Speeding response -- saving lives : automatic vehicle location capabilities for emergency vehicles

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-01-01

This brochure focuses on the application of automatic vehicle location systems to emergency services. It discusses how AVL works with emergency vehicles. how it accommodates a wide range of emergency situations, and the benefits of its use.

Hubble Space Telescope (HST) high gain antenna (HGA) deployment during STS-31

NASA Image and Video Library

1990-04-25

Held in appendage deploy position, the Hubble Space Telescope's (HST's) high gain antenna (HGA) has been released from its stowed position along the Support System Module (SSM) forward shell. The STS-31 crew aboard Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) oversees the automatic HGA deployment prior to releasing HST. HST HGA is backdropped against the blackness of space.

49 CFR 571.114 - Standard No. 114; Theft protection and rollaway prevention.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... pounds) or less with an automatic transmission that includes a “park” position shall be equipped with a... forward up a 10 percent grade and stop it with the service brakes. (b) Apply the parking brake (if present). (c) Move the gear selection control to “park.” (d) Note the vehicle position. (e) Release the parking...

49 CFR 571.114 - Standard No. 114; Theft protection and rollaway prevention.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... pounds) or less with an automatic transmission that includes a “park” position shall be equipped with a... forward up a 10 percent grade and stop it with the service brakes. (b) Apply the parking brake (if present). (c) Move the gear selection control to “park.” (d) Note the vehicle position. (e) Release the parking...

Channel Measurements for Automatic Vehicle Monitoring Systems

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1974-03-01

Co-channel and adjacent channel electromagnetic interference measurements were conducted on the Sierra Research Corp. and the Chicago Transit Authority automatic vehicle monitoring systems. These measurements were made to determine if the automatic v...

Speeding response, saving lives : automatic vehicle location capabilities for emergency services.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-01-01

Information from automatic vehicle location systems, when combined with computeraided dispatch software, can provide a rich source of data for analyzing emergency vehicle operations and evaluating agency performance.

Evaluation of a computer-generated perspective tunnel display for flight path following

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grunwald, A. J.; Robertson, J. B.; Hatfield, J. J.

1980-01-01

The display was evaluated by monitoring pilot performance in a fixed base simulator with the vehicle dynamics of a CH-47 tandem rotor helicopter. Superposition of the predicted future vehicle position on the tunnel image was also investigated to determine whether, and to what extent, it contributes to better system performance (the best predicted future vehicle position was sought). Three types of simulator experiments were conducted: following a desired trajectory in the presence of disturbances; entering the trajectory from a random position, outside the trajectory; detecting and correcting failures in automatic flight. The tunnel display with superimposed predictor/director symbols was shown to be a very successful combination, which outperformed the other two displays in all three experiments. A prediction time of 4 to 7 sec. was found to optimize trajectory tracking for the given vehicle dynamics and flight condition. Pilot acceptance of the tunnel plus predictor/director display was found to be favorable and the time the pilot needed for familiarization with the display was found to be relatively short.

Experiments in teleoperator and autonomous control of space robotic vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alexander, Harold L.

1991-01-01

A program of research embracing teleoperator and automatic navigational control of freely flying satellite robots is presented. Current research goals include: (1) developing visual operator interfaces for improved vehicle teleoperation; (2) determining the effects of different visual interface system designs on operator performance; and (3) achieving autonomous vision-based vehicle navigation and control. This research program combines virtual-environment teleoperation studies and neutral-buoyancy experiments using a space-robot simulator vehicle currently under development. Visual-interface design options under investigation include monoscopic versus stereoscopic displays and cameras, helmet-mounted versus panel-mounted display monitors, head-tracking versus fixed or manually steerable remote cameras, and the provision of vehicle-fixed visual cues, or markers, in the remote scene for improved sensing of vehicle position, orientation, and motion.

The Crescent Project : an evaluation of an element of the HELP Program : executive summary

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1994-02-01

The HELP/Crescent Project on the West Coast evaluated the applicability of four technologies for screening transponder-equipped vehicles. The technologies included automatic vehicle identification, weigh-in-motion, automatic vehicle classification, a...

Flair-fleet location and information reporting

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Norman, E. R.; Dunlap, M. E.

1974-01-01

The FLAIR system, as now produced, automatically updates each vehicle's location and corresponding officer's status once each two seconds and presents this information to police dispatchers in the command and control center. The position of all vehicles available for assignment is displayed on a color video map at each dispatcher's console to an accuracy of 50 feet. This gives the dispatcher a continuous picture of the deployment of the total available force and thus complete command and control of all police under his responsibility.

Denver RTD's computer aided dispatch/automatic vehicle location system : the human factors consequences

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-09-01

This report documents what happened to employees' work procedures when their employer when their employer installed Computer Aided Disptach/Automatic Vehicle Locator (CAD/AVL) technology to provide real-time surveillance of vehicles and to upgrade ra...

Real-time people and vehicle detection from UAV imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaszczak, Anna; Breckon, Toby P.; Han, Jiwan

2011-01-01

A generic and robust approach for the real-time detection of people and vehicles from an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is an important goal within the framework of fully autonomous UAV deployment for aerial reconnaissance and surveillance. Here we present an approach for the automatic detection of vehicles based on using multiple trained cascaded Haar classifiers with secondary confirmation in thermal imagery. Additionally we present a related approach for people detection in thermal imagery based on a similar cascaded classification technique combining additional multivariate Gaussian shape matching. The results presented show the successful detection of vehicle and people under varying conditions in both isolated rural and cluttered urban environments with minimal false positive detection. Performance of the detector is optimized to reduce the overall false positive rate by aiming at the detection of each object of interest (vehicle/person) at least once in the environment (i.e. per search patter flight path) rather than every object in each image frame. Currently the detection rate for people is ~70% and cars ~80% although the overall episodic object detection rate for each flight pattern exceeds 90%.

Speeding response, saving lives : automatic vehicle location capabilities for emergency services

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-01-01

This brochure focuses on the application of automatic vehicle location systems to emergency services. It discusses how AVL works with emergency vehicles and how it accommodates a wide range of emergency situations, and the benefits of ITS use. (3 p.)

FlyAR: augmented reality supported micro aerial vehicle navigation.

PubMed

Zollmann, Stefanie; Hoppe, Christof; Langlotz, Tobias; Reitmayr, Gerhard

2014-04-01

Micro aerial vehicles equipped with high-resolution cameras can be used to create aerial reconstructions of an area of interest. In that context automatic flight path planning and autonomous flying is often applied but so far cannot fully replace the human in the loop, supervising the flight on-site to assure that there are no collisions with obstacles. Unfortunately, this workflow yields several issues, such as the need to mentally transfer the aerial vehicle’s position between 2D map positions and the physical environment, and the complicated depth perception of objects flying in the distance. Augmented Reality can address these issues by bringing the flight planning process on-site and visualizing the spatial relationship between the planned or current positions of the vehicle and the physical environment. In this paper, we present Augmented Reality supported navigation and flight planning of micro aerial vehicles by augmenting the user’s view with relevant information for flight planning and live feedback for flight supervision. Furthermore, we introduce additional depth hints supporting the user in understanding the spatial relationship of virtual waypoints in the physical world and investigate the effect of these visualization techniques on the spatial understanding.

Automatic rapid attachable warhead section

DOEpatents

Trennel, A.J.

1994-05-10

Disclosed are a method and apparatus for automatically selecting warheads or reentry vehicles from a storage area containing a plurality of types of warheads or reentry vehicles, automatically selecting weapon carriers from a storage area containing at least one type of weapon carrier, manipulating and aligning the selected warheads or reentry vehicles and weapon carriers, and automatically coupling the warheads or reentry vehicles with the weapon carriers such that coupling of improperly selected warheads or reentry vehicles with weapon carriers is inhibited. Such inhibition enhances safety of operations and is achieved by a number of means including computer control of the process of selection and coupling and use of connectorless interfaces capable of assuring that improperly selected items will be rejected or rendered inoperable prior to coupling. Also disclosed are a method and apparatus wherein the stated principles pertaining to selection, coupling and inhibition are extended to apply to any item-to-be-carried and any carrying assembly. 10 figures.

Automatic rapid attachable warhead section

DOEpatents

Trennel, Anthony J.

1994-05-10

Disclosed are a method and apparatus for (1) automatically selecting warheads or reentry vehicles from a storage area containing a plurality of types of warheads or reentry vehicles, (2) automatically selecting weapon carriers from a storage area containing at least one type of weapon carrier, (3) manipulating and aligning the selected warheads or reentry vehicles and weapon carriers, and (4) automatically coupling the warheads or reentry vehicles with the weapon carriers such that coupling of improperly selected warheads or reentry vehicles with weapon carriers is inhibited. Such inhibition enhances safety of operations and is achieved by a number of means including computer control of the process of selection and coupling and use of connectorless interfaces capable of assuring that improperly selected items will be rejected or rendered inoperable prior to coupling. Also disclosed are a method and apparatus wherein the stated principles pertaining to selection, coupling and inhibition are extended to apply to any item-to-be-carried and any carrying assembly.

An automatically-shifted two-speed transaxle system for an electric vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gordon, H. S.; Hassman, G. V.

1980-01-01

An automatic shifting scheme for a two speed transaxle for use with an electric vehicle propulsion system is described. The transaxle system was to be installed in an instrumented laboratory propulsion system of an ac electric vehicle drive train. The transaxle which had been fabricated is also described.

Automated vehicle counting using image processing and machine learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meany, Sean; Eskew, Edward; Martinez-Castro, Rosana; Jang, Shinae

2017-04-01

Vehicle counting is used by the government to improve roadways and the flow of traffic, and by private businesses for purposes such as determining the value of locating a new store in an area. A vehicle count can be performed manually or automatically. Manual counting requires an individual to be on-site and tally the traffic electronically or by hand. However, this can lead to miscounts due to factors such as human error A common form of automatic counting involves pneumatic tubes, but pneumatic tubes disrupt traffic during installation and removal, and can be damaged by passing vehicles. Vehicle counting can also be performed via the use of a camera at the count site recording video of the traffic, with counting being performed manually post-recording or using automatic algorithms. This paper presents a low-cost procedure to perform automatic vehicle counting using remote video cameras with an automatic counting algorithm. The procedure would utilize a Raspberry Pi micro-computer to detect when a car is in a lane, and generate an accurate count of vehicle movements. The method utilized in this paper would use background subtraction to process the images and a machine learning algorithm to provide the count. This method avoids fatigue issues that are encountered in manual video counting and prevents the disruption of roadways that occurs when installing pneumatic tubes

Vehicle tracking for an evasive manoeuvres assistant using low-cost ultrasonic sensors.

PubMed

Jiménez, Felipe; Naranjo, José E; Gómez, Oscar; Anaya, José J

2014-11-28

Many driver assistance systems require knowledge of the vehicle environment. As these systems are increasing in complexity and performance, this knowledge of the environment needs to be more complete and reliable, so sensor fusion combining long, medium and short range sensors is now being used. This paper analyzes the feasibility of using ultrasonic sensors for low cost vehicle-positioning and tracking in the lane adjacent to the host vehicle in order to identify free areas around the vehicle and provide information to an automatic avoidance collision system that can perform autonomous braking and lane change manoeuvres. A laser scanner is used for the early detection of obstacles in the direction of travel while two ultrasonic sensors monitor the blind spot of the host vehicle. The results of tests on a test track demonstrate the ability of these sensors to accurately determine the kinematic variables of the obstacles encountered, despite a clear limitation in range.

Aviation Careers Series: Airline Non-Flying Careers

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-01-01

TRAVLINK demonstrated the use of Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL), ComputerAided dispatch (CAD), and Automatic Vehicle Identification (AVI) systems on Metropolitan Council Transit Operations (MCTO) buses in Minneapolis, Minnesota and western suburbs,...

Kickdown control for a motor vehicle automatic transmission with two stage kickdown

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

Higashi, H.; Waki, K.; Fukuiri, M.

This patent describes a vehicle automatic transmission. This transmission consists of a hydraulic torque converter, a transmission gear mechanism connected with the torque converter and has at least three gear stages of different gear ratios for foward drive, friction for selecting one of the gear stages. A kick down control which consists of a first shift down circuit for controlling the friction so that the transmission gear mechanism is shifted down from a high gear stage to a lower gear stage. A kick down solenoid is provided in the first shift down circuit for controlling the first shift down circuitmore » and a kick down switch is adapted to be actuated by an engine control member. When the engine control member is moved substantially to a full power position to thereby control the kick down solenoid effects a shift down from a high gear stage to a lower gear stage.« less

Analysis and Comparison of Some Automatic Vehicle Monitoring Systems

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1973-07-01

In 1970 UMTA solicited proposals and selected four companies to develop systems to demonstrate the feasibility of different automatic vehicle monitoring techniques. The demonstrations culminated in experiments in Philadelphia to assess the performanc...

Crescent Evaluation : appendix D : crescent computer system components evaluation report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1994-02-01

In 1990, Lockheed Integrated Systems Company (LISC) was awarded a contract, under the Crescent Demonstration Project, to demonstrate the integration of Weigh In Motion (WIM), Automatic Vehicle Classification (AVC) and Automatic Vehicle Identification...

Evaluation of odometry algorithm performances using a railway vehicle dynamic model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allotta, B.; Pugi, L.; Ridolfi, A.; Malvezzi, M.; Vettori, G.; Rindi, A.

2012-05-01

In modern railway Automatic Train Protection and Automatic Train Control systems, odometry is a safety relevant on-board subsystem which estimates the instantaneous speed and the travelled distance of the train; a high reliability of the odometry estimate is fundamental, since an error on the train position may lead to a potentially dangerous overestimation of the distance available for braking. To improve the odometry estimate accuracy, data fusion of different inputs coming from a redundant sensor layout may be used. Simplified two-dimensional models of railway vehicles have been usually used for Hardware in the Loop test rig testing of conventional odometry algorithms and of on-board safety relevant subsystems (like the Wheel Slide Protection braking system) in which the train speed is estimated from the measures of the wheel angular speed. Two-dimensional models are not suitable to develop solutions like the inertial type localisation algorithms (using 3D accelerometers and 3D gyroscopes) and the introduction of Global Positioning System (or similar) or the magnetometer. In order to test these algorithms correctly and increase odometry performances, a three-dimensional multibody model of a railway vehicle has been developed, using Matlab-Simulink™, including an efficient contact model which can simulate degraded adhesion conditions (the development and prototyping of odometry algorithms involve the simulation of realistic environmental conditions). In this paper, the authors show how a 3D railway vehicle model, able to simulate the complex interactions arising between different on-board subsystems, can be useful to evaluate the odometry algorithm and safety relevant to on-board subsystem performances.

Assessment of the Denver Regional Transportation District's automatic vehicle location system

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-08-01

The purpose of this evaluation was to determine how well the Denver Regional Transportation District's (RTD) automatic vehicle location (AVL) system achieved its major objectives of improving scheduling efficiency, improving the ability of dispatcher...

Estimating spatial travel times using automatic vehicle identification data

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-01-01

Prepared ca. 2001. The paper describes an algorithm that was developed for estimating reliable and accurate average roadway link travel times using Automatic Vehicle Identification (AVI) data. The algorithm presented is unique in two aspects. First, ...

Roadway weather information system and automatic vehicle location (AVL) coordination.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-02-28

Roadway Weather Information System and Automatic Vehicle Location Coordination involves the : development of an Inclement Weather Console that provides a new capability for the state of Oklahoma : to monitor weather-related roadway conditions. The go...

Evaluation of the Monitor-CTA Automatic Vehicle Monitoring System

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1974-03-01

In June 1972 the Urban Mass Transportation Administration requested that the Transportation System Center of DOT perform an evaluation of the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) Monitor-Automatic Vehicle Monitor (AVM) system. TSC planned the overall eval...

Vision systems for manned and robotic ground vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanders-Reed, John N.; Koon, Phillip L.

2010-04-01

A Distributed Aperture Vision System for ground vehicles is described. An overview of the hardware including sensor pod, processor, video compression, and displays is provided. This includes a discussion of the choice between an integrated sensor pod and individually mounted sensors, open architecture design, and latency issues as well as flat panel versus head mounted displays. This technology is applied to various ground vehicle scenarios, including closed-hatch operations (operator in the vehicle), remote operator tele-operation, and supervised autonomy for multi-vehicle unmanned convoys. In addition, remote vision for automatic perimeter surveillance using autonomous vehicles and automatic detection algorithms is demonstrated.

Roadway system assessment using bluetooth-based automatic vehicle identification travel time data.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-12-01

This monograph is an exposition of several practice-ready methodologies for automatic vehicle identification (AVI) data collection : systems. This includes considerations in the physical setup of the collection system as well as the interpretation of...

Socioeconomic Impact Assessment of the Los Angeles Automatic Vehicle Monitoring (AVM) Demonstration

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1982-09-01

This report presents a socioeconomic impact assessment of the Automatic Vehicle Monitoring (AVM) Demonstration in Los Angeles. An AVM system uses location, communication, and data processing subsystems to monitor the locations of appropriately equipp...

Loran Automatic Vehicle Monitoring System, Phase I : Volume 2. Appendices.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1977-08-01

Presents results of the evaluation phase of a two phase program to develop an Automatic Vehicle Monitoring (AVM) system for the Southern California Rapid Transit District in Los Angeles, California. Tests were previously conducted on a Loran based lo...

Experiments on Four Different Techniques for Automatically Locating Land Vehicles - A Summary of Results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1977-06-01

In 1975, to further the development and to refine and dmonstrate multiuser Automatic Vehicle Monitoring (AVM) application, the Urban Mass Transportation Administration and the Transportation Systems Center (TSC) initiated a two-phase program. Phase I...

Remotely piloted vehicles. Citations from the International Aerospace abstracts data base

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mauk, S. C.

1980-01-01

These citations from the international literature cover various aspects of remotely piloted vehicles. Included are articles concerning aircraft design, flight tests, aircraft control, cost effectiveness, automatic flight control, automatic pilots, and data links. Civil aviation applications are included, although military uses of remotely piloted vehicles are stressed. This updated bibliography contains 224 citations, 43 of which are new additions to the previous edition.

Report on Phase 1 Tests of Fairchild Automatic Vehicle Monitoring (AVM) System

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1977-08-01

During the winter of 1976-77 four different techniques for automatically locating land vehicles were tested in both the low and high-rise regions in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The tests were carried out by four different companies under separate con...

Loran Automatic Vehicle Monitoring System, Phase I : Volume 1. Test Results.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1977-08-01

Presents results of the evaluation phase of a two phase program to develop an Automatic Vehicle Monitoring (AVM) system for the Southern California Rapid Transit District in Los Angeles, California. Tests were previously conducted on a Loran based lo...

Modern Control Aspects of Automatically Steered Vehicles

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1971-12-01

In the study of automatically steered rubber tired vehicles, little emphasis in the past has been placed on the steering control laws. The report examines the control law problem from the state variable point of view and it is shown that, except for ...

Multibody simulation of vehicles equipped with an automatic transmission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olivier, B.; Kouroussis, G.

2016-09-01

Nowadays automotive vehicles remain as one of the most used modes of transportation. Furthermore automatic transmissions are increasingly used to provide a better driving comfort and a potential optimization of the engine performances (by placing the gear shifts at specific engine and vehicle speeds). This paper presents an effective modeling of the vehicle using the multibody methodology (numerically computed under EasyDyn, an open source and in-house library dedicated to multibody simulations). However, the transmission part of the vehicle is described by the usual equations of motion computed using a systematic matrix approach: del Castillo's methodology for planetary gear trains. By coupling the analytic equations of the transmission and the equations computed by the multibody methodology, the performances of any vehicle can be obtained if the characteristics of each element in the vehicle are known. The multibody methodology offers the possibilities to develop the vehicle modeling from 1D-motion to 3D-motion by taking into account the rotations and implementing tire models. The modeling presented in this paper remains very efficient and provides an easy and quick vehicle simulation tool which could be used in order to calibrate the automatic transmission.

Reference equations of motion for automatic rendezvous and capture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Henderson, David M.

1992-01-01

The analysis presented in this paper defines the reference coordinate frames, equations of motion, and control parameters necessary to model the relative motion and attitude of spacecraft in close proximity with another space system during the Automatic Rendezvous and Capture phase of an on-orbit operation. The relative docking port target position vector and the attitude control matrix are defined based upon an arbitrary spacecraft design. These translation and rotation control parameters could be used to drive the error signal input to the vehicle flight control system. Measurements for these control parameters would become the bases for an autopilot or feedback control system (FCS) design for a specific spacecraft.

Vehicle Tracking for an Evasive Manoeuvres Assistant Using Low-Cost Ultrasonic Sensors

PubMed Central

Jiménez, Felipe; Naranjo, José E.; Gómez, Oscar; Anaya, José J.

2014-01-01

Many driver assistance systems require knowledge of the vehicle environment. As these systems are increasing in complexity and performance, this knowledge of the environment needs to be more complete and reliable, so sensor fusion combining long, medium and short range sensors is now being used. This paper analyzes the feasibility of using ultrasonic sensors for low cost vehicle-positioning and tracking in the lane adjacent to the host vehicle in order to identify free areas around the vehicle and provide information to an automatic avoidance collision system that can perform autonomous braking and lane change manoeuvres. A laser scanner is used for the early detection of obstacles in the direction of travel while two ultrasonic sensors monitor the blind spot of the host vehicle. The results of tests on a test track demonstrate the ability of these sensors to accurately determine the kinematic variables of the obstacles encountered, despite a clear limitation in range. PMID:25460817

The Design and Operation of Suborbital Low Cost and Low Risk Vehicle to the Edge of Space (SOLVES)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ridzuan Zakaria, Norul; Nasrun, Nasri; Rashidy Zulkifi, Mohd; Izmir Yamin, Mohd; Othman, Jamaludin; Rafidi Zakaria, Norul

2013-09-01

Inclusive in the planning of Spaceport Malaysia are 2 local suborbital vehicles development. One of the vehicles is called SOLVES or Suborbital Low Cost and Low Risk Vehicle to the Edge of Space. The emphasis on the design and operation of SOLVES is green and robotic technology, where both green technology and robotic technology are used to protect the environment and enhance safety. As SOLVES climbs, its center of gravity stabilizes and remains at the bottom as its propellant being used until it depletes, due to the position of the vehicle's passenger cabin and its engines at its lower end. It will reach 80km from sea level generally known as "the edge of space" due to its momentum although its propellant will be depleted at a lower altitude. As the suborbital vehicle descends tail first, its wings automatically extend and rotate at horizontal axes perpendicular to the fuselage. These naturally and passively rotating wings ensure controlled low velocity and stable descend of the vehicle. The passenger cabin also rotates automatically at a steady low speed at the centerline of its fuselage as it descends, caused naturally by the lift force, enabling its passengers a surrounding 360 degrees view. SOLVES is steered automatically to its landing point by an electrical propulsion system with a vectoring nozzle. The electrical propulsion minimizes space and weight and is free of pollution and noise. Its electrical power comes from a battery aided by power generated by the naturally rotating wings. When the vehicle lands, it is in the safest mode as its propellant is depleted and its center of gravity remains at the bottom of its cabin. The cabin, being located at the bottom of the fuselage, enables very convenient, rapid and safe entry and exit of its passengers. SOLVES will be a robotic suborbital vehicle with green technology. The vehicle will carry 4 passengers and each passenger will be trained to land the vehicle manually if the fully automated landing system fails and therefore it will be engineered for simple operation by trained passengers. However, for certification by aviation authorities the vehicle may be operational with 3 passengers and a pilot. A specific operation considered for SOLVES is navaloperation where the suborbital vehicle will be operating from a seaborne spaceport, probably a superyacht with spacepad for the vertical launching and landing of the vehicle. Such naval operation enables the vehicle to fly above exotic locations reachable by sea. SOLVES is also planned for further development into reusable rocket booster to carry small suborbiter to 160km from sea level, enables the passengers aboard the suborbiter to experience longer zero gravity time and more effective suborbital flight.

A discrete optimization approach for locating automatic vehicle identification readers for the provision of roadway travel times

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2002-11-01

This paper develops an algorithm for optimally locating surveillance technologies with an emphasis on Automatic Vehicle Identification tag readers by maximizing the benefit that would accrue from measuring travel times on a transportation network. Th...

Automatic vehicle counting using background subtraction method on gray scale images and morphology operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adi, K.; Widodo, A. P.; Widodo, C. E.; Pamungkas, A.; Putranto, A. B.

2018-05-01

Traffic monitoring on road needs to be done, the counting of the number of vehicles passing the road is necessary. It is more emphasized for highway transportation management in order to prevent efforts. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a system that is able to counting the number of vehicles automatically. Video processing method is able to counting the number of vehicles automatically. This research has development a system of vehicle counting on toll road. This system includes processes of video acquisition, frame extraction, and image processing for each frame. Video acquisition is conducted in the morning, at noon, in the afternoon, and in the evening. This system employs of background subtraction and morphology methods on gray scale images for vehicle counting. The best vehicle counting results were obtained in the morning with a counting accuracy of 86.36 %, whereas the lowest accuracy was in the evening, at 21.43 %. Differences in morning and evening results are caused by different illumination in the morning and evening. This will cause the values in the image pixels to be different.

Dynamic calibration of pan-tilt-zoom cameras for traffic monitoring.

PubMed

Song, Kai-Tai; Tai, Jen-Chao

2006-10-01

Pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras have been widely used in recent years for monitoring and surveillance applications. These cameras provide flexible view selection as well as a wider observation range. This makes them suitable for vision-based traffic monitoring and enforcement systems. To employ PTZ cameras for image measurement applications, one first needs to calibrate the camera to obtain meaningful results. For instance, the accuracy of estimating vehicle speed depends on the accuracy of camera calibration and that of vehicle tracking results. This paper presents a novel calibration method for a PTZ camera overlooking a traffic scene. The proposed approach requires no manual operation to select the positions of special features. It automatically uses a set of parallel lane markings and the lane width to compute the camera parameters, namely, focal length, tilt angle, and pan angle. Image processing procedures have been developed for automatically finding parallel lane markings. Interesting experimental results are presented to validate the robustness and accuracy of the proposed method.

Experiences with Acquiring Highly Redundant Spatial Data to Support Driverless Vehicle Technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koppanyi, Z.; Toth, C. K.

2018-05-01

As vehicle technology is moving towards higher autonomy, the demand for highly accurate geospatial data is rapidly increasing, as accurate maps have a huge potential of increasing safety. In particular, high definition 3D maps, including road topography and infrastructure, as well as city models along the transportation corridors represent the necessary support for driverless vehicles. In this effort, a vehicle equipped with high-, medium- and low-resolution active and passive cameras acquired data in a typical traffic environment, represented here by the OSU campus, where GPS/GNSS data are available along with other navigation sensor data streams. The data streams can be used for two purposes. First, high-definition 3D maps can be created by integrating all the sensory data, and Data Analytics/Big Data methods can be tested for automatic object space reconstruction. Second, the data streams can support algorithmic research for driverless vehicle technologies, including object avoidance, navigation/positioning, detecting pedestrians and bicyclists, etc. Crucial cross-performance analyses on map database resolution and accuracy with respect to sensor performance metrics to achieve economic solution for accurate driverless vehicle positioning can be derived. These, in turn, could provide essential information on optimizing the choice of geospatial map databases and sensors' quality to support driverless vehicle technologies. The paper reviews the data acquisition and primary data processing challenges and performance results.

The use of visual cues for vehicle control and navigation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hart, Sandra G.; Battiste, Vernol

1991-01-01

At least three levels of control are required to operate most vehicles: (1) inner-loop control to counteract the momentary effects of disturbances on vehicle position; (2) intermittent maneuvers to avoid obstacles, and (3) outer-loop control to maintain a planned route. Operators monitor dynamic optical relationships in their immediate surroundings to estimate momentary changes in forward, lateral, and vertical position, rates of change in speed and direction of motion, and distance from obstacles. The process of searching the external scene to find landmarks (for navigation) is intermittent and deliberate, while monitoring and responding to subtle changes in the visual scene (for vehicle control) is relatively continuous and 'automatic'. However, since operators may perform both tasks simultaneously, the dynamic optical cues available for a vehicle control task may be determined by the operator's direction of gaze for wayfinding. An attempt to relate the visual processes involved in vehicle control and wayfinding is presented. The frames of reference and information used by different operators (e.g., automobile drivers, airline pilots, and helicopter pilots) are reviewed with particular emphasis on the special problems encountered by helicopter pilots flying nap of the earth (NOE). The goal of this overview is to describe the context within which different vehicle control tasks are performed and to suggest ways in which the use of visual cues for geographical orientation might influence visually guided control activities.

Lessons learned from a pilot project of an automatic vehicle location system in an urban winter maintenance operations setting.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2002-01-01

This report documents the lessons learned during the evolution of the Virginia Department of Transportation's pilot project to use an automatic vehicle location (AVL) system during winter maintenance operations in an urban setting. AVL is a technolog...

Automatic circuit interrupter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dwinell, W. S.

1979-01-01

In technique, voice circuits connecting crew's cabin to launch station through umbilical connector disconnect automatically unused, or deadened portion of circuits immediately after vehicle is launched, eliminating possibility that unused wiring interferes with voice communications inside vehicle or need for manual cutoff switch and its associated wiring. Technique is applied to other types of electrical actuation circuits, also launch of mapped vehicles, such as balloons, submarines, test sleds, and test chambers-all requiring assistance of ground crew.

Automatic Control of Personal Rapid Transit Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, P. D.

1972-01-01

The requirements for automatic longitudinal control of a string of closely packed personal vehicles are outlined. Optimal control theory is used to design feedback controllers for strings of vehicles. An important modification of the usual optimal control scheme is the inclusion of jerk in the cost functional. While the inclusion of the jerk term was considered, the effect of its inclusion was not sufficiently studied. Adding the jerk term will increase passenger comfort.

Traction drive automatic transmission for gas turbine engine driveline

DOEpatents

Carriere, Donald L.

1984-01-01

A transaxle driveline for a wheeled vehicle has a high speed turbine engine and a torque splitting gearset that includes a traction drive unit and a torque converter on a common axis transversely arranged with respect to the longitudinal centerline of the vehicle. The drive wheels of the vehicle are mounted on a shaft parallel to the turbine shaft and carry a final drive gearset for driving the axle shafts. A second embodiment of the final drive gearing produces an overdrive ratio between the output of the first gearset and the axle shafts. A continuously variable range of speed ratios is produced by varying the position of the drive rollers of the traction unit. After starting the vehicle from rest, the transmission is set for operation in the high speed range by engaging a first lockup clutch that joins the torque converter impeller to the turbine for operation as a hydraulic coupling.

Automatic vehicle monitoring systems study. Report of phase O. Volume 1: Executive summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1977-01-01

A set of planning guidelines is presented to help law enforcement agencies and vehicle fleet operators decide which automatic vehicle monitoring (AVM) system could best meet their performance requirements. Improvements in emergency response times and resultant cost benefits obtainable with various operational and planned AVM systems may be synthesized and simulated by means of special computer programs for model city parameters applicable to small, medium, and large urban areas. Design characteristics of various AVM systems and the implementation requirements are illustrated and cost estimated for the vehicles, the fixed sites, and the base equipments. Vehicle location accuracies for different RF links and polling intervals are analyzed.

Power-based Shift Schedule for Pure Electric Vehicle with a Two-speed Automatic Transmission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Jiaqi; Liu, Yanfang; Liu, Qiang; Xu, Xiangyang

2016-11-01

This paper introduces a comprehensive shift schedule for a two-speed automatic transmission of pure electric vehicle. Considering about driving ability and efficiency performance of electric vehicles, the power-based shift schedule is proposed with three principles. This comprehensive shift schedule regards the vehicle current speed and motor load power as input parameters to satisfy the vehicle driving power demand with lowest energy consumption. A simulation model has been established to verify the dynamic and economic performance of comprehensive shift schedule. Compared with traditional dynamic and economic shift schedules, simulation results indicate that the power-based shift schedule is superior to traditional shift schedules.

Automatic control of a helicopter with a hanging load. [development and evaluation of automatic pilot for use with S-61 helicopter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gupta, N. K.; Bryson, A. E., Jr.

1973-01-01

An autopilot logic is designed here for controlling a helicopter with a hanging load. A 16th order model for the system is decoupled into four subsystems: (1) a second order system for yawing motion, (2) a second order system for vertical motion, (3) a sixth order system for longitudinal motion, and (4) a sixth order system for lateral motion. A measuring scheme, which could be used in remote areas, is developed and filters are designed to estimate the state variables from these measurements. The autopilot can be used to move the load over short distances without retracting the cables. This is done by automatically shifting the autopilot modes from position-hold (hover) to acceleration-hold to velocity-hold (cruise) to deceleration-hold to velocity-hold (near hover) to position-hold (hover). Use of such an autopilot might save considerable turnaround time. The Sikorsky S-61 helicopter is chosen as an example vehicle. The performance of the controlled system is studied in the presence of longitudinal and lateral winds.

Automatic multi-camera calibration for deployable positioning systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Axelsson, Maria; Karlsson, Mikael; Rudner, Staffan

2012-06-01

Surveillance with automated positioning and tracking of subjects and vehicles in 3D is desired in many defence and security applications. Camera systems with stereo or multiple cameras are often used for 3D positioning. In such systems, accurate camera calibration is needed to obtain a reliable 3D position estimate. There is also a need for automated camera calibration to facilitate fast deployment of semi-mobile multi-camera 3D positioning systems. In this paper we investigate a method for automatic calibration of the extrinsic camera parameters (relative camera pose and orientation) of a multi-camera positioning system. It is based on estimation of the essential matrix between each camera pair using the 5-point method for intrinsically calibrated cameras. The method is compared to a manual calibration method using real HD video data from a field trial with a multicamera positioning system. The method is also evaluated on simulated data from a stereo camera model. The results show that the reprojection error of the automated camera calibration method is close to or smaller than the error for the manual calibration method and that the automated calibration method can replace the manual calibration.

Autonomous GPS/INS navigation experiment for Space Transfer Vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Upadhyay, Triveni N.; Cotterill, Stephen; Deaton, A. W.

1993-01-01

An experiment to validate the concept of developing an autonomous integrated spacecraft navigation system using on board Global Positioning System (GPS) and Inertial Navigation System (INS) measurements is described. The feasibility of integrating GPS measurements with INS measurements to provide a total improvement in spacecraft navigation performance, i.e. improvement in position, velocity and attitude information, was previously demonstrated. An important aspect of this research is the automatic real time reconfiguration capability of the system designed to respond to changes in a spacecraft mission under the control of an expert system.

Autonomous GPS/INS navigation experiment for Space Transfer Vehicle (STV)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Upadhyay, Triveni N.; Cotterill, Stephen; Deaton, A. Wayne

1991-01-01

An experiment to validate the concept of developing an autonomous integrated spacecraft navigation system using on board Global Positioning System (GPS) and Inertial Navigation System (INS) measurements is described. The feasibility of integrating GPS measurements with INS measurements to provide a total improvement in spacecraft navigation performance, i.e. improvement in position, velocity and attitude information, was previously demonstrated. An important aspect of this research is the automatic real time reconfiguration capability of the system designed to respond to changes in a spacecraft mission under the control of an expert system.

Autonomous GPS/INS navigation experiment for Space Transfer Vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Upadhyay, Triveni N.; Cotterill, Stephen; Deaton, A. W.

1993-07-01

An experiment to validate the concept of developing an autonomous integrated spacecraft navigation system using on board Global Positioning System (GPS) and Inertial Navigation System (INS) measurements is described. The feasibility of integrating GPS measurements with INS measurements to provide a total improvement in spacecraft navigation performance, i.e. improvement in position, velocity and attitude information, was previously demonstrated. An important aspect of this research is the automatic real time reconfiguration capability of the system designed to respond to changes in a spacecraft mission under the control of an expert system.

Predicting severe injury using vehicle telemetry data.

PubMed

Ayoung-Chee, Patricia; Mack, Christopher D; Kaufman, Robert; Bulger, Eileen

2013-01-01

In 2010, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration standardized collision data collected by event data recorders, which may help determine appropriate emergency medical service (EMS) response. Previous models (e.g., General Motors ) predict severe injury (Injury Severity Score [ISS] > 15) using occupant demographics and collision data. Occupant information is not automatically available, and 12% of calls from advanced automatic collision notification providers are unanswered. To better inform EMS triage, our goal was to create a predictive model only using vehicle collision data. Using the National Automotive Sampling System Crashworthiness Data System data set, we included front-seat occupants in late-model vehicles (2000 and later) in nonrollover and rollover crashes in years 2000 to 2010. Telematic (change in velocity, direction of force, seat belt use, vehicle type and curb weight, as well as multiple impact) and nontelematic variables (maximum intrusion, narrow impact, and passenger ejection) were included. Missing data were multiply imputed. The University of Washington model was tested to predict severe injury before application of guidelines (Step 0) and for occupants who did not meet Steps 1 and 2 criteria (Step 3) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Field Triage Guidelines. A probability threshold of 20% was chosen in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations. There were 28,633 crashes, involving 33,956 vehicles and 52,033 occupants, of whom 9.9% had severe injury. At Step 0, the University of Washington model sensitivity was 40.0% and positive predictive value (PPV) was 20.7%. At Step 3, the sensitivity was 32.3 % and PPV was 10.1%. Model analysis excluding nontelematic variables decreased sensitivity and PPV. The sensitivity of the re-created General Motors model was 38.5% at Step 0 and 28.1% at Step 3. We designed a model using only vehicle collision data that was predictive of severe injury at collision notification and in the field and was comparable with an existing model. These models demonstrate the potential use of advanced automatic collision notification in planning EMS response. Prognostic study, level II.

Automatic Mechetronic Wheel Light Device

DOEpatents

Khan, Mohammed John Fitzgerald

2004-09-14

A wheel lighting device for illuminating a wheel of a vehicle to increase safety and enhance aesthetics. The device produces the appearance of a "ring of light" on a vehicle's wheels as the vehicle moves. The "ring of light" can automatically change in color and/or brightness according to a vehicle's speed, acceleration, jerk, selection of transmission gears, and/or engine speed. The device provides auxiliary indicator lights by producing light in conjunction with a vehicle's turn signals, hazard lights, alarm systems, and etc. The device comprises a combination of mechanical and electronic components and can be placed on the outer or inner surface of a wheel or made integral to a wheel or wheel cover. The device can be configured for all vehicle types, and is electrically powered by a vehicle's electrical system and/or battery.

Telematic Problems of Unmanned Vehicles Positioning at Container Terminals and Warehouses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwasniowski, Stanisław; Zajac, Mateusz; Zajac, Paweł

This paper describes the issues of transshipment container terminals operations, in the light of the development of this kind of transport. An increase in handling requires an expansion of stacking yard and automation of handling and transport processes. The development in this area first and foremost depends on modern handling technologies and automatic identification systems. AGV trucks play a key role in in those systems. The role of universities is to promote innovative technologies. Paper [2] contains the status of intermodal terminals development in Poland, which was awarded the prize of the Minister of Infrastructure of Poland in the field of "organization and management." The paper contains a detailed description of the principles of positioning, control and propulsion of AGV vehicles. The content was developed to make it understandable to logisticians responsible for the implementation question in Poland.

Advanced Transport Operating System (ATOPS) Flight Management/Flight Controls (FM/FC) software description

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wolverton, David A.; Dickson, Richard W.; Clinedinst, Winston C.; Slominski, Christopher J.

1993-01-01

The flight software developed for the Flight Management/Flight Controls (FM/FC) MicroVAX computer used on the Transport Systems Research Vehicle for Advanced Transport Operating Systems (ATOPS) research is described. The FM/FC software computes navigation position estimates, guidance commands, and those commands issued to the control surfaces to direct the aircraft in flight. Various modes of flight are provided for, ranging from computer assisted manual modes to fully automatic modes including automatic landing. A high-level system overview as well as a description of each software module comprising the system is provided. Digital systems diagrams are included for each major flight control component and selected flight management functions.

System and method for charging a plug-in electric vehicle

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

Bassham, Marjorie A.; Spigno, Jr., Ciro A.; Muller, Brett T.

2017-05-02

A charging system and method that may be used to automatically apply customized charging settings to a plug-in electric vehicle, where application of the settings is based on the vehicle's location. According to an exemplary embodiment, a user may establish and save a separate charging profile with certain customized charging settings for each geographic location where they plan to charge their plug-in electric vehicle. Whenever the plug-in electric vehicle enters a new geographic area, the charging method may automatically apply the charging profile that corresponds to that area. Thus, the user does not have to manually change or manipulate themore » charging settings every time they charge the plug-in electric vehicle in a new location.« less

Automatic exposure control for space sequential camera

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcatee, G. E., Jr.; Stoap, L. J.; Solheim, C. D.; Sharpsteen, J. T.

1975-01-01

The final report for the automatic exposure control study for space sequential cameras, for the NASA Johnson Space Center is presented. The material is shown in the same sequence that the work was performed. The purpose of the automatic exposure control is to automatically control the lens iris as well as the camera shutter so that the subject is properly exposed on the film. A study of design approaches is presented. Analysis of the light range of the spectrum covered indicates that the practical range would be from approximately 20 to 6,000 foot-lamberts, or about nine f-stops. Observation of film available from space flights shows that optimum scene illumination is apparently not present in vehicle interior photography as well as in vehicle-to-vehicle situations. The evaluation test procedure for a breadboard, and the results, which provided information for the design of a brassboard are given.

A Ground-Based Near Infrared Camera Array System for UAV Auto-Landing in GPS-Denied Environment.

PubMed

Yang, Tao; Li, Guangpo; Li, Jing; Zhang, Yanning; Zhang, Xiaoqiang; Zhang, Zhuoyue; Li, Zhi

2016-08-30

This paper proposes a novel infrared camera array guidance system with capability to track and provide real time position and speed of a fixed-wing Unmanned air vehicle (UAV) during a landing process. The system mainly include three novel parts: (1) Infrared camera array and near infrared laser lamp based cooperative long range optical imaging module; (2) Large scale outdoor camera array calibration module; and (3) Laser marker detection and 3D tracking module. Extensive automatic landing experiments with fixed-wing flight demonstrate that our infrared camera array system has the unique ability to guide the UAV landing safely and accurately in real time. Moreover, the measurement and control distance of our system is more than 1000 m. The experimental results also demonstrate that our system can be used for UAV automatic accurate landing in Global Position System (GPS)-denied environments.

A Universal Vacant Parking Slot Recognition System Using Sensors Mounted on Off-the-Shelf Vehicles.

PubMed

Suhr, Jae Kyu; Jung, Ho Gi

2018-04-16

An automatic parking system is an essential part of autonomous driving, and it starts by recognizing vacant parking spaces. This paper proposes a method that can recognize various types of parking slot markings in a variety of lighting conditions including daytime, nighttime, and underground. The proposed method can readily be commercialized since it uses only those sensors already mounted on off-the-shelf vehicles: an around-view monitor (AVM) system, ultrasonic sensors, and in-vehicle motion sensors. This method first detects separating lines by extracting parallel line pairs from AVM images. Parking slot candidates are generated by pairing separating lines based on the geometric constraints of the parking slot. These candidates are confirmed by recognizing their entrance positions using line and corner features and classifying their occupancies using ultrasonic sensors. For more reliable recognition, this method uses the separating lines and parking slots not only found in the current image but also found in previous images by tracking their positions using the in-vehicle motion-sensor-based vehicle odometry. The proposed method was quantitatively evaluated using a dataset obtained during the day, night, and underground, and it outperformed previous methods by showing a 95.24% recall and a 97.64% precision.

A Universal Vacant Parking Slot Recognition System Using Sensors Mounted on Off-the-Shelf Vehicles

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

An automatic parking system is an essential part of autonomous driving, and it starts by recognizing vacant parking spaces. This paper proposes a method that can recognize various types of parking slot markings in a variety of lighting conditions including daytime, nighttime, and underground. The proposed method can readily be commercialized since it uses only those sensors already mounted on off-the-shelf vehicles: an around-view monitor (AVM) system, ultrasonic sensors, and in-vehicle motion sensors. This method first detects separating lines by extracting parallel line pairs from AVM images. Parking slot candidates are generated by pairing separating lines based on the geometric constraints of the parking slot. These candidates are confirmed by recognizing their entrance positions using line and corner features and classifying their occupancies using ultrasonic sensors. For more reliable recognition, this method uses the separating lines and parking slots not only found in the current image but also found in previous images by tracking their positions using the in-vehicle motion-sensor-based vehicle odometry. The proposed method was quantitatively evaluated using a dataset obtained during the day, night, and underground, and it outperformed previous methods by showing a 95.24% recall and a 97.64% precision. PMID:29659512

VHF Ranging and Position Fixing Experiment Using ATS Satellites: Final Report on Phases 1 and 2, 25 November 1968 - 1 May 1971

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1971-01-01

The testing program with the ATS-1 and ATS-3 spacecraft showed that geostationary satellites can provide superior communications and position surveillance for mobile craft. Inexpensive modifications to conventional mobile communications equipment aboard the craft can provide reliable, high quality voice and digital communications with distant ground stations and other vehicles, and automatic surveillance of the positions of all the craft by a ground facility. The tests also demonstrated the location and automatic readout of remote data collection platforms. Frequency modulation signals with the narrow audio and radio frequency bandwidths of terrestrial mobile radio communications were relayed through the VHF transponders of the geostationary satellites. The voice and digital communications were far superior in reliability and quality to long-distance mobile communications by other means. It was shown that one satellite can provide nearly uniform high quality performance over approximately one-third of the earth's surface. Position fixes by range measurement from the two satellites were accurate to approximately one nautical mile, except near the equator and the poles.

Using Visual Odometry to Estimate Position and Attitude

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maimone, Mark; Cheng, Yang; Matthies, Larry; Schoppers, Marcel; Olson, Clark

2007-01-01

A computer program in the guidance system of a mobile robot generates estimates of the position and attitude of the robot, using features of the terrain on which the robot is moving, by processing digitized images acquired by a stereoscopic pair of electronic cameras mounted rigidly on the robot. Developed for use in localizing the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) vehicles on Martian terrain, the program can also be used for similar purposes on terrestrial robots moving in sufficiently visually textured environments: examples include low-flying robotic aircraft and wheeled robots moving on rocky terrain or inside buildings. In simplified terms, the program automatically detects visual features and tracks them across stereoscopic pairs of images acquired by the cameras. The 3D locations of the tracked features are then robustly processed into an estimate of overall vehicle motion. Testing has shown that by use of this software, the error in the estimate of the position of the robot can be limited to no more than 2 percent of the distance traveled, provided that the terrain is sufficiently rich in features. This software has proven extremely useful on the MER vehicles during driving on sandy and highly sloped terrains on Mars.

Two stage kickdown control system for a motor vehicle automatic transmission

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

Higashi, H.; Waki, K.; Fukuiri, M.

