools typically have particular features that are more suitable for some tasks. We situate GDSCalc within this space of software tools.

Conceptual design for the National Water Information System

USGS Publications Warehouse

Edwards, Melvin D.; Putnam, Arthur L.; Hutchison, Norman E.

1986-01-01

The Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey began the design and development of a National Water Information System (NWIS) in 1983. The NWIS will replace and integrate the existing data systems of the National Water Data Storage and Retrieval System, National Water Data Exchange, National Water-Use Information Program, and Water Resources Scientific Information Center. The NWIS has been designed as an interactive, distributed data system. The software system has been designed in a modular manner which integrates existing software functions and allows multiple use of software modules. The data base has been designed as a relational data model that allows integrated storage of the existing water data, water-use data, and water-data indexing information by using a common relational data base management system. The NWIS will be operated on microcomputers located in each of the Water Resources Division's District offices and many of its State, subdistrict, and field offices. The microcomputers will be linked together through a national telecommunication network maintained by the U. S. Geological Survey. The NWIS is scheduled to be placed in operation in 1990.

Award ER25750: Coordinated Infrastructure for Fault Tolerance Systems Indiana University Final Report

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

Lumsdaine, Andrew

2013-03-08

The main purpose of the Coordinated Infrastructure for Fault Tolerance in Systems initiative has been to conduct research with a goal of providing end-to-end fault tolerance on a systemwide basis for applications and other system software. While fault tolerance has been an integral part of most high-performance computing (HPC) system software developed over the past decade, it has been treated mostly as a collection of isolated stovepipes. Visibility and response to faults has typically been limited to the particular hardware and software subsystems in which they are initially observed. Little fault information is shared across subsystems, allowing little flexibility ormore » control on a system-wide basis, making it practically impossible to provide cohesive end-to-end fault tolerance in support of scientific applications. As an example, consider faults such as communication link failures that can be seen by a network library but are not directly visible to the job scheduler, or consider faults related to node failures that can be detected by system monitoring software but are not inherently visible to the resource manager. If information about such faults could be shared by the network libraries or monitoring software, then other system software, such as a resource manager or job scheduler, could ensure that failed nodes or failed network links were excluded from further job allocations and that further diagnosis could be performed. As a founding member and one of the lead developers of the Open MPI project, our efforts over the course of this project have been focused on making Open MPI more robust to failures by supporting various fault tolerance techniques, and using fault information exchange and coordination between MPI and the HPC system software stack from the application, numeric libraries, and programming language runtime to other common system components such as jobs schedulers, resource managers, and monitoring tools.« less

PC graphics generation and management tool for real-time applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Truong, Long V.

1992-01-01

A graphics tool was designed and developed for easy generation and management of personal computer graphics. It also provides methods and 'run-time' software for many common artificial intelligence (AI) or expert system (ES) applications.

ATLAS Live: Collaborative Information Streams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldfarb, Steven; ATLAS Collaboration

2011-12-01

I report on a pilot project launched in 2010 focusing on facilitating communication and information exchange within the ATLAS Collaboration, through the combination of digital signage software and webcasting. The project, called ATLAS Live, implements video streams of information, ranging from detailed detector and data status to educational and outreach material. The content, including text, images, video and audio, is collected, visualised and scheduled using digital signage software. The system is robust and flexible, utilizing scripts to input data from remote sources, such as the CERN Document Server, Indico, or any available URL, and to integrate these sources into professional-quality streams, including text scrolling, transition effects, inter and intra-screen divisibility. Information is published via the encoding and webcasting of standard video streams, viewable on all common platforms, using a web browser or other common video tool. Authorisation is enforced at the level of the streaming and at the web portals, using the CERN SSO system.

NCAR global model topography generation software for unstructured grids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lauritzen, P. H.; Bacmeister, J. T.; Callaghan, P. F.; Taylor, M. A.

2015-06-01

It is the purpose of this paper to document the NCAR global model topography generation software for unstructured grids. Given a model grid, the software computes the fraction of the grid box covered by land, the gridbox mean elevation, and associated sub-grid scale variances commonly used for gravity wave and turbulent mountain stress parameterizations. The software supports regular latitude-longitude grids as well as unstructured grids; e.g. icosahedral, Voronoi, cubed-sphere and variable resolution grids. As an example application and in the spirit of documenting model development, exploratory simulations illustrating the impacts of topographic smoothing with the NCAR-DOE CESM (Community Earth System Model) CAM5.2-SE (Community Atmosphere Model version 5.2 - Spectral Elements dynamical core) are shown.

An evaluation of software tools for the design and development of cockpit displays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ellis, Thomas D., Jr.

1993-01-01

The use of all-glass cockpits at the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) simulation facility has changed the means of design, development, and maintenance of instrument displays. The human-machine interface has evolved from a physical hardware device to a software-generated electronic display system. This has subsequently caused an increased workload at the facility. As computer processing power increases and the glass cockpit becomes predominant in facilities, software tools used in the design and development of cockpit displays are becoming both feasible and necessary for a more productive simulation environment. This paper defines LaRC requirements of a display software development tool and compares two available applications against these requirements. As a part of the software engineering process, these tools reduce development time, provide a common platform for display development, and produce exceptional real-time results.

Color graphics, interactive processing, and the supercomputer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith-Taylor, Rudeen

1987-01-01

The development of a common graphics environment for the NASA Langley Research Center user community and the integration of a supercomputer into this environment is examined. The initial computer hardware, the software graphics packages, and their configurations are described. The addition of improved computer graphics capability to the supercomputer, and the utilization of the graphic software and hardware are discussed. Consideration is given to the interactive processing system which supports the computer in an interactive debugging, processing, and graphics environment.

Design of a steganographic virtual operating system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashendorf, Elan; Craver, Scott

2015-03-01

A steganographic file system is a secure file system whose very existence on a disk is concealed. Customarily, these systems hide an encrypted volume within unused disk blocks, slack space, or atop conventional encrypted volumes. These file systems are far from undetectable, however: aside from their ciphertext footprint, they require a software or driver installation whose presence can attract attention and then targeted surveillance. We describe a new steganographic operating environment that requires no visible software installation, launching instead from a concealed bootstrap program that can be extracted and invoked with a chain of common Unix commands. Our system conceals its payload within innocuous files that typically contain high-entropy data, producing a footprint that is far less conspicuous than existing methods. The system uses a local web server to provide a file system, user interface and applications through a web architecture.

Optomechanical design software for segmented mirrors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marrero, Juan

2016-08-01

The software package presented in this paper, still under development, was born to help analyzing the influence of the many parameters involved in the design of a large segmented mirror telescope. In summary, it is a set of tools which were added to a common framework as they were needed. Great emphasis has been made on the graphical presentation, as scientific visualization nowadays cannot be conceived without the use of a helpful 3d environment, showing the analyzed system as close to reality as possible. Use of third party software packages is limited to ANSYS, which should be available in the system only if the FEM results are needed. Among the various functionalities of the software, the next ones are worth mentioning here: automatic 3d model construction of a segmented mirror from a set of parameters, geometric ray tracing, automatic 3d model construction of a telescope structure around the defined mirrors from a set of parameters, segmented mirror human access assessment, analysis of integration tolerances, assessment of segments collision, structural deformation under gravity and thermal variation, mirror support system analysis including warping harness mechanisms, etc.

A Tale of Two Observing Systems: Interoperability in the World of Microsoft Windows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babin, B. L.; Hu, L.

2008-12-01

Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium's (LUMCON) and Dauphin Island Sea Lab's (DISL) Environmental Monitoring System provide a unified coastal ocean observing system. These two systems are mirrored to maintain autonomy while offering an integrated data sharing environment. Both systems collect data via Campbell Scientific Data loggers, store the data in Microsoft SQL servers, and disseminate the data in real- time on the World Wide Web via Microsoft Internet Information Servers and Active Server Pages (ASP). The utilization of Microsoft Windows technologies presented many challenges to these observing systems as open source tools for interoperability grow. The current open source tools often require the installation of additional software. In order to make data available through common standards formats, "home grown" software has been developed. One example of this is the development of software to generate xml files for transmission to the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC). OOSTethys partners develop, test and implement easy-to-use, open-source, OGC-compliant software., and have created a working prototype of networked, semantically interoperable, real-time data systems. Partnering with OOSTethys, we are developing a cookbook to implement OGC web services. The implementation will be written in ASP, will run in a Microsoft operating system environment, and will serve data via Sensor Observation Services (SOS). This cookbook will give observing systems running Microsoft Windows the tools to easily participate in the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Oceans Interoperability Experiment (OCEANS IE).

Mining Bug Databases for Unidentified Software Vulnerabilities

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

Dumidu Wijayasekara; Milos Manic; Jason Wright

2012-06-01

Identifying software vulnerabilities is becoming more important as critical and sensitive systems increasingly rely on complex software systems. It has been suggested in previous work that some bugs are only identified as vulnerabilities long after the bug has been made public. These vulnerabilities are known as hidden impact vulnerabilities. This paper discusses the feasibility and necessity to mine common publicly available bug databases for vulnerabilities that are yet to be identified. We present bug database analysis of two well known and frequently used software packages, namely Linux kernel and MySQL. It is shown that for both Linux and MySQL, amore » significant portion of vulnerabilities that were discovered for the time period from January 2006 to April 2011 were hidden impact vulnerabilities. It is also shown that the percentage of hidden impact vulnerabilities has increased in the last two years, for both software packages. We then propose an improved hidden impact vulnerability identification methodology based on text mining bug databases, and conclude by discussing a few potential problems faced by such a classifier.« less

Envision: An interactive system for the management and visualization of large geophysical data sets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Searight, K. R.; Wojtowicz, D. P.; Walsh, J. E.; Pathi, S.; Bowman, K. P.; Wilhelmson, R. B.

1995-01-01

Envision is a software project at the University of Illinois and Texas A&M, funded by NASA's Applied Information Systems Research Project. It provides researchers in the geophysical sciences convenient ways to manage, browse, and visualize large observed or model data sets. Envision integrates data management, analysis, and visualization of geophysical data in an interactive environment. It employs commonly used standards in data formats, operating systems, networking, and graphics. It also attempts, wherever possible, to integrate with existing scientific visualization and analysis software. Envision has an easy-to-use graphical interface, distributed process components, and an extensible design. It is a public domain package, freely available to the scientific community.

Embedded systems for supporting computer accessibility.

PubMed

Mulfari, Davide; Celesti, Antonio; Fazio, Maria; Villari, Massimo; Puliafito, Antonio

2015-01-01

Nowadays, customized AT software solutions allow their users to interact with various kinds of computer systems. Such tools are generally available on personal devices (e.g., smartphones, laptops and so on) commonly used by a person with a disability. In this paper, we investigate a way of using the aforementioned AT equipments in order to access many different devices without assistive preferences. The solution takes advantage of open source hardware and its core component consists of an affordable Linux embedded system: it grabs data coming from the assistive software, which runs on the user's personal device, then, after processing, it generates native keyboard and mouse HID commands for the target computing device controlled by the end user. This process supports any operating system available on the target machine and it requires no specialized software installation; therefore the user with a disability can rely on a single assistive tool to control a wide range of computing platforms, including conventional computers and many kinds of mobile devices, which receive input commands through the USB HID protocol.

Performance Evaluation of Communication Software Systems for Distributed Computing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fatoohi, Rod

1996-01-01

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in object-oriented distributed computing since it is better quipped to deal with complex systems while providing extensibility, maintainability, and reusability. At the same time, several new high-speed network technologies have emerged for local and wide area networks. However, the performance of networking software is not improving as fast as the networking hardware and the workstation microprocessors. This paper gives an overview and evaluates the performance of the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) standard in a distributed computing environment at NASA Ames Research Center. The environment consists of two testbeds of SGI workstations connected by four networks: Ethernet, FDDI, HiPPI, and ATM. The performance results for three communication software systems are presented, analyzed and compared. These systems are: BSD socket programming interface, IONA's Orbix, an implementation of the CORBA specification, and the PVM message passing library. The results show that high-level communication interfaces, such as CORBA and PVM, can achieve reasonable performance under certain conditions.

Intelligent Sensors Security

PubMed Central

Bialas, Andrzej

2010-01-01

The paper is focused on the security issues of sensors provided with processors and software and used for high-risk applications. Common IT related threats may cause serious consequences for sensor system users. To improve their robustness, sensor systems should be developed in a restricted way that would provide them with assurance. One assurance creation methodology is Common Criteria (ISO/IEC 15408) used for IT products and systems. The paper begins with a primer on the Common Criteria, and then a general security model of the intelligent sensor as an IT product is discussed. The paper presents how the security problem of the intelligent sensor is defined and solved. The contribution of the paper is to provide Common Criteria (CC) related security design patterns and to improve the effectiveness of the sensor development process. PMID:22315571

The ALMA common software: dispatch from the trenches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwarz, J.; Sommer, H.; Jeram, B.; Sekoranja, M.; Chiozzi, G.; Grimstrup, A.; Caproni, A.; Paredes, C.; Allaert, E.; Harrington, S.; Turolla, S.; Cirami, R.

2008-07-01

The ALMA Common Software (ACS) provides both an application framework and CORBA-based middleware for the distributed software system of the Atacama Large Millimeter Array. Building upon open-source tools such as the JacORB, TAO and OmniORB ORBs, ACS supports the development of component-based software in any of three languages: Java, C++ and Python. Now in its seventh major release, ACS has matured, both in its feature set as well as in its reliability and performance. However, it is only recently that the ALMA observatory's hardware and application software has reached a level at which it can exploit and challenge the infrastructure that ACS provides. In particular, the availability of an Antenna Test Facility(ATF) at the site of the Very Large Array in New Mexico has enabled us to exercise and test the still evolving end-to-end ALMA software under realistic conditions. The major focus of ACS, consequently, has shifted from the development of new features to consideration of how best to use those that already exist. Configuration details which could be neglected for the purpose of running unit tests or skeletal end-to-end simulations have turned out to be sensitive levers for achieving satisfactory performance in a real-world environment. Surprising behavior in some open-source tools has required us to choose between patching code that we did not write or addressing its deficiencies by implementing workarounds in our own software. We will discuss these and other aspects of our recent experience at the ATF and in simulation.

Data-Driven Software Framework for Web-Based ISS Telescience

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tso, Kam S.

2005-01-01

Software that enables authorized users to monitor and control scientific payloads aboard the International Space Station (ISS) from diverse terrestrial locations equipped with Internet connections is undergoing development. This software reflects a data-driven approach to distributed operations. A Web-based software framework leverages prior developments in Java and Extensible Markup Language (XML) to create portable code and portable data, to which one can gain access via Web-browser software on almost any common computer. Open-source software is used extensively to minimize cost; the framework also accommodates enterprise-class server software to satisfy needs for high performance and security. To accommodate the diversity of ISS experiments and users, the framework emphasizes openness and extensibility. Users can take advantage of available viewer software to create their own client programs according to their particular preferences, and can upload these programs for custom processing of data, generation of views, and planning of experiments. The same software system, possibly augmented with a subset of data and additional software tools, could be used for public outreach by enabling public users to replay telescience experiments, conduct their experiments with simulated payloads, and create their own client programs and other custom software.

Integration of an expert system into a user interface language demonstration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stclair, D. C.

1986-01-01

The need for a User Interface Language (UIL) has been recognized by the Space Station Program Office as a necessary tool to aid in minimizing the cost of software generation by multiple users. Previous history in the Space Shuttle Program has shown that many different areas of software generation, such as operations, integration, testing, etc., have each used a different user command language although the types of operations being performed were similar in many respects. Since the Space Station represents a much more complex software task, a common user command language--a user interface language--is required to support the large spectrum of space station software developers and users. To assist in the selection of an appropriate set of definitions for a UIL, a series of demonstration programs was generated with which to test UIL concepts against specific Space Station scenarios using operators for the astronaut and scientific community. Because of the importance of expert system in the space station, it was decided that an expert system should be embedded in the UIL. This would not only provide insight into the UIL components required but would indicate the effectiveness with which an expert system could function in such an environment.

The caCORE Software Development Kit: Streamlining construction of interoperable biomedical information services

PubMed Central

Phillips, Joshua; Chilukuri, Ram; Fragoso, Gilberto; Warzel, Denise; Covitz, Peter A

2006-01-01

Background Robust, programmatically accessible biomedical information services that syntactically and semantically interoperate with other resources are challenging to construct. Such systems require the adoption of common information models, data representations and terminology standards as well as documented application programming interfaces (APIs). The National Cancer Institute (NCI) developed the cancer common ontologic representation environment (caCORE) to provide the infrastructure necessary to achieve interoperability across the systems it develops or sponsors. The caCORE Software Development Kit (SDK) was designed to provide developers both within and outside the NCI with the tools needed to construct such interoperable software systems. Results The caCORE SDK requires a Unified Modeling Language (UML) tool to begin the development workflow with the construction of a domain information model in the form of a UML Class Diagram. Models are annotated with concepts and definitions from a description logic terminology source using the Semantic Connector component. The annotated model is registered in the Cancer Data Standards Repository (caDSR) using the UML Loader component. System software is automatically generated using the Codegen component, which produces middleware that runs on an application server. The caCORE SDK was initially tested and validated using a seven-class UML model, and has been used to generate the caCORE production system, which includes models with dozens of classes. The deployed system supports access through object-oriented APIs with consistent syntax for retrieval of any type of data object across all classes in the original UML model. The caCORE SDK is currently being used by several development teams, including by participants in the cancer biomedical informatics grid (caBIG) program, to create compatible data services. caBIG compatibility standards are based upon caCORE resources, and thus the caCORE SDK has emerged as a key enabling technology for caBIG. Conclusion The caCORE SDK substantially lowers the barrier to implementing systems that are syntactically and semantically interoperable by providing workflow and automation tools that standardize and expedite modeling, development, and deployment. It has gained acceptance among developers in the caBIG program, and is expected to provide a common mechanism for creating data service nodes on the data grid that is under development. PMID:16398930

Development and Use of an Adaptive Learning Environment to Research Online Study Behaviour

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jonsdottir, Anna Helga; Jakobsdottir, Audbjorg; Stefansson, Gunnar

2015-01-01

This paper describes a system for research on the behaviour of students taking online drills. The system is accessible and free to use for anyone with web access. Based on open source software, the teaching material is licensed under a Creative Commons License. The system has been used for computer-assisted education in statistics, mathematics and…

NASA/MSFC ground experiment for large space structure control verification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Waites, H. B.; Seltzer, S. M.; Tollison, D. K.

1984-01-01

Marshall Space Flight Center has developed a facility in which closed loop control of Large Space Structures (LSS) can be demonstrated and verified. The main objective of the facility is to verify LSS control system techniques so that on orbit performance can be ensured. The facility consists of an LSS test article which is connected to a payload mounting system that provides control torque commands. It is attached to a base excitation system which will simulate disturbances most likely to occur for Orbiter and DOD payloads. A control computer will contain the calibration software, the reference system, the alignment procedures, the telemetry software, and the control algorithms. The total system will be suspended in such a fashion that LSS test article has the characteristics common to all LSS.

Semi-automatic computerized approach to radiological quantification in rheumatoid arthritis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steiner, Wolfgang; Schoeffmann, Sylvia; Prommegger, Andrea; Boegl, Karl; Klinger, Thomas; Peloschek, Philipp; Kainberger, Franz

2004-04-01

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a common systemic disease predominantly involving the joints. Precise diagnosis and follow-up therapy requires objective quantification. For this purpose, radiological analyses using standardized scoring systems are considered to be the most appropriate method. The aim of our study is to develop a semi-automatic image analysis software, especially applicable for scoring of joints in rheumatic disorders. The X-Ray RheumaCoach software delivers various scoring systems (Larsen-Score and Ratingen-Rau-Score) which can be applied by the scorer. In addition to the qualitative assessment of joints performed by the radiologist, a semi-automatic image analysis for joint detection and measurements of bone diameters and swollen tissue supports the image assessment process. More than 3000 radiographs from hands and feet of more than 200 RA patients were collected, analyzed, and statistically evaluated. Radiographs were quantified using conventional paper-based Larsen score and the X-Ray RheumaCoach software. The use of the software shortened the scoring time by about 25 percent and reduced the rate of erroneous scorings in all our studies. Compared to paper-based scoring methods, the X-Ray RheumaCoach software offers several advantages: (i) Structured data analysis and input that minimizes variance by standardization, (ii) faster and more precise calculation of sum scores and indices, (iii) permanent data storing and fast access to the software"s database, (iv) the possibility of cross-calculation to other scores, (v) semi-automatic assessment of images, and (vii) reliable documentation of results in the form of graphical printouts.

Platform-independent software for medical image processing on the Internet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mancuso, Michael E.; Pathak, Sayan D.; Kim, Yongmin

1997-05-01

We have developed a software tool for image processing over the Internet. The tool is a general purpose, easy to use, flexible, platform independent image processing software package with functions most commonly used in medical image processing.It provides for processing of medical images located wither remotely on the Internet or locally. The software was written in Java - the new programming language developed by Sun Microsystems. It was compiled and tested using Microsoft's Visual Java 1.0 and Microsoft's Just in Time Compiler 1.00.6211. The software is simple and easy to use. In order to use the tool, the user needs to download the software from our site before he/she runs it using any Java interpreter, such as those supplied by Sun, Symantec, Borland or Microsoft. Future versions of the operating systems supplied by Sun, Microsoft, Apple, IBM, and others will include Java interpreters. The software is then able to access and process any image on the iNternet or on the local computer. Using a 512 X 512 X 8-bit image, a 3 X 3 convolution took 0.88 seconds on an Intel Pentium Pro PC running at 200 MHz with 64 Mbytes of memory. A window/level operation took 0.38 seconds while a 3 X 3 median filter took 0.71 seconds. These performance numbers demonstrate the feasibility of using this software interactively on desktop computes. Our software tool supports various image processing techniques commonly used in medical image processing and can run without the need of any specialized hardware. It can become an easily accessible resource over the Internet to promote the learning and of understanding image processing algorithms. Also, it could facilitate sharing of medical image databases and collaboration amongst researchers and clinicians, regardless of location.

Shifter: Containers for HPC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerhardt, Lisa; Bhimji, Wahid; Canon, Shane; Fasel, Markus; Jacobsen, Doug; Mustafa, Mustafa; Porter, Jeff; Tsulaia, Vakho

2017-10-01

Bringing HEP computing to HPC can be difficult. Software stacks are often very complicated with numerous dependencies that are difficult to get installed on an HPC system. To address this issue, NERSC has created Shifter, a framework that delivers Docker-like functionality to HPC. It works by extracting images from native formats and converting them to a common format that is optimally tuned for the HPC environment. We have used Shifter to deliver the CVMFS software stack for ALICE, ATLAS, and STAR on the supercomputers at NERSC. As well as enabling the distribution multi-TB sized CVMFS stacks to HPC, this approach also offers performance advantages. Software startup times are significantly reduced and load times scale with minimal variation to 1000s of nodes. We profile several successful examples of scientists using Shifter to make scientific analysis easily customizable and scalable. We will describe the Shifter framework and several efforts in HEP and NP to use Shifter to deliver their software on the Cori HPC system.

Using NERSC High-Performance Computing (HPC) systems for high-energy nuclear physics applications with ALICE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fasel, Markus

2016-10-01

High-Performance Computing Systems are powerful tools tailored to support large- scale applications that rely on low-latency inter-process communications to run efficiently. By design, these systems often impose constraints on application workflows, such as limited external network connectivity and whole node scheduling, that make more general-purpose computing tasks, such as those commonly found in high-energy nuclear physics applications, more difficult to carry out. In this work, we present a tool designed to simplify access to such complicated environments by handling the common tasks of job submission, software management, and local data management, in a framework that is easily adaptable to the specific requirements of various computing systems. The tool, initially constructed to process stand-alone ALICE simulations for detector and software development, was successfully deployed on the NERSC computing systems, Carver, Hopper and Edison, and is being configured to provide access to the next generation NERSC system, Cori. In this report, we describe the tool and discuss our experience running ALICE applications on NERSC HPC systems. The discussion will include our initial benchmarks of Cori compared to other systems and our attempts to leverage the new capabilities offered with Cori to support data-intensive applications, with a future goal of full integration of such systems into ALICE grid operations.

PRISM Software: Processing and Review Interface for Strong‐Motion Data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jones, Jeanne M.; Kalkan, Erol; Stephens, Christopher D.; Ng, Peter

2017-01-01

A continually increasing number of high‐quality digital strong‐motion records from stations of the National Strong Motion Project (NSMP) of the U.S. Geological Survey, as well as data from regional seismic networks within the United States, calls for automated processing of strong‐motion records with human review limited to selected significant or flagged records. The NSMP has developed the Processing and Review Interface for Strong Motion data (PRISM) software to meet this need. In combination with the Advanced National Seismic System Quake Monitoring System (AQMS), PRISM automates the processing of strong‐motion records. When used without AQMS, PRISM provides batch‐processing capabilities. The PRISM software is platform independent (coded in Java), open source, and does not depend on any closed‐source or proprietary software. The software consists of two major components: a record processing engine composed of modules for each processing step, and a review tool, which is a graphical user interface for manual review, edit, and processing. To facilitate use by non‐NSMP earthquake engineers and scientists, PRISM (both its processing engine and review tool) is easy to install and run as a stand‐alone system on common operating systems such as Linux, OS X, and Windows. PRISM was designed to be flexible and extensible to accommodate implementation of new processing techniques. All the computing features have been thoroughly tested.

Hierarchical Simulation to Assess Hardware and Software Dependability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ries, Gregory Lawrence

1997-01-01

This thesis presents a method for conducting hierarchical simulations to assess system hardware and software dependability. The method is intended to model embedded microprocessor systems. A key contribution of the thesis is the idea of using fault dictionaries to propagate fault effects upward from the level of abstraction where a fault model is assumed to the system level where the ultimate impact of the fault is observed. A second important contribution is the analysis of the software behavior under faults as well as the hardware behavior. The simulation method is demonstrated and validated in four case studies analyzing Myrinet, a commercial, high-speed networking system. One key result from the case studies shows that the simulation method predicts the same fault impact 87.5% of the time as is obtained by similar fault injections into a real Myrinet system. Reasons for the remaining discrepancy are examined in the thesis. A second key result shows the reduction in the number of simulations needed due to the fault dictionary method. In one case study, 500 faults were injected at the chip level, but only 255 propagated to the system level. Of these 255 faults, 110 shared identical fault dictionary entries at the system level and so did not need to be resimulated. The necessary number of system-level simulations was therefore reduced from 500 to 145. Finally, the case studies show how the simulation method can be used to improve the dependability of the target system. The simulation analysis was used to add recovery to the target software for the most common fault propagation mechanisms that would cause the software to hang. After the modification, the number of hangs was reduced by 60% for fault injections into the real system.

Construction of the Dependence Matrix Based on the TRIZ Contradiction Matrix in OOD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Jianhong; Zhang, Quan; Wang, Yanling; Luo, Tao

In the Object-Oriented software design (OOD), design of the class and object, definition of the classes’ interface and inheritance levels and determination of dependent relations have a serious impact on the reusability and flexibility of the system. According to the concrete problems of design, how to select the right solution from the hundreds of the design schemas which has become the focus of attention of designers. After analyzing lots of software design schemas in practice and Object-Oriented design patterns, this paper constructs the dependence matrix of Object-Oriented software design filed, referring to contradiction matrix of TRIZ (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving) proposed by the former Soviet Union innovation master Altshuller. As the practice indicates, it provides a intuitive, common and standardized method for designers to choose the right design schema. Make research and communication more effectively, and also improve the software development efficiency and software quality.

You Can't Get There From Here! Problems and Potential Solutions in Developing New Classes of Complex Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hinchey, Michael G.; Rash, James L.; Truszkowski, Walter F.; Rouff, Christopher A.; Sterritt, Roy

2005-01-01

The explosion of capabilities and new products within the sphere of Information Technology (IT) has fostered widespread, overly optimistic opinions regarding the industry, based on common but unjustified assumptions of quality and correctness of software. These assumptions are encouraged by software producers and vendors, who at this late date have not succeeded in finding a way to overcome the lack of an automated, mathematically sound way to develop correct systems from requirements. NASA faces this dilemma as it envisages advanced mission concepts that involve large swarms of small spacecraft that will engage cooperatively to acheve science goals. Such missions entail levels of complexity that beg for new methods for system development far beyond today's methods, which are inadequate for ensuring correct behavior of large numbers of interacting intelligent mission elements. New system development techniques recently devised through NASA-led research will offer some innovative approaches to achieving correctness in complex system development, including autonomous swarm missions that exhibit emergent behavior, as well as general software products created by the computing industry.

Auto-Generated Semantic Processing Services

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Rodney; Hupf, Greg

2009-01-01

Auto-Generated Semantic Processing (AGSP) Services is a suite of software tools for automated generation of other computer programs, denoted cross-platform semantic adapters, that support interoperability of computer-based communication systems that utilize a variety of both new and legacy communication software running in a variety of operating- system/computer-hardware combinations. AGSP has numerous potential uses in military, space-exploration, and other government applications as well as in commercial telecommunications. The cross-platform semantic adapters take advantage of common features of computer- based communication systems to enforce semantics, messaging protocols, and standards of processing of streams of binary data to ensure integrity of data and consistency of meaning among interoperating systems. The auto-generation aspect of AGSP Services reduces development time and effort by emphasizing specification and minimizing implementation: In effect, the design, building, and debugging of software for effecting conversions among complex communication protocols, custom device mappings, and unique data-manipulation algorithms is replaced with metadata specifications that map to an abstract platform-independent communications model. AGSP Services is modular and has been shown to be easily integrable into new and legacy NASA flight and ground communication systems.

Integrated Component-based Data Acquisition Systems for Aerospace Test Facilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ross, Richard W.

2001-01-01

The Multi-Instrument Integrated Data Acquisition System (MIIDAS), developed by the NASA Langley Research Center, uses commercial off the shelf (COTS) products, integrated with custom software, to provide a broad range of capabilities at a low cost throughout the system s entire life cycle. MIIDAS combines data acquisition capabilities with online and post-test data reduction computations. COTS products lower purchase and maintenance costs by reducing the level of effort required to meet system requirements. Object-oriented methods are used to enhance modularity, encourage reusability, and to promote adaptability, reducing software development costs. Using only COTS products and custom software supported on multiple platforms reduces the cost of porting the system to other platforms. The post-test data reduction capabilities of MIIDAS have been installed at four aerospace testing facilities at NASA Langley Research Center. The systems installed at these facilities provide a common user interface, reducing the training time required for personnel that work across multiple facilities. The techniques employed by MIIDAS enable NASA to build a system with a lower initial purchase price and reduced sustaining maintenance costs. With MIIDAS, NASA has built a highly flexible next generation data acquisition and reduction system for aerospace test facilities that meets customer expectations.

Cardiology office computer use: primer, pointers, pitfalls.

PubMed

Shepard, R B; Blum, R I

1986-10-01

An office computer is a utility, like an automobile, with benefits and costs that are both direct and hidden and potential for disaster. For the cardiologist or cardiovascular surgeon, the increasing power and decreasing costs of computer hardware and the availability of software make use of an office computer system an increasingly attractive possibility. Management of office business functions is common; handling and scientific analysis of practice medical information are less common. The cardiologist can also access national medical information systems for literature searches and for interactive further education. Selection and testing of programs and the entire computer system before purchase of computer hardware will reduce the chances of disappointment or serious problems. Personnel pretraining and planning for office information flow and medical information security are necessary. Some cardiologists design their own office systems, buy hardware and software as needed, write programs for themselves and carry out the implementation themselves. For most cardiologists, the better course will be to take advantage of the professional experience of expert advisors. This article provides a starting point from which the practicing cardiologist can approach considering, specifying or implementing an office computer system for business functions and for scientific analysis of practice results.

Testing Product Generation in Software Product Lines Using Pairwise for Features Coverage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pérez Lamancha, Beatriz; Polo Usaola, Macario

A Software Product Lines (SPL) is "a set of software-intensive systems sharing a common, managed set of features that satisfy the specific needs of a particular market segment or mission and that are developed from a common set of core assets in a prescribed way". Variability is a central concept that permits the generation of different products of the family by reusing core assets. It is captured through features which, for a SPL, define its scope. Features are represented in a feature model, which is later used to generate the products from the line. From the testing point of view, testing all the possible combinations in feature models is not practical because: (1) the number of possible combinations (i.e., combinations of features for composing products) may be untreatable, and (2) some combinations may contain incompatible features. Thus, this paper resolves the problem by the implementation of combinatorial testing techniques adapted to the SPL context.

Low Cost Coherent Doppler Lidar Data Acquisition and Processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barnes, Bruce W.; Koch, Grady J.

2003-01-01

The work described in this paper details the development of a low-cost, short-development time data acquisition and processing system for a coherent Doppler lidar. This was done using common laboratory equipment and a small software investment. This system provides near real-time wind profile measurements. Coding flexibility created a very useful test bed for new techniques.

Knowledge-based control of an adaptive interface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lachman, Roy

1989-01-01

The analysis, development strategy, and preliminary design for an intelligent, adaptive interface is reported. The design philosophy couples knowledge-based system technology with standard human factors approaches to interface development for computer workstations. An expert system has been designed to drive the interface for application software. The intelligent interface will be linked to application packages, one at a time, that are planned for multiple-application workstations aboard Space Station Freedom. Current requirements call for most Space Station activities to be conducted at the workstation consoles. One set of activities will consist of standard data management services (DMS). DMS software includes text processing, spreadsheets, data base management, etc. Text processing was selected for the first intelligent interface prototype because text-processing software can be developed initially as fully functional but limited with a small set of commands. The program's complexity then can be increased incrementally. The intelligent interface includes the operator's behavior and three types of instructions to the underlying application software are included in the rule base. A conventional expert-system inference engine searches the data base for antecedents to rules and sends the consequents of fired rules as commands to the underlying software. Plans for putting the expert system on top of a second application, a database management system, will be carried out following behavioral research on the first application. The intelligent interface design is suitable for use with ground-based workstations now common in government, industrial, and educational organizations.

A Digital Control Algorithm for Magnetic Suspension Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Britton, Thomas C.

1996-01-01

An ongoing program exists to investigate and develop magnetic suspension technologies and modelling techniques at NASA Langley Research Center. Presently, there is a laboratory-scale large air-gap suspension system capable of five degree-of-freedom (DOF) control that is operational and a six DOF system that is under development. Those systems levitate a cylindrical element containing a permanent magnet core above a planar array of electromagnets, which are used for levitation and control purposes. In order to evaluate various control approaches with those systems, the Generic Real-Time State-Space Controller (GRTSSC) software package was developed. That control software package allows the user to implement multiple control methods and allows for varied input/output commands. The development of the control algorithm is presented. The desired functionality of the software is discussed, including the ability to inject noise on sensor inputs and/or actuator outputs. Various limitations, common issues, and trade-offs are discussed including data format precision; the drawbacks of using either Direct Memory Access (DMA), interrupts, or program control techniques for data acquisition; and platform dependent concerns related to the portability of the software, such as memory addressing formats. Efforts to minimize overall controller loop-rate and a comparison of achievable controller sample rates are discussed. The implementation of a modular code structure is presented. The format for the controller input data file and the noise information file is presented. Controller input vector information is available for post-processing by mathematical analysis software such as MATLAB1.

OR automation systems.

PubMed

2002-12-01

An operating room (OR) automation system is a combination of hardware and software designed to address efficiency issues in the OR by controling multiple devices via a common interface. Systems range from the relatively basic--allowing control of a few devices within a single OR--to advanced designs that are capable of not only controlling a wide range of devices within the OR but also exchanging information with remote locations.

Full Chain Benchmarking for Open Architecture Airborne ISR Systems: A Case Study for GMTI Radar Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-15

middleware implementations via a common object-oriented software hierarchy, with library -specific implementations of the five GMTI benchmark ...Full-Chain Benchmarking for Open Architecture Airborne ISR Systems A Case Study for GMTI Radar Applications Matthias Beebe, Matthew Alexander...time performance, effective benchmarks are necessary to ensure that an ARP system can meet the mission constraints and performance requirements of

A working environment for digital planetary data processing and mapping using ISIS and GRASS GIS

USGS Publications Warehouse

Frigeri, A.; Hare, T.; Neteler, M.; Coradini, A.; Federico, C.; Orosei, R.

2011-01-01

Since the beginning of planetary exploration, mapping has been fundamental to summarize observations returned by scientific missions. Sensor-based mapping has been used to highlight specific features from the planetary surfaces by means of processing. Interpretative mapping makes use of instrumental observations to produce thematic maps that summarize observations of actual data into a specific theme. Geologic maps, for example, are thematic interpretative maps that focus on the representation of materials and processes and their relative timing. The advancements in technology of the last 30 years have allowed us to develop specialized systems where the mapping process can be made entirely in the digital domain. The spread of networked computers on a global scale allowed the rapid propagation of software and digital data such that every researcher can now access digital mapping facilities on his desktop. The efforts to maintain planetary missions data accessible to the scientific community have led to the creation of standardized digital archives that facilitate the access to different datasets by software capable of processing these data from the raw level to the map projected one. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been developed to optimize the storage, the analysis, and the retrieval of spatially referenced Earth based environmental geodata; since the last decade these computer programs have become popular among the planetary science community, and recent mission data start to be distributed in formats compatible with these systems. Among all the systems developed for the analysis of planetary and spatially referenced data, we have created a working environment combining two software suites that have similar characteristics in their modular design, their development history, their policy of distribution and their support system. The first, the Integrated Software for Imagers and Spectrometers (ISIS) developed by the United States Geological Survey, represents the state of the art for processing planetary remote sensing data, from the raw unprocessed state to the map projected product. The second, the Geographic Resources Analysis Support System (GRASS) is a Geographic Information System developed by an international team of developers, and one of the core projects promoted by the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo). We have worked on enabling the combined use of these software systems throughout the set-up of a common user interface, the unification of the cartographic reference system nomenclature and the minimization of data conversion. Both software packages are distributed with free open source licenses, as well as the source code, scripts and configuration files hereafter presented. In this paper we describe our work done to merge these working environments into a common one, where the user benefits from functionalities of both systems without the need to switch or transfer data from one software suite to the other one. Thereafter we provide an example of its usage in the handling of planetary data and the crafting of a digital geologic map. ?? 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

SDR/STRS Flight Experiment and the Role of SDR-Based Communication and Navigation Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reinhart, Richard C.

2008-01-01

This presentation describes an open architecture SDR (software defined radio) infrastructure, suitable for space-based radios and operations, entitled Space Telecommunications Radio System (STRS). SDR technologies will endow space and planetary exploration systems with dramatically increased capability, reduced power consumption, and less mass than conventional systems, at costs reduced by vigorous competition, hardware commonality, dense integration, minimizing the impact of parts obsolescence, improved interoperability, and software re-use. To advance the SDR architecture technology and demonstrate its applicability in space, NASA is developing a space experiment of multiple SDRs each with various waveforms to communicate with NASA s TDRSS satellite and ground networks, and the GPS constellation. An experiments program will investigate S-band and Ka-band communications, navigation, and networking technologies and operations.

Kubios HRV--heart rate variability analysis software.

