Trajectory Segmentation Map-Matching Approach for Large-Scale, High-Resolution GPS Data

DOE PAGES

Zhu, Lei; Holden, Jacob R.; Gonder, Jeffrey D.

2017-01-01

With the development of smartphones and portable GPS devices, large-scale, high-resolution GPS data can be collected. Map matching is a critical step in studying vehicle driving activity and recognizing network traffic conditions from the data. A new trajectory segmentation map-matching algorithm is proposed to deal accurately and efficiently with large-scale, high-resolution GPS trajectory data. The new algorithm separated the GPS trajectory into segments. It found the shortest path for each segment in a scientific manner and ultimately generated a best-matched path for the entire trajectory. The similarity of a trajectory segment and its matched path is described by a similaritymore » score system based on the longest common subsequence. The numerical experiment indicated that the proposed map-matching algorithm was very promising in relation to accuracy and computational efficiency. Large-scale data set applications verified that the proposed method is robust and capable of dealing with real-world, large-scale GPS data in a computationally efficient and accurate manner.« less

A Trajectory Algorithm to Support En Route and Terminal Area Self-Spacing Concepts: Third Revision

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abbott, Terence S.

2012-01-01

This document describes an algorithm for the generation of a four dimensional trajectory. Input data for this algorithm are similar to an augmented Standard Terminal Arrival (STAR) with the augmentation in the form of altitude or speed crossing restrictions at waypoints on the route. This version of the algorithm accommodates constant radius turns and cruise altitude waypoints with calibrated airspeed, versus Mach, constraints. The algorithm calculates the altitude, speed, along path distance, and along path time for each waypoint. Wind data at each of these waypoints are also used for the calculation of ground speed and turn radius.

Optimization of dynamic soaring maneuvers to enhance endurance of a versatile UAV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mir, Imran; Maqsood, Adnan; Akhtar, Suhail

2017-06-01

Dynamic soaring is a process of acquiring energy available in atmospheric wind shears and is commonly exhibited by soaring birds to perform long distance flights. This paper aims to demonstrate a viable algorithm which can be implemented in near real time environment to formulate optimal trajectories for dynamic soaring maneuvers for a small scale Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). The objective is to harness maximum energy from atmosphere wind shear to improve loiter time for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions. Three-dimensional point-mass UAV equations of motion and linear wind gradient profile are used to model flight dynamics. Utilizing UAV states, controls, operational constraints, initial and terminal conditions that enforce a periodic flight, dynamic soaring problem is formulated as an optimal control problem. Optimized trajectories of the maneuver are subsequently generated employing pseudo spectral techniques against distant UAV performance parameters. The discussion also encompasses the requirement for generation of optimal trajectories for dynamic soaring in real time environment and the ability of the proposed algorithm for speedy solution generation. Coupled with the fact that dynamic soaring is all about immediately utilizing the available energy from the wind shear encountered, the proposed algorithm promises its viability for practical on board implementations requiring computation of trajectories in near real time.

Coupled Low-thrust Trajectory and System Optimization via Multi-Objective Hybrid Optimal Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vavrina, Matthew A.; Englander, Jacob Aldo; Ghosh, Alexander R.

2015-01-01

The optimization of low-thrust trajectories is tightly coupled with the spacecraft hardware. Trading trajectory characteristics with system parameters ton identify viable solutions and determine mission sensitivities across discrete hardware configurations is labor intensive. Local independent optimization runs can sample the design space, but a global exploration that resolves the relationships between the system variables across multiple objectives enables a full mapping of the optimal solution space. A multi-objective, hybrid optimal control algorithm is formulated using a multi-objective genetic algorithm as an outer loop systems optimizer around a global trajectory optimizer. The coupled problem is solved simultaneously to generate Pareto-optimal solutions in a single execution. The automated approach is demonstrated on two boulder return missions.

A Global Approach to the Optimal Trajectory Based on an Improved Ant Colony Algorithm for Cold Spray

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, Zhenhua; Chen, Tingyang; Zeng, Chunnian; Guo, Xueping; Lian, Huijuan; Zheng, You; Wei, Xiaoxu

2016-12-01

This paper is concerned with finding a global approach to obtain the shortest complete coverage trajectory on complex surfaces for cold spray applications. A slicing algorithm is employed to decompose the free-form complex surface into several small pieces of simple topological type. The problem of finding the optimal arrangement of the pieces is translated into a generalized traveling salesman problem (GTSP). Owing to its high searching capability and convergence performance, an improved ant colony algorithm is then used to solve the GTSP. Through off-line simulation, a robot trajectory is generated based on the optimized result. The approach is applied to coat real components with a complex surface by using the cold spray system with copper as the spraying material.

Global, Multi-Objective Trajectory Optimization With Parametric Spreading

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vavrina, Matthew A.; Englander, Jacob A.; Phillips, Sean M.; Hughes, Kyle M.

2017-01-01

Mission design problems are often characterized by multiple, competing trajectory optimization objectives. Recent multi-objective trajectory optimization formulations enable generation of globally-optimal, Pareto solutions via a multi-objective genetic algorithm. A byproduct of these formulations is that clustering in design space can occur in evolving the population towards the Pareto front. This clustering can be a drawback, however, if parametric evaluations of design variables are desired. This effort addresses clustering by incorporating operators that encourage a uniform spread over specified design variables while maintaining Pareto front representation. The algorithm is demonstrated on a Neptune orbiter mission, and enhanced multidimensional visualization strategies are presented.

Visual Persons Behavior Diary Generation Model based on Trajectories and Pose Estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gang, Chen; Bin, Chen; Yuming, Liu; Hui, Li

2018-03-01

The behavior pattern of persons was the important output of the surveillance analysis. This paper focus on the generation model of visual person behavior diary. The pipeline includes the person detection, tracking, and the person behavior classify. This paper adopts the deep convolutional neural model YOLO (You Only Look Once)V2 for person detection module. Multi person tracking was based on the detection framework. The Hungarian assignment algorithm was used to the matching. The person appearance model was integrated by HSV color model and Hash code model. The person object motion was estimated by the Kalman Filter. The multi objects were matching with exist tracklets through the appearance and motion location distance by the Hungarian assignment method. A long continuous trajectory for one person was get by the spatial-temporal continual linking algorithm. And the face recognition information was used to identify the trajectory. The trajectories with identification information can be used to generate the visual diary of person behavior based on the scene context information and person action estimation. The relevant modules are tested in public data sets and our own capture video sets. The test results show that the method can be used to generate the visual person behavior pattern diary with certain accuracy.

Rapid near-optimal aerospace plane trajectory generation and guidance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Calise, A. J.; Corban, J. E.; Markopoulos, N.

1991-01-01

Effort was directed toward the problems of the real time trajectory optimization and guidance law development for the National Aerospace Plane (NASP) applications. In particular, singular perturbation methods were used to develop guidance algorithms suitable for onboard, real time implementation. The progress made in this research effort is reported.

Multipass Target Search in Natural Environments

PubMed Central

Otte, Michael W.; Sofge, Donald; Gupta, Satyandra K.

2017-01-01

Consider a disaster scenario where search and rescue workers must search difficult to access buildings during an earthquake or flood. Often, finding survivors a few hours sooner results in a dramatic increase in saved lives, suggesting the use of drones for expedient rescue operations. Entropy can be used to quantify the generation and resolution of uncertainty. When searching for targets, maximizing mutual information of future sensor observations will minimize expected target location uncertainty by minimizing the entropy of the future estimate. Motion planning for multi-target autonomous search requires planning over an area with an imperfect sensor and may require multiple passes, which is hindered by the submodularity property of mutual information. Further, mission duration constraints must be handled accordingly, requiring consideration of the vehicle’s dynamics to generate feasible trajectories and must plan trajectories spanning the entire mission duration, something which most information gathering algorithms are incapable of doing. If unanticipated changes occur in an uncertain environment, new plans must be generated quickly. In addition, planning multipass trajectories requires evaluating path dependent rewards, requiring planning in the space of all previously selected actions, compounding the problem. We present an anytime algorithm for autonomous multipass target search in natural environments. The algorithm is capable of generating long duration dynamically feasible multipass coverage plans that maximize mutual information using a variety of techniques such as ϵ-admissible heuristics to speed up the search. To the authors’ knowledge this is the first attempt at efficiently solving multipass target search problems of such long duration. The proposed algorithm is based on best first branch and bound and is benchmarked against state of the art algorithms adapted to the problem in natural Simplex environments, gathering the most information in the given search time. PMID:29099087

Radiofrequency pulse design using nonlinear gradient magnetic fields.

PubMed

Kopanoglu, Emre; Constable, R Todd

2015-09-01

An iterative k-space trajectory and radiofrequency (RF) pulse design method is proposed for excitation using nonlinear gradient magnetic fields. The spatial encoding functions (SEFs) generated by nonlinear gradient fields are linearly dependent in Cartesian coordinates. Left uncorrected, this may lead to flip angle variations in excitation profiles. In the proposed method, SEFs (k-space samples) are selected using a matching pursuit algorithm, and the RF pulse is designed using a conjugate gradient algorithm. Three variants of the proposed approach are given: the full algorithm, a computationally cheaper version, and a third version for designing spoke-based trajectories. The method is demonstrated for various target excitation profiles using simulations and phantom experiments. The method is compared with other iterative (matching pursuit and conjugate gradient) and noniterative (coordinate-transformation and Jacobian-based) pulse design methods as well as uniform density spiral and EPI trajectories. The results show that the proposed method can increase excitation fidelity. An iterative method for designing k-space trajectories and RF pulses using nonlinear gradient fields is proposed. The method can either be used for selecting the SEFs individually to guide trajectory design, or can be adapted to design and optimize specific trajectories of interest. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Analysis of Air Traffic Track Data with the AutoBayes Synthesis System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schumann, Johann Martin Philip; Cate, Karen; Lee, Alan G.

2010-01-01

The Next Generation Air Traffic System (NGATS) is aiming to provide substantial computer support for the air traffic controllers. Algorithms for the accurate prediction of aircraft movements are of central importance for such software systems but trajectory prediction has to work reliably in the presence of unknown parameters and uncertainties. We are using the AutoBayes program synthesis system to generate customized data analysis algorithms that process large sets of aircraft radar track data in order to estimate parameters and uncertainties. In this paper, we present, how the tasks of finding structure in track data, estimation of important parameters in climb trajectories, and the detection of continuous descent approaches can be accomplished with compact task-specific AutoBayes specifications. We present an overview of the AutoBayes architecture and describe, how its schema-based approach generates customized analysis algorithms, documented C/C++ code, and detailed mathematical derivations. Results of experiments with actual air traffic control data are discussed.

Design Genetic Algorithm Optimization Education Software Based Fuzzy Controller for a Tricopter Fly Path Planning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tran, Huu-Khoa; Chiou, Juing -Shian; Peng, Shou-Tao

2016-01-01

In this paper, the feasibility of a Genetic Algorithm Optimization (GAO) education software based Fuzzy Logic Controller (GAO-FLC) for simulating the flight motion control of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is designed. The generated flight trajectories integrate the optimized Scaling Factors (SF) fuzzy controller gains by using GAO algorithm. The…

Real-time path planning and autonomous control for helicopter autorotation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yomchinda, Thanan

Autorotation is a descending maneuver that can be used to recover helicopters in the event of total loss of engine power; however it is an extremely difficult and complex maneuver. The objective of this work is to develop a real-time system which provides full autonomous control for autorotation landing of helicopters. The work includes the development of an autorotation path planning method and integration of the path planner with a primary flight control system. The trajectory is divided into three parts: entry, descent and flare. Three different optimization algorithms are used to generate trajectories for each of these segments. The primary flight control is designed using a linear dynamic inversion control scheme, and a path following control law is developed to track the autorotation trajectories. Details of the path planning algorithm, trajectory following control law, and autonomous autorotation system implementation are presented. The integrated system is demonstrated in real-time high fidelity simulations. Results indicate feasibility of the capability of the algorithms to operate in real-time and of the integrated systems ability to provide safe autorotation landings. Preliminary simulations of autonomous autorotation on a small UAV are presented which will lead to a final hardware demonstration of the algorithms.

RF Pulse Design using Nonlinear Gradient Magnetic Fields

PubMed Central

Kopanoglu, Emre; Constable, R. Todd

2014-01-01

Purpose An iterative k-space trajectory and radio-frequency (RF) pulse design method is proposed for Excitation using Nonlinear Gradient Magnetic fields (ENiGMa). Theory and Methods The spatial encoding functions (SEFs) generated by nonlinear gradient fields (NLGFs) are linearly dependent in Cartesian-coordinates. Left uncorrected, this may lead to flip-angle variations in excitation profiles. In the proposed method, SEFs (k-space samples) are selected using a Matching-Pursuit algorithm, and the RF pulse is designed using a Conjugate-Gradient algorithm. Three variants of the proposed approach are given: the full-algorithm, a computationally-cheaper version, and a third version for designing spoke-based trajectories. The method is demonstrated for various target excitation profiles using simulations and phantom experiments. Results The method is compared to other iterative (Matching-Pursuit and Conjugate Gradient) and non-iterative (coordinate-transformation and Jacobian-based) pulse design methods as well as uniform density spiral and EPI trajectories. The results show that the proposed method can increase excitation fidelity significantly. Conclusion An iterative method for designing k-space trajectories and RF pulses using nonlinear gradient fields is proposed. The method can either be used for selecting the SEFs individually to guide trajectory design, or can be adapted to design and optimize specific trajectories of interest. PMID:25203286

On-Board Generation of Three-Dimensional Constrained Entry Trajectories

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shen, Zuojun; Lu, Ping; Jackson, Scott (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

A methodology for very fast design of 3DOF entry trajectories subject to all common inequality and equality constraints is developed. The approach make novel use of the well known quasi-equilibrium glide phenomenon in lifting entry as a center piece for conveniently enforcing the inequality constraints which are otherwise difficulty to handle. The algorithm is able to generate a complete feasible 3DOF entry trajectory, given the entry conditions, values of constraint parameters, and final conditions in about 2 seconds on a PC. Numerical simulations with the X-33 vehicle model for various entry missions to land at Kennedy Space Center will be presented.

An Evaluation of a Flight Deck Interval Management Algorithm Including Delayed Target Trajectories

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Swieringa, Kurt A.; Underwood, Matthew C.; Barmore, Bryan; Leonard, Robert D.

2014-01-01

NASA's first Air Traffic Management (ATM) Technology Demonstration (ATD-1) was created to facilitate the transition of mature air traffic management technologies from the laboratory to operational use. The technologies selected for demonstration are the Traffic Management Advisor with Terminal Metering (TMA-TM), which provides precise timebased scheduling in the terminal airspace; Controller Managed Spacing (CMS), which provides controllers with decision support tools enabling precise schedule conformance; and Interval Management (IM), which consists of flight deck automation that enables aircraft to achieve or maintain precise in-trail spacing. During high demand operations, TMA-TM may produce a schedule and corresponding aircraft trajectories that include delay to ensure that a particular aircraft will be properly spaced from other aircraft at each schedule waypoint. These delayed trajectories are not communicated to the automation onboard the aircraft, forcing the IM aircraft to use the published speeds to estimate the target aircraft's estimated time of arrival. As a result, the aircraft performing IM operations may follow an aircraft whose TMA-TM generated trajectories have substantial speed deviations from the speeds expected by the spacing algorithm. Previous spacing algorithms were not designed to handle this magnitude of uncertainty. A simulation was conducted to examine a modified spacing algorithm with the ability to follow aircraft flying delayed trajectories. The simulation investigated the use of the new spacing algorithm with various delayed speed profiles and wind conditions, as well as several other variables designed to simulate real-life variability. The results and conclusions of this study indicate that the new spacing algorithm generally exhibits good performance; however, some types of target aircraft speed profiles can cause the spacing algorithm to command less than optimal speed control behavior.

Computational Approaches to Simulation and Optimization of Global Aircraft Trajectories

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ng, Hok Kwan; Sridhar, Banavar

2016-01-01

This study examines three possible approaches to improving the speed in generating wind-optimal routes for air traffic at the national or global level. They are: (a) using the resources of a supercomputer, (b) running the computations on multiple commercially available computers and (c) implementing those same algorithms into NASAs Future ATM Concepts Evaluation Tool (FACET) and compares those to a standard implementation run on a single CPU. Wind-optimal aircraft trajectories are computed using global air traffic schedules. The run time and wait time on the supercomputer for trajectory optimization using various numbers of CPUs ranging from 80 to 10,240 units are compared with the total computational time for running the same computation on a single desktop computer and on multiple commercially available computers for potential computational enhancement through parallel processing on the computer clusters. This study also re-implements the trajectory optimization algorithm for further reduction of computational time through algorithm modifications and integrates that with FACET to facilitate the use of the new features which calculate time-optimal routes between worldwide airport pairs in a wind field for use with existing FACET applications. The implementations of trajectory optimization algorithms use MATLAB, Python, and Java programming languages. The performance evaluations are done by comparing their computational efficiencies and based on the potential application of optimized trajectories. The paper shows that in the absence of special privileges on a supercomputer, a cluster of commercially available computers provides a feasible approach for national and global air traffic system studies.

Development of a new integrated local trajectory planning and tracking control framework for autonomous ground vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiaohui; Sun, Zhenping; Cao, Dongpu; Liu, Daxue; He, Hangen

2017-03-01

This study proposes a novel integrated local trajectory planning and tracking control (ILTPTC) framework for autonomous vehicles driving along a reference path with obstacles avoidance. For this ILTPTC framework, an efficient state-space sampling-based trajectory planning scheme is employed to smoothly follow the reference path. A model-based predictive path generation algorithm is applied to produce a set of smooth and kinematically-feasible paths connecting the initial state with the sampling terminal states. A velocity control law is then designed to assign a speed value at each of the points along the generated paths. An objective function considering both safety and comfort performance is carefully formulated for assessing the generated trajectories and selecting the optimal one. For accurately tracking the optimal trajectory while overcoming external disturbances and model uncertainties, a combined feedforward and feedback controller is developed. Both simulation analyses and vehicle testing are performed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed ILTPTC framework, and future research is also briefly discussed.

Time-optimal trajectory planning for underactuated spacecraft using a hybrid particle swarm optimization algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhuang, Yufei; Huang, Haibin

2014-02-01

A hybrid algorithm combining particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm with the Legendre pseudospectral method (LPM) is proposed for solving time-optimal trajectory planning problem of underactuated spacecrafts. At the beginning phase of the searching process, an initialization generator is constructed by the PSO algorithm due to its strong global searching ability and robustness to random initial values, however, PSO algorithm has a disadvantage that its convergence rate around the global optimum is slow. Then, when the change in fitness function is smaller than a predefined value, the searching algorithm is switched to the LPM to accelerate the searching process. Thus, with the obtained solutions by the PSO algorithm as a set of proper initial guesses, the hybrid algorithm can find a global optimum more quickly and accurately. 200 Monte Carlo simulations results demonstrate that the proposed hybrid PSO-LPM algorithm has greater advantages in terms of global searching capability and convergence rate than both single PSO algorithm and LPM algorithm. Moreover, the PSO-LPM algorithm is also robust to random initial values.

Automated Conflict Resolution For Air Traffic Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Erzberger, Heinz

2005-01-01

The ability to detect and resolve conflicts automatically is considered to be an essential requirement for the next generation air traffic control system. While systems for automated conflict detection have been used operationally by controllers for more than 20 years, automated resolution systems have so far not reached the level of maturity required for operational deployment. Analytical models and algorithms for automated resolution have been traffic conditions to demonstrate that they can handle the complete spectrum of conflict situations encountered in actual operations. The resolution algorithm described in this paper was formulated to meet the performance requirements of the Automated Airspace Concept (AAC). The AAC, which was described in a recent paper [1], is a candidate for the next generation air traffic control system. The AAC's performance objectives are to increase safety and airspace capacity and to accommodate user preferences in flight operations to the greatest extent possible. In the AAC, resolution trajectories are generated by an automation system on the ground and sent to the aircraft autonomously via data link .The algorithm generating the trajectories must take into account the performance characteristics of the aircraft, the route structure of the airway system, and be capable of resolving all types of conflicts for properly equipped aircraft without requiring supervision and approval by a controller. Furthermore, the resolution trajectories should be compatible with the clearances, vectors and flight plan amendments that controllers customarily issue to pilots in resolving conflicts. The algorithm described herein, although formulated specifically to meet the needs of the AAC, provides a generic engine for resolving conflicts. Thus, it can be incorporated into any operational concept that requires a method for automated resolution, including concepts for autonomous air to air resolution.

Flight evaluation of a computer aided low-altitude helicopter flight guidance system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Swenson, Harry N.; Jones, Raymond D.; Clark, Raymond

1993-01-01

The Flight Systems Development branch of the U.S. Army's Avionics Research and Development Activity (AVRADA) and NASA Ames Research Center developed for flight testing a Computer Aided Low-Altitude Helicopter Flight (CALAHF) guidance system. The system includes a trajectory-generation algorithm which uses dynamic programming and a helmet-mounted display (HMD) presentation of a pathway-in-the-sky, a phantom aircraft, and flight-path vector/predictor guidance symbology. The trajectory-generation algorithm uses knowledge of the global mission requirements, a digital terrain map, aircraft performance capabilities, and precision navigation information to determine a trajectory between mission waypoints that seeks valleys to minimize threat exposure. This system was developed and evaluated through extensive use of piloted simulation and has demonstrated a 'pilot centered' concept of automated and integrated navigation and terrain mission planning flight guidance. This system has shown a significant improvement in pilot situational awareness, and mission effectiveness as well as a decrease in training and proficiency time required for a near terrain, nighttime, adverse weather system.

Spline Trajectory Algorithm Development: Bezier Curve Control Point Generation for UAVs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howell, Lauren R.; Allen, B. Danette

2016-01-01

A greater need for sophisticated autonomous piloting systems has risen in direct correlation with the ubiquity of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology. Whether surveying unknown or unexplored areas of the world, collecting scientific data from regions in which humans are typically incapable of entering, locating lost or wanted persons, or delivering emergency supplies, an unmanned vehicle moving in close proximity to people and other vehicles, should fly smoothly and predictably. The mathematical application of spline interpolation can play an important role in autopilots' on-board trajectory planning. Spline interpolation allows for the connection of Three-Dimensional Euclidean Space coordinates through a continuous set of smooth curves. This paper explores the motivation, application, and methodology used to compute the spline control points, which shape the curves in such a way that the autopilot trajectory is able to meet vehicle-dynamics limitations. The spline algorithms developed used to generate these curves supply autopilots with the information necessary to compute vehicle paths through a set of coordinate waypoints.

Departure Trajectory Synthesis and the Intercept Problem

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bolender, Michael A.; Slater, G. L.

1997-01-01

Two areas of the departure problem in air traffic control are discussed. The first topic is the generation of climb-out trajectories to a fix. The trajectories would be utilized by a scheduling algorithm to allocate runways, sequence the proposed departures, and assign a departure time. The second area is concerned with finding horizontal trajectories to merge aircraft from the TRACON to an open slot in the en-route environment. Solutions are presented for the intercept problem for two cases: (1) the aircraft is traveling at the speed of the aircraft in the jetway; (2) the merging aircraft has to accelerate to reach the speed of the aircraft in the en-route stream. An algorithm is given regarding the computation of a solution for the latter case. For the former, a set of equations is given that allows us to numerically solve for the coordinate where the merge will occur.

Fast, Safe, Propellant-Efficient Spacecraft Motion Planning Under Clohessy-Wiltshire-Hill Dynamics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Starek, Joseph A.; Schmerling, Edward; Maher, Gabriel D.; Barbee, Brent W.; Pavone, Marco

2016-01-01

This paper presents a sampling-based motion planning algorithm for real-time and propellant-optimized autonomous spacecraft trajectory generation in near-circular orbits. Specifically, this paper leverages recent algorithmic advances in the field of robot motion planning to the problem of impulsively actuated, propellant- optimized rendezvous and proximity operations under the Clohessy-Wiltshire-Hill dynamics model. The approach calls upon a modified version of the FMT* algorithm to grow a set of feasible trajectories over a deterministic, low-dispersion set of sample points covering the free state space. To enforce safety, the tree is only grown over the subset of actively safe samples, from which there exists a feasible one-burn collision-avoidance maneuver that can safely circularize the spacecraft orbit along its coasting arc under a given set of potential thruster failures. Key features of the proposed algorithm include 1) theoretical guarantees in terms of trajectory safety and performance, 2) amenability to real-time implementation, and 3) generality, in the sense that a large class of constraints can be handled directly. As a result, the proposed algorithm offers the potential for widespread application, ranging from on-orbit satellite servicing to orbital debris removal and autonomous inspection missions.

Theory and algorithms for image reconstruction on chords and within regions of interest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zou, Yu; Pan, Xiaochuan; Sidky, Emilâ Y.

2005-11-01

We introduce a formula for image reconstruction on a chord of a general source trajectory. We subsequently develop three algorithms for exact image reconstruction on a chord from data acquired with the general trajectory. Interestingly, two of the developed algorithms can accommodate data containing transverse truncations. The widely used helical trajectory and other trajectories discussed in literature can be interpreted as special cases of the general trajectory, and the developed theory and algorithms are thus directly applicable to reconstructing images exactly from data acquired with these trajectories. For instance, chords on a helical trajectory are equivalent to the n-PI-line segments. In this situation, the proposed algorithms become the algorithms that we proposed previously for image reconstruction on PI-line segments. We have performed preliminary numerical studies, which include the study on image reconstruction on chords of two-circle trajectory, which is nonsmooth, and on n-PI lines of a helical trajectory, which is smooth. Quantitative results of these studies verify and demonstrate the proposed theory and algorithms.

Dynamic Distributed Cooperative Control of Multiple Heterogeneous Resources

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-10-01

of the UAVs to maximize the total sensor footprint over the region of interest. The algorithm utilized to solve this problem was based on sampling a...and moving obstacles. Obstacle positions were assumed known a priori. Kingston and Beard [22] presented an algorithm to keep moving UAVs equally spaced...Planning Algorithms , Cambridge University Press, 2006. 11. Ma, C. S. and Miller, R. H., “Mixed integer linear programming trajectory generation for

Robust mobility in human-populated environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonzalez, Juan Pablo; Phillips, Mike; Neuman, Brad; Likhachev, Max

2012-06-01

Creating robots that can help humans in a variety of tasks requires robust mobility and the ability to safely navigate among moving obstacles. This paper presents an overview of recent research in the Robotics Collaborative Technology Alliance (RCTA) that addresses many of the core requirements for robust mobility in human-populated environments. Safe Interval Path Planning (SIPP) allows for very fast planning in dynamic environments when planning timeminimal trajectories. Generalized Safe Interval Path Planning extends this concept to trajectories that minimize arbitrary cost functions. Finally, generalized PPCP algorithm is used to generate plans that reason about the uncertainty in the predicted trajectories of moving obstacles and try to actively disambiguate the intentions of humans whenever necessary. We show how these approaches consider moving obstacles and temporal constraints and produce high-fidelity paths. Experiments in simulated environments show the performance of the algorithms under different controlled conditions, and experiments on physical mobile robots interacting with humans show how the algorithms perform under the uncertainties of the real world.

Variational Trajectory Optimization Tool Set: Technical description and user's manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bless, Robert R.; Queen, Eric M.; Cavanaugh, Michael D.; Wetzel, Todd A.; Moerder, Daniel D.

1993-01-01

The algorithms that comprise the Variational Trajectory Optimization Tool Set (VTOTS) package are briefly described. The VTOTS is a software package for solving nonlinear constrained optimal control problems from a wide range of engineering and scientific disciplines. The VTOTS package was specifically designed to minimize the amount of user programming; in fact, for problems that may be expressed in terms of analytical functions, the user needs only to define the problem in terms of symbolic variables. This version of the VTOTS does not support tabular data; thus, problems must be expressed in terms of analytical functions. The VTOTS package consists of two methods for solving nonlinear optimal control problems: a time-domain finite-element algorithm and a multiple shooting algorithm. These two algorithms, under the VTOTS package, may be run independently or jointly. The finite-element algorithm generates approximate solutions, whereas the shooting algorithm provides a more accurate solution to the optimization problem. A user's manual, some examples with results, and a brief description of the individual subroutines are included.

Diverse Planning for UAV Control and Remote Sensing

PubMed Central

Tožička, Jan; Komenda, Antonín

2016-01-01

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are suited to various remote sensing missions, such as measuring air quality. The conventional method of UAV control is by human operators. Such an approach is limited by the ability of cooperation among the operators controlling larger fleets of UAVs in a shared area. The remedy for this is to increase autonomy of the UAVs in planning their trajectories by considering other UAVs and their plans. To provide such improvement in autonomy, we need better algorithms for generating alternative trajectory variants that the UAV coordination algorithms can utilize. In this article, we define a novel family of multi-UAV sensing problems, solving task allocation of huge number of tasks (tens of thousands) to a group of configurable UAVs with non-zero weight of equipped sensors (comprising the air quality measurement as well) together with two base-line solvers. To solve the problem efficiently, we use an algorithm for diverse trajectory generation and integrate it with a solver for the multi-UAV coordination problem. Finally, we experimentally evaluate the multi-UAV sensing problem solver. The evaluation is done on synthetic and real-world-inspired benchmarks in a multi-UAV simulator. Results show that diverse planning is a valuable method for remote sensing applications containing multiple UAVs. PMID:28009831

Diverse Planning for UAV Control and Remote Sensing.

PubMed

Tožička, Jan; Komenda, Antonín

2016-12-21

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are suited to various remote sensing missions, such as measuring air quality. The conventional method of UAV control is by human operators. Such an approach is limited by the ability of cooperation among the operators controlling larger fleets of UAVs in a shared area. The remedy for this is to increase autonomy of the UAVs in planning their trajectories by considering other UAVs and their plans. To provide such improvement in autonomy, we need better algorithms for generating alternative trajectory variants that the UAV coordination algorithms can utilize. In this article, we define a novel family of multi-UAV sensing problems, solving task allocation of huge number of tasks (tens of thousands) to a group of configurable UAVs with non-zero weight of equipped sensors (comprising the air quality measurement as well) together with two base-line solvers. To solve the problem efficiently, we use an algorithm for diverse trajectory generation and integrate it with a solver for the multi-UAV coordination problem. Finally, we experimentally evaluate the multi-UAV sensing problem solver. The evaluation is done on synthetic and real-world-inspired benchmarks in a multi-UAV simulator. Results show that diverse planning is a valuable method for remote sensing applications containing multiple UAVs.

Real-time terminal area trajectory planning for runway independent aircraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xue, Min

The increasing demand for commercial air transportation results in delays due to traffic queues that form bottlenecks along final approach and departure corridors. In urban areas, it is often infeasible to build new runways, and regardless of automation upgrades traffic must remain separated to avoid the wakes of previous aircraft. Vertical or short takeoff and landing aircraft as Runway Independent Aircraft (RIA) can increase passenger throughput at major urban airports via the use of vertiports or stub runways. The concept of simultaneous non-interfering (SNI) operations has been proposed to reduce traffic delays by creating approach and departure corridors that do not intersect existing fixed-wing routes. However, SNI trajectories open new routes that may overfly noise-sensitive areas, and RIA may generate more noise than traditional jet aircraft, particularly on approach. In this dissertation, we develop efficient SNI noise abatement procedures applicable to RIA. First, we introduce a methodology based on modified approximated cell-decomposition and Dijkstra's search algorithm to optimize longitudinal plane (2-D) RIA trajectories over a cost function that minimizes noise, time, and fuel use. Then, we extend the trajectory optimization model to 3-D with a k-ary tree as the discrete search space. We incorporate geography information system (GIS) data, specifically population, into our objective function, and focus on a practical case study: the design of SNI RIA approach procedures to Baltimore-Washington International airport. Because solutions were represented as trim state sequences, we incorporated smooth transition between segments to enable more realistic cost estimates. Due to the significant computational complexity, we investigated alternative more efficient optimization techniques applicable to our nonlinear, non-convex, heavily constrained, and discontinuous objective function. Comparing genetic algorithm (GA) and adaptive simulated annealing (ASA) with our original Dijkstra's algorithm, ASA is identified as the most efficient algorithm for terminal area trajectory optimization. The effects of design parameter discretization are analyzed, with results indicating a SNI procedure with 3-4 segments effectively balances simplicity with cost minimization. Finally, pilot control commands were implemented and generated via optimization-base inverse simulation to validate execution of the optimal approach trajectories.

Transitioning from Software Requirements Models to Design Models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lowry, Michael (Technical Monitor); Whittle, Jon

2003-01-01

Summary: 1. Proof-of-concept of state machine synthesis from scenarios - CTAS case study. 2. CTAS team wants to use the syntheses algorithm to validate trajectory generation. 3. Extending synthesis algorithm towards requirements validation: (a) scenario relationships' (b) methodology for generalizing/refining scenarios, and (c) interaction patterns to control synthesis. 4. Initial ideas tested on conflict detection scenarios.

4D BADA-based Trajectory Generator and 3D Guidance Algorithm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Palacios, Eduardo Sepulveda; Johnson, Marcus A.

2013-01-01

This paper presents a hybrid integration between aerodynamic, airline procedures and other BADA-based (Base of Aircraft Data) coefficients with a classical aircraft dynamic model. This paper also describes a three-dimensional guidance algorithm implemented in order to produce commands for the aircraft to follow a flight plan. The software chosen for this work is MATLAB.

A modified PATH algorithm rapidly generates transition states comparable to those found by other well established algorithms

PubMed Central

Chandrasekaran, Srinivas Niranj; Das, Jhuma; Dokholyan, Nikolay V.; Carter, Charles W.

2016-01-01

PATH rapidly computes a path and a transition state between crystal structures by minimizing the Onsager-Machlup action. It requires input parameters whose range of values can generate different transition-state structures that cannot be uniquely compared with those generated by other methods. We outline modifications to estimate these input parameters to circumvent these difficulties and validate the PATH transition states by showing consistency between transition-states derived by different algorithms for unrelated protein systems. Although functional protein conformational change trajectories are to a degree stochastic, they nonetheless pass through a well-defined transition state whose detailed structural properties can rapidly be identified using PATH. PMID:26958584

Generating Pedestrian Trajectories Consistent with the Fundamental Diagram Based on Physiological and Psychological Factors

PubMed Central

Narang, Sahil; Best, Andrew; Curtis, Sean; Manocha, Dinesh

2015-01-01

Pedestrian crowds often have been modeled as many-particle system including microscopic multi-agent simulators. One of the key challenges is to unearth governing principles that can model pedestrian movement, and use them to reproduce paths and behaviors that are frequently observed in human crowds. To that effect, we present a novel crowd simulation algorithm that generates pedestrian trajectories that exhibit the speed-density relationships expressed by the Fundamental Diagram. Our approach is based on biomechanical principles and psychological factors. The overall formulation results in better utilization of free space by the pedestrians and can be easily combined with well-known multi-agent simulation techniques with little computational overhead. We are able to generate human-like dense crowd behaviors in large indoor and outdoor environments and validate the results with captured real-world crowd trajectories. PMID:25875932

Self-Organizing Map With Time-Varying Structure to Plan and Control Artificial Locomotion.

PubMed

Araujo, Aluizio F R; Santana, Orivaldo V

2015-08-01

This paper presents an algorithm, self-organizing map-state trajectory generator (SOM-STG), to plan and control legged robot locomotion. The SOM-STG is based on an SOM with a time-varying structure characterized by constructing autonomously close-state trajectories from an arbitrary number of robot postures. Each trajectory represents a cyclical movement of the limbs of an animal. The SOM-STG was designed to possess important features of a central pattern generator, such as rhythmic pattern generation, synchronization between limbs, and swapping between gaits following a single command. The acquisition of data for SOM-STG is based on learning by demonstration in which the data are obtained from different demonstrator agents. The SOM-STG can construct one or more gaits for a simulated robot with six legs, can control the robot with any of the gaits learned, and can smoothly swap gaits. In addition, SOM-STG can learn to construct a state trajectory form observing an animal in locomotion. In this paper, a dog is the demonstrator agent.

Anosov C-systems and random number generators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Savvidy, G. K.

2016-08-01

We further develop our previous proposal to use hyperbolic Anosov C-systems to generate pseudorandom numbers and to use them for efficient Monte Carlo calculations in high energy particle physics. All trajectories of hyperbolic dynamical systems are exponentially unstable, and C-systems therefore have mixing of all orders, a countable Lebesgue spectrum, and a positive Kolmogorov entropy. These exceptional ergodic properties follow from the C-condition introduced by Anosov. This condition defines a rich class of dynamical systems forming an open set in the space of all dynamical systems. An important property of C-systems is that they have a countable set of everywhere dense periodic trajectories and their density increases exponentially with entropy. Of special interest are the C-systems defined on higher-dimensional tori. Such C-systems are excellent candidates for generating pseudorandom numbers that can be used in Monte Carlo calculations. An efficient algorithm was recently constructed that allows generating long C-system trajectories very rapidly. These trajectories have good statistical properties and can be used for calculations in quantum chromodynamics and in high energy particle physics.

Dynamic trajectory-based couch motion for improvement of radiation therapy trajectories in cranial SRT

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

MacDonald, R. Lee; Thomas, Christopher G., E-mail: Chris.Thomas@cdha.nshealth.ca; Department of Medical Physics, Nova Scotia Cancer Centre, Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 1V7

2015-05-15

Purpose: To investigate potential improvement in external beam stereotactic radiation therapy plan quality for cranial cases using an optimized dynamic gantry and patient support couch motion trajectory, which could minimize exposure to sensitive healthy tissue. Methods: Anonymized patient anatomy and treatment plans of cranial cancer patients were used to quantify the geometric overlap between planning target volumes and organs-at-risk (OARs) based on their two-dimensional projection from source to a plane at isocenter as a function of gantry and couch angle. Published dose constraints were then used as weighting factors for the OARs to generate a map of couch-gantry coordinate space,more » indicating degree of overlap at each point in space. A couch-gantry collision space was generated by direct measurement on a linear accelerator and couch using an anthropomorphic solid-water phantom. A dynamic, fully customizable algorithm was written to generate a navigable ideal trajectory for the patient specific couch-gantry space. The advanced algorithm can be used to balance the implementation of absolute minimum values of overlap with the clinical practicality of large-scale couch motion and delivery time. Optimized cranial cancer treatment trajectories were compared to conventional treatment trajectories. Results: Comparison of optimized treatment trajectories with conventional treatment trajectories indicated an average decrease in mean dose to the OARs of 19% and an average decrease in maximum dose to the OARs of 12%. Degradation was seen for homogeneity index (6.14% ± 0.67%–5.48% ± 0.76%) and conformation number (0.82 ± 0.02–0.79 ± 0.02), but neither was statistically significant. Removal of OAR constraints from volumetric modulated arc therapy optimization reveals that reduction in dose to OARs is almost exclusively due to the optimized trajectory and not the OAR constraints. Conclusions: The authors’ study indicated that simultaneous couch and gantry motion during radiation therapy to minimize the geometrical overlap in the beams-eye-view of target volumes and the organs-at-risk can have an appreciable dose reduction to organs-at-risk.« less

Online optimal obstacle avoidance for rotary-wing autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Keeryun

This thesis presents an integrated framework for online obstacle avoidance of rotary-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which can provide UAVs an obstacle field navigation capability in a partially or completely unknown obstacle-rich environment. The framework is composed of a LIDAR interface, a local obstacle grid generation, a receding horizon (RH) trajectory optimizer, a global shortest path search algorithm, and a climb rate limit detection logic. The key feature of the framework is the use of an optimization-based trajectory generation in which the obstacle avoidance problem is formulated as a nonlinear trajectory optimization problem with state and input constraints over the finite range of the sensor. This local trajectory optimization is combined with a global path search algorithm which provides a useful initial guess to the nonlinear optimization solver. Optimization is the natural process of finding the best trajectory that is dynamically feasible, safe within the vehicle's flight envelope, and collision-free at the same time. The optimal trajectory is continuously updated in real time by the numerical optimization solver, Nonlinear Trajectory Generation (NTG), which is a direct solver based on the spline approximation of trajectory for dynamically flat systems. In fact, the overall approach of this thesis to finding the optimal trajectory is similar to the model predictive control (MPC) or the receding horizon control (RHC), except that this thesis followed a two-layer design; thus, the optimal solution works as a guidance command to be followed by the controller of the vehicle. The framework is implemented in a real-time simulation environment, the Georgia Tech UAV Simulation Tool (GUST), and integrated in the onboard software of the rotary-wing UAV test-bed at Georgia Tech. Initially, the 2D vertical avoidance capability of real obstacles was tested in flight. The flight test evaluations were extended to the benchmark tests for 3D avoidance capability over the virtual obstacles, and finally it was demonstrated on real obstacles located at the McKenna MOUT site in Fort Benning, Georgia. Simulations and flight test evaluations demonstrate the feasibility of the developed framework for UAV applications involving low-altitude flight in an urban area.

Optimised collision avoidance for an ultra-close rendezvous with a failed satellite based on the Gauss pseudospectral method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, Xiaoyu; Zhang, Jingrui; Lu, Shan; Zhang, Yao; Sun, Yue

2016-11-01

This paper presents a trajectory planning algorithm to optimise the collision avoidance of a chasing spacecraft operating in an ultra-close proximity to a failed satellite. The complex configuration and the tumbling motion of the failed satellite are considered. The two-spacecraft rendezvous dynamics are formulated based on the target body frame, and the collision avoidance constraints are detailed, particularly concerning the uncertainties. An optimisation solution of the approaching problem is generated using the Gauss pseudospectral method. A closed-loop control is used to track the optimised trajectory. Numerical results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.

Direct model reference adaptive control of robotic arms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaufman, Howard; Swift, David C.; Cummings, Steven T.; Shankey, Jeffrey R.

1993-01-01

The results of controlling A PUMA 560 Robotic Manipulator and the NASA shuttle Remote Manipulator System (RMS) using a Command Generator Tracker (CGT) based Model Reference Adaptive Controller (DMRAC) are presented. Initially, the DMRAC algorithm was run in simulation using a detailed dynamic model of the PUMA 560. The algorithm was tuned on the simulation and then used to control the manipulator using minimum jerk trajectories as the desired reference inputs. The ability to track a trajectory in the presence of load changes was also investigated in the simulation. Satisfactory performance was achieved in both simulation and on the actual robot. The obtained responses showed that the algorithm was robust in the presence of sudden load changes. Because these results indicate that the DMRAC algorithm can indeed be successfully applied to the control of robotic manipulators, additional testing was performed to validate the applicability of DMRAC to simulated dynamics of the shuttle RMS.

An Airborne Conflict Resolution Approach Using a Genetic Algorithm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mondoloni, Stephane; Conway, Sheila

2001-01-01

An airborne conflict resolution approach is presented that is capable of providing flight plans forecast to be conflict-free with both area and traffic hazards. This approach is capable of meeting constraints on the flight plan such as required times of arrival (RTA) at a fix. The conflict resolution algorithm is based upon a genetic algorithm, and can thus seek conflict-free flight plans meeting broader flight planning objectives such as minimum time, fuel or total cost. The method has been applied to conflicts occurring 6 to 25 minutes in the future in climb, cruise and descent phases of flight. The conflict resolution approach separates the detection, trajectory generation and flight rules function from the resolution algorithm. The method is capable of supporting pilot-constructed resolutions, cooperative and non-cooperative maneuvers, and also providing conflict resolution on trajectories forecast by an onboard FMC.

Learning State Space Dynamics in Recurrent Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simard, Patrice Yvon

Fully recurrent (asymmetrical) networks can be used to learn temporal trajectories. The network is unfolded in time, and backpropagation is used to train the weights. The presence of recurrent connections creates internal states in the system which vary as a function of time. The resulting dynamics can provide interesting additional computing power but learning is made more difficult by the existence of internal memories. This study first exhibits the properties of recurrent networks in terms of convergence when the internal states of the system are unknown. A new energy functional is provided to change the weights of the units in order to the control the stability of the fixed points of the network's dynamics. The power of the resultant algorithm is illustrated with the simulation of a content addressable memory. Next, the more general case of time trajectories on a recurrent network is studied. An application is proposed in which trajectories are generated to draw letters as a function of an input. In another application of recurrent systems, a neural network certain temporal properties observed in human callosally sectioned brains. Finally the proposed algorithm for stabilizing dynamics around fixed points is extended to one for stabilizing dynamics around time trajectories. Its effects are illustrated on a network which generates Lisajous curves.

Guidance and control of swarms of spacecraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morgan, Daniel James

There has been considerable interest in formation flying spacecraft due to their potential to perform certain tasks at a cheaper cost than monolithic spacecraft. Formation flying enables the use of smaller, cheaper spacecraft that distribute the risk of the mission. Recently, the ideas of formation flying have been extended to spacecraft swarms made up of hundreds to thousands of 100-gram-class spacecraft known as femtosatellites. The large number of spacecraft and limited capabilities of each individual spacecraft present a significant challenge in guidance, navigation, and control. This dissertation deals with the guidance and control algorithms required to enable the flight of spacecraft swarms. The algorithms developed in this dissertation are focused on achieving two main goals: swarm keeping and swarm reconfiguration. The objectives of swarm keeping are to maintain bounded relative distances between spacecraft, prevent collisions between spacecraft, and minimize the propellant used by each spacecraft. Swarm reconfiguration requires the transfer of the swarm to a specific shape. Like with swarm keeping, minimizing the propellant used and preventing collisions are the main objectives. Additionally, the algorithms required for swarm keeping and swarm reconfiguration should be decentralized with respect to communication and computation so that they can be implemented on femtosats, which have limited hardware capabilities. The algorithms developed in this dissertation are concerned with swarms located in low Earth orbit. In these orbits, Earth oblateness and atmospheric drag have a significant effect on the relative motion of the swarm. The complicated dynamic environment of low Earth orbits further complicates the swarm-keeping and swarm-reconfiguration problems. To better develop and test these algorithms, a nonlinear, relative dynamic model with J2 and drag perturbations is developed. This model is used throughout this dissertation to validate the algorithms using computer simulations. The swarm-keeping problem can be solved by placing the spacecraft on J2-invariant relative orbits, which prevent collisions and minimize the drift of the swarm over hundreds of orbits using a single burn. These orbits are achieved by energy matching the spacecraft to the reference orbit. Additionally, these conditions can be repeatedly applied to minimize the drift of the swarm when atmospheric drag has a large effect (orbits with an altitude under 500 km). The swarm reconfiguration is achieved using two steps: trajectory optimization and assignment. The trajectory optimization problem can be written as a nonlinear, optimal control problem. This optimal control problem is discretized, decoupled, and convexified so that the individual femtosats can efficiently solve the optimization. Sequential convex programming is used to generate the control sequences and trajectories required to safely and efficiently transfer a spacecraft from one position to another. The sequence of trajectories is shown to converge to a Karush-Kuhn-Tucker point of the nonconvex problem. In the case where many of the spacecraft are interchangeable, a variable-swarm, distributed auction algorithm is used to determine the assignment of spacecraft to target positions. This auction algorithm requires only local communication and all of the bidding parameters are stored locally. The assignment generated using this auction algorithm is shown to be near optimal and to converge in a finite number of bids. Additionally, the bidding process is used to modify the number of targets used in the assignment so that the reconfiguration can be achieved even when there is a disconnected communication network or a significant loss of agents. Once the assignment is achieved, the trajectory optimization can be run using the terminal positions determined by the auction algorithm. To implement these algorithms in real time a model predictive control formulation is used. Model predictive control uses a finite horizon to apply the most up-to-date control sequence while simultaneously calculating a new assignment and trajectory based on updated state information. Using a finite horizon allows collisions to only be considered between spacecraft that are near each other at the current time. This relaxes the all-to-all communication assumption so that only neighboring agents need to communicate. Experimental validation is done using the formation flying testbed. The swarm-reconfiguration algorithms are tested using multiple quadrotors. Experiments have been performed using sequential convex programming for offline trajectory planning, model predictive control and sequential convex programming for real-time trajectory generation, and the variable-swarm, distributed auction algorithm for optimal assignment. These experiments show that the swarm-reconfiguration algorithms can be implemented in real time using actual hardware. In general, this dissertation presents guidance and control algorithms that maintain and reconfigure swarms of spacecraft while maintaining the shape of the swarm, preventing collisions between the spacecraft, and minimizing the amount of propellant used.

A Formally Verified Conflict Detection Algorithm for Polynomial Trajectories

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Narkawicz, Anthony; Munoz, Cesar

2015-01-01

In air traffic management, conflict detection algorithms are used to determine whether or not aircraft are predicted to lose horizontal and vertical separation minima within a time interval assuming a trajectory model. In the case of linear trajectories, conflict detection algorithms have been proposed that are both sound, i.e., they detect all conflicts, and complete, i.e., they do not present false alarms. In general, for arbitrary nonlinear trajectory models, it is possible to define detection algorithms that are either sound or complete, but not both. This paper considers the case of nonlinear aircraft trajectory models based on polynomial functions. In particular, it proposes a conflict detection algorithm that precisely determines whether, given a lookahead time, two aircraft flying polynomial trajectories are in conflict. That is, it has been formally verified that, assuming that the aircraft trajectories are modeled as polynomial functions, the proposed algorithm is both sound and complete.

Back to the Future: Consistency-Based Trajectory Tracking

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kurien, James; Nayak, P. Pandurand; Norvig, Peter (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

Given a model of a physical process and a sequence of commands and observations received over time, the task of an autonomous controller is to determine the likely states of the process and the actions required to move the process to a desired configuration. We introduce a representation and algorithms for incrementally generating approximate belief states for a restricted but relevant class of partially observable Markov decision processes with very large state spaces. The algorithm presented incrementally generates, rather than revises, an approximate belief state at any point by abstracting and summarizing segments of the likely trajectories of the process. This enables applications to efficiently maintain a partial belief state when it remains consistent with observations and revisit past assumptions about the process' evolution when the belief state is ruled out. The system presented has been implemented and results on examples from the domain of spacecraft control are presented.

Self-balancing dynamic scheduling of electrical energy for energy-intensive enterprises

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Yunlong; Gao, Feng; Zhai, Qiaozhu; Guan, Xiaohong

2013-06-01

Balancing production and consumption with self-generation capacity in energy-intensive enterprises has huge economic and environmental benefits. However, balancing production and consumption with self-generation capacity is a challenging task since the energy production and consumption must be balanced in real time with the criteria specified by power grid. In this article, a mathematical model for minimising the production cost with exactly realisable energy delivery schedule is formulated. And a dynamic programming (DP)-based self-balancing dynamic scheduling algorithm is developed to obtain the complete solution set for such a multiple optimal solutions problem. For each stage, a set of conditions are established to determine whether a feasible control trajectory exists. The state space under these conditions is partitioned into subsets and each subset is viewed as an aggregate state, the cost-to-go function is then expressed as a function of initial and terminal generation levels of each stage and is proved to be a staircase function with finite steps. This avoids the calculation of the cost-to-go of every state to resolve the issue of dimensionality in DP algorithm. In the backward sweep process of the algorithm, an optimal policy is determined to maximise the realisability of energy delivery schedule across the entire time horizon. And then in the forward sweep process, the feasible region of the optimal policy with the initial and terminal state at each stage is identified. Different feasible control trajectories can be identified based on the region; therefore, optimising for the feasible control trajectory is performed based on the region with economic and reliability objectives taken into account.

A real-time guidance algorithm for aerospace plane optimal ascent to low earth orbit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Calise, A. J.; Flandro, G. A.; Corban, J. E.

1989-01-01

Problems of onboard trajectory optimization and synthesis of suitable guidance laws for ascent to low Earth orbit of an air-breathing, single-stage-to-orbit vehicle are addressed. A multimode propulsion system is assumed which incorporates turbojet, ramjet, Scramjet, and rocket engines. An algorithm for generating fuel-optimal climb profiles is presented. This algorithm results from the application of the minimum principle to a low-order dynamic model that includes angle-of-attack effects and the normal component of thrust. Maximum dynamic pressure and maximum aerodynamic heating rate constraints are considered. Switching conditions are derived which, under appropriate assumptions, govern optimal transition from one propulsion mode to another. A nonlinear transformation technique is employed to derived a feedback controller for tracking the computed trajectory. Numerical results illustrate the nature of the resulting fuel-optimal climb paths.

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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yuan; Zhu, Qing

2017-07-01

In order to achieve the simulation of elaborate stroke trajectories in Chinese calligraphy, this paper puts forward the innovative researching on writing momentum in the field of non-photorealistic rendering in the first time. Through the analysis of using pen in Chinese calligraphy, the writing momentum is divided into three parts: the center, the side and the back of writing brush by the judgment of the angle of brush holder. We design an algorithm for dynamic outputting writing rendering based on brush model. According to monitoring parameters such as the direction, position and normalized pressure of using pen, we calculate parameters like the footprint direction, the shape, size and nib bending after writing. The algorithm can also judge the dynamic writing trend of stroke trajectories, even automatic generate stroke trajectories by the algorithm forecasted. We achieve a more delicate rendering of Chinese calligraphy to enhance the user's operating results. And we finish the unique writing effect separated the Chinese calligraphy form other general writing results, which greatly enhances the Chinese calligraphy simulation. So that people who lack of writing skills can easily draw a beautiful charm font.

A Probabilistic Framework for Constructing Temporal Relations in Replica Exchange Molecular Trajectories.

PubMed

Chattopadhyay, Aditya; Zheng, Min; Waller, Mark Paul; Priyakumar, U Deva

2018-05-23

Knowledge of the structure and dynamics of biomolecules is essential for elucidating the underlying mechanisms of biological processes. Given the stochastic nature of many biological processes, like protein unfolding, it's almost impossible that two independent simulations will generate the exact same sequence of events, which makes direct analysis of simulations difficult. Statistical models like Markov Chains, transition networks etc. help in shedding some light on the mechanistic nature of such processes by predicting long-time dynamics of these systems from short simulations. However, such methods fall short in analyzing trajectories with partial or no temporal information, for example, replica exchange molecular dynamics or Monte Carlo simulations. In this work we propose a probabilistic algorithm, borrowing concepts from graph theory and machine learning, to extract reactive pathways from molecular trajectories in the absence of temporal data. A suitable vector representation was chosen to represent each frame in the macromolecular trajectory (as a series of interaction and conformational energies) and dimensionality reduction was performed using principal component analysis (PCA). The trajectory was then clustered using a density-based clustering algorithm, where each cluster represents a metastable state on the potential energy surface (PES) of the biomolecule under study. A graph was created with these clusters as nodes with the edges learnt using an iterative expectation maximization algorithm. The most reactive path is conceived as the widest path along this graph. We have tested our method on RNA hairpin unfolding trajectory in aqueous urea solution. Our method makes the understanding of the mechanism of unfolding in RNA hairpin molecule more tractable. As this method doesn't rely on temporal data it can be used to analyze trajectories from Monte Carlo sampling techniques and replica exchange molecular dynamics (REMD).

Generate stepper motor linear speed profile in real time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stoychitch, M. Y.

2018-01-01

In this paper we consider the problem of realization of linear speed profile of stepper motors in real time. We considered the general case when changes of speed in the phases of acceleration and deceleration are different. The new and practical algorithm of the trajectory planning is given. The algorithms of the real time speed control which are suitable for realization to the microcontroller and FPGA circuits are proposed. The practical realization one of these algorithms, using Arduino platform, is given also.

Minimum deltaV Burn Planning for the International Space Station Using a Hybrid Optimization Technique, Level 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Aaron J.

2015-01-01

The International Space Station's (ISS) trajectory is coordinated and executed by the Trajectory Operations and Planning (TOPO) group at NASA's Johnson Space Center. TOPO group personnel routinely generate look-ahead trajectories for the ISS that incorporate translation burns needed to maintain its orbit over the next three to twelve months. The burns are modeled as in-plane, horizontal burns, and must meet operational trajectory constraints imposed by both NASA and the Russian Space Agency. In generating these trajectories, TOPO personnel must determine the number of burns to model, each burn's Time of Ignition (TIG), and magnitude (i.e. deltaV) that meet these constraints. The current process for targeting these burns is manually intensive, and does not take advantage of more modern techniques that can reduce the workload needed to find feasible burn solutions, i.e. solutions that simply meet the constraints, or provide optimal burn solutions that minimize the total DeltaV while simultaneously meeting the constraints. A two-level, hybrid optimization technique is proposed to find both feasible and globally optimal burn solutions for ISS trajectory planning. For optimal solutions, the technique breaks the optimization problem into two distinct sub-problems, one for choosing the optimal number of burns and each burn's optimal TIG, and the other for computing the minimum total deltaV burn solution that satisfies the trajectory constraints. Each of the two aforementioned levels uses a different optimization algorithm to solve one of the sub-problems, giving rise to a hybrid technique. Level 2, or the outer level, uses a genetic algorithm to select the number of burns and each burn's TIG. Level 1, or the inner level, uses the burn TIGs from Level 2 in a sequential quadratic programming (SQP) algorithm to compute a minimum total deltaV burn solution subject to the trajectory constraints. The total deltaV from Level 1 is then used as a fitness function by the genetic algorithm in Level 2 to select the number of burns and their TIGs for the next generation. In this manner, the two levels solve their respective sub-problems separately but collaboratively until a burn solution is found that globally minimizes the deltaV across the entire trajectory. Feasible solutions can also be found by simply using the SQP algorithm in Level 1 with a zero cost function. This paper discusses the formulation of the Level 1 sub-problem and the development of a prototype software tool to solve it. The Level 2 sub-problem will be discussed in a future work. Following the Level 1 formulation and solution, several look-ahead trajectory examples for the ISS are explored. In each case, the burn targeting results using the current process are compared against a feasible solution found using Level 1 in the proposed technique. Level 1 is then used to find a minimum deltaV solution given the fixed number of burns and burn TIGs. The optimal solution is compared with the previously found feasible solution to determine the deltaV (and therefore propellant) savings. The proposed technique seeks to both improve the current process for targeting ISS burns, and to add the capability to optimize ISS burns in a novel fashion. The optimal solutions found using this technique can potentially save hundreds of kilograms of propellant over the course of the ISS mission compared to feasible solutions alone. While the software tool being developed to implement this technique is specific to ISS, the concept is extensible to other long-duration, central-body orbiting missions that must perform orbit maintenance burns to meet operational trajectory constraints.

Efficient hybrid non-equilibrium molecular dynamics--Monte Carlo simulations with symmetric momentum reversal.

PubMed

Chen, Yunjie; Roux, Benoît

2014-09-21

Hybrid schemes combining the strength of molecular dynamics (MD) and Metropolis Monte Carlo (MC) offer a promising avenue to improve the sampling efficiency of computer simulations of complex systems. A number of recently proposed hybrid methods consider new configurations generated by driving the system via a non-equilibrium MD (neMD) trajectory, which are subsequently treated as putative candidates for Metropolis MC acceptance or rejection. To obey microscopic detailed balance, it is necessary to alter the momentum of the system at the beginning and/or the end of the neMD trajectory. This strict rule then guarantees that the random walk in configurational space generated by such hybrid neMD-MC algorithm will yield the proper equilibrium Boltzmann distribution. While a number of different constructs are possible, the most commonly used prescription has been to simply reverse the momenta of all the particles at the end of the neMD trajectory ("one-end momentum reversal"). Surprisingly, it is shown here that the choice of momentum reversal prescription can have a considerable effect on the rate of convergence of the hybrid neMD-MC algorithm, with the simple one-end momentum reversal encountering particularly acute problems. In these neMD-MC simulations, different regions of configurational space end up being essentially isolated from one another due to a very small transition rate between regions. In the worst-case scenario, it is almost as if the configurational space does not constitute a single communicating class that can be sampled efficiently by the algorithm, and extremely long neMD-MC simulations are needed to obtain proper equilibrium probability distributions. To address this issue, a novel momentum reversal prescription, symmetrized with respect to both the beginning and the end of the neMD trajectory ("symmetric two-ends momentum reversal"), is introduced. Illustrative simulations demonstrate that the hybrid neMD-MC algorithm robustly yields a correct equilibrium probability distribution with this prescription.

Efficient hybrid non-equilibrium molecular dynamics - Monte Carlo simulations with symmetric momentum reversal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yunjie; Roux, Benoît

2014-09-01

Hybrid schemes combining the strength of molecular dynamics (MD) and Metropolis Monte Carlo (MC) offer a promising avenue to improve the sampling efficiency of computer simulations of complex systems. A number of recently proposed hybrid methods consider new configurations generated by driving the system via a non-equilibrium MD (neMD) trajectory, which are subsequently treated as putative candidates for Metropolis MC acceptance or rejection. To obey microscopic detailed balance, it is necessary to alter the momentum of the system at the beginning and/or the end of the neMD trajectory. This strict rule then guarantees that the random walk in configurational space generated by such hybrid neMD-MC algorithm will yield the proper equilibrium Boltzmann distribution. While a number of different constructs are possible, the most commonly used prescription has been to simply reverse the momenta of all the particles at the end of the neMD trajectory ("one-end momentum reversal"). Surprisingly, it is shown here that the choice of momentum reversal prescription can have a considerable effect on the rate of convergence of the hybrid neMD-MC algorithm, with the simple one-end momentum reversal encountering particularly acute problems. In these neMD-MC simulations, different regions of configurational space end up being essentially isolated from one another due to a very small transition rate between regions. In the worst-case scenario, it is almost as if the configurational space does not constitute a single communicating class that can be sampled efficiently by the algorithm, and extremely long neMD-MC simulations are needed to obtain proper equilibrium probability distributions. To address this issue, a novel momentum reversal prescription, symmetrized with respect to both the beginning and the end of the neMD trajectory ("symmetric two-ends momentum reversal"), is introduced. Illustrative simulations demonstrate that the hybrid neMD-MC algorithm robustly yields a correct equilibrium probability distribution with this prescription.

A Segment-Based Trajectory Similarity Measure in the Urban Transportation Systems.

PubMed

Mao, Yingchi; Zhong, Haishi; Xiao, Xianjian; Li, Xiaofang

2017-03-06

With the rapid spread of built-in GPS handheld smart devices, the trajectory data from GPS sensors has grown explosively. Trajectory data has spatio-temporal characteristics and rich information. Using trajectory data processing techniques can mine the patterns of human activities and the moving patterns of vehicles in the intelligent transportation systems. A trajectory similarity measure is one of the most important issues in trajectory data mining (clustering, classification, frequent pattern mining, etc.). Unfortunately, the main similarity measure algorithms with the trajectory data have been found to be inaccurate, highly sensitive of sampling methods, and have low robustness for the noise data. To solve the above problems, three distances and their corresponding computation methods are proposed in this paper. The point-segment distance can decrease the sensitivity of the point sampling methods. The prediction distance optimizes the temporal distance with the features of trajectory data. The segment-segment distance introduces the trajectory shape factor into the similarity measurement to improve the accuracy. The three kinds of distance are integrated with the traditional dynamic time warping algorithm (DTW) algorithm to propose a new segment-based dynamic time warping algorithm (SDTW). The experimental results show that the SDTW algorithm can exhibit about 57%, 86%, and 31% better accuracy than the longest common subsequence algorithm (LCSS), and edit distance on real sequence algorithm (EDR) , and DTW, respectively, and that the sensitivity to the noise data is lower than that those algorithms.

White matter tractography using diffusion tensor deflection.

PubMed

Lazar, Mariana; Weinstein, David M; Tsuruda, Jay S; Hasan, Khader M; Arfanakis, Konstantinos; Meyerand, M Elizabeth; Badie, Benham; Rowley, Howard A; Haughton, Victor; Field, Aaron; Alexander, Andrew L

2003-04-01

Diffusion tensor MRI provides unique directional diffusion information that can be used to estimate the patterns of white matter connectivity in the human brain. In this study, the behavior of an algorithm for white matter tractography is examined. The algorithm, called TEND, uses the entire diffusion tensor to deflect the estimated fiber trajectory. Simulations and imaging experiments on in vivo human brains were performed to investigate the behavior of the tractography algorithm. The simulations show that the deflection term is less sensitive than the major eigenvector to image noise. In the human brain imaging experiments, estimated tracts were generated in corpus callosum, corticospinal tract, internal capsule, corona radiata, superior longitudinal fasciculus, inferior longitudinal fasciculus, fronto-occipital fasciculus, and uncinate fasciculus. This approach is promising for mapping the organizational patterns of white matter in the human brain as well as mapping the relationship between major fiber trajectories and the location and extent of brain lesions. Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The Development of NASA's Low Thrust Trajectory Tool Set

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sims, Jon; Artis, Gwen; Kos, Larry

2006-01-01

Highly efficient electric propulsion systems can enable interesting classes of missions; unfortunately, they provide only a limited amount of thrust. Low-thrust (LT) trajectories are much more difficult to design than impulsive-type (chemical propulsion) trajectories. Previous low-thrust (LT) trajectory optimization software was often difficult to use, often had difficulties converging, and was somewhat limited in the types of missions it could support. A new state-of-the-art suite (toolbox) of low-thrust (LT) tools along with improved algorithms and methods was developed by NASA's MSFC, JPL, JSC, and GRC to address the needs of our customers to help foster technology development in the areas of advanced LT propulsion systems, and to facilitate generation of similar results by different analysts.

Optimal trajectories of aircraft and spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miele, A.

1990-01-01

Work done on algorithms for the numerical solutions of optimal control problems and their application to the computation of optimal flight trajectories of aircraft and spacecraft is summarized. General considerations on calculus of variations, optimal control, numerical algorithms, and applications of these algorithms to real-world problems are presented. The sequential gradient-restoration algorithm (SGRA) is examined for the numerical solution of optimal control problems of the Bolza type. Both the primal formulation and the dual formulation are discussed. Aircraft trajectories, in particular, the application of the dual sequential gradient-restoration algorithm (DSGRA) to the determination of optimal flight trajectories in the presence of windshear are described. Both take-off trajectories and abort landing trajectories are discussed. Take-off trajectories are optimized by minimizing the peak deviation of the absolute path inclination from a reference value. Abort landing trajectories are optimized by minimizing the peak drop of altitude from a reference value. Abort landing trajectories are optimized by minimizing the peak drop of altitude from a reference value. The survival capability of an aircraft in a severe windshear is discussed, and the optimal trajectories are found to be superior to both constant pitch trajectories and maximum angle of attack trajectories. Spacecraft trajectories, in particular, the application of the primal sequential gradient-restoration algorithm (PSGRA) to the determination of optimal flight trajectories for aeroassisted orbital transfer are examined. Both the coplanar case and the noncoplanar case are discussed within the frame of three problems: minimization of the total characteristic velocity; minimization of the time integral of the square of the path inclination; and minimization of the peak heating rate. The solution of the second problem is called nearly-grazing solution, and its merits are pointed out as a useful engineering compromise between energy requirements and aerodynamics heating requirements.

Equilibrium point control of a monkey arm simulator by a fast learning tree structured artificial neural network.

PubMed

Dornay, M; Sanger, T D

1993-01-01

A planar 17 muscle model of the monkey's arm based on realistic biomechanical measurements was simulated on a Symbolics Lisp Machine. The simulator implements the equilibrium point hypothesis for the control of arm movements. Given initial and final desired positions, it generates a minimum-jerk desired trajectory of the hand and uses the backdriving algorithm to determine an appropriate sequence of motor commands to the muscles (Flash 1987; Mussa-Ivaldi et al. 1991; Dornay 1991b). These motor commands specify a temporal sequence of stable (attractive) equilibrium positions which lead to the desired hand movement. A strong disadvantage of the simulator is that it has no memory of previous computations. Determining the desired trajectory using the minimum-jerk model is instantaneous, but the laborious backdriving algorithm is slow, and can take up to one hour for some trajectories. The complexity of the required computations makes it a poor model for biological motor control. We propose a computationally simpler and more biologically plausible method for control which achieves the benefits of the backdriving algorithm. A fast learning, tree-structured network (Sanger 1991c) was trained to remember the knowledge obtained by the backdriving algorithm. The neural network learned the nonlinear mapping from a 2-dimensional cartesian planar hand position (x,y) to a 17-dimensional motor command space (u1, . . ., u17). Learning 20 training trajectories, each composed of 26 sample points [[x,y], [u1, . . ., u17] took only 20 min on a Sun-4 Sparc workstation. After the learning stage, new, untrained test trajectories as well as the original trajectories of the hand were given to the neural network as input. The network calculated the required motor commands for these movements. The resulting movements were close to the desired ones for both the training and test cases.

