Making intelligent systems team players: Case studies and design issues. Volume 1: Human-computer interaction design

Initial results are reported from a multi-year, interdisciplinary effort to provide guidance and assistance for designers of intelligent systems and their user interfaces. The objective is to achieve more effective human-computer interaction (HCI) for systems with real time fault management capabilities. Intelligent fault management systems within the NASA were evaluated for insight into the design of systems with complex HCI. Preliminary results include: (1) a description of real time fault management in aerospace domains; (2) recommendations and examples for improving intelligent systems design and user interface design; (3) identification of issues requiring further research; and (4) recommendations for a development methodology integrating HCI design into intelligent system design

BIOMECHANICS IN EQUINE REHABILITATION: A WEIGHT-REDUCTION SYSTEM AND MOVEMENT TRACKING DEVICE

Equine musculoskeletal conditions can be challenging to treat and career-ending or result in euthanasia in severe cases. Often it is the secondary complications (weight and immobility related) that develop while treating the initial injury that carries the poor prognosis. For this reason, many attempts have been made to reduce the horse’s weight during recovery. This study aimed to design and test a chest support (breastplate) for use with a rehabilitation lift and test a movement tracking device for monitoring rehabilitation progress. By focusing on the horse's biomechanics, support can be directed to load-bearing structures, minimizing the risk of compromised breathing or restricted blood flow. Tracking movement could assist in early detection of changes in movement patterns that may be indicative of the onset of complications, such as supporting limb laminitis, in horses with ambulatory difficulties. A breastplate was developed to facilitate front limb support, attempting to minimize the risk of complications, such as pressure ulcers. Design testing included strength tests (to 227 kg) for safety, fit tests to minimize discomfort, and weight compensation trials using a computer-controlled rehabilitation lift to reduce load. The goal was to reach a 50% weight reduction of the forelimbs. Weight reduction was incrementally increased, observing the horse’s behaviour and respiratory rate, indicating discomfort and directing design modifications. A 50% weight reduction was achieved after a series of design iterations. To aid in the objective assessment of movement of horses during stall confinement, a readily available motion sensor (inertial measurement unit = IMU) was tested. The IMU was placed at three different locations (withers, right forelimb, and hindlimb) to determine the best location to quantify step count when compared to a video-based step count criterion. Data was recorded in five-minute intervals for three movements (free movement, circles, and figure-eight). An intra-class correlation (ICC) analysis determined that the IMU placement on the limbs was the most accurate using the vertical axis to determine step count with the current algorithm, while the withers location was the least accurate. The movement analysis demonstrated the potential of a limb-mounted IMU to quantify movement during stall confinement

Making intelligent systems team players: Overview for designers

This report is a guide and companion to the NASA Technical Memorandum 104738, 'Making Intelligent Systems Team Players,' Volumes 1 and 2. The first two volumes of this Technical Memorandum provide comprehensive guidance to designers of intelligent systems for real-time fault management of space systems, with the objective of achieving more effective human interaction. This report provides an analysis of the material discussed in the Technical Memorandum. It clarifies what it means for an intelligent system to be a team player, and how such systems are designed. It identifies significant intelligent system design problems and their impacts on reliability and usability. Where common design practice is not effective in solving these problems, we make recommendations for these situations. In this report, we summarize the main points in the Technical Memorandum and identify where to look for further information

Electric System Vulnerabilities: a State of the Art of Defense Technologies

Vulnerability of the European electrical infrastructure appears to be growing due to several factors: - demand is always growing, and, although this growth may be forecast, it cannot be anytime easily faced; - transactions increase, following electrical system liberalisation, and this involves operating the whole infrastructure closer to the system capacity and security limits; - an increased control systems complexity, required for secure system operation, may in turn raise system vulnerability, due both to accidental faults and malicious attacks; - critical infrastructures, and the electrical system primarily, are well known to be a privileged target in warfare, as well as terrorist attacks. In recent years, both Europe and America have experienced a significant number of huge blackouts, whose frequency and impact looks progressively growing. These events had common roots in the fact that current risk assessment methodologies and current system controls appear to be no longer adequate. Beyond the growing complexity of the electrical system as a whole, two main reasons can be listed: - system analysis procedures based on these methodologies did not identify security threats emerging from failures of critical physical components; - on-line controls were not able to avoid system collapse. This report provides a state-of-the-art of the technology on both regards: - as far as risk assessment methodologies are concerned, an overview of the conceptual power system reliability framework is provided, and the current N-1 principle for risk assessment in power systems is introduced, together with off-the-shelf enforcement methodologies, like optimal power flow. Emerging methodologies for dynamic security assessment are also discussed. The power system reliability approach is compared with the global approach to dependability introduced by computer scientists, and the conceptual clashes pointed out. Ways ahead to conciliate both views are outlined. - concerning power system controls, the report overviews the existing defense plans, making specific reference to the current Italian situation. The two major recent blackout events in the American North East and Italy are analysed, and the drawbacks of the existing arrangements and the installed control systems are discussed. Emerging technologies, such as phasor measurement units and wide area protection are introduced. Their likely impact on the existing control room is discussed. Finally, potential cyber vulnerabilities of the new control systems are introduced, the role of communication standards in that context is discussed, and an overview of the current state of the art is presented.JRC.G.6-Sensors, radar technologies and cybersecurit

Cellular, Wide-Area, and Non-Terrestrial IoT: A Survey on 5G Advances and the Road Towards 6G

The next wave of wireless technologies is proliferating in connecting things among themselves as well as to humans. In the era of the Internet of things (IoT), billions of sensors, machines, vehicles, drones, and robots will be connected, making the world around us smarter. The IoT will encompass devices that must wirelessly communicate a diverse set of data gathered from the environment for myriad new applications. The ultimate goal is to extract insights from this data and develop solutions that improve quality of life and generate new revenue. Providing large-scale, long-lasting, reliable, and near real-time connectivity is the major challenge in enabling a smart connected world. This paper provides a comprehensive survey on existing and emerging communication solutions for serving IoT applications in the context of cellular, wide-area, as well as non-terrestrial networks. Specifically, wireless technology enhancements for providing IoT access in fifth-generation (5G) and beyond cellular networks, and communication networks over the unlicensed spectrum are presented. Aligned with the main key performance indicators of 5G and beyond 5G networks, we investigate solutions and standards that enable energy efficiency, reliability, low latency, and scalability (connection density) of current and future IoT networks. The solutions include grant-free access and channel coding for short-packet communications, non-orthogonal multiple access, and on-device intelligence. Further, a vision of new paradigm shifts in communication networks in the 2030s is provided, and the integration of the associated new technologies like artificial intelligence, non-terrestrial networks, and new spectra is elaborated. Finally, future research directions toward beyond 5G IoT networks are pointed out.Comment: Submitted for review to IEEE CS&