PubMed

Tarvainen, Mika P; Niskanen, Juha-Pekka; Lipponen, Jukka A; Ranta-Aho, Perttu O; Karjalainen, Pasi A

2014-01-01

Kubios HRV is an advanced and easy to use software for heart rate variability (HRV) analysis. The software supports several input data formats for electrocardiogram (ECG) data and beat-to-beat RR interval data. It includes an adaptive QRS detection algorithm and tools for artifact correction, trend removal and analysis sample selection. The software computes all the commonly used time-domain and frequency-domain HRV parameters and several nonlinear parameters. There are several adjustable analysis settings through which the analysis methods can be optimized for different data. The ECG derived respiratory frequency is also computed, which is important for reliable interpretation of the analysis results. The analysis results can be saved as an ASCII text file (easy to import into MS Excel or SPSS), Matlab MAT-file, or as a PDF report. The software is easy to use through its compact graphical user interface. The software is available free of charge for Windows and Linux operating systems at http://kubios.uef.fi. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Real-Time Multimission Event Notification System for Mars Relay

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wallick, Michael N.; Allard, Daniel A.; Gladden, Roy E.; Wang, Paul; Hy, Franklin H.

2013-01-01

As the Mars Relay Network is in constant flux (missions and teams going through their daily workflow), it is imperative that users are aware of such state changes. For example, a change by an orbiter team can affect operations on a lander team. This software provides an ambient view of the real-time status of the Mars network. The Mars Relay Operations Service (MaROS) comprises a number of tools to coordinate, plan, and visualize various aspects of the Mars Relay Network. As part of MaROS, a feature set was developed that operates on several levels of the software architecture. These levels include a Web-based user interface, a back-end "ReSTlet" built in Java, and databases that store the data as it is received from the network. The result is a real-time event notification and management system, so mission teams can track and act upon events on a moment-by-moment basis. This software retrieves events from MaROS and displays them to the end user. Updates happen in real time, i.e., messages are pushed to the user while logged into the system, and queued when the user is not online for later viewing. The software does not do away with the email notifications, but augments them with in-line notifications. Further, this software expands the events that can generate a notification, and allows user-generated notifications. Existing software sends a smaller subset of mission-generated notifications via email. A common complaint of users was that the system-generated e-mails often "get lost" with other e-mail that comes in. This software allows for an expanded set (including user-generated) of notifications displayed in-line of the program. By separating notifications, this can improve a user's workflow.

A virtual reality environment for telescope operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martínez, Luis A.; Villarreal, José L.; Ángeles, Fernando; Bernal, Abel

2010-07-01

Astronomical observatories and telescopes are becoming increasingly large and complex systems, demanding to any potential user the acquirement of great amount of information previous to access them. At present, the most common way to overcome that information is through the implementation of larger graphical user interfaces and computer monitors to increase the display area. Tonantzintla Observatory has a 1-m telescope with a remote observing system. As a step forward in the improvement of the telescope software, we have designed a Virtual Reality (VR) environment that works as an extension of the remote system and allows us to operate the telescope. In this work we explore this alternative technology that is being suggested here as a software platform for the operation of the 1-m telescope.

MIS - The Human Connection

PubMed Central

Bush, Ian E.

1980-01-01

The lessons of the 70's with MIS were largely painful, often the same as those of the 60's, and were found in different phases on two continents. On examination this turns out to be true for many non-medical fields, true for systems programming, and thus a very general phenomenon. It is related to the functional complexity rather than to the sheer size of the software required, and above all to the relative neglect of human factors at all levels of software and hardware design. Simple hierarchical theory is a useful tool for analyzing complex systems and restoring the necessary dominance of common sense human factors. An example shows the very large effects of neglecting these factors on costs and benefits of MIS and their sub-systems.

Mobile Care (Moca) for Remote Diagnosis and Screening

PubMed Central

Celi, Leo Anthony; Sarmenta, Luis; Rotberg, Jhonathan; Marcelo, Alvin; Clifford, Gari

2010-01-01

Moca is a cell phone-facilitated clinical information system to improve diagnostic, screening and therapeutic capabilities in remote resource-poor settings. The software allows transmission of any medical file, whether a photo, x-ray, audio or video file, through a cell phone to (1) a central server for archiving and incorporation into an electronic medical record (to facilitate longitudinal care, quality control, and data mining), and (2) a remote specialist for real-time decision support (to leverage expertise). The open source software is designed as an end-to-end clinical information system that seamlessly connects health care workers to medical professionals. It is integrated with OpenMRS, an existing open source medical records system commonly used in developing countries. PMID:21822397

Building Complex Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hinchey, Mike

2006-01-01

The explosion of capabilities and new products within ICT (Information and Communication Technology) has fostered widespread, overly optimistic opinions regarding the industry, based on common but unjustified assumptions of quality and correctness of software. These assumptions are encouraged by software producers and vendors, who have not succeeded in finding a way to overcome the lack of an automated, mathematically sound way to develop correct systems from requirements. NASA faces this dilemma as it envisages advanced mission concepts in future exploration missions, which may well be the most ambitious computer-based systems ever developed. Such missions entail levels of complexity that beg for new methods for system development. NASA-led research in such areas as sensor networks, formal methods, autonomic computing, and requirements-based programming (to name but a few) will offer some innovative approaches to achieving correctness in complex system development.

Waveform Developer's Guide for the Integrated Power, Avionics, and Software (iPAS) Space Telecommunications Radio System (STRS) Radio

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shalkhauser, Mary Jo W.; Roche, Rigoberto

2017-01-01

The Space Telecommunications Radio System (STRS) provides a common, consistent framework for software defined radios (SDRs) to abstract the application software from the radio platform hardware. The STRS standard aims to reduce the cost and risk of using complex, configurable and reprogrammable radio systems across NASA missions. To promote the use of the STRS architecture for future NASA advanced exploration missions, NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) developed an STRS-compliant SDR on a radio platform used by the Advance Exploration System program at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in their Integrated Power, Avionics, and Software (iPAS) laboratory. The iPAS STRS Radio was implemented on the Reconfigurable, Intelligently-Adaptive Communication System (RIACS) platform, currently being used for radio development at JSC. The platform consists of a Xilinx(Trademark) ML605 Virtex(Trademark)-6 FPGA board, an Analog Devices FMCOMMS1-EBZ RF transceiver board, and an Embedded PC (Axiomtek(Trademark) eBox 620-110-FL) running the Ubuntu 12.4 operating system. The result of this development is a very low cost STRS compliant platform that can be used for waveform developments for multiple applications. The purpose of this document is to describe how to develop a new waveform using the RIACS platform and the Very High Speed Integrated Circuits (VHSIC) Hardware Description Language (VHDL) FPGA wrapper code and the STRS implementation on the Axiomtek processor.

Hospital information system: reusability, designing, modelling, recommendations for implementing.

PubMed

Huet, B

1998-01-01

The aims of this paper are to precise some essential conditions for building reuse models for hospital information systems (HIS) and to present an application for hospital clinical laboratories. Reusability is a general trend in software, however reuse can involve a more or less part of design, classes, programs; consequently, a project involving reusability must be precisely defined. In the introduction it is seen trends in software, the stakes of reuse models for HIS and the special use case constituted with a HIS. The main three parts of this paper are: 1) Designing a reuse model (which objects are common to several information systems?) 2) A reuse model for hospital clinical laboratories (a genspec object model is presented for all laboratories: biochemistry, bacteriology, parasitology, pharmacology, ...) 3) Recommendations for generating plug-compatible software components (a reuse model can be implemented as a framework, concrete factors that increase reusability are presented). In conclusion reusability is a subtle exercise of which project must be previously and carefully defined.

Automated software system for checking the structure and format of ACM SIG documents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mirza, Arsalan Rahman; Sah, Melike

2017-04-01

Microsoft (MS) Office Word is one of the most commonly used software tools for creating documents. MS Word 2007 and above uses XML to represent the structure of MS Word documents. Metadata about the documents are automatically created using Office Open XML (OOXML) syntax. We develop a new framework, which is called ADFCS (Automated Document Format Checking System) that takes the advantage of the OOXML metadata, in order to extract semantic information from MS Office Word documents. In particular, we develop a new ontology for Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Special Interested Group (SIG) documents for representing the structure and format of these documents by using OWL (Web Ontology Language). Then, the metadata is extracted automatically in RDF (Resource Description Framework) according to this ontology using the developed software. Finally, we generate extensive rules in order to infer whether the documents are formatted according to ACM SIG standards. This paper, introduces ACM SIG ontology, metadata extraction process, inference engine, ADFCS online user interface, system evaluation and user study evaluations.

Progress of BeiDou time transfer at NTSC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guang, Wei; Dong, Shaowu; Wu, Wenjun; Zhang, Jihai; Yuan, Haibo; Zhang, Shougang

2018-04-01

Time transfer using global navigation satellite system (GNSS) is a primary method of remote atomic clock comparisons. As of today, there are four operational GNSS systems, namely GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS or BeiDou). All of them can continuously provide position, navigation and time services. This paper mainly focuses on the progress of BeiDou time transfer at the National Time Service Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NTSC). In order to realize the BeiDou common view (CV) time comparison, we developed the Rinex2CGGTTS software according to the guidelines of the Common GNSS Generic Time Transfer Standard, Version 2E (CGGTTS V2E). By comparing the solutions of the Rinex2CGGTTS software to the solutions of the sbf2cggtts software provided by the manufacturer of our multi-GNSS receiver, we found the sbf2cggtts (version 1.0.5) solutions contained biases in measurements to different BeiDou satellites. The biases are most likely caused by sbf2cggtts’ timing group delay corrections in data processing. The noise of the observation data is analyzed by code multipath and common clock difference. Finally, the BeiDou CV results are compared to the GPS/GLONASS/Galileo CV results between NTSC and three European UTC(k) laboratories, including Royal Observatory of Belgium (ORB), Real Institute y Observatory de la Armada (ROA), Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE or SP). For the comparisons of each baseline, we aligned the BeiDou/Galileo/GLONASS links to the calibrated GPS link with the double-difference method. The results show that the performance of BeiDou CV is correlated to the number of BeiDou satellites available in common view. With the current BeiDou constellation, the standard deviation of the differences between all BeiDou CV satellites averaging result and the GPS PPP result is 2.03 ns, 2.90 ns and 4.06 ns for ORB-NTSC, SP-NTSC and ROA-NTSC links respectively.

Analysis of clinical decision support system malfunctions: a case series and survey

PubMed Central

Wright, Adam; Hickman, Thu-Trang T; McEvoy, Dustin; Aaron, Skye; Ai, Angela; Andersen, Jan Marie; Hussain, Salman; Ramoni, Rachel; Fiskio, Julie; Sittig, Dean F; Bates, David W

2016-01-01

Objective To illustrate ways in which clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) malfunction and identify patterns of such malfunctions. Materials and Methods We identified and investigated several CDSS malfunctions at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and present them as a case series. We also conducted a preliminary survey of Chief Medical Information Officers to assess the frequency of such malfunctions. Results We identified four CDSS malfunctions at Brigham and Women’s Hospital: (1) an alert for monitoring thyroid function in patients receiving amiodarone stopped working when an internal identifier for amiodarone was changed in another system; (2) an alert for lead screening for children stopped working when the rule was inadvertently edited; (3) a software upgrade of the electronic health record software caused numerous spurious alerts to fire; and (4) a malfunction in an external drug classification system caused an alert to inappropriately suggest antiplatelet drugs, such as aspirin, for patients already taking one. We found that 93% of the Chief Medical Information Officers who responded to our survey had experienced at least one CDSS malfunction, and two-thirds experienced malfunctions at least annually. Discussion CDSS malfunctions are widespread and often persist for long periods. The failure of alerts to fire is particularly difficult to detect. A range of causes, including changes in codes and fields, software upgrades, inadvertent disabling or editing of rules, and malfunctions of external systems commonly contribute to CDSS malfunctions, and current approaches for preventing and detecting such malfunctions are inadequate. Conclusion CDSS malfunctions occur commonly and often go undetected. Better methods are needed to prevent and detect these malfunctions. PMID:27026616

Free software for performing physical analysis of systems for digital radiography and mammography.

PubMed

Donini, Bruno; Rivetti, Stefano; Lanconelli, Nico; Bertolini, Marco

2014-05-01

In this paper, the authors present a free software for assisting users in achieving the physical characterization of x-ray digital systems and image quality checks. The program was developed as a plugin of a well-known public-domain suite ImageJ. The software can assist users in calculating various physical parameters such as the response curve (also termed signal transfer property), modulation transfer function (MTF), noise power spectra (NPS), and detective quantum efficiency (DQE). It also includes the computation of some image quality checks: defective pixel analysis, uniformity, dark analysis, and lag. The software was made available in 2009 and has been used during the last couple of years by many users who gave us valuable feedback for improving its usability. It was tested for achieving the physical characterization of several clinical systems for digital radiography and mammography. Various published papers made use of the outcomes of the plugin. This software is potentially beneficial to a variety of users: physicists working in hospitals, staff working in radiological departments, such as medical physicists, physicians, engineers. The plugin, together with a brief user manual, are freely available and can be found online (www.medphys.it/downloads.htm). With our plugin users can estimate all three most important parameters used for physical characterization (MTF, NPS, and also DQE). The plugin can run on any operating system equipped with ImageJ suite. The authors validated the software by comparing MTF and NPS curves on a common set of images with those obtained with other dedicated programs, achieving a very good agreement.

Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) Level 2 Version 5: Structures and Facilities for Model Definitions

PubMed Central

Hucka, Michael; Bergmann, Frank T.; Dräger, Andreas; Hoops, Stefan; Keating, Sarah M.; Le Novére, Nicolas; Myers, Chris J.; Olivier, Brett G.; Sahle, Sven; Schaff, James C.; Smith, Lucian P.; Waltemath, Dagmar; Wilkinson, Darren J.

2017-01-01

Summary Computational models can help researchers to interpret data, understand biological function, and make quantitative predictions. The Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) is a file format for representing computational models in a declarative form that can be exchanged between different software systems. SBML is oriented towards describing biological processes of the sort common in research on a number of topics, including metabolic pathways, cell signaling pathways, and many others. By supporting SBML as an input/output format, different tools can all operate on an identical representation of a model, removing opportunities for translation errors and assuring a common starting point for analyses and simulations. This document provides the specification for Version 5 of SBML Level 2. The specification defines the data structures prescribed by SBML as well as their encoding in XML, the eXtensible Markup Language. This specification also defines validation rules that determine the validity of an SBML document, and provides many examples of models in SBML form. Other materials and software are available from the SBML project web site, http://sbml.org/. PMID:26528569

The Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML): Language Specification for Level 3 Version 1 Core

PubMed Central

Hucka, Michael; Bergmann, Frank T.; Hoops, Stefan; Keating, Sarah M.; Sahle, Sven; Schaff, James C.; Smith, Lucian P.; Wilkinson, Darren J.

2017-01-01

Summary Computational models can help researchers to interpret data, understand biological function, and make quantitative predictions. The Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) is a file format for representing computational models in a declarative form that can be exchanged between different software systems. SBML is oriented towards describing biological processes of the sort common in research on a number of topics, including metabolic pathways, cell signaling pathways, and many others. By supporting SBML as an input/output format, different tools can all operate on an identical representation of a model, removing opportunities for translation errors and assuring a common starting point for analyses and simulations. This document provides the specification for Version 1 of SBML Level 3 Core. The specification defines the data structures prescribed by SBML as well as their encoding in XML, the eXtensible Markup Language. This specification also defines validation rules that determine the validity of an SBML document, and provides many examples of models in SBML form. Other materials and software are available from the SBML project web site, http://sbml.org/. PMID:26528564

Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) Level 2 Version 5: Structures and Facilities for Model Definitions.

PubMed

Hucka, Michael; Bergmann, Frank T; Dräger, Andreas; Hoops, Stefan; Keating, Sarah M; Le Novère, Nicolas; Myers, Chris J; Olivier, Brett G; Sahle, Sven; Schaff, James C; Smith, Lucian P; Waltemath, Dagmar; Wilkinson, Darren J

2015-09-04

Computational models can help researchers to interpret data, understand biological function, and make quantitative predictions. The Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) is a file format for representing computational models in a declarative form that can be exchanged between different software systems. SBML is oriented towards describing biological processes of the sort common in research on a number of topics, including metabolic pathways, cell signaling pathways, and many others. By supporting SBML as an input/output format, different tools can all operate on an identical representation of a model, removing opportunities for translation errors and assuring a common starting point for analyses and simulations. This document provides the specification for Version 5 of SBML Level 2. The specification defines the data structures prescribed by SBML as well as their encoding in XML, the eXtensible Markup Language. This specification also defines validation rules that determine the validity of an SBML document, and provides many examples of models in SBML form. Other materials and software are available from the SBML project web site, http://sbml.org.

The Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML): Language Specification for Level 3 Version 1 Core.

PubMed

Hucka, Michael; Bergmann, Frank T; Hoops, Stefan; Keating, Sarah M; Sahle, Sven; Schaff, James C; Smith, Lucian P; Wilkinson, Darren J

2015-09-04

Computational models can help researchers to interpret data, understand biological function, and make quantitative predictions. The Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) is a file format for representing computational models in a declarative form that can be exchanged between different software systems. SBML is oriented towards describing biological processes of the sort common in research on a number of topics, including metabolic pathways, cell signaling pathways, and many others. By supporting SBML as an input/output format, different tools can all operate on an identical representation of a model, removing opportunities for translation errors and assuring a common starting point for analyses and simulations. This document provides the specification for Version 1 of SBML Level 3 Core. The specification defines the data structures prescribed by SBML as well as their encoding in XML, the eXtensible Markup Language. This specification also defines validation rules that determine the validity of an SBML document, and provides many examples of models in SBML form. Other materials and software are available from the SBML project web site, http://sbml.org/.

The Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML): Language Specification for Level 3 Version 1 Core.

PubMed

Hucka, Michael; Bergmann, Frank T; Hoops, Stefan; Keating, Sarah M; Sahle, Sven; Schaff, James C; Smith, Lucian P; Wilkinson, Darren J

2015-06-01

Computational models can help researchers to interpret data, understand biological function, and make quantitative predictions. The Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) is a file format for representing computational models in a declarative form that can be exchanged between different software systems. SBML is oriented towards describing biological processes of the sort common in research on a number of topics, including metabolic pathways, cell signaling pathways, and many others. By supporting SBML as an input/output format, different tools can all operate on an identical representation of a model, removing opportunities for translation errors and assuring a common starting point for analyses and simulations. This document provides the specification for Version 1 of SBML Level 3 Core. The specification defines the data structures prescribed by SBML as well as their encoding in XML, the eXtensible Markup Language. This specification also defines validation rules that determine the validity of an SBML document, and provides many examples of models in SBML form. Other materials and software are available from the SBML project web site, http://sbml.org/.

Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) Level 2 Version 5: Structures and Facilities for Model Definitions.

PubMed

Hucka, Michael; Bergmann, Frank T; Dräger, Andreas; Hoops, Stefan; Keating, Sarah M; Le Novère, Nicolas; Myers, Chris J; Olivier, Brett G; Sahle, Sven; Schaff, James C; Smith, Lucian P; Waltemath, Dagmar; Wilkinson, Darren J

2015-06-01

Computational models can help researchers to interpret data, understand biological function, and make quantitative predictions. The Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) is a file format for representing computational models in a declarative form that can be exchanged between different software systems. SBML is oriented towards describing biological processes of the sort common in research on a number of topics, including metabolic pathways, cell signaling pathways, and many others. By supporting SBML as an input/output format, different tools can all operate on an identical representation of a model, removing opportunities for translation errors and assuring a common starting point for analyses and simulations. This document provides the specification for Version 5 of SBML Level 2. The specification defines the data structures prescribed by SBML as well as their encoding in XML, the eXtensible Markup Language. This specification also defines validation rules that determine the validity of an SBML document, and provides many examples of models in SBML form. Other materials and software are available from the SBML project web site, http://sbml.org/.

Adopting Open Source Software to Address Software Risks during the Scientific Data Life Cycle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vinay, S.; Downs, R. R.

2012-12-01

Software enables the creation, management, storage, distribution, discovery, and use of scientific data throughout the data lifecycle. However, the capabilities offered by software also present risks for the stewardship of scientific data, since future access to digital data is dependent on the use of software. From operating systems to applications for analyzing data, the dependence of data on software presents challenges for the stewardship of scientific data. Adopting open source software provides opportunities to address some of the proprietary risks of data dependence on software. For example, in some cases, open source software can be deployed to avoid licensing restrictions for using, modifying, and transferring proprietary software. The availability of the source code of open source software also enables the inclusion of modifications, which may be contributed by various community members who are addressing similar issues. Likewise, an active community that is maintaining open source software can be a valuable source of help, providing an opportunity to collaborate to address common issues facing adopters. As part of the effort to meet the challenges of software dependence for scientific data stewardship, risks from software dependence have been identified that exist during various times of the data lifecycle. The identification of these risks should enable the development of plans for mitigating software dependencies, where applicable, using open source software, and to improve understanding of software dependency risks for scientific data and how they can be reduced during the data life cycle.

PRISM, Processing and Review Interface for Strong Motion Data Software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalkan, E.; Jones, J. M.; Stephens, C. D.; Ng, P.

2016-12-01

A continually increasing number of high-quality digital strong-motion records from stations of the National Strong Motion Project (NSMP) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), as well as data from regional seismic networks within the U.S., calls for automated processing of strong-motion records with human review limited to selected significant or flagged records. The NSMP has developed the Processing and Review Interface for Strong Motion data (PRISM) software to meet this need. PRISM automates the processing of strong-motion records by providing batch-processing capabilities. The PRISM software is platform-independent (coded in Java), open-source, and does not depend on any closed-source or proprietary software. The software consists of two major components: a record processing engine composed of modules for each processing step, and a graphical user interface (GUI) for manual review and processing. To facilitate the use by non-NSMP earthquake engineers and scientists, PRISM (both its processing engine and GUI components) is easy to install and run as a stand-alone system on common operating systems such as Linux, OS X and Windows. PRISM was designed to be flexible and extensible in order to accommodate implementation of new processing techniques. Input to PRISM currently is limited to data files in the Consortium of Organizations for Strong-Motion Observation Systems (COSMOS) V0 format, so that all retrieved acceleration time series need to be converted to this format. Output products include COSMOS V1, V2 and V3 files as: (i) raw acceleration time series in physical units with mean removed (V1), (ii) baseline-corrected and filtered acceleration, velocity, and displacement time series (V2), and (iii) response spectra, Fourier amplitude spectra and common earthquake-engineering intensity measures (V3). A thorough description of the record processing features supported by PRISM is presented with examples and validation results. All computing features have been thoroughly tested.

The Software Element of the NASA Portable Electronic Device Radiated Emissions Investigation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koppen, Sandra V.; Williams, Reuben A. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

NASA Langley Research Center's (LaRC) High Intensity Radiated Fields Laboratory (HIRF Lab) recently conducted a series of electromagnetic radiated emissions tests under a cooperative agreement with Delta Airlines and an interagency agreement with the FAA. The frequency spectrum environment at a commercial airport was measured on location. The environment survey provides a comprehensive picture of the complex nature of the electromagnetic environment present in those areas outside the aircraft. In addition, radiated emissions tests were conducted on portable electronic devices (PEDs) that may be brought onboard aircraft. These tests were performed in both semi-anechoic and reverberation chambers located in the HIRF Lab. The PEDs included cell phones, laptop computers, electronic toys, and family radio systems. The data generated during the tests are intended to support the research on the effect of radiated emissions from wireless devices on aircraft systems. Both tests systems relied on customized control and data reduction software to provide test and instrument control, data acquisition, a user interface, real time data reduction, and data analysis. The software executed on PC's running MS Windows 98 and 2000, and used Agilent Pro Visual Engineering Environment (VEE) development software, Common Object Model (COM) technology, and MS Excel.

The optimization problems of CP operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kler, A. M.; Stepanova, E. L.; Maximov, A. S.

2017-11-01

The problem of enhancing energy and economic efficiency of CP is urgent indeed. One of the main methods for solving it is optimization of CP operation. To solve the optimization problems of CP operation, Energy Systems Institute, SB of RAS, has developed a software. The software makes it possible to make optimization calculations of CP operation. The software is based on the techniques and software tools of mathematical modeling and optimization of heat and power installations. Detailed mathematical models of new equipment have been developed in the work. They describe sufficiently accurately the processes that occur in the installations. The developed models include steam turbine models (based on the checking calculation) which take account of all steam turbine compartments and regeneration system. They also enable one to make calculations with regenerative heaters disconnected. The software for mathematical modeling of equipment and optimization of CP operation has been developed. It is based on the technique for optimization of CP operating conditions in the form of software tools and integrates them in the common user interface. The optimization of CP operation often generates the need to determine the minimum and maximum possible total useful electricity capacity of the plant at set heat loads of consumers, i.e. it is necessary to determine the interval on which the CP capacity may vary. The software has been applied to optimize the operating conditions of the Novo-Irkutskaya CP of JSC “Irkutskenergo”. The efficiency of operating condition optimization and the possibility for determination of CP energy characteristics that are necessary for optimization of power system operation are shown.

Guidelines for testing and release procedures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Molari, R.; Conway, M.

1984-01-01

Guidelines and procedures are recommended for the testing and release of the types of computer software efforts commonly performed at NASA/Ames Research Center. All recommendations are based on the premise that testing and release activities must be specifically selected for the environment, size, and purpose of each individual software project. Guidelines are presented for building a Test Plan and using formal Test Plan and Test Care Inspections on it. Frequent references are made to NASA/Ames Guidelines for Software Inspections. Guidelines are presented for selecting an Overall Test Approach and for each of the four main phases of testing: (1) Unit Testing of Components, (2) Integration Testing of Components, (3) System Integration Testing, and (4) Acceptance Testing. Tools used for testing are listed, including those available from operating systems used at Ames, specialized tools which can be developed, unit test drivers, stub module generators, and the use of format test reporting schemes.

Real time software tools and methodologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Christofferson, M. J.

1981-01-01

Real time systems are characterized by high speed processing and throughput as well as asynchronous event processing requirements. These requirements give rise to particular implementations of parallel or pipeline multitasking structures, of intertask or interprocess communications mechanisms, and finally of message (buffer) routing or switching mechanisms. These mechanisms or structures, along with the data structue, describe the essential character of the system. These common structural elements and mechanisms are identified, their implementation in the form of routines, tasks or macros - in other words, tools are formalized. The tools developed support or make available the following: reentrant task creation, generalized message routing techniques, generalized task structures/task families, standardized intertask communications mechanisms, and pipeline and parallel processing architectures in a multitasking environment. Tools development raise some interesting prospects in the areas of software instrumentation and software portability. These issues are discussed following the description of the tools themselves.

NASA's SDR Standard: Space Telecommunications Radio System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reinhart, Richard C.; Johnson, Sandra K.

2007-01-01

A software defined radio (SDR) architecture used in space-based platforms proposes to standardize certain aspects of radio development such as interface definitions, functional control and execution, and application software and firmware development. NASA has charted a team to develop an open software defined radio hardware and software architecture to support NASA missions and determine the viability of an Agency-wide Standard. A draft concept of the proposed standard has been released and discussed among organizations in the SDR community. Appropriate leveraging of the JTRS SCA, OMG s SWRadio Architecture and other aspects are considered. A standard radio architecture offers potential value by employing common waveform software instantiation, operation, testing and software maintenance. While software defined radios offer greater flexibility, they also poses challenges to the radio development for the space environment in terms of size, mass and power consumption and available technology. An SDR architecture for space must recognize and address the constraints of space flight hardware, and systems along with flight heritage and culture. NASA is actively participating in the development of technology and standards related to software defined radios. As NASA considers a standard radio architecture for space communications, input and coordination from government agencies, the industry, academia, and standards bodies is key to a successful architecture. The unique aspects of space require thorough investigation of relevant terrestrial technologies properly adapted to space. The talk will describe NASA s current effort to investigate SDR applications to space missions and a brief overview of a candidate architecture under consideration for space based platforms.

ibex: An open infrastructure software platform to facilitate collaborative work in radiomics

PubMed Central

Zhang, Lifei; Fried, David V.; Fave, Xenia J.; Hunter, Luke A.; Court, Laurence E.

2015-01-01

Purpose: Radiomics, which is the high-throughput extraction and analysis of quantitative image features, has been shown to have considerable potential to quantify the tumor phenotype. However, at present, a lack of software infrastructure has impeded the development of radiomics and its applications. Therefore, the authors developed the imaging biomarker explorer (ibex), an open infrastructure software platform that flexibly supports common radiomics workflow tasks such as multimodality image data import and review, development of feature extraction algorithms, model validation, and consistent data sharing among multiple institutions. Methods: The ibex software package was developed using the matlab and c/c++ programming languages. The software architecture deploys the modern model-view-controller, unit testing, and function handle programming concepts to isolate each quantitative imaging analysis task, to validate if their relevant data and algorithms are fit for use, and to plug in new modules. On one hand, ibex is self-contained and ready to use: it has implemented common data importers, common image filters, and common feature extraction algorithms. On the other hand, ibex provides an integrated development environment on top of matlab and c/c++, so users are not limited to its built-in functions. In the ibex developer studio, users can plug in, debug, and test new algorithms, extending ibex’s functionality. ibex also supports quality assurance for data and feature algorithms: image data, regions of interest, and feature algorithm-related data can be reviewed, validated, and/or modified. More importantly, two key elements in collaborative workflows, the consistency of data sharing and the reproducibility of calculation result, are embedded in the ibex workflow: image data, feature algorithms, and model validation including newly developed ones from different users can be easily and consistently shared so that results can be more easily reproduced between institutions. Results: Researchers with a variety of technical skill levels, including radiation oncologists, physicists, and computer scientists, have found the ibex software to be intuitive, powerful, and easy to use. ibex can be run at any computer with the windows operating system and 1GB RAM. The authors fully validated the implementation of all importers, preprocessing algorithms, and feature extraction algorithms. Windows version 1.0 beta of stand-alone ibex and ibex’s source code can be downloaded. Conclusions: The authors successfully implemented ibex, an open infrastructure software platform that streamlines common radiomics workflow tasks. Its transparency, flexibility, and portability can greatly accelerate the pace of radiomics research and pave the way toward successful clinical translation. PMID:25735289

IBEX: an open infrastructure software platform to facilitate collaborative work in radiomics.

PubMed

Zhang, Lifei; Fried, David V; Fave, Xenia J; Hunter, Luke A; Yang, Jinzhong; Court, Laurence E

2015-03-01

Radiomics, which is the high-throughput extraction and analysis of quantitative image features, has been shown to have considerable potential to quantify the tumor phenotype. However, at present, a lack of software infrastructure has impeded the development of radiomics and its applications. Therefore, the authors developed the imaging biomarker explorer (IBEX), an open infrastructure software platform that flexibly supports common radiomics workflow tasks such as multimodality image data import and review, development of feature extraction algorithms, model validation, and consistent data sharing among multiple institutions. The IBEX software package was developed using the MATLAB and c/c++ programming languages. The software architecture deploys the modern model-view-controller, unit testing, and function handle programming concepts to isolate each quantitative imaging analysis task, to validate if their relevant data and algorithms are fit for use, and to plug in new modules. On one hand, IBEX is self-contained and ready to use: it has implemented common data importers, common image filters, and common feature extraction algorithms. On the other hand, IBEX provides an integrated development environment on top of MATLAB and c/c++, so users are not limited to its built-in functions. In the IBEX developer studio, users can plug in, debug, and test new algorithms, extending IBEX's functionality. IBEX also supports quality assurance for data and feature algorithms: image data, regions of interest, and feature algorithm-related data can be reviewed, validated, and/or modified. More importantly, two key elements in collaborative workflows, the consistency of data sharing and the reproducibility of calculation result, are embedded in the IBEX workflow: image data, feature algorithms, and model validation including newly developed ones from different users can be easily and consistently shared so that results can be more easily reproduced between institutions. Researchers with a variety of technical skill levels, including radiation oncologists, physicists, and computer scientists, have found the IBEX software to be intuitive, powerful, and easy to use. IBEX can be run at any computer with the windows operating system and 1GB RAM. The authors fully validated the implementation of all importers, preprocessing algorithms, and feature extraction algorithms. Windows version 1.0 beta of stand-alone IBEX and IBEX's source code can be downloaded. The authors successfully implemented IBEX, an open infrastructure software platform that streamlines common radiomics workflow tasks. Its transparency, flexibility, and portability can greatly accelerate the pace of radiomics research and pave the way toward successful clinical translation.

COMPUTERIZED NEEDS-ORIENTED QUALITY MEASUREMENT EVALUATION SYSTEM (CONQUEST)

EPA Science Inventory

CONQUEST is an easy-to-use quality improvement software tool that uses a common structure and language to help users identity, understand, compare, evaluate, and select among 1,200 clinical performance measures that can be used to assess and improve quality of care. CONQUEST's in...

A software defined RTU multi-protocol automatic adaptation data transmission method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Huiying; Xu, Xingwu; Wang, Zhanfeng; Ma, Weijun; Li, Sheng; Su, Yong; Pan, Yunpeng

2018-02-01

Remote terminal unit (RTU) is the core device of the monitor system in hydrology and water resources. Different devices often have different communication protocols in the application layer, which results in the difficulty in information analysis and communication networking. Therefore, we introduced the idea of software defined hardware, and abstracted the common feature of mainstream communication protocols of RTU application layer, and proposed a uniformed common protocol model. Then, various communication protocol algorithms of application layer are modularized according to the model. The executable codes of these algorithms are labeled by the virtual functions and stored in the flash chips of embedded CPU to form the protocol stack. According to the configuration commands to initialize the RTU communication systems, it is able to achieve dynamic assembling and loading of various application layer communication protocols of RTU and complete the efficient transport of sensor data from RTU to central station when the data acquisition protocol of sensors and various external communication terminals remain unchanged.

A Common DPU Platform for ESA JUICE Mission Instruments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aberg, Martin; Hellstrom, Daniel; Samuelsson, Arne; Torelli, Felice

2016-08-01

This paper describes the resulting hardware and software platform based on GR712RC [1] LEON3-FT that Cobham Gaisler developed in accordance with the common system requirements of the ten scientific instruments on-board the ESA JUICE spacecraft destined the Jupiter system [8].The radiation hardened DPU platform features EDAC protected boot, application memory and working memory of configurable sizes and SpaceWire, FPGA I/O-32/16/8, GPIO, UART and SPI I/O interfaces. The design has undergone PSA, Risk, WCA, Radiation analyses etc. to justify component and design choices resulting in a robust design that can be used in spacecrafts requiring a total dose up to 100krad(Si). The prototype board manufactured uses engineering models of the flight components to ensure that development is representative.Validated boot, standby and driver software accommodates the various DPU platform configurations. The boot performs low-level DPU initialization, standby handles OBC SpaceWire communication and finally the loading and executing of application images typically stored in the non-volatile application memory.

Applying Jlint to Space Exploration Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Artho, Cyrille; Havelund, Klaus

2004-01-01

Java is a very successful programming language which is also becoming widespread in embedded systems, where software correctness is critical. Jlint is a simple but highly efficient static analyzer that checks a Java program for several common errors, such as null pointer exceptions, and overflow errors. It also includes checks for multi-threading problems, such as deadlocks and data races. The case study described here shows the effectiveness of Jlint in find-false positives in the multi-threading warnings gives an insight into design patterns commonly used in multi-threaded code. The results show that a few analysis techniques are sufficient to avoid almost all false positives. These techniques include investigating all possible callers and a few code idioms. Verifying the correct application of these patterns is still crucial, because their correct usage is not trivial.

Controlling Distributed Planning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clement, Bradley; Barrett, Anthony

2004-01-01

A system of software implements an extended version of an approach, denoted shared activity coordination (SHAC), to the interleaving of planning and the exchange of plan information among organizations devoted to different missions that normally communicate infrequently except that they need to collaborate on joint activities and/or the use of shared resources. SHAC enables the planning and scheduling systems of the organizations to coordinate by resolving conflicts while optimizing local planning solutions. The present software provides a framework for modeling and executing communication protocols for SHAC. Shared activities are represented in each interacting planning system to establish consensus on joint activities or to inform the other systems of consumption of a common resource or a change in a shared state. The representations of shared activities are extended to include information on (1) the role(s) of each participant, (2) permissions (defined as specifications of which participant controls what aspects of shared activities and scheduling thereof), and (3) constraints on the parameters of shared activities. Also defined in the software are protocols for changing roles, permissions, and constraints during the course of coordination and execution.

Development of N-version software samples for an experiment in software fault tolerance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lauterbach, L.

1987-01-01

The report documents the task planning and software development phases of an effort to obtain twenty versions of code independently designed and developed from a common specification. These versions were created for use in future experiments in software fault tolerance, in continuation of the experimental series underway at the Systems Validation Methods Branch (SVMB) at NASA Langley Research Center. The 20 versions were developed under controlled conditions at four U.S. universities, by 20 teams of two researchers each. The versions process raw data from a modified Redundant Strapped Down Inertial Measurement Unit (RSDIMU). The specifications, and over 200 questions submitted by the developers concerning the specifications, are included as appendices to this report. Design documents, and design and code walkthrough reports for each version, were also obtained in this task for use in future studies.

The Open Source DataTurbine Initiative: Streaming Data Middleware for Environmental Observing Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fountain T.; Tilak, S.; Shin, P.; Hubbard, P.; Freudinger, L.

2009-01-01

The Open Source DataTurbine Initiative is an international community of scientists and engineers sharing a common interest in real-time streaming data middleware and applications. The technology base of the OSDT Initiative is the DataTurbine open source middleware. Key applications of DataTurbine include coral reef monitoring, lake monitoring and limnology, biodiversity and animal tracking, structural health monitoring and earthquake engineering, airborne environmental monitoring, and environmental sustainability. DataTurbine software emerged as a commercial product in the 1990 s from collaborations between NASA and private industry. In October 2007, a grant from the USA National Science Foundation (NSF) Office of Cyberinfrastructure allowed us to transition DataTurbine from a proprietary software product into an open source software initiative. This paper describes the DataTurbine software and highlights key applications in environmental monitoring.

Aspect-Oriented Model-Driven Software Product Line Engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Groher, Iris; Voelter, Markus

Software product line engineering aims to reduce development time, effort, cost, and complexity by taking advantage of the commonality within a portfolio of similar products. The effectiveness of a software product line approach directly depends on how well feature variability within the portfolio is implemented and managed throughout the development lifecycle, from early analysis through maintenance and evolution. This article presents an approach that facilitates variability implementation, management, and tracing by integrating model-driven and aspect-oriented software development. Features are separated in models and composed of aspect-oriented composition techniques on model level. Model transformations support the transition from problem to solution space models. Aspect-oriented techniques enable the explicit expression and modularization of variability on model, template, and code level. The presented concepts are illustrated with a case study of a home automation system.

Quantifying forest fragmentation using Geographic Information Systems and Forest Inventory and Analysis plot data

Treesearch

Dacia M. Meneguzzo; Mark H. Hansen

2009-01-01

Fragmentation metrics provide a means of quantifying and describing forest fragmentation. The most common method of calculating these metrics is through the use of Geographic Information System software to analyze raster data, such as a satellite or aerial image of the study area; however, the spatial resolution of the imagery has a significant impact on the results....

The HERSCHEL/PACS early Data Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wieprecht, E.; Wetzstein, M.; Huygen, R.; Vandenbussche, B.; De Meester, W.