Real-time UAV trajectory generation using feature points matching between video image sequences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Byun, Younggi; Song, Jeongheon; Han, Dongyeob

2017-09-01

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), equipped with navigation systems and video capability, are currently being deployed for intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance mission. In this paper, we present a systematic approach for the generation of UAV trajectory using a video image matching system based on SURF (Speeded up Robust Feature) and Preemptive RANSAC (Random Sample Consensus). Video image matching to find matching points is one of the most important steps for the accurate generation of UAV trajectory (sequence of poses in 3D space). We used the SURF algorithm to find the matching points between video image sequences, and removed mismatching by using the Preemptive RANSAC which divides all matching points to outliers and inliers. The inliers are only used to determine the epipolar geometry for estimating the relative pose (rotation and translation) between image sequences. Experimental results from simulated video image sequences showed that our approach has a good potential to be applied to the automatic geo-localization of the UAVs system

Parameter optimization on the convergence surface of path simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandrasekaran, Srinivas Niranj

Computational treatments of protein conformational changes tend to focus on the trajectories themselves, despite the fact that it is the transition state structures that contain information about the barriers that impose multi-state behavior. PATH is an algorithm that computes a transition pathway between two protein crystal structures, along with the transition state structure, by minimizing the Onsager-Machlup action functional. It is rapid but depends on several unknown input parameters whose range of different values can potentially generate different transition-state structures. Transition-state structures arising from different input parameters cannot be uniquely compared with those generated by other methods. I outline modifications that I have made to the PATH algorithm that estimates these input parameters in a manner that circumvents these difficulties, and describe two complementary tests that validate the transition-state structures found by the PATH algorithm. First, I show that although the PATH algorithm and two other approaches to computing transition pathways produce different low-energy structures connecting the initial and final ground-states with the transition state, all three methods agree closely on the configurations of their transition states. Second, I show that the PATH transition states are close to the saddle points of free-energy surfaces connecting initial and final states generated by replica-exchange Discrete Molecular Dynamics simulations. I show that aromatic side-chain rearrangements create similar potential energy barriers in the transition-state structures identified by PATH for a signaling protein, a contractile protein, and an enzyme. Finally, I observed, but cannot account for, the fact that trajectories obtained for all-atom and Calpha-only simulations identify transition state structures in which the Calpha atoms are in essentially the same positions. The consistency between transition-state structures derived by different algorithms for unrelated protein systems argues that although functionally important protein conformational change trajectories are to a degree stochastic, they nonetheless pass through a well-defined transition state whose detailed structural properties can rapidly be identified using PATH. In the end, I outline the strategies that could enhance the efficiency and applicability of PATH.

Application of importance sampling to the computation of large deviations in nonequilibrium processes.

PubMed

Kundu, Anupam; Sabhapandit, Sanjib; Dhar, Abhishek

2011-03-01

We present an algorithm for finding the probabilities of rare events in nonequilibrium processes. The algorithm consists of evolving the system with a modified dynamics for which the required event occurs more frequently. By keeping track of the relative weight of phase-space trajectories generated by the modified and the original dynamics one can obtain the required probabilities. The algorithm is tested on two model systems of steady-state particle and heat transport where we find a huge improvement from direct simulation methods.

An incremental DPMM-based method for trajectory clustering, modeling, and retrieval.

PubMed

Hu, Weiming; Li, Xi; Tian, Guodong; Maybank, Stephen; Zhang, Zhongfei

2013-05-01

Trajectory analysis is the basis for many applications, such as indexing of motion events in videos, activity recognition, and surveillance. In this paper, the Dirichlet process mixture model (DPMM) is applied to trajectory clustering, modeling, and retrieval. We propose an incremental version of a DPMM-based clustering algorithm and apply it to cluster trajectories. An appropriate number of trajectory clusters is determined automatically. When trajectories belonging to new clusters arrive, the new clusters can be identified online and added to the model without any retraining using the previous data. A time-sensitive Dirichlet process mixture model (tDPMM) is applied to each trajectory cluster for learning the trajectory pattern which represents the time-series characteristics of the trajectories in the cluster. Then, a parameterized index is constructed for each cluster. A novel likelihood estimation algorithm for the tDPMM is proposed, and a trajectory-based video retrieval model is developed. The tDPMM-based probabilistic matching method and the DPMM-based model growing method are combined to make the retrieval model scalable and adaptable. Experimental comparisons with state-of-the-art algorithms demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithm.

Mars Entry Atmospheric Data System Trajectory Reconstruction Algorithms and Flight Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Karlgaard, Christopher D.; Kutty, Prasad; Schoenenberger, Mark; Shidner, Jeremy; Munk, Michelle

2013-01-01

The Mars Entry Atmospheric Data System is a part of the Mars Science Laboratory, Entry, Descent, and Landing Instrumentation project. These sensors are a system of seven pressure transducers linked to ports on the entry vehicle forebody to record the pressure distribution during atmospheric entry. These measured surface pressures are used to generate estimates of atmospheric quantities based on modeled surface pressure distributions. Specifically, angle of attack, angle of sideslip, dynamic pressure, Mach number, and freestream atmospheric properties are reconstructed from the measured pressures. Such data allows for the aerodynamics to become decoupled from the assumed atmospheric properties, allowing for enhanced trajectory reconstruction and performance analysis as well as an aerodynamic reconstruction, which has not been possible in past Mars entry reconstructions. This paper provides details of the data processing algorithms that are utilized for this purpose. The data processing algorithms include two approaches that have commonly been utilized in past planetary entry trajectory reconstruction, and a new approach for this application that makes use of the pressure measurements. The paper describes assessments of data quality and preprocessing, and results of the flight data reduction from atmospheric entry, which occurred on August 5th, 2012.

A parallel time integrator for noisy nonlinear oscillatory systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Subber, Waad; Sarkar, Abhijit

2018-06-01

In this paper, we adapt a parallel time integration scheme to track the trajectories of noisy non-linear dynamical systems. Specifically, we formulate a parallel algorithm to generate the sample path of nonlinear oscillator defined by stochastic differential equations (SDEs) using the so-called parareal method for ordinary differential equations (ODEs). The presence of Wiener process in SDEs causes difficulties in the direct application of any numerical integration techniques of ODEs including the parareal algorithm. The parallel implementation of the algorithm involves two SDEs solvers, namely a fine-level scheme to integrate the system in parallel and a coarse-level scheme to generate and correct the required initial conditions to start the fine-level integrators. For the numerical illustration, a randomly excited Duffing oscillator is investigated in order to study the performance of the stochastic parallel algorithm with respect to a range of system parameters. The distributed implementation of the algorithm exploits Massage Passing Interface (MPI).

Numerical study and ex vivo assessment of HIFU treatment time reduction through optimization of focal point trajectory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grisey, A.; Yon, S.; Pechoux, T.; Letort, V.; Lafitte, P.

2017-03-01

Treatment time reduction is a key issue to expand the use of high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) surgery, especially for benign pathologies. This study aims at quantitatively assessing the potential reduction of the treatment time arising from moving the focal point during long pulses. In this context, the optimization of the focal point trajectory is crucial to achieve a uniform thermal dose repartition and avoid boiling. At first, a numerical optimization algorithm was used to generate efficient trajectories. Thermal conduction was simulated in 3D with a finite difference code and damages to the tissue were modeled using the thermal dose formula. Given an initial trajectory, the thermal dose field was first computed, then, making use of Pontryagin's maximum principle, the trajectory was iteratively refined. Several initial trajectories were tested. Then, an ex vivo study was conducted in order to validate the efficicency of the resulting optimized strategies. Single pulses were performed at 3MHz on fresh veal liver samples with an Echopulse and the size of each unitary lesion was assessed by cutting each sample along three orthogonal planes and measuring the dimension of the whitened area based on photographs. We propose a promising approach to significantly shorten HIFU treatment time: the numerical optimization algorithm was shown to provide a reliable insight on trajectories that can improve treatment strategies. The model must now be improved in order to take in vivo conditions into account and extensively validated.

Hyper-X Post-Flight Trajectory Reconstruction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Karlgaard, Christopher D.; Tartabini, Paul V.; Blanchard, RobertC.; Kirsch, Michael; Toniolo, Matthew D.

2004-01-01

This paper discusses the formulation and development of a trajectory reconstruction tool for the NASA X{43A/Hyper{X high speed research vehicle, and its implementation for the reconstruction and analysis of ight test data. Extended Kalman ltering techniques are employed to reconstruct the trajectory of the vehicle, based upon numerical integration of inertial measurement data along with redundant measurements of the vehicle state. The equations of motion are formulated in order to include the effects of several systematic error sources, whose values may also be estimated by the ltering routines. Additionally, smoothing algorithms have been implemented in which the nal value of the state (or an augmented state that includes other systematic error parameters to be estimated) and covariance are propagated back to the initial time to generate the best-estimated trajectory, based upon all available data. The methods are applied to the problem of reconstructing the trajectory of the Hyper-X vehicle from ight data.

Genetic Algorithm Tuned Fuzzy Logic for Gliding Return Trajectories

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burchett, Bradley T.

2003-01-01

The problem of designing and flying a trajectory for successful recovery of a reusable launch vehicle is tackled using fuzzy logic control with genetic algorithm optimization. The plant is approximated by a simplified three degree of freedom non-linear model. A baseline trajectory design and guidance algorithm consisting of several Mamdani type fuzzy controllers is tuned using a simple genetic algorithm. Preliminary results show that the performance of the overall system is shown to improve with genetic algorithm tuning.

Toward ab initio molecular dynamics modeling for sum-frequency generation spectra; an efficient algorithm based on surface-specific velocity-velocity correlation function.

PubMed

Ohto, Tatsuhiko; Usui, Kota; Hasegawa, Taisuke; Bonn, Mischa; Nagata, Yuki

2015-09-28

Interfacial water structures have been studied intensively by probing the O-H stretch mode of water molecules using sum-frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy. This surface-specific technique is finding increasingly widespread use, and accordingly, computational approaches to calculate SFG spectra using molecular dynamics (MD) trajectories of interfacial water molecules have been developed and employed to correlate specific spectral signatures with distinct interfacial water structures. Such simulations typically require relatively long (several nanoseconds) MD trajectories to allow reliable calculation of the SFG response functions through the dipole moment-polarizability time correlation function. These long trajectories limit the use of computationally expensive MD techniques such as ab initio MD and centroid MD simulations. Here, we present an efficient algorithm determining the SFG response from the surface-specific velocity-velocity correlation function (ssVVCF). This ssVVCF formalism allows us to calculate SFG spectra using a MD trajectory of only ∼100 ps, resulting in the substantial reduction of the computational costs, by almost an order of magnitude. We demonstrate that the O-H stretch SFG spectra at the water-air interface calculated by using the ssVVCF formalism well reproduce those calculated by using the dipole moment-polarizability time correlation function. Furthermore, we applied this ssVVCF technique for computing the SFG spectra from the ab initio MD trajectories with various density functionals. We report that the SFG responses computed from both ab initio MD simulations and MD simulations with an ab initio based force field model do not show a positive feature in its imaginary component at 3100 cm(-1).

Best-Fit Conic Approximation of Spacecraft Trajectory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singh, Gurkipal

2005-01-01

A computer program calculates a best conic fit of a given spacecraft trajectory. Spacecraft trajectories are often propagated as conics onboard. The conic-section parameters as a result of the best-conic-fit are uplinked to computers aboard the spacecraft for use in updating predictions of the spacecraft trajectory for operational purposes. In the initial application for which this program was written, there is a requirement to fit a single conic section (necessitated by onboard memory constraints) accurate within 200 microradians to a sequence of positions measured over a 4.7-hour interval. The present program supplants a prior one that could not cover the interval with fewer than four successive conic sections. The present program is based on formulating the best-fit conic problem as a parameter-optimization problem and solving the problem numerically, on the ground, by use of a modified steepest-descent algorithm. For the purpose of this algorithm, optimization is defined as minimization of the maximum directional propagation error across the fit interval. In the specific initial application, the program generates a single 4.7-hour conic, the directional propagation of which is accurate to within 34 microradians easily exceeding the mission constraints by a wide margin.

Moving-window dynamic optimization: design of stimulation profiles for walking.

PubMed

Dosen, Strahinja; Popović, Dejan B

2009-05-01

The overall goal of the research is to improve control for electrical stimulation-based assistance of walking in hemiplegic individuals. We present the simulation for generating offline input (sensors)-output (intensity of muscle stimulation) representation of walking that serves in synthesizing a rule-base for control of electrical stimulation for restoration of walking. The simulation uses new algorithm termed moving-window dynamic optimization (MWDO). The optimization criterion was to minimize the sum of the squares of tracking errors from desired trajectories with the penalty function on the total muscle efforts. The MWDO was developed in the MATLAB environment and tested using target trajectories characteristic for slow-to-normal walking recorded in healthy individual and a model with the parameters characterizing the potential hemiplegic user. The outputs of the simulation are piecewise constant intensities of electrical stimulation and trajectories generated when the calculated stimulation is applied to the model. We demonstrated the importance of this simulation by showing the outputs for healthy and hemiplegic individuals, using the same target trajectories. Results of the simulation show that the MWDO is an efficient tool for analyzing achievable trajectories and for determining the stimulation profiles that need to be delivered for good tracking.

Voltage control on a train system

DOEpatents

Gordon, Susanna P.; Evans, John A.

2004-01-20

The present invention provides methods for preventing low train voltages and managing interference, thereby improving the efficiency, reliability, and passenger comfort associated with commuter trains. An algorithm implementing neural network technology is used to predict low voltages before they occur. Once voltages are predicted, then multiple trains can be controlled to prevent low voltage events. Further, algorithms for managing inference are presented in the present invention. Different types of interference problems are addressed in the present invention such as "Interference During Acceleration", "Interference Near Station Stops", and "Interference During Delay Recovery." Managing such interference avoids unnecessary brake/acceleration cycles during acceleration, immediately before station stops, and after substantial delays. Algorithms are demonstrated to avoid oscillatory brake/acceleration cycles due to interference and to smooth the trajectories of closely following trains. This is achieved by maintaining sufficient following distances to avoid unnecessary braking/accelerating. These methods generate smooth train trajectories, making for a more comfortable ride, and improve train motor reliability by avoiding unnecessary mode-changes between propulsion and braking. These algorithms can also have a favorable impact on traction power system requirements and energy consumption.

Method of managing interference during delay recovery on a train system

DOEpatents

Gordon, Susanna P.; Evans, John A.

2005-12-27

The present invention provides methods for preventing low train voltages and managing interference, thereby improving the efficiency, reliability, and passenger comfort associated with commuter trains. An algorithm implementing neural network technology is used to predict low voltages before they occur. Once voltages are predicted, then multiple trains can be controlled to prevent low voltage events. Further, algorithms for managing inference are presented in the present invention. Different types of interference problems are addressed in the present invention such as "Interference During Acceleration", "Interference Near Station Stops", and "Interference During Delay Recovery." Managing such interference avoids unnecessary brake/acceleration cycles during acceleration, immediately before station stops, and after substantial delays. Algorithms are demonstrated to avoid oscillatory brake/acceleration cycles due to interference and to smooth the trajectories of closely following trains. This is achieved by maintaining sufficient following distances to avoid unnecessary braking/accelerating. These methods generate smooth train trajectories, making for a more comfortable ride, and improve train motor reliability by avoiding unnecessary mode-changes between propulsion and braking. These algorithms can also have a favorable impact on traction power system requirements and energy consumption.

Efficient high density train operations

DOEpatents

Gordon, Susanna P.; Evans, John A.

2001-01-01

The present invention provides methods for preventing low train voltages and managing interference, thereby improving the efficiency, reliability, and passenger comfort associated with commuter trains. An algorithm implementing neural network technology is used to predict low voltages before they occur. Once voltages are predicted, then multiple trains can be controlled to prevent low voltage events. Further, algorithms for managing inference are presented in the present invention. Different types of interference problems are addressed in the present invention such as "Interference. During Acceleration", "Interference Near Station Stops", and "Interference During Delay Recovery." Managing such interference avoids unnecessary brake/acceleration cycles during acceleration, immediately before station stops, and after substantial delays. Algorithms are demonstrated to avoid oscillatory brake/acceleration cycles due to interference and to smooth the trajectories of closely following trains. This is achieved by maintaining sufficient following distances to avoid unnecessary braking/accelerating. These methods generate smooth train trajectories, making for a more comfortable ride, and improve train motor reliability by avoiding unnecessary mode-changes between propulsion and braking. These algorithms can also have a favorable impact on traction power system requirements and energy consumption.

Time-Critical Cooperative Path Following of Multiple UAVs: Case Studies

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-10-30

control algorithm for UAVs in 3D space. Section IV derives a strategy for time-critical cooperative path following of multiple UAVs that relies on the...UAVs in 3D space, in which a fleet of UAVs is tasked to converge to and follow a set of desired feasible paths so as to meet spatial and temporal...cooperative trajectory generation is not addressed in this paper. In fact, it is assumed that a set of desired 3D time trajectories pd,i(td) : R → R3

Automated trajectory planning for multiple-flyby interplanetary missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Englander, Jacob

Many space mission planning problems may be formulated as hybrid optimal control problems (HOCP), i.e. problems that include both real-valued variables and categorical variables. In interplanetary trajectory design problems the categorical variables will typically specify the sequence of planets at which to perform flybys, and the real-valued variables will represent the launch date, ight times between planets, magnitudes and directions of thrust, flyby altitudes, etc. The contribution of this work is a framework for the autonomous optimization of multiple-flyby interplanetary trajectories. The trajectory design problem is converted into a HOCP with two nested loops: an "outer-loop" that finds the sequence of flybys and an "inner-loop" that optimizes the trajectory for each candidate yby sequence. The problem of choosing a sequence of flybys is posed as an integer programming problem and solved using a genetic algorithm (GA). This is an especially difficult problem to solve because GAs normally operate on a fixed-length set of decision variables. Since in interplanetary trajectory design the number of flyby maneuvers is not known a priori, it was necessary to devise a method of parameterizing the problem such that the GA can evolve a variable-length sequence of flybys. A novel "null gene" transcription was developed to meet this need. Then, for each candidate sequence of flybys, a trajectory must be found that visits each of the flyby targets and arrives at the final destination while optimizing some cost metric, such as minimizing ▵v or maximizing the final mass of the spacecraft. Three different classes of trajectory are described in this work, each of which requireda different physical model and optimization method. The choice of a trajectory model and optimization method is especially challenging because of the nature of the hybrid optimal control problem. Because the trajectory optimization problem is generated in real time by the outer-loop, the inner-loop optimization algorithm cannot require any a priori information and must always return a solution. In addition, the upper and lower bounds on each decision variable cannot be chosen a priori by the user because the user has no way to know what problem will be solved. Instead a method of choosing upper and lower bounds via a set of simple rules was developed and used for all three types of trajectory optimization problem. Many optimization algorithms were tested and discarded until suitable algorithms were found for each type of trajectory. The first class of trajectories use chemical propulsion and may only apply a ▵v at the periapse of each flyby. These Multiple Gravity Assist (MGA) trajectories are optimized using a cooperative algorithm of Differential Evolution (DE) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). The second class of trajectories, known as Multiple Gravity Assist with one Deep Space Maneuver (MGA-DSM), also use chemical propulsion but instead of maneuvering at the periapse of each flyby as in the MGA case a maneuver is applied at a free point along each planet-to-planet arc, i.e. there is one maneuver for each pair of flybys. MGA-DSM trajectories are parameterized by more variables than MGA trajectories, and so the cooperative algorithm of DE and PSO that was used to optimize MGA trajectories was found to be less effective when applied to MGA-DSM. Instead, either PSO or DE alone were found to be more effective. The third class of trajectories addressed in this work are those using continuousthrust propulsion. Continuous-thrust trajectory optimization problems are more challenging than impulsive-thrust problems because the control variables are a continuous time series rather than a small set of parameters and because the spacecraft does not follow a conic section trajectory, leading to a large number of nonlinear constraints that must be satisfied to ensure that the spacecraft obeys the equations of motion. Many models and optimization algorithms were applied including direct transcription with nonlinear programming (DTNLP), the inverse-polynomial shapebased method, and feasible region analysis. However the only physical model and optimization method that proved reliable enough were the Sims-Flanagan transcription coupled with a nonlinear programming solver and the monotonic basin hopping (MBH) global search heuristic. The methods developed here are demonstrated to optimize a set of example trajectories, including a recreation of the Cassini mission, a Galileo-like mission, and conceptual continuous-thrust missions to Jupiter, Mercury, and Uranus.

Adaptive density trajectory cluster based on time and space distance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Fagui; Zhang, Zhijie

2017-10-01

There are some hotspot problems remaining in trajectory cluster for discovering mobile behavior regularity, such as the computation of distance between sub trajectories, the setting of parameter values in cluster algorithm and the uncertainty/boundary problem of data set. As a result, based on the time and space, this paper tries to define the calculation method of distance between sub trajectories. The significance of distance calculation for sub trajectories is to clearly reveal the differences in moving trajectories and to promote the accuracy of cluster algorithm. Besides, a novel adaptive density trajectory cluster algorithm is proposed, in which cluster radius is computed through using the density of data distribution. In addition, cluster centers and number are selected by a certain strategy automatically, and uncertainty/boundary problem of data set is solved by designed weighted rough c-means. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can perform the fuzzy trajectory cluster effectively on the basis of the time and space distance, and obtain the optimal cluster centers and rich cluster results information adaptably for excavating the features of mobile behavior in mobile and sociology network.

Trajectory Control of Rendezvous with Maneuver Target Spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhou, Zhinqiang

2012-01-01

In this paper, a nonlinear trajectory control algorithm of rendezvous with maneuvering target spacecraft is presented. The disturbance forces on the chaser and target spacecraft and the thrust forces on the chaser spacecraft are considered in the analysis. The control algorithm developed in this paper uses the relative distance and relative velocity between the target and chaser spacecraft as the inputs. A general formula of reference relative trajectory of the chaser spacecraft to the target spacecraft is developed and applied to four different proximity maneuvers, which are in-track circling, cross-track circling, in-track spiral rendezvous and cross-track spiral rendezvous. The closed-loop differential equations of the proximity relative motion with the control algorithm are derived. It is proven in the paper that the tracking errors between the commanded relative trajectory and the actual relative trajectory are bounded within a constant region determined by the control gains. The prediction of the tracking errors is obtained. Design examples are provided to show the implementation of the control algorithm. The simulation results show that the actual relative trajectory tracks the commanded relative trajectory tightly. The predicted tracking errors match those calculated in the simulation results. The control algorithm developed in this paper can also be applied to interception of maneuver target spacecraft and relative trajectory control of spacecraft formation flying.

Comparative analysis of algorithms for lunar landing control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhukov, B. I.; Likhachev, V. N.; Sazonov, V. V.; Sikharulidze, Yu. G.; Tuchin, A. G.; Tuchin, D. A.; Fedotov, V. P.; Yaroshevskii, V. S.

2015-11-01

For the descent from the pericenter of a prelanding circumlunar orbit a comparison of three algorithms for the control of lander motion is performed. These algorithms use various combinations of terminal and programmed control in a trajectory including three parts: main braking, precision braking, and descent with constant velocity. In the first approximation, autonomous navigational measurements are taken into account and an estimate of the disturbances generated by movement of the fuel in the tanks was obtained. Estimates of the accuracy for landing placement, fuel consumption, and performance of the conditions for safe lunar landing are obtained.

Monte Carlo tree search -based non-coplanar trajectory design for station parameter optimized radiation therapy (SPORT).

PubMed

Dong, Peng; Liu, Hongcheng; Xing, Lei

2018-06-04

An important yet challenging problem in LINAC-based rotational arc radiation therapy is the design of beam trajectory, which requires simultaneous consideration of delivery efficiency and final dose distribution. In this work, we propose a novel trajectory selection strategy by developing a Monte Carlo tree search (MCTS) algorithm during the beam trajectory selection process. Methods: To search through the vast number of possible trajectories, MCTS algorithm was implemented. In this approach, a candidate trajectory is explored by starting from a leaf node and sequentially examining the next level of linked nodes with consideration of geometric and physical constraints. The maximum Upper Confidence Bounds for Trees, which is a function of average objective function value and the number of times the node under testing has been visited, was employed to intelligently select the trajectory. For each candidate trajectory, we run an inverse fluence map optimization with an infinity norm regularization. The ranking of the plan as measured by the corresponding objective function value was then fed back to update the statistics of the nodes on the trajectory. The method was evaluated with a chest wall and a brain case, and the results were compared with the coplanar and noncoplanar 4pi beam configurations. Results: For both clinical cases, the MCTS method found effective and easy-to-deliver trajectories within an hour. As compared with the coplanar plans, it offers much better sparing of the OARs while maintaining the PTV coverage. The quality of the MCTS-generated plan is found to be comparable to the 4pi plans. Conclusion: AI based on MCTS is valuable to facilitate the design of beam trajectory and paves the way for future clinical use of non-coplanar treatment delivery. . © 2018 Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine.

A computational proof of concept of a machine-intelligent artificial pancreas using Lyapunov stability and differential game theory.

PubMed

Greenwood, Nigel J C; Gunton, Jenny E

2014-07-01

This study demonstrated the novel application of a "machine-intelligent" mathematical structure, combining differential game theory and Lyapunov-based control theory, to the artificial pancreas to handle dynamic uncertainties. Realistic type 1 diabetes (T1D) models from the literature were combined into a composite system. Using a mixture of "black box" simulations and actual data from diabetic medical histories, realistic sets of diabetic time series were constructed for blood glucose (BG), interstitial fluid glucose, infused insulin, meal estimates, and sometimes plasma insulin assays. The problem of underdetermined parameters was side stepped by applying a variant of a genetic algorithm to partial information, whereby multiple candidate-personalized models were constructed and then rigorously tested using further data. These formed a "dynamic envelope" of trajectories in state space, where each trajectory was generated by a hypothesis on the hidden T1D system dynamics. This dynamic envelope was then culled to a reduced form to cover observed dynamic behavior. A machine-intelligent autonomous algorithm then implemented game theory to construct real-time insulin infusion strategies, based on the flow of these trajectories through state space and their interactions with hypoglycemic or near-hyperglycemic states. This technique was tested on 2 simulated participants over a total of fifty-five 24-hour days, with no hypoglycemic or hyperglycemic events, despite significant uncertainties from using actual diabetic meal histories with 10-minute warnings. In the main case studies, BG was steered within the desired target set for 99.8% of a 16-hour daily assessment period. Tests confirmed algorithm robustness for ±25% carbohydrate error. For over 99% of the overall 55-day simulation period, either formal controller stability was achieved to the desired target or else the trajectory was within the desired target. These results suggest that this is a stable, high-confidence way to generate closed-loop insulin infusion strategies. © 2014 Diabetes Technology Society.

Inverse Flush Air Data System (FADS) for Real Time Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madhavanpillai, Jayakumar; Dhoaya, Jayanta; Balakrishnan, Vidya Saraswathi; Narayanan, Remesh; Chacko, Finitha Kallely; Narayanan, Shyam Mohan

2017-12-01

Flush Air Data Sensing System (FADS) forms a mission critical sub system in future reentry vehicles. FADS makes use of surface pressure measurements from the nose cap of the vehicle for deriving the air data parameters of the vehicle such as angle of attack, angle of sideslip, Mach number, etc. These parameters find use in the flight control and guidance systems, and also assist in the overall mission management. The FADS under consideration in this paper makes use of nine pressure ports located in the nose cap of a technology demonstrator vehicle. In flight, the air data parameters are obtained from the FADS estimation algorithm using the pressure data at the nine pressure ports. But, these pressure data will not be available, for testing the FADS package during ground simulation. So, an inverse software to FADS which estimates the pressure data at the pressure ports for a given flight condition is developed. These pressure data at the nine ports will go as input to the FADS package during ground simulation. The software is run to generate the pressure data for the descent phase trajectory of the technology demonstrator. This data is used again to generate the air data parameters from FADS algorithm. The computed results from FADS algorithm match well with the trajectory data.

Fast optimization of glide vehicle reentry trajectory based on genetic algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Jun; Dong, Ruixing; Yuan, Xuejun; Wang, Chuangwei

2018-02-01

An optimization method of reentry trajectory based on genetic algorithm is presented to meet the need of reentry trajectory optimization for glide vehicle. The dynamic model for the glide vehicle during reentry period is established. Considering the constraints of heat flux, dynamic pressure, overload etc., the optimization of reentry trajectory is investigated by utilizing genetic algorithm. The simulation shows that the method presented by this paper is effective for the optimization of reentry trajectory of glide vehicle. The efficiency and speed of this method is comparative with the references. Optimization results meet all constraints, and the on-line fast optimization is potential by pre-processing the offline samples.

Trajectory optimization for dynamic couch rotation during volumetric modulated arc radiotherapy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smyth, Gregory; Bamber, Jeffrey C.; Evans, Philip M.; Bedford, James L.

2013-11-01

Non-coplanar radiation beams are often used in three-dimensional conformal and intensity modulated radiotherapy to reduce dose to organs at risk (OAR) by geometric avoidance. In volumetric modulated arc radiotherapy (VMAT) non-coplanar geometries are generally achieved by applying patient couch rotations to single or multiple full or partial arcs. This paper presents a trajectory optimization method for a non-coplanar technique, dynamic couch rotation during VMAT (DCR-VMAT), which combines ray tracing with a graph search algorithm. Four clinical test cases (partial breast, brain, prostate only, and prostate and pelvic nodes) were used to evaluate the potential OAR sparing for trajectory-optimized DCR-VMAT plans, compared with standard coplanar VMAT. In each case, ray tracing was performed and a cost map reflecting the number of OAR voxels intersected for each potential source position was generated. The least-cost path through the cost map, corresponding to an optimal DCR-VMAT trajectory, was determined using Dijkstra’s algorithm. Results show that trajectory optimization can reduce dose to specified OARs for plans otherwise comparable to conventional coplanar VMAT techniques. For the partial breast case, the mean heart dose was reduced by 53%. In the brain case, the maximum lens doses were reduced by 61% (left) and 77% (right) and the globes by 37% (left) and 40% (right). Bowel mean dose was reduced by 15% in the prostate only case. For the prostate and pelvic nodes case, the bowel V50 Gy and V60 Gy were reduced by 9% and 45% respectively. Future work will involve further development of the algorithm and assessment of its performance over a larger number of cases in site-specific cohorts.

Fast analysis of molecular dynamics trajectories with graphics processing units-Radial distribution function histogramming

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

Levine, Benjamin G., E-mail: ben.levine@temple.ed; Stone, John E., E-mail: johns@ks.uiuc.ed; Kohlmeyer, Axel, E-mail: akohlmey@temple.ed

2011-05-01

The calculation of radial distribution functions (RDFs) from molecular dynamics trajectory data is a common and computationally expensive analysis task. The rate limiting step in the calculation of the RDF is building a histogram of the distance between atom pairs in each trajectory frame. Here we present an implementation of this histogramming scheme for multiple graphics processing units (GPUs). The algorithm features a tiling scheme to maximize the reuse of data at the fastest levels of the GPU's memory hierarchy and dynamic load balancing to allow high performance on heterogeneous configurations of GPUs. Several versions of the RDF algorithm aremore » presented, utilizing the specific hardware features found on different generations of GPUs. We take advantage of larger shared memory and atomic memory operations available on state-of-the-art GPUs to accelerate the code significantly. The use of atomic memory operations allows the fast, limited-capacity on-chip memory to be used much more efficiently, resulting in a fivefold increase in performance compared to the version of the algorithm without atomic operations. The ultimate version of the algorithm running in parallel on four NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 (Fermi) GPUs was found to be 92 times faster than a multithreaded implementation running on an Intel Xeon 5550 CPU. On this multi-GPU hardware, the RDF between two selections of 1,000,000 atoms each can be calculated in 26.9 s per frame. The multi-GPU RDF algorithms described here are implemented in VMD, a widely used and freely available software package for molecular dynamics visualization and analysis.« less

Fast Analysis of Molecular Dynamics Trajectories with Graphics Processing Units—Radial Distribution Function Histogramming

PubMed Central

Stone, John E.; Kohlmeyer, Axel

2011-01-01

The calculation of radial distribution functions (RDFs) from molecular dynamics trajectory data is a common and computationally expensive analysis task. The rate limiting step in the calculation of the RDF is building a histogram of the distance between atom pairs in each trajectory frame. Here we present an implementation of this histogramming scheme for multiple graphics processing units (GPUs). The algorithm features a tiling scheme to maximize the reuse of data at the fastest levels of the GPU’s memory hierarchy and dynamic load balancing to allow high performance on heterogeneous configurations of GPUs. Several versions of the RDF algorithm are presented, utilizing the specific hardware features found on different generations of GPUs. We take advantage of larger shared memory and atomic memory operations available on state-of-the-art GPUs to accelerate the code significantly. The use of atomic memory operations allows the fast, limited-capacity on-chip memory to be used much more efficiently, resulting in a fivefold increase in performance compared to the version of the algorithm without atomic operations. The ultimate version of the algorithm running in parallel on four NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 (Fermi) GPUs was found to be 92 times faster than a multithreaded implementation running on an Intel Xeon 5550 CPU. On this multi-GPU hardware, the RDF between two selections of 1,000,000 atoms each can be calculated in 26.9 seconds per frame. The multi-GPU RDF algorithms described here are implemented in VMD, a widely used and freely available software package for molecular dynamics visualization and analysis. PMID:21547007

Machine Learning for Biological Trajectory Classification Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sbalzarini, Ivo F.; Theriot, Julie; Koumoutsakos, Petros

2002-01-01

Machine-learning techniques, including clustering algorithms, support vector machines and hidden Markov models, are applied to the task of classifying trajectories of moving keratocyte cells. The different algorithms axe compared to each other as well as to expert and non-expert test persons, using concepts from signal-detection theory. The algorithms performed very well as compared to humans, suggesting a robust tool for trajectory classification in biological applications.

Trajectory data privacy protection based on differential privacy mechanism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Ke; Yang, Lihao; Liu, Yongzhi; Liao, Niandong

2018-05-01

In this paper, we propose a trajectory data privacy protection scheme based on differential privacy mechanism. In the proposed scheme, the algorithm first selects the protected points from the user’s trajectory data; secondly, the algorithm forms the polygon according to the protected points and the adjacent and high frequent accessed points that are selected from the accessing point database, then the algorithm calculates the polygon centroids; finally, the noises are added to the polygon centroids by the differential privacy method, and the polygon centroids replace the protected points, and then the algorithm constructs and issues the new trajectory data. The experiments show that the running time of the proposed algorithms is fast, the privacy protection of the scheme is effective and the data usability of the scheme is higher.

Enhanced Fuel-Optimal Trajectory-Generation Algorithm for Planetary Pinpoint Landing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Acikmese, Behcet; Blackmore, James C.; Scharf, Daniel P.

2011-01-01

An enhanced algorithm is developed that builds on a previous innovation of fuel-optimal powered-descent guidance (PDG) for planetary pinpoint landing. The PDG problem is to compute constrained, fuel-optimal trajectories to land a craft at a prescribed target on a planetary surface, starting from a parachute cut-off point and using a throttleable descent engine. The previous innovation showed the minimal-fuel PDG problem can be posed as a convex optimization problem, in particular, as a Second-Order Cone Program, which can be solved to global optimality with deterministic convergence properties, and hence is a candidate for onboard implementation. To increase the speed and robustness of this convex PDG algorithm for possible onboard implementation, the following enhancements are incorporated: 1) Fast detection of infeasibility (i.e., control authority is not sufficient for soft-landing) for subsequent fault response. 2) The use of a piecewise-linear control parameterization, providing smooth solution trajectories and increasing computational efficiency. 3) An enhanced line-search algorithm for optimal time-of-flight, providing quicker convergence and bounding the number of path-planning iterations needed. 4) An additional constraint that analytically guarantees inter-sample satisfaction of glide-slope and non-sub-surface flight constraints, allowing larger discretizations and, hence, faster optimization. 5) Explicit incorporation of Mars rotation rate into the trajectory computation for improved targeting accuracy. These enhancements allow faster convergence to the fuel-optimal solution and, more importantly, remove the need for a "human-in-the-loop," as constraints will be satisfied over the entire path-planning interval independent of step-size (as opposed to just at the discrete time points) and infeasible initial conditions are immediately detected. Finally, while the PDG stage is typically only a few minutes, ignoring the rotation rate of Mars can introduce 10s of meters of error. By incorporating it, the enhanced PDG algorithm becomes capable of pinpoint targeting.

A computational intelligence approach to the Mars Precision Landing problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Birge, Brian Kent, III

Various proposed Mars missions, such as the Mars Sample Return Mission (MRSR) and the Mars Smart Lander (MSL), require precise re-entry terminal position and velocity states. This is to achieve mission objectives including rendezvous with a previous landed mission, or reaching a particular geographic landmark. The current state of the art footprint is in the magnitude of kilometers. For this research a Mars Precision Landing is achieved with a landed footprint of no more than 100 meters, for a set of initial entry conditions representing worst guess dispersions. Obstacles to reducing the landed footprint include trajectory dispersions due to initial atmospheric entry conditions (entry angle, parachute deployment height, etc.), environment (wind, atmospheric density, etc.), parachute deployment dynamics, unavoidable injection error (propagated error from launch on), etc. Weather and atmospheric models have been developed. Three descent scenarios have been examined. First, terminal re-entry is achieved via a ballistic parachute with concurrent thrusting events while on the parachute, followed by a gravity turn. Second, terminal re-entry is achieved via a ballistic parachute followed by gravity turn to hover and then thrust vector to desired location. Third, a guided parafoil approach followed by vectored thrusting to reach terminal velocity is examined. The guided parafoil is determined to be the best architecture. The purpose of this study is to examine the feasibility of using a computational intelligence strategy to facilitate precision planetary re-entry, specifically to take an approach that is somewhat more intuitive and less rigid, and see where it leads. The test problems used for all research are variations on proposed Mars landing mission scenarios developed by NASA. A relatively recent method of evolutionary computation is Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), which can be considered to be in the same general class as Genetic Algorithms. An improvement over the regular PSO algorithm, allowing tracking of nonstationary error functions is detailed. Continued refinement of PSO in the larger research community comes from attempts to understand human-human social interaction as well as analysis of the emergent behavior. Using PSO and the parafoil scenario, optimized reference trajectories are created for an initial condition set of 76 states, representing the convex hull of 2001 states from an early Monte Carlo analysis. The controls are a set series of bank angles followed by a set series of 3DOF thrust vectoring. The reference trajectories are used to train an Artificial Neural Network Reference Trajectory Generator (ANNTraG), with the (marginal) ability to generalize a trajectory from initial conditions it has never been presented. The controls here allow continuous change in bank angle as well as thrust vector. The optimized reference trajectories represent the best achievable trajectory given the initial condition. Steps toward a closed loop neural controller with online learning updates are examined. The inner loop of the simulation employs the Program to Optimize Simulated Trajectories (POST) as the basic model, containing baseline dynamics and state generation. This is controlled from a MATLAB shell that directs the optimization, learning, and control strategy. Using mainly bank angle guidance coupled with CI strategies, the set of achievable reference trajectories are shown to be 88% under 10 meters, a significant improvement in the state of the art. Further, the automatic real-time generation of realistic reference trajectories in the presence of unknown initial conditions is shown to have promise. The closed loop CI guidance strategy is outlined. An unexpected advance came from the effort to optimize the optimization, where the PSO algorithm was improved with the capability for tracking a changing error environment.

Evaluating Continuous-Time Slam Using a Predefined Trajectory Provided by a Robotic Arm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koch, B.; Leblebici, R.; Martell, A.; Jörissen, S.; Schilling, K.; Nüchter, A.

2017-09-01

Recently published approaches to SLAM algorithms process laser sensor measurements and output a map as a point cloud of the environment. Often the actual precision of the map remains unclear, since SLAMalgorithms apply local improvements to the resulting map. Unfortunately, it is not trivial to compare the performance of SLAMalgorithms objectively, especially without an accurate ground truth. This paper presents a novel benchmarking technique that allows to compare a precise map generated with an accurate ground truth trajectory to a map with a manipulated trajectory which was distorted by different forms of noise. The accurate ground truth is acquired by mounting a laser scanner on an industrial robotic arm. The robotic arm is moved on a predefined path while the position and orientation of the end-effector tool are monitored. During this process the 2D profile measurements of the laser scanner are recorded in six degrees of freedom and afterwards used to generate a precise point cloud of the test environment. For benchmarking, an offline continuous-time SLAM algorithm is subsequently applied to remove the inserted distortions. Finally, it is shown that the manipulated point cloud is reversible to its previous state and is slightly improved compared to the original version, since small errors that came into account by imprecise assumptions, sensor noise and calibration errors are removed as well.

A Hybrid Spatio-Temporal Data Indexing Method for Trajectory Databases

PubMed Central

Ke, Shengnan; Gong, Jun; Li, Songnian; Zhu, Qing; Liu, Xintao; Zhang, Yeting

2014-01-01

In recent years, there has been tremendous growth in the field of indoor and outdoor positioning sensors continuously producing huge volumes of trajectory data that has been used in many fields such as location-based services or location intelligence. Trajectory data is massively increased and semantically complicated, which poses a great challenge on spatio-temporal data indexing. This paper proposes a spatio-temporal data indexing method, named HBSTR-tree, which is a hybrid index structure comprising spatio-temporal R-tree, B*-tree and Hash table. To improve the index generation efficiency, rather than directly inserting trajectory points, we group consecutive trajectory points as nodes according to their spatio-temporal semantics and then insert them into spatio-temporal R-tree as leaf nodes. Hash table is used to manage the latest leaf nodes to reduce the frequency of insertion. A new spatio-temporal interval criterion and a new node-choosing sub-algorithm are also proposed to optimize spatio-temporal R-tree structures. In addition, a B*-tree sub-index of leaf nodes is built to query the trajectories of targeted objects efficiently. Furthermore, a database storage scheme based on a NoSQL-type DBMS is also proposed for the purpose of cloud storage. Experimental results prove that HBSTR-tree outperforms TB*-tree in some aspects such as generation efficiency, query performance and query type. PMID:25051028

A hybrid spatio-temporal data indexing method for trajectory databases.

PubMed

Ke, Shengnan; Gong, Jun; Li, Songnian; Zhu, Qing; Liu, Xintao; Zhang, Yeting

2014-07-21

In recent years, there has been tremendous growth in the field of indoor and outdoor positioning sensors continuously producing huge volumes of trajectory data that has been used in many fields such as location-based services or location intelligence. Trajectory data is massively increased and semantically complicated, which poses a great challenge on spatio-temporal data indexing. This paper proposes a spatio-temporal data indexing method, named HBSTR-tree, which is a hybrid index structure comprising spatio-temporal R-tree, B*-tree and Hash table. To improve the index generation efficiency, rather than directly inserting trajectory points, we group consecutive trajectory points as nodes according to their spatio-temporal semantics and then insert them into spatio-temporal R-tree as leaf nodes. Hash table is used to manage the latest leaf nodes to reduce the frequency of insertion. A new spatio-temporal interval criterion and a new node-choosing sub-algorithm are also proposed to optimize spatio-temporal R-tree structures. In addition, a B*-tree sub-index of leaf nodes is built to query the trajectories of targeted objects efficiently. Furthermore, a database storage scheme based on a NoSQL-type DBMS is also proposed for the purpose of cloud storage. Experimental results prove that HBSTR-tree outperforms TB*-tree in some aspects such as generation efficiency, query performance and query type.

MGA trajectory planning with an ACO-inspired algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ceriotti, Matteo; Vasile, Massimiliano

2010-11-01

Given a set of celestial bodies, the problem of finding an optimal sequence of swing-bys, deep space manoeuvres (DSM) and transfer arcs connecting the elements of the set is combinatorial in nature. The number of possible paths grows exponentially with the number of celestial bodies. Therefore, the design of an optimal multiple gravity assist (MGA) trajectory is a NP-hard mixed combinatorial-continuous problem. Its automated solution would greatly improve the design of future space missions, allowing the assessment of a large number of alternative mission options in a short time. This work proposes to formulate the complete automated design of a multiple gravity assist trajectory as an autonomous planning and scheduling problem. The resulting scheduled plan will provide the optimal planetary sequence and a good estimation of the set of associated optimal trajectories. The trajectory model consists of a sequence of celestial bodies connected by two-dimensional transfer arcs containing one DSM. For each transfer arc, the position of the planet and the spacecraft, at the time of arrival, are matched by varying the pericentre of the preceding swing-by, or the magnitude of the launch excess velocity, for the first arc. For each departure date, this model generates a full tree of possible transfers from the departure to the destination planet. Each leaf of the tree represents a planetary encounter and a possible way to reach that planet. An algorithm inspired by ant colony optimization (ACO) is devised to explore the space of possible plans. The ants explore the tree from departure to destination adding one node at the time: every time an ant is at a node, a probability function is used to select a feasible direction. This approach to automatic trajectory planning is applied to the design of optimal transfers to Saturn and among the Galilean moons of Jupiter. Solutions are compared to those found through more traditional genetic-algorithm techniques.

Adaptive Trajectory Prediction Algorithm for Climbing Flights

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schultz, Charles Alexander; Thipphavong, David P.; Erzberger, Heinz

2012-01-01

Aircraft climb trajectories are difficult to predict, and large errors in these predictions reduce the potential operational benefits of some advanced features for NextGen. The algorithm described in this paper improves climb trajectory prediction accuracy by adjusting trajectory predictions based on observed track data. It utilizes rate-of-climb and airspeed measurements derived from position data to dynamically adjust the aircraft weight modeled for trajectory predictions. In simulations with weight uncertainty, the algorithm is able to adapt to within 3 percent of the actual gross weight within two minutes of the initial adaptation. The root-mean-square of altitude errors for five-minute predictions was reduced by 73 percent. Conflict detection performance also improved, with a 15 percent reduction in missed alerts and a 10 percent reduction in false alerts. In a simulation with climb speed capture intent and weight uncertainty, the algorithm improved climb trajectory prediction accuracy by up to 30 percent and conflict detection performance, reducing missed and false alerts by up to 10 percent.

Foot trajectory approximation using the pendulum model of walking.

PubMed

Fang, Juan; Vuckovic, Aleksandra; Galen, Sujay; Conway, Bernard A; Hunt, Kenneth J

2014-01-01

Generating a natural foot trajectory is an important objective in robotic systems for rehabilitation of walking. Human walking has pendular properties, so the pendulum model of walking has been used in bipedal robots which produce rhythmic gait patterns. Whether natural foot trajectories can be produced by the pendulum model needs to be addressed as a first step towards applying the pendulum concept in gait orthosis design. This study investigated circle approximation of the foot trajectories, with focus on the geometry of the pendulum model of walking. Three able-bodied subjects walked overground at various speeds, and foot trajectories relative to the hip were analysed. Four circle approximation approaches were developed, and best-fit circle algorithms were derived to fit the trajectories of the ankle, heel and toe. The study confirmed that the ankle and heel trajectories during stance and the toe trajectory in both the stance and the swing phases during walking at various speeds could be well modelled by a rigid pendulum. All the pendulum models were centred around the hip with pendular lengths approximately equal to the segment distances from the hip. This observation provides a new approach for using the pendulum model of walking in gait orthosis design.

Region of Interest Imaging for a General Trajectory with the Rebinned BPF Algorithm*

PubMed Central

Bian, Junguo; Xia, Dan; Sidky, Emil Y; Pan, Xiaochuan

2010-01-01

The back-projection-filtration (BPF) algorithm has been applied to image reconstruction for cone-beam configurations with general source trajectories. The BPF algorithm can reconstruct 3-D region-of-interest (ROI) images from data containing truncations. However, like many other existing algorithms for cone-beam configurations, the BPF algorithm involves a back-projection with a spatially varying weighting factor, which can result in the non-uniform noise levels in reconstructed images and increased computation time. In this work, we propose a BPF algorithm to eliminate the spatially varying weighting factor by using a rebinned geometry for a general scanning trajectory. This proposed BPF algorithm has an improved noise property, while retaining the advantages of the original BPF algorithm such as minimum data requirement. PMID:20617122

Region of Interest Imaging for a General Trajectory with the Rebinned BPF Algorithm.

PubMed

Bian, Junguo; Xia, Dan; Sidky, Emil Y; Pan, Xiaochuan

2010-02-01

The back-projection-filtration (BPF) algorithm has been applied to image reconstruction for cone-beam configurations with general source trajectories. The BPF algorithm can reconstruct 3-D region-of-interest (ROI) images from data containing truncations. However, like many other existing algorithms for cone-beam configurations, the BPF algorithm involves a back-projection with a spatially varying weighting factor, which can result in the non-uniform noise levels in reconstructed images and increased computation time. In this work, we propose a BPF algorithm to eliminate the spatially varying weighting factor by using a rebinned geometry for a general scanning trajectory. This proposed BPF algorithm has an improved noise property, while retaining the advantages of the original BPF algorithm such as minimum data requirement.

Hyper-X Mach 10 Trajectory Reconstruction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Karlgaard, Christopher D.; Martin, John G.; Tartabini, Paul V.; Thornblom, Mark N.

2005-01-01

This paper discusses the formulation and development of a trajectory reconstruction tool for the NASA X-43A/Hyper-X high speed research vehicle, and its implementation for the reconstruction and analysis of flight test data. Extended Kalman filtering techniques are employed to reconstruct the trajectory of the vehicle, based upon numerical integration of inertial measurement data along with redundant measurements of the vehicle state. The equations of motion are formulated in order to include the effects of several systematic error sources, whose values may also be estimated by the filtering routines. Additionally, smoothing algorithms have been implemented in which the final value of the state (or an augmented state that includes other systematic error parameters to be estimated) and covariance are propagated back to the initial time to generate the best-estimated trajectory, based upon all available data. The methods are applied to the problem of reconstructing the trajectory of the Hyper-X vehicle from data obtained during the Mach 10 test flight, which occurred on November 16th 2004.

Rapid Onboard Trajectory Design for Autonomous Spacecraft in Multibody Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trumbauer, Eric Michael

This research develops automated, on-board trajectory planning algorithms in order to support current and new mission concepts. These include orbiter missions to Phobos or Deimos, Outer Planet Moon orbiters, and robotic and crewed missions to small bodies. The challenges stem from the limited on-board computing resources which restrict full trajectory optimization with guaranteed convergence in complex dynamical environments. The approach taken consists of leveraging pre-mission computations to create a large database of pre-computed orbits and arcs. Such a database is used to generate a discrete representation of the dynamics in the form of a directed graph, which acts to index these arcs. This allows the use of graph search algorithms on-board in order to provide good approximate solutions to the path planning problem. Coupled with robust differential correction and optimization techniques, this enables the determination of an efficient path between any boundary conditions with very little time and computing effort. Furthermore, the optimization methods developed here based on sequential convex programming are shown to have provable convergence properties, as well as generating feasible major iterates in case of a system interrupt -- a key requirement for on-board application. The outcome of this project is thus the development of an algorithmic framework which allows the deployment of this approach in a variety of specific mission contexts. Test cases related to missions of interest to NASA and JPL such as a Phobos orbiter and a Near Earth Asteroid interceptor are demonstrated, including the results of an implementation on the RAD750 flight processor. This method fills a gap in the toolbox being developed to create fully autonomous space exploration systems.

Analysis of direct transfer trajectories from LL2 halo orbits to LLOs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Pengfei; He, Boyong; Li, Haiyang

2017-09-01

A convenient procedure for designing the direct transfer trajectory from lunar L2 point (LL2) halo orbit to a low lunar orbit (LLO) is presented in this paper. The trajectory characteristics are analyzed to support the manned lunar missions design aimed at lunar surface global access. The concise procedure is established based on the circular restricted three-body problem (CR3BP) model. An analytical algorithm is employed to estimate an initial maneuver vector for approaching the Moon in its close vicinity. An iteration process is adopted to generate favorable trajectory that satisfies the constraints at perilune. By introducing a number of intermediate coordinate frames, an algorithm to compute the arriving LLO inclination and right ascension of ascending node (RAAN) is proposed. The orbital inclination and RAAN in this paper are defined and established in the J2000 frame rather than in the synodical frame. Numerical results show that, regardless of value of out-of-plane amplitude (Az) of the halo orbit, the overall maneuver cost of the trajectory largely depends on departure position, and it has two minima around 0.65 km/s. Further study shows that the values of the arriving LLO inclination and RAAN largely depend on the choices of the departure time and the value of Az. The periodicity, due to the natural motion of the Moon, is discovered to play a role in this time dependency. It is concluded that the fuel optimal trajectory permits access to almost any final lunar orbit, including a polar orbit, by means of varying the departure time and Az value.

Autorotation flight control system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bachelder, Edward N. (Inventor); Aponso, Bimal L. (Inventor); Lee, Dong-Chan (Inventor)

2011-01-01

The present invention provides computer implemented methodology that permits the safe landing and recovery of rotorcraft following engine failure. With this invention successful autorotations may be performed from well within the unsafe operating area of the height-velocity profile of a helicopter by employing the fast and robust real-time trajectory optimization algorithm that commands control motion through an intuitive pilot display, or directly in the case of autonomous rotorcraft. The algorithm generates optimal trajectories and control commands via the direct-collocation optimization method, solved using a nonlinear programming problem solver. The control inputs computed are collective pitch and aircraft pitch, which are easily tracked and manipulated by the pilot or converted to control actuator commands for automated operation during autorotation in the case of an autonomous rotorcraft. The formulation of the optimal control problem has been carefully tailored so the solutions resemble those of an expert pilot, accounting for the performance limitations of the rotorcraft and safety concerns.

NASA Langley's Formal Methods Research in Support of the Next Generation Air Transportation System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Butler, Ricky W.; Munoz, Cesar A.

2008-01-01

This talk will provide a brief introduction to the formal methods developed at NASA Langley and the National Institute for Aerospace (NIA) for air traffic management applications. NASA Langley's formal methods research supports the Interagency Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO) effort to define and develop the 2025 Next Generation Air Transportation System (NGATS). The JPDO was created by the passage of the Vision 100 Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act in Dec 2003. The NGATS vision calls for a major transformation of the nation s air transportation system that will enable growth to 3 times the traffic of the current system. The transformation will require an unprecedented level of safety-critical automation used in complex procedural operations based on 4-dimensional (4D) trajectories that enable dynamic reconfiguration of airspace scalable to geographic and temporal demand. The goal of our formal methods research is to provide verification methods that can be used to insure the safety of the NGATS system. Our work has focused on the safety assessment of concepts of operation and fundamental algorithms for conflict detection and resolution (CD&R) and self- spacing in the terminal area. Formal analysis of a concept of operations is a novel area of application of formal methods. Here one must establish that a system concept involving aircraft, pilots, and ground resources is safe. The formal analysis of algorithms is a more traditional endeavor. However, the formal analysis of ATM algorithms involves reasoning about the interaction of algorithmic logic and aircraft trajectories defined over an airspace. These trajectories are described using 2D and 3D vectors and are often constrained by trigonometric relations. Thus, in many cases it has been necessary to unload the full power of an advanced theorem prover. The verification challenge is to establish that the safety-critical algorithms produce valid solutions that are guaranteed to maintain separation under all possible scenarios. Current research has assumed perfect knowledge of the location of other aircraft in the vicinity so absolute guarantees are possible, but increasingly we are relaxing the assumptions to allow incomplete, inaccurate, and/or faulty information from communication sources.

Trajectory-Oriented Approach to Managing Traffic Complexity: Trajectory Flexibility Metrics and Algorithms and Preliminary Complexity Impact Assessment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Idris, Husni; Vivona, Robert A.; Al-Wakil, Tarek

2009-01-01

This document describes exploratory research on a distributed, trajectory oriented approach for traffic complexity management. The approach is to manage traffic complexity based on preserving trajectory flexibility and minimizing constraints. In particular, the document presents metrics for trajectory flexibility; a method for estimating these metrics based on discrete time and degree of freedom assumptions; a planning algorithm using these metrics to preserve flexibility; and preliminary experiments testing the impact of preserving trajectory flexibility on traffic complexity. The document also describes an early demonstration capability of the trajectory flexibility preservation function in the NASA Autonomous Operations Planner (AOP) platform.

Algorithm for fuel conservative horizontal capture trajectories

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neuman, F.; Erzberger, H.

1981-01-01

A real time algorithm for computing constant altitude fuel-conservative approach trajectories for aircraft is described. The characteristics of the trajectory computed were chosen to approximate the extremal trajectories obtained from the optimal control solution to the problem and showed a fuel difference of only 0.5 to 2 percent for the real time algorithm in favor of the extremals. The trajectories may start at any initial position, heading, and speed and end at any other final position, heading, and speed. They consist of straight lines and a series of circular arcs of varying radius to approximate constant bank-angle decelerating turns. Throttle control is maximum thrust, nominal thrust, or zero thrust. Bank-angle control is either zero or aproximately 30 deg.

Spiral trajectory design: a flexible numerical algorithm and base analytical equations.

PubMed

Pipe, James G; Zwart, Nicholas R

2014-01-01

Spiral-based trajectories for magnetic resonance imaging can be advantageous, but are often cumbersome to design or create. This work presents a flexible numerical algorithm for designing trajectories based on explicit definition of radial undersampling, and also gives several analytical expressions for charactering the base (critically sampled) class of these trajectories. Expressions for the gradient waveform, based on slew and amplitude limits, are developed such that a desired pitch in the spiral k-space trajectory is followed. The source code for this algorithm, written in C, is publicly available. Analytical expressions approximating the spiral trajectory (ignoring the radial component) are given to characterize measurement time, gradient heating, maximum gradient amplitude, and off-resonance phase for slew-limited and gradient amplitude-limited cases. Several numerically calculated trajectories are illustrated, and base Archimedean spirals are compared with analytically obtained results. Several different waveforms illustrate that the desired slew and amplitude limits are reached, as are the desired undersampling patterns, using the numerical method. For base Archimedean spirals, the results of the numerical and analytical approaches are in good agreement. A versatile numerical algorithm was developed, and was written in publicly available code. Approximate analytical formulas are given that help characterize spiral trajectories. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Sample-Based Motion Planning in High-Dimensional and Differentially-Constrained Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-02-01

Reachable Set . . . 88 6-1 LittleDog Robot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 6-2 Dog bounding up stairs ...planning algorithm implemented on LittleDog, a quadruped robot . The motion planning algorithm successfully planned bounding trajectories over extremely...a motion planning algorithm implemented on LittleDog, a quadruped robot . The motion planning algorithm successfully planned bounding trajectories

Reactive Collision Avoidance Algorithm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scharf, Daniel; Acikmese, Behcet; Ploen, Scott; Hadaegh, Fred

2010-01-01

The reactive collision avoidance (RCA) algorithm allows a spacecraft to find a fuel-optimal trajectory for avoiding an arbitrary number of colliding spacecraft in real time while accounting for acceleration limits. In addition to spacecraft, the technology can be used for vehicles that can accelerate in any direction, such as helicopters and submersibles. In contrast to existing, passive algorithms that simultaneously design trajectories for a cluster of vehicles working to achieve a common goal, RCA is implemented onboard spacecraft only when an imminent collision is detected, and then plans a collision avoidance maneuver for only that host vehicle, thus preventing a collision in an off-nominal situation for which passive algorithms cannot. An example scenario for such a situation might be when a spacecraft in the cluster is approaching another one, but enters safe mode and begins to drift. Functionally, the RCA detects colliding spacecraft, plans an evasion trajectory by solving the Evasion Trajectory Problem (ETP), and then recovers after the collision is avoided. A direct optimization approach was used to develop the algorithm so it can run in real time. In this innovation, a parameterized class of avoidance trajectories is specified, and then the optimal trajectory is found by searching over the parameters. The class of trajectories is selected as bang-off-bang as motivated by optimal control theory. That is, an avoiding spacecraft first applies full acceleration in a constant direction, then coasts, and finally applies full acceleration to stop. The parameter optimization problem can be solved offline and stored as a look-up table of values. Using a look-up table allows the algorithm to run in real time. Given a colliding spacecraft, the properties of the collision geometry serve as indices of the look-up table that gives the optimal trajectory. For multiple colliding spacecraft, the set of trajectories that avoid all spacecraft is rapidly searched on-line. The optimal avoidance trajectory is implemented as a receding-horizon model predictive control law. Therefore, at each time step, the optimal avoidance trajectory is found and the first time step of its acceleration is applied. At the next time step of the control computer, the problem is re-solved and the new first time step is again applied. This continual updating allows the RCA algorithm to adapt to a colliding spacecraft that is making erratic course changes.

An adaptive reentry guidance method considering the influence of blackout zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Yu; Yao, Jianyao; Qu, Xiangju

2018-01-01

Reentry guidance has been researched as a popular topic because it is critical for a successful flight. In view that the existing guidance methods do not take into account the accumulated navigation error of Inertial Navigation System (INS) in the blackout zone, in this paper, an adaptive reentry guidance method is proposed to obtain the optimal reentry trajectory quickly with the target of minimum aerodynamic heating rate. The terminal error in position and attitude can be also reduced with the proposed method. In this method, the whole reentry guidance task is divided into two phases, i.e., the trajectory updating phase and the trajectory planning phase. In the first phase, the idea of model predictive control (MPC) is used, and the receding optimization procedure ensures the optimal trajectory in the next few seconds. In the trajectory planning phase, after the vehicle has flown out of the blackout zone, the optimal reentry trajectory is obtained by online planning to adapt to the navigation information. An effective swarm intelligence algorithm, i.e. pigeon inspired optimization (PIO) algorithm, is applied to obtain the optimal reentry trajectory in both of the two phases. Compared to the trajectory updating method, the proposed method can reduce the terminal error by about 30% considering both the position and attitude, especially, the terminal error of height has almost been eliminated. Besides, the PIO algorithm performs better than the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm both in the trajectory updating phase and the trajectory planning phases.

An Overview of a Trajectory-Based Solution for En Route and Terminal Area Self-Spacing: Fourth Revision

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abbott, Terence S.

2013-01-01

This paper presents an overview of the fourth major revision to an algorithm specifically designed to support NASA's Airborne Precision Spacing concept. This airborne self-spacing concept is trajectory-based, allowing for spacing operations prior to the aircraft being on a common path. Because this algorithm is trajectory-based, it also has the inherent ability to support required-time-of-arrival (RTA) operations. This algorithm was also designed specifically to support a standalone, non-integrated implementation in the spacing aircraft. Revisions to this algorithm were based on a change to the expected operational environment.

The Natural-CCD Algorithm, a Novel Method to Solve the Inverse Kinematics of Hyper-redundant and Soft Robots.

PubMed

Martín, Andrés; Barrientos, Antonio; Del Cerro, Jaime

2018-03-22

This article presents a new method to solve the inverse kinematics problem of hyper-redundant and soft manipulators. From an engineering perspective, this kind of robots are underdetermined systems. Therefore, they exhibit an infinite number of solutions for the inverse kinematics problem, and to choose the best one can be a great challenge. A new algorithm based on the cyclic coordinate descent (CCD) and named as natural-CCD is proposed to solve this issue. It takes its name as a result of generating very harmonious robot movements and trajectories that also appear in nature, such as the golden spiral. In addition, it has been applied to perform continuous trajectories, to develop whole-body movements, to analyze motion planning in complex environments, and to study fault tolerance, even for both prismatic and rotational joints. The proposed algorithm is very simple, precise, and computationally efficient. It works for robots either in two or three spatial dimensions and handles a large amount of degrees-of-freedom. Because of this, it is aimed to break down barriers between discrete hyper-redundant and continuum soft robots.

Techniques for shuttle trajectory optimization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edge, E. R.; Shieh, C. J.; Powers, W. F.

1973-01-01

The application of recently developed function-space Davidon-type techniques to the shuttle ascent trajectory optimization problem is discussed along with an investigation of the recently developed PRAXIS algorithm for parameter optimization. At the outset of this analysis, the major deficiency of the function-space algorithms was their potential storage problems. Since most previous analyses of the methods were with relatively low-dimension problems, no storage problems were encountered. However, in shuttle trajectory optimization, storage is a problem, and this problem was handled efficiently. Topics discussed include: the shuttle ascent model and the development of the particular optimization equations; the function-space algorithms; the operation of the algorithm and typical simulations; variable final-time problem considerations; and a modification of Powell's algorithm.

Extracting Lane Geometry and Topology Information from Vehicle Fleet Trajectories in Complex Urban Scenarios Using a Reversible Jump Mcmc Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roeth, O.; Zaum, D.; Brenner, C.

2017-05-01

Highly automated driving (HAD) requires maps not only of high spatial precision but also of yet unprecedented actuality. Traditionally small highly specialized fleets of measurement vehicles are used to generate such maps. Nevertheless, for achieving city-wide or even nation-wide coverage, automated map update mechanisms based on very large vehicle fleet data gain importance since highly frequent measurements are only to be obtained using such an approach. Furthermore, the processing of imprecise mass data in contrast to few dedicated highly accurate measurements calls for a high degree of automation. We present a method for the generation of lane-accurate road network maps from vehicle trajectory data (GPS or better). Our approach therefore allows for exploiting today's connected vehicle fleets for the generation of HAD maps. The presented algorithm is based on elementary building blocks which guarantees useful lane models and uses a Reversible Jump Markov chain Monte Carlo method to explore the models parameters in order to reconstruct the one most likely emitting the input data. The approach is applied to a challenging urban real-world scenario of different trajectory accuracy levels and is evaluated against a LIDAR-based ground truth map.

Trajectory NG: portable, compressed, general molecular dynamics trajectories.

PubMed

Spångberg, Daniel; Larsson, Daniel S D; van der Spoel, David

2011-10-01

We present general algorithms for the compression of molecular dynamics trajectories. The standard ways to store MD trajectories as text or as raw binary floating point numbers result in very large files when efficient simulation programs are used on supercomputers. Our algorithms are based on the observation that differences in atomic coordinates/velocities, in either time or space, are generally smaller than the absolute values of the coordinates/velocities. Also, it is often possible to store values at a lower precision. We apply several compression schemes to compress the resulting differences further. The most efficient algorithms developed here use a block sorting algorithm in combination with Huffman coding. Depending on the frequency of storage of frames in the trajectory, either space, time, or combinations of space and time differences are usually the most efficient. We compare the efficiency of our algorithms with each other and with other algorithms present in the literature for various systems: liquid argon, water, a virus capsid solvated in 15 mM aqueous NaCl, and solid magnesium oxide. We perform tests to determine how much precision is necessary to obtain accurate structural and dynamic properties, as well as benchmark a parallelized implementation of the algorithms. We obtain compression ratios (compared to single precision floating point) of 1:3.3-1:35 depending on the frequency of storage of frames and the system studied.

An Overview of a Trajectory-Based Solution for En Route and Terminal Area Self-Spacing: Third Revision

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abbott, Terence S.

2012-01-01

This paper presents an overview of the third major revision to an algorithm specifically designed to support NASA's Airborne Precision Spacing concept. This algorithm is referred to as the Airborne Spacing for Terminal Arrival Routes version 11 (ASTAR11). This airborne self-spacing concept is trajectory-based, allowing for spacing operations prior to the aircraft being on a common path. Because this algorithm is trajectory-based, it also has the inherent ability to support required time-of-arrival (RTA) operations. This algorithm was also designed specifically to support a standalone, non-integrated implementation in the spacing aircraft.

Spatial-temporal travel pattern mining using massive taxi trajectory data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Linjiang; Xia, Dong; Zhao, Xin; Tan, Longyou; Li, Hang; Chen, Li; Liu, Weining

2018-07-01

Deep understanding of residents' travel patterns would provide helpful insights into the mechanisms of many socioeconomic phenomena. With the rapid development of location-aware computing technologies, researchers have easy access to large quantities of travel data. As an important data source, taxi trajectory data are featured by their high quality, good continuity and wide distribution, making it suitable for travel pattern mining. In this paper, we use taxi trajectory data to study spatial-temporal characterization of urban residents' travel patterns from two aspects: attractive areas and hot paths. Firstly, a framework of trajectory preprocessing, including data cleaning and extracting the taxi passenger pick-up/drop-off points, is presented to reduce the noise and redundancy in raw trajectory data. Then, a grid density based clustering algorithm is proposed to discover travel attractive areas in different periods of a day. On this basis, we put forward a spatial-temporal trajectory clustering method to discover hot paths among travel attractive areas. Compared with previous algorithms, which only consider the spatial constraint between trajectories, temporal constraint is also considered in our method. Through the experiments, we discuss how to determine the optimal parameters of the two clustering algorithms and verify the effectiveness of the algorithms using real data. Furthermore, we analyze spatial-temporal characterization of Chongqing residents' travel pattern.

Rapid near-optimal trajectory generation and guidance law development for single-stage-to-orbit airbreathing vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Calise, A. J.; Flandro, G. A.; Corban, J. E.