This patent describes a vehicle automatic transmission including a hydraulic torque converter and a transmission gear mechanism connected with the torque converter and having at least three gear stages of different gear ratios for forward drive. A principal feature of this system as described is a friction means for selecting one of the gear stages as well as a kickdown control means consisting of the first shift down circuit means for control of the friction means so that the transmission gear mechanism is shifted downward. A solenoid kick down means within the modality of the first shift down circuit andmore » a kick down switch means actuated by an engine control member when it is moved to a full power position provides control of the kick down solenoid and the effecting of a down shift. The shift down control means is composed of a second shift down circuit means for controlling the friction means so shift down occurs. The shift down solenoid contained in the second shift down circuit means in conjunction with a shift down switch actuated by engine control member movement to a position spaced a predetermined distance from the full power position control the shift down solenoid to effect a shift down. Thus this mechanism is actuated earlier than the kickdown switch means when the engine control member is moved toward the full power position. A time delay means from the time of actuation of the shift down switch means and controlling kickdown switch activation is also described.« less

Robust vehicle detection under various environmental conditions using an infrared thermal camera and its application to road traffic flow monitoring.

PubMed

Iwasaki, Yoichiro; Misumi, Masato; Nakamiya, Toshiyuki

2013-06-17

We have already proposed a method for detecting vehicle positions and their movements (henceforth referred to as "our previous method") using thermal images taken with an infrared thermal camera. Our experiments have shown that our previous method detects vehicles robustly under four different environmental conditions which involve poor visibility conditions in snow and thick fog. Our previous method uses the windshield and its surroundings as the target of the Viola-Jones detector. Some experiments in winter show that the vehicle detection accuracy decreases because the temperatures of many windshields approximate those of the exterior of the windshields. In this paper, we propose a new vehicle detection method (henceforth referred to as "our new method"). Our new method detects vehicles based on tires' thermal energy reflection. We have done experiments using three series of thermal images for which the vehicle detection accuracies of our previous method are low. Our new method detects 1,417 vehicles (92.8%) out of 1,527 vehicles, and the number of false detection is 52 in total. Therefore, by combining our two methods, high vehicle detection accuracies are maintained under various environmental conditions. Finally, we apply the traffic information obtained by our two methods to traffic flow automatic monitoring, and show the effectiveness of our proposal.

System Finds Horizontal Location of Center of Gravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnston, Albert S.; Howard, Richard T.; Brewster, Linda L.

2006-01-01

An instrumentation system rapidly and repeatedly determines the horizontal location of the center of gravity of a laboratory vehicle that slides horizontally on three air bearings (see Figure 1). Typically, knowledge of the horizontal center-of-mass location of such a vehicle is needed in order to balance the vehicle properly for an experiment and/or to assess the dynamic behavior of the vehicle. The system includes a load cell above each air bearing, electronic circuits that generate digital readings of the weight on each load cell, and a computer equipped with software that processes the readings. The total weight and, hence, the mass of the vehicle are computed from the sum of the load-cell weight readings. Then the horizontal position of the center of gravity is calculated straightforwardly as the weighted sum of the known position vectors of the air bearings, the contribution of each bearing being proportional to the weight on that bearing. In the initial application for which this system was devised, the center- of-mass calculation is particularly simple because the air bearings are located at corners of an equilateral triangle. However, the system is not restricted to this simple geometry. The system acquires and processes weight readings at a rate of 800 Hz for each load cell. The total weight and the horizontal location of the center of gravity are updated at a rate of 800/3 approx. equals 267 Hz. In a typical application, a technician would use the center-of-mass output of this instrumentation system as a guide to the manual placement of small weights on the vehicle to shift the center of gravity to a desired horizontal position. Usually, the desired horizontal position is that of the geometric center. Alternatively, this instrumentation system could be used to provide position feedback for a control system that would cause weights to be shifted automatically (see Figure 2) in an effort to keep the center of gravity at the geometric center.

Vehicle classification in WAMI imagery using deep network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yi, Meng; Yang, Fan; Blasch, Erik; Sheaff, Carolyn; Liu, Kui; Chen, Genshe; Ling, Haibin

2016-05-01

Humans have always had a keen interest in understanding activities and the surrounding environment for mobility, communication, and survival. Thanks to recent progress in photography and breakthroughs in aviation, we are now able to capture tens of megapixels of ground imagery, namely Wide Area Motion Imagery (WAMI), at multiple frames per second from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). WAMI serves as a great source for many applications, including security, urban planning and route planning. These applications require fast and accurate image understanding which is time consuming for humans, due to the large data volume and city-scale area coverage. Therefore, automatic processing and understanding of WAMI imagery has been gaining attention in both industry and the research community. This paper focuses on an essential step in WAMI imagery analysis, namely vehicle classification. That is, deciding whether a certain image patch contains a vehicle or not. We collect a set of positive and negative sample image patches, for training and testing the detector. Positive samples are 64 × 64 image patches centered on annotated vehicles. We generate two sets of negative images. The first set is generated from positive images with some location shift. The second set of negative patches is generated from randomly sampled patches. We also discard those patches if a vehicle accidentally locates at the center. Both positive and negative samples are randomly divided into 9000 training images and 3000 testing images. We propose to train a deep convolution network for classifying these patches. The classifier is based on a pre-trained AlexNet Model in the Caffe library, with an adapted loss function for vehicle classification. The performance of our classifier is compared to several traditional image classifier methods using Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Histogram of Oriented Gradient (HOG) features. While the SVM+HOG method achieves an accuracy of 91.2%, the accuracy of our deep network-based classifier reaches 97.9%.

Automatic license plate reader: a solution to avoiding vehicle pursuit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jordan, Stanley K.

1997-01-01

The Massachusetts Governor's Auto Theft Strike Force has tested an automatic license plate reader (LPR) to recover stolen cars and catch car thieves, without vehicle pursuit. Experiments were conducted at the Sumner Tunnel in Boston, and proved the feasibility of a LPR for identifying stolen cars instantly. The same technology can be applied to other law-enforcement objectives.

Automatic vehicle location system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansen, G. R., Jr. (Inventor)

1973-01-01

An automatic vehicle detection system is disclosed, in which each vehicle whose location is to be detected carries active means which interact with passive elements at each location to be identified. The passive elements comprise a plurality of passive loops arranged in a sequence along the travel direction. Each of the loops is tuned to a chosen frequency so that the sequence of the frequencies defines the location code. As the vehicle traverses the sequence of the loops as it passes over each loop, signals only at the frequency of the loop being passed over are coupled from a vehicle transmitter to a vehicle receiver. The frequencies of the received signals in the receiver produce outputs which together represent a code of the traversed location. The code location is defined by a painted pattern which reflects light to a vehicle carried detector whose output is used to derive the code defined by the pattern.

Vehicle-to-Grid Automatic Load Sharing with Driver Preference in Micro-Grids

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

Wang, Yubo; Nazaripouya, Hamidreza; Chu, Chi-Cheng

Integration of Electrical Vehicles (EVs) with power grid not only brings new challenges for load management, but also opportunities for distributed storage and generation. This paper comprehensively models and analyzes distributed Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) for automatic load sharing with driver preference. In a micro-grid with limited communications, V2G EVs need to decide load sharing based on their own power and voltage profile. A droop based controller taking into account driver preference is proposed in this paper to address the distributed control of EVs. Simulations are designed for three fundamental V2G automatic load sharing scenarios that include all system dynamics of suchmore » applications. Simulation results demonstrate that active power sharing is achieved proportionally among V2G EVs with consideration of driver preference. In additional, the results also verify the system stability and reactive power sharing analysis in system modelling, which sheds light on large scale V2G automatic load sharing in more complicated cases.« less

Terminal area automatic navigation, guidance and control research using the Microwave Landing System (MLS). Part 5: Design and development of a Digital Integrated Automatic Landing System (DIALS) for steep final approach using modern control techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Halyo, N.

1983-01-01

The design and development of a 3-D Digital Integrated Automatic Landing System (DIALS) for the Terminal Configured Vehicle (TCV) Research Aircraft, a B-737-100 is described. The system was designed using sampled data Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LOG) methods, resulting in a direct digital design with a modern control structure which consists of a Kalman filter followed by a control gain matrix, all operating at 10 Hz. DIALS uses Microwave Landing System (MLS) position, body-mounted accelerometers, as well as on-board sensors usually available on commercial aircraft, but does not use inertial platforms. The phases of the final approach considered are the localizer and glideslope capture which may be performed simultaneously, localizer and steep glideslope track or hold, crab/decrab and flare to touchdown. DIALS captures, tracks and flares from steep glideslopes ranging from 2.5 deg to 5.5 deg, selected prior to glideslope capture. Digital Integrated Automatic Landing System is the first modern control design automatic landing system successfully flight tested. The results of an initial nonlinear simulation are presented here.

Operational strategies for rural transportation

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-03-01

ARC Transits AVL (Automatic Vehicle Location) project was funded by the Florida Department : of Transportation in May of 1994 with $40,937 in state Service Development funds. Fourteen : vehicle modules, the AVL base station, and several vehicle ra...

Biosignal Analysis to Assess Mental Stress in Automatic Driving of Trucks: Palmar Perspiration and Masseter Electromyography

PubMed Central

Zheng, Rencheng; Yamabe, Shigeyuki; Nakano, Kimihiko; Suda, Yoshihiro

2015-01-01

Nowadays insight into human-machine interaction is a critical topic with the large-scale development of intelligent vehicles. Biosignal analysis can provide a deeper understanding of driver behaviors that may indicate rationally practical use of the automatic technology. Therefore, this study concentrates on biosignal analysis to quantitatively evaluate mental stress of drivers during automatic driving of trucks, with vehicles set at a closed gap distance apart to reduce air resistance to save energy consumption. By application of two wearable sensor systems, a continuous measurement was realized for palmar perspiration and masseter electromyography, and a biosignal processing method was proposed to assess mental stress levels. In a driving simulator experiment, ten participants completed automatic driving with 4, 8, and 12 m gap distances from the preceding vehicle, and manual driving with about 25 m gap distance as a reference. It was found that mental stress significantly increased when the gap distances decreased, and an abrupt increase in mental stress of drivers was also observed accompanying a sudden change of the gap distance during automatic driving, which corresponded to significantly higher ride discomfort according to subjective reports. PMID:25738768

Automatic construction of a recurrent neural network based classifier for vehicle passage detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burnaev, Evgeny; Koptelov, Ivan; Novikov, German; Khanipov, Timur

2017-03-01

Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) are extensively used for time-series modeling and prediction. We propose an approach for automatic construction of a binary classifier based on Long Short-Term Memory RNNs (LSTM-RNNs) for detection of a vehicle passage through a checkpoint. As an input to the classifier we use multidimensional signals of various sensors that are installed on the checkpoint. Obtained results demonstrate that the previous approach to handcrafting a classifier, consisting of a set of deterministic rules, can be successfully replaced by an automatic RNN training on an appropriately labelled data.

Hybrid neuro-fuzzy approach for automatic vehicle license plate recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Hsi-Chieh; Jong, Chung-Shi

1998-03-01

Most currently available vehicle identification systems use techniques such as R.F., microwave, or infrared to help identifying the vehicle. Transponders are usually installed in the vehicle in order to transmit the corresponding information to the sensory system. It is considered expensive to install a transponder in each vehicle and the malfunction of the transponder will result in the failure of the vehicle identification system. In this study, novel hybrid approach is proposed for automatic vehicle license plate recognition. A system prototype is built which can be used independently or cooperating with current vehicle identification system in identifying a vehicle. The prototype consists of four major modules including the module for license plate region identification, the module for character extraction from the license plate, the module for character recognition, and the module for the SimNet neuro-fuzzy system. To test the performance of the proposed system, three hundred and eighty vehicle image samples are taken by a digital camera. The license plate recognition success rate of the prototype is approximately 91% while the character recognition success rate of the prototype is approximately 97%.

Automatic safety belt systems owner usage and attitudes in GM Chevettes and VW Rabbits

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1980-05-01

Author's abstract: The study was designed to: (1) evaluate the effectiveness of automatic restraint systems in increasing belt usage, and (2) determine owner attitudes toward the system. Information gathered from owners of vehicles with automatic sys...

Automatic safety belt systems owner usage and attitudes in GM Chevettes and VW Rabbits

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1981-02-01

This study was designed to: (1) evaluate the effectiveness of automatic restraint systems in increasing belt usage, and (2) determine owner attitudes toward the systems. The information gathered from owners of vehicles with automatic systems will ass...

An Alternative for Emergency Preemption of Traffic Lights

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Foster, Conrad; Bachelder, Aaron

2006-01-01

An electronic communication-and-control system has been developed as a prototype of advanced means of automatically modifying the switching of traffic lights to give priority to emergency vehicles. This system could be used alternatively or in addition to other emergency traffic-light-preemption systems, including a variety of systems now in use as well as two proposed systems described in "Systems Would Preempt Traffic Lights for Emergency Vehicles" (NPO-30573), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 28, No. 10 (October 2004), page 36. Unlike those prior systems that depend on detection of sounds and/or lights emitted by emergency vehicles, this system is not subject to severe range limitations. This system can be retrofitted into any pre-existing traffic-light-control system, without need to modify that system other than to make a minimal number of wire connections between the two systems. This system comprises several subsystems, including a transponder and interface circuitry on each emergency vehicle, a monitoring and control unit at each intersection equipped with traffic lights, and a wide-area two-way radio communication network that connects the emergency vehicles and intersection units. Computers in the various intersections and vehicle units run special-purpose software that implements the traffic- light-preemption scheme. The operations of the intersection and vehicle units are synchronized by use of Global Positioning System (GPS) timing signals. The transponder in each vehicle estimates its own position and velocity by use of GPS signals, deductive ("dead") reckoning, data from the onboard diagnostic (OBD) computer of the vehicle, and/or triangulation of beacon signals. When the operator of an emergency vehicle turns on its flashing lights and sirens in response to a request for an emergency response, the transponder unit goes into action, reading the OBD data to determine speed and acceleration, and reading and gathering further navigational data as described above. The position, velocity, and acceleration data are combined with vehicle-identification data in a prescribed format, and the resulting set of data is transmitted to the intersections within communication range of the transponder.

System transfer modelling for automatic target recognizer evaluations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, Lloyd G.

1991-11-01

Image processing to accomplish automatic recognition of military vehicles has promised increased weapons systems effectiveness and reduced timelines for a number of Department of Defense missions. Automatic Target Recognizers (ATR) are often claimed to be able to recognize many different ground vehicles as possible targets in military air-to- surface targeting applications. The targeting scenario conditions include different vehicle poses and histories as well as a variety of imaging geometries, intervening atmospheres, and background environments. Testing these ATR subsystems in most cases has been limited to a handful of the scenario conditions of interest, as is represented by imagery collected with the desired imaging sensor. The question naturally arises as to how robust the performance of the ATR is for all scenario conditions of interest, not just for the set of imagery upon which an algorithm was trained.

49 CFR 38.73 - Doorways.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

.... Vertical alignment may be accomplished by vehicle air suspension, automatic ramps or lifts, or any... SPECIFICATIONS FOR TRANSPORTATION VEHICLES Light Rail Vehicles and Systems § 38.73 Doorways. (a) Clear width—(1) All passenger doorways on vehicle sides shall have minimum clear openings of 32 inches when open. (2...

Robust Vehicle Detection under Various Environmental Conditions Using an Infrared Thermal Camera and Its Application to Road Traffic Flow Monitoring

PubMed Central

Iwasaki, Yoichiro; Misumi, Masato; Nakamiya, Toshiyuki

2013-01-01

We have already proposed a method for detecting vehicle positions and their movements (henceforth referred to as “our previous method”) using thermal images taken with an infrared thermal camera. Our experiments have shown that our previous method detects vehicles robustly under four different environmental conditions which involve poor visibility conditions in snow and thick fog. Our previous method uses the windshield and its surroundings as the target of the Viola-Jones detector. Some experiments in winter show that the vehicle detection accuracy decreases because the temperatures of many windshields approximate those of the exterior of the windshields. In this paper, we propose a new vehicle detection method (henceforth referred to as “our new method”). Our new method detects vehicles based on tires' thermal energy reflection. We have done experiments using three series of thermal images for which the vehicle detection accuracies of our previous method are low. Our new method detects 1,417 vehicles (92.8%) out of 1,527 vehicles, and the number of false detection is 52 in total. Therefore, by combining our two methods, high vehicle detection accuracies are maintained under various environmental conditions. Finally, we apply the traffic information obtained by our two methods to traffic flow automatic monitoring, and show the effectiveness of our proposal. PMID:23774988

47 CFR 15.251 - Operation within the bands 2.9-3.26 GHz, 3.267-3.332 GHz, 3.339-3.3458 GHz, and 3.358-3.6 GHz.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

..., and 3.358-3.6 GHz. (a) Operation under the provisions of this section is limited to automatic vehicle identification systems (AVIS) which use swept frequency techniques for the purpose of automatically identifying transportation vehicles. (b) The field strength anywhere within the frequency range swept by the signal shall not...

47 CFR 15.251 - Operation within the bands 2.9-3.26 GHz, 3.267-3.332 GHz, 3.339-3.3458 GHz, and 3.358-3.6 GHz.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

..., and 3.358-3.6 GHz. (a) Operation under the provisions of this section is limited to automatic vehicle identification systems (AVIS) which use swept frequency techniques for the purpose of automatically identifying transportation vehicles. (b) The field strength anywhere within the frequency range swept by the signal shall not...

47 CFR 15.251 - Operation within the bands 2.9-3.26 GHz, 3.267-3.332 GHz, 3.339-3.3458 GHz, and 3.358-3.6 GHz.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

..., and 3.358-3.6 GHz. (a) Operation under the provisions of this section is limited to automatic vehicle identification systems (AVIS) which use swept frequency techniques for the purpose of automatically identifying transportation vehicles. (b) The field strength anywhere within the frequency range swept by the signal shall not...

47 CFR 15.251 - Operation within the bands 2.9-3.26 GHz, 3.267-3.332 GHz, 3.339-3.3458 GHz, and 3.358-3.6 GHz.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

..., and 3.358-3.6 GHz. (a) Operation under the provisions of this section is limited to automatic vehicle identification systems (AVIS) which use swept frequency techniques for the purpose of automatically identifying transportation vehicles. (b) The field strength anywhere within the frequency range swept by the signal shall not...

78 FR 19363 - Petition for Exemption From the Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard; Honda

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-29

... immobilizer device occurs automatically when the vehicle is started without any further action by the driver... From the Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard; Honda AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety... Honda Civic vehicle line in accordance with 49 CFR part 543, Exemption from the Theft Prevention...

Advanced sensors and applications : commercial motor vehicle tire pressure monitoring and maintenance : [technology brief].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-04-01

Tire pressure monitoring and automatic tire inflation technologies show significant promise for improving safety and reducing costs in the commercial vehicle industry. Improved tire pressure management directly relates to improved vehicle stability, ...

Automatic vehicle monitoring systems study. Report of phase O. Volume 2: Problem definition and derivation of AVM system selection techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

A set of planning guidelines is presented to help law enforcement agencies and vehicle fleet operators decide which automatic vehicle monitoring (AVM) system could best meet their performance requirements. Improvements in emergency response times and resultant cost benefits obtainable with various operational and planned AVM systems may be synthesized and simulated by means of special computer programs for model city parameters applicable to small, medium and large urban areas. Design characteristics of various AVM systems and the implementation requirements are illustrated and cost estimated for the vehicles, the fixed sites and the base equipments. Vehicle location accuracies for different RF links and polling intervals are analyzed. Actual applications and coverage data are tabulated for seven cities whose police departments actively cooperated in the study.

Automated Guided Vehicle For Phsically Handicapped People - A Cost Effective Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, G. Arun, Dr.; Sivasubramaniam, Mr. A.

2017-12-01

Automated Guided vehicle (AGV) is like a robot that can deliver the materials from the supply area to the technician automatically. This is faster and more efficient. The robot can be accessed wirelessly. A technician can directly control the robot to deliver the components rather than control it via a human operator (over phone, computer etc. who has to program the robot or ask a delivery person to make the delivery). The vehicle is automatically guided through its ways. To avoid collisions a proximity sensor is attached to the system. The sensor senses the signals of the obstacles and can stop the vehicle in the presence of obstacles. Thus vehicle can avoid accidents that can be very useful to the present industrial trend and material handling and equipment handling will be automated and easy time saving methodology.

Modeling and Prototyping of Automatic Clutch System for Light Vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murali, S.; Jothi Prakash, V. M.; Vishal, S.

2017-03-01

Nowadays, recycling or regenerating the waste in to something useful is appreciated all around the globe. It reduces greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global climate change. This study deals with provision of the automatic clutch mechanism in vehicles to facilitate the smooth changing of gears. This study proposed to use the exhaust gases which are normally expelled out as a waste from the turbocharger to actuate the clutch mechanism in vehicles to facilitate the smooth changing of gears. At present, clutches are operated automatically by using an air compressor in the four wheelers. In this study, a conceptual design is proposed in which the clutch is operated by the exhaust gas from the turbocharger and this will remove the usage of air compressor in the existing system. With this system, usage of air compressor is eliminated and the riders need not to operate the clutch manually. This work involved in development, analysation and validation of the conceptual design through simulation software. Then the developed conceptual design of an automatic pneumatic clutch system is tested with proto type.

Piloted Simulation Evaluation of a Model-Predictive Automatic Recovery System to Prevent Vehicle Loss of Control on Approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Litt, Jonathan; Liu, Yuan; Sowers, T. Shane; Owen, A. Karl; Guo, Ten-Huei

2014-01-01

This paper describes a model-predictive automatic recovery system for aircraft on the verge of a loss-of-control situation. The system determines when it must intervene to prevent an imminent accident, resulting from a poor approach. It estimates the altitude loss that would result from a go-around maneuver at the current flight condition. If the loss is projected to violate a minimum altitude threshold, the maneuver is automatically triggered. The system deactivates to allow landing once several criteria are met. Piloted flight simulator evaluation showed the system to provide effective envelope protection during extremely unsafe landing attempts. The results demonstrate how flight and propulsion control can be integrated to recover control of the vehicle automatically and prevent a potential catastrophe.

Automatic Transmissions and Transaxles. Auto Mechanics Curriculum Guide. Module 8. Instructor's Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hevel, David; Tannehill, Dana, Ed.

This module is the eighth of nine modules in the competency-based Missouri Auto Mechanics Curriculum Guide. Six units cover: introduction to automatic transmission/transaxle; hydraulic control systems; transmission/transaxle diagnosis; automatic transmission/transaxle maintenance and adjustment; in-vehicle transmission repair; and off-car…

Development and Testing of an Automatic Transmission Shift Schedule Algorithm for Vehicle Simulation (SAE Paper 2015-01-1142)

EPA Science Inventory

The Advanced Light-Duty Powertrain and Hybrid Analysis (ALPHA) modeling tool was created by EPA to estimate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of light-duty vehicles. ALPHA is a physics-based, forward-looking, full vehicle computer simulation capable of analyzing various vehicle type...

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2008-04-01

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

Uav-Based Automatic Tree Growth Measurement for Biomass Estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karpina, M.; Jarząbek-Rychard, M.; Tymków, P.; Borkowski, A.

2016-06-01

Manual in-situ measurements of geometric tree parameters for the biomass volume estimation are time-consuming and economically non-effective. Photogrammetric techniques can be deployed in order to automate the measurement procedure. The purpose of the presented work is an automatic tree growth estimation based on Unmanned Aircraft Vehicle (UAV) imagery. The experiment was conducted in an agriculture test field with scots pine canopies. The data was collected using a Leica Aibotix X6V2 platform equipped with a Nikon D800 camera. Reference geometric parameters of selected sample plants were measured manually each week. In situ measurements were correlated with the UAV data acquisition. The correlation aimed at the investigation of optimal conditions for a flight and parameter settings for image acquisition. The collected images are processed in a state of the art tool resulting in a generation of dense 3D point clouds. The algorithm is developed in order to estimate geometric tree parameters from 3D points. Stem positions and tree tops are identified automatically in a cross section, followed by the calculation of tree heights. The automatically derived height values are compared to the reference measurements performed manually. The comparison allows for the evaluation of automatic growth estimation process. The accuracy achieved using UAV photogrammetry for tree heights estimation is about 5cm.

Video Guidance Sensors Using Remotely Activated Targets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bryan, Thomas C.; Howard, Richard T.; Book, Michael L.

2004-01-01

Four updated video guidance sensor (VGS) systems have been proposed. As described in a previous NASA Tech Briefs article, a VGS system is an optoelectronic system that provides guidance for automated docking of two vehicles. The VGS provides relative position and attitude (6-DOF) information between the VGS and its target. In the original intended application, the two vehicles would be spacecraft, but the basic principles of design and operation of the system are applicable to aircraft, robots, objects maneuvered by cranes, or other objects that may be required to be aligned and brought together automatically or under remote control. In the first two of the four VGS systems as now proposed, the tracked vehicle would include active targets that would light up on command from the tracking vehicle, and a video camera on the tracking vehicle would be synchronized with, and would acquire images of, the active targets. The video camera would also acquire background images during the periods between target illuminations. The images would be digitized and the background images would be subtracted from the illuminated-target images. Then the position and orientation of the tracked vehicle relative to the tracking vehicle would be computed from the known geometric relationships among the positions of the targets in the image, the positions of the targets relative to each other and to the rest of the tracked vehicle, and the position and orientation of the video camera relative to the rest of the tracking vehicle. The major difference between the first two proposed systems and prior active-target VGS systems lies in the techniques for synchronizing the flashing of the active targets with the digitization and processing of image data. In the prior active-target VGS systems, synchronization was effected, variously, by use of either a wire connection or the Global Positioning System (GPS). In three of the proposed VGS systems, the synchronizing signal would be generated on, and transmitted from, the tracking vehicle. In the first proposed VGS system, the tracking vehicle would transmit a pulse of light. Upon reception of the pulse, circuitry on the tracked vehicle would activate the target lights. During the pulse, the target image acquired by the camera would be digitized. When the pulse was turned off, the target lights would be turned off and the background video image would be digitized. The second proposed system would function similarly to the first proposed system, except that the transmitted synchronizing signal would be a radio pulse instead of a light pulse. In this system, the signal receptor would be a rectifying antenna. If the signal contained sufficient power, the output of the rectifying antenna could be used to activate the target lights, making it unnecessary to include a battery or other power supply for the targets on the tracked vehicle.

Image acquisition system for traffic monitoring applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Auty, Glen; Corke, Peter I.; Dunn, Paul; Jensen, Murray; Macintyre, Ian B.; Mills, Dennis C.; Nguyen, Hao; Simons, Ben

1995-03-01

An imaging system for monitoring traffic on multilane highways is discussed. The system, named Safe-T-Cam, is capable of operating 24 hours per day in all but extreme weather conditions and can capture still images of vehicles traveling up to 160 km/hr. Systems operating at different remote locations are networked to allow transmission of images and data to a control center. A remote site facility comprises a vehicle detection and classification module (VCDM), an image acquisition module (IAM) and a license plate recognition module (LPRM). The remote site is connected to the central site by an ISDN communications network. The remote site system is discussed in this paper. The VCDM consists of a video camera, a specialized exposure control unit to maintain consistent image characteristics, and a 'real-time' image processing system that processes 50 images per second. The VCDM can detect and classify vehicles (e.g. cars from trucks). The vehicle class is used to determine what data should be recorded. The VCDM uses a vehicle tracking technique to allow optimum triggering of the high resolution camera of the IAM. The IAM camera combines the features necessary to operate consistently in the harsh environment encountered when imaging a vehicle 'head-on' in both day and night conditions. The image clarity obtained is ideally suited for automatic location and recognition of the vehicle license plate. This paper discusses the camera geometry, sensor characteristics and the image processing methods which permit consistent vehicle segmentation from a cluttered background allowing object oriented pattern recognition to be used for vehicle classification. The image capture of high resolution images and the image characteristics required for the LPRMs automatic reading of vehicle license plates, is also discussed. The results of field tests presented demonstrate that the vision based Safe-T-Cam system, currently installed on open highways, is capable of producing automatic classification of vehicle class and recording of vehicle numberplates with a success rate around 90 percent in a period of 24 hours.

Automatic guidance control of an articulated all-wheel-steered vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Young Chol; Yun, Kyong-Han; Min, Kyung-Deuk

2014-04-01

This paper presents automatic guidance control of a single-articulated all-wheel-steered vehicle being developed by the Korea Railroad Research Institute. The vehicle has an independent drive motor on each wheel except for the front axle. The guidance controller is designed so that the vehicle follows the given reference path within permissible lateral deviations. We use a three-input/three-output linearised model derived from the nonlinear dynamic model of the vehicle. For the purpose of simplifying the controller and making it tunable, we consider a decentralised control configuration. We first design a second-order decoupling compensator for the two-input/two-output system that is strongly coupled and then design a first-order controller for each decoupled feedback loop by using the characteristic ratio assignment method. The simulation results for the nonlinear dynamic model indicate that the proposed control configuration successfully achieves the design objectives.

Study of automatic and manual terminal guidance and control systems for space shuttle vehicles. Volume 2: Section 4 through appendix B

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Osder, S.; Keller, R.

1971-01-01

Guidance and control design studies that were performed for three specific space shuttle candidate vehicles are described. Three types of simulation were considered. The manual control investigations and pilot evaluations of the automatic system performance is presented. Recommendations for systems and equipment, both airborne and ground-based, necessary to flight test the guidance and control concepts for shuttlecraft terminal approach and landing are reported.

Application of automatic vehicle location in law enforcement: An introductory planning guide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansen, G. R.; Leflang, W. G.

1976-01-01

A set of planning guidelines for the application of automatic vehicle location (AVL) to law enforcement is presented. Some essential characteristics and applications of AVL are outlined; systems in the operational or planning phases are discussed. Requirements analysis, system concept design, implementation planning, and performance and cost modeling are described and demonstrated with numerous examples. A detailed description of a typical law enforcement AVL system, and a list of vendor sources are given in appendixes.

The Visual Representation and Acquisition of Driving Knowledge for Autonomous Vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zhaoxia; Jiang, Qing; Li, Ping; Song, LiangTu; Wang, Rujing; Yu, Biao; Mei, Tao

2017-09-01

In this paper, the driving knowledge base of autonomous vehicle is designed. Based on the driving knowledge modeling system, the driving knowledge of autonomous vehicle is visually acquired, managed, stored, and maintenanced, which has vital significance for creating the development platform of intelligent decision-making systems of automatic driving expert systems for autonomous vehicle.

STS-56 crewmembers on aft flight deck of Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1993-01-01

STS-56 crewmembers pose on aft flight deck of Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, for this in-cabin electronic still camera (ESC) photograph. Clockwise from the bottom right corner are Commander Kenneth Cameron, Mission Specialist 3 (MS3) Ellen Ochoa, MS2 Kenneth D. Cockrell, and Pilot Stephen S. Oswald. The crewmembers are positioned in front of the onorbit station. The image was recorder with the Hand-held, Earth-oriented, Real-time, Cooperative, User-friendly, Location-targeting and Environmental System (HERCULES). HERCULES is a device that makes it simple for Shuttle crewmembers to take pictures of Earth as they merely point and shoot any interesting feature, whose latitude and longitude are automatically determined in real time. In-cabin shots are for test purposes only.

Object Detection from MMS Imagery Using Deep Learning for Generation of Road Orthophotos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Y.; Sakamoto, M.; Shinohara, T.; Satoh, T.

2018-05-01

In recent years, extensive research has been conducted to automatically generate high-accuracy and high-precision road orthophotos using images and laser point cloud data acquired from a mobile mapping system (MMS). However, it is necessary to mask out non-road objects such as vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians and their shadows in MMS images in order to eliminate erroneous textures from the road orthophoto. Hence, we proposed a novel vehicle and its shadow detection model based on Faster R-CNN for automatically and accurately detecting the regions of vehicles and their shadows from MMS images. The experimental results show that the maximum recall of the proposed model was high - 0.963 (intersection-over-union > 0.7) - and the model could identify the regions of vehicles and their shadows accurately and robustly from MMS images, even when they contain varied vehicles, different shadow directions, and partial occlusions. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the quality of road orthophoto generated using vehicle and its shadow masks was significantly improved as compared to those generated using no masks or using vehicle masks only.

Hybrid three-dimensional and support vector machine approach for automatic vehicle tracking and classification using a single camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kachach, Redouane; Cañas, José María

2016-05-01

Using video in traffic monitoring is one of the most active research domains in the computer vision community. TrafficMonitor, a system that employs a hybrid approach for automatic vehicle tracking and classification on highways using a simple stationary calibrated camera, is presented. The proposed system consists of three modules: vehicle detection, vehicle tracking, and vehicle classification. Moving vehicles are detected by an enhanced Gaussian mixture model background estimation algorithm. The design includes a technique to resolve the occlusion problem by using a combination of two-dimensional proximity tracking algorithm and the Kanade-Lucas-Tomasi feature tracking algorithm. The last module classifies the shapes identified into five vehicle categories: motorcycle, car, van, bus, and truck by using three-dimensional templates and an algorithm based on histogram of oriented gradients and the support vector machine classifier. Several experiments have been performed using both real and simulated traffic in order to validate the system. The experiments were conducted on GRAM-RTM dataset and a proper real video dataset which is made publicly available as part of this work.

Vector Pursuit Path Tracking for Autonomous Ground Vehicles

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-08-01

vi INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................1...other geometric path-tracking techniques. 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION An autonomous vehicle is one that is capable of automatic navigation. It is...Joint Architecture for Unmanned Ground Vehicles ( JAUGS ) working group meeting held at the University of Florida. 5 Figure 1.5: Autonomous

An Automatic Vehicle Classification System.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-07-01

addi- tion, various portions of the system design can be used by other vehicle study projects, e.g. for projects concerned with vehicle speed or for...traffic study projects that require an axle counter or vehicle height indicator. A *4 UNCLASSIFIED SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGE(W1en Data Enrerod...optoelectronic components as the basis for detection. Factors of vehicle length, height, and number of axles are used as identification characteristics. In

NREL Transportation Project to Reduce Fuel Usage

Science.gov Websites

and communication software was developed by NREL researchers to display a vehicle's location automatically and transmit a map of the its location over the Internet. After developing the communication vehicle location and communication technology to track and direct vehicle fleet movements," said the

49 CFR 38.73 - Doorways.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... inches and the height of the vehicle floor shall be within plus or minus 5/8 inch of the platform height. Vertical alignment may be accomplished by vehicle air suspension, automatic ramps or lifts, or any combination. (2) Exception. New vehicles operating in existing stations may have a floor height within plus or...

49 CFR 38.73 - Doorways.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... inches and the height of the vehicle floor shall be within plus or minus 5/8 inch of the platform height. Vertical alignment may be accomplished by vehicle air suspension, automatic ramps or lifts, or any combination. (2) Exception. New vehicles operating in existing stations may have a floor height within plus or...

49 CFR 38.73 - Doorways.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... inches and the height of the vehicle floor shall be within plus or minus 5/8 inch of the platform height. Vertical alignment may be accomplished by vehicle air suspension, automatic ramps or lifts, or any combination. (2) Exception. New vehicles operating in existing stations may have a floor height within plus or...

49 CFR 38.73 - Doorways.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... inches and the height of the vehicle floor shall be within plus or minus 5/8 inch of the platform height. Vertical alignment may be accomplished by vehicle air suspension, automatic ramps or lifts, or any combination. (2) Exception. New vehicles operating in existing stations may have a floor height within plus or...

Port-of-entry advanced sorting system (PASS) operational test

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-12-01

In 1992 the Oregon Department of Transportation undertook an operational test of the Port-of-Entry Advanced Sorting System (PASS), which uses a two-way communication automatic vehicle identification system, integrated with weigh-in-motion, automatic ...

Performance of an Automated-Mixed-Traffic-Vehicle /AMTV/ System. [urban people mover

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peng, T. K. C.; Chon, K.

1978-01-01

This study analyzes the operation and evaluates the expected performance of a proposed automatic guideway transit system which uses low-speed Automated Mixed Traffic Vehicles (AMTV's). Vehicle scheduling and headway control policies are evaluated with a transit system simulation model. The effect of mixed-traffic interference on the average vehicle speed is examined with a vehicle-pedestrian interface model. Control parameters regulating vehicle speed are evaluated for safe stopping and passenger comfort.

49 CFR 325.59 - Measurement procedure; stationary test.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

...) If the motor vehicle's engine radiator fan drive is equipped with a clutch or similar device that... minutes, to permit the engine radiator fan to automatically disengage when the vehicle's noise emissions...

A study on special test stand of automatic and manual descent control in presence of simulated g-load effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glazkov, Yury; Artjuchin, Yury; Astakhov, Alexander; Vas'kov, Alexander; Malyshev, Veniamin; Mitroshin, Edward; Glinsky, Valery; Moiseenko, Vasily; Makovlev, Vyacheslav

The development of aircraft-type reusable space vehicles (RSV) involves the problem of complete compatibility of automatic, director and manual control. Task decision is complicated, in particular, due to considerable quantitative and qualitative changes of vehicle dynamic characteristics, little stability margins (and even of unstability) of the RSV, and stringent requirements to control accuracy at some flight phases. Besides, during control a pilot is affected by g-loads which hamper motor activity and deteriorate its accuracy, alter the functional status of the visual analyser, and influence higher nervous activity. A study of g-load effects on the control efficiency, especially in manual and director modes, is of primary importance. The main tools for study of a rational selection of manual and director vehicle control systems and as an aid in formulating recommendations for optimum crew-automatic control system interactions are special complex and functional flight simulator test stands. The proposed simulator stand includes a powerful digital computer complex combined with the control system of the centrifuge. The interior of a pilot's vehicle cabin is imitated. A situation image system, pyscho-physical monitoring system, physician, centrifuge operator, and instructor stations are linked with the test stand.

An Injury Severity-, Time Sensitivity-, and Predictability-Based Advanced Automatic Crash Notification Algorithm Improves Motor Vehicle Crash Occupant Triage.

PubMed

Stitzel, Joel D; Weaver, Ashley A; Talton, Jennifer W; Barnard, Ryan T; Schoell, Samantha L; Doud, Andrea N; Martin, R Shayn; Meredith, J Wayne

2016-06-01

Advanced Automatic Crash Notification algorithms use vehicle telemetry measurements to predict risk of serious motor vehicle crash injury. The objective of the study was to develop an Advanced Automatic Crash Notification algorithm to reduce response time, increase triage efficiency, and improve patient outcomes by minimizing undertriage (<5%) and overtriage (<50%), as recommended by the American College of Surgeons. A list of injuries associated with a patient's need for Level I/II trauma center treatment known as the Target Injury List was determined using an approach based on 3 facets of injury: severity, time sensitivity, and predictability. Multivariable logistic regression was used to predict an occupant's risk of sustaining an injury on the Target Injury List based on crash severity and restraint factors for occupants in the National Automotive Sampling System - Crashworthiness Data System 2000-2011. The Advanced Automatic Crash Notification algorithm was optimized and evaluated to minimize triage rates, per American College of Surgeons recommendations. The following rates were achieved: <50% overtriage and <5% undertriage in side impacts and 6% to 16% undertriage in other crash modes. Nationwide implementation of our algorithm is estimated to improve triage decisions for 44% of undertriaged and 38% of overtriaged occupants. Annually, this translates to more appropriate care for >2,700 seriously injured occupants and reduces unnecessary use of trauma center resources for >162,000 minimally injured occupants. The algorithm could be incorporated into vehicles to inform emergency personnel of recommended motor vehicle crash triage decisions. Lower under- and overtriage was achieved, and nationwide implementation of the algorithm would yield improved triage decision making for an estimated 165,000 occupants annually. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

The charging security study of electric vehicle charging spot based on automatic testing platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yulan; Yang, Zhangli; Zhu, Bin; Ran, Shengyi

2018-03-01

With the increasing of charging spots, the testing of charging security and interoperability becomes more and more urgent and important. In this paper, an interface simulator for ac charging test is designed, the automatic testing platform for electric vehicle charging spots is set up and used to test and analyze the abnormal state during the charging process. On the platform, the charging security and interoperability of ac charging spots and IC-CPD can be checked efficiently, the test report can be generated automatically with No artificial reading error. From the test results, the main reason why the charging spot is not qualified is that the power supply cannot be cut off in the prescribed time when the charging anomaly occurs.

Port-of-entry Advanced Sorting System (PASS) operational test : final report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-12-01

In 1992 the Oregon Department of Transportation undertook an operational test of the Port-of-Entry Advanced Sorting System (PASS), which uses a two-way communication automatic vehicle identification system, integrated with weigh-in-motion, automatic ...

Automatic Focus Adjustment of a Microscope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huntsberger, Terrance

2005-01-01

AUTOFOCUS is a computer program for use in a control system that automatically adjusts the position of an instrument arm that carries a microscope equipped with an electronic camera. In the original intended application of AUTOFOCUS, the imaging microscope would be carried by an exploratory robotic vehicle on a remote planet, but AUTOFOCUS could also be adapted to similar applications on Earth. Initially control software other than AUTOFOCUS brings the microscope to a position above a target to be imaged. Then the instrument arm is moved to lower the microscope toward the target: nominally, the target is approached from a starting distance of 3 cm in 10 steps of 3 mm each. After each step, the image in the camera is subjected to a wavelet transform, which is used to evaluate the texture in the image at multiple scales to determine whether and by how much the microscope is approaching focus. A focus measure is derived from the transform and used to guide the arm to bring the microscope to the focal height. When the analysis reveals that the microscope is in focus, image data are recorded and transmitted.

Alternative Fuels Data Center: Propane Related Links

Science.gov Websites

Amerex Corporation's Vehicle Fire Suppression Systems are designed to warn the vehicle operator and suppress the fire, protecting both equipment and employees. Automatic systems suppress the fire in its

49 CFR 599.303 - Agency disposition of dealer application for reimbursement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... correct a non-conforming submission. (d) Electronic rejection. An application is automatically rejected... transaction, or identifies the vehicle identification number of a new or trade-in vehicle that was involved in...

Assessment of computer dispatch technology in the paratransit industry

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Systems (IVHS) technologies include a range of communications and control technologies. The U.S. Department of Transportation has applied IVHS technologies, such as electronic payment media, automatic vehicle locator syste...

The integrated manual and automatic control of complex flight systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmidt, D. K.

1984-01-01

A unified control synthesis methodology for complex and/or non-conventional flight vehicles are developed. Prediction techniques for the handling characteristics of such vehicles and pilot parameter identification from experimental data are addressed.

Advanced Vehicle Control Systems Potential Tort Liability For Developers

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1993-12-01

AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS AVOIDED BECAUSE THE AUTOMATIC COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEM APPLIES THE BRAKES, HIGHWAYS WHICH ACCOMMODATE MORE VEHICLES WITH FEWER ACCIDENTS, AND EVEN CARS WHICH ARE PILOTED ENTIRELY BY SOPHISTICATED ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS -- ALL OF TH...

Adaptive video-based vehicle classification technique for monitoring traffic : [executive summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-08-01

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recommends axle-based classification standards to map : passenger vehicles, single unit trucks, and multi-unit trucks, at Automatic Traffic Recorder (ATR) stations : statewide. Many state Departments of Transport...

Designing Effective In-vehicle Icons

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1975-04-01

The design of a system for scanning sequences of aerial photographs with a computer-controlled flying-spot scanner and automatically measuring vehicle locations is described. Hardware and software requirements for an operational system of this type a...

49 CFR 393.43 - Breakaway and emergency braking.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... protection system. Every motor vehicle, if used to tow a trailer equipped with brakes, shall be equipped with... protection valve or similar device shall operate automatically when the air pressure on the towing vehicle is... brake systems installed on towed vehicles shall be so designed, by the use of “no-bleed-back” relay...

49 CFR 393.43 - Breakaway and emergency braking.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... protection system. Every motor vehicle, if used to tow a trailer equipped with brakes, shall be equipped with... protection valve or similar device shall operate automatically when the air pressure on the towing vehicle is... brake systems installed on towed vehicles shall be so designed, by the use of “no-bleed-back” relay...

The impact of artificial vehicle sounds for pedestrians on driver stress.

PubMed

Cottrell, Nicholas D; Barton, Benjamin K

2012-01-01

Electrically based vehicles have produced some concern over their lack of sound, but the impact of artificial sounds now being implemented have not been examined in respect to their effects upon the driver. The impact of two different implementations of vehicle sound on driver stress in electric vehicles was examined. A Nissan HEV running in electric vehicle mode was driven by participants in an area of congestion using three sound implementations: (1) no artificial sounds, (2) manually engaged sounds and (3) automatically engaged sounds. Physiological and self-report questionnaire measures were collected to determine stress and acceptance of the automated sound protocol. Driver stress was significantly higher in the manually activated warning condition, compared to both no artificial sounds and automatically engaged sounds. Implications for automation usage and measurement methods are discussed and future research directions suggested. The advent of hybrid- and all-electric vehicles has created a need for artificial warning signals for pedestrian safety that place task demands on drivers. We investigated drivers' stress differences in response to varying conditions of warning signals for pedestrians. Driver stress was lower when noises were automated.

Development of a DC propulsion system for an electric vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kelledes, W. L.

1984-01-01

The suitability of the Eaton automatically shifted mechanical transaxle concept for use in a near-term dc powered electric vehicle is evaluated. A prototype dc propulsion system for a passenger electric vehicle was designed, fabricated, tested, installed in a modified Mercury Lynx vehicle and track tested at the contractor's site. The system consisted of a two-axis, three-speed, automatically-shifted mechanical transaxle, 15.2 Kw rated, separately excited traction motor, and a transistorized motor controller with a single chopper providing limited armature current below motor base speed and full range field control above base speed at up to twice rated motor current. The controller utilized a microprocessor to perform motor and vehicle speed monitoring and shift sequencing by means of solenoids applying hydraulic pressure to the transaxle clutches. Bench dynamometer and track testing was performed. Track testing showed best system efficiency for steady-state cruising speeds of 65-80 Km/Hz (40-50 mph). Test results include acceleration, steady speed and SAE J227A/D cycle energy consumption, braking tests and coast down to characterize the vehicle road load.

Headway Deviation Effects on Bus Passenger Loads : Analysis of Tri-Met's Archived AVL-APC Data

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-01-01

In this paper we empirically analyze the relationship between transit service headway deviations and passenger loads, using archived data from Tri-Met's automatic vehicle location and automatic passenger counter systems. The analysis employs twostage...

Data visualization as a tool for improved decision making within transit agencies

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-02-01

TriMet, the regional transit provider in the Portland, OR, area has been a leader in bus transit performance monitoring using data collected via automatic vehicle location and automatic passenger counter technologies. This information is collected an...

Automatic Vehicle Location: Successful Transit Applications

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2002-11-01

Belief in the value of AVL is substantiated by statements of benefits contained earlier in this study. Even so, none of the study agencies are making full use of the voluminous amount of AVL data automatically recorded by the system. Efforts to make ...

Small passenger car transmission test-Chevrolet 200 transmission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bujold, M. P.