2006-07-01

ESA's Herschel Space Observatory to be launched in 2007, is the first space observatory covering the full far-infrared and submillimeter wavelength range (60 - 670 microns). The Photodetector Array Camera & Spectrometer (PACS) is one of the three science instruments. It contains two Ge:Ga photoconductor arrays and two bolometer arrays to perform imaging line spectroscopy and imaging photometry in the 60 - 210 micron wavelength band. The HERSCHEL ground segment (Herschel Common Science System - HCSS) is implemented using JAVA technology and written in a common effort by the HERSCHEL Science Center and the three instrument teams. The PACS Common Software System (PCSS) is based on the HCSS and used for the online and offline analysis of PACS data. For telemetry bandwidth reasons PACS science data are partially processed on board, compressed, cut into telemetry packets and transmitted to the ground. These steps are instrument mode dependent. We will present the software model which allows to reverse the discrete on board processing steps and evaluate the data. After decompression and reconstruction the detector data and instrument status information are organized in two main PACS Products. The design of these JAVA classes considers the individual sampling rates, data formats, memory and performance optimization aspects and comfortable user interfaces.

Using a Foundational Ontology for Reengineering a Software Enterprise Ontology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perini Barcellos, Monalessa; de Almeida Falbo, Ricardo

The knowledge about software organizations is considerably relevant to software engineers. The use of a common vocabulary for representing the useful knowledge about software organizations involved in software projects is important for several reasons, such as to support knowledge reuse and to allow communication and interoperability between tools. Domain ontologies can be used to define a common vocabulary for sharing and reuse of knowledge about some domain. Foundational ontologies can be used for evaluating and re-designing domain ontologies, giving to these real-world semantics. This paper presents an evaluating of a Software Enterprise Ontology that was reengineered using the Unified Foundation Ontology (UFO) as basis.

An interactive environment for the analysis of large Earth observation and model data sets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bowman, Kenneth P.; Walsh, John E.; Wilhelmson, Robert B.

1993-01-01

We propose to develop an interactive environment for the analysis of large Earth science observation and model data sets. We will use a standard scientific data storage format and a large capacity (greater than 20 GB) optical disk system for data management; develop libraries for coordinate transformation and regridding of data sets; modify the NCSA X Image and X DataSlice software for typical Earth observation data sets by including map transformations and missing data handling; develop analysis tools for common mathematical and statistical operations; integrate the components described above into a system for the analysis and comparison of observations and model results; and distribute software and documentation to the scientific community.

An interactive environment for the analysis of large Earth observation and model data sets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bowman, Kenneth P.; Walsh, John E.; Wilhelmson, Robert B.

1992-01-01

We propose to develop an interactive environment for the analysis of large Earth science observation and model data sets. We will use a standard scientific data storage format and a large capacity (greater than 20 GB) optical disk system for data management; develop libraries for coordinate transformation and regridding of data sets; modify the NCSA X Image and X Data Slice software for typical Earth observation data sets by including map transformations and missing data handling; develop analysis tools for common mathematical and statistical operations; integrate the components described above into a system for the analysis and comparison of observations and model results; and distribute software and documentation to the scientific community.

NA-42 TI Shared Software Component Library FY2011 Final Report

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

Knudson, Christa K.; Rutz, Frederick C.; Dorow, Kevin E.

The NA-42 TI program initiated an effort in FY2010 to standardize its software development efforts with the long term goal of migrating toward a software management approach that will allow for the sharing and reuse of code developed within the TI program, improve integration, ensure a level of software documentation, and reduce development costs. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has been tasked with two activities that support this mission. PNNL has been tasked with the identification, selection, and implementation of a Shared Software Component Library. The intent of the library is to provide a common repository that is accessiblemore » by all authorized NA-42 software development teams. The repository facilitates software reuse through a searchable and easy to use web based interface. As software is submitted to the repository, the component registration process captures meta-data and provides version control for compiled libraries, documentation, and source code. This meta-data is then available for retrieval and review as part of library search results. In FY2010, PNNL and staff from the Remote Sensing Laboratory (RSL) teamed up to develop a software application with the goal of replacing the aging Aerial Measuring System (AMS). The application under development includes an Advanced Visualization and Integration of Data (AVID) framework and associated AMS modules. Throughout development, PNNL and RSL have utilized a common AMS code repository for collaborative code development. The AMS repository is hosted by PNNL, is restricted to the project development team, is accessed via two different geographic locations and continues to be used. The knowledge gained from the collaboration and hosting of this repository in conjunction with PNNL software development and systems engineering capabilities were used in the selection of a package to be used in the implementation of the software component library on behalf of NA-42 TI. The second task managed by PNNL is the development and continued maintenance of the NA-42 TI Software Development Questionnaire. This questionnaire is intended to help software development teams working under NA-42 TI in documenting their development activities. When sufficiently completed, the questionnaire illustrates that the software development activities recorded incorporate significant aspects of the software engineering lifecycle. The questionnaire template is updated as comments are received from NA-42 and/or its development teams and revised versions distributed to those using the questionnaire. PNNL also maintains a list of questionnaire recipients. The blank questionnaire template, the AVID and AMS software being developed, and the completed AVID AMS specific questionnaire are being used as the initial content to be established in the TI Component Library. This report summarizes the approach taken to identify requirements, search for and evaluate technologies, and the approach taken for installation of the software needed to host the component library. Additionally, it defines the process by which users request access for the contribution and retrieval of library content.« less

Extraction and utilization of the repeating patterns for CP writing in mask making

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shoji, Masahiro; Inoue, Tadao; Yamabe, Masaki

2010-05-01

In May 2006, the Mask Design, Drawing, and Inspection Technology Research Department (Mask D2I) at the Association of Super-Advanced Electronics Technologies (ASET) launched a 4-year program for reducing mask manufacturing cost and TAT by concurrent optimization of Mask Data Preparation (MDP), mask writing, and mask inspection [1]. Figure 1 shows an outline of the project at Mask D2I at ASET. As one of the tasks being pursued at the Mask Design Data Technology Research Laboratory we have evaluated the effect of reducing the writing shot counts by utilizing the repeating patterns, and that showed positive impact on mask making by using CP writing. During the past four years, we have developed a software to extract repeating patterns from fractured OPCed mask data and have evaluated the efficiency of reducing the writing shot counts using the repeating patterns with this software. In this evaluation, we have used many actual device production data obtained from the member companies of Mask D2I. To the extraction software, we added new functions for extracting common repeating patterns from a set of multiple masks, and studied how this step affects the ratio of reducing the shot counts in comparison to the case of utilization of the repeating patterns for single mask. We have also developed a software that uses the result of extracting repeating patterns and prepares writing-data for the MCC/CP writing system which has been developed at the Mask Writing Equipment Technology Research Laboratory. With this software, we have examined how EB proximity effect on CP writing affects in reducing the shot count where CP shots with large CD errors have to be divided into VSB shots. In this paper we will report on making common CP mask from a set of multiple actual device data by using these software, and will also report on the results of CP writing and calculation of writing-TAT by MCC/CP writing system.

Scheduling System Assessment, and Development and Enhancement of Re-engineered Version of GPSS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Loganantharaj, Rasiah; Thomas, Bushrod; Passonno, Nicole

1996-01-01

The objective of this project is two-fold. First to provide an evaluation of a commercially developed version of the ground processing scheduling system (GPSS) for its applicability to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) ground processing problem. Second, to work with the KSC GPSS development team and provide enhancement to the existing software. Systems reengineering is required to provide a sustainable system for the users and the software maintenance group. Using the LISP profile prototype code developed by the GPSS reverse reengineering groups as a building block, we have implemented the resource deconfliction portion of GPSS in common LISP using its object oriented features. The prototype corrects and extends some of the deficiencies of the current production version, plus it uses and builds on the classes from the development team's profile prototype.

Systems Architecture for Fully Autonomous Space Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Esper, Jamie; Schnurr, R.; VanSteenberg, M.; Brumfield, Mark (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is working to develop a revolutionary new system architecture concept in support of fully autonomous missions. As part of GSFC's contribution to the New Millenium Program (NMP) Space Technology 7 Autonomy and on-Board Processing (ST7-A) Concept Definition Study, the system incorporates the latest commercial Internet and software development ideas and extends them into NASA ground and space segment architectures. The unique challenges facing the exploration of remote and inaccessible locales and the need to incorporate corresponding autonomy technologies within reasonable cost necessitate the re-thinking of traditional mission architectures. A measure of the resiliency of this architecture in its application to a broad range of future autonomy missions will depend on its effectiveness in leveraging from commercial tools developed for the personal computer and Internet markets. Specialized test stations and supporting software come to past as spacecraft take advantage of the extensive tools and research investments of billion-dollar commercial ventures. The projected improvements of the Internet and supporting infrastructure go hand-in-hand with market pressures that provide continuity in research. By taking advantage of consumer-oriented methods and processes, space-flight missions will continue to leverage on investments tailored to provide better services at reduced cost. The application of ground and space segment architectures each based on Local Area Networks (LAN), the use of personal computer-based operating systems, and the execution of activities and operations through a Wide Area Network (Internet) enable a revolution in spacecraft mission formulation, implementation, and flight operations. Hardware and software design, development, integration, test, and flight operations are all tied-in closely to a common thread that enables the smooth transitioning between program phases. The application of commercial software development techniques lays the foundation for delivery of product-oriented flight software modules and models. Software can then be readily applied to support the on-board autonomy required for mission self-management. An on-board intelligent system, based on advanced scripting languages, facilitates the mission autonomy required to offload ground system resources, and enables the spacecraft to manage itself safely through an efficient and effective process of reactive planning, science data acquisition, synthesis, and transmission to the ground. Autonomous ground systems in turn coordinate and support schedule contact times with the spacecraft. Specific autonomy software modules on-board include mission and science planners, instrument and subsystem control, and fault tolerance response software, all residing within a distributed computing environment supported through the flight LAN. Autonomy also requires the minimization of human intervention between users on the ground and the spacecraft, and hence calls for the elimination of the traditional operations control center as a funnel for data manipulation. Basic goal-oriented commands are sent directly from the user to the spacecraft through a distributed internet-based payload operations "center". The ensuing architecture calls for the use of spacecraft as point extensions on the Internet. This paper will detail the system architecture implementation chosen to enable cost-effective autonomous missions with applicability to a broad range of conditions. It will define the structure needed for implementation of such missions, including software and hardware infrastructures. The overall architecture is then laid out as a common thread in the mission life cycle from formulation through implementation and flight operations.

Integrating a geographic information system, a scientific visualization system and an orographic precipitation model

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hay, L.; Knapp, L.

1996-01-01

Investigating natural, potential, and man-induced impacts on hydrological systems commonly requires complex modelling with overlapping data requirements, and massive amounts of one- to four-dimensional data at multiple scales and formats. Given the complexity of most hydrological studies, the requisite software infrastructure must incorporate many components including simulation modelling, spatial analysis and flexible, intuitive displays. There is a general requirement for a set of capabilities to support scientific analysis which, at this time, can only come from an integration of several software components. Integration of geographic information systems (GISs) and scientific visualization systems (SVSs) is a powerful technique for developing and analysing complex models. This paper describes the integration of an orographic precipitation model, a GIS and a SVS. The combination of these individual components provides a robust infrastructure which allows the scientist to work with the full dimensionality of the data and to examine the data in a more intuitive manner.

Introduction to the computational structural mechanics testbed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lotts, C. G.; Greene, W. H.; Mccleary, S. L.; Knight, N. F., Jr.; Paulson, S. S.; Gillian, R. E.

1987-01-01

The Computational Structural Mechanics (CSM) testbed software system based on the SPAR finite element code and the NICE system is described. This software is denoted NICE/SPAR. NICE was developed at Lockheed Palo Alto Research Laboratory and contains data management utilities, a command language interpreter, and a command language definition for integrating engineering computational modules. SPAR is a system of programs used for finite element structural analysis developed for NASA by Lockheed and Engineering Information Systems, Inc. It includes many complementary structural analysis, thermal analysis, utility functions which communicate through a common database. The work on NICE/SPAR was motivated by requirements for a highly modular and flexible structural analysis system to use as a tool in carrying out research in computational methods and exploring computer hardware. Analysis examples are presented which demonstrate the benefits gained from a combination of the NICE command language with a SPAR computational modules.

NASA Customer Data and Operations System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Butler, Madeline J.; Stallings, William H.

1991-01-01

In addition to the currently provided NASA services such as Communications and Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System services, the NASA's Customer Data and Operations System (CDOS) will provide the following services to the user: Data Delivery Service, Data Archive Service, and CDOS Operations Management Service. This paper describes these services in detail and presents respective block diagrams. The CDOS services will support a variety of multipurpose missions simultaneously with centralized and common hardware and software data-driven systems.

Military Interoperable Digital Hospital Testbed (MIDHT) Phase III

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-10-01

silently changed, it is common knowledge  that some  Java  Development  Kit (JDK) implementations create slightly differently  formatted PEM and  DER...tracking software  JKS  Java  KeyStore  LDAP  Lightweight Directory Access Protocol  MHS  Military Health System  MIMC  Conemaugh Miners Medical... MySQL ~ Conemaugh Health System ’-J Common Access Layer (CAL) Interface I I t J J AIIScripts I I McKe-n J Sunque.st Horizon EHR Lab Patient

The impact of common APSE interface set specifications on space station information systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Diaz-Herrera, Jorge L.; Sibley, Edgar H.

1986-01-01

Certain types of software facilities are needed in a Space Station Information Systems Environment; the Common APSE (Ada Program Support Environment) Interface Set (CAIS) was proposed as a means of satisfying them. The reasonableness of this is discussed by examining the current CAIS, considering the changes due to the latest Requirements and Criteria (RAC) document, and postulating the effects on the CAIS 2.0. Finally, a few additional comments are made on the problems inherent in the Ada language itself, especially on its deficiencies when used for implementing large distributed processing and data base applications.

Launch Processing System. [for Space Shuttle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Byrne, F.; Doolittle, G. V.; Hockenberger, R. W.

1976-01-01

This paper presents a functional description of the Launch Processing System, which provides automatic ground checkout and control of the Space Shuttle launch site and airborne systems, with emphasis placed on the Checkout, Control, and Monitor Subsystem. Hardware and software modular design concepts for the distributed computer system are reviewed relative to performing system tests, launch operations control, and status monitoring during ground operations. The communication network design, which uses a Common Data Buffer interface to all computers to allow computer-to-computer communication, is discussed in detail.

Software engineering methodologies and tools

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilcox, Lawrence M.

1993-01-01

Over the years many engineering disciplines have developed, including chemical, electronic, etc. Common to all engineering disciplines is the use of rigor, models, metrics, and predefined methodologies. Recently, a new engineering discipline has appeared on the scene, called software engineering. For over thirty years computer software has been developed and the track record has not been good. Software development projects often miss schedules, are over budget, do not give the user what is wanted, and produce defects. One estimate is there are one to three defects per 1000 lines of deployed code. More and more systems are requiring larger and more complex software for support. As this requirement grows, the software development problems grow exponentially. It is believed that software quality can be improved by applying engineering principles. Another compelling reason to bring the engineering disciplines to software development is productivity. It has been estimated that productivity of producing software has only increased one to two percent a year in the last thirty years. Ironically, the computer and its software have contributed significantly to the industry-wide productivity, but computer professionals have done a poor job of using the computer to do their job. Engineering disciplines and methodologies are now emerging supported by software tools that address the problems of software development. This paper addresses some of the current software engineering methodologies as a backdrop for the general evaluation of computer assisted software engineering (CASE) tools from actual installation of and experimentation with some specific tools.

Introducing high performance distributed logging service for ACS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avarias, Jorge A.; López, Joao S.; Maureira, Cristián; Sommer, Heiko; Chiozzi, Gianluca

2010-07-01

The ALMA Common Software (ACS) is a software framework that provides the infrastructure for the Atacama Large Millimeter Array and other projects. ACS, based on CORBA, offers basic services and common design patterns for distributed software. Every properly built system needs to be able to log status and error information. Logging in a single computer scenario can be as easy as using fprintf statements. However, in a distributed system, it must provide a way to centralize all logging data in a single place without overloading the network nor complicating the applications. ACS provides a complete logging service infrastructure in which every log has an associated priority and timestamp, allowing filtering at different levels of the system (application, service and clients). Currently the ACS logging service uses an implementation of the CORBA Telecom Log Service in a customized way, using only a minimal subset of the features provided by the standard. The most relevant feature used by ACS is the ability to treat the logs as event data that gets distributed over the network in a publisher-subscriber paradigm. For this purpose the CORBA Notification Service, which is resource intensive, is used. On the other hand, the Data Distribution Service (DDS) provides an alternative standard for publisher-subscriber communication for real-time systems, offering better performance and featuring decentralized message processing. The current document describes how the new high performance logging service of ACS has been modeled and developed using DDS, replacing the Telecom Log Service. Benefits and drawbacks are analyzed. A benchmark is presented comparing the differences between the implementations.

Singularity: Scientific containers for mobility of compute.

PubMed

Kurtzer, Gregory M; Sochat, Vanessa; Bauer, Michael W

2017-01-01

Here we present Singularity, software developed to bring containers and reproducibility to scientific computing. Using Singularity containers, developers can work in reproducible environments of their choosing and design, and these complete environments can easily be copied and executed on other platforms. Singularity is an open source initiative that harnesses the expertise of system and software engineers and researchers alike, and integrates seamlessly into common workflows for both of these groups. As its primary use case, Singularity brings mobility of computing to both users and HPC centers, providing a secure means to capture and distribute software and compute environments. This ability to create and deploy reproducible environments across these centers, a previously unmet need, makes Singularity a game changing development for computational science.

Singularity: Scientific containers for mobility of compute

PubMed Central

Kurtzer, Gregory M.; Bauer, Michael W.

2017-01-01

Here we present Singularity, software developed to bring containers and reproducibility to scientific computing. Using Singularity containers, developers can work in reproducible environments of their choosing and design, and these complete environments can easily be copied and executed on other platforms. Singularity is an open source initiative that harnesses the expertise of system and software engineers and researchers alike, and integrates seamlessly into common workflows for both of these groups. As its primary use case, Singularity brings mobility of computing to both users and HPC centers, providing a secure means to capture and distribute software and compute environments. This ability to create and deploy reproducible environments across these centers, a previously unmet need, makes Singularity a game changing development for computational science. PMID:28494014

SCA Waveform Development for Space Telemetry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mortensen, Dale J.; Kifle, Multi; Hall, C. Steve; Quinn, Todd M.

2004-01-01

The NASA Glenn Research Center is investigating and developing suitable reconfigurable radio architectures for future NASA missions. This effort is examining software-based open-architectures for space based transceivers, as well as common hardware platform architectures. The Joint Tactical Radio System's (JTRS) Software Communications Architecture (SCA) is a candidate for the software approach, but may need modifications or adaptations for use in space. An in-house SCA compliant waveform development focuses on increasing understanding of software defined radio architectures and more specifically the JTRS SCA. Space requirements put a premium on size, mass, and power. This waveform development effort is key to evaluating tradeoffs with the SCA for space applications. Existing NASA telemetry links, as well as Space Exploration Initiative scenarios, are the basis for defining the waveform requirements. Modeling and simulations are being developed to determine signal processing requirements associated with a waveform and a mission-specific computational burden. Implementation of the waveform on a laboratory software defined radio platform is proceeding in an iterative fashion. Parallel top-down and bottom-up design approaches are employed.

Programmable Logic Device (PLD) Design Description for the Integrated Power, Avionics, and Software (iPAS) Space Telecommunications Radio System (STRS) Radio

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shalkhauser, Mary Jo W.

2017-01-01

The Space Telecommunications Radio System (STRS) provides a common, consistent framework for software defined radios (SDRs) to abstract the application software from the radio platform hardware. The STRS standard aims to reduce the cost and risk of using complex, configurable and reprogrammable radio systems across NASA missions. To promote the use of the STRS architecture for future NASA advanced exploration missions, NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) developed an STRS compliant SDR on a radio platform used by the Advance Exploration System program at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in their Integrated Power, Avionics, and Software (iPAS) laboratory. At the conclusion of the development, the software and hardware description language (HDL) code was delivered to JSC for their use in their iPAS test bed to get hands-on experience with the STRS standard, and for development of their own STRS Waveforms on the now STRS compliant platform.The iPAS STRS Radio was implemented on the Reconfigurable, Intelligently-Adaptive Communication System (RIACS) platform, currently being used for radio development at JSC. The platform consists of a Xilinx ML605 Virtex-6 FPGA board, an Analog Devices FMCOMMS1-EBZ RF transceiver board, and an Embedded PC (Axiomtek eBox 620-110-FL) running the Ubuntu 12.4 operating system. Figure 1 shows the RIACS platform hardware. The result of this development is a very low cost STRS compliant platform that can be used for waveform developments for multiple applications.The purpose of this document is to describe the design of the HDL code for the FPGA portion of the iPAS STRS Radio particularly the design of the FPGA wrapper and the test waveform.

Future Standardization of Space Telecommunications Radio System with Core Flight System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hickey, Joseph P.; Briones, Janette C.; Roche, Rigoberto; Handler, Louis M.; Hall, Steven

2016-01-01

NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) is integrating the NASA Space Telecommunications Radio System (STRS) Standard with the Core Flight System (cFS). The STRS standard provides a common, consistent framework to develop, qualify, operate and maintain complex, reconfigurable and reprogrammable radio systems. The cFS is a flexible, open architecture that features a plug-and-play software executive called the Core Flight Executive (cFE), a reusable library of software components for flight and space missions and an integrated tool suite. Together, STRS and cFS create a development environment that allows for STRS compliant applications to reference the STRS APIs through the cFS infrastructure. These APis are used to standardize the communication protocols on NASAs space SDRs. The cFE-STRS Operating Environment (OE) is a portable cFS library, which adds the ability to run STRS applications on existing cFS platforms. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the cFE-STRS OE prototype, preliminary experimental results performed using the Advanced Space Radio Platform (ASRP), the GRC Sband Ground Station and the SCaN (Space Communication and Navigation) Testbed currently flying onboard the International Space Station. Additionally, this paper presents a demonstration of the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) Spacecraft Onboard Interface Services (SOIS) using electronic data sheets inside cFE. This configuration allows for the data sheets to specify binary formats for data exchange between STRS applications. The integration of STRS with cFS leverages mission-proven platform functions and mitigates barriers to integration with future missions. This reduces flight software development time and the costs of software-defined radio (SDR) platforms. Furthermore, the combined benefits of STRS standardization with the flexibility of cFS provide an effective, reliable and modular framework to minimize software development efforts for spaceflight missions.

Fault Management Architectures and the Challenges of Providing Software Assurance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Savarino, Shirley; Fitz, Rhonda; Fesq, Lorraine; Whitman, Gerek

2015-01-01

The satellite systems Fault Management (FM) is focused on safety, the preservation of assets, and maintaining the desired functionality of the system. How FM is implemented varies among missions. Common to most is system complexity due to a need to establish a multi-dimensional structure across hardware, software and operations. This structure is necessary to identify and respond to system faults, mitigate technical risks and ensure operational continuity. These architecture, implementation and software assurance efforts increase with mission complexity. Because FM is a systems engineering discipline with a distributed implementation, providing efficient and effective verification and validation (VV) is challenging. A breakout session at the 2012 NASA Independent Verification Validation (IVV) Annual Workshop titled VV of Fault Management: Challenges and Successes exposed these issues in terms of VV for a representative set of architectures. NASA's IVV is funded by NASA's Software Assurance Research Program (SARP) in partnership with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to extend the work performed at the Workshop session. NASA IVV will extract FM architectures across the IVV portfolio and evaluate the data set for robustness, assess visibility for validation and test, and define software assurance methods that could be applied to the various architectures and designs. This work focuses efforts on FM architectures from critical and complex projects within NASA. The identification of particular FM architectures, visibility, and associated VVIVV techniques provides a data set that can enable higher assurance that a satellite system will adequately detect and respond to adverse conditions. Ultimately, results from this activity will be incorporated into the NASA Fault Management Handbook providing dissemination across NASA, other agencies and the satellite community. This paper discusses the approach taken to perform the evaluations and preliminary findings from the research including identification of FM architectures, visibility observations, and methods utilized for VVIVV.

Department of Defense Computer Technology. A Report to Congress.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-08-01

system and evolves his employment tactics. (8) Lack of adequate competition. Conclusions Based on both software and hardware arguments, it is...environments, Services should be encouraged to use either common-commercial, ruggedized-commercial or "off-the-shelf" militarized computers based upon...the performance requirements of the specific application. Full consideration should be given to Ada- based systems where there is no strict hardware

Wind Turbine Blade CAD Models Used as Scaffolding Technique to Teach Design Engineers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Irwin, John

2013-01-01

The Siemens PLM CAD software NX is commonly used for designing mechanical systems, and in complex systems such as the emerging area of wind power, the ability to have a model controlled by design parameters is a certain advantage. Formula driven expressions based on the amount of available wind in an area can drive the amount of effective surface…

Understanding software faults and their role in software reliability modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Munson, John C.

1994-01-01

This study is a direct result of an on-going project to model the reliability of a large real-time control avionics system. In previous modeling efforts with this system, hardware reliability models were applied in modeling the reliability behavior of this system. In an attempt to enhance the performance of the adapted reliability models, certain software attributes were introduced in these models to control for differences between programs and also sequential executions of the same program. As the basic nature of the software attributes that affect software reliability become better understood in the modeling process, this information begins to have important implications on the software development process. A significant problem arises when raw attribute measures are to be used in statistical models as predictors, for example, of measures of software quality. This is because many of the metrics are highly correlated. Consider the two attributes: lines of code, LOC, and number of program statements, Stmts. In this case, it is quite obvious that a program with a high value of LOC probably will also have a relatively high value of Stmts. In the case of low level languages, such as assembly language programs, there might be a one-to-one relationship between the statement count and the lines of code. When there is a complete absence of linear relationship among the metrics, they are said to be orthogonal or uncorrelated. Usually the lack of orthogonality is not serious enough to affect a statistical analysis. However, for the purposes of some statistical analysis such as multiple regression, the software metrics are so strongly interrelated that the regression results may be ambiguous and possibly even misleading. Typically, it is difficult to estimate the unique effects of individual software metrics in the regression equation. The estimated values of the coefficients are very sensitive to slight changes in the data and to the addition or deletion of variables in the regression equation. Since most of the existing metrics have common elements and are linear combinations of these common elements, it seems reasonable to investigate the structure of the underlying common factors or components that make up the raw metrics. The technique we have chosen to use to explore this structure is a procedure called principal components analysis. Principal components analysis is a decomposition technique that may be used to detect and analyze collinearity in software metrics. When confronted with a large number of metrics measuring a single construct, it may be desirable to represent the set by some smaller number of variables that convey all, or most, of the information in the original set. Principal components are linear transformations of a set of random variables that summarize the information contained in the variables. The transformations are chosen so that the first component accounts for the maximal amount of variation of the measures of any possible linear transform; the second component accounts for the maximal amount of residual variation; and so on. The principal components are constructed so that they represent transformed scores on dimensions that are orthogonal. Through the use of principal components analysis, it is possible to have a set of highly related software attributes mapped into a small number of uncorrelated attribute domains. This definitively solves the problem of multi-collinearity in subsequent regression analysis. There are many software metrics in the literature, but principal component analysis reveals that there are few distinct sources of variation, i.e. dimensions, in this set of metrics. It would appear perfectly reasonable to characterize the measurable attributes of a program with a simple function of a small number of orthogonal metrics each of which represents a distinct software attribute domain.

A Semi-Automatic Approach to Construct Vietnamese Ontology from Online Text

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nguyen, Bao-An; Yang, Don-Lin

2012-01-01

An ontology is an effective formal representation of knowledge used commonly in artificial intelligence, semantic web, software engineering, and information retrieval. In open and distance learning, ontologies are used as knowledge bases for e-learning supplements, educational recommenders, and question answering systems that support students with…

Management Strategies for Personal Files: The Berkeley Seminar.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wanat, Camille

1985-01-01

Discusses the fundamental importance of reprint collections maintained by researchers, typical methods used in their organization, basic principles and common goals for personal document systems, and an instructional program predicated on the growth and change of these collections. A selective list of software for reprint management is appended.…

Facilitating Internet-Scale Code Retrieval

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bajracharya, Sushil Krishna

2010-01-01

Internet-Scale code retrieval deals with the representation, storage, and access of relevant source code from a large amount of source code available on the Internet. Internet-Scale code retrieval systems support common emerging practices among software developers related to finding and reusing source code. In this dissertation we focus on some…

The World-Wide Web and Mosaic: An Overview for Librarians.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morgan, Eric Lease

1994-01-01

Provides an overview of the Internet's World-Wide Web (Web), a hypertext system. Highlights include the client/server model; Uniform Resource Locator; examples of software; Web servers versus Gopher servers; HyperText Markup Language (HTML); converting files; Common Gateway Interface; organizing Web information; and the role of librarians in…

A Template-Based Short Course Concept on Android Application Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Akopian, David; Melkonyan, Arsen; Golgani, Santosh C.; Yuen, Timothy T.; Saygin, Can

2013-01-01

Smartphones are a common accessory to provide rich user experience due to superior memory, advanced software-hardware support, fast processing, and multimedia capabilities. Responding to this trend, advanced engineering systems tend to integrate mobile devices with their solutions to facilitate usability. With many young students showing interest…

From WSN towards WoT: Open API Scheme Based on oneM2M Platforms.

PubMed

Kim, Jaeho; Choi, Sung-Chan; Ahn, Il-Yeup; Sung, Nak-Myoung; Yun, Jaeseok

2016-10-06

Conventional computing systems have been able to be integrated into daily objects and connected to each other due to advances in computing and network technologies, such as wireless sensor networks (WSNs), forming a global network infrastructure, called the Internet of Things (IoT). To support the interconnection and interoperability between heterogeneous IoT systems, the availability of standardized, open application programming interfaces (APIs) is one of the key features of common software platforms for IoT devices, gateways, and servers. In this paper, we present a standardized way of extending previously-existing WSNs towards IoT systems, building the world of the Web of Things (WoT). Based on the oneM2M software platforms developed in the previous project, we introduce a well-designed open API scheme and device-specific thing adaptation software (TAS) enabling WSN elements, such as a wireless sensor node, to be accessed in a standardized way on a global scale. Three pilot services are implemented (i.e., a WiFi-enabled smart flowerpot, voice-based control for ZigBee-connected home appliances, and WiFi-connected AR.Drone control) to demonstrate the practical usability of the open API scheme and TAS modules. Full details on the method of integrating WSN elements into three example systems are described at the programming code level, which is expected to help future researchers in integrating their WSN systems in IoT platforms, such as oneM2M. We hope that the flexibly-deployable, easily-reusable common open API scheme and TAS-based integration method working with the oneM2M platforms will help the conventional WSNs in diverse industries evolve into the emerging WoT solutions.

Analysis of clinical decision support system malfunctions: a case series and survey.

PubMed

Wright, Adam; Hickman, Thu-Trang T; McEvoy, Dustin; Aaron, Skye; Ai, Angela; Andersen, Jan Marie; Hussain, Salman; Ramoni, Rachel; Fiskio, Julie; Sittig, Dean F; Bates, David W

2016-11-01

To illustrate ways in which clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) malfunction and identify patterns of such malfunctions. We identified and investigated several CDSS malfunctions at Brigham and Women's Hospital and present them as a case series. We also conducted a preliminary survey of Chief Medical Information Officers to assess the frequency of such malfunctions. We identified four CDSS malfunctions at Brigham and Women's Hospital: (1) an alert for monitoring thyroid function in patients receiving amiodarone stopped working when an internal identifier for amiodarone was changed in another system; (2) an alert for lead screening for children stopped working when the rule was inadvertently edited; (3) a software upgrade of the electronic health record software caused numerous spurious alerts to fire; and (4) a malfunction in an external drug classification system caused an alert to inappropriately suggest antiplatelet drugs, such as aspirin, for patients already taking one. We found that 93% of the Chief Medical Information Officers who responded to our survey had experienced at least one CDSS malfunction, and two-thirds experienced malfunctions at least annually. CDSS malfunctions are widespread and often persist for long periods. The failure of alerts to fire is particularly difficult to detect. A range of causes, including changes in codes and fields, software upgrades, inadvertent disabling or editing of rules, and malfunctions of external systems commonly contribute to CDSS malfunctions, and current approaches for preventing and detecting such malfunctions are inadequate. CDSS malfunctions occur commonly and often go undetected. Better methods are needed to prevent and detect these malfunctions. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association.

From WSN towards WoT: Open API Scheme Based on oneM2M Platforms

PubMed Central

Kim, Jaeho; Choi, Sung-Chan; Ahn, Il-Yeup; Sung, Nak-Myoung; Yun, Jaeseok

2016-01-01

Conventional computing systems have been able to be integrated into daily objects and connected to each other due to advances in computing and network technologies, such as wireless sensor networks (WSNs), forming a global network infrastructure, called the Internet of Things (IoT). To support the interconnection and interoperability between heterogeneous IoT systems, the availability of standardized, open application programming interfaces (APIs) is one of the key features of common software platforms for IoT devices, gateways, and servers. In this paper, we present a standardized way of extending previously-existing WSNs towards IoT systems, building the world of the Web of Things (WoT). Based on the oneM2M software platforms developed in the previous project, we introduce a well-designed open API scheme and device-specific thing adaptation software (TAS) enabling WSN elements, such as a wireless sensor node, to be accessed in a standardized way on a global scale. Three pilot services are implemented (i.e., a WiFi-enabled smart flowerpot, voice-based control for ZigBee-connected home appliances, and WiFi-connected AR.Drone control) to demonstrate the practical usability of the open API scheme and TAS modules. Full details on the method of integrating WSN elements into three example systems are described at the programming code level, which is expected to help future researchers in integrating their WSN systems in IoT platforms, such as oneM2M. We hope that the flexibly-deployable, easily-reusable common open API scheme and TAS-based integration method working with the oneM2M platforms will help the conventional WSNs in diverse industries evolve into the emerging WoT solutions. PMID:27782058

Automating Risk Analysis of Software Design Models

PubMed Central

Ruiz, Guifré; Heymann, Elisa; César, Eduardo; Miller, Barton P.

2014-01-01

The growth of the internet and networked systems has exposed software to an increased amount of security threats. One of the responses from software developers to these threats is the introduction of security activities in the software development lifecycle. This paper describes an approach to reduce the need for costly human expertise to perform risk analysis in software, which is common in secure development methodologies, by automating threat modeling. Reducing the dependency on security experts aims at reducing the cost of secure development by allowing non-security-aware developers to apply secure development with little to no additional cost, making secure development more accessible. To automate threat modeling two data structures are introduced, identification trees and mitigation trees, to identify threats in software designs and advise mitigation techniques, while taking into account specification requirements and cost concerns. These are the components of our model for automated threat modeling, AutSEC. We validated AutSEC by implementing it in a tool based on data flow diagrams, from the Microsoft security development methodology, and applying it to VOMS, a grid middleware component, to evaluate our model's performance. PMID:25136688

Automating risk analysis of software design models.

PubMed

Frydman, Maxime; Ruiz, Guifré; Heymann, Elisa; César, Eduardo; Miller, Barton P

2014-01-01

The growth of the internet and networked systems has exposed software to an increased amount of security threats. One of the responses from software developers to these threats is the introduction of security activities in the software development lifecycle. This paper describes an approach to reduce the need for costly human expertise to perform risk analysis in software, which is common in secure development methodologies, by automating threat modeling. Reducing the dependency on security experts aims at reducing the cost of secure development by allowing non-security-aware developers to apply secure development with little to no additional cost, making secure development more accessible. To automate threat modeling two data structures are introduced, identification trees and mitigation trees, to identify threats in software designs and advise mitigation techniques, while taking into account specification requirements and cost concerns. These are the components of our model for automated threat modeling, AutSEC. We validated AutSEC by implementing it in a tool based on data flow diagrams, from the Microsoft security development methodology, and applying it to VOMS, a grid middleware component, to evaluate our model's performance.

Common Ada Missile Packages. Phase 2. (CAMP-2). Volume 2. 11th Missile Demonstration

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-11-01

report describes the work performed, Ihe results obtained, and the conclusions reached during the Common Ada Missile Packages Phase-2 (CAMP-2) contract ... contract was performed between Sep- tember 1985. and March 1988. The MDAC-STL CAMP program manager was: Dr. Daniel G. McNicholl Technology Branch...j DEC Code Management System X X Software Development Files x x Development Status Database x ! X i Smart Cade Counter X j

GIS-Based Noise Simulation Open Source Software: N-GNOIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vijay, Ritesh; Sharma, A.; Kumar, M.; Shende, V.; Chakrabarti, T.; Gupta, Rajesh

2015-12-01

Geographical information system (GIS)-based noise simulation software (N-GNOIS) has been developed to simulate the noise scenario due to point and mobile sources considering the impact of geographical features and meteorological parameters. These have been addressed in the software through attenuation modules of atmosphere, vegetation and barrier. N-GNOIS is a user friendly, platform-independent and open geospatial consortia (OGC) compliant software. It has been developed using open source technology (QGIS) and open source language (Python). N-GNOIS has unique features like cumulative impact of point and mobile sources, building structure and honking due to traffic. Honking is the most common phenomenon in developing countries and is frequently observed on any type of roads. N-GNOIS also helps in designing physical barrier and vegetation cover to check the propagation of noise and acts as a decision making tool for planning and management of noise component in environmental impact assessment (EIA) studies.

Sensor Open System Architecture (SOSA) evolution for collaborative standards development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Collier, Charles Patrick; Lipkin, Ilya; Davidson, Steven A.; Baldwin, Rusty; Orlovsky, Michael C.; Ibrahim, Tim

2017-04-01

The Sensor Open System Architecture (SOSA) is a C4ISR-focused technical and economic collaborative effort between the Air Force, Navy, Army, the Department of Defense (DoD), Industry, and other Governmental agencies to develop (and incorporate) a technical Open Systems Architecture standard in order to maximize C4ISR sub-system, system, and platform affordability, re-configurability, and hardware/software/firmware re-use. The SOSA effort will effectively create an operational and technical framework for the integration of disparate payloads into C4ISR systems; with a focus on the development of a modular decomposition (defining functions and behaviors) and associated key interfaces (physical and logical) for common multi-purpose architecture for radar, EO/IR, SIGINT, EW, and Communications. SOSA addresses hardware, software, and mechanical/electrical interfaces. The modular decomposition will produce a set of re-useable components, interfaces, and sub-systems that engender reusable capabilities. This, in effect, creates a realistic and affordable ecosystem enabling mission effectiveness through systematic re-use of all available re-composed hardware, software, and electrical/mechanical base components and interfaces. To this end, SOSA will leverage existing standards as much as possible and evolve the SOSA architecture through modification, reuse, and enhancements to achieve C4ISR goals. This paper will present accomplishments over the first year of SOSA initiative.

Future Standardization of Space Telecommunications Radio System with Core Flight System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Briones, Janette C.; Hickey, Joseph P.; Roche, Rigoberto; Handler, Louis M.; Hall, Charles S.

2016-01-01

NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) is integrating the NASA Space Telecommunications Radio System (STRS) Standard with the Core Flight System (cFS), an avionics software operating environment. The STRS standard provides a common, consistent framework to develop, qualify, operate and maintain complex, reconfigurable and reprogrammable radio systems. The cFS is a flexible, open architecture that features a plugand- play software executive called the Core Flight Executive (cFE), a reusable library of software components for flight and space missions and an integrated tool suite. Together, STRS and cFS create a development environment that allows for STRS compliant applications to reference the STRS application programmer interfaces (APIs) that use the cFS infrastructure. These APIs are used to standardize the communication protocols on NASAs space SDRs. The cFS-STRS Operating Environment (OE) is a portable cFS library, which adds the ability to run STRS applications on existing cFS platforms. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the cFS-STRS OE prototype, preliminary experimental results performed using the Advanced Space Radio Platform (ASRP), the GRC S- band Ground Station and the SCaN (Space Communication and Navigation) Testbed currently flying onboard the International Space Station (ISS). Additionally, this paper presents a demonstration of the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) Spacecraft Onboard Interface Services (SOIS) using electronic data sheets (EDS) inside cFE. This configuration allows for the data sheets to specify binary formats for data exchange between STRS applications. The integration of STRS with cFS leverages mission-proven platform functions and mitigates barriers to integration with future missions. This reduces flight software development time and the costs of software-defined radio (SDR) platforms. Furthermore, the combined benefits of STRS standardization with the flexibility of cFS provide an effective, reliable and modular framework to minimize software development efforts for spaceflight missions.