1990-01-01

General problems associated with on-board trajectory optimization, propulsion system cycle selection, and with the synthesis of guidance laws were addressed for an ascent to low-earth-orbit of an air-breathing single-stage-to-orbit vehicle. The NASA Generic Hypersonic Aerodynamic Model Example and the Langley Accelerator aerodynamic sets were acquired and implemented. Work related to the development of purely analytic aerodynamic models was also performed at a low level. A generic model of a multi-mode propulsion system was developed that includes turbojet, ramjet, scramjet, and rocket engine cycles. Provisions were made in the dynamic model for a component of thrust normal to the flight path. Computational results, which characterize the nonlinear sensitivity of scramjet performance to changes in vehicle angle of attack, were obtained and incorporated into the engine model. Additional trajectory constraints were introduced: maximum dynamic pressure; maximum aerodynamic heating rate per unit area; angle of attack and lift limits; and limits on acceleration both along and normal to the flight path. The remainder of the effort focused on required modifications to a previously derived algorithm when the model complexity cited above was added. In particular, analytic switching conditions were derived which, under appropriate assumptions, govern optimal transition from one propulsion mode to another for two cases: the case in which engine cycle operations can overlap, and the case in which engine cycle operations are mutually exclusive. The resulting guidance algorithm was implemented in software and exercised extensively. It was found that the approximations associated with the assumed time scale separation employed in this work are reasonable except over the Mach range from roughly 5 to 8. This phenomenon is due to the very large thrust capability of scramjets in this Mach regime when sized to meet the requirement for ascent to orbit. By accounting for flight path angle and flight path angle rate in construction of the flight path over this Mach range, the resulting algorithm provides the means for rapid near-optimal trajectory generation and propulsion cycle selection over the entire Mach range from take-off to orbit.

A Sampling Based Approach to Spacecraft Autonomous Maneuvering with Safety Specifications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Starek, Joseph A.; Barbee, Brent W.; Pavone, Marco

2015-01-01

This paper presents a methods for safe spacecraft autonomous maneuvering that leverages robotic motion-planning techniques to spacecraft control. Specifically the scenario we consider is an in-plan rendezvous of a chaser spacecraft in proximity to a target spacecraft at the origin of the Clohessy Wiltshire Hill frame. The trajectory for the chaser spacecraft is generated in a receding horizon fashion by executing a sampling based robotic motion planning algorithm name Fast Marching Trees (FMT) which efficiently grows a tree of trajectories over a set of probabillistically drawn samples in the state space. To enforce safety the tree is only grown over actively safe samples for which there exists a one-burn collision avoidance maneuver that circularizes the spacecraft orbit along a collision-free coasting arc and that can be executed under potential thrusters failures. The overall approach establishes a provably correct framework for the systematic encoding of safety specifications into the spacecraft trajectory generations process and appears amenable to real time implementation on orbit. Simulation results are presented for a two-fault tolerant spacecraft during autonomous approach to a single client in Low Earth Orbit.

Trajectory Specification for Terminal Air Traffic: Pairwise Conflict Detection and Resolution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paielli, Russell A.; Erzberger, Heinz

2017-01-01

Trajectory Specification is the explicit bounding and control of aircraft trajectories such that the position at any point in time is constrained to a precisely defined volume of space. The bounding space is defined by cross-track, along-track, and vertical tolerances relative to a reference trajectory that specifies position as a function of time. The tolerances are dynamic and will be based on the aircraft navigation capabilities and the current traffic situation. Assuming conformance, Trajectory Specification can guarantee safe separation for an arbitrary period of time even in the event of an air traffic control (ATC) system or datalink failure; hence it can help to achieve the high level of safety and reliability needed for ATC automation. It can also reduce the reliance on tactical backup systems during normal operation. This paper applies it to the terminal area around a major airport and presents algorithms and software for detecting and resolving conflicts. A representative set of pairwise conflicts was generated, and a fast-time simulation was run on them. All conflicts were successfully resolved in real time, demonstrating the computational feasibility of the concept.

Co-state initialization for the minimum-time low-thrust trajectory optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taheri, Ehsan; Li, Nan I.; Kolmanovsky, Ilya

2017-05-01

This paper presents an approach for co-state initialization which is a critical step in solving minimum-time low-thrust trajectory optimization problems using indirect optimal control numerical methods. Indirect methods used in determining the optimal space trajectories typically result in two-point boundary-value problems and are solved by single- or multiple-shooting numerical methods. Accurate initialization of the co-state variables facilitates the numerical convergence of iterative boundary value problem solvers. In this paper, we propose a method which exploits the trajectory generated by the so-called pseudo-equinoctial and three-dimensional finite Fourier series shape-based methods to estimate the initial values of the co-states. The performance of the approach for two interplanetary rendezvous missions from Earth to Mars and from Earth to asteroid Dionysus is compared against three other approaches which, respectively, exploit random initialization of co-states, adjoint-control transformation and a standard genetic algorithm. The results indicate that by using our proposed approach the percent of the converged cases is higher for trajectories with higher number of revolutions while the computation time is lower. These features are advantageous for broad trajectory search in the preliminary phase of mission designs.

Kinect as a Tool for Gait Analysis: Validation of a Real-Time Joint Extraction Algorithm Working in Side View

PubMed Central

Cippitelli, Enea; Gasparrini, Samuele; Spinsante, Susanna; Gambi, Ennio

2015-01-01

The Microsoft Kinect sensor has gained attention as a tool for gait analysis for several years. Despite the many advantages the sensor provides, however, the lack of a native capability to extract joints from the side view of a human body still limits the adoption of the device to a number of relevant applications. This paper presents an algorithm to locate and estimate the trajectories of up to six joints extracted from the side depth view of a human body captured by the Kinect device. The algorithm is then applied to extract data that can be exploited to provide an objective score for the “Get Up and Go Test”, which is typically adopted for gait analysis in rehabilitation fields. Starting from the depth-data stream provided by the Microsoft Kinect sensor, the proposed algorithm relies on anthropometric models only, to locate and identify the positions of the joints. Differently from machine learning approaches, this solution avoids complex computations, which usually require significant resources. The reliability of the information about the joint position output by the algorithm is evaluated by comparison to a marker-based system. Tests show that the trajectories extracted by the proposed algorithm adhere to the reference curves better than the ones obtained from the skeleton generated by the native applications provided within the Microsoft Kinect (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA, USA, 2013) and OpenNI (OpenNI organization, Tel Aviv, Israel, 2013) Software Development Kits. PMID:25594588

Cluster analysis of accelerated molecular dynamics simulations: A case study of the decahedron to icosahedron transition in Pt nanoparticles.

PubMed

Huang, Rao; Lo, Li-Ta; Wen, Yuhua; Voter, Arthur F; Perez, Danny

2017-10-21

Modern molecular-dynamics-based techniques are extremely powerful to investigate the dynamical evolution of materials. With the increase in sophistication of the simulation techniques and the ubiquity of massively parallel computing platforms, atomistic simulations now generate very large amounts of data, which have to be carefully analyzed in order to reveal key features of the underlying trajectories, including the nature and characteristics of the relevant reaction pathways. We show that clustering algorithms, such as the Perron Cluster Cluster Analysis, can provide reduced representations that greatly facilitate the interpretation of complex trajectories. To illustrate this point, clustering tools are used to identify the key kinetic steps in complex accelerated molecular dynamics trajectories exhibiting shape fluctuations in Pt nanoclusters. This analysis provides an easily interpretable coarse representation of the reaction pathways in terms of a handful of clusters, in contrast to the raw trajectory that contains thousands of unique states and tens of thousands of transitions.

Cluster analysis of accelerated molecular dynamics simulations: A case study of the decahedron to icosahedron transition in Pt nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Rao; Lo, Li-Ta; Wen, Yuhua; Voter, Arthur F.; Perez, Danny

2017-10-01

Modern molecular-dynamics-based techniques are extremely powerful to investigate the dynamical evolution of materials. With the increase in sophistication of the simulation techniques and the ubiquity of massively parallel computing platforms, atomistic simulations now generate very large amounts of data, which have to be carefully analyzed in order to reveal key features of the underlying trajectories, including the nature and characteristics of the relevant reaction pathways. We show that clustering algorithms, such as the Perron Cluster Cluster Analysis, can provide reduced representations that greatly facilitate the interpretation of complex trajectories. To illustrate this point, clustering tools are used to identify the key kinetic steps in complex accelerated molecular dynamics trajectories exhibiting shape fluctuations in Pt nanoclusters. This analysis provides an easily interpretable coarse representation of the reaction pathways in terms of a handful of clusters, in contrast to the raw trajectory that contains thousands of unique states and tens of thousands of transitions.

A Data Cleaning Method for Big Trace Data Using Movement Consistency

PubMed Central

Tang, Luliang; Zhang, Xia; Li, Qingquan

2018-01-01

Given the popularization of GPS technologies, the massive amount of spatiotemporal GPS traces collected by vehicles are becoming a new kind of big data source for urban geographic information extraction. The growing volume of the dataset, however, creates processing and management difficulties, while the low quality generates uncertainties when investigating human activities. Based on the conception of the error distribution law and position accuracy of the GPS data, we propose in this paper a data cleaning method for this kind of spatial big data using movement consistency. First, a trajectory is partitioned into a set of sub-trajectories using the movement characteristic points. In this process, GPS points indicate that the motion status of the vehicle has transformed from one state into another, and are regarded as the movement characteristic points. Then, GPS data are cleaned based on the similarities of GPS points and the movement consistency model of the sub-trajectory. The movement consistency model is built using the random sample consensus algorithm based on the high spatial consistency of high-quality GPS data. The proposed method is evaluated based on extensive experiments, using GPS trajectories generated by a sample of vehicles over a 7-day period in Wuhan city, China. The results show the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method. PMID:29522456

Investigation of BPF algorithm in cone-beam CT with 2D general trajectories.

PubMed

Zou, Jing; Gui, Jianbao; Rong, Junyan; Hu, Zhanli; Zhang, Qiyang; Xia, Dan

2012-01-01

A mathematical derivation was conducted to illustrate that exact 3D image reconstruction could be achieved for z-homogeneous phantoms from data acquired with 2D general trajectories using the back projection filtration (BPF) algorithm. The conclusion was verified by computer simulation and experimental result with a circular scanning trajectory. Furthermore, the effect of the non-uniform degree along z-axis of the phantoms on the accuracy of the 3D reconstruction by BPF algorithm was investigated by numerical simulation with a gradual-phantom and a disk-phantom. The preliminary result showed that the performance of BPF algorithm improved with the z-axis homogeneity of the scanned object.

Surgical motion characterization in simulated needle insertion procedures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holden, Matthew S.; Ungi, Tamas; Sargent, Derek; McGraw, Robert C.; Fichtinger, Gabor

2012-02-01

PURPOSE: Evaluation of surgical performance in image-guided needle insertions is of emerging interest, to both promote patient safety and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of training. The purpose of this study was to determine if a Markov model-based algorithm can more accurately segment a needle-based surgical procedure into its five constituent tasks than a simple threshold-based algorithm. METHODS: Simulated needle trajectories were generated with known ground truth segmentation by a synthetic procedural data generator, with random noise added to each degree of freedom of motion. The respective learning algorithms were trained, and then tested on different procedures to determine task segmentation accuracy. In the threshold-based algorithm, a change in tasks was detected when the needle crossed a position/velocity threshold. In the Markov model-based algorithm, task segmentation was performed by identifying the sequence of Markov models most likely to have produced the series of observations. RESULTS: For amplitudes of translational noise greater than 0.01mm, the Markov model-based algorithm was significantly more accurate in task segmentation than the threshold-based algorithm (82.3% vs. 49.9%, p<0.001 for amplitude 10.0mm). For amplitudes less than 0.01mm, the two algorithms produced insignificantly different results. CONCLUSION: Task segmentation of simulated needle insertion procedures was improved by using a Markov model-based algorithm as opposed to a threshold-based algorithm for procedures involving translational noise.

Fast Optimization for Aircraft Descent and Approach Trajectory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Luchinsky, Dmitry G.; Schuet, Stefan; Brenton, J.; Timucin, Dogan; Smith, David; Kaneshige, John

2017-01-01

We address problem of on-line scheduling of the aircraft descent and approach trajectory. We formulate a general multiphase optimal control problem for optimization of the descent trajectory and review available methods of its solution. We develop a fast algorithm for solution of this problem using two key components: (i) fast inference of the dynamical and control variables of the descending trajectory from the low dimensional flight profile data and (ii) efficient local search for the resulting reduced dimensionality non-linear optimization problem. We compare the performance of the proposed algorithm with numerical solution obtained using optimal control toolbox General Pseudospectral Optimal Control Software. We present results of the solution of the scheduling problem for aircraft descent using novel fast algorithm and discuss its future applications.

Automated generation and optimization of ballistic lunar capture transfer trajectories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Griesemer, Paul Ricord

The successful completion of the Hiten mission in 1991 provided real-world validation of a class of trajectories defined as ballistic lunar capture transfers. This class of transfers is often considered for missions to the Moon and for tours of the moons of other planets. In this study, the dynamics of the three and four body problems are examined to better explain the mechanisms of low energy transfers in the Earth-Moon system, and to determine their optimality. Families of periodic orbits in the restricted Earth-Sun-spacecraft three body problem are shown to be generating families for low energy transfers between orbits of the Earth. The low energy orbit-to-orbit transfers are shown to require less fuel than optimal direct transfers between the same orbits in the Earth-Sun-spacecraft circular restricted three body problem. The low energy transfers are categorized based on their generating family and the number of flybys in the reference three body trajectory. The practical application of these generating families to spacecraft mission design is demonstrated through a robust nonlinear targeting algorithm for finding Sun-Earth-Moon-spacecraft four body transfers based on startup transfers indentified in the Earth-Sun three body problem. The local optimality of the transfers is examined through use of Lawden's primer vector theory, and new conditions of optimality for single-impulse-to-capture lunar transfers are established.

Deconflicting Wind-Optimal Aircraft Trajectories in North Atlantic Oceanic Airspace

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rodionova, Olga; Delahaye, Daniel; Sridhar, Banavar; Ng, Hok K.

2016-01-01

North Atlantic oceanic airspace accommodates more than 1000 flights daily, and is subjected to very strong winds. Flying wind-optimal trajectories yields time and fuel savings for each individual flight. However, when taken together, these trajectories induce a large amount of potential en-route conflicts. This paper analyses the detected conflicts, figuring out conflict distribution in time and space. It further describes an optimization algorithm aimed at reducing the number of conflicts for a daily set of flights on strategic level. Several trajectory modification strategies are discussed, followed with simulation results. Finally, an algorithm improvement is presented aiming at better preserving the trajectory optimality.

Robotic excavator trajectory control using an improved GA based PID controller

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Hao; Yin, Chen-Bo; Weng, Wen-wen; Ma, Wei; Zhou, Jun-jing; Jia, Wen-hua; Zhang, Zi-li

2018-05-01

In order to achieve excellent trajectory tracking performances, an improved genetic algorithm (IGA) is presented to search for the optimal proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller parameters for the robotic excavator. Firstly, the mathematical model of kinematic and electro-hydraulic proportional control system of the excavator are analyzed based on the mechanism modeling method. On this basis, the actual model of the electro-hydraulic proportional system are established by the identification experiment. Furthermore, the population, the fitness function, the crossover probability and mutation probability of the SGA are improved: the initial PID parameters are calculated by the Ziegler-Nichols (Z-N) tuning method and the initial population is generated near it; the fitness function is transformed to maintain the diversity of the population; the probability of crossover and mutation are adjusted automatically to avoid premature convergence. Moreover, a simulation study is carried out to evaluate the time response performance of the proposed controller, i.e., IGA based PID against the SGA and Z-N based PID controllers with a step signal. It was shown from the simulation study that the proposed controller provides the least rise time and settling time of 1.23 s and 1.81 s, respectively against the other tested controllers. Finally, two types of trajectories are designed to validate the performances of the control algorithms, and experiments are performed on the excavator trajectory control experimental platform. It was demonstrated from the experimental work that the proposed IGA based PID controller improves the trajectory accuracy of the horizontal line and slope line trajectories by 23.98% and 23.64%, respectively in comparison to the SGA tuned PID controller. The results further indicate that the proposed IGA tuning based PID controller is effective for improving the tracking accuracy, which may be employed in the trajectory control of an actual excavator.

Arbitrary Symmetric Running Gait Generation for an Underactuated Biped Model.

PubMed

Dadashzadeh, Behnam; Esmaeili, Mohammad; Macnab, Chris

2017-01-01

This paper investigates generating symmetric trajectories for an underactuated biped during the stance phase of running. We use a point mass biped (PMB) model for gait analysis that consists of a prismatic force actuator on a massless leg. The significance of this model is its ability to generate more general and versatile running gaits than the spring-loaded inverted pendulum (SLIP) model, making it more suitable as a template for real robots. The algorithm plans the necessary leg actuator force to cause the robot center of mass to undergo arbitrary trajectories in stance with any arbitrary attack angle and velocity angle. The necessary actuator forces follow from the inverse kinematics and dynamics. Then these calculated forces become the control input to the dynamic model. We compare various center-of-mass trajectories, including a circular arc and polynomials of the degrees 2, 4 and 6. The cost of transport and maximum leg force are calculated for various attack angles and velocity angles. The results show that choosing the velocity angle as small as possible is beneficial, but the angle of attack has an optimum value. We also find a new result: there exist biped running gaits with double-hump ground reaction force profiles which result in less maximum leg force than single-hump profiles.

Arbitrary Symmetric Running Gait Generation for an Underactuated Biped Model

PubMed Central

Esmaeili, Mohammad; Macnab, Chris

2017-01-01

This paper investigates generating symmetric trajectories for an underactuated biped during the stance phase of running. We use a point mass biped (PMB) model for gait analysis that consists of a prismatic force actuator on a massless leg. The significance of this model is its ability to generate more general and versatile running gaits than the spring-loaded inverted pendulum (SLIP) model, making it more suitable as a template for real robots. The algorithm plans the necessary leg actuator force to cause the robot center of mass to undergo arbitrary trajectories in stance with any arbitrary attack angle and velocity angle. The necessary actuator forces follow from the inverse kinematics and dynamics. Then these calculated forces become the control input to the dynamic model. We compare various center-of-mass trajectories, including a circular arc and polynomials of the degrees 2, 4 and 6. The cost of transport and maximum leg force are calculated for various attack angles and velocity angles. The results show that choosing the velocity angle as small as possible is beneficial, but the angle of attack has an optimum value. We also find a new result: there exist biped running gaits with double-hump ground reaction force profiles which result in less maximum leg force than single-hump profiles. PMID:28118401

On the calculation of low-thrust fail-safe trajectories

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sauer, C. G., Jr.

1975-01-01

A guidance algorithm is developed for a low-thrust spacecraft such that target intercept is possible in spite of premature thrust termination along the trajectory. Such a trajectory is called a 'fail-safe' trajectory and the spacecraft thrust is utilized to minimize the relative target-spacecraft approach speed. The fail-safe guidance algorithm is solved using the concept of a critical thrust plane and a non-critical thrust direction. Several examples of fail-safe guidance are presented for a solar-electric propulsion flyby mission to the comet Encke.

Symbolic discrete event system specification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zeigler, Bernard P.; Chi, Sungdo

1992-01-01

Extending discrete event modeling formalisms to facilitate greater symbol manipulation capabilities is important to further their use in intelligent control and design of high autonomy systems. An extension to the DEVS formalism that facilitates symbolic expression of event times by extending the time base from the real numbers to the field of linear polynomials over the reals is defined. A simulation algorithm is developed to generate the branching trajectories resulting from the underlying nondeterminism. To efficiently manage symbolic constraints, a consistency checking algorithm for linear polynomial constraints based on feasibility checking algorithms borrowed from linear programming has been developed. The extended formalism offers a convenient means to conduct multiple, simultaneous explorations of model behaviors. Examples of application are given with concentration on fault model analysis.

Target tracking and 3D trajectory acquisition of cabbage butterfly (P. rapae) based on the KCF-BS algorithm.

PubMed

Guo, Yang-Yang; He, Dong-Jian; Liu, Cong

2018-06-25

Insect behaviour is an important research topic in plant protection. To study insect behaviour accurately, it is necessary to observe and record their flight trajectory quantitatively and precisely in three dimensions (3D). The goal of this research was to analyse frames extracted from videos using Kernelized Correlation Filters (KCF) and Background Subtraction (BS) (KCF-BS) to plot the 3D trajectory of cabbage butterfly (P. rapae). Considering the experimental environment with a wind tunnel, a quadrature binocular vision insect video capture system was designed and applied in this study. The KCF-BS algorithm was used to track the butterfly in video frames and obtain coordinates of the target centroid in two videos. Finally the 3D trajectory was calculated according to the matching relationship in the corresponding frames of two angles in the video. To verify the validity of the KCF-BS algorithm, Compressive Tracking (CT) and Spatio-Temporal Context Learning (STC) algorithms were performed. The results revealed that the KCF-BS tracking algorithm performed more favourably than CT and STC in terms of accuracy and robustness.

A Trajectory Generation Approach for Payload Directed Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ippolito, Corey A.; Yeh, Yoo-Hsiu

2009-01-01

Presently, flight systems designed to perform payload-centric maneuvers require preconstructed procedures and special hand-tuned guidance modes. To enable intelligent maneuvering via strong coupling between the goals of payload-directed flight and the autopilot functions, there exists a need to rethink traditional autopilot design and function. Research into payload directed flight examines sensor and payload-centric autopilot modes, architectures, and algorithms that provide layers of intelligent guidance, navigation and control for flight vehicles to achieve mission goals related to the payload sensors, taking into account various constraints such as the performance limitations of the aircraft, target tracking and estimation, obstacle avoidance, and constraint satisfaction. Payload directed flight requires a methodology for accurate trajectory planning that lets the system anticipate expected return from a suite of onboard sensors. This paper presents an extension to the existing techniques used in the literature to quickly and accurately plan flight trajectories that predict and optimize the expected return of onboard payload sensors.

Evaluation of a Pair-Wise Conflict Detection and Resolution Algorithm in a Multiple Aircraft Scenario

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carreno, Victor A.

2002-01-01

The KB3D algorithm is a pairwise conflict detection and resolution (CD&R) algorithm. It detects and generates trajectory vectoring for an aircraft which has been predicted to be in an airspace minima violation within a given look-ahead time. It has been proven, using mechanized theorem proving techniques, that for a pair of aircraft, KB3D produces at least one vectoring solution and that all solutions produced are correct. Although solutions produced by the algorithm are mathematically correct, they might not be physically executable by an aircraft or might not solve multiple aircraft conflicts. This paper describes a simple solution selection method which assesses all solutions generated by KB3D and determines the solution to be executed. The solution selection method and KB3D are evaluated using a simulation in which N aircraft fly in a free-flight environment and each aircraft in the simulation uses KB3D to maintain separation. Specifically, the solution selection method filters KB3D solutions which are procedurally undesirable or physically not executable and uses a predetermined criteria for selection.

A piloted simulator evaluation of a ground-based 4-D descent advisor algorithm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Thomas J.; Green, Steven M.; Erzberger, Heinz

1990-01-01

A ground-based, four dimensional (4D) descent-advisor algorithm is under development at NASA-Ames. The algorithm combines detailed aerodynamic, propulsive, and atmospheric models with an efficient numerical integration scheme to generate 4D descent advisories. The ability is investigated of the 4D descent advisor algorithm to provide adequate control of arrival time for aircraft not equipped with on-board 4D guidance systems. A piloted simulation was conducted to determine the precision with which the descent advisor could predict the 4D trajectories of typical straight-in descents flown by airline pilots under different wind conditions. The effects of errors in the estimation of wind and initial aircraft weight were also studied. A description of the descent advisor as well as the result of the simulation studies are presented.

Simulation of biochemical reactions with time-dependent rates by the rejection-based algorithm

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

Thanh, Vo Hong, E-mail: vo@cosbi.eu; Priami, Corrado, E-mail: priami@cosbi.eu; Department of Mathematics, University of Trento, Trento

We address the problem of simulating biochemical reaction networks with time-dependent rates and propose a new algorithm based on our rejection-based stochastic simulation algorithm (RSSA) [Thanh et al., J. Chem. Phys. 141(13), 134116 (2014)]. The computation for selecting next reaction firings by our time-dependent RSSA (tRSSA) is computationally efficient. Furthermore, the generated trajectory is exact by exploiting the rejection-based mechanism. We benchmark tRSSA on different biological systems with varying forms of reaction rates to demonstrate its applicability and efficiency. We reveal that for nontrivial cases, the selection of reaction firings in existing algorithms introduces approximations because the integration of reactionmore » rates is very computationally demanding and simplifying assumptions are introduced. The selection of the next reaction firing by our approach is easier while preserving the exactness.« less

Application of Metaheuristic and Deterministic Algorithms for Aircraft Reference Trajectory Optimization =

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murrieta Mendoza, Alejandro

Aircraft reference trajectory is an alternative method to reduce fuel consumption, thus the pollution released to the atmosphere. Fuel consumption reduction is of special importance for two reasons: first, because the aeronautical industry is responsible of 2% of the CO2 released to the atmosphere, and second, because it will reduce the flight cost. The aircraft fuel model was obtained from a numerical performance database which was created and validated by our industrial partner from flight experimental test data. A new methodology using the numerical database was proposed in this thesis to compute the fuel burn for a given trajectory. Weather parameters such as wind and temperature were taken into account as they have an important effect in fuel burn. The open source model used to obtain the weather forecast was provided by Weather Canada. A combination of linear and bi-linear interpolations allowed finding the required weather data. The search space was modelled using different graphs: one graph was used for mapping the different flight phases such as climb, cruise and descent, and another graph was used for mapping the physical space in which the aircraft would perform its flight. The trajectory was optimized in its vertical reference trajectory using the Beam Search algorithm, and a combination of the Beam Search algorithm with a search space reduction technique. The trajectory was optimized simultaneously for the vertical and lateral reference navigation plans while fulfilling a Required Time of Arrival constraint using three different metaheuristic algorithms: the artificial bee's colony, and the ant colony optimization. Results were validated using the software FlightSIMRTM, a commercial Flight Management System, an exhaustive search algorithm, and as flown flights obtained from flightawareRTM. All algorithms were able to reduce the fuel burn, and the flight costs. None None None None None None None

Generalized gradient algorithm for trajectory optimization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhao, Yiyuan; Bryson, A. E.; Slattery, R.

1990-01-01

The generalized gradient algorithm presented and verified as a basis for the solution of trajectory optimization problems improves the performance index while reducing path equality constraints, and terminal equality constraints. The algorithm is conveniently divided into two phases, of which the first, 'feasibility' phase yields a solution satisfying both path and terminal constraints, while the second, 'optimization' phase uses the results of the first phase as initial guesses.

Optimized Routing of Intelligent, Mobile Sensors for Dynamic, Data-Driven Sampling

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-27

nonstationary random process that requires nonuniform sampling. The ap- proach incorporates complementary representations of an unknown process: the first...lookup table as follows. A uniform grid is created in the r-domain and mapped to the R-domain, which produces a nonuniform grid of locations in the R...vehicle coverage algorithm that invokes the coor- dinate transformation from the previous section to generate nonuniform sampling trajectories [54]. We

Optimal control and optimal trajectories of regional macroeconomic dynamics based on the Pontryagin maximum principle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bulgakov, V. K.; Strigunov, V. V.

2009-05-01

The Pontryagin maximum principle is used to prove a theorem concerning optimal control in regional macroeconomics. A boundary value problem for optimal trajectories of the state and adjoint variables is formulated, and optimal curves are analyzed. An algorithm is proposed for solving the boundary value problem of optimal control. The performance of the algorithm is demonstrated by computing an optimal control and the corresponding optimal trajectories.

MitoGen: A Framework for Generating 3D Synthetic Time-Lapse Sequences of Cell Populations in Fluorescence Microscopy.

PubMed

Svoboda, David; Ulman, Vladimir

2017-01-01

The proper analysis of biological microscopy images is an important and complex task. Therefore, it requires verification of all steps involved in the process, including image segmentation and tracking algorithms. It is generally better to verify algorithms with computer-generated ground truth datasets, which, compared to manually annotated data, nowadays have reached high quality and can be produced in large quantities even for 3D time-lapse image sequences. Here, we propose a novel framework, called MitoGen, which is capable of generating ground truth datasets with fully 3D time-lapse sequences of synthetic fluorescence-stained cell populations. MitoGen shows biologically justified cell motility, shape and texture changes as well as cell divisions. Standard fluorescence microscopy phenomena such as photobleaching, blur with real point spread function (PSF), and several types of noise, are simulated to obtain realistic images. The MitoGen framework is scalable in both space and time. MitoGen generates visually plausible data that shows good agreement with real data in terms of image descriptors and mean square displacement (MSD) trajectory analysis. Additionally, it is also shown in this paper that four publicly available segmentation and tracking algorithms exhibit similar performance on both real and MitoGen-generated data. The implementation of MitoGen is freely available.

Generating high-speed dynamic running gaits in a quadruped robot using an evolutionary search.

PubMed

Krasny, Darren P; Orin, David E

2004-08-01

Over the past several decades, there has been a considerable interest in investigating high-speed dynamic gaits for legged robots. While much research has been published, both in the biomechanics and engineering fields regarding the analysis of these gaits, no single study has adequately characterized the dynamics of high-speed running as can be achieved in a realistic, yet simple, robotic system. The goal of this paper is to find the most energy-efficient, natural, and unconstrained gallop that can be achieved using a simulated quadrupedal robot with articulated legs, asymmetric mass distribution, and compliant legs. For comparison purposes, we also implement the bound and canter. The model used here is planar, although we will show that it captures much of the predominant dynamic characteristics observed in animals. While it is not our goal to prove anything about biological locomotion, the dynamic similarities between the gaits we produce and those found in animals does indicate a similar underlying dynamic mechanism. Thus, we will show that achieving natural, efficient high-speed locomotion is possible even with a fairly simple robotic system. To generate the high-speed gaits, we use an efficient evolutionary algorithm called set-based stochastic optimization. This algorithm finds open-loop control parameters to generate periodic trajectories for the body. Several alternative methods are tested to generate periodic trajectories for the legs. The combined solutions found by the evolutionary search and the periodic-leg methods, over a range of speeds up to 10.0 m/s, reveal "biological" characteristics that are emergent properties of the underlying gaits.

An Overview of a Trajectory-Based Solution for En Route and Terminal Area Self-Spacing: Fifth Edition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abbott, Terence S.

2015-01-01

This paper presents an overview of the fifth revision to an algorithm specifically designed to support NASA's Airborne Precision Spacing concept. This algorithm is referred to as the Airborne Spacing for Terminal Arrival Routes version 12 (ASTAR12). This airborne self-spacing concept is trajectory-based, allowing for spacing operations prior to the aircraft being on a common path. Because this algorithm is trajectory-based, it also has the inherent ability to support required-time-of- arrival (RTA) operations. This algorithm was also designed specifically to support a standalone, non-integrated implementation in the spacing aircraft. This current revision to the algorithm includes a ground speed feedback term to compensate for slower than expected traffic aircraft speeds based on the accepted air traffic control tendency to slow aircraft below the nominal arrival speeds when they are farther from the airport.

An Augmentation of G-Guidance Algorithms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carson, John M. III; Acikmese, Behcet

2011-01-01

The original G-Guidance algorithm provided an autonomous guidance and control policy for small-body proximity operations that took into account uncertainty and dynamics disturbances. However, there was a lack of robustness in regards to object proximity while in autonomous mode. The modified GGuidance algorithm was augmented with a second operational mode that allows switching into a safety hover mode. This will cause a spacecraft to hover in place until a mission-planning algorithm can compute a safe new trajectory. No state or control constraints are violated. When a new, feasible state trajectory is calculated, the spacecraft will return to standard mode and maneuver toward the target. The main goal of this augmentation is to protect the spacecraft in the event that a landing surface or obstacle is closer or further than anticipated. The algorithm can be used for the mitigation of any unexpected trajectory or state changes that occur during standard mode operations

Hierarchical Motion Planning for Autonomous Aerial and Terrestrial Vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cowlagi, Raghvendra V.

Autonomous mobile robots---both aerial and terrestrial vehicles---have gained immense importance due to the broad spectrum of their potential military and civilian applications. One of the indispensable requirements for the autonomy of a mobile vehicle is the vehicle's capability of planning and executing its motion, that is, finding appropriate control inputs for the vehicle such that the resulting vehicle motion satisfies the requirements of the vehicular task. The motion planning and control problem is inherently complex because it involves two disparate sub-problems: (1) satisfaction of the vehicular task requirements, which requires tools from combinatorics and/or formal methods, and (2) design of the vehicle control laws, which requires tools from dynamical systems and control theory. Accordingly, this problem is usually decomposed and solved over two levels of hierarchy. The higher level, called the geometric path planning level, finds a geometric path that satisfies the vehicular task requirements, e.g., obstacle avoidance. The lower level, called the trajectory planning level, involves sufficient smoothening of this geometric path followed by a suitable time parametrization to obtain a reference trajectory for the vehicle. Although simple and efficient, such hierarchical decomposition suffers a serious drawback: the geometric path planner has no information of the kinematical and dynamical constraints of the vehicle. Consequently, the geometric planner may produce paths that the trajectory planner cannot transform into a feasible reference trajectory. Two main ideas appear in the literature to remedy this problem: (a) randomized sampling-based planning, which eliminates the geometric planner altogether by planning in the vehicle state space, and (b) geometric planning supported by feedback control laws. The former class of methods suffer from a lack of optimality of the resultant trajectory, while the latter class of methods makes a restrictive assumption concerning the vehicle kinematical model. We propose a hierarchical motion planning framework based on a novel mode of interaction between these two levels of planning. This interaction rests on the solution of a special shortest-path problem on graphs, namely, one using costs defined on multiple edge transitions in the path instead of the usual single edge transition costs. These costs are provided by a local trajectory generation algorithm, which we implement using model predictive control and the concept of effective target sets for simplifying the non-convex constraints involved in the problem. The proposed motion planner ensures "consistency" between the two levels of planning, i.e., a guarantee that the higher level geometric path is always associated with a kinematically and dynamically feasible trajectory. The main contributions of this thesis are: 1. A motion planning framework based on history-dependent costs (H-costs) in cell decomposition graphs for incorporating vehicle dynamical constraints: this framework offers distinct advantages in comparison with the competing approaches of discretization of the state space, of randomized sampling-based motion planning, and of local feedback-based, decoupled hierarchical motion planning, 2. An efficient and flexible algorithm for finding optimal H-cost paths, 3. A precise and general formulation of a local trajectory problem (the tile motion planning problem) that allows independent development of the discrete planner and the trajectory planner, while maintaining "compatibility" between the two planners, 4. A local trajectory generation algorithm using mpc, and the application of the concept of effective target sets for a significant simplification of the local trajectory generation problem, 5. The geometric analysis of curvature-bounded traversal of rectangular channels, leading to less conservative results in comparison with a result reported in the literature, and also to the efficient construction of effective target sets for the solution of the tile motion planning problem, 6. A wavelet-based multi-resolution path planning scheme, and a proof of completeness of the proposed scheme: such proofs are altogether absent from other works on multi-resolution path planning, 7. A technique for extracting all information about cells---namely, the locations, the sizes, and the associated image intensities---directly from the set of significant detail coefficients considered for path planning at a given iteration, and 8. The extension of the multi-resolution path planning scheme to include vehicle dynamical constraints using the aforementioned history-dependent costs approach. The future work includes an implementation of the proposed framework involving a discrete planner that solves classical planning problems more general than the single-query path planning problem considered thus far, and involving trajectory generation schemes for realistic vehicle dynamical models such as the bicycle model.

Top-of-Climb Matching Method for Reducing Aircraft Trajectory Prediction Errors.

PubMed

Thipphavong, David P

2016-09-01

The inaccuracies of the aircraft performance models utilized by trajectory predictors with regard to takeoff weight, thrust, climb profile, and other parameters result in altitude errors during the climb phase that often exceed the vertical separation standard of 1000 feet. This study investigates the potential reduction in altitude trajectory prediction errors that could be achieved for climbing flights if just one additional parameter is made available: top-of-climb (TOC) time. The TOC-matching method developed and evaluated in this paper is straightforward: a set of candidate trajectory predictions is generated using different aircraft weight parameters, and the one that most closely matches TOC in terms of time is selected. This algorithm was tested using more than 1000 climbing flights in Fort Worth Center. Compared to the baseline trajectory predictions of a real-time research prototype (Center/TRACON Automation System), the TOC-matching method reduced the altitude root mean square error (RMSE) for a 5-minute prediction time by 38%. It also decreased the percentage of flights with absolute altitude error greater than the vertical separation standard of 1000 ft for the same look-ahead time from 55% to 30%.

Top-of-Climb Matching Method for Reducing Aircraft Trajectory Prediction Errors

PubMed Central

Thipphavong, David P.

2017-01-01

The inaccuracies of the aircraft performance models utilized by trajectory predictors with regard to takeoff weight, thrust, climb profile, and other parameters result in altitude errors during the climb phase that often exceed the vertical separation standard of 1000 feet. This study investigates the potential reduction in altitude trajectory prediction errors that could be achieved for climbing flights if just one additional parameter is made available: top-of-climb (TOC) time. The TOC-matching method developed and evaluated in this paper is straightforward: a set of candidate trajectory predictions is generated using different aircraft weight parameters, and the one that most closely matches TOC in terms of time is selected. This algorithm was tested using more than 1000 climbing flights in Fort Worth Center. Compared to the baseline trajectory predictions of a real-time research prototype (Center/TRACON Automation System), the TOC-matching method reduced the altitude root mean square error (RMSE) for a 5-minute prediction time by 38%. It also decreased the percentage of flights with absolute altitude error greater than the vertical separation standard of 1000 ft for the same look-ahead time from 55% to 30%. PMID:28684883

Top-of-Climb Matching Method for Reducing Aircraft Trajectory Prediction Errors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thipphavong, David P.

2016-01-01

The inaccuracies of the aircraft performance models utilized by trajectory predictors with regard to takeoff weight, thrust, climb profile, and other parameters result in altitude errors during the climb phase that often exceed the vertical separation standard of 1000 feet. This study investigates the potential reduction in altitude trajectory prediction errors that could be achieved for climbing flights if just one additional parameter is made available: top-of-climb (TOC) time. The TOC-matching method developed and evaluated in this paper is straightforward: a set of candidate trajectory predictions is generated using different aircraft weight parameters, and the one that most closely matches TOC in terms of time is selected. This algorithm was tested using more than 1000 climbing flights in Fort Worth Center. Compared to the baseline trajectory predictions of a real-time research prototype (Center/TRACON Automation System), the TOC-matching method reduced the altitude root mean square error (RMSE) for a 5-minute prediction time by 38%. It also decreased the percentage of flights with absolute altitude error greater than the vertical separation standard of 1000 ft for the same look-ahead time from 55% to 30%.

A TCAS-II Resolution Advisory Detection Algorithm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Munoz, Cesar; Narkawicz, Anthony; Chamberlain, James

2013-01-01

The Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) is a family of airborne systems designed to reduce the risk of mid-air collisions between aircraft. TCASII, the current generation of TCAS devices, provides resolution advisories that direct pilots to maintain or increase vertical separation when aircraft distance and time parameters are beyond designed system thresholds. This paper presents a mathematical model of the TCASII Resolution Advisory (RA) logic that assumes accurate aircraft state information. Based on this model, an algorithm for RA detection is also presented. This algorithm is analogous to a conflict detection algorithm, but instead of predicting loss of separation, it predicts resolution advisories. It has been formally verified that for a kinematic model of aircraft trajectories, this algorithm completely and correctly characterizes all encounter geometries between two aircraft that lead to a resolution advisory within a given lookahead time interval. The RA detection algorithm proposed in this paper is a fundamental component of a NASA sense and avoid concept for the integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems in civil airspace.

Detection of confinement and jumps in single-molecule membrane trajectories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meilhac, N.; Le Guyader, L.; Salomé, L.; Destainville, N.

2006-01-01

We propose a variant of the algorithm by [R. Simson, E. D. Sheets, and K. Jacobson, Biophys. 69, 989 (1995)]. Their algorithm was developed to detect transient confinement zones in experimental single-particle tracking trajectories of diffusing membrane proteins or lipids. We show that our algorithm is able to detect confinement in a wider class of confining potential shapes than that of Simson Furthermore, it enables to detect not only temporary confinement but also jumps between confinement zones. Jumps are predicted by membrane skeleton fence and picket models. In the case of experimental trajectories of μ -opioid receptors, which belong to the family of G-protein-coupled receptors involved in a signal transduction pathway, this algorithm confirms that confinement cannot be explained solely by rigid fences.

An Overview of a Trajectory-Based Solution for En Route and Terminal Area Self-Spacing: Sixth Revision

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abbott, Terence S.

2015-01-01

This paper presents an overview of the sixth revision to an algorithm specifically designed to support NASA's Airborne Precision Spacing concept. This algorithm is referred to as the Airborne Spacing for Terminal Arrival Routes version 13 (ASTAR13). This airborne self-spacing concept contains both trajectory-based and state-based mechanisms for calculating the speeds required to achieve or maintain a precise spacing interval. The trajectory-based capability allows for spacing operations prior to the aircraft being on a common path. This algorithm was also designed specifically to support a standalone, non-integrated implementation in the spacing aircraft. This current revision to the algorithm adds the state-based capability in support of evolving industry standards relating to airborne self-spacing.

Operational space trajectory tracking control of robot manipulators endowed with a primary controller of synthetic joint velocity.

PubMed

Moreno-Valenzuela, Javier; González-Hernández, Luis

2011-01-01

In this paper, a new control algorithm for operational space trajectory tracking control of robot arms is introduced. The new algorithm does not require velocity measurement and is based on (1) a primary controller which incorporates an algorithm to obtain synthesized velocity from joint position measurements and (2) a secondary controller which computes the desired joint acceleration and velocity required to achieve operational space motion control. The theory of singularly perturbed systems is crucial for the analysis of the closed-loop system trajectories. In addition, the practical viability of the proposed algorithm is explored through real-time experiments in a two degrees-of-freedom horizontal planar direct-drive arm. Copyright © 2010 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Army ants algorithm for rare event sampling of delocalized nonadiabatic transitions by trajectory surface hopping and the estimation of sampling errors by the bootstrap method.

PubMed

Nangia, Shikha; Jasper, Ahren W; Miller, Thomas F; Truhlar, Donald G

2004-02-22

The most widely used algorithm for Monte Carlo sampling of electronic transitions in trajectory surface hopping (TSH) calculations is the so-called anteater algorithm, which is inefficient for sampling low-probability nonadiabatic events. We present a new sampling scheme (called the army ants algorithm) for carrying out TSH calculations that is applicable to systems with any strength of coupling. The army ants algorithm is a form of rare event sampling whose efficiency is controlled by an input parameter. By choosing a suitable value of the input parameter the army ants algorithm can be reduced to the anteater algorithm (which is efficient for strongly coupled cases), and by optimizing the parameter the army ants algorithm may be efficiently applied to systems with low-probability events. To demonstrate the efficiency of the army ants algorithm, we performed atom-diatom scattering calculations on a model system involving weakly coupled electronic states. Fully converged quantum mechanical calculations were performed, and the probabilities for nonadiabatic reaction and nonreactive deexcitation (quenching) were found to be on the order of 10(-8). For such low-probability events the anteater sampling scheme requires a large number of trajectories ( approximately 10(10)) to obtain good statistics and converged semiclassical results. In contrast by using the new army ants algorithm converged results were obtained by running 10(5) trajectories. Furthermore, the results were found to be in excellent agreement with the quantum mechanical results. Sampling errors were estimated using the bootstrap method, which is validated for use with the army ants algorithm. (c) 2004 American Institute of Physics.

Detection of multiple airborne targets from multisensor data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foltz, Mark A.; Srivastava, Anuj; Miller, Michael I.; Grenander, Ulf

1995-08-01

Previously we presented a jump-diffusion based random sampling algorithm for generating conditional mean estimates of scene representations for the tracking and recongition of maneuvering airborne targets. These representations include target positions and orientations along their trajectories and the target type associated with each trajectory. Taking a Bayesian approach, a posterior measure is defined on the parameter space by combining sensor models with a sophisticated prior based on nonlinear airplane dynamics. The jump-diffusion algorithm constructs a Markov process which visits the elements of the parameter space with frequencies proportional to the posterior probability. It consititutes both the infinitesimal, local search via a sample path continuous diffusion transform and the larger, global steps through discrete jump moves. The jump moves involve the addition and deletion of elements from the scene configuration or changes in the target type assoviated with each target trajectory. One such move results in target detection by the addition of a track seed to the inference set. This provides initial track data for the tracking/recognition algorithm to estimate linear graph structures representing tracks using the other jump moves and the diffusion process, as described in our earlier work. Target detection ideally involves a continuous research over a continuum of the observation space. In this work we conclude that for practical implemenations the search space must be discretized with lattice granularity comparable to sensor resolution, and discuss how fast Fourier transforms are utilized for efficient calcuation of sufficient statistics given our array models. Some results are also presented from our implementation on a networked system including a massively parallel machine architecture and a silicon graphics onyx workstation.

The suppression effect of external magnetic field on the high-power microwave window multipactor phenomenon

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

Zhang, Xue, E-mail: zhangxue.iecas@yahoo.com; Wang, Yong; Fan, Junjie

2015-02-15

To suppress the surface multipactor phenomenon and improve the transmitting power of the high-power microwave window, the application of external magnetic fields is theoretically analyzed and simulated. A Monte Carlo algorithm is used to track the secondary electron trajectories and study the multipactor scenario on the surface of a cylinder window. It is confirmed that over-resonant magnetic fields (an external magnetic field whose magnitude is slightly greater than that of a resonant magnetic field) will generate a compensating trajectory and collision, which can suppress the secondary electron avalanche. The optimal value of this external magnetic field that will avoid themore » multipactor phenomenon on cylinder windows is discussed.« less

A Review of Robotics Technologies for On-Orbit Services

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-01

The SpaceX vehicle has successfully accomplished its first docking with the ISS in May 2012, delivered about 1,200 lbs of water, food , and other...algorithms, which can generate collision-free robot motion paths. Recently, Franch et al [101] have employed flatness theory to plan trajectories...3713–3719 (2005). [101] Franch J, Agrawal S, Fattah A, "Design of Differentially Flat Planar Space Robots: a Step Forward in Their Planning and

Alignment of cryo-EM movies of individual particles by optimization of image translations.

PubMed

Rubinstein, John L; Brubaker, Marcus A

2015-11-01

Direct detector device (DDD) cameras have revolutionized single particle electron cryomicroscopy (cryo-EM). In addition to an improved camera detective quantum efficiency, acquisition of DDD movies allows for correction of movement of the specimen, due to both instabilities in the microscope specimen stage and electron beam-induced movement. Unlike specimen stage drift, beam-induced movement is not always homogeneous within an image. Local correlation in the trajectories of nearby particles suggests that beam-induced motion is due to deformation of the ice layer. Algorithms have already been described that can correct movement for large regions of frames and for >1 MDa protein particles. Another algorithm allows individual <1 MDa protein particle trajectories to be estimated, but requires rolling averages to be calculated from frames and fits linear trajectories for particles. Here we describe an algorithm that allows for individual <1 MDa particle images to be aligned without frame averaging or linear trajectories. The algorithm maximizes the overall correlation of the shifted frames with the sum of the shifted frames. The optimum in this single objective function is found efficiently by making use of analytically calculated derivatives of the function. To smooth estimates of particle trajectories, rapid changes in particle positions between frames are penalized in the objective function and weighted averaging of nearby trajectories ensures local correlation in trajectories. This individual particle motion correction, in combination with weighting of Fourier components to account for increasing radiation damage in later frames, can be used to improve 3-D maps from single particle cryo-EM. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mystic: Implementation of the Static Dynamic Optimal Control Algorithm for High-Fidelity, Low-Thrust Trajectory Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whiffen, Gregory J.

2006-01-01

Mystic software is designed to compute, analyze, and visualize optimal high-fidelity, low-thrust trajectories, The software can be used to analyze inter-planetary, planetocentric, and combination trajectories, Mystic also provides utilities to assist in the operation and navigation of low-thrust spacecraft. Mystic will be used to design and navigate the NASA's Dawn Discovery mission to orbit the two largest asteroids, The underlying optimization algorithm used in the Mystic software is called Static/Dynamic Optimal Control (SDC). SDC is a nonlinear optimal control method designed to optimize both 'static variables' (parameters) and dynamic variables (functions of time) simultaneously. SDC is a general nonlinear optimal control algorithm based on Bellman's principal.

An Overview of a Trajectory-Based Solution for En Route and Terminal Area Self-Spacing: Seventh Revision

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abbott, Terence S.

2015-01-01

This paper presents an overview of the seventh revision to an algorithm specifically designed to support NASA's Airborne Precision Spacing concept. This paper supersedes the previous documentation and presents a modification to the algorithm referred to as the Airborne Spacing for Terminal Arrival Routes version 13 (ASTAR13). This airborne self-spacing concept contains both trajectory-based and state-based mechanisms for calculating the speeds required to achieve or maintain a precise spacing interval. The trajectory-based capability allows for spacing operations prior to the aircraft being on a common path. This algorithm was also designed specifically to support a standalone, non-integrated implementation in the spacing aircraft. This current revision to the algorithm adds the state-based capability in support of evolving industry standards relating to airborne self-spacing.

An Overview of a Trajectory-Based Solution for En Route and Terminal Area Self-Spacing: Eighth Revision

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abbott, Terence S.; Swieringa, Kurt S.

2017-01-01

This paper presents an overview of the eighth revision to an algorithm specifically designed to support NASA's Airborne Precision Spacing concept. This paper supersedes the previous documentation and presents a modification to the algorithm referred to as the Airborne Spacing for Terminal Arrival Routes version 13 (ASTAR13). This airborne self-spacing concept contains both trajectory-based and state-based mechanisms for calculating the speeds required to achieve or maintain a precise spacing interval with another aircraft. The trajectory-based capability allows for spacing operations prior to the aircraft being on a common path. This algorithm was also designed specifically to support a standalone, non-integrated implementation in the spacing aircraft. This current revision to the algorithm supports the evolving industry standards relating to airborne self-spacing.

Accurately tracking single-cell movement trajectories in microfluidic cell sorting devices.

PubMed

Jeong, Jenny; Frohberg, Nicholas J; Zhou, Enlu; Sulchek, Todd; Qiu, Peng

2018-01-01

Microfluidics are routinely used to study cellular properties, including the efficient quantification of single-cell biomechanics and label-free cell sorting based on the biomechanical properties, such as elasticity, viscosity, stiffness, and adhesion. Both quantification and sorting applications require optimal design of the microfluidic devices and mathematical modeling of the interactions between cells, fluid, and the channel of the device. As a first step toward building such a mathematical model, we collected video recordings of cells moving through a ridged microfluidic channel designed to compress and redirect cells according to cell biomechanics. We developed an efficient algorithm that automatically and accurately tracked the cell trajectories in the recordings. We tested the algorithm on recordings of cells with different stiffness, and showed the correlation between cell stiffness and the tracked trajectories. Moreover, the tracking algorithm successfully picked up subtle differences of cell motion when passing through consecutive ridges. The algorithm for accurately tracking cell trajectories paves the way for future efforts of modeling the flow, forces, and dynamics of cell properties in microfluidics applications.

Path planning in GPS-denied environments via collective intelligence of distributed sensor networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jha, Devesh K.; Chattopadhyay, Pritthi; Sarkar, Soumik; Ray, Asok

2016-05-01

This paper proposes a framework for reactive goal-directed navigation without global positioning facilities in unknown dynamic environments. A mobile sensor network is used for localising regions of interest for path planning of an autonomous mobile robot. The underlying theory is an extension of a generalised gossip algorithm that has been recently developed in a language-measure-theoretic setting. The algorithm has been used to propagate local decisions of target detection over a mobile sensor network and thus, it generates a belief map for the detected target over the network. In this setting, an autonomous mobile robot may communicate only with a few mobile sensing nodes in its own neighbourhood and localise itself relative to the communicating nodes with bounded uncertainties. The robot makes use of the knowledge based on the belief of the mobile sensors to generate a sequence of way-points, leading to a possible goal. The estimated way-points are used by a sampling-based motion planning algorithm to generate feasible trajectories for the robot. The proposed concept has been validated by numerical simulation on a mobile sensor network test-bed and a Dubin's car-like robot.

Automated Point Cloud Correspondence Detection for Underwater Mapping Using AUVs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hammond, Marcus; Clark, Ashley; Mahajan, Aditya; Sharma, Sumant; Rock, Stephen

2015-01-01

An algorithm for automating correspondence detection between point clouds composed of multibeam sonar data is presented. This allows accurate initialization for point cloud alignment techniques even in cases where accurate inertial navigation is not available, such as iceberg profiling or vehicles with low-grade inertial navigation systems. Techniques from computer vision literature are used to extract, label, and match keypoints between "pseudo-images" generated from these point clouds. Image matches are refined using RANSAC and information about the vehicle trajectory. The resulting correspondences can be used to initialize an iterative closest point (ICP) registration algorithm to estimate accumulated navigation error and aid in the creation of accurate, self-consistent maps. The results presented use multibeam sonar data obtained from multiple overlapping passes of an underwater canyon in Monterey Bay, California. Using strict matching criteria, the method detects 23 between-swath correspondence events in a set of 155 pseudo-images with zero false positives. Using less conservative matching criteria doubles the number of matches but introduces several false positive matches as well. Heuristics based on known vehicle trajectory information are used to eliminate these.

3D Numerical Simulation on the Rockslide Generated Tsunamis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chuang, M.; Wu, T.; Wang, C.; Chu, C.

2013-12-01

The rockslide generated tsunami is one of the most devastating nature hazards. However, the involvement of the moving obstacle and dynamic free-surface movement makes the numerical simulation a difficult task. To describe both the fluid motion and solid movement at the same time, we newly developed a two-way fully-coupled moving solid algorithm with 3D LES turbulent model. The free-surface movement is tracked by volume of fluid (VOF) method. The two-step projection method is adopted to solve the Navier-Stokes type government equations. In the new moving solid algorithm, a fictitious body force is implicitly prescribed in MAC correction step to make the cell-center velocity satisfied with the obstacle velocity. We called this method the implicit velocity method (IVM). Because no extra terms are added to the pressure Poission correction, the pressure field of the fluid part is stable, which is the key of the two-way fluid-solid coupling. Because no real solid material is presented in the IVM, the time marching step is not restricted to the smallest effective grid size. Also, because the fictitious force is implicitly added to the correction step, the resulting velocity is accurate and fully coupled with the resulting pressure field. We validated the IVM by simulating a floating box moving up and down on the free-surface. We presented the time-history obstacle trajectory and compared it with the experimental data. Very accurate result can be seen in terms of the oscillating amplitude and the period (Fig. 1). We also presented the free-surface comparison with the high-speed snapshots. At the end, the IVM was used to study the rock-slide generated tsunamis (Liu et al., 2005). Good validations on the slide trajectory and the free-surface movement will be presented in the full paper. From the simulation results (Fig. 2), we observed that the rockslide generated waves are manly caused by the rebounding waves from two sides of the sliding rock after the water is dragging down by the solid downward motion. We also found that the turbulence has minor effect to the main flow field. The rock size, rock density, and the steepness of the slope were analyzed to understand their effects to the maximum runup height. The detailed algorithm of IVM, the validation, the simulation and analysis of rockslide tsunami will be presented in the full paper. Figure 1. Time-history trajectory of obstacle for the floating obstacle simulation. Figure 2. Snapshots of the free-surface elevation with streamlines for the rockslide tsunami simulation.

Atmospheric Ascent Guidance for Rocket-Powered Launch Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dukeman, Greg A.

2002-01-01

An advanced ascent guidance algorithm for rocket- powered launch vehicles is developed. This algorithm cyclically solves the calculus-of-variations two-point boundary-value problem starting at vertical rise completion through main engine cutoff. This is different from traditional ascent guidance algorithms which operate in a simple open-loop mode until high dynamic pressure (including the critical max-Q) portion of the trajectory is over, at which time guidance operates under the assumption of negligible aerodynamic acceleration (i.e., vacuum dynamics). The initial costate guess is corrected based on errors in the terminal state constraints and the transversality conditions. Judicious approximations are made to reduce the order and complexity of the state/costate system. Results comparing guided launch vehicle trajectories with POST open-loop trajectories are given verifying the basic formulation of the algorithm. Multiple shooting is shown to be a very effective numerical technique for this application. In particular, just one intermediate shooting point, in addition to the initial shooting point, is sufficient to significantly reduce sensitivity to the guessed initial costates. Simulation results from a high-fidelity trajectory simulation are given for the case of launch to sub-orbital cutoff conditions as well as launch to orbit conditions. An abort to downrange landing site formulation of the algorithm is presented.

Discovering shared segments on the migration route of the bar-headed goose by time-based plane-sweeping trajectory clustering

USGS Publications Warehouse

Luo, Ze; Baoping, Yan; Takekawa, John Y.; Prosser, Diann J.

2012-01-01

We propose a new method to help ornithologists and ecologists discover shared segments on the migratory pathway of the bar-headed geese by time-based plane-sweeping trajectory clustering. We present a density-based time parameterized line segment clustering algorithm, which extends traditional comparable clustering algorithms from temporal and spatial dimensions. We present a time-based plane-sweeping trajectory clustering algorithm to reveal the dynamic evolution of spatial-temporal object clusters and discover common motion patterns of bar-headed geese in the process of migration. Experiments are performed on GPS-based satellite telemetry data from bar-headed geese and results demonstrate our algorithms can correctly discover shared segments of the bar-headed geese migratory pathway. We also present findings on the migratory behavior of bar-headed geese determined from this new analytical approach.

The Trajectory Synthesizer Generalized Profile Interface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Alan G.; Bouyssounouse, Xavier; Murphy, James R.

2010-01-01

The Trajectory Synthesizer is a software program that generates aircraft predictions for Air Traffic Management decision support tools. The Trajectory Synthesizer being used by researchers at NASA Ames Research Center was restricted in the number of trajectory types that could be generated. This limitation was not sufficient to support the rapidly changing Air Traffic Management research requirements. The Generalized Profile Interface was developed to address this issue. It provides a flexible approach to describe the constraints applied to trajectory generation and may provide a method for interoperability between trajectory generators. It also supports the request and generation of new types of trajectory profiles not possible with the previous interface to the Trajectory Synthesizer. Other enhancements allow the Trajectory Synthesizer to meet the current and future needs of Air Traffic Management research.

Penalized Multi-Way Partial Least Squares for Smooth Trajectory Decoding from Electrocorticographic (ECoG) Recording

PubMed Central

Eliseyev, Andrey; Aksenova, Tetiana

2016-01-01

In the current paper the decoding algorithms for motor-related BCI systems for continuous upper limb trajectory prediction are considered. Two methods for the smooth prediction, namely Sobolev and Polynomial Penalized Multi-Way Partial Least Squares (PLS) regressions, are proposed. The methods are compared to the Multi-Way Partial Least Squares and Kalman Filter approaches. The comparison demonstrated that the proposed methods combined the prediction accuracy of the algorithms of the PLS family and trajectory smoothness of the Kalman Filter. In addition, the prediction delay is significantly lower for the proposed algorithms than for the Kalman Filter approach. The proposed methods could be applied in a wide range of applications beyond neuroscience. PMID:27196417

On the Optimization of Aerospace Plane Ascent Trajectory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Garni, Ahmed; Kassem, Ayman Hamdy

A hybrid heuristic optimization technique based on genetic algorithms and particle swarm optimization has been developed and tested for trajectory optimization problems with multi-constraints and a multi-objective cost function. The technique is used to calculate control settings for two types for ascending trajectories (constant dynamic pressure and minimum-fuel-minimum-heat) for a two-dimensional model of an aerospace plane. A thorough statistical analysis is done on the hybrid technique to make comparisons with both basic genetic algorithms and particle swarm optimization techniques with respect to convergence and execution time. Genetic algorithm optimization showed better execution time performance while particle swarm optimization showed better convergence performance. The hybrid optimization technique, benefiting from both techniques, showed superior robust performance compromising convergence trends and execution time.

Handling Trajectory Uncertainties for Airborne Conflict Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barhydt, Richard; Doble, Nathan A.; Karr, David; Palmer, Michael T.

2005-01-01

Airborne conflict management is an enabling capability for NASA's Distributed Air-Ground Traffic Management (DAG-TM) concept. DAGTM has the goal of significantly increasing capacity within the National Airspace System, while maintaining or improving safety. Under DAG-TM, autonomous aircraft maintain separation from each other and from managed aircraft unequipped for autonomous flight. NASA Langley Research Center has developed the Autonomous Operations Planner (AOP), an onboard decision support system that provides airborne conflict management (ACM) and strategic flight planning support for autonomous aircraft pilots. The AOP performs conflict detection, prevention, and resolution from nearby traffic aircraft and area hazards. Traffic trajectory information is assumed to be provided by Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B). Reliable trajectory prediction is a key capability for providing effective ACM functions. Trajectory uncertainties due to environmental effects, differences in aircraft systems and performance, and unknown intent information lead to prediction errors that can adversely affect AOP performance. To accommodate these uncertainties, the AOP has been enhanced to create cross-track, vertical, and along-track buffers along the predicted trajectories of both ownship and traffic aircraft. These buffers will be structured based on prediction errors noted from previous simulations such as a recent Joint Experiment between NASA Ames and Langley Research Centers and from other outside studies. Currently defined ADS-B parameters related to navigation capability, trajectory type, and path conformance will be used to support the algorithms that generate the buffers.

Novel algorithm and MATLAB-based program for automated power law analysis of single particle, time-dependent mean-square displacement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Umansky, Moti; Weihs, Daphne

2012-08-01

In many physical and biophysical studies, single-particle tracking is utilized to reveal interactions, diffusion coefficients, active modes of driving motion, dynamic local structure, micromechanics, and microrheology. The basic analysis applied to those data is to determine the time-dependent mean-square displacement (MSD) of particle trajectories and perform time- and ensemble-averaging of similar motions. The motion of particles typically exhibits time-dependent power-law scaling, and only trajectories with qualitatively and quantitatively comparable MSD should be ensembled. Ensemble averaging trajectories that arise from different mechanisms, e.g., actively driven and diffusive, is incorrect and can result inaccurate correlations between structure, mechanics, and activity. We have developed an algorithm to automatically and accurately determine power-law scaling of experimentally measured single-particle MSD. Trajectories can then categorized and grouped according to user defined cutoffs of time, amplitudes, scaling exponent values, or combinations. Power-law fits are then provided for each trajectory alongside categorized groups of trajectories, histograms of power laws, and the ensemble-averaged MSD of each group. The codes are designed to be easily incorporated into existing user codes. We expect that this algorithm and program will be invaluable to anyone performing single-particle tracking, be it in physical or biophysical systems. Catalogue identifier: AEMD_v1_0 Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEMD_v1_0.html Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University, Belfast, N. Ireland Licensing provisions: Standard CPC licence, http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/licence/licence.html No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 25 892 No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 5 572 780 Distribution format: tar.gz Programming language: MATLAB (MathWorks Inc.) version 7.11 (2010b) or higher, program should also be backwards compatible. Symbolic Math Toolboxes (5.5) is required. The Curve Fitting Toolbox (3.0) is recommended. Computer: Tested on Windows only, yet should work on any computer running MATLAB. In Windows 7, should be used as administrator, if the user is not the administrator the program may not be able to save outputs and temporary outputs to all locations. Operating system: Any supporting MATLAB (MathWorks Inc.) v7.11 / 2010b or higher. Supplementary material: Sample output files (approx. 30 MBytes) are available. Classification: 12 External routines: Several MATLAB subfunctions (m-files), freely available on the web, were used as part of and included in, this code: count, NaN suite, parseArgs, roundsd, subaxis, wcov, wmean, and the executable pdfTK.exe. Nature of problem: In many physical and biophysical areas employing single-particle tracking, having the time-dependent power-laws governing the time-averaged meansquare displacement (MSD) of a single particle is crucial. Those power laws determine the mode-of-motion and hint at the underlying mechanisms driving motion. Accurate determination of the power laws that describe each trajectory will allow categorization into groups for further analysis of single trajectories or ensemble analysis, e.g. ensemble and time-averaged MSD. Solution method: The algorithm in the provided program automatically analyzes and fits time-dependent power laws to single particle trajectories, then group particles according to user defined cutoffs. It accepts time-dependent trajectories of several particles, each trajectory is run through the program, its time-averaged MSD is calculated, and power laws are determined in regions where the MSD is linear on a log-log scale. Our algorithm searches for high-curvature points in experimental data, here time-dependent MSD. Those serve as anchor points for determining the ranges of the power-law fits. Power-law scaling is then accurately determined and error estimations of the parameters and quality of fit are provided. After all single trajectory time-averaged MSDs are fit, we obtain cutoffs from the user to categorize and segment the power laws into groups; cutoff are either in exponents of the power laws, time of appearance of the fits, or both together. The trajectories are sorted according to the cutoffs and the time- and ensemble-averaged MSD of each group is provided, with histograms of the distributions of the exponents in each group. The program then allows the user to generate new trajectory files with trajectories segmented according to the determined groups, for any further required analysis. Additional comments: README file giving the names and a brief description of all the files that make-up the package and clear instructions on the installation and execution of the program is included in the distribution package. Running time: On an i5 Windows 7 machine with 4 GB RAM the automated parts of the run (excluding data loading and user input) take less than 45 minutes to analyze and save all stages for an 844 trajectory file, including optional PDF save. Trajectory length did not affect run time (tested up to 3600 frames/trajectory), which was on average 3.2±0.4 seconds per trajectory.

An adaptive inverse kinematics algorithm for robot manipulators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Colbaugh, R.; Glass, K.; Seraji, H.

1990-01-01

An adaptive algorithm for solving the inverse kinematics problem for robot manipulators is presented. The algorithm is derived using model reference adaptive control (MRAC) theory and is computationally efficient for online applications. The scheme requires no a priori knowledge of the kinematics of the robot if Cartesian end-effector sensing is available, and it requires knowledge of only the forward kinematics if joint position sensing is used. Computer simulation results are given for the redundant seven-DOF robotics research arm, demonstrating that the proposed algorithm yields accurate joint angle trajectories for a given end-effector position/orientation trajectory.

An Overview of a Trajectory-Based Solution for En Route and Terminal Area Self-Spacing to Include Parallel Runway Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abbott, Terence S.

2011-01-01

This paper presents an overview of an algorithm specifically designed to support NASA's Airborne Precision Spacing concept. This airborne self-spacing concept is trajectory-based, allowing for spacing operations prior to the aircraft being on a common path. This implementation provides the ability to manage spacing against two traffic aircraft, with one of these aircraft operating to a parallel dependent runway. Because this algorithm is trajectory-based, it also has the inherent ability to support required-time-of-arrival (RTA) operations

Electronically nonadiabatic wave packet propagation using frozen Gaussian scattering

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

Kondorskiy, Alexey D., E-mail: kondor@sci.lebedev.ru; Nanbu, Shinkoh, E-mail: shinkoh.nanbu@sophia.ac.jp

2015-09-21

We present an approach, which allows to employ the adiabatic wave packet propagation technique and semiclassical theory to treat the nonadiabatic processes by using trajectory hopping. The approach developed generates a bunch of hopping trajectories and gives all additional information to incorporate the effect of nonadiabatic coupling into the wave packet dynamics. This provides an interface between a general adiabatic frozen Gaussian wave packet propagation method and the trajectory surface hopping technique. The basic idea suggested in [A. D. Kondorskiy and H. Nakamura, J. Chem. Phys. 120, 8937 (2004)] is revisited and complemented in the present work by the elaborationmore » of efficient numerical algorithms. We combine our approach with the adiabatic Herman-Kluk frozen Gaussian approximation. The efficiency and accuracy of the resulting method is demonstrated by applying it to popular benchmark model systems including three Tully’s models and 24D model of pyrazine. It is shown that photoabsorption spectrum is successfully reproduced by using a few hundreds of trajectories. We employ the compact finite difference Hessian update scheme to consider feasibility of the ab initio “on-the-fly” simulations. It is found that this technique allows us to obtain the reliable final results using several Hessian matrix calculations per trajectory.« less

A Simple Two Aircraft Conflict Resolution Algorithm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chatterji, Gano B.

1999-01-01

Conflict detection and resolution methods are crucial for distributed air-ground traffic management in which the crew in the cockpit, dispatchers in operation control centers and air traffic controllers in the ground-based air traffic management facilities share information and participate in the traffic flow and traffic control imctions.This paper describes a conflict detection and a conflict resolution method. The conflict detection method predicts the minimum separation and the time-to-go to the closest point of approach by assuming that both the aircraft will continue to fly at their current speeds along their current headings. The conflict resolution method described here is motivated by the proportional navigation algorithm. It generates speed and heading commands to rotate the line-of-sight either clockwise or counter-clockwise for conflict resolution. Once the aircraft achieve a positive range-rate and no further conflict is predicted, the algorithm generates heading commands to turn back the aircraft to their nominal trajectories. The speed commands are set to the optimal pre-resolution speeds. Six numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the conflict detection and resolution method.