1980-01-01

The small passenger car transmission was tested to supply electric vehicle manufacturers with technical information regarding the performance of commerically available transmissions which would enable them to design a more energy efficient vehicle. With this information the manufacturers could estimate vehicle driving range as well as speed and torque requirements for specific road load performance characteristics. A 1979 Chevrolet Model 200 automatic transmission was tested per a passenger car automatic transmission test code (SAE J651b) which required drive performance, coast performance, and no load test conditions. The transmission attained maximum efficiencies in the mid-eighty percent range for both drive performance tests and coast performance tests. Torque, speed and efficiency curves map the complete performance characteristics for Chevrolet Model 200 transmission.

Vehicle detection in aerial surveillance using dynamic Bayesian networks.

PubMed

Cheng, Hsu-Yung; Weng, Chih-Chia; Chen, Yi-Ying

2012-04-01

We present an automatic vehicle detection system for aerial surveillance in this paper. In this system, we escape from the stereotype and existing frameworks of vehicle detection in aerial surveillance, which are either region based or sliding window based. We design a pixelwise classification method for vehicle detection. The novelty lies in the fact that, in spite of performing pixelwise classification, relations among neighboring pixels in a region are preserved in the feature extraction process. We consider features including vehicle colors and local features. For vehicle color extraction, we utilize a color transform to separate vehicle colors and nonvehicle colors effectively. For edge detection, we apply moment preserving to adjust the thresholds of the Canny edge detector automatically, which increases the adaptability and the accuracy for detection in various aerial images. Afterward, a dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) is constructed for the classification purpose. We convert regional local features into quantitative observations that can be referenced when applying pixelwise classification via DBN. Experiments were conducted on a wide variety of aerial videos. The results demonstrate flexibility and good generalization abilities of the proposed method on a challenging data set with aerial surveillance images taken at different heights and under different camera angles.

Real-time road detection in infrared imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andre, Haritini E.; McCoy, Keith

1990-09-01

Automatic road detection is an important part in many scene recognition applications. The extraction of roads provides a means of navigation and position update for remotely piloted vehicles or autonomous vehicles. Roads supply strong contextual information which can be used to improve the performance of automatic target recognition (ATh) systems by directing the search for targets and adjusting target classification confidences. This paper will describe algorithmic techniques for labeling roads in high-resolution infrared imagery. In addition, realtime implementation of this structural approach using a processor array based on the Martin Marietta Geometric Arithmetic Parallel Processor (GAPPTh) chip will be addressed. The algorithm described is based on the hypothesis that a road consists of pairs of line segments separated by a distance "d" with opposite gradient directions (antiparallel). The general nature of the algorithm, in addition to its parallel implementation in a single instruction, multiple data (SIMD) machine, are improvements to existing work. The algorithm seeks to identify line segments meeting the road hypothesis in a manner that performs well, even when the side of the road is fragmented due to occlusion or intersections. The use of geometrical relationships between line segments is a powerful yet flexible method of road classification which is independent of orientation. In addition, this approach can be used to nominate other types of objects with minor parametric changes.

A Module for Automatic Dock and Detumble (MADD) for orbital rescue operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Snow, W. R.; Kunciw, B. G.; Kaplan, M. H.

1973-01-01

The module for automatic dock and detumble (MADD) is an automated device for bringing a passive, tumbling space base under control in an orbital rescue situation. The conceptual design of such a device resulted from a consideration of tumbling motion analyses and mission constraints. Specific topics of investigation include orbit and attitude dynamics and detumble profiles. Position and attitude control systems for the various phases of operation were developed. Dynamic motion of a passive vehicle with MADD attached is considered as an example application and to determine control requirements. Since time is a critical factor in rescue operations, it is essential to execute the detumbling maneuver in a minimum of time. Optimization of the MADD thrusting sequence has also been investigated. Results indicate the control torque must be directed opposite to the angular momentum vector for the assumption used here.

76 FR 53072 - Certification; Importation of Vehicles and Equipment Subject to Federal Safety, Bumper, and Theft...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-25

... used as a basis for the non-automatic suspension of an RI registration, deletes redundant text from... Part 592 as a Basis for the Non-Automatic Suspension or Revocation of an RI Registration B. Deletion of... violations of the regulations in part 592 as a basis for the non-automatic suspension or revocation of an RI...

New York State Thruway Authority automatic vehicle classification (AVC) : research report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-03-31

In December 2007, the N.Y.S. Thruway Authority (Thruway) concluded a Federal : funded research effort to study technology and develop a design for retrofitting : devices required in implementing a fully automated vehicle classification system i...

Autonomous intelligent cruise control system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baret, Marc; Bomer, Thierry T.; Calesse, C.; Dudych, L.; L'Hoist, P.

1995-01-01

Autonomous intelligent cruise control (AICC) systems are not only controlling vehicles' speed but acting on the throttle and eventually on the brakes they could automatically maintain the relative speed and distance between two vehicles in the same lane. And more than just for comfort it appears that these new systems should improve the safety on highways. By applying a technique issued from the space research carried out by MATRA, a sensor based on a charge coupled device (CCD) was designed to acquire the reflected light on standard-mounted car reflectors of pulsed laser diodes emission. The CCD is working in a unique mode called flash during transfer (FDT) which allows identification of target patterns in severe optical environments. It provides high accuracy for distance and angular position of targets. The absence of moving mechanical parts ensures high reliability for this sensor. The large field of view and the high measurement rate give a global situation assessment and a short reaction time. Then, tracking and filtering algorithms have been developed in order to select the target, on which the equipped vehicle determines its safety distance and speed, taking into account its maneuvering and the behaviors of other vehicles.

49 CFR 393.53 - Automatic brake adjusters and brake adjustment indicators.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... indicators. 393.53 Section 393.53 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued... brake adjustment indicators. (a) Automatic brake adjusters (hydraulic brake systems). Each commercial... vehicle at the time it was manufactured. (c) Brake adjustment indicator (air brake systems). On each...

49 CFR 393.53 - Automatic brake adjusters and brake adjustment indicators.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... indicators. 393.53 Section 393.53 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued... brake adjustment indicators. (a) Automatic brake adjusters (hydraulic brake systems). Each commercial... vehicle at the time it was manufactured. (c) Brake adjustment indicator (air brake systems). On each...

The Vehicle Control Systems Branch at the Marshall Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barret, Chris

1990-01-01

This paper outlines the responsibility of the Vehicle Control Systems Branch at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to analyze, evaluate, define, design, verify, and specify requirements for advanced launch vehicles and related space projects, and to conduct research in advanced flight control concepts. Attention is given to branch responsibilities which include Shuttle-C, Shuttle-C Block II, Shuttle-Z, lunar cargo launch vehicles, Mars cargo launch vehicles, orbital maneuvering vehicle, automatic docking, tethered satellite, aeroassisted flight experiment, and solid rocket booster parachute recovery system design.

Research on Vehicle Temperature Regulation System Based on Air Convection Principle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhuge, Muzi; Li, Xiang; Liang, Caifeng

2018-03-01

The long time parking outdoors in the summer will lead to too high temperature in the car, and the harmful gas produced by the vehicle engine will stay in the confined space for a long time during the parking process, which will do great harm to the human body. If the air conditioning system is turned on before driving, the cooling rate is slow and the battery loss is large. To solve the above problems, we designed a temperature adjusting system based on the principle of air convection. We can choose the automatic mode or manual mode to achieve control of a convection window. In the automatic mode, the system will automatically detect the environmental temperature, through the sensor to complete the detection, and the signal is transmitted to the microcontroller to control the window open or close, in manual mode, the remote control of the window can be realized by Bluetooth. Therefore, the system has important practical significance to effectively regulate temperature, prolong battery life, and improve the safety and comfort of traffic vehicles.

An innovative localisation algorithm for railway vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allotta, B.; D'Adamio, P.; Malvezzi, M.; Pugi, L.; Ridolfi, A.; Rindi, A.; Vettori, G.

2014-11-01

In modern railway automatic train protection and automatic train control systems, odometry is a safety relevant on-board subsystem which estimates the instantaneous speed and the travelled distance of the train; a high reliability of the odometry estimate is fundamental, since an error on the train position may lead to a potentially dangerous overestimation of the distance available for braking. To improve the odometry estimate accuracy, data fusion of different inputs coming from a redundant sensor layout may be used. The aim of this work has been developing an innovative localisation algorithm for railway vehicles able to enhance the performances, in terms of speed and position estimation accuracy, of the classical odometry algorithms, such as the Italian Sistema Controllo Marcia Treno (SCMT). The proposed strategy consists of a sensor fusion between the information coming from a tachometer and an Inertial Measurements Unit (IMU). The sensor outputs have been simulated through a 3D multibody model of a railway vehicle. The work has provided the development of a custom IMU, designed by ECM S.p.a, in order to meet their industrial and business requirements. The industrial requirements have to be compliant with the European Train Control System (ETCS) standards: the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), a project developed by the European Union to improve the interoperability among different countries, in particular as regards the train control and command systems, fixes some standard values for the odometric (ODO) performance, in terms of speed and travelled distance estimation. The reliability of the ODO estimation has to be taken into account basing on the allowed speed profiles. The results of the currently used ODO algorithms can be improved, especially in case of degraded adhesion conditions; it has been verified in the simulation environment that the results of the proposed localisation algorithm are always compliant with the ERTMS requirements. The estimation strategy has good performance also under degraded adhesion conditions and could be put on board of high-speed railway vehicles; it represents an accurate and reliable solution. The IMU board is tested via a dedicated Hardware in the Loop (HIL) test rig: it includes an industrial robot able to replicate the motion of the railway vehicle. Through the generated experimental outputs the performances of the innovative localisation algorithm have been evaluated: the HIL test rig permitted to test the proposed algorithm, avoiding expensive (in terms of time and cost) on-track tests, obtaining encouraging results. In fact, the preliminary results show a significant improvement of the position and speed estimation performances compared to those obtained with SCMT algorithms, currently in use on the Italian railway network.

Behavioral aspects of automatic vehicle guidance : relationship between headway and driver comfort

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-01-01

Automation of road traffic has the potential to greatly improve the performance of traffic systems. The acceptance of automated driving may play an important role in the feasibility of automated vehicle guidance (AVG), comparable to automated highway...

Integrated corridor management transit vehicle real-time data demonstration: Dallas case study

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-12-01

As part of the U.S. Department of Transportations Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) Initiative, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) purchased new automatic passenger counter (APC) technology for its Red and Orange line light rail vehicles to provi...

Development and preliminary testing of an automatic turning movements identification system : final report, February 2010.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-02-01

It is important for many applications, such as intersection delay estimation and adaptive signal : control, to obtain vehicle turning movement information at signalized intersections. However, : vehicle turning movement information is very time consu...

Digital Map Requirements For Automatic Vehicle Location

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-12-01

New Jersey Transit (NJT) is currently investigating acquisition of an automated vehicle locator (AVL) system. The purpose of the AVL system is to monitor the location of buses. Knowing the location of a bus enables the agency to manage the bus fleet ...

A unique concept for automatically controlling the braking action of wheeled vehicles during minimum distance stops

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barthlome, D. E.

1975-01-01

Test results of a unique automatic brake control system are outlined and a comparison is made of its mode of operation to that of an existing skid control system. The purpose of the test system is to provide automatic control of braking action such that hydraulic brake pressure is maintained at a near constant, optimum value during minimum distance stops.

A comparison of the comfort and convenience of automatic safety belt systems among selected 1988-1989 model year automobiles

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1989-06-01

Author's abstract: A nonrandom sample of 120 disproportionately short, tall, and overweight drivers compared the comfort and convenience of the automatic safety belt systems used in seventeen automobiles. Nine vehicles had motorized shoulder belts wi...

Innovative telecommunications for law enforcement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sohn, R. L.

1976-01-01

The operation of computer-aided dispatch, mobile digital communications, and automatic vehicle location systems used in law enforcement is discussed, and characteristics of systems used by different agencies are compared. With reference to computer-aided dispatch systems, the data base components, dispatcher work load, extent of usage, and design trends are surveyed. The capabilities, levels of communication, and traffic load of mobile digital communications systems are examined. Different automatic vehicle location systems are distinguished, and two systems are evaluated. Other aspects of the application of innovative technology to operational command, control, and communications systems for law enforcement agencies are described.

40 CFR 1051.320 - What happens if one of my production-line vehicles or engines fails to meet emission standards?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

...-line vehicles or engines fails to meet emission standards? 1051.320 Section 1051.320 Protection of... of my production-line vehicles or engines fails to meet emission standards? (a) If you have a... standards (see § 1051.315(a)), the certificate of conformity is automatically suspended for that failing...

40 CFR 1051.320 - What happens if one of my production-line vehicles or engines fails to meet emission standards?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

...-line vehicles or engines fails to meet emission standards? 1051.320 Section 1051.320 Protection of... of my production-line vehicles or engines fails to meet emission standards? (a) If you have a... standards (see § 1051.315(a)), the certificate of conformity is automatically suspended for that failing...

Localized contourlet features in vehicle make and model recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zafar, I.; Edirisinghe, E. A.; Acar, B. S.

2009-02-01

Automatic vehicle Make and Model Recognition (MMR) systems provide useful performance enhancements to vehicle recognitions systems that are solely based on Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) systems. Several vehicle MMR systems have been proposed in literature. In parallel to this, the usefulness of multi-resolution based feature analysis techniques leading to efficient object classification algorithms have received close attention from the research community. To this effect, Contourlet transforms that can provide an efficient directional multi-resolution image representation has recently been introduced. Already an attempt has been made in literature to use Curvelet/Contourlet transforms in vehicle MMR. In this paper we propose a novel localized feature detection method in Contourlet transform domain that is capable of increasing the classification rates up to 4%, as compared to the previously proposed Contourlet based vehicle MMR approach in which the features are non-localized and thus results in sub-optimal classification. Further we show that the proposed algorithm can achieve the increased classification accuracy of 96% at significantly lower computational complexity due to the use of Two Dimensional Linear Discriminant Analysis (2DLDA) for dimensionality reduction by preserving the features with high between-class variance and low inter-class variance.

Study of smoke detection and fire extinguishment for rail transit vehicles.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1983-08-31

This document presents the results of a study to determine the feasibility and cost effectiveness of the use of heat/smoke/fire sensors and automatic extinguishing systems in rail transit vehicles. Work presented includes: a survey of major rail tran...

Automatic generation of the non-holonomic equations of motion for vehicle stability analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minaker, B. P.; Rieveley, R. J.

2010-09-01

The mathematical analysis of vehicle stability has been utilised as an important tool in the design, development, and evaluation of vehicle architectures and stability controls. This paper presents a novel method for automatic generation of the linearised equations of motion for mechanical systems that is well suited to vehicle stability analysis. Unlike conventional methods for generating linearised equations of motion in standard linear second order form, the proposed method allows for the analysis of systems with non-holonomic constraints. In the proposed method, the algebraic constraint equations are eliminated after linearisation and reduction to first order. The described method has been successfully applied to an assortment of classic dynamic problems of varying complexity including the classic rolling coin, the planar truck-trailer, and the bicycle, as well as in more recent problems such as a rotor-stator and a benchmark road vehicle with suspension. This method has also been applied in the design and analysis of a novel three-wheeled narrow tilting vehicle with zero roll-stiffness. An application for determining passively stable configurations using the proposed method together with a genetic search algorithm is detailed. The proposed method and software implementation has been shown to be robust and provides invaluable conceptual insight into the stability of vehicles and mechanical systems.

Day, night and all-weather security surveillance automation synergy from combining two powerful technologies

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

Morellas, Vassilios; Johnson, Andrew; Johnston, Chris

2006-07-01

Thermal imaging is rightfully a real-world technology proven to bring confidence to daytime, night-time and all weather security surveillance. Automatic image processing intrusion detection algorithms are also a real world technology proven to bring confidence to system surveillance security solutions. Together, day, night and all weather video imagery sensors and automated intrusion detection software systems create the real power to protect early against crime, providing real-time global homeland protection, rather than simply being able to monitor and record activities for post event analysis. These solutions, whether providing automatic security system surveillance at airports (to automatically detect unauthorized aircraft takeoff andmore » landing activities) or at high risk private, public or government facilities (to automatically detect unauthorized people or vehicle intrusion activities) are on the move to provide end users the power to protect people, capital equipment and intellectual property against acts of vandalism and terrorism. As with any technology, infrared sensors and automatic image intrusion detection systems for global homeland security protection have clear technological strengths and limitations compared to other more common day and night vision technologies or more traditional manual man-in-the-loop intrusion detection security systems. This paper addresses these strength and limitation capabilities. False Alarm (FAR) and False Positive Rate (FPR) is an example of some of the key customer system acceptability metrics and Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference (NETD) and Minimum Resolvable Temperature are examples of some of the sensor level performance acceptability metrics. (authors)« less

Empirical study on neural network based predictive techniques for automatic number plate recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shashidhara, M. S.; Indrakumar, S. S.

2011-10-01

The objective of this study is to provide an easy, accurate and effective technology for the Bangalore city traffic control. This is based on the techniques of image processing and laser beam technology. The core concept chosen here is an image processing technology by the method of automatic number plate recognition system. First number plate is recognized if any vehicle breaks the traffic rules in the signals. The number is fetched from the database of the RTO office by the process of automatic database fetching. Next this sends the notice and penalty related information to the vehicle owner email-id and an SMS sent to vehicle owner. In this paper, we use of cameras with zooming options & laser beams to get accurate pictures further applied image processing techniques such as Edge detection to understand the vehicle, Identifying the location of the number plate, Identifying the number plate for further use, Plain plate number, Number plate with additional information, Number plates in the different fonts. Accessing the database of the vehicle registration office to identify the name and address and other information of the vehicle number. The updates to be made to the database for the recording of the violation and penalty issues. A feed forward artificial neural network is used for OCR. This procedure is particularly important for glyphs that are visually similar such as '8' and '9' and results in training sets of between 25,000 and 40,000 training samples. Over training of the neural network is prevented by Bayesian regularization. The neural network output value is set to 0.05 when the input is not desired glyph, and 0.95 for correct input.

EPA and California Air Resources Board Approve Remedy to Reduce Excess NOx Emissions from Automatic Transmission “Generation 2” 2.0-Liter Diesel Vehicles

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

On May 17, 2017, EPA and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved an emissions modification proposed by Volkswagen that will reduce NOx emissions from automatic transmission diesel Passats for model years 2012-2014.

Automatic Vehicle Location successful transit applications : a cross-cutting study : improving service and safety

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-08-01

Belief in the value of AVL is substantiated by statements of benefits contained earlier in this study. Even so, none of the study agencies are making full use of the voluminous amount of AVL data automatically recorded by the system. Efforts to make ...

The integrated manual and automatic control of complex flight systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmidt, D. K.

1983-01-01

Development of a unified control synthesis methodology for complex and/or non-conventional flight vehicles, and prediction techniques for the handling characteristics of such vehicles are reported. Identification of pilot dynamics and objectives, using time domain and frequency domain methods is proposed.

Robust automatic control system of vessel descent-rise device for plant with distributed parameters “cable – towed underwater vehicle”

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chupina, K. V.; Kataev, E. V.; Khannanov, A. M.; Korshunov, V. N.; Sennikov, I. A.

2018-05-01

The paper is devoted to a problem of synthesis of the robust control system for a distributed parameters plant. The vessel descent-rise device has a heave compensation function for stabilization of the towed underwater vehicle on a set depth. A sea state code, parameters of the underwater vehicle and cable vary during underwater operations, the vessel heave is a stochastic process. It means that the plant and external disturbances have uncertainty. That is why it is necessary to use the robust theory for synthesis of an automatic control system, but without use of traditional methods of optimization, because this cable has distributed parameters. The offered technique has allowed one to design an effective control system for stabilization of immersion depth of the towed underwater vehicle for various degrees of sea roughness and to provide its robustness to deviations of parameters of the vehicle and cable’s length.

Automated mixed traffic vehicle control and scheduling study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peng, T. K. C.; Chon, K.

1976-01-01

The operation and the expected performance of a proposed automatic guideway transit system which uses low speed automated mixed traffic vehicles (AMTVs) were analyzed. Vehicle scheduling and headway control policies were evaluated with a transit system simulation model. The effect of mixed traffic interference on the average vehicle speed was examined with a vehicle pedestrian interface model. Control parameters regulating vehicle speed were evaluated for safe stopping and passenger comfort. Some preliminary data on the cost and operation of an experimental AMTV system are included. These data were the result of a separate task conducted at JPL, and were included as background information.

Automatic control of a robotic vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcreynolds, S. R.

1976-01-01

Over the last several years Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been engaged in a project to develop some of the technology required to build a robotic vehicle for exploring planetary surfaces. An overview of hardware and software being developed for this project is given. Particular emphasis is placed on the description of the current design for the Vehicle System required for locomotion and the path planning algorithm.

Integrated Inverter And Battery Charger

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rippel, Wally E.

1988-01-01

Circuit combines functions of dc-to-ac inversion (for driving ac motor in battery-powered vehicle) and ac-to-dc conversion (for charging battery from ac line when vehicle not in use). Automatically adapts to either mode. Design of integrated inverter/charger eliminates need for duplicate components, saves space, reduces weight and cost of vehicle. Advantages in other applications : load-leveling systems, standby ac power systems, and uninterruptible power supplies.

Autonomous RPRV Navigation, Guidance and Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnston, Donald E.; Myers, Thomas T.; Zellner, John W.

1983-01-01

Dryden Flight Research Center has the responsibility for flight testing of advanced remotely piloted research vehicles (RPRV) to explore highly maneuverable aircraft technology, and to test advanced structural concepts, and related aeronautical technologies which can yield important research results with significant cost benefits. The primary purpose is to provide the preliminary design of an upgraded automatic approach and landing control system and flight director display to improve landing performance and reduce pilot workload. A secondary purpose is to determine the feasibility of an onboard autonomous navigation, orbit, and landing capability for safe vehicle recovery in the event of loss of telemetry uplink communication with the vehicles. The current RPRV approach and landing method, the proposed automatic and manual approach and autoland system, and an autonomous navigation, orbit, and landing system concept which is based on existing operational technology are described.

System identification for precision control of a wingsailed GPS-guided catamaran

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elkaim, Gabriel Hugh

This thesis details the Atlantis project, whose aim is the design, development, and experimental testing of an autonomous wind-propelled marine craft. Functionally, such a vehicle is the marine equivalent of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and would serve similar purposes. The Atlantis project has been able to demonstrate an advance in control precision of a wind-propelled marine vehicle from typical commercial autopilot accuracy of 100 meters to an accuracy of better than one meter with a prototype based on a modified Prindle-19 light catamaran. The project involves substantial innovations in three areas: wind-propulsion system, overall system architecture, and sensors. The wind-propulsion system is a rigid wing-sail mounted vertically on bearings, mass balanced to allow free rotation in azimuth about a stub-mast. Aerodynamic torque about the stub-mast is trimmed using a flying tail mounted on booms aft of the wing. This arrangement allows the wing-sail to automatically attain the optimum angle to the wind, and weathervane into gusts without inducing large heeling moments. The sensor system uses differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) augmented by a low-cost attitude system based on accelerometer- and magnetometer-triads for position and velocity measurements. Accurate attitude determination is required to create a synthetic position sensor that is located at the center-of-gravity (c.g.) of the boat, rather than at the Global Positioning System (GPS) antenna location. A high-performance estimator/controller was implemented and tested on the full-scale prototype. The identified controllers were able to perform remarkably well, in the presence of wind and waves, tracking the desired line to within 0.3 meters (˜1 foot).

Highway extraction from high resolution aerial photography using a geometric active contour model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niu, Xutong

Highway extraction and vehicle detection are two of the most important steps in traffic-flow analysis from multi-frame aerial photographs. The traditional method of deriving traffic flow trajectories relies on manual vehicle counting from a sequence of aerial photographs, which is tedious and time-consuming. This research presents a new framework for semi-automatic highway extraction. The basis of the new framework is an improved geometric active contour (GAC) model. This novel model seeks to minimize an objective function that transforms a problem of propagation of regular curves into an optimization problem. The implementation of curve propagation is based on level set theory. By using an implicit representation of a two-dimensional curve, a level set approach can be used to deal with topological changes naturally, and the output is unaffected by different initial positions of the curve. However, the original GAC model, on which the new model is based, only incorporates boundary information into the curve propagation process. An error-producing phenomenon called leakage is inevitable wherever there is an uncertain weak edge. In this research, region-based information is added as a constraint into the original GAC model, thereby, giving this proposed method the ability of integrating both boundary and region-based information during the curve propagation. Adding the region-based constraint eliminates the leakage problem. This dissertation applies the proposed augmented GAC model to the problem of highway extraction from high-resolution aerial photography. First, an optimized stopping criterion is designed and used in the implementation of the GAC model. It effectively saves processing time and computations. Second, a seed point propagation framework is designed and implemented. This framework incorporates highway extraction, tracking, and linking into one procedure. A seed point is usually placed at an end node of highway segments close to the boundary of the image or at a position where possible blocking may occur, such as at an overpass bridge or near vehicle crowds. These seed points can be automatically propagated throughout the entire highway network. During the process, road center points are also extracted, which introduces a search direction for solving possible blocking problems. This new framework has been successfully applied to highway network extraction from a large orthophoto mosaic. In the process, vehicles on the highway extracted from mosaic were detected with an 83% success rate.

Job expansion : an additional benefit of a computer aided dispatch/automatic vehicle locator (CAD/AVL) system

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-03-01

The Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) acquired a CAD/AVL system that became fully operational in 1996. The CAD/AVL system added radio channels and covert alarms in buses, located vehicles in real time, and monitored schedule adherence. Th...

The ac propulsion system for an electric vehicle, phase 1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geppert, S.

1981-08-01

A functional prototype of an electric vehicle ac propulsion system was built consisting of a 18.65 kW rated ac induction traction motor, pulse width modulated (PWM) transistorized inverter, two speed mechanically shifted automatic transmission, and an overall drive/vehicle controller. Design developmental steps, and test results of individual components and the complex system on an instrumented test frame are described. Computer models were developed for the inverter, motor and a representative vehicle. A preliminary reliability model and failure modes effects analysis are given.

The ac propulsion system for an electric vehicle, phase 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Geppert, S.

1981-01-01

A functional prototype of an electric vehicle ac propulsion system was built consisting of a 18.65 kW rated ac induction traction motor, pulse width modulated (PWM) transistorized inverter, two speed mechanically shifted automatic transmission, and an overall drive/vehicle controller. Design developmental steps, and test results of individual components and the complex system on an instrumented test frame are described. Computer models were developed for the inverter, motor and a representative vehicle. A preliminary reliability model and failure modes effects analysis are given.

Automotive Control Systems: For Engine, Driveline, and Vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiencke, Uwe; Nielsen, Lars

Advances in automotive control systems continue to enhance safety and comfort and to reduce fuel consumption and emissions. Reflecting the trend to optimization through integrative approaches for engine, driveline, and vehicle control, this valuable book enables control engineers to understand engine and vehicle models necessary for controller design, and also introduces mechanical engineers to vehicle-specific signal processing and automatic control. The emphasis on measurement, comparisons between performance and modeling, and realistic examples derive from the authors' unique industrial experience

Infrared target simulation environment for pattern recognition applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Savakis, Andreas E.; George, Nicholas

1994-07-01

The generation of complete databases of IR data is extremely useful for training human observers and testing automatic pattern recognition algorithms. Field data may be used for realism, but require expensive and time-consuming procedures. IR scene simulation methods have emerged as a more economical and efficient alternative for the generation of IR databases. A novel approach to IR target simulation is presented in this paper. Model vehicles at 1:24 scale are used for the simulation of real targets. The temperature profile of the model vehicles is controlled using resistive circuits which are embedded inside the models. The IR target is recorded using an Inframetrics dual channel IR camera system. Using computer processing we place the recorded IR target in a prerecorded background. The advantages of this approach are: (1) the range and 3D target aspect can be controlled by the relative position between the camera and model vehicle; (2) the temperature profile can be controlled by adjusting the power delivered to the resistive circuit; (3) the IR sensor effects are directly incorporated in the recording process, because the real sensor is used; (4) the recorded target can embedded in various types of backgrounds recorded under different weather conditions, times of day etc. The effectiveness of this approach is demonstrated by generating an IR database of three vehicles which is used to train a back propagation neural network. The neural network is capable of classifying vehicle type, vehicle aspect, and relative temperature with a high degree of accuracy.

Automatic control of the Skylab Astronaut Maneuvering Research Vehicle.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murtagh, T. B.; Goodwin, M. A.; Greenlee, J. E.; Whitsett , C. E.

1973-01-01

The two automatic control modes of the Astronaut Maneuvering Research Vehicle (AMRV) are analyzed: the control moment gyro (CMG) and the rate gyro (RG). The AMRV is an autonomous maneuvering unit which translates and rotates the pilot by means of hand-controller input commands. The CMG normal operation, desaturation, and cage/lock dynamics are described in terms of a realistic AMRV mass property configuration. No propellant is used for normal operation in the CMG mode, and the maximum rotation rate is 5 deg/sec about each AMRV axis. The RG attitude maneuvering and limit cycle submode dynamic are described in terms of the same AMRV mass property configuration.

76 FR 11415 - Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Power-Operated Window, Partition, and Roof Panel Systems

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-02

... automatic reversal systems (ARS) for power windows and to make a final decision. The agency has decided not... requirements for automatic reversal systems (ARS) and are withdrawing our 2009 proposal regarding ARS. This... of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) proposing new requirements for ARS. The proposal discussed the agency's...

Exploratory field trial of motorcycle autonomous emergency braking (MAEB): Considerations on the acceptability of unexpected automatic decelerations.

PubMed

Savino, Giovanni; Pierini, Marco; Thompson, Jason; Fitzharris, Michael; Lenné, Michael G

2016-11-16

Autonomous emergency braking (AEB) acts to slow down a vehicle when an unavoidable impending collision is detected. In addition to documented benefits when applied to passenger cars, AEB has also shown potential when applied to motorcycles (MAEB). However, the feasibility of MAEB as practically applied to motorcycles in the real world is not well understood. In this study we performed a field trial involving 16 riders on a test motorcycle subjected to automatic decelerations, thus simulating MAEB activation. The tests were conducted along a rectilinear path at nominal speed of 40 km/h and with mean deceleration of 0.15 g (15% of full braking) deployed at random times. Riders were also exposed to one final undeclared brake activation with the aim of providing genuinely unexpected automatic braking events. Participants were consistently able to manage automatic decelerations of the vehicle with minor to moderate effort. Results of undeclared activations were consistent with those of standard runs. This study demonstrated the feasibility of a moderate automatic deceleration in a scenario of motorcycle travelling in a straight path, supporting the notion that the application of AEB on motorcycles is practicable. Furthermore, the proposed field trial can be used as a reference for future regulation or consumer tests in order to address safety and acceptability of unexpected automatic decelerations on a motorcycle.

Alternating-Current Motor Drive for Electric Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krauthamer, S.; Rippel, W. E.

1982-01-01

New electric drive controls speed of a polyphase as motor by varying frequency of inverter output. Closed-loop current-sensing circuit automatically adjusts frequency of voltage-controlled oscillator that controls inverter frequency, to limit starting and accelerating surges. Efficient inverter and ac motor would give electric vehicles extra miles per battery charge.

Fault prevention by early stage symptoms detection for automatic vehicle transmission using pattern recognition and curve fitting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balbin, Jessie R.; Cruz, Febus Reidj G.; Abu, Jon Ervin A.; Siño, Carlo G.; Ubaldo, Paolo E.; Zulueta, Christelle Jianne T.

2017-06-01

Automobiles have become essential parts of our everyday lives. It can correlate many factors that may affect a vehicle primarily those which may inconvenient or in some cases harm lives or properties. Thus, focusing on detecting an automatic transmission vehicle engine, body and other parts that cause vibration and sound may help prevent car problems using MATLAB. By using sound, vibration, and temperature sensors to detect the defects of the car and with the help of the transmitter and receiver to gather data wirelessly, it is easy to install on to the vehicle. A technique utilized from Toyota Balintawak Philippines that every car is treated as panels(a, b, c, d, and e) 'a' being from the hood until the front wheel of the car and 'e' the rear shield to the back of the car, this was applied on how to properly place the sensors so that precise data could be gathered. Data gathered would be compared to the normal graph taken from the normal status or performance of a vehicle, data that would surpass 50% of the normal graph would be considered that a problem has occurred. The system is designed to prevent car accidents by determining the current status or performance of the vehicle, also keeping people away from harm.

Remote-controlled vision-guided mobile robot system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ande, Raymond; Samu, Tayib; Hall, Ernest L.

1997-09-01

Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) have many potential applications in manufacturing, medicine, space and defense. The purpose of this paper is to describe exploratory research on the design of the remote controlled emergency stop and vision systems for an autonomous mobile robot. The remote control provides human supervision and emergency stop capabilities for the autonomous vehicle. The vision guidance provides automatic operation. A mobile robot test-bed has been constructed using a golf cart base. The mobile robot (Bearcat) was built for the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems (AUVS) 1997 competition. The mobile robot has full speed control with guidance provided by a vision system and an obstacle avoidance system using ultrasonic sensors systems. Vision guidance is accomplished using two CCD cameras with zoom lenses. The vision data is processed by a high speed tracking device, communicating with the computer the X, Y coordinates of blobs along the lane markers. The system also has three emergency stop switches and a remote controlled emergency stop switch that can disable the traction motor and set the brake. Testing of these systems has been done in the lab as well as on an outside test track with positive results that show that at five mph the vehicle can follow a line and at the same time avoid obstacles.

X33 Reusable Launch Vehicle Control on Sliding Modes: Concepts for a Control System Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shtessel, Yuri B.

1998-01-01

Control of the X33 reusable launch vehicle is considered. The launch control problem consists of automatic tracking of the launch trajectory which is assumed to be optimally precalculated. It requires development of a reliable, robust control algorithm that can automatically adjust to some changes in mission specifications (mass of payload, target orbit) and the operating environment (atmospheric perturbations, interconnection perturbations from the other subsystems of the vehicle, thrust deficiencies, failure scenarios). One of the effective control strategies successfully applied in nonlinear systems is the Sliding Mode Control. The main advantage of the Sliding Mode Control is that the system's state response in the sliding surface remains insensitive to certain parameter variations, nonlinearities and disturbances. Employing the time scaling concept, a new two (three)-loop structure of the control system for the X33 launch vehicle was developed. Smoothed sliding mode controllers were designed to robustly enforce the given closed-loop dynamics. Simulations of the 3-DOF model of the X33 launch vehicle with the table-look-up models for Euler angle reference profiles and disturbance torque profiles showed a very accurate, robust tracking performance.

a Novel Approach to Camera Calibration Method for Smart Phones Under Road Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Bijun; Zhou, Jian; Ye, Maosheng; Guo, Yuan

2016-06-01

Monocular vision-based lane departure warning system has been increasingly used in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). By the use of the lane mark detection and identification, we proposed an automatic and efficient camera calibration method for smart phones. At first, we can detect the lane marker feature in a perspective space and calculate edges of lane markers in image sequences. Second, because of the width of lane marker and road lane is fixed under the standard structural road environment, we can automatically build a transformation matrix between perspective space and 3D space and get a local map in vehicle coordinate system. In order to verify the validity of this method, we installed a smart phone in the `Tuzhi' self-driving car of Wuhan University and recorded more than 100km image data on the road in Wuhan. According to the result, we can calculate the positions of lane markers which are accurate enough for the self-driving car to run smoothly on the road.

Investigation of Matlab® as platform in navigation and control of an Automatic Guided Vehicle utilising an omnivision sensor.

PubMed

Kotze, Ben; Jordaan, Gerrit

2014-08-25

Automatic Guided Vehicles (AGVs) are navigated utilising multiple types of sensors for detecting the environment. In this investigation such sensors are replaced and/or minimized by the use of a single omnidirectional camera picture stream. An area of interest is extracted, and by using image processing the vehicle is navigated on a set path. Reconfigurability is added to the route layout by signs incorporated in the navigation process. The result is the possible manipulation of a number of AGVs, each on its own designated colour-signed path. This route is reconfigurable by the operator with no programming alteration or intervention. A low resolution camera and a Matlab® software development platform are utilised. The use of Matlab® lends itself to speedy evaluation and implementation of image processing options on the AGV, but its functioning in such an environment needs to be assessed.

Investigation of Matlab® as Platform in Navigation and Control of an Automatic Guided Vehicle Utilising an Omnivision Sensor

PubMed Central

Kotze, Ben; Jordaan, Gerrit

2014-01-01

Automatic Guided Vehicles (AGVs) are navigated utilising multiple types of sensors for detecting the environment. In this investigation such sensors are replaced and/or minimized by the use of a single omnidirectional camera picture stream. An area of interest is extracted, and by using image processing the vehicle is navigated on a set path. Reconfigurability is added to the route layout by signs incorporated in the navigation process. The result is the possible manipulation of a number of AGVs, each on its own designated colour-signed path. This route is reconfigurable by the operator with no programming alteration or intervention. A low resolution camera and a Matlab® software development platform are utilised. The use of Matlab® lends itself to speedy evaluation and implementation of image processing options on the AGV, but its functioning in such an environment needs to be assessed. PMID:25157548

Automatic background updating for video-based vehicle detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Chunhai; Li, Dongmei; Liu, Jichuan

2008-03-01

Video-based vehicle detection is one of the most valuable techniques for the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS). The widely used video-based vehicle detection technique is the background subtraction method. The key problem of this method is how to subtract and update the background effectively. In this paper an efficient background updating scheme based on Zone-Distribution for vehicle detection is proposed to resolve the problems caused by sudden camera perturbation, sudden or gradual illumination change and the sleeping person problem. The proposed scheme is robust and fast enough to satisfy the real-time constraints of vehicle detection.

Measurement of signal use and vehicle turns as indication of driver cognition.

PubMed

Wallace, Bruce; Goubran, Rafik; Knoefel, Frank

2014-01-01

This paper uses data analytics to provide a method for the measurement of a key driving task, turn signal usage as a measure of an automatic over-learned cognitive function drivers. The paper augments previously reported more complex executive function cognition measures by proposing an algorithm that analyzes dashboard video to detect turn indicator use with 100% accuracy without any false positives. The paper proposes two algorithms that determine the actual turns made on a trip. The first through analysis of GPS location traces for the vehicle, locating 73% of the turns made with a very low false positive rate of 3%. A second algorithm uses GIS tools to retroactively create turn by turn directions. Fusion of GIS and GPS information raises performance to 77%. The paper presents the algorithm required to measure signal use for actual turns by realigning the 0.2Hz GPS data, 30fps video and GIS turn events. The result is a measure that can be tracked over time and changes in the driver's performance can result in alerts to the driver, caregivers or clinicians as indication of cognitive change. A lack of decline can also be shared as reassurance.

Large-scale machine learning and evaluation platform for real-time traffic surveillance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eichel, Justin A.; Mishra, Akshaya; Miller, Nicholas; Jankovic, Nicholas; Thomas, Mohan A.; Abbott, Tyler; Swanson, Douglas; Keller, Joel

2016-09-01

In traffic engineering, vehicle detectors are trained on limited datasets, resulting in poor accuracy when deployed in real-world surveillance applications. Annotating large-scale high-quality datasets is challenging. Typically, these datasets have limited diversity; they do not reflect the real-world operating environment. There is a need for a large-scale, cloud-based positive and negative mining process and a large-scale learning and evaluation system for the application of automatic traffic measurements and classification. The proposed positive and negative mining process addresses the quality of crowd sourced ground truth data through machine learning review and human feedback mechanisms. The proposed learning and evaluation system uses a distributed cloud computing framework to handle data-scaling issues associated with large numbers of samples and a high-dimensional feature space. The system is trained using AdaBoost on 1,000,000 Haar-like features extracted from 70,000 annotated video frames. The trained real-time vehicle detector achieves an accuracy of at least 95% for 1/2 and about 78% for 19/20 of the time when tested on ˜7,500,000 video frames. At the end of 2016, the dataset is expected to have over 1 billion annotated video frames.

AUTOMOTIVE DIESEL MAINTENANCE 2. UNIT VII, AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS--ALLISON, TORQUMATIC SERIES 5960 AND 6060 (PART I).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Human Engineering Inst., Cleveland, OH.

THIS MODULE OF A 25-MODULE COURSE IS DESIGNED TO DEVELOP AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF SPECIFIC MODELS OF AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS USED ON DIESEL POWERED VEHICLES. TOPICS ARE (1) GENERAL SPECIFICATION DATA, (2) OPTIONS FOR VARIOUS APPLICATIONS, (3) ROAD TEST INSTRUCTIONS, (4) IDENTIFICATION AND SPECIFICATION DATA, (5) ALLISON…

49 CFR 178.338-11 - Discharge control devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... water capacity, remote means of automatic closure must be installed at the ends of the cargo tank in at... control system. (ii) On a cargo tank motor vehicle of 3,500 gallons water capacity or less, at least one remote means of automatic closure must be installed on the end of the cargo tank farthest away from the...

AUTOMOTIVE DIESEL MAINTENANCE 2. UNIT X, AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS--HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS (PART II).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Human Engineering Inst., Cleveland, OH.

THIS MODULE OF A 25-MODULE COURSE IS DESIGNED TO PROVIDE A SUMMARY OF MAINTENANCE PROCEDURES FOR AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS USED ON DIESEL POWERED VEHICLES. TOPICS ARE (1) CHECKING THE HYDRAULIC SYSTEM, (2) SERVICING THE HYDRAULIC SYSTEM, (3) EXAMINING THE RANGE CONTROL VALVE, (4) EXAMINING THE LOCK-UP AND FLOW VALVE, (5) EXAMINING THE MAIN REGULATOR…

Piezo-electric automatic vehicle classification system : Oregon Department of Transportation with Castle Rock Consultants for a SHRP Long Term Pavement Performance Site : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1991-07-01

Oregon has twelve pavement test sites that are part of the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP), Long Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) studies. Part of the data gathering on these sites involves vehicle weight and classification. This pilot proj...

Piezo-electric automatic vehicle classification system : Oregon Department of Transportation with Castle Rock Consultants for a SHRP Long Term Pavement Performance Site.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1990-05-01

Oregon has twelve sites that are part of the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP), Long Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) studies. Part of the data gathering on these sites involves vehicle weight and classification. This pilot project was to hel...

76 FR 55829 - Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Electronic Stability Control Systems

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-09

.... Benefits of ESC Electronic stability control (ESC) systems use automatic computer- controlled braking of... demonstrated that these systems reduce fatal single-vehicle crashes of passenger cars by 55 percent and fatal... potential to prevent 56 percent of the fatal passenger car rollovers and 74 percent of the fatal LTV first...

44 CFR 60.3 - Flood plain management criteria for flood-prone areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... improvements, that fully enclosed areas below the lowest floor that are usable solely for parking of vehicles... that they permit the automatic entry and exit of floodwaters. (6) Require that manufactured homes that... building standards. Such enclosed space shall be useable solely for parking of vehicles, building access...

44 CFR 60.3 - Flood plain management criteria for flood-prone areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... improvements, that fully enclosed areas below the lowest floor that are usable solely for parking of vehicles... that they permit the automatic entry and exit of floodwaters. (6) Require that manufactured homes that... building standards. Such enclosed space shall be useable solely for parking of vehicles, building access...

Selected Aspects of the eCall Emergency Notification System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaminski, Tomasz; Nowacki, Gabriel; Mitraszewska, Izabella; Niezgoda, Michał; Kruszewski, Mikołaj; Kaminska, Ewa; Filipek, Przemysław

2012-02-01

The article describes problems associated with the road collision detection for the purpose of the automatic emergency call. At the moment collision is detected, the eCall device installed in the vehicle will automatically make contact with Emergency Notification Centre and send the set of essential information on the vehicle and the place of the accident. To activate the alarm, the information about the deployment of the airbags will not be used, because connection of the eCall device might interfere with the vehicle’s safety systems. It is necessary to develop a method enabling detection of the road collision, similar to the one used in airbag systems, and based on the signals available from the acceleration sensors.

Research on detection method of UAV obstruction based on binocular vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Xiongwei; Lei, Xusheng; Sui, Zhehao

2018-04-01

For the autonomous obstacle positioning and ranging in the process of UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) flight, a system based on binocular vision is constructed. A three-stage image preprocessing method is proposed to solve the problem of the noise and brightness difference in the actual captured image. The distance of the nearest obstacle is calculated by using the disparity map that generated by binocular vision. Then the contour of the obstacle is extracted by post-processing of the disparity map, and a color-based adaptive parameter adjustment algorithm is designed to extract contours of obstacle automatically. Finally, the safety distance measurement and obstacle positioning during the UAV flight process are achieved. Based on a series of tests, the error of distance measurement can keep within 2.24% of the measuring range from 5 m to 20 m.

Method of center localization for objects containing concentric arcs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuznetsova, Elena G.; Shvets, Evgeny A.; Nikolaev, Dmitry P.

2015-02-01

This paper proposes a method for automatic center location of objects containing concentric arcs. The method utilizes structure tensor analysis and voting scheme optimized with Fast Hough Transform. Two applications of the proposed method are considered: (i) wheel tracking in video-based system for automatic vehicle classification and (ii) tree growth rings analysis on a tree cross cut image.

Design and construction of an automatic system for minimizing the risk of sinking of water vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sutradhar, Amit; Rashid, Md. Mahbubur; Helal-An-Nahiyan, Md.; Mandal, Manash Kumar

2016-07-01

This paper focuses on the reduction of the risk of water vehicle like launch, ferry, ship and boat from sinking which is a burning problem of Bangladesh now-a-days. Every year death toll is rising by leaps and bounds due to this unexpected phenomenon. The sinking mostly occurs due to overloading and lack of consciousness. That's why, an automated system is introduced here to make the travelers warned about the overloading situation through raising alarm before the vehicle starts to move on. The tolerance limit of the vehicle is determined based on the theory of buoyancy and floatation. Moreover, while moving on the water, the vehicle may get victim of sinking due to rough weather, low visibility or machineries breakdown. So water level indicator is used to determine the safe level of water. When water level rises up to the safe limit or just before crossing the safe limit, another alarm will warn the passengers which will sound quite different from the first alarm as stated before. And at once the on board GPS sensor will record the current position of the vehicle and transmit the location to the nearest rescue authority via GSM module in the form of text message which will help them to take necessary steps for the rescue of the passengers as soon as possible. Effective implementation of this method can reduce the accident as well as this research can also be a helpful tool to organize further researches in this field for the sake of humanity.

Data-based fault-tolerant control of high-speed trains with traction/braking notch nonlinearities and actuator failures.

PubMed

Song, Qi; Song, Yong-Duan

2011-12-01

This paper investigates the position and velocity tracking control problem of high-speed trains with multiple vehicles connected through couplers. A dynamic model reflecting nonlinear and elastic impacts between adjacent vehicles as well as traction/braking nonlinearities and actuation faults is derived. Neuroadaptive fault-tolerant control algorithms are developed to account for various factors such as input nonlinearities, actuator failures, and uncertain impacts of in-train forces in the system simultaneously. The resultant control scheme is essentially independent of system model and is primarily data-driven because with the appropriate input-output data, the proposed control algorithms are capable of automatically generating the intermediate control parameters, neuro-weights, and the compensation signals, literally producing the traction/braking force based upon input and response data only--the whole process does not require precise information on system model or system parameter, nor human intervention. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is also confirmed through numerical simulations.