Model development, testing and experimentation in a CyberWorkstation for Brain-Machine Interface research.

PubMed

Rattanatamrong, Prapaporn; Matsunaga, Andrea; Raiturkar, Pooja; Mesa, Diego; Zhao, Ming; Mahmoudi, Babak; Digiovanna, Jack; Principe, Jose; Figueiredo, Renato; Sanchez, Justin; Fortes, Jose

2010-01-01

The CyberWorkstation (CW) is an advanced cyber-infrastructure for Brain-Machine Interface (BMI) research. It allows the development, configuration and execution of BMI computational models using high-performance computing resources. The CW's concept is implemented using a software structure in which an "experiment engine" is used to coordinate all software modules needed to capture, communicate and process brain signals and motor-control commands. A generic BMI-model template, which specifies a common interface to the CW's experiment engine, and a common communication protocol enable easy addition, removal or replacement of models without disrupting system operation. This paper reviews the essential components of the CW and shows how templates can facilitate the processes of BMI model development, testing and incorporation into the CW. It also discusses the ongoing work towards making this process infrastructure independent.

ANSYS UIDL-Based CAE Development of Axial Support System for Optical Mirror

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, De-Hua; Shao, Liang

2008-09-01

The Whiffle-tree type axial support mechanism is widely adopted by most relatively large optical mirrors. Based on the secondary developing tools offered by the commonly used Finite Element Anylysis (FEA) software ANSYS, ANSYS Parametric Design Language (APDL) is used for creating the mirror FEA model driven by parameters, and ANSYS User Interface Design Language (UIDL) for generating custom menu of interactive manner, whereby, the relatively independent dedicated Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) module is embedded in ANSYS for calculation and optimization of axial Whiffle-tree support of optical mirrors. An example is also described to illustrate the intuitive and effective usage of the dedicated module by boosting work efficiency and releasing related engineering knowledge of user. The philosophy of secondary-developed special module with commonly used software also suggests itself for product development in other industries.

Equipment issues regarding the collection of video data for research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kung, Rebecca Lippmann; Kung, Peter; Linder, Cedric

2005-12-01

Physics education research increasingly makes use of video data for analysis of student learning and teaching practice. Collection of these data is conceptually simple but execution is often fraught with costly and time-consuming complications. This pragmatic paper discusses the development of systems to record and permanently archive audio and video data in real-time. We focus on a system based upon consumer video DVD recorders, but also give an overview of other technologies and detail issues common to all systems. We detail common yet unexpected complications, particularly with regard to sound quality and compatibility with transcription software. Information specific to fixed and transportable systems, other technology options, and generic and specific equipment recommendations are given in supplemental appendices

Ground and Space Radar Volume Matching and Comparison Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris, Kenneth; Schwaller, Mathew

2010-01-01

This software enables easy comparison of ground- and space-based radar observations. The software was initially designed to compare ground radar reflectivity from operational, ground based Sand C-band meteorological radars with comparable measurements from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite s Precipitation Radar (PR) instrument. The software is also applicable to other ground-based and space-based radars. The ground and space radar volume matching and comparison software was developed in response to requirements defined by the Ground Validation System (GVS) of Goddard s Global Precipitation Mission (GPM) project. This software innovation is specifically concerned with simplifying the comparison of ground- and spacebased radar measurements for the purpose of GPM algorithm and data product validation. This software is unique in that it provides an operational environment to routinely create comparison products, and uses a direct geometric approach to derive common volumes of space- and ground-based radar data. In this approach, spatially coincident volumes are defined by the intersection of individual space-based Precipitation Radar rays with the each of the conical elevation sweeps of the ground radar. Thus, the resampled volume elements of the space and ground radar reflectivity can be directly compared to one another.

Intranets: virtual procedure manuals for the pathology lab.

PubMed

Ruby, S G; Krempel, G

1998-08-01

A novel system exists for replacing standard written operation manuals using a computerized PC-based peer-to-peer network. The system design is based on commonly available hardware and software and utilizes existing equipment to minimize implementation expense. The system is relatively easy to implement and maintain, involves minimal training, and should quickly become a financial asset. In addition, such a system can improve access to laboratory procedure manuals so that resources can be better used on a daily basis.

MISSION: Mission and Safety Critical Support Environment. Executive overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mckay, Charles; Atkinson, Colin

1992-01-01

For mission and safety critical systems it is necessary to: improve definition, evolution and sustenance techniques; lower development and maintenance costs; support safe, timely and affordable system modifications; and support fault tolerance and survivability. The goal of the MISSION project is to lay the foundation for a new generation of integrated systems software providing a unified infrastructure for mission and safety critical applications and systems. This will involve the definition of a common, modular target architecture and a supporting infrastructure.

Comparison of Numerical Analyses with a Static Load Test of a Continuous Flight Auger Pile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoľko, Michal; Stacho, Jakub

2014-12-01

The article deals with numerical analyses of a Continuous Flight Auger (CFA) pile. The analyses include a comparison of calculated and measured load-settlement curves as well as a comparison of the load distribution over a pile's length. The numerical analyses were executed using two types of software, i.e., Ansys and Plaxis, which are based on FEM calculations. Both types of software are different from each other in the way they create numerical models, model the interface between the pile and soil, and use constitutive material models. The analyses have been prepared in the form of a parametric study, where the method of modelling the interface and the material models of the soil are compared and analysed. Our analyses show that both types of software permit the modelling of pile foundations. The Plaxis software uses advanced material models as well as the modelling of the impact of groundwater or overconsolidation. The load-settlement curve calculated using Plaxis is equal to the results of a static load test with a more than 95 % degree of accuracy. In comparison, the load-settlement curve calculated using Ansys allows for the obtaining of only an approximate estimate, but the software allows for the common modelling of large structure systems together with a foundation system.

Electrophoresis gel image processing and analysis using the KODAK 1D software.

PubMed

Pizzonia, J

2001-06-01

The present article reports on the performance of the KODAK 1D Image Analysis Software for the acquisition of information from electrophoresis experiments and highlights the utility of several mathematical functions for subsequent image processing, analysis, and presentation. Digital images of Coomassie-stained polyacrylamide protein gels containing molecular weight standards and ethidium bromide stained agarose gels containing DNA mass standards are acquired using the KODAK Electrophoresis Documentation and Analysis System 290 (EDAS 290). The KODAK 1D software is used to optimize lane and band identification using features such as isomolecular weight lines. Mathematical functions for mass standard representation are presented, and two methods for estimation of unknown band mass are compared. Given the progressive transition of electrophoresis data acquisition and daily reporting in peer-reviewed journals to digital formats ranging from 8-bit systems such as EDAS 290 to more expensive 16-bit systems, the utility of algorithms such as Gaussian modeling, which can correct geometric aberrations such as clipping due to signal saturation common at lower bit depth levels, is discussed. Finally, image-processing tools that can facilitate image preparation for presentation are demonstrated.

Quick Fix for Managing Risks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

Under a Phase II SBIR contract, Kennedy and Lumina Decision Systems, Inc., jointly developed the Schedule and Cost Risk Analysis Modeling (SCRAM) system, based on a version of Lumina's flagship software product, Analytica(R). Acclaimed as "the best single decision-analysis program yet produced" by MacWorld magazine, Analytica is a "visual" tool used in decision-making environments worldwide to build, revise, and present business models, minus the time-consuming difficulty commonly associated with spreadsheets. With Analytica as their platform, Kennedy and Lumina created the SCRAM system in response to NASA's need to identify the importance of major delays in Shuttle ground processing, a critical function in project management and process improvement. As part of the SCRAM development project, Lumina designed a version of Analytica called the Analytica Design Engine (ADE) that can be easily incorporated into larger software systems. ADE was commercialized and utilized in many other developments, including web-based decision support.

Photovoltaic performance models: an evaluation with actual field data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

TamizhMani, Govindasamy; Ishioye, John-Paul; Voropayev, Arseniy; Kang, Yi

2008-08-01

Prediction of energy production is crucial to the design and installation of the building integrated photovoltaic systems. This prediction should be attainable based on the commonly available parameters such as system size, orientation and tilt angle. Several commercially available as well as free downloadable software tools exist to predict energy production. Six software models have been evaluated in this study and they are: PV Watts, PVsyst, MAUI, Clean Power Estimator, Solar Advisor Model (SAM) and RETScreen. This evaluation has been done by comparing the monthly, seasonaly and annually predicted data with the actual, field data obtained over a year period on a large number of residential PV systems ranging between 2 and 3 kWdc. All the systems are located in Arizona, within the Phoenix metropolitan area which lies at latitude 33° North, and longitude 112 West, and are all connected to the electrical grid.

Architecture for autonomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Broten, Gregory S.; Monckton, Simon P.; Collier, Jack; Giesbrecht, Jared

2006-05-01

In 2002 Defence R&D Canada changed research direction from pure tele-operated land vehicles to general autonomy for land, air, and sea craft. The unique constraints of the military environment coupled with the complexity of autonomous systems drove DRDC to carefully plan a research and development infrastructure that would provide state of the art tools without restricting research scope. DRDC's long term objectives for its autonomy program address disparate unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), unattended ground sensor (UGS), air (UAV), and subsea and surface (UUV and USV) vehicles operating together with minimal human oversight. Individually, these systems will range in complexity from simple reconnaissance mini-UAVs streaming video to sophisticated autonomous combat UGVs exploiting embedded and remote sensing. Together, these systems can provide low risk, long endurance, battlefield services assuming they can communicate and cooperate with manned and unmanned systems. A key enabling technology for this new research is a software architecture capable of meeting both DRDC's current and future requirements. DRDC built upon recent advances in the computing science field while developing its software architecture know as the Architecture for Autonomy (AFA). Although a well established practice in computing science, frameworks have only recently entered common use by unmanned vehicles. For industry and government, the complexity, cost, and time to re-implement stable systems often exceeds the perceived benefits of adopting a modern software infrastructure. Thus, most persevere with legacy software, adapting and modifying software when and wherever possible or necessary -- adopting strategic software frameworks only when no justifiable legacy exists. Conversely, academic programs with short one or two year projects frequently exploit strategic software frameworks but with little enduring impact. The open-source movement radically changes this picture. Academic frameworks, open to public scrutiny and modification, now rival commercial frameworks in both quality and economic impact. Further, industry now realizes that open source frameworks can reduce cost and risk of systems engineering. This paper describes the Architecture for Autonomy implemented by DRDC and how this architecture meets DRDC's current needs. It also presents an argument for why this architecture should also satisfy DRDC's future requirements as well.

Detection of endoscopic looping during colonoscopy procedure by using embedded bending sensors

PubMed Central

Bruce, Michael; Choi, JungHun

2018-01-01

Background Looping of the colonoscope shaft during procedure is one of the most common obstacles encountered by colonoscopists. It occurs in 91% of cases with the N-sigmoid loop being the most common, occurring in 79% of cases. Purpose Herein, a novel system is developed that will give a complete three-dimensional (3D) vector image of the shaft as it passes through the colon, to aid the colonoscopist in detecting loops before they form. Patients and methods A series of connected links spans the middle 50% of the shaft, where loops are likely to form. Two potentiometers are attached at each joint to measure angular deflection in two directions to allow for 3D positioning. This 3D positioning is converted into a 3D vector image using computer software. MATLAB software has been used to display the image on a computer monitor. For the different configuration of the colon model, the system determined the looping status. Results Different configurations (N loop, reverse gamma loop, and reverse splenic flexure) of the loops were well defined using 3D vector image. Conclusion The novel sensory system can accurately define the various configuration of the colon during the colonoscopy procedure. PMID:29849469

The Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML): Language Specification for Level 3 Version 2 Core.

PubMed

Hucka, Michael; Bergmann, Frank T; Dräger, Andreas; Hoops, Stefan; Keating, Sarah M; Le Novère, Nicolas; Myers, Chris J; Olivier, Brett G; Sahle, Sven; Schaff, James C; Smith, Lucian P; Waltemath, Dagmar; Wilkinson, Darren J

2018-03-09

Computational models can help researchers to interpret data, understand biological functions, and make quantitative predictions. The Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) is a file format for representing computational models in a declarative form that different software systems can exchange. SBML is oriented towards describing biological processes of the sort common in research on a number of topics, including metabolic pathways, cell signaling pathways, and many others. By supporting SBML as an input/output format, different tools can all operate on an identical representation of a model, removing opportunities for translation errors and assuring a common starting point for analyses and simulations. This document provides the specification for Version 2 of SBML Level 3 Core. The specification defines the data structures prescribed by SBML, their encoding in XML (the eXtensible Markup Language), validation rules that determine the validity of an SBML document, and examples of models in SBML form. The design of Version 2 differs from Version 1 principally in allowing new MathML constructs, making more child elements optional, and adding identifiers to all SBML elements instead of only selected elements. Other materials and software are available from the SBML project website at http://sbml.org/.

Computer-Aided Sensor Development Focused on Security Issues.

PubMed

Bialas, Andrzej

2016-05-26

The paper examines intelligent sensor and sensor system development according to the Common Criteria methodology, which is the basic security assurance methodology for IT products and systems. The paper presents how the development process can be supported by software tools, design patterns and knowledge engineering. The automation of this process brings cost-, quality-, and time-related advantages, because the most difficult and most laborious activities are software-supported and the design reusability is growing. The paper includes a short introduction to the Common Criteria methodology and its sensor-related applications. In the experimental section the computer-supported and patterns-based IT security development process is presented using the example of an intelligent methane detection sensor. This process is supported by an ontology-based tool for security modeling and analyses. The verified and justified models are transferred straight to the security target specification representing security requirements for the IT product. The novelty of the paper is to provide a patterns-based and computer-aided methodology for the sensors development with a view to achieving their IT security assurance. The paper summarizes the validation experiment focused on this methodology adapted for the sensors system development, and presents directions of future research.

Computer-Aided Sensor Development Focused on Security Issues

PubMed Central

Bialas, Andrzej

2016-01-01

The paper examines intelligent sensor and sensor system development according to the Common Criteria methodology, which is the basic security assurance methodology for IT products and systems. The paper presents how the development process can be supported by software tools, design patterns and knowledge engineering. The automation of this process brings cost-, quality-, and time-related advantages, because the most difficult and most laborious activities are software-supported and the design reusability is growing. The paper includes a short introduction to the Common Criteria methodology and its sensor-related applications. In the experimental section the computer-supported and patterns-based IT security development process is presented using the example of an intelligent methane detection sensor. This process is supported by an ontology-based tool for security modeling and analyses. The verified and justified models are transferred straight to the security target specification representing security requirements for the IT product. The novelty of the paper is to provide a patterns-based and computer-aided methodology for the sensors development with a view to achieving their IT security assurance. The paper summarizes the validation experiment focused on this methodology adapted for the sensors system development, and presents directions of future research. PMID:27240360

Microcomputer data acquisition and control.

PubMed

East, T D

1986-01-01

In medicine and biology there are many tasks that involve routine well defined procedures. These tasks are ideal candidates for computerized data acquisition and control. As the performance of microcomputers rapidly increases and cost continues to go down the temptation to automate the laboratory becomes great. To the novice computer user the choices of hardware and software are overwhelming and sadly most of the computer sales persons are not at all familiar with real-time applications. If you want to bill your patients you have hundreds of packaged systems to choose from; however, if you want to do real-time data acquisition the choices are very limited and confusing. The purpose of this chapter is to provide the novice computer user with the basics needed to set up a real-time data acquisition system with the common microcomputers. This chapter will cover the following issues necessary to establish a real time data acquisition and control system: Analysis of the research problem: Definition of the problem; Description of data and sampling requirements; Cost/benefit analysis. Choice of Microcomputer hardware and software: Choice of microprocessor and bus structure; Choice of operating system; Choice of layered software. Digital Data Acquisition: Parallel Data Transmission; Serial Data Transmission; Hardware and software available. Analog Data Acquisition: Description of amplitude and frequency characteristics of the input signals; Sampling theorem; Specification of the analog to digital converter; Hardware and software available; Interface to the microcomputer. Microcomputer Control: Analog output; Digital output; Closed-Loop Control. Microcomputer data acquisition and control in the 21st Century--What is in the future? High speed digital medical equipment networks; Medical decision making and artificial intelligence.

Common software and interface for different helmet-mounted display (HMD) aircraft symbology sets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mulholland, Fred F.

2000-06-01

Different aircraft in different services and countries have their own set of symbology they want displayed on their HMD. Even as flight symbolgy is standardized, there will still be some differences for types of aircraft, different weapons, different sensors, and different countries. As an HMD supplier, we want to provide a system that can be used across all these applications with no changes in the system, including no changes in the software. This HMD system must also provide the flexibility to accommodate new symbology as it is developed over the years, again, with no change in the HMD software. VSI has developed their HMD software to accommodate F-15, F- 16, F-18, and F-22 symbology sets for the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System. It also has the flexibility to accommodate the aircraft types and services of the Joint Strike Fighter: Conventional Takeoff and Landing variant for the USAF, Carrier-based Variant for the USN, and the Short Takeoff and Vertical Landing variant for the USMC and U.K. Royal Navy and Air Force. The key to this flexibility is the interface definition. The interface parameters are established at power-on with the download of an interface definition data set. This data set is used to interpret symbology commands from the aircraft OFP during operation and provide graphic commands to the HMD software. This presentation will define the graphics commands, provide an example of how the interface definition data set is defined, and then show how symbology commands produce a display.

The Design, Development and Testing of a Multi-process Real-time Software System

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-03-01

programming large systems stems from the complexity of dealing with many different details at one time. A sound engineering approach is to break...controls and 3) is portable to other OS platforms such as Microsoft Windows. Next, to reduce the complexity of the programming tasks, the system...processes depending on how often the process has to check to see if common data was modified. A good method for one process to quickly notify another

Optimizing Automatic Deployment Using Non-functional Requirement Annotations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kugele, Stefan; Haberl, Wolfgang; Tautschnig, Michael; Wechs, Martin

Model-driven development has become common practice in design of safety-critical real-time systems. High-level modeling constructs help to reduce the overall system complexity apparent to developers. This abstraction caters for fewer implementation errors in the resulting systems. In order to retain correctness of the model down to the software executed on a concrete platform, human faults during implementation must be avoided. This calls for an automatic, unattended deployment process including allocation, scheduling, and platform configuration.

Use of Field Programmable Gate Array Technology in Future Space Avionics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ferguson, Roscoe C.; Tate, Robert

2005-01-01

Fulfilling NASA's new vision for space exploration requires the development of sustainable, flexible and fault tolerant spacecraft control systems. The traditional development paradigm consists of the purchase or fabrication of hardware boards with fixed processor and/or Digital Signal Processing (DSP) components interconnected via a standardized bus system. This is followed by the purchase and/or development of software. This paradigm has several disadvantages for the development of systems to support NASA's new vision. Building a system to be fault tolerant increases the complexity and decreases the performance of included software. Standard bus design and conventional implementation produces natural bottlenecks. Configuring hardware components in systems containing common processors and DSPs is difficult initially and expensive or impossible to change later. The existence of Hardware Description Languages (HDLs), the recent increase in performance, density and radiation tolerance of Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), and Intellectual Property (IP) Cores provides the technology for reprogrammable Systems on a Chip (SOC). This technology supports a paradigm better suited for NASA's vision. Hardware and software production are melded for more effective development; they can both evolve together over time. Designers incorporating this technology into future avionics can benefit from its flexibility. Systems can be designed with improved fault isolation and tolerance using hardware instead of software. Also, these designs can be protected from obsolescence problems where maintenance is compromised via component and vendor availability.To investigate the flexibility of this technology, the core of the Central Processing Unit and Input/Output Processor of the Space Shuttle AP101S Computer were prototyped in Verilog HDL and synthesized into an Altera Stratix FPGA.

Computational Aspects of Data Assimilation and the ESMF

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

daSilva, A.

2003-01-01

The scientific challenge of developing advanced data assimilation applications is a daunting task. Independently developed components may have incompatible interfaces or may be written in different computer languages. The high-performance computer (HPC) platforms required by numerically intensive Earth system applications are complex, varied, rapidly evolving and multi-part systems themselves. Since the market for high-end platforms is relatively small, there is little robust middleware available to buffer the modeler from the difficulties of HPC programming. To complicate matters further, the collaborations required to develop large Earth system applications often span initiatives, institutions and agencies, involve geoscience, software engineering, and computer science communities, and cross national borders.The Earth System Modeling Framework (ESMF) project is a concerted response to these challenges. Its goal is to increase software reuse, interoperability, ease of use and performance in Earth system models through the use of a common software framework, developed in an open manner by leaders in the modeling community. The ESMF addresses the technical and to some extent the cultural - aspects of Earth system modeling, laying the groundwork for addressing the more difficult scientific aspects, such as the physical compatibility of components, in the future. In this talk we will discuss the general philosophy and architecture of the ESMF, focussing on those capabilities useful for developing advanced data assimilation applications.

The utilization of cranial models created using rapid prototyping techniques in the development of models for navigation training.

PubMed

Waran, V; Pancharatnam, Devaraj; Thambinayagam, Hari Chandran; Raman, Rajagopal; Rathinam, Alwin Kumar; Balakrishnan, Yuwaraj Kumar; Tung, Tan Su; Rahman, Z A

2014-01-01

Navigation in neurosurgery has expanded rapidly; however, suitable models to train end users to use the myriad software and hardware that come with these systems are lacking. Utilizing three-dimensional (3D) industrial rapid prototyping processes, we have been able to create models using actual computed tomography (CT) data from patients with pathology and use these models to simulate a variety of commonly performed neurosurgical procedures with navigation systems. To assess the possibility of utilizing models created from CT scan dataset obtained from patients with cranial pathology to simulate common neurosurgical procedures using navigation systems. Three patients with pathology were selected (hydrocephalus, right frontal cortical lesion, and midline clival meningioma). CT scan data following an image-guidance surgery protocol in DIACOM format and a Rapid Prototyping Machine were taken to create the necessary printed model with the corresponding pathology embedded. The ability in registration, planning, and navigation of two navigation systems using a variety of software and hardware provided by these platforms was assessed. We were able to register all models accurately using both navigation systems and perform the necessary simulations as planned. Models with pathology utilizing 3D rapid prototyping techniques accurately reflect data of actual patients and can be used in the simulation of neurosurgical operations using navigation systems. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Development and evaluation of a digital dental modeling method based on grating projection and reverse engineering software.

PubMed

Zhou, Qin; Wang, Zhenzhen; Chen, Jun; Song, Jun; Chen, Lu; Lu, Yi

2016-01-01

For reasons of convenience and economy, attempts have been made to transform traditional dental gypsum casts into 3-dimensional (3D) digital casts. Different scanning devices have been developed to generate digital casts; however, each has its own limitations and disadvantages. The purpose of this study was to develop an advanced method for the 3D reproduction of dental casts by using a high-speed grating projection system and noncontact reverse engineering (RE) software and to evaluate the accuracy of the method. The methods consisted of 3 main steps: the scanning and acquisition of 3D dental cast data with a high-resolution grating projection system, the reconstruction and measurement of digital casts with RE software, and the evaluation of the accuracy of this method using 20 dental gypsum casts. The common anatomic landmarks were measured directly on the gypsum casts with a Vernier caliper and on the 3D digital casts with the Geomagic software measurement tool. Data were statistically assessed with the t test. The grating projection system had a rapid scanning speed, and smooth 3D dental casts were obtained. The mean differences between the gypsum and 3D measurements were approximately 0.05 mm, and no statistically significant differences were found between the 2 methods (P>.05), except for the measurements of the incisor tooth width and maxillary arch length. A method for the 3D reconstruction of dental casts was developed by using a grating projection system and RE software. The accuracy of the casts generated using the grating projection system was comparable with that of the gypsum casts. Copyright © 2016 Editorial Council for the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fault Management Architectures and the Challenges of Providing Software Assurance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Savarino, Shirley; Fitz, Rhonda; Fesq, Lorraine; Whitman, Gerek

2015-01-01

Fault Management (FM) is focused on safety, the preservation of assets, and maintaining the desired functionality of the system. How FM is implemented varies among missions. Common to most missions is system complexity due to a need to establish a multi-dimensional structure across hardware, software and spacecraft operations. FM is necessary to identify and respond to system faults, mitigate technical risks and ensure operational continuity. Generally, FM architecture, implementation, and software assurance efforts increase with mission complexity. Because FM is a systems engineering discipline with a distributed implementation, providing efficient and effective verification and validation (V&V) is challenging. A breakout session at the 2012 NASA Independent Verification & Validation (IV&V) Annual Workshop titled "V&V of Fault Management: Challenges and Successes" exposed this issue in terms of V&V for a representative set of architectures. NASA's Software Assurance Research Program (SARP) has provided funds to NASA IV&V to extend the work performed at the Workshop session in partnership with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). NASA IV&V will extract FM architectures across the IV&V portfolio and evaluate the data set, assess visibility for validation and test, and define software assurance methods that could be applied to the various architectures and designs. This SARP initiative focuses efforts on FM architectures from critical and complex projects within NASA. The identification of particular FM architectures and associated V&V/IV&V techniques provides a data set that can enable improved assurance that a system will adequately detect and respond to adverse conditions. Ultimately, results from this activity will be incorporated into the NASA Fault Management Handbook providing dissemination across NASA, other agencies and the space community. This paper discusses the approach taken to perform the evaluations and preliminary findings from the research.

Software engineering processes for Class D missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Killough, Ronnie; Rose, Debi

2013-09-01

Software engineering processes are often seen as anathemas; thoughts of CMMI key process areas and NPR 7150.2A compliance matrices can motivate a software developer to consider other career fields. However, with adequate definition, common-sense application, and an appropriate level of built-in flexibility, software engineering processes provide a critical framework in which to conduct a successful software development project. One problem is that current models seem to be built around an underlying assumption of "bigness," and assume that all elements of the process are applicable to all software projects regardless of size and tolerance for risk. This is best illustrated in NASA's NPR 7150.2A in which, aside from some special provisions for manned missions, the software processes are to be applied based solely on the criticality of the software to the mission, completely agnostic of the mission class itself. That is, the processes applicable to a Class A mission (high priority, very low risk tolerance, very high national significance) are precisely the same as those applicable to a Class D mission (low priority, high risk tolerance, low national significance). This paper will propose changes to NPR 7150.2A, taking mission class into consideration, and discuss how some of these changes are being piloted for a current Class D mission—the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS).

Hardware Interface Description for the Integrated Power, Avionics, and Software (iPAS) Space Telecommunications Radio Ssystem (STRS) Radio

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shalkhauser, Mary Jo W.; Roche, Rigoberto

2017-01-01

The Space Telecommunications Radio System (STRS) provides a common, consistent framework for software defined radios (SDRs) to abstract the application software from the radio platform hardware. The STRS standard aims to reduce the cost and risk of using complex, configurable and reprogrammable radio systems across NASA missions. To promote the use of the STRS architecture for future NASA advanced exploration missions, NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) developed an STRS-compliant SDR on a radio platform used by the Advance Exploration System program at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in their Integrated Power, Avionics, and Software (iPAS) laboratory. The iPAS STRS Radio was implemented on the Reconfigurable, Intelligently-Adaptive Communication System (RIACS) platform, currently being used for radio development at JSC. The platform consists of a Xilinx ML605 Virtex-6 FPGA board, an Analog Devices FMCOMMS1-EBZ RF transceiver board, and an Embedded PC (Axiomtek eBox 620-110-FL) running the Ubuntu 12.4 operating system. Figure 1 shows the RIACS platform hardware. The result of this development is a very low cost STRS compliant platform that can be used for waveform developments for multiple applications.The purpose of this document is to describe how to develop a new waveform using the RIACS platform and the Very High Speed Integrated Circuits (VHSIC) Hardware Description Language (VHDL) FPGA wrapper code and the STRS implementation on the Axiomtek processor.

Open Source Seismic Software in NOAA's Next Generation Tsunami Warning System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hellman, S. B.; Baker, B. I.; Hagerty, M. T.; Leifer, J. M.; Lisowski, S.; Thies, D. A.; Donnelly, B. K.; Griffith, F. P.

2014-12-01

The Tsunami Information technology Modernization (TIM) is a project spearheaded by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to update the United States' Tsunami Warning System software currently employed at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (Eva Beach, Hawaii) and the National Tsunami Warning Center (Palmer, Alaska). This entirely open source software project will integrate various seismic processing utilities with the National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office's core software, AWIPS2. For the real-time and near real-time seismic processing aspect of this project, NOAA has elected to integrate the open source portions of GFZ's SeisComP 3 (SC3) processing system into AWIPS2. To provide for better tsunami threat assessments we are developing open source tools for magnitude estimations (e.g., moment magnitude, energy magnitude, surface wave magnitude), detection of slow earthquakes with the Theta discriminant, moment tensor inversions (e.g. W-phase and teleseismic body waves), finite fault inversions, and array processing. With our reliance on common data formats such as QuakeML and seismic community standard messaging systems, all new facilities introduced into AWIPS2 and SC3 will be available as stand-alone tools or could be easily integrated into other real time seismic monitoring systems such as Earthworm, Antelope, etc. Additionally, we have developed a template based design paradigm so that the developer or scientist can efficiently create upgrades, replacements, and/or new metrics to the seismic data processing with only a cursory knowledge of the underlying SC3.

PhyLIS: a simple GNU/Linux distribution for phylogenetics and phyloinformatics.

PubMed

Thomson, Robert C

2009-07-30

PhyLIS is a free GNU/Linux distribution that is designed to provide a simple, standardized platform for phylogenetic and phyloinformatic analysis. The operating system incorporates most commonly used phylogenetic software, which has been pre-compiled and pre-configured, allowing for straightforward application of phylogenetic methods and development of phyloinformatic pipelines in a stable Linux environment. The software is distributed as a live CD and can be installed directly or run from the CD without making changes to the computer. PhyLIS is available for free at http://www.eve.ucdavis.edu/rcthomson/phylis/.

PhyLIS: A Simple GNU/Linux Distribution for Phylogenetics and Phyloinformatics

PubMed Central

Thomson, Robert C.

2009-01-01

PhyLIS is a free GNU/Linux distribution that is designed to provide a simple, standardized platform for phylogenetic and phyloinformatic analysis. The operating system incorporates most commonly used phylogenetic software, which has been pre-compiled and pre-configured, allowing for straightforward application of phylogenetic methods and development of phyloinformatic pipelines in a stable Linux environment. The software is distributed as a live CD and can be installed directly or run from the CD without making changes to the computer. PhyLIS is available for free at http://www.eve.ucdavis.edu/rcthomson/phylis/. PMID:19812729

Evaluation of the Trajectory Operations Applications Software Task (TOAST)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perkins, Sharon; Martin, Andrea; Bavinger, Bill

1990-01-01

The Trajectory Operations Applications Software Task (TOAST) is a software development project under the auspices of the Mission Operations Directorate. Its purpose is to provide trajectory operation pre-mission and real-time support for the Space Shuttle program. As an Application Manager, TOAST provides an isolation layer between the underlying Unix operating system and the series of user programs. It provides two main services: a common interface to operating system functions with semantics appropriate for C or FORTRAN, and a structured input and output package that can be utilized by user application programs. In order to evaluate TOAST as an Application Manager, the task was to assess current and planned capabilities, compare capabilities to functions available in commercially-available off the shelf (COTS) and Flight Analysis Design System (FADS) users for TOAST implementation. As a result of the investigation, it was found that the current version of TOAST is well implemented and meets the needs of the real-time users. The plans for migrating TOAST to the X Window System are essentially sound; the Executive will port with minor changes, while Menu Handler will require a total rewrite. A series of recommendations for future TOAST directions are included.

Migration of the Gaudi and LHCb software repositories from CVS to Subversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clemencic, M.; Degaudenzi, H.; LHCb Collaboration

2011-12-01

A common code repository is of primary importance in a distributed development environment such as large HEP experiments. CVS (Concurrent Versions System) has been used in the past years at CERN for the hosting of shared software repositories, among which were the repositories for the Gaudi Framework and the LHCb software projects. Many developers around the world produced alternative systems to share code and revisions among several developers, mainly to overcome the limitations in CVS, and CERN has recently started a new service for code hosting based on the version control system Subversion. The differences between CVS and Subversion and the way the code was organized in Gaudi and LHCb CVS repositories required careful study and planning of the migration. Special care was used to define the organization of the new Subversion repository. To avoid as much as possible disruption in the development cycle, the migration has been gradual with the help of tools developed explicitly to hide the differences between the two systems. The principles guiding the migration steps, the organization of the Subversion repository and the tools developed will be presented, as well as the problems encountered both from the librarian and the user points of view.

A Model of Workflow Composition for Emergency Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xin, Chen; Bin-ge, Cui; Feng, Zhang; Xue-hui, Xu; Shan-shan, Fu

The common-used workflow technology is not flexible enough in dealing with concurrent emergency situations. The paper proposes a novel model for defining emergency plans, in which workflow segments appear as a constituent part. A formal abstraction, which contains four operations, is defined to compose workflow segments under constraint rule. The software system of the business process resources construction and composition is implemented and integrated into Emergency Plan Management Application System.

Conducting Automated Test Assembly Using the Premium Solver Platform Version 7.0 with Microsoft Excel and the Large-Scale LP/QP Solver Engine Add-In

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cor, Ken; Alves, Cecilia; Gierl, Mark J.

2008-01-01

This review describes and evaluates a software add-in created by Frontline Systems, Inc., that can be used with Microsoft Excel 2007 to solve large, complex test assembly problems. The combination of Microsoft Excel 2007 with the Frontline Systems Premium Solver Platform is significant because Microsoft Excel is the most commonly used spreadsheet…

Software Requirements Engineering Methodology

DTIC Science & Technology

1976-09-01

common speech, so that the specification can be read by managers, systems enginetrs, and others who are not specially trained in the language. To...of the system and its DPS. They are usually implicit in the wording of the originating specifications, although the new SREM user must train ...to the name of the ENTITYjCLASS, the operation is applicable only to a single instance. This concentration of the requirements for creation and

Analyzing Dynamics of Cooperating Spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hughes, Stephen P.; Folta, David C.; Conway, Darrel J.

2004-01-01

A software library has been developed to enable high-fidelity computational simulation of the dynamics of multiple spacecraft distributed over a region of outer space and acting with a common purpose. All of the modeling capabilities afforded by this software are available independently in other, separate software systems, but have not previously been brought together in a single system. A user can choose among several dynamical models, many high-fidelity environment models, and several numerical-integration schemes. The user can select whether to use models that assume weak coupling between spacecraft, or strong coupling in the case of feedback control or tethering of spacecraft to each other. For weak coupling, spacecraft orbits are propagated independently, and are synchronized in time by controlling the step size of the integration. For strong coupling, the orbits are integrated simultaneously. Among the integration schemes that the user can choose are Runge-Kutta Verner, Prince-Dormand, Adams-Bashforth-Moulton, and Bulirsh- Stoer. Comparisons of performance are included for both the weak- and strongcoupling dynamical models for all of the numerical integrators.

Adding Hierarchical Objects to Relational Database General-Purpose XML-Based Information Managements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, Shu-Chun; Knight, Chris; La, Tracy; Maluf, David; Bell, David; Tran, Khai Peter; Gawdiak, Yuri

2006-01-01

NETMARK is a flexible, high-throughput software system for managing, storing, and rapid searching of unstructured and semi-structured documents. NETMARK transforms such documents from their original highly complex, constantly changing, heterogeneous data formats into well-structured, common data formats in using Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and/or Extensible Markup Language (XML). The software implements an object-relational database system that combines the best practices of the relational model utilizing Structured Query Language (SQL) with those of the object-oriented, semantic database model for creating complex data. In particular, NETMARK takes advantage of the Oracle 8i object-relational database model using physical-address data types for very efficient keyword searches of records across both context and content. NETMARK also supports multiple international standards such as WEBDAV for drag-and-drop file management and SOAP for integrated information management using Web services. The document-organization and -searching capabilities afforded by NETMARK are likely to make this software attractive for use in disciplines as diverse as science, auditing, and law enforcement.

MxCuBE: a synchrotron beamline control environment customized for macromolecular crystallography experiments

PubMed Central

Gabadinho, José; Beteva, Antonia; Guijarro, Matias; Rey-Bakaikoa, Vicente; Spruce, Darren; Bowler, Matthew W.; Brockhauser, Sandor; Flot, David; Gordon, Elspeth J.; Hall, David R.; Lavault, Bernard; McCarthy, Andrew A.; McCarthy, Joanne; Mitchell, Edward; Monaco, Stéphanie; Mueller-Dieckmann, Christoph; Nurizzo, Didier; Ravelli, Raimond B. G.; Thibault, Xavier; Walsh, Martin A.; Leonard, Gordon A.; McSweeney, Sean M.

2010-01-01

The design and features of a beamline control software system for macromolecular crystallography (MX) experiments developed at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) are described. This system, MxCuBE, allows users to easily and simply interact with beamline hardware components and provides automated routines for common tasks in the operation of a synchrotron beamline dedicated to experiments in MX. Additional functionality is provided through intuitive interfaces that enable the assessment of the diffraction characteristics of samples, experiment planning, automatic data collection and the on-line collection and analysis of X-ray emission spectra. The software can be run in a tandem client-server mode that allows for remote control and relevant experimental parameters and results are automatically logged in a relational database, ISPyB. MxCuBE is modular, flexible and extensible and is currently deployed on eight macromolecular crystallography beamlines at the ESRF. Additionally, the software is installed at MAX-lab beamline I911-3 and at BESSY beamline BL14.1. PMID:20724792

Leaf vein length per unit area is not intrinsically dependent on image magnification: avoiding measurement artifacts for accuracy and precision.

PubMed

Sack, Lawren; Caringella, Marissa; Scoffoni, Christine; Mason, Chase; Rawls, Michael; Markesteijn, Lars; Poorter, Lourens

2014-10-01

Leaf vein length per unit leaf area (VLA; also known as vein density) is an important determinant of water and sugar transport, photosynthetic function, and biomechanical support. A range of software methods are in use to visualize and measure vein systems in cleared leaf images; typically, users locate veins by digital tracing, but recent articles introduced software by which users can locate veins using thresholding (i.e. based on the contrasting of veins in the image). Based on the use of this method, a recent study argued against the existence of a fixed VLA value for a given leaf, proposing instead that VLA increases with the magnification of the image due to intrinsic properties of the vein system, and recommended that future measurements use a common, low image magnification for measurements. We tested these claims with new measurements using the software LEAFGUI in comparison with digital tracing using ImageJ software. We found that the apparent increase of VLA with magnification was an artifact of (1) using low-quality and low-magnification images and (2) errors in the algorithms of LEAFGUI. Given the use of images of sufficient magnification and quality, and analysis with error-free software, the VLA can be measured precisely and accurately. These findings point to important principles for improving the quantity and quality of important information gathered from leaf vein systems. © 2014 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

Advanced data management system architectures testbed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grant, Terry

1990-01-01

The objective of the Architecture and Tools Testbed is to provide a working, experimental focus to the evolving automation applications for the Space Station Freedom data management system. Emphasis is on defining and refining real-world applications including the following: the validation of user needs; understanding system requirements and capabilities; and extending capabilities. The approach is to provide an open, distributed system of high performance workstations representing both the standard data processors and networks and advanced RISC-based processors and multiprocessor systems. The system provides a base from which to develop and evaluate new performance and risk management concepts and for sharing the results. Participants are given a common view of requirements and capability via: remote login to the testbed; standard, natural user interfaces to simulations and emulations; special attention to user manuals for all software tools; and E-mail communication. The testbed elements which instantiate the approach are briefly described including the workstations, the software simulation and monitoring tools, and performance and fault tolerance experiments.

