Fusion of enhanced and synthetic vision system images for runway and horizon detection

Networked operation of unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) demands fusion of information from disparate sources for accurate flight control. In this investigation, a novel sensor fusion architecture for detecting aircraft runway and horizons as well as enhancing the awareness of surrounding terrain is introduced based on fusion of enhanced vision system (EVS) and synthetic vision system (SVS) images. EVS and SVS image fusion has yet to be implemented in real-world situations due to signal misalignment. We address this through a registration step to align EVS and SVS images. Four fusion rules combining discrete wavelet transform (DWT) sub-bands are formulated, implemented, and evaluated. The resulting procedure is tested on real EVS-SVS image pairs and pairs containing simulated turbulence. Evaluations reveal that runways and horizons can be detected accurately even in poor visibility. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that different aspects of EVS and SVS images can be emphasized by using different DWT fusion rules. The procedure is autonomous throughout landing, irrespective of weather. The fusion architecture developed in this study holds promise for incorporation into manned heads-up displays (HUDs) and UAV remote displays to assist pilots landing aircraft in poor lighting and varying weather. The algorithm also provides a basis for rule selection in other signal fusion applications

Helmet-Mounted Display Symbology and Stabilization Concepts

The helmet-mounted display (HMD) presents flight, sensor, and weapon information in the pilot's line of sight. The HMD was developed to allow the pilot to retain aircraft and weapon information and to view sensor images while looking off boresight

The virtual landing pad: facilitating rotary-wing landing operations in degraded visual environments

The safety of rotary-wing operations are significantly affected by the local weather conditions, especially during key phases of flight including hover and landing. Despite the operational flexibility of rotary-wing craft, such craft account for a significantly greater proportion of accidents than their fixed-wing counterparts. A key period of risk when operating rotary-wing aircraft is during operations that occur in degraded visual environments, for example as a result of thick fog. During such conditions, pilots’ workload significantly increases and their situation awareness can be greatly impeded. The current study examines the extent to which providing information to pilots via the use of a Head-Up display (HUD) influenced perceived workload and situation awareness, when operating in both clear and degraded visual environments. Results suggest that whilst the HUD did not benefit pilots during clear conditions, workload was reduced when operating in degraded visual conditions. Overall results demonstrate that access to the HUD reduces the difficulties associated with flying in degraded visual environments

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes, supplement 192

This bibliography lists 247 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in March 1979

Aerospace medicine and biology: A cumulative index to a continuing bibliography (supplement 384)

This publication is a cumulative index to the abstracts contained in Supplements 372 through 383 of Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A Continuing Bibliography. It includes seven indexes: subject, personal author, corporate source, foreign technology, contract number, report number, and accession number

Aerospace medicine and biology: A cumulative index to a continuing bibliography (supplement 345)

This publication is a cumulative index to the abstracts contained in Supplements 333 through 344 of Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A Continuing Bibliography. Seven indexes are included -- subject, personal author, corporate source, foreign technology, contract number, report number, and accession number

Response surface methods applied to submarine concept exploration

CIVINS (Civilian Institutions) Thesis documentIt is estimated that 70 to 85 percent of a naval ship's life-cycle cost is determined during the concept exploration phase which places an importance in the methodology used by the designer to select the concept design. But trade-off studies are guided primarily by past experience, rules-of-thumb, and designer preference. This approach is ad hoc, not efficient and may not lead to an optimum concept design. Even worse, once the designer has a 'good' concept design, he has no process or methodology to determine whether a better concept design is possible or not. A methodology is required to search the design space for an optimal solution based on the specified preferences from the customer. But the difficulty is the design space, which is non-linear, discontinuous, and bounded by a variety of constraints, goals, and thresholds. Then the design process itself is difficult to optimize because of the coupling among decomposed engineering disciplines and sub-system interactions. These attributes prevent application of mature optimization techniques including Lagrange multipliers, steepest ascent methods, linear programming, non-linear programming, and dynamic programming. To further improve submarine concept exploration, this thesis examines a statistical technique called Response Surface Methods (RSM). The purpose of RSM is to lead to an understanding of the relationship between the input (factors) and Output (response) variables, often to further the optimization of the underlying process. The RSM approach allows the designers to find a local optimal and examine how the design factors affect the response in the region around the generated optimal point.http://archive.org/details/responsesurfacem1094510921CIVIN

Panoramic, large-screen, 3-D flight display system design

The report documents and summarizes the results of the required evaluations specified in the SOW and the design specifications for the selected display system hardware. Also included are the proposed development plan and schedule as well as the estimated rough order of magnitude (ROM) cost to design, fabricate, and demonstrate a flyable prototype research flight display system. The thrust of the effort was development of a complete understanding of the user/system requirements for a panoramic, collimated, 3-D flyable avionic display system and the translation of the requirements into an acceptable system design for fabrication and demonstration of a prototype display in the early 1997 time frame. Eleven display system design concepts were presented to NASA LaRC during the program, one of which was down-selected to a preferred display system concept. A set of preliminary display requirements was formulated. The state of the art in image source technology, 3-D methods, collimation methods, and interaction methods for a panoramic, 3-D flight display system were reviewed in depth and evaluated. Display technology improvements and risk reductions associated with maturity of the technologies for the preferred display system design concept were identified

Vessel Traffic Services, towards e-Navigation : the role of Oceanic VTS in global maritime surveillance