Visual Uav Trajectory Plan System Based on Network Map

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, X. L.; Lin, Z. J.; Su, G. Z.; Wu, B. Y.

2012-07-01

The base map of the current software UP-30 using in trajectory plan for Unmanned Aircraft Vehicle is vector diagram. UP-30 draws navigation points manually. But in the field of operation process, the efficiency and the quality of work is influenced because of insufficient information, screen reflection, calculate inconveniently and other factors. If we do this work in indoor, the effect of external factors on the results would be eliminated, the network earth users can browse the free world high definition satellite images through downloading a client software, and can export the high resolution image by standard file format. This brings unprecedented convenient of trajectory plan. But the images must be disposed by coordinate transformation, geometric correction. In addition, according to the requirement of mapping scale ,camera parameters and overlap degree we can calculate exposure hole interval and trajectory distance between the adjacent trajectory automatically . This will improve the degree of automation of data collection. Software will judge the position of next point according to the intersection of the trajectory and the survey area and ensure the position of point according to trajectory distance. We can undertake the points artificially. So the trajectory plan is automatic and flexible. Considering safety, the date can be used in flying after simulating flight. Finally we can export all of the date using a key

A Clonal Selection Algorithm for Minimizing Distance Travel and Back Tracking of Automatic Guided Vehicles in Flexible Manufacturing System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chawla, Viveak Kumar; Chanda, Arindam Kumar; Angra, Surjit

2018-03-01

The flexible manufacturing system (FMS) constitute of several programmable production work centers, material handling systems (MHSs), assembly stations and automatic storage and retrieval systems. In FMS, the automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) play a vital role in material handling operations and enhance the performance of the FMS in its overall operations. To achieve low makespan and high throughput yield in the FMS operations, it is highly imperative to integrate the production work centers schedules with the AGVs schedules. The Production schedule for work centers is generated by application of the Giffler and Thompson algorithm under four kind of priority hybrid dispatching rules. Then the clonal selection algorithm (CSA) is applied for the simultaneous scheduling to reduce backtracking as well as distance travel of AGVs within the FMS facility. The proposed procedure is computationally tested on the benchmark FMS configuration from the literature and findings from the investigations clearly indicates that the CSA yields best results in comparison of other applied methods from the literature.

Intelligent behaviors through vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garcia, Richard D.; Sturgeon, Purser; Brown, Mike

2012-06-01

The last decade has seen a significant increase in intelligent safety devices on private automobiles. These devices have both increased and augmented the situational awareness of the driver and in some cases provided automated vehicle responses. To date almost all intelligent safety devices have relied on data directly perceived by the vehicle. This constraint has a direct impact on the types of solutions available to the vehicle. In an effort to improve the safety options available to a vehicle, numerous research laboratories and government agencies are investing time and resources into connecting vehicles to each other and to infrastructure-based devices. This work details several efforts in both the commercial vehicle and the private auto industries to increase vehicle safety and driver situational awareness through vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication. It will specifically discuss intelligent behaviors being designed to automatically disable non-compliant vehicles, warn tractor trailer vehicles of unsafe lane maneuvers such as lane changes, passing, and merging, and alert drivers to non-line-of-sight emergencies.

Orbital Spacecraft Consumables Resupply System (OSCRS). Volume 4: Extended study results Part 1: Executive Summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

The objectives consisted of three major tasks. The first was to establish the definition of Space Station and Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle (OMV) user requirements and interfaces and to evaluate system requirements of a water tanker to be used at the station. The second task is to conduct trade studies of system requirements, hardware/software, and operations to evaluate the effect of automatic operation at the station or remote from the station in consonance with the OMV. The last task is to evaluate automatic refueling concepts and to evaluate the impact to Orbital Spacecraft Consumable Resupply System (OSCRS) concept/design to use expendable launch vehicles (ELV) to place the tank into orbit. Progress in each area is discussed.

Photogrammetric 3d Building Reconstruction from Thermal Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maset, E.; Fusiello, A.; Crosilla, F.; Toldo, R.; Zorzetto, D.

2017-08-01

This paper addresses the problem of 3D building reconstruction from thermal infrared (TIR) images. We show that a commercial Computer Vision software can be used to automatically orient sequences of TIR images taken from an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and to generate 3D point clouds, without requiring any GNSS/INS data about position and attitude of the images nor camera calibration parameters. Moreover, we propose a procedure based on Iterative Closest Point (ICP) algorithm to create a model that combines high resolution and geometric accuracy of RGB images with the thermal information deriving from TIR images. The process can be carried out entirely by the aforesaid software in a simple and efficient way.

Flight performance of the TCV B-737 airplane at Jorge Newberry Airport, Buenos Aires, Argentina using TRSB/MLS guidance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

White, W. F.; Clark, L.

1980-01-01

The flight performance of the Terminal Configured Vehicle airplane is summarized. Demonstration automatic approaches and landings utilizing time reference scanning beam microwave landing system (TRSB/MLS) guidance are presented. The TRSB/MLS was shown to provide the terminal area guidance necessary for flying curved automatic approaches with final legs as short as 2 km.

Combating Terrorism Technology Support Office 2006 Review

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-01-01

emplaced beyond the control point, activated manually or automatically , with warning lights and an audible alarm to alert innocent pedestrians. The...throughout a vehicle. When a tamper event is detected, SERVANT automatically records sensor data and surveillance video and sends an alert to the security...exposure to organophosphate nerve agents, botulinum toxin, cyanide, and carbon monoxide and will be packaged into a portable , lightweight, mobile hand

AFETR Instrumentation Handbook

DTIC Science & Technology

1971-09-01

of time. From this, vehicle velocity and acceleration can be computed. LOCATION Three Askanias are mobile and may be located at selected universal...Being mobile , these cinetheodolites may be placed for optimum launch coverage. Preprogrammed focusing is provided for automatic focus from 2000 and 8000...console trailer. IR (lead sulfide sensor ) Automatic Tracking System with 1 to 20 miles range. Elevation range: -10 deg to +90 deg Azimuth range: 350

Automatic contact in DYNA3D for vehicle crashworthiness

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

Whirley, R.G.; Engelmann, B.E.

1993-07-15

This paper presents a new formulation for the automatic definition and treatment of mechanical contact in explicit nonlinear finite element analysis. Automatic contact offers the benefits of significantly reduced model construction time and fewer opportunities for user error, but faces significant challenges in reliability and computational costs. This paper discusses in detail a new four-step automatic contact algorithm. Key aspects of the proposed method include automatic identification of adjacent and opposite surfaces in the global search phase, and the use of a smoothly varying surface normal which allows a consistent treatment of shell intersection and corner contact conditions without ad-hocmore » rules. The paper concludes with three examples which illustrate the performance of the newly proposed algorithm in the public DYNA3D code.« less

Implementation and flight tests for the Digital Integrated Automatic Landing System (DIALS). Part 1: Flight software equations, flight test description and selected flight test data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hueschen, R. M.

1986-01-01

Five flight tests of the Digital Automated Landing System (DIALS) were conducted on the Advanced Transport Operating Systems (ATOPS) Transportation Research Vehicle (TSRV) -- a modified Boeing 737 aircraft for advanced controls and displays research. These flight tests were conducted at NASA's Wallops Flight Center using the microwave landing system (MLS) installation on runway 22. This report describes the flight software equations of the DIALS which was designed using modern control theory direct-digital design methods and employed a constant gain Kalman filter. Selected flight test performance data is presented for localizer (runway centerline) capture and track at various intercept angles, for glideslope capture and track of 3, 4.5, and 5 degree glideslopes, for the decrab maneuver, and for the flare maneuver. Data is also presented to illustrate the system performance in the presence of cross, gust, and shear winds. The mean and standard deviation of the peak position errors for localizer capture were, respectively, 24 feet and 26 feet. For mild wind conditions, glideslope and localizer tracking position errors did not exceed, respectively, 5 and 20 feet. For gusty wind conditions (8 to 10 knots), these errors were, respectively, 10 and 30 feet. Ten hands off automatic lands were performed. The standard deviation of the touchdown position and velocity errors from the mean values were, respectively, 244 feet and 0.7 feet/sec.

Automated manual transmission clutch controller

DOEpatents

Lawrie, Robert E.; Reed, Jr., Richard G.; Rausen, David J.

1999-11-30

A powertrain system for a hybrid vehicle. The hybrid vehicle includes a heat engine, such as a diesel engine, and an electric machine, which operates as both an electric motor and an alternator, to power the vehicle. The hybrid vehicle also includes a manual-style transmission configured to operate as an automatic transmission from the perspective of the driver. The engine and the electric machine drive an input shaft which in turn drives an output shaft of the transmission. In addition to driving the transmission, the electric machine regulates the speed of the input shaft in order to synchronize the input shaft during either an upshift or downshift of the transmission by either decreasing or increasing the speed of the input shaft. When decreasing the speed of the input shaft, the electric motor functions as an alternator to produce electrical energy which may be stored by a storage device. Operation of the transmission is controlled by a transmission controller which receives input signals and generates output signals to control shift and clutch motors to effect smooth launch, upshift shifts, and downshifts of the transmission, so that the transmission functions substantially as an automatic transmission from the perspective of the driver, while internally substantially functioning as a manual transmission.

Automated manual transmission shift sequence controller

DOEpatents

Lawrie, Robert E.; Reed, Richard G.; Rausen, David J.

2000-02-01

A powertrain system for a hybrid vehicle. The hybrid vehicle includes a heat engine, such as a diesel engine, and an electric machine, which operates as both, an electric motor and an alternator, to power the vehicle. The hybrid vehicle also includes a manual-style transmission configured to operate as an automatic transmission from the perspective of the driver. The engine and the electric machine drive an input shaft which in turn drives an output shaft of the transmission. In addition to driving the transmission, the electric machine regulates the speed of the input shaft in order to synchronize the input shaft during either an upshift or downshift of the transmission by either decreasing or increasing the speed of the input shaft. When decreasing the speed of the input shaft, the electric motor functions as an alternator to produce electrical energy which may be stored by a storage device. Operation of the transmission is controlled by a transmission controller which receives input signals and generates output signals to control shift and clutch motors to effect smooth launch, upshift shifts, and downshifts of the transmission, so that the transmission functions substantially as an automatic transmission from the perspective of the driver, while internally substantially functioning as a manual transmission.

Automated manual transmission mode selection controller

DOEpatents

Lawrie, Robert E.

1999-11-09

A powertrain system for a hybrid vehicle. The hybrid vehicle includes a heat engine, such as a diesel engine, and an electric machine, which operates as both an electric motor and an alternator, to power the vehicle. The hybrid vehicle also includes a manual-style transmission configured to operate as an automatic transmission from the perspective of the driver. The engine and the electric machine drive an input shaft which in turn drives an output shaft of the transmission. In addition to driving the transmission, the electric machine regulates the speed of the input shaft in order to synchronize the input shaft during either an upshift or downshift of the transmission by either decreasing or increasing the speed of the input shaft. When decreasing the speed of the input shaft, the electric motor functions as an alternator to produce electrical energy which may be stored by a storage device. Operation of the transmission is controlled by a transmission controller which receives input signals and generates output signals to control shift and clutch motors to effect smooth launch, upshift shifts, and downshifts of the transmission, so that the transmission functions substantially as an automatic transmission from the perspective of the driver, while internally substantially functioning as a manual transmission.

Automated manual transmission controller

DOEpatents

Lawrie, Robert E.; Reed, Jr., Richard G.; Bernier, David R.

1999-12-28

A powertrain system for a hybrid vehicle. The hybrid vehicle includes a heat engine, such as a diesel engine, and an electric machine, which operates as both an electric motor and an alternator, to power the vehicle. The hybrid vehicle also includes a manual-style transmission configured to operate as an automatic transmission from the perspective of the driver. The engine and the electric machine drive an input shaft which in turn drives an output shaft of the transmission. In addition to driving the transmission, the electric machine regulates the speed of the input shaft in order to synchronize the input shaft during either an upshift or downshift of the transmission by either decreasing or increasing the speed of the input shaft. When decreasing the speed of the input shaft, the electric motor functions as an alternator to produce electrical energy which may be stored by a storage device. Operation of the transmission is controlled by a transmission controller which receives input signals and generates output signals to control shift and clutch motors to effect smooth launch, upshift shifts, and downshifts of the transmission, so that the transmission functions substantially as an automatic transmission from the perspective of the driver, while internally substantially functioning as a manual transmission.

Analysis of a Linear System for Variable-Thrust Control in the Terminal Phase of Rendezvous

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hord, Richard A.; Durling, Barbara J.

1961-01-01

A linear system for applying thrust to a ferry vehicle in the 3 terminal phase of rendezvous with a satellite is analyzed. This system requires that the ferry thrust vector per unit mass be variable and equal to a suitable linear combination of the measured position and velocity vectors of the ferry relative to the satellite. The variations of the ferry position, speed, acceleration, and mass ratio are examined for several combinations of the initial conditions and two basic control parameters analogous to the undamped natural frequency and the fraction of critical damping. Upon making a desirable selection of one control parameter and requiring minimum fuel expenditure for given terminal-phase initial conditions, a simplified analysis in one dimension practically fixes the choice of the remaining control parameter. The system can be implemented by an automatic controller or by a pilot.

Flight performance of the TCV B-737 airplane at Kennedy Airport using TRSB/MLS guidance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

White, W. F.; Clark, L. V.

1979-01-01

The terminal configured vehicle (TCV) B 737 was flown in demonstration of the time reference scanning beam/microwave landing system (TRSB/MLS). The flight performance of the TCV airplane during the demonstration automatic approaches and landings while utilizing TRSB/MLS guidance is reported. The TRSB/MLS is shown to provide the terminal area guidance necessary for flying curved automatic approaches with short finals.

Long-Range Emergency Preemption of Traffic Lights

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bachelder, Aaron

2005-01-01

A forwarding system could prove beneficial as an addition to an electronic communication-and-control system that automatically modifies the switching of traffic lights to give priority to emergency vehicles. A system to which the forwarding system could be added could be any of a variety of emergency traffic-signal-preemption systems: these include systems now used in some municipalities as well as advanced developmental systems described in several NASA Tech Briefs articles in recent years. Because of a variety of physical and design limitations, emergency traffic-signal- preemption systems now in use are often limited in range to only one intersection at a time: in a typical system, only the next, closest intersection is preempted for an emergency vehicle. Simulations of gridlock have shown that such systems offer minimal advantages and can even cause additional delays. In analogy to what happens in fluid dynamics, the forwarding system insures that flow at a given location is sustained by guaranteeing downstream flow along the predicted route (typically a main artery) and intersecting routes (typically, side streets). In simplest terms, the forwarding system starts by taking note of any preemption issued by the preemption system to which it has been added. The forwarding system predicts which other intersections could be encountered by the emergency vehicle downstream of the newly preempted intersection. The system then forwards preemption triggers to those intersections. Beyond affording a right of way for the emergency vehicle at every intersection that lies ahead along any likely route from the current position of the vehicle, the forwarding system also affords the benefit of clearing congested roads far ahead of the vehicle. In a metropolitan environment with heavy road traffic, forwarding of preemption triggers could greatly enhance the performance of a pre-existing preemption system.

Statewide Cellular Coverage Map

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2002-02-01

The role of wireless communications in transportation is becoming increasingly important. Wireless communications are critical for many applications of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) such as Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) and Automated Co...

Cognitions as mediators in the relationship between self-compassion and affect

PubMed Central

Arimitsu, Kohki; Hofmann, Stefan G.

2014-01-01

Previous studies suggest that self-compassion is related to numerous facets of mental health, but the role of cognitions in this relationship remains unknown. To examine the mediating role of cognitions in the relationship between self-compassion and anxiety, depression, and life satisfaction when controlling for self-esteem in Japanese people, we conducted two studies. Study 1 (N = 231) examined the relationship between self-compassion and affect by modeling negative automatic thoughts as a mediator; Study 2 (N = 233) tested whether positive and negative automatic thoughts meditate this relationship. Results suggested that both self-compassion and self-esteem increased positive automatic thoughts and decreased trait anxiety, whereas only self-esteem increased life satisfaction and decreased depression directly. Positive automatic thoughts increased life satisfaction and decreased depression and trait anxiety, and positive automatic thoughts mediated the relationship between self-compassion and negative affect. These findings suggest that both positive and negative automatic thoughts mediate the relationship between self-compassion and affect in Japanese people. PMID:25395717

Demonstration of Self-Training Autonomous Neural Networks in Space Vehicle Docking Simulations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patrick, M. Clinton; Thaler, Stephen L.; Stevenson-Chavis, Katherine

2006-01-01

Neural Networks have been under examination for decades in many areas of research, with varying degrees of success and acceptance. Key goals of computer learning, rapid problem solution, and automatic adaptation have been elusive at best. This paper summarizes efforts at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center harnessing such technology to autonomous space vehicle docking for the purpose of evaluating applicability to future missions.

Lateral motion stability of high-temperature superconducting maglev systems derived from a nonlinear guidance force hysteretic model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Haitao; Deng, Zigang; Jin, Li’an; Li, Jipeng; Li, Yanxing; Zheng, Jun

2018-07-01

High-temperature superconducting (HTS) maglev, owning to the capability of passive stabilization, is potentially promising for high-speed transportation. The guidance force of bulk HTS materials above a permanent magnetic guideway has a nonlinear response due to the hysteresis effect. As a kind of rail transit, when the vehicle runs along the track, the curve and other disturbances will cause vibrations to the vehicle system. These physical factors will pose dynamic loads on the components, reducing structural reliability as well as affecting the ride comfort. The lateral motion, as an important part of the vehicle system dynamics, needs to be studied in the pursuit of HTS maglev realization. In this paper, we first measured the guidance forces of HTS bulks under different motion conditions, and analyzed the relationship between the lateral displacement, the movement velocity and the guidance force. Then, a mathematical model was built based on these experimental data. The key feature of this mathematical model is that it can describe the hysteresis characteristic of the guidance force. Based on this model, we investigated the lateral motion stability of the HTS levitation system, and found three singular points, one stable focus point, and two unstable saddle points. Lastly, a phase portrait was proposed to indicate the safe working region of the HTS maglev vehicle where the vehicle can automatically return to its equilibrium position. These experimental and simulation results are important to clarify the lateral motion stability under external disturbance or shock, and provide a reference basis for the design of levitation systems.

Smart Infrared Inspection System Field Operational Test Final Report

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

Siekmann, Adam; Capps, Gary J; Franzese, Oscar

2011-06-01

The Smart InfraRed Inspection System (SIRIS) is a tool designed to assist inspectors in determining which vehicles passing through the SIRIS system are in need of further inspection by measuring the thermal data from the wheel components. As a vehicle enters the system, infrared cameras on the road measure temperatures of the brakes, tires, and wheel bearings on both wheel ends of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in motion. This thermal data is then presented to enforcement personal inside of the inspection station on a user friendly interface. Vehicles that are suspected to have a violation are automatically alerted to themore » enforcement staff. The main goal of the SIRIS field operational test (FOT) was to collect data to evaluate the performance of the prototype system and determine the viability of such a system being used for commercial motor vehicle enforcement. From March 2010 to September 2010, ORNL facilitated the SIRIS FOT at the Greene County Inspection Station (IS) in Greeneville, Tennessee. During the course of the FOT, 413 CMVs were given a North American Standard (NAS) Level-1 inspection. Of those 413 CMVs, 384 were subjected to a SIRIS screening. A total of 36 (9.38%) of the vehicles were flagged by SIRIS as having one or more thermal issues; with brakes issues making up 33 (91.67%) of those. Of the 36 vehicles flagged as having thermal issues, 31 (86.11%) were found to have a violation and 30 (83.33%) of those vehicles were placed out-of-service (OOS). Overall the enforcement personnel who have used SIRIS for screening purposes have had positive feedback on the potential of SIRIS. With improvements in detection algorithms and stability, the system will be beneficial to the CMV enforcement community and increase overall trooper productivity by accurately identifying a higher percentage of CMVs to be placed OOS with minimal error. No future evaluation of SIRIS has been deemed necessary and specifications for a production system will soon be drafted.« less

Driving behaviour responses to a moose encounter, automatic speed camera, wildlife warning sign and radio message determined in a factorial simulator study.

PubMed

Jägerbrand, Annika K; Antonson, Hans

2016-01-01

In a driving simulator study, driving behaviour responses (speed and deceleration) to encountering a moose, automatic speed camera, wildlife warning sign and radio message, with or without a wildlife fence and in dense forest or open landscape, were analysed. The study consisted of a factorial experiment that examined responses to factors singly and in combination over 9-km road stretches driven eight times by 25 participants (10 men, 15 women). The aims were to: determine the most effective animal-vehicle collision (AVC) countermeasures in reducing vehicle speed and test whether these are more effective in combination for reducing vehicle speed; identify the most effective countermeasures on encountering moose; and determine whether the driving responses to AVC countermeasures are affected by the presence of wildlife fences and landscape characteristics. The AVC countermeasures that proved most effective in reducing vehicle speed were a wildlife warning sign and radio message, while automatic speed cameras had a speed-increasing effect. There were no statistically significant interactions between different countermeasures and moose encounters. However, there was a tendency for a stronger speed-reducing effect from the radio message warning and from a combination of a radio message and wildlife warning sign in velocity profiles covering longer driving distances than the statistical tests. Encountering a moose during the drive had the overall strongest speed-reducing effect and gave the strongest deceleration, indicating that moose decoys or moose artwork might be useful as speed-reducing countermeasures. Furthermore, drivers reduced speed earlier on encountering a moose in open landscape and had lower velocity when driving past it. The presence of a wildlife fence on encountering the moose resulted in smaller deceleration. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A novel scheme for automatic nonrigid image registration using deformation invariant feature and geometric constraint

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Zhipeng; Lei, Lin; Zhou, Shilin

2015-10-01

Automatic image registration is a vital yet challenging task, particularly for non-rigid deformation images which are more complicated and common in remote sensing images, such as distorted UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) images or scanning imaging images caused by flutter. Traditional non-rigid image registration methods are based on the correctly matched corresponding landmarks, which usually needs artificial markers. It is a rather challenging task to locate the accurate position of the points and get accurate homonymy point sets. In this paper, we proposed an automatic non-rigid image registration algorithm which mainly consists of three steps: To begin with, we introduce an automatic feature point extraction method based on non-linear scale space and uniform distribution strategy to extract the points which are uniform distributed along the edge of the image. Next, we propose a hybrid point matching algorithm using DaLI (Deformation and Light Invariant) descriptor and local affine invariant geometric constraint based on triangulation which is constructed by K-nearest neighbor algorithm. Based on the accurate homonymy point sets, the two images are registrated by the model of TPS (Thin Plate Spline). Our method is demonstrated by three deliberately designed experiments. The first two experiments are designed to evaluate the distribution of point set and the correctly matching rate on synthetic data and real data respectively. The last experiment is designed on the non-rigid deformation remote sensing images and the three experimental results demonstrate the accuracy, robustness, and efficiency of the proposed algorithm compared with other traditional methods.

Site survey method and apparatus

DOEpatents

Oldham, James G.; Spencer, Charles R.; Begley, Carl L.; Meyer, H. Robert

1991-06-18

The disclosure of the invention is directed to a site survey ground vehicle based apparatus and method for automatically detecting source materials, such as radioactivity, marking the location of the source materials, such as with paint, and mapping the location of the source materials on a site. The apparatus of the invention is also useful for collecting and analyzing samples. The apparatus includes a ground vehicle, detectors mounted at the front of the ground vehicle, and individual detector supports which follow somewhat irregular terrain to allow consistent and accurate detection, and autolocation equipment.

Site survey method and apparatus

DOEpatents

Oldham, J.G.; Spencer, C.R.; Begley, C.L.; Meyer, H.R.

1991-06-18

The disclosure of the invention is directed to a site survey ground vehicle based apparatus and method for automatically detecting source materials, such as radioactivity, marking the location of the source materials, such as with paint, and mapping the location of the source materials on a site. The apparatus of the invention is also useful for collecting and analyzing samples. The apparatus includes a ground vehicle, detectors mounted at the front of the ground vehicle, and individual detector supports which follow somewhat irregular terrain to allow consistent and accurate detection, and autolocation equipment. 19 figures.

40 CFR 1065.510 - Engine mapping.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

.... Configure any auxiliary work inputs and outputs such as hybrid, turbo-compounding, or thermoelectric systems... intended primarily for propulsion of a vehicle with an automatic transmission where that engine is subject...

Analysis on electronic control unit of continuously variable transmission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Shuanggui

Continuously variable transmission system can ensure that the engine work along the line of best fuel economy, improve fuel economy, save fuel and reduce harmful gas emissions. At the same time, continuously variable transmission allows the vehicle speed is more smooth and improves the ride comfort. Although the CVT technology has made great development, but there are many shortcomings in the CVT. The CVT system of ordinary vehicles now is still low efficiency, poor starting performance, low transmission power, and is not ideal controlling, high cost and other issues. Therefore, many scholars began to study some new type of continuously variable transmission. The transmission system with electronic systems control can achieve automatic control of power transmission, give full play to the characteristics of the engine to achieve optimal control of powertrain, so the vehicle is always traveling around the best condition. Electronic control unit is composed of the core processor, input and output circuit module and other auxiliary circuit module. Input module collects and process many signals sent by sensor and , such as throttle angle, brake signals, engine speed signal, speed signal of input and output shaft of transmission, manual shift signals, mode selection signals, gear position signal and the speed ratio signal, so as to provide its corresponding processing for the controller core.

A Police and Insurance Joint Management System Based on High Precision BDS/GPS Positioning

PubMed Central

Zuo, Wenwei; Guo, Chi; Liu, Jingnan; Peng, Xuan; Yang, Min

2018-01-01

Car ownership in China reached 194 million vehicles at the end of 2016. The traffic congestion index (TCI) exceeds 2.0 during rush hour in some cities. Inefficient processing for minor traffic accidents is considered to be one of the leading causes for road traffic jams. Meanwhile, the process after an accident is quite troublesome. The main reason is that it is almost always impossible to get the complete chain of evidence when the accident happens. Accordingly, a police and insurance joint management system is developed which is based on high precision BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS)/Global Positioning System (GPS) positioning to process traffic accidents. First of all, an intelligent vehicle rearview mirror terminal is developed. The terminal applies a commonly used consumer electronic device with single frequency navigation. Based on the high precision BDS/GPS positioning algorithm, its accuracy can reach sub-meter level in the urban areas. More specifically, a kernel driver is built to realize the high precision positioning algorithm in an Android HAL layer. Thus the third-party application developers can call the general location Application Programming Interface (API) of the original standard Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) to get high precision positioning results. Therefore, the terminal can provide lane level positioning service for car users. Next, a remote traffic accident processing platform is built to provide big data analysis and management. According to the big data analysis of information collected by BDS high precision intelligent sense service, vehicle behaviors can be obtained. The platform can also automatically match and screen the data that uploads after an accident to achieve accurate reproduction of the scene. Thus, it helps traffic police and insurance personnel to complete remote responsibility identification and survey for the accident. Thirdly, a rapid processing flow is established in this article to meet the requirements to quickly handle traffic accidents. The traffic police can remotely identify accident responsibility and the insurance personnel can remotely survey an accident. Moreover, the police and insurance joint management system has been carried out in Wuhan, Central China’s Hubei Province, and Wuxi, Eastern China’s Jiangsu Province. In a word, a system is developed to obtain and analyze multisource data including precise positioning and visual information, and a solution is proposed for efficient processing of traffic accidents. PMID:29320406

A Police and Insurance Joint Management System Based on High Precision BDS/GPS Positioning.

PubMed

Zuo, Wenwei; Guo, Chi; Liu, Jingnan; Peng, Xuan; Yang, Min

2018-01-10

Car ownership in China reached 194 million vehicles at the end of 2016. The traffic congestion index (TCI) exceeds 2.0 during rush hour in some cities. Inefficient processing for minor traffic accidents is considered to be one of the leading causes for road traffic jams. Meanwhile, the process after an accident is quite troublesome. The main reason is that it is almost always impossible to get the complete chain of evidence when the accident happens. Accordingly, a police and insurance joint management system is developed which is based on high precision BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS)/Global Positioning System (GPS) positioning to process traffic accidents. First of all, an intelligent vehicle rearview mirror terminal is developed. The terminal applies a commonly used consumer electronic device with single frequency navigation. Based on the high precision BDS/GPS positioning algorithm, its accuracy can reach sub-meter level in the urban areas. More specifically, a kernel driver is built to realize the high precision positioning algorithm in an Android HAL layer. Thus the third-party application developers can call the general location Application Programming Interface (API) of the original standard Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) to get high precision positioning results. Therefore, the terminal can provide lane level positioning service for car users. Next, a remote traffic accident processing platform is built to provide big data analysis and management. According to the big data analysis of information collected by BDS high precision intelligent sense service, vehicle behaviors can be obtained. The platform can also automatically match and screen the data that uploads after an accident to achieve accurate reproduction of the scene. Thus, it helps traffic police and insurance personnel to complete remote responsibility identification and survey for the accident. Thirdly, a rapid processing flow is established in this article to meet the requirements to quickly handle traffic accidents. The traffic police can remotely identify accident responsibility and the insurance personnel can remotely survey an accident. Moreover, the police and insurance joint management system has been carried out in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province, and Wuxi, Eastern China's Jiangsu Province. In a word, a system is developed to obtain and analyze multisource data including precise positioning and visual information, and a solution is proposed for efficient processing of traffic accidents.

Automatic Design of a Maglev Controller in State Space

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-12-01

Design of a Maglev Controller in State Space Feng Zhao Richard Thornton Abstract We describe the automatic synthesis of a global nonlinear controller for...the global switching points of the controller is presented. The synthesized control system can stabilize the maglev vehicle with large initial displace...NUMBERS Automation Desing of a Maglev Controller in State Space N00014-89-J-3202 MIP-9001651 6. AUTHOR(S) Feng Zhao and Richard Thornton 7. PERFORMING

Construction Management Activities of Governmental Agencies in the New England Area During the Construction Phase.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-02-01

automatic data exchange ... 56 There are currently 12 Data Systems available: I. Integrated Disbursing and Accounting (IDA) 2. Integrated Program Management...construction project progress through the use of a CPM scheduling and progress reporting system . It automatically generates invoices for payment and payment...posted on the project. Water will be drained daily from tanks of vehicle air brake systems . Rtigging, hooks, pendants and slings will be examined

Transmit: An Advanced Traffic Management System

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1995-11-27

TRANSCOM'S SYSTEM FOR MANAGING INCIDENTS AND TRAFFIC, KNOWN AS TRANSMIT, WAS INITIATED TO ESTABLISH THE FEASIBILITY OF USING AUTOMATIC VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION (AVI) EQUIPMENT FOR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT AND SURVEILLANCE APPLICATIONS. AVI TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS...

RFID-Based Vehicle Positioning and Its Applications in Connected Vehicles

PubMed Central

Wang, Jianqiang; Ni, Daiheng; Li, Keqiang

2014-01-01

This paper proposed an RFID-based vehicle positioning approach to facilitate connected vehicles applications. When a vehicle passes over an RFID tag, the vehicle position is given by the accurate position stored in the tag. At locations without RFID coverage, the vehicle position is estimated from the most recent tag location using a kinematics integration algorithm till updates from the next tag. The accuracy of RFID positioning is verified empirically in two independent ways with one using radar and the other a photoelectric switch. The former is designed to verify whether the dynamic position obtained from RFID tags matches the position measured by radar that is regarded as accurate. The latter aims to verify whether the position estimated from the kinematics integration matches the position obtained from RFID tags. Both means supports the accuracy of RFID-based positioning. As a supplement to GPS which suffers from issues such as inaccuracy and loss of signal, RFID positioning is promising in facilitating connected vehicles applications. Two conceptual applications are provided here with one in vehicle operational control and the other in Level IV intersection control. PMID:24599188

RFID-based vehicle positioning and its applications in connected vehicles.

PubMed

Wang, Jianqiang; Ni, Daiheng; Li, Keqiang

2014-03-04

This paper proposed an RFID-based vehicle positioning approach to facilitate connected vehicles applications. When a vehicle passes over an RFID tag, the vehicle position is given by the accurate position stored in the tag. At locations without RFID coverage, the vehicle position is estimated from the most recent tag location using a kinematics integration algorithm till updates from the next tag. The accuracy of RFID positioning is verified empirically in two independent ways with one using radar and the other a photoelectric switch. The former is designed to verify whether the dynamic position obtained from RFID tags matches the position measured by radar that is regarded as accurate. The latter aims to verify whether the position estimated from the kinematics integration matches the position obtained from RFID tags. Both means supports the accuracy of RFID-based positioning. As a supplement to GPS which suffers from issues such as inaccuracy and loss of signal, RFID positioning is promising in facilitating connected vehicles applications. Two conceptual applications are provided here with one in vehicle operational control and the other in Level IV intersection control.

Semantic Information Extraction of Lanes Based on Onboard Camera Videos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, L.; Deng, T.; Ren, C.

2018-04-01

In the field of autonomous driving, semantic information of lanes is very important. This paper proposes a method of automatic detection of lanes and extraction of semantic information from onboard camera videos. The proposed method firstly detects the edges of lanes by the grayscale gradient direction, and improves the Probabilistic Hough transform to fit them; then, it uses the vanishing point principle to calculate the lane geometrical position, and uses lane characteristics to extract lane semantic information by the classification of decision trees. In the experiment, 216 road video images captured by a camera mounted onboard a moving vehicle were used to detect lanes and extract lane semantic information. The results show that the proposed method can accurately identify lane semantics from video images.

Experience of the ARGO autonomous vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bertozzi, Massimo; Broggi, Alberto; Conte, Gianni; Fascioli, Alessandra

1998-07-01

This paper presents and discusses the first results obtained by the GOLD (Generic Obstacle and Lane Detection) system as an automatic driver of ARGO. ARGO is a Lancia Thema passenger car equipped with a vision-based system that allows to extract road and environmental information from the acquired scene. By means of stereo vision, obstacles on the road are detected and localized, while the processing of a single monocular image allows to extract the road geometry in front of the vehicle. The generality of the underlying approach allows to detect generic obstacles (without constraints on shape, color, or symmetry) and to detect lane markings even in dark and in strong shadow conditions. The hardware system consists of a PC Pentium 200 Mhz with MMX technology and a frame-grabber board able to acquire 3 b/w images simultaneously; the result of the processing (position of obstacles and geometry of the road) is used to drive an actuator on the steering wheel, while debug information are presented to the user on an on-board monitor and a led-based control panel.

Method for controlling a motor vehicle powertrain

DOEpatents

Burba, Joseph C.; Landman, Ronald G.; Patil, Prabhakar B.; Reitz, Graydon A.

1990-01-01

A multiple forward speed automatic transmission produces its lowest forward speed ratio when a hydraulic clutch and hydraulic brake are disengaged and a one-way clutch connects a ring gear to the transmission casing. Second forward speed ratio results when the hydraulic clutch is engaged to connect the ring gear to the planetary carrier of a second gear set. Reverse drive and regenerative operation result when an hydraulic brake fixes the planetary and the direction of power flow is reversed. Various sensors produce signals representing the position of the gear selector lever operated manually by the vehicle operator, the speed of the power source, the state of the ignition key, and the rate of release of an accelerator pedal. A control algorithm produces input data representing a commanded upshift, a commanded downshift and a torque command and various constant torque signals. A microprocessor processes the input and produces a response to them in accordance with the execution of a control algorithm. Output or response signals cause selective engagement and disengagement of the clutch and brake to produce the forward drive, reverse and regenerative operation of the transmission.

Method for controlling a motor vehicle powertrain

DOEpatents

Burba, J.C.; Landman, R.G.; Patil, P.B.; Reitz, G.A.

1990-05-22

A multiple forward speed automatic transmission produces its lowest forward speed ratio when a hydraulic clutch and hydraulic brake are disengaged and a one-way clutch connects a ring gear to the transmission casing. Second forward speed ratio results when the hydraulic clutch is engaged to connect the ring gear to the planetary carrier of a second gear set. Reverse drive and regenerative operation result when an hydraulic brake fixes the planetary and the direction of power flow is reversed. Various sensors produce signals representing the position of the gear selector lever operated manually by the vehicle operator, the speed of the power source, the state of the ignition key, and the rate of release of an accelerator pedal. A control algorithm produces input data representing a commanded upshift, a commanded downshift and a torque command and various constant torque signals. A microprocessor processes the input and produces a response to them in accordance with the execution of a control algorithm. Output or response signals cause selective engagement and disengagement of the clutch and brake to produce the forward drive, reverse and regenerative operation of the transmission. 7 figs.

Research and education from a smart campus transit laboratory.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-10-15

For approximately a decade, members of the project team monitored Ohio State University (OSU) : campus buses serving four million passengers annually with a homemade GPSbased automatic : vehicle location (AVL), communications, and informatio...

Rural ITS user needs

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-07-01

The Truck Characteristics Study seeks to develop a better understanding of the physical characteristics of the national truck fleet. With automatic vehicle classifiers (AVC) and weigh-in-motion devices (WIM), only axle spacing and weight information ...

Vibration Tests on Transit Buses

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1979-03-01

The objective of this vibration measurement program was to quantify the vibration environment which would be experienced by Automatic Vehicle Monitoring (AVM) equipment when installed on buses during typical city route service operations. Two buses w...

Better service, greater efficiency : transit management for demand response systems

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-01-01

This brochure briefly describes different technologies which can enhance demand response transit systems. It covers automated scheduling and dispatching, mobile data terminals, electronic identification cards, automatic vehicle location, and geograph...

Automatic Parking of Self-Driving CAR Based on LIDAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, B.; Wei, Y.; Guo, I. Y.

2017-09-01

To overcome the deficiency of ultrasonic sensor and camera, this paper proposed a method of autonomous parking based on the self-driving car, using HDL-32E LiDAR. First the 3-D point cloud data was preprocessed. Then we calculated the minimum size of parking space according to the dynamic theories of vehicle. Second the rapidly-exploring random tree algorithm (RRT) algorithm was improved in two aspects based on the moving characteristic of autonomous car. And we calculated the parking path on the basis of the vehicle's dynamics and collision constraints. Besides, we used the fuzzy logic controller to control the brake and accelerator in order to realize the stably of speed. At last the experiments were conducted in an autonomous car, and the results show that the proposed automatic parking system is feasible and effective.

Automatic localization of backscattering events due to particulate in urban areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaudio, P.; Gelfusa, M.; Malizia, Andrea; Parracino, Stefano; Richetta, M.; Murari, A.; Vega, J.

2014-10-01

Particulate matter (PM), emitted by vehicles in urban traffic, can greatly affect environment air quality and have direct implications on both human health and infrastructure integrity. The consequences for society are relevant and can impact also on national health. Limits and thresholds of pollutants emitted by vehicles are typically regulated by government agencies. In the last few years, the interest in PM emissions has grown substantially due to both air quality issues and global warming. Lidar-Dial techniques are widely recognized as a costeffective alternative to monitor large regions of the atmosphere. To maximize the effectiveness of the measurements and to guarantee reliable, automatic monitoring of large areas, new data analysis techniques are required. In this paper, an original tool, the Universal Multi-Event Locator (UMEL), is applied to the problem of automatically indentifying the time location of peaks in Lidar measurements for the detection of particulate matter emitted by anthropogenic sources like vehicles. The method developed is based on Support Vector Regression and presents various advantages with respect to more traditional techniques. In particular, UMEL is based on the morphological properties of the signals and therefore the method is insensitive to the details of the noise present in the detection system. The approach is also fully general, purely software and can therefore be applied to a large variety of problems without any additional cost. The potential of the proposed technique is exemplified with the help of data acquired during an experimental campaign in the field in Rome.

Irregular and adaptive sampling for automatic geophysic measure systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avagnina, Davide; Lo Presti, Letizia; Mulassano, Paolo

2000-07-01

In this paper a sampling method, based on an irregular and adaptive strategy, is described. It can be used as automatic guide for rovers designed to explore terrestrial and planetary environments. Starting from the hypothesis that a explorative vehicle is equipped with a payload able to acquire measurements of interesting quantities, the method is able to detect objects of interest from measured points and to realize an adaptive sampling, while badly describing the not interesting background.

Slip control for LIM propelled transit vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wallace, A. K.; Parker, J. H.; Dawson, G. E.

1980-09-01

Short stator linear induction motors, with an iron-backed aluminum sheet reaction rail and powered by a controlled inverter, have been selected as the propulsion system for transit vehicles in an intermediate capacity system (12-20,000 pphpd). The linear induction motor is capable of adhesion independent braking and acceleration levels which permit safe, close headways. In addition, simple control is possible allowing moving block automatic train control. This paper presents a slip frequency control scheme for the LIM. Experimental results for motoring and braking obtained from a test vehicle are also presented. These values are compared with theoretical predictions.

Vehicle fault diagnostics and management system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gopal, Jagadeesh; Gowthamsachin

2017-11-01

This project is a kind of advanced automatic identification technology, and is more and more widely used in the fields of transportation and logistics. It looks over the main functions with like Vehicle management, Vehicle Speed limit and Control. This system starts with authentication process to keep itself secure. Here we connect sensors to the STM32 board which in turn is connected to the car through Ethernet cable, as Ethernet in capable of sending large amounts of data at high speeds. This technology involved clearly shows how a careful combination of software and hardware can produce an extremely cost-effective solution to a problem.

Spatiotemporal Local-Remote Senor Fusion (ST-LRSF) for Cooperative Vehicle Positioning.

PubMed

Jeong, Han-You; Nguyen, Hoa-Hung; Bhawiyuga, Adhitya

2018-04-04

Vehicle positioning plays an important role in the design of protocols, algorithms, and applications in the intelligent transport systems. In this paper, we present a new framework of spatiotemporal local-remote sensor fusion (ST-LRSF) that cooperatively improves the accuracy of absolute vehicle positioning based on two state estimates of a vehicle in the vicinity: a local sensing estimate, measured by the on-board exteroceptive sensors, and a remote sensing estimate, received from neighbor vehicles via vehicle-to-everything communications. Given both estimates of vehicle state, the ST-LRSF scheme identifies the set of vehicles in the vicinity, determines the reference vehicle state, proposes a spatiotemporal dissimilarity metric between two reference vehicle states, and presents a greedy algorithm to compute a minimal weighted matching (MWM) between them. Given the outcome of MWM, the theoretical position uncertainty of the proposed refinement algorithm is proven to be inversely proportional to the square root of matching size. To further reduce the positioning uncertainty, we also develop an extended Kalman filter model with the refined position of ST-LRSF as one of the measurement inputs. The numerical results demonstrate that the proposed ST-LRSF framework can achieve high positioning accuracy for many different scenarios of cooperative vehicle positioning.

Communication Systems for Dual Mode Transportation

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1974-02-01

A program is underway to develop and demonstrate transportation systems based on vehicles which are capable of automatic operation on special guideways and manual operation on conventional roads. Adequate and reliable communications to and from vehic...

Cost/benefit analysis of electronic license plates

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-06-01

The objective of this report is to determine whether electronic vehicle recognition systems (EVR) or automatic license plate recognition systems (ALPR) would be beneficial to the Arizona Department of Transportation (AZDOT). EVR uses radio frequency ...

Better service, safer service : transit management for fixed-route systems

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-01-01

This brochure gives a brief overview of the different technologies available through advanced public transportation systems to aid public transit systems. It includes automatic vehicle location, mobile data terminals, and on-board surveillance.

Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast ADS-B Sense-and-Avoid System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arteaga, Ricardo

2016-01-01

This presentation provides valuable results, benefits and compliance to the FAA mandate in order to have clear guidelines to show aircraft designers how to integrate ADS-B technology into future UAS vehicles.

23 CFR 950.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS ELECTRONIC TOLL... Express Lanes Demonstration Program, and the Interstate System Construction Toll Pilot Program. Electronic toll collection means the ability for vehicle operators to pay tolls automatically without slowing down...

40 CFR 51.362 - Motorist compliance enforcement program oversight.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... collection through the use of automatic data capture systems such as bar-code scanners or optical character... determination of compliance through parking lot surveys, road-side pull-overs, or other in-use vehicle...

40 CFR 51.362 - Motorist compliance enforcement program oversight.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... collection through the use of automatic data capture systems such as bar-code scanners or optical character... determination of compliance through parking lot surveys, road-side pull-overs, or other in-use vehicle...

The integrated manual and automatic control of complex flight systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmidt, D. K.

1986-01-01

The topics of research in this program include pilot/vehicle analysis techniques, identification of pilot dynamics, and control and display synthesis techniques for optimizing aircraft handling qualities. The project activities are discussed. The current technical activity is directed at extending and validating the active display synthesis procedure, and the pilot/vehicle analysis of the NLR rate-command flight configurations in the landing task. Two papers published by the researchers are attached as appendices.

Stereo-vision-based cooperative-vehicle positioning using OCC and neural networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ifthekhar, Md. Shareef; Saha, Nirzhar; Jang, Yeong Min

2015-10-01

Vehicle positioning has been subjected to extensive research regarding driving safety measures and assistance as well as autonomous navigation. The most common positioning technique used in automotive positioning is the global positioning system (GPS). However, GPS is not reliably accurate because of signal blockage caused by high-rise buildings. In addition, GPS is error prone when a vehicle is inside a tunnel. Moreover, GPS and other radio-frequency-based approaches cannot provide orientation information or the position of neighboring vehicles. In this study, we propose a cooperative-vehicle positioning (CVP) technique by using the newly developed optical camera communications (OCC). The OCC technique utilizes image sensors and cameras to receive and decode light-modulated information from light-emitting diodes (LEDs). A vehicle equipped with an OCC transceiver can receive positioning and other information such as speed, lane change, driver's condition, etc., through optical wireless links of neighboring vehicles. Thus, the target vehicle position that is too far away to establish an OCC link can be determined by a computer-vision-based technique combined with the cooperation of neighboring vehicles. In addition, we have devised a back-propagation (BP) neural-network learning method for positioning and range estimation for CVP. The proposed neural-network-based technique can estimate target vehicle position from only two image points of target vehicles using stereo vision. For this, we use rear LEDs on target vehicles as image points. We show from simulation results that our neural-network-based method achieves better accuracy than that of the computer-vision method.

Vehicle Classification Using an Imbalanced Dataset Based on a Single Magnetic Sensor.

