Instrumented clinical scales to promote objective measures of physical capability in clinical assessment and rehabilitation medicine

The age-related decline of physical and cognitive capacities and the increasing number of older people imply significant socioeconomic costs. Detection of people at risk of developing Physical Capability (PC) decline is crucial for identifying therapeutic rehabilitation targets. Objective measures of Physical Performance (PP) extracted from wearable inertial sensors could integrate the conventional outcome. However, little use is made in everyday clinical practice, because of the lack of standardization, redundancy of information and the need for normative data. The main goal of this thesis was the design of a general model for providing an objective PC assessment tool, and to investigate the relationships among instrumented scores, clinical scores, and specific impairments and diseases. Participants underwent a battery of PP tests wearing an inertial sensor at L5, including Quiet Standing (QS), walking, Chair-Stand Test (CST) and Timed-Up-and-Go Test (TUG). Age and gender relationships have also been investigated. Exploratory Factor Analysis was used to define a conceptual model based on the set of sensor-based measures extracted from the InCHIANTI Study. The model was applied to a different cohort, which included a neurological population (Parkinson’s and Stroke), demonstrating its validity and clinical significance. One-week continuous monitoring of daily PA activity has also been recorded from a subset of the InCHIANTI participants. The sensor-based PP and daily PA outcomes were consistent with the conventional clinical scores. Instrumented functional testing showed the potential to i) advance the quality of current mobility assessments; ii) enhance our understanding of an individual’s true PC; and iii) disclose subtle changes in PC that would otherwise remain undetected. In conclusion, the development and implementation of an easy to use, objective and comprehensive tool for the assessment of the individuals’ PC has demonstrated to be feasible. This tool may enrich conventional clinical outcomes, facilitating the design of interventions and rehabilitation strategies

AFWAL space control technology program

An overview of space oriented control technology programs which are applicable to flexible large space structures is presented. The spacecraft control activity is interdisciplinary with activities in structures, structural dynamics and control brought together. The large flexible structures to be controlled have many physical factors that influence the final controllability of the vehicle. Factors are studied such as rigidity of both structural elements and joints, damping inherent in both material as well as discrete dampers located throughout the structure, and the bandwidth of both sensors and actuators used to sense motion and control it. Descriptions of programs both in-house and contracted are given

Optimization of microwave radiometric systems for earth resource surveys Final report

Optimization of passive microwave radiometric systems for earth resource surveys from ground and aircraft based measurement

Space exploration: The interstellar goal and Titan demonstration

Automated interstellar space exploration is reviewed. The Titan demonstration mission is discussed. Remote sensing and automated modeling are considered. Nuclear electric propulsion, main orbiting spacecraft, lander/rover, subsatellites, atmospheric probes, powered air vehicles, and a surface science network comprise mission component concepts. Machine, intelligence in space exploration is discussed

Summary of the Active Microwave Workshop, chapter 1

An overview is given of the utility, feasibility, and advantages of active microwave sensors for a broad range of applications, including aerospace. In many instances, the material provides an in-depth examination of the applicability and/or the technology of microwave remote sensing, and considerable documentation is presented in support of these techniques. An assessment of the relative strengths and weaknesses of active microwave sensor data indicates that satisfactory data are obtainable for several significant applications

Post-Westgate SWAT : C4ISTAR Architectural Framework for Autonomous Network Integrated Multifaceted Warfighting Solutions Version 1.0 : A Peer-Reviewed Monograph

Police SWAT teams and Military Special Forces face mounting pressure and challenges from adversaries that can only be resolved by way of ever more sophisticated inputs into tactical operations. Lethal Autonomy provides constrained military/security forces with a viable option, but only if implementation has got proper empirically supported foundations. Autonomous weapon systems can be designed and developed to conduct ground, air and naval operations. This monograph offers some insights into the challenges of developing legal, reliable and ethical forms of autonomous weapons, that address the gap between Police or Law Enforcement and Military operations that is growing exponentially small. National adversaries are today in many instances hybrid threats, that manifest criminal and military traits, these often require deployment of hybrid-capability autonomous weapons imbued with the capability to taken on both Military and/or Security objectives. The Westgate Terrorist Attack of 21st September 2013 in the Westlands suburb of Nairobi, Kenya is a very clear manifestation of the hybrid combat scenario that required military response and police investigations against a fighting cell of the Somalia based globally networked Al Shabaab terrorist group.Comment: 52 pages, 6 Figures, over 40 references, reviewed by a reade

EOD systems and facilities workload requirements forecast

There are no author-identified significant results in this report

Robotic sampling system for an unmanned Mars mission

A major robotics opportunity for NASA will be the Mars Rover/Sample Return Mission which could be launched as early as the 1990s. The exploratory portion of this mission will include two autonomous subsystems: the rover vehicle and a sample handling system. The sample handling system is the key to the process of collecting Martian soils. This system could include a core drill, a general-purpose manipulator, tools, containers, a return canister, certification hardware and a labeling system. Integrated into a functional package, the sample handling system is analogous to a complex robotic workcell. Discussed here are the different components of the system, their interfaces, forseeable problem areas and many options based on the scientific goals of the mission. The various interfaces in the sample handling process (component to component and handling system to rover) will be a major engineering effort. Two critical evaluation criteria that will be imposed on the system are flexibility and reliability. It needs to be flexible enough to adapt to different scenarios and environments and acquire the most desirable specimens for return to Earth. Scientists may decide to change the distribution and ratio of core samples to rock samples in the canister. The long distance and duration of this planetary mission places a reliability burden on the hardware. The communication time delay between Earth and Mars minimizes operator interaction (teleoperation, supervisory modes) with the sample handler. An intelligent system will be required to plan the actions, make sample choices, interpret sensor inputs, and query unknown surroundings. A combination of autonomous functions and supervised movements will be integrated into the sample handling system

Advanced instrumentation concepts for environmental control subsystems

Design, evaluation and demonstration of advanced instrumentation concepts for improving performance of manned spacecraft environmental control and life support systems were successfully completed. Concepts to aid maintenance following fault detection and isolation were defined. A computer-guided fault correction instruction program was developed and demonstrated in a packaged unit which also contains the operator/system interface