This thesis presents the study and analysis of the Vessel Traffic Services (VTS), from its origins to the present, with further evaluation of future trends. Examining the current trend in terms of technologies that are being applied in the maritime sector, the dissertation focuses on the future to draw a new paradigm. This envisages a scenario at a planetary level, following a single global traffic management system, which would create a model of the global VTS Operator. A new assignment is proposed, according to this third dimension, with Port VTS being the first level, the Coastal VTS second, and with the Oceanic VTS projected into the future, which is a substantial proposal. The foundation is based on EU projects, the most ambitious of which, currently underway, being Sea Traffic Management (STM), with a scope greater than Europe, and also on IALA VTS and ENAV Committee Working Groups, concerning the future of VTS. The study includes the reference documentation from the IMO, in resolution format, and that of the IALA, under Standards, Recommendations and Guidelines. From the first recognition of the IMO to the present, the guidelines for VTS have undergone three updates, which are analysed and compared. VTS are considered aids to navigation, AtoN, which contribute to safety of life at sea, safety and efficiency of navigation and protection of the marine environment, and are linked to ship traffic activity. Both their attributions and the implementation of VTS centres have increased over time. In addition to this, the evolution of the tools used by the VTS is examined, from its earliest stages with only two pieces of equipment, the VHF radio, and the radar. The VTS system began by looking at the air traffic model but, later, the maritime nature created necessary differentiation in terms of management and procedures. Digital technologies applied to the maritime sector take air traffic controllers’ models as a reference, and the current VTS Operator profession will acquire analogies, such as sharing route plans and checking digital inputs. This highly specialised profession is facing the challenges of satellite technology, global interconnection, and the arrival of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS). New technologies bring the possibility of sharing information and controlling traffic on a global scale, beyond the territorial sea, and this scenario will make standardisation increasingly necessary throughout the maritime sector. The identification of various models of traffic management, examination of systems operating specifically in the Spanish State and reflection on the diversity that prevails is also included. Based on fieldwork, the thesis determines that the future complexities that will emerge from maritime traffic will require exhaustive risk assessment and analysis. The challenges to be faced involve maritime communications via satellite and digital technology, in the context of ‘e-Navigation’ (coined by the IMO), which will provide emerging tools, such as VDES (next generation of AIS), and a planetary-scale information exchange framework for VTS worldwide.Aquesta tesi presenta l'estudi i l'anàlisi dels Serveis de Tràfic Marítim (VTS) des dels seus orígens fins al present, avaluant tendències futures. Examinant el corrent actual en referència a les tecnologies que s'estan aplicant al sector marítim, la tesi s’orienta al futur per delinear un nou paradigma. Un escenari a nivell planetari, que segueix un únic sistema de gestió de tràfic global, i que crearà un model d'operador VTS global. Es proposa una nova assignació acord a aquesta tercera dimensió, sent el VTS Port, el primer, el VTS Costaner, el segon, i es projecta a futur el VTS Oceànic, que és la proposta substancial. La fundació es basa en projectes de la UE, on és el més ambiciós i actualment en marxa el Sea Traffic Management (STM), amb un abast superior a l'europeu i amb els grups de treball del Comitè VTS i ENAV de la IALA sobre l’esdevenidor del VTS. L’estudi inclou documentació de referència procedent de la IMO, en format resolucions; i la procedent de la IALA, sota estàndards, recomanacions i directrius. Des del primer reconeixement de la IMO fins ara, les directrius per als VTS han passat per tres actualitzacions, que s'analitzen i es comparen. Els VTS es consideren ajuts a la navegació, AtoN, que contribueixen a la seguretat de la vida humana al mar, la seguretat i l'eficiència de la navegació i la protecció del medi marí i estan vinculats a l'activitat del trànsit de vaixells, i tant les seves atribucions com la implantació de centres VTS han augmentat al llarg de temps. A més a més d'això, s'examina l'evolució de les eines utilitzades pel VTS, des de les seves primeres etapes amb només dos equips, la ràdio VHF i el radar. El sistema VTS es va iniciar fixant-se en el model aeri, però posteriorment la naturalesa marítima els va diferenciar pel que fa a gestió i procediments. Les tecnologies digitals aplicades al sector marítim prenen com a referència models similars als controladors aeris, i l'actual professió d'Operador VTS assolirà analogies com ara compartir plans de ruta amb els vaixells i comprovació d'inputs digitals. Una professió altament especialitzada que s'enfronta als reptes de la tecnologia satel·litària, la interconnexió mundial i l'arribada dels vaixells marítims autònoms de superfície (MASS). Les noves tecnologies porten la possibilitat de compartir informació i controlar el tràfic a escala global, més enllà del mar territorial, i aquest escenari farà que l'estandardització sigui cada cop més necessària a tot el sector marítim. Es considera la identificació de diversos models de gestió del tràfic, els sistemes que operen específicament a l'Estat espanyol i la reflexió sobre la diversitat que preval. A partir d'un treball de camp, la tesi determina que les complexitats que emergiran del tràfic marítim requeriran avaluació i anàlisi de riscos exhaustius. Els reptes que cal afrontar són aquells que inclouen les comunicacions marítimes via satèl·lit i la tecnologia digital en el context de l'e-Navegació, encunyat per la IMO, que proporcionaran eines emergents, com els VDES (propera generació de l’AIS), i un marc d’intercanvi d’informació a escala planetària per als VTS de tot el món.Postprint (published version