PubMed

Xu, Chang; Wang, Yingguan; Bao, Xinghe; Li, Fengrong

2018-05-24

This paper aims to improve the accuracy of automatic vehicle classifiers for imbalanced datasets. Classification is made through utilizing a single anisotropic magnetoresistive sensor, with the models of vehicles involved being classified into hatchbacks, sedans, buses, and multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs). Using time domain and frequency domain features in combination with three common classification algorithms in pattern recognition, we develop a novel feature extraction method for vehicle classification. These three common classification algorithms are the k-nearest neighbor, the support vector machine, and the back-propagation neural network. Nevertheless, a problem remains with the original vehicle magnetic dataset collected being imbalanced, and may lead to inaccurate classification results. With this in mind, we propose an approach called SMOTE, which can further boost the performance of classifiers. Experimental results show that the k-nearest neighbor (KNN) classifier with the SMOTE algorithm can reach a classification accuracy of 95.46%, thus minimizing the effect of the imbalance.

Navy Omni-Directional Vehicle (ODV) development program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcgowen, Hillery

1994-01-01

The Omni-Directional Vehicle (ODV) development program sponsored by the Office of Naval Research at the Coastal Systems Station has investigated the application of ODV technology for use in the Navy shipboard environment. ODV technology as originally received by the Navy in the form of the Cadillac-Gage Side Mover Vehicle was applicable to the shipboard environment with the potential to overcome conditions of reduced traction, ship motion, decks heeled at high angles, obstacles, and confined spaces. Under the Navy program, ODV technology was investigated and a series of experimental vehicles were built and successfully tested under extremely demanding conditions. The ODV drive system has been found to be applicable to autonomous, remotely, or manually operated vehicles. Potential commercial applications include multi-directional forklift trucks, automatic guided vehicles employed in manufacturing environments, and remotely controlled platforms used in nuclear facilities or for hazardous waste clean up tasks.

Navy Omni-Directional Vehicle (ODV) development program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McGowen, Hillery

1994-02-01

The Omni-Directional Vehicle (ODV) development program sponsored by the Office of Naval Research at the Coastal Systems Station has investigated the application of ODV technology for use in the Navy shipboard environment. ODV technology as originally received by the Navy in the form of the Cadillac-Gage Side Mover Vehicle was applicable to the shipboard environment with the potential to overcome conditions of reduced traction, ship motion, decks heeled at high angles, obstacles, and confined spaces. Under the Navy program, ODV technology was investigated and a series of experimental vehicles were built and successfully tested under extremely demanding conditions. The ODV drive system has been found to be applicable to autonomous, remotely, or manually operated vehicles. Potential commercial applications include multi-directional forklift trucks, automatic guided vehicles employed in manufacturing environments, and remotely controlled platforms used in nuclear facilities or for hazardous waste clean up tasks.

A Benchmark of Vehicle Maintenance Training Between the U.S. Air Force and a Civilian Industry Leader

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-09-01

Aas :nosen to 113entlfy tasKs oerformed Dv reczcnizeo :omoe:ent automotive serv’ce Personnel :intry level o"ersonnei 4ere iot , ,ic udec i n tie sirve...Diagnose the cause of poor, intermittent, or no electric door and hatch/trunk lock operation. 10. Repair or replace switches, relays, actuators ...Semi-4utomative Temoerature Controls i. Cnecx ooeration of automatic ana semi-automatic neating, HP ventalation ana air-conaitioning ( HVAC ) control

Flight performance of the TCV B-737 airplane at Montreal/Dorval International Airport, Montreal, Canada, using TRSB/MLS guidance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

White, W. F.; Clark, L. V.

1980-01-01

The NASA terminal configured vehicle B-737 was flown in support of the world wide FAA demonstration of the time reference scanning beam microwave landing system. A summary of the flight performance of the TCV airplane during demonstration automatic approaches and landings while utilizing TRSB/MLS guidance is presented. The TRSB/MLS provided the terminal area guidance necessary for automatically flying curved, noise abatement type approaches and landings with short finals.

Individual differences in automatic emotion regulation affect the asymmetry of the LPP component.

PubMed

Zhang, Jing; Zhou, Renlai

2014-01-01

The main goal of this study was to investigate how automatic emotion regulation altered the hemispheric asymmetry of ERPs elicited by emotion processing. We examined the effect of individual differences in automatic emotion regulation on the late positive potential (LPP) when participants were viewing blocks of positive high arousal, positive low arousal, negative high arousal and negative low arousal pictures from International affect picture system (IAPS). Two participant groups were categorized by the Emotion Regulation-Implicit Association Test which has been used in previous research to identify two groups of participants with automatic emotion control and with automatic emotion express. The main finding was that automatic emotion express group showed a right dominance of the LPP component at posterior electrodes, especially in high arousal conditions. But no right dominance of the LPP component was observed for automatic emotion control group. We also found the group with automatic emotion control showed no differences in the right posterior LPP amplitude between high- and low-arousal emotion conditions, while the participants with automatic emotion express showed larger LPP amplitude in the right posterior in high-arousal conditions compared to low-arousal conditions. This result suggested that AER (Automatic emotion regulation) modulated the hemispheric asymmetry of LPP on posterior electrodes and supported the right hemisphere hypothesis.

Spatiotemporal Local-Remote Senor Fusion (ST-LRSF) for Cooperative Vehicle Positioning

PubMed Central

Bhawiyuga, Adhitya

2018-01-01

Vehicle positioning plays an important role in the design of protocols, algorithms, and applications in the intelligent transport systems. In this paper, we present a new framework of spatiotemporal local-remote sensor fusion (ST-LRSF) that cooperatively improves the accuracy of absolute vehicle positioning based on two state estimates of a vehicle in the vicinity: a local sensing estimate, measured by the on-board exteroceptive sensors, and a remote sensing estimate, received from neighbor vehicles via vehicle-to-everything communications. Given both estimates of vehicle state, the ST-LRSF scheme identifies the set of vehicles in the vicinity, determines the reference vehicle state, proposes a spatiotemporal dissimilarity metric between two reference vehicle states, and presents a greedy algorithm to compute a minimal weighted matching (MWM) between them. Given the outcome of MWM, the theoretical position uncertainty of the proposed refinement algorithm is proven to be inversely proportional to the square root of matching size. To further reduce the positioning uncertainty, we also develop an extended Kalman filter model with the refined position of ST-LRSF as one of the measurement inputs. The numerical results demonstrate that the proposed ST-LRSF framework can achieve high positioning accuracy for many different scenarios of cooperative vehicle positioning. PMID:29617341

Design of synchromesh mechanism to optimization manual transmission's electric vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zainuri, Fuad; Sumarsono, Danardono A.; Adhitya, Muhammad; Siregar, Rolan

2017-03-01

Significant research has been attempted on a vehicle that lead to the development of transmission that can reduce energy consumption and improve vehicle efficiency. Consumers also expect safety, convenience, and competitive prices. Automatic transmission (AT), continuously variable transmission (CVT), and dual clutch transmission (DCT) is the latest transmission developed for road vehicle. From literature reviews that have been done that this transmission is less effective on electric cars which use batteries as a power source compared to type manual transmission, this is due to the large power losses when making gear changes. Zeroshift system is the transmission can do shift gears with no time (zero time). It was developed for the automatic manual transmission, and this transmission has been used on racing vehicles to eliminate deceleration when gear shift. Zeroshift transmission still use the clutch to change gear in which electromechanical be used to replace the clutch pedal. Therefore, the transmission is too complex for the transmission of electric vehicles, but its mechanism is considered very suitable to increase the transmission efficiency. From this idea, a new innovation design transmission will be created to electric car. The combination synchromesh with zeroshift mechanism for the manual transmission is a transmission that is ideal for improving the transmission efficiency. Installation synchromesh on zeroshift mechanism is expected to replace the function of the clutch MT, and assisted with the motor torque setting when to change gear. Additionally to consider is the weight of the transmission, ease of manufacturing, ease of installation with an electric motor, as well as ease of use by drivers is a matter that must be done to obtain a new transmission system that is suitable for electric cars.

Study of Terrestrial Radio Determination : Applications and Technology

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1979-02-01

The report describes the results of a study of terrestrial radio determination (TRD) applications and technology. Considerable emphasis has been placed on automatic automotive vehicle location or monitoring (AVL or AVM) systems because almost all of ...

Adaptive driving beam headlights : visibility, glare and measurement considerations.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-06-01

Recent developments in solid-state lighting, sensor and control technologies are making new : configurations for vehicle forward lighting feasible. Building on systems that automatically switch from : high- to low-beam headlights in the presence of o...

78 FR 8101 - Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on Food Additives

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-05

... the building and its parking area. If you require parking, please include the vehicle make and tag... offers an electronic mail subscription service which provides automatic and customized access to selected...

Multi Sensor Data Integration for AN Accurate 3d Model Generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chhatkuli, S.; Satoh, T.; Tachibana, K.

2015-05-01

The aim of this paper is to introduce a novel technique of data integration between two different data sets, i.e. laser scanned RGB point cloud and oblique imageries derived 3D model, to create a 3D model with more details and better accuracy. In general, aerial imageries are used to create a 3D city model. Aerial imageries produce an overall decent 3D city models and generally suit to generate 3D model of building roof and some non-complex terrain. However, the automatically generated 3D model, from aerial imageries, generally suffers from the lack of accuracy in deriving the 3D model of road under the bridges, details under tree canopy, isolated trees, etc. Moreover, the automatically generated 3D model from aerial imageries also suffers from undulated road surfaces, non-conforming building shapes, loss of minute details like street furniture, etc. in many cases. On the other hand, laser scanned data and images taken from mobile vehicle platform can produce more detailed 3D road model, street furniture model, 3D model of details under bridge, etc. However, laser scanned data and images from mobile vehicle are not suitable to acquire detailed 3D model of tall buildings, roof tops, and so forth. Our proposed approach to integrate multi sensor data compensated each other's weakness and helped to create a very detailed 3D model with better accuracy. Moreover, the additional details like isolated trees, street furniture, etc. which were missing in the original 3D model derived from aerial imageries could also be integrated in the final model automatically. During the process, the noise in the laser scanned data for example people, vehicles etc. on the road were also automatically removed. Hence, even though the two dataset were acquired in different time period the integrated data set or the final 3D model was generally noise free and without unnecessary details.

Implementation and flight tests for the Digital Integrated Automatic Landing System (DIALS). Part 2: Complete set of flight data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hueschen, R. M.

1986-01-01

Five flight tests of the Digital Automated Landing System (DIALS) were conducted on the Advanced Transport Operating System (ATOPS) Transportation Research Vehicle (TSRV)--a modified Boeing 737 Aircraft for advanced controls and displays research. These flight tests were conducted at NASA's Wallops Flight Center using the Microwave Landing System (MLS) installation on Runway 22. This report is primarily a collection of data plots of all performance variables recorded for the entire five flight tests. A description and source of the performance variables is included. Performance variables include inertial data, air data, automatic control commands, control servo positions, sensor data, DIALS guidance and control parameters, and Kalman filter data. This data illustrates low overshoot captures of the localizer for intercept angles of 20 deg, 30 deg, 40 deg, and 50 deg intercept angles, and low overshoot captures of the glideslope slope for 3 deg, 4.5 deg, and 5 deg glideslopes. Flare maneuvers were successfully performed from the various glideslope angles and good decrab maneuvers were performed in crosswinds of 6 knots. In 18 to 20 knot crosswind conditions rudder limiting occurred which caused lateral drifting although heading alignment was achieved.

Towards the Automatic Detection of Pre-Existing Termite Mounds through UAS and Hyperspectral Imagery.

PubMed

Sandino, Juan; Wooler, Adam; Gonzalez, Felipe

2017-09-24

The increased technological developments in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) combined with artificial intelligence and Machine Learning (ML) approaches have opened the possibility of remote sensing of extensive areas of arid lands. In this paper, a novel approach towards the detection of termite mounds with the use of a UAV, hyperspectral imagery, ML and digital image processing is intended. A new pipeline process is proposed to detect termite mounds automatically and to reduce, consequently, detection times. For the classification stage, several ML classification algorithms' outcomes were studied, selecting support vector machines as the best approach for their role in image classification of pre-existing termite mounds. Various test conditions were applied to the proposed algorithm, obtaining an overall accuracy of 68%. Images with satisfactory mound detection proved that the method is "resolution-dependent". These mounds were detected regardless of their rotation and position in the aerial image. However, image distortion reduced the number of detected mounds due to the inclusion of a shape analysis method in the object detection phase, and image resolution is still determinant to obtain accurate results. Hyperspectral imagery demonstrated better capabilities to classify a huge set of materials than implementing traditional segmentation methods on RGB images only.

Automatic detection of zebra crossings from mobile LiDAR data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riveiro, B.; González-Jorge, H.; Martínez-Sánchez, J.; Díaz-Vilariño, L.; Arias, P.

2015-07-01

An algorithm for the automatic detection of zebra crossings from mobile LiDAR data is developed and tested to be applied for road management purposes. The algorithm consists of several subsequent processes starting with road segmentation by performing a curvature analysis for each laser cycle. Then, intensity images are created from the point cloud using rasterization techniques, in order to detect zebra crossing using the Standard Hough Transform and logical constrains. To optimize the results, image processing algorithms are applied to the intensity images from the point cloud. These algorithms include binarization to separate the painting area from the rest of the pavement, median filtering to avoid noisy points, and mathematical morphology to fill the gaps between the pixels in the border of white marks. Once the road marking is detected, its position is calculated. This information is valuable for inventorying purposes of road managers that use Geographic Information Systems. The performance of the algorithm has been evaluated over several mobile LiDAR strips accounting for a total of 30 zebra crossings. That test showed a completeness of 83%. Non-detected marks mainly come from painting deterioration of the zebra crossing or by occlusions in the point cloud produced by other vehicles on the road.

License Plate Recognition System for Indian Vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanap, P. R.; Narote, S. P.

2010-11-01

We consider the task of recognition of Indian vehicle number plates (also called license plates or registration plates in other countries). A system for Indian number plate recognition must cope with wide variations in the appearance of the plates. Each state uses its own range of designs with font variations between the designs. Also, vehicle owners may place the plates inside glass covered frames or use plates made of nonstandard materials. These issues compound the complexity of automatic number plate recognition, making existing approaches inadequate. We have developed a system that incorporates a novel combination of image processing and artificial neural network technologies to successfully locate and read Indian vehicle number plates in digital images. Commercial application of the system is envisaged.

Influence of Injury Risk Thresholds on the Performance of an Algorithm to Predict Crashes with Serious Injuries

PubMed Central

Bahouth, George; Digges, Kennerly; Schulman, Carl

2012-01-01

This paper presents methods to estimate crash injury risk based on crash characteristics captured by some passenger vehicles equipped with Advanced Automatic Crash Notification technology. The resulting injury risk estimates could be used within an algorithm to optimize rescue care. Regression analysis was applied to the National Automotive Sampling System / Crashworthiness Data System (NASS/CDS) to determine how variations in a specific injury risk threshold would influence the accuracy of predicting crashes with serious injuries. The recommended thresholds for classifying crashes with severe injuries are 0.10 for frontal crashes and 0.05 for side crashes. The regression analysis of NASS/CDS indicates that these thresholds will provide sensitivity above 0.67 while maintaining a positive predictive value in the range of 0.20. PMID:23169132

Autonomous navigation of structured city roads

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aubert, Didier; Kluge, Karl C.; Thorpe, Chuck E.

1991-03-01

Autonomous road following is a domain which spans a range of complexity from poorly defined unmarked dirt roads to well defined well marked highly struc-. tured highways. The YARF system (for Yet Another Road Follower) is designed to operate in the middle of this range of complexity driving on urban streets. Our research program has focused on the use of feature- and situation-specific segmentation techniques driven by an explicit model of the appearance and geometry of the road features in the environment. We report results in robust detection of white and yellow painted stripes fitting a road model to detected feature locations to determine vehicle position and local road geometry and automatic location of road features in an initial image. We also describe our planned extensions to include intersection navigation.

Electronic System for Preventing Airport Runway Incursions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dabney, Richard; Elrod, Susan

2009-01-01

A proposed system of portable illuminated signs, electronic monitoring equipment, and radio-communication equipment for preventing (or taking corrective action in response to) improper entry of aircraft, pedestrians, or ground vehicles onto active airport runways is described. The main overall functions of the proposed system would be to automatically monitor aircraft ground traffic on or approaching runways and to generate visible and/or audible warnings to affected pilots, ground-vehicle drivers, and control-tower personnel when runway incursions take place.

Progress 28 supply vehicle approach

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-02-07

ISS016-E-027761 (7 Feb. 2008) --- Backdropped by a colorful Earth, an unpiloted Progress supply vehicle approaches the International Space Station. Progress 28 resupply craft launched at 7:03 a.m. (CST) on Feb. 5, 2008 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to deliver more than 2.5 tons of food, fuel, oxygen and other supplies to the Expedition 16 crewmembers onboard the station. Progress automatically docked to the Pirs Docking Compartment at 8:30 a.m. (CST) on Feb. 7.

Progress 28 supply vehicle approach

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-02-07

ISS016-E-027815 (7 Feb. 2008) --- Backdropped by a colorful Earth, an unpiloted Progress supply vehicle approaches the International Space Station. Progress 28 resupply craft launched at 7:03 a.m. (CST) on Feb. 5, 2008 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to deliver more than 2.5 tons of food, fuel, oxygen and other supplies to the Expedition 16 crewmembers onboard the station. Progress automatically docked to the Pirs Docking Compartment at 8:30 a.m. (CST) on Feb. 7.

Detection and enforcement of failure-to-yield in an emergency vehicle preemption system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bachelder, Aaron (Inventor); Wickline, Richard (Inventor)

2007-01-01

An intersection controlled by an intersection controller receives trigger signals from on-coming emergency vehicles responding to an emergency call. The intersection controller initiates surveillance of the intersection via cameras installed at the intersection in response to a received trigger signal. The surveillance may begin immediately upon receipt of the trigger signal from an emergency vehicle, or may wait until the intersection controller determines that the signaling emergency vehicle is in the field of view of the cameras at the intersection. Portions of the captured images are tagged by the intersection controller based on tag signals transmitted by the vehicle or based on detected traffic patterns that indicate a potential traffic violation. The captured images are downloaded to a processing facility that analyzes the images and automatically issues citations for captured traffic violations.

Intelligence Level Performance Standards Research for Autonomous Vehicles

PubMed Central

Bostelman, Roger B.; Hong, Tsai H.; Messina, Elena

2017-01-01

United States and European safety standards have evolved to protect workers near Automatic Guided Vehicles (AGV’s). However, performance standards for AGV’s and mobile robots have only recently begun development. Lessons can be learned from research and standards efforts for mobile robots applied to emergency response and military applications. Research challenges, tests and evaluations, and programs to develop higher intelligence levels for vehicles can also used to guide industrial AGV developments towards more adaptable and intelligent systems. These other efforts also provide useful standards development criteria for AGV performance test methods. Current standards areas being considered for AGVs are for docking, navigation, obstacle avoidance, and the ground truth systems that measure performance. This paper provides a look to the future with standards developments in both the performance of vehicles and the dynamic perception systems that measure intelligent vehicle performance. PMID:28649189

Intelligence Level Performance Standards Research for Autonomous Vehicles.

PubMed

Bostelman, Roger B; Hong, Tsai H; Messina, Elena

2015-01-01

United States and European safety standards have evolved to protect workers near Automatic Guided Vehicles (AGV's). However, performance standards for AGV's and mobile robots have only recently begun development. Lessons can be learned from research and standards efforts for mobile robots applied to emergency response and military applications. Research challenges, tests and evaluations, and programs to develop higher intelligence levels for vehicles can also used to guide industrial AGV developments towards more adaptable and intelligent systems. These other efforts also provide useful standards development criteria for AGV performance test methods. Current standards areas being considered for AGVs are for docking, navigation, obstacle avoidance, and the ground truth systems that measure performance. This paper provides a look to the future with standards developments in both the performance of vehicles and the dynamic perception systems that measure intelligent vehicle performance.

Improvement in vehicle agility and stability by G-Vectoring control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamakado, Makoto; Takahashi, Jyunya; Saito, Shinjiro; Yokoyama, Atsushi; Abe, Masato

2010-12-01

We extracted a trade-off strategy between longitudinal traction/braking force and cornering force by using jerk information through observing an expert driver's voluntary braking and turning action. Using the expert driver's strategy, we developed a new control concept, called 'G-Vectoring control', which is an automatic longitudinal acceleration control (No DYC) in accordance with the vehicle's lateral jerk caused by the driver's steering manoeuvres. With the control, the direction of synthetic acceleration (G) changes seamlessly (i.e. vectoring). The improvements in vehicle agility and stability were evaluated by theoretical analysis and through computer simulation. We then introduced a 'G-Vectoring' equipped test vehicle realised by brake-by-wire technology and executed a detailed examination on a test track. We have confirmed that the vehicle motion in view of both handling and ride quality has improved dramatically.

[Application of automatic photography in Schistosoma japonicum miracidium hatching experiments].

PubMed

Ming-Li, Zhou; Ai-Ling, Cai; Xue-Feng, Wang

2016-05-20

To explore the value of automatic photography in the observation of results of Schistosoma japonicum miracidium hatching experiments. Some fresh S. japonicum eggs were added into cow feces, and the samples of feces were divided into a low infested experimental group and a high infested group (40 samples each group). In addition, there was a negative control group with 40 samples of cow feces without S. japonicum eggs. The conventional nylon bag S. japonicum miracidium hatching experiments were performed. The process was observed with the method of flashlight and magnifying glass combined with automatic video (automatic photography method), and, at the same time, with the naked eye observation method. The results were compared. In the low infested group, the miracidium positive detection rates were 57.5% and 85.0% by the naked eye observation method and automatic photography method, respectively ( χ 2 = 11.723, P < 0.05). In the high infested group, the positive detection rates were 97.5% and 100% by the naked eye observation method and automatic photography method, respectively ( χ 2 = 1.253, P > 0.05). In the two infested groups, the average positive detection rates were 77.5% and 92.5% by the naked eye observation method and automatic photography method, respectively ( χ 2 = 6.894, P < 0.05). The automatic photography can effectively improve the positive detection rate in the S. japonicum miracidium hatching experiments.

EVA Metro Sedan electric-propulsion system: test and evaluation

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

Reimers, E.

1979-09-01

The procedure and results of the performance evaluation of the EVA Metro Sedan (car No. 1) variable speed dc chopper motor drive and its three speed automatic transmission are presented. The propulsion system for a battery powered vehicle manufactured by Electric Vehicle Associates, Valley View, Ohio, was removed from the vehicle, mounted on the programmable electric dynamometer test facility and evaluated with the aid of a hp 3052A Data Acquisition System. Performance data for the automatic transmission, the solid state dc motor speed controller, and the dc motor in the continuous and pulsating dc power mode, as derived on themore » dynamometer test facility, as well as the entire propulsion system are given. This concept and the system's components were evaluated in terms of commercial applicability, maintainability, and energy utility to establish a design base for the further development of this system or similar propulsion drives. The propulsion system of the EVA Metro Sedan is powered by sixteen 6-volt traction batteries, Type EV 106 (Exide Battery Mfg. Co.). A thyristor controlled cable form Pulsomatic Mark 10 controller, actuated by a foot throttle, controls the voltage applied to a dc series field motor, rated at 10 hp at 3800 rpm (Baldor Electric Co.). Gear speed reduction to the wheel is accomplished by the original equipment three speed automatic transmission with torque converter (Renault 12 Sedan). The brake consists of a power-assisted, hydraulic braking system with front wheel disk and rear drum. An ability to recuperate electric energy with subsequent storage in the battery power supply is not provided.« less

Multiple Vehicle Detection and Segmentation in Malaysia Traffic Flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fariz Hasan, Ahmad; Fikri Che Husin, Mohd; Affendi Rosli, Khairul; Norhafiz Hashim, Mohd; Faiz Zainal Abidin, Amar

2018-03-01

Vision based system are widely used in the field of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) to extract a large amount of information to analyze traffic scenes. By rapid number of vehicles on the road as well as significant increase on cameras dictated the need for traffic surveillance systems. This system can take over the burden some task was performed by human operator in traffic monitoring centre. The main technique proposed by this paper is concentrated on developing a multiple vehicle detection and segmentation focusing on monitoring through Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) video. The system is able to automatically segment vehicle extracted from heavy traffic scene by optical flow estimation alongside with blob analysis technique in order to detect the moving vehicle. Prior to segmentation, blob analysis technique will compute the area of interest region corresponding to moving vehicle which will be used to create bounding box on that particular vehicle. Experimental validation on the proposed system was performed and the algorithm is demonstrated on various set of traffic scene.

Automatic Positioning System of Small Agricultural Robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Momot, M. V.; Proskokov, A. V.; Natalchenko, A. S.; Biktimirov, A. S.

2016-08-01

The present article discusses automatic positioning systems of agricultural robots used in field works. The existing solutions in this area have been analyzed. The article proposes an original solution, which is easy to implement and is characterized by high- accuracy positioning.

Two-dimensional statistical linear discriminant analysis for real-time robust vehicle-type recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zafar, I.; Edirisinghe, E. A.; Acar, S.; Bez, H. E.

2007-02-01

Automatic vehicle Make and Model Recognition (MMR) systems provide useful performance enhancements to vehicle recognitions systems that are solely based on Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) systems. Several car MMR systems have been proposed in literature. However these approaches are based on feature detection algorithms that can perform sub-optimally under adverse lighting and/or occlusion conditions. In this paper we propose a real time, appearance based, car MMR approach using Two Dimensional Linear Discriminant Analysis that is capable of addressing this limitation. We provide experimental results to analyse the proposed algorithm's robustness under varying illumination and occlusions conditions. We have shown that the best performance with the proposed 2D-LDA based car MMR approach is obtained when the eigenvectors of lower significance are ignored. For the given database of 200 car images of 25 different make-model classifications, a best accuracy of 91% was obtained with the 2D-LDA approach. We use a direct Principle Component Analysis (PCA) based approach as a benchmark to compare and contrast the performance of the proposed 2D-LDA approach to car MMR. We conclude that in general the 2D-LDA based algorithm supersedes the performance of the PCA based approach.

Developing an Active Traffic Management System for I-70 in Colorado

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-09-01

The Colorado DOT is at the forefront of developing an Active Traffic Management (ATM) system that not only : considers operation aspects, but also integrates safety measures. In this research, data collected from Automatic : Vehicle Identification (A...

23 CFR 771.117 - Categorical exclusions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... management systems, electronic payment equipment, automatic vehicle locaters, automated passenger counters..., reconstruction, adding shoulders, or adding auxiliary lanes (e.g., parking, weaving, turning, climbing). (2... fringe parking facilities. (5) Construction of new truck weigh stations or rest areas. (6) Approvals for...

77 FR 5483 - Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on Food Additives

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-03

... building and its parking area. If you require parking, please include the vehicle make and tag number when..., FSIS offers an electronic mail subscription service which provides automatic and customized access to...

Automatic and deliberate affective associations with sexual stimuli in women with lifelong vaginismus before and after therapist-aided exposure treatment.

PubMed

Melles, Reinhilde J; ter Kuile, Moniek M; Dewitte, Marieke; van Lankveld, Jacques J D M; Brauer, Marieke; de Jong, Peter J

2014-03-01

The intense fear response to vaginal penetration in women with lifelong vaginismus, who have never been able to experience coitus, may reflect negative automatic and deliberate appraisals of vaginal penetration stimuli which might be modified by exposure treatment. The aim of this study is to examine whether (i) sexual stimuli elicit relatively strong automatic and deliberate threat associations in women with vaginismus, as well as relatively negative automatic and deliberate global affective associations, compared with symptom-free women; and (ii) these automatic and more deliberate attitudes can be modified by therapist-aided exposure treatment. A single target Implicit Association Test (st-IAT) was used to index automatic threat associations, and an Affective Simon Task (AST) to index global automatic affective associations. Participants were women with lifelong vaginismus (N = 68) and women without sexual problems (N = 70). The vaginismus group was randomly allocated to treatment (n = 34) and a waiting list control condition (n = 34). Indices of automatic threat were obtained by the st-IAT and automatic global affective associations by the AST, visual analogue scales (VAS) were used to assess deliberate appraisals of the sexual pictures (fear and global positive affect). More deliberate fear and less global positive affective associations with sexual stimuli were found in women with vaginismus. Following therapist-aided exposure treatment, the strength of fear was strongly reduced, whereas global positive affective associations were strengthened. Automatic associations did not differ between women with and without vaginismus and did not change following treatment. Relatively stronger negative (threat or global affect) associations with sexual stimuli in vaginismus appeared restricted to the deliberate level. Therapist-aided exposure treatment was effective in reducing subjective fear of sexual penetration stimuli and led to more global positive affective associations with sexual stimuli. The impact of exposure might be further improved by strengthening the association between vaginal penetration and positive affect (e.g., by using counter-conditioning techniques). © 2013 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

AVID - A design system for technology studies of advanced transportation concepts. [Aerospace Vehicle Interactive Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilhite, A. W.; Rehder, J. J.

1979-01-01

The basic AVID (Aerospace Vehicle Interactive Design) is a general system for conceptual and preliminary design currently being applied to a broad range of future space transportation and spacecraft vehicle concepts. AVID hardware includes a minicomputer allowing rapid designer interaction. AVID software includes (1) an executive program and communication data base which provide the automated capability to couple individual programs, either individually in an interactive mode or chained together in an automatic sequence mode; and (2) the individual technology and utility programs which provide analysis capability in areas such as graphics, aerodynamics, propulsion, flight performance, weights, sizing, and costs.

Real-Time Charging Strategies for an Electric Vehicle Aggregator to Provide Ancillary Services

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

Wenzel, George; Negrete-Pincetic, Matias; Olivares, Daniel E.

Real-time charging strategies, in the context of vehicle to grid (V2G) technology, are needed to enable the use of electric vehicle (EV) fleets batteries to provide ancillary services (AS). Here, we develop tools to manage charging and discharging in a fleet to track an Automatic Generation Control (AGC) signal when aggregated. We also propose a real-time controller that considers bidirectional charging efficiency and extend it to study the effect of looking ahead when implementing Model Predictive Control (MPC). Simulations show that the controller improves tracking error as compared with benchmark scheduling algorithms, as well as regulation capacity and battery cycling.

Automatic Aircraft Structural Topology Generation for Multidisciplinary Optimization and Weight Estimation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sensmeier, Mark D.; Samareh, Jamshid A.

2005-01-01

An approach is proposed for the application of rapid generation of moderate-fidelity structural finite element models of air vehicle structures to allow more accurate weight estimation earlier in the vehicle design process. This should help to rapidly assess many structural layouts before the start of the preliminary design phase and eliminate weight penalties imposed when actual structure weights exceed those estimated during conceptual design. By defining the structural topology in a fully parametric manner, the structure can be mapped to arbitrary vehicle configurations being considered during conceptual design optimization. A demonstration of this process is shown for two sample aircraft wing designs.

Real-Time Charging Strategies for an Electric Vehicle Aggregator to Provide Ancillary Services

DOE PAGES

Wenzel, George; Negrete-Pincetic, Matias; Olivares, Daniel E.; ...

2017-03-13

Real-time charging strategies, in the context of vehicle to grid (V2G) technology, are needed to enable the use of electric vehicle (EV) fleets batteries to provide ancillary services (AS). Here, we develop tools to manage charging and discharging in a fleet to track an Automatic Generation Control (AGC) signal when aggregated. We also propose a real-time controller that considers bidirectional charging efficiency and extend it to study the effect of looking ahead when implementing Model Predictive Control (MPC). Simulations show that the controller improves tracking error as compared with benchmark scheduling algorithms, as well as regulation capacity and battery cycling.

Motor vehicle technology:Mobility for prosperity

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

Not Available

1985-01-01

This book presents the papers given at a conference on internal combustion engines for vehicles. Topics considered at the conference included combustion chambers, the lubrication of turbocharged engines, oil filters, fuel consumption, traffic control, crashworthiness, brakes, acceleration, unleaded gasoline, methanol fuels, pressure drop, safety regulations, tire vibration, detergents, fuel economy, ceramics in engines, steels, catalytic converters, fuel additives, heat exchangers, pump systems, emissions control, fuel injection systems, noise pollution control, natural gas fuels, assembly plant productivity, aerodynamics, torsion, electronics, and automatic transmissions.

Expert system applications for army vehicle diagnostics

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

Halle, R.F.

1987-01-01

Bulky manuals, limited training procedures, and complex Automatic Test Equipment are but a few of the problems a mechanic must face when trying to repair many of the military's new and highly complex vehicle systems. Recent technological advances in Expert Systms has given the mechanic the potential to solve many of these problems and to actually enhance his maintenance proficiency. This paper describes both the history of and the future potential of the Expert System and how it could impact on the present military maintenance system.

Solving the AI Planning Plus Scheduling Problem Using Model Checking via Automatic Translation from the Abstract Plan Preparation Language (APPL) to the Symbolic Analysis Laboratory (SAL)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Butler, Ricky W.; Munoz, Cesar A.; Siminiceanu, Radu I.

2007-01-01

This paper describes a translator from a new planning language named the Abstract Plan Preparation Language (APPL) to the Symbolic Analysis Laboratory (SAL) model checker. This translator has been developed in support of the Spacecraft Autonomy for Vehicles and Habitats (SAVH) project sponsored by the Exploration Technology Development Program, which is seeking to mature autonomy technology for the vehicles and operations centers of Project Constellation.

Systems and Methods for Collaboratively Controlling at Least One Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Estkowski, Regina I. (Inventor)

2016-01-01

An unmanned vehicle management system includes an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) control station controlling one or more unmanned vehicles (UV), a collaborative routing system, and a communication network connecting the UAS and the collaborative routing system. The collaborative routing system being configured to receive flight parameters from an operator of the UAS control station and, based on the received flight parameters, automatically present the UAS control station with flight plan options to enable the operator to operate the UV in a defined airspace.

Evaluation of skid test automatic digital recording system.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1974-01-01

The Virginia skid vehicle has been equipped with a digital data recording system to provide rapid reduction of skid measurement data. It was found that five to ten minutes are required to evaluate a single measurement using the original analog strip ...

Electronic Toll And Traffic Management Systems, National Cooperative Highway Research Program Synthesis

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1993-01-01

ELECTRONIC TOLL COLLECTION OR ETC AND TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT OR ETTM, AUTOMATIC VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION OR AVI : ELECTRONIC TOLL COLLECTION AND TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT (ETTM) SYSTEMS ARE NOT A FUTURISTIC DREAM, THEY ARE OPERATING OR ARE BEING TESTED TODAY I...

Automatic vehicle identification technology applications to toll collection services

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-01-01

Intelligent transportation systems technologies are being developed and applied through transportation systems in the United States. An example of this type of innovation can be seen on toll roads where a driver is required to deposit a toll in order...

Sources of error in estimating truck traffic from automatic vehicle classification data

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-10-01

Truck annual average daily traffic estimation errors resulting from sample classification counts are computed in this paper under two scenarios. One scenario investigates an improper factoring procedure that may be used by highway agencies. The study...

33 CFR 105.260 - Security measures for restricted areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

...; (7) Control the entry, parking, loading and unloading of vehicles; (8) Control the movement and...) Using security personnel, automatic intrusion detection devices, surveillance equipment, or surveillance systems to detect unauthorized entry or movement within restricted areas; (7) Directing the parking...

33 CFR 105.260 - Security measures for restricted areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

...; (7) Control the entry, parking, loading and unloading of vehicles; (8) Control the movement and...) Using security personnel, automatic intrusion detection devices, surveillance equipment, or surveillance systems to detect unauthorized entry or movement within restricted areas; (7) Directing the parking...

Officials nationwide give a green light to automated traffic enforcement

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-03-11

There has been resistance to using cameras to automatically identify vehicles driven by motorists who run red lights and drive faster than the posted speed limits. Fairness, privacy, and "big brother" have been cited as reasons. The article examines ...

A real-time digital computer program for the simulation of automatic spacecraft reentries

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaylor, J. T.; Powell, L. F.; Powell, R. W.

1977-01-01

The automatic reentry flight dynamics simulator, a nonlinear, six-degree-of-freedom simulation, digital computer program, has been developed. The program includes a rotating, oblate earth model for accurate navigation calculations and contains adjustable gains on the aerodynamic stability and control parameters. This program uses a real-time simulation system and is designed to examine entries of vehicles which have constant mass properties whose attitudes are controlled by both aerodynamic surfaces and reaction control thrusters, and which have automatic guidance and control systems. The program has been used to study the space shuttle orbiter entry. This report includes descriptions of the equations of motion used, the control and guidance schemes that were implemented, the program flow and operation, and the hardware involved.

Piloted Simulation of a Model-Predictive Automated Recovery System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, James (Yuan); Litt, Jonathan; Sowers, T. Shane; Owens, A. Karl; Guo, Ten-Huei

2014-01-01

This presentation describes a model-predictive automatic recovery system for aircraft on the verge of a loss-of-control situation. The system determines when it must intervene to prevent an imminent accident, resulting from a poor approach. It estimates the altitude loss that would result from a go-around maneuver at the current flight condition. If the loss is projected to violate a minimum altitude threshold, the maneuver is automatically triggered. The system deactivates to allow landing once several criteria are met. Piloted flight simulator evaluation showed the system to provide effective envelope protection during extremely unsafe landing attempts. The results demonstrate how flight and propulsion control can be integrated to recover control of the vehicle automatically and prevent a potential catastrophe.

The near-term hybrid vehicle program, phase 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1979-01-01

Performance specifications were determined for a hybrid vehicle designed to achieve the greatest reduction in fuel consumption. Based on the results of systems level studies, a baseline vehicle was constructed with the following basic paramaters: a heat engine power peak of 53 kW (VW gasoline engine); a traction motor power peak of 30 kW (Siemens 1GV1, separately excited); a heat engine fraction of 0.64; a vehicle curb weight of 2080 kg; a lead acid battery (35 kg weight); and a battery weight fraction of 0.17. The heat engine and the traction motor are coupled together with their combined output driving a 3 speed automatic transmission with lockup torque converter. The heat engine is equipped withe a clutch which allows it to be decoupled from the system.

Lane-Level Vehicle Positioning : Integrating Diverse Systems for Precision and Reliability

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-05-13

Integrated global positioning system/inertial navigation system (GPS/INS) technology, the backbone of vehicle positioning systems, cannot provide the precision and reliability needed for vehicle-based, lane-level positioning in all driving environmen...

A video-based real-time adaptive vehicle-counting system for urban roads.

PubMed

Liu, Fei; Zeng, Zhiyuan; Jiang, Rong

2017-01-01

In developing nations, many expanding cities are facing challenges that result from the overwhelming numbers of people and vehicles. Collecting real-time, reliable and precise traffic flow information is crucial for urban traffic management. The main purpose of this paper is to develop an adaptive model that can assess the real-time vehicle counts on urban roads using computer vision technologies. This paper proposes an automatic real-time background update algorithm for vehicle detection and an adaptive pattern for vehicle counting based on the virtual loop and detection line methods. In addition, a new robust detection method is introduced to monitor the real-time traffic congestion state of road section. A prototype system has been developed and installed on an urban road for testing. The results show that the system is robust, with a real-time counting accuracy exceeding 99% in most field scenarios.

Progress on advanced dc and ac induction drives for electric vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schwartz, H. J.

1982-01-01

Progress is reported in the development of complete electric vehicle propulsion systems, and the results of tests on the Road Load Simulator of two such systems representative of advanced dc and ac drive technology are presented. One is the system used in the DOE's ETV-1 integrated test vehicle which consists of a shunt wound dc traction motor under microprocessor control using a transistorized controller. The motor drives the vehicle through a fixed ratio transmission. The second system uses an ac induction motor controlled by transistorized pulse width modulated inverter which drives through a two speed automatically shifted transmission. The inverter and transmission both operate under the control of a microprocessor. The characteristics of these systems are also compared with the propulsion system technology available in vehicles being manufactured at the inception of the DOE program and with an advanced, highly integrated propulsion system upon which technology development was recently initiated.

A video-based real-time adaptive vehicle-counting system for urban roads

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

In developing nations, many expanding cities are facing challenges that result from the overwhelming numbers of people and vehicles. Collecting real-time, reliable and precise traffic flow information is crucial for urban traffic management. The main purpose of this paper is to develop an adaptive model that can assess the real-time vehicle counts on urban roads using computer vision technologies. This paper proposes an automatic real-time background update algorithm for vehicle detection and an adaptive pattern for vehicle counting based on the virtual loop and detection line methods. In addition, a new robust detection method is introduced to monitor the real-time traffic congestion state of road section. A prototype system has been developed and installed on an urban road for testing. The results show that the system is robust, with a real-time counting accuracy exceeding 99% in most field scenarios. PMID:29135984

Design of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) vehicle gas cylinder filling semi-physical simulation training and assessment system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Jie; Zheng, Jianrong; Zhao, Yinghui

2017-08-01

With the rapid development of LNG vehicle in China, the operator's training and assessment of the operating skills cannot operate on material objects, because of Vehicle Gas Cylinder's high pressure, flammable and explosive characteristics. LNG Vehicle Gas Cylinder's filling simulation system with semi-physical simulation technology presents the overall design and procedures of the simulation system, and elaborates the realization of the practical analog machine, data acquisition and control system and the computer software, and introduces the design process of equipment simulation model in detail. According to the designed assessment system of the Vehicle Gas Cylinder, it can obtain the operation on the actual cylinder filling and visual effects for the operator, and automatically record operation, the results of real operation with its software, and achieve the operators' training and assessment of operating skills on mobile special equipment.

Modeling of electromagnetic brakes for enhanced braking capabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kachroo, Pushkin; Ming, Qian

1998-01-01

In automatic highway systems, automatic brake actuation is a very important part of the overall control of the vehicle. Hence, a faster response and a robust braking system are crucial. This paper describes electromagnetic brakes as a supplementary system for regular friction brakes. This system provides better response time for emergency situations, and in general keeps the friction brake working longer and safer. A new mathematical model for electromagnetic brakes is proposed to describe their static characteristics. The performance of the new mathematical model is better than the other three models available in the literature.

Self-propelled automatic chassis of Lunokhod-1: History of creation in episodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malenkov, Mikhail

2016-03-01

This report reviews the most important episodes in the history of designing the self-propelled automatic chassis of the first mobile extraterrestrial vehicle in the world, Lunokhod-1. The review considers the issues in designing moon rovers, their essential features, and the particular construction properties of their systems, mechanisms, units, and assemblies. It presents the results of exploiting the chassis of Lunokhod-1 and Lunokhod-2. Analysis of the approaches utilized and engineering solutions reveals their value as well as the consequences of certain defects.

Vehicle parts detection based on Faster - RCNN with location constraints of vehicle parts feature point

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Liqin; Sang, Nong; Gao, Changxin

2018-03-01

Vehicle parts detection plays an important role in public transportation safety and mobility. The detection of vehicle parts is to detect the position of each vehicle part. We propose a new approach by combining Faster RCNN and three level cascaded convolutional neural network (DCNN). The output of Faster RCNN is a series of bounding boxes with coordinate information, from which we can locate vehicle parts. DCNN can precisely predict feature point position, which is the center of vehicle part. We design an output strategy by combining these two results. There are two advantages for this. The quality of the bounding boxes are greatly improved, which means vehicle parts feature point position can be located more precise. Meanwhile we preserve the position relationship between vehicle parts and effectively improve the validity and reliability of the result. By using our algorithm, the performance of the vehicle parts detection improve obviously compared with Faster RCNN.

Automatic detection and counting of cattle in UAV imagery based on machine vision technology (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahnemoonfar, Maryam; Foster, Jamie; Starek, Michael J.

2017-05-01

Beef production is the main agricultural industry in Texas, and livestock are managed in pasture and rangeland which are usually huge in size, and are not easily accessible by vehicles. The current research method for livestock location identification and counting is visual observation which is very time consuming and costly. For animals on large tracts of land, manned aircraft may be necessary to count animals which is noisy and disturbs the animals, and may introduce a source of error in counts. Such manual approaches are expensive, slow and labor intensive. In this paper we study the combination of small unmanned aerial vehicle (sUAV) and machine vision technology as a valuable solution to manual animal surveying. A fixed-wing UAV fitted with GPS and digital RGB camera for photogrammetry was flown at the Welder Wildlife Foundation in Sinton, TX. Over 600 acres were flown with four UAS flights and individual photographs used to develop orthomosaic imagery. To detect animals in UAV imagery, a fully automatic technique was developed based on spatial and spectral characteristics of objects. This automatic technique can even detect small animals that are partially occluded by bushes. Experimental results in comparison to ground-truth show the effectiveness of our algorithm.

Vehicle automation: a remedy for driver stress?

PubMed

Funke, G; Matthews, G; Warm, J S; Emo, A K

2007-08-01

The present study addressed the effects of stress, vehicle automation and subjective state on driver performance and mood in a simulated driving task. A total of 168 college students participated. Participants in the stress-induction condition completed a 'winter' drive, which included periodic loss of control episodes. Participants in the no-stress-induction condition were not exposed to loss of control. An additional, independent manipulation of vehicle speed was also conducted, consisting of two control conditions requiring manual speed regulation and a third in which vehicle speed was automatically regulated by the simulation. Stress and automation both influenced subjective distress, but the two factors did not interact. Driver performance data indicated that vehicle automation impacted performance similarly in the stress and no-stress conditions. Individual differences in subjective stress response and performance were also investigated. Resource theory provides a framework that partially but not completely explains the relationship between vehicle automation and driver stress. Implications for driver workload, safety and training are discussed.

Slip-based terrain estimation with a skid-steer vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reina, Giulio; Galati, Rocco

2016-10-01

In this paper, a novel approach for online terrain characterisation is presented using a skid-steer vehicle. In the context of this research, terrain characterisation refers to the estimation of physical parameters that affects the terrain ability to support vehicular motion. These parameters are inferred from the modelling of the kinematic and dynamic behaviour of a skid-steer vehicle that reveals the underlying relationships governing the vehicle-terrain interaction. The concept of slip track is introduced as a measure of the slippage experienced by the vehicle during turning motion. The proposed terrain estimation system includes common onboard sensors, that is, wheel encoders, electrical current sensors and yaw rate gyroscope. Using these components, the system can characterise terrain online during normal vehicle operations. Experimental results obtained from different surfaces are presented to validate the system in the field showing its effectiveness and potential benefits to implement adaptive driving assistance systems or to automatically update the parameters of onboard control and planning algorithms.

Pc-based car license plate reading

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanabe, Katsuyoshi; Marubayashi, Eisaku; Kawashima, Harumi; Nakanishi, Tadashi; Shio, Akio

1994-03-01

A PC-based car license plate recognition system has been developed. The system recognizes Chinese characters and Japanese phonetic hiragana characters as well as six digits on Japanese license plates. The system consists of a CCD camera, vehicle sensors, a strobe unit, a monitoring center, and an i486-based PC. The PC includes in its extension slots: a vehicle detector board, a strobe emitter board, and an image grabber board. When a passing vehicle is detected by the vehicle sensors, the strobe emits a pulse of light. The light pulse is synchronized with the time the vehicle image is frozen on an image grabber board. The recognition process is composed of three steps: image thresholding, character region extraction, and matching-based character recognition. The recognition software can handle obscured characters. Experimental results for hundreds of outdoor images showed high recognition performance within relatively short performance times. The results confirmed that the system is applicable to a wide variety of applications such as automatic vehicle identification and travel time measurement.