Local Area Networks in Education: Overview, Applications, and Current Limitations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Piele, Philip K.

Local area networks (LAN) are privately owned communication systems that connect multivendor devices at high speed. As microcomputers become more common in schools, user interest in sharing information, software, and peripherals will increase. A basic understanding of the operation of all LAN's can be gained by knowing four elements: media,…

Improving Measurements of Self-Regulated Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winne, Philip H.

2010-01-01

Articles in this special issue present recent advances in using state-of-the-art software systems that gather data with which to examine and measure features of learning and particularly self-regulated learning (SRL). Despite important advances, there remain challenges. I examine key features of SRL and how they are measured using common tools. I…

A Multi-Language System for Knowledge Extraction in E-Learning Videos

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sood, Aparesh; Mittal, Ankush; Sarthi, Divya

2006-01-01

The existing multimedia software in E-Learning does not provide par excellence multimedia data service to the common user, hence E-Learning services are still short of intelligence and sophisticated end user tools for visualization and retrieval. An efficient approach to achieve the tasks such as, regional language narration, regional language…

BIAS: Bioinformatics Integrated Application Software.

PubMed

Finak, G; Godin, N; Hallett, M; Pepin, F; Rajabi, Z; Srivastava, V; Tang, Z

2005-04-15

We introduce a development platform especially tailored to Bioinformatics research and software development. BIAS (Bioinformatics Integrated Application Software) provides the tools necessary for carrying out integrative Bioinformatics research requiring multiple datasets and analysis tools. It follows an object-relational strategy for providing persistent objects, allows third-party tools to be easily incorporated within the system and supports standards and data-exchange protocols common to Bioinformatics. BIAS is an OpenSource project and is freely available to all interested users at http://www.mcb.mcgill.ca/~bias/. This website also contains a paper containing a more detailed description of BIAS and a sample implementation of a Bayesian network approach for the simultaneous prediction of gene regulation events and of mRNA expression from combinations of gene regulation events. hallett@mcb.mcgill.ca.

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

Knirsch, Fabian; Engel, Dominik; Neureiter, Christian

In a smart grid, data and information are transported, transmitted, stored, and processed with various stakeholders having to cooperate effectively. Furthermore, personal data is the key to many smart grid applications and therefore privacy impacts have to be taken into account. For an effective smart grid, well integrated solutions are crucial and for achieving a high degree of customer acceptance, privacy should already be considered at design time of the system. To assist system engineers in early design phase, frameworks for the automated privacy evaluation of use cases are important. For evaluation, use cases for services and software architectures needmore » to be formally captured in a standardized and commonly understood manner. In order to ensure this common understanding for all kinds of stakeholders, reference models have recently been developed. In this paper we present a model-driven approach for the automated assessment of such services and software architectures in the smart grid that builds on the standardized reference models. The focus of qualitative and quantitative evaluation is on privacy. For evaluation, the framework draws on use cases from the University of Southern California microgrid.« less

Modeling and simulation of biological systems using SPICE language

PubMed Central

Lallement, Christophe; Haiech, Jacques

2017-01-01

The article deals with BB-SPICE (SPICE for Biochemical and Biological Systems), an extension of the famous Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis (SPICE). BB-SPICE environment is composed of three modules: a new textual and compact description formalism for biological systems, a converter that handles this description and generates the SPICE netlist of the equivalent electronic circuit and NGSPICE which is an open-source SPICE simulator. In addition, the environment provides back and forth interfaces with SBML (System Biology Markup Language), a very common description language used in systems biology. BB-SPICE has been developed in order to bridge the gap between the simulation of biological systems on the one hand and electronics circuits on the other hand. Thus, it is suitable for applications at the interface between both domains, such as development of design tools for synthetic biology and for the virtual prototyping of biosensors and lab-on-chip. Simulation results obtained with BB-SPICE and COPASI (an open-source software used for the simulation of biochemical systems) have been compared on a benchmark of models commonly used in systems biology. Results are in accordance from a quantitative viewpoint but BB-SPICE outclasses COPASI by 1 to 3 orders of magnitude regarding the computation time. Moreover, as our software is based on NGSPICE, it could take profit of incoming updates such as the GPU implementation, of the coupling with powerful analysis and verification tools or of the integration in design automation tools (synthetic biology). PMID:28787027

An Introduction to Message-Bus Architectures for Space Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Danford; Gregory, Brian

2005-01-01

This course presents technical and programmatic information on the development of message-based architectures for space mission ground and flight software systems. Message-based architecture approaches provide many significant advantages over the more traditional socket-based one-of-a-kind integrated system development approaches. The course provides an overview of publish/subscribe concepts, the use of common isolation layer API's, approaches to message standardization, and other technical topics. Several examples of currently operational systems are discussed and possible changes to the system discussed and time for questions and answers will be provided.

Software For Fault-Tree Diagnosis Of A System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Iverson, Dave; Patterson-Hine, Ann; Liao, Jack

1993-01-01

Fault Tree Diagnosis System (FTDS) computer program is automated-diagnostic-system program identifying likely causes of specified failure on basis of information represented in system-reliability mathematical models known as fault trees. Is modified implementation of failure-cause-identification phase of Narayanan's and Viswanadham's methodology for acquisition of knowledge and reasoning in analyzing failures of systems. Knowledge base of if/then rules replaced with object-oriented fault-tree representation. Enhancement yields more-efficient identification of causes of failures and enables dynamic updating of knowledge base. Written in C language, C++, and Common LISP.

Applying AN Object-Oriented Database Model to a Scientific Database Problem: Managing Experimental Data at Cebaf.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ehlmann, Bryon K.

Current scientific experiments are often characterized by massive amounts of very complex data and the need for complex data analysis software. Object-oriented database (OODB) systems have the potential of improving the description of the structure and semantics of this data and of integrating the analysis software with the data. This dissertation results from research to enhance OODB functionality and methodology to support scientific databases (SDBs) and, more specifically, to support a nuclear physics experiments database for the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF). This research to date has identified a number of problems related to the practical application of OODB technology to the conceptual design of the CEBAF experiments database and other SDBs: the lack of a generally accepted OODB design methodology, the lack of a standard OODB model, the lack of a clear conceptual level in existing OODB models, and the limited support in existing OODB systems for many common object relationships inherent in SDBs. To address these problems, the dissertation describes an Object-Relationship Diagram (ORD) and an Object-oriented Database Definition Language (ODDL) that provide tools that allow SDB design and development to proceed systematically and independently of existing OODB systems. These tools define multi-level, conceptual data models for SDB design, which incorporate a simple notation for describing common types of relationships that occur in SDBs. ODDL allows these relationships and other desirable SDB capabilities to be supported by an extended OODB system. A conceptual model of the CEBAF experiments database is presented in terms of ORDs and the ODDL to demonstrate their functionality and use and provide a foundation for future development of experimental nuclear physics software using an OODB approach.

Model based design introduction: modeling game controllers to microprocessor architectures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jungwirth, Patrick; Badawy, Abdel-Hameed

2017-04-01

We present an introduction to model based design. Model based design is a visual representation, generally a block diagram, to model and incrementally develop a complex system. Model based design is a commonly used design methodology for digital signal processing, control systems, and embedded systems. Model based design's philosophy is: to solve a problem - a step at a time. The approach can be compared to a series of steps to converge to a solution. A block diagram simulation tool allows a design to be simulated with real world measurement data. For example, if an analog control system is being upgraded to a digital control system, the analog sensor input signals can be recorded. The digital control algorithm can be simulated with the real world sensor data. The output from the simulated digital control system can then be compared to the old analog based control system. Model based design can compared to Agile software develop. The Agile software development goal is to develop working software in incremental steps. Progress is measured in completed and tested code units. Progress is measured in model based design by completed and tested blocks. We present a concept for a video game controller and then use model based design to iterate the design towards a working system. We will also describe a model based design effort to develop an OS Friendly Microprocessor Architecture based on the RISC-V.

Enhancing reproducibility in scientific computing: Metrics and registry for Singularity containers.

PubMed

Sochat, Vanessa V; Prybol, Cameron J; Kurtzer, Gregory M

2017-01-01

Here we present Singularity Hub, a framework to build and deploy Singularity containers for mobility of compute, and the singularity-python software with novel metrics for assessing reproducibility of such containers. Singularity containers make it possible for scientists and developers to package reproducible software, and Singularity Hub adds automation to this workflow by building, capturing metadata for, visualizing, and serving containers programmatically. Our novel metrics, based on custom filters of content hashes of container contents, allow for comparison of an entire container, including operating system, custom software, and metadata. First we will review Singularity Hub's primary use cases and how the infrastructure has been designed to support modern, common workflows. Next, we conduct three analyses to demonstrate build consistency, reproducibility metric and performance and interpretability, and potential for discovery. This is the first effort to demonstrate a rigorous assessment of measurable similarity between containers and operating systems. We provide these capabilities within Singularity Hub, as well as the source software singularity-python that provides the underlying functionality. Singularity Hub is available at https://singularity-hub.org, and we are excited to provide it as an openly available platform for building, and deploying scientific containers.

Enhancing reproducibility in scientific computing: Metrics and registry for Singularity containers

PubMed Central

Prybol, Cameron J.; Kurtzer, Gregory M.

2017-01-01

Here we present Singularity Hub, a framework to build and deploy Singularity containers for mobility of compute, and the singularity-python software with novel metrics for assessing reproducibility of such containers. Singularity containers make it possible for scientists and developers to package reproducible software, and Singularity Hub adds automation to this workflow by building, capturing metadata for, visualizing, and serving containers programmatically. Our novel metrics, based on custom filters of content hashes of container contents, allow for comparison of an entire container, including operating system, custom software, and metadata. First we will review Singularity Hub’s primary use cases and how the infrastructure has been designed to support modern, common workflows. Next, we conduct three analyses to demonstrate build consistency, reproducibility metric and performance and interpretability, and potential for discovery. This is the first effort to demonstrate a rigorous assessment of measurable similarity between containers and operating systems. We provide these capabilities within Singularity Hub, as well as the source software singularity-python that provides the underlying functionality. Singularity Hub is available at https://singularity-hub.org, and we are excited to provide it as an openly available platform for building, and deploying scientific containers. PMID:29186161

An application framework for computer-aided patient positioning in radiation therapy.

PubMed

Liebler, T; Hub, M; Sanner, C; Schlegel, W

2003-09-01

The importance of exact patient positioning in radiation therapy increases with the ongoing improvements in irradiation planning and treatment. Therefore, new ways to overcome precision limitations of current positioning methods in fractionated treatment have to be found. The Department of Medical Physics at the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) follows different video-based approaches to increase repositioning precision. In this context, the modular software framework FIVE (Fast Integrated Video-based Environment) has been designed and implemented. It is both hardware- and platform-independent and supports merging position data by integrating various computer-aided patient positioning methods. A highly precise optical tracking system and several subtraction imaging techniques have been realized as modules to supply basic video-based repositioning techniques. This paper describes the common framework architecture, the main software modules and their interfaces. An object-oriented software engineering process has been applied using the UML, C + + and the Qt library. The significance of the current framework prototype for the application in patient positioning as well as the extension to further application areas will be discussed. Particularly in experimental research, where special system adjustments are often necessary, the open design of the software allows problem-oriented extensions and adaptations.

Resilience Design Patterns - A Structured Approach to Resilience at Extreme Scale (version 1.0)

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

Hukerikar, Saurabh; Engelmann, Christian

Reliability is a serious concern for future extreme-scale high-performance computing (HPC) systems. Projections based on the current generation of HPC systems and technology roadmaps suggest that very high fault rates in future systems. The errors resulting from these faults will propagate and generate various kinds of failures, which may result in outcomes ranging from result corruptions to catastrophic application crashes. Practical limits on power consumption in HPC systems will require future systems to embrace innovative architectures, increasing the levels of hardware and software complexities. The resilience challenge for extreme-scale HPC systems requires management of various hardware and software technologies thatmore » are capable of handling a broad set of fault models at accelerated fault rates. These techniques must seek to improve resilience at reasonable overheads to power consumption and performance. While the HPC community has developed various solutions, application-level as well as system-based solutions, the solution space of HPC resilience techniques remains fragmented. There are no formal methods and metrics to investigate and evaluate resilience holistically in HPC systems that consider impact scope, handling coverage, and performance & power eciency across the system stack. Additionally, few of the current approaches are portable to newer architectures and software ecosystems, which are expected to be deployed on future systems. In this document, we develop a structured approach to the management of HPC resilience based on the concept of resilience-based design patterns. A design pattern is a general repeatable solution to a commonly occurring problem. We identify the commonly occurring problems and solutions used to deal with faults, errors and failures in HPC systems. The catalog of resilience design patterns provides designers with reusable design elements. We define a design framework that enhances our understanding of the important constraints and opportunities for solutions deployed at various layers of the system stack. The framework may be used to establish mechanisms and interfaces to coordinate flexible fault management across hardware and software components. The framework also enables optimization of the cost-benefit trade-os among performance, resilience, and power consumption. The overall goal of this work is to enable a systematic methodology for the design and evaluation of resilience technologies in extreme-scale HPC systems that keep scientific applications running to a correct solution in a timely and cost-ecient manner in spite of frequent faults, errors, and failures of various types.« less

A common distributed language approach to software integration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Antonelli, Charles J.; Volz, Richard A.; Mudge, Trevor N.

1989-01-01

An important objective in software integration is the development of techniques to allow programs written in different languages to function together. Several approaches are discussed toward achieving this objective and the Common Distributed Language Approach is presented as the approach of choice.

Three-Dimensional Audio Client Library

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rizzi, Stephen A.

2005-01-01

The Three-Dimensional Audio Client Library (3DAudio library) is a group of software routines written to facilitate development of both stand-alone (audio only) and immersive virtual-reality application programs that utilize three-dimensional audio displays. The library is intended to enable the development of three-dimensional audio client application programs by use of a code base common to multiple audio server computers. The 3DAudio library calls vendor-specific audio client libraries and currently supports the AuSIM Gold-Server and Lake Huron audio servers. 3DAudio library routines contain common functions for (1) initiation and termination of a client/audio server session, (2) configuration-file input, (3) positioning functions, (4) coordinate transformations, (5) audio transport functions, (6) rendering functions, (7) debugging functions, and (8) event-list-sequencing functions. The 3DAudio software is written in the C++ programming language and currently operates under the Linux, IRIX, and Windows operating systems.

49 CFR 229.305 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... cohesion. Component means an electronic element, device, or appliance (including hardware or software) that... and software version, is documented and maintained through the life-cycle of the products in use. Executive software means software common to all installations of a given electronic product. It generally is...

49 CFR 229.305 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... cohesion. Component means an electronic element, device, or appliance (including hardware or software) that... and software version, is documented and maintained through the life-cycle of the products in use. Executive software means software common to all installations of a given electronic product. It generally is...

49 CFR 229.305 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... cohesion. Component means an electronic element, device, or appliance (including hardware or software) that... and software version, is documented and maintained through the life-cycle of the products in use. Executive software means software common to all installations of a given electronic product. It generally is...

An Open Software Platform for Sharing Water Resource Models, Code and Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knox, Stephen; Meier, Philipp; Mohamed, Khaled; Korteling, Brett; Matrosov, Evgenii; Huskova, Ivana; Harou, Julien; Rosenberg, David; Tilmant, Amaury; Medellin-Azuara, Josue; Wicks, Jon

2016-04-01

The modelling of managed water resource systems requires new approaches in the face of increasing future uncertainty. Water resources management models, even if applied to diverse problem areas, use common approaches such as representing the problem as a network of nodes and links. We propose a data management software platform, called Hydra, that uses this commonality to allow multiple models using a node-link structure to be managed and run using a single software system. Hydra's user interface allows users to manage network topology and associated data. Hydra feeds this data directly into a model, importing from and exporting to different file formats using Apps. An App connects Hydra to a custom model, a modelling system such as GAMS or MATLAB or to different file formats such as MS Excel, CSV and ESRI Shapefiles. Hydra allows users to manage their data in a single, consistent place. Apps can be used to run domain-specific models and allow users to work with their own required file formats. The Hydra App Store offers a collaborative space where model developers can publish, review and comment on Apps, models and data. Example Apps and open-source libraries are available in a variety of languages (Python, Java and .NET). The App Store can act as a hub for water resource modellers to view and share Apps, models and data easily. This encourages an ecosystem of development using a shared platform, resulting in more model integration and potentially greater unity within resource modelling communities. www.hydraplatform.org www.hydraappstore.com

Evaluation of Open-Source Hard Real Time Software Packages

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mattei, Nicholas S.

2004-01-01

Reliable software is, at times, hard to find. No piece of software can be guaranteed to work in every situation that may arise during its use here at Glenn Research Center or in space. The job of the Software Assurance (SA) group in the Risk Management Office is to rigorously test the software in an effort to ensure it matches the contract specifications. In some cases the SA team also researches new alternatives for selected software packages. This testing and research is an integral part of the department of Safety and Mission Assurance. Real Time operation in reference to a computer system is a particular style of handing the timing and manner with which inputs and outputs are handled. A real time system executes these commands and appropriate processing within a defined timing constraint. Within this definition there are two other classifications of real time systems: hard and soft. A soft real time system is one in which if the particular timing constraints are not rigidly met there will be no critical results. On the other hand, a hard real time system is one in which if the timing constraints are not met the results could be catastrophic. An example of a soft real time system is a DVD decoder. If the particular piece of data from the input is not decoded and displayed to the screen at exactly the correct moment nothing critical will become of it, the user may not even notice it. However, a hard real time system is needed to control the timing of fuel injections or steering on the Space Shuttle; a delay of even a fraction of a second could be catastrophic in such a complex system. The current real time system employed by most NASA projects is Wind River's VxWorks operating system. This is a proprietary operating system that can be configured to work with many of NASA s needs and it provides very accurate and reliable hard real time performance. The down side is that since it is a proprietary operating system it is also costly to implement. The prospect of replacing this somewhat costly implementation is the focus of one of the SA group s current research projects. The explosion of open source software in the last ten years has led to the development of a multitude of software solutions which were once only produced by major corporations. The benefits of these open projects include faster release and bug patching cycles as well as inexpensive if not free software solutions. The main packages for hard real time solutions under Linux are Real Time Application Interface (RTAI) and two varieties of Real Time Linux (RTL), RTLFree and RTLPro. During my time here at NASA I have been testing various hard real time solutions operating as layers on the Linux Operating System. All testing is being run on an Intel SBC 2590 which is a common embedded hardware platform. The test plan was provided to me by the Software Assurance group at the start of my internship and my job has been to test the systems by developing and executing the test cases on the hardware. These tests are constructed so that the Software Assurance group can get hard test data for a comparison between the open source and proprietary implementations of hard real time solutions.

The eGenVar data management system—cataloguing and sharing sensitive data and metadata for the life sciences

PubMed Central

Razick, Sabry; Močnik, Rok; Thomas, Laurent F.; Ryeng, Einar; Drabløs, Finn; Sætrom, Pål

2014-01-01

Systematic data management and controlled data sharing aim at increasing reproducibility, reducing redundancy in work, and providing a way to efficiently locate complementing or contradicting information. One method of achieving this is collecting data in a central repository or in a location that is part of a federated system and providing interfaces to the data. However, certain data, such as data from biobanks or clinical studies, may, for legal and privacy reasons, often not be stored in public repositories. Instead, we describe a metadata cataloguing system and a software suite for reporting the presence of data from the life sciences domain. The system stores three types of metadata: file information, file provenance and data lineage, and content descriptions. Our software suite includes both graphical and command line interfaces that allow users to report and tag files with these different metadata types. Importantly, the files remain in their original locations with their existing access-control mechanisms in place, while our system provides descriptions of their contents and relationships. Our system and software suite thereby provide a common framework for cataloguing and sharing both public and private data. Database URL: http://bigr.medisin.ntnu.no/data/eGenVar/ PMID:24682735

The Effects of High-Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP) on Telecommunications Assets

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-06-01

common to a whole class of switches. 5ESS switch software controls the operating system, call processing, and system administration andgmaintenance...LEVEL (ky/rn)3 (a). Mean Fraction of Preset Calls Dropped Due to Induced Transients3 1.0 W -o35kVhM (36 EVENTS) 5-40 kV/M (13 EVENTS) IAUTOMATIC ...eel PERIPHRAL UNIT BUS,IMNA The entire 4ESS system is controlled by the 1A processor. The processor monitors and controls the operation of the

An animal tracking system for behavior analysis using radio frequency identification.

PubMed

Catarinucci, Luca; Colella, Riccardo; Mainetti, Luca; Patrono, Luigi; Pieretti, Stefano; Secco, Andrea; Sergi, Ilaria

2014-09-01

Evaluating the behavior of mice and rats has substantially contributed to the progress of research in many scientific fields. Researchers commonly observe recorded video of animal behavior and manually record their observations for later analysis, but this approach has several limitations. The authors developed an automated system for tracking and analyzing the behavior of rodents that is based on radio frequency identification (RFID) in an ultra-high-frequency bandwidth. They provide an overview of the system's hardware and software components as well as describe their technique for surgically implanting passive RFID tags in mice. Finally, the authors present the findings of two validation studies to compare the accuracy of the RFID system versus commonly used approaches for evaluating the locomotor activity and object exploration of mice.

NASA's Software Safety Standard

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramsay, Christopher M.

2007-01-01

NASA relies more and more on software to control, monitor, and verify its safety critical systems, facilities and operations. Since the 1960's there has hardly been a spacecraft launched that does not have a computer on board that will provide command and control services. There have been recent incidents where software has played a role in high-profile mission failures and hazardous incidents. For example, the Mars Orbiter, Mars Polar Lander, the DART (Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology), and MER (Mars Exploration Rover) Spirit anomalies were all caused or contributed to by software. The Mission Control Centers for the Shuttle, ISS, and unmanned programs are highly dependant on software for data displays, analysis, and mission planning. Despite this growing dependence on software control and monitoring, there has been little to no consistent application of software safety practices and methodology to NASA's projects with safety critical software. Meanwhile, academia and private industry have been stepping forward with procedures and standards for safety critical systems and software, for example Dr. Nancy Leveson's book Safeware: System Safety and Computers. The NASA Software Safety Standard, originally published in 1997, was widely ignored due to its complexity and poor organization. It also focused on concepts rather than definite procedural requirements organized around a software project lifecycle. Led by NASA Headquarters Office of Safety and Mission Assurance, the NASA Software Safety Standard has recently undergone a significant update. This new standard provides the procedures and guidelines for evaluating a project for safety criticality and then lays out the minimum project lifecycle requirements to assure the software is created, operated, and maintained in the safest possible manner. This update of the standard clearly delineates the minimum set of software safety requirements for a project without detailing the implementation for those requirements. This allows the projects leeway to meet these requirements in many forms that best suit a particular project's needs and safety risk. In other words, it tells the project what to do, not how to do it. This update also incorporated advances in the state of the practice of software safety from academia and private industry. It addresses some of the more common issues now facing software developers in the NASA environment such as the use of Commercial-Off-the-Shelf Software (COTS), Modified OTS (MOTS), Government OTS (GOTS), and reused software. A team from across NASA developed the update and it has had both NASA-wide internal reviews by software engineering, quality, safety, and project management. It has also had expert external review. This presentation and paper will discuss the new NASA Software Safety Standard, its organization, and key features. It will start with a brief discussion of some NASA mission failures and incidents that had software as one of their root causes. It will then give a brief overview of the NASA Software Safety Process. This will include an overview of the key personnel responsibilities and functions that must be performed for safety-critical software.

A research program in empirical computer science

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knight, J. C.

1991-01-01

During the grant reporting period our primary activities have been to begin preparation for the establishment of a research program in experimental computer science. The focus of research in this program will be safety-critical systems. Many questions that arise in the effort to improve software dependability can only be addressed empirically. For example, there is no way to predict the performance of the various proposed approaches to building fault-tolerant software. Performance models, though valuable, are parameterized and cannot be used to make quantitative predictions without experimental determination of underlying distributions. In the past, experimentation has been able to shed some light on the practical benefits and limitations of software fault tolerance. It is common, also, for experimentation to reveal new questions or new aspects of problems that were previously unknown. A good example is the Consistent Comparison Problem that was revealed by experimentation and subsequently studied in depth. The result was a clear understanding of a previously unknown problem with software fault tolerance. The purpose of a research program in empirical computer science is to perform controlled experiments in the area of real-time, embedded control systems. The goal of the various experiments will be to determine better approaches to the construction of the software for computing systems that have to be relied upon. As such it will validate research concepts from other sources, provide new research results, and facilitate the transition of research results from concepts to practical procedures that can be applied with low risk to NASA flight projects. The target of experimentation will be the production software development activities undertaken by any organization prepared to contribute to the research program. Experimental goals, procedures, data analysis and result reporting will be performed for the most part by the University of Virginia.

CCSDS Time-Critical Onboard Networking Service

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parkes, Steve; Schnurr, Rick; Marquart, Jane; Menke, Greg; Ciccone, Massimiliano

2006-01-01

The Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) is developing recommendations for communication services onboard spacecraft. Today many different communication buses are used on spacecraft requiring software with the same basic functionality to be rewritten for each type of bus. This impacts on the application software resulting in custom software for almost every new mission. The Spacecraft Onboard Interface Services (SOIS) working group aims to provide a consistent interface to various onboard buses and sub-networks, enabling a common interface to the application software. The eventual goal is reusable software that can be easily ported to new missions and run on a range of onboard buses without substantial modification. The system engineer will then be able to select a bus based on its performance, power, etc and be confident that a particular choice of bus will not place excessive demands on software development. This paper describes the SOIS Intra-Networking Service which is designed to enable data transfer and multiplexing of a variety of internetworking protocols with a range of quality of service support, over underlying heterogeneous data links. The Intra-network service interface provides users with a common Quality of Service interface when transporting data across a variety of underlying data links. Supported Quality of Service (QoS) elements include: Priority, Resource Reservation and Retry/Redundancy. These three QoS elements combine and map into four TCONS services for onboard data communications: Best Effort, Assured, Reserved, and Guaranteed. Data to be transported is passed to the Intra-network service with a requested QoS. The requested QoS includes the type of service, priority and where appropriate, a channel identifier. The data is de-multiplexed, prioritized, and the required resources for transport are allocated. The data is then passed to the appropriate data link for transfer across the bus. The SOIS supported data links may inherently provide the quality of service support requested by the intra-network layer. In the case where the data link does not have the required level of support, the missing functionality is added by SOIS. As a result of this architecture, re-usable software applications can be designed and used across missions thereby promoting common mission operations. In addition, the protocol multiplexing function enables the blending of multiple onboard networks. This paper starts by giving an overview of the SOIS architecture in section 11, illustrating where the TCONS services fit into the overall architecture. It then describes the quality of service approach adopted, in section III. The prototyping efforts that have been going on are introduced in section JY. Finally, in section V the current status of the CCSDS recommendations is summarized.

Towards an Ontology-Based Approach to Support Monitoring the Data of the International Monitoring System (IMS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laban, Shaban; El-Desouky, Ali

2010-05-01

The heterogeneity of the distributed processing systems, monitored data and resources is an obvious challenge in monitoring the data of International Monitoring System (IMS) of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty organization (CTBTO). Processing engineers, analysts, operators and other interested parties seek for intelligent tools and software that hide the underlying complexity of the systems, allowing them to manage the operation and monitoring the systems at a higher level, focusing on what the expected behavior and results should be instead of how to specifically achieve it. Also, it is needed to share common understanding of the structure of organization information, data, and products among staff, software agents, and policy making organs. Additionally, introducing new monitoring object or system should not complicate the overall system and should be feasible. An ontologybased approach is presented in this paper aiming to support monitoring real-time data processing and supervising the various system resources, focusing on integrating and sharing same knowledge and status information of the system among different environments. The results of a prototype framework is presented and analyzed.

Device interoperability and authentication for telemedical appliance based on the ISO/IEEE 11073 Personal Health Device (PHD) Standards.

PubMed

Caranguian, Luther Paul R; Pancho-Festin, Susan; Sison, Luis G

2012-01-01

In this study, we focused on the interoperability and authentication of medical devices in the context of telemedical systems. A recent standard called the ISO/IEEE 11073 Personal Health Device (X73-PHD) Standards addresses the device interoperability problem by defining common protocols for agent (medical device) and manager (appliance) interface. The X73-PHD standard however has not addressed security and authentication of medical devices which is important in establishing integrity of a telemedical system. We have designed and implemented a security policy within the X73-PHD standards. The policy will enable device authentication using Asymmetric-Key Cryptography and the RSA algorithm as the digital signature scheme. We used two approaches for performing the digital signatures: direct software implementation and use of embedded security modules (ESM). The two approaches were evaluated and compared in terms of execution time and memory requirement. For the standard 2048-bit RSA, ESM calculates digital signatures only 12% of the total time for the direct implementation. Moreover, analysis shows that ESM offers more security advantage such as secure storage of keys compared to using direct implementation. Interoperability with other systems was verified by testing the system with LNI Healthlink, a manager software that implements the X73-PHD standard. Lastly, security analysis was done and the system's response to common attacks on authentication systems was analyzed and several measures were implemented to protect the system against them.

Astronomical data analysis software and systems I; Proceedings of the 1st Annual Conference, Tucson, AZ, Nov. 6-8, 1991

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Worrall, Diana M. (Editor); Biemesderfer, Chris (Editor); Barnes, Jeannette (Editor)

1992-01-01

Consideration is given to a definition of a distribution format for X-ray data, the Einstein on-line system, the NASA/IPAC extragalactic database, COBE astronomical databases, Cosmic Background Explorer astronomical databases, the ADAM software environment, the Groningen Image Processing System, search for a common data model for astronomical data analysis systems, deconvolution for real and synthetic apertures, pitfalls in image reconstruction, a direct method for spectral and image restoration, and a discription of a Poisson imagery super resolution algorithm. Also discussed are multivariate statistics on HI and IRAS images, a faint object classification using neural networks, a matched filter for improving SNR of radio maps, automated aperture photometry of CCD images, interactive graphics interpreter, the ROSAT extreme ultra-violet sky survey, a quantitative study of optimal extraction, an automated analysis of spectra, applications of synthetic photometry, an algorithm for extra-solar planet system detection and data reduction facilities for the William Herschel telescope.

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

Dana L. Kelly

Typical engineering systems in applications with high failure consequences such as nuclear reactor plants often employ redundancy and diversity of equipment in an effort to lower the probability of failure and therefore risk. However, it has long been recognized that dependencies exist in these redundant and diverse systems. Some dependencies, such as common sources of electrical power, are typically captured in the logic structure of the risk model. Others, usually referred to as intercomponent dependencies, are treated implicitly by introducing one or more statistical parameters into the model. Such common-cause failure models have limitations in a simulation environment. In addition,more » substantial subjectivity is associated with parameter estimation for these models. This paper describes an approach in which system performance is simulated by drawing samples from the joint distributions of dependent variables. The approach relies on the notion of a copula distribution, a notion which has been employed by the actuarial community for ten years or more, but which has seen only limited application in technological risk assessment. The paper also illustrates how equipment failure data can be used in a Bayesian framework to estimate the parameter values in the copula model. This approach avoids much of the subjectivity required to estimate parameters in traditional common-cause failure models. Simulation examples are presented for failures in time. The open-source software package R is used to perform the simulations. The open-source software package WinBUGS is used to perform the Bayesian inference via Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling.« less

Space Telecommunications Radio System (STRS) Definitions and Acronyms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Briones, Janette C.; Handler, Louis M.; Johnson, Sandra K.; Nappier, Jennifer; Gnepp, Steven; Kacpura, Thomas J.; Reinhart, Richard C.; Hall, Charles S.; Mortensen, Dale

2008-01-01

Software-defined radio is a relatively new technology area, and industry consensus on terminology is not always consistent. Confusion exists when the various organizations and standards bodies define different radio terms associated with the actual amount of reconfigurability of the radios. The Space Telecommunications Radio System (STRS) Definitions and Acronyms Document provides the readers of the STRS documents a common understanding of the terminology used and how they will be applied to the STRS architecture.

A Proven Ground System Architecture for Promoting Collaboration and Common Solutions at NASA

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Danford

2005-01-01

Requirement: Improve how NASA develops and maintains ground data systems for dozens of missions, with a couple new missions always in the development phase. Decided in 2001 on enhanced message-bus architecture. Users offered choices for major components. They plug and play because key interfaces are all the same. Can support COTS, heritage, and new software. Even the middleware can be switched. Project name: GMSEC. Goddard Mission Services Evolution Center.

Portable Map-Reduce Utility for MIT SuperCloud Environment

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-17

Reuther, A. Rosa, C. Yee, “Driving Big Data With Big Compute,” IEEE HPEC, Sep 10-12, 2012, Waltham, MA. [6] Apache Hadoop 1.2.1 Documentation: HDFS... big data architecture, which is designed to address these challenges, is made of the computing resources, scheduler, central storage file system...databases, analytics software and web interfaces [1]. These components are common to many big data and supercomputing systems. The platform is

[Artificial intelligence--the knowledge base applied to nephrology].

PubMed

Sancipriano, G P

2005-01-01

The idea that efficacy efficiency, and quality in medicine could not be reached without sorting the huge knowledge of medical and nursing science is very common. Engineers and computer scientists have developed medical software with great prospects for success, but currently these software applications are not so useful in clinical practice. The medical doctor and the trained nurse live the 'information age' in many daily activities, but the main benefits are not so widespread in working activities. Artificial intelligence and, particularly, export systems charm health staff because of their potential. The first part of this paper summarizes the characteristics of 'weak artificial intelligence' and of expert systems important in clinical practice. The second part discusses medical doctors' requirements and the current nephrologic knowledge bases available for artificial intelligence development.

An object-oriented programming system for the integration of internet-based bioinformatics resources.

PubMed

Beveridge, Allan

2006-01-01

The Internet consists of a vast inhomogeneous reservoir of data. Developing software that can integrate a wide variety of different data sources is a major challenge that must be addressed for the realisation of the full potential of the Internet as a scientific research tool. This article presents a semi-automated object-oriented programming system for integrating web-based resources. We demonstrate that the current Internet standards (HTML, CGI [common gateway interface], Java, etc.) can be exploited to develop a data retrieval system that scans existing web interfaces and then uses a set of rules to generate new Java code that can automatically retrieve data from the Web. The validity of the software has been demonstrated by testing it on several biological databases. We also examine the current limitations of the Internet and discuss the need for the development of universal standards for web-based data.

Implementation of electronic medical records requires more than new software: Lessons on integrating and managing health technologies from Mbarara, Uganda.

PubMed

Madore, Amy; Rosenberg, Julie; Muyindike, Winnie R; Bangsberg, David R; Bwana, Mwebesa B; Martin, Jeffrey N; Kanyesigye, Michael; Weintraub, Rebecca

2015-12-01

Implementation lessons: • Technology alone does not necessarily lead to improvement in health service delivery, in contrast to the common assumption that advanced technology goes hand in hand with progress. • Implementation of electronic medical record (EMR) systems is a complex, resource-intensive process that, in addition to software, hardware, and human resource investments, requires careful planning, change management skills, adaptability, and continuous engagement of stakeholders. • Research requirements and goals must be balanced with service delivery needs when determining how much information is essential to collect and who should be interfacing with the EMR system. • EMR systems require ongoing monitoring and regular updates to ensure they are responsive to evolving clinical use cases and research questions. • High-quality data and analyses are essential for EMRs to deliver value to providers, researchers, and patients. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Type Safe Extensible Programming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chae, Wonseok

2009-10-01

Software products evolve over time. Sometimes they evolve by adding new features, and sometimes by either fixing bugs or replacing outdated implementations with new ones. When software engineers fail to anticipate such evolution during development, they will eventually be forced to re-architect or re-build from scratch. Therefore, it has been common practice to prepare for changes so that software products are extensible over their lifetimes. However, making software extensible is challenging because it is difficult to anticipate successive changes and to provide adequate abstraction mechanisms over potential changes. Such extensibility mechanisms, furthermore, should not compromise any existing functionality during extension. Software engineers would benefit from a tool that provides a way to add extensions in a reliable way. It is natural to expect programming languages to serve this role. Extensible programming is one effort to address these issues. In this thesis, we present type safe extensible programming using the MLPolyR language. MLPolyR is an ML-like functional language whose type system provides type-safe extensibility mechanisms at several levels. After presenting the language, we will show how these extensibility mechanisms can be put to good use in the context of product line engineering. Product line engineering is an emerging software engineering paradigm that aims to manage variations, which originate from successive changes in software.

Software for the EVLA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Butler, Bryan J.; van Moorsel, Gustaaf; Tody, Doug

2004-09-01

The Expanded Very Large Array (EVLA) project is the next generation instrument for high resolution long-millimeter to short-meter wavelength radio astronomy. It is currently funded by NSF, with completion scheduled for 2012. The EVLA will upgrade the VLA with new feeds, receivers, data transmission hardware, correlator, and a new software system to enable the instrument to achieve its full potential. This software includes both that required for controlling and monitoring the instrument and that involved with the scientific dataflow. We concentrate here on a portion of the dataflow software, including: proposal preparation, submission, and handling; observation preparation, scheduling, and remote monitoring; data archiving; and data post-processing, including both automated (pipeline) and manual processing. The primary goals of the software are: to maximize the scientific return of the EVLA; provide ease of use, for both novices and experts; exploit commonality amongst all NRAO telescopes where possible. This last point is both a bane and a blessing: we are not at liberty to do whatever we want in the software, but on the other hand we may borrow from other projects (notably ALMA and GBT) where appropriate. The software design methodology includes detailed initial use-cases and requirements from the scientists, intimate interaction between the scientists and the programmers during design and implementation, and a thorough testing and acceptance plan.