A Dimensionality Reduction-Based Multi-Step Clustering Method for Robust Vessel Trajectory Analysis

PubMed Central

Liu, Jingxian; Wu, Kefeng

2017-01-01

The Shipboard Automatic Identification System (AIS) is crucial for navigation safety and maritime surveillance, data mining and pattern analysis of AIS information have attracted considerable attention in terms of both basic research and practical applications. Clustering of spatio-temporal AIS trajectories can be used to identify abnormal patterns and mine customary route data for transportation safety. Thus, the capacities of navigation safety and maritime traffic monitoring could be enhanced correspondingly. However, trajectory clustering is often sensitive to undesirable outliers and is essentially more complex compared with traditional point clustering. To overcome this limitation, a multi-step trajectory clustering method is proposed in this paper for robust AIS trajectory clustering. In particular, the Dynamic Time Warping (DTW), a similarity measurement method, is introduced in the first step to measure the distances between different trajectories. The calculated distances, inversely proportional to the similarities, constitute a distance matrix in the second step. Furthermore, as a widely-used dimensional reduction method, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is exploited to decompose the obtained distance matrix. In particular, the top k principal components with above 95% accumulative contribution rate are extracted by PCA, and the number of the centers k is chosen. The k centers are found by the improved center automatically selection algorithm. In the last step, the improved center clustering algorithm with k clusters is implemented on the distance matrix to achieve the final AIS trajectory clustering results. In order to improve the accuracy of the proposed multi-step clustering algorithm, an automatic algorithm for choosing the k clusters is developed according to the similarity distance. Numerous experiments on realistic AIS trajectory datasets in the bridge area waterway and Mississippi River have been implemented to compare our proposed method with traditional spectral clustering and fast affinity propagation clustering. Experimental results have illustrated its superior performance in terms of quantitative and qualitative evaluations. PMID:28777353

Multi-Target Tracking via Mixed Integer Optimization

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-05-13

solving these two problems separately, however few algorithms attempt to solve these simultaneously and even fewer utilize optimization. In this paper we...introduce a new mixed integer optimization (MIO) model which solves the data association and trajectory estimation problems simultaneously by minimizing...Kalman filter [5], which updates the trajectory estimates before the algorithm progresses forward to the next scan. This process repeats sequentially

A comparison of time-optimal interception trajectories for the F-8 and F-15

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Calise, Anthony J.; Pettengill, James B.

1990-01-01

The simulation results of a real time control algorithm for onboard computation of time-optimal intercept trajectories for the F-8 and F-15 aircraft are given. Due to the inherent aerodynamic and propulsion differences in the aircraft, there are major differences in their optimal trajectories. The significant difference in the two aircrafts are their flight envelopes. The F-8's optimal cruise velocity is thrust limited, while the F-15's optimal cruise velocity is at the intersection of the Mach and dynamic pressure constraint boundaries. This inherent difference necessitated the development of a proportional thrust controller for use as the F-15 approaches it's optimal cruise energy. Documented here is the application of singular perturbation theory to the trajectory optimization problem, along with a summary of the control algorithms. Numerical results for the two aircraft are compared to illustrate the performance of the minimum time algorithm, and to compute the resulting flight paths.

Construction of a WMR for trajectory tracking control: experimental results.

PubMed

Silva-Ortigoza, R; Márquez-Sánchez, C; Marcelino-Aranda, M; Marciano-Melchor, M; Silva-Ortigoza, G; Bautista-Quintero, R; Ramos-Silvestre, E R; Rivera-Díaz, J C; Muñoz-Carrillo, D

2013-01-01

This paper reports a solution for trajectory tracking control of a differential drive wheeled mobile robot (WMR) based on a hierarchical approach. The general design and construction of the WMR are described. The hierarchical controller proposed has two components: a high-level control and a low-level control. The high-level control law is based on an input-output linearization scheme for the robot kinematic model, which provides the desired angular velocity profiles that the WMR has to track in order to achieve the desired position (x∗, y∗) and orientation (φ∗). Then, a low-level control law, based on a proportional integral (PI) approach, is designed to control the velocity of the WMR wheels to ensure those tracking features. Regarding the trajectories, this paper provides the solution or the following cases: (1) time-varying parametric trajectories such as straight lines and parabolas and (2) smooth curves fitted by cubic splines which are generated by the desired data points {(x₁∗, y₁∗),..., (x(n)∗, y(n)∗)}. A straightforward algorithm is developed for constructing the cubic splines. Finally, this paper includes an experimental validation of the proposed technique by employing a DS1104 dSPACE electronic board along with MATLAB/Simulink software.

Construction of a WMR for Trajectory Tracking Control: Experimental Results

PubMed Central

Silva-Ortigoza, R.; Márquez-Sánchez, C.; Marcelino-Aranda, M.; Marciano-Melchor, M.; Silva-Ortigoza, G.; Bautista-Quintero, R.; Ramos-Silvestre, E. R.; Rivera-Díaz, J. C.; Muñoz-Carrillo, D.

2013-01-01

This paper reports a solution for trajectory tracking control of a differential drive wheeled mobile robot (WMR) based on a hierarchical approach. The general design and construction of the WMR are described. The hierarchical controller proposed has two components: a high-level control and a low-level control. The high-level control law is based on an input-output linearization scheme for the robot kinematic model, which provides the desired angular velocity profiles that the WMR has to track in order to achieve the desired position (x∗, y∗) and orientation (φ∗). Then, a low-level control law, based on a proportional integral (PI) approach, is designed to control the velocity of the WMR wheels to ensure those tracking features. Regarding the trajectories, this paper provides the solution or the following cases: (1) time-varying parametric trajectories such as straight lines and parabolas and (2) smooth curves fitted by cubic splines which are generated by the desired data points {(x1∗, y1∗),..., (xn∗, yn∗)}. A straightforward algorithm is developed for constructing the cubic splines. Finally, this paper includes an experimental validation of the proposed technique by employing a DS1104 dSPACE electronic board along with MATLAB/Simulink software. PMID:23997679

Algorithm research for user trajectory matching across social media networks based on paragraph2vec

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Qian; Chen, Hongchang; Zhi, Hongxin; Wang, Yanchuan

2018-04-01

Identifying users across different social media networks (SMN) is to link accounts of the same user that belong to the same individual across SMNs. The problem is fundamental and important, and its results can benefit many applications such as cross SMN user modeling and recommendation. With the development of GPS technology and mobile communication, more and more social networks provide location services. This provides a new opportunity for cross SMN user identification. In this paper, we solve cross SMN user identification problem in an unsupervised manner by utilizing user trajectory data in SMNs. A paragraph2vec based algorithm is proposed in which location sequence feature of user trajectory is captured in temporal and spatial dimensions. Our experimental results validate the effectiveness and efficiency of our algorithm.

Route Sanitizer: Connected Vehicle Trajectory De-Identification Tool

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

Carter, Jason M; Ferber, Aaron E

Route Sanitizer is ORNL's connected vehicle moving object database de-identification tool and a graphical user interface to ORNL's connected vehicle de-identification algorithm. It uses the Google Chrome (soon to be Electron) platform so it will run on different computing platforms. The basic de-identification strategy is record redaction: portions of a vehicle trajectory (e.g. sequences of precise temporal spatial records) are removed. It does not alter retained records. The algorithm uses custom techniques to find areas within trajectories that may be considered private, then it suppresses those in addition to enough of the trajectory surrounding those locations to protect against "inferencemore » attacks" in a mathematically sound way. Map data is integrated into the process to make this possible.« less

Inverse kinematics problem in robotics using neural networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Choi, Benjamin B.; Lawrence, Charles

1992-01-01

In this paper, Multilayer Feedforward Networks are applied to the robot inverse kinematic problem. The networks are trained with endeffector position and joint angles. After training, performance is measured by having the network generate joint angles for arbitrary endeffector trajectories. A 3-degree-of-freedom (DOF) spatial manipulator is used for the study. It is found that neural networks provide a simple and effective way to both model the manipulator inverse kinematics and circumvent the problems associated with algorithmic solution methods.

An Adaptive Nonlinear Aircraft Maneuvering Envelope Estimation Approach for Online Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schuet, Stefan R.; Lombaerts, Thomas Jan; Acosta, Diana; Wheeler, Kevin; Kaneshige, John

2014-01-01

A nonlinear aircraft model is presented and used to develop an overall unified robust and adaptive approach to passive trim and maneuverability envelope estimation with uncertainty quantification. The concept of time scale separation makes this method suitable for the online characterization of altered safe maneuvering limitations after impairment. The results can be used to provide pilot feedback and/or be combined with flight planning, trajectory generation, and guidance algorithms to help maintain safe aircraft operations in both nominal and off-nominal scenarios.

Improved dense trajectories for action recognition based on random projection and Fisher vectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ai, Shihui; Lu, Tongwei; Xiong, Yudian

2018-03-01

As an important application of intelligent monitoring system, the action recognition in video has become a very important research area of computer vision. In order to improve the accuracy rate of the action recognition in video with improved dense trajectories, one advanced vector method is introduced. Improved dense trajectories combine Fisher Vector with Random Projection. The method realizes the reduction of the characteristic trajectory though projecting the high-dimensional trajectory descriptor into the low-dimensional subspace based on defining and analyzing Gaussian mixture model by Random Projection. And a GMM-FV hybrid model is introduced to encode the trajectory feature vector and reduce dimension. The computational complexity is reduced by Random Projection which can drop Fisher coding vector. Finally, a Linear SVM is used to classifier to predict labels. We tested the algorithm in UCF101 dataset and KTH dataset. Compared with existed some others algorithm, the result showed that the method not only reduce the computational complexity but also improved the accuracy of action recognition.

Gradient descent learning algorithm overview: a general dynamical systems perspective.

PubMed

Baldi, P

1995-01-01

Gives a unified treatment of gradient descent learning algorithms for neural networks using a general framework of dynamical systems. This general approach organizes and simplifies all the known algorithms and results which have been originally derived for different problems (fixed point/trajectory learning), for different models (discrete/continuous), for different architectures (forward/recurrent), and using different techniques (backpropagation, variational calculus, adjoint methods, etc.). The general approach can also be applied to derive new algorithms. The author then briefly examines some of the complexity issues and limitations intrinsic to gradient descent learning. Throughout the paper, the author focuses on the problem of trajectory learning.

Development of a Nonlinear Probability of Collision Tool for the Earth Observing System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McKinley, David P.

2006-01-01

The Earth Observing System (EOS) spacecraft Terra, Aqua, and Aura fly in constellation with several other spacecraft in 705-kilometer mean altitude sun-synchronous orbits. All three spacecraft are operated by the Earth Science Mission Operations (ESMO) Project at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). In 2004, the ESMO project began assessing the probability of collision of the EOS spacecraft with other space objects. In addition to conjunctions with high relative velocities, the collision assessment method for the EOS spacecraft must address conjunctions with low relative velocities during potential collisions between constellation members. Probability of Collision algorithms that are based on assumptions of high relative velocities and linear relative trajectories are not suitable for these situations; therefore an algorithm for handling the nonlinear relative trajectories was developed. This paper describes this algorithm and presents results from its validation for operational use. The probability of collision is typically calculated by integrating a Gaussian probability distribution over the volume swept out by a sphere representing the size of the space objects involved in the conjunction. This sphere is defined as the Hard Body Radius. With the assumption of linear relative trajectories, this volume is a cylinder, which translates into simple limits of integration for the probability calculation. For the case of nonlinear relative trajectories, the volume becomes a complex geometry. However, with an appropriate choice of coordinate systems, the new algorithm breaks down the complex geometry into a series of simple cylinders that have simple limits of integration. This nonlinear algorithm will be discussed in detail in the paper. The nonlinear Probability of Collision algorithm was first verified by showing that, when used in high relative velocity cases, it yields similar answers to existing high relative velocity linear relative trajectory algorithms. The comparison with the existing high velocity/linear theory will also be used to determine at what relative velocity the analysis should use the new nonlinear theory in place of the existing linear theory. The nonlinear algorithm was also compared to a known exact solution for the probability of collision between two objects when the relative motion is strictly circular and the error covariance is spherically symmetric. Figure I shows preliminary results from this comparison by plotting the probabilities calculated from the new algorithm and those from the exact solution versus the Hard Body Radius to Covariance ratio. These results show about 5% error when the Hard Body Radius is equal to one half the spherical covariance magnitude. The algorithm was then combined with a high fidelity orbit state and error covariance propagator into a useful tool for analyzing low relative velocity nonlinear relative trajectories. The high fidelity propagator is capable of using atmospheric drag, central body gravitational, solar radiation, and third body forces to provide accurate prediction of the relative trajectories and covariance evolution. The covariance propagator also includes a process noise model to ensure realistic evolutions of the error covariance. This paper will describe the integration of the nonlinear probability algorithm and the propagators into a useful collision assessment tool. Finally, a hypothetical case study involving a low relative velocity conjunction between members of the Earth Observation System constellation will be presented.

The Ship Movement Trajectory Prediction Algorithm Using Navigational Data Fusion.

PubMed

Borkowski, Piotr

2017-06-20

It is essential for the marine navigator conducting maneuvers of his ship at sea to know future positions of himself and target ships in a specific time span to effectively solve collision situations. This article presents an algorithm of ship movement trajectory prediction, which, through data fusion, takes into account measurements of the ship's current position from a number of doubled autonomous devices. This increases the reliability and accuracy of prediction. The algorithm has been implemented in NAVDEC, a navigation decision support system and practically used on board ships.

The Ship Movement Trajectory Prediction Algorithm Using Navigational Data Fusion

PubMed Central

Borkowski, Piotr

2017-01-01

It is essential for the marine navigator conducting maneuvers of his ship at sea to know future positions of himself and target ships in a specific time span to effectively solve collision situations. This article presents an algorithm of ship movement trajectory prediction, which, through data fusion, takes into account measurements of the ship’s current position from a number of doubled autonomous devices. This increases the reliability and accuracy of prediction. The algorithm has been implemented in NAVDEC, a navigation decision support system and practically used on board ships. PMID:28632176

MATSurv: multisensor air traffic surveillance system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yeddanapudi, Murali; Bar-Shalom, Yaakov; Pattipati, Krishna R.; Gassner, Richard R.

1995-09-01

This paper deals with the design and implementation of MATSurv 1--an experimental Multisensor Air Traffic Surveillance system. The proposed system consists of a Kalman filter based state estimator used in conjunction with a 2D sliding window assignment algorithm. Real data from two FAA radars is used to evaluate the performance of this algorithm. The results indicate that the proposed algorithm provides a superior classification of the measurements into tracks (i.e., the most likely aircraft trajectories) when compared to the aircraft trajectories obtained using the measurement IDs (squawk or IFF code).

Optimal short-range trajectories for helicopters

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

Slater, G.L.; Erzberger, H.

1982-12-01

An optimal flight path algorithm using a simplified altitude state model and a priori climb cruise descent flight profile was developed and applied to determine minimum fuel and minimum cost trajectories for a helicopter flying a fixed range trajectory. In addition, a method was developed for obtaining a performance model in simplified form which is based on standard flight manual data and which is applicable to the computation of optimal trajectories. The entire performance optimization algorithm is simple enough that on line trajectory optimization is feasible with a relatively small computer. The helicopter model used is the Silorsky S-61N. Themore » results show that for this vehicle the optimal flight path and optimal cruise altitude can represent a 10% fuel saving on a minimum fuel trajectory. The optimal trajectories show considerable variability because of helicopter weight, ambient winds, and the relative cost trade off between time and fuel. In general, reasonable variations from the optimal velocities and cruise altitudes do not significantly degrade the optimal cost. For fuel optimal trajectories, the optimum cruise altitude varies from the maximum (12,000 ft) to the minimum (0 ft) depending on helicopter weight.« less

Local pursuit strategy-inspired cooperative trajectory planning algorithm for a class of nonlinear constrained dynamical systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Yunjun; Remeikas, Charles; Pham, Khanh

2014-03-01

Cooperative trajectory planning is crucial for networked vehicles to respond rapidly in cluttered environments and has a significant impact on many applications such as air traffic or border security monitoring and assessment. One of the challenges in cooperative planning is to find a computationally efficient algorithm that can accommodate both the complexity of the environment and real hardware and configuration constraints of vehicles in the formation. Inspired by a local pursuit strategy observed in foraging ants, feasible and optimal trajectory planning algorithms are proposed in this paper for a class of nonlinear constrained cooperative vehicles in environments with densely populated obstacles. In an iterative hierarchical approach, the local behaviours, such as the formation stability, obstacle avoidance, and individual vehicle's constraints, are considered in each vehicle's (i.e. follower's) decentralised optimisation. The cooperative-level behaviours, such as the inter-vehicle collision avoidance, are considered in the virtual leader's centralised optimisation. Early termination conditions are derived to reduce the computational cost by not wasting time in the local-level optimisation if the virtual leader trajectory does not satisfy those conditions. The expected advantages of the proposed algorithms are (1) the formation can be globally asymptotically maintained in a decentralised manner; (2) each vehicle decides its local trajectory using only the virtual leader and its own information; (3) the formation convergence speed is controlled by one single parameter, which makes it attractive for many practical applications; (4) nonlinear dynamics and many realistic constraints, such as the speed limitation and obstacle avoidance, can be easily considered; (5) inter-vehicle collision avoidance can be guaranteed in both the formation transient stage and the formation steady stage; and (6) the computational cost in finding both the feasible and optimal solutions is low. In particular, the feasible solution can be computed in a very quick fashion. The minimum energy trajectory planning for a group of robots in an obstacle-laden environment is simulated to showcase the advantages of the proposed algorithms.

Analyzing milestoning networks for molecular kinetics: definitions, algorithms, and examples.

PubMed

Viswanath, Shruthi; Kreuzer, Steven M; Cardenas, Alfredo E; Elber, Ron

2013-11-07

Network representations are becoming increasingly popular for analyzing kinetic data from techniques like Milestoning, Markov State Models, and Transition Path Theory. Mapping continuous phase space trajectories into a relatively small number of discrete states helps in visualization of the data and in dissecting complex dynamics to concrete mechanisms. However, not only are molecular networks derived from molecular dynamics simulations growing in number, they are also getting increasingly complex, owing partly to the growth in computer power that allows us to generate longer and better converged trajectories. The increased complexity of the networks makes simple interpretation and qualitative insight of the molecular systems more difficult to achieve. In this paper, we focus on various network representations of kinetic data and algorithms to identify important edges and pathways in these networks. The kinetic data can be local and partial (such as the value of rate coefficients between states) or an exact solution to kinetic equations for the entire system (such as the stationary flux between vertices). In particular, we focus on the Milestoning method that provides fluxes as the main output. We proposed Global Maximum Weight Pathways as a useful tool for analyzing molecular mechanism in Milestoning networks. A closely related definition was made in the context of Transition Path Theory. We consider three algorithms to find Global Maximum Weight Pathways: Recursive Dijkstra's, Edge-Elimination, and Edge-List Bisection. The asymptotic efficiency of the algorithms is analyzed and numerical tests on finite networks show that Edge-List Bisection and Recursive Dijkstra's algorithms are most efficient for sparse and dense networks, respectively. Pathways are illustrated for two examples: helix unfolding and membrane permeation. Finally, we illustrate that networks based on local kinetic information can lead to incorrect interpretation of molecular mechanisms.

Control Allocation with Load Balancing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bodson, Marc; Frost, Susan A.

2009-01-01

Next generation aircraft with a large number of actuators will require advanced control allocation methods to compute the actuator commands needed to follow desired trajectories while respecting system constraints. Previously, algorithms were proposed to minimize the l1 or l2 norms of the tracking error and of the actuator deflections. The paper discusses the alternative choice of the l(infinity) norm, or sup norm. Minimization of the control effort translates into the minimization of the maximum actuator deflection (min-max optimization). The paper shows how the problem can be solved effectively by converting it into a linear program and solving it using a simplex algorithm. Properties of the algorithm are also investigated through examples. In particular, the min-max criterion results in a type of load balancing, where the load is th desired command and the algorithm balances this load among various actuators. The solution using the l(infinity) norm also results in better robustness to failures and to lower sensitivity to nonlinearities in illustrative examples.

A variational technique for smoothing flight-test and accident data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bach, R. E., Jr.

1980-01-01

The problem of determining aircraft motions along a trajectory is solved using a variational algorithm that generates unmeasured states and forcing functions, and estimates instrument bias and scale-factor errors. The problem is formulated as a nonlinear fixed-interval smoothing problem, and is solved as a sequence of linear two-point boundary value problems, using a sweep method. The algorithm has been implemented for use in flight-test and accident analysis. Aircraft motions are assumed to be governed by a six-degree-of-freedom kinematic model; forcing functions consist of body accelerations and winds, and the measurement model includes aerodynamic and radar data. Examples of the determination of aircraft motions from typical flight-test and accident data are presented.

A Numerical, Literal, and Converged Perturbation Algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiesel, William E.

2017-09-01

The KAM theorem and von Ziepel's method are applied to a perturbed harmonic oscillator, and it is noted that the KAM methodology does not allow for necessary frequency or angle corrections, while von Ziepel does. The KAM methodology can be carried out with purely numerical methods, since its generating function does not contain momentum dependence. The KAM iteration is extended to allow for frequency and angle changes, and in the process apparently can be successfully applied to degenerate systems normally ruled out by the classical KAM theorem. Convergence is observed to be geometric, not exponential, but it does proceed smoothly to machine precision. The algorithm produces a converged perturbation solution by numerical methods, while still retaining literal variable dependence, at least in the vicinity of a given trajectory.

CyberArc: a non-coplanar-arc optimization algorithm for CyberKnife

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kearney, Vasant; Cheung, Joey P.; McGuinness, Christopher; Solberg, Timothy D.

2017-07-01

The goal of this study is to demonstrate the feasibility of a novel non-coplanar-arc optimization algorithm (CyberArc). This method aims to reduce the delivery time of conventional CyberKnife treatments by allowing for continuous beam delivery. CyberArc uses a 4 step optimization strategy, in which nodes, beams, and collimator sizes are determined, source trajectories are calculated, intermediate radiation models are generated, and final monitor units are calculated, for the continuous radiation source model. The dosimetric results as well as the time reduction factors for CyberArc are presented for 7 prostate and 2 brain cases. The dosimetric quality of the CyberArc plans are evaluated using conformity index, heterogeneity index, local confined normalized-mutual-information, and various clinically relevant dosimetric parameters. The results indicate that the CyberArc algorithm dramatically reduces the treatment time of CyberKnife plans while simultaneously preserving the dosimetric quality of the original plans.

CyberArc: a non-coplanar-arc optimization algorithm for CyberKnife.

PubMed

Kearney, Vasant; Cheung, Joey P; McGuinness, Christopher; Solberg, Timothy D

2017-06-26

The goal of this study is to demonstrate the feasibility of a novel non-coplanar-arc optimization algorithm (CyberArc). This method aims to reduce the delivery time of conventional CyberKnife treatments by allowing for continuous beam delivery. CyberArc uses a 4 step optimization strategy, in which nodes, beams, and collimator sizes are determined, source trajectories are calculated, intermediate radiation models are generated, and final monitor units are calculated, for the continuous radiation source model. The dosimetric results as well as the time reduction factors for CyberArc are presented for 7 prostate and 2 brain cases. The dosimetric quality of the CyberArc plans are evaluated using conformity index, heterogeneity index, local confined normalized-mutual-information, and various clinically relevant dosimetric parameters. The results indicate that the CyberArc algorithm dramatically reduces the treatment time of CyberKnife plans while simultaneously preserving the dosimetric quality of the original plans.

Stratway: A Modular Approach to Strategic Conflict Resolution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hagen, George E.; Butler, Ricky W.; Maddalon, Jeffrey M.

2011-01-01

In this paper we introduce Stratway, a modular approach to finding long-term strategic resolutions to conflicts between aircraft. The modular approach provides both advantages and disadvantages. Our primary concern is to investigate the implications on the verification of safety-critical properties of a strategic resolution algorithm. By partitioning the problem into verifiable modules much stronger verification claims can be established. Since strategic resolution involves searching for solutions over an enormous state space, Stratway, like most similar algorithms, searches these spaces by applying heuristics, which present especially difficult verification challenges. An advantage of a modular approach is that it makes a clear distinction between the resolution function and the trajectory generation function. This allows the resolution computation to be independent of any particular vehicle. The Stratway algorithm was developed in both Java and C++ and is available through a open source license. Additionally there is a visualization application that is helpful when analyzing and quickly creating conflict scenarios.

Trajectory-Based Complexity (TBX): A Modified Aircraft Count to Predict Sector Complexity During Trajectory-Based Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prevot, Thomas; Lee, Paul U.

2011-01-01

In this paper we introduce a new complexity metric to predict -in real-time- sector complexity for trajectory-based operations (TBO). TBO will be implemented in the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). Trajectory-Based Complexity (TBX) is a modified aircraft count that can easily be computed and communicated in a TBO environment based upon predictions of aircraft and weather trajectories. TBX is scaled to aircraft count and represents an alternate and additional means to manage air traffic demand and capacity with more consideration of dynamic factors such as weather, aircraft equipage or predicted separation violations, as well as static factors such as sector size. We have developed and evaluated TBX in the Airspace Operations Laboratory (AOL) at the NASA Ames Research Center during human-in-the-loop studies of trajectory-based concepts since 2009. In this paper we will describe the TBX computation in detail and present the underlying algorithm. Next, we will describe the specific TBX used in an experiment at NASA's AOL. We will evaluate the performance of this metric using data collected during a controller-inthe- loop study on trajectory-based operations at different equipage levels. In this study controllers were prompted at regular intervals to rate their current workload on a numeric scale. When comparing this real-time workload rating to the TBX values predicted for these time periods we demonstrate that TBX is a better predictor of workload than aircraft count. Furthermore we demonstrate that TBX is well suited to be used for complexity management in TBO and can easily be adjusted to future operational concepts.

An Energy-Aware Trajectory Optimization Layer for sUAS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silva, William A.

The focus of this work is the implementation of an energy-aware trajectory optimization algorithm that enables small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) to operate in unknown, dynamic severe weather environments. The software is designed as a component of an Energy-Aware Dynamic Data Driven Application System (EA-DDDAS) for sUAS. This work addresses the challenges of integrating and executing an online trajectory optimization algorithm during mission operations in the field. Using simplified aircraft kinematics, the energy-aware algorithm enables extraction of kinetic energy from measured winds to optimize thrust use and endurance during flight. The optimization layer, based upon a nonlinear program formulation, extracts energy by exploiting strong wind velocity gradients in the wind field, a process known as dynamic soaring. The trajectory optimization layer extends the energy-aware path planner developed by Wenceslao Shaw-Cortez te{Shaw-cortez2013} to include additional mission configurations, simulations with a 6-DOF model, and validation of the system with flight testing in June 2015 in Lubbock, Texas. The trajectory optimization layer interfaces with several components within the EA-DDDAS to provide an sUAS with optimal flight trajectories in real-time during severe weather. As a result, execution timing, data transfer, and scalability are considered in the design of the software. Severe weather also poses a measure of unpredictability to the system with respect to communication between systems and available data resources during mission operations. A heuristic mission tree with different cost functions and constraints is implemented to provide a level of adaptability to the optimization layer. Simulations and flight experiments are performed to assess the efficacy of the trajectory optimization layer. The results are used to assess the feasibility of flying dynamic soaring trajectories with existing controllers as well as to verify the interconnections between EA-DDDAS components. Results also demonstrate the usage of the trajectory optimization layer in conjunction with a lattice-based path planner as a method of guiding the optimization layer and stitching together subsequent trajectories.

Registration of 4D time-series of cardiac images with multichannel Diffeomorphic Demons.

PubMed

Peyrat, Jean-Marc; Delingette, Hervé; Sermesant, Maxime; Pennec, Xavier; Xu, Chenyang; Ayache, Nicholas

2008-01-01

In this paper, we propose a generic framework for intersubject non-linear registration of 4D time-series images. In this framework, spatio-temporal registration is defined by mapping trajectories of physical points as opposed to spatial registration that solely aims at mapping homologous points. First, we determine the trajectories we want to register in each sequence using a motion tracking algorithm based on the Diffeomorphic Demons algorithm. Then, we perform simultaneously pairwise registrations of corresponding time-points with the constraint to map the same physical points over time. We show this trajectory registration can be formulated as a multichannel registration of 3D images. We solve it using the Diffeomorphic Demons algorithm extended to vector-valued 3D images. This framework is applied to the inter-subject non-linear registration of 4D cardiac CT sequences.

Modified Hyperspheres Algorithm to Trace Homotopy Curves of Nonlinear Circuits Composed by Piecewise Linear Modelled Devices

PubMed Central

Vazquez-Leal, H.; Jimenez-Fernandez, V. M.; Benhammouda, B.; Filobello-Nino, U.; Sarmiento-Reyes, A.; Ramirez-Pinero, A.; Marin-Hernandez, A.; Huerta-Chua, J.

2014-01-01

We present a homotopy continuation method (HCM) for finding multiple operating points of nonlinear circuits composed of devices modelled by using piecewise linear (PWL) representations. We propose an adaptation of the modified spheres path tracking algorithm to trace the homotopy trajectories of PWL circuits. In order to assess the benefits of this proposal, four nonlinear circuits composed of piecewise linear modelled devices are analysed to determine their multiple operating points. The results show that HCM can find multiple solutions within a single homotopy trajectory. Furthermore, we take advantage of the fact that homotopy trajectories are PWL curves meant to replace the multidimensional interpolation and fine tuning stages of the path tracking algorithm with a simple and highly accurate procedure based on the parametric straight line equation. PMID:25184157

Surface Modeling of Workpiece and Tool Trajectory Planning for Spray Painting Robot

PubMed Central

Tang, Yang; Chen, Wei

2015-01-01

Automated tool trajectory planning for spray-painting robots is still a challenging problem, especially for a large free-form surface. A grid approximation of a free-form surface is adopted in CAD modeling in this paper. A free-form surface model is approximated by a set of flat patches. We describe here an efficient and flexible tool trajectory optimization scheme using T-Bézier curves calculated in a new way from trigonometrical bases. The distance between the spray gun and the free-form surface along the normal vector is varied. Automotive body parts, which are large free-form surfaces, are used to test the scheme. The experimental results show that the trajectory planning algorithm achieves satisfactory performance. This algorithm can also be extended to other applications. PMID:25993663

Surface modeling of workpiece and tool trajectory planning for spray painting robot.

PubMed

Tang, Yang; Chen, Wei

2015-01-01

Automated tool trajectory planning for spray-painting robots is still a challenging problem, especially for a large free-form surface. A grid approximation of a free-form surface is adopted in CAD modeling in this paper. A free-form surface model is approximated by a set of flat patches. We describe here an efficient and flexible tool trajectory optimization scheme using T-Bézier curves calculated in a new way from trigonometrical bases. The distance between the spray gun and the free-form surface along the normal vector is varied. Automotive body parts, which are large free-form surfaces, are used to test the scheme. The experimental results show that the trajectory planning algorithm achieves satisfactory performance. This algorithm can also be extended to other applications.

AdaBoost-based on-line signature verifier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hongo, Yasunori; Muramatsu, Daigo; Matsumoto, Takashi

2005-03-01

Authentication of individuals is rapidly becoming an important issue. The authors previously proposed a Pen-input online signature verification algorithm. The algorithm considers a writer"s signature as a trajectory of pen position, pen pressure, pen azimuth, and pen altitude that evolve over time, so that it is dynamic and biometric. Many algorithms have been proposed and reported to achieve accuracy for on-line signature verification, but setting the threshold value for these algorithms is a problem. In this paper, we introduce a user-generic model generated by AdaBoost, which resolves this problem. When user- specific models (one model for each user) are used for signature verification problems, we need to generate the models using only genuine signatures. Forged signatures are not available because imposters do not give forged signatures for training in advance. However, we can make use of another's forged signature in addition to the genuine signatures for learning by introducing a user generic model. And Adaboost is a well-known classification algorithm, making final decisions depending on the sign of the output value. Therefore, it is not necessary to set the threshold value. A preliminary experiment is performed on a database consisting of data from 50 individuals. This set consists of western-alphabet-based signatures provide by a European research group. In this experiment, our algorithm gives an FRR of 1.88% and an FAR of 1.60%. Since no fine-tuning was done, this preliminary result looks very promising.

The dynamics and control of solar-sail spacecraft in displaced lunar orbits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wawrzyniak, Geoffrey George

Trajectory generation for any spacecraft mission application typically involves either well-developed analytical approximations or a linearization with respect to a known solution. Such approximations are based on the well-understood dynamics of behavior in the system. However, when two or more large bodies (e.g., the Earth and the Moon or the Sun, the Earth and the Moon) are present, trajectories in the multi-body gravitational field can evolve chaotically. The problem is further complicated when an additional force from a solar sail is included. Solar sail trajectories are often developed in a Sun-centered reference frame in which the sunlight direction is fixed. New challenges arise when modeling a solar-sail trajectory in a reference frame attached to the Earth and the Moon (a frame that rotates in inertial space). Advantages accrue from geometry and symmetry properties that are available in this Earth--Moon reference frame, but the Sun location and the sunlight direction change with time. Current trajectory design tools can reveal many solutions within these regimes. Recent work using numerical boundary value problem (BVP) solvers has demonstrated great promise for uncovering additional and, sometimes, "better" solutions to problems in spacecraft trajectory design involving solar sails. One such approach to solving BVPs is the finite-difference method. Derivatives that appear in the differential equations are replaced with their respective finite differences and evaluated at node points along the trajectory. The solution process is iterative. A candidate solution, such as an offset circle or a point, is discretized into nodes, and the equations that represent the relationships at the nodes are solved simultaneously. Finite-difference methods (FDMs) exploit coarse initial approximations and, with the system constraints (such as the continuous visibility of the spacecraft from a point on the lunar surface), to develop orbital solutions in regions where the structure of the solution space is not well known. Because of their simplicity and speed, the FDM is used to populate a survey to assist in the understanding of the available design space. Trajectories generated by FDMs can also be used to initialize other nonlinear BVP solvers. Any solution is only as accurate as the model used to generate it, especially when the trajectory is dynamically unstable, certainly the case when an orbit is purposefully offset from the Moon. Perturbations, such as unmodeled gravitational forces, variations in the solar flux, as well as mis-modeling of the sail and bus properties, all shift the spacecraft off the reference trajectory and, potentially, into a regime from which the vehicle is unrecoverable. Therefore, some type of flight-path control is required to maintain the vehicle near the reference path. Reference trajectories, supplied by FDMs, are used to develop guidance algorithms based on other, more accurate, numerical procedures, such as multiple shooting. The primary motivation of this investigation is to determine what level of technology is required to displace a solar sail spacecraft sufficiently such that a vehicle equipped with a sail supplies a continuous relay between the Earth and an outpost at the lunar south pole. To accomplish this objective, numerical methods to generate reference orbits that meet mission constraints are examined, as well as flight-path control strategies to ensure that a sailcraft follows those reference trajectories. A survey of the design space is also performed to highlight vehicle-performance and ground-based metrics critical to a mission that monitors the lunar south pole at all times. Finally, observations about the underlying dynamical structure of solar sail motion in a multi-body system are summarized.

A Parallel Processing and Diversified-Hidden-Gene-Based Genetic Algorithm Framework for Fuel-Optimal Trajectory Design for Interplanetary Spacecraft Missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Somavarapu, Dhathri H.

This thesis proposes a new parallel computing genetic algorithm framework for designing fuel-optimal trajectories for interplanetary spacecraft missions. The framework can capture the deep search space of the problem with the use of a fixed chromosome structure and hidden-genes concept, can explore the diverse set of candidate solutions with the use of the adaptive and twin-space crowding techniques and, can execute on any high-performance computing (HPC) platform with the adoption of the portable message passing interface (MPI) standard. The algorithm is implemented in C++ with the use of the MPICH implementation of the MPI standard. The algorithm uses a patched-conic approach with two-body dynamics assumptions. New procedures are developed for determining trajectories in the Vinfinity-leveraging legs of the flight from the launch and non-launch planets and, deep-space maneuver legs of the flight from the launch and non-launch planets. The chromosome structure maintains the time of flight as a free parameter within certain boundaries. The fitness or the cost function of the algorithm uses only the mission Delta V, and does not include time of flight. The optimization is conducted with two variations for the minimum mission gravity-assist sequence, the 4-gravity-assist, and the 3-gravity-assist, with a maximum of 5 gravity-assists allowed in both the cases. The optimal trajectories discovered using the framework in both of the cases demonstrate the success of this framework.

OPTIMAL AIRCRAFT TRAJECTORIES FOR SPECIFIED RANGE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, H.

1994-01-01

For an aircraft operating over a fixed range, the operating costs are basically a sum of fuel cost and time cost. While minimum fuel and minimum time trajectories are relatively easy to calculate, the determination of a minimum cost trajectory can be a complex undertaking. This computer program was developed to optimize trajectories with respect to a cost function based on a weighted sum of fuel cost and time cost. As a research tool, the program could be used to study various characteristics of optimum trajectories and their comparison to standard trajectories. It might also be used to generate a model for the development of an airborne trajectory optimization system. The program could be incorporated into an airline flight planning system, with optimum flight plans determined at takeoff time for the prevailing flight conditions. The use of trajectory optimization could significantly reduce the cost for a given aircraft mission. The algorithm incorporated in the program assumes that a trajectory consists of climb, cruise, and descent segments. The optimization of each segment is not done independently, as in classical procedures, but is performed in a manner which accounts for interaction between the segments. This is accomplished by the application of optimal control theory. The climb and descent profiles are generated by integrating a set of kinematic and dynamic equations, where the total energy of the aircraft is the independent variable. At each energy level of the climb and descent profiles, the air speed and power setting necessary for an optimal trajectory are determined. The variational Hamiltonian of the problem consists of the rate of change of cost with respect to total energy and a term dependent on the adjoint variable, which is identical to the optimum cruise cost at a specified altitude. This variable uniquely specifies the optimal cruise energy, cruise altitude, cruise Mach number, and, indirectly, the climb and descent profiles. If the optimum cruise cost is specified, an optimum trajectory can easily be generated; however, the range obtained for a particular optimum cruise cost is not known a priori. For short range flights, the program iteratively varies the optimum cruise cost until the computed range converges to the specified range. For long-range flights, iteration is unnecessary since the specified range can be divided into a cruise segment distance and full climb and descent distances. The user must supply the program with engine fuel flow rate coefficients and an aircraft aerodynamic model. The program currently includes coefficients for the Pratt-Whitney JT8D-7 engine and an aerodynamic model for the Boeing 727. Input to the program consists of the flight range to be covered and the prevailing flight conditions including pressure, temperature, and wind profiles. Information output by the program includes: optimum cruise tables at selected weights, optimal cruise quantities as a function of cruise weight and cruise distance, climb and descent profiles, and a summary of the complete synthesized optimal trajectory. This program is written in FORTRAN IV for batch execution and has been implemented on a CDC 6000 series computer with a central memory requirement of approximately 100K (octal) of 60 bit words. This aircraft trajectory optimization program was developed in 1979.

Automated Design of Noise-Minimal, Safe Rotorcraft Trajectories

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris, Robert A.; Venable, K. Brent; Lindsay, James

2012-01-01

NASA and the international community are investing in the development of a commercial transportation infrastructure that includes the increased use of rotorcraft, specifically helicopters and aircraft such as a 40-passenger civil tilt rotors. Rotorcraft have a number of advantages over fixed wing aircraft, primarily in not requiring direct access to the primary fixed wing runways. As such they can operate at an airport without directly interfering with major air carrier and commuter aircraft operations. However, there is significant concern over the impact of noise on the communities surrounding the transportation facilities. In this paper we propose to address the rotorcraft noise problem by exploiting powerful search techniques coming from artificial intelligence, coupled with simulation and field tests, to design trajectories that are expected to improve on the amount of ground noise generated. This paper investigates the use of simulation based on predictive physical models to facilitate the search for low-noise trajectories using a class of automated search algorithms called local search. A novel feature of this approach is the ability to incorporate constraints into the problem formulation that addresses passenger safety and comfort.

Numerical approach of collision avoidance and optimal control on robotic manipulators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Jyhshing Jack

1990-01-01

Collision-free optimal motion and trajectory planning for robotic manipulators are solved by a method of sequential gradient restoration algorithm. Numerical examples of a two degree-of-freedom (DOF) robotic manipulator are demonstrated to show the excellence of the optimization technique and obstacle avoidance scheme. The obstacle is put on the midway, or even further inward on purpose, of the previous no-obstacle optimal trajectory. For the minimum-time purpose, the trajectory grazes by the obstacle and the minimum-time motion successfully avoids the obstacle. The minimum-time is longer for the obstacle avoidance cases than the one without obstacle. The obstacle avoidance scheme can deal with multiple obstacles in any ellipsoid forms by using artificial potential fields as penalty functions via distance functions. The method is promising in solving collision-free optimal control problems for robotics and can be applied to any DOF robotic manipulators with any performance indices and mobile robots as well. Since this method generates optimum solution based on Pontryagin Extremum Principle, rather than based on assumptions, the results provide a benchmark against which any optimization techniques can be measured.

Spatio-Temporal Pattern Mining on Trajectory Data Using Arm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khoshahval, S.; Farnaghi, M.; Taleai, M.

2017-09-01

Preliminary mobile was considered to be a device to make human connections easier. But today the consumption of this device has been evolved to a platform for gaming, web surfing and GPS-enabled application capabilities. Embedding GPS in handheld devices, altered them to significant trajectory data gathering facilities. Raw GPS trajectory data is a series of points which contains hidden information. For revealing hidden information in traces, trajectory data analysis is needed. One of the most beneficial concealed information in trajectory data is user activity patterns. In each pattern, there are multiple stops and moves which identifies users visited places and tasks. This paper proposes an approach to discover user daily activity patterns from GPS trajectories using association rules. Finding user patterns needs extraction of user's visited places from stops and moves of GPS trajectories. In order to locate stops and moves, we have implemented a place recognition algorithm. After extraction of visited points an advanced association rule mining algorithm, called Apriori was used to extract user activity patterns. This study outlined that there are useful patterns in each trajectory that can be emerged from raw GPS data using association rule mining techniques in order to find out about multiple users' behaviour in a system and can be utilized in various location-based applications.

Exercise recognition for Kinect-based telerehabilitation.

PubMed

Antón, D; Goñi, A; Illarramendi, A

2015-01-01

An aging population and people's higher survival to diseases and traumas that leave physical consequences are challenging aspects in the context of an efficient health management. This is why telerehabilitation systems are being developed, to allow monitoring and support of physiotherapy sessions at home, which could reduce healthcare costs while also improving the quality of life of the users. Our goal is the development of a Kinect-based algorithm that provides a very accurate real-time monitoring of physical rehabilitation exercises and that also provides a friendly interface oriented both to users and physiotherapists. The two main constituents of our algorithm are the posture classification method and the exercises recognition method. The exercises consist of series of movements. Each movement is composed of an initial posture, a final posture and the angular trajectories of the limbs involved in the movement. The algorithm was designed and tested with datasets of real movements performed by volunteers. We also explain in the paper how we obtained the optimal values for the trade-off values for posture and trajectory recognition. Two relevant aspects of the algorithm were evaluated in our tests, classification accuracy and real-time data processing. We achieved 91.9% accuracy in posture classification and 93.75% accuracy in trajectory recognition. We also checked whether the algorithm was able to process the data in real-time. We found that our algorithm could process more than 20,000 postures per second and all the required trajectory data-series in real-time, which in practice guarantees no perceptible delays. Later on, we carried out two clinical trials with real patients that suffered shoulder disorders. We obtained an exercise monitoring accuracy of 95.16%. We present an exercise recognition algorithm that handles the data provided by Kinect efficiently. The algorithm has been validated in a real scenario where we have verified its suitability. Moreover, we have received a positive feedback from both users and the physiotherapists who took part in the tests.

A Centered Projective Algorithm for Linear Programming

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-02-01

zx/l to (PA Karmarkar’s algorithm iterates this procedure. An alternative method, the so-called affine variant (first proposed by Dikin [6] in 1967...trajectories, II. Legendre transform coordinates . central trajectories," manuscripts, to appear in Transactions of the American [6] I.I. Dikin ...34Iterative solution of problems of linear and quadratic programming," Soviet Mathematics Dokladv 8 (1967), 674-675. [7] I.I. Dikin , "On the speed of an

A Computerized Microelectrode Recording to Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mapping System for Subthalamic Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery.

PubMed

Dodani, Sunjay S; Lu, Charles W; Aldridge, J Wayne; Chou, Kelvin L; Patil, Parag G

2018-06-01

Accurate electrode placement is critical to the success of deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery. Suboptimal targeting may arise from poor initial target localization, frame-based targeting error, or intraoperative brain shift. These uncertainties can make DBS surgery challenging. To develop a computerized system to guide subthalamic nucleus (STN) DBS electrode localization and to estimate the trajectory of intraoperative microelectrode recording (MER) on magnetic resonance (MR) images algorithmically during DBS surgery. Our method is based upon the relationship between the high-frequency band (HFB; 500-2000 Hz) signal from MER and voxel intensity on MR images. The HFB profile along an MER trajectory recorded during surgery is compared to voxel intensity profiles along many potential trajectories in the region of the surgically planned trajectory. From these comparisons of HFB recordings and potential trajectories, an estimate of the MER trajectory is calculated. This calculated trajectory is then compared to actual trajectory, as estimated by postoperative high-resolution computed tomography. We compared 20 planned, calculated, and actual trajectories in 13 patients who underwent STN DBS surgery. Targeting errors for our calculated trajectories (2.33 mm ± 0.2 mm) were significantly less than errors for surgically planned trajectories (2.83 mm ± 0.2 mm; P = .01), improving targeting prediction in 70% of individual cases (14/20). Moreover, in 4 of 4 initial MER trajectories that missed the STN, our method correctly indicated the required direction of targeting adjustment for the DBS lead to intersect the STN. A computer-based algorithm simultaneously utilizing MER and MR information potentially eases electrode localization during STN DBS surgery.

A Simple Two Aircraft Conflict Resolution Algorithm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chatterji, Gano B.

2006-01-01

Conflict detection and resolution methods are crucial for distributed air-ground traffic management in which the crew in, the cockpit, dispatchers in operation control centers sad and traffic controllers in the ground-based air traffic management facilities share information and participate in the traffic flow and traffic control functions. This paper describes a conflict detection, and a conflict resolution method. The conflict detection method predicts the minimum separation and the time-to-go to the closest point of approach by assuming that both the aircraft will continue to fly at their current speeds along their current headings. The conflict resolution method described here is motivated by the proportional navigation algorithm, which is often used for missile guidance during the terminal phase. It generates speed and heading commands to rotate the line-of-sight either clockwise or counter-clockwise for conflict resolution. Once the aircraft achieve a positive range-rate and no further conflict is predicted, the algorithm generates heading commands to turn back the aircraft to their nominal trajectories. The speed commands are set to the optimal pre-resolution speeds. Six numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the conflict detection, and the conflict resolution methods.

Motion control of the rabbit ankle joint with a flat interface nerve electrode.

PubMed

Park, Hyun-Joo; Durand, Dominique M

2015-12-01

A flat interface nerve electrode (FINE) has been shown to improve fascicular and subfascicular selectivity. A recently developed novel control algorithm for FINE was applied to motion control of the rabbit ankle. A 14-contact FINE was placed on the rabbit sciatic nerve (n = 8), and ankle joint motion was controlled for sinusoidal trajectories and filtered random trajectories. To this end, a real-time controller was implemented with a multiple-channel current stimulus isolator. The performance test results showed good tracking performance of rabbit ankle joint motion for filtered random trajectories and sinusoidal trajectories (0.5 Hz and 1.0 Hz) with <10% average root-mean-square (RMS) tracking error, whereas the average range of ankle joint motion was between -20.0 ± 9.3° and 18.1 ± 8.8°. The proposed control algorithm enables the use of a multiple-contact nerve electrode for motion trajectory tracking control of musculoskeletal systems. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Rapid design and optimization of low-thrust rendezvous/interception trajectory for asteroid deflection missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Shuang; Zhu, Yongsheng; Wang, Yukai

2014-02-01

Asteroid deflection techniques are essential in order to protect the Earth from catastrophic impacts by hazardous asteroids. Rapid design and optimization of low-thrust rendezvous/interception trajectories is considered as one of the key technologies to successfully deflect potentially hazardous asteroids. In this paper, we address a general framework for the rapid design and optimization of low-thrust rendezvous/interception trajectories for future asteroid deflection missions. The design and optimization process includes three closely associated steps. Firstly, shape-based approaches and genetic algorithm (GA) are adopted to perform preliminary design, which provides a reasonable initial guess for subsequent accurate optimization. Secondly, Radau pseudospectral method is utilized to transcribe the low-thrust trajectory optimization problem into a discrete nonlinear programming (NLP) problem. Finally, sequential quadratic programming (SQP) is used to efficiently solve the nonlinear programming problem and obtain the optimal low-thrust rendezvous/interception trajectories. The rapid design and optimization algorithms developed in this paper are validated by three simulation cases with different performance indexes and boundary constraints.

Planification de trajectoires pour placement automatise de fibres sur surfaces de geometries complexes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hely, Clement

During the past 50 years, the use of composite materials drastically increase, mainly thanks to the interest of aeronautical industries for these strong and lightweight materials. To improve the productivity of composite materials manufacturing some of the largest aeronautics companies began to develop automated processes such as Automated Fibre Placement (AFP). The AFP workcells currently used by the industry were mainly developed for production of large, nearly flat, plates with low curvatures such as aircraft fuselages. However, the fields of aeronautics and sport goods production begin nowadays to show an interest for manufacturing of smaller and more complex parts. The aim of the project in which this research takes place is to design a new AFP workcell and to develop new techniques allowing production of parts with small size and complex geometry. The work presented in this thesis focuses on the path planning on multi-axial revolution surfaces, e.g. Y-shaped tubes of constant circular cross section. Several path planning algorithms will be presented aiming at the exhaustive coverage of a mandrel with pre-impregnated (prepreg) composite tape. The methodology used in two of these algorithms is to individually cover each branch of the Y-shaped part with paths deriving from a helix. In the first one, the helix will be cut at the boundary between a branch and the junction region (algorithm HD) while in the second (algorithm HA) the pseudo-helix path can be adjusted to follow this boundary. These two methods were shown to have some drawbacks compromising their practical use and possibly leading to parts with diminished mechanical properties. To avoid these drawbacks, two others algorithms were developed with a new methodology. With them, the aim is to cover two branches of the Y-shape with a continuous course (i.e. without cut). The first one uses a well known strategy which defines plies with a constant fibre orientation. Parallel paths are then computed to generate a full and uniform ply covering two branches. Once again this method suffers from a main drawback, namely that it can produce highly curved paths leading to manufacturing defects. To overcome this limitation, a last algorithm is proposed ensuring that the maximal curvature of a trajectory stays below a fixed threshold. However, fulfilling this constraint prevents to predict the complete shape of the path and to ensure a perfectly uniform coverage. It is thus proposed to generate an exhaustive set of trajectories having different shapes and covering all the part. Then, a selection algorithm is used to choose the ones which are best suited according to selection criteria. To help the definition of these criteria, a finite element analysis is conducted to give some insight concerning the best suited shapes for specific loading cases. Finally, simulations were carried out with a workcell constituted by a robotic manipulator associated with a rotary table to verify the feasibility of the paths generated by the different algorithms.

Autonomous optimal trajectory design employing convex optimization for powered descent on an asteroid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pinson, Robin Marie

Mission proposals that land spacecraft on asteroids are becoming increasingly popular. However, in order to have a successful mission the spacecraft must reliably and softly land at the intended landing site with pinpoint precision. The problem under investigation is how to design a propellant (fuel) optimal powered descent trajectory that can be quickly computed onboard the spacecraft, without interaction from ground control. The goal is to autonomously design the optimal powered descent trajectory onboard the spacecraft immediately prior to the descent burn for use during the burn. Compared to a planetary powered landing problem, the challenges that arise from designing an asteroid powered descent trajectory include complicated nonlinear gravity fields, small rotating bodies, and low thrust vehicles. The nonlinear gravity fields cannot be represented by a constant gravity model nor a Newtonian model. The trajectory design algorithm needs to be robust and efficient to guarantee a designed trajectory and complete the calculations in a reasonable time frame. This research investigates the following questions: Can convex optimization be used to design the minimum propellant powered descent trajectory for a soft landing on an asteroid? Is this method robust and reliable to allow autonomy onboard the spacecraft without interaction from ground control? This research designed a convex optimization based method that rapidly generates the propellant optimal asteroid powered descent trajectory. The solution to the convex optimization problem is the thrust magnitude and direction, which designs and determines the trajectory. The propellant optimal problem was formulated as a second order cone program, a subset of convex optimization, through relaxation techniques by including a slack variable, change of variables, and incorporation of the successive solution method. Convex optimization solvers, especially second order cone programs, are robust, reliable, and are guaranteed to find the global minimum provided one exists. In addition, an outer optimization loop using Brent's method determines the optimal flight time corresponding to the minimum propellant usage over all flight times. Inclusion of additional trajectory constraints, solely vertical motion near the landing site and glide slope, were evaluated. Through a theoretical proof involving the Minimum Principle from Optimal Control Theory and the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker conditions it was shown that the relaxed problem is identical to the original problem at the minimum point. Therefore, the optimal solution of the relaxed problem is an optimal solution of the original problem, referred to as lossless convexification. A key finding is that this holds for all levels of gravity model fidelity. The designed thrust magnitude profiles were the bang-bang predicted by Optimal Control Theory. The first high fidelity gravity model employed was the 2x2 spherical harmonics model assuming a perfect triaxial ellipsoid and placement of the coordinate frame at the asteroid's center of mass and aligned with the semi-major axes. The spherical harmonics model is not valid inside the Brillouin sphere and this becomes relevant for irregularly shaped asteroids. Then, a higher fidelity model was implemented combining the 4x4 spherical harmonics gravity model with the interior spherical Bessel gravity model. All gravitational terms in the equations of motion are evaluated with the position vector from the previous iteration, creating the successive solution method. Methodology success was shown by applying the algorithm to three triaxial ellipsoidal asteroids with four different rotation speeds using the 2x2 gravity model. Finally, the algorithm was tested using the irregularly shaped asteroid, Castalia.

Optimizing Aircraft Trajectories with Multiple Cruise Altitudes in the Presence of Winds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ng, Hok K.; Sridhar, Banavar; Grabbe, Shon

2014-01-01

This study develops a trajectory optimization algorithm for approximately minimizing aircraft travel time and fuel burn by combining a method for computing minimum-time routes in winds on multiple horizontal planes, and an aircraft fuel burn model for generating fuel-optimal vertical profiles. It is applied to assess the potential benefits of flying user-preferred routes for commercial cargo flights operating between Anchorage, Alaska and major airports in Asia and the contiguous United States. Flying wind optimal trajectories with a fuel-optimal vertical profile reduces average fuel burn of international flights cruising at a single altitude by 1-3 percent. The potential fuel savings of performing en-route step climbs are not significant for many shorter domestic cargo flights that have only one step climb. Wind-optimal trajectories reduce fuel burn and travel time relative to the flight plan route by up to 3 percent for the domestic cargo flights. However, for trans-oceanic traffic, the fuel burn savings could be as much as 10 percent. The actual savings in operations will vary from the simulation results due to differences in the aircraft models and user defined cost indices. In general, the savings are proportional to trip length, and depend on the en-route wind conditions and aircraft types.

Trajectory phase transitions and dynamical Lee-Yang zeros of the Glauber-Ising chain.

PubMed

Hickey, James M; Flindt, Christian; Garrahan, Juan P

2013-07-01

We examine the generating function of the time-integrated energy for the one-dimensional Glauber-Ising model. At long times, the generating function takes on a large-deviation form and the associated cumulant generating function has singularities corresponding to continuous trajectory (or "space-time") phase transitions between paramagnetic trajectories and ferromagnetically or antiferromagnetically ordered trajectories. In the thermodynamic limit, the singularities make up a whole curve of critical points in the complex plane of the counting field. We evaluate analytically the generating function by mapping the generator of the biased dynamics to a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian of an associated quantum spin chain. We relate the trajectory phase transitions to the high-order cumulants of the time-integrated energy which we use to extract the dynamical Lee-Yang zeros of the generating function. This approach offers the possibility to detect continuous trajectory phase transitions from the finite-time behavior of measurable quantities.

Evaluating and minimizing noise impact due to aircraft flyover

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jacobson, I. D.; Cook, G.

1979-01-01

Existing techniques were used to assess the noise impact on a community due to aircraft operation and to optimize the flight paths of an approaching aircraft with respect to the annoyance produced. Major achievements are: (1) the development of a population model suitable for determining the noise impact, (2) generation of a numerical computer code which uses this population model along with the steepest descent algorithm to optimize approach/landing trajectories, (3) implementation of this optimization code in several fictitious cases as well as for the community surrounding Patrick Henry International Airport, Virginia.

Simulation Test Of Descent Advisor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Thomas J.; Green, Steven M.

1991-01-01

Report describes piloted-simulation test of Descent Advisor (DA), subsystem of larger automation system being developed to assist human air-traffic controllers and pilots. Focuses on results of piloted simulation, in which airline crews executed controller-issued descent advisories along standard curved-path arrival routes. Crews able to achieve arrival-time precision of plus or minus 20 seconds at metering fix. Analysis of errors generated in turns resulted in further enhancements of algorithm to increase accuracies of its predicted trajectories. Evaluations by pilots indicate general support for DA concept and provide specific recommendations for improvement.

Performance Analysis of the Enhanced Bio-Inspired Planning Algorithm for Rapid Situation Awareness Response

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-10-18

low cost robot testbed. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Bio-inspired trajectory generation, in-situ obstacle avoidance, low-cost LEGO robots, vision- based...will not affect the solution optimality and thus will be regarded as zero. Following the LP motion strategy Eq. (1), the position vector of the Lego ...Lobatto (LGL) method [14], the position of Lego robot can be further represented as ’ 1 ,( )j p jD   ζ ζ (6) in which ,0 ,,..., T j j j

Entropic Description of Gas Hydrate Ice-Liquid Equilibrium via Enhanced Sampling of Coexisting Phases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Małolepsza, Edyta; Kim, Jaegil; Keyes, Tom

2015-05-01

Metastable β ice holds small guest molecules in stable gas hydrates, so its solid-liquid equilibrium is of interest. However, aqueous crystal-liquid transitions are very difficult to simulate. A new molecular dynamics algorithm generates trajectories in a generalized N P T ensemble and equilibrates states of coexisting phases with a selectable enthalpy. With replicas spanning the range between β ice and liquid water, we find the statistical temperature from the enthalpy histograms and characterize the transition by the entropy, introducing a general computational procedure for first-order transitions.

Entropic description of gas hydrate ice/liquid equilibrium via enhanced sampling of coexisting phases

DOE PAGES

Malolepsza, Edyta; Kim, Jaegil; Keyes, Tom

2015-04-28

Metastable β ice holds small guest molecules in stable gas hydrates, so its solid/liquid equilibrium is of interest. However, aqueous crystal/liquid transitions are very difficult to simulate. A new MD algorithm generates trajectories in a generalized NPT ensemble and equilibrates states of coexisting phases with a selectable enthalpy. Furthermore, with replicas spanning the range between β ice and liquid water we find the statistical temperature from the enthalpy histograms and characterize the transition by the entropy, introducing a general computational procedure for first-order transitions.

Rapid Calculation of Spacecraft Trajectories Using Efficient Taylor Series Integration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scott, James R.; Martini, Michael C.

2011-01-01

A variable-order, variable-step Taylor series integration algorithm was implemented in NASA Glenn's SNAP (Spacecraft N-body Analysis Program) code. SNAP is a high-fidelity trajectory propagation program that can propagate the trajectory of a spacecraft about virtually any body in the solar system. The Taylor series algorithm's very high order accuracy and excellent stability properties lead to large reductions in computer time relative to the code's existing 8th order Runge-Kutta scheme. Head-to-head comparison on near-Earth, lunar, Mars, and Europa missions showed that Taylor series integration is 15.8 times faster than Runge- Kutta on average, and is more accurate. These speedups were obtained for calculations involving central body, other body, thrust, and drag forces. Similar speedups have been obtained for calculations that include J2 spherical harmonic for central body gravitation. The algorithm includes a step size selection method that directly calculates the step size and never requires a repeat step. High-order Taylor series integration algorithms have been shown to provide major reductions in computer time over conventional integration methods in numerous scientific applications. The objective here was to directly implement Taylor series integration in an existing trajectory analysis code and demonstrate that large reductions in computer time (order of magnitude) could be achieved while simultaneously maintaining high accuracy. This software greatly accelerates the calculation of spacecraft trajectories. At each time level, the spacecraft position, velocity, and mass are expanded in a high-order Taylor series whose coefficients are obtained through efficient differentiation arithmetic. This makes it possible to take very large time steps at minimal cost, resulting in large savings in computer time. The Taylor series algorithm is implemented primarily through three subroutines: (1) a driver routine that automatically introduces auxiliary variables and sets up initial conditions and integrates; (2) a routine that calculates system reduced derivatives using recurrence relations for quotients and products; and (3) a routine that determines the step size and sums the series. The order of accuracy used in a trajectory calculation is arbitrary and can be set by the user. The algorithm directly calculates the motion of other planetary bodies and does not require ephemeris files (except to start the calculation). The code also runs with Taylor series and Runge-Kutta used interchangeably for different phases of a mission.

Guidance and Control Algorithms for the Mars Entry, Descent and Landing Systems Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Jody L.; CwyerCianciolo, Alicia M.; Powell, Richard W.; Shidner, Jeremy D.; Garcia-Llama, Eduardo

2010-01-01

The purpose of the Mars Entry, Descent and Landing Systems Analysis (EDL-SA) study was to identify feasible technologies that will enable human exploration of Mars, specifically to deliver large payloads to the Martian surface. This paper focuses on the methods used to guide and control two of the contending technologies, a mid- lift-to-drag (L/D) rigid aeroshell and a hypersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator (HIAD), through the entry portion of the trajectory. The Program to Optimize Simulated Trajectories II (POST2) is used to simulate and analyze the trajectories of the contending technologies and guidance and control algorithms. Three guidance algorithms are discussed in this paper: EDL theoretical guidance, Numerical Predictor-Corrector (NPC) guidance and Analytical Predictor-Corrector (APC) guidance. EDL-SA also considered two forms of control: bank angle control, similar to that used by Apollo and the Space Shuttle, and a center-of-gravity (CG) offset control. This paper presents the performance comparison of these guidance algorithms and summarizes the results as they impact the technology recommendations for future study.

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.

Benchmarking real-time RGBD odometry for light-duty UAVs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Willis, Andrew R.; Sahawneh, Laith R.; Brink, Kevin M.

2016-06-01

This article describes the theoretical and implementation challenges associated with generating 3D odometry estimates (delta-pose) from RGBD sensor data in real-time to facilitate navigation in cluttered indoor environments. The underlying odometry algorithm applies to general 6DoF motion; however, the computational platforms, trajectories, and scene content are motivated by their intended use on indoor, light-duty UAVs. Discussion outlines the overall software pipeline for sensor processing and details how algorithm choices for the underlying feature detection and correspondence computation impact the real-time performance and accuracy of the estimated odometry and associated covariance. This article also explores the consistency of odometry covariance estimates and the correlation between successive odometry estimates. The analysis is intended to provide users information needed to better leverage RGBD odometry within the constraints of their systems.

Real-time immune-inspired optimum state-of-charge trajectory estimation using upcoming route information preview and neural networks for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles fuel economy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mozaffari, Ahmad; Vajedi, Mahyar; Azad, Nasser L.

2015-06-01

The main proposition of the current investigation is to develop a computational intelligence-based framework which can be used for the real-time estimation of optimum battery state-of-charge (SOC) trajectory in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). The estimated SOC trajectory can be then employed for an intelligent power management to significantly improve the fuel economy of the vehicle. The devised intelligent SOC trajectory builder takes advantage of the upcoming route information preview to achieve the lowest possible total cost of electricity and fossil fuel. To reduce the complexity of real-time optimization, the authors propose an immune system-based clustering approach which allows categorizing the route information into a predefined number of segments. The intelligent real-time optimizer is also inspired on the basis of interactions in biological immune systems, and is called artificial immune algorithm (AIA). The objective function of the optimizer is derived from a computationally efficient artificial neural network (ANN) which is trained by a database obtained from a high-fidelity model of the vehicle built in the Autonomie software. The simulation results demonstrate that the integration of immune inspired clustering tool, AIA and ANN, will result in a powerful framework which can generate a near global optimum SOC trajectory for the baseline vehicle, that is, the Toyota Prius PHEV. The outcomes of the current investigation prove that by taking advantage of intelligent approaches, it is possible to design a computationally efficient and powerful SOC trajectory builder for the intelligent power management of PHEVs.

Learning from Demonstration: Generalization via Task Segmentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ettehadi, N.; Manaffam, S.; Behal, A.

2017-10-01

In this paper, a motion segmentation algorithm design is presented with the goal of segmenting a learned trajectory from demonstration such that each segment is locally maximally different from its neighbors. This segmentation is then exploited to appropriately scale (dilate/squeeze and/or rotate) a nominal trajectory learned from a few demonstrations on a fixed experimental setup such that it is applicable to different experimental settings without expanding the dataset and/or retraining the robot. The algorithm is computationally efficient in the sense that it allows facile transition between different environments. Experimental results using the Baxter robotic platform showcase the ability of the algorithm to accurately transfer a feeding task.

Resource Balancing Control Allocation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frost, Susan A.; Bodson, Marc

2010-01-01

Next generation aircraft with a large number of actuators will require advanced control allocation methods to compute the actuator commands needed to follow desired trajectories while respecting system constraints. Previously, algorithms were proposed to minimize the l1 or l2 norms of the tracking error and of the control effort. The paper discusses the alternative choice of using the l1 norm for minimization of the tracking error and a normalized l(infinity) norm, or sup norm, for minimization of the control effort. The algorithm computes the norm of the actuator deflections scaled by the actuator limits. Minimization of the control effort then translates into the minimization of the maximum actuator deflection as a percentage of its range of motion. The paper shows how the problem can be solved effectively by converting it into a linear program and solving it using a simplex algorithm. Properties of the algorithm are investigated through examples. In particular, the min-max criterion results in a type of resource balancing, where the resources are the control surfaces and the algorithm balances these resources to achieve the desired command. A study of the sensitivity of the algorithms to the data is presented, which shows that the normalized l(infinity) algorithm has the lowest sensitivity, although high sensitivities are observed whenever the limits of performance are reached.

An Efficient Universal Trajectory Language

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hagen, George E.; Guerreiro, Nelson M.; Maddalon, Jeffrey M.; Butler, Ricky W.

2017-01-01

The Efficient Universal Trajectory Language (EUTL) is a language for specifying and representing trajectories for Air Traffic Management (ATM) concepts such as Trajectory-Based Operations (TBO). In these concepts, the communication of a trajectory between an aircraft and ground automation is fundamental. Historically, this trajectory exchange has not been done, leading to trajectory definitions that have been centered around particular application domains and, therefore, are not well suited for TBO applications. The EUTL trajectory language has been defined in the Prototype Verification System (PVS) formal specification language, which provides an operational semantics for the EUTL language. The hope is that EUTL will provide a foundation for mathematically verified algorithms that manipulate trajectories. Additionally, the EUTL language provides well-defined methods to unambiguously determine position and velocity information between the reported trajectory points. In this paper, we present the EUTL trajectory language in mathematical detail.

A simple Lagrangian forecast system with aviation forecast potential

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Petersen, R. A.; Homan, J. H.

1983-01-01

A trajectory forecast procedure is developed which uses geopotential tendency fields obtained from a simple, multiple layer, potential vorticity conservative isentropic model. This model can objectively account for short-term advective changes in the mass field when combined with fine-scale initial analyses. This procedure for producing short-term, upper-tropospheric trajectory forecasts employs a combination of a detailed objective analysis technique, an efficient mass advection model, and a diagnostically proven trajectory algorithm, none of which require extensive computer resources. Results of initial tests are presented, which indicate an exceptionally good agreement for trajectory paths entering the jet stream and passing through an intensifying trough. It is concluded that this technique not only has potential for aiding in route determination, fuel use estimation, and clear air turbulence detection, but also provides an example of the types of short range forecasting procedures which can be applied at local forecast centers using simple algorithms and a minimum of computer resources.