On the meaning of meaning when being mean: commentary on Berkowitz's "on the consideration of automatic as well as controlled psychological processes in aggression".

PubMed

Dodge, Kenneth A

2008-01-01

Berkowitz (this issue) makes a cogent case for his cognitive neo-associationist (CNA) model that some aggressive behaviors occur automatically, emotionally, and through conditioned association with other stimuli. He also proposes that they can occur without "processing," that is, without meaning. He contrasts his position with that of social information processing (SIP) models, which he casts as positing only controlled processing mechanisms for aggressive behavior. However, both CNA and SIP models posit automatic as well as controlled processes in aggressive behavior. Most aggressive behaviors occur through automatic processes, which are nonetheless rule governed. SIP models differ from the CNA model in asserting the essential role of meaning (often through nonconscious, automatic, and emotional processes) in mediating the link between a stimulus and an angry aggressive behavioral response. Copyright 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

800 MHz Communication Survey of the Los Angeles Area

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1979-01-01

During the first half of 1978, as part of the Multi-User Automatic Vehicle Monitoring (AVM) Program, a survey was conducted to determine the suitability of utilizing the 800-900 MHz band as the primary carrier of digital communication data pertaining...

Investigating the Effect of Advanced Automatic Transmissions of Fuel Consumption Using Vehicle Testing and Modeling (SAE 2016-01-1142)

EPA Science Inventory

EPA used the validated ALPHA model to predict the effectiveness improvement of real-world transmissions over a baseline four-speed transmission and to predict further improvements possible from future eight-speed transmissions.

Examination of a cognitive model of stress, burnout, and intention to resign for Japanese nurses.

PubMed

Ohue, Takashi; Moriyama, Michiko; Nakaya, Takashi

2011-06-01

A reduction in burnout is required to decrease the voluntary turnover of nurses. This study was carried out with the aim of establishing a cognitive model of stress, burnout, and intention to resign for nurses. A questionnaire survey was administered to 336 nurses (27 male and 309 female) who had worked for ≤5 years at a hospital with multiple departments. The survey included an evaluation of burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory), stress (Nursing Job Stressor Scale), automatic thoughts (Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire-Revised), and irrational beliefs (Japanese Irrational Belief Test), in addition to the intention to resign. The stressors that affected burnout in the nurses included conflict with other nursing staff, nursing role conflict, qualitative workload, quantitative workload, and conflict with patients. The irrational beliefs that were related to burnout included dependence, problem avoidance, and helplessness. In order to examine the automatic thoughts affecting burnout, groups with low and high negative automatic thoughts and low and high positive automatic thoughts were established. A two-way ANOVA showed a significant interaction of these factors with emotional exhaustion, but no significant interaction with depersonalization and a personal sense of accomplishment. Only the major effect was significant. The final model showed a process of "stressor → irrational beliefs → negative automatic thoughts/positive automatic thoughts → burnout". In addition, a relationship between burnout and an intention to resign was shown. These results suggest that stress and burnout in nurses might be prevented and that the number of nurses who leave their position could be decreased by changing irrational beliefs to rational beliefs, decreasing negative automatic thoughts, and facilitating positive automatic thoughts. © 2010 The Authors. Japan Journal of Nursing Science © 2010 Japan Academy of Nursing Science.

Full drive-by-wire dynamic control for four-wheel-steer all-wheel-drive vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fahimi, Farbod

2013-03-01

Most of the controllers introduced for four-wheel-steer (4WS) vehicles are derived with the assumption that the longitudinal speed of the vehicle is constant. However, in real applications, the longitudinal speed varies, and the longitudinal, lateral, and yaw dynamics are coupled. In this paper, the longitudinal dynamics of the vehicle as well as its lateral and yaw motions are controlled simultaneously. This way, the effect of driving/braking forces of the tires on the lateral and yaw motions of the vehicle are automatically included in the control laws. To address the dynamic parameter uncertainty of the vehicle, a chatter-free variable structure controller is introduced. Elimination of chatter is achieved by introducing a dynamically adaptive boundary layer thickness. It is shown via simulations that the proposed control approach performs more robustly than the controllers developed based on dynamic models, in which longitudinal speed is assumed to be constant, and only lateral speed and yaw rate are used as system states. Furthermore, this approach supports all-wheel-drive vehicles. Front-wheel-drive or rear-wheel-drive vehicles are also supported as special cases of an all-wheel-drive vehicle.

Landmark-aided localization for air vehicles using learned object detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DeAngelo, Mark Patrick

This research presents two methods to localize an aircraft without GPS using fixed landmarks observed from an optical sensor. Onboard absolute localization is useful for vehicle navigation free from an external network. The objective is to achieve practical navigation performance using available autopilot hardware and a downward pointing camera. The first method uses computer vision cascade object detectors, which are trained to detect predetermined, distinct landmarks prior to a flight. The first method also concurrently explores aircraft localization using roads between landmark updates. During a flight, the aircraft navigates with attitude, heading, airspeed, and altitude measurements and obtains measurement updates when landmarks are detected. The sensor measurements and landmark coordinates extracted from the aircraft's camera images are combined into an unscented Kalman filter to obtain an estimate of the aircraft's position and wind velocities. The second method uses computer vision object detectors to detect abundant generic landmarks referred as buildings, fields, trees, and road intersections from aerial perspectives. Various landmark attributes and spatial relationships to other landmarks are used to help associate observed landmarks with reference landmarks. The computer vision algorithms automatically extract reference landmarks from maps, which are processed offline before a flight. During a flight, the aircraft navigates with attitude, heading, airspeed, and altitude measurements and obtains measurement corrections by processing aerial photos with similar generic landmark detection techniques. The method also combines sensor measurements and landmark coordinates into an unscented Kalman filter to obtain an estimate of the aircraft's position and wind velocities.

Photogrammetric mapping using unmanned aerial vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Graça, N.; Mitishita, E.; Gonçalves, J.

2014-11-01

Nowadays Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology has attracted attention for aerial photogrammetric mapping. The low cost and the feasibility to automatic flight along commanded waypoints can be considered as the main advantages of this technology in photogrammetric applications. Using GNSS/INS technologies the images are taken at the planned position of the exposure station and the exterior orientation parameters (position Xo, Yo, Zo and attitude ω, φ, χ) of images can be direct determined. However, common UAVs (off-the-shelf) do not replace the traditional aircraft platform. Overall, the main shortcomings are related to: difficulties to obtain the authorization to perform the flight in urban and rural areas, platform stability, safety flight, stability of the image block configuration, high number of the images and inaccuracies of the direct determination of the exterior orientation parameters of the images. In this paper are shown the obtained results from the project photogrammetric mapping using aerial images from the SIMEPAR UAV system. The PIPER J3 UAV Hydro aircraft was used. It has a micro pilot MP2128g. The system is fully integrated with 3-axis gyros/accelerometers, GPS, pressure altimeter, pressure airspeed sensors. A Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W300 was calibrated and used to get the image block. The flight height was close to 400 m, resulting GSD near to 0.10 m. The state of the art of the used technology, methodologies and the obtained results are shown and discussed. Finally advantages/shortcomings found in the study and main conclusions are presented

Automated optimization techniques for aircraft synthesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vanderplaats, G. N.

1976-01-01

Application of numerical optimization techniques to automated conceptual aircraft design is examined. These methods are shown to be a general and efficient way to obtain quantitative information for evaluating alternative new vehicle projects. Fully automated design is compared with traditional point design methods and time and resource requirements for automated design are given. The NASA Ames Research Center aircraft synthesis program (ACSYNT) is described with special attention to calculation of the weight of a vehicle to fly a specified mission. The ACSYNT procedures for automatically obtaining sensitivity of the design (aircraft weight, performance and cost) to various vehicle, mission, and material technology parameters are presented. Examples are used to demonstrate the efficient application of these techniques.

Master-slave control scheme in electric vehicle smart charging infrastructure.

PubMed

Chung, Ching-Yen; Chynoweth, Joshua; Chu, Chi-Cheng; Gadh, Rajit

2014-01-01

WINSmartEV is a software based plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) monitoring, control, and management system. It not only incorporates intelligence at every level so that charge scheduling can avoid grid bottlenecks, but it also multiplies the number of PEVs that can be plugged into a single circuit. This paper proposes, designs, and executes many upgrades to WINSmartEV. These upgrades include new hardware that makes the level 1 and level 2 chargers faster, more robust, and more scalable. It includes algorithms that provide a more optimal charge scheduling for the level 2 (EVSE) and an enhanced vehicle monitoring/identification module (VMM) system that can automatically identify PEVs and authorize charging.

Sensitivity analysis of automatic flight control systems using singular value concepts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Herrera-Vaillard, A.; Paduano, J.; Downing, D.

1985-01-01

A sensitivity analysis is presented that can be used to judge the impact of vehicle dynamic model variations on the relative stability of multivariable continuous closed-loop control systems. The sensitivity analysis uses and extends the singular-value concept by developing expressions for the gradients of the singular value with respect to variations in the vehicle dynamic model and the controller design. Combined with a priori estimates of the accuracy of the model, the gradients are used to identify the elements in the vehicle dynamic model and controller that could severely impact the system's relative stability. The technique is demonstrated for a yaw/roll damper stability augmentation designed for a business jet.

Master-Slave Control Scheme in Electric Vehicle Smart Charging Infrastructure

PubMed Central

Chung, Ching-Yen; Chynoweth, Joshua; Chu, Chi-Cheng; Gadh, Rajit

2014-01-01

WINSmartEV is a software based plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) monitoring, control, and management system. It not only incorporates intelligence at every level so that charge scheduling can avoid grid bottlenecks, but it also multiplies the number of PEVs that can be plugged into a single circuit. This paper proposes, designs, and executes many upgrades to WINSmartEV. These upgrades include new hardware that makes the level 1 and level 2 chargers faster, more robust, and more scalable. It includes algorithms that provide a more optimal charge scheduling for the level 2 (EVSE) and an enhanced vehicle monitoring/identification module (VMM) system that can automatically identify PEVs and authorize charging. PMID:24982956

Vehicle safety telemetry for automated highways

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansen, G. R.

1977-01-01

The emphasis in current, automatic vehicle testing and diagnosis is primarily centered on the proper operation of the engine. Lateral and longitudinal guidance technologies, including speed control and headway sensing for collision avoidance, are reviewed. The principal guidance technique remains the buried wire. Speed control and headway sensing, even though they show the same basic elements in braking and fuel systems, are proceeding independently. The applications of on-board electronic and microprocessor techniques were investigated; each application (emission control, spark advance, or anti-slip braking) is being treated as an independent problem is proposed. A unified bus system of distributed processors for accomplishing the various functions and testing required for vehicles equipped to use automated highways.

Research on regional intrusion prevention and control system based on target tracking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yanfei; Wang, Jieling; Jiang, Ke; He, Yanhui; Wu, Zhilin

2017-08-01

In view of the fact that China’s border is very long and the border prevention and control measures are single, we designed a regional intrusion prevention and control system which based on target-tracking. The system consists of four parts: solar panel, radar, electro-optical equipment, unmanned aerial vehicle and intelligent tracking platform. The solar panel provides independent power for the entire system. The radar detects the target in real time and realizes the high precision positioning of suspicious targets, then through the linkage of electro-optical equipment, it can achieve full-time automatic precise tracking of targets. When the target appears within the range of detection, the drone will be launched to continue the tracking. The system is mainly to realize the full time, full coverage, whole process integration and active realtime control of the border area.

The relationship between parents' and children's automatic thoughts in a college student sample.

PubMed

Donnelly, Reesa; Renk, Kimberly; Sims, Valerie K; McGuire, Jack

2011-04-01

Research demonstrates the importance of early social interactions in the development of schemas and automatic thoughts. It does not appear, however, that the existing research examines intergenerational correlations in automatic thoughts. As a result, this study explores the relationship between the automatic thoughts of parents and those of their college-age children in a sample of 252 college students and their mothers and fathers. Results of this study suggest that there are significant relationships between parents' and college students' positive automatic thoughts. Different trends by gender also are noted in the relationships among variables for male and female college students with their mothers and fathers. Further, mothers' positive ATs predicted the positive ATs of their college students, with mothers' ratings of their own communication with their college students mediating partially this relationship. Finally, college students' anxiety and self-esteem is predicted significantly by their mothers' anxiety and self-esteem (respectively) as well as their own positive and negative ATs. These findings suggest the possibility that ATs play a role in the intergenerational transmission of certain domains of psychological functioning.

Determining vehicle operating speed and lateral position along horizontal curves using linear mixed-effects models.

PubMed

Fitzsimmons, Eric J; Kvam, Vanessa; Souleyrette, Reginald R; Nambisan, Shashi S; Bonett, Douglas G

2013-01-01

Despite recent improvements in highway safety in the United States, serious crashes on curves remain a significant problem. To assist in better understanding causal factors leading to this problem, this article presents and demonstrates a methodology for collection and analysis of vehicle trajectory and speed data for rural and urban curves using Z-configured road tubes. For a large number of vehicle observations at 2 horizontal curves located in Dexter and Ames, Iowa, the article develops vehicle speed and lateral position prediction models for multiple points along these curves. Linear mixed-effects models were used to predict vehicle lateral position and speed along the curves as explained by operational, vehicle, and environmental variables. Behavior was visually represented for an identified subset of "risky" drivers. Linear mixed-effect regression models provided the means to predict vehicle speed and lateral position while taking into account repeated observations of the same vehicle along horizontal curves. Speed and lateral position at point of entry were observed to influence trajectory and speed profiles. Rural horizontal curve site models are presented that indicate that the following variables were significant and influenced both vehicle speed and lateral position: time of day, direction of travel (inside or outside lane), and type of vehicle.

Research on the rapid and accurate positioning and orientation approach for land missile-launching vehicle.

PubMed

Li, Kui; Wang, Lei; Lv, Yanhong; Gao, Pengyu; Song, Tianxiao

2015-10-20

Getting a land vehicle's accurate position, azimuth and attitude rapidly is significant for vehicle based weapons' combat effectiveness. In this paper, a new approach to acquire vehicle's accurate position and orientation is proposed. It uses biaxial optical detection platform (BODP) to aim at and lock in no less than three pre-set cooperative targets, whose accurate positions are measured beforehand. Then, it calculates the vehicle's accurate position, azimuth and attitudes by the rough position and orientation provided by vehicle based navigation systems and no less than three couples of azimuth and pitch angles measured by BODP. The proposed approach does not depend on Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), thus it is autonomous and difficult to interfere. Meanwhile, it only needs a rough position and orientation as algorithm's iterative initial value, consequently, it does not have high performance requirement for Inertial Navigation System (INS), odometer and other vehicle based navigation systems, even in high precise applications. This paper described the system's working procedure, presented theoretical deviation of the algorithm, and then verified its effectiveness through simulation and vehicle experiments. The simulation and experimental results indicate that the proposed approach can achieve positioning and orientation accuracy of 0.2 m and 20″ respectively in less than 3 min.

Evaluation Of The Advanced Operating System Of The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority : Evaluation Of Automatic Vehicle Location Accuracy

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-01-01

In 1997, the Ann Arbor (Michigan) Transportation Authority began deploying advanced public transportation systems (APTS) technologies in its fixed route and paratransit operations. The project's concept is the integration of a range of such technolog...

The Effect of a Low-Speed Automatic Brake System Estimated From Real Life Data

PubMed Central

Isaksson-Hellman, Irene; Lindman, Magdalena

2012-01-01

A substantial part of all traffic accidents involving passenger cars are rear-end collisions and most of them occur at low speed. Auto Brake is a feature that has been launched in several passenger car models during the last few years. City Safety is a technology designed to help the driver mitigate, and in certain situations avoid, rear-end collisions at low speed by automatically braking the vehicle. Studies have been presented that predict promising benefits from these kinds of systems, but few attempts have been made to show the actual effect of Auto Brake. In this study, the effect of City Safety, a standard feature on the Volvo XC60 model, is calculated based on insurance claims data from cars in real traffic crashes in Sweden. The estimated claim frequency of rear-end frontal collisions measured in claims per 1,000 insured vehicle years was 23% lower for the City Safety equipped XC60 model than for other Volvo models without the system. PMID:23169133

The effect of a low-speed automatic brake system estimated from real life data.

PubMed

Isaksson-Hellman, Irene; Lindman, Magdalena

2012-01-01

A substantial part of all traffic accidents involving passenger cars are rear-end collisions and most of them occur at low speed. Auto Brake is a feature that has been launched in several passenger car models during the last few years. City Safety is a technology designed to help the driver mitigate, and in certain situations avoid, rear-end collisions at low speed by automatically braking the vehicle.Studies have been presented that predict promising benefits from these kinds of systems, but few attempts have been made to show the actual effect of Auto Brake. In this study, the effect of City Safety, a standard feature on the Volvo XC60 model, is calculated based on insurance claims data from cars in real traffic crashes in Sweden. The estimated claim frequency of rear-end frontal collisions measured in claims per 1,000 insured vehicle years was 23% lower for the City Safety equipped XC60 model than for other Volvo models without the system.

Automatic attention to emotional stimuli: neural correlates.

PubMed

Carretié, Luis; Hinojosa, José A; Martín-Loeches, Manuel; Mercado, Francisco; Tapia, Manuel

2004-08-01

We investigated the capability of emotional and nonemotional visual stimulation to capture automatic attention, an aspect of the interaction between cognitive and emotional processes that has received scant attention from researchers. Event-related potentials were recorded from 37 subjects using a 60-electrode array, and were submitted to temporal and spatial principal component analyses to detect and quantify the main components, and to source localization software (LORETA) to determine their spatial origin. Stimuli capturing automatic attention were of three types: emotionally positive, emotionally negative, and nonemotional pictures. Results suggest that initially (P1: 105 msec after stimulus), automatic attention is captured by negative pictures, and not by positive or nonemotional ones. Later (P2: 180 msec), automatic attention remains captured by negative pictures, but also by positive ones. Finally (N2: 240 msec), attention is captured only by positive and nonemotional stimuli. Anatomically, this sequence is characterized by decreasing activation of the visual association cortex (VAC) and by the growing involvement, from dorsal to ventral areas, of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Analyses suggest that the ACC and not the VAC is responsible for experimental effects described above. Intensity, latency, and location of neural activity related to automatic attention thus depend clearly on the stimulus emotional content and on its associated biological importance. Copyright 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Optimization of entry-vehicle shapes during conceptual design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dirkx, D.; Mooij, E.

2014-01-01

During the conceptual design of a re-entry vehicle, the vehicle shape and geometry can be varied and its impact on performance can be evaluated. In this study, the shape optimization of two classes of vehicles has been studied: a capsule and a winged vehicle. Their aerodynamic characteristics were analyzed using local-inclination methods, automatically selected per vehicle segment. Entry trajectories down to Mach 3 were calculated assuming trimmed conditions. For the winged vehicle, which has both a body flap and elevons, a guidance algorithm to track a reference heat-rate was used. Multi-objective particle swarm optimization was used to optimize the shape using objectives related to mass, volume and range. The optimizations show a large variation in vehicle performance over the explored parameter space. Areas of very strong non-linearity are observed in the direct neighborhood of the two-dimensional Pareto fronts. This indicates the need for robust exploration of the influence of vehicle shapes on system performance during engineering trade-offs, which are performed during conceptual design. A number of important aspects of the influence of vehicle behavior on the Pareto fronts are observed and discussed. There is a nearly complete convergence to narrow-wing solutions for the winged vehicle. Also, it is found that imposing pitch-stability for the winged vehicle at all angles of attack results in vehicle shapes which require upward control surface deflections during the majority of the entry.

Automated Steering Control Design by Visual Feedback Approach —System Identification and Control Experiments with a Radio-Controlled Car—

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujiwara, Yukihiro; Yoshii, Masakazu; Arai, Yasuhito; Adachi, Shuichi

Advanced safety vehicle(ASV)assists drivers’ manipulation to avoid trafic accidents. A variety of researches on automatic driving systems are necessary as an element of ASV. Among them, we focus on visual feedback approach in which the automatic driving system is realized by recognizing road trajectory using image information. The purpose of this paper is to examine the validity of this approach by experiments using a radio-controlled car. First, a practical image processing algorithm to recognize white lines on the road is proposed. Second, a model of the radio-controlled car is built by system identication experiments. Third, an automatic steering control system is designed based on H∞ control theory. Finally, the effectiveness of the designed control system is examined via traveling experiments.

Optimal guidance with obstacle avoidance for nap-of-the-earth flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pekelsma, Nicholas J.

1988-01-01

The development of automatic guidance is discussed for helicopter Nap-of-the-Earth (NOE) and near-NOE flight. It deals with algorithm refinements relating to automated real-time flight path planning and to mission planning. With regard to path planning, it relates rotorcraft trajectory characteristics to the NOE computation scheme and addresses real-time computing issues and both ride quality issues and pilot-vehicle interfaces. The automated mission planning algorithm refinements include route optimization, automatic waypoint generation, interactive applications, and provisions for integrating the results into the real-time path planning software. A microcomputer based mission planning workstation was developed and is described. Further, the application of Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) digital terrain to both the mission planning workstation and to automatic guidance is both discussed and illustrated.

The design of the light-flash warning light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Junli

2018-05-01

In today's society, the warning light has been used widely in people's daily life and various industries and agricultures. It is important to protect people's life and security. Light-flashing warning light is a kind of warning light control equipment which can control warning light automatically open and work in the state of blinking after dark, and it can automatically shut down after the dawn. It can achieve the flashing light automatic control and dual function. At present, light-flashing warning lights are mainly used in the projects of municipal construction. It is helpful to warn people and vehicles that passed in the construction site and ensure personal safety through using light-flashing warning light. Its design is simple, its performance is stable and it is also very convince to use it.

Design and Analysis of Map Relative Localization for Access to Hazardous Landing Sites on Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Andrew E.; Aaron, Seth; Cheng, Yang; Montgomery, James; Trawny, Nikolas; Tweddle, Brent; Vaughan, Geoffrey; Zheng, Jason

2016-01-01

Human and robotic planetary lander missions require accurate surface relative position knowledge to land near science targets or next to pre-deployed assets. In the absence of GPS, accurate position estimates can be obtained by automatically matching sensor data collected during descent to an on-board map. The Lander Vision System (LVS) that is being developed for Mars landing applications generates landmark matches in descent imagery and combines these with inertial data to estimate vehicle position, velocity and attitude. This paper describes recent LVS design work focused on making the map relative localization algorithms robust to challenging environmental conditions like bland terrain, appearance differences between the map and image and initial input state errors. Improved results are shown using data from a recent LVS field test campaign. This paper also fills a gap in analysis to date by assessing the performance of the LVS with data sets containing significant vertical motion including a complete data set from the Mars Science Laboratory mission, a Mars landing simulation, and field test data taken over multiple altitudes above the same scene. Accurate and robust performance is achieved for all data sets indicating that vertical motion does not play a significant role in position estimation performance.

Rapid Extraction of Landslide and Spatial Distribution Analysis after Jiuzhaigou Ms7.0 Earthquake Based on Uav Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiao, Q. S.; Luo, Y.; Shen, W. H.; Li, Q.; Wang, X.

2018-04-01

Jiuzhaigou earthquake led to the collapse of the mountains and formed lots of landslides in Jiuzhaigou scenic spot and surrounding roads which caused road blockage and serious ecological damage. Due to the urgency of the rescue, the authors carried unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and entered the disaster area as early as August 9 to obtain the aerial images near the epicenter. On the basis of summarizing the earthquake landslides characteristics in aerial images, by using the object-oriented analysis method, landslides image objects were obtained by multi-scale segmentation, and the feature rule set of each level was automatically built by SEaTH (Separability and Thresholds) algorithm to realize the rapid landslide extraction. Compared with visual interpretation, object-oriented automatic landslides extraction method achieved an accuracy of 94.3 %. The spatial distribution of the earthquake landslide had a significant positive correlation with slope and relief and had a negative correlation with the roughness, but no obvious correlation with the aspect. The relationship between the landslide and the aspect was not found and the probable reason may be that the distance between the study area and the seismogenic fault was too far away. This work provided technical support for the earthquake field emergency, earthquake landslide prediction and disaster loss assessment.

Fuzzy Logic Trajectory Design and Guidance for Terminal Area Energy Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burchett, Bradley

2003-01-01

The second generation reusable launch vehicle will leverage many new technologies to make flight to low earth orbit safer and more cost effective. One important capability will be completely autonomous flight during reentry and landing, thus making it unnecessary to man the vehicle for cargo missions with stringent weight constraints. Implementation of sophisticated new guidance and control methods will enable the vehicle to return to earth under less than favorable conditions. The return to earth consists of three phases--Entry, Terminal Area Energy Management (TAEM), and Approach and Landing. The Space Shuttle is programmed to fly all three phases of flight automatically, and under normal circumstances the astronaut-pilot takes manual control only during the Approach and Landing phase. The automatic control algorithms used in the Shuttle for TAEM and Approach and Landing have been developed over the past 30 years. They are computationally efficient, and based on careful study of the spacecraft's flight dynamics, and heuristic reasoning. The gliding return trajectory is planned prior to the mission, and only minor adjustments are made during flight for perturbations in the vehicle energy state. With the advent of the X-33 and X-34 technology demonstration vehicles, several authors investigated implementing advanced control methods to provide autonomous real-time design of gliding return trajectories thus enhancing the ability of the vehicle to adjust to unusual energy states. The bulk of work published to date deals primarily with the approach and landing phase of flight where changes in heading angle are small, and range to the runway is monotonically decreasing. These benign flight conditions allow for model simplification and fairly straightforward optimization. This project focuses on the TAEM phase of flight where mathematically precise methods have produced limited results. Fuzzy Logic methods are used to make onboard autonomous gliding return trajectory design robust to a wider energy envelope, and the possibility of control surface failures, thus increasing the flexibility of unmanned gliding recovery and landing.

Automatic and controlled attentional orienting in the elderly: A dual-process view of the positivity effect.

PubMed

Gronchi, G; Righi, S; Pierguidi, L; Giovannelli, F; Murasecco, I; Viggiano, M P

2018-04-01

The positivity effect in the elderly consists of an attentional preference for positive information as well as avoidance of negative information. Extant theories predict either that the positivity effect depends on controlled attentional processes (socio-emotional selectivity theory), or on an automatic gating selection mechanism (dynamic integration theory). This study examined the role of automatic and controlled attention in the positivity effect. Two dot-probe tasks (with the duration of the stimuli lasting 100 ms and 500 ms, respectively) were employed to compare the attentional bias of 35 elderly people to that of 35 young adults. The stimuli used were expressive faces displaying neutral, disgusted, fearful, and happy expressions. In comparison to young people, the elderly allocated more attention to happy faces at 100 ms and they tended to avoid fearful faces at 500 ms. The findings are not predicted by either theory taken alone, but support the hypothesis that the positivity effect in the elderly is driven by two different processes: an automatic attention bias toward positive stimuli, and a controlled mechanism that diverts attention away from negative stimuli. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automatic approach to deriving fuzzy slope positions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Liang-Jun; Zhu, A.-Xing; Qin, Cheng-Zhi; Liu, Jun-Zhi

2018-03-01

Fuzzy characterization of slope positions is important for geographic modeling. Most of the existing fuzzy classification-based methods for fuzzy characterization require extensive user intervention in data preparation and parameter setting, which is tedious and time-consuming. This paper presents an automatic approach to overcoming these limitations in the prototype-based inference method for deriving fuzzy membership value (or similarity) to slope positions. The key contribution is a procedure for finding the typical locations and setting the fuzzy inference parameters for each slope position type. Instead of being determined totally by users in the prototype-based inference method, in the proposed approach the typical locations and fuzzy inference parameters for each slope position type are automatically determined by a rule set based on prior domain knowledge and the frequency distributions of topographic attributes. Furthermore, the preparation of topographic attributes (e.g., slope gradient, curvature, and relative position index) is automated, so the proposed automatic approach has only one necessary input, i.e., the gridded digital elevation model of the study area. All compute-intensive algorithms in the proposed approach were speeded up by parallel computing. Two study cases were provided to demonstrate that this approach can properly, conveniently and quickly derive the fuzzy slope positions.

The integrated manual and automatic control of complex flight systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmidt, D. K.

1985-01-01

Pilot/vehicle analysis techniques for optimizing aircraft handling qualities are presented. The analysis approach considered is based on the optimal control frequency domain techniques. These techniques stem from an optimal control approach of a Neal-Smith like analysis on aircraft attitude dynamics extended to analyze the flared landing task. Some modifications to the technique are suggested and discussed. An in depth analysis of the effect of the experimental variables, such as prefilter, is conducted to gain further insight into the flared land task for this class of vehicle dynamics.

Crew emergency return vehicle autoland feasibility study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bossi, J. A.; Langehough, M. A.; Lee, K. L.

1989-01-01

The crew emergency return vehicle (CERV) autoland feasibility study focused on determining the controllability of the NASA Langley high lift over drag CERV for performing an automatic landing at a prescribed runway. An autoland system was developed using integral linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) design techniques. The design was verified using a nonlinear 6 DOF simulation. Simulation results demonstrate that the CERV configuration is a very flyable configuration for performing an autoland mission. Adequate stability and control was demonstrated for wind turbulence and wind shear. Control surface actuator requirements were developed.

Asynchronous RTK precise DGNSS positioning method for deriving a low-latency high-rate output

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Zhang; Hanfeng, Lv; Dingjie, Wang; Yanqing, Hou; Jie, Wu

2015-07-01

Low-latency high-rate (1 Hz) precise real-time kinematic (RTK) can be applied in high-speed scenarios such as aircraft automatic landing, precise agriculture and intelligent vehicle. The classic synchronous RTK (SRTK) precise differential GNSS (DGNSS) positioning technology, however, is not able to obtain a low-latency high-rate output for the rover receiver because of long data link transmission time delays (DLTTD) from the reference receiver. To overcome the long DLTTD, this paper proposes an asynchronous real-time kinematic (ARTK) method using asynchronous observations from two receivers. The asynchronous observation model (AOM) is developed based on undifferenced carrier phase observation equations of the two receivers at different epochs with short baseline. The ephemeris error and atmosphere delay are the possible main error sources on positioning accuracy in this model, and they are analyzed theoretically. In a short DLTTD and during a period of quiet ionosphere activity, the main error sources decreasing positioning accuracy are satellite orbital errors: the "inverted ephemeris error" and the integration of satellite velocity error which increase linearly along with DLTTD. The cycle slip of asynchronous double-differencing carrier phase is detected by TurboEdit method and repaired by the additional ambiguity parameter method. The AOM can deal with synchronous observation model (SOM) and achieve precise positioning solution with synchronous observations as well, since the SOM is only a specific case of AOM. The proposed method not only can reduce the cost of data collection and transmission, but can also support the mobile phone network data link transfer mode for the data of the reference receiver. This method can avoid data synchronizing process besides ambiguity initialization step, which is very convenient for real-time navigation of vehicles. The static and kinematic experiment results show that this method achieves 20 Hz or even higher rate output in real time. The ARTK positioning accuracy is better and more robust than the combination of phase difference over time (PDOT) and SRTK method at a high rate. The ARTK positioning accuracy is equivalent to SRTK solution when the DLTTD is 0.5 s, and centimeter level accuracy can be achieved even when DLTTD is 15 s.

Adaptive road crack detection system by pavement classification.

PubMed

Gavilán, Miguel; Balcones, David; Marcos, Oscar; Llorca, David F; Sotelo, Miguel A; Parra, Ignacio; Ocaña, Manuel; Aliseda, Pedro; Yarza, Pedro; Amírola, Alejandro

2011-01-01

This paper presents a road distress detection system involving the phases needed to properly deal with fully automatic road distress assessment. A vehicle equipped with line scan cameras, laser illumination and acquisition HW-SW is used to storage the digital images that will be further processed to identify road cracks. Pre-processing is firstly carried out to both smooth the texture and enhance the linear features. Non-crack features detection is then applied to mask areas of the images with joints, sealed cracks and white painting, that usually generate false positive cracking. A seed-based approach is proposed to deal with road crack detection, combining Multiple Directional Non-Minimum Suppression (MDNMS) with a symmetry check. Seeds are linked by computing the paths with the lowest cost that meet the symmetry restrictions. The whole detection process involves the use of several parameters. A correct setting becomes essential to get optimal results without manual intervention. A fully automatic approach by means of a linear SVM-based classifier ensemble able to distinguish between up to 10 different types of pavement that appear in the Spanish roads is proposed. The optimal feature vector includes different texture-based features. The parameters are then tuned depending on the output provided by the classifier. Regarding non-crack features detection, results show that the introduction of such module reduces the impact of false positives due to non-crack features up to a factor of 2. In addition, the observed performance of the crack detection system is significantly boosted by adapting the parameters to the type of pavement.

Adaptive Road Crack Detection System by Pavement Classification

PubMed Central

Gavilán, Miguel; Balcones, David; Marcos, Oscar; Llorca, David F.; Sotelo, Miguel A.; Parra, Ignacio; Ocaña, Manuel; Aliseda, Pedro; Yarza, Pedro; Amírola, Alejandro

2011-01-01

This paper presents a road distress detection system involving the phases needed to properly deal with fully automatic road distress assessment. A vehicle equipped with line scan cameras, laser illumination and acquisition HW-SW is used to storage the digital images that will be further processed to identify road cracks. Pre-processing is firstly carried out to both smooth the texture and enhance the linear features. Non-crack features detection is then applied to mask areas of the images with joints, sealed cracks and white painting, that usually generate false positive cracking. A seed-based approach is proposed to deal with road crack detection, combining Multiple Directional Non-Minimum Suppression (MDNMS) with a symmetry check. Seeds are linked by computing the paths with the lowest cost that meet the symmetry restrictions. The whole detection process involves the use of several parameters. A correct setting becomes essential to get optimal results without manual intervention. A fully automatic approach by means of a linear SVM-based classifier ensemble able to distinguish between up to 10 different types of pavement that appear in the Spanish roads is proposed. The optimal feature vector includes different texture-based features. The parameters are then tuned depending on the output provided by the classifier. Regarding non-crack features detection, results show that the introduction of such module reduces the impact of false positives due to non-crack features up to a factor of 2. In addition, the observed performance of the crack detection system is significantly boosted by adapting the parameters to the type of pavement. PMID:22163717

Unsupervised learning of discriminative edge measures for vehicle matching between nonoverlapping cameras.

PubMed

Shan, Ying; Sawhney, Harpreet S; Kumar, Rakesh

2008-04-01

This paper proposes a novel unsupervised algorithm learning discriminative features in the context of matching road vehicles between two non-overlapping cameras. The matching problem is formulated as a same-different classification problem, which aims to compute the probability of vehicle images from two distinct cameras being from the same vehicle or different vehicle(s). We employ a novel measurement vector that consists of three independent edge-based measures and their associated robust measures computed from a pair of aligned vehicle edge maps. The weight of each measure is determined by an unsupervised learning algorithm that optimally separates the same-different classes in the combined measurement space. This is achieved with a weak classification algorithm that automatically collects representative samples from same-different classes, followed by a more discriminative classifier based on Fisher' s Linear Discriminants and Gibbs Sampling. The robustness of the match measures and the use of unsupervised discriminant analysis in the classification ensures that the proposed method performs consistently in the presence of missing/false features, temporally and spatially changing illumination conditions, and systematic misalignment caused by different camera configurations. Extensive experiments based on real data of over 200 vehicles at different times of day demonstrate promising results.

Montachusett Area Regional Transit Authority (MART) automatic vehicle location and mobile data terminal (AVL/MDT) pilot program report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-02-14

The Montachusett Area Regional Transit Authority (MART) MART was established in 1978 to provide public transportation to the 18 Massachusetts communities. MART fixed-route service operates with 26 buses. Its paratransit services are more extensive, a...

Testing and Benchmarking a 2014 GM Silverado 6L80 Six Speed Automatic Transmission

EPA Science Inventory

Describe the method and test results of EPA’s partial transmission benchmarking process which involves installing both the engine and transmission in an engine dynamometer test cell with the engine wire harness tethered to its vehicle parked outside the test cell.

49 CFR 552.15 - Processing of petition.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... for Expedited Rulemaking To Establish Dynamic Automatic Suppression System Test Procedures for Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208, Occupant Crash Protection § 552.15 Processing of petition. (a... will seek to notify the petitioner of any such deficiency within 30 days after receipt of the petition...

A Lane-Level LBS System for Vehicle Network with High-Precision BDS/GPS Positioning

PubMed Central

Guo, Chi; Guo, Wenfei; Cao, Guangyi; Dong, Hongbo

2015-01-01

In recent years, research on vehicle network location service has begun to focus on its intelligence and precision. The accuracy of space-time information has become a core factor for vehicle network systems in a mobile environment. However, difficulties persist in vehicle satellite positioning since deficiencies in the provision of high-quality space-time references greatly limit the development and application of vehicle networks. In this paper, we propose a high-precision-based vehicle network location service to solve this problem. The major components of this study include the following: (1) application of wide-area precise positioning technology to the vehicle network system. An adaptive correction message broadcast protocol is designed to satisfy the requirements for large-scale target precise positioning in the mobile Internet environment; (2) development of a concurrence service system with a flexible virtual expansion architecture to guarantee reliable data interaction between vehicles and the background; (3) verification of the positioning precision and service quality in the urban environment. Based on this high-precision positioning service platform, a lane-level location service is designed to solve a typical traffic safety problem. PMID:25755665

Perspective taking combats automatic expressions of racial bias.

PubMed

Todd, Andrew R; Bodenhausen, Galen V; Richeson, Jennifer A; Galinsky, Adam D

2011-06-01

Five experiments investigated the hypothesis that perspective taking--actively contemplating others' psychological experiences--attenuates automatic expressions of racial bias. Across the first 3 experiments, participants who adopted the perspective of a Black target in an initial context subsequently exhibited more positive automatic interracial evaluations, with changes in automatic evaluations mediating the effect of perspective taking on more deliberate interracial evaluations. Furthermore, unlike other bias-reduction strategies, the interracial positivity resulting from perspective taking was accompanied by increased salience of racial inequalities (Experiment 3). Perspective taking also produced stronger approach-oriented action tendencies toward Blacks (but not Whites; Experiment 4). A final experiment revealed that face-to-face interactions with perspective takers were rated more positively by Black interaction partners than were interactions with nonperspective takers--a relationship that was mediated by perspective takers' increased approach-oriented nonverbal behaviors (as rated by objective, third-party observers). These findings indicate that perspective taking can combat automatic expressions of racial biases without simultaneously decreasing sensitivity to ongoing racial disparities. 2011 APA, all rights reserved

Single-Frame Terrain Mapping Software for Robotic Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rankin, Arturo L.

2011-01-01

This software is a component in an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) perception system that builds compact, single-frame terrain maps for distribution to other systems, such as a world model or an operator control unit, over a local area network (LAN). Each cell in the map encodes an elevation value, terrain classification, object classification, terrain traversability, terrain roughness, and a confidence value into four bytes of memory. The input to this software component is a range image (from a lidar or stereo vision system), and optionally a terrain classification image and an object classification image, both registered to the range image. The single-frame terrain map generates estimates of the support surface elevation, ground cover elevation, and minimum canopy elevation; generates terrain traversability cost; detects low overhangs and high-density obstacles; and can perform geometry-based terrain classification (ground, ground cover, unknown). A new origin is automatically selected for each single-frame terrain map in global coordinates such that it coincides with the corner of a world map cell. That way, single-frame terrain maps correctly line up with the world map, facilitating the merging of map data into the world map. Instead of using 32 bits to store the floating-point elevation for a map cell, the vehicle elevation is assigned to the map origin elevation and reports the change in elevation (from the origin elevation) in terms of the number of discrete steps. The single-frame terrain map elevation resolution is 2 cm. At that resolution, terrain elevation from 20.5 to 20.5 m (with respect to the vehicle's elevation) is encoded into 11 bits. For each four-byte map cell, bits are assigned to encode elevation, terrain roughness, terrain classification, object classification, terrain traversability cost, and a confidence value. The vehicle s current position and orientation, the map origin, and the map cell resolution are all included in a header for each map. The map is compressed into a vector prior to delivery to another system.

Neural networks: Alternatives to conventional techniques for automatic docking

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vinz, Bradley L.

1994-01-01

Automatic docking of orbiting spacecraft is a crucial operation involving the identification of vehicle orientation as well as complex approach dynamics. The chaser spacecraft must be able to recognize the target spacecraft within a scene and achieve accurate closing maneuvers. In a video-based system, a target scene must be captured and transformed into a pattern of pixels. Successful recognition lies in the interpretation of this pattern. Due to their powerful pattern recognition capabilities, artificial neural networks offer a potential role in interpretation and automatic docking processes. Neural networks can reduce the computational time required by existing image processing and control software. In addition, neural networks are capable of recognizing and adapting to changes in their dynamic environment, enabling enhanced performance, redundancy, and fault tolerance. Most neural networks are robust to failure, capable of continued operation with a slight degradation in performance after minor failures. This paper discusses the particular automatic docking tasks neural networks can perform as viable alternatives to conventional techniques.

The benefits and tradeoffs for varied high-severity injury risk thresholds for advanced automatic crash notification systems.

PubMed

Bahouth, George; Graygo, Jill; Digges, Kennerly; Schulman, Carl; Baur, Peter

2014-01-01

The objectives of this study are to (1) characterize the population of crashes meeting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-recommended 20% risk of Injury Severity Score (ISS)>15 injury and (2) explore the positive and negative effects of an advanced automatic crash notification (AACN) system whose threshold for high-risk indications is 10% versus 20%. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to predict the occurrence of motor vehicle crash injuries at both the ISS>15 and Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale (MAIS) 3+ level. Models were trained using crash characteristics recommended by the CDC Committee on Advanced Automatic Collision Notification and Triage of the Injured Patient. Each model was used to assign the probability of severe injury (defined as MAIS 3+ or ISS>15 injury) to a subset of NASS-CDS cases based on crash attributes. Subsequently, actual AIS and ISS levels were compared with the predicted probability of injury to determine the extent to which the seriously injured had corresponding probabilities exceeding the 10% and 20% risk thresholds. Models were developed using an 80% sample of NASS-CDS data from 2002 to 2012 and evaluations were performed using the remaining 20% of cases from the same period. Within the population of seriously injured (i.e., those having one or more AIS 3 or higher injuries), the number of occupants whose injury risk did not exceed the 10% and 20% thresholds were estimated to be 11,700 and 18,600, respectively, each year using the MAIS 3+ injury model. For the ISS>15 model, 8,100 and 11,000 occupants sustained ISS>15 injuries yet their injury probability did not reach the 10% and 20% probability for severe injury respectively. Conversely, model predictions suggested that, at the 10% and 20% thresholds, 207,700 and 55,400 drivers respectively would be incorrectly flagged as injured when their injuries had not reached the AIS 3 level. For the ISS>15 model, 87,300 and 41,900 drivers would be incorrectly flagged as injured when injury severity had not reached the ISS>15 injury level. This article provides important information comparing the expected positive and negative effects of an AACN system with thresholds at the 10% and 20% levels using 2 outcome metrics. Overall, results suggest that the 20% risk threshold would not provide a useful notification to improve the quality of care for a large number of seriously injured crash victims. Alternately, a lower threshold may increase the over triage rate. Based on the vehicle damage observed for crashes reaching and exceeding the 10% risk threshold, we anticipate that rescue services would have been deployed based on current Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) practices.

A linear quadratic Gaussian with loop transfer recovery proximity operations autopilot for spacecraft. M.S. Thesis - MIT

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, George T.

1987-01-01

An automatic control scheme for spacecraft proximity operations is presented. The controller is capable of holding the vehicle at a prescribed location relative to a target, or maneuvering it to a different relative position using straight line-of-sight translations. The autopilot uses a feedforward loop to initiate and terminate maneuvers, and for operations at nonequilibrium set-points. A multivariate feedback loop facilitates precise position and velocity control in the presence of sensor noise. The feedback loop is formulated using the Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) with Loop Transfer Recovery (LTR) design procedure. Linear models of spacecraft dynamics, adapted from Clohessey-Wiltshire Equations, are augmented and loop shaping techniques are applied to design a target feedback loop. The loop transfer recovery procedure is used to recover the frequency domain properties of the target feedback loop. The resulting compensator is integrated into an autopilot which is tested in a high fidelity Space Shuttle Simulator. The autopilot performance is evaluated for a variety of proximity operations tasks envisioned for future Shuttle flights.

Control techniques for an automated mixed traffic vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Meisenholder, G. W.; Johnston, A. R.

1977-01-01

The paper describes an automated mixed traffic vehicle (AMTV), a driverless low-speed tram designed to operate in mixed pedestrian and vehicular traffic. The vehicle is a six-passenger electric tram equipped with sensing and control which permit it to function on existing streets in an automatic mode. The design includes established wire-following techniques for steering and near-IR headway sensors. A 7-mph cruise speed is reduced to 2 mph or a complete stop in response to sensor (or passenger) inputs. The AMTV performance is evaluated by operation on a loop route and by simulation. Some necessary improvements involving sensors, sensor pattern, use of an audible signal, and control lag are discussed. It is suggested that appropriate modifications will eliminate collision incidents.

ADDJUST - An automated system for steering Centaur launch vehicles in measured winds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Swanson, D. C.

1977-01-01

ADDJUST (Automatic Determination and Dissemination of Just-Updated Steering Terms) is an automated computer and communication system designed to provide Atlas/Centaur and Titan/Centaur launch vehicles with booster-phase steering data on launch day. Wind soundings are first obtained, from which a smoothed wind velocity vs altitude relationship is established. Design for conditions at the end of the boost phase with initial pitch and yaw maneuvers, followed by zero total angle of attack through the filtered wind establishes the required vehicle attitude as a function of altitude. Polynomial coefficients for pitch and yaw attitude vs altitude are determined and are transmitted for validation and loading into the Centaur airborne computer. The system has enabled 14 consecutive launches without a flight wind delay.

Multi-mode energy management strategy for fuel cell electric vehicles based on driving pattern identification using learning vector quantization neural network algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Ke; Li, Feiqiang; Hu, Xiao; He, Lin; Niu, Wenxu; Lu, Sihao; Zhang, Tong

2018-06-01

The development of fuel cell electric vehicles can to a certain extent alleviate worldwide energy and environmental issues. While a single energy management strategy cannot meet the complex road conditions of an actual vehicle, this article proposes a multi-mode energy management strategy for electric vehicles with a fuel cell range extender based on driving condition recognition technology, which contains a patterns recognizer and a multi-mode energy management controller. This paper introduces a learning vector quantization (LVQ) neural network to design the driving patterns recognizer according to a vehicle's driving information. This multi-mode strategy can automatically switch to the genetic algorithm optimized thermostat strategy under specific driving conditions in the light of the differences in condition recognition results. Simulation experiments were carried out based on the model's validity verification using a dynamometer test bench. Simulation results show that the proposed strategy can obtain better economic performance than the single-mode thermostat strategy under dynamic driving conditions.