VarDetect: a nucleotide sequence variation exploratory tool

PubMed Central

Ngamphiw, Chumpol; Kulawonganunchai, Supasak; Assawamakin, Anunchai; Jenwitheesuk, Ekachai; Tongsima, Sissades

2008-01-01

Background Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are the most commonly studied units of genetic variation. The discovery of such variation may help to identify causative gene mutations in monogenic diseases and SNPs associated with predisposing genes in complex diseases. Accurate detection of SNPs requires software that can correctly interpret chromatogram signals to nucleotides. Results We present VarDetect, a stand-alone nucleotide variation exploratory tool that automatically detects nucleotide variation from fluorescence based chromatogram traces. Accurate SNP base-calling is achieved using pre-calculated peak content ratios, and is enhanced by rules which account for common sequence reading artifacts. The proposed software tool is benchmarked against four other well-known SNP discovery software tools (PolyPhred, novoSNP, Genalys and Mutation Surveyor) using fluorescence based chromatograms from 15 human genes. These chromatograms were obtained from sequencing 16 two-pooled DNA samples; a total of 32 individual DNA samples. In this comparison of automatic SNP detection tools, VarDetect achieved the highest detection efficiency. Availability VarDetect is compatible with most major operating systems such as Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Mac OSX. The current version of VarDetect is freely available at . PMID:19091032

Processing and review interface for strong motion data (PRISM) software, version 1.0.0—Methodology and automated processing

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jones, Jeanne; Kalkan, Erol; Stephens, Christopher

2017-02-23

A continually increasing number of high-quality digital strong-motion records from stations of the National Strong-Motion Project (NSMP) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), as well as data from regional seismic networks within the United States, call for automated processing of strong-motion records with human review limited to selected significant or flagged records. The NSMP has developed the Processing and Review Interface for Strong Motion data (PRISM) software to meet this need. In combination with the Advanced National Seismic System Quake Monitoring System (AQMS), PRISM automates the processing of strong-motion records. When used without AQMS, PRISM provides batch-processing capabilities. The PRISM version 1.0.0 is platform independent (coded in Java), open source, and does not depend on any closed-source or proprietary software. The software consists of two major components: a record processing engine and a review tool that has a graphical user interface (GUI) to manually review, edit, and process records. To facilitate use by non-NSMP earthquake engineers and scientists, PRISM (both its processing engine and review tool) is easy to install and run as a stand-alone system on common operating systems such as Linux, OS X, and Windows. PRISM was designed to be flexible and extensible in order to accommodate new processing techniques. This report provides a thorough description and examples of the record processing features supported by PRISM. All the computing features of PRISM have been thoroughly tested.

Creating and Testing Simulation Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heinich, Christina M.

2013-01-01

The goal of this project is to learn about the software development process, specifically the process to test and fix components of the software. The paper will cover the techniques of testing code, and the benefits of using one style of testing over another. It will also discuss the overall software design and development lifecycle, and how code testing plays an integral role in it. Coding is notorious for always needing to be debugged due to coding errors or faulty program design. Writing tests either before or during program creation that cover all aspects of the code provide a relatively easy way to locate and fix errors, which will in turn decrease the necessity to fix a program after it is released for common use. The backdrop for this paper is the Spaceport Command and Control System (SCCS) Simulation Computer Software Configuration Item (CSCI), a project whose goal is to simulate a launch using simulated models of the ground systems and the connections between them and the control room. The simulations will be used for training and to ensure that all possible outcomes and complications are prepared for before the actual launch day. The code being tested is the Programmable Logic Controller Interface (PLCIF) code, the component responsible for transferring the information from the models to the model Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), basic computers that are used for very simple tasks.

Operationalization of Prediction, Hindcast, and Evaluation Systems using the Freie Univ Evaluation System Framework (Freva) incl. a Showcase in Decadal Climate Prediction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kadow, Christopher; Illing, Sebastian; Schartner, Thomas; Ulbrich, Uwe; Cubasch, Ulrich

2017-04-01

Operationalization processes are important for Weather and Climate Services. Complex data and work flows need to be combined fast to fulfill the needs of service centers. Standards in data and software formats help in automatic solutions. In this study we show a software solution in between hindcasts, forecasts, and validation to be operationalized. Freva (see below) structures data and evaluation procedures and can easily be monitored. Especially in the development process of operationalized services, Freva supports scientists and project partners. The showcase of the decadal climate prediction project MiKlip (fona-miklip.de) shows such a complex development process. Different predictions, scientists input, tasks, and time evolving adjustments need to be combined to host precise climate informations in a web environment without losing track of its evolution. The Freie Univ Evaluation System Framework (Freva - freva.met.fu-berlin.de) is a software infrastructure for standardized data and tool solutions in Earth system science. Freva runs on high performance computers to handle customizable evaluation systems of research projects, institutes or universities. It combines different software technologies into one common hybrid infrastructure, including all features present in the shell and web environment. The database interface satisfies the international standards provided by the Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF). Freva indexes different data projects into one common search environment by storing the meta data information of the self-describing model, reanalysis and observational data sets in a database. This implemented meta data system with its advanced but easy-to-handle search tool supports users, developers and their plugins to retrieve the required information. A generic application programming interface (API) allows scientific developers to connect their analysis tools with the evaluation system independently of the programming language used. Users of the evaluation techniques benefit from the common interface of the evaluation system without any need to understand the different scripting languages. Facilitation of the provision and usage of tools and climate data automatically increases the number of scientists working with the data sets and identifying discrepancies. The integrated webshell (shellinabox) adds a degree of freedom in the choice of the working environment and can be used as a gateto the research projects HPC. Plugins are able to integrate their e.g. post-processed results into the database ofthe user. This allows e.g. post-processing plugins to feed statistical analysis plugins, which fosters an active exchange between plugin developers of a research project. Additionally, the history and configuration sub-system stores every analysis performed with the evaluation system in a database. Configurations and results of the tools can be shared among scientists via shell or web system. Therefore, plugged-in tools benefit from transparency and reproducibility. Furthermore, if configurations match while starting an evaluation plugin, the system suggests to use results already produced by other users - saving CPU/h, I/O, disk space and time. The efficient interaction between different technologies improves the Earth system modeling science framed by Freva.

Optical design of optical synthetic aperture telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Chenghao; Wang, Zhile

2018-03-01

Optical synthetic aperture (OSA) is a promising solution for very high-resolution imaging while reducing its volume and mass. In this paper, first, the configuration of OSA systems are analyzed and the design methods of two types (Fizeau and Michelson) of OSA systems are summarized and researched. Second, Fizeau and Michelson OSA prototype systems are designed in detail. In the Michelson configuration, the instrument is made of sub-telescopes distributed in entrance pupil and combined by a common telescope via phase delay line. The design of Michelson configuration is more difficult than that of Fizeau configuration. In the design of Fizeau configuration, according to the third aberration theory tworeflective system is designed. Then the primary mirror of the two mirror system is replaced by the synthetic aperture. The whole system was simulated by Zemax software to obtain the Modulation transform function (MTF). In the design of Michelson configuration, the system is first divided into three parts: the afocal interferometric telescopes, beam combiner system and phase delay line. The three parts are designed respectively and then combined in Zemax software to obtain the MTF.

Software Independent Verification and Validation (SIV&V) Simplified

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-12-01

Configuration Item I/O Input/Output I2V2 Independent Integrated Verification and Validation IBM International Business Machines ICD Interface...IPT Integrated Product Team IRS Interface Requirements Specification ISD Integrated System Diagram ITD Integrated Test Description ITP ...programming languages such as COBOL (Common Business Oriented Language) (Codasyl committee 1960), and FORTRAN (FORmula TRANslator) ( IBM 1952) (Robat 11

Ontology for Life-Cycle Modeling of Electrical Distribution Systems: Model View Definition

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-01

building information models ( BIM ) at the coordinated design stage of building construction. 1.3 Approach To...standard for exchanging Building Information Modeling ( BIM ) data, which defines hundreds of classes for common use in software, currently supported by...specifications, Construction Operations Building in- formation exchange (COBie), Building Information Modeling ( BIM ) 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF:

SIMA: Python software for analysis of dynamic fluorescence imaging data.

PubMed

Kaifosh, Patrick; Zaremba, Jeffrey D; Danielson, Nathan B; Losonczy, Attila

2014-01-01

Fluorescence imaging is a powerful method for monitoring dynamic signals in the nervous system. However, analysis of dynamic fluorescence imaging data remains burdensome, in part due to the shortage of available software tools. To address this need, we have developed SIMA, an open source Python package that facilitates common analysis tasks related to fluorescence imaging. Functionality of this package includes correction of motion artifacts occurring during in vivo imaging with laser-scanning microscopy, segmentation of imaged fields into regions of interest (ROIs), and extraction of signals from the segmented ROIs. We have also developed a graphical user interface (GUI) for manual editing of the automatically segmented ROIs and automated registration of ROIs across multiple imaging datasets. This software has been designed with flexibility in mind to allow for future extension with different analysis methods and potential integration with other packages. Software, documentation, and source code for the SIMA package and ROI Buddy GUI are freely available at http://www.losonczylab.org/sima/.

New generation of exploration tools: interactive modeling software and microcomputers

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

Krajewski, S.A.

1986-08-01

Software packages offering interactive modeling techniques are now available for use on microcomputer hardware systems. These packages are reasonably priced for both company and independent explorationists; they do not require users to have high levels of computer literacy; they are capable of rapidly completing complex ranges of sophisticated geologic and geophysical modeling tasks; and they can produce presentation-quality output for comparison with real-world data. For example, interactive packages are available for mapping, log analysis, seismic modeling, reservoir studies, and financial projects as well as for applying a variety of statistical and geostatistical techniques to analysis of exploration data. More importantly,more » these packages enable explorationists to directly apply their geologic expertise when developing and fine-tuning models for identifying new prospects and for extending producing fields. As a result of these features, microcomputers and interactive modeling software are becoming common tools in many exploration offices. Gravity and magnetics software programs illustrate some of the capabilities of such exploration tools.« less

A basic analysis toolkit for biological sequences

PubMed Central

Giancarlo, Raffaele; Siragusa, Alessandro; Siragusa, Enrico; Utro, Filippo

2007-01-01

This paper presents a software library, nicknamed BATS, for some basic sequence analysis tasks. Namely, local alignments, via approximate string matching, and global alignments, via longest common subsequence and alignments with affine and concave gap cost functions. Moreover, it also supports filtering operations to select strings from a set and establish their statistical significance, via z-score computation. None of the algorithms is new, but although they are generally regarded as fundamental for sequence analysis, they have not been implemented in a single and consistent software package, as we do here. Therefore, our main contribution is to fill this gap between algorithmic theory and practice by providing an extensible and easy to use software library that includes algorithms for the mentioned string matching and alignment problems. The library consists of C/C++ library functions as well as Perl library functions. It can be interfaced with Bioperl and can also be used as a stand-alone system with a GUI. The software is available at under the GNU GPL. PMID:17877802

Software use cases to elicit the software requirements analysis within the ASTRI project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Conforti, Vito; Antolini, Elisa; Bonnoli, Giacomo; Bruno, Pietro; Bulgarelli, Andrea; Capalbi, Milvia; Fioretti, Valentina; Fugazza, Dino; Gardiol, Daniele; Grillo, Alessandro; Leto, Giuseppe; Lombardi, Saverio; Lucarelli, Fabrizio; Maccarone, Maria Concetta; Malaguti, Giuseppe; Pareschi, Giovanni; Russo, Federico; Sangiorgi, Pierluca; Schwarz, Joseph; Scuderi, Salvatore; Tanci, Claudio; Tosti, Gino; Trifoglio, Massimo; Vercellone, Stefano; Zanmar Sanchez, Ricardo

2016-07-01

The Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) is leading the Astrofisica con Specchi a Tecnologia Replicante Italiana (ASTRI) project whose main purpose is the realization of small size telescopes (SST) for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). The first goal of the ASTRI project has been the development and operation of an innovative end-to-end telescope prototype using a dual-mirror optical configuration (SST-2M) equipped with a camera based on silicon photo-multipliers and very fast read-out electronics. The ASTRI SST-2M prototype has been installed in Italy at the INAF "M.G. Fracastoro" Astronomical Station located at Serra La Nave, on Mount Etna, Sicily. This prototype will be used to test several mechanical, optical, control hardware and software solutions which will be used in the ASTRI mini-array, comprising nine telescopes proposed to be placed at the CTA southern site. The ASTRI mini-array is a collaborative and international effort led by INAF and carried out by Italy, Brazil and South-Africa. We present here the use cases, through UML (Unified Modeling Language) diagrams and text details, that describe the functional requirements of the software that will manage the ASTRI SST-2M prototype, and the lessons learned thanks to these activities. We intend to adopt the same approach for the Mini Array Software System that will manage the ASTRI miniarray operations. Use cases are of importance for the whole software life cycle; in particular they provide valuable support to the validation and verification activities. Following the iterative development approach, which breaks down the software development into smaller chunks, we have analysed the requirements, developed, and then tested the code in repeated cycles. The use case technique allowed us to formalize the problem through user stories that describe how the user procedurally interacts with the software system. Through the use cases we improved the communication among team members, fostered common agreement about system requirements, defined the normal and alternative course of events, understood better the business process, and defined the system test to ensure that the delivered software works properly. We present a summary of the ASTRI SST-2M prototype use cases, and how the lessons learned can be exploited for the ASTRI mini-array proposed for the CTA Observatory.

The STARLINK software collection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Penny, A. J.; Wallace, P. T.; Sherman, J. C.; Terret, D. L.

1993-12-01

A demonstration will be given of some recent Starlink software. STARLINK is: a network of computers used by UK astronomers; a collection of programs for the calibration and analysis of astronomical data; a team of people giving hardware, software and administrative support. The Starlink Project has been in operation since 1980 to provide UK astronomers with interactive image processing and data reduction facilities. There are now Starlink computer systems at 25 UK locations, serving about 1500 registered users. The Starlink software collection now has about 25 major packages covering a wide range of astronomical data reduction and analysis techniques, as well as many smaller programs and utilities. At the core of most of the packages is a common `software environment', which provides many of the functions which applications need and offers standardized methods of structuring and accessing data. The software environment simplifies programming and support, and makes it easy to use different packages for different stages of the data reduction. Users see a consistent style, and can mix applications without hitting problems of differing data formats. The Project group coordinates the writing and distribution of this software collection, which is Unix based. Outside the UK, Starlink is used at a large number of places, which range from installations at major UK telescopes, which are Starlink-compatible and managed like Starlink sites, to individuals who run only small parts of the Starlink software collection.

Science Gateways, Scientific Workflows and Open Community Software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pierce, M. E.; Marru, S.

2014-12-01

Science gateways and scientific workflows occupy different ends of the spectrum of user-focused cyberinfrastructure. Gateways, sometimes called science portals, provide a way for enabling large numbers of users to take advantage of advanced computing resources (supercomputers, advanced storage systems, science clouds) by providing Web and desktop interfaces and supporting services. Scientific workflows, at the other end of the spectrum, support advanced usage of cyberinfrastructure that enable "power users" to undertake computational experiments that are not easily done through the usual mechanisms (managing simulations across multiple sites, for example). Despite these different target communities, gateways and workflows share many similarities and can potentially be accommodated by the same software system. For example, pipelines to process InSAR imagery sets or to datamine GPS time series data are workflows. The results and the ability to make downstream products may be made available through a gateway, and power users may want to provide their own custom pipelines. In this abstract, we discuss our efforts to build an open source software system, Apache Airavata, that can accommodate both gateway and workflow use cases. Our approach is general, and we have applied the software to problems in a number of scientific domains. In this talk, we discuss our applications to usage scenarios specific to earth science, focusing on earthquake physics examples drawn from the QuakSim.org and GeoGateway.org efforts. We also examine the role of the Apache Software Foundation's open community model as a way to build up common commmunity codes that do not depend upon a single "owner" to sustain. Pushing beyond open source software, we also see the need to provide gateways and workflow systems as cloud services. These services centralize operations, provide well-defined programming interfaces, scale elastically, and have global-scale fault tolerance. We discuss our work providing Apache Airavata as a hosted service to provide these features.

Why and how Mastering an Incremental and Iterative Software Development Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dubuc, François; Guichoux, Bernard; Cormery, Patrick; Mescam, Jean Christophe

2004-06-01

One of the key issues regularly mentioned in the current software crisis of the space domain is related to the software development process that must be performed while the system definition is not yet frozen. This is especially true for complex systems like launchers or space vehicles.Several more or less mature solutions are under study by EADS SPACE Transportation and are going to be presented in this paper. The basic principle is to develop the software through an iterative and incremental process instead of the classical waterfall approach, with the following advantages:- It permits systematic management and incorporation of requirements changes over the development cycle with a minimal cost. As far as possible the most dimensioning requirements are analyzed and developed in priority for validating very early the architecture concept without the details.- A software prototype is very quickly available. It improves the communication between system and software teams, as it enables to check very early and efficiently the common understanding of the system requirements.- It allows the software team to complete a whole development cycle very early, and thus to become quickly familiar with the software development environment (methodology, technology, tools...). This is particularly important when the team is new, or when the environment has changed since the previous development. Anyhow, it improves a lot the learning curve of the software team.These advantages seem very attractive, but mastering efficiently an iterative development process is not so easy and induces a lot of difficulties such as:- How to freeze one configuration of the system definition as a development baseline, while most of thesystem requirements are completely and naturally unstable?- How to distinguish stable/unstable and dimensioning/standard requirements?- How to plan the development of each increment?- How to link classical waterfall development milestones with an iterative approach: when should theclassical reviews be performed: Software Specification Review? Preliminary Design Review? CriticalDesign Review? Code Review? Etc...Several solutions envisaged or already deployed by EADS SPACE Transportation will be presented, both from a methodological and technological point of view:- How the MELANIE EADS ST internal methodology improves the concurrent engineering activitiesbetween GNC, software and simulation teams in a very iterative and reactive way.- How the CMM approach can help by better formalizing Requirements Management and Planningprocesses.- How the Automatic Code Generation with "certified" tools (SCADE) can still dramatically shorten thedevelopment cycle.Then the presentation will conclude by showing an evaluation of the cost and planning reduction based on a pilot application by comparing figures on two similar projects: one with the classical waterfall process, the other one with an iterative and incremental approach.

Ergatis: a web interface and scalable software system for bioinformatics workflows

PubMed Central

Orvis, Joshua; Crabtree, Jonathan; Galens, Kevin; Gussman, Aaron; Inman, Jason M.; Lee, Eduardo; Nampally, Sreenath; Riley, David; Sundaram, Jaideep P.; Felix, Victor; Whitty, Brett; Mahurkar, Anup; Wortman, Jennifer; White, Owen; Angiuoli, Samuel V.

2010-01-01

Motivation: The growth of sequence data has been accompanied by an increasing need to analyze data on distributed computer clusters. The use of these systems for routine analysis requires scalable and robust software for data management of large datasets. Software is also needed to simplify data management and make large-scale bioinformatics analysis accessible and reproducible to a wide class of target users. Results: We have developed a workflow management system named Ergatis that enables users to build, execute and monitor pipelines for computational analysis of genomics data. Ergatis contains preconfigured components and template pipelines for a number of common bioinformatics tasks such as prokaryotic genome annotation and genome comparisons. Outputs from many of these components can be loaded into a Chado relational database. Ergatis was designed to be accessible to a broad class of users and provides a user friendly, web-based interface. Ergatis supports high-throughput batch processing on distributed compute clusters and has been used for data management in a number of genome annotation and comparative genomics projects. Availability: Ergatis is an open-source project and is freely available at http://ergatis.sourceforge.net Contact: jorvis@users.sourceforge.net PMID:20413634

Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial in the field of planetary science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frigeri, A.

2012-12-01

Information technology applied to geospatial analyses has spread quickly in the last ten years. The availability of OpenData and data from collaborative mapping projects increased the interest on tools, procedures and methods to handle spatially-related information. Free Open Source Software projects devoted to geospatial data handling are gaining a good success as the use of interoperable formats and protocols allow the user to choose what pipeline of tools and libraries is needed to solve a particular task, adapting the software scene to his specific problem. In particular, the Free Open Source model of development mimics the scientific method very well, and researchers should be naturally encouraged to take part to the development process of these software projects, as this represent a very agile way to interact among several institutions. When it comes to planetary sciences, geospatial Free Open Source Software is gaining a key role in projects that commonly involve different subjects in an international scenario. Very popular software suites for processing scientific mission data (for example, ISIS) and for navigation/planning (SPICE) are being distributed along with the source code and the interaction between user and developer is often very strict, creating a continuum between these two figures. A very widely spread library for handling geospatial data (GDAL) has started to support planetary data from the Planetary Data System, and recent contributions enabled the support to other popular data formats used in planetary science, as the Vicar one. The use of Geographic Information System in planetary science is now diffused, and Free Open Source GIS, open GIS formats and network protocols allow to extend existing tools and methods developed to solve Earth based problems, also to the case of the study of solar system bodies. A day in the working life of a researcher using Free Open Source Software for geospatial will be presented, as well as benefits and solutions to possible detriments coming from the effort required by using, supporting and contributing.

Digital Image Display Control System, DIDCS. [for astronomical analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fischel, D.; Klinglesmith, D. A., III

1979-01-01

DIDCS is an interactive image display and manipulation system that is used for a variety of astronomical image reduction and analysis operations. The hardware system consists of a PDP 11/40 main frame with 32K of 16-bit core memory; 96K of 16-bit MOS memory; two 9 track 800 BPI tape drives; eight 2.5 million byte RKO5 type disk packs, three user terminals, and a COMTAL 8000-S display system which has sufficient memory to store and display three 512 x 512 x 8 bit images along with an overlay plane and function table for each image, a pseudo color table and the capability for displaying true color. The software system is based around the language FORTH, which will permit an open ended dictionary of user level words for image analyses and display. A description of the hardware and software systems will be presented along with examples of the types of astronomical research that are being performed. Also a short discussion of the commonality and exchange of this type of image analysis system will be given.

MI-Sim: A MATLAB package for the numerical analysis of microbial ecological interactions.

PubMed

Wade, Matthew J; Oakley, Jordan; Harbisher, Sophie; Parker, Nicholas G; Dolfing, Jan

2017-01-01

Food-webs and other classes of ecological network motifs, are a means of describing feeding relationships between consumers and producers in an ecosystem. They have application across scales where they differ only in the underlying characteristics of the organisms and substrates describing the system. Mathematical modelling, using mechanistic approaches to describe the dynamic behaviour and properties of the system through sets of ordinary differential equations, has been used extensively in ecology. Models allow simulation of the dynamics of the various motifs and their numerical analysis provides a greater understanding of the interplay between the system components and their intrinsic properties. We have developed the MI-Sim software for use with MATLAB to allow a rigorous and rapid numerical analysis of several common ecological motifs. MI-Sim contains a series of the most commonly used motifs such as cooperation, competition and predation. It does not require detailed knowledge of mathematical analytical techniques and is offered as a single graphical user interface containing all input and output options. The tools available in the current version of MI-Sim include model simulation, steady-state existence and stability analysis, and basin of attraction analysis. The software includes seven ecological interaction motifs and seven growth function models. Unlike other system analysis tools, MI-Sim is designed as a simple and user-friendly tool specific to ecological population type models, allowing for rapid assessment of their dynamical and behavioural properties.

Introduction to Message-Bus Architectures for Space Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Dan; Gregory, Brian

2005-01-01

This course presents technical and programmatic information on the development of message-based architectures for space mission ground and flight software systems. Message-based architecture approaches provide many significant advantages over the more traditional socket-based one-of-a-kind integrated system development approaches. The course provides an overview of publish/subscribe concepts, the use of common isolation layer API's, approaches to message standardization, and other technical topics. Several examples of currently operational systems are discussed and possible changes to the system development process are presented. Benefits and lessons learned will be discussed and time for questions and answers will be provided.

Using a commercial CAD system for simultaneous input to theoretical aerodynamic programs and wind-tunnel model construction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Enomoto, F.; Keller, P.

1984-01-01

The Computer Aided Design (CAD) system's common geometry database was used to generate input for theoretical programs and numerically controlled (NC) tool paths for wind tunnel part fabrication. This eliminates the duplication of work in generating separate geometry databases for each type of analysis. Another advantage is that it reduces the uncertainty due to geometric differences when comparing theoretical aerodynamic data with wind tunnel data. The system was adapted to aerodynamic research by developing programs written in Design Analysis Language (DAL). These programs reduced the amount of time required to construct complex geometries and to generate input for theoretical programs. Certain shortcomings of the Design, Drafting, and Manufacturing (DDM) software limited the effectiveness of these programs and some of the Calma NC software. The complexity of aircraft configurations suggests that more types of surface and curve geometry should be added to the system. Some of these shortcomings may be eliminated as improved versions of DDM are made available.

A Software Product Line Process to Develop Agents for the IoT.

PubMed

Ayala, Inmaculada; Amor, Mercedes; Fuentes, Lidia; Troya, José M

2015-07-01

One of the most important challenges of this decade is the Internet of Things (IoT), which aims to enable things to be connected anytime, anyplace, with anything and anyone, ideally using any path/network and any service. IoT systems are usually composed of heterogeneous and interconnected lightweight devices that support applications that are subject to change in their external environment and in the functioning of these devices. The management of the variability of these changes, autonomously, is a challenge in the development of these systems. Agents are a good option for developing self-managed IoT systems due to their distributed nature, context-awareness and self-adaptation. Our goal is to enhance the development of IoT applications using agents and software product lines (SPL). Specifically, we propose to use Self-StarMASMAS, multi-agent system) agents and to define an SPL process using the Common Variability Language. In this contribution, we propose an SPL process for Self-StarMAS, paying particular attention to agents embedded in sensor motes.

Parallelization of Rocket Engine System Software (Press)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cezzar, Ruknet

1996-01-01

The main goal is to assess parallelization requirements for the Rocket Engine Numeric Simulator (RENS) project which, aside from gathering information on liquid-propelled rocket engines and setting forth requirements, involve a large FORTRAN based package at NASA Lewis Research Center and TDK software developed by SUBR/UWF. The ultimate aim is to develop, test, integrate, and suitably deploy a family of software packages on various aspects and facets of rocket engines using liquid-propellants. At present, all project efforts by the funding agency, NASA Lewis Research Center, and the HBCU participants are disseminated over the internet using world wide web home pages. Considering obviously expensive methods of actual field trails, the benefits of software simulators are potentially enormous. When realized, these benefits will be analogous to those provided by numerous CAD/CAM packages and flight-training simulators. According to the overall task assignments, Hampton University's role is to collect all available software, place them in a common format, assess and evaluate, define interfaces, and provide integration. Most importantly, the HU's mission is to see to it that the real-time performance is assured. This involves source code translations, porting, and distribution. The porting will be done in two phases: First, place all software on Cray XMP platform using FORTRAN. After testing and evaluation on the Cray X-MP, the code will be translated to C + + and ported to the parallel nCUBE platform. At present, we are evaluating another option of distributed processing over local area networks using Sun NFS, Ethernet, TCP/IP. Considering the heterogeneous nature of the present software (e.g., first started as an expert system using LISP machines) which now involve FORTRAN code, the effort is expected to be quite challenging.

The control system of the 12-m medium-size telescope prototype: a test-ground for the CTA array control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oya, I.; Anguner, E. A.; Behera, B.; Birsin, E.; Fuessling, M.; Lindemann, R.; Melkumyan, D.; Schlenstedt, S.; Schmidt, T.; Schwanke, U.; Sternberger, R.; Wegner, P.; Wiesand, S.

2014-07-01

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will be the next generation ground-based very-high energy -ray observatory. CTA will consist of two arrays: one in the Northern hemisphere composed of about 20 telescopes, and the other one in the Southern hemisphere composed of about 100 telescopes, both arrays containing telescopes of different sizes and types and in addition numerous auxiliary devices. In order to provide a test-ground for the CTA array control, the steering software of the 12-m medium size telescope (MST) prototype deployed in Berlin has been implemented using the tools and design concepts under consideration to be used for the control of the CTA array. The prototype control system is implemented based on the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) Common Software (ACS) control middleware, with components implemented in Java, C++ and Python. The interfacing to the hardware is standardized via the Object Linking and Embedding for Process Control Unified Architecture (OPC UA). In order to access the OPC UA servers from the ACS framework in a common way, a library has been developed that allows to tie the OPC UA server nodes, methods and events to the equivalents in ACS components. The front-end of the archive system is able to identify the deployed components and to perform the sampling of the monitoring points of each component following time and value change triggers according to the selected configurations. The back-end of the archive system of the prototype is composed by two different databases: MySQL and MongoDB. MySQL has been selected as storage of the system configurations, while MongoDB is used to have an efficient storage of device monitoring data, CCD images, logging and alarm information. In this contribution, the details and conclusions on the implementation of the control software of the MST prototype are presented.

Lifecycle Prognostics Architecture for Selected High-Cost Active Components

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

N. Lybeck; B. Pham; M. Tawfik

There are an extensive body of knowledge and some commercial products available for calculating prognostics, remaining useful life, and damage index parameters. The application of these technologies within the nuclear power community is still in its infancy. Online monitoring and condition-based maintenance is seeing increasing acceptance and deployment, and these activities provide the technological bases for expanding to add predictive/prognostics capabilities. In looking to deploy prognostics there are three key aspects of systems that are presented and discussed: (1) component/system/structure selection, (2) prognostic algorithms, and (3) prognostics architectures. Criteria are presented for component selection: feasibility, failure probability, consequences of failure,more » and benefits of the prognostics and health management (PHM) system. The basis and methods commonly used for prognostics algorithms are reviewed and summarized. Criteria for evaluating PHM architectures are presented: open, modular architecture; platform independence; graphical user interface for system development and/or results viewing; web enabled tools; scalability; and standards compatibility. Thirteen software products were identified and discussed in the context of being potentially useful for deployment in a PHM program applied to systems in a nuclear power plant (NPP). These products were evaluated by using information available from company websites, product brochures, fact sheets, scholarly publications, and direct communication with vendors. The thirteen products were classified into four groups of software: (1) research tools, (2) PHM system development tools, (3) deployable architectures, and (4) peripheral tools. Eight software tools fell into the deployable architectures category. Of those eight, only two employ all six modules of a full PHM system. Five systems did not offer prognostic estimates, and one system employed the full health monitoring suite but lacked operations and maintenance support. Each product is briefly described in Appendix A. Selection of the most appropriate software package for a particular application will depend on the chosen component, system, or structure. Ongoing research will determine the most appropriate choices for a successful demonstration of PHM systems in aging NPPs.« less

Software Literacy and Student Learning in the Tertiary Environment: Powerpoint and Beyond

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khoo, Elaine; Hight, Craig; Cowie, Bronwen; Torrens, Rob; Ferrarelli, Lisabeth

2014-01-01

In this paper, we explore the relationship between student success in acquiring software literacy and students' broader engagement and understanding of knowledge across different disciplines. We report on the first phase of a project that examines software literacies associated with Microsoft PowerPoint as a common software package encountered and…

Common Grounds for Modelling Mathematics in Educational Software

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neuper, Walther

2010-01-01

Two kinds of software, CAS and DGS, are starting to work towards mutual integration. This paper envisages common grounds for such integration based on principles of computer theorem proving (CTP). Presently, the CTP community seems to lack awareness as to which of their products' features might serve mathematics education from high-school to…

Visual NNet: An Educational ANN's Simulation Environment Reusing Matlab Neural Networks Toolbox

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garcia-Roselló, Emilio; González-Dacosta, Jacinto; Lado, Maria J.; Méndez, Arturo J.; Garcia Pérez-Schofield, Baltasar; Ferrer, Fátima

2011-01-01

Artificial Neural Networks (ANN's) are nowadays a common subject in different curricula of graduate and postgraduate studies. Due to the complex algorithms involved and the dynamic nature of ANN's, simulation software has been commonly used to teach this subject. This software has usually been developed specifically for learning purposes, because…

Design of Mobile Health Tools to Promote Goal Achievement in Self-Management Tasks

PubMed Central

Henderson, Geoffrey; Parmanto, Bambang

2017-01-01

Background Goal-setting within rehabilitation is a common practice ultimately geared toward helping patients make functional progress. Objective The purposes of this study were to (1) qualitatively analyze data from a wellness program for patients with spina bifida (SB) and spinal cord injury (SCI) in order to generate software requirements for a goal-setting module to support their complex goal-setting routines, (2) design a prototype of a goal-setting module within an existing mobile health (mHealth) system, and (3) identify what educational content might be necessary to integrate into the system. Methods A total of 750 goals were analyzed from patients with SB and SCI enrolled in a wellness program. These goals were qualitatively analyzed in order to operationalize a set of software requirements for an mHealth goal-setting module and identify important educational content. Results Those of male sex (P=.02) and with SCI diagnosis (P<.001) were more likely to achieve goals than females or those with SB. Temporality (P<.001) and type (P<.001) of goal were associated with likelihood that the goal would be achieved. Nearly all (210/213; 98.6%) of the fact-finding goals were achieved. There was no significant difference in achievement based on goal theme. Checklists, data tracking, and fact-finding tools were identified as three functionalities that could support goal-setting and achievement in an mHealth system. Based on the qualitative analysis, a list of software requirements for a goal-setting module was generated, and a prototype was developed. Targets for educational content were also generated. Conclusions Innovative mHealth tools can be developed to support commonly set goals by individuals with disabilities. PMID:28739558

The business process management software for successful quality management and organization: A case study from the University of Split School of Medicine.

PubMed

Sapunar, Damir; Grković, Ivica; Lukšić, Davor; Marušić, Matko

2016-05-01

Our aim was to describe a comprehensive model of internal quality management (QM) at a medical school founded on the business process analysis (BPA) software tool. BPA software tool was used as the core element for description of all working processes in our medical school, and subsequently the system served as the comprehensive model of internal QM. The quality management system at the University of Split School of Medicine included the documentation and analysis of all business processes within the School. The analysis revealed 80 weak points related to one or several business processes. A precise analysis of medical school business processes allows identification of unfinished, unclear and inadequate points in these processes, and subsequently the respective improvements and increase of the QM level and ultimately a rationalization of the institution's work. Our approach offers a potential reference model for development of common QM framework allowing a continuous quality control, i.e. the adjustments and adaptation to contemporary educational needs of medical students. Copyright © 2016 by Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

SPCC- Software Elements for Security Partition Communication Controller

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herpel, H. J.; Willig, G.; Montano, G.; Tverdyshev, S.; Eckstein, K.; Schoen, M.

2016-08-01

Future satellite missions like Earth Observation, Telecommunication or any other kind are likely to be exposed to various threats aiming at exploiting vulnerabilities of the involved systems and communications. Moreover, the growing complexity of systems coupled with more ambitious types of operational scenarios imply increased security vulnerabilities in the future. In the paper we will describe an architecture and software elements to ensure high level of security on-board a spacecraft. First the threats to the Security Partition Communication Controller (SPCC) will be addressed including the identification of specific vulnerabilities to the SPCC. Furthermore, appropriate security objectives and security requirements are identified to be counter the identified threats. The security evaluation of the SPCC will be done in accordance to the Common Criteria (CC). The Software Elements for SPCC has been implemented on flight representative hardware which consists of two major elements: the I/O board and the SPCC board. The SPCC board provides the interfaces with ground while the I/O board interfaces with typical spacecraft equipment busses. Both boards are physically interconnected by a high speed spacewire (SpW) link.

Resilience Design Patterns - A Structured Approach to Resilience at Extreme Scale (version 1.1)

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

Hukerikar, Saurabh; Engelmann, Christian

Reliability is a serious concern for future extreme-scale high-performance computing (HPC) systems. Projections based on the current generation of HPC systems and technology roadmaps suggest the prevalence of very high fault rates in future systems. The errors resulting from these faults will propagate and generate various kinds of failures, which may result in outcomes ranging from result corruptions to catastrophic application crashes. Therefore the resilience challenge for extreme-scale HPC systems requires management of various hardware and software technologies that are capable of handling a broad set of fault models at accelerated fault rates. Also, due to practical limits on powermore » consumption in HPC systems future systems are likely to embrace innovative architectures, increasing the levels of hardware and software complexities. As a result the techniques that seek to improve resilience must navigate the complex trade-off space between resilience and the overheads to power consumption and performance. While the HPC community has developed various resilience solutions, application-level techniques as well as system-based solutions, the solution space of HPC resilience techniques remains fragmented. There are no formal methods and metrics to investigate and evaluate resilience holistically in HPC systems that consider impact scope, handling coverage, and performance & power efficiency across the system stack. Additionally, few of the current approaches are portable to newer architectures and software environments that will be deployed on future systems. In this document, we develop a structured approach to the management of HPC resilience using the concept of resilience-based design patterns. A design pattern is a general repeatable solution to a commonly occurring problem. We identify the commonly occurring problems and solutions used to deal with faults, errors and failures in HPC systems. Each established solution is described in the form of a pattern that addresses concrete problems in the design of resilient systems. The complete catalog of resilience design patterns provides designers with reusable design elements. We also define a framework that enhances a designer's understanding of the important constraints and opportunities for the design patterns to be implemented and deployed at various layers of the system stack. This design framework may be used to establish mechanisms and interfaces to coordinate flexible fault management across hardware and software components. The framework also supports optimization of the cost-benefit trade-offs among performance, resilience, and power consumption. The overall goal of this work is to enable a systematic methodology for the design and evaluation of resilience technologies in extreme-scale HPC systems that keep scientific applications running to a correct solution in a timely and cost-efficient manner in spite of frequent faults, errors, and failures of various types.« less

Simulating the behavior of volatiles belonging to the C-O-H-S system in silicate melts under magmatic conditions with the software D-Compress

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burgisser, Alain; Alletti, Marina; Scaillet, Bruno

2015-06-01

Modeling magmatic degassing, or how the volatile distribution between gas and melt changes at pressure varies, is a complex task that involves a large number of thermodynamical relationships and that requires dedicated software. This article presents the software D-Compress, which computes the gas and melt volatile composition of five element sets in magmatic systems (O-H, S-O-H, C-S-O-H, C-S-O-H-Fe, and C-O-H). It has been calibrated so as to simulate the volatiles coexisting with three common types of silicate melts (basalt, phonolite, and rhyolite). Operational temperatures depend on melt composition and range from 790 to 1400 °C. A specificity of D-Compress is the calculation of volatile composition as pressure varies along a (de)compression path between atmospheric and 3000 bars. This software was prepared so as to maximize versatility by proposing different sets of input parameters. In particular, whenever new solubility laws on specific melt compositions are available, the model parameters can be easily tuned to run the code on that composition. Parameter gaps were minimized by including sets of chemical species for which calibration data were available over a wide range of pressure, temperature, and melt composition. A brief description of the model rationale is followed by the presentation of the software capabilities. Examples of use are then presented with outputs comparisons between D-Compress and other currently available thermodynamical models. The compiled software and the source code are available as electronic supplementary materials.

System-of-Systems Technology-Portfolio-Analysis Tool

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

O'Neil, Daniel; Mankins, John; Feingold, Harvey; Johnson, Wayne

2012-01-01

Advanced Technology Life-cycle Analysis System (ATLAS) is a system-of-systems technology-portfolio-analysis software tool. ATLAS affords capabilities to (1) compare estimates of the mass and cost of an engineering system based on competing technological concepts; (2) estimate life-cycle costs of an outer-space-exploration architecture for a specified technology portfolio; (3) collect data on state-of-the-art and forecasted technology performance, and on operations and programs; and (4) calculate an index of the relative programmatic value of a technology portfolio. ATLAS facilitates analysis by providing a library of analytical spreadsheet models for a variety of systems. A single analyst can assemble a representation of a system of systems from the models and build a technology portfolio. Each system model estimates mass, and life-cycle costs are estimated by a common set of cost models. Other components of ATLAS include graphical-user-interface (GUI) software, algorithms for calculating the aforementioned index, a technology database, a report generator, and a form generator for creating the GUI for the system models. At the time of this reporting, ATLAS is a prototype, embodied in Microsoft Excel and several thousand lines of Visual Basic for Applications that run on both Windows and Macintosh computers.