Non-Rigid Structure Estimation in Trajectory Space from Monocular Vision

PubMed Central

Wang, Yaming; Tong, Lingling; Jiang, Mingfeng; Zheng, Junbao

2015-01-01

In this paper, the problem of non-rigid structure estimation in trajectory space from monocular vision is investigated. Similar to the Point Trajectory Approach (PTA), based on characteristic points’ trajectories described by a predefined Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) basis, the structure matrix was also calculated by using a factorization method. To further optimize the non-rigid structure estimation from monocular vision, the rank minimization problem about structure matrix is proposed to implement the non-rigid structure estimation by introducing the basic low-rank condition. Moreover, the Accelerated Proximal Gradient (APG) algorithm is proposed to solve the rank minimization problem, and the initial structure matrix calculated by the PTA method is optimized. The APG algorithm can converge to efficient solutions quickly and lessen the reconstruction error obviously. The reconstruction results of real image sequences indicate that the proposed approach runs reliably, and effectively improves the accuracy of non-rigid structure estimation from monocular vision. PMID:26473863

Geometrically derived difference formulae for the numerical integration of trajectory problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcleod, R. J. Y.; Sanz-Serna, J. M.

1982-01-01

An initial value problem for the autonomous system of ordinary differential equations dy/dt = f(y), where y is a vector, is considered. In a number of practical applications the interest lies in obtaining the curve traced by the solution y. These applications include the computation of trajectories in mechanical problems. The term 'trajectory problem' is employed to refer to these cases. Lambert and McLeod (1979) have introduced a method involving local rotation of the axes in the y-plane for the two-dimensional case. The present investigation continues the study of difference schemes specifically derived for trajectory problems. A simple geometrical way of constructing such methods is presented, and the local accuracy of the schemes is investigated. A circularly exact, fixed-step predictor-corrector algorithm is defined, and a variable-step version of a circularly exact algorithm is presented.

A wavefront reconstruction method for 3-D cylindrical subsurface radar imaging.

PubMed

Flores-Tapia, Daniel; Thomas, Gabriel; Pistorius, Stephen

2008-10-01

In recent years, the use of radar technology has been proposed in a wide range of subsurface imaging applications. Traditionally, linear scan trajectories are used to acquire data in most subsurface radar applications. However, novel applications, such as breast microwave imaging and wood inspection, require the use of nonlinear scan trajectories in order to adjust to the geometry of the scanned area. This paper proposes a novel reconstruction algorithm for subsurface radar data acquired along cylindrical scan trajectories. The spectrum of the collected data is processed in order to locate the spatial origin of the target reflections and remove the spreading of the target reflections which results from the different signal travel times along the scan trajectory. The proposed algorithm was successfully tested using experimental data collected from phantoms that mimic high contrast subsurface radar scenarios, yielding promising results. Practical considerations such as spatial resolution and sampling constraints are discussed and illustrated as well.

A multicolour graph as a complete topological invariant for \\Omega-stable flows without periodic trajectories on surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kruglov, V. E.; Malyshev, D. S.; Pochinka, O. V.

2018-01-01

Studying the dynamics of a flow on surfaces by partitioning the phase space into cells with the same limit behaviour of trajectories within a cell goes back to the classical papers of Andronov, Pontryagin, Leontovich and Maier. The types of cells (the number of which is finite) and how the cells adjoin one another completely determine the topological equivalence class of a flow with finitely many special trajectories. If one trajectory is chosen in every cell of a rough flow without periodic orbits, then the cells are partitioned into so-called triangular regions of the same type. A combinatorial description of such a partition gives rise to the three-colour Oshemkov-Sharko graph, the vertices of which correspond to the triangular regions, and the edges to separatrices connecting them. Oshemkov and Sharko proved that such flows are topologically equivalent if and only if the three-colour graphs of the flows are isomorphic, and described an algorithm of distinguishing three-colour graphs. But their algorithm is not efficient with respect to graph theory. In the present paper, we describe the dynamics of Ω-stable flows without periodic trajectories on surfaces in the language of four-colour graphs, present an efficient algorithm for distinguishing such graphs, and develop a realization of a flow from some abstract graph. Bibliography: 17 titles.

FPGA Implementation of an Efficient Algorithm for the Calculation of Charged Particle Trajectories in Cosmic Ray Detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Villar, Xabier; Piso, Daniel; Bruguera, Javier D.

2014-02-01

This paper presents an FPGA implementation of an algorithm, previously published, for the the reconstruction of cosmic rays' trajectories and the determination of the time of arrival and velocity of the particles. The accuracy and precision issues of the algorithm have been analyzed to propose a suitable implementation. Thus, a 32-bit fixed-point format has been used for the representation of the data values. Moreover, the dependencies among the different operations have been taken into account to obtain a highly parallel and efficient hardware implementation. The final hardware architecture requires 18 cycles to process every particle, and has been exhaustively simulated to validate all the design decisions. The architecture has been mapped over different commercial FPGAs, with a frequency of operation ranging from 300 MHz to 1.3 GHz, depending on the FPGA being used. Consequently, the number of particle trajectories processed per second is between 16 million and 72 million. The high number of particle trajectories calculated per second shows that the proposed FPGA implementation might be used also in high rate environments such as those found in particle and nuclear physics experiments.

[Vegetation spatial and temporal dynamic characteristics based on NDVI time series trajectories in grassland opencast coal mining].

PubMed

Jia, Duo; Wang, Cang Jiao; Mu, Shou Guo; Zhao, Hua

2017-06-18

The spatiotemporal dynamic patterns of vegetation in mining area are still unclear. This study utilized time series trajectory segmentation algorithm to fit Landsat NDVI time series which generated from fusion images at the most prosperous period of growth based on ESTARFM algorithm. Combining with the shape features of the fitted trajectory, this paper extracted five vegetation dynamic patterns including pre-disturbance type, continuous disturbance type, stabilization after disturbance type, stabilization between disturbance and recovery type, and recovery after disturbance type. The result indicated that recovery after disturbance type was the dominant vegetation change pattern among the five types of vegetation dynamic pattern, which accounted for 55.2% of the total number of pixels. The follows were stabilization after disturbance type and continuous disturbance type, accounting for 25.6% and 11.0%, respectively. The pre-disturbance type and stabilization between disturbance and recovery type accounted for 3.5% and 4.7%, respectively. Vegetation disturbance mainly occurred from 2004 to 2009 in Shengli mining area. The onset time of stable state was 2008 and the spatial locations mainlydistributed in open-pit stope and waste dump. The reco-very state mainly started since the year of 2008 and 2010, while the areas were small and mainly distributed at the periphery of open-pit stope and waste dump. Duration of disturbance was mainly 1 year. The duration of stable period usually sustained 7 years. The duration of recovery state of the type of stabilization between disturbances continued 2 to 5 years, while the type of recovery after disturbance often sustained 8 years.

Method and Apparatus for Generating Flight-Optimizing Trajectories

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ballin, Mark G. (Inventor); Wing, David J. (Inventor)

2015-01-01

An apparatus for generating flight-optimizing trajectories for a first aircraft includes a receiver capable of receiving second trajectory information associated with at least one second aircraft. The apparatus also includes a traffic aware planner (TAP) module operably connected to the receiver to receive the second trajectory information. The apparatus also includes at least one internal input device on board the first aircraft to receive first trajectory information associated with the first aircraft and a TAP application capable of calculating an optimal trajectory for the first aircraft based at least on the first trajectory information and the second trajectory information. The optimal trajectory at least avoids conflicts between the first trajectory information and the second trajectory information.

Self-calibrated multiple-echo acquisition with radial trajectories using the conjugate gradient method (SMART-CG).

PubMed

Jung, Youngkyoo; Samsonov, Alexey A; Bydder, Mark; Block, Walter F

2011-04-01

To remove phase inconsistencies between multiple echoes, an algorithm using a radial acquisition to provide inherent phase and magnitude information for self correction was developed. The information also allows simultaneous support for parallel imaging for multiple coil acquisitions. Without a separate field map acquisition, a phase estimate from each echo in multiple echo train was generated. When using a multiple channel coil, magnitude and phase estimates from each echo provide in vivo coil sensitivities. An algorithm based on the conjugate gradient method uses these estimates to simultaneously remove phase inconsistencies between echoes, and in the case of multiple coil acquisition, simultaneously provides parallel imaging benefits. The algorithm is demonstrated on single channel, multiple channel, and undersampled data. Substantial image quality improvements were demonstrated. Signal dropouts were completely removed and undersampling artifacts were well suppressed. The suggested algorithm is able to remove phase cancellation and undersampling artifacts simultaneously and to improve image quality of multiecho radial imaging, the important technique for fast three-dimensional MRI data acquisition. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Self-calibrated Multiple-echo Acquisition with Radial Trajectories using the Conjugate Gradient Method (SMART-CG)

PubMed Central

Jung, Youngkyoo; Samsonov, Alexey A; Bydder, Mark; Block, Walter F.

2011-01-01

Purpose To remove phase inconsistencies between multiple echoes, an algorithm using a radial acquisition to provide inherent phase and magnitude information for self correction was developed. The information also allows simultaneous support for parallel imaging for multiple coil acquisitions. Materials and Methods Without a separate field map acquisition, a phase estimate from each echo in multiple echo train was generated. When using a multiple channel coil, magnitude and phase estimates from each echo provide in-vivo coil sensitivities. An algorithm based on the conjugate gradient method uses these estimates to simultaneously remove phase inconsistencies between echoes, and in the case of multiple coil acquisition, simultaneously provides parallel imaging benefits. The algorithm is demonstrated on single channel, multiple channel, and undersampled data. Results Substantial image quality improvements were demonstrated. Signal dropouts were completely removed and undersampling artifacts were well suppressed. Conclusion The suggested algorithm is able to remove phase cancellation and undersampling artifacts simultaneously and to improve image quality of multiecho radial imaging, the important technique for fast 3D MRI data acquisition. PMID:21448967

Flash trajectory imaging of target 3D motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xinwei; Zhou, Yan; Fan, Songtao; He, Jun; Liu, Yuliang

2011-03-01

We present a flash trajectory imaging technique which can directly obtain target trajectory and realize non-contact measurement of motion parameters by range-gated imaging and time delay integration. Range-gated imaging gives the range of targets and realizes silhouette detection which can directly extract targets from complex background and decrease the complexity of moving target image processing. Time delay integration increases information of one single frame of image so that one can directly gain the moving trajectory. In this paper, we have studied the algorithm about flash trajectory imaging and performed initial experiments which successfully obtained the trajectory of a falling badminton. Our research demonstrates that flash trajectory imaging is an effective approach to imaging target trajectory and can give motion parameters of moving targets.

Conversion and control of an all-terrain vehicle for use as an autonomous mobile robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacob, John S.; Gunderson, Robert W.; Fullmer, R. R.

1998-08-01

A systematic approach to ground vehicle automation is presented, combining low-level controls, trajectory generation and closed-loop path correction in an integrated system. Development of cooperative robotics for precision agriculture at Utah State University required the automation of a full-scale motorized vehicle. The Triton Predator 8- wheeled skid-steering all-terrain vehicle was selected for the project based on its ability to maneuver precisely and the simplicity of controlling the hydrostatic drivetrain. Low-level control was achieved by fitting an actuator on the engine throttle, actuators for the left and right drive controls, encoders on the left and right drive shafts to measure wheel speeds, and a signal pick-off on the alternator for measuring engine speed. Closed loop control maintains a desired engine speed and tracks left and right wheel speeds commands. A trajectory generator produces the wheel speed commands needed to steer the vehicle through a predetermined set of map coordinates. A planar trajectory through the points is computed by fitting a 2D cubic spline over each path segment while enforcing initial and final orientation constraints at segment endpoints. Acceleration and velocity profiles are computed for each trajectory segment, with the velocity over each segment dependent on turning radius. Left and right wheel speed setpoints are obtained by combining velocity and path curvature for each low-level timestep. The path correction algorithm uses GPS position and compass orientation information to adjust the wheel speed setpoints according to the 'crosstrack' and 'downtrack' errors and heading error. Nonlinear models of the engine and the skid-steering vehicle/ground interaction were developed for testing the integrated system in simulation. These test lead to several key design improvements which assisted final implementation on the vehicle.

PTM Along Track Algorithm to Maintain Spacing During Same Direction Pair-Wise Trajectory Management Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carreno, Victor A.

2015-01-01

Pair-wise Trajectory Management (PTM) is a cockpit based delegated responsibility separation standard. When an air traffic service provider gives a PTM clearance to an aircraft and the flight crew accepts the clearance, the flight crew will maintain spacing and separation from a designated aircraft. A PTM along track algorithm will receive state information from the designated aircraft and from the own ship to produce speed guidance for the flight crew to maintain spacing and separation

Cone-beam reconstruction for the two-circles-plus-one-line trajectory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Yanbin; Yang, Jiansheng; Emerson, John W.; Mao, Heng; Zhou, Tie; Si, Yuanzheng; Jiang, Ming

2012-05-01

The Kodak Image Station In-Vivo FX has an x-ray module with cone-beam configuration for radiographic imaging but lacks the functionality of tomography. To introduce x-ray tomography into the system, we choose the two-circles-plus-one-line trajectory by mounting one translation motor and one rotation motor. We establish a reconstruction algorithm by applying the M-line reconstruction method. Numerical studies and preliminary physical phantom experiment demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed design and reconstruction algorithm.

Real-time trajectory optimization on parallel processors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Psiaki, Mark L.

1993-01-01

A parallel algorithm has been developed for rapidly solving trajectory optimization problems. The goal of the work has been to develop an algorithm that is suitable to do real-time, on-line optimal guidance through repeated solution of a trajectory optimization problem. The algorithm has been developed on an INTEL iPSC/860 message passing parallel processor. It uses a zero-order-hold discretization of a continuous-time problem and solves the resulting nonlinear programming problem using a custom-designed augmented Lagrangian nonlinear programming algorithm. The algorithm achieves parallelism of function, derivative, and search direction calculations through the principle of domain decomposition applied along the time axis. It has been encoded and tested on 3 example problems, the Goddard problem, the acceleration-limited, planar minimum-time to the origin problem, and a National Aerospace Plane minimum-fuel ascent guidance problem. Execution times as fast as 118 sec of wall clock time have been achieved for a 128-stage Goddard problem solved on 32 processors. A 32-stage minimum-time problem has been solved in 151 sec on 32 processors. A 32-stage National Aerospace Plane problem required 2 hours when solved on 32 processors. A speed-up factor of 7.2 has been achieved by using 32-nodes instead of 1-node to solve a 64-stage Goddard problem.

Multiresolution strategies for the numerical solution of optimal control problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jain, Sachin

There exist many numerical techniques for solving optimal control problems but less work has been done in the field of making these algorithms run faster and more robustly. The main motivation of this work is to solve optimal control problems accurately in a fast and efficient way. Optimal control problems are often characterized by discontinuities or switchings in the control variables. One way of accurately capturing the irregularities in the solution is to use a high resolution (dense) uniform grid. This requires a large amount of computational resources both in terms of CPU time and memory. Hence, in order to accurately capture any irregularities in the solution using a few computational resources, one can refine the mesh locally in the region close to an irregularity instead of refining the mesh uniformly over the whole domain. Therefore, a novel multiresolution scheme for data compression has been designed which is shown to outperform similar data compression schemes. Specifically, we have shown that the proposed approach results in fewer grid points in the grid compared to a common multiresolution data compression scheme. The validity of the proposed mesh refinement algorithm has been verified by solving several challenging initial-boundary value problems for evolution equations in 1D. The examples have demonstrated the stability and robustness of the proposed algorithm. The algorithm adapted dynamically to any existing or emerging irregularities in the solution by automatically allocating more grid points to the region where the solution exhibited sharp features and fewer points to the region where the solution was smooth. Thereby, the computational time and memory usage has been reduced significantly, while maintaining an accuracy equivalent to the one obtained using a fine uniform mesh. Next, a direct multiresolution-based approach for solving trajectory optimization problems is developed. The original optimal control problem is transcribed into a nonlinear programming (NLP) problem that is solved using standard NLP codes. The novelty of the proposed approach hinges on the automatic calculation of a suitable, nonuniform grid over which the NLP problem is solved, which tends to increase numerical efficiency and robustness. Control and/or state constraints are handled with ease, and without any additional computational complexity. The proposed algorithm is based on a simple and intuitive method to balance several conflicting objectives, such as accuracy of the solution, convergence, and speed of the computations. The benefits of the proposed algorithm over uniform grid implementations are demonstrated with the help of several nontrivial examples. Furthermore, two sequential multiresolution trajectory optimization algorithms for solving problems with moving targets and/or dynamically changing environments have been developed. For such problems, high accuracy is desirable only in the immediate future, yet the ultimate mission objectives should be accommodated as well. An intelligent trajectory generation for such situations is thus enabled by introducing the idea of multigrid temporal resolution to solve the associated trajectory optimization problem on a non-uniform grid across time that is adapted to: (i) immediate future, and (ii) potential discontinuities in the state and control variables.

Post-processing interstitialcy diffusion from molecular dynamics simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhardwaj, U.; Bukkuru, S.; Warrier, M.

2016-01-01

An algorithm to rigorously trace the interstitialcy diffusion trajectory in crystals is developed. The algorithm incorporates unsupervised learning and graph optimization which obviate the need to input extra domain specific information depending on crystal or temperature of the simulation. The algorithm is implemented in a flexible framework as a post-processor to molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. We describe in detail the reduction of interstitialcy diffusion into known computational problems of unsupervised clustering and graph optimization. We also discuss the steps, computational efficiency and key components of the algorithm. Using the algorithm, thermal interstitialcy diffusion from low to near-melting point temperatures is studied. We encapsulate the algorithms in a modular framework with functionality to calculate diffusion coefficients, migration energies and other trajectory properties. The study validates the algorithm by establishing the conformity of output parameters with experimental values and provides detailed insights for the interstitialcy diffusion mechanism. The algorithm along with the help of supporting visualizations and analysis gives convincing details and a new approach to quantifying diffusion jumps, jump-lengths, time between jumps and to identify interstitials from lattice atoms.

Post-processing interstitialcy diffusion from molecular dynamics simulations

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

Bhardwaj, U., E-mail: haptork@gmail.com; Bukkuru, S.; Warrier, M.

2016-01-15

An algorithm to rigorously trace the interstitialcy diffusion trajectory in crystals is developed. The algorithm incorporates unsupervised learning and graph optimization which obviate the need to input extra domain specific information depending on crystal or temperature of the simulation. The algorithm is implemented in a flexible framework as a post-processor to molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. We describe in detail the reduction of interstitialcy diffusion into known computational problems of unsupervised clustering and graph optimization. We also discuss the steps, computational efficiency and key components of the algorithm. Using the algorithm, thermal interstitialcy diffusion from low to near-melting point temperatures ismore » studied. We encapsulate the algorithms in a modular framework with functionality to calculate diffusion coefficients, migration energies and other trajectory properties. The study validates the algorithm by establishing the conformity of output parameters with experimental values and provides detailed insights for the interstitialcy diffusion mechanism. The algorithm along with the help of supporting visualizations and analysis gives convincing details and a new approach to quantifying diffusion jumps, jump-lengths, time between jumps and to identify interstitials from lattice atoms. -- Graphical abstract:.« less

Coupled Inertial Navigation and Flush Air Data Sensing Algorithm for Atmosphere Estimation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Karlgaard, Christopher D.; Kutty, Prasad; Schoenenberger, Mark

2015-01-01

This paper describes an algorithm for atmospheric state estimation that is based on a coupling between inertial navigation and flush air data sensing pressure measurements. In this approach, the full navigation state is used in the atmospheric estimation algorithm along with the pressure measurements and a model of the surface pressure distribution to directly estimate atmospheric winds and density using a nonlinear weighted least-squares algorithm. The approach uses a high fidelity model of atmosphere stored in table-look-up form, along with simplified models of that are propagated along the trajectory within the algorithm to provide prior estimates and covariances to aid the air data state solution. Thus, the method is essentially a reduced-order Kalman filter in which the inertial states are taken from the navigation solution and atmospheric states are estimated in the filter. The algorithm is applied to data from the Mars Science Laboratory entry, descent, and landing from August 2012. Reasonable estimates of the atmosphere and winds are produced by the algorithm. The observability of winds along the trajectory are examined using an index based on the discrete-time observability Gramian and the pressure measurement sensitivity matrix. The results indicate that bank reversals are responsible for adding information content to the system. The algorithm is then applied to the design of the pressure measurement system for the Mars 2020 mission. The pressure port layout is optimized to maximize the observability of atmospheric states along the trajectory. Linear covariance analysis is performed to assess estimator performance for a given pressure measurement uncertainty. The results indicate that the new tightly-coupled estimator can produce enhanced estimates of atmospheric states when compared with existing algorithms.

CPG-inspired workspace trajectory generation and adaptive locomotion control for quadruped robots.

PubMed

Liu, Chengju; Chen, Qijun; Wang, Danwei

2011-06-01

This paper deals with the locomotion control of quadruped robots inspired by the biological concept of central pattern generator (CPG). A control architecture is proposed with a 3-D workspace trajectory generator and a motion engine. The workspace trajectory generator generates adaptive workspace trajectories based on CPGs, and the motion engine realizes joint motion imputes. The proposed architecture is able to generate adaptive workspace trajectories online by tuning the parameters of the CPG network to adapt to various terrains. With feedback information, a quadruped robot can walk through various terrains with adaptive joint control signals. A quadruped platform AIBO is used to validate the proposed locomotion control system. The experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed control architecture. A comparison by experiments shows the superiority of the proposed method against the traditional CPG-joint-space control method.

Power system observability and dynamic state estimation for stability monitoring using synchrophasor measurements

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

Sun, Kai; Qi, Junjian; Kang, Wei

2016-08-01

Growing penetration of intermittent resources such as renewable generations increases the risk of instability in a power grid. This paper introduces the concept of observability and its computational algorithms for a power grid monitored by the wide-area measurement system (WAMS) based on synchrophasors, e.g. phasor measurement units (PMUs). The goal is to estimate real-time states of generators, especially for potentially unstable trajectories, the information that is critical for the detection of rotor angle instability of the grid. The paper studies the number and siting of synchrophasors in a power grid so that the state of the system can be accuratelymore » estimated in the presence of instability. An unscented Kalman filter (UKF) is adopted as a tool to estimate the dynamic states that are not directly measured by synchrophasors. The theory and its computational algorithms are illustrated in detail by using a 9-bus 3-generator power system model and then tested on a 140-bus 48-generator Northeast Power Coordinating Council power grid model. Case studies on those two systems demonstrate the performance of the proposed approach using a limited number of synchrophasors for dynamic state estimation for stability assessment and its robustness against moderate inaccuracies in model parameters.« less

A complete system for 3D reconstruction of roots for phenotypic analysis.

PubMed

Kumar, Pankaj; Cai, Jinhai; Miklavcic, Stanley J

2015-01-01

Here we present a complete system for 3D reconstruction of roots grown in a transparent gel medium or washed and suspended in water. The system is capable of being fully automated as it is self calibrating. The system starts with detection of root tips in root images from an image sequence generated by a turntable motion. Root tips are detected using the statistics of Zernike moments on image patches centred on high curvature points on root boundary and Bayes classification rule. The detected root tips are tracked in the image sequence using a multi-target tracking algorithm. Conics are fitted to the root tip trajectories using a novel ellipse fitting algorithm which weighs the data points by its eccentricity. The conics projected from the circular trajectory have a complex conjugate intersection which are image of the circular points. Circular points constraint the image of the absolute conics which are directly related to the internal parameters of the camera. The pose of the camera is computed from the image of the rotation axis and the horizon. The silhouettes of the roots and camera parameters are used to reconstruction the 3D voxel model of the roots. We show the results of real 3D reconstruction of roots which are detailed and realistic for phenotypic analysis.

Measuring Similarity between Calculated Paleomagnetic APWPs and the Fixed Hotspot Model Predicted APWP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, C.; Rowan, C. J.; Ye, X.

2015-12-01

Discussions about the spatiotemporal patterns and trends of apparent polar wander paths (APWPs) have focused on comparisons between different tectonic plates in order to look for clues that indicate they were part of the same supercontinent (e.g. Besse and Courtillot, 2002; Torsvik et al., 2008; Geuna et al., 2010; Domeier et al., 2011). However, before making these further advanced comparisons, we determined that the robustness of different algorithms that generate APWPs for an individual tectonic plate should be tested. This actually becomes a trajectory similarity measuring problem. The reference trajectory we chose is the Fixed Hotspot Model (Müller et al., 1993; Müller et al., 1999) predicted APWP, which is a known dataset. The subjects of comparison are the 60 paleomagnetic APWPs, which are produced using 60 algorithms (with more to come in the future) developed in this paper. These algorithms are based on different moving average methods, and also different weighting methods since not all paleomagnetic data are equal in quality. The data (from Global Paleomagnetic Database 4.6b) analyzed includes not only spatial (paleomagnetic pole longitude, latitude) and temporal (magnetic age) information, but also their errors (position error, age error, etc.). The question is what is the best way to turn a collection of individual poles, with different age constraints and uncertainties, into a smoothed APW path. Our goal is to get a reliable result, i.e. a path generated to approximate the "real" APWP with appropriate uncertainties. The result may help select the best APWP construction algorithm(s). As preliminary studies, the cratons of North America (PlateID 101; from Fig. 1 we actually can identify the general trend of its APWP), Australia (801) and India (501) are chosen as research objects to develop techniques we want to think about. First, the great circle distance between two poles (spatial) of the same age (temporal) respectively from the reference APWP and one paleomagnetic APWP is measured. The approach being developed to analyze the robustness of the smoothed and weighted APWPs, when compared with the predicted tectonic motion from seafloor spreading and hotspot data, is Monte Carlo simulation. This work is also relevant for comparing APWPs from different continents in future work.

Attitude Determination Algorithm based on Relative Quaternion Geometry of Velocity Incremental Vectors for Cost Efficient AHRS Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Byungjin; Lee, Young Jae; Sung, Sangkyung

2018-05-01

A novel attitude determination method is investigated that is computationally efficient and implementable in low cost sensor and embedded platform. Recent result on attitude reference system design is adapted to further develop a three-dimensional attitude determination algorithm through the relative velocity incremental measurements. For this, velocity incremental vectors, computed respectively from INS and GPS with different update rate, are compared to generate filter measurement for attitude estimation. In the quaternion-based Kalman filter configuration, an Euler-like attitude perturbation angle is uniquely introduced for reducing filter states and simplifying propagation processes. Furthermore, assuming a small angle approximation between attitude update periods, it is shown that the reduced order filter greatly simplifies the propagation processes. For performance verification, both simulation and experimental studies are completed. A low cost MEMS IMU and GPS receiver are employed for system integration, and comparison with the true trajectory or a high-grade navigation system demonstrates the performance of the proposed algorithm.

Implementation of a Low-Thrust Trajectory Optimization Algorithm for Preliminary Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sims, Jon A.; Finlayson, Paul A.; Rinderle, Edward A.; Vavrina, Matthew A.; Kowalkowski, Theresa D.

2006-01-01

A tool developed for the preliminary design of low-thrust trajectories is described. The trajectory is discretized into segments and a nonlinear programming method is used for optimization. The tool is easy to use, has robust convergence, and can handle many intermediate encounters. In addition, the tool has a wide variety of features, including several options for objective function and different low-thrust propulsion models (e.g., solar electric propulsion, nuclear electric propulsion, and solar sail). High-thrust, impulsive trajectories can also be optimized.

ANALYTiC: An Active Learning System for Trajectory Classification.

PubMed

Soares Junior, Amilcar; Renso, Chiara; Matwin, Stan

2017-01-01

The increasing availability and use of positioning devices has resulted in large volumes of trajectory data. However, semantic annotations for such data are typically added by domain experts, which is a time-consuming task. Machine-learning algorithms can help infer semantic annotations from trajectory data by learning from sets of labeled data. Specifically, active learning approaches can minimize the set of trajectories to be annotated while preserving good performance measures. The ANALYTiC web-based interactive tool visually guides users through this annotation process.

Clustering molecular dynamics trajectories for optimizing docking experiments.

PubMed

De Paris, Renata; Quevedo, Christian V; Ruiz, Duncan D; Norberto de Souza, Osmar; Barros, Rodrigo C

2015-01-01

Molecular dynamics simulations of protein receptors have become an attractive tool for rational drug discovery. However, the high computational cost of employing molecular dynamics trajectories in virtual screening of large repositories threats the feasibility of this task. Computational intelligence techniques have been applied in this context, with the ultimate goal of reducing the overall computational cost so the task can become feasible. Particularly, clustering algorithms have been widely used as a means to reduce the dimensionality of molecular dynamics trajectories. In this paper, we develop a novel methodology for clustering entire trajectories using structural features from the substrate-binding cavity of the receptor in order to optimize docking experiments on a cloud-based environment. The resulting partition was selected based on three clustering validity criteria, and it was further validated by analyzing the interactions between 20 ligands and a fully flexible receptor (FFR) model containing a 20 ns molecular dynamics simulation trajectory. Our proposed methodology shows that taking into account features of the substrate-binding cavity as input for the k-means algorithm is a promising technique for accurately selecting ensembles of representative structures tailored to a specific ligand.

A Comparison of Two Skip Entry Guidance Algorithms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rea, Jeremy R.; Putnam, Zachary R.

2007-01-01

The Orion capsule vehicle will have a Lift-to-Drag ratio (L/D) of 0.3-0.35. For an Apollo-like direct entry into the Earth's atmosphere from a lunar return trajectory, this L/D will give the vehicle a maximum range of about 2500 nm and a maximum crossrange of 216 nm. In order to y longer ranges, the vehicle lift must be used to loft the trajectory such that the aerodynamic forces are decreased. A Skip-Trajectory results if the vehicle leaves the sensible atmosphere and a second entry occurs downrange of the atmospheric exit point. The Orion capsule is required to have landing site access (either on land or in water) inside the Continental United States (CONUS) for lunar returns anytime during the lunar month. This requirement means the vehicle must be capable of flying ranges of at least 5500 nm. For the L/D of the vehicle, this is only possible with the use of a guided Skip-Trajectory. A skip entry guidance algorithm is necessary to achieve this requirement. Two skip entry guidance algorithms have been developed: the Numerical Skip Entry Guidance (NSEG) algorithm was developed at NASA/JSC and PredGuid was developed at Draper Laboratory. A comparison of these two algorithms will be presented in this paper. Each algorithm has been implemented in a high-fidelity, 6 degree-of-freedom simulation called the Advanced NASA Technology Architecture for Exploration Studies (ANTARES). NASA and Draper engineers have completed several monte carlo analyses in order to compare the performance of each algorithm in various stress states. Each algorithm has been tested for entry-to-target ranges to include direct entries and skip entries of varying length. Dispersions have been included on the initial entry interface state, vehicle mass properties, vehicle aerodynamics, atmosphere, and Reaction Control System (RCS). Performance criteria include miss distance to the target, RCS fuel usage, maximum g-loads and heat rates for the first and second entry, total heat load, and control system saturation. The comparison of the performance criteria has led to a down select and guidance merger that will take the best ideas from each algorithm to create one skip entry guidance algorithm for the Orion vehicle.

Dynamic whole-body robotic manipulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abe, Yeuhi; Stephens, Benjamin; Murphy, Michael P.; Rizzi, Alfred A.

2013-05-01

The creation of dynamic manipulation behaviors for high degree of freedom, mobile robots will allow them to accomplish increasingly difficult tasks in the field. We are investigating how the coordinated use of the body, legs, and integrated manipulator, on a mobile robot, can improve the strength, velocity, and workspace when handling heavy objects. We envision that such a capability would aid in a search and rescue scenario when clearing obstacles from a path or searching a rubble pile quickly. Manipulating heavy objects is especially challenging because the dynamic forces are high and a legged system must coordinate all its degrees of freedom to accomplish tasks while maintaining balance. To accomplish these types of manipulation tasks, we use trajectory optimization techniques to generate feasible open-loop behaviors for our 28 dof quadruped robot (BigDog) by planning trajectories in a 13 dimensional space. We apply the Covariance Matrix Adaptation (CMA) algorithm to solve for trajectories that optimize task performance while also obeying important constraints such as torque and velocity limits, kinematic limits, and center of pressure location. These open-loop behaviors are then used to generate desired feed-forward body forces and foot step locations, which enable tracking on the robot. Some hardware results for cinderblock throwing are demonstrated on the BigDog quadruped platform augmented with a human-arm-like manipulator. The results are analogous to how a human athlete maximizes distance in the discus event by performing a precise sequence of choreographed steps.

TOPTRAC: Topical Trajectory Pattern Mining

PubMed Central

Kim, Younghoon; Han, Jiawei; Yuan, Cangzhou

2015-01-01

With the increasing use of GPS-enabled mobile phones, geo-tagging, which refers to adding GPS information to media such as micro-blogging messages or photos, has seen a surge in popularity recently. This enables us to not only browse information based on locations, but also discover patterns in the location-based behaviors of users. Many techniques have been developed to find the patterns of people's movements using GPS data, but latent topics in text messages posted with local contexts have not been utilized effectively. In this paper, we present a latent topic-based clustering algorithm to discover patterns in the trajectories of geo-tagged text messages. We propose a novel probabilistic model to capture the semantic regions where people post messages with a coherent topic as well as the patterns of movement between the semantic regions. Based on the model, we develop an efficient inference algorithm to calculate model parameters. By exploiting the estimated model, we next devise a clustering algorithm to find the significant movement patterns that appear frequently in data. Our experiments on real-life data sets show that the proposed algorithm finds diverse and interesting trajectory patterns and identifies the semantic regions in a finer granularity than the traditional geographical clustering methods. PMID:26709365

A hybrid systems strategy for automated spacecraft tour design and optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stuart, Jeffrey R.

As the number of operational spacecraft increases, autonomous operations is rapidly evolving into a critical necessity. Additionally, the capability to rapidly generate baseline trajectories greatly expands the range of options available to analysts as they explore the design space to meet mission demands. Thus, a general strategy is developed, one that is suitable for the construction of flight plans for both Earth-based and interplanetary spacecraft that encounter multiple objects, where these multiple encounters comprise a ``tour''. The proposed scheme is flexible in implementation and can readily be adjusted to a variety of mission architectures. Heuristic algorithms that autonomously generate baseline tour trajectories and, when appropriate, adjust reference solutions in the presence of rapidly changing environments are investigated. Furthermore, relative priorities for ranking the targets are explicitly accommodated during the construction of potential tour sequences. As a consequence, a priori, as well as newly acquired, knowledge concerning the target objects enhances the potential value of the ultimate encounter sequences. A variety of transfer options are incorporated, from rendezvous arcs enabled by low-thrust engines to more conventional impulsive orbit adjustments via chemical propulsion technologies. When advantageous, trajectories are optimized in terms of propellant consumption via a combination of indirect and direct methods; such a combination of available technologies is an example of hybrid optimization. Additionally, elements of hybrid systems theory, i.e., the blending of dynamical states, some discrete and some continuous, are integrated into the high-level tour generation scheme. For a preliminary investigation, this strategy is applied to mission design scenarios for a Sun-Jupiter Trojan asteroid tour as well as orbital debris removal for near-Earth applications.

Computer coordination of limb motion for a three-legged walking robot

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klein, C. A.; Patterson, M. R.

1980-01-01

Coordination of the limb motion of a vehicle which could perform assembly and maintenance operations on large structures in space is described. Manipulator kinematics and walking robots are described. The basic control scheme of the robot is described. The control of the individual arms are described. Arm velocities are generally described in Cartesian coordinates. Cartesian velocities are converted to joint velocities using the Jacobian matrix. The calculation of a trajectory for an arm given a sequence of points through which it is to pass is described. The free gait algorithm which controls the lifting and placing of legs for the robot is described. The generation of commanded velocities for the robot, and the implementation of those velocities by the algorithm are discussed. Suggestions for further work in the area of robot legged locomotion are presented.

Real-time maneuver optimization of space-based robots in a dynamic environment: Theory and on-orbit experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chamitoff, Gregory E.; Saenz-Otero, Alvar; Katz, Jacob G.; Ulrich, Steve; Morrell, Benjamin J.; Gibbens, Peter W.

2018-01-01

This paper presents the development of a real-time path-planning optimization approach to controlling the motion of space-based robots. The algorithm is capable of planning three dimensional trajectories for a robot to navigate within complex surroundings that include numerous static and dynamic obstacles, path constraints and performance limitations. The methodology employs a unique transformation that enables rapid generation of feasible solutions for complex geometries, making it suitable for application to real-time operations and dynamic environments. This strategy was implemented on the Synchronized Position Hold Engage Reorient Experimental Satellite (SPHERES) test-bed on the International Space Station (ISS), and experimental testing was conducted onboard the ISS during Expedition 17 by the first author. Lessons learned from the on-orbit tests were used to further refine the algorithm for future implementations.

Sensor placement on Canton Tower for health monitoring using asynchronous-climb monkey algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yi, Ting-Hua; Li, Hong-Nan; Zhang, Xu-Dong

2012-12-01

Heuristic optimization algorithms have become a popular choice for solving complex and intricate sensor placement problems which are difficult to solve by traditional methods. This paper proposes a novel and interesting methodology called the asynchronous-climb monkey algorithm (AMA) for the optimum design of sensor arrays for a structural health monitoring system. Different from the existing algorithms, the dual-structure coding method is designed and adopted for the representation of the design variables. The asynchronous-climb process is incorporated in the proposed AMA that can adjust the trajectory of each individual dynamically in the search space according to its own experience and other monkeys. The concept of ‘monkey king’ is introduced in the AMA, which reflects the Darwinian principle of natural selection and can create an interaction network to correctly guide the movement of other monkeys. Numerical experiments are carried out using two different objective functions by considering the Canton Tower in China with or without the antenna mast to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm. Investigations have indicated that the proposed AMA exhibits faster convergence characteristics and can generate sensor configurations superior in all instances when compared to the conventional monkey algorithm. For structures with stiffness mutation such as the Canton Tower, the sensor placement needs to be considered for each part separately.

On-Board Event-Based State Estimation for Trajectory Approaching and Tracking of a Vehicle

PubMed Central

Martínez-Rey, Miguel; Espinosa, Felipe; Gardel, Alfredo; Santos, Carlos

2015-01-01

For the problem of pose estimation of an autonomous vehicle using networked external sensors, the processing capacity and battery consumption of these sensors, as well as the communication channel load should be optimized. Here, we report an event-based state estimator (EBSE) consisting of an unscented Kalman filter that uses a triggering mechanism based on the estimation error covariance matrix to request measurements from the external sensors. This EBSE generates the events of the estimator module on-board the vehicle and, thus, allows the sensors to remain in stand-by mode until an event is generated. The proposed algorithm requests a measurement every time the estimation distance root mean squared error (DRMS) value, obtained from the estimator's covariance matrix, exceeds a threshold value. This triggering threshold can be adapted to the vehicle's working conditions rendering the estimator even more efficient. An example of the use of the proposed EBSE is given, where the autonomous vehicle must approach and follow a reference trajectory. By making the threshold a function of the distance to the reference location, the estimator can halve the use of the sensors with a negligible deterioration in the performance of the approaching maneuver. PMID:26102489

Particle Swarm Optimization of Low-Thrust, Geocentric-to-Halo-Orbit Transfers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abraham, Andrew J.

Missions to Lagrange points are becoming increasingly popular amongst spacecraft mission planners. Lagrange points are locations in space where the gravity force from two bodies, and the centrifugal force acting on a third body, cancel. To date, all spacecraft that have visited a Lagrange point have done so using high-thrust, chemical propulsion. Due to the increasing availability of low-thrust (high efficiency) propulsive devices, and their increasing capability in terms of fuel efficiency and instantaneous thrust, it has now become possible for a spacecraft to reach a Lagrange point orbit without the aid of chemical propellant. While at any given time there are many paths for a low-thrust trajectory to take, only one is optimal. The traditional approach to spacecraft trajectory optimization utilizes some form of gradient-based algorithm. While these algorithms offer numerous advantages, they also have a few significant shortcomings. The three most significant shortcomings are: (1) the fact that an initial guess solution is required to initialize the algorithm, (2) the radius of convergence can be quite small and can allow the algorithm to become trapped in local minima, and (3) gradient information is not always assessable nor always trustworthy for a given problem. To avoid these problems, this dissertation is focused on optimizing a low-thrust transfer trajectory from a geocentric orbit to an Earth-Moon, L1, Lagrange point orbit using the method of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). The PSO method is an evolutionary heuristic that was originally written to model birds swarming to locate hidden food sources. This PSO method will enable the exploration of the invariant stable manifold of the target Lagrange point orbit in an effort to optimize the spacecraft's low-thrust trajectory. Examples of these optimized trajectories are presented and contrasted with those found using traditional, gradient-based approaches. In summary, the results of this dissertation find that the PSO method does, indeed, successfully optimize the low-thrust trajectory transfer problem without the need for initial guessing. Furthermore, a two-degree-of-freedom PSO problem formulation significantly outperformed a one-degree-of-freedom formulation by at least an order of magnitude, in terms of CPU time. Finally, the PSO method is also used to solve a traditional, two-burn, impulsive transfer to a Lagrange point orbit using a hybrid optimization algorithm that incorporates a gradient-based shooting algorithm as a pre-optimizer. Surprisingly, the results of this study show that "fast" transfers outperform "slow" transfers in terms of both Deltav and time of flight.

Random walks of colloidal probes in viscoelastic materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, Manas; Mason, Thomas G.

2014-04-01

To overcome limitations of using a single fixed time step in random walk simulations, such as those that rely on the classic Wiener approach, we have developed an algorithm for exploring random walks based on random temporal steps that are uniformly distributed in logarithmic time. This improvement enables us to generate random-walk trajectories of probe particles that span a highly extended dynamic range in time, thereby facilitating the exploration of probe motion in soft viscoelastic materials. By combining this faster approach with a Maxwell-Voigt model (MVM) of linear viscoelasticity, based on a slowly diffusing harmonically bound Brownian particle, we rapidly create trajectories of spherical probes in soft viscoelastic materials over more than 12 orders of magnitude in time. Appropriate windowing of these trajectories over different time intervals demonstrates that random walk for the MVM is neither self-similar nor self-affine, even if the viscoelastic material is isotropic. We extend this approach to spatially anisotropic viscoelastic materials, using binning to calculate the anisotropic mean square displacements and creep compliances along different orthogonal directions. The elimination of a fixed time step in simulations of random processes, including random walks, opens up interesting possibilities for modeling dynamics and response over a highly extended temporal dynamic range.

A Kinect™ camera based navigation system for percutaneous abdominal puncture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Deqiang; Luo, Huoling; Jia, Fucang; Zhang, Yanfang; Li, Yong; Guo, Xuejun; Cai, Wei; Fang, Chihua; Fan, Yingfang; Zheng, Huimin; Hu, Qingmao

2016-08-01

Percutaneous abdominal puncture is a popular interventional method for the management of abdominal tumors. Image-guided puncture can help interventional radiologists improve targeting accuracy. The second generation of Kinect™ was released recently, we developed an optical navigation system to investigate its feasibility for guiding percutaneous abdominal puncture, and compare its performance on needle insertion guidance with that of the first-generation Kinect™. For physical-to-image registration in this system, two surfaces extracted from preoperative CT and intraoperative Kinect™ depth images were matched using an iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm. A 2D shape image-based correspondence searching algorithm was proposed for generating a close initial position before ICP matching. Evaluation experiments were conducted on an abdominal phantom and six beagles in vivo. For phantom study, a two-factor experiment was designed to evaluate the effect of the operator’s skill and trajectory on target positioning error (TPE). A total of 36 needle punctures were tested on a Kinect™ for Windows version 2 (Kinect™ V2). The target registration error (TRE), user error, and TPE are 4.26  ±  1.94 mm, 2.92  ±  1.67 mm, and 5.23  ±  2.29 mm, respectively. No statistically significant differences in TPE regarding operator’s skill and trajectory are observed. Additionally, a Kinect™ for Windows version 1 (Kinect™ V1) was tested with 12 insertions, and the TRE evaluated with the Kinect™ V1 is statistically significantly larger than that with the Kinect™ V2. For the animal experiment, fifteen artificial liver tumors were inserted guided by the navigation system. The TPE was evaluated as 6.40  ±  2.72 mm, and its lateral and longitudinal component were 4.30  ±  2.51 mm and 3.80  ±  3.11 mm, respectively. This study demonstrates that the navigation accuracy of the proposed system is acceptable, and that the second generation Kinect™-based navigation is superior to the first-generation Kinect™, and has potential of clinical application in percutaneous abdominal puncture.

SU-G-JeP1-12: Head-To-Head Performance Characterization of Two Multileaf Collimator Tracking Algorithms for Radiotherapy

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

Caillet, V; Colvill, E; Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards, Sydney

2016-06-15

Purpose: Multi-leaf collimator (MLC) tracking is being clinically pioneered to continuously compensate for thoracic and abdominal motion during radiotherapy. The purpose of this work is to characterize the performance of two MLC tracking algorithms for cancer radiotherapy, based on a direct optimization and a piecewise leaf fitting approach respectively. Methods: To test the algorithms, both physical and in silico experiments were performed. Previously published high and low modulation VMAT plans for lung and prostate cancer cases were used along with eight patient-measured organ-specific trajectories. For both MLC tracking algorithm, the plans were run with their corresponding patient trajectories. The physicalmore » experiments were performed on a Trilogy Varian linac and a programmable phantom (HexaMotion platform). For each MLC tracking algorithm, plan and patient trajectory, the tracking accuracy was quantified as the difference in aperture area between ideal and fitted MLC. To compare algorithms, the average cumulative tracking error area for each experiment was calculated. The two-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) test was used to evaluate the cumulative tracking errors between algorithms. Results: Comparison of tracking errors for the physical and in silico experiments showed minor differences between the two algorithms. The KS D-statistics for the physical experiments were below 0.05 denoting no significant differences between the two distributions pattern and the average error area (direct optimization/piecewise leaf-fitting) were comparable (66.64 cm2/65.65 cm2). For the in silico experiments, the KS D-statistics were below 0.05 and the average errors area were also equivalent (49.38 cm2/48.98 cm2). Conclusion: The comparison between the two leaf fittings algorithms demonstrated no significant differences in tracking errors, neither in a clinically realistic environment nor in silico. The similarities in the two independent algorithms give confidence in the use of either algorithm for clinical implementation.« less

Unified Lambert Tool for Massively Parallel Applications in Space Situational Awareness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woollands, Robyn M.; Read, Julie; Hernandez, Kevin; Probe, Austin; Junkins, John L.

2018-03-01

This paper introduces a parallel-compiled tool that combines several of our recently developed methods for solving the perturbed Lambert problem using modified Chebyshev-Picard iteration. This tool (unified Lambert tool) consists of four individual algorithms, each of which is unique and better suited for solving a particular type of orbit transfer. The first is a Keplerian Lambert solver, which is used to provide a good initial guess (warm start) for solving the perturbed problem. It is also used to determine the appropriate algorithm to call for solving the perturbed problem. The arc length or true anomaly angle spanned by the transfer trajectory is the parameter that governs the automated selection of the appropriate perturbed algorithm, and is based on the respective algorithm convergence characteristics. The second algorithm solves the perturbed Lambert problem using the modified Chebyshev-Picard iteration two-point boundary value solver. This algorithm does not require a Newton-like shooting method and is the most efficient of the perturbed solvers presented herein, however the domain of convergence is limited to about a third of an orbit and is dependent on eccentricity. The third algorithm extends the domain of convergence of the modified Chebyshev-Picard iteration two-point boundary value solver to about 90% of an orbit, through regularization with the Kustaanheimo-Stiefel transformation. This is the second most efficient of the perturbed set of algorithms. The fourth algorithm uses the method of particular solutions and the modified Chebyshev-Picard iteration initial value solver for solving multiple revolution perturbed transfers. This method does require "shooting" but differs from Newton-like shooting methods in that it does not require propagation of a state transition matrix. The unified Lambert tool makes use of the General Mission Analysis Tool and we use it to compute thousands of perturbed Lambert trajectories in parallel on the Space Situational Awareness computer cluster at the LASR Lab, Texas A&M University. We demonstrate the power of our tool by solving a highly parallel example problem, that is the generation of extremal field maps for optimal spacecraft rendezvous (and eventual orbit debris removal). In addition we demonstrate the need for including perturbative effects in simulations for satellite tracking or data association. The unified Lambert tool is ideal for but not limited to space situational awareness applications.

A Turn-Projected State-Based Conflict Resolution Algorithm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Butler, Ricky W.; Lewis, Timothy A.

2013-01-01

State-based conflict detection and resolution (CD&R) algorithms detect conflicts and resolve them on the basis on current state information without the use of additional intent information from aircraft flight plans. Therefore, the prediction of the trajectory of aircraft is based solely upon the position and velocity vectors of the traffic aircraft. Most CD&R algorithms project the traffic state using only the current state vectors. However, the past state vectors can be used to make a better prediction of the future trajectory of the traffic aircraft. This paper explores the idea of using past state vectors to detect traffic turns and resolve conflicts caused by these turns using a non-linear projection of the traffic state. A new algorithm based on this idea is presented and validated using a fast-time simulator developed for this study.

Assimilation of Wind Profiles from Multiple Doppler Radar Wind Profilers for Space Launch Vehicle Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Decker, Ryan K.; Walker, John R.; Barbre, Robert E., Jr.; Leach, Richard D.

2015-01-01

Atmospheric wind data are required by space launch vehicles in order to assess flight vehicle loads and performance on day-of-launch. Space launch ranges at NASA's Kennedy Space Center co-located with the United States Air Force's (USAF) Eastern Range (ER) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and USAF's Western Range (WR) at Vandenberg Air Force Base have extensive networks of in-situ and remote sensing instrumentation to measure atmospheric winds. Each instrument's technique to measure winds has advantages and disadvantages in regards to use within vehicle trajectory analyses. Balloons measure wind at all altitudes necessary for vehicle assessments, but two primary disadvantages exist when applying balloon output. First, balloons require approximately one hour to reach required altitudes. Second, balloons are steered by atmospheric winds down range of the launch site that could significantly differ from those winds along the vehicle ascent trajectory. These issues are mitigated by use of vertically pointing Doppler Radar Wind Profilers (DRWPs). However, multiple DRWP instruments are required to provide wind data over altitude ranges necessary for vehicle trajectory assessments. The various DRWP systems have different operating configurations resulting in different temporal and spatial sampling intervals. Therefore, software was developed to combine data from both DRWP-generated profiles into a single profile for use in vehicle trajectory analyses. This paper will present details of the splicing software algorithms and will provide sample output.

Querying databases of trajectories of differential equations: Data structures for trajectories

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grossman, Robert

1989-01-01

One approach to qualitative reasoning about dynamical systems is to extract qualitative information by searching or making queries on databases containing very large numbers of trajectories. The efficiency of such queries depends crucially upon finding an appropriate data structure for trajectories of dynamical systems. Suppose that a large number of parameterized trajectories gamma of a dynamical system evolving in R sup N are stored in a database. Let Eta is contained in set R sup N denote a parameterized path in Euclidean Space, and let the Euclidean Norm denote a norm on the space of paths. A data structure is defined to represent trajectories of dynamical systems, and an algorithm is sketched which answers queries.

A generalized muon trajectory estimation algorithm with energy loss for application to muon tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chatzidakis, Stylianos; Liu, Zhengzhi; Hayward, Jason P.; Scaglione, John M.

2018-03-01

This work presents a generalized muon trajectory estimation algorithm to estimate the path of a muon in either uniform or nonuniform media. The use of cosmic ray muons in nuclear nonproliferation and safeguard verification applications has recently gained attention due to the non-intrusive and passive nature of the inspection, penetrating capabilities, as well as recent advances in detectors that measure position and direction of the individual muons before and after traversing the imaged object. However, muon image reconstruction techniques are limited in resolution due to low muon flux and the effects of multiple Coulomb scattering (MCS). Current reconstruction algorithms, e.g., point of closest approach (PoCA) or straight-line path (SLP), rely on overly simple assumptions for muon path estimation through the imaged object. For robust muon tomography, efficient and flexible physics-based algorithms are needed to model the MCS process and accurately estimate the most probable trajectory of a muon as it traverses an object. In the present work, the use of a Bayesian framework and a Gaussian approximation of MCS is explored for estimation of the most likely path of a cosmic ray muon traversing uniform or nonuniform media and undergoing MCS. The algorithm's precision is compared to Monte Carlo simulated muon trajectories. It was found that the algorithm is expected to be able to predict muon tracks to less than 1.5 mm root mean square (RMS) for 0.5 GeV muons and 0.25 mm RMS for 3 GeV muons, a 50% improvement compared to SLP and 15% improvement when compared to PoCA. Further, a 30% increase in useful muon flux was observed relative to PoCA. Muon track prediction improved for higher muon energies or smaller penetration depth where energy loss is not significant. The effect of energy loss due to ionization is investigated, and a linear energy loss relation that is easy to use is proposed.

Research of maneuvering target prediction and tracking technology based on IMM algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Zheng; Mao, Yao; Deng, Chao; Liu, Qiong; Chen, Jing

2016-09-01

Maneuvering target prediction and tracking technology is widely used in both military and civilian applications, the study of those technologies is all along the hotspot and difficulty. In the Electro-Optical acquisition-tracking-pointing system (ATP), the primary traditional maneuvering targets are ballistic target, large aircraft and other big targets. Those targets have the features of fast velocity and a strong regular trajectory and Kalman Filtering and polynomial fitting have good effects when they are used to track those targets. In recent years, the small unmanned aerial vehicles developed rapidly for they are small, nimble and simple operation. The small unmanned aerial vehicles have strong maneuverability in the observation system of ATP although they are close-in, slow and small targets. Moreover, those vehicles are under the manual operation, therefore, the acceleration of them changes greatly and they move erratically. So the prediction and tracking precision is low when traditional algorithms are used to track the maneuvering fly of those targets, such as speeding up, turning, climbing and so on. The interacting multiple model algorithm (IMM) use multiple models to match target real movement trajectory, there are interactions between each model. The IMM algorithm can switch model based on a Markov chain to adapt to the change of target movement trajectory, so it is suitable to solve the prediction and tracking problems of the small unmanned aerial vehicles because of the better adaptability of irregular movement. This paper has set up model set of constant velocity model (CV), constant acceleration model (CA), constant turning model (CT) and current statistical model. And the results of simulating and analyzing the real movement trajectory data of the small unmanned aerial vehicles show that the prediction and tracking technology based on the interacting multiple model algorithm can get relatively lower tracking error and improve tracking precision comparing with traditional algorithms.

Coherent structure coloring: identification of coherent structures from sparse flow trajectories using graph theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schlueter, Kristy; Dabiri, John

2016-11-01

Coherent structure identification is important in many fluid dynamics applications, including transport phenomena in ocean flows and mixing and diffusion in turbulence. However, many of the techniques currently available for measuring such flows, including ocean drifter datasets and particle tracking velocimetry, only result in sparse velocity data. This is often insufficient for the use of current coherent structure detection algorithms based on analysis of the deformation gradient. Here, we present a frame-invariant method for detecting coherent structures from Lagrangian flow trajectories that can be sparse in number. The method, based on principles used in graph coloring algorithms, examines a measure of the kinematic dissimilarity of all pairs of flow trajectories, either measured experimentally, e.g. using particle tracking velocimetry; or numerically, by advecting fluid particles in the Eulerian velocity field. Coherence is assigned to groups of particles whose kinematics remain similar throughout the time interval for which trajectory data is available, regardless of their physical proximity to one another. Through the use of several analytical and experimental validation cases, this algorithm is shown to robustly detect coherent structures using significantly less flow data than is required by existing methods. This research was supported by the Department of Defense (DoD) through the National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate Fellowship (NDSEG) Program.

Predicting drifter trajectories and particle dispersion in the Caribbean using a high resolution coastal ocean forecasting system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Solano, M.

2016-02-01

The present study discusses the accuracy of a high-resolution ocean forecasting system in predicting floating drifter trajectories and the uncertainty of modeled particle dispersion in coastal areas. Trajectories were calculated using an offline particle-tracking algorithm coupled to the operational model developed for the region of Puerto Rico by CariCOOS. Both, a simple advection algorithm as well as the Larval TRANSport (LTRANS) model, a more sophisticated offline particle-tracking application, were coupled to the ocean model. Numerical results are compared with 12 floating drifters deployed in the near-shore of Puerto Rico during February and March 2015, and tracked for several days using Global Positioning Systems mounted on the drifters. In addition the trajectories have also been calculated with the AmSeas Navy Coastal Ocean Model (NCOM). The operational model is based on the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) with a uniform horizontal resolution of 1/100 degrees (1.1km). Initial, surface and open boundary conditions are taken from NCOM, except for wind stress, which is computed using winds from the National Digital Forecasting Database. Probabilistic maps were created to quantify the uncertainty of particle trajectories at different locations. Results show that the forecasted trajectories are location dependent, with tidally active regions having the largest error. The predicted trajectories by both the ROMS and NCOM models show good agreement on average, however both perform differently at particular locations. The effect of wind stress on the drifter trajectories is investigated to account for wind slippage. Furthermore, a real case scenario is presented where simulated trajectories show good agreement when compared to the actual drifter trajectories.

Lander Trajectory Reconstruction computer program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adams, G. L.; Bradt, A. J.; Ferguson, J. B.; Schnelker, H. J.

1971-01-01

The Lander Trajectory Reconstruction (LTR) computer program is a tool for analysis of the planetary entry trajectory and atmosphere reconstruction process for a lander or probe. The program can be divided into two parts: (1) the data generator and (2) the reconstructor. The data generator provides the real environment in which the lander or probe is presumed to find itself. The reconstructor reconstructs the entry trajectory and atmosphere using sensor data generated by the data generator and a Kalman-Schmidt consider filter. A wide variety of vehicle and environmental parameters may be either solved-for or considered in the filter process.

Machine Learning for Discriminating Quantum Measurement Trajectories and Improving Readout.

PubMed

Magesan, Easwar; Gambetta, Jay M; Córcoles, A D; Chow, Jerry M

2015-05-22

Current methods for classifying measurement trajectories in superconducting qubit systems produce fidelities systematically lower than those predicted by experimental parameters. Here, we place current classification methods within the framework of machine learning (ML) algorithms and improve on them by investigating more sophisticated ML approaches. We find that nonlinear algorithms and clustering methods produce significantly higher assignment fidelities that help close the gap to the fidelity possible under ideal noise conditions. Clustering methods group trajectories into natural subsets within the data, which allows for the diagnosis of systematic errors. We find large clusters in the data associated with T1 processes and show these are the main source of discrepancy between our experimental and ideal fidelities. These error diagnosis techniques help provide a path forward to improve qubit measurements.

Adaptive Trajectory Tracking of Nonholonomic Mobile Robots Using Vision-Based Position and Velocity Estimation.

PubMed

Li, Luyang; Liu, Yun-Hui; Jiang, Tianjiao; Wang, Kai; Fang, Mu

2018-02-01

Despite tremendous efforts made for years, trajectory tracking control (TC) of a nonholonomic mobile robot (NMR) without global positioning system remains an open problem. The major reason is the difficulty to localize the robot by using its onboard sensors only. In this paper, a newly designed adaptive trajectory TC method is proposed for the NMR without its position, orientation, and velocity measurements. The controller is designed on the basis of a novel algorithm to estimate position and velocity of the robot online from visual feedback of an omnidirectional camera. It is theoretically proved that the proposed algorithm yields the TC errors to asymptotically converge to zero. Real-world experiments are conducted on a wheeled NMR to validate the feasibility of the control system.

Aircraft Trajectories Computation-Prediction-Control. Volume 1 (La Trajectoire de l’Avion Calcul-Prediction-Controle)

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-03-01

knowledge covering problems of this type is called calculus of variations or optimal control theory (Refs. 1-8). As stated before, appli - cations occur...to the optimality conditions and the feasibility equations of Problem (GP), respectively. Clearly, after the transformation (26) is applied , the...trajectories, the primal sequential gradient-restoration algorithm (PSGRA) is applied to compute optimal trajectories for aeroassisted orbital transfer

Multichannel High Resolution Wide Swath SAR Imaging for Hypersonic Air Vehicle with Curved Trajectory.

PubMed

Zhou, Rui; Sun, Jinping; Hu, Yuxin; Qi, Yaolong

2018-01-31

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) equipped on the hypersonic air vehicle in near space has many advantages over the conventional airborne SAR. However, its high-speed maneuvering characteristics with curved trajectory result in serious range migration, and exacerbate the contradiction between the high resolution and wide swath. To solve this problem, this paper establishes the imaging geometrical model matched with the flight trajectory of the hypersonic platform and the multichannel azimuth sampling model based on the displaced phase center antenna (DPCA) technology. Furthermore, based on the multichannel signal reconstruction theory, a more efficient spectrum reconstruction model using discrete Fourier transform is proposed to obtain the azimuth uniform sampling data. Due to the high complexity of the slant range model, it is difficult to deduce the processing algorithm for SAR imaging. Thus, an approximate range model is derived based on the minimax criterion, and the optimal second-order approximate coefficients of cosine function are obtained using the two-population coevolutionary algorithm. On this basis, aiming at the problem that the traditional Omega-K algorithm cannot compensate the residual phase with the difficulty of Stolt mapping along the range frequency axis, this paper proposes an Exact Transfer Function (ETF) algorithm for SAR imaging, and presents a method of range division to achieve wide swath imaging. Simulation results verify the effectiveness of the ETF imaging algorithm.

Multichannel High Resolution Wide Swath SAR Imaging for Hypersonic Air Vehicle with Curved Trajectory

PubMed Central

Zhou, Rui; Hu, Yuxin; Qi, Yaolong

2018-01-01

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) equipped on the hypersonic air vehicle in near space has many advantages over the conventional airborne SAR. However, its high-speed maneuvering characteristics with curved trajectory result in serious range migration, and exacerbate the contradiction between the high resolution and wide swath. To solve this problem, this paper establishes the imaging geometrical model matched with the flight trajectory of the hypersonic platform and the multichannel azimuth sampling model based on the displaced phase center antenna (DPCA) technology. Furthermore, based on the multichannel signal reconstruction theory, a more efficient spectrum reconstruction model using discrete Fourier transform is proposed to obtain the azimuth uniform sampling data. Due to the high complexity of the slant range model, it is difficult to deduce the processing algorithm for SAR imaging. Thus, an approximate range model is derived based on the minimax criterion, and the optimal second-order approximate coefficients of cosine function are obtained using the two-population coevolutionary algorithm. On this basis, aiming at the problem that the traditional Omega-K algorithm cannot compensate the residual phase with the difficulty of Stolt mapping along the range frequency axis, this paper proposes an Exact Transfer Function (ETF) algorithm for SAR imaging, and presents a method of range division to achieve wide swath imaging. Simulation results verify the effectiveness of the ETF imaging algorithm. PMID:29385059

ADS-B and multilateration sensor fusion algorithm for air traffic control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Mengchen

Air traffic is expected to increase rapidly in the next decade. But, the current Air Traffic Control (ATC) system does not meet the demand of the future safety and efficiency. The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) is a transformation program for the ATC system in the United States. The latest estimates by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) show that by 2018 NextGen will reduce total delays in flight by 35 percent and provide 23 billion dollars in cumulative benefits. A satellite-based technology called the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) system is one of the most important elements in NextGen. FAA expects that ADS-B systems will be available in the National Airspace System (NAS) by 2020. However, an alternative surveillance system is needed due to vulnerabilities that exist in ADS-B systems. Multilateration has a high accuracy performance and is believed to be an ideal back-up strategy for ADS-B systems. Thus, in this study, we develop the ADS-B and multilateration sensor fusion algorithm for aircraft tracking applications in ATC. The algorithm contains a fault detection function for ADS-B information monitoring by using Trajectory Change Points reports from ADS-B and numerical vectors from a hybrid estimation algorithm. We consider two types of faults in the ADS-B measurement model to show that the algorithm is able to deal with the bad data from ADS-B systems and automatically select good data from multilateration systems. We apply fuzzy logic concepts and generate time variant parameters during the fusion process. The parameters play a role of weights for combining data from different sensors. The algorithm performance is validated through two aircraft tracking examples.

Hierarchical fractional-step approximations and parallel kinetic Monte Carlo algorithms

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

Arampatzis, Giorgos, E-mail: garab@math.uoc.gr; Katsoulakis, Markos A., E-mail: markos@math.umass.edu; Plechac, Petr, E-mail: plechac@math.udel.edu

2012-10-01

We present a mathematical framework for constructing and analyzing parallel algorithms for lattice kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulations. The resulting algorithms have the capacity to simulate a wide range of spatio-temporal scales in spatially distributed, non-equilibrium physiochemical processes with complex chemistry and transport micro-mechanisms. Rather than focusing on constructing exactly the stochastic trajectories, our approach relies on approximating the evolution of observables, such as density, coverage, correlations and so on. More specifically, we develop a spatial domain decomposition of the Markov operator (generator) that describes the evolution of all observables according to the kinetic Monte Carlo algorithm. This domain decompositionmore » corresponds to a decomposition of the Markov generator into a hierarchy of operators and can be tailored to specific hierarchical parallel architectures such as multi-core processors or clusters of Graphical Processing Units (GPUs). Based on this operator decomposition, we formulate parallel Fractional step kinetic Monte Carlo algorithms by employing the Trotter Theorem and its randomized variants; these schemes, (a) are partially asynchronous on each fractional step time-window, and (b) are characterized by their communication schedule between processors. The proposed mathematical framework allows us to rigorously justify the numerical and statistical consistency of the proposed algorithms, showing the convergence of our approximating schemes to the original serial KMC. The approach also provides a systematic evaluation of different processor communicating schedules. We carry out a detailed benchmarking of the parallel KMC schemes using available exact solutions, for example, in Ising-type systems and we demonstrate the capabilities of the method to simulate complex spatially distributed reactions at very large scales on GPUs. Finally, we discuss work load balancing between processors and propose a re-balancing scheme based on probabilistic mass transport methods.« less

Representing and selecting vibrational angular momentum states for quasiclassical trajectory chemical dynamics simulations.

PubMed

Lourderaj, Upakarasamy; Martínez-Núñez, Emilio; Hase, William L

2007-10-18

Linear molecules with degenerate bending modes have states, which may be represented by the quantum numbers N and L. The former gives the total energy for these modes and the latter identifies their vibrational angular momentum jz. In this work, the classical mechanical analog of the N,L-quantum states is reviewed, and an algorithm is presented for selecting initial conditions for these states in quasiclassical trajectory chemical dynamics simulations. The algorithm is illustrated by choosing initial conditions for the N = 3 and L = 3 and 1 states of CO2. Applications of this algorithm are considered for initial conditions without and with zero-point energy (zpe) included in the vibrational angular momentum states and the C-O stretching modes. The O-atom motions in the x,y-plane are determined for these states from classical trajectories in Cartesian coordinates and are compared with the motion predicted by the normal-mode model. They are only in agreement for the N = L = 3 state without vibrational angular momentum zpe. For the remaining states, the Cartesian O-atom motions are considerably different from the elliptical motion predicted by the normal-mode model. This arises from bend-stretch coupling, including centrifugal distortion, in the Cartesian trajectories, which results in tubular instead of elliptical motion. Including zpe in the C-O stretch modes introduces considerable complexity into the O-atom motions for the vibrational angular momentum states. The short-time O-atom motions for these trajectories are highly irregular and do not appear to have any identifiable characteristics. However, the O-atom motions for trajectories integrated for substantially longer period of times acquire unique properties. With C-O stretch zpe included, the long-time O-atom motion becomes tubular for trajectories integrated to approximately 14 ps for the L = 3 states and to approximately 44 ps for the L = 1 states.

Geomagnetic matching navigation algorithm based on robust estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Weinan; Huang, Liping; Qu, Zhenshen; Wang, Zhenhuan

2017-08-01

The outliers in the geomagnetic survey data seriously affect the precision of the geomagnetic matching navigation and badly disrupt its reliability. A novel algorithm which can eliminate the outliers influence is investigated in this paper. First, the weight function is designed and its principle of the robust estimation is introduced. By combining the relation equation between the matching trajectory and the reference trajectory with the Taylor series expansion for geomagnetic information, a mathematical expression of the longitude, latitude and heading errors is acquired. The robust target function is obtained by the weight function and the mathematical expression. Then the geomagnetic matching problem is converted to the solutions of nonlinear equations. Finally, Newton iteration is applied to implement the novel algorithm. Simulation results show that the matching error of the novel algorithm is decreased to 7.75% compared to the conventional mean square difference (MSD) algorithm, and is decreased to 18.39% to the conventional iterative contour matching algorithm when the outlier is 40nT. Meanwhile, the position error of the novel algorithm is 0.017° while the other two algorithms fail to match when the outlier is 400nT.