Solaris: Orbital station: Automatic laboratory for outer space rendezvous and operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Runavot, J. J.

1981-01-01

The preliminary design for a modular orbital space station (unmanned) is outlined. The three main components are a support module, an experiment module, and an orbital transport vehicle. The major types of missions (assembly, materials processing, and Earth observation) that could be performed are discussed.

40 CFR 86.165-12 - Air conditioning idle test procedure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... at idle when CO2 emissions are measured without any air conditioning systems operating, followed by a ten-minute period at idle when CO2 emissions are measured with the air conditioning system operating... section, turn on the vehicle's air conditioning system. Set automatic air conditioning systems to a...

Measuring border delay and crossing times at the US-Mexico border : final report on automated crossing and wait time measurement.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-08-01

A pilot test implemented a radio frequency identification (RFID) system to automatically measure travel times of US-bound commercial vehicles at a selected Port of Entry (POE) on the USMexico border under long-term, real-world conditions. The init...

Automated Power-Distribution System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ashworth, Barry; Riedesel, Joel; Myers, Chris; Miller, William; Jones, Ellen F.; Freeman, Kenneth; Walsh, Richard; Walls, Bryan K.; Weeks, David J.; Bechtel, Robert T.

1992-01-01

Autonomous power-distribution system includes power-control equipment and automation equipment. System automatically schedules connection of power to loads and reconfigures itself when it detects fault. Potential terrestrial applications include optimization of consumption of power in homes, power supplies for autonomous land vehicles and vessels, and power supplies for automated industrial processes.

Survey on Ranging Sensors and Cooperative Techniques for Relative Positioning of Vehicles

PubMed Central

de Ponte Müller, Fabian

2017-01-01

Future driver assistance systems will rely on accurate, reliable and continuous knowledge on the position of other road participants, including pedestrians, bicycles and other vehicles. The usual approach to tackle this requirement is to use on-board ranging sensors inside the vehicle. Radar, laser scanners or vision-based systems are able to detect objects in their line-of-sight. In contrast to these non-cooperative ranging sensors, cooperative approaches follow a strategy in which other road participants actively support the estimation of the relative position. The limitations of on-board ranging sensors regarding their detection range and angle of view and the facility of blockage can be approached by using a cooperative approach based on vehicle-to-vehicle communication. The fusion of both, cooperative and non-cooperative strategies, seems to offer the largest benefits regarding accuracy, availability and robustness. This survey offers the reader a comprehensive review on different techniques for vehicle relative positioning. The reader will learn the important performance indicators when it comes to relative positioning of vehicles, the different technologies that are both commercially available and currently under research, their expected performance and their intrinsic limitations. Moreover, the latest research in the area of vision-based systems for vehicle detection, as well as the latest work on GNSS-based vehicle localization and vehicular communication for relative positioning of vehicles, are reviewed. The survey also includes the research work on the fusion of cooperative and non-cooperative approaches to increase the reliability and the availability. PMID:28146129

Autonomous Docking Based on Infrared System for Electric Vehicle Charging in Urban Areas

PubMed Central

Pérez, Joshué; Nashashibi, Fawzi; Lefaudeux, Benjamin; Resende, Paulo; Pollard, Evangeline

2013-01-01

Electric vehicles are progressively introduced in urban areas, because of their ability to reduce air pollution, fuel consumption and noise nuisance. Nowadays, some big cities are launching the first electric car-sharing projects to clear traffic jams and enhance urban mobility, as an alternative to the classic public transportation systems. However, there are still some problems to be solved related to energy storage, electric charging and autonomy. In this paper, we present an autonomous docking system for electric vehicles recharging based on an embarked infrared camera performing infrared beacons detection installed in the infrastructure. A visual servoing system coupled with an automatic controller allows the vehicle to dock accurately to the recharging booth in a street parking area. The results show good behavior of the implemented system, which is currently deployed as a real prototype system in the city of Paris. PMID:23429581

Autonomous docking based on infrared system for electric vehicle charging in urban areas.

PubMed

Pérez, Joshué; Nashashibi, Fawzi; Lefaudeux, Benjamin; Resende, Paulo; Pollard, Evangeline

2013-02-21

Electric vehicles are progressively introduced in urban areas, because of their ability to reduce air pollution, fuel consumption and noise nuisance. Nowadays, some big cities are launching the first electric car-sharing projects to clear traffic jams and enhance urban mobility, as an alternative to the classic public transportation systems. However, there are still some problems to be solved related to energy storage, electric charging and autonomy. In this paper, we present an autonomous docking system for electric vehicles recharging based on an embarked infrared camera performing infrared beacons detection installed in the infrastructure. A visual servoing system coupled with an automatic controller allows the vehicle to dock accurately to the recharging booth in a street parking area. The results show good behavior of the implemented system, which is currently deployed as a real prototype system in the city of Paris.

New research opportunities for roadside safety barriers improvement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cantisani, Giuseppe; Di Mascio, Paola; Polidori, Carlo

2017-09-01

Among the major topics regarding the protection of roads, restraint systems still represent a big opportunity in order to increase safety performances. When accidents happen, in fact, the infrastructure can substantially contribute to the reduction of consequences if its marginal spaces are well designed and/or effective restraint systems are installed there. Nevertheless, basic concepts and technology of road safety barriers have not significantly changed for the last two decades. The paper proposes a new approach to the study aimed to define possible enhancements of restraint safety systems performances, by using new materials and defining innovative design principles. In particular, roadside systems can be developed with regard to vehicle-barrier interaction, vehicle-oriented design (included low-mass and extremely low-mass vehicles), traffic suitability, user protection, working width reduction. In addition, thanks to sensors embedded into the barriers, it is also expected to deal with new challenges related to the guidance of automatic vehicles and I2V communication.

Autonomous health management for PMSM rail vehicles through demagnetization monitoring and prognosis control.

PubMed

Niu, Gang; Jiang, Junjie; Youn, Byeng D; Pecht, Michael

2018-01-01

Autonomous vehicles are playing an increasingly importance in support of a wide variety of critical events. This paper presents a novel autonomous health management scheme on rail vehicles driven by permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs). Firstly, the PMSMs are modeled based on first principle to deduce the initial profile of pneumatic braking (p-braking) force, then which is utilized for real-time demagnetization monitoring and degradation prognosis through similarity-based theory and generate prognosis-enhanced p-braking force strategy for final optimal control. A case study is conducted to demonstrate the feasibility and benefit of using the real-time prognostics and health management (PHM) information in vehicle 'drive-brake' control automatically. The results show that accurate demagnetization monitoring, degradation prognosis, and real-time capability for control optimization can be obtained, which can effectively relieve brake shoe wear. Copyright © 2018 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A model predictive speed tracking control approach for autonomous ground vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Min; Chen, Huiyan; Xiong, Guangming

2017-03-01

This paper presents a novel speed tracking control approach based on a model predictive control (MPC) framework for autonomous ground vehicles. A switching algorithm without calibration is proposed to determine the drive or brake control. Combined with a simple inverse longitudinal vehicle model and adaptive regulation of MPC, this algorithm can make use of the engine brake torque for various driving conditions and avoid high frequency oscillations automatically. A simplified quadratic program (QP) solving algorithm is used to reduce the computational time, and the approach has been applied in a 16-bit microcontroller. The performance of the proposed approach is evaluated via simulations and vehicle tests, which were carried out in a range of speed-profile tracking tasks. With a well-designed system structure, high-precision speed control is achieved. The system can robustly model uncertainty and external disturbances, and yields a faster response with less overshoot than a PI controller.

Automatically-Activated Attitudes as Mechanisms for Message Effects: The Case of Alcohol Advertisements

PubMed Central

Goodall, Catherine E.; Slater, Michael D.

2010-01-01

Alcohol advertisements may influence impulsive, risky behaviors indirectly, via automatically-activated attitudes toward alcohol. Results from an experiment in which participants were exposed to either four alcohol advertisements, four control advertisements, or four drunk driving public service advertisements, suggested that alcohol advertisements had more measurable effects on implicit, than on explicit attitude measures. Moreover, there were significant indirect paths from alcohol advertisement exposure through automatically-activated alcohol attitudes on willingness to engage in risky alcohol-related behaviors, notably drinking and driving. A mechanism that may explain how these advertisements activate automatic, non-deliberative alcohol attitudes was investigated. Associative evidence was found supportive of an evaluative conditioning mechanism, in which positive responses to an alcohol advertisement may lead to more positive automatically-activated attitudes toward alcohol itself. PMID:21258609

Automatically-Activated Attitudes as Mechanisms for Message Effects: The Case of Alcohol Advertisements.

PubMed

Goodall, Catherine E; Slater, Michael D

2010-10-01

Alcohol advertisements may influence impulsive, risky behaviors indirectly, via automatically-activated attitudes toward alcohol. Results from an experiment in which participants were exposed to either four alcohol advertisements, four control advertisements, or four drunk driving public service advertisements, suggested that alcohol advertisements had more measurable effects on implicit, than on explicit attitude measures. Moreover, there were significant indirect paths from alcohol advertisement exposure through automatically-activated alcohol attitudes on willingness to engage in risky alcohol-related behaviors, notably drinking and driving. A mechanism that may explain how these advertisements activate automatic, non-deliberative alcohol attitudes was investigated. Associative evidence was found supportive of an evaluative conditioning mechanism, in which positive responses to an alcohol advertisement may lead to more positive automatically-activated attitudes toward alcohol itself.

Validation of the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ) Among Mainland Chinese Students in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Pan, Jia-Yan; Ye, Shengquan; Ng, Petrus

2016-01-01

The present study validated the combined version of the 8-item Automatic Thought Questionnaire (ATQ) and 10 positive items from the ATQ-revised among Chinese university students. A total of 412 Mainland Chinese university students were recruited in Hong Kong by an online survey. A 14-item Chinese ATQ was derived via item analysis. Satisfactory internal consistency reliability and good split-half reliability were obtained. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis revealed a 3-correlated-factor solution for the Chinese ATQ: negative thought, positive thought (emotional), and positive thought (cognitive). The negative ATQ subscale score was positively correlated with negative affect, and negatively correlated with positive affect and life satisfaction. The two positive ATQ subscale scores were negatively correlated with negative affect, and positively correlated with positive affect and life satisfaction. The 14-item ATQ is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring automatic thoughts in the Chinese context of Hong Kong. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Driver Behavioral Changes through Interactions with an Automatic Brake System for Collision Avoidance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Itoh, Makoto; Fujiwara, Yusuke; Inagaki, Toshiyuki

This paper discusses driver's behavioral changes as a result of driver's use of an automatic brake system for preventing a rear-end collision from occurring. Three types of automatic brake systems are investigated in this study. Type 1 brake system applies a strong automatic brake when a collision is very imminent. Type 2 brake system initiates brake operation softly when a rear-end crash may be anticipated. Types 1 and 2 are for avoidance of a collision. Type 3 brake system, on the other hand, applies a strong automatic brake to reduce the damage when a collision can not be avoided. An experiment was conducted with a driving simulator in order to analyze the driver's possible behavioral changes. The results showed that the time headway (THW) during car following phase was reduced by use of an automatic brake system of any type. The inverse of time to collision (TTC), which is an index of the driver's brake timing, increased by use of Type 1 brake system when the deceleration rate of the lead vehicle was relatively low. However, the brake timing did not change when the drivers used Type 2 or 3 brake system. As a whole, dangerous behavioral changes, such as overreliance on a brake system, were not observed for either type of brake system.

Visible light communication based vehicle positioning using LED street light and rolling shutter CMOS sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Do, Trong Hop; Yoo, Myungsik

2018-01-01

This paper proposes a vehicle positioning system using LED street lights and two rolling shutter CMOS sensor cameras. In this system, identification codes for the LED street lights are transmitted to camera-equipped vehicles through a visible light communication (VLC) channel. Given that the camera parameters are known, the positions of the vehicles are determined based on the geometric relationship between the coordinates of the LEDs in the images and their real world coordinates, which are obtained through the LED identification codes. The main contributions of the paper are twofold. First, the collinear arrangement of the LED street lights makes traditional camera-based positioning algorithms fail to determine the position of the vehicles. In this paper, an algorithm is proposed to fuse data received from the two cameras attached to the vehicles in order to solve the collinearity problem of the LEDs. Second, the rolling shutter mechanism of the CMOS sensors combined with the movement of the vehicles creates image artifacts that may severely degrade the positioning accuracy. This paper also proposes a method to compensate for the rolling shutter artifact, and a high positioning accuracy can be achieved even when the vehicle is moving at high speeds. The performance of the proposed positioning system corresponding to different system parameters is examined by conducting Matlab simulations. Small-scale experiments are also conducted to study the performance of the proposed algorithm in real applications.

STS-56 MS1 Foale and MS2 Cockrell on aft flight deck of Discovery, OV-103

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1993-01-01

STS-56 Mission Specialist 1 (MS1) Michael Foale (left) and MS2 Kenneth D. Cockrell pose on aft flight deck of Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, for this in-cabin electronic still camera (ESC) photograph. The two crewmembers are positioned in front of the onorbit station with a beam of sunlight shining through overhead window W8. The cable on the bottom right is part of the Hand-held, Earth-oriented, Real-time, Cooperative, User-friendly, Location-targeting and Environmental System (HERCULES), connecting the HERCULES Attitude Processor (HAP) to the Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU). In-cabin shots with the camera are for test purposes only. HERCULES is a device that makes it simple for Shuttle crewmembers to take pictures of Earth as they merely point and shoot any interesting feature, whose latitude and longitude are automatically determined in real time. Digital file name is ESC01008.TGA.

A Vehicle Active Safety Model: Vehicle Speed Control Based on Driver Vigilance Detection Using Wearable EEG and Sparse Representation.

PubMed

Zhang, Zutao; Luo, Dianyuan; Rasim, Yagubov; Li, Yanjun; Meng, Guanjun; Xu, Jian; Wang, Chunbai

2016-02-19

In this paper, we present a vehicle active safety model for vehicle speed control based on driver vigilance detection using low-cost, comfortable, wearable electroencephalographic (EEG) sensors and sparse representation. The proposed system consists of three main steps, namely wireless wearable EEG collection, driver vigilance detection, and vehicle speed control strategy. First of all, a homemade low-cost comfortable wearable brain-computer interface (BCI) system with eight channels is designed for collecting the driver's EEG signal. Second, wavelet de-noising and down-sample algorithms are utilized to enhance the quality of EEG data, and Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT) is adopted to extract the EEG power spectrum density (PSD). In this step, sparse representation classification combined with k-singular value decomposition (KSVD) is firstly introduced in PSD to estimate the driver's vigilance level. Finally, a novel safety strategy of vehicle speed control, which controls the electronic throttle opening and automatic braking after driver fatigue detection using the above method, is presented to avoid serious collisions and traffic accidents. The simulation and practical testing results demonstrate the feasibility of the vehicle active safety model.

Stability control for high speed tracked unmanned vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pape, Olivier; Morillon, Joel G.; Houbloup, Philippe; Leveque, Stephane; Fialaire, Cecile; Gauthier, Thierry; Ropars, Patrice

2005-05-01

The French Military Robotic Study Program (introduced in Aerosense 2003), sponsored by the French Defense Procurement Agency and managed by Thales as the prime contractor, focuses on about 15 robotic themes which can provide an immediate "operational add-on value". The paper details the "automatic speed adjustment" behavior (named SYR4), developed by Giat Industries Company, which main goal is to secure the teleoperated mobility of high speed tracked vehicles on rough grounds; more precisely, the validated low level behavior continuously adjusts the vehicle speed taking into account the teleperator wish AND the maximum speed that the vehicle can manage safely according to the commanded radius of curvature. The algorithm is based on a realistic physical model of the ground-tracks relation, taking into account many vehicle and ground parameters (such as ground adherence and dynamic specificities of tracked vehicles). It also deals with the teleoperator-machine interface, providing a balanced strategy between both extreme behaviors: a) maximum speed reduction before initiating the commanded curve; b) executing the minimum possible radius without decreasing the commanded speed. The paper presents the results got from the military acceptance tests performed on tracked SYRANO vehicle (French Operational Demonstrator).

A Vehicle Active Safety Model: Vehicle Speed Control Based on Driver Vigilance Detection Using Wearable EEG and Sparse Representation

PubMed Central

Zhang, Zutao; Luo, Dianyuan; Rasim, Yagubov; Li, Yanjun; Meng, Guanjun; Xu, Jian; Wang, Chunbai

2016-01-01

In this paper, we present a vehicle active safety model for vehicle speed control based on driver vigilance detection using low-cost, comfortable, wearable electroencephalographic (EEG) sensors and sparse representation. The proposed system consists of three main steps, namely wireless wearable EEG collection, driver vigilance detection, and vehicle speed control strategy. First of all, a homemade low-cost comfortable wearable brain-computer interface (BCI) system with eight channels is designed for collecting the driver’s EEG signal. Second, wavelet de-noising and down-sample algorithms are utilized to enhance the quality of EEG data, and Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT) is adopted to extract the EEG power spectrum density (PSD). In this step, sparse representation classification combined with k-singular value decomposition (KSVD) is firstly introduced in PSD to estimate the driver’s vigilance level . Finally, a novel safety strategy of vehicle speed control, which controls the electronic throttle opening and automatic braking after driver fatigue detection using the above method, is presented to avoid serious collisions and traffic accidents. The simulation and practical testing results demonstrate the feasibility of the vehicle active safety model. PMID:26907278

An automatic pellet dispenser for precise control of feeding topography in granivorous birds

PubMed Central

Berkhoudt, H.; Van Der Reijden, D.; Heijmans, M.

1987-01-01

Design and construction of an automatic pellet dispenser for granivorous birds are described. The dispenser permits rapid pneumatic delivery of pellets (five pellets per second maximum) to one controlled position and does not interfere with simultaneous electrophysiological recording. In addition, the device continuously indicates presence or absence of a pellet in the delivery position. This automatic dispenser proved very effective in our studies of stereotyped topographies of feeding in granivorous birds, such as pigeons and chickens. PMID:16812503

WE-A-17A-06: Evaluation of An Automatic Interstitial Catheter Digitization Algorithm That Reduces Treatment Planning Time and Provide Means for Adaptive Re-Planning in HDR Brachytherapy of Gynecologic Cancers

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

Dise, J; Liang, X; Lin, L

Purpose: To evaluate an automatic interstitial catheter digitization algorithm that reduces treatment planning time and provide means for adaptive re-planning in HDR Brachytherapy of Gynecologic Cancers. Methods: The semi-automatic catheter digitization tool utilizes a region growing algorithm in conjunction with a spline model of the catheters. The CT images were first pre-processed to enhance the contrast between the catheters and soft tissue. Several seed locations were selected in each catheter for the region growing algorithm. The spline model of the catheters assisted in the region growing by preventing inter-catheter cross-over caused by air or metal artifacts. Source dwell positions frommore » day one CT scans were applied to subsequent CTs and forward calculated using the automatically digitized catheter positions. This method was applied to 10 patients who had received HDR interstitial brachytherapy on an IRB approved image-guided radiation therapy protocol. The prescribed dose was 18.75 or 20 Gy delivered in 5 fractions, twice daily, over 3 consecutive days. Dosimetric comparisons were made between automatic and manual digitization on day two CTs. Results: The region growing algorithm, assisted by the spline model of the catheters, was able to digitize all catheters. The difference between automatic and manually digitized positions was 0.8±0.3 mm. The digitization time ranged from 34 minutes to 43 minutes with a mean digitization time of 37 minutes. The bulk of the time was spent on manual selection of initial seed positions and spline parameter adjustments. There was no significance difference in dosimetric parameters between the automatic and manually digitized plans. D90% to the CTV was 91.5±4.4% for the manual digitization versus 91.4±4.4% for the automatic digitization (p=0.56). Conclusion: A region growing algorithm was developed to semi-automatically digitize interstitial catheters in HDR brachytherapy using the Syed-Neblett template. This automatic digitization tool was shown to be accurate compared to manual digitization.« less

Office of Spaceflight Standard Spaceborne Global Positioning System (GPS) user equipment project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Saunders, Penny E.

1991-01-01

The Global Positioning System (GPS) provides the following: (1) position and velocity determination to support vehicle GN&C, precise orbit determination, and payload pointing; (2) time reference to support onboard timing systems and data time tagging; (3) relative position and velocity determination to support cooperative vehicle tracking; and (4) attitude determination to support vehicle attitude control and payload pointing.

Towards Automated Large-Scale 3D Phenotyping of Vineyards under Field Conditions

PubMed Central

Rose, Johann Christian; Kicherer, Anna; Wieland, Markus; Klingbeil, Lasse; Töpfer, Reinhard; Kuhlmann, Heiner

2016-01-01

In viticulture, phenotypic data are traditionally collected directly in the field via visual and manual means by an experienced person. This approach is time consuming, subjective and prone to human errors. In recent years, research therefore has focused strongly on developing automated and non-invasive sensor-based methods to increase data acquisition speed, enhance measurement accuracy and objectivity and to reduce labor costs. While many 2D methods based on image processing have been proposed for field phenotyping, only a few 3D solutions are found in the literature. A track-driven vehicle consisting of a camera system, a real-time-kinematic GPS system for positioning, as well as hardware for vehicle control, image storage and acquisition is used to visually capture a whole vine row canopy with georeferenced RGB images. In the first post-processing step, these images were used within a multi-view-stereo software to reconstruct a textured 3D point cloud of the whole grapevine row. A classification algorithm is then used in the second step to automatically classify the raw point cloud data into the semantic plant components, grape bunches and canopy. In the third step, phenotypic data for the semantic objects is gathered using the classification results obtaining the quantity of grape bunches, berries and the berry diameter. PMID:27983669

Towards Automated Large-Scale 3D Phenotyping of Vineyards under Field Conditions.

PubMed

Rose, Johann Christian; Kicherer, Anna; Wieland, Markus; Klingbeil, Lasse; Töpfer, Reinhard; Kuhlmann, Heiner

2016-12-15

In viticulture, phenotypic data are traditionally collected directly in the field via visual and manual means by an experienced person. This approach is time consuming, subjective and prone to human errors. In recent years, research therefore has focused strongly on developing automated and non-invasive sensor-based methods to increase data acquisition speed, enhance measurement accuracy and objectivity and to reduce labor costs. While many 2D methods based on image processing have been proposed for field phenotyping, only a few 3D solutions are found in the literature. A track-driven vehicle consisting of a camera system, a real-time-kinematic GPS system for positioning, as well as hardware for vehicle control, image storage and acquisition is used to visually capture a whole vine row canopy with georeferenced RGB images. In the first post-processing step, these images were used within a multi-view-stereo software to reconstruct a textured 3D point cloud of the whole grapevine row. A classification algorithm is then used in the second step to automatically classify the raw point cloud data into the semantic plant components, grape bunches and canopy. In the third step, phenotypic data for the semantic objects is gathered using the classification results obtaining the quantity of grape bunches, berries and the berry diameter.

A Method for Extracting Road Boundary Information from Crowdsourcing Vehicle GPS Trajectories.

PubMed

Yang, Wei; Ai, Tinghua; Lu, Wei

2018-04-19

Crowdsourcing trajectory data is an important approach for accessing and updating road information. In this paper, we present a novel approach for extracting road boundary information from crowdsourcing vehicle traces based on Delaunay triangulation (DT). First, an optimization and interpolation method is proposed to filter abnormal trace segments from raw global positioning system (GPS) traces and interpolate the optimization segments adaptively to ensure there are enough tracking points. Second, constructing the DT and the Voronoi diagram within interpolated tracking lines to calculate road boundary descriptors using the area of Voronoi cell and the length of triangle edge. Then, the road boundary detection model is established integrating the boundary descriptors and trajectory movement features (e.g., direction) by DT. Third, using the boundary detection model to detect road boundary from the DT constructed by trajectory lines, and a regional growing method based on seed polygons is proposed to extract the road boundary. Experiments were conducted using the GPS traces of taxis in Beijing, China, and the results show that the proposed method is suitable for extracting the road boundary from low-frequency GPS traces, multi-type road structures, and different time intervals. Compared with two existing methods, the automatically extracted boundary information was proved to be of higher quality.

A Method for Extracting Road Boundary Information from Crowdsourcing Vehicle GPS Trajectories

PubMed Central

Yang, Wei

2018-01-01

Crowdsourcing trajectory data is an important approach for accessing and updating road information. In this paper, we present a novel approach for extracting road boundary information from crowdsourcing vehicle traces based on Delaunay triangulation (DT). First, an optimization and interpolation method is proposed to filter abnormal trace segments from raw global positioning system (GPS) traces and interpolate the optimization segments adaptively to ensure there are enough tracking points. Second, constructing the DT and the Voronoi diagram within interpolated tracking lines to calculate road boundary descriptors using the area of Voronoi cell and the length of triangle edge. Then, the road boundary detection model is established integrating the boundary descriptors and trajectory movement features (e.g., direction) by DT. Third, using the boundary detection model to detect road boundary from the DT constructed by trajectory lines, and a regional growing method based on seed polygons is proposed to extract the road boundary. Experiments were conducted using the GPS traces of taxis in Beijing, China, and the results show that the proposed method is suitable for extracting the road boundary from low-frequency GPS traces, multi-type road structures, and different time intervals. Compared with two existing methods, the automatically extracted boundary information was proved to be of higher quality. PMID:29671792

VELOC - A new kind of information system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dittloff, H. J.; Keuser, H.; Langer, H.

Based on the Global Positioning System (GPS), VELOC (Vehicle Location) is designed to be a vehicle information system for fleet management adaptable to various user groups, e.g., haulage and delivery companies, and service enterprises with vehicle fleets. The needs of these groups vary with respect to position accuracy, position update rate, and type of communication. The authors describe the requirements, specifications, and performance of VELOC. Special emphasis is placed on some substantial features of the VELOC center, namely the integration of DGPS, a comfortable user interface, and handling of vehicle positions on digital maps.

In-flight estimation of center of gravity position using all-accelerometers.

PubMed

Al-Rawashdeh, Yazan Mohammad; Elshafei, Moustafa; Al-Malki, Mohammad Fahad

2014-09-19

Changing the position of the Center of Gravity (CoG) for an aerial vehicle is a challenging part in navigation, and control of such vehicles. In this paper, an all-accelerometers-based inertial measurement unit is presented, with a proposed method for on-line estimation of the position of the CoG. The accelerometers' readings are used to find and correct the vehicle's angular velocity and acceleration using an Extended Kalman Filter. Next, the accelerometers' readings along with the estimated angular velocity and acceleration are used in an identification scheme to estimate the position of the CoG and the vehicle's linear acceleration. The estimated position of the CoG and motion measurements can then be used to update the control rules to achieve better trim conditions for the air vehicle.

Railway vehicle body structures

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

Not Available

1985-01-01

The strength and durability of railway vehicle structures is a major topic of engineering research and design. To reflect this importance the Railway Division of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers organised a conference to discuss all matters relating to railway vehicle design. This book presents the papers discussed in that conference. The contents include: Vehicle body design and the UIC's international contribution; LUL prototype 1986 stock - body structure; vehicle structure for the intermediate capacity transmit system vehicles; car body technology of advanced light rapid transit vehicles; concepts, techniques and experience in the idealization of car body structures for finitemore » element analysis; Calcutta metropolitan railway; design for a lightweight diesel multiple unit body; the design of lightweight inter-city coal structures; the BREL international coach body shell structure; new concepts and design techniques versus material standards; structures of BR diesel electric freight locomotives; structural design philosophy for electric locomotives; suspension design for a locomotive with low structural frequencies; freight wagon structures; a finite element study of coal bodyside panels including the effects of joint flexibility; a fresh approach to the problem of car body design strength; energy absorption in automatic couplings and draw gear; passenger vehicle design loads and structural crashworthiness; design of the front part of railway vehicles (in case of frontal impact); the development of a theoretical technique for rail vehicle structural crashworthiness.« less

A Timing Estimation Method Based-on Skewness Analysis in Vehicular Wireless Networks.

PubMed

Cui, Xuerong; Li, Juan; Wu, Chunlei; Liu, Jian-Hang

2015-11-13

Vehicle positioning technology has drawn more and more attention in vehicular wireless networks to reduce transportation time and traffic accidents. Nowadays, global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) are widely used in land vehicle positioning, but most of them are lack precision and reliability in situations where their signals are blocked. Positioning systems base-on short range wireless communication are another effective way that can be used in vehicle positioning or vehicle ranging. IEEE 802.11p is a new real-time short range wireless communication standard for vehicles, so a new method is proposed to estimate the time delay or ranges between vehicles based on the IEEE 802.11p standard which includes three main steps: cross-correlation between the received signal and the short preamble, summing up the correlated results in groups, and finding the maximum peak using a dynamic threshold based on the skewness analysis. With the range between each vehicle or road-side infrastructure, the position of neighboring vehicles can be estimated correctly. Simulation results were presented in the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) vehicular multipath channel, which show that the proposed method provides better precision than some well-known timing estimation techniques, especially in low signal to noise ratio (SNR) environments.

The role of looming and attention capture in drivers' braking responses.

PubMed

Terry, Hugh R; Charlton, Samuel G; Perrone, John A

2008-07-01

This study assessed the ability of drivers to detect the deceleration of a preceding vehicle in a simulated vehicle-following task. The size of the preceding vehicles (car, van, or truck) and following speeds (50, 70, or 100 km/h) were systematically varied. Participants selected a preferred following distance by engaging their vehicle's cruise control and when the preceding vehicle began decelerating (no brake lights were illuminated), the participant's braking latency and distances to the lead vehicle were recorded. The experiment also employed a secondary task condition to examine how the attention-capturing properties of a looming vehicle were affected by driver distraction. The results indicated that a looming stimulus is capable of redirecting a driver's attention in a vehicle following task and, as with detection of brake lights, a driver's detection of a looming vehicle is compromised in the presence of a distracting task. Interestingly, increases in vehicle size had the effect of decreasing drivers' braking latencies and drivers engaged in the secondary task were significantly closer to the lead vehicle when they began braking, regardless of the size of the leading vehicle. Performance decrements resulting from the secondary task were reflected in a time-to-collision measure but not in optic expansion rate, lending support to earlier arguments that time-to-collision estimates require explicit cognitive judgements while perception of optic expansion may function in a more automatic fashion to redirect a driver's attention when cognitive resources are low or collision is imminent.

Psychometric Properties of the Positive Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ingram, Rick E.; And Others

1995-01-01

Original data and other studies using the Positive Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATP-Q) show that the reliability and norms of the instrument appear stable and that the ATP-Q is inversely associated with negative affective states but unrelated to conditions such as medical condition not accompanied by psychological distress. (SLD)

Application of a movable active vibration control system on a floating raft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhen; Mak, Cheuk Ming

2018-02-01

This paper presents a theoretical study of an inertial actuator connected to an accelerometer by a local feedback loop for active vibration control on a floating raft. On the criterion of the minimum power transmission from the vibratory machines to the flexible foundation in the floating raft, the best mounting positions for the inertial actuator on the intermediate mass of the floating raft are investigated. Simulation results indicate that the best mounting positions for the inertial actuator vary with frequency. To control time-varying excitations of vibratory machines on a floating raft effectively, an automatic control system based on real-time measurement of a cost function and automatically searching the best mounting position of the inertial actuator is proposed. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time that an automatic control system is proposed to move an actuator automatically for controlling a time-varying excitation.

Improved automatic adjustment of density and contrast in FCR system using neural network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takeo, Hideya; Nakajima, Nobuyoshi; Ishida, Masamitsu; Kato, Hisatoyo

1994-05-01

FCR system has an automatic adjustment of image density and contrast by analyzing the histogram of image data in the radiation field. Advanced image recognition methods proposed in this paper can improve the automatic adjustment performance, in which neural network technology is used. There are two methods. Both methods are basically used 3-layer neural network with back propagation. The image data are directly input to the input-layer in one method and the histogram data is input in the other method. The former is effective to the imaging menu such as shoulder joint in which the position of interest region occupied on the histogram changes by difference of positioning and the latter is effective to the imaging menu such as chest-pediatrics in which the histogram shape changes by difference of positioning. We experimentally confirm the validity of these methods (about the automatic adjustment performance) as compared with the conventional histogram analysis methods.

Advanced control concepts. [for shuttle ascent vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sharp, J. B.; Coppey, J. M.

1973-01-01

The problems of excess control devices and insufficient trim control capability on shuttle ascent vehicles were investigated. The trim problem is solved at all time points of interest using Lagrangian multipliers and a Simplex based iterative algorithm developed as a result of the study. This algorithm has the capability to solve any bounded linear problem with physically realizable constraints, and to minimize any piecewise differentiable cost function. Both solution methods also automatically distribute the command torques to the control devices. It is shown that trim requirements are unrealizable if only the orbiter engines and the aerodynamic surfaces are used.

Frequency Domain Modeling of SAW Devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, W. C.; Atkinson, G. M.

2007-01-01

New SAW sensors for integrated vehicle health monitoring of aerospace vehicles are being investigated. SAW technology is low cost, rugged, lightweight, and extremely low power. However, the lack of design tools for MEMS devices in general, and for Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) devices specifically, has led to the development of tools that will enable integrated design, modeling, simulation, analysis and automatic layout generation of SAW devices. A frequency domain model has been created. The model is mainly first order, but it includes second order effects from triple transit echoes. This paper presents the model and results from the model for a SAW delay line device.

Evolutionary computing for the design search and optimization of space vehicle power subsystems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kordon, Mark; Klimeck, Gerhard; Hanks, David; Hua, Hook

2004-01-01

Evolutionary computing has proven to be a straightforward and robust approach for optimizing a wide range of difficult analysis and design problems. This paper discusses the application of these techniques to an existing space vehicle power subsystem resource and performance analysis simulation in a parallel processing environment. Out preliminary results demonstrate that this approach has the potential to improve the space system trade study process by allowing engineers to statistically weight subsystem goals of mass, cost and performance then automatically size power elements based on anticipated performance of the subsystem rather than on worst-case estimates.

Status and trends in active control technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rediess, H. A.; Szalai, K. J.

1975-01-01

The emergence of highly reliable fly-by-wire flight control systems makes it possible to consider a strong reliance on automatic control systems in the design optimization of future aircraft. This design philosophy has been referred to as the control configured vehicle approach or the application of active control technology. Several studies and flight tests sponsored by the Air Force and NASA have demonstrated the potential benefits of control configured vehicles and active control technology. The present status and trends of active control technology are reviewed and the impact it will have on aircraft designs, design techniques, and the designer is predicted.

An improved lateral control wheel steering law for the Transport Systems Research Vehicle (TSRV)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ragsdale, W. A.

1992-01-01

A lateral control wheel steering law with improved performance was developed for the Transport Systems Research Vehicle (TSRV) simulation and used in the Microwave Landing System research project. The control law converted rotational hand controller inputs into roll rate commands, manipulated ailerons, spoilers, and the rudder to achieve the desired roll rates. The system included automatic turn coordination, track angle hold, and autopilot/autoland modes. The resulting control law produced faster roll rates (15 degrees/sec), quicker response to command reversals, and safer bank angle limits, while using a more concise program code.

A Hybrid Positioning Strategy for Vehicles in a Tunnel Based on RFID and In-Vehicle Sensors

PubMed Central

Song, Xiang; Li, Xu; Tang, Wencheng; Zhang, Weigong; Li, Bin

2014-01-01

Many intelligent transportation system applications require accurate, reliable, and continuous vehicle positioning. How to achieve such positioning performance in extended GPS-denied environments such as tunnels is the main challenge for land vehicles. This paper proposes a hybrid multi-sensor fusion strategy for vehicle positioning in tunnels. First, the preliminary positioning algorithm is developed. The Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is introduced to achieve preliminary positioning in the tunnel. The received signal strength (RSS) is used as an indicator to calculate the distances between the RFID tags and reader, and then a Least Mean Square (LMS) federated filter is designed to provide the preliminary position information for subsequent global fusion. Further, to improve the positioning performance in the tunnel, an interactive multiple model (IMM)-based global fusion algorithm is developed to fuse the data from preliminary positioning results and low-cost in-vehicle sensors, such as electronic compasses and wheel speed sensors. In the actual implementation of IMM, the strong tracking extended Kalman filter (STEKF) algorithm is designed to replace the conventional extended Kalman filter (EKF) to achieve model individual filtering. Finally, the proposed strategy is evaluated through experiments. The results validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed strategy. PMID:25490581

A hybrid positioning strategy for vehicles in a tunnel based on RFID and in-vehicle sensors.

PubMed

Song, Xiang; Li, Xu; Tang, Wencheng; Zhang, Weigong; Li, Bin

2014-12-05

Many intelligent transportation system applications require accurate, reliable, and continuous vehicle positioning. How to achieve such positioning performance in extended GPS-denied environments such as tunnels is the main challenge for land vehicles. This paper proposes a hybrid multi-sensor fusion strategy for vehicle positioning in tunnels. First, the preliminary positioning algorithm is developed. The Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is introduced to achieve preliminary positioning in the tunnel. The received signal strength (RSS) is used as an indicator to calculate the distances between the RFID tags and reader, and then a Least Mean Square (LMS) federated filter is designed to provide the preliminary position information for subsequent global fusion. Further, to improve the positioning performance in the tunnel, an interactive multiple model (IMM)-based global fusion algorithm is developed to fuse the data from preliminary positioning results and low-cost in-vehicle sensors, such as electronic compasses and wheel speed sensors. In the actual implementation of IMM, the strong tracking extended Kalman filter (STEKF) algorithm is designed to replace the conventional extended Kalman filter (EKF) to achieve model individual filtering. Finally, the proposed strategy is evaluated through experiments. The results validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed strategy.

Realization of the ergonomics design and automatic control of the fundus cameras

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeng, Chi-liang; Xiao, Ze-xin; Deng, Shi-chao; Yu, Xin-ye

2012-12-01

The principles of ergonomics design in fundus cameras should be extending the agreeableness by automatic control. Firstly, a 3D positional numerical control system is designed for positioning the eye pupils of the patients who are doing fundus examinations. This system consists of a electronically controlled chin bracket for moving up and down, a lateral movement of binocular with the detector and the automatic refocusing of the edges of the eye pupils. Secondly, an auto-focusing device for the object plane of patient's fundus is designed, which collects the patient's fundus images automatically whether their eyes is ametropic or not. Finally, a moving visual target is developed for expanding the fields of the fundus images.

A semi-automatic traffic sign detection, classification, and positioning system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Creusen, I. M.; Hazelhoff, L.; de With, P. H. N.

2012-01-01

The availability of large-scale databases containing street-level panoramic images offers the possibility to perform semi-automatic surveying of real-world objects such as traffic signs. These inventories can be performed significantly more efficiently than using conventional methods. Governmental agencies are interested in these inventories for maintenance and safety reasons. This paper introduces a complete semi-automatic traffic sign inventory system. The system consists of several components. First, a detection algorithm locates the 2D position of the traffic signs in the panoramic images. Second, a classification algorithm is used to identify the traffic sign. Third, the 3D position of the traffic sign is calculated using the GPS position of the photographs. Finally, the results are listed in a table for quick inspection and are also visualized in a web browser.

OPTICAL correlation identification technology applied in underwater laser imaging target identification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Guang-tao; Zhang, Xiao-hui; Ge, Wei-long

2012-01-01

The underwater laser imaging detection is an effective method of detecting short distance target underwater as an important complement of sonar detection. With the development of underwater laser imaging technology and underwater vehicle technology, the underwater automatic target identification has gotten more and more attention, and is a research difficulty in the area of underwater optical imaging information processing. Today, underwater automatic target identification based on optical imaging is usually realized with the method of digital circuit software programming. The algorithm realization and control of this method is very flexible. However, the optical imaging information is 2D image even 3D image, the amount of imaging processing information is abundant, so the electronic hardware with pure digital algorithm will need long identification time and is hard to meet the demands of real-time identification. If adopt computer parallel processing, the identification speed can be improved, but it will increase complexity, size and power consumption. This paper attempts to apply optical correlation identification technology to realize underwater automatic target identification. The optics correlation identification technology utilizes the Fourier transform characteristic of Fourier lens which can accomplish Fourier transform of image information in the level of nanosecond, and optical space interconnection calculation has the features of parallel, high speed, large capacity and high resolution, combines the flexibility of calculation and control of digital circuit method to realize optoelectronic hybrid identification mode. We reduce theoretical formulation of correlation identification and analyze the principle of optical correlation identification, and write MATLAB simulation program. We adopt single frame image obtained in underwater range gating laser imaging to identify, and through identifying and locating the different positions of target, we can improve the speed and orientation efficiency of target identification effectively, and validate the feasibility of this method primarily.

Information processing requirements for on-board monitoring of automatic landing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sorensen, J. A.; Karmarkar, J. S.

1977-01-01

A systematic procedure is presented for determining the information processing requirements for on-board monitoring of automatic landing systems. The monitoring system detects landing anomalies through use of appropriate statistical tests. The time-to-correct aircraft perturbations is determined from covariance analyses using a sequence of suitable aircraft/autoland/pilot models. The covariance results are used to establish landing safety and a fault recovery operating envelope via an event outcome tree. This procedure is demonstrated with examples using the NASA Terminal Configured Vehicle (B-737 aircraft). The procedure can also be used to define decision height, assess monitoring implementation requirements, and evaluate alternate autoland configurations.

Automatic braking system modification for the Advanced Transport Operating Systems (ATOPS) Transportation Systems Research Vehicle (TSRV)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coogan, J. J.

1986-01-01

Modifications were designed for the B-737-100 Research Aircraft autobrake system hardware of the Advanced Transport Operating Systems (ATOPS) Program at Langley Research Center. These modifications will allow the on-board flight control computer to control the aircraft deceleration after landing to a continuously variable level for the purpose of executing automatic high speed turn-offs from the runway. A bread board version of the proposed modifications was built and tested in simulated stopping conditions. Test results, for various aircraft weights, turnoff speed, winds, and runway conditions show that the turnoff speeds are achieved generally with errors less than 1 ft/sec.

The personal aircraft: Status and issues

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anders, Scott G.; Asbury, Scott C.; Brentner, Kenneth S.; Bushnell, Dennis M.; Glass, Christopher E.; Hodges, William T.; Morris, Shelby J., Jr.; Scott, Michael A.

1994-01-01

Paper summarizes the status of personal air transportation with emphasis upon VTOL and converticar capability. The former obviates the need for airport operations for personal aircraft whereas the latter provides both ground and air capability in the same vehicle. Fully automatic operation, ATC and navigation is stressed along with consideration of acoustic, environmental and cost issues.

AUTOMOTIVE DIESEL MAINTENANCE 2. UNIT III, AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS--HYDRAULICS (PART I).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Human Engineering Inst., Cleveland, OH.

THIS MODULE OF A 25-MODULE COURSE IS DESIGNED TO INTRODUCE BASIC HYDRAULIC PRINCIPLES AND PROVIDE AN UNDERSTANDING OF HYDRAULIC TRANSMISSIONS USED IN DIESEL POWERED VEHICLES. TOPICS ARE WHY USE HYDRAULICS, REVIEWING BASIC PHYSICS LAWS IN RELATION TO HYDRAULICS, UNDERSTANDING THE HYDRAULIC SYSTEM, AND DEVELOPING A BASIC HYDRAULIC SYSTEM. THE MODULE…

AUTOMOTIVE DIESEL MAINTENANCE 2. UNIT IX, AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS--HYDRAULIC SYSTEM (PART I).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Human Engineering Inst., Cleveland, OH.

THIS MODULE OF A 25-MODULE COURSE IS DESIGNED TO DEVELOP AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE OIL FLOW WITHIN HYDRAULIC TRANSMISSIONS USED ON DIESEL POWERED VEHICLES. TOPICS ARE GENERAL DESCRIPTION, HYDRAULIC CIRCUITS, AND BRAKE HYDRAULIC CIRCUIT AND OPERATION. THE MODULE CONSISTS OF A SELF-INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMED TRAINING FILM "LEARNING ABOUT THE ALLISON…

Study and Test to Confirm Automobile Drivetrain Components to Improve Fuel Economy : Volume 2. The Drivetrain Design Process With an Automatic Transmission

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1979-05-01

This report presents the key thought processes that are used by the drivetrain designer in matching an engine to a given vehicle with specific performance goals in mind. This report provides those uninitiated in this aspect of automotive design valua...

Stop/Start: Overview

Science.gov Websites

/Start technology conserves energy by shutting off the gasoline engine when the vehicle is at rest, such as at a traffic light, and automatically re-starting it when the driver pushes the gas pedal to go engine when pulling out from a stop and generating electricity which is stored in the battery. Main stage

49 CFR 393.43 - Breakaway and emergency braking.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... independent of brake air, hydraulic, and other pressure, and independent of other controls, unless the braking... protection valve or similar device shall operate automatically when the air pressure on the towing vehicle is... to a fixed pressure which shall not be lower than 20 pounds per square inch nor higher than 45 pounds...

49 CFR 393.43 - Breakaway and emergency braking.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... independent of brake air, hydraulic, and other pressure, and independent of other controls, unless the braking... protection valve or similar device shall operate automatically when the air pressure on the towing vehicle is... to a fixed pressure which shall not be lower than 20 pounds per square inch nor higher than 45 pounds...

49 CFR 393.43 - Breakaway and emergency braking.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... independent of brake air, hydraulic, and other pressure, and independent of other controls, unless the braking... protection valve or similar device shall operate automatically when the air pressure on the towing vehicle is... to a fixed pressure which shall not be lower than 20 pounds per square inch nor higher than 45 pounds...

Screens Would Protect Wind-Tunnel Fan Blades

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Farmer, Moses G.

1992-01-01

Butterfly screen installed in wind tunnel between test section and fan blades to prevent debris from reaching fan blades if model structure fails. Protective screens deployed manually or automatically. Concept beneficial anywhere wind tunnels employed. Also useful in areas outside of aerospace industry, such as in airflow design of automobiles and other vehicles.

Cardiac Structure and Function in Humans: A New Cardiovascular Physiology Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Song, Su; Burleson, Paul D.; Passo, Stanley; Messina, Edward J.; Levine, Norman; Thompson, Carl I.; Belloni, Francis L.; Recchia, Fabio A.; Ojaimi, Caroline; Kaley, Gabor; Hintze, Thomas H.

2009-01-01

As the traditional cardiovascular control laboratory has disappeared from the first-year medical school curriculum, we have recognized the need to develop another "hands-on" experience as a vehicle for wide-ranging discussions of cardiovascular control mechanisms. Using an echocardiograph, an automatic blood pressure cuff, and a reclining bicycle,…

75 FR 10206 - Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-05

.... Early registration is encouraged because it will expedite entry into the building and its parking area. If you require parking, please include the vehicle make and tag number, if known, when you register... service which provides automatic and customized access to selected food safety news and information. This...

75 FR 4523 - Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on Food Additives

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-28

... registration is encouraged because it will expedite entry into the building and its parking area. If you require parking, please include the vehicle make and tag number when you register. Because the meeting... provides automatic and customized access to selected food safety news and information. This service is...