Final Technical Report on Quantifying Dependability Attributes of Software Based Safety Critical Instrumentation and Control Systems in Nuclear Power Plants

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

Smidts, Carol; Huang, Funqun; Li, Boyuan

With the current transition from analog to digital instrumentation and control systems in nuclear power plants, the number and variety of software-based systems have significantly increased. The sophisticated nature and increasing complexity of software raises trust in these systems as a significant challenge. The trust placed in a software system is typically termed software dependability. Software dependability analysis faces uncommon challenges since software systems’ characteristics differ from those of hardware systems. The lack of systematic science-based methods for quantifying the dependability attributes in software-based instrumentation as well as control systems in safety critical applications has proved itself to be amore » significant inhibitor to the expanded use of modern digital technology in the nuclear industry. Dependability refers to the ability of a system to deliver a service that can be trusted. Dependability is commonly considered as a general concept that encompasses different attributes, e.g., reliability, safety, security, availability and maintainability. Dependability research has progressed significantly over the last few decades. For example, various assessment models and/or design approaches have been proposed for software reliability, software availability and software maintainability. Advances have also been made to integrate multiple dependability attributes, e.g., integrating security with other dependability attributes, measuring availability and maintainability, modeling reliability and availability, quantifying reliability and security, exploring the dependencies between security and safety and developing integrated analysis models. However, there is still a lack of understanding of the dependencies between various dependability attributes as a whole and of how such dependencies are formed. To address the need for quantification and give a more objective basis to the review process -- therefore reducing regulatory uncertainty -- measures and methods are needed to assess dependability attributes early on, as well as throughout the life-cycle process of software development. In this research, extensive expert opinion elicitation is used to identify the measures and methods for assessing software dependability. Semi-structured questionnaires were designed to elicit expert knowledge. A new notation system, Causal Mechanism Graphing, was developed to extract and represent such knowledge. The Causal Mechanism Graphs were merged, thus, obtaining the consensus knowledge shared by the domain experts. In this report, we focus on how software contributes to dependability. However, software dependability is not discussed separately from the context of systems or socio-technical systems. Specifically, this report focuses on software dependability, reliability, safety, security, availability, and maintainability. Our research was conducted in the sequence of stages found below. Each stage is further examined in its corresponding chapter. Stage 1 (Chapter 2): Elicitation of causal maps describing the dependencies between dependability attributes. These causal maps were constructed using expert opinion elicitation. This chapter describes the expert opinion elicitation process, the questionnaire design, the causal map construction method and the causal maps obtained. Stage 2 (Chapter 3): Elicitation of the causal map describing the occurrence of the event of interest for each dependability attribute. The causal mechanisms for the “event of interest” were extracted for each of the software dependability attributes. The “event of interest” for a dependability attribute is generally considered to be the “attribute failure”, e.g. security failure. The extraction was based on the analysis of expert elicitation results obtained in Stage 1. Stage 3 (Chapter 4): Identification of relevant measurements. Measures for the “events of interest” and their causal mechanisms were obtained from expert opinion elicitation for each of the software dependability attributes. The measures extracted are presented in this chapter. Stage 4 (Chapter 5): Assessment of the coverage of the causal maps via measures. Coverage was assessed to determine whether the measures obtained were sufficient to quantify software dependability, and what measures are further required. Stage 5 (Chapter 6): Identification of “missing” measures and measurement approaches for concepts not covered. New measures, for concepts that had not been covered sufficiently as determined in Stage 4, were identified using supplementary expert opinion elicitation as well as literature reviews. Stage 6 (Chapter 7): Building of a detailed quantification model based on the causal maps and measurements obtained. Ability to derive such a quantification model shows that the causal models and measurements derived from the previous stages (Stage 1 to Stage 5) can form the technical basis for developing dependability quantification models. Scope restrictions have led us to prioritize this demonstration effort. The demonstration was focused on a critical system, i.e. the reactor protection system. For this system, a ranking of the software dependability attributes by nuclear stakeholders was developed. As expected for this application, the stakeholder ranking identified safety as the most critical attribute to be quantified. A safety quantification model limited to the requirements phase of development was built. Two case studies were conducted for verification. A preliminary control gate for software safety for the requirements stage was proposed and applied to the first case study. The control gate allows a cost effective selection of the duration of the requirements phase.« less

NASA Langley Research Center's Simulation-To-Flight Concept Accomplished through the Integration Laboratories of the Transport Research Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martinez, Debbie; Davidson, Paul C.; Kenney, P. Sean; Hutchinson, Brian K.

2004-01-01

The Flight Simulation and Software Branch (FSSB) at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) maintains the unique national asset identified as the Transport Research Facility (TRF). The TRF is a group of facilities and integration laboratories utilized to support the LaRC's simulation-to-flight concept. This concept incorporates common software, hardware, and processes for both groundbased flight simulators and LaRC s B-757-200 flying laboratory identified as the Airborne Research Integrated Experiments System (ARIES). These assets provide Government, industry, and academia with an efficient way to develop and test new technology concepts to enhance the capacity, safety, and operational needs of the ever-changing national airspace system. The integration of the TRF enables a smooth continuous flow of the research from simulation to actual flight test.

Designing and encoding models for synthetic biology.

PubMed

Endler, Lukas; Rodriguez, Nicolas; Juty, Nick; Chelliah, Vijayalakshmi; Laibe, Camille; Li, Chen; Le Novère, Nicolas

2009-08-06

A key component of any synthetic biology effort is the use of quantitative models. These models and their corresponding simulations allow optimization of a system design, as well as guiding their subsequent analysis. Once a domain mostly reserved for experts, dynamical modelling of gene regulatory and reaction networks has been an area of growth over the last decade. There has been a concomitant increase in the number of software tools and standards, thereby facilitating model exchange and reuse. We give here an overview of the model creation and analysis processes as well as some software tools in common use. Using markup language to encode the model and associated annotation, we describe the mining of components, their integration in relational models, formularization and parametrization. Evaluation of simulation results and validation of the model close the systems biology 'loop'.

Common characteristics of open source software development and applicability for drug discovery: a systematic review.

PubMed

Ardal, Christine; Alstadsæter, Annette; Røttingen, John-Arne

2011-09-28

Innovation through an open source model has proven to be successful for software development. This success has led many to speculate if open source can be applied to other industries with similar success. We attempt to provide an understanding of open source software development characteristics for researchers, business leaders and government officials who may be interested in utilizing open source innovation in other contexts and with an emphasis on drug discovery. A systematic review was performed by searching relevant, multidisciplinary databases to extract empirical research regarding the common characteristics and barriers of initiating and maintaining an open source software development project. Common characteristics to open source software development pertinent to open source drug discovery were extracted. The characteristics were then grouped into the areas of participant attraction, management of volunteers, control mechanisms, legal framework and physical constraints. Lastly, their applicability to drug discovery was examined. We believe that the open source model is viable for drug discovery, although it is unlikely that it will exactly follow the form used in software development. Hybrids will likely develop that suit the unique characteristics of drug discovery. We suggest potential motivations for organizations to join an open source drug discovery project. We also examine specific differences between software and medicines, specifically how the need for laboratories and physical goods will impact the model as well as the effect of patents.

Master Metadata Repository and Metadata-Management System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Armstrong, Edward; Reed, Nate; Zhang, Wen

2007-01-01

A master metadata repository (MMR) software system manages the storage and searching of metadata pertaining to data from national and international satellite sources of the Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE) High Resolution Sea Surface Temperature Pilot Project [GHRSSTPP]. These sources produce a total of hundreds of data files daily, each file classified as one of more than ten data products representing global sea-surface temperatures. The MMR is a relational database wherein the metadata are divided into granulelevel records [denoted file records (FRs)] for individual satellite files and collection-level records [denoted data set descriptions (DSDs)] that describe metadata common to all the files from a specific data product. FRs and DSDs adhere to the NASA Directory Interchange Format (DIF). The FRs and DSDs are contained in separate subdatabases linked by a common field. The MMR is configured in MySQL database software with custom Practical Extraction and Reporting Language (PERL) programs to validate and ingest the metadata records. The database contents are converted into the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) standard format by use of the Extensible Markup Language (XML). A Web interface enables users to search for availability of data from all sources.

A car theft deterrent system research based on ARM9

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Kaisheng; Liu, Jinhao; Fan, Lijun

2009-07-01

The traditional automotive burglarproof systems commonly only rely on the simple remote control to security which measures are not perfect and functions are too single. With the development of society, people tend to concern on the fingerprint recognition technology, GSM /GPRS wireless transmission technology, the idea of ARM9-based design of automobile burglarproof system is dependent on both of them. The S3C2410 microprocessor embedded system is used in this system, which is illuminated the idea of the control system design through the hardware and software. The spot use indicates that the high control precision, steady performance and the humanistic rational design of automotive burglarproof system.

Space station data management system - A common GSE test interface for systems testing and verification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martinez, Pedro A.; Dunn, Kevin W.

1987-01-01

This paper examines the fundamental problems and goals associated with test, verification, and flight-certification of man-rated distributed data systems. First, a summary of the characteristics of modern computer systems that affect the testing process is provided. Then, verification requirements are expressed in terms of an overall test philosophy for distributed computer systems. This test philosophy stems from previous experience that was gained with centralized systems (Apollo and the Space Shuttle), and deals directly with the new problems that verification of distributed systems may present. Finally, a description of potential hardware and software tools to help solve these problems is provided.

Freva - Freie Univ Evaluation System Framework for Scientific Infrastructures in Earth System Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kadow, Christopher; Illing, Sebastian; Kunst, Oliver; Schartner, Thomas; Kirchner, Ingo; Rust, Henning W.; Cubasch, Ulrich; Ulbrich, Uwe

2016-04-01

The Freie Univ Evaluation System Framework (Freva - freva.met.fu-berlin.de) is a software infrastructure for standardized data and tool solutions in Earth system science. Freva runs on high performance computers to handle customizable evaluation systems of research projects, institutes or universities. It combines different software technologies into one common hybrid infrastructure, including all features present in the shell and web environment. The database interface satisfies the international standards provided by the Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF). Freva indexes different data projects into one common search environment by storing the meta data information of the self-describing model, reanalysis and observational data sets in a database. This implemented meta data system with its advanced but easy-to-handle search tool supports users, developers and their plugins to retrieve the required information. A generic application programming interface (API) allows scientific developers to connect their analysis tools with the evaluation system independently of the programming language used. Users of the evaluation techniques benefit from the common interface of the evaluation system without any need to understand the different scripting languages. Facilitation of the provision and usage of tools and climate data automatically increases the number of scientists working with the data sets and identifying discrepancies. The integrated web-shell (shellinabox) adds a degree of freedom in the choice of the working environment and can be used as a gate to the research projects HPC. Plugins are able to integrate their e.g. post-processed results into the database of the user. This allows e.g. post-processing plugins to feed statistical analysis plugins, which fosters an active exchange between plugin developers of a research project. Additionally, the history and configuration sub-system stores every analysis performed with the evaluation system in a database. Configurations and results of the tools can be shared among scientists via shell or web system. Therefore, plugged-in tools benefit from transparency and reproducibility. Furthermore, if configurations match while starting an evaluation plugin, the system suggests to use results already produced by other users - saving CPU/h, I/O, disk space and time. The efficient interaction between different technologies improves the Earth system modeling science framed by Freva.

Freva - Freie Univ Evaluation System Framework for Scientific HPC Infrastructures in Earth System Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kadow, C.; Illing, S.; Schartner, T.; Grieger, J.; Kirchner, I.; Rust, H.; Cubasch, U.; Ulbrich, U.

2017-12-01

The Freie Univ Evaluation System Framework (Freva - freva.met.fu-berlin.de) is a software infrastructure for standardized data and tool solutions in Earth system science (e.g. www-miklip.dkrz.de, cmip-eval.dkrz.de). Freva runs on high performance computers to handle customizable evaluation systems of research projects, institutes or universities. It combines different software technologies into one common hybrid infrastructure, including all features present in the shell and web environment. The database interface satisfies the international standards provided by the Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF). Freva indexes different data projects into one common search environment by storing the meta data information of the self-describing model, reanalysis and observational data sets in a database. This implemented meta data system with its advanced but easy-to-handle search tool supports users, developers and their plugins to retrieve the required information. A generic application programming interface (API) allows scientific developers to connect their analysis tools with the evaluation system independently of the programming language used. Users of the evaluation techniques benefit from the common interface of the evaluation system without any need to understand the different scripting languages. The integrated web-shell (shellinabox) adds a degree of freedom in the choice of the working environment and can be used as a gate to the research projects HPC. Plugins are able to integrate their e.g. post-processed results into the database of the user. This allows e.g. post-processing plugins to feed statistical analysis plugins, which fosters an active exchange between plugin developers of a research project. Additionally, the history and configuration sub-system stores every analysis performed with the evaluation system in a database. Configurations and results of the tools can be shared among scientists via shell or web system. Furthermore, if configurations match while starting an evaluation plugin, the system suggests to use results already produced by other users - saving CPU/h, I/O, disk space and time. The efficient interaction between different technologies improves the Earth system modeling science framed by Freva.

Computer-generated forces in distributed interactive simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petty, Mikel D.

1995-04-01

Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) is an architecture for building large-scale simulation models from a set of independent simulator nodes communicating via a common network protocol. DIS is most often used to create a simulated battlefield for military training. Computer Generated Forces (CGF) systems control large numbers of autonomous battlefield entities in a DIS simulation using computer equipment and software rather than humans in simulators. CGF entities serve as both enemy forces and supplemental friendly forces in a DIS exercise. Research into various aspects of CGF systems is ongoing. Several CGF systems have been implemented.

PyParse: a semiautomated system for scoring spoken recall data.

PubMed

Solway, Alec; Geller, Aaron S; Sederberg, Per B; Kahana, Michael J

2010-02-01

Studies of human memory often generate data on the sequence and timing of recalled items, but scoring such data using conventional methods is difficult or impossible. We describe a Python-based semiautomated system that greatly simplifies this task. This software, called PyParse, can easily be used in conjunction with many common experiment authoring systems. Scored data is output in a simple ASCII format and can be accessed with the programming language of choice, allowing for the identification of features such as correct responses, prior-list intrusions, extra-list intrusions, and repetitions.

Open core control software for surgical robots.

PubMed

Arata, Jumpei; Kozuka, Hiroaki; Kim, Hyung Wook; Takesue, Naoyuki; Vladimirov, B; Sakaguchi, Masamichi; Tokuda, Junichi; Hata, Nobuhiko; Chinzei, Kiyoyuki; Fujimoto, Hideo

2010-05-01

In these days, patients and doctors in operation room are surrounded by many medical devices as resulting from recent advancement of medical technology. However, these cutting-edge medical devices are working independently and not collaborating with each other, even though the collaborations between these devices such as navigation systems and medical imaging devices are becoming very important for accomplishing complex surgical tasks (such as a tumor removal procedure while checking the tumor location in neurosurgery). On the other hand, several surgical robots have been commercialized, and are becoming common. However, these surgical robots are not open for collaborations with external medical devices in these days. A cutting-edge "intelligent surgical robot" will be possible in collaborating with surgical robots, various kinds of sensors, navigation system and so on. On the other hand, most of the academic software developments for surgical robots are "home-made" in their research institutions and not open to the public. Therefore, open source control software for surgical robots can be beneficial in this field. From these perspectives, we developed Open Core Control software for surgical robots to overcome these challenges. In general, control softwares have hardware dependencies based on actuators, sensors and various kinds of internal devices. Therefore, these control softwares cannot be used on different types of robots without modifications. However, the structure of the Open Core Control software can be reused for various types of robots by abstracting hardware dependent parts. In addition, network connectivity is crucial for collaboration between advanced medical devices. The OpenIGTLink is adopted in Interface class which plays a role to communicate with external medical devices. At the same time, it is essential to maintain the stable operation within the asynchronous data transactions through network. In the Open Core Control software, several techniques for this purpose were introduced. Virtual fixture is well known technique as a "force guide" for supporting operators to perform precise manipulation by using a master-slave robot. The virtual fixture for precise and safety surgery was implemented on the system to demonstrate an idea of high-level collaboration between a surgical robot and a navigation system. The extension of virtual fixture is not a part of the Open Core Control system, however, the function such as virtual fixture cannot be realized without a tight collaboration between cutting-edge medical devices. By using the virtual fixture, operators can pre-define an accessible area on the navigation system, and the area information can be transferred to the robot. In this manner, the surgical console generates the reflection force when the operator tries to get out from the pre-defined accessible area during surgery. The Open Core Control software was implemented on a surgical master-slave robot and stable operation was observed in a motion test. The tip of the surgical robot was displayed on a navigation system by connecting the surgical robot with a 3D position sensor through the OpenIGTLink. The accessible area was pre-defined before the operation, and the virtual fixture was displayed as a "force guide" on the surgical console. In addition, the system showed stable performance in a duration test with network disturbance. In this paper, a design of the Open Core Control software for surgical robots and the implementation of virtual fixture were described. The Open Core Control software was implemented on a surgical robot system and showed stable performance in high-level collaboration works. The Open Core Control software is developed to be a widely used platform of surgical robots. Safety issues are essential for control software of these complex medical devices. It is important to follow the global specifications such as a FDA requirement "General Principles of Software Validation" or IEC62304. For following these regulations, it is important to develop a self-test environment. Therefore, a test environment is now under development to test various interference in operation room such as a noise of electric knife by considering safety and test environment regulations such as ISO13849 and IEC60508. The Open Core Control software is currently being developed software in open-source manner and available on the Internet. A communization of software interface is becoming a major trend in this field. Based on this perspective, the Open Core Control software can be expected to bring contributions in this field.

The development of regulatory expectations for computer-based safety systems for the UK nuclear programme

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

Hughes, P. J.; Westwood, R.N; Mark, R. T.

2006-07-01

The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) of the UK's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has completed a review of their Safety Assessment Principles (SAPs) for Nuclear Installations recently. During the period of the SAPs review in 2004-2005 the designers of future UK naval reactor plant were optioneering the control and protection systems that might be implemented. Because there was insufficient regulatory guidance available in the naval sector to support this activity the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator (DNSR) invited the NII to collaborate with the production of a guidance document that provides clarity of regulatory expectations for the production of safety casesmore » for computer based safety systems. A key part of producing regulatory expectations was identifying the relevant extant standards and sector guidance that reflect good practice. The three principal sources of such good practice were: IAEA Safety Guide NS-G-1.1 (Software for Computer Based Systems Important to Safety in Nuclear Power Plants), European Commission consensus document (Common Position of European Nuclear Regulators for the Licensing of Safety Critical Software for Nuclear Reactors) and IEC nuclear sector standards such as IEC60880. A common understanding has been achieved between the NII and DNSR and regulatory guidance developed which will be used by both NII and DNSR in the assessment of computer-based safety systems and in the further development of more detailed joint technical assessment guidance for both regulatory organisations. (authors)« less

Predicting System Accidents with Model Analysis During Hybrid Simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malin, Jane T.; Fleming, Land D.; Throop, David R.

2002-01-01

Standard discrete event simulation is commonly used to identify system bottlenecks and starving and blocking conditions in resources and services. The CONFIG hybrid discrete/continuous simulation tool can simulate such conditions in combination with inputs external to the simulation. This provides a means for evaluating the vulnerability to system accidents of a system's design, operating procedures, and control software. System accidents are brought about by complex unexpected interactions among multiple system failures , faulty or misleading sensor data, and inappropriate responses of human operators or software. The flows of resource and product materials play a central role in the hazardous situations that may arise in fluid transport and processing systems. We describe the capabilities of CONFIG for simulation-time linear circuit analysis of fluid flows in the context of model-based hazard analysis. We focus on how CONFIG simulates the static stresses in systems of flow. Unlike other flow-related properties, static stresses (or static potentials) cannot be represented by a set of state equations. The distribution of static stresses is dependent on the specific history of operations performed on a system. We discuss the use of this type of information in hazard analysis of system designs.

LG based decision aid for naval tactical action officer's (TAO) workstation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stilman, Boris; Yakhnis, Vladimir; Umanskiy, Oleg; Boyd, Ron

2005-05-01

In the increasingly NetCentric battlespace of the 21st century, Stilman Advanced Strategies Linguistic Geometry software has the potential to revolutionize the way that the Navy fights in two key areas: as a Tactical Decision Aid and for creating a relevant Common Operating Picture. Incorporating STILMAN's software into a prototype Tactical Action Officers (TAO) workstation as a Tactical Decision Aid (TDA) will allow warfighters to manage their assets more intelligently and effectively. This prototype workstation will be developed using human-centered design principles and will be an open, component-based architecture for combat control systems for future small surface combatants. It will integrate both uninhabited vehicles and onboard sensors and weapon systems across a squadron of small surface combatants. In addition, the hypergame representation of complex operations provides a paradigm for the presentation of a common operating picture to operators and personnel throughout the command hierarchy. In the hypergame technology there are game levels that span the range from the tactical to the global strategy level, with each level informing the others. This same principle will be applied to presenting the relevant common operating picture to operators. Each operator will receive a common operating picture that is appropriate for their level in the command hierarchy. The area covered by this operating picture and the level of detail contained within it will be dependent upon the specific tasks the operator is performing (supervisory vice tactical control) and the level of the operator (or command personnel) within the command hierarchy. Each level will inform the others to keep the picture concurrent and up-to-date.

Software components for medical image visualization and surgical planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Starreveld, Yves P.; Gobbi, David G.; Finnis, Kirk; Peters, Terence M.

2001-05-01

Purpose: The development of new applications in medical image visualization and surgical planning requires the completion of many common tasks such as image reading and re-sampling, segmentation, volume rendering, and surface display. Intra-operative use requires an interface to a tracking system and image registration, and the application requires basic, easy to understand user interface components. Rapid changes in computer and end-application hardware, as well as in operating systems and network environments make it desirable to have a hardware and operating system as an independent collection of reusable software components that can be assembled rapidly to prototype new applications. Methods: Using the OpenGL based Visualization Toolkit as a base, we have developed a set of components that implement the above mentioned tasks. The components are written in both C++ and Python, but all are accessible from Python, a byte compiled scripting language. The components have been used on the Red Hat Linux, Silicon Graphics Iris, Microsoft Windows, and Apple OS X platforms. Rigorous object-oriented software design methods have been applied to ensure hardware independence and a standard application programming interface (API). There are components to acquire, display, and register images from MRI, MRA, CT, Computed Rotational Angiography (CRA), Digital Subtraction Angiography (DSA), 2D and 3D ultrasound, video and physiological recordings. Interfaces to various tracking systems for intra-operative use have also been implemented. Results: The described components have been implemented and tested. To date they have been used to create image manipulation and viewing tools, a deep brain functional atlas, a 3D ultrasound acquisition and display platform, a prototype minimally invasive robotic coronary artery bypass graft planning system, a tracked neuro-endoscope guidance system and a frame-based stereotaxy neurosurgery planning tool. The frame-based stereotaxy module has been licensed and certified for use in a commercial image guidance system. Conclusions: It is feasible to encapsulate image manipulation and surgical guidance tasks in individual, reusable software modules. These modules allow for faster development of new applications. The strict application of object oriented software design methods allows individual components of such a system to make the transition from the research environment to a commercial one.

Adding Processing Functionality to the Sensor Web

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stasch, Christoph; Pross, Benjamin; Jirka, Simon; Gräler, Benedikt

2017-04-01

The Sensor Web allows discovering, accessing and tasking different kinds of environmental sensors in the Web, ranging from simple in-situ sensors to remote sensing systems. However, (geo-)processing functionality needs to be applied to integrate data from different sensor sources and to generate higher level information products. Yet, a common standardized approach for processing sensor data in the Sensor Web is still missing and the integration differs from application to application. Standardizing not only the provision of sensor data, but also the processing facilitates sharing and re-use of processing modules, enables reproducibility of processing results, and provides a common way to integrate external scalable processing facilities or legacy software. In this presentation, we provide an overview on on-going research projects that develop concepts for coupling standardized geoprocessing technologies with Sensor Web technologies. At first, different architectures for coupling sensor data services with geoprocessing services are presented. Afterwards, profiles for linear regression and spatio-temporal interpolation of the OGC Web Processing Services that allow consuming sensor data coming from and uploading predictions to Sensor Observation Services are introduced. The profiles are implemented in processing services for the hydrological domain. Finally, we illustrate how the R software can be coupled with existing OGC Sensor Web and Geoprocessing Services and present an example, how a Web app can be built that allows exploring the results of environmental models in an interactive way using the R Shiny framework. All of the software presented is available as Open Source Software.

Prediction of Software Reliability using Bio Inspired Soft Computing Techniques.

PubMed

Diwaker, Chander; Tomar, Pradeep; Poonia, Ramesh C; Singh, Vijander

2018-04-10

A lot of models have been made for predicting software reliability. The reliability models are restricted to using particular types of methodologies and restricted number of parameters. There are a number of techniques and methodologies that may be used for reliability prediction. There is need to focus on parameters consideration while estimating reliability. The reliability of a system may increase or decreases depending on the selection of different parameters used. Thus there is need to identify factors that heavily affecting the reliability of the system. In present days, reusability is mostly used in the various area of research. Reusability is the basis of Component-Based System (CBS). The cost, time and human skill can be saved using Component-Based Software Engineering (CBSE) concepts. CBSE metrics may be used to assess those techniques which are more suitable for estimating system reliability. Soft computing is used for small as well as large-scale problems where it is difficult to find accurate results due to uncertainty or randomness. Several possibilities are available to apply soft computing techniques in medicine related problems. Clinical science of medicine using fuzzy-logic, neural network methodology significantly while basic science of medicine using neural-networks-genetic algorithm most frequently and preferably. There is unavoidable interest shown by medical scientists to use the various soft computing methodologies in genetics, physiology, radiology, cardiology and neurology discipline. CBSE boost users to reuse the past and existing software for making new products to provide quality with a saving of time, memory space, and money. This paper focused on assessment of commonly used soft computing technique like Genetic Algorithm (GA), Neural-Network (NN), Fuzzy Logic, Support Vector Machine (SVM), Ant Colony Optimization (ACO), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), and Artificial Bee Colony (ABC). This paper presents working of soft computing techniques and assessment of soft computing techniques to predict reliability. The parameter considered while estimating and prediction of reliability are also discussed. This study can be used in estimation and prediction of the reliability of various instruments used in the medical system, software engineering, computer engineering and mechanical engineering also. These concepts can be applied to both software and hardware, to predict the reliability using CBSE.

NASA's Earth Imagery Service as Open Source Software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Cesare, C.; Alarcon, C.; Huang, T.; Roberts, J. T.; Rodriguez, J.; Cechini, M. F.; Boller, R. A.; Baynes, K.

2016-12-01

The NASA Global Imagery Browse Service (GIBS) is a software system that provides access to an archive of historical and near-real-time Earth imagery from NASA-supported satellite instruments. The imagery itself is open data, and is accessible via standards such as the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC)'s Web Map Tile Service (WMTS) protocol. GIBS includes three core software projects: The Imagery Exchange (TIE), OnEarth, and the Meta Raster Format (MRF) project. These projects are developed using a variety of open source software, including: Apache HTTPD, GDAL, Mapserver, Grails, Zookeeper, Eclipse, Maven, git, and Apache Commons. TIE has recently been released for open source, and is now available on GitHub. OnEarth, MRF, and their sub-projects have been on GitHub since 2014, and the MRF project in particular receives many external contributions from the community. Our software has been successful beyond the scope of GIBS: the PO.DAAC State of the Ocean and COVERAGE visualization projects reuse components from OnEarth. The MRF source code has recently been incorporated into GDAL, which is a core library in many widely-used GIS software such as QGIS and GeoServer. This presentation will describe the challenges faced in incorporating open software and open data into GIBS, and also showcase GIBS as a platform on which scientists and the general public can build their own applications.

Agile methods in biomedical software development: a multi-site experience report.

PubMed

Kane, David W; Hohman, Moses M; Cerami, Ethan G; McCormick, Michael W; Kuhlmman, Karl F; Byrd, Jeff A

2006-05-30

Agile is an iterative approach to software development that relies on strong collaboration and automation to keep pace with dynamic environments. We have successfully used agile development approaches to create and maintain biomedical software, including software for bioinformatics. This paper reports on a qualitative study of our experiences using these methods. We have found that agile methods are well suited to the exploratory and iterative nature of scientific inquiry. They provide a robust framework for reproducing scientific results and for developing clinical support systems. The agile development approach also provides a model for collaboration between software engineers and researchers. We present our experience using agile methodologies in projects at six different biomedical software development organizations. The organizations include academic, commercial and government development teams, and included both bioinformatics and clinical support applications. We found that agile practices were a match for the needs of our biomedical projects and contributed to the success of our organizations. We found that the agile development approach was a good fit for our organizations, and that these practices should be applicable and valuable to other biomedical software development efforts. Although we found differences in how agile methods were used, we were also able to identify a set of core practices that were common to all of the groups, and that could be a focus for others seeking to adopt these methods.

Agile methods in biomedical software development: a multi-site experience report

PubMed Central

Kane, David W; Hohman, Moses M; Cerami, Ethan G; McCormick, Michael W; Kuhlmman, Karl F; Byrd, Jeff A

2006-01-01

Background Agile is an iterative approach to software development that relies on strong collaboration and automation to keep pace with dynamic environments. We have successfully used agile development approaches to create and maintain biomedical software, including software for bioinformatics. This paper reports on a qualitative study of our experiences using these methods. Results We have found that agile methods are well suited to the exploratory and iterative nature of scientific inquiry. They provide a robust framework for reproducing scientific results and for developing clinical support systems. The agile development approach also provides a model for collaboration between software engineers and researchers. We present our experience using agile methodologies in projects at six different biomedical software development organizations. The organizations include academic, commercial and government development teams, and included both bioinformatics and clinical support applications. We found that agile practices were a match for the needs of our biomedical projects and contributed to the success of our organizations. Conclusion We found that the agile development approach was a good fit for our organizations, and that these practices should be applicable and valuable to other biomedical software development efforts. Although we found differences in how agile methods were used, we were also able to identify a set of core practices that were common to all of the groups, and that could be a focus for others seeking to adopt these methods. PMID:16734914

Design of the on-board application software for the instrument control unit of Euclid-NISP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ligori, Sebastiano; Corcione, Leonardo; Capobianco, Vito; Valenziano, Luca

2014-08-01

In this paper we describe the main requirements driving the development of the Application software of the ICU of NISP, the Near-Infrared Spectro-Photometer of the Euclid mission. This software will be based on a real-time operating system and will interface with all the subunits of NISP, as well as the CMDU of the spacecraft for the Telecommand and Housekeeping management. We briefly detail the services (following the PUS standard) that will be made available, and also possible commonalities in the approach with the ASW of the VIS CDPU, which could make the development effort more efficient; this approach could also make easier the maintenance of the SW during the mission. The development plan of the ASW and the next milestones foreseen are described, together with the architectural design approach and the development environment we are setting up.

Equilibrium expert: an add-in to Microsoft Excel for multiple binding equilibrium simulations and parameter estimations.

PubMed

Raguin, Olivier; Gruaz-Guyon, Anne; Barbet, Jacques

2002-11-01

An add-in to Microsoft Excel was developed to simulate multiple binding equilibriums. A partition function, readily written even when the equilibrium is complex, describes the experimental system. It involves the concentrations of the different free molecular species and of the different complexes present in the experiment. As a result, the software is not restricted to a series of predefined experimental setups but can handle a large variety of problems involving up to nine independent molecular species. Binding parameters are estimated by nonlinear least-square fitting of experimental measurements as supplied by the user. The fitting process allows user-defined weighting of the experimental data. The flexibility of the software and the way it may be used to describe common experimental situations and to deal with usual problems such as tracer reactivity or nonspecific binding is demonstrated by a few examples. The software is available free of charge upon request.

Evolutionary Telemetry and Command Processor (TCP) architecture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schneider, John R.

1992-01-01

A low cost, modular, high performance, and compact Telemetry and Command Processor (TCP) is being built as the foundation of command and data handling subsystems for the next generation of satellites. The TCP product line will support command and telemetry requirements for small to large spacecraft and from low to high rate data transmission. It is compatible with the latest TDRSS, STDN and SGLS transponders and provides CCSDS protocol communications in addition to standard TDM formats. Its high performance computer provides computing resources for hosted flight software. Layered and modular software provides common services using standardized interfaces to applications thereby enhancing software re-use, transportability, and interoperability. The TCP architecture is based on existing standards, distributed networking, distributed and open system computing, and packet technology. The first TCP application is planned for the 94 SDIO SPAS 3 mission. The architecture enhances rapid tailoring of functions thereby reducing costs and schedules developed for individual spacecraft missions.

Managing Data From Signal-Propagation Experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kantak, A. V.

1989-01-01

Computer programs generate characteristic plots from amplitudes and phases. Software system enables minicomputer to process data on amplitudes and phases of signals received during experiments in ground-mobile/satellite radio propagation. Takes advantage of file-handling capabilities of UNIX operating system and C programming language. Interacts with user, under whose guidance programs in FORTRAN language generate plots of spectra or other curves of types commonly used to characterize signals. FORTRAN programs used to process file-handling outputs into any of several useful forms.

Large Scale Software System Design of the Missile Minder AN/TSQ-73 Using the ADA Programming Language.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-11-09

PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE U. S . ARMY CECOM CONTRACT NO. DAAK8O-81-C-3107 CONTROL DATA CORPORATION GOVERNMENT SYSTEMS 40 AVENUE AT THE COMMON SHREWSBURY, NJ...contained in this report :. are those of the author( s ) and should not be construed as an .J : . official Department of the Army position, policy or...fomIn Orimaniatil Rt. No. Control Data Corporation S . PfmgOrgnizatla Name and Address 10. PmolatTasklWwrk Unit Mo. Control Data Corporation

Space vehicle field unit and ground station system

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

Judd, Stephen; Dallmann, Nicholas; Delapp, Jerry

A field unit and ground station may use commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components and share a common architecture, where differences in functionality are governed by software. The field units and ground stations may be easy to deploy, relatively inexpensive, and be relatively easy to operate. A novel file system may be used where datagrams of a file may be stored across multiple drives and/or devices. The datagrams may be received out of order and reassembled at the receiving device.

Space vehicle field unit and ground station system

DOEpatents

Judd, Stephen; Dallmann, Nicholas; Delapp, Jerry; Proicou, Michael; Seitz, Daniel; Michel, John; Enemark, Donald

2016-10-25

A field unit and ground station may use commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components and share a common architecture, where differences in functionality are governed by software. The field units and ground stations may be easy to deploy, relatively inexpensive, and be relatively easy to operate. A novel file system may be used where datagrams of a file may be stored across multiple drives and/or devices. The datagrams may be received out of order and reassembled at the receiving device.

Web-Based Software for Managing Research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoadley, Sherwood T.; Ingraldi, Anthony M.; Gough, Kerry M.; Fox, Charles; Cronin, Catherine K.; Hagemann, Andrew G.; Kemmerly, Guy T.; Goodman, Wesley L.

2007-01-01

aeroCOMPASS is a software system, originally designed to aid in the management of wind tunnels at Langley Research Center, that could be adapted to provide similar aid to other enterprises in which research is performed in common laboratory facilities by users who may be geographically dispersed. Included in aeroCOMPASS is Web-interface software that provides a single, convenient portal to a set of project- and test-related software tools and other application programs. The heart of aeroCOMPASS is a user-oriented document-management software subsystem that enables geographically dispersed users to easily share and manage a variety of documents. A principle of "write once, read many" is implemented throughout aeroCOMPASS to eliminate the need for multiple entry of the same information. The Web framework of aeroCOMPASS provides links to client-side application programs that are fully integrated with databases and server-side application programs. Other subsystems of aeroCOMPASS include ones for reserving hardware, tracking of requests and feedback from users, generating interactive notes, administration of a customer-satisfaction questionnaire, managing execution of tests, managing archives of metadata about tests, planning tests, and providing online help and instruction for users.

The key image and case log application: new radiology software for teaching file creation and case logging that incorporates elements of a social network.

PubMed

Rowe, Steven P; Siddiqui, Adeel; Bonekamp, David

2014-07-01

To create novel radiology key image software that is easy to use for novice users, incorporates elements adapted from social networking Web sites, facilitates resident and fellow education, and can serve as the engine for departmental sharing of interesting cases and follow-up studies. Using open-source programming languages and software, radiology key image software (the key image and case log application, KICLA) was developed. This system uses a lightweight interface with the institutional picture archiving and communications systems and enables the storage of key images, image series, and cine clips. It was designed to operate with minimal disruption to the radiologists' daily workflow. Many features of the user interface have been inspired by social networking Web sites, including image organization into private or public folders, flexible sharing with other users, and integration of departmental teaching files into the system. We also review the performance, usage, and acceptance of this novel system. KICLA was implemented at our institution and achieved widespread popularity among radiologists. A large number of key images have been transmitted to the system since it became available. After this early experience period, the most commonly encountered radiologic modalities are represented. A survey distributed to users revealed that most of the respondents found the system easy to use (89%) and fast at allowing them to record interesting cases (100%). Hundred percent of respondents also stated that they would recommend a system such as KICLA to their colleagues. The system described herein represents a significant upgrade to the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine teaching file paradigm with efforts made to maximize its ease of use and inclusion of characteristics inspired by social networking Web sites that allow the system additional functionality such as individual case logging. Copyright © 2014 AUR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Space Telecommunications Radio Architecture (STRS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reinhart, Richard C.

2006-01-01

A software defined radio (SDR) architecture used in space-based platforms proposes to standardize certain aspects of radio development such as interface definitions, functional control and execution, and application software and firmware development. NASA has charted a team to develop an open software defined radio hardware and software architecture to support NASA missions and determine the viability of an Agency-wide Standard. A draft concept of the proposed standard has been released and discussed among organizations in the SDR community. Appropriate leveraging of the JTRS SCA, OMG's SWRadio Architecture and other aspects are considered. A standard radio architecture offers potential value by employing common waveform software instantiation, operation, testing and software maintenance. While software defined radios offer greater flexibility, they also poses challenges to the radio development for the space environment in terms of size, mass and power consumption and available technology. An SDR architecture for space must recognize and address the constraints of space flight hardware, and systems along with flight heritage and culture. NASA is actively participating in the development of technology and standards related to software defined radios. As NASA considers a standard radio architecture for space communications, input and coordination from government agencies, the industry, academia, and standards bodies is key to a successful architecture. The unique aspects of space require thorough investigation of relevant terrestrial technologies properly adapted to space. The talk will describe NASA s current effort to investigate SDR applications to space missions and a brief overview of a candidate architecture under consideration for space based platforms.

Space Telecommunications Radio Architecture (STRS): Technical Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reinhart, Richard C.

2006-01-01

A software defined radio (SDR) architecture used in space-based platforms proposes to standardize certain aspects of radio development such as interface definitions, functional control and execution, and application software and firmware development. NASA has charted a team to develop an open software defined radio hardware and software architecture to support NASA missions and determine the viability of an Agency-wide Standard. A draft concept of the proposed standard has been released and discussed among organizations in the SDR community. Appropriate leveraging of the JTRS SCA, OMG s SWRadio Architecture and other aspects are considered. A standard radio architecture offers potential value by employing common waveform software instantiation, operation, testing and software maintenance. While software defined radios offer greater flexibility, they also poses challenges to the radio development for the space environment in terms of size, mass and power consumption and available technology. An SDR architecture for space must recognize and address the constraints of space flight hardware, and systems along with flight heritage and culture. NASA is actively participating in the development of technology and standards related to software defined radios. As NASA considers a standard radio architecture for space communications, input and coordination from government agencies, the industry, academia, and standards bodies is key to a successful architecture. The unique aspects of space require thorough investigation of relevant terrestrial technologies properly adapted to space. The talk will describe NASA's current effort to investigate SDR applications to space missions and a brief overview of a candidate architecture under consideration for space based platforms.

High-throughput state-machine replication using software transactional memory.