Decentralized control algorithms of a group of vehicles in 2D space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pshikhopov, V. K.; Medvedev, M. Y.; Fedorenko, R. V.; Gurenko, B. V.

2017-02-01

The problem of decentralized control of group of robots, described by kinematic and dynamic equations of motion in the plane, is considered. Group performs predetermined rectangular area passing at a fixed speed, keeping the line and a uniform distribution. The environment may contain a priori unknown moving or stationary obstacles. Decentralized control algorithms, based on the formation of repellers in the state space of robots, are proposed. These repellers form repulsive forces generated by dynamic subsystems that extend the state space of robots. These repulsive forces are dynamic functions of distances and velocities of robots in the area of operation of the group. The process of formation of repellers allows to take into account the dynamic properties of robots, such as the maximum speed and acceleration. The robots local control law formulas are derived based on positionally-trajectory control method, which allows to operate with non-linear models. Lyapunov function in the form of a quadratic function of the state variables is constructed to obtain a nonlinear closed-loop control system. Due to the fact that a closed system is decomposed into two independent subsystems Lyapunov function is also constructed as two independent functions. Numerical simulation of the motion of a group of five robots is presented. In this simulation obstacles are presented by the boundaries of working area and a movable object of a given radius, moving rectilinear and uniform. Obstacle speed is comparable to the speeds of the robots in a group. The advantage of the proposed method is ensuring the stability of the trajectories and consideration of the limitations on the speed and acceleration at the trajectory planning stage. Proposed approach can be used for more general robots' models, including robots in the three-dimensional environment.

Dimensioning appropriate technical and economic parameters of elements in urban distribution power nets based on discrete fast marching method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afanasyev, A. P.; Bazhenov, R. I.; Luchaninov, D. V.

2018-05-01

The main purpose of the research is to develop techniques for defining the best technical and economic trajectories of cables in urban power systems. The proposed algorithms of calculation of the routes for laying cables take into consideration topological, technical and economic features of the cabling. The discrete option of an algorithm Fast marching method is applied as a calculating tool. It has certain advantages compared to other approaches. In particular, this algorithm is cost-effective to compute, therefore, it is not iterative. Trajectories of received laying cables are considered as optimal ones from the point of view of technical and economic criteria. They correspond to the present rules of modern urban development.

Safe Onboard Guidance and Control Under Probabilistic Uncertainty

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blackmore, Lars James

2011-01-01

An algorithm was developed that determines the fuel-optimal spacecraft guidance trajectory that takes into account uncertainty, in order to guarantee that mission safety constraints are satisfied with the required probability. The algorithm uses convex optimization to solve for the optimal trajectory. Convex optimization is amenable to onboard solution due to its excellent convergence properties. The algorithm is novel because, unlike prior approaches, it does not require time-consuming evaluation of multivariate probability densities. Instead, it uses a new mathematical bounding approach to ensure that probability constraints are satisfied, and it is shown that the resulting optimization is convex. Empirical results show that the approach is many orders of magnitude less conservative than existing set conversion techniques, for a small penalty in computation time.

Bio-inspired Optimal Locomotion Reconfigurability of Quadruped Rovers using Central Pattern Generators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bohra, Murtaza

Legged rovers are often considered as viable solutions for traversing unknown terrain. This work addresses the optimal locomotion reconfigurability of quadruped rovers, which consists of obtaining optimal locomotion modes, and transitioning between them. A 2D sagittal plane rover model is considered based on a domestic cat. Using a Genetic Algorithm, the gait, pose and control variables that minimize torque or maximize speed are found separately. The optimization approach takes into account the elimination of leg impact, while considering the entire variable spectrum. The optimal solutions are consistent with other works on gait optimization, and are similar to gaits found in quadruped animals as well. An online model-free gait planning framework is also implemented, that is based on Central Pattern Generators is implemented. It is used to generate joint and control trajectories for any arbitrarily varying speed profile, and shown to regulate locomotion transition and speed modulation, both endogenously and continuously.

Solar Sail Attitude Control Performance Comparison

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bladt, Jeff J.; Lawrence, Dale A.

2005-01-01

Performance of two solar sail attitude control implementations is evaluated. One implementation employs four articulated reflective vanes located at the periphery of the sail assembly to generate control torque about all three axes. A second attitude control configuration uses mass on a gimbaled boom to alter the center-of-mass location relative to the center-of-pressure producing roll and pitch torque along with a pair of articulated control vanes for yaw control. Command generation algorithms employ linearized dynamics with a feedback inversion loop to map desired vehicle attitude control torque into vane and/or gimbal articulation angle commands. We investigate the impact on actuator deflection angle behavior due to variations in how the Jacobian matrix is incorporated into the feedback inversion loop. Additionally, we compare how well each implementation tracks a commanded thrust profile, which has been generated to follow an orbit trajectory from the sun-earth L1 point to a sub-L1 station.

Robust control algorithms for Mars aerobraking

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shipley, Buford W., Jr.; Ward, Donald T.

1992-01-01

Four atmospheric guidance concepts have been adapted to control an interplanetary vehicle aerobraking in the Martian atmosphere. The first two offer improvements to the Analytic Predictor Corrector (APC) to increase its robustness to density variations. The second two are variations of a new Liapunov tracking exit phase algorithm, developed to guide the vehicle along a reference trajectory. These four new controllers are tested using a six degree of freedom computer simulation to evaluate their robustness. MARSGRAM is used to develop realistic atmospheres for the study. When square wave density pulses perturb the atmosphere all four controllers are successful. The algorithms are tested against atmospheres where the inbound and outbound density functions are different. Square wave density pulses are again used, but only for the outbound leg of the trajectory. Additionally, sine waves are used to perturb the density function. The new algorithms are found to be more robust than any previously tested and a Liapunov controller is selected as the most robust control algorithm overall examined.

Application of artificial neural networks to identify equilibration in computer simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leibowitz, Mitchell H.; Miller, Evan D.; Henry, Michael M.; Jankowski, Eric

2017-11-01

Determining which microstates generated by a thermodynamic simulation are representative of the ensemble for which sampling is desired is a ubiquitous, underspecified problem. Artificial neural networks are one type of machine learning algorithm that can provide a reproducible way to apply pattern recognition heuristics to underspecified problems. Here we use the open-source TensorFlow machine learning library and apply it to the problem of identifying which hypothetical observation sequences from a computer simulation are “equilibrated” and which are not. We generate training populations and test populations of observation sequences with embedded linear and exponential correlations. We train a two-neuron artificial network to distinguish the correlated and uncorrelated sequences. We find that this simple network is good enough for > 98% accuracy in identifying exponentially-decaying energy trajectories from molecular simulations.

Utilization of curve offsets in additive manufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haseltalab, Vahid; Yaman, Ulas; Dolen, Melik

2018-05-01

Curve offsets are utilized in different fields of engineering and science. Additive manufacturing, which lately becomes an explicit requirement in manufacturing industry, utilizes curve offsets widely. One of the necessities of offsetting is for scaling which is required if there is shrinkage after the fabrication or if the surface quality of the resulting part is unacceptable. Therefore, some post-processing is indispensable. But the major application of curve offsets in additive manufacturing processes is for generating head trajectories. In a point-wise AM process, a correct tool-path in each layer can reduce lots of costs and increase the surface quality of the fabricated parts. In this study, different curve offset generation algorithms are analyzed to show their capabilities and disadvantages through some test cases and improvements on their drawbacks are suggested.

Algorithm for Determination of Orion Ascent Abort Mode Achievability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tedesco, Mark B.

2011-01-01

For human spaceflight missions, a launch vehicle failure poses the challenge of returning the crew safely to earth through environments that are often much more stressful than the nominal mission. Manned spaceflight vehicles require continuous abort capability throughout the ascent trajectory to protect the crew in the event of a failure of the launch vehicle. To provide continuous abort coverage during the ascent trajectory, different types of Orion abort modes have been developed. If a launch vehicle failure occurs, the crew must be able to quickly and accurately determine the appropriate abort mode to execute. Early in the ascent, while the Launch Abort System (LAS) is attached, abort mode selection is trivial, and any failures will result in a LAS abort. For failures after LAS jettison, the Service Module (SM) effectors are employed to perform abort maneuvers. Several different SM abort mode options are available depending on the current vehicle location and energy state. During this region of flight the selection of the abort mode that maximizes the survivability of the crew becomes non-trivial. To provide the most accurate and timely information to the crew and the onboard abort decision logic, on-board algorithms have been developed to propagate the abort trajectories based on the current launch vehicle performance and to predict the current abort capability of the Orion vehicle. This paper will provide an overview of the algorithm architecture for determining abort achievability as well as the scalar integration scheme that makes the onboard computation possible. Extension of the algorithm to assessing abort coverage impacts from Orion design modifications and launch vehicle trajectory modifications is also presented.

Clustering Molecular Dynamics Trajectories for Optimizing Docking Experiments

PubMed Central

De Paris, Renata; Quevedo, Christian V.; Ruiz, Duncan D.; Norberto de Souza, Osmar; Barros, Rodrigo C.

2015-01-01

Molecular dynamics simulations of protein receptors have become an attractive tool for rational drug discovery. However, the high computational cost of employing molecular dynamics trajectories in virtual screening of large repositories threats the feasibility of this task. Computational intelligence techniques have been applied in this context, with the ultimate goal of reducing the overall computational cost so the task can become feasible. Particularly, clustering algorithms have been widely used as a means to reduce the dimensionality of molecular dynamics trajectories. In this paper, we develop a novel methodology for clustering entire trajectories using structural features from the substrate-binding cavity of the receptor in order to optimize docking experiments on a cloud-based environment. The resulting partition was selected based on three clustering validity criteria, and it was further validated by analyzing the interactions between 20 ligands and a fully flexible receptor (FFR) model containing a 20 ns molecular dynamics simulation trajectory. Our proposed methodology shows that taking into account features of the substrate-binding cavity as input for the k-means algorithm is a promising technique for accurately selecting ensembles of representative structures tailored to a specific ligand. PMID:25873944

Design and Optimization of Low-thrust Orbit Transfers Using Q-law and Evolutionary Algorithms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Seungwon; vonAllmen, Paul; Fink, Wolfgang; Petropoulos, Anastassios; Terrile, Richard

2005-01-01

Future space missions will depend more on low-thrust propulsion (such as ion engines) thanks to its high specific impulse. Yet, the design of low-thrust trajectories is complex and challenging. Third-body perturbations often dominate the thrust, and a significant change to the orbit requires a long duration of thrust. In order to guide the early design phases, we have developed an efficient and efficacious method to obtain approximate propellant and flight-time requirements (i.e., the Pareto front) for orbit transfers. A search for the Pareto-optimal trajectories is done in two levels: optimal thrust angles and locations are determined by Q-law, while the Q-law is optimized with two evolutionary algorithms: a genetic algorithm and a simulated-annealing-related algorithm. The examples considered are several types of orbit transfers around the Earth and the asteroid Vesta.

Space shuttle engineering and operations support. ALT separation reference trajectories for tailcone on orbiter forward and aft CG configurations. Mission planning, mission analysis and software formulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glenn, G. M.

1977-01-01

A preflight analysis of the ALT separation reference trajectories for the tailcone on, forward, and aft cg orbiter configurations is documented. The ALT separation reference trajectories encompass the time from physical separation of the orbiter from the carrier to orbiter attainment of the maximum ALT interface airspeed. The trajectories include post separation roll maneuvers by both vehicles and are generated using the final preflight data base. The trajectories so generated satisfy all known separation design criteria and violate no known constraints. The requirement for this analysis is given along with the specifications, assumptions, and analytical approach used to generate the separation trajectories. The results of the analytical approach are evaluated, and conclusions and recommendations are summarized.

2-Dimensional B-Spline Algorithms with Applications to Ray Tracing in Media of Spatially-Varying Refractive Index

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-08-01

In the approach, photon trajectories are computed using a solution of the Eikonal equation (ray-tracing methods) rather than linear trajectories. The...coupling the radiative transport solution into heat transfer and damage models. 15. SUBJECT TERMS: B-Splines, Ray-Tracing, Eikonal Equation...multi-layer biological tissue model. In the approach, photon trajectories are computed using a solution of the Eikonal equation (ray-tracing methods

A preliminary investigation of ROI-image reconstruction with the rebinned BPF algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bian, Junguo; Xia, Dan; Yu, Lifeng; Sidky, Emil Y.; Pan, Xiaochuan

2008-03-01

The back-projection filtration (BPF)algorithm is capable of reconstructing ROI images from truncated data acquired with a wide class of general trajectories. However, it has been observed that, similar to other algorithms for convergent beam geometries, the BPF algorithm involves a spatially varying weighting factor in the backprojection step. This weighting factor can not only increase the computation load, but also amplify the noise in reconstructed images The weighting factor can be eliminated by appropriately rebinning the measured cone-beam data into fan-parallel-beam data. Such an appropriate data rebinning not only removes the weighting factor, but also retain other favorable properties of the BPF algorithm. In this work, we conduct a preliminary study of the rebinned BPF algorithm and its noise property. Specifically, we consider an application in which the detector and source can move in several directions for achieving ROI data acquisition. The combined motion of the detector and source generally forms a complex trajectory. We investigate in this work image reconstruction within an ROI from data acquired in this kind of applications.

Querying databases of trajectories of differential equations 2: Index functions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grossman, Robert

1991-01-01

Suppose that a large number of parameterized trajectories (gamma) of a dynamical system evolving in R sup N are stored in a database. Let eta is contained R sup N denote a parameterized path in Euclidean space, and let parallel to center dot parallel to denote a norm on the space of paths. A data structures and indices for trajectories are defined and algorithms are given to answer queries of the following forms: Query 1. Given a path eta, determine whether eta occurs as a subtrajectory of any trajectory gamma from the database. If so, return the trajectory; otherwise, return null. Query 2. Given a path eta, return the trajectory gamma from the database which minimizes the norm parallel to eta - gamma parallel.

A Robot Trajectory Optimization Approach for Thermal Barrier Coatings Used for Free-Form Components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, Zhenhua; Qi, Beichun; Tao, Chongyuan; Luo, Jie; Chen, Yuepeng; Xie, Changjun

2017-10-01

This paper is concerned with a robot trajectory optimization approach for thermal barrier coatings. As the requirements of high reproducibility of complex workpieces increase, an optimal thermal spraying trajectory should not only guarantee an accurate control of spray parameters defined by users (e.g., scanning speed, spray distance, scanning step, etc.) to achieve coating thickness homogeneity but also help to homogenize the heat transfer distribution on the coating surface. A mesh-based trajectory generation approach is introduced in this work to generate path curves on a free-form component. Then, two types of meander trajectories are generated by performing a different connection method. Additionally, this paper presents a research approach for introducing the heat transfer analysis into the trajectory planning process. Combining heat transfer analysis with trajectory planning overcomes the defects of traditional trajectory planning methods (e.g., local over-heating), which helps form the uniform temperature field by optimizing the time sequence of path curves. The influence of two different robot trajectories on the process of heat transfer is estimated by coupled FEM models which demonstrates the effectiveness of the presented optimization approach.

Indoor Autonomous Control of a Two-Wheeled Inverted Pendulum Vehicle Using Ultra Wide Band Technology.

PubMed

Xia, Dunzhu; Yao, Yanhong; Cheng, Limei

2017-06-15

In this paper, we aimed to achieve the indoor tracking control of a two-wheeled inverted pendulum (TWIP) vehicle. The attitude data are acquired from a low cost micro inertial measurement unit (IMU), and the ultra-wideband (UWB) technology is utilized to obtain an accurate estimation of the TWIP's position. We propose a dual-loop control method to realize the simultaneous balance and trajectory tracking control for the TWIP vehicle. A robust adaptive second-order sliding mode control (2-RASMC) method based on an improved super-twisting (STW) algorithm is investigated to obtain the control laws, followed by several simulations to verify its robustness. The outer loop controller is designed using the idea of backstepping. Moreover, three typical trajectories, including a circle, a trifolium and a hexagon, have been designed to prove the adaptability of the control combinations. Six different combinations of inner and outer loop control algorithms have been compared, and the characteristics of inner and outer loop algorithm combinations have been analyzed. Simulation results demonstrate its tracking performance and thus verify the validity of the proposed control methods. Trajectory tracking experiments in a real indoor environment have been performed using our experimental vehicle to further validate the feasibility of the proposed algorithm in practice.

Indoor Autonomous Control of a Two-Wheeled Inverted Pendulum Vehicle Using Ultra Wide Band Technology

PubMed Central

Xia, Dunzhu; Yao, Yanhong; Cheng, Limei

2017-01-01

In this paper, we aimed to achieve the indoor tracking control of a two-wheeled inverted pendulum (TWIP) vehicle. The attitude data are acquired from a low cost micro inertial measurement unit (IMU), and the ultra-wideband (UWB) technology is utilized to obtain an accurate estimation of the TWIP’s position. We propose a dual-loop control method to realize the simultaneous balance and trajectory tracking control for the TWIP vehicle. A robust adaptive second-order sliding mode control (2-RASMC) method based on an improved super-twisting (STW) algorithm is investigated to obtain the control laws, followed by several simulations to verify its robustness. The outer loop controller is designed using the idea of backstepping. Moreover, three typical trajectories, including a circle, a trifolium and a hexagon, have been designed to prove the adaptability of the control combinations. Six different combinations of inner and outer loop control algorithms have been compared, and the characteristics of inner and outer loop algorithm combinations have been analyzed. Simulation results demonstrate its tracking performance and thus verify the validity of the proposed control methods. Trajectory tracking experiments in a real indoor environment have been performed using our experimental vehicle to further validate the feasibility of the proposed algorithm in practice. PMID:28617338

Vibrio cholerae use pili and flagella synergistically to effect motility switching and conditional surface attachment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Utada, Andrew S.; Bennett, Rachel R.; Fong, Jiunn C. N.; Gibiansky, Maxsim L.; Yildiz, Fitnat H.; Golestanian, Ramin; Wong, Gerard C. L.

2014-09-01

We show that Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of cholera, use their flagella and mannose-sensitive hemagglutinin (MSHA) type IV pili synergistically to switch between two complementary motility states that together facilitate surface selection and attachment. Flagellar rotation counter-rotates the cell body, causing MSHA pili to have periodic mechanical contact with the surface for surface-skimming cells. Using tracking algorithms at 5 ms resolution we observe two motility behaviours: ‘roaming', characterized by meandering trajectories, and ‘orbiting’, characterized by repetitive high-curvature orbits. We develop a hydrodynamic model showing that these phenotypes result from a nonlinear relationship between trajectory shape and frictional forces between pili and the surface: strong pili-surface interactions generate orbiting motion, increasing the local bacterial loiter time. Time-lapse imaging reveals how only orbiting mode cells can attach irreversibly and form microcolonies. These observations suggest that MSHA pili are crucial for surface selection, irreversible attachment, and ultimately microcolony formation.

Pyrite: A blender plugin for visualizing molecular dynamics simulations using industry-standard rendering techniques.

PubMed

Rajendiran, Nivedita; Durrant, Jacob D

2018-05-05

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations provide critical insights into many biological mechanisms. Programs such as VMD, Chimera, and PyMOL can produce impressive simulation visualizations, but they lack many advanced rendering algorithms common in the film and video-game industries. In contrast, the modeling program Blender includes such algorithms but cannot import MD-simulation data. MD trajectories often require many gigabytes of memory/disk space, complicating Blender import. We present Pyrite, a Blender plugin that overcomes these limitations. Pyrite allows researchers to visualize MD simulations within Blender, with full access to Blender's cutting-edge rendering techniques. We expect Pyrite-generated images to appeal to students and non-specialists alike. A copy of the plugin is available at http://durrantlab.com/pyrite/, released under the terms of the GNU General Public License Version 3. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Accelerating the Gillespie Exact Stochastic Simulation Algorithm using hybrid parallel execution on graphics processing units.

PubMed

Komarov, Ivan; D'Souza, Roshan M

2012-01-01

The Gillespie Stochastic Simulation Algorithm (GSSA) and its variants are cornerstone techniques to simulate reaction kinetics in situations where the concentration of the reactant is too low to allow deterministic techniques such as differential equations. The inherent limitations of the GSSA include the time required for executing a single run and the need for multiple runs for parameter sweep exercises due to the stochastic nature of the simulation. Even very efficient variants of GSSA are prohibitively expensive to compute and perform parameter sweeps. Here we present a novel variant of the exact GSSA that is amenable to acceleration by using graphics processing units (GPUs). We parallelize the execution of a single realization across threads in a warp (fine-grained parallelism). A warp is a collection of threads that are executed synchronously on a single multi-processor. Warps executing in parallel on different multi-processors (coarse-grained parallelism) simultaneously generate multiple trajectories. Novel data-structures and algorithms reduce memory traffic, which is the bottleneck in computing the GSSA. Our benchmarks show an 8×-120× performance gain over various state-of-the-art serial algorithms when simulating different types of models.

Orbiter/carrier separation for the ALT free flight no. 1 reference trajectories. Mission planning, mission analysis and software formulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glenn, G. M.

1976-01-01

Details of the generation of the separation trajectories are discussed. The analysis culminated in definition of separation trajectories between physical separation and orbiter/carrier vortex clearance. Specifications, assumptions and analytical approach used to generate the separation trajectories are presented. Results of the analytical approach are evaluated. Conclusions and recommendations are summarized. Supporting references are listed.

Autonomous formation flight of helicopters: Model predictive control approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chung, Hoam

Formation flight is the primary movement technique for teams of helicopters. However, the potential for accidents is greatly increased when helicopter teams are required to fly in tight formations and under harsh conditions. This dissertation proposes that the automation of helicopter formations is a realistic solution capable of alleviating risks. Helicopter formation flight operations in battlefield situations are highly dynamic and dangerous, and, therefore, we maintain that both a high-level formation management system and a distributed coordinated control algorithm should be implemented to help ensure safe formations. The starting point for safe autonomous formation flights is to design a distributed control law attenuating external disturbances coming into a formation, so that each vehicle can safely maintain sufficient clearance between it and all other vehicles. While conventional methods are limited to homogeneous formations, our decentralized model predictive control (MPC) approach allows for heterogeneity in a formation. In order to avoid the conservative nature inherent in distributed MPC algorithms, we begin by designing a stable MPC for individual vehicles, and then introducing carefully designed inter-agent coupling terms in a performance index. Thus the proposed algorithm works in a decentralized manner, and can be applied to the problem of helicopter formations comprised of heterogenous vehicles. Individual vehicles in a team may be confronted by various emerging situations that will require the capability for in-flight reconfiguration. We propose the concept of a formation manager to manage separation, join, and synchronization of flight course changes. The formation manager accepts an operator's commands, information from neighboring vehicles, and its own vehicle states. Inside the formation manager, there are multiple modes and complex mode switchings represented as a finite state machine (FSM). Based on the current mode and collected information, the FSM generates discrete reference points in state space. Then, the reference trajectory generator makes smooth trajectories from discrete reference points using interpolation and/or an online optimization scheme. By modifying the reference trajectory and triggering mode changes, the formation manager can override behaviors of the MPC controller. When a vehicle outside of the formation approaches a vehicle at the edge of the formation, the motion of the vehicle at the formation edge acts like a disturbance with respect to the vehicle attempting to join the formation. The vehicle at the edge of the formation cannot cooperate with any vehicle outside of the formation due to constraints on maintaining the existing formation. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Finite-Time and -Size Scalings in the Evaluation of Large Deviation Functions. Numerical Analysis in Continuous Time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guevara Hidalgo, Esteban; Nemoto, Takahiro; Lecomte, Vivien

Rare trajectories of stochastic systems are important to understand because of their potential impact. However, their properties are by definition difficult to sample directly. Population dynamics provide a numerical tool allowing their study, by means of simulating a large number of copies of the system, which are subjected to a selection rule that favors the rare trajectories of interest. However, such algorithms are plagued by finite simulation time- and finite population size- effects that can render their use delicate. Using the continuous-time cloning algorithm, we analyze the finite-time and finite-size scalings of estimators of the large deviation functions associated to the distribution of the rare trajectories. We use these scalings in order to propose a numerical approach which allows to extract the infinite-time and infinite-size limit of these estimators.

Unravelling the dynamical origin of below- and near-threshold harmonic generation of H 2 + in an intense NIR laser field

DOE PAGES

Heslar, John; Chu, Shih-I.

2016-11-24

Recently, the study of near- and below- threshold regime harmonics as a potential source of intense coherent vacuum-ultraviolet radiation has received considerable attention. However, the dynamical origin of these lower harmonics, particularly for the molecular systems, is less understood and largely unexplored. Here we perform the first fully ab initio and high precision 3D quantum study of the below- and near-threshold harmonic generation of H 2 + molecules in an intense 800-nm near-infrared (NIR) laser field. Furthermore, combining with a synchrosqueezing transform of the quantum time-frequency spectrum and an extended semiclassical analysis, we explore in-depth the roles of various quantummore » trajectories, including short- and long trajectories, multiphoton trajectories, resonance-enhanced trajectories, and multiple rescattering trajectories of the below- and near- threshold harmonic generation processes. Our results shed new light on the dynamical origin of the below- and near-threshold harmonic generation and various quantum trajectories for diatomic molecules for the first time.« less

Targeting Ballistic Lunar Capture Trajectories Using Periodic Orbits in the Sun-Earth CRTBP

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cooley, D.S.; Griesemer, Paul Ricord; Ocampo, Cesar

2009-01-01

A particular periodic orbit in the Earth-Sun circular restricted three body problem is shown to have the characteristics needed for a ballistic lunar capture transfer. An injection from a circular parking orbit into the periodic orbit serves as an initial guess for a targeting algorithm. By targeting appropriate parameters incrementally in increasingly complicated force models and using precise derivatives calculated from the state transition matrix, a reliable algorithm is produced. Ballistic lunar capture trajectories in restricted four body systems are shown to be able to be produced in a systematic way.

Multi-rendezvous low-thrust trajectory optimization using costate transforming and homotopic approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Shiyu; Li, Haiyang; Baoyin, Hexi

2018-06-01

This paper investigates a method for optimizing multi-rendezvous low-thrust trajectories using indirect methods. An efficient technique, labeled costate transforming, is proposed to optimize multiple trajectory legs simultaneously rather than optimizing each trajectory leg individually. Complex inner-point constraints and a large number of free variables are one main challenge in optimizing multi-leg transfers via shooting algorithms. Such a difficulty is reduced by first optimizing each trajectory leg individually. The results may be, next, utilized as an initial guess in the simultaneous optimization of multiple trajectory legs. In this paper, the limitations of similar techniques in previous research is surpassed and a homotopic approach is employed to improve the convergence efficiency of the shooting process in multi-rendezvous low-thrust trajectory optimization. Numerical examples demonstrate that newly introduced techniques are valid and efficient.

Constructing an Indoor Floor Plan Using Crowdsourcing Based on Magnetic Fingerprinting

PubMed Central

Zhao, Fang; Jiang, Mengling; Ma, Hao; Zhang, Yuexia

2017-01-01

A large number of indoor positioning systems have recently been developed to cater for various location-based services. Indoor maps are a prerequisite of such indoor positioning systems; however, indoor maps are currently non-existent for most indoor environments. Construction of an indoor map by external experts excludes quick deployment and prevents widespread utilization of indoor localization systems. Here, we propose an algorithm for the automatic construction of an indoor floor plan, together with a magnetic fingerprint map of unmapped buildings using crowdsourced smartphone data. For floor plan construction, our system combines the use of dead reckoning technology, an observation model with geomagnetic signals, and trajectory fusion based on an affinity propagation algorithm. To obtain the indoor paths, the magnetic trajectory data obtained through crowdsourcing were first clustered using dynamic time warping similarity criteria. The trajectories were inferred from odometry tracing, and those belonging to the same cluster in the magnetic trajectory domain were then fused. Fusing these data effectively eliminates the inherent tracking errors originating from noisy sensors; as a result, we obtained highly accurate indoor paths. One advantage of our system is that no additional hardware such as a laser rangefinder or wheel encoder is required. Experimental results demonstrate that our proposed algorithm successfully constructs indoor floor plans with 0.48 m accuracy, which could benefit location-based services which lack indoor maps. PMID:29156639

LINEAR LATTICE AND TRAJECTORY RECONSTRUCTION AND CORRECTION AT FAST LINEAR ACCELERATOR

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

Romanov, A.; Edstrom, D.; Halavanau, A.

2017-07-16

The low energy part of the FAST linear accelerator based on 1.3 GHz superconducting RF cavities was successfully commissioned [1]. During commissioning, beam based model dependent methods were used to correct linear lattice and trajectory. Lattice correction algorithm is based on analysis of beam shape from profile monitors and trajectory responses to dipole correctors. Trajectory responses to field gradient variations in quadrupoles and phase variations in superconducting RF cavities were used to correct bunch offsets in quadrupoles and accelerating cavities relative to their magnetic axes. Details of used methods and experimental results are presented.

Highly efficient, very low-thrust transfer to geosynchronous orbit - Exact and approximate solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Redding, D. C.

1984-04-01

An overview is provided of the preflight, postflight, and accuracy analysis of the Titan IIIC launch vehicle that injects payloads into geosynchronous orbits. The postflight trajectory reconstruction plays an important role in determining payload injection accuracy. Furthermore, the postflight analysis provides useful information about the characteristics of measuring instruments subjected to a flight environment. Suitable approaches for meeting mission specifications, trajectory requirements, and instrument constraints are considered, taking into account the importance of preflight trajectory analysis activities. Gimbal flip avoidance algorithms in the flight software, and considerable beta gimbal analysis ensures a singularity-free trajectory.

Parallel Monotonic Basin Hopping for Low Thrust Trajectory Optimization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McCarty, Steven L.; McGuire, Melissa L.

2018-01-01

Monotonic Basin Hopping has been shown to be an effective method of solving low thrust trajectory optimization problems. This paper outlines an extension to the common serial implementation by parallelizing it over any number of available compute cores. The Parallel Monotonic Basin Hopping algorithm described herein is shown to be an effective way to more quickly locate feasible solutions, and improve locally optimal solutions in an automated way without requiring a feasible initial guess. The increased speed achieved through parallelization enables the algorithm to be applied to more complex problems that would otherwise be impractical for a serial implementation. Low thrust cislunar transfers and a hybrid Mars example case demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm. Finally, a preliminary scaling study quantifies the expected decrease in solve time compared to a serial implementation.,

A spatial operator algebra for manipulator modeling and control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rodriguez, G.; Kreutz, K.; Jain, A.

1989-01-01

A spatial operator algebra for modeling the control and trajectory design of manipulation is discussed, with emphasis on its analytical formulation and implementation in the Ada programming language. The elements of this algebra are linear operators whose domain and range spaces consist of forces, moments, velocities, and accelerations. The effect of these operators is equivalent to a spatial recursion along the span of the manipulator. Inversion is obtained using techniques of recursive filtering and smoothing. The operator alegbra provides a high-level framework for describing the dynamic and kinematic behavior of a manipulator and control and trajectory design algorithms. Implementable recursive algorithms can be immediately derived from the abstract operator expressions by inspection, thus greatly simplifying the transition from an abstract problem formulation and solution to the detailed mechanization of a specific algorithm.

Fast direct fourier reconstruction of radial and PROPELLER MRI data using the chirp transform algorithm on graphics hardware.

PubMed

Feng, Yanqiu; Song, Yanli; Wang, Cong; Xin, Xuegang; Feng, Qianjin; Chen, Wufan

2013-10-01

To develop and test a new algorithm for fast direct Fourier transform (DrFT) reconstruction of MR data on non-Cartesian trajectories composed of lines with equally spaced points. The DrFT, which is normally used as a reference in evaluating the accuracy of other reconstruction methods, can reconstruct images directly from non-Cartesian MR data without interpolation. However, DrFT reconstruction involves substantially intensive computation, which makes the DrFT impractical for clinical routine applications. In this article, the Chirp transform algorithm was introduced to accelerate the DrFT reconstruction of radial and Periodically Rotated Overlapping ParallEL Lines with Enhanced Reconstruction (PROPELLER) MRI data located on the trajectories that are composed of lines with equally spaced points. The performance of the proposed Chirp transform algorithm-DrFT algorithm was evaluated by using simulation and in vivo MRI data. After implementing the algorithm on a graphics processing unit, the proposed Chirp transform algorithm-DrFT algorithm achieved an acceleration of approximately one order of magnitude, and the speed-up factor was further increased to approximately three orders of magnitude compared with the traditional single-thread DrFT reconstruction. Implementation the Chirp transform algorithm-DrFT algorithm on the graphics processing unit can efficiently calculate the DrFT reconstruction of the radial and PROPELLER MRI data. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Generating Variable Wind Profiles and Modeling Their Effects on Small-Arms Trajectories

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-04-01

ARL-TR-7642 ● APR 2016 US Army Research Laboratory Generating Variable Wind Profiles and Modeling Their Effects on Small-Arms... Wind Profiles and Modeling Their Effects on Small-Arms Trajectories by Timothy A Fargus Weapons and Materials Research Directorate, ARL...Generating Variable Wind Profiles and Modeling Their Effects on Small-Arms Trajectories 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM

A new hyperchaotic map and its application for image encryption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Natiq, Hayder; Al-Saidi, N. M. G.; Said, M. R. M.; Kilicman, Adem

2018-01-01

Based on the one-dimensional Sine map and the two-dimensional Hénon map, a new two-dimensional Sine-Hénon alteration model (2D-SHAM) is hereby proposed. Basic dynamic characteristics of 2D-SHAM are studied through the following aspects: equilibria, Jacobin eigenvalues, trajectory, bifurcation diagram, Lyapunov exponents and sensitivity dependence test. The complexity of 2D-SHAM is investigated using Sample Entropy algorithm. Simulation results show that 2D-SHAM is overall hyperchaotic with the high complexity, and high sensitivity to its initial values and control parameters. To investigate its performance in terms of security, a new 2D-SHAM-based image encryption algorithm (SHAM-IEA) is also proposed. In this algorithm, the essential requirements of confusion and diffusion are accomplished, and the stochastic 2D-SHAM is used to enhance the security of encrypted image. The stochastic 2D-SHAM generates random values, hence SHAM-IEA can produce different encrypted images even with the same secret key. Experimental results and security analysis show that SHAM-IEA has strong capability to withstand statistical analysis, differential attack, chosen-plaintext and chosen-ciphertext attacks.

A Novel Zero Velocity Interval Detection Algorithm for Self-Contained Pedestrian Navigation System with Inertial Sensors

PubMed Central

Tian, Xiaochun; Chen, Jiabin; Han, Yongqiang; Shang, Jianyu; Li, Nan

2016-01-01

Zero velocity update (ZUPT) plays an important role in pedestrian navigation algorithms with the premise that the zero velocity interval (ZVI) should be detected accurately and effectively. A novel adaptive ZVI detection algorithm based on a smoothed pseudo Wigner–Ville distribution to remove multiple frequencies intelligently (SPWVD-RMFI) is proposed in this paper. The novel algorithm adopts the SPWVD-RMFI method to extract the pedestrian gait frequency and to calculate the optimal ZVI detection threshold in real time by establishing the function relationships between the thresholds and the gait frequency; then, the adaptive adjustment of thresholds with gait frequency is realized and improves the ZVI detection precision. To put it into practice, a ZVI detection experiment is carried out; the result shows that compared with the traditional fixed threshold ZVI detection method, the adaptive ZVI detection algorithm can effectively reduce the false and missed detection rate of ZVI; this indicates that the novel algorithm has high detection precision and good robustness. Furthermore, pedestrian trajectory positioning experiments at different walking speeds are carried out to evaluate the influence of the novel algorithm on positioning precision. The results show that the ZVI detected by the adaptive ZVI detection algorithm for pedestrian trajectory calculation can achieve better performance. PMID:27669266

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

Liang, J; Kim, S; Hristov, D

Purpose: To assess the potential benefit of trajectory modulated arc therapy (TMAT) for treatments of small benign intracranial tumor, pituitary adenoma. Methods: A TMAT planning platform that incorporates complex source motion trajectory involving synchronized gantry rotation with translational and rotational couch movement was used for the study. The platform couples an interactive trajectory generation tool with a VMAT algorithm that performs multi-resolution, progressive sampling MLC optimization on a user-designed trajectory. A continuous couch rotation of 160° angular span with ±20° mini gantry arcs was used to emulate a non-coplanar horizontal arc-like trajectory. Compared to conventional non-coplanar gantry arcs (60°-100° gantrymore » rotation with couch kicks), TMAT limited the unnecessary low to medium dose spread in the anterior and posterior directions, where primary OARs (e.g., brainstem, optic chiasm, optic nerves, and lens) are in close proximity to the targeted pituitary tumor volume. For 5 standard fractionation pituitary adenoma cases (50.4Gy/28fractions), TMAT and non-coplanar VMAT plans were generated and compared under equivalent objectives/constraints. TMAT delivery was implemented and demonstrated on Varian TrueBeam via XML scripts. Results: Both techniques showed good target coverage while OARs were able to meet the constraints on QUANTEC guidelines. Notably, TMAT decreased the dose deposition in the anterior-to-posterior direction surrounding PTV. TMAT significantly reduced the mean doses on brainstem, optic nerves, eyes and lens by 47.29%±13.17%, 28.51%±8.68%, 80.82%±8.71% and 65.38%±19.99% compared with VMAT, all p≤0.01. Percentage reductions of maximum point dose in eyes and lens were 75.68%±10.30% and 70.72%±18.62% respectively for TMAT versus VMAT, all p≤0.01. A representative isocentric TMAT pituitary plan was delivered via an XML script with 200 control points and 282 MUs. Conclusion: Deliverable TMAT plans were achieved in developer mode in TrueBeam. TMAT was shown to be superior for pituitary adenoma irradiation in terms of OARs sparing.« less

A generalized muon trajectory estimation algorithm with energy loss for application to muon tomography

DOE PAGES

Chatzidakis, Stylianos; Liu, Zhengzhi; Hayward, Jason P.; ...

2018-03-28

Here, this work presents a generalized muon trajectory estimation (GMTE) algorithm to estimate the path of a muon in either uniform or nonuniform media. The use of cosmic ray muons in nuclear nonproliferation and safeguards verification applications has recently gained attention due to the non-intrusive and passive nature of the inspection, penetrating capabilities, as well as recent advances in detectors that measure position and direction of the individual muons before and after traversing the imaged object. However, muon image reconstruction techniques are limited in resolution due to low muon flux and the effects of multiple Coulomb scattering (MCS). Current reconstructionmore » algorithms, e.g., point of closest approach (PoCA) or straight-line path (SLP), rely on overly simple assumptions for muon path estimation through the imaged object. For robust muon tomography, efficient and flexible physics-based algorithms are needed to model the MCS process and accurately estimate the most probable trajectory of a muon as it traverses an object. In the present work, the use of a Bayesian framework and a Gaussian approximation of MCS are explored for estimation of the most likely path of a cosmic ray muon traversing uniform or nonuniform media and undergoing MCS. The algorithm’s precision is compared to Monte Carlo simulated muon trajectories. It was found that the algorithm is expected to be able to predict muon tracks to less than 1.5 mm RMS for 0.5 GeV muons and 0.25 mm RMS for 3 GeV muons, a 50% improvement compared to SLP and 15% improvement when compared to PoCA. Further, a 30% increase in useful muon flux was observed relative to PoCA. Muon track prediction improved for higher muon energies or smaller penetration depth where energy loss is not significant. Finally, the effect of energy loss due to ionization is investigated, and a linear energy loss relation that is easy to use is proposed.« less

A generalized muon trajectory estimation algorithm with energy loss for application to muon tomography

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

Chatzidakis, Stylianos; Liu, Zhengzhi; Hayward, Jason P.

Here, this work presents a generalized muon trajectory estimation (GMTE) algorithm to estimate the path of a muon in either uniform or nonuniform media. The use of cosmic ray muons in nuclear nonproliferation and safeguards verification applications has recently gained attention due to the non-intrusive and passive nature of the inspection, penetrating capabilities, as well as recent advances in detectors that measure position and direction of the individual muons before and after traversing the imaged object. However, muon image reconstruction techniques are limited in resolution due to low muon flux and the effects of multiple Coulomb scattering (MCS). Current reconstructionmore » algorithms, e.g., point of closest approach (PoCA) or straight-line path (SLP), rely on overly simple assumptions for muon path estimation through the imaged object. For robust muon tomography, efficient and flexible physics-based algorithms are needed to model the MCS process and accurately estimate the most probable trajectory of a muon as it traverses an object. In the present work, the use of a Bayesian framework and a Gaussian approximation of MCS are explored for estimation of the most likely path of a cosmic ray muon traversing uniform or nonuniform media and undergoing MCS. The algorithm’s precision is compared to Monte Carlo simulated muon trajectories. It was found that the algorithm is expected to be able to predict muon tracks to less than 1.5 mm RMS for 0.5 GeV muons and 0.25 mm RMS for 3 GeV muons, a 50% improvement compared to SLP and 15% improvement when compared to PoCA. Further, a 30% increase in useful muon flux was observed relative to PoCA. Muon track prediction improved for higher muon energies or smaller penetration depth where energy loss is not significant. Finally, the effect of energy loss due to ionization is investigated, and a linear energy loss relation that is easy to use is proposed.« less

A composite controller for trajectory tracking applied to the Furuta pendulum.

PubMed

Aguilar-Avelar, Carlos; Moreno-Valenzuela, Javier

2015-07-01

In this paper, a new composite scheme is proposed, where the total control action is composed of the sum of a feedback-linearization-based controller and an energy-based compensation. This new proposition is applied to the rotary inverted pendulum or Furuta pendulum. The Furuta pendulum is a well-known underactuated mechanical system with two degrees of freedom. The control objective in this case is the tracking of a desired periodic trajectory in the actuated joint, while the unactuated link is regulated at the upward position. The closed-loop system is analyzed showing uniformly ultimately boundedness of the error trajectories. The design procedure is shown in a constructive form, such that it may be applied to other underactuated mechanical systems, with the proper definitions of the output function and the energy function. Numerical simulations and real-time experiments show the practical viability of the controller. Finally, the proposed algorithm is compared with a tracking controller previously reported in the literature. The new algorithm shows better performance in both arm trajectory tracking and pendulum regulation. Copyright © 2015 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Speed and path control for conflict-free flight in high air traffic demand in terminal airspace

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rezaei, Ali

To accommodate the growing air traffic demand, flights will need to be planned and navigated with a much higher level of precision than today's aircraft flight path. The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) stands to benefit significantly in safety and efficiency from such movement of aircraft along precisely defined paths. Air Traffic Operations (ATO) relying on such precision--the Precision Air Traffic Operations or PATO--are the foundation of high throughput capacity envisioned for the future airports. In PATO, the preferred method is to manage the air traffic by assigning a speed profile to each aircraft in a given fleet in a given airspace (in practice known as (speed control). In this research, an algorithm has been developed, set in the context of a Hybrid Control System (HCS) model, that determines whether a speed control solution exists for a given fleet of aircraft in a given airspace and if so, computes this solution as a collective speed profile that assures separation if executed without deviation. Uncertainties such as weather are not considered but the algorithm can be modified to include uncertainties. The algorithm first computes all feasible sequences (i.e., all sequences that allow the given fleet of aircraft to reach destinations without violating the FAA's separation requirement) by looking at all pairs of aircraft. Then, the most likely sequence is determined and the speed control solution is constructed by a backward trajectory generation, starting with the aircraft last out and proceeds to the first out. This computation can be done for different sequences in parallel which helps to reduce the computation time. If such a solution does not exist, then the algorithm calculates a minimal path modification (known as path control) that will allow separation-compliance speed control. We will also prove that the algorithm will modify the path without creating a new separation violation. The new path will be generated by adding new waypoints in the airspace. As a byproduct, instead of minimal path modification, one can use the aircraft arrival time schedule to generate the sequence in which the aircraft reach their destinations.

Integration of Visual and Joint Information to Enable Linear Reaching Motions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eberle, Henry; Nasuto, Slawomir J.; Hayashi, Yoshikatsu

2017-01-01

A new dynamics-driven control law was developed for a robot arm, based on the feedback control law which uses the linear transformation directly from work space to joint space. This was validated using a simulation of a two-joint planar robot arm and an optimisation algorithm was used to find the optimum matrix to generate straight trajectories of the end-effector in the work space. We found that this linear matrix can be decomposed into the rotation matrix representing the orientation of the goal direction and the joint relation matrix (MJRM) representing the joint response to errors in the Cartesian work space. The decomposition of the linear matrix indicates the separation of path planning in terms of the direction of the reaching motion and the synergies of joint coordination. Once the MJRM is numerically obtained, the feedfoward planning of reaching direction allows us to provide asymptotically stable, linear trajectories in the entire work space through rotational transformation, completely avoiding the use of inverse kinematics. Our dynamics-driven control law suggests an interesting framework for interpreting human reaching motion control alternative to the dominant inverse method based explanations, avoiding expensive computation of the inverse kinematics and the point-to-point control along the desired trajectories.

Improved Conflict Detection for Reducing Operational Errors in Air Traffic Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paielli, Russell A.; Erzberger, Hainz

2003-01-01

An operational error is an incident in which an air traffic controller allows the separation between two aircraft to fall below the minimum separation standard. The rates of such errors in the US have increased significantly over the past few years. This paper proposes new detection methods that can help correct this trend by improving on the performance of Conflict Alert, the existing software in the Host Computer System that is intended to detect and warn controllers of imminent conflicts. In addition to the usual trajectory based on the flight plan, a "dead-reckoning" trajectory (current velocity projection) is also generated for each aircraft and checked for conflicts. Filters for reducing common types of false alerts were implemented. The new detection methods were tested in three different ways. First, a simple flightpath command language was developed t o generate precisely controlled encounters for the purpose of testing the detection software. Second, written reports and tracking data were obtained for actual operational errors that occurred in the field, and these were "replayed" to test the new detection algorithms. Finally, the detection methods were used to shadow live traffic, and performance was analysed, particularly with regard to the false-alert rate. The results indicate that the new detection methods can provide timely warnings of imminent conflicts more consistently than Conflict Alert.

A study of numerical methods for computing reentry trajectories for shuttle-type space vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

The reuseable exterior insulation system (REI) is studied to determine the optimal reentry trajectory for a space shuttle, which minimizes the heat input to the fuselage. The REI is composed of titanium, covered by a surface insulation material. The method of perturbation functions was used to generate the trajectories, and proved to be an effective technique for generating families of solutions, once an initial trajectory has been obtained.

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

Heslar, John; Chu, Shih-I.

Recently, the study of near- and below- threshold regime harmonics as a potential source of intense coherent vacuum-ultraviolet radiation has received considerable attention. However, the dynamical origin of these lower harmonics, particularly for the molecular systems, is less understood and largely unexplored. Here we perform the first fully ab initio and high precision 3D quantum study of the below- and near-threshold harmonic generation of H 2 + molecules in an intense 800-nm near-infrared (NIR) laser field. Furthermore, combining with a synchrosqueezing transform of the quantum time-frequency spectrum and an extended semiclassical analysis, we explore in-depth the roles of various quantummore » trajectories, including short- and long trajectories, multiphoton trajectories, resonance-enhanced trajectories, and multiple rescattering trajectories of the below- and near- threshold harmonic generation processes. Our results shed new light on the dynamical origin of the below- and near-threshold harmonic generation and various quantum trajectories for diatomic molecules for the first time.« less

Recursive Branching Simulated Annealing Algorithm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bolcar, Matthew; Smith, J. Scott; Aronstein, David

2012-01-01

This innovation is a variation of a simulated-annealing optimization algorithm that uses a recursive-branching structure to parallelize the search of a parameter space for the globally optimal solution to an objective. The algorithm has been demonstrated to be more effective at searching a parameter space than traditional simulated-annealing methods for a particular problem of interest, and it can readily be applied to a wide variety of optimization problems, including those with a parameter space having both discrete-value parameters (combinatorial) and continuous-variable parameters. It can take the place of a conventional simulated- annealing, Monte-Carlo, or random- walk algorithm. In a conventional simulated-annealing (SA) algorithm, a starting configuration is randomly selected within the parameter space. The algorithm randomly selects another configuration from the parameter space and evaluates the objective function for that configuration. If the objective function value is better than the previous value, the new configuration is adopted as the new point of interest in the parameter space. If the objective function value is worse than the previous value, the new configuration may be adopted, with a probability determined by a temperature parameter, used in analogy to annealing in metals. As the optimization continues, the region of the parameter space from which new configurations can be selected shrinks, and in conjunction with lowering the annealing temperature (and thus lowering the probability for adopting configurations in parameter space with worse objective functions), the algorithm can converge on the globally optimal configuration. The Recursive Branching Simulated Annealing (RBSA) algorithm shares some features with the SA algorithm, notably including the basic principles that a starting configuration is randomly selected from within the parameter space, the algorithm tests other configurations with the goal of finding the globally optimal solution, and the region from which new configurations can be selected shrinks as the search continues. The key difference between these algorithms is that in the SA algorithm, a single path, or trajectory, is taken in parameter space, from the starting point to the globally optimal solution, while in the RBSA algorithm, many trajectories are taken; by exploring multiple regions of the parameter space simultaneously, the algorithm has been shown to converge on the globally optimal solution about an order of magnitude faster than when using conventional algorithms. Novel features of the RBSA algorithm include: 1. More efficient searching of the parameter space due to the branching structure, in which multiple random configurations are generated and multiple promising regions of the parameter space are explored; 2. The implementation of a trust region for each parameter in the parameter space, which provides a natural way of enforcing upper- and lower-bound constraints on the parameters; and 3. The optional use of a constrained gradient- search optimization, performed on the continuous variables around each branch s configuration in parameter space to improve search efficiency by allowing for fast fine-tuning of the continuous variables within the trust region at that configuration point.

Development of an Interval Management Algorithm Using Ground Speed Feedback for Delayed Traffic

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barmore, Bryan E.; Swieringa, Kurt A.; Underwood, Matthew C.; Abbott, Terence; Leonard, Robert D.

2016-01-01

One of the goals of NextGen is to enable frequent use of Optimized Profile Descents (OPD) for aircraft, even during periods of peak traffic demand. NASA is currently testing three new technologies that enable air traffic controllers to use speed adjustments to space aircraft during arrival and approach operations. This will allow an aircraft to remain close to their OPD. During the integration of these technologies, it was discovered that, due to a lack of accurate trajectory information for the leading aircraft, Interval Management aircraft were exhibiting poor behavior. NASA's Interval Management algorithm was modified to address the impact of inaccurate trajectory information and a series of studies were performed to assess the impact of this modification. These studies show that the modification provided some improvement when the Interval Management system lacked accurate trajectory information for the leading aircraft.

Optimizing highly noncoplanar VMAT trajectories: the NoVo method.

PubMed

Langhans, Marco; Unkelbach, Jan; Bortfeld, Thomas; Craft, David

2018-01-16

We introduce a new method called NoVo (Noncoplanar VMAT Optimization) to produce volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) treatment plans with noncoplanar trajectories. While the use of noncoplanar beam arrangements for intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), and in particular high fraction stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), is common, noncoplanar beam trajectories for VMAT are less common as the availability of treatment machines handling these is limited. For both IMRT and VMAT, the beam angle selection problem is highly nonconvex in nature, which is why automated beam angle selection procedures have not entered mainstream clinical usage. NoVo determines a noncoplanar VMAT solution (i.e. the simultaneous trajectories of the gantry and the couch) by first computing a [Formula: see text] solution (beams from every possible direction, suitably discretized) and then eliminating beams by examing fluence contributions. Also all beam angles are scored via geometrical considerations only to find out the usefulness of the whole beam space in a very short time. A custom path finding algorithm is applied to find an optimized, continuous trajectory through the most promising beam angles using the calculated score of the beam space. Finally, using this trajectory a VMAT plan is optimized. For three clinical cases, a lung, brain, and liver case, we compare NoVo to the ideal [Formula: see text] solution, nine beam noncoplanar IMRT, coplanar VMAT, and a recently published noncoplanar VMAT algorithm. NoVo comes closest to the [Formula: see text] solution considering the lung case (brain and liver case: second), as well as improving the solution time by using geometrical considerations, followed by a time effective iterative process reducing the [Formula: see text] solution. Compared to a recently published noncoplanar VMAT algorithm, using NoVo the computation time is reduced by a factor of 2-3 (depending on the case). Compared to coplanar VMAT, NoVo reduces the objective function value by 24%, 49% and 6% for the lung, brain and liver cases, respectively.

Optimizing highly noncoplanar VMAT trajectories: the NoVo method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Langhans, Marco; Unkelbach, Jan; Bortfeld, Thomas; Craft, David

2018-01-01

We introduce a new method called NoVo (Noncoplanar VMAT Optimization) to produce volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) treatment plans with noncoplanar trajectories. While the use of noncoplanar beam arrangements for intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), and in particular high fraction stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), is common, noncoplanar beam trajectories for VMAT are less common as the availability of treatment machines handling these is limited. For both IMRT and VMAT, the beam angle selection problem is highly nonconvex in nature, which is why automated beam angle selection procedures have not entered mainstream clinical usage. NoVo determines a noncoplanar VMAT solution (i.e. the simultaneous trajectories of the gantry and the couch) by first computing a 4π solution (beams from every possible direction, suitably discretized) and then eliminating beams by examing fluence contributions. Also all beam angles are scored via geometrical considerations only to find out the usefulness of the whole beam space in a very short time. A custom path finding algorithm is applied to find an optimized, continuous trajectory through the most promising beam angles using the calculated score of the beam space. Finally, using this trajectory a VMAT plan is optimized. For three clinical cases, a lung, brain, and liver case, we compare NoVo to the ideal 4π solution, nine beam noncoplanar IMRT, coplanar VMAT, and a recently published noncoplanar VMAT algorithm. NoVo comes closest to the 4π solution considering the lung case (brain and liver case: second), as well as improving the solution time by using geometrical considerations, followed by a time effective iterative process reducing the 4π solution. Compared to a recently published noncoplanar VMAT algorithm, using NoVo the computation time is reduced by a factor of 2-3 (depending on the case). Compared to coplanar VMAT, NoVo reduces the objective function value by 24%, 49% and 6% for the lung, brain and liver cases, respectively.

Design of the VISITOR Tool: A Versatile ImpulSive Interplanetary Trajectory OptimizeR

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Corpaccioli, Luca; Linskens, Harry; Komar, David R.

2014-01-01

The design of trajectories for interplanetary missions represents one of the most complex and important problems to solve during conceptual space mission design. To facilitate conceptual mission sizing activities, it is essential to obtain sufficiently accurate trajectories in a fast and repeatable manner. To this end, the VISITOR tool was developed. This tool modularly augments a patched conic MGA-1DSM model with a mass model, launch window analysis, and the ability to simulate more realistic arrival and departure operations. This was implemented in MATLAB, exploiting the built-in optimization tools and vector analysis routines. The chosen optimization strategy uses a grid search and pattern search, an iterative variable grid method. A genetic algorithm can be selectively used to improve search space pruning, at the cost of losing the repeatability of the results and increased computation time. The tool was validated against seven flown missions: the average total mission (Delta)V offset from the nominal trajectory was 9.1%, which was reduced to 7.3% when using the genetic algorithm at the cost of an increase in computation time by a factor 5.7. It was found that VISITOR was well-suited for the conceptual design of interplanetary trajectories, while also facilitating future improvements due to its modular structure.

Cherry-picking functionally relevant substates from long md trajectories using a stratified sampling approach.

PubMed

Chandramouli, Balasubramanian; Mancini, Giordano

2016-01-01

Classical Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations can provide insights at the nanoscopic scale into protein dynamics. Currently, simulations of large proteins and complexes can be routinely carried out in the ns-μs time regime. Clustering of MD trajectories is often performed to identify selective conformations and to compare simulation and experimental data coming from different sources on closely related systems. However, clustering techniques are usually applied without a careful validation of results and benchmark studies involving the application of different algorithms to MD data often deal with relatively small peptides instead of average or large proteins; finally clustering is often applied as a means to analyze refined data and also as a way to simplify further analysis of trajectories. Herein, we propose a strategy to classify MD data while carefully benchmarking the performance of clustering algorithms and internal validation criteria for such methods. We demonstrate the method on two showcase systems with different features, and compare the classification of trajectories in real and PCA space. We posit that the prototype procedure adopted here could be highly fruitful in clustering large trajectories of multiple systems or that resulting especially from enhanced sampling techniques like replica exchange simulations. Copyright: © 2016 by Fabrizio Serra editore, Pisa · Roma.

WE-G-BRF-07: Non-Circular Scanning Trajectories with Varian Developer Mode

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

Davis, A; Pearson, E; Pan, X

2014-06-15

Purpose: Cone-beam CT (CBCT) in image-guide radiation therapy (IGRT) typicallyacquires scan data via the circular trajectory of the linearaccelerator's (linac) gantry rotation. Though this lends itself toanalytic reconstruction algorithms like FDK, iterative reconstructionalgorithms allow for a broader range of scanning trajectories. Weimplemented a non-circular scanning trajectory with Varian's TrueBeamDeveloper Mode and performed some preliminary reconstructions toverify the geometry. Methods: We used TrueBeam Developer Mode to program a new scanning trajectorythat increases the field of view (FOV) along the gantry rotation axiswithout moving the patient. This trajectory consisted of moving thegantry in a circle, then translating the source and detector alongmore » theaxial direction before acquiring another circular scan 19 cm away fromthe first. The linear portion of the trajectory includes an additional4.5 cm above and below the axial planes of the source's circularrotation. We scanned a calibration phantom consisting of a lucite tubewith a spiral pattern of CT spots and used the maximum-likelihoodalgorithm to iteratively reconstruct the CBCT volume. Results: With the TrueBeam trajectory definition, we acquired projection dataof the calibration phantom using the previously described trajectory.We obtained a scan of the treatment couch for log normalization byscanning with the same trajectory but without the phantom present.Using the nominal geometric parameters reported in the projectionheaders with our iterative reconstruction algorithm, we obtained acorrect reconstruction of the calibration phantom. Conclusion: The ability to implement new scanning trajectories with the TrueBeamDeveloper Mode enables us access to a new parameter space for imagingwith CBCT for IGRT. Previous simulations and simple dual circle scanshave shown iterative reconstruction with non-circular trajectories canincrease the axial FOV with CBCT. Use of Developer Mode allowsexperimentally testing these and other new scanning trajectories. Support was provided in part by the University of Chicago Research Computing Center, Varian Medical Systems, and NIH Grants 1RO1CA120540, T32EB002103, S10 RR021039 and P30 CA14599. The contents of this work are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the supporting organizations.« less

Aeroheating Predictions for X-34 Using an Inviscid-Boundary Layer Method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Riley, Christopher J.; Kleb, William L.; Alter, Steven J.

1998-01-01

Radiative equilibrium surface temperatures and surface heating rates from a combined inviscid-boundary layer method are presented for the X-34 Reusable Launch Vehicle for several points along the hypersonic descent portion of its trajectory. Inviscid, perfect-gas solutions are generated with the Langley Aerothermodynamic Upwind Relaxation Algorithm (LAURA) and the Data-Parallel Lower-Upper Relaxation (DPLUR) code. Surface temperatures and heating rates are then computed using the Langley Approximate Three-Dimensional Convective Heating (LATCH) engineering code employing both laminar and turbulent flow models. The combined inviscid-boundary layer method provides accurate predictions of surface temperatures over most of the vehicle and requires much less computational effort than a Navier-Stokes code. This enables the generation of a more thorough aerothermal database which is necessary to design the thermal protection system and specify the vehicle's flight limits.

A linguistic geometry for space applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stilman, Boris

1994-01-01

We develop a formal theory, the so-called Linguistic Geometry, in order to discover the inner properties of human expert heuristics, which were successful in a certain class of complex control systems, and apply them to different systems. This research relies on the formalization of search heuristics of high-skilled human experts which allow for the decomposition of complex system into the hierarchy of subsystems, and thus solve intractable problems reducing the search. The hierarchy of subsystems is represented as a hierarchy of formal attribute languages. This paper includes a formal survey of the Linguistic Geometry, and new example of a solution of optimization problem for the space robotic vehicles. This example includes actual generation of the hierarchy of languages, some details of trajectory generation and demonstrates the drastic reduction of search in comparison with conventional search algorithms.

Rapid water and lipid imaging with T2 mapping using a radial IDEAL-GRASE technique.

PubMed

Li, Zhiqiang; Graff, Christian; Gmitro, Arthur F; Squire, Scott W; Bilgin, Ali; Outwater, Eric K; Altbach, Maria I

2009-06-01

Three-point Dixon methods have been investigated as a means to generate water and fat images without the effects of field inhomogeneities. Recently, an iterative algorithm (IDEAL, iterative decomposition of water and fat with echo asymmetry and least squares estimation) was combined with a gradient and spin-echo acquisition strategy (IDEAL-GRASE) to provide a time-efficient method for lipid-water imaging with correction for the effects of field inhomogeneities. The method presented in this work combines IDEAL-GRASE with radial data acquisition. Radial data sampling offers robustness to motion over Cartesian trajectories as well as the possibility of generating high-resolution T(2) maps in addition to the water and fat images. The radial IDEAL-GRASE technique is demonstrated in phantoms and in vivo for various applications including abdominal, pelvic, and cardiac imaging.

Coupled Inertial Navigation and Flush Air Data Sensing Algorithm for Atmosphere Estimation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Karlgaard, Christopher D.; Kutty, Prasad; Schoenenberger, Mark

2016-01-01

This paper describes an algorithm for atmospheric state estimation based on a coupling between inertial navigation and flush air data-sensing pressure measurements. The navigation state is used in the atmospheric estimation algorithm along with the pressure measurements and a model of the surface pressure distribution to estimate the atmosphere using a nonlinear weighted least-squares algorithm. The approach uses a high-fidelity model of atmosphere stored in table-lookup form, along with simplified models propagated along the trajectory within the algorithm to aid the solution. Thus, the method is a reduced-order Kalman filter in which the inertial states are taken from the navigation solution and atmospheric states are estimated in the filter. The algorithm is applied to data from the Mars Science Laboratory entry, descent, and landing from August 2012. Reasonable estimates of the atmosphere are produced by the algorithm. The observability of winds along the trajectory are examined using an index based on the observability Gramian and the pressure measurement sensitivity matrix. The results indicate that bank reversals are responsible for adding information content. The algorithm is applied to the design of the pressure measurement system for the Mars 2020 mission. A linear covariance analysis is performed to assess estimator performance. The results indicate that the new estimator produces more precise estimates of atmospheric states than existing algorithms.

An adaptive guidance algorithm for an aerodynamically assisted orbital plane change maneuver. M.S. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blissit, J. A.

1986-01-01

Using analysis results from the post trajectory optimization program, an adaptive guidance algorithm is developed to compensate for density, aerodynamic and thrust perturbations during an atmospheric orbital plane change maneuver. The maneuver offers increased mission flexibility along with potential fuel savings for future reentry vehicles. Although designed to guide a proposed NASA Entry Research Vehicle, the algorithm is sufficiently generic for a range of future entry vehicles. The plane change analysis provides insight suggesting a straight-forward algorithm based on an optimized nominal command profile. Bank angle, angle of attack, and engine thrust level, ignition and cutoff times are modulated to adjust the vehicle's trajectory to achieve the desired end-conditions. A performance evaluation of the scheme demonstrates a capability to guide to within 0.05 degrees of the desired plane change and five nautical miles of the desired apogee altitude while maintaining heating constraints. The algorithm is tested under off-nominal conditions of + or -30% density biases, two density profile models, + or -15% aerodynamic uncertainty, and a 33% thrust loss and for various combinations of these conditions.

Minimum time acceleration of aircraft turbofan engines by using an algorithm based on nonlinear programming

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Teren, F.

1977-01-01

Minimum time accelerations of aircraft turbofan engines are presented. The calculation of these accelerations was made by using a piecewise linear engine model, and an algorithm based on nonlinear programming. Use of this model and algorithm allows such trajectories to be readily calculated on a digital computer with a minimal expenditure of computer time.

Enhancements on the Convex Programming Based Powered Descent Guidance Algorithm for Mars Landing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Acikmese, Behcet; Blackmore, Lars; Scharf, Daniel P.; Wolf, Aron

2008-01-01

In this paper, we present enhancements on the powered descent guidance algorithm developed for Mars pinpoint landing. The guidance algorithm solves the powered descent minimum fuel trajectory optimization problem via a direct numerical method. Our main contribution is to formulate the trajectory optimization problem, which has nonconvex control constraints, as a finite dimensional convex optimization problem, specifically as a finite dimensional second order cone programming (SOCP) problem. SOCP is a subclass of convex programming, and there are efficient SOCP solvers with deterministic convergence properties. Hence, the resulting guidance algorithm can potentially be implemented onboard a spacecraft for real-time applications. Particularly, this paper discusses the algorithmic improvements obtained by: (i) Using an efficient approach to choose the optimal time-of-flight; (ii) Using a computationally inexpensive way to detect the feasibility/ infeasibility of the problem due to the thrust-to-weight constraint; (iii) Incorporating the rotation rate of the planet into the problem formulation; (iv) Developing additional constraints on the position and velocity to guarantee no-subsurface flight between the time samples of the temporal discretization; (v) Developing a fuel-limited targeting algorithm; (vi) Initial result on developing an onboard table lookup method to obtain almost fuel optimal solutions in real-time.

Results of the Magnetometer Navigation (MAGNAV)lnflight Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thienel, Julie K.; Harman, Richard R.; Bar-Itzhack, Itzhack Y.; Lambertson, Mike

2004-01-01

The Magnetometer Navigation (MAGNAV) algorithm is currently running as a flight experiment as part of the Wide Field Infrared Explorer (WIRE) Post-Science Engineering Testbed. Initialization of MAGNAV occurred on September 4, 2003. MAGNAV is designed to autonomously estimate the spacecraft orbit, attitude, and rate using magnetometer and sun sensor data. Since the Earth's magnetic field is a function of time and position, and since time is known quite precisely, the differences between the computed magnetic field and measured magnetic field components, as measured by the magnetometer throughout the entire spacecraft orbit, are a function of the spacecraft trajectory and attitude errors. Therefore, these errors are used to estimate both trajectory and attitude. In addition, the time rate of change of the magnetic field vector is used to estimate the spacecraft rotation rate. The estimation of the attitude and trajectory is augmented with the rate estimation into an Extended Kalman filter blended with a pseudo-linear Kalman filter. Sun sensor data is also used to improve the accuracy and observability of the attitude and rate estimates. This test serves to validate MAGNAV as a single low cost navigation system which utilizes reliable, flight qualified sensors. MAGNAV is intended as a backup algorithm, an initialization algorithm, or possibly a prime navigation algorithm for a mission with coarse requirements. Results from the first six months of operation are presented.

Study of recognizing multiple persons' complicated hand gestures from the video sequence acquired by a moving camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dan, Luo; Ohya, Jun

2010-02-01

Recognizing hand gestures from the video sequence acquired by a dynamic camera could be a useful interface between humans and mobile robots. We develop a state based approach to extract and recognize hand gestures from moving camera images. We improved Human-Following Local Coordinate (HFLC) System, a very simple and stable method for extracting hand motion trajectories, which is obtained from the located human face, body part and hand blob changing factor. Condensation algorithm and PCA-based algorithm was performed to recognize extracted hand trajectories. In last research, this Condensation Algorithm based method only applied for one person's hand gestures. In this paper, we propose a principal component analysis (PCA) based approach to improve the recognition accuracy. For further improvement, temporal changes in the observed hand area changing factor are utilized as new image features to be stored in the database after being analyzed by PCA. Every hand gesture trajectory in the database is classified into either one hand gesture categories, two hand gesture categories, or temporal changes in hand blob changes. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method by conducting experiments on 45 kinds of sign language based Japanese and American Sign Language gestures obtained from 5 people. Our experimental recognition results show better performance is obtained by PCA based approach than the Condensation algorithm based method.

Improving Cancer Detection and Dose Efficiency in Dedicated Breast Cancer CT

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-02-01

source trajectory and data truncation, which can however be solved with the back-projection filtration ( BPF ) algorithm [6,7]. I have used the BPF ...high to low radiation dose levels. I have investigated noise properties in images reconstructed by use of FDK and BPF algorithms at different noise...analytic algorithms such as the FDK and BPF algorithms are applied to sparse-view data, the reconstruction images will contain artifacts such as streak

A General Event Location Algorithm with Applications to Eclipse and Station Line-of-Sight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parker, Joel J. K.; Hughes, Steven P.