A preliminary investigation of inlet unstart effects on a high-speed civil transport concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Domack, Christopher S.

1991-01-01

Vehicle motions resulting from a supersonic mixed-compression inlet unstart were examined to determine if the unstart constituted a hazard severe enough to warrant rejection of mixed-compression inlets on high-speed civil transport (HSCT) concepts. A simple kinematic analysis of an inlet unstart during cruise was performed for a Mach 2, 4, 250-passenger HSCT concept using data from a wind-tunnel test of a representative configuration with unstarted inlets simulated. A survey of previously published research on inlet unstart effects, including simulation and flight test data for the YF-12, XB-70, and Concorde aircraft, was conducted to validate the calculated results. It was concluded that, when countered by suitable automatic propulsion and flight control systems, the vehicle dynamics induced by an inlet unstart are not severe enough to preclude the use of mixed-compression inlets on an HSCT from a passenger safety standpoint. The ability to provide suitable automatic controls appears to be within the current state of the art. However, the passenger startle and discomfort caused by the noise, vibration, and cabin motions associated with an inlet unstart remain a concern.

Convective Heat Transfer Coefficients of Automatic Transmission Fluid Jets with Implications for Electric Machine Thermal Management: Preprint

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

Bennion, Kevin; Moreno, Gilberto

2015-09-29

Thermal management for electric machines (motors/ generators) is important as the automotive industry continues to transition to more electrically dominant vehicle propulsion systems. Cooling of the electric machine(s) in some electric vehicle traction drive applications is accomplished by impinging automatic transmission fluid (ATF) jets onto the machine's copper windings. In this study, we provide the results of experiments characterizing the thermal performance of ATF jets on surfaces representative of windings, using Ford's Mercon LV ATF. Experiments were carried out at various ATF temperatures and jet velocities to quantify the influence of these parameters on heat transfer coefficients. Fluid temperatures weremore » varied from 50 degrees C to 90 degrees C to encompass potential operating temperatures within an automotive transaxle environment. The jet nozzle velocities were varied from 0.5 to 10 m/s. The experimental ATF heat transfer coefficient results provided in this report are a useful resource for understanding factors that influence the performance of ATF-based cooling systems for electric machines.« less

Targetting and guidance program documentation. [a user's manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harrold, E. F.; Neyhard, J. F.

1974-01-01

A FORTRAN computer program was developed which automatically targets two and three burn rendezvous missions and performs feedback guidance using the GUIDE algorithm. The program was designed to accept a large class of orbit specifications and to automatically choose a two or three burn mission depending upon the time alignment of the vehicle and target. The orbits may be specified as any combination of circular and elliptical orbits and may be coplanar or inclined, but must be aligned coaxially with their perigees in the same direction. The program accomplishes the required targeting by repeatedly converging successively more complex missions. It solves the coplanar impulsive version of the mission, then the finite burn coplanar mission, and finally, the full plane change mission. The GUIDE algorithm is exercised in a feedback guidance mode by taking the targeted solution and moving the vehicle state step by step ahead in time, adding acceleration and navigational errors, and reconverging from the perturbed states at fixed guidance update intervals. A program overview is presented, along with a user's guide which details input, output, and the various subroutines.

Nonlinear automatic landing control of unmanned aerial vehicles on moving platforms via a 3D laser radar

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

Hervas, Jaime Rubio; Tang, Hui; Reyhanoglu, Mahmut

2014-12-10

This paper presents a motion tracking and control system for automatically landing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) on an oscillating platform using Laser Radar (LADAR) observations. The system itself is assumed to be mounted on a ship deck. A full nonlinear mathematical model is first introduced for the UAV. The ship motion is characterized by a Fourier transform based method which includes a realistic characterization of the sea waves. LADAR observation models are introduced and an algorithm to process those observations for yielding the relative state between the vessel and the UAV is presented, from which the UAV's state relative tomore » an inertial frame can be obtained and used for feedback purposes. A sliding mode control algorithm is derived for tracking a landing trajectory defined by a set of desired waypoints. An extended Kalman filter (EKF) is proposed to account for process and observation noises in the design of a state estimator. The effectiveness of the control algorithm is illustrated through a simulation example.« less

Impulsive response of an automatic transmission system with multiple clearances: Formulation, simulation and experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crowther, Ashley R.; Singh, Rajendra; Zhang, Nong; Chapman, Chris

2007-10-01

Impulsive responses in geared systems with multiple clearances are studied when the mean torque excitation and system load change abruptly, with application to a vehicle driveline with an automatic transmission. First, torsional lumped-mass models of the planetary and differential gear sets are formulated using matrix elements. The model is then reduced to address tractable nonlinear problems while successfully retaining the main modes of interest. Second, numerical simulations for the nonlinear model are performed for transient conditions and a typical driving situation that induces an impulsive behaviour simulated. However, initial conditions and excitation and load profiles have to be carefully defined before the model can be numerically solved. It is shown that the impacts within the planetary or differential gears may occur under combinations of engine, braking and vehicle load transients. Our analysis shows that the shaping of the engine transient by the torque converter before reaching the clearance locations is more critical. Third, a free vibration experiment is developed for an analogous driveline with multiple clearances and three experiments that excite different response regimes have been carried out. Good correlations validate the proposed methodology.

Dynamic Price Vector Formation Model-Based Automatic Demand Response Strategy for PV-Assisted EV Charging Stations

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

Chen, Qifang; Wang, Fei; Hodge, Bri-Mathias

A real-time price (RTP)-based automatic demand response (ADR) strategy for PV-assisted electric vehicle (EV) Charging Station (PVCS) without vehicle to grid is proposed. The charging process is modeled as a dynamic linear program instead of the normal day-ahead and real-time regulation strategy, to capture the advantages of both global and real-time optimization. Different from conventional price forecasting algorithms, a dynamic price vector formation model is proposed based on a clustering algorithm to form an RTP vector for a particular day. A dynamic feasible energy demand region (DFEDR) model considering grid voltage profiles is designed to calculate the lower and uppermore » bounds. A deduction method is proposed to deal with the unknown information of future intervals, such as the actual stochastic arrival and departure times of EVs, which make the DFEDR model suitable for global optimization. Finally, both the comparative cases articulate the advantages of the developed methods and the validity in reducing electricity costs, mitigating peak charging demand, and improving PV self-consumption of the proposed strategy are verified through simulation scenarios.« less

49 CFR 174.85 - Position in train of placarded cars, transport vehicles, freight containers, and bulk packagings.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Position in train of placarded cars, transport... TRANSPORTATION HAZARDOUS MATERIALS REGULATIONS CARRIAGE BY RAIL Handling of Placarded Rail Cars, Transport Vehicles and Freight Containers § 174.85 Position in train of placarded cars, transport vehicles, freight...

49 CFR 174.85 - Position in train of placarded cars, transport vehicles, freight containers, and bulk packagings.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 49 Transportation 2 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Position in train of placarded cars, transport... TRANSPORTATION HAZARDOUS MATERIALS REGULATIONS CARRIAGE BY RAIL Handling of Placarded Rail Cars, Transport Vehicles and Freight Containers § 174.85 Position in train of placarded cars, transport vehicles, freight...

33 CFR 401.20 - Automatic Identification System.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

...' maritime Differential Global Positioning System radiobeacon services; or (7) The use of a temporary unit... Identification System. (a) Each of the following vessels must use an Automatic Identification System (AIS... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Automatic Identification System...

Affective Evaluations of Exercising: The Role of Automatic-Reflective Evaluation Discrepancy.

PubMed

Brand, Ralf; Antoniewicz, Franziska

2016-12-01

Sometimes our automatic evaluations do not correspond well with those we can reflect on and articulate. We present a novel approach to the assessment of automatic and reflective affective evaluations of exercising. Based on the assumptions of the associative-propositional processes in evaluation model, we measured participants' automatic evaluations of exercise and then shared this information with them, asked them to reflect on it and rate eventual discrepancy between their reflective evaluation and the assessment of their automatic evaluation. We found that mismatch between self-reported ideal exercise frequency and actual exercise frequency over the previous 14 weeks could be regressed on the discrepancy between a relatively negative automatic and a more positive reflective evaluation. This study illustrates the potential of a dual-process approach to the measurement of evaluative responses and suggests that mistrusting one's negative spontaneous reaction to exercise and asserting a very positive reflective evaluation instead leads to the adoption of inflated exercise goals.

FSO tracking and auto-alignment transceiver system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cap, Gabriel A.; Refai, Hakki H.; Sluss, James J., Jr.

2008-10-01

Free-space optics (FSO) technology utilizes a modulated light beam to transmit information through the atmosphere. Due to reduced size and cost, and higher data rates, FSO can be more effective than wireless communication. Although atmospheric conditions can affect FSO communication, a line-of-sight connection between FSO transceivers is a necessary condition to maintain continuous exchange of data, voice, and video information. To date, the primary concentration of mobile FSO research and development has been toward accurate alignment between two transceivers. This study introduces a fully automatic, advanced alignment system that will maintain a line of sight connection for any FSO transceiver system. A complete transceiver system includes a position-sensing detector (PSD) to receive the signal, a laser to transmit the signal, a gimbal to move the transceiver to maintain alignment, and a computer to coordinate the necessary movements during motion. The FSO system was tested for mobility by employing one gimbal as a mobile unit and establishing another as a base station. Tests were performed to establish that alignment between two transceivers could be maintained during a given period of experiments and to determine the maximum speeds tolerated by the system. Implementation of the transceiver system can be realized in many ways, including vehicle-to-base station communication or vehicle-to-vehicle communication. This study is especially promising in that it suggests such a system is able to provide high-speed data in many applications where current wireless technology may not be effective. This phenomenon, coupled with the ability to maintain an autonomously realigned connection, opens the possibility of endless applications for both military and civilian use.

The universal and automatic association between brightness and positivity.

PubMed

Specker, Eva; Leder, Helmut; Rosenberg, Raphael; Hegelmaier, Lisa Mira; Brinkmann, Hanna; Mikuni, Jan; Kawabata, Hideaki

2018-05-01

The present study investigates the hypothesis that brightness of colors is associated with positivity, postulating that this is an automatic and universal effect. The Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998) was used in all studies. Study 1 used color patches varying on brightness, Study 2 used achromatic stimuli to eliminate the potential confounding effects of hue and saturation. Study 3 replicated Study 2 in a different cultural context (Japan vs. Austria), both studies also included a measure of explicit association. All studies confirmed the hypothesis that brightness is associated with positivity, at a significance level of p < .001 and Cohen's D varying from 0.90 to 3.99. Study 1-3 provided support for the notion that this is an automatic effect. Additionally, Study 2 and Study 3 showed that people also have an explicit association of brightness with positivity. However, as expected, our results also show that the implicit association was stronger than the explicit association. Study 3 shows clear support for the universality of our effects. In sum, our results support the idea that brightness is associated with positivity and that these associations are automatic and universal. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

In-Flight Estimation of Center of Gravity Position Using All-Accelerometers

PubMed Central

Al-Rawashdeh, Yazan Mohammad; Elshafei, Moustafa; Al-Malki, Mohammad Fahad

2014-01-01

Changing the position of the Center of Gravity (CoG) for an aerial vehicle is a challenging part in navigation, and control of such vehicles. In this paper, an all-accelerometers-based inertial measurement unit is presented, with a proposed method for on-line estimation of the position of the CoG. The accelerometers' readings are used to find and correct the vehicle's angular velocity and acceleration using an Extended Kalman Filter. Next, the accelerometers' readings along with the estimated angular velocity and acceleration are used in an identification scheme to estimate the position of the CoG and the vehicle's linear acceleration. The estimated position of the CoG and motion measurements can then be used to update the control rules to achieve better trim conditions for the air vehicle. PMID:25244585

76 FR 77183 - Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-12

...: Attempts to shut down the propulsion system without first moving the gear selection control to the ``park... selection control to ``park'' (for vehicles with a ``park'' position), or exits a vehicle without first... without first moving the gear selection control to the ``park'' position (for vehicles with a ``park...

Vehicle rollover risk and electronic stability control systems.

PubMed

MacLennan, P A; Marshall, T; Griffin, R; Purcell, M; McGwin, G; Rue, L W

2008-06-01

Electronic stability control (ESC) systems were developed to reduce motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) caused by loss of control. Introduced in Europe in 1995 and in the USA in 1996, ESC is designed to improve vehicle lateral stability by electronically detecting and automatically assisting drivers in unfavorable situations. To examine the relationship between vehicle rollover risk and presence of ESC using a large national database of MVCs. A retrospective cohort study for the period 1995 through 2006 was carried out using data obtained from the National Automotive Sampling System General Estimates System. All passenger cars and sport utility vehicles (SUVs)/vans of model year 1996 and later were eligible. Vehicle ESC (unavailable, optional, standard) was determined on the basis of make, model, and model year. Risk ratios (RRs) and 95% CIs were calculated to compare rollover risk by vehicle ESC group. For all crashes, vehicles equipped with standard ESC had decreased risk of rollover (RR = 0.62, 95% CI 0.50 to 0.77) compared with vehicles with ESC unavailable. The association was consistent for single-vehicle MVCs (RR = 0.61, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.82); passenger cars had decreased rollover risk (RR = 0.77, 95% CI 0.52 to 1.12), but SUVs/vans had a more dramatically decreased risk (RR = 0.40, 95% CI 0.26 to 0.61). This study supports previous results showing ESC to be effective in reducing the risk of rollover. ESC is more effective in SUVs/vans for rollovers related to single-vehicle MVCs.

Automatic HDL firmware generation for FPGA-based reconfigurable measurement and control systems with mezzanines in FMC standard

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wojenski, Andrzej; Kasprowicz, Grzegorz; Pozniak, Krzysztof T.; Romaniuk, Ryszard

2013-10-01

The paper describes a concept of automatic firmware generation for reconfigurable measurement systems, which uses FPGA devices and measurement cards in FMC standard. Following sections are described in details: automatic HDL code generation for FPGA devices, automatic communication interfaces implementation, HDL drivers for measurement cards, automatic serial connection between multiple measurement backplane boards, automatic build of memory map (address space), automatic generated firmware management. Presented solutions are required in many advanced measurement systems, like Beam Position Monitors or GEM detectors. This work is a part of a wider project for automatic firmware generation and management of reconfigurable systems. Solutions presented in this paper are based on previous publication in SPIE.

Saving Space and Time: The Tractor That Einstein Built

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2006-01-01

In 1984, NASA initiated the Gravity Probe B (GP-B) program to test two unverified predictions of Albert Einstein s theory of general relativity, hypotheses about the ways space, time, light, and gravity relate to each other. To test these predictions, the Space Agency and researchers at Stanford University developed an experiment that would check, with extreme precision, tiny changes in the spin direction of four gyroscopes contained in an Earth satellite orbiting at a 400-mile altitude directly over the Earth s poles. When the program first began, the researchers assessed using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to control the attitude of the GP-B spacecraft accurately. At that time, the best GPS receivers could only provide accuracy to nearly 1 meter, but the GP-B spacecraft required a system 100 times more accurate. To address this concern, researchers at Stanford designed high-performance, attitude-determining hardware that used GPS signals, perfecting a high-precision form of GPS called Carrier-Phase Differential GPS that could provide continuous real-time position, velocity, time, and attitude sensor information for all axes of a vehicle. The researchers came to the realization that controlling the GP-B spacecraft with this new system was essentially no different than controlling an airplane. Their thinking took a new direction: If this technology proved successful, the airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) were ready commercial markets. They set out to test the new technology, the "Integrity Beacon Landing System," using it to automatically land a commercial Boeing 737 over 100 times successfully through Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) GPS technology. The thinking of the researchers shifted again, from automatically landing aircraft, to automating precision farming and construction equipment.

Prediction of in-use emissions of heavy-duty diesel vehicles from engine testing.

PubMed

Yanowitz, Janet; Graboski, Michael S; McCormick, Robert L

2002-01-15

A model of a heavy-duty vehicle driveline with automatic transmission has been developed for estimating engine speed and load from vehicle speed. The model has been validated using emissions tests conducted on three diesel vehicles on a chassis dynamometer and then on the engines removed from the vehicles tested on an engine dynamometer. Nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions were proportional to work done by the engine. For two of the engines, the NOx/horsepower(HP) ratio was the same on the engine and on the chassis dynamometer tests. For the third engine NOx/HP was significantly higher from the chassis test, possibly due to the use of dual engine maps. The engine certification test generated consistently less particulate matter emissions on a gram per brake horsepower-hour basis than the Heavy Duty Transient and Central Business District chassis cycles. A good linear correlation (r2 = 0.97 and 0.91) was found between rates of HP increase integrated over the test cycle and PM emissions for both the chassis and the engine tests for two of the vehicles. The model also shows how small changes in vehicle speeds can lead to a doubling of load on the engine. Additionally, the model showed that it is impossible to drive a vehicle cycle equivalent to the heavy-duty engine federal test procedure on these vehicles.

Experimental investigation of an accelerometer controlled automatic braking system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dreher, R. C.; Sleeper, R. K.; Nayadley, J. R., Sr.

1972-01-01

An investigation was made to determine the feasibility of an automatic braking system for arresting the motion of an airplane by sensing and controlling braked wheel decelerations. The system was tested on a rotating drum dynamometer by using an automotive tire, wheel, and disk-brake assembly under conditions which included two tire loadings, wet and dry surfaces, and a range of ground speeds up to 70 knots. The controlling parameters were the rates at which brake pressure was applied and released and the Command Deceleration Level which governed the wheel deceleration by controlling the brake operation. Limited tests were also made with the automatic braking system installed on a ground vehicle in an effort to provide a more realistic proof of its feasibility. The results of this investigation indicate that a braking system which utilizes wheel decelerations as the control variable to restrict tire slip is feasible and capable of adapting to rapidly changing surface conditions.

An estimate of the effectiveness of an in-vehicle automatic collision notification system in reducing road crash fatalities in South Australia.

PubMed

Ponte, G; Ryan, G A; Anderson, R W G

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to estimate the potential effectiveness of an in-vehicle automatic collision notification (ACN) system in reducing all road crash fatalities in South Australia (SA). For the years 2008 to 2009, traffic accident reporting system (TARS) data, emergency medical services (EMS) road crash dispatch data, and coroner's reports were matched and examined. This was done to initially determine the extent to which there were differences between the reported time of a fatal road crash in the mass crash data and the time EMS were notified and dispatched. In the subset of fatal crashes where there was a delay, injuries detailed by a forensic pathologist in individual coroner's reports were examined to determine the likelihood of survival had there not been a delay in emergency medical assistance. In 25% (N = 53) of fatalities in SA in the period 2008 to 2009, there was a delay in the notification of the crash event, and hence dispatch of EMS, that exceeded 10 min. In the 2-year crash period, 5 people were likely to have survived through more prompt crash notification enabling quicker emergency medical assistance. Additionally, 3 people potentially would have survived if surgical intervention (or emergency medical assistance to sustain life until surgery) occurred more promptly. The minimum effectiveness rate of an ACN system in SA with full deployment is likely to be in the range of 2.4 to 3.8% of all road crash fatalities involving all vehicle types and all vulnerable road users (pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists) from 2008 to 2009. Considering only passenger vehicle occupants, the benefit is likely to be 2.6 to 4.6%. These fatality reductions could only have been achieved through earlier notification of each crash and their location to enable a quicker medical response. This might be achievable through a fully deployed in-vehicle ACN system.

Motorization of a surgical microscope for intra-operative navigation and intuitive control.

PubMed

Finke, M; Schweikard, A

2010-09-01

During surgical procedures, various medical systems, e.g. microscope or C-arm, are used. Their precise and repeatable manual positioning can be very cumbersome and interrupts the surgeon's work flow. Robotized systems can assist the surgeon but they require suitable kinematics and control. However, positioning must be fast, flexible and intuitive. We describe a fully motorized surgical microscope. Hardware components as well as implemented applications are specified. The kinematic equations are described and a novel control concept is proposed. Our microscope combines fast manual handling with accurate, automatic positioning. Intuitive control is provided by a small remote control mounted to one of the surgical instruments. Positioning accuracy and repeatability are < 1 mm and vibrations caused by automatic movements fade away in about 1 s. The robotic system assists the surgeon, so that he can position the microscope precisely and repeatedly without interrupting the clinical workflow. The combination of manual und automatic control guarantees fast and flexible positioning during surgical procedures. Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

SU-E-J-15: Automatically Detect Patient Treatment Position and Orientation in KV Portal Images

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

Qiu, J; Yang, D

2015-06-15

Purpose: In the course of radiation therapy, the complex information processing workflow will Result in potential errors, such as incorrect or inaccurate patient setups. With automatic image check and patient identification, such errors could be effectively reduced. For this purpose, we developed a simple and rapid image processing method, to automatically detect the patient position and orientation in 2D portal images, so to allow automatic check of positions and orientations for patient daily RT treatments. Methods: Based on the principle of portal image formation, a set of whole body DRR images were reconstructed from multiple whole body CT volume datasets,more » and fused together to be used as the matching template. To identify the patient setup position and orientation shown in a 2D portal image, the 2D portal image was preprocessed (contrast enhancement, down-sampling and couch table detection), then matched to the template image so to identify the laterality (left or right), position, orientation and treatment site. Results: Five day’s clinical qualified portal images were gathered randomly, then were processed by the automatic detection and matching method without any additional information. The detection results were visually checked by physicists. 182 images were correct detection in a total of 200kV portal images. The correct rate was 91%. Conclusion: The proposed method can detect patient setup and orientation quickly and automatically. It only requires the image intensity information in KV portal images. This method can be useful in the framework of Electronic Chart Check (ECCK) to reduce the potential errors in workflow of radiation therapy and so to improve patient safety. In addition, the auto-detection results, as the patient treatment site position and patient orientation, could be useful to guide the sequential image processing procedures, e.g. verification of patient daily setup accuracy. This work was partially supported by research grant from Varian Medical System.« less

Vision-Based Leader Vehicle Trajectory Tracking for Multiple Agricultural Vehicles

PubMed Central

Zhang, Linhuan; Ahamed, Tofael; Zhang, Yan; Gao, Pengbo; Takigawa, Tomohiro

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to design a navigation system composed of a human-controlled leader vehicle and a follower vehicle. The follower vehicle automatically tracks the leader vehicle. With such a system, a human driver can control two vehicles efficiently in agricultural operations. The tracking system was developed for the leader and the follower vehicle, and control of the follower was performed using a camera vision system. A stable and accurate monocular vision-based sensing system was designed, consisting of a camera and rectangular markers. Noise in the data acquisition was reduced by using the least-squares method. A feedback control algorithm was used to allow the follower vehicle to track the trajectory of the leader vehicle. A proportional–integral–derivative (PID) controller was introduced to maintain the required distance between the leader and the follower vehicle. Field experiments were conducted to evaluate the sensing and tracking performances of the leader-follower system while the leader vehicle was driven at an average speed of 0.3 m/s. In the case of linear trajectory tracking, the RMS errors were 6.5 cm, 8.9 cm and 16.4 cm for straight, turning and zigzag paths, respectively. Again, for parallel trajectory tracking, the root mean square (RMS) errors were found to be 7.1 cm, 14.6 cm and 14.0 cm for straight, turning and zigzag paths, respectively. The navigation performances indicated that the autonomous follower vehicle was able to follow the leader vehicle, and the tracking accuracy was found to be satisfactory. Therefore, the developed leader-follower system can be implemented for the harvesting of grains, using a combine as the leader and an unloader as the autonomous follower vehicle. PMID:27110793

Vision-Based Leader Vehicle Trajectory Tracking for Multiple Agricultural Vehicles.

PubMed

Zhang, Linhuan; Ahamed, Tofael; Zhang, Yan; Gao, Pengbo; Takigawa, Tomohiro

2016-04-22

The aim of this study was to design a navigation system composed of a human-controlled leader vehicle and a follower vehicle. The follower vehicle automatically tracks the leader vehicle. With such a system, a human driver can control two vehicles efficiently in agricultural operations. The tracking system was developed for the leader and the follower vehicle, and control of the follower was performed using a camera vision system. A stable and accurate monocular vision-based sensing system was designed, consisting of a camera and rectangular markers. Noise in the data acquisition was reduced by using the least-squares method. A feedback control algorithm was used to allow the follower vehicle to track the trajectory of the leader vehicle. A proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller was introduced to maintain the required distance between the leader and the follower vehicle. Field experiments were conducted to evaluate the sensing and tracking performances of the leader-follower system while the leader vehicle was driven at an average speed of 0.3 m/s. In the case of linear trajectory tracking, the RMS errors were 6.5 cm, 8.9 cm and 16.4 cm for straight, turning and zigzag paths, respectively. Again, for parallel trajectory tracking, the root mean square (RMS) errors were found to be 7.1 cm, 14.6 cm and 14.0 cm for straight, turning and zigzag paths, respectively. The navigation performances indicated that the autonomous follower vehicle was able to follow the leader vehicle, and the tracking accuracy was found to be satisfactory. Therefore, the developed leader-follower system can be implemented for the harvesting of grains, using a combine as the leader and an unloader as the autonomous follower vehicle.

Development of Open source-based automatic shooting and processing UAV imagery for Orthoimage Using Smart Camera UAV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, J. W.; Jeong, H. H.; Kim, J. S.; Choi, C. U.

2016-06-01

Recently, aerial photography with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system uses UAV and remote controls through connections of ground control system using bandwidth of about 430 MHz radio Frequency (RF) modem. However, as mentioned earlier, existing method of using RF modem has limitations in long distance communication. The Smart Camera equipments's LTE (long-term evolution), Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi to implement UAV that uses developed UAV communication module system carried out the close aerial photogrammetry with the automatic shooting. Automatic shooting system is an image capturing device for the drones in the area's that needs image capturing and software for loading a smart camera and managing it. This system is composed of automatic shooting using the sensor of smart camera and shooting catalog management which manages filmed images and information. Processing UAV imagery module used Open Drone Map. This study examined the feasibility of using the Smart Camera as the payload for a photogrammetric UAV system. The open soure tools used for generating Android, OpenCV (Open Computer Vision), RTKLIB, Open Drone Map.

Phase coherence adaptive processor for automatic signal detection and identification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wagstaff, Ronald A.

2006-05-01

A continuously adapting acoustic signal processor with an automatic detection/decision aid is presented. Its purpose is to preserve the signals of tactical interest, and filter out other signals and noise. It utilizes single sensor or beamformed spectral data and transforms the signal and noise phase angles into "aligned phase angles" (APA). The APA increase the phase temporal coherence of signals and leave the noise incoherent. Coherence thresholds are set, which are representative of the type of source "threat vehicle" and the geographic area or volume in which it is operating. These thresholds separate signals, based on the "quality" of their APA coherence. An example is presented in which signals from a submerged source in the ocean are preserved, while clutter signals from ships and noise are entirely eliminated. Furthermore, the "signals of interest" were identified by the processor's automatic detection aid. Similar performance is expected for air and ground vehicles. The processor's equations are formulated in such a manner that they can be tuned to eliminate noise and exploit signal, based on the "quality" of their APA temporal coherence. The mathematical formulation for this processor is presented, including the method by which the processor continuously self-adapts. Results show nearly complete elimination of noise, with only the selected category of signals remaining, and accompanying enhancements in spectral and spatial resolution. In most cases, the concept of signal-to-noise ratio looses significance, and "adaptive automated /decision aid" is more relevant.

Automatic Syllabification in English: A Comparison of Different Algorithms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marchand, Yannick; Adsett, Connie R.; Damper, Robert I.

2009-01-01

Automatic syllabification of words is challenging, not least because the syllable is not easy to define precisely. Consequently, no accepted standard algorithm for automatic syllabification exists. There are two broad approaches: rule-based and data-driven. The rule-based method effectively embodies some theoretical position regarding the…

Optimization of new magnetorheological fluid mount for vibration control of start/stop engine mode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chung, Jye Ung; Phu, Do Xuan; Choi, Seung-Bok

2015-04-01

The technologies related to saving energy/or green vehicles are actively researched. In this tendency, the problem for reducing exhausted gas is in development with various ways. Those efforts are directly related to the operation of engine which emits exhausted gas. The auto start/stop of vehicle engine when a vehicle stop at road is currently as a main stream of vehicle industry resulting in reducing exhausted gas. However, this technology automatically turns on and off engine frequently. This motion induces vehicle engine to transmit vibration of engine which has large displacement, and torsional impact to chassis. These vibrations causing uncomfortable feeling to passengers are transmitted through the steering wheel and the gear knob. In this work, in order to resolve this vibration issue, a new proposed magnetorheological (MR) fluid based engine mount (MR mount in short) is presented. The proposed MR mount is designed to satisfy large damping force in various frequency ranges. It is shown that the proposed mount can have large damping force and large force ratio which is enough to control unwanted vibrations of engine start/stop mode.

Advanced propulsion system for hybrid vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Norrup, L. V.; Lintz, A. T.

1980-01-01

A number of hybrid propulsion systems were evaluated for application in several different vehicle sizes. A conceptual design was prepared for the most promising configuration. Various system configurations were parametrically evaluated and compared, design tradeoffs performed, and a conceptual design produced. Fifteen vehicle/propulsion systems concepts were parametrically evaluated to select two systems and one vehicle for detailed design tradeoff studies. A single hybrid propulsion system concept and vehicle (five passenger family sedan)were selected for optimization based on the results of the tradeoff studies. The final propulsion system consists of a 65 kW spark-ignition heat engine, a mechanical continuously variable traction transmission, a 20 kW permanent magnet axial-gap traction motor, a variable frequency inverter, a 386 kg lead-acid improved state-of-the-art battery, and a transaxle. The system was configured with a parallel power path between the heat engine and battery. It has two automatic operational modes: electric mode and heat engine mode. Power is always shared between the heat engine and battery during acceleration periods. In both modes, regenerative braking energy is absorbed by the battery.

Sparse representation based SAR vehicle recognition along with aspect angle.

PubMed

Xing, Xiangwei; Ji, Kefeng; Zou, Huanxin; Sun, Jixiang

2014-01-01

As a method of representing the test sample with few training samples from an overcomplete dictionary, sparse representation classification (SRC) has attracted much attention in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) automatic target recognition (ATR) recently. In this paper, we develop a novel SAR vehicle recognition method based on sparse representation classification along with aspect information (SRCA), in which the correlation between the vehicle's aspect angle and the sparse representation vector is exploited. The detailed procedure presented in this paper can be summarized as follows. Initially, the sparse representation vector of a test sample is solved by sparse representation algorithm with a principle component analysis (PCA) feature-based dictionary. Then, the coefficient vector is projected onto a sparser one within a certain range of the vehicle's aspect angle. Finally, the vehicle is classified into a certain category that minimizes the reconstruction error with the novel sparse representation vector. Extensive experiments are conducted on the moving and stationary target acquisition and recognition (MSTAR) dataset and the results demonstrate that the proposed method performs robustly under the variations of depression angle and target configurations, as well as incomplete observation.

Detection and Classification of Motor Vehicle Noise in a Forested Landscape

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Casey L.; Reed, Sarah E.; Dietz, Matthew S.; Fristrup, Kurt M.

2013-11-01

Noise emanating from human activity has become a common addition to natural soundscapes and has the potential to harm wildlife and erode human enjoyment of nature. In particular, motor vehicles traveling along roads and trails produce high levels of both chronic and intermittent noise, eliciting varied responses from a wide range of animal species. Anthropogenic noise is especially conspicuous in natural areas where ambient background sound levels are low. In this article, we present an acoustic method to detect and analyze motor vehicle noise. Our approach uses inexpensive consumer products to record sound, sound analysis software to automatically detect sound events within continuous recordings and measure their acoustic properties, and statistical classification methods to categorize sound events. We describe an application of this approach to detect motor vehicle noise on paved, gravel, and natural-surface roads, and off-road vehicle trails in 36 sites distributed throughout a national forest in the Sierra Nevada, CA, USA. These low-cost, unobtrusive methods can be used by scientists and managers to detect anthropogenic noise events for many potential applications, including ecological research, transportation and recreation planning, and natural resource management.

Experimental examination of the effects of televised motor vehicle commercials on risk-positive attitudes, emotions and risky driving inclinations.

PubMed

Vingilis, Evelyn; Roseborough, James E W; Wiesenthal, David L; Vingilis-Jaremko, Larissa; Nuzzo, Valentina; Fischer, Peter; Mann, Robert E

2015-02-01

This study examined the short-term effects of risky driving motor vehicle television commercials on risk-positive attitudes, emotions and risky driving inclinations in video-simulated critical road traffic situations among males and females, within an experimental design. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three televised commercial advertising conditions embedded in a television show: a risky driving motor vehicle commercial condition, a non-risky driving motor vehicle commercial condition and a control non-motor vehicle commercial condition. Participants subsequently completed the Implicit Attitude Test (IAT) to measure risk-positive attitudes, Driver Thrill Seeking Scale (DTSS) to measure risk-positive emotions and the Vienna Risk-Taking Test - Traffic (WRBTV) to measure risky driving inclinations. ANOVA analyses indicated that type of commercial participants watched did not affect their performance on the IAT, DTSS or WRBTV. However, a main effect of heightened risk-positive emotions and risky driving inclinations was found for males. Despite public and governmental concern that risky driving motor vehicle commercials may increase the likelihood that people exposed to these commercials engage in risky driving, this experimental study found no immediate effect of brief exposure to a risky driving motor vehicle commercial on risk-positive attitudes, emotions or risky driving inclinations. Subsequent research should examine the effects of cumulative exposure to risky driving motor vehicle television commercials and print advertisements. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Self-Organizing Spatial Clustering Approach to Support Large-Scale Network RTK Systems.

PubMed

Shen, Lili; Guo, Jiming; Wang, Lei

2018-06-06

The network real-time kinematic (RTK) technique can provide centimeter-level real time positioning solutions and play a key role in geo-spatial infrastructure. With ever-increasing popularity, network RTK systems will face issues in the support of large numbers of concurrent users. In the past, high-precision positioning services were oriented towards professionals and only supported a few concurrent users. Currently, precise positioning provides a spatial foundation for artificial intelligence (AI), and countless smart devices (autonomous cars, unmanned aerial-vehicles (UAVs), robotic equipment, etc.) require precise positioning services. Therefore, the development of approaches to support large-scale network RTK systems is urgent. In this study, we proposed a self-organizing spatial clustering (SOSC) approach which automatically clusters online users to reduce the computational load on the network RTK system server side. The experimental results indicate that both the SOSC algorithm and the grid algorithm can reduce the computational load efficiently, while the SOSC algorithm gives a more elastic and adaptive clustering solution with different datasets. The SOSC algorithm determines the cluster number and the mean distance to cluster center (MDTCC) according to the data set, while the grid approaches are all predefined. The side-effects of clustering algorithms on the user side are analyzed with real global navigation satellite system (GNSS) data sets. The experimental results indicate that 10 km can be safely used as the cluster radius threshold for the SOSC algorithm without significantly reducing the positioning precision and reliability on the user side.

78 FR 36135 - Heavy-Duty Engine and Vehicle, and Nonroad Technical Amendments

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-17

... derived CO 2 emission rates (ADCs). Air Conditioning (A/C) Leakage Provisions: The MY2017-2025 Light-Duty GHG and Fuel Economy Rule separated 40 CFR 86.1866 into four sections for clarity. The A/C leakage... to revise Sec. 1037.660 related to the automatic engine shutdown (AES) provisions. Sec. 1037.660(c...

AUTOMOTIVE DIESEL MAINTENANCE 2 UNIT IV, AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS--HYDRAULICS (PART II).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Human Engineering Inst., Cleveland, OH.

THIS MODULE OF A 25-MODULE COURSE IS DESIGNED TO DEVELOP AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF VALVES UTILIZED IN HYDRAULIC TRANSMISSIONS USED ON DIESEL POWERED VEHICLES. TOPICS ARE (1) REVIEWING FACTS ABOUT PUMPS, (2) USING VALVES FOR CONTROL, (3) TROUBLESHOOTING PROCEDURES ON RELIEF VALVES, (4) USING DIRECTIONAL CONTROL VALVES,…

AUTOMOTIVE DIESEL MAINTENANCE 2. UNIT V, AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS--TORQUE CONVERTER.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Human Engineering Inst., Cleveland, OH.

THIS MODULE OF A 25-MODULE COURSE IS DESIGNED TO DEVELOP AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF TORQUE CONVERTERS USED ON DIESEL POWERED VEHICLES. TOPICS ARE (1) FLUID COUPLINGS (LOCATION AND PURPOSE), (2) PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION, (3) TORQUE CONVERRS, (4) TORQMATIC CONVERTER, (5) THREE STAGE, THREE ELEMENT TORQUE CONVERTER, AND (6)…

76 FR 8710 - Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-15

... registration is encouraged as it will expedite entry into the building and its parking area. You should also... require parking, please include the vehicle make and tag number when you register. Attendees that are not... provides automatic and customized access to selected food safety news and information. This service is...

Developing fire management mixes for fire program planning

Treesearch

Armando González-Cabán; Patricia B. Shinkle; Thomas J. Mills

1986-01-01

Evaluating economic efficiency of fire management program options requires information on the firefighting inputs, such as vehicles and crews, that would be needed to execute the program option selected. An algorithm was developed to translate automatically dollars allocated to type of firefighting inputs to numbers of units, using a set of weights for a specific fire...

Contingency Software in Autonomous Systems: Technical Level Briefing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lutz, Robyn R.; Patterson-Hines, Ann

2006-01-01

Contingency management is essential to the robust operation of complex systems such as spacecraft and Unpiloted Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Automatic contingency handling allows a faster response to unsafe scenarios with reduced human intervention on low-cost and extended missions. Results, applied to the Autonomous Rotorcraft Project and Mars Science Lab, pave the way to more resilient autonomous systems.

Driving performance and driver discomfort in an elevated and standard driving position during a driving simulation.

PubMed

Smith, Jordan; Mansfield, Neil; Gyi, Diane; Pagett, Mark; Bateman, Bob

2015-07-01

The primary purposes of a vehicle driver's seat, is to allow them to complete the driving task comfortably and safely. Within each class of vehicle (e.g. passenger, commercial, industrial, agricultural), there is an expected driving position to which a vehicle cabin is designed. This paper reports a study that compares two driving positions, in relation to Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs), in terms of driver performance and driver discomfort. In the 'elevated' driving position, the seat is higher than usually used in road vehicles; this is compared to a standard driving position replicating the layout for a commercially available vehicle. It is shown that for a sample of 12 drivers, the elevated position did not, in general, show more discomfort than the standard position over a 60 min driving simulation, although discomfort increased with duration. There were no adverse effects shown for emergency stop reaction time or for driver headway for the elevated posture compared to the standard posture. The only body part that showed greater discomfort for the elevated posture compared to the standard posture was the right ankle. A second experiment confirmed that for 12 subjects, a higher pedal stiffness eliminated the ankle discomfort problem. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Basic Simulation Environment for Highly Customized Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Kinematic Scenarios.

PubMed

Chai, Linguo; Cai, Baigen; ShangGuan, Wei; Wang, Jian; Wang, Huashen

2017-08-23

To enhance the reality of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) kinematic simulation scenarios and to guarantee the accuracy and reliability of the verification, a four-layer CAVs kinematic simulation framework, which is composed with road network layer, vehicle operating layer, uncertainties modelling layer and demonstrating layer, is proposed in this paper. Properties of the intersections are defined to describe the road network. A target position based vehicle position updating method is designed to simulate such vehicle behaviors as lane changing and turning. Vehicle kinematic models are implemented to maintain the status of the vehicles when they are moving towards the target position. Priorities for individual vehicle control are authorized for different layers. Operation mechanisms of CAVs uncertainties, which are defined as position error and communication delay in this paper, are implemented in the simulation to enhance the reality of the simulation. A simulation platform is developed based on the proposed methodology. A comparison of simulated and theoretical vehicle delay has been analyzed to prove the validity and the creditability of the platform. The scenario of rear-end collision avoidance is conducted to verify the uncertainties operating mechanisms, and a slot-based intersections (SIs) control strategy is realized and verified in the simulation platform to show the supports of the platform to CAVs kinematic simulation and verification.

Basic Simulation Environment for Highly Customized Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Kinematic Scenarios

PubMed Central

Chai, Linguo; Cai, Baigen; ShangGuan, Wei; Wang, Jian; Wang, Huashen

2017-01-01

To enhance the reality of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) kinematic simulation scenarios and to guarantee the accuracy and reliability of the verification, a four-layer CAVs kinematic simulation framework, which is composed with road network layer, vehicle operating layer, uncertainties modelling layer and demonstrating layer, is proposed in this paper. Properties of the intersections are defined to describe the road network. A target position based vehicle position updating method is designed to simulate such vehicle behaviors as lane changing and turning. Vehicle kinematic models are implemented to maintain the status of the vehicles when they are moving towards the target position. Priorities for individual vehicle control are authorized for different layers. Operation mechanisms of CAVs uncertainties, which are defined as position error and communication delay in this paper, are implemented in the simulation to enhance the reality of the simulation. A simulation platform is developed based on the proposed methodology. A comparison of simulated and theoretical vehicle delay has been analyzed to prove the validity and the creditability of the platform. The scenario of rear-end collision avoidance is conducted to verify the uncertainties operating mechanisms, and a slot-based intersections (SIs) control strategy is realized and verified in the simulation platform to show the supports of the platform to CAVs kinematic simulation and verification. PMID:28832518

Automatic affective processing impairments in patients with deficit syndrome schizophrenia.

PubMed

Strauss, Gregory P; Allen, Daniel N; Duke, Lisa A; Ross, Sylvia A; Schwartz, Jason

2008-07-01

Affective impairments were examined in patients with and without deficit syndrome schizophrenia. Two Emotional Stroop tasks designed to measure automatic processing of emotional information were administered to deficit (n=15) and non-deficit syndrome (n=26) schizophrenia patients classified according to the Schedule for the Deficit Syndrome, and matched non-patient control subjects (n=22). In comparison to non-deficit patients and controls, deficit syndrome patients demonstrated a lack of attention bias for positive information, and an elevated attentional lingering effect for negative information. These findings suggest that positive information fails to automatically capture attention of deficit syndrome patients, and that when negative information captures attention, it produces difficulty in disengagement Attentional abnormalities were significantly correlated with negative symptoms, such that more severe symptoms were associated with less attention bias for positive emotion and a greater lingering effect for negative information. Results are generally consistent with a mood-congruent processing abnormality and suggest that impaired automatic processing may be core to diminished emotional experience symptoms exhibited in deficit syndrome patients.

Capturing the Interpersonal Implications of Evolved Preferences? Frequency of Sex Shapes Automatic, but Not Explicit, Partner Evaluations.

PubMed

Hicks, Lindsey L; McNulty, James K; Meltzer, Andrea L; Olson, Michael A

2016-06-01

A strong predisposition to engage in sexual intercourse likely evolved in humans because sex is crucial to reproduction. Given that meeting interpersonal preferences tends to promote positive relationship evaluations, sex within a relationship should be positively associated with relationship satisfaction. Nevertheless, prior research has been inconclusive in demonstrating such a link, with longitudinal and experimental studies showing no association between sexual frequency and relationship satisfaction. Crucially, though, all prior research has utilized explicit reports of satisfaction, which reflect deliberative processes that may override the more automatic implications of phylogenetically older evolved preferences. Accordingly, capturing the implications of sexual frequency for relationship evaluations may require implicit measurements that bypass deliberative reasoning. Consistent with this idea, one cross-sectional and one 3-year study of newlywed couples revealed a positive association between sexual frequency and automatic partner evaluations but not explicit satisfaction. These findings highlight the importance of automatic measurements to understanding interpersonal relationships. © The Author(s) 2016.

Capturing the Interpersonal Implications of Evolved Preferences? Frequency of Sex Shapes Automatic, But Not Explicit, Partner Evaluations

PubMed Central

Hicks, Lindsey L.; McNulty, James K.; Meltzer, Andrea L.; Olson, Michael A.

2016-01-01

Sex is crucial to reproduction, and thus humans likely evolved a strong predisposition to engage in sexual intercourse. Given that meeting interpersonal preferences tends to promote positive relationship evaluations, sex within a relationship should be positively associated with relationship satisfaction. Nevertheless, prior research has been inconclusive in demonstrating such a link, with longitudinal and experimental studies showing no association between sexual frequency and relationship satisfaction. Crucially, though, all prior research has utilized explicit reports of satisfaction, which reflect deliberative processes that may override the more automatic implications of phylogenetically older evolved preferences. Accordingly, capturing the implications of sexual frequency for relationship evaluations may require implicit measurements that bypass deliberative reasoning. Consistent with this idea, one cross-sectional and one three-year study of newlywed couples revealed a positive association between sexual frequency and automatic partner evaluations but not explicit satisfaction. These findings highlight the importance of automatic measurements to understanding interpersonal relationships. (150 words) PMID:27084851

Computer simulation and evaluation of edge detection algorithms and their application to automatic path selection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Longendorfer, B. A.

1976-01-01

The construction of an autonomous roving vehicle requires the development of complex data-acquisition and processing systems, which determine the path along which the vehicle travels. Thus, a vehicle must possess algorithms which can (1) reliably detect obstacles by processing sensor data, (2) maintain a constantly updated model of its surroundings, and (3) direct its immediate actions to further a long range plan. The first function consisted of obstacle recognition. Obstacles may be identified by the use of edge detection techniques. Therefore, the Kalman Filter was implemented as part of a large scale computer simulation of the Mars Rover. The second function consisted of modeling the environment. The obstacle must be reconstructed from its edges, and the vast amount of data must be organized in a readily retrievable form. Therefore, a Terrain Modeller was developed which assembled and maintained a rectangular grid map of the planet. The third function consisted of directing the vehicle's actions.

Predicted Weather Display and Decision Support Interface for Flight Deck

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Walter W. (Inventor); Wong, Dominic G. (Inventor); Koteskey, Robert W. (Inventor); Wu, Shu-Chieh (Inventor)

2017-01-01

A system and method for providing visual depictions of a predictive weather forecast for in-route vehicle trajectory planning. The method includes displaying weather information on a graphical display, displaying vehicle position information on the graphical display, selecting a predictive interval, displaying predictive weather information for the predictive interval on the graphical display, and displaying predictive vehicle position information for the predictive interval on the graphical display, such that the predictive vehicle position information is displayed relative to the predictive weather information, for in-route trajectory planning.

The integrated manual and automatic control of complex flight systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmidt, David K.

1991-01-01

Research dealt with the general area of optimal flight control synthesis for manned flight vehicles. The work was generic; no specific vehicle was the focus of study. However, the class of vehicles generally considered were those for which high authority, multivariable control systems might be considered, for the purpose of stabilization and the achievement of optimal handling characteristics. Within this scope, the topics of study included several optimal control synthesis techniques, control-theoretic modeling of the human operator in flight control tasks, and the development of possible handling qualities metrics and/or measures of merit. Basic contributions were made in all these topics, including human operator (pilot) models for multi-loop tasks, optimal output feedback flight control synthesis techniques; experimental validations of the methods developed, and fundamental modeling studies of the air-to-air tracking and flared landing tasks.