PubMed

Zhao, Wenbing; Yang, William; Zhang, Honglei; Yang, Jack; Luo, Xiong; Zhu, Yueqin; Yang, Mary; Luo, Chaomin

2016-11-01

State-machine replication is a common way of constructing general purpose fault tolerance systems. To ensure replica consistency, requests must be executed sequentially according to some total order at all non-faulty replicas. Unfortunately, this could severely limit the system throughput. This issue has been partially addressed by identifying non-conflicting requests based on application semantics and executing these requests concurrently. However, identifying and tracking non-conflicting requests require intimate knowledge of application design and implementation, and a custom fault tolerance solution developed for one application cannot be easily adopted by other applications. Software transactional memory offers a new way of constructing concurrent programs. In this article, we present the mechanisms needed to retrofit existing concurrency control algorithms designed for software transactional memory for state-machine replication. The main benefit for using software transactional memory in state-machine replication is that general purpose concurrency control mechanisms can be designed without deep knowledge of application semantics. As such, new fault tolerance systems based on state-machine replications with excellent throughput can be easily designed and maintained. In this article, we introduce three different concurrency control mechanisms for state-machine replication using software transactional memory, namely, ordered strong strict two-phase locking, conventional timestamp-based multiversion concurrency control, and speculative timestamp-based multiversion concurrency control. Our experiments show that speculative timestamp-based multiversion concurrency control mechanism has the best performance in all types of workload, the conventional timestamp-based multiversion concurrency control offers the worst performance due to high abort rate in the presence of even moderate contention between transactions. The ordered strong strict two-phase locking mechanism offers the simplest solution with excellent performance in low contention workload, and fairly good performance in high contention workload.

High-throughput state-machine replication using software transactional memory

PubMed Central

Yang, William; Zhang, Honglei; Yang, Jack; Luo, Xiong; Zhu, Yueqin; Yang, Mary; Luo, Chaomin

2017-01-01

State-machine replication is a common way of constructing general purpose fault tolerance systems. To ensure replica consistency, requests must be executed sequentially according to some total order at all non-faulty replicas. Unfortunately, this could severely limit the system throughput. This issue has been partially addressed by identifying non-conflicting requests based on application semantics and executing these requests concurrently. However, identifying and tracking non-conflicting requests require intimate knowledge of application design and implementation, and a custom fault tolerance solution developed for one application cannot be easily adopted by other applications. Software transactional memory offers a new way of constructing concurrent programs. In this article, we present the mechanisms needed to retrofit existing concurrency control algorithms designed for software transactional memory for state-machine replication. The main benefit for using software transactional memory in state-machine replication is that general purpose concurrency control mechanisms can be designed without deep knowledge of application semantics. As such, new fault tolerance systems based on state-machine replications with excellent throughput can be easily designed and maintained. In this article, we introduce three different concurrency control mechanisms for state-machine replication using software transactional memory, namely, ordered strong strict two-phase locking, conventional timestamp-based multiversion concurrency control, and speculative timestamp-based multiversion concurrency control. Our experiments show that speculative timestamp-based multiversion concurrency control mechanism has the best performance in all types of workload, the conventional timestamp-based multiversion concurrency control offers the worst performance due to high abort rate in the presence of even moderate contention between transactions. The ordered strong strict two-phase locking mechanism offers the simplest solution with excellent performance in low contention workload, and fairly good performance in high contention workload. PMID:29075049

NASA Software Engineering Benchmarking Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rarick, Heather L.; Godfrey, Sara H.; Kelly, John C.; Crumbley, Robert T.; Wifl, Joel M.

2013-01-01

To identify best practices for the improvement of software engineering on projects, NASA's Offices of Chief Engineer (OCE) and Safety and Mission Assurance (OSMA) formed a team led by Heather Rarick and Sally Godfrey to conduct this benchmarking study. The primary goals of the study are to identify best practices that: Improve the management and technical development of software intensive systems; Have a track record of successful deployment by aerospace industries, universities [including research and development (R&D) laboratories], and defense services, as well as NASA's own component Centers; and Identify candidate solutions for NASA's software issues. Beginning in the late fall of 2010, focus topics were chosen and interview questions were developed, based on the NASA top software challenges. Between February 2011 and November 2011, the Benchmark Team interviewed a total of 18 organizations, consisting of five NASA Centers, five industry organizations, four defense services organizations, and four university or university R and D laboratory organizations. A software assurance representative also participated in each of the interviews to focus on assurance and software safety best practices. Interviewees provided a wealth of information on each topic area that included: software policy, software acquisition, software assurance, testing, training, maintaining rigor in small projects, metrics, and use of the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) framework, as well as a number of special topics that came up in the discussions. NASA's software engineering practices compared favorably with the external organizations in most benchmark areas, but in every topic, there were ways in which NASA could improve its practices. Compared to defense services organizations and some of the industry organizations, one of NASA's notable weaknesses involved communication with contractors regarding its policies and requirements for acquired software. One of NASA's strengths was its software assurance practices, which seemed to rate well in comparison to the other organizational groups and also seemed to include a larger scope of activities. An unexpected benefit of the software benchmarking study was the identification of many opportunities for collaboration in areas including metrics, training, sharing of CMMI experiences and resources such as instructors and CMMI Lead Appraisers, and even sharing of assets such as documented processes. A further unexpected benefit of the study was the feedback on NASA practices that was received from some of the organizations interviewed. From that feedback, other potential areas where NASA could improve were highlighted, such as accuracy of software cost estimation and budgetary practices. The detailed report contains discussion of the practices noted in each of the topic areas, as well as a summary of observations and recommendations from each of the topic areas. The resulting 24 recommendations from the topic areas were then consolidated to eliminate duplication and culled into a set of 14 suggested actionable recommendations. This final set of actionable recommendations, listed below, are items that can be implemented to improve NASA's software engineering practices and to help address many of the items that were listed in the NASA top software engineering issues. 1. Develop and implement standard contract language for software procurements. 2. Advance accurate and trusted software cost estimates for both procured and in-house software and improve the capture of actual cost data to facilitate further improvements. 3. Establish a consistent set of objectives and expectations, specifically types of metrics at the Agency level, so key trends and models can be identified and used to continuously improve software processes and each software development effort. 4. Maintain the CMMI Maturity Level requirement for critical NASA projects and use CMMI to measure organizations developing software for NASA. 5.onsolidate, collect and, if needed, develop common processes principles and other assets across the Agency in order to provide more consistency in software development and acquisition practices and to reduce the overall cost of maintaining or increasing current NASA CMMI maturity levels. 6. Provide additional support for small projects that includes: (a) guidance for appropriate tailoring of requirements for small projects, (b) availability of suitable tools, including support tool set-up and training, and (c) training for small project personnel, assurance personnel and technical authorities on the acceptable options for tailoring requirements and performing assurance on small projects. 7. Develop software training classes for the more experienced software engineers using on-line training, videos, or small separate modules of training that can be accommodated as needed throughout a project. 8. Create guidelines to structure non-classroom training opportunities such as mentoring, peer reviews, lessons learned sessions, and on-the-job training. 9. Develop a set of predictive software defect data and a process for assessing software testing metric data against it. 10. Assess Agency-wide licenses for commonly used software tools. 11. Fill the knowledge gap in common software engineering practices for new hires and co-ops.12. Work through the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program with universities in strengthening education in the use of common software engineering practices and standards. 13. Follow up this benchmark study with a deeper look into what both internal and external organizations perceive as the scope of software assurance, the value they expect to obtain from it, and the shortcomings they experience in the current practice. 14. Continue interactions with external software engineering environment through collaborations, knowledge sharing, and benchmarking.

Reconfigurable, Intelligently-Adaptive, Communication System, an SDR Platform

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roche, Rigoberto

2016-01-01

The Space Telecommunications Radio System (STRS) provides a common, consistent framework to abstract the application software from the radio platform hardware. STRS aims to reduce the cost and risk of using complex, configurable and reprogrammable radio systems across NASA missions. The Glenn Research Center (GRC) team made a software-defined radio (SDR) platform STRS compliant by adding an STRS operating environment and a field programmable gate array (FPGA) wrapper, capable of implementing each of the platforms interfaces, as well as a test waveform to exercise those interfaces. This effort serves to provide a framework toward waveform development on an STRS compliant platform to support future space communication systems for advanced exploration missions. Validated STRS compliant applications provided tested code with extensive documentation to potentially reduce risk, cost and efforts in development of space-deployable SDRs. This paper discusses the advantages of STRS, the integration of STRS onto a Reconfigurable, Intelligently-Adaptive, Communication System (RIACS) SDR platform, the sample waveform, and wrapper development efforts. The paper emphasizes the infusion of the STRS Architecture onto the RIACS platform for potential use in next generation SDRs for advance exploration missions.

A microcomputer controlled snow ski binding system--I. Instrumentation and field evaluation.

PubMed

MacGregor, D; Hull, M L; Dorius, L K

1985-01-01

This paper presents the design and field evaluation of the first microcomputer controlled ski binding system. This system incorporates an Intel 8086 microcomputer controller and an integral binding/dynamometer. This instrumentation system not only undertakes real time control, but also it records dynamometer data via a miniature digital cassette tape recorder. The integral binding/dynamometer offers the same operational and mounting convenience of commercially available mechanical bindings. The binding may be released either manually or electrically via the controller. Comprised of four octagonal half strain rings, the strain gage dynamometer measures the three moment load components at the boot. To enable the user to conveniently operate the computer, extensive operating software was developed. The operating software is discussed in relation to both the acquisition and storage of data from the dynamometer and the control of the electro-mechanical snow ski binding. The binding system has been used successfully to both record boot moment components and control ski binding release during actual skiing maneuvers. Moment histories typical of three common recreational skiing maneuvers are presented.

Comparative evaluation of the accuracy of linear measurements between cone beam computed tomography and 3D microtomography.

PubMed

Mangione, Francesca; Meleo, Deborah; Talocco, Marco; Pecci, Raffaella; Pacifici, Luciano; Bedini, Rossella

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of artifacts on the accuracy of linear measurements estimated with a common cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) system used in dental clinical practice, by comparing it with microCT system as standard reference. Ten bovine bone cylindrical samples containing one implant each, able to provide both points of reference and image quality degradation, have been scanned by CBCT and microCT systems. Thanks to the software of the two systems, for each cylindrical sample, two diameters taken at different levels, by using implants different points as references, have been measured. Results have been analyzed by ANOVA and a significant statistically difference has been found. Due to the obtained results, in this work it is possible to say that the measurements made with the two different instruments are still not statistically comparable, although in some samples were obtained similar performances and therefore not statistically significant. With the improvement of the hardware and software of CBCT systems, in the near future the two instruments will be able to provide similar performances.

Operable Data Management for Ocean Observing Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chavez, F. P.; Graybeal, J. B.; Godin, M. A.

2004-12-01

As oceanographic observing systems become more numerous and complex, data management solutions must follow. Most existing oceanographic data management systems fall into one of three categories: they have been developed as dedicated solutions, with limited application to other observing systems; they expect that data will be pre-processed into well-defined formats, such as netCDF; or they are conceived as robust, generic data management solutions, with complexity (high) and maturity and adoption rates (low) to match. Each approach has strengths and weaknesses; no approach yet fully addresses, nor takes advantage of, the sophistication of ocean observing systems as they are now conceived. In this presentation we describe critical data management requirements for advanced ocean observing systems, of the type envisioned by ORION and IOOS. By defining common requirements -- functional, qualitative, and programmatic -- for all such ocean observing systems, the performance and nature of the general data management solution can be characterized. Issues such as scalability, maintaining metadata relationships, data access security, visualization, and operational flexibility suggest baseline architectural characteristics, which may in turn lead to reusable components and approaches. Interoperability with other data management systems, with standards-based solutions in metadata specification and data transport protocols, and with the data management infrastructure envisioned by IOOS and ORION, can also be used to define necessary capabilities. Finally, some requirements for the software infrastructure of ocean observing systems can be inferred. Early operational results and lessons learned, from development and operations of MBARI ocean observing systems, are used to illustrate key requirements, choices, and challenges. Reference systems include the Monterey Ocean Observing System (MOOS), its component software systems (Software Infrastructure and Applications for MOOS, and the Shore Side Data System), and the Autonomous Ocean Sampling Network (AOSN).

Predeployment validation of fault-tolerant systems through software-implemented fault insertion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Czeck, Edward W.; Siewiorek, Daniel P.; Segall, Zary Z.

1989-01-01

Fault injection-based automated testing (FIAT) environment, which can be used to experimentally characterize and evaluate distributed realtime systems under fault-free and faulted conditions is described. A survey is presented of validation methodologies. The need for fault insertion based on validation methodologies is demonstrated. The origins and models of faults, and motivation for the FIAT concept are reviewed. FIAT employs a validation methodology which builds confidence in the system through first providing a baseline of fault-free performance data and then characterizing the behavior of the system with faults present. Fault insertion is accomplished through software and allows faults or the manifestation of faults to be inserted by either seeding faults into memory or triggering error detection mechanisms. FIAT is capable of emulating a variety of fault-tolerant strategies and architectures, can monitor system activity, and can automatically orchestrate experiments involving insertion of faults. There is a common system interface which allows ease of use to decrease experiment development and run time. Fault models chosen for experiments on FIAT have generated system responses which parallel those observed in real systems under faulty conditions. These capabilities are shown by two example experiments each using a different fault-tolerance strategy.

Multi-version software reliability through fault-avoidance and fault-tolerance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vouk, Mladen A.; Mcallister, David F.

1989-01-01

A number of experimental and theoretical issues associated with the practical use of multi-version software to provide run-time tolerance to software faults were investigated. A specialized tool was developed and evaluated for measuring testing coverage for a variety of metrics. The tool was used to collect information on the relationships between software faults and coverage provided by the testing process as measured by different metrics (including data flow metrics). Considerable correlation was found between coverage provided by some higher metrics and the elimination of faults in the code. Back-to-back testing was continued as an efficient mechanism for removal of un-correlated faults, and common-cause faults of variable span. Software reliability estimation methods was also continued based on non-random sampling, and the relationship between software reliability and code coverage provided through testing. New fault tolerance models were formulated. Simulation studies of the Acceptance Voting and Multi-stage Voting algorithms were finished and it was found that these two schemes for software fault tolerance are superior in many respects to some commonly used schemes. Particularly encouraging are the safety properties of the Acceptance testing scheme.

The eSMAF: a software for the assessment and follow-up of functional autonomy in geriatrics

PubMed Central

Boissy, Patrick; Brière, Simon; Tousignant, Michel; Rousseau, Eric

2007-01-01

Background Functional status or disability forms the core of most assessment instruments used to identify mix and level of resources and services needed by older adults who possess common characteristics. The Functional Autonomy Measurement System (SMAF) is a 29-item scale measuring functional ability in five different areas. It has been recommended for use for home care, for allocation of chronic beds, for developing care plans in institutional settings and for epidemiological and evaluative studies. The SMAF can also be used with a case-mix classification system (Iso-SMAF) to allocate resources based on patients' functional autonomy characteristics. The objective of this project was to develop a software version of the SMAF to facilitate the evaluation of the functional status of older adults in health services research and to optimize the clinical decision-making process. Results The eSMAF was developed over an 24-month period using a modified waterfall software engineering process. Requirements and functional specifications were determined using focus groups of stakeholders. Different versions of the software were iteratively field-tested in clinical and research environments and software adaptations made accordingly. User documentation and online help were created to assist the deployment of the software. The software is available in French or English versions under a 30-day unregistered demonstration license or a free restricted registered academic license. It can be used locally on a Windows-based PC or over a network to input SMAF data into a database, search and aggregate client data according to clinical and/or administrative criteria, and generate summary or detailed reports of selected data sets for print or export to another database. Conclusion In the last year, the software has been successfully deployed in the clinical workflow of different institutions in research and clinical applications. The software performed relatively well in terms of stability and performance. Barriers to implementation included antiquated computer hardware, low computer literacy and access to IT support. Key factors for the deployment of the software included standardization of the workflow, user training and support. PMID:17298673

Teaching Software Componentization: A Bar Chart Java Bean

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitri, Michel

2010-01-01

In the current object-oriented paradigm, software construction increasingly involves creating and utilizing "software components". These components can serve a variety of functions, from common algorithmic processes to database connectivity to graphical interfaces. The advantage of component architectures is that programmers can use pre-existing…

Software Defined Radio Standard Architecture and its Application to NASA Space Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Andro, Monty; Reinhart, Richard C.

2006-01-01

A software defined radio (SDR) architecture used in space-based platforms proposes to standardize certain aspects of radio development such as interface definitions, functional control and execution, and application software and firmware development. NASA has charted a team to develop an open software defined radio hardware and software architecture to support NASA missions and determine the viability of an Agency-wide Standard. A draft concept of the proposed standard has been released and discussed among organizations in the SDR community. Appropriate leveraging of the JTRS SCA, OMG's SWRadio Architecture and other aspects are considered. A standard radio architecture offers potential value by employing common waveform software instantiation, operation, testing and software maintenance. While software defined radios offer greater flexibility, they also poses challenges to the radio development for the space environment in terms of size, mass and power consumption and available technology. An SDR architecture for space must recognize and address the constraints of space flight hardware, and systems along with flight heritage and culture. NASA is actively participating in the development of technology and standards related to software defined radios. As NASA considers a standard radio architecture for space communications, input and coordination from government agencies, the industry, academia, and standards bodies is key to a successful architecture. The unique aspects of space require thorough investigation of relevant terrestrial technologies properly adapted to space. The talk will describe NASA's current effort to investigate SDR applications to space missions and a brief overview of a candidate architecture under consideration for space based platforms.

Extracting patterns of database and software usage from the bioinformatics literature

PubMed Central

Duck, Geraint; Nenadic, Goran; Brass, Andy; Robertson, David L.; Stevens, Robert

2014-01-01

Motivation: As a natural consequence of being a computer-based discipline, bioinformatics has a strong focus on database and software development, but the volume and variety of resources are growing at unprecedented rates. An audit of database and software usage patterns could help provide an overview of developments in bioinformatics and community common practice, and comparing the links between resources through time could demonstrate both the persistence of existing software and the emergence of new tools. Results: We study the connections between bioinformatics resources and construct networks of database and software usage patterns, based on resource co-occurrence, that correspond to snapshots of common practice in the bioinformatics community. We apply our approach to pairings of phylogenetics software reported in the literature and argue that these could provide a stepping stone into the identification of scientific best practice. Availability and implementation: The extracted resource data, the scripts used for network generation and the resulting networks are available at http://bionerds.sourceforge.net/networks/ Contact: robert.stevens@manchester.ac.uk PMID:25161253

Reproducible Research in the Geosciences at Scale: Achievable Goal or Elusive Dream?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wyborn, L. A.; Evans, B. J. K.

2016-12-01

Reproducibility is a fundamental tenant of the scientific method: it implies that any researcher, or a third party working independently, can duplicate any experiment or investigation and produce the same results. Historically computationally based research involved an individual using their own data and processing it in their own private area, often using software they wrote or inherited from close collaborators. Today, a researcher is likely to be part of a large team that will use a subset of data from an external repository and then process the data on a public or private cloud or on a large centralised supercomputer, using a mixture of their own code, third party software and libraries, or global community codes. In 'Big Geoscience' research it is common for data inputs to be extracts from externally managed dynamic data collections, where new data is being regularly appended, or existing data is revised when errors are detected and/or as processing methods are improved. New workflows increasingly use services to access data dynamically to create subsets on-the-fly from distributed sources, each of which can have a complex history. At major computational facilities, underlying systems, libraries, software and services are being constantly tuned and optimised, or as new or replacement infrastructure being installed. Likewise code used from a community repository is continually being refined, re-packaged and ported to the target platform. To achieve reproducibility, today's researcher increasingly needs to track their workflow, including querying information on the current or historical state of facilities used. Versioning methods are standard practice for software repositories or packages, but it is not common for either data repositories or data services to provide information about their state, or for systems to provide query-able access to changes in the underlying software. While a researcher can achieve transparency and describe steps in their workflow so that others can repeat them and replicate processes undertaken, they cannot achieve exact reproducibility or even transparency of results generated. In Big Geoscience, full reproducibiliy will be an elusive dream until data repositories and compute facilities can provide provenance information in a standards compliant, machine query-able way.

Lessons in modern digital field geology: Open source software, 3D techniques, and the new world of digital mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pavlis, Terry; Hurtado, Jose; Langford, Richard; Serpa, Laura

2014-05-01

Although many geologists refuse to admit it, it is time to put paper-based geologic mapping into the historical archives and move to the full potential of digital mapping techniques. For our group, flat map digital geologic mapping is now a routine operation in both research and instruction. Several software options are available, and basic proficiency with the software can be learned in a few hours of instruction and practice. The first practical field GIS software, ArcPad, remains a viable, stable option on Windows-based systems. However, the vendor seems to be moving away from ArcPad in favor of mobile software solutions that are difficult to implement without GIS specialists. Thus, we have pursued a second software option based on the open source program QGIS. Our QGIS system uses the same shapefile-centric data structure as our ArcPad system, including similar pop-up data entry forms and generic graphics for easy data management in the field. The advantage of QGIS is that the same software runs on virtually all common platforms except iOS, although the Android version remains unstable as of this writing. A third software option we are experimenting with for flat map-based field work is Fieldmove, a derivative of the 3D-capable program Move developed by Midland Valley. Our initial experiments with Fieldmove are positive, particularly with the new, inexpensive (<300Euros) Windows tablets. However, the lack of flexibility in data structure makes for cumbersome workflows when trying to interface our existing shapefile-centric data structures to Move. Nonetheless, in spring 2014 we will experiment with full-3D immersion in the field using the full Move software package in combination with ground based LiDAR and photogrammetry. One new workflow suggested by our initial experiments is that field geologists should consider using photogrammetry software to capture 3D visualizations of key outcrops. This process is now straightforward in several software packages, and it affords a previously unheard of potential for communicating the complexity of key exposures. For example, in studies of metamorphic structures we often search for days to find "Rosetta Stone" outcrops that display key geometric relationships. While conventional photographs rarely can capture the essence of the field exposure, capturing a true 3D representation of the exposure with multiple photos from many orientations can solve this communication problem. As spatial databases evolve these 3D models should be readily importable into the database.

Tactical Unit Data and Decision Requirements for Urban Operations

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-10-01

maneuverability, sensor optimization, weapon effects, terrain), and develop rich but lightweight information structures and architecture . Specifically, the goal...tion structure and systemic architecture that enable sharing common data in near real-time, and mission planning and analysis software for U-BE...Building Function Verify mosque and identify possi- ble schools or meeting places Identify types of cinema (stage/theatre) or other similar nearby

Generalized Operations Simulation Environment for Aircraft Maintenance Training

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-04-01

Operations Simulation Environment ( GOSE ) project is a collaborative effort between AETC and AFRL to develop common, cost-effective, generalized VR training...maintenance training domain since it provided an opportunity to build on the VEST architecture. Development of GOSE involves re-engineering VEST as a scalable...modular, immersive VR training system comprised of PC-based hardware and software. GOSE initiatives include: (a) formalize training needs across

Common characteristics of open source software development and applicability for drug discovery: a systematic review

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Innovation through an open source model has proven to be successful for software development. This success has led many to speculate if open source can be applied to other industries with similar success. We attempt to provide an understanding of open source software development characteristics for researchers, business leaders and government officials who may be interested in utilizing open source innovation in other contexts and with an emphasis on drug discovery. Methods A systematic review was performed by searching relevant, multidisciplinary databases to extract empirical research regarding the common characteristics and barriers of initiating and maintaining an open source software development project. Results Common characteristics to open source software development pertinent to open source drug discovery were extracted. The characteristics were then grouped into the areas of participant attraction, management of volunteers, control mechanisms, legal framework and physical constraints. Lastly, their applicability to drug discovery was examined. Conclusions We believe that the open source model is viable for drug discovery, although it is unlikely that it will exactly follow the form used in software development. Hybrids will likely develop that suit the unique characteristics of drug discovery. We suggest potential motivations for organizations to join an open source drug discovery project. We also examine specific differences between software and medicines, specifically how the need for laboratories and physical goods will impact the model as well as the effect of patents. PMID:21955914

Space station data system analysis/architecture study. Task 2: Options development, DR-5. Volume 3: Programmatic options

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1985-01-01

Task 2 in the Space Station Data System (SSDS) Analysis/Architecture Study is the development of an information base that will support the conduct of trade studies and provide sufficient data to make design/programmatic decisions. This volume identifies the preferred options in the programmatic category and characterizes these options with respect to performance attributes, constraints, costs, and risks. The programmatic category includes methods used to administrate/manage the development, operation and maintenance of the SSDS. The specific areas discussed include standardization/commonality; systems management; and systems development, including hardware procurement, software development and system integration, test and verification.

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

Belley, M; Schmidt, M; Knutson, N

Purpose: Physics second-checks for external beam radiation therapy are performed, in-part, to verify that the machine parameters in the Record-and-Verify (R&V) system that will ultimately be sent to the LINAC exactly match the values initially calculated by the Treatment Planning System (TPS). While performing the second-check, a large portion of the physicists’ time is spent navigating and arranging display windows to locate and compare the relevant numerical values (MLC position, collimator rotation, field size, MU, etc.). Here, we describe the development of a software tool that guides the physicist by aggregating and succinctly displaying machine parameter data relevant to themore » physics second-check process. Methods: A data retrieval software tool was developed using Python to aggregate data and generate a list of machine parameters that are commonly verified during the physics second-check process. This software tool imported values from (i) the TPS RT Plan DICOM file and (ii) the MOSAIQ (R&V) Structured Query Language (SQL) database. The machine parameters aggregated for this study included: MLC positions, X&Y jaw positions, collimator rotation, gantry rotation, MU, dose rate, wedges and accessories, cumulative dose, energy, machine name, couch angle, and more. Results: A GUI interface was developed to generate a side-by-side display of the aggregated machine parameter values for each field, and presented to the physicist for direct visual comparison. This software tool was tested for 3D conformal, static IMRT, sliding window IMRT, and VMAT treatment plans. Conclusion: This software tool facilitated the data collection process needed in order for the physicist to conduct a second-check, thus yielding an optimized second-check workflow that was both more user friendly and time-efficient. Utilizing this software tool, the physicist was able to spend less time searching through the TPS PDF plan document and the R&V system and focus the second-check efforts on assessing the patient-specific plan-quality.« less

Developing Cancer Informatics Applications and Tools Using the NCI Genomic Data Commons API.

PubMed

Wilson, Shane; Fitzsimons, Michael; Ferguson, Martin; Heath, Allison; Jensen, Mark; Miller, Josh; Murphy, Mark W; Porter, James; Sahni, Himanso; Staudt, Louis; Tang, Yajing; Wang, Zhining; Yu, Christine; Zhang, Junjun; Ferretti, Vincent; Grossman, Robert L

2017-11-01

The NCI Genomic Data Commons (GDC) was launched in 2016 and makes available over 4 petabytes (PB) of cancer genomic and associated clinical data to the research community. This dataset continues to grow and currently includes over 14,500 patients. The GDC is an example of a biomedical data commons, which collocates biomedical data with storage and computing infrastructure and commonly used web services, software applications, and tools to create a secure, interoperable, and extensible resource for researchers. The GDC is (i) a data repository for downloading data that have been submitted to it, and also a system that (ii) applies a common set of bioinformatics pipelines to submitted data; (iii) reanalyzes existing data when new pipelines are developed; and (iv) allows users to build their own applications and systems that interoperate with the GDC using the GDC Application Programming Interface (API). We describe the GDC API and how it has been used both by the GDC itself and by third parties. Cancer Res; 77(21); e15-18. ©2017 AACR . ©2017 American Association for Cancer Research.

Using RDF and Git to Realize a Collaborative Metadata Repository.

PubMed

Stöhr, Mark R; Majeed, Raphael W; Günther, Andreas

2018-01-01

The German Center for Lung Research (DZL) is a research network with the aim of researching respiratory diseases. The participating study sites' register data differs in terms of software and coding system as well as data field coverage. To perform meaningful consortium-wide queries through one single interface, a uniform conceptual structure is required covering the DZL common data elements. No single existing terminology includes all our concepts. Potential candidates such as LOINC and SNOMED only cover specific subject areas or are not granular enough for our needs. To achieve a broadly accepted and complete ontology, we developed a platform for collaborative metadata management. The DZL data management group formulated detailed requirements regarding the metadata repository and the user interfaces for metadata editing. Our solution builds upon existing standard technologies allowing us to meet those requirements. Its key parts are RDF and the distributed version control system Git. We developed a software system to publish updated metadata automatically and immediately after performing validation tests for completeness and consistency.

Simple and cost-effective hardware and software for functional brain mapping using intrinsic optical signal imaging.

PubMed

Harrison, Thomas C; Sigler, Albrecht; Murphy, Timothy H

2009-09-15

We describe a simple and low-cost system for intrinsic optical signal (IOS) imaging using stable LED light sources, basic microscopes, and commonly available CCD cameras. IOS imaging measures activity-dependent changes in the light reflectance of brain tissue, and can be performed with a minimum of specialized equipment. Our system uses LED ring lights that can be mounted on standard microscope objectives or video lenses to provide a homogeneous and stable light source, with less than 0.003% fluctuation across images averaged from 40 trials. We describe the equipment and surgical techniques necessary for both acute and chronic mouse preparations, and provide software that can create maps of sensory representations from images captured by inexpensive 8-bit cameras or by 12-bit cameras. The IOS imaging system can be adapted to commercial upright microscopes or custom macroscopes, eliminating the need for dedicated equipment or complex optical paths. This method can be combined with parallel high resolution imaging techniques such as two-photon microscopy.

Application of majority voting and consensus voting algorithms in N-version software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsarev, R. Yu; Durmuş, M. S.; Üstoglu, I.; Morozov, V. A.

2018-05-01

N-version programming is one of the most common techniques which is used to improve the reliability of software by building in fault tolerance, redundancy and decreasing common cause failures. N different equivalent software versions are developed by N different and isolated workgroups by considering the same software specifications. The versions solve the same task and return results that have to be compared to determine the correct result. Decisions of N different versions are evaluated by a voting algorithm or the so-called voter. In this paper, two of the most commonly used software voting algorithms such as the majority voting algorithm and the consensus voting algorithm are studied. The distinctive features of Nversion programming with majority voting and N-version programming with consensus voting are described. These two algorithms make a decision about the correct result on the base of the agreement matrix. However, if the equivalence relation on the agreement matrix is not satisfied it is impossible to make a decision. It is shown that the agreement matrix can be transformed into an appropriate form by using the Boolean compositions when the equivalence relation is satisfied.

What Are We Looking for in Computer-Based Learning Interventions in Medical Education? A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Taveira-Gomes, Tiago; Ferreira, Patrícia; Taveira-Gomes, Isabel; Severo, Milton; Ferreira, Maria Amélia

2016-08-01

Computer-based learning (CBL) has been widely used in medical education, and reports regarding its usage and effectiveness have ranged broadly. Most work has been done on the effectiveness of CBL approaches versus traditional methods, and little has been done on the comparative effects of CBL versus CBL methodologies. These findings urged other authors to recommend such studies in hopes of improving knowledge about which CBL methods work best in which settings. In this systematic review, we aimed to characterize recent studies of the development of software platforms and interventions in medical education, search for common points among studies, and assess whether recommendations for CBL research are being taken into consideration. We conducted a systematic review of the literature published from 2003 through 2013. We included studies written in English, specifically in medical education, regarding either the development of instructional software or interventions using instructional software, during training or practice, that reported learner attitudes, satisfaction, knowledge, skills, or software usage. We conducted 2 latent class analyses to group articles according to platform features and intervention characteristics. In addition, we analyzed references and citations for abstracted articles. We analyzed 251 articles. The number of publications rose over time, and they encompassed most medical disciplines, learning settings, and training levels, totaling 25 different platforms specifically for medical education. We uncovered 4 latent classes for educational software, characteristically making use of multimedia (115/251, 45.8%), text (64/251, 25.5%), Web conferencing (54/251, 21.5%), and instructional design principles (18/251, 7.2%). We found 3 classes for intervention outcomes: knowledge and attitudes (175/212, 82.6%), knowledge, attitudes, and skills (11.8%), and online activity (12/212, 5.7%). About a quarter of the articles (58/227, 25.6%) did not hold references or citations in common with other articles. The number of common references and citations increased in articles reporting instructional design principles (P=.03), articles measuring online activities (P=.01), and articles citing a review by Cook and colleagues on CBL (P=.04). There was an association between number of citations and studies comparing CBL versus CBL, independent of publication date (P=.02). Studies in this field vary highly, and a high number of software systems are being developed. It seems that past recommendations regarding CBL interventions are being taken into consideration. A move into a more student-centered model, a focus on implementing reusable software platforms for specific learning contexts, and the analysis of online activity to track and predict outcomes are relevant areas for future research in this field.

Metrological Software Test for Simulating the Method of Determining the Thermocouple Error in Situ During Operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Jingliang; Su, Jun; Kochan, Orest; Levkiv, Mariana

2018-04-01

The simplified metrological software test (MST) for modeling the method of determining the thermocouple (TC) error in situ during operation is considered in the paper. The interaction between the proposed MST and a temperature measuring system is also reflected in order to study the error of determining the TC error in situ during operation. The modelling studies of the random error influence of the temperature measuring system, as well as interference magnitude (both the common and normal mode noises) on the error of determining the TC error in situ during operation using the proposed MST, have been carried out. The noise and interference of the order of 5-6 μV cause the error of about 0.2-0.3°C. It is shown that high noise immunity is essential for accurate temperature measurements using TCs.

C-Based Design Methodology and Topological Change for an Indian Agricultural Tractor Component

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matta, Anil Kumar; Raju, D. Ranga; Suman, K. N. S.; Kranthi, A. S.

2018-06-01

The failure of tractor components and their replacement has now become very common in India because of re-cycling, re-sale, and duplication. To over come the problem of failure we propose a design methodology for topological change co-simulating with software's. In the proposed Design methodology, the designer checks Paxial, Pcr, Pfailue, τ by hand calculations, from which refined topological changes of R.S.Arm are formed. We explained several techniques employed in the component for reduction, removal of rib material to change center of gravity and centroid point by using system C for mixed level simulation and faster topological changes. The design process in system C can be compiled and executed with software, TURBO C7. The modified component is developed in proE and analyzed in ANSYS. The topologically changed component with slot 120 × 4.75 × 32.5 mm at the center showed greater effectiveness than the original component.

BGen: A UML Behavior Network Generator Tool

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huntsberger, Terry; Reder, Leonard J.; Balian, Harry

2010-01-01

BGen software was designed for autogeneration of code based on a graphical representation of a behavior network used for controlling automatic vehicles. A common format used for describing a behavior network, such as that used in the JPL-developed behavior-based control system, CARACaS ["Control Architecture for Robotic Agent Command and Sensing" (NPO-43635), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 32, No. 10 (October 2008), page 40] includes a graph with sensory inputs flowing through the behaviors in order to generate the signals for the actuators that drive and steer the vehicle. A computer program to translate Unified Modeling Language (UML) Freeform Implementation Diagrams into a legacy C implementation of Behavior Network has been developed in order to simplify the development of C-code for behavior-based control systems. UML is a popular standard developed by the Object Management Group (OMG) to model software architectures graphically. The C implementation of a Behavior Network is functioning as a decision tree.

Multidisciplinary High-Fidelity Analysis and Optimization of Aerospace Vehicles. Part 1; Formulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walsh, J. L.; Townsend, J. C.; Salas, A. O.; Samareh, J. A.; Mukhopadhyay, V.; Barthelemy, J.-F.

2000-01-01

An objective of the High Performance Computing and Communication Program at the NASA Langley Research Center is to demonstrate multidisciplinary shape and sizing optimization of a complete aerospace vehicle configuration by using high-fidelity, finite element structural analysis and computational fluid dynamics aerodynamic analysis in a distributed, heterogeneous computing environment that includes high performance parallel computing. A software system has been designed and implemented to integrate a set of existing discipline analysis codes, some of them computationally intensive, into a distributed computational environment for the design of a highspeed civil transport configuration. The paper describes the engineering aspects of formulating the optimization by integrating these analysis codes and associated interface codes into the system. The discipline codes are integrated by using the Java programming language and a Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) compliant software product. A companion paper presents currently available results.

Multidisciplinary High-Fidelity Analysis and Optimization of Aerospace Vehicles. Part 2; Preliminary Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walsh, J. L.; Weston, R. P.; Samareh, J. A.; Mason, B. H.; Green, L. L.; Biedron, R. T.

2000-01-01

An objective of the High Performance Computing and Communication Program at the NASA Langley Research Center is to demonstrate multidisciplinary shape and sizing optimization of a complete aerospace vehicle configuration by using high-fidelity finite-element structural analysis and computational fluid dynamics aerodynamic analysis in a distributed, heterogeneous computing environment that includes high performance parallel computing. A software system has been designed and implemented to integrate a set of existing discipline analysis codes, some of them computationally intensive, into a distributed computational environment for the design of a high-speed civil transport configuration. The paper describes both the preliminary results from implementing and validating the multidisciplinary analysis and the results from an aerodynamic optimization. The discipline codes are integrated by using the Java programming language and a Common Object Request Broker Architecture compliant software product. A companion paper describes the formulation of the multidisciplinary analysis and optimization system.

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

Jones, J.P.; Bangs, A.L.; Butler, P.L.

Hetero Helix is a programming environment which simulates shared memory on a heterogeneous network of distributed-memory computers. The machines in the network may vary with respect to their native operating systems and internal representation of numbers. Hetero Helix presents a simple programming model to developers, and also considers the needs of designers, system integrators, and maintainers. The key software technology underlying Hetero Helix is the use of a compiler'' which analyzes the data structures in shared memory and automatically generates code which translates data representations from the format native to each machine into a common format, and vice versa. Themore » design of Hetero Helix was motivated in particular by the requirements of robotics applications. Hetero Helix has been used successfully in an integration effort involving 27 CPUs in a heterogeneous network and a body of software totaling roughly 100,00 lines of code. 25 refs., 6 figs.« less

High-performance equation solvers and their impact on finite element analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Poole, Eugene L.; Knight, Norman F., Jr.; Davis, D. Dale, Jr.

1990-01-01

The role of equation solvers in modern structural analysis software is described. Direct and iterative equation solvers which exploit vectorization on modern high-performance computer systems are described and compared. The direct solvers are two Cholesky factorization methods. The first method utilizes a novel variable-band data storage format to achieve very high computation rates and the second method uses a sparse data storage format designed to reduce the number of operations. The iterative solvers are preconditioned conjugate gradient methods. Two different preconditioners are included; the first uses a diagonal matrix storage scheme to achieve high computation rates and the second requires a sparse data storage scheme and converges to the solution in fewer iterations that the first. The impact of using all of the equation solvers in a common structural analysis software system is demonstrated by solving several representative structural analysis problems.

High-performance equation solvers and their impact on finite element analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Poole, Eugene L.; Knight, Norman F., Jr.; Davis, D. D., Jr.

1992-01-01

The role of equation solvers in modern structural analysis software is described. Direct and iterative equation solvers which exploit vectorization on modern high-performance computer systems are described and compared. The direct solvers are two Cholesky factorization methods. The first method utilizes a novel variable-band data storage format to achieve very high computation rates and the second method uses a sparse data storage format designed to reduce the number od operations. The iterative solvers are preconditioned conjugate gradient methods. Two different preconditioners are included; the first uses a diagonal matrix storage scheme to achieve high computation rates and the second requires a sparse data storage scheme and converges to the solution in fewer iterations that the first. The impact of using all of the equation solvers in a common structural analysis software system is demonstrated by solving several representative structural analysis problems.