2011-01-01

A general-purpose algorithm for the detection and location of orbital events is developed. The proposed algorithm reduces the problem to a global root-finding problem by mapping events of interest (such as eclipses, station access events, etc.) to continuous, differentiable event functions. A stepping algorithm and a bracketing algorithm are used to detect and locate the roots. Examples of event functions and the stepping/bracketing algorithms are discussed, along with results indicating performance and accuracy in comparison to commercial tools across a variety of trajectories.

A General Event Location Algorithm with Applications to Eclispe and Station Line-of-Sight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parker, Joel J. K.; Hughes, Steven P.

2011-01-01

A general-purpose algorithm for the detection and location of orbital events is developed. The proposed algorithm reduces the problem to a global root-finding problem by mapping events of interest (such as eclipses, station access events, etc.) to continuous, differentiable event functions. A stepping algorithm and a bracketing algorithm are used to detect and locate the roots. Examples of event functions and the stepping/bracketing algorithms are discussed, along with results indicating performance and accuracy in comparison to commercial tools across a variety of trajectories.

Vectorization of a classical trajectory code on a floating point systems, Inc. Model 164 attached processor.

PubMed

Kraus, Wayne A; Wagner, Albert F

1986-04-01

A triatomic classical trajectory code has been modified by extensive vectorization of the algorithms to achieve much improved performance on an FPS 164 attached processor. Extensive timings on both the FPS 164 and a VAX 11/780 with floating point accelerator are presented as a function of the number of trajectories simultaneously run. The timing tests involve a potential energy surface of the LEPS variety and trajectories with 1000 time steps. The results indicate that vectorization results in timing improvements on both the VAX and the FPS. For larger numbers of trajectories run simultaneously, up to a factor of 25 improvement in speed occurs between VAX and FPS vectorized code. Copyright © 1986 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Intersection delay estimation from floating car data via principal curves: a case study on Beijing's road network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xiliang; Lu, Feng; Zhang, Hengcai; Qiu, Peiyuan

2013-06-01

It is a pressing task to estimate the real-time travel time on road networks reliably in big cities, even though floating car data has been widely used to reflect the real traffic. Currently floating car data are mainly used to estimate the real-time traffic conditions on road segments, and has done little for turn delay estimation. However, turn delays on road intersections contribute significantly to the overall travel time on road networks in modern cities. In this paper, we present a technical framework to calculate the turn delays on road networks with float car data. First, the original floating car data collected with GPS equipped taxies was cleaned and matched to a street map with a distributed system based on Hadoop and MongoDB. Secondly, the refined trajectory data set was distributed among 96 time intervals (from 0: 00 to 23: 59). All of the intersections where the trajectories passed were connected with the trajectory segments, and constituted an experiment sample, while the intersections on arterial streets were specially selected to form another experiment sample. Thirdly, a principal curve-based algorithm was presented to estimate the turn delays at the given intersections. The algorithm argued is not only statistically fitted the real traffic conditions, but also is insensitive to data sparseness and missing data problems, which currently are almost inevitable with the widely used floating car data collecting technology. We adopted the floating car data collected from March to June in Beijing city in 2011, which contains more than 2.6 million trajectories generated from about 20000 GPS-equipped taxicabs and accounts for about 600 GB in data volume. The result shows the principal curve based algorithm we presented takes precedence over traditional methods, such as mean and median based approaches, and holds a higher estimation accuracy (about 10%-15% higher in RMSE), as well as reflecting the changing trend of traffic congestion. With the estimation result for the travel delay at intersections, we analyzed the spatio-temporal distribution of turn delays in three time scenarios (0: 00-0: 15, 8: 15-8: 30 and 12: 00-12: 15). It indicates that during one's single trip in Beijing, average 60% of the travel time on the road networks is wasted on the intersections, and this situation is even worse in daytime. Although the 400 main intersections take only 2.7% of all the intersections, they occupy about 18% travel time.

Path Planning Algorithms for Autonomous Border Patrol Vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lau, George Tin Lam

This thesis presents an online path planning algorithm developed for unmanned vehicles in charge of autonomous border patrol. In this Pursuit-Evasion game, the unmanned vehicle is required to capture multiple trespassers on its own before any of them reach a target safe house where they are safe from capture. The problem formulation is based on Isaacs' Target Guarding problem, but extended to the case of multiple evaders. The proposed path planning method is based on Rapidly-exploring random trees (RRT) and is capable of producing trajectories within several seconds to capture 2 or 3 evaders. Simulations are carried out to demonstrate that the resulting trajectories approach the optimal solution produced by a nonlinear programming-based numerical optimal control solver. Experiments are also conducted on unmanned ground vehicles to show the feasibility of implementing the proposed online path planning algorithm on physical applications.

Estimation of flow properties using surface deformation and head data: A trajectory-based approach

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

Vasco, D.W.

2004-07-12

A trajectory-based algorithm provides an efficient and robust means to infer flow properties from surface deformation and head data. The algorithm is based upon the concept of an ''arrival time'' of a drawdown front, which is defined as the time corresponding to the maximum slope of the drawdown curve. The technique involves three steps: the inference of head changes as a function of position and time, the use of the estimated head changes to define arrival times, and the inversion of the arrival times for flow properties. Trajectories, computed from the output of a numerical simulator, are used to relatemore » the drawdown arrival times to flow properties. The inversion algorithm is iterative, requiring one reservoir simulation for each iteration. The method is applied to data from a set of 14 tiltmeters, located at the Raymond Quarry field site in California. Using the technique, I am able to image a high-conductivity channel which extends to the south of the pumping well. The presence of th is permeable pathway is supported by an analysis of earlier cross-well transient pressure test data.« less

Autonomous proximity operations using machine vision for trajectory control and pose estimation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cleghorn, Timothy F.; Sternberg, Stanley R.

1991-01-01

A machine vision algorithm was developed which permits guidance control to be maintained during autonomous proximity operations. At present this algorithm exists as a simulation, running upon an 80386 based personal computer, using a ModelMATE CAD package to render the target vehicle. However, the algorithm is sufficiently simple, so that following off-line training on a known target vehicle, it should run in real time with existing vision hardware. The basis of the algorithm is a sequence of single camera images of the target vehicle, upon which radial transforms were performed. Selected points of the resulting radial signatures are fed through a decision tree, to determine whether the signature matches that of the known reference signatures for a particular view of the target. Based upon recognized scenes, the position of the maneuvering vehicle with respect to the target vehicles can be calculated, and adjustments made in the former's trajectory. In addition, the pose and spin rates of the target satellite can be estimated using this method.

Development and validation of the AFIT scene and sensor emulator for testing (ASSET)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, Shannon R.; Steward, Bryan J.; Gross, Kevin C.

2017-05-01

ASSET is a physics-based model used to generate synthetic data sets of wide field of view (WFOV) electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) sensors with realistic radiometric properties, noise characteristics, and sensor artifacts. It was developed to meet the need for applications where precise knowledge of the underlying truth is required but is impractical to obtain for real sensors. For example, due to accelerating advances in imaging technology, the volume of data available from WFOV EO/IR sensors has drastically increased over the past several decades, and as a result, there is a need for fast, robust, automatic detection and tracking algorithms. Evaluation of these algorithms is difficult for objects that traverse a wide area (100-10,000 km) because obtaining accurate truth for the full object trajectory often requires costly instrumentation. Additionally, tracking and detection algorithms perform differently depending on factors such as the object kinematics, environment, and sensor configuration. A variety of truth data sets spanning these parameters are needed for thorough testing, which is often cost prohibitive. The use of synthetic data sets for algorithm development allows for full control of scene parameters with full knowledge of truth. However, in order for analysis using synthetic data to be meaningful, the data must be truly representative of real sensor collections. ASSET aims to provide a means of generating such representative data sets for WFOV sensors operating in the visible through thermal infrared. The work reported here describes the ASSET model, as well as provides validation results from comparisons to laboratory imagers and satellite data (e.g. Landsat-8).

Comparison between Mean Forces and Swarms-of-Trajectories String Methods.

PubMed

Maragliano, Luca; Roux, Benoît; Vanden-Eijnden, Eric

2014-02-11

The original formulation of the string method in collective variable space is compared with a recent variant called string method with swarms-of-trajectories. The assumptions made in the original method are revisited and the significance of the minimum free energy path (MFEP) is discussed in the context of reactive events. These assumptions are compared to those made in the string method with swarms-of-trajectories, and shown to be equivalent in a certain regime: in particular an expression for the path identified by the swarms-of-trajectories method is given and shown to be closely related to the MFEP. Finally, the algorithmic aspects of both methods are compared.

Trajectories for a Near Term Mission to the Interstellar Medium

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arora, Nitin; Strange, Nathan; Alkalai, Leon

2015-01-01

Trajectories for rapid access to the interstellar medium (ISM) with a Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) flyby, launching between 2022 and 2030, are described. An impulsive-patched-conic broad search algorithm combined with a local optimizer is used for the trajectory computations. Two classes of trajectories, (1) with a powered Jupiter flyby and (2) with a perihelion maneuver, are studied and compared. Planetary flybys combined with leveraging maneuvers reduce launch C3 requirements (by factor of 2 or more) and help satisfy mission-phasing constraints. Low launch C3 combined with leveraging and a perihelion maneuver is found to be enabling for a near-term potential mission to the ISM.

The analysis of control trajectories using symbolic and database computing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grossman, Robert

1995-01-01

This final report comprises the formal semi-annual status reports for this grant for the periods June 30-December 31, 1993, January 1-June 30, 1994, and June 1-December 31, 1994. The research supported by this grant is broadly concerned with the symbolic computation, mixed numeric-symbolic computation, and database computation of trajectories of dynamical systems, especially control systems. A review of work during the report period covers: trajectories and approximating series, the Cayley algebra of trees, actions of differential operators, geometrically stable integration algorithms, hybrid systems, trajectory stores, PTool, and other activities. A list of publications written during the report period is attached.

Skeletal Muscle Fascicle Arrangements Can Be Reconstructed Using a Laplacian Vector Field Simulation

PubMed Central

Choi, Hon Fai; Blemker, Silvia S.

2013-01-01

Skeletal muscles are characterized by a large diversity in anatomical architecture and function. Muscle force and contraction are generated by contractile fiber cells grouped in fascicle bundles, which transmit the mechanical action between origin and insertion attachments of the muscle. Therefore, an adequate representation of fascicle arrangements in computational models of skeletal muscles is important, especially when investigating three-dimensional muscle deformations in finite element models. However, obtaining high resolution in vivo measurements of fascicle arrangements in skeletal muscles is currently still challenging. This motivated the development of methods in previous studies to generate numerical representations of fascicle trajectories using interpolation templates. Here, we present an alternative approach based on the hypothesis of a rotation and divergence free (Laplacian) vector field behavior which reflects observed physical characteristics of fascicle trajectories. To obtain this representation, the Laplace equation was solved in anatomical reconstructions of skeletal muscle shapes based on medical images using a uniform flux boundary condition on the attachment areas. Fascicle tracts were generated through a robust flux based tracing algorithm. The concept of this approach was demonstrated in two-dimensional synthetic examples of typical skeletal muscle architectures. A detailed evaluation was performed in an example of the anatomical human tibialis anterior muscle which showed an overall agreement with measurements from the literature. The utility and capability of the proposed method was further demonstrated in other anatomical examples of human skeletal muscles with a wide range of muscle shapes and attachment morphologies. PMID:24204878

The symbolic computation and automatic analysis of trajectories

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grossman, Robert

1991-01-01

Research was generally done on computation of trajectories of dynamical systems, especially control systems. Algorithms were further developed for rewriting expressions involving differential operators. The differential operators involved arise in the local analysis of nonlinear control systems. An initial design was completed of the system architecture for software to analyze nonlinear control systems using data base computing.

A Kinect(™) camera based navigation system for percutaneous abdominal puncture.

PubMed

Xiao, Deqiang; Luo, Huoling; Jia, Fucang; Zhang, Yanfang; Li, Yong; Guo, Xuejun; Cai, Wei; Fang, Chihua; Fan, Yingfang; Zheng, Huimin; Hu, Qingmao

2016-08-07

Percutaneous abdominal puncture is a popular interventional method for the management of abdominal tumors. Image-guided puncture can help interventional radiologists improve targeting accuracy. The second generation of Kinect(™) was released recently, we developed an optical navigation system to investigate its feasibility for guiding percutaneous abdominal puncture, and compare its performance on needle insertion guidance with that of the first-generation Kinect(™). For physical-to-image registration in this system, two surfaces extracted from preoperative CT and intraoperative Kinect(™) depth images were matched using an iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm. A 2D shape image-based correspondence searching algorithm was proposed for generating a close initial position before ICP matching. Evaluation experiments were conducted on an abdominal phantom and six beagles in vivo. For phantom study, a two-factor experiment was designed to evaluate the effect of the operator's skill and trajectory on target positioning error (TPE). A total of 36 needle punctures were tested on a Kinect(™) for Windows version 2 (Kinect(™) V2). The target registration error (TRE), user error, and TPE are 4.26  ±  1.94 mm, 2.92  ±  1.67 mm, and 5.23  ±  2.29 mm, respectively. No statistically significant differences in TPE regarding operator's skill and trajectory are observed. Additionally, a Kinect(™) for Windows version 1 (Kinect(™) V1) was tested with 12 insertions, and the TRE evaluated with the Kinect(™) V1 is statistically significantly larger than that with the Kinect(™) V2. For the animal experiment, fifteen artificial liver tumors were inserted guided by the navigation system. The TPE was evaluated as 6.40  ±  2.72 mm, and its lateral and longitudinal component were 4.30  ±  2.51 mm and 3.80  ±  3.11 mm, respectively. This study demonstrates that the navigation accuracy of the proposed system is acceptable, and that the second generation Kinect(™)-based navigation is superior to the first-generation Kinect(™), and has potential of clinical application in percutaneous abdominal puncture.

Outcome of single-trajectory rigid endoscopic third ventriculostomy and biopsy in the management algorithm of pineal region tumors: a case series and review of the literature.

PubMed

Abbassy, Mahmoud; Aref, Khaled; Farhoud, Ahmed; Hekal, Anwar

2018-05-28

Tumors within the pineal region represent 1.5 to 8.5% of the pediatric brain tumors and 1.2% of all brain tumors. A management algorithm has been proposed in several publications. The algorithm includes endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) and biopsy in cases presenting with hydrocephalus. In this series, we are presenting the efficacy of a single-trajectory approach for both ETV and biopsy. Eleven cases were admitted to Alexandria main university hospital from 2013 to 2016 presenting with pineal region tumors and hydrocephalus. Mean age at diagnosis was 11 years (1-27 years). All cases had ETV and biopsy using rigid ventriculoscope through a single trajectory from a burr hole planned on preoperative imaging. Follow-up period was 7-48 months. All 11 cases presented with hydrocephalus and increased intracranial pressure manifestations. Histopathological diagnosis was successful in 9 out of 11 cases (81.8%). Three cases were germ-cell tumors, two cases were pineoblastomas, two cases were pilocytic astrocytomas, and two cases were grade 2 tectal gliomas. Five of the ETV cases (45.5%) failed and required VPS later on. Other complications of ETV included one case of intraventricular hemorrhage and a case with tumor disseminated to the basal cisterns. In our series, we were able to achieve ETV and biopsy through a single trajectory and a rigid endoscope with results comparable to other studies in the literature.

SU-F-BRB-16: A Spreadsheet Based Automatic Trajectory GEnerator (SAGE): An Open Source Tool for Automatic Creation of TrueBeam Developer Mode Robotic Trajectories

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

Etmektzoglou, A; Mishra, P; Svatos, M

Purpose: To automate creation and delivery of robotic linac trajectories with TrueBeam Developer Mode, an open source spreadsheet-based trajectory generation tool has been developed, tested and made freely available. The computing power inherent in a spreadsheet environment plus additional functions programmed into the tool insulate users from the underlying schema tedium and allow easy calculation, parameterization, graphical visualization, validation and finally automatic generation of Developer Mode XML scripts which are directly loadable on a TrueBeam linac. Methods: The robotic control system platform that allows total coordination of potentially all linac moving axes with beam (continuous, step-and-shoot, or combination thereof) becomesmore » available in TrueBeam Developer Mode. Many complex trajectories are either geometric or can be described in analytical form, making the computational power, graphing and programmability available in a spreadsheet environment an easy and ideal vehicle for automatic trajectory generation. The spreadsheet environment allows also for parameterization of trajectories thus enabling the creation of entire families of trajectories using only a few variables. Standard spreadsheet functionality has been extended for powerful movie-like dynamic graphic visualization of the gantry, table, MLC, room, lasers, 3D observer placement and beam centerline all as a function of MU or time, for analysis of the motions before requiring actual linac time. Results: We used the tool to generate and deliver extended SAD “virtual isocenter” trajectories of various shapes such as parameterized circles and ellipses. We also demonstrated use of the tool in generating linac couch motions that simulate respiratory motion using analytical parameterized functions. Conclusion: The SAGE tool is a valuable resource to experiment with families of complex geometric trajectories for a TrueBeam Linac. It makes Developer Mode more accessible as a vehicle to quickly translate research ideas into machine readable scripts without programming knowledge. As an open source initiative, it also enables researcher collaboration on future developments. I am a full time employee at Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, California.« less

Effects of modeling errors on trajectory predictions in air traffic control automation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jackson, Michael R. C.; Zhao, Yiyuan; Slattery, Rhonda

1996-01-01

Air traffic control automation synthesizes aircraft trajectories for the generation of advisories. Trajectory computation employs models of aircraft performances and weather conditions. In contrast, actual trajectories are flown in real aircraft under actual conditions. Since synthetic trajectories are used in landing scheduling and conflict probing, it is very important to understand the differences between computed trajectories and actual trajectories. This paper examines the effects of aircraft modeling errors on the accuracy of trajectory predictions in air traffic control automation. Three-dimensional point-mass aircraft equations of motion are assumed to be able to generate actual aircraft flight paths. Modeling errors are described as uncertain parameters or uncertain input functions. Pilot or autopilot feedback actions are expressed as equality constraints to satisfy control objectives. A typical trajectory is defined by a series of flight segments with different control objectives for each flight segment and conditions that define segment transitions. A constrained linearization approach is used to analyze trajectory differences caused by various modeling errors by developing a linear time varying system that describes the trajectory errors, with expressions to transfer the trajectory errors across moving segment transitions. A numerical example is presented for a complete commercial aircraft descent trajectory consisting of several flight segments.

Testing algorithms for critical slowing down

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cossu, Guido; Boyle, Peter; Christ, Norman; Jung, Chulwoo; Jüttner, Andreas; Sanfilippo, Francesco

2018-03-01

We present the preliminary tests on two modifications of the Hybrid Monte Carlo (HMC) algorithm. Both algorithms are designed to travel much farther in the Hamiltonian phase space for each trajectory and reduce the autocorrelations among physical observables thus tackling the critical slowing down towards the continuum limit. We present a comparison of costs of the new algorithms with the standard HMC evolution for pure gauge fields, studying the autocorrelation times for various quantities including the topological charge.

Research on large spatial coordinate automatic measuring system based on multilateral method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miao, Dongjing; Li, Jianshuan; Li, Lianfu; Jiang, Yuanlin; Kang, Yao; He, Mingzhao; Deng, Xiangrui

2015-10-01

To measure the spatial coordinate accurately and efficiently in large size range, a manipulator automatic measurement system which based on multilateral method is developed. This system is divided into two parts: The coordinate measurement subsystem is consists of four laser tracers, and the trajectory generation subsystem is composed by a manipulator and a rail. To ensure that there is no laser beam break during the measurement process, an optimization function is constructed by using the vectors between the laser tracers measuring center and the cat's eye reflector measuring center, then an orientation automatically adjust algorithm for the reflector is proposed, with this algorithm, the laser tracers are always been able to track the reflector during the entire measurement process. Finally, the proposed algorithm is validated by taking the calibration of laser tracker for instance: the actual experiment is conducted in 5m × 3m × 3.2m range, the algorithm is used to plan the orientations of the reflector corresponding to the given 24 points automatically. After improving orientations of some minority points with adverse angles, the final results are used to control the manipulator's motion. During the actual movement, there are no beam break occurs. The result shows that the proposed algorithm help the developed system to measure the spatial coordinates over a large range with efficiency.

Trajectory Modulated Arc Therapy: A Fully Dynamic Delivery With Synchronized Couch and Gantry Motion Significantly Improves Dosimetric Indices Correlated With Poor Cosmesis in Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation

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

Liang, Jieming; Atwood, Todd; Eyben, Rie von

2015-08-01

Purpose: To develop planning and delivery capabilities for linear accelerator–based nonisocentric trajectory modulated arc therapy (TMAT) and to evaluate the benefit of TMAT for accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) with the patient in prone position. Methods and Materials: An optimization algorithm for volumetrically modulated arc therapy (VMAT) was generalized to allow for user-defined nonisocentric TMAT trajectories combining couch rotations and translations. After optimization, XML scripts were automatically generated to program and subsequently deliver the TMAT plans. For 10 breast patients in the prone position, TMAT and 6-field noncoplanar intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) plans were generated under equivalent objectives andmore » constraints. These plans were compared with regard to whole breast tissue volume receiving more than 100%, 80%, 50%, and 20% of the prescription dose. Results: For TMAT APBI, nonisocentric collision-free horizontal arcs with large angular span (251.5 ± 7.9°) were optimized and delivered with delivery time of ∼4.5 minutes. Percentage changes of whole breast tissue volume receiving more than 100%, 80%, 50%, and 20% of the prescription dose for TMAT relative to IMRT were −10.81% ± 6.91%, −27.81% ± 7.39%, −14.82% ± 9.67%, and 39.40% ± 10.53% (P≤.01). Conclusions: This is a first demonstration of end-to-end planning and delivery implementation of a fully dynamic APBI TMAT. Compared with IMRT, TMAT resulted in marked reduction of the breast tissue volume irradiated at high doses.« less

Jettison Engineering Trajectory Tool

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zaczek, Mariusz; Walter, Patrick; Pascucci, Joseph; Armstrong, Phyllis; Hallbick, Patricia; Morgan, Randal; Cooney, James

2013-01-01

The Jettison Engineering Trajectory Tool (JETT) performs the jettison analysis function for any orbiting asset. It provides a method to compute the relative trajectories between an orbiting asset and any jettisoned item (intentional or unintentional) or sublimating particles generated by fluid dumps to assess whether an object is safe to jettison, or if there is a risk with an item that was inadvertently lost overboard. The main concern is the interaction and possible recontact of the jettisoned object with an asset. This supports the analysis that jettisoned items will safely clear the vehicle, ensuring no collisions. The software will reduce the jettison analysis task from one that could take days to complete to one that can be completed in hours, with an analysis that is more comprehensive than the previous method. It provides the ability to define the jettison operation relative to International Space Station (ISS) structure, and provides 2D and 3D plotting capability to allow an analyst to perform a subjective clearance assessment with ISS structures. The developers followed the SMP to create the code and all supporting documentation. The code makes extensive use of the object-oriented format of Java and, in addition, the Model-View-Controller architecture was used in the organization of the code, allowing each piece to be independent of updates to the other pieces. The model category is for maintaining data entered by the user and generated by the analysis. The view category provides capabilities for data entry and displaying all or a portion of the analysis data in tabular, 2D, and 3D representation. The controller category allows for handling events that affect the model or view(s). The JETT utilizes orbital mechanics with complex algorithms. Since JETT is written in JAVA, it is essentially platform-independent.

Multisensor fusion for 3D target tracking using track-before-detect particle filter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moshtagh, Nima; Romberg, Paul M.; Chan, Moses W.

2015-05-01

This work presents a novel fusion mechanism for estimating the three-dimensional trajectory of a moving target using images collected by multiple imaging sensors. The proposed projective particle filter avoids the explicit target detection prior to fusion. In projective particle filter, particles that represent the posterior density (of target state in a high-dimensional space) are projected onto the lower-dimensional observation space. Measurements are generated directly in the observation space (image plane) and a marginal (sensor) likelihood is computed. The particles states and their weights are updated using the joint likelihood computed from all the sensors. The 3D state estimate of target (system track) is then generated from the states of the particles. This approach is similar to track-before-detect particle filters that are known to perform well in tracking dim and stealthy targets in image collections. Our approach extends the track-before-detect approach to 3D tracking using the projective particle filter. The performance of this measurement-level fusion method is compared with that of a track-level fusion algorithm using the projective particle filter. In the track-level fusion algorithm, the 2D sensor tracks are generated separately and transmitted to a fusion center, where they are treated as measurements to the state estimator. The 2D sensor tracks are then fused to reconstruct the system track. A realistic synthetic scenario with a boosting target was generated, and used to study the performance of the fusion mechanisms.

A synergistic method for vibration suppression of an elevator mechatronic system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knezevic, Bojan Z.; Blanusa, Branko; Marcetic, Darko P.

2017-10-01

Modern elevators are complex mechatronic systems which have to satisfy high performance in precision, safety and ride comfort. Each elevator mechatronic system (EMS) contains a mechanical subsystem which is characterized by its resonant frequency. In order to achieve high performance of the whole system, the control part of the EMS inevitably excites resonant circuits causing the occurrence of vibration. This paper proposes a synergistic solution based on the jerk control and the upgrade of the speed controller with a band-stop filter to restore lost ride comfort and speed control caused by vibration. The band-stop filter eliminates the resonant component from the speed controller spectra and jerk control provides operating of the speed controller in a linear mode as well as increased ride comfort. The original method for band-stop filter tuning based on Goertzel algorithm and Kiefer search algorithm is proposed in this paper. In order to generate the speed reference trajectory which can be defined by different shapes and amplitudes of jerk, a unique generalized model is proposed. The proposed algorithm is integrated in the power drive control algorithm and implemented on the digital signal processor. Through experimental verifications on a scale down prototype of the EMS it has been verified that only synergistic effect of controlling jerk and filtrating the reference torque can completely eliminate vibrations.

Applying deep bidirectional LSTM and mixture density network for basketball trajectory prediction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Yu; Yang, Rennong; Chevalier, Guillaume; Shah, Rajiv C.; Romijnders, Rob

2018-04-01

Data analytics helps basketball teams to create tactics. However, manual data collection and analytics are costly and ineffective. Therefore, we applied a deep bidirectional long short-term memory (BLSTM) and mixture density network (MDN) approach. This model is not only capable of predicting a basketball trajectory based on real data, but it also can generate new trajectory samples. It is an excellent application to help coaches and players decide when and where to shoot. Its structure is particularly suitable for dealing with time series problems. BLSTM receives forward and backward information at the same time, while stacking multiple BLSTMs further increases the learning ability of the model. Combined with BLSTMs, MDN is used to generate a multi-modal distribution of outputs. Thus, the proposed model can, in principle, represent arbitrary conditional probability distributions of output variables. We tested our model with two experiments on three-pointer datasets from NBA SportVu data. In the hit-or-miss classification experiment, the proposed model outperformed other models in terms of the convergence speed and accuracy. In the trajectory generation experiment, eight model-generated trajectories at a given time closely matched real trajectories.

Optimal flight trajectories in the presence of windshear, 1984-86

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miele, A.

1986-01-01

Optimal flight trajectories were determined in the presence of windshear and guidance schemes were developed for near optimum flight in a windshear. This is a wind characterized by sharp change in intensity and direction over a relatively small region of space. This problem is important in the takeoff and landing of both civilian airplanes and military airplanes and is key to aircraft saftey. The topics covered in reference to takeoff problems are: equations of motion, problem formulation, algorithms, optimal flight trajectories, advanced guidance schemes, simplified guidance schemes, and piloting strategies.

Automated, contour-based tracking and analysis of cell behaviour over long time scales in environments of varying complexity and cell density.

PubMed

Baker, Richard M; Brasch, Megan E; Manning, M Lisa; Henderson, James H

2014-08-06

Understanding single and collective cell motility in model environments is foundational to many current research efforts in biology and bioengineering. To elucidate subtle differences in cell behaviour despite cell-to-cell variability, we introduce an algorithm for tracking large numbers of cells for long time periods and present a set of physics-based metrics that quantify differences in cell trajectories. Our algorithm, termed automated contour-based tracking for in vitro environments (ACTIVE), was designed for adherent cell populations subject to nuclear staining or transfection. ACTIVE is distinct from existing tracking software because it accommodates both variability in image intensity and multi-cell interactions, such as divisions and occlusions. When applied to low-contrast images from live-cell experiments, ACTIVE reduced error in analysing cell occlusion events by as much as 43% compared with a benchmark-tracking program while simultaneously tracking cell divisions and resulting daughter-daughter cell relationships. The large dataset generated by ACTIVE allowed us to develop metrics that capture subtle differences between cell trajectories on different substrates. We present cell motility data for thousands of cells studied at varying densities on shape-memory-polymer-based nanotopographies and identify several quantitative differences, including an unanticipated difference between two 'control' substrates. We expect that ACTIVE will be immediately useful to researchers who require accurate, long-time-scale motility data for many cells. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Human arm stiffness and equilibrium-point trajectory during multi-joint movement.

PubMed

Gomi, H; Kawato, M

1997-03-01

By using a newly designed high-performance manipulandum and a new estimation algorithm, we measured human multi-joint arm stiffness parameters during multi-joint point-to-point movements on a horizontal plane. This manipulandum allows us to apply a sufficient perturbation to subject's arm within a brief period during movement. Arm stiffness parameters were reliably estimated using a new algorithm, in which all unknown structural parameters could be estimated independent of arm posture (i.e., constant values under any arm posture). Arm stiffness during transverse movement was considerably greater than that during corresponding posture, but not during a longitudinal movement. Although the ratios of elbow, shoulder, and double-joint stiffness were varied in time, the orientation of stiffness ellipses during the movement did not change much. Equilibrium-point trajectories that were predicted from measured stiffness parameters and actual trajectories were slightly sinusoidally curved in Cartesian space and their velocity profiles were quite different from the velocity profiles of actual hand trajectories. This result contradicts the hypothesis that the brain does not take the dynamics into account in movement control depending on the neuromuscular servo mechanism; rather, it implies that the brain needs to acquire some internal models of controlled objects.

Semantic-based surveillance video retrieval.

PubMed

Hu, Weiming; Xie, Dan; Fu, Zhouyu; Zeng, Wenrong; Maybank, Steve

2007-04-01

Visual surveillance produces large amounts of video data. Effective indexing and retrieval from surveillance video databases are very important. Although there are many ways to represent the content of video clips in current video retrieval algorithms, there still exists a semantic gap between users and retrieval systems. Visual surveillance systems supply a platform for investigating semantic-based video retrieval. In this paper, a semantic-based video retrieval framework for visual surveillance is proposed. A cluster-based tracking algorithm is developed to acquire motion trajectories. The trajectories are then clustered hierarchically using the spatial and temporal information, to learn activity models. A hierarchical structure of semantic indexing and retrieval of object activities, where each individual activity automatically inherits all the semantic descriptions of the activity model to which it belongs, is proposed for accessing video clips and individual objects at the semantic level. The proposed retrieval framework supports various queries including queries by keywords, multiple object queries, and queries by sketch. For multiple object queries, succession and simultaneity restrictions, together with depth and breadth first orders, are considered. For sketch-based queries, a method for matching trajectories drawn by users to spatial trajectories is proposed. The effectiveness and efficiency of our framework are tested in a crowded traffic scene.

Development of a Stereo Vision Measurement System for a 3D Three-Axial Pneumatic Parallel Mechanism Robot Arm

PubMed Central

Chiang, Mao-Hsiung; Lin, Hao-Ting; Hou, Chien-Lun

2011-01-01

In this paper, a stereo vision 3D position measurement system for a three-axial pneumatic parallel mechanism robot arm is presented. The stereo vision 3D position measurement system aims to measure the 3D trajectories of the end-effector of the robot arm. To track the end-effector of the robot arm, the circle detection algorithm is used to detect the desired target and the SAD algorithm is used to track the moving target and to search the corresponding target location along the conjugate epipolar line in the stereo pair. After camera calibration, both intrinsic and extrinsic parameters of the stereo rig can be obtained, so images can be rectified according to the camera parameters. Thus, through the epipolar rectification, the stereo matching process is reduced to a horizontal search along the conjugate epipolar line. Finally, 3D trajectories of the end-effector are computed by stereo triangulation. The experimental results show that the stereo vision 3D position measurement system proposed in this paper can successfully track and measure the fifth-order polynomial trajectory and sinusoidal trajectory of the end-effector of the three- axial pneumatic parallel mechanism robot arm. PMID:22319408

Aircraft Trajectory Optimization and Contrails Avoidance in the Presence of Winds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ng, Hok K.; Chen, Neil Y.

2010-01-01

There are indications that persistent contrails can lead to adverse climate change, although the complete effect on climate forcing is still uncertain. A flight trajectory optimization algorithm with fuel and contrails models, which develops alternative flight paths, provides policy makers the necessary data to make tradeoffs between persistent contrails mitigation and aircraft fuel consumption. This study develops an algorithm that calculates wind-optimal trajectories for cruising aircraft while avoiding the regions of airspace prone to persistent contrails formation. The optimal trajectories are developed by solving a non-linear optimal control problem with path constraints. The regions of airspace favorable to persistent contrails formation are modeled as penalty areas that aircraft should avoid and are adjustable. The tradeoff between persistent contrails formation and additional fuel consumption is investigated, with and without altitude optimization, for 12 city-pairs in the continental United States. Without altitude optimization, the reduction in contrail travel times is gradual with increase in total fuel consumption. When altitude is optimized, a two percent increase in total fuel consumption can reduce the total travel times through contrail regions by more than six times. Allowing further increase in fuel consumption does not seem to result in proportionate decrease in contrail travel times.

An Innovative Software Tool Suite for Power Plant Model Validation and Parameter Calibration using PMU Measurements

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

Li, Yuanyuan; Diao, Ruisheng; Huang, Renke

Maintaining good quality of power plant stability models is of critical importance to ensure the secure and economic operation and planning of today’s power grid with its increasing stochastic and dynamic behavior. According to North American Electric Reliability (NERC) standards, all generators in North America with capacities larger than 10 MVA are required to validate their models every five years. Validation is quite costly and can significantly affect the revenue of generator owners, because the traditional staged testing requires generators to be taken offline. Over the past few years, validating and calibrating parameters using online measurements including phasor measurement unitsmore » (PMUs) and digital fault recorders (DFRs) has been proven to be a cost-effective approach. In this paper, an innovative open-source tool suite is presented for validating power plant models using PPMV tool, identifying bad parameters with trajectory sensitivity analysis, and finally calibrating parameters using an ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) based algorithm. The architectural design and the detailed procedures to run the tool suite are presented, with results of test on a realistic hydro power plant using PMU measurements for 12 different events. The calibrated parameters of machine, exciter, governor and PSS models demonstrate much better performance than the original models for all the events and show the robustness of the proposed calibration algorithm.« less

Optimal trajectories for aeroassisted orbital transfer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miele, A.; Venkataraman, P.

1983-01-01

Consideration is given to classical and minimax problems involved in aeroassisted transfer from high earth orbit (HEO) to low earth orbit (LEO). The transfer is restricted to coplanar operation, with trajectory control effected by means of lift modulation. The performance of the maneuver is indexed to the energy expenditure or, alternatively, the time integral of the heating rate. Firist-order optimality conditions are defined for the classical approach, as are a sequential gradient-restoration algorithm and a combined gradient-restoration algorithm. Minimization techniques are presented for the aeroassisted transfer energy consumption and time-delay integral of the heating rate, as well as minimization of the pressure. It is shown that the eigenvalues of the Jacobian matrix of the differential system is both stiff and unstable, implying that the sequential gradient restoration algorithm in its present version is unsuitable. A new method, involving a multipoint approach to the two-poing boundary value problem, is recommended.

High-precision tracking of brownian boomerang colloidal particles confined in quasi two dimensions.

PubMed

Chakrabarty, Ayan; Wang, Feng; Fan, Chun-Zhen; Sun, Kai; Wei, Qi-Huo

2013-11-26

In this article, we present a high-precision image-processing algorithm for tracking the translational and rotational Brownian motion of boomerang-shaped colloidal particles confined in quasi-two-dimensional geometry. By measuring mean square displacements of an immobilized particle, we demonstrate that the positional and angular precision of our imaging and image-processing system can achieve 13 nm and 0.004 rad, respectively. By analyzing computer-simulated images, we demonstrate that the positional and angular accuracies of our image-processing algorithm can achieve 32 nm and 0.006 rad. Because of zero correlations between the displacements in neighboring time intervals, trajectories of different videos of the same particle can be merged into a very long time trajectory, allowing for long-time averaging of different physical variables. We apply this image-processing algorithm to measure the diffusion coefficients of boomerang particles of three different apex angles and discuss the angle dependence of these diffusion coefficients.

Stochastic algorithm for simulating gas transport coefficients

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rudyak, V. Ya.; Lezhnev, E. V.

2018-02-01

The aim of this paper is to create a molecular algorithm for modeling the transport processes in gases that will be more efficient than molecular dynamics method. To this end, the dynamics of molecules are modeled stochastically. In a rarefied gas, it is sufficient to consider the evolution of molecules only in the velocity space, whereas for a dense gas it is necessary to model the dynamics of molecules also in the physical space. Adequate integral characteristics of the studied system are obtained by averaging over a sufficiently large number of independent phase trajectories. The efficiency of the proposed algorithm was demonstrated by modeling the coefficients of self-diffusion and the viscosity of several gases. It was shown that the accuracy comparable to the experimental one can be obtained on a relatively small number of molecules. The modeling accuracy increases with the growth of used number of molecules and phase trajectories.

Control of mechanical systems with rolling constraints: Application to dynamic control of mobile robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sarkar, Nilanjan; Yun, Xiaoping; Kumar, Vijay

1994-01-01

There are many examples of mechanical systems that require rolling contacts between two or more rigid bodies. Rolling contacts engender nonholonomic constraints in an otherwise holonomic system. In this article, we develop a unified approach to the control of mechanical systems subject to both holonomic and nonholonomic constraints. We first present a state space realization of a constrained system. We then discuss the input-output linearization and zero dynamics of the system. This approach is applied to the dynamic control of mobile robots. Two types of control algorithms for mobile robots are investigated: trajectory tracking and path following. In each case, a smooth nonlinear feedback is obtained to achieve asymptotic input-output stability and Lagrange stability of the overall system. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the control algorithms and to compare the performane of trajectory-tracking and path-following algorithms.

Nearly arc-length tool path generation and tool radius compensation algorithm research in FTS turning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Minghui; Zhao, Xuesen; Li, Zengqiang; Sun, Tao

2014-08-01

In the non-rotational symmetrical microstrcture surfaces generation using turning method with Fast Tool Servo(FTS), non-uniform distribution of the interpolation data points will lead to long processing cycle and poor surface quality. To improve this situation, nearly arc-length tool path generation algorithm is proposed, which generates tool tip trajectory points in nearly arc-length instead of the traditional interpolation rule of equal angle and adds tool radius compensation. All the interpolation points are equidistant in radial distribution because of the constant feeding speed in X slider, the high frequency tool radius compensation components are in both X direction and Z direction, which makes X slider difficult to follow the input orders due to its large mass. Newton iterative method is used to calculate the neighboring contour tangent point coordinate value with the interpolation point X position as initial value, in this way, the new Z coordinate value is gotten, and the high frequency motion components in X direction is decomposed into Z direction. Taking a typical microstructure with 4μm PV value for test, which is mixed with two 70μm wave length sine-waves, the max profile error at the angle of fifteen is less than 0.01μm turning by a diamond tool with big radius of 80μm. The sinusoidal grid is machined on a ultra-precision lathe succesfully, the wavelength is 70.2278μm the Ra value is 22.81nm evaluated by data points generated by filtering out the first five harmonics.

Impulse position control algorithms for nonlinear systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sesekin, A. N.; Nepp, A. N.

2015-11-01

The article is devoted to the formalization and description of impulse-sliding regime in nonlinear dynamical systems that arise in the application of impulse position controls of a special kind. The concept of trajectory impulse-sliding regime formalized as some limiting network element Euler polygons generated by a discrete approximation of the impulse position control This paper differs from the previously published papers in that it uses a definition of solutions of systems with impulse controls, it based on the closure of the set of smooth solutions in the space of functions of bounded variation. The need for the study of such regimes is the fact that they often arise when parry disturbances acting on technical or economic control system.

Transport Coefficients from Large Deviation Functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Chloe; Limmer, David

2017-10-01

We describe a method for computing transport coefficients from the direct evaluation of large deviation function. This method is general, relying on only equilibrium fluctuations, and is statistically efficient, employing trajectory based importance sampling. Equilibrium fluctuations of molecular currents are characterized by their large deviation functions, which is a scaled cumulant generating function analogous to the free energy. A diffusion Monte Carlo algorithm is used to evaluate the large deviation functions, from which arbitrary transport coefficients are derivable. We find significant statistical improvement over traditional Green-Kubo based calculations. The systematic and statistical errors of this method are analyzed in the context of specific transport coefficient calculations, including the shear viscosity, interfacial friction coefficient, and thermal conductivity.

Geodesic regression for image time-series.

PubMed

Niethammer, Marc; Huang, Yang; Vialard, François-Xavier

2011-01-01

Registration of image-time series has so far been accomplished (i) by concatenating registrations between image pairs, (ii) by solving a joint estimation problem resulting in piecewise geodesic paths between image pairs, (iii) by kernel based local averaging or (iv) by augmenting the joint estimation with additional temporal irregularity penalties. Here, we propose a generative model extending least squares linear regression to the space of images by using a second-order dynamic formulation for image registration. Unlike previous approaches, the formulation allows for a compact representation of an approximation to the full spatio-temporal trajectory through its initial values. The method also opens up possibilities to design image-based approximation algorithms. The resulting optimization problem is solved using an adjoint method.

Brownian dynamics simulation of rigid particles of arbitrary shape in external fields.

PubMed

Fernandes, Miguel X; de la Torre, José García

2002-12-01

We have developed a Brownian dynamics simulation algorithm to generate Brownian trajectories of an isolated, rigid particle of arbitrary shape in the presence of electric fields or any other external agents. Starting from the generalized diffusion tensor, which can be calculated with the existing HYDRO software, the new program BROWNRIG (including a case-specific subprogram for the external agent) carries out a simulation that is analyzed later to extract the observable dynamic properties. We provide a variety of examples of utilization of this method, which serve as tests of its performance, and also illustrate its applicability. Examples include free diffusion, transport in an electric field, and diffusion in a restricting environment.

Development of Complexity Science and Technology Tools for NextGen Airspace Research and Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holmes, Bruce J.; Sawhill, Bruce K.; Herriot, James; Seehart, Ken; Zellweger, Dres; Shay, Rick

2012-01-01

The objective of this research by NextGen AeroSciences, LLC is twofold: 1) to deliver an initial "toolbox" of algorithms, agent-based structures, and method descriptions for introducing trajectory agency as a methodology for simulating and analyzing airspace states, including bulk properties of large numbers of heterogeneous 4D aircraft trajectories in a test airspace -- while maintaining or increasing system safety; and 2) to use these tools in a test airspace to identify possible phase transition structure to predict when an airspace will approach the limits of its capacity. These 4D trajectories continuously replan their paths in the presence of noise and uncertainty while optimizing performance measures and performing conflict detection and resolution. In this approach, trajectories are represented as extended objects endowed with pseudopotential, maintaining time and fuel-efficient paths by bending just enough to accommodate separation while remaining inside of performance envelopes. This trajectory-centric approach differs from previous aircraft-centric distributed approaches to deconfliction. The results of this project are the following: 1) we delivered a toolbox of algorithms, agent-based structures and method descriptions as pseudocode; and 2) we corroborated the existence of phase transition structure in simulation with the addition of "early warning" detected prior to "full" airspace. This research suggests that airspace "fullness" can be anticipated and remedied before the airspace becomes unsafe.

Application of Modern Fortran to Spacecraft Trajectory Design and Optimization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, Jacob; Falck, Robert D.; Beekman, Izaak B.

2018-01-01

In this paper, applications of the modern Fortran programming language to the field of spacecraft trajectory optimization and design are examined. Modern object-oriented Fortran has many advantages for scientific programming, although many legacy Fortran aerospace codes have not been upgraded to use the newer standards (or have been rewritten in other languages perceived to be more modern). NASA's Copernicus spacecraft trajectory optimization program, originally a combination of Fortran 77 and Fortran 95, has attempted to keep up with modern standards and makes significant use of the new language features. Various algorithms and methods are presented from trajectory tools such as Copernicus, as well as modern Fortran open source libraries and other projects.

Overview and Software Architecture of the Copernicus Trajectory Design and Optimization System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, Jacob; Senent, Juan S.; Ocampo, Cesar; Mathur, Ravi; Davis, Elizabeth C.

2010-01-01

The Copernicus Trajectory Design and Optimization System represents an innovative and comprehensive approach to on-orbit mission design, trajectory analysis and optimization. Copernicus integrates state of the art algorithms in optimization, interactive visualization, spacecraft state propagation, and data input-output interfaces, allowing the analyst to design spacecraft missions to all possible Solar System destinations. All of these features are incorporated within a single architecture that can be used interactively via a comprehensive GUI interface, or passively via external interfaces that execute batch processes. This paper describes the Copernicus software architecture together with the challenges associated with its implementation. Additionally, future development and planned new capabilities are discussed. Key words: Copernicus, Spacecraft Trajectory Optimization Software.

Pteros: fast and easy to use open-source C++ library for molecular analysis.

PubMed

Yesylevskyy, Semen O

2012-07-15

An open-source Pteros library for molecular modeling and analysis of molecular dynamics trajectories for C++ programming language is introduced. Pteros provides a number of routine analysis operations ranging from reading and writing trajectory files and geometry transformations to structural alignment and computation of nonbonded interaction energies. The library features asynchronous trajectory reading and parallel execution of several analysis routines, which greatly simplifies development of computationally intensive trajectory analysis algorithms. Pteros programming interface is very simple and intuitive while the source code is well documented and easily extendible. Pteros is available for free under open-source Artistic License from http://sourceforge.net/projects/pteros/. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Variational Identification of Markovian Transition States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martini, Linda; Kells, Adam; Covino, Roberto; Hummer, Gerhard; Buchete, Nicolae-Viorel; Rosta, Edina

2017-07-01

We present a method that enables the identification and analysis of conformational Markovian transition states from atomistic or coarse-grained molecular dynamics (MD) trajectories. Our algorithm is presented by using both analytical models and examples from MD simulations of the benchmark system helix-forming peptide Ala5 , and of larger, biomedically important systems: the 15-lipoxygenase-2 enzyme (15-LOX-2), the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) protein, and the Mga2 fungal transcription factor. The analysis of 15-LOX-2 uses data generated exclusively from biased umbrella sampling simulations carried out at the hybrid ab initio density functional theory (DFT) quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) level of theory. In all cases, our method automatically identifies the corresponding transition states and metastable conformations in a variationally optimal way, with the input of a set of relevant coordinates, by accurately reproducing the intrinsic slowest relaxation rate of each system. Our approach offers a general yet easy-to-implement analysis method that provides unique insight into the molecular mechanism and the rare but crucial (i.e., rate-limiting) transition states occurring along conformational transition paths in complex dynamical systems such as molecular trajectories.

Contour advection with surgery: A technique for investigating finescale structure in tracer transport

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Waugh, Darryn W.; Plumb, R. Alan

1994-01-01

We present a trajectory technique, contour advection with surgery (CAS), for tracing the evolution of material contours in a specified (including observed) evolving flow. CAS uses the algorithms developed by Dritschel for contour dynamics/surgery to trace the evolution of specified contours. The contours are represented by a series of particles, which are advected by a specified, gridded, wind distribution. The resolution of the contours is preserved by continually adjusting the number of particles, and finescale features are produced that are not present in the input data (and cannot easily be generated using standard trajectory techniques). The reliability, and dependence on the spatial and temporal resolution of the wind field, of the CAS procedure is examined by comparisons with high-resolution numerical data (from contour dynamics calculations and from a general circulation model), and with routine stratospheric analyses. These comparisons show that the large-scale motions dominate the deformation field and that CAS can accurately reproduce small scales from low-resolution wind fields. The CAS technique therefore enables examination of atmospheric tracer transport at previously unattainable resolution.

Orbit computation of the TELECOM-2D satellite with a Genetic Algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deleflie, Florent; Coulot, David; Vienne, Alain; Decosta, Romain; Richard, Pascal; Lasri, Mohammed Amjad

2014-07-01

In order to test a preliminary orbit determination method, we fit an orbit of the geostationary satellite TELECOM-2D, as if we did not know any a priori information on its trajectory. The method is based on a genetic algorithm coupled to an analytical propagator of the trajectory, that is used over a couple of days, and that uses a whole set of altazimutal data that are acquired by the tracking network made up of the two TAROT telescopes. The adjusted orbit is then compared to a numerical reference. The method is described, and the results are analyzed, as a step towards an operational method of preliminary orbit determination for uncatalogued objects.

Ku-band antenna acquisition and tracking performance study, volume 4

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huang, T. C.; Lindsey, W. C.

1977-01-01

The results pertaining to the tradeoff analysis and performance of the Ku-band shuttle antenna pointing and signal acquisition system are presented. The square, hexagonal and spiral antenna trajectories were investigated assuming the TDRS postulated uncertainty region and a flexible statistical model for the location of the TDRS within the uncertainty volume. The scanning trajectories, shuttle/TDRS signal parameters and dynamics, and three signal acquisition algorithms were integrated into a hardware simulation. The hardware simulation is quite flexible in that it allows for the evaluation of signal acquisition performance for an arbitrary (programmable) antenna pattern, a large range of C/N sub O's, various TDRS/shuttle a priori uncertainty distributions, and three distinct signal search algorithms.

Spatio-Temporal Constrained Human Trajectory Generation from the PIR Motion Detector Sensor Network Data: A Geometric Algebra Approach

PubMed Central

Yu, Zhaoyuan; Yuan, Linwang; Luo, Wen; Feng, Linyao; Lv, Guonian

2015-01-01

Passive infrared (PIR) motion detectors, which can support long-term continuous observation, are widely used for human motion analysis. Extracting all possible trajectories from the PIR sensor networks is important. Because the PIR sensor does not log location and individual information, none of the existing methods can generate all possible human motion trajectories that satisfy various spatio-temporal constraints from the sensor activation log data. In this paper, a geometric algebra (GA)-based approach is developed to generate all possible human trajectories from the PIR sensor network data. Firstly, the representation of the geographical network, sensor activation response sequences and the human motion are represented as algebraic elements using GA. The human motion status of each sensor activation are labeled using the GA-based trajectory tracking. Then, a matrix multiplication approach is developed to dynamically generate the human trajectories according to the sensor activation log and the spatio-temporal constraints. The method is tested with the MERL motion database. Experiments show that our method can flexibly extract the major statistical pattern of the human motion. Compared with direct statistical analysis and tracklet graph method, our method can effectively extract all possible trajectories of the human motion, which makes it more accurate. Our method is also likely to provides a new way to filter other passive sensor log data in sensor networks. PMID:26729123

Spatio-Temporal Constrained Human Trajectory Generation from the PIR Motion Detector Sensor Network Data: A Geometric Algebra Approach.

PubMed

Yu, Zhaoyuan; Yuan, Linwang; Luo, Wen; Feng, Linyao; Lv, Guonian

2015-12-30

Passive infrared (PIR) motion detectors, which can support long-term continuous observation, are widely used for human motion analysis. Extracting all possible trajectories from the PIR sensor networks is important. Because the PIR sensor does not log location and individual information, none of the existing methods can generate all possible human motion trajectories that satisfy various spatio-temporal constraints from the sensor activation log data. In this paper, a geometric algebra (GA)-based approach is developed to generate all possible human trajectories from the PIR sensor network data. Firstly, the representation of the geographical network, sensor activation response sequences and the human motion are represented as algebraic elements using GA. The human motion status of each sensor activation are labeled using the GA-based trajectory tracking. Then, a matrix multiplication approach is developed to dynamically generate the human trajectories according to the sensor activation log and the spatio-temporal constraints. The method is tested with the MERL motion database. Experiments show that our method can flexibly extract the major statistical pattern of the human motion. Compared with direct statistical analysis and tracklet graph method, our method can effectively extract all possible trajectories of the human motion, which makes it more accurate. Our method is also likely to provides a new way to filter other passive sensor log data in sensor networks.

Canonical Transformations of Kepler Trajectories

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mostowski, Jan

2010-01-01

In this paper, canonical transformations generated by constants of motion in the case of the Kepler problem are discussed. It is shown that canonical transformations generated by angular momentum are rotations of the trajectory. Particular attention is paid to canonical transformations generated by the Runge-Lenz vector. It is shown that these…

KmL3D: a non-parametric algorithm for clustering joint trajectories.

PubMed

Genolini, C; Pingault, J B; Driss, T; Côté, S; Tremblay, R E; Vitaro, F; Arnaud, C; Falissard, B

2013-01-01

In cohort studies, variables are measured repeatedly and can be considered as trajectories. A classic way to work with trajectories is to cluster them in order to detect the existence of homogeneous patterns of evolution. Since cohort studies usually measure a large number of variables, it might be interesting to study the joint evolution of several variables (also called joint-variable trajectories). To date, the only way to cluster joint-trajectories is to cluster each trajectory independently, then to cross the partitions obtained. This approach is unsatisfactory because it does not take into account a possible co-evolution of variable-trajectories. KmL3D is an R package that implements a version of k-means dedicated to clustering joint-trajectories. It provides facilities for the management of missing values, offers several quality criteria and its graphic interface helps the user to select the best partition. KmL3D can work with any number of joint-variable trajectories. In the restricted case of two joint trajectories, it proposes 3D tools to visualize the partitioning and then export 3D dynamic rotating-graphs to PDF format. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

JacksonBot - Design, Simulation and Optimal Control of an Action Painting Robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raschke, Michael; Mombaur, Katja; Schubert, Alexander

We present the robotics platform JacksonBot which is capable to produce paintings inspired by the Action Painting style of Jackson Pollock. A dynamically moving robot arm splashes color from a container at the end effector on the canvas. The paintings produced by this platform rely on a combination of the algorithmic generation of robot arm motions with random effects of the splashing color. The robot can be considered as a complex and powerful tool to generate art works programmed by a user. Desired end effector motions can be prescribed either by mathematical functions, by point sequences or by data glove motions. We have evaluated the effect of different shapes of input motions on the resulting painting. In order to compute the robot joint trajectories necessary to move along a desired end effector path, we use an optimal control based approach to solve the inverse kinematics problem.

Rapid Preliminary Design of Interplanetary Trajectories Using the Evolutionary Mission Trajectory Generator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Englander, Jacob

2016-01-01

This set of tutorial slides is an introduction to the Evolutionary Mission Trajectory Generator (EMTG), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's autonomous tool for preliminary design of interplanetary missions. This slide set covers the basics of creating and post-processing simple interplanetary missions in EMTG using both high-thrust chemical and low-thrust electric propulsion along with a variety of operational constraints.

A Comparative Study of Interval Management Control Law Capabilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barmore, Bryan E.; Smith, Colin L.; Palmer, Susan O.; Abbott, Terence S.

2012-01-01

This paper presents a new tool designed to allow for rapid development and testing of different control algorithms for airborne spacing. This tool, Interval Management Modeling and Spacing Tool (IM MAST), is a fast-time, low-fidelity tool created to model the approach of aircraft to a runway, with a focus on their interactions with each other. Errors can be induced between pairs of aircraft by varying initial positions, winds, speed profiles, and altitude profiles. Results to-date show that only a few of the algorithms tested had poor behavior in the arrival and approach environment. The majority of the algorithms showed only minimal variation in performance under the test conditions. Trajectory-based algorithms showed high susceptibility to wind forecast errors, while performing marginally better than the other algorithms under other conditions. Trajectory-based algorithms have a sizable advantage, however, of being able to perform relative spacing operations between aircraft on different arrival routes and flight profiles without employing ghosting. methods. This comes at the higher cost of substantially increased complexity, however. Additionally, it was shown that earlier initiation of relative spacing operations provided more time for corrections to be made without any significant problems in the spacing operation itself. Initiating spacing farther out, however, would require more of the aircraft to begin spacing before they merge onto a common route.

Observability-Based Guidance and Sensor Placement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hinson, Brian T.

Control system performance is highly dependent on the quality of sensor information available. In a growing number of applications, however, the control task must be accomplished with limited sensing capabilities. This thesis addresses these types of problems from a control-theoretic point-of-view, leveraging system nonlinearities to improve sensing performance. Using measures of observability as an information quality metric, guidance trajectories and sensor distributions are designed to improve the quality of sensor information. An observability-based sensor placement algorithm is developed to compute optimal sensor configurations for a general nonlinear system. The algorithm utilizes a simulation of the nonlinear system as the source of input data, and convex optimization provides a scalable solution method. The sensor placement algorithm is applied to a study of gyroscopic sensing in insect wings. The sensor placement algorithm reveals information-rich areas on flexible insect wings, and a comparison to biological data suggests that insect wings are capable of acting as gyroscopic sensors. An observability-based guidance framework is developed for robotic navigation with limited inertial sensing. Guidance trajectories and algorithms are developed for range-only and bearing-only navigation that improve navigation accuracy. Simulations and experiments with an underwater vehicle demonstrate that the observability measure allows tuning of the navigation uncertainty.

Cross-Polar Aircraft Trajectory Optimization and the Potential Climate Impact

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ng, Hok K.; Sridhar, Banavar; Grabbe, Shon; Chen, Neil

2011-01-01

Cross-Polar routes offer new opportunities for air travel markets. Transpolar flights reduce travel times, fuel burns, and associated environmental emissions by flying direct paths between many North American and Asian cities. This study evaluates the potential benefits of flying wind-optimal polar routes and assessed their potential impact on climate change. An optimization algorithm is developed for transpolar flights to generate wind-optimal trajectories that minimize climate impact of aircraft, in terms of global warming potentials (relative to warming by one kg of CO2) of several types of emissions, while avoiding regions of airspace that facilitate persistent contrail formation. Estimations of global warming potential are incorporated into the objective function of the optimization algorithm to assess the climate impact of aircraft emissions discharged at a given location and altitude. The regions of airspace with very low ambient temperature and areas favorable to persistent contrail formation are modeled as undesirable regions that aircraft should avoid and are formulated as soft state constraints. The fuel burn and climate impact of cross-polar air traffic flying various types of trajectory including flight plan, great circle, wind-optimal, and contrail-avoidance are computed for 15 origin-destination pairs between major international airports in the U.S. and Asia. Wind-optimal routes reduce average fuel burn of flight plan routes by 4.4% on December 4, 2010 and 8.0% on August 7, 2010, respectively. The tradeoff between persistent contrail formation and additional global warming potential of aircraft emissions is investigated with and without altitude optimization. Without altitude optimization, the reduction in contrail travel times is gradual with increase in total fuel consumption. When altitude is optimized, a one percent increase in additional global warming potential, a climate impact equivalent to that of 4070kg and 4220kg CO2 emission, reduces 135 and 105 minutes persistent contrail formation per flight during a day with medium and high contrail formation, respectively.

Cross-Polar Aircraft Trajectory Optimization and Potential Climate Impact

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sridhar, Banavar; Chen, Neil; Ng, Hok

2011-01-01

Cross-Polar routes offer new opportunities for air travel markets. Transpolar flights reduce travel times, fuel burns, and associated environmental emissions by flying direct paths between many North American and Asian cities. This study evaluates the potential benefits of flying wind-optimal polar routes and assessed their potential impact on climate change. An optimization algorithm is developed for transpolar flights to generate wind-optimal trajectories that minimize climate impact of aircraft, in terms of global warming potentials (relative to warming by one kg of CO2) of several types of emissions, while avoiding regions of airspace that facilitate persistent contrail formation. Estimations of global warming potential are incorporated into the objective function of the optimization algorithm to assess the climate impact of aircraft emissions discharged at a given location and altitude. The regions of airspace with very low ambient temperature and areas favorable to persistent contrail formation are modeled as undesirable regions that aircraft should avoid and are formulated as soft state constraints. The fuel burn and climate impact of cross-polar air traffic flying various types of trajectory including flightplan, great circle, wind-optimal, and contrail-avoidance are computed for 15 origin-destination pairs between major international airports in the U.S. and Asia. Wind-optimal routes reduce average fuel burn of flight plan routes by 4.4% on December 4, 2010 and 8.0% on August 7, 2010, respectively. The tradeoff between persistent contrail formation and additional global warming potential of aircraft emissions is investigated with and without altitude optimization. Without altitude optimization, the reduction in contrail travel times is gradual with increase in total fuel consumption. When altitude is optimized, a one percent increase in additional global warming potential, a climate impact equivalent to that of 4070kg and 4220kg CO2 emission, reduces 135 and 105 minutes persistent contrail formation per flight during a day with medium and high contrail formation, respectively.

Users manual for the NASA Lewis three-dimensional ice accretion code (LEWICE 3D)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bidwell, Colin S.; Potapczuk, Mark G.

1993-01-01

A description of the methodology, the algorithms, and the input and output data along with an example case for the NASA Lewis 3D ice accretion code (LEWICE3D) has been produced. The manual has been designed to help the user understand the capabilities, the methodologies, and the use of the code. The LEWICE3D code is a conglomeration of several codes for the purpose of calculating ice shapes on three-dimensional external surfaces. A three-dimensional external flow panel code is incorporated which has the capability of calculating flow about arbitrary 3D lifting and nonlifting bodies with external flow. A fourth order Runge-Kutta integration scheme is used to calculate arbitrary streamlines. An Adams type predictor-corrector trajectory integration scheme has been included to calculate arbitrary trajectories. Schemes for calculating tangent trajectories, collection efficiencies, and concentration factors for arbitrary regions of interest for single droplets or droplet distributions have been incorporated. A LEWICE 2D based heat transfer algorithm can be used to calculate ice accretions along surface streamlines. A geometry modification scheme is incorporated which calculates the new geometry based on the ice accretions generated at each section of interest. The three-dimensional ice accretion calculation is based on the LEWICE 2D calculation. Both codes calculate the flow, pressure distribution, and collection efficiency distribution along surface streamlines. For both codes the heat transfer calculation is divided into two regions, one above the stagnation point and one below the stagnation point, and solved for each region assuming a flat plate with pressure distribution. Water is assumed to follow the surface streamlines, hence starting at the stagnation zone any water that is not frozen out at a control volume is assumed to run back into the next control volume. After the amount of frozen water at each control volume has been calculated the geometry is modified by adding the ice at each control volume in the surface normal direction.

TH-EF-BRB-04: 4π Dynamic Conformal Arc Therapy Dynamic Conformal Arc Therapy (DCAT) for SBRT

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

Chiu, T; Long, T; Tian, Z.

2016-06-15

Purpose: To develop an efficient and effective trajectory optimization methodology for 4π dynamic conformal arc treatment (4π DCAT) with synchronized gantry and couch motion; and to investigate potential clinical benefits for stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) to breast, lung, liver and spine tumors. Methods: The entire optimization framework for 4π DCAT inverse planning consists of two parts: 1) integer programming algorithm and 2) particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. The integer programming is designed to find an optimal solution for arc delivery trajectory with both couch and gantry rotation, while PSO minimize a non-convex objective function based on the selected trajectorymore » and dose-volume constraints. In this study, control point interaction is explicitly taken into account. Beam trajectory was modeled as a series of control points connected together to form a deliverable path. With linear treatment planning objectives, a mixed-integer program (MIP) was formulated. Under mild assumptions, the MIP is tractable. Assigning monitor units to control points along the path can be integrated into the model and done by PSO. The developed 4π DCAT inverse planning strategy is evaluated on SBRT cases and compared to clinically treated plans. Results: The resultant dose distribution of this technique was evaluated between 3D conformal treatment plan generated by Pinnacle treatment planning system and 4π DCAT on a lung SBRT patient case. Both plans share the same scale of MU, 3038 and 2822 correspondingly to 3D conformal plan and 4π DCAT. The mean doses for most of OARs were greatly reduced at 32% (cord), 70% (esophagus), 2.8% (lung) and 42.4% (stomach). Conclusion: Initial results in this study show the proposed 4π DCAT treatment technique can achieve better OAR sparing and lower MUs, which indicates that the developed technique is promising for high dose SBRT to reduce the risk of secondary cancer.« less

An Effective Approach for Clustering InhA Molecular Dynamics Trajectory Using Substrate-Binding Cavity Features

PubMed Central

Ruiz, Duncan D. A.; Norberto de Souza, Osmar

2015-01-01

Protein receptor conformations, obtained from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, have become a promising treatment of its explicit flexibility in molecular docking experiments applied to drug discovery and development. However, incorporating the entire ensemble of MD conformations in docking experiments to screen large candidate compound libraries is currently an unfeasible task. Clustering algorithms have been widely used as a means to reduce such ensembles to a manageable size. Most studies investigate different algorithms using pairwise Root-Mean Square Deviation (RMSD) values for all, or part of the MD conformations. Nevertheless, the RMSD only may not be the most appropriate gauge to cluster conformations when the target receptor has a plastic active site, since they are influenced by changes that occur on other parts of the structure. Hence, we have applied two partitioning methods (k-means and k-medoids) and four agglomerative hierarchical methods (Complete linkage, Ward’s, Unweighted Pair Group Method and Weighted Pair Group Method) to analyze and compare the quality of partitions between a data set composed of properties from an enzyme receptor substrate-binding cavity and two data sets created using different RMSD approaches. Ensembles of representative MD conformations were generated by selecting a medoid of each group from all partitions analyzed. We investigated the performance of our new method for evaluating binding conformation of drug candidates to the InhA enzyme, which were performed by cross-docking experiments between a 20 ns MD trajectory and 20 different ligands. Statistical analyses showed that the novel ensemble, which is represented by only 0.48% of the MD conformations, was able to reproduce 75% of all dynamic behaviors within the binding cavity for the docking experiments performed. Moreover, this new approach not only outperforms the other two RMSD-clustering solutions, but it also shows to be a promising strategy to distill biologically relevant information from MD trajectories, especially for docking purposes. PMID:26218832

An Effective Approach for Clustering InhA Molecular Dynamics Trajectory Using Substrate-Binding Cavity Features.

PubMed

De Paris, Renata; Quevedo, Christian V; Ruiz, Duncan D A; Norberto de Souza, Osmar

2015-01-01

Protein receptor conformations, obtained from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, have become a promising treatment of its explicit flexibility in molecular docking experiments applied to drug discovery and development. However, incorporating the entire ensemble of MD conformations in docking experiments to screen large candidate compound libraries is currently an unfeasible task. Clustering algorithms have been widely used as a means to reduce such ensembles to a manageable size. Most studies investigate different algorithms using pairwise Root-Mean Square Deviation (RMSD) values for all, or part of the MD conformations. Nevertheless, the RMSD only may not be the most appropriate gauge to cluster conformations when the target receptor has a plastic active site, since they are influenced by changes that occur on other parts of the structure. Hence, we have applied two partitioning methods (k-means and k-medoids) and four agglomerative hierarchical methods (Complete linkage, Ward's, Unweighted Pair Group Method and Weighted Pair Group Method) to analyze and compare the quality of partitions between a data set composed of properties from an enzyme receptor substrate-binding cavity and two data sets created using different RMSD approaches. Ensembles of representative MD conformations were generated by selecting a medoid of each group from all partitions analyzed. We investigated the performance of our new method for evaluating binding conformation of drug candidates to the InhA enzyme, which were performed by cross-docking experiments between a 20 ns MD trajectory and 20 different ligands. Statistical analyses showed that the novel ensemble, which is represented by only 0.48% of the MD conformations, was able to reproduce 75% of all dynamic behaviors within the binding cavity for the docking experiments performed. Moreover, this new approach not only outperforms the other two RMSD-clustering solutions, but it also shows to be a promising strategy to distill biologically relevant information from MD trajectories, especially for docking purposes.

Oscillatory neural network for pattern recognition: trajectory based classification and supervised learning.

PubMed

Miller, Vonda H; Jansen, Ben H

2008-12-01

Computer algorithms that match human performance in recognizing written text or spoken conversation remain elusive. The reasons why the human brain far exceeds any existing recognition scheme to date in the ability to generalize and to extract invariant characteristics relevant to category matching are not clear. However, it has been postulated that the dynamic distribution of brain activity (spatiotemporal activation patterns) is the mechanism by which stimuli are encoded and matched to categories. This research focuses on supervised learning using a trajectory based distance metric for category discrimination in an oscillatory neural network model. Classification is accomplished using a trajectory based distance metric. Since the distance metric is differentiable, a supervised learning algorithm based on gradient descent is demonstrated. Classification of spatiotemporal frequency transitions and their relation to a priori assessed categories is shown along with the improved classification results after supervised training. The results indicate that this spatiotemporal representation of stimuli and the associated distance metric is useful for simple pattern recognition tasks and that supervised learning improves classification results.

Broad-search algorithms for finding triple-and quadruple-satellite-aided captures at Jupiter from 2020 to 2080

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lynam, Alfred E.

2015-04-01

Multiple-satellite-aided capture is a -efficient technique for capturing a spacecraft into orbit at Jupiter. However, finding the times when the Galilean moons of Jupiter align such that three or four of them can be encountered in a single pass is difficult using standard astrodynamics algorithms such as Lambert's problem. In this paper, we present simple but powerful techniques that simplify the dynamics and geometry of the Galilean satellites so that many of these triple- and quadruple-satellite-aided capture sequences can be found quickly over an extended 60-year time period from 2020 to 2080. The techniques find many low-fidelity trajectories that could be used as initial guesses for future high-fidelity optimization. Results indicate the existence of approximately 3,100 unique triple-satellite-aided capture trajectories and 6 unique quadruple-satellite-aided capture trajectories during the 60-year time period. The entire search takes less than one minute of computational time.

Flight Mechanics Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Steck, Daniel

2009-01-01

This report documents the generation of an outbound Earth to Moon transfer preliminary database consisting of four cases calculated twice a day for a 19 year period. The database was desired as the first step in order for NASA to rapidly generate Earth to Moon trajectories for the Constellation Program using the Mission Assessment Post Processor. The completed database was created running a flight trajectory and optimization program, called Copernicus, in batch mode with the use of newly created Matlab functions. The database is accurate and has high data resolution. The techniques and scripts developed to generate the trajectory information will also be directly used in generating a comprehensive database.

Implicit assumptions underlying simple harvest models of marine bird populations can mislead environmental management decisions.

PubMed

O'Brien, Susan H; Cook, Aonghais S C P; Robinson, Robert A

2017-10-01

Assessing the potential impact of additional mortality from anthropogenic causes on animal populations requires detailed demographic information. However, these data are frequently lacking, making simple algorithms, which require little data, appealing. Because of their simplicity, these algorithms often rely on implicit assumptions, some of which may be quite restrictive. Potential Biological Removal (PBR) is a simple harvest model that estimates the number of additional mortalities that a population can theoretically sustain without causing population extinction. However, PBR relies on a number of implicit assumptions, particularly around density dependence and population trajectory that limit its applicability in many situations. Among several uses, it has been widely employed in Europe in Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), to examine the acceptability of potential effects of offshore wind farms on marine bird populations. As a case study, we use PBR to estimate the number of additional mortalities that a population with characteristics typical of a seabird population can theoretically sustain. We incorporated this level of additional mortality within Leslie matrix models to test assumptions within the PBR algorithm about density dependence and current population trajectory. Our analyses suggest that the PBR algorithm identifies levels of mortality which cause population declines for most population trajectories and forms of population regulation. Consequently, we recommend that practitioners do not use PBR in an EIA context for offshore wind energy developments. Rather than using simple algorithms that rely on potentially invalid implicit assumptions, we recommend use of Leslie matrix models for assessing the impact of additional mortality on a population, enabling the user to explicitly define assumptions and test their importance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Iso-chemical potential trajectories in the P-T plane for He II

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maytal, B.; Nissen, J. A.; Van Sciver, S. W.

1990-01-01

Trajectories of constant chemical potential in the P-T plane serve as an integral formulation of London's equation. The trajectories are useful for analysis and synthesis of fountain effect pump performance. A family of trajectories is generated from available numerical codes.

A motion-compensated image filter for low-dose fluoroscopy in a real-time tumor-tracking radiotherapy system

PubMed Central

Miyamoto, Naoki; Ishikawa, Masayori; Sutherland, Kenneth; Suzuki, Ryusuke; Matsuura, Taeko; Toramatsu, Chie; Takao, Seishin; Nihongi, Hideaki; Shimizu, Shinichi; Umegaki, Kikuo; Shirato, Hiroki

2015-01-01

In the real-time tumor-tracking radiotherapy system, a surrogate fiducial marker inserted in or near the tumor is detected by fluoroscopy to realize respiratory-gated radiotherapy. The imaging dose caused by fluoroscopy should be minimized. In this work, an image processing technique is proposed for tracing a moving marker in low-dose imaging. The proposed tracking technique is a combination of a motion-compensated recursive filter and template pattern matching. The proposed image filter can reduce motion artifacts resulting from the recursive process based on the determination of the region of interest for the next frame according to the current marker position in the fluoroscopic images. The effectiveness of the proposed technique and the expected clinical benefit were examined by phantom experimental studies with actual tumor trajectories generated from clinical patient data. It was demonstrated that the marker motion could be traced in low-dose imaging by applying the proposed algorithm with acceptable registration error and high pattern recognition score in all trajectories, although some trajectories were not able to be tracked with the conventional spatial filters or without image filters. The positional accuracy is expected to be kept within ±2 mm. The total computation time required to determine the marker position is a few milliseconds. The proposed image processing technique is applicable for imaging dose reduction. PMID:25129556

NEOPROP: A NEO Propagator for Space Situational Awareness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zuccarelli, Valentino; Bancelin, David; Weikert, Sven; Thuillot, William; Hestroffer, Daniel; Yabar Valle, Celia; Koschny, Detlef

2013-09-01

The overall aim of the Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Preparatory Programme is to support the European independent utilisation of and access to space for research or services, through providing timely and quality data, information, services and knowledge regarding the environment, the threats and the sustainable exploitation of the outer space surrounding our planet Earth. The SSA system will comprise three main segments:• Space Weather (SWE) monitoring and forecast• Near-Earth Objects (NEO) survey and follow-up• Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) of man-made space objectsCurrently, there are over 600.000 asteroids known in our Solar System, where more than 9.500 of these are NEOs. These could potentially hit our planet and depending on their size could produce considerable damage. For this reason NEOs deserve active detection and tracking efforts.The role of the SSA programme is to provide warning services against potential asteroid impact hazards, including discovery, identification, orbit prediction and civil alert capabilities. ESA is now working to develop a NEO Coordination Centre which will later evolve into a SSA-NEO Small Bodies Data Centre (SBDC), located at ESA/ESRIN, Italy. The Software prototype developed in the frame of this activity may be later implemented as a part of the SSA-NEO programme simulators aimed at assessing the trajectory of asteroids. There already exist different algorithms to predict orbits for NEOs. The objective of this activity is to come up with a different trajectory prediction algorithm, which allows an independent validation of the current algorithms within the SSA-NEO segment (e.g. NEODyS, JPL Sentry System).The key objective of this activity was to design, develop, test, verify, and validate trajectory prediction algorithm of NEOs in order to be able to computeanalytically and numerically the minimum orbital intersection distances (MOIDs).The NEOPROP software consists of two separate modules/tools:1. The Analytical Module makes use of analytical algorithms in order to rapidly assess the impact risk of a NEO. It is responsible for the preliminary analysis. Orbit Determination algorithms, as the Gauss and the Linear Least Squares (LLS) methods, will determine the initial state (from MPC observations), along with its uncertainty, and the MOID of the NEO (analytically).2. The Numerical Module makes use of numerical algorithms in order to refine and to better assess the impact probabilities. The initial state provided by the orbit determination process will be used to numerically propagate the trajectory. The numerical propagation can be run in two modes: one faster ("fast analysis"), in order to get a fast evaluation of the trajectory and one more precise ("complete analysis") taking into consideration more detailed perturbation models. Moreover, a configurable number of Virtual Asteroids (VAs) will be numerically propagated in order to determine the Earth closest approach. This new "MOID" computation differs from the analytical one since it takes into consideration the full dynamics of the problem.

Nerve Fiber Flux Analysis Using Wide-Field Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography.

PubMed

Tan, Ou; Liu, Liang; Liu, Li; Huang, David

2018-02-01

To devise a method to quantify nerve fibers over their arcuate courses over an extended peripapillary area using optical coherence tomography (OCT). Participants were imaged with 8 × 8-mm volumetric OCT scans centered at the optic disc. A new quantity, nerve fiber flux (NFF), represents the cross-sectional area transected perpendicular to the nerve fibers. The peripapillary area was divided into 64 tracks with equal flux. An iterative algorithm traced the trajectory of the tracks assuming that the relative distribution of the NFF was conserved with compensation for fiber connections to ganglion cells on the macular side. Average trajectory was averaged from normal eyes and use to calculate the NFF maps for glaucomatous eyes. The NFF maps were divided into eight sectors that correspond to visual field regions. There were 24 healthy and 10 glaucomatous eyes enrolled. The algorithm converged on similar patterns of NFL tracks for all healthy eyes. In glaucomatous eyes, NFF correlated with visual field sensitivity in the arcuate sectors (Spearman ρ = 0.53-0.62). Focal nerve fiber loss in glaucomatous eyes appeared as uniform tracks of NFF defects that followed the expected arcuate fiber trajectory. Using an algorithm based on the conservation of flux, we derived nerve fiber trajectories in the peripapillary area. The NFF map is useful for the visualization of focal defects and quantification of sector nerve fiber loss from wide-area volumetric OCT scans. NFF provides a cumulative measure of volumetric loss along nerve fiber tracks and could improve the detection of focal glaucoma damage.

A Class of Prediction-Correction Methods for Time-Varying Convex Optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simonetto, Andrea; Mokhtari, Aryan; Koppel, Alec; Leus, Geert; Ribeiro, Alejandro

2016-09-01

This paper considers unconstrained convex optimization problems with time-varying objective functions. We propose algorithms with a discrete time-sampling scheme to find and track the solution trajectory based on prediction and correction steps, while sampling the problem data at a constant rate of $1/h$, where $h$ is the length of the sampling interval. The prediction step is derived by analyzing the iso-residual dynamics of the optimality conditions. The correction step adjusts for the distance between the current prediction and the optimizer at each time step, and consists either of one or multiple gradient steps or Newton steps, which respectively correspond to the gradient trajectory tracking (GTT) or Newton trajectory tracking (NTT) algorithms. Under suitable conditions, we establish that the asymptotic error incurred by both proposed methods behaves as $O(h^2)$, and in some cases as $O(h^4)$, which outperforms the state-of-the-art error bound of $O(h)$ for correction-only methods in the gradient-correction step. Moreover, when the characteristics of the objective function variation are not available, we propose approximate gradient and Newton tracking algorithms (AGT and ANT, respectively) that still attain these asymptotical error bounds. Numerical simulations demonstrate the practical utility of the proposed methods and that they improve upon existing techniques by several orders of magnitude.

New method for finding multiple meaningful trajectories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bao, Zhonghao; Flachs, Gerald M.; Jordan, Jay B.

1995-07-01

Mathematical foundations and algorithms for efficiently finding multiple meaningful trajectories (FMMT) in a sequence of digital images are presented. A meaningful trajectory is motion created by a sentient being or by a device under the control of a sentient being. It is smooth and predictable over short time intervals. A meaningful trajectory can suddenly appear or disappear in sequence images. The development of the FMMT is based on these assumptions. A finite state machine in the FMMT is used to model the trajectories under the conditions of occlusions and false targets. Each possible trajectory is associated with an initial state of a finite state machine. When two frames of data are available, a linear predictor is used to predict the locations of all possible trajectories. All trajectories within a certain error bound are moved to a monitoring trajectory state. When trajectories attain three consecutive good predictions, they are moved to a valid trajectory state and considered to be locked into a tracking mode. If an object is occluded while in the valid trajectory state, the predicted position is used to continue to track; however, the confidence in the trajectory is lowered. If the trajectory confidence falls below a lower limit, the trajectory is terminated. Results are presented that illustrate the FMMT applied to track multiple munitions fired from a missile in a sequence of images. Accurate trajectories are determined even in poor images where the probabilities of miss and false alarm are very high.

Structure Inference from Mobility Encounters

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-10-20

world dataset, which contains 230K trajectories of taxi cabs in Beijing . Our algorithm extracts a pathlet dictionary containing around 130K...data set, frequently used pathlets in the dictionary represent driving segments chosen by many taxi cab drivers in Beijing , reflecting the joint wisdom...limitations on storage and communication bandwidth. For instance, 50% of the Beijing Taxi Trajectories we employed in this study have at most one

Distributed Traffic Complexity Management by Preserving Trajectory Flexibility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Idris, Husni; Vivona, Robert A.; Garcia-Chico, Jose-Luis; Wing, David J.

2007-01-01

In order to handle the expected increase in air traffic volume, the next generation air transportation system is moving towards a distributed control architecture, in which groundbased service providers such as controllers and traffic managers and air-based users such as pilots share responsibility for aircraft trajectory generation and management. This paper presents preliminary research investigating a distributed trajectory-oriented approach to manage traffic complexity, based on preserving trajectory flexibility. The underlying hypotheses are that preserving trajectory flexibility autonomously by aircraft naturally achieves the aggregate objective of avoiding excessive traffic complexity, and that trajectory flexibility is increased by collaboratively minimizing trajectory constraints without jeopardizing the intended air traffic management objectives. This paper presents an analytical framework in which flexibility is defined in terms of robustness and adaptability to disturbances and preliminary metrics are proposed that can be used to preserve trajectory flexibility. The hypothesized impacts are illustrated through analyzing a trajectory solution space in a simple scenario with only speed as a degree of freedom, and in constraint situations involving meeting multiple times of arrival and resolving conflicts.

Tsien's method for generating non-Keplerian trajectories. Part 2: The question of thrust to orbit a sphere and the restricted three-body problem

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murad, P. A.

1993-01-01

Tsien's method is extended to treat the orbital motion of a body undergoing accelerations and decelerations. A generalized solution is discussed for the generalized case where a body undergoes azimuthal and radial thrust and the problem is further simplified for azimuthal thrust alone. Judicious selection of thrust could generate either an elliptic or hyperbolic trajectory. This is unexpected especially when the body has only enough energy for a lower state trajectory. The methodology is extended treating the problem of vehicle thrust for orbiting a sphere and vehicle thrust within the classical restricted three-body problem. Results for the latter situation can produce hyperbolic trajectories through eigen value decomposition. Since eigen values for no-thrust can be imaginary, thrust can generate real eigen values to describe hyperbolic trajectories. Keplerian dynamics appears to represent but a small subset of a much larger non-Keplerian domain especially when thrust effects are considered. The need for high thrust long duration space-based propulsion systems for changing a trajectory's canonical form is clearly demonstrated.

Optimizing Mars Airplane Trajectory with the Application Navigation System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frumkin, Michael; Riley, Derek

2004-01-01

Planning complex missions requires a number of programs to be executed in concert. The Application Navigation System (ANS), developed in the NAS Division, can execute many interdependent programs in a distributed environment. We show that the ANS simplifies user effort and reduces time in optimization of the trajectory of a martian airplane. We use a software package, Cart3D, to evaluate trajectories and a shortest path algorithm to determine the optimal trajectory. ANS employs the GridScape to represent the dynamic state of the available computer resources. Then, ANS uses a scheduler to dynamically assign ready task to machine resources and the GridScape for tracking available resources and forecasting completion time of running tasks. We demonstrate system capability to schedule and run the trajectory optimization application with efficiency exceeding 60% on 64 processors.

Extracting Fluorescent Reporter Time Courses of Cell Lineages from High-Throughput Microscopy at Low Temporal Resolution

PubMed Central

Downey, Mike J.; Jeziorska, Danuta M.; Ott, Sascha; Tamai, T. Katherine; Koentges, Georgy; Vance, Keith W.; Bretschneider, Till

2011-01-01

The extraction of fluorescence time course data is a major bottleneck in high-throughput live-cell microscopy. Here we present an extendible framework based on the open-source image analysis software ImageJ, which aims in particular at analyzing the expression of fluorescent reporters through cell divisions. The ability to track individual cell lineages is essential for the analysis of gene regulatory factors involved in the control of cell fate and identity decisions. In our approach, cell nuclei are identified using Hoechst, and a characteristic drop in Hoechst fluorescence helps to detect dividing cells. We first compare the efficiency and accuracy of different segmentation methods and then present a statistical scoring algorithm for cell tracking, which draws on the combination of various features, such as nuclear intensity, area or shape, and importantly, dynamic changes thereof. Principal component analysis is used to determine the most significant features, and a global parameter search is performed to determine the weighting of individual features. Our algorithm has been optimized to cope with large cell movements, and we were able to semi-automatically extract cell trajectories across three cell generations. Based on the MTrackJ plugin for ImageJ, we have developed tools to efficiently validate tracks and manually correct them by connecting broken trajectories and reassigning falsely connected cell positions. A gold standard consisting of two time-series with 15,000 validated positions will be released as a valuable resource for benchmarking. We demonstrate how our method can be applied to analyze fluorescence distributions generated from mouse stem cells transfected with reporter constructs containing transcriptional control elements of the Msx1 gene, a regulator of pluripotency, in mother and daughter cells. Furthermore, we show by tracking zebrafish PAC2 cells expressing FUCCI cell cycle markers, our framework can be easily adapted to different cell types and fluorescent markers. PMID:22194797

The design of transfer trajectory for Ivar asteroid exploration mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiao, Dong; Cui, Hutao; Cui, Pingyuan

2009-12-01

An impending demand for exploring the small bodies, such as the comets and the asteroids, envisioned the Chinese Deep Space exploration mission to the Near Earth asteroid Ivar. A design and optimal method of transfer trajectory for asteroid Ivar is discussed in this paper. The transfer trajectory for rendezvous with asteroid Ivar is designed by means of Earth gravity assist with deep space maneuver (Delta-VEGA) technology. A Delta-VEGA transfer trajectory is realized by several trajectory segments, which connect the deep space maneuver and swingby point. Each trajectory segment is found by solving Lambert problem. Through adjusting deep maneuver and arrival time, the match condition of swingby is satisfied. To reduce the total mission velocity increments further, a procedure is developed which minimizes total velocity increments for this scheme of transfer trajectory for asteroid Ivar. The trajectory optimization problem is solved with a quasi-Newton algorithm utilizing analytic first derivatives, which are derived from the transversality conditions associated with the optimization formulation and primer vector theory. The simulation results show the scheme for transfer trajectory causes C3 and total velocity increments decrease of 48.80% and 13.20%, respectively.

Navigation Algorithms for Formation Flying Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huxel, Paul J.; Bishop, Robert H.

2004-01-01

The objective of the investigations is to develop navigation algorithms to support formation flying missions. In particular, we examine the advantages and concerns associated with the use of combinations of inertial and relative measurements, as well as address observability issues. In our analysis we consider the interaction between measurement types, update frequencies, and trajectory geometry and their cumulative impact on observability. Furthermore, we investigate how relative measurements affect inertial navigation in terms of algorithm performance.

Generation of brain pseudo-CTs using an undersampled, single-acquisition UTE-mDixon pulse sequence and unsupervised clustering

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

Su, Kuan-Hao; Hu, Lingzhi; Traughber, Melanie

Purpose: MR-based pseudo-CT has an important role in MR-based radiation therapy planning and PET attenuation correction. The purpose of this study is to establish a clinically feasible approach, including image acquisition, correction, and CT formation, for pseudo-CT generation of the brain using a single-acquisition, undersampled ultrashort echo time (UTE)-mDixon pulse sequence. Methods: Nine patients were recruited for this study. For each patient, a 190-s, undersampled, single acquisition UTE-mDixon sequence of the brain was acquired (TE = 0.1, 1.5, and 2.8 ms). A novel method of retrospective trajectory correction of the free induction decay (FID) signal was performed based on point-spreadmore » functions of three external MR markers. Two-point Dixon images were reconstructed using the first and second echo data (TE = 1.5 and 2.8 ms). R2{sup ∗} images (1/T2{sup ∗}) were then estimated and were used to provide bone information. Three image features, i.e., Dixon-fat, Dixon-water, and R2{sup ∗}, were used for unsupervised clustering. Five tissue clusters, i.e., air, brain, fat, fluid, and bone, were estimated using the fuzzy c-means (FCM) algorithm. A two-step, automatic tissue-assignment approach was proposed and designed according to the prior information of the given feature space. Pseudo-CTs were generated by a voxelwise linear combination of the membership functions of the FCM. A low-dose CT was acquired for each patient and was used as the gold standard for comparison. Results: The contrast and sharpness of the FID images were improved after trajectory correction was applied. The mean of the estimated trajectory delay was 0.774 μs (max: 1.350 μs; min: 0.180 μs). The FCM-estimated centroids of different tissue types showed a distinguishable pattern for different tissues, and significant differences were found between the centroid locations of different tissue types. Pseudo-CT can provide additional skull detail and has low bias and absolute error of estimated CT numbers of voxels (−22 ± 29 HU and 130 ± 16 HU) when compared to low-dose CT. Conclusions: The MR features generated by the proposed acquisition, correction, and processing methods may provide representative clustering information and could thus be used for clinical pseudo-CT generation.« less

Identification of damage in plates using full-field measurement with a continuously scanning laser Doppler vibrometer system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Da-Ming; Xu, Y. F.; Zhu, W. D.

2018-05-01

An effective and reliable damage identification method for plates with a continuously scanning laser Doppler vibrometer (CSLDV) system is proposed. A new constant-speed scan algorithm is proposed to create a two-dimensional (2D) scan trajectory and automatically scan a whole plate surface. Full-field measurement of the plate can be achieved by applying the algorithm to the CSLDV system. Based on the new scan algorithm, the demodulation method is extended from one dimension for beams to two dimensions for plates to obtain a full-field operating deflection shape (ODS) of the plate from velocity response measured by the CSLDV system. The full-field ODS of an associated undamaged plate is obtained by using polynomials with proper orders to fit the corresponding full-field ODS from the demodulation method. A curvature damage index (CDI) using differences between curvatures of ODSs (CODSs) associated with ODSs that are obtained by the demodulation method and the polynomial fit is proposed to identify damage. An auxiliary CDI obtained by averaging CDIs at different excitation frequencies is defined to further assist damage identification. An experiment of an aluminum plate with damage in the form of 10.5% thickness reduction in a damage area of 0.86% of the whole scan area is conducted to investigate the proposed method. Six frequencies close to natural frequencies of the plate and one randomly selected frequency are used as sinusoidal excitation frequencies. Two 2D scan trajectories, i.e., a horizontally moving 2D scan trajectory and a vertically moving 2D scan trajectory, are used to obtain ODSs, CODSs, and CDIs of the plate. The damage is successfully identified near areas with consistently high values of CDIs at different excitation frequencies along the two 2D scan trajectories; the damage area is also identified by auxiliary CDIs.

SeGRAm - A practical and versatile tool for spacecraft trajectory optimization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rishikof, Brian H.; Mccormick, Bernell R.; Pritchard, Robert E.; Sponaugle, Steven J.

1991-01-01

An implementation of the Sequential Gradient/Restoration Algorithm, SeGRAm, is presented along with selected examples. This spacecraft trajectory optimization and simulation program uses variational calculus to solve problems of spacecraft flying under the influence of one or more gravitational bodies. It produces a series of feasible solutions to problems involving a wide range of vehicles, environments and optimization functions, until an optimal solution is found. The examples included highlight the various capabilities of the program and emphasize in particular its versatility over a wide spectrum of applications from ascent to interplanetary trajectories.

Winding trajectories of noncircular composite shells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikityuk, V. A.; Fedorov, V. V.

1995-07-01

An approach has been proposed for determination of the trajectory parameters of a layer formed by winding of continuous ribbons on a complicated surface. An algorithm has been developed for determining the geodesic trajectories of the reinforcement fiber arrangement, reinforcement angles, and geodesic deviation angles. Conditions have been formulated for positional stability of the ribbons on the surface and avoidance of gaps and overlapping between the ribbons along with restrictions to the surface form. Results are given for a calculation of the geodesic turn parameters on a fuselage surface, which is not a surface of revolution, of a light airplane.

High-Speed Printing Process Characterization using the Lissajous Trajectory Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Sangwon; Kim, Daekeun

2018-04-01

We present a novel stereolithographic three-dimensional (3D) printing process that uses Lissajous trajectories. By using Lissajous trajectories, this 3D printing process allows two laser-scanning mirrors to operate at similar high-speed frequencies simultaneously, and the printing speed can be faster than that of raster scanning used in conventional stereolithography. In this paper, we first propose the basic theoretical background for this printing process based on Lissajous trajectories. We also characterize its printing conditions, such as printing size, laser spot size, and minimum printing resolution, with respect to the operating frequencies of the scanning mirrors and the capability of the laser modulation. Finally, we demonstrate simulation results for printing basic 2D shapes by using a noble printing process algorithm.

Trajectories of Listeria-type motility in two dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wen, Fu-Lai; Leung, Kwan-tai; Chen, Hsuan-Yi

2012-12-01

Force generated by actin polymerization is essential in cell motility and the locomotion of organelles or bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes. Both in vivo and in vitro experiments on actin-based motility have observed geometrical trajectories including straight lines, circles, S-shaped curves, and translating figure eights. This paper reports a phenomenological model of an actin-propelled disk in two dimensions that generates geometrical trajectories. Our model shows that when the evolutions of actin density and force per filament on the disk are strongly coupled to the disk self-rotation, it is possible for a straight trajectory to lose its stability. When the instability is due to a pitchfork bifurcation, the resulting trajectory is a circle; a straight trajectory can also lose stability through a Hopf bifurcation, and the resulting trajectory is an S-shaped curve. We also show that a half-coated disk, which mimics the distribution of functionalized proteins in Listeria, also undergoes similar symmetry-breaking bifurcations when the straight trajectory loses stability. For both a fully coated disk and a half-coated disk, when the trajectory is an S-shaped curve, the angular frequency of the disk self-rotation is different from that of the disk trajectory. However, for circular trajectories, these angular frequencies are different for a fully coated disk but the same for a half-coated disk.

Summarizing Simulation Results using Causally-relevant States

PubMed Central

Parikh, Nidhi; Marathe, Madhav; Swarup, Samarth

2016-01-01

As increasingly large-scale multiagent simulations are being implemented, new methods are becoming necessary to make sense of the results of these simulations. Even concisely summarizing the results of a given simulation run is a challenge. Here we pose this as the problem of simulation summarization: how to extract the causally-relevant descriptions of the trajectories of the agents in the simulation. We present a simple algorithm to compress agent trajectories through state space by identifying the state transitions which are relevant to determining the distribution of outcomes at the end of the simulation. We present a toy-example to illustrate the working of the algorithm, and then apply it to a complex simulation of a major disaster in an urban area. PMID:28042620

Path integral learning of multidimensional movement trajectories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

André, João; Santos, Cristina; Costa, Lino

2013-10-01

This paper explores the use of Path Integral Methods, particularly several variants of the recent Path Integral Policy Improvement (PI2) algorithm in multidimensional movement parametrized policy learning. We rely on Dynamic Movement Primitives (DMPs) to codify discrete and rhythmic trajectories, and apply the PI2-CMA and PIBB methods in the learning of optimal policy parameters, according to different cost functions that inherently encode movement objectives. Additionally we merge both of these variants and propose the PIBB-CMA algorithm, comparing all of them with the vanilla version of PI2. From the obtained results we conclude that PIBB-CMA surpasses all other methods in terms of convergence speed and iterative final cost, which leads to an increased interest in its application to more complex robotic problems.

On the Formal Verification of Conflict Detection Algorithms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Munoz, Cesar; Butler, Ricky W.; Carreno, Victor A.; Dowek, Gilles

2001-01-01

Safety assessment of new air traffic management systems is a main issue for civil aviation authorities. Standard techniques such as testing and simulation have serious limitations in new systems that are significantly more autonomous than the older ones. In this paper, we present an innovative approach, based on formal verification, for establishing the correctness of conflict detection systems. Fundamental to our approach is the concept of trajectory, which is a continuous path in the x-y plane constrained by physical laws and operational requirements. From the Model of trajectories, we extract, and formally prove, high level properties that can serve as a framework to analyze conflict scenarios. We use the Airborne Information for Lateral Spacing (AILS) alerting algorithm as a case study of our approach.

Encke-Beta Predictor for Orion Burn Targeting and Guidance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Robinson, Shane; Scarritt, Sara; Goodman, John L.

2016-01-01

The state vector prediction algorithm selected for Orion on-board targeting and guidance is known as the Encke-Beta method. Encke-Beta uses a universal anomaly (beta) as the independent variable, valid for circular, elliptical, parabolic, and hyperbolic orbits. The variable, related to the change in eccentric anomaly, results in integration steps that cover smaller arcs of the trajectory at or near perigee, when velocity is higher. Some burns in the EM-1 and EM-2 mission plans are much longer than burns executed with the Apollo and Space Shuttle vehicles. Burn length, as well as hyperbolic trajectories, has driven the use of the Encke-Beta numerical predictor by the predictor/corrector guidance algorithm in place of legacy analytic thrust and gravity integrals.

Stable Direct Adaptive Control of Linear Infinite-dimensional Systems Using a Command Generator Tracker Approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Balas, M. J.; Kaufman, H.; Wen, J.

1985-01-01

A command generator tracker approach to model following contol of linear distributed parameter systems (DPS) whose dynamics are described on infinite dimensional Hilbert spaces is presented. This method generates finite dimensional controllers capable of exponentially stable tracking of the reference trajectories when certain ideal trajectories are known to exist for the open loop DPS; we present conditions for the existence of these ideal trajectories. An adaptive version of this type of controller is also presented and shown to achieve (in some cases, asymptotically) stable finite dimensional control of the infinite dimensional DPS.

Near-Real-Time Detection and Monitoring of Intense Pyroconvection from Geostationary Satellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peterson, D. A.; Fromm, M. D.; Hyer, E. J.; Surratt, M. L.; Solbrig, J. E.; Campbell, J. R.

2016-12-01

Intense fire-triggered thunderstorms, known as pyrocumulonimbus (or pyroCb), can alter fire behavior, influence smoke plume trajectories, and hinder fire suppression efforts. PyroCb are also known for injecting a significant quantity of aerosol mass into the upper-troposphere and lower-stratosphere (UTLS). Near-real-time (NRT) detection and monitoring of pyroCb is highly desirable for a variety of forecasting and research applications. The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) recently developed the first automated NRT pyroCb detection algorithm for geostationary satellite sensors. The algorithm uses multispectral infrared observations to isolate deep convective clouds with the distinct microphysical signal of pyroCb. Application of this algorithm to 88 intense wildfires observed during the 2013 fire season in western North America resulted in detection of individual intense events, pyroCb embedded within traditional convection, and multiple, short-lived pulses of activity. Comparisons with a community inventory indicate that this algorithm captures the majority of pyroCb. The primary limitation of the current system is that pyroCb anvils can be small relative to satellite pixel size, especially in in regions with large viewing angles. The algorithm is also sensitive to some false positives from traditional convection that either ingests smoke or exhibits extreme updraft velocities. This algorithm has been automated using the GeoIPS processing system developed at NRL, which produces a variety of imagery products and statistical output for rapid analysis of potential pyroCb events. NRT application of this algorithm has been extended to the majority of regions worldwide known to have a high frequency of pyroCb occurrence. This involves a constellation comprised of GOES-East, GOES-West, and Himawari-8. Imagery is posted immediately to an NRL-maintained web page. Alerts are generated by the system and disseminated via email. This detection system also has potential to serve as a data source for other NRT environmental monitoring systems. While the current geostationary constellation has several important limitations, the next-generation of geostationary sensors will offer significant advantages for achieving the goal of global NRT pyroCb detection.

Leader-Follower Output Synchronization of Linear Heterogeneous Systems With Active Leader Using Reinforcement Learning.

PubMed

Yang, Yongliang; Modares, Hamidreza; Wunsch, Donald C; Yin, Yixin

2018-06-01

This paper develops optimal control protocols for the distributed output synchronization problem of leader-follower multiagent systems with an active leader. Agents are assumed to be heterogeneous with different dynamics and dimensions. The desired trajectory is assumed to be preplanned and is generated by the leader. Other follower agents autonomously synchronize to the leader by interacting with each other using a communication network. The leader is assumed to be active in the sense that it has a nonzero control input so that it can act independently and update its control to keep the followers away from possible danger. A distributed observer is first designed to estimate the leader's state and generate the reference signal for each follower. Then, the output synchronization of leader-follower systems with an active leader is formulated as a distributed optimal tracking problem, and inhomogeneous algebraic Riccati equations (AREs) are derived to solve it. The resulting distributed optimal control protocols not only minimize the steady-state error but also optimize the transient response of the agents. An off-policy reinforcement learning algorithm is developed to solve the inhomogeneous AREs online in real time and without requiring any knowledge of the agents' dynamics. Finally, two simulation examples are conducted to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Costs of Limiting Route Optimization to Published Waypoints in the Traffic Aware Planner

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Karr, David A.; Vivona, Robert A.; Wing, David J.

2013-01-01

The Traffic Aware Planner (TAP) is an airborne advisory tool that generates optimized, traffic-avoiding routes to support the aircraft crew in making strategic reroute requests to Air Traffic Control (ATC). TAP is derived from a research-prototype self-separation tool, the Autonomous Operations Planner (AOP), in which optimized route modifications that avoid conflicts with traffic and weather, using waypoints at explicit latitudes and longitudes (a technique supported by self-separation concepts), are generated by maneuver patterns applied to the existing route. For use in current-day operations in which trajectory changes must be requested from ATC via voice communication, TAP produces optimized routes described by advisories that use only published waypoints prior to a reconnection waypoint on the existing route. We describe how the relevant algorithms of AOP have been modified to implement this requirement. The modifications include techniques for finding appropriate published waypoints in a maneuver pattern and a method for combining the genetic algorithm of AOP with an exhaustive search of certain types of advisory. We demonstrate methods to investigate the increased computation required by these techniques and to estimate other costs (measured in terms such as time to destination and fuel burned) that may be incurred when only published waypoints are used.

Stochastic simulation and analysis of biomolecular reaction networks

PubMed Central

Frazier, John M; Chushak, Yaroslav; Foy, Brent

2009-01-01

Background In recent years, several stochastic simulation algorithms have been developed to generate Monte Carlo trajectories that describe the time evolution of the behavior of biomolecular reaction networks. However, the effects of various stochastic simulation and data analysis conditions on the observed dynamics of complex biomolecular reaction networks have not recieved much attention. In order to investigate these issues, we employed a a software package developed in out group, called Biomolecular Network Simulator (BNS), to simulate and analyze the behavior of such systems. The behavior of a hypothetical two gene in vitro transcription-translation reaction network is investigated using the Gillespie exact stochastic algorithm to illustrate some of the factors that influence the analysis and interpretation of these data. Results Specific issues affecting the analysis and interpretation of simulation data are investigated, including: (1) the effect of time interval on data presentation and time-weighted averaging of molecule numbers, (2) effect of time averaging interval on reaction rate analysis, (3) effect of number of simulations on precision of model predictions, and (4) implications of stochastic simulations on optimization procedures. Conclusion The two main factors affecting the analysis of stochastic simulations are: (1) the selection of time intervals to compute or average state variables and (2) the number of simulations generated to evaluate the system behavior. PMID:19534796

Electron Trajectory Reconstruction for Advanced Compton Imaging of Gamma Rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plimley, Brian Christopher

Gamma-ray imaging is useful for detecting, characterizing, and localizing sources in a variety of fields, including nuclear physics, security, nuclear accident response, nuclear medicine, and astronomy. Compton imaging in particular provides sensitivity to weak sources and good angular resolution in a large field of view. However, the photon origin in a single event sequence is normally only limited to the surface of a cone. If the initial direction of the Compton-scattered electron can be measured, the cone can be reduced to a cone segment with width depending on the uncertainty in the direction measurement, providing a corresponding increase in imaging sensitivity. Measurement of the electron's initial direction in an efficient detection material requires very fine position resolution due to the electron's short range and tortuous path. A thick (650 mum), fully-depleted charge-coupled device (CCD) developed for infrared astronomy has 10.5-mum position resolution in two dimensions, enabling the initial trajectory measurement of electrons of energy as low as 100 keV. This is the first time the initial trajectories of electrons of such low energies have been measured in a solid material. In this work, the CCD's efficacy as a gamma-ray detector is demonstrated experimentally, using a reconstruction algorithm to measure the initial electron direction from the CCD track image. In addition, models of fast electron interaction physics, charge transport and readout were used to generate modeled tracks with known initial direction. These modeled tracks allowed the development and refinement of the reconstruction algorithm. The angular sensitivity of the reconstruction algorithm is evaluated extensively with models for tracks below 480 keV, showing a FWHM as low as 20° in the pixel plane, and 30° RMS sensitivity to the magnitude of the out-of-plane angle. The measurement of the trajectories of electrons with energies as low as 100 keV have the potential to make electron track Compton imaging an effective means of reducing image background for photons of energy as low as 500 keV, or even less. The angular sensitivity of the reconstruction algorithm was also evaluated experimentally, by measuring electron tracks in the CCD in coincidence with the scattered photon in a germanium double-sided strip detector. By this method, electron tracks could be measured with the true initial direction known to within 3° FWHM, and the angular response of the algorithm compared to the known direction. The challenge of this experiment lay in the low geometric efficiency for photons scattering into the germanium, the poor time resolution in the current CCD implementation, and the resulting signal-to-background ratio of about 10--4 for photons scattered from the CCD into the germanium detector. Nonetheless, 87 events were measured in the FWHM of the total energy deposited and the angular resolution measure, with electron tracks between 160 keV and 360 keV in energy. The electron tracks from true coincident event sequences showed a FWHM in the pixel plane of 23°, and excellent agreement with the distribution calculated with models, with likelihood p-values of 0.44 and 0.73. Thus, the models used for the more thorough evaluation of angular sensitivities are shown to be consistent with the measured tracks from true coincident event sequences.

Experimental Evaluation of an Integrated Datalink and Automation-Based Strategic Trajectory Concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mueller, Eric

2007-01-01

This paper presents research on the interoperability of trajectory-based automation concepts and technologies with modern Flight Management Systems and datalink communication available on many of today s commercial aircraft. A tight integration of trajectory-based ground automation systems with the aircraft Flight Management System through datalink will enable mid-term and far-term benefits from trajectory-based automation methods. A two-way datalink connection between the trajectory-based automation resident in the Center/TRACON Automation System and the Future Air Navigation System-1 integrated FMS/datalink in NASA Ames B747-400 Level D simulator has been established and extensive simulation of the use of datalink messages to generate strategic trajectories completed. A strategic trajectory is defined as an aircraft deviation needed to solve a conflict or honor a route request and then merge the aircraft back to its nominal preferred trajectory using a single continuous trajectory clearance. Engineers on the ground side of the datalink generated lateral and vertical trajectory clearances and transmitted them to the Flight Management System of the 747; the airborne automation then flew the new trajectory without human intervention, requiring the flight crew only to review and to accept the trajectory. This simulation established the protocols needed for a significant majority of the trajectory change types required to solve a traffic conflict or deviate around weather. This demonstration provides a basis for understanding the requirements for integration of trajectory-based automation with current Flight Management Systems and datalink to support future National Airspace System operations.

A Lyapunov-Based Approach for Time-Coordinated 3D Path-Following of Multiple Quadrotors

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-12-01

presented in [10] as solutions for accommodating the nonlinear disturbances for outdoor altitude control . Finally, in [11] a trajectory- tracking ... control algorithm is formulated using the Special Orthogonal group SO(3) for attitude representation, leading to a simple and singularity-free solution for...the trajectory tracking problem. Cooperation between multiple unmanned vehicles has also received significant attention in the control community in

Time-frequency analysis of time-varying modulated signals based on improved energy separation by iterative generalized demodulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Zhipeng; Chu, Fulei; Zuo, Ming J.

2011-03-01

Energy separation algorithm is good at tracking instantaneous changes in frequency and amplitude of modulated signals, but it is subject to the constraints of mono-component and narrow band. In most cases, time-varying modulated vibration signals of machinery consist of multiple components, and have so complicated instantaneous frequency trajectories on time-frequency plane that they overlap in frequency domain. For such signals, conventional filters fail to obtain mono-components of narrow band, and their rectangular decomposition of time-frequency plane may split instantaneous frequency trajectories thus resulting in information loss. Regarding the advantage of generalized demodulation method in decomposing multi-component signals into mono-components, an iterative generalized demodulation method is used as a preprocessing tool to separate signals into mono-components, so as to satisfy the requirements by energy separation algorithm. By this improvement, energy separation algorithm can be generalized to a broad range of signals, as long as the instantaneous frequency trajectories of signal components do not intersect on time-frequency plane. Due to the good adaptability of energy separation algorithm to instantaneous changes in signals and the mono-component decomposition nature of generalized demodulation, the derived time-frequency energy distribution has fine resolution and is free from cross term interferences. The good performance of the proposed time-frequency analysis is illustrated by analyses of a simulated signal and the on-site recorded nonstationary vibration signal of a hydroturbine rotor during a shut-down transient process, showing that it has potential to analyze time-varying modulated signals of multi-components.

PANTHER. Trajectory Analysis

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

Rintoul, Mark Daniel; Wilson, Andrew T.; Valicka, Christopher G.

We want to organize a body of trajectories in order to identify, search for, classify and predict behavior among objects such as aircraft and ships. Existing compari- son functions such as the Fr'echet distance are computationally expensive and yield counterintuitive results in some cases. We propose an approach using feature vectors whose components represent succinctly the salient information in trajectories. These features incorporate basic information such as total distance traveled and distance be- tween start/stop points as well as geometric features related to the properties of the convex hull, trajectory curvature and general distance geometry. Additionally, these features can generallymore » be mapped easily to behaviors of interest to humans that are searching large databases. Most of these geometric features are invariant under rigid transformation. We demonstrate the use of different subsets of these features to iden- tify trajectories similar to an exemplar, cluster a database of several hundred thousand trajectories, predict destination and apply unsupervised machine learning algorithms.« less

Automatic determination of optimal linear drilling trajectories for cochlear access accounting for drill-positioning error.

PubMed

Noble, Jack H; Majdani, Omid; Labadie, Robert F; Dawant, Benoit; Fitzpatrick, J Michael

2010-09-01

Cochlear implantation is a surgical procedure in which an electrode array is permanently implanted into the cochlea to stimulate the auditory nerve and allow deaf people to hear. Percutaneous cochlear access, a new minimally invasive implantation approach, requires drilling a single linear channel from the skull surface to the cochlea. The focus of this paper addresses a major challenge with this approach, which is the ability to determine, in a pre-operative CT, a safe and effective drilling trajectory. A measure of the safety and effectiveness of a given trajectory relative to sensitive structures is derived using a Monte Carlo approach. The drilling trajectory that maximizes this measure is found using an optimization algorithm. In tests on 13 ears, the technique was shown to find approximately twice as many acceptable trajectories as those found manually by an experienced surgeon. Using this method, safe trajectories can be automatically determined quickly and consistently. Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

New trends in astrodynamics and applications: optimal trajectories for space guidance.

PubMed

Azimov, Dilmurat; Bishop, Robert

2005-12-01

This paper represents recent results on the development of optimal analytic solutions to the variation problem of trajectory optimization and their application in the construction of on-board guidance laws. The importance of employing the analytically integrated trajectories in a mission design is discussed. It is assumed that the spacecraft is equipped with a power-limited propulsion and moving in a central Newtonian field. Satisfaction of the necessary and sufficient conditions for optimality of trajectories is analyzed. All possible thrust arcs and corresponding classes of the analytical solutions are classified based on the propulsion system parameters and performance index of the problem. The solutions are presented in a form convenient for applications in escape, capture, and interorbital transfer problems. Optimal guidance and neighboring optimal guidance problems are considered. It is shown that the analytic solutions can be used as reference trajectories in constructing the guidance algorithms for the maneuver problems mentioned above. An illustrative example of a spiral trajectory that terminates on a given elliptical parking orbit is discussed.

Does the Acquisition of Spatial Skill Involve a Shift from Algorithm to Memory Retrieval?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frank, David J.; Macnamara, Brooke N.

2017-01-01

Performance on verbal and mathematical tasks is enhanced when participants shift from using algorithms to retrieving information directly from memory (Siegler, 1988a). However, it is unknown whether a shift to retrieval is involved in dynamic spatial skill acquisition. For example, do athletes mentally extrapolate the trajectory of the ball, or do…

Fluctuating observation time ensembles in the thermodynamics of trajectories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Budini, Adrián A.; Turner, Robert M.; Garrahan, Juan P.

2014-03-01

The dynamics of stochastic systems, both classical and quantum, can be studied by analysing the statistical properties of dynamical trajectories. The properties of ensembles of such trajectories for long, but fixed, times are described by large-deviation (LD) rate functions. These LD functions play the role of dynamical free energies: they are cumulant generating functions for time-integrated observables, and their analytic structure encodes dynamical phase behaviour. This ‘thermodynamics of trajectories’ approach is to trajectories and dynamics what the equilibrium ensemble method of statistical mechanics is to configurations and statics. Here we show that, just like in the static case, there are a variety of alternative ensembles of trajectories, each defined by their global constraints, with that of trajectories of fixed total time being just one of these. We show how the LD functions that describe an ensemble of trajectories where some time-extensive quantity is constant (and large) but where total observation time fluctuates can be mapped to those of the fixed-time ensemble. We discuss how the correspondence between generalized ensembles can be exploited in path sampling schemes for generating rare dynamical trajectories.

Interplanetary Program to Optimize Simulated Trajectories (IPOST). Volume 2: Analytic manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hong, P. E.; Kent, P. D.; Olson, D. W.; Vallado, C. A.

1992-01-01

The Interplanetary Program to Optimize Space Trajectories (IPOST) is intended to support many analysis phases, from early interplanetary feasibility studies through spacecraft development and operations. The IPOST output provides information for sizing and understanding mission impacts related to propulsion, guidance, communications, sensor/actuators, payload, and other dynamic and geometric environments. IPOST models three degree of freedom trajectory events, such as launch/ascent, orbital coast, propulsive maneuvering (impulsive and finite burn), gravity assist, and atmospheric entry. Trajectory propagation is performed using a choice of Cowell, Encke, Multiconic, Onestep, or Conic methods. The user identifies a desired sequence of trajectory events, and selects which parameters are independent (controls) and dependent (targets), as well as other constraints and the cost function. Targeting and optimization is performed using the Stanford NPSOL algorithm. IPOST structure allows subproblems within a master optimization problem to aid in the general constrained parameter optimization solution. An alternate optimization method uses implicit simulation and collocation techniques.

Mixed Pattern Matching-Based Traffic Abnormal Behavior Recognition

PubMed Central

Cui, Zhiming; Zhao, Pengpeng

2014-01-01

A motion trajectory is an intuitive representation form in time-space domain for a micromotion behavior of moving target. Trajectory analysis is an important approach to recognize abnormal behaviors of moving targets. Against the complexity of vehicle trajectories, this paper first proposed a trajectory pattern learning method based on dynamic time warping (DTW) and spectral clustering. It introduced the DTW distance to measure the distances between vehicle trajectories and determined the number of clusters automatically by a spectral clustering algorithm based on the distance matrix. Then, it clusters sample data points into different clusters. After the spatial patterns and direction patterns learned from the clusters, a recognition method for detecting vehicle abnormal behaviors based on mixed pattern matching was proposed. The experimental results show that the proposed technical scheme can recognize main types of traffic abnormal behaviors effectively and has good robustness. The real-world application verified its feasibility and the validity. PMID:24605045

Detecting New Pedestrian Facilities from VGI Data Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhong, S.; Xie, Z.

2017-12-01

Pedestrian facility (e.g. footbridge, pedestrian crossing and underground passage) information is an important basic data of location based service (LBS) for pedestrians. However, timely updating pedestrian facility information challenges due to facilities change frequently. Previous pedestrian facility information collecting and updating tasks are mainly completed by highly trained specialized persons. However, this conventional approach has several disadvantages such as high cost, long update cycle and so on. Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) has proven efficiency to provide new, free and fast growing spatial data. Pedestrian trajectory, which can be seen as measurements of real pedestrian road, is one of the most valuable information of VGI data. Although the accuracy of the trajectories is not too high, due to the large number of measurements, an improvement of quality of the road information can be achieved. Thus, we develop a method for detecting new pedestrian facilities based on the current road network and pedestrian trajectories. Specifically, 1) by analyzing speed, distance and direction, those outliers of pedestrian trajectories are removed, 2) a road network matching algorithm is developed for eliminating redundant trajectories, and 3) a space-time cluster algorithm is adopted for detecting new walking facilities. The performance of the method is evaluated with a series of experiments conducted on a part of the road network of Heifei and a large number of real pedestrian trajectories, and verified the results by using Tencent Street map. The results show that the proposed method is able to detecting new pedestrian facilities from VGI data accurately. We believe that the proposed method provides an alternative way for general road data acquisition, and can improve the quality of LBS for pedestrians.

Optimizing interplanetary trajectories with deep space maneuvers. M.S. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Navagh, John

1993-01-01

Analysis of interplanetary trajectories is a crucial area for both manned and unmanned missions of the Space Exploration Initiative. A deep space maneuver (DSM) can improve a trajectory in much the same way as a planetary swingby. However, instead of using a gravitational field to alter the trajectory, the on-board propulsion system of the spacecraft is used when the vehicle is not near a planet. The purpose is to develop an algorithm to determine where and when to use deep space maneuvers to reduce the cost of a trajectory. The approach taken to solve this problem uses primer vector theory in combination with a non-linear optimizing program to minimize Delta(V). A set of necessary conditions on the primer vector is shown to indicate whether a deep space maneuver will be beneficial. Deep space maneuvers are applied to a round trip mission to Mars to determine their effect on the launch opportunities. Other studies which were performed include cycler trajectories and Mars mission abort scenarios. It was found that the software developed was able to locate quickly DSM's which lower the total Delta(V) on these trajectories.

Optimizing interplanetary trajectories with deep space maneuvers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Navagh, John

1993-09-01

Analysis of interplanetary trajectories is a crucial area for both manned and unmanned missions of the Space Exploration Initiative. A deep space maneuver (DSM) can improve a trajectory in much the same way as a planetary swingby. However, instead of using a gravitational field to alter the trajectory, the on-board propulsion system of the spacecraft is used when the vehicle is not near a planet. The purpose is to develop an algorithm to determine where and when to use deep space maneuvers to reduce the cost of a trajectory. The approach taken to solve this problem uses primer vector theory in combination with a non-linear optimizing program to minimize Delta(V). A set of necessary conditions on the primer vector is shown to indicate whether a deep space maneuver will be beneficial. Deep space maneuvers are applied to a round trip mission to Mars to determine their effect on the launch opportunities. Other studies which were performed include cycler trajectories and Mars mission abort scenarios. It was found that the software developed was able to locate quickly DSM's which lower the total Delta(V) on these trajectories.

Analysis of several Boolean operation based trajectory generation strategies for automotive spray applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Guoyou; Jiang, Chunsheng; Chen, Tao; Hui, Chun

2018-05-01

Industrial robots are widely used in various processes of surface manufacturing, such as thermal spraying. The established robot programming methods are highly time-consuming and not accurate enough to fulfil the demands of the actual market. There are many off-line programming methods developed to reduce the robot programming effort. This work introduces the principle of several based robot trajectory generation strategy on planar surface and curved surface. Since the off-line programming software is widely used and thus facilitates the robot programming efforts and improves the accuracy of robot trajectory, the analysis of this work is based on the second development of off-line programming software Robot studio™. To meet the requirements of automotive paint industry, this kind of software extension helps provide special functions according to the users defined operation parameters. The presented planning strategy generates the robot trajectory by moving an orthogonal surface according to the information of coating surface, a series of intersection curves are then employed to generate the trajectory points. The simulation results show that the path curve created with this method is successive and smooth, which corresponds to the requirements of automotive spray industrial applications.

Fast instantaneous center of rotation estimation algorithm for a skied-steered robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kniaz, V. V.

2015-05-01

Skid-steered robots are widely used as mobile platforms for machine vision systems. However it is hard to achieve a stable motion of such robots along desired trajectory due to an unpredictable wheel slip. It is possible to compensate the unpredictable wheel slip and stabilize the motion of the robot using visual odometry. This paper presents a fast optical flow based algorithm for estimation of instantaneous center of rotation, angular and longitudinal speed of the robot. The proposed algorithm is based on Horn-Schunck variational optical flow estimation method. The instantaneous center of rotation and motion of the robot is estimated by back projection of optical flow field to the ground surface. The developed algorithm was tested using skid-steered mobile robot. The robot is based on a mobile platform that includes two pairs of differential driven motors and a motor controller. Monocular visual odometry system consisting of a singleboard computer and a low cost webcam is mounted on the mobile platform. A state-space model of the robot was derived using standard black-box system identification. The input (commands) and the output (motion) were recorded using a dedicated external motion capture system. The obtained model was used to control the robot without visual odometry data. The paper is concluded with the algorithm quality estimation by comparison of the trajectories estimated by the algorithm with the data from motion capture system.

Constrained Multi-Level Algorithm for Trajectory Optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adimurthy, V.; Tandon, S. R.; Jessy, Antony; Kumar, C. Ravi

The emphasis on low cost access to space inspired many recent developments in the methodology of trajectory optimization. Ref.1 uses a spectral patching method for optimization, where global orthogonal polynomials are used to describe the dynamical constraints. A two-tier approach of optimization is used in Ref.2 for a missile mid-course trajectory optimization. A hybrid analytical/numerical approach is described in Ref.3, where an initial analytical vacuum solution is taken and gradually atmospheric effects are introduced. Ref.4 emphasizes the fact that the nonlinear constraints which occur in the initial and middle portions of the trajectory behave very nonlinearly with respect the variables making the optimization very difficult to solve in the direct and indirect shooting methods. The problem is further made complex when different phases of the trajectory have different objectives of optimization and also have different path constraints. Such problems can be effectively addressed by multi-level optimization. In the multi-level methods reported so far, optimization is first done in identified sub-level problems, where some coordination variables are kept fixed for global iteration. After all the sub optimizations are completed, higher-level optimization iteration with all the coordination and main variables is done. This is followed by further sub system optimizations with new coordination variables. This process is continued until convergence. In this paper we use a multi-level constrained optimization algorithm which avoids the repeated local sub system optimizations and which also removes the problem of non-linear sensitivity inherent in the single step approaches. Fall-zone constraints, structural load constraints and thermal constraints are considered. In this algorithm, there is only a single multi-level sequence of state and multiplier updates in a framework of an augmented Lagrangian. Han Tapia multiplier updates are used in view of their special role in diagonalised methods, being the only single update with quadratic convergence. For a single level, the diagonalised multiplier method (DMM) is described in Ref.5. The main advantage of the two-level analogue of the DMM approach is that it avoids the inner loop optimizations required in the other methods. The scheme also introduces a gradient change measure to reduce the computational time needed to calculate the gradients. It is demonstrated that the new multi-level scheme leads to a robust procedure to handle the sensitivity of the constraints, and the multiple objectives of different trajectory phases. Ref. 1. Fahroo, F and Ross, M., " A Spectral Patching Method for Direct Trajectory Optimization" The Journal of the Astronautical Sciences, Vol.48, 2000, pp.269-286 Ref. 2. Phililps, C.A. and Drake, J.C., "Trajectory Optimization for a Missile using a Multitier Approach" Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol.37, 2000, pp.663-669 Ref. 3. Gath, P.F., and Calise, A.J., " Optimization of Launch Vehicle Ascent Trajectories with Path Constraints and Coast Arcs", Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, Vol. 24, 2001, pp.296-304 Ref. 4. Betts, J.T., " Survey of Numerical Methods for Trajectory Optimization", Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, Vol.21, 1998, pp. 193-207 Ref. 5. Adimurthy, V., " Launch Vehicle Trajectory Optimization", Acta Astronautica, Vol.15, 1987, pp.845-850.

Extensions to PIFCGT: Multirate output feedback and optimal disturbance suppression

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Broussard, J. R.

1986-01-01

New control synthesis procedures for digital flight control systems were developed. The theoretical developments are the solution to the problem of optimal disturbance suppression in the presence of windshear. Control synthesis is accomplished using a linear quadratic cost function, the command generator tracker for trajectory following and the proportional-integral-filter control structure for practical implementation. Extensions are made to the optimal output feedback algorithm for computing feedback gains so that the multirate and optimal disturbance control designs are computed and compared for the advanced transport operating system (ATOPS). The performance of the designs is demonstrated by closed-loop poles, frequency domain multiinput sigma and eigenvalue plots and detailed nonlinear 6-DOF aircraft simulations in the terminal area in the presence of windshear.

Impulse position control algorithms for nonlinear systems

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

Sesekin, A. N., E-mail: sesekin@list.ru; Institute of Mathematics and Mechanics, Ural Division of Russian Academy of Sciences, 16 S. Kovalevskaya, Ekaterinburg, 620990; Nepp, A. N., E-mail: anepp@urfu.ru

2015-11-30

The article is devoted to the formalization and description of impulse-sliding regime in nonlinear dynamical systems that arise in the application of impulse position controls of a special kind. The concept of trajectory impulse-sliding regime formalized as some limiting network element Euler polygons generated by a discrete approximation of the impulse position control This paper differs from the previously published papers in that it uses a definition of solutions of systems with impulse controls, it based on the closure of the set of smooth solutions in the space of functions of bounded variation. The need for the study of suchmore » regimes is the fact that they often arise when parry disturbances acting on technical or economic control system.« less

How to Run FAST Simulations.

PubMed

Zimmerman, M I; Bowman, G R

2016-01-01

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are a powerful tool for understanding enzymes' structures and functions with full atomistic detail. These physics-based simulations model the dynamics of a protein in solution and store snapshots of its atomic coordinates at discrete time intervals. Analysis of the snapshots from these trajectories provides thermodynamic and kinetic properties such as conformational free energies, binding free energies, and transition times. Unfortunately, simulating biologically relevant timescales with brute force MD simulations requires enormous computing resources. In this chapter we detail a goal-oriented sampling algorithm, called fluctuation amplification of specific traits, that quickly generates pertinent thermodynamic and kinetic information by using an iterative series of short MD simulations to explore the vast depths of conformational space. © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Robust and highly performant ring detection algorithm for 3d particle tracking using 2d microscope imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afik, Eldad

2015-09-01

Three-dimensional particle tracking is an essential tool in studying dynamics under the microscope, namely, fluid dynamics in microfluidic devices, bacteria taxis, cellular trafficking. The 3d position can be determined using 2d imaging alone by measuring the diffraction rings generated by an out-of-focus fluorescent particle, imaged on a single camera. Here I present a ring detection algorithm exhibiting a high detection rate, which is robust to the challenges arising from ring occlusion, inclusions and overlaps, and allows resolving particles even when near to each other. It is capable of real time analysis thanks to its high performance and low memory footprint. The proposed algorithm, an offspring of the circle Hough transform, addresses the need to efficiently trace the trajectories of many particles concurrently, when their number in not necessarily fixed, by solving a classification problem, and overcomes the challenges of finding local maxima in the complex parameter space which results from ring clusters and noise. Several algorithmic concepts introduced here can be advantageous in other cases, particularly when dealing with noisy and sparse data. The implementation is based on open-source and cross-platform software packages only, making it easy to distribute and modify. It is implemented in a microfluidic experiment allowing real-time multi-particle tracking at 70 Hz, achieving a detection rate which exceeds 94% and only 1% false-detection.

Variance-reduced simulation of lattice discrete-time Markov chains with applications in reaction networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maginnis, P. A.; West, M.; Dullerud, G. E.

2016-10-01

We propose an algorithm to accelerate Monte Carlo simulation for a broad class of stochastic processes. Specifically, the class of countable-state, discrete-time Markov chains driven by additive Poisson noise, or lattice discrete-time Markov chains. In particular, this class includes simulation of reaction networks via the tau-leaping algorithm. To produce the speedup, we simulate pairs of fair-draw trajectories that are negatively correlated. Thus, when averaged, these paths produce an unbiased Monte Carlo estimator that has reduced variance and, therefore, reduced error. Numerical results for three example systems included in this work demonstrate two to four orders of magnitude reduction of mean-square error. The numerical examples were chosen to illustrate different application areas and levels of system complexity. The areas are: gene expression (affine state-dependent rates), aerosol particle coagulation with emission and human immunodeficiency virus infection (both with nonlinear state-dependent rates). Our algorithm views the system dynamics as a ;black-box;, i.e., we only require control of pseudorandom number generator inputs. As a result, typical codes can be retrofitted with our algorithm using only minor changes. We prove several analytical results. Among these, we characterize the relationship of covariances between paths in the general nonlinear state-dependent intensity rates case, and we prove variance reduction of mean estimators in the special case of affine intensity rates.

Statistical methods for launch vehicle guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C) system design and analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rose, Michael Benjamin

A novel trajectory and attitude control and navigation analysis tool for powered ascent is developed. The tool is capable of rapid trade-space analysis and is designed to ultimately reduce turnaround time for launch vehicle design, mission planning, and redesign work. It is streamlined to quickly determine trajectory and attitude control dispersions, propellant dispersions, orbit insertion dispersions, and navigation errors and their sensitivities to sensor errors, actuator execution uncertainties, and random disturbances. The tool is developed by applying both Monte Carlo and linear covariance analysis techniques to a closed-loop, launch vehicle guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C) system. The nonlinear dynamics and flight GN&C software models of a closed-loop, six-degree-of-freedom (6-DOF), Monte Carlo simulation are formulated and developed. The nominal reference trajectory (NRT) for the proposed lunar ascent trajectory is defined and generated. The Monte Carlo truth models and GN&C algorithms are linearized about the NRT, the linear covariance equations are formulated, and the linear covariance simulation is developed. The performance of the launch vehicle GN&C system is evaluated using both Monte Carlo and linear covariance techniques and their trajectory and attitude control dispersion, propellant dispersion, orbit insertion dispersion, and navigation error results are validated and compared. Statistical results from linear covariance analysis are generally within 10% of Monte Carlo results, and in most cases the differences are less than 5%. This is an excellent result given the many complex nonlinearities that are embedded in the ascent GN&C problem. Moreover, the real value of this tool lies in its speed, where the linear covariance simulation is 1036.62 times faster than the Monte Carlo simulation. Although the application and results presented are for a lunar, single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO), ascent vehicle, the tools, techniques, and mathematical formulations that are discussed are applicable to ascent on Earth or other planets as well as other rocket-powered systems such as sounding rockets and ballistic missiles.

Effects of camera location on the reconstruction of 3D flare trajectory with two cameras

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Özsaraç, Seçkin; Yeşilkaya, Muhammed

2015-05-01

Flares are used as valuable electronic warfare assets for the battle against infrared guided missiles. The trajectory of the flare is one of the most important factors that determine the effectiveness of the counter measure. Reconstruction of the three dimensional (3D) position of a point, which is seen by multiple cameras, is a common problem. Camera placement, camera calibration, corresponding pixel determination in between the images of different cameras and also the triangulation algorithm affect the performance of 3D position estimation. In this paper, we specifically investigate the effects of camera placement on the flare trajectory estimation performance by simulations. Firstly, 3D trajectory of a flare and also the aircraft, which dispenses the flare, are generated with simple motion models. Then, we place two virtual ideal pinhole camera models on different locations. Assuming the cameras are tracking the aircraft perfectly, the view vectors of the cameras are computed. Afterwards, using the view vector of each camera and also the 3D position of the flare, image plane coordinates of the flare on both cameras are computed using the field of view (FOV) values. To increase the fidelity of the simulation, we have used two sources of error. One is used to model the uncertainties in the determination of the camera view vectors, i.e. the orientations of the cameras are measured noisy. Second noise source is used to model the imperfections of the corresponding pixel determination of the flare in between the two cameras. Finally, 3D position of the flare is estimated using the corresponding pixel indices, view vector and also the FOV of the cameras by triangulation. All the processes mentioned so far are repeated for different relative camera placements so that the optimum estimation error performance is found for the given aircraft and are trajectories.

Filtered-backprojection reconstruction for a cone-beam computed tomography scanner with independent source and detector rotations

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

Rit, Simon, E-mail: simon.rit@creatis.insa-lyon.fr; Clackdoyle, Rolf; Keuschnigg, Peter

Purpose: A new cone-beam CT scanner for image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) can independently rotate the source and the detector along circular trajectories. Existing reconstruction algorithms are not suitable for this scanning geometry. The authors propose and evaluate a three-dimensional (3D) filtered-backprojection reconstruction for this situation. Methods: The source and the detector trajectories are tuned to image a field-of-view (FOV) that is offset with respect to the center-of-rotation. The new reconstruction formula is derived from the Feldkamp algorithm and results in a similar three-step algorithm: projection weighting, ramp filtering, and weighted backprojection. Simulations of a Shepp Logan digital phantom were used tomore » evaluate the new algorithm with a 10 cm-offset FOV. A real cone-beam CT image with an 8.5 cm-offset FOV was also obtained from projections of an anthropomorphic head phantom. Results: The quality of the cone-beam CT images reconstructed using the new algorithm was similar to those using the Feldkamp algorithm which is used in conventional cone-beam CT. The real image of the head phantom exhibited comparable image quality to that of existing systems. Conclusions: The authors have proposed a 3D filtered-backprojection reconstruction for scanners with independent source and detector rotations that is practical and effective. This algorithm forms the basis for exploiting the scanner’s unique capabilities in IGRT protocols.« less

Control algorithms for aerobraking in the Martian atmosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ward, Donald T.; Shipley, Buford W., Jr.

1991-01-01

The Analytic Predictor Corrector (APC) and Energy Controller (EC) atmospheric guidance concepts were adapted to control an interplanetary vehicle aerobraking in the Martian atmosphere. Changes are made to the APC to improve its robustness to density variations. These changes include adaptation of a new exit phase algorithm, an adaptive transition velocity to initiate the exit phase, refinement of the reference dynamic pressure calculation and two improved density estimation techniques. The modified controller with the hybrid density estimation technique is called the Mars Hybrid Predictor Corrector (MHPC), while the modified controller with a polynomial density estimator is called the Mars Predictor Corrector (MPC). A Lyapunov Steepest Descent Controller (LSDC) is adapted to control the vehicle. The LSDC lacked robustness, so a Lyapunov tracking exit phase algorithm is developed to guide the vehicle along a reference trajectory. This algorithm, when using the hybrid density estimation technique to define the reference path, is called the Lyapunov Hybrid Tracking Controller (LHTC). With the polynomial density estimator used to define the reference trajectory, the algorithm is called the Lyapunov Tracking Controller (LTC). These four new controllers are tested using a six degree of freedom computer simulation to evaluate their robustness. The MHPC, MPC, LHTC, and LTC show dramatic improvements in robustness over the APC and EC.

Outer-Planet Mission Analysis Using Solar-Electric Ion Propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woo, Byoungsam; Coverstone, Victoria L.; Hartmann, John W.; Cupples, Michael

2003-01-01

Outer-planet mission analysis was performed using three next generation solar-electric ion thruster models. Optimal trajectories are presented that maximize the delivered mass to the designated outer planet. Trajectories to Saturn and Neptune with a single Venus gravity assist are investigated. For each thruster model, the delivered mass versus flight time curve was generated to obtain thruster model performance. The effects of power to the thrusters and resonance ratio of Venutian orbital periods to spacecraft period were also studied. Multiple locally optimal trajectories to Saturn and Neptune have been discovered in different regions of the parameter search space. The characteristics of each trajectory are noted.

A feedback control for the advanced launch system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seywald, Hans; Cliff, Eugene M.

1991-01-01

A robust feedback algorithm is presented for a near-minimum-fuel ascent of a two-stage launch vehicle operating in the equatorial plane. The development of the algorithm is based on the ideas of neighboring optimal control and can be derived into three phases. In phase 1, the formalism of optimal control is employed to calculate fuel-optimal ascent trajectories for a simple point-mass model. In phase 2, these trajectories are used to numerically calculate gain functions of time for the control(s), the total flight time, and possibly, for other variables of interest. In phase 3, these gains are used to determine feedback expressions for the controls associated with a more realistic model of a launch vehicle. With the Advanced Launch System in mind, all calculations are performed on a two-stage vehicle with fixed thrust history, but this restriction is by no means important for the approach taken. Performance and robustness of the algorithm is found to be excellent.

Computing approximate random Delta v magnitude probability densities. [for spacecraft trajectory correction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chadwick, C.

1984-01-01

This paper describes the development and use of an algorithm to compute approximate statistics of the magnitude of a single random trajectory correction maneuver (TCM) Delta v vector. The TCM Delta v vector is modeled as a three component Cartesian vector each of whose components is a random variable having a normal (Gaussian) distribution with zero mean and possibly unequal standard deviations. The algorithm uses these standard deviations as input to produce approximations to (1) the mean and standard deviation of the magnitude of Delta v, (2) points of the probability density function of the magnitude of Delta v, and (3) points of the cumulative and inverse cumulative distribution functions of Delta v. The approximates are based on Monte Carlo techniques developed in a previous paper by the author and extended here. The algorithm described is expected to be useful in both pre-flight planning and in-flight analysis of maneuver propellant requirements for space missions.