A laser tracking dynamic robot metrology instrument

Research work over several years has resulted in the development of a laser tracking instrument capable of dynamic 3-D measurements of robot end-effector trajectories. The instrument characteristics and experiments to measure the static and dynamic performance of a robot in an industrial manufacturing environment are described. The use of this technology for space applications is examined

Attitude transfer assembly design for MAGSAT

A description is given of a design for an instrument system that will monitor the orientation of a boom-mounted vector magnetometer relative to the main spacecraft body. The attitude of the magnetometer is measured with respect to X and Z axes lateral to the boom length and also a twist axis around the boom center line. These measurements are made in a noncontact optical approach employing a three-axis autocollimator system mounted on the main body of the spacecraft with only passive elements (reflectors) located at the end of the 20-foot boom

Bridges Structural Health Monitoring and Deterioration Detection Synthesis of Knowledge and Technology

INE/AUTC 10.0

Small unmanned airborne systems to support oil and gas pipeline monitoring and mapping

Acknowledgments We thank Johan Havelaar, Aeryon Labs Inc., AeronVironment Inc. and Aeronautics Inc. for kindly permitting the use of materials in Fig. 1.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Generic Techniques for the Calibration of Robots with Application of the 3-D Fixtures and Statistical Technique on the PUMA 500 and ARID Robots

A relatively simple, inexpensive, and generic technique that could be used in both laboratories and some operation site environments is introduced at the Robotics Applications and Development Laboratory (RADL) at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). In addition, this report gives a detailed explanation of the set up procedure, data collection, and analysis using this new technique that was developed at the State University of New York at Farmingdale. The technique was used to evaluate the repeatability, accuracy, and overshoot of the Unimate Industrial Robot, PUMA 500. The data were statistically analyzed to provide an insight into the performance of the systems and components of the robot. Also, the same technique was used to check the forward kinematics against the inverse kinematics of RADL's PUMA robot. Recommendations were made for RADL to use this technique for laboratory calibration of the currently existing robots such as the ASEA, high speed controller, Automated Radiator Inspection Device (ARID) etc. Also, recommendations were made to develop and establish other calibration techniques that will be more suitable for site calibration environment and robot certification

Orbit transfer rocket engine technology program: Automated preflight methods concept definition

The possibility of automating preflight engine checkouts on orbit transfer engines is discussed. The minimum requirements in terms of information and processing necessary to assess the engine'e integrity and readiness to perform its mission were first defined. A variety of ways for remotely obtaining that information were generated. The sophistication of these approaches varied from a simple preliminary power up, where the engine is fired up for the first time, to the most advanced approach where the sensor and operational history data system alone indicates engine integrity. The critical issues and benefits of these methods were identified, outlined, and prioritized. The technology readiness of each of these automated preflight methods were then rated on a NASA Office of Exploration scale used for comparing technology options for future mission choices. Finally, estimates were made of the remaining cost to advance the technology for each method to a level where the system validation models have been demonstrated in a simulated environment

Constraining the optical emission from the double pulsar system J0737-3039

We present the first optical observations of the unique system J0737-3039 (composed of two pulsars, hereafter PSR-A and PSR-B). Ultra-deep optical observations, performed with the High Resolution Camera of the Advanced Camera for Surveys on board the Hubble Space Telescope could not detect any optical emission from the system down to m_F435W=27.0 and m_F606W=28.3. The estimated optical flux limits are used to constrain the three-component (two thermal and one non-thermal) model recently proposed to reproduce the XMM-Newton X-ray spectrum. They suggest the presence of a break at low energies in the non-thermal power law component of PSR-A and are compatible with the expected black-body emission from the PSR-B surface. The corresponding efficiency of the optical emission from PSR-A's magnetosphere would be comparable to that of other Myr-old pulsars, thus suggesting that this parameter may not dramatically evolve over a time-scale of a few Myr.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures, ApJ accepte

Capturing 3D textured inner pipe surfaces for sewer inspection

Inspection robots equipped with TV camera technology are commonly used to detect defects in sewer systems. Currently, these defects are predominantly identified by human assessors, a process that is not only time-consuming and costly but also susceptible to errors. Furthermore, existing systems primarily offer only information from 2D imaging for damage assessment, limiting the accurate identification of certain types of damage due to the absence of 3D information. Thus, the necessary solid quantification and characterisation of damage, which is needed to evaluate remediation measures and the associated costs, is limited from the sensory side. In this paper, we introduce an innovative system designed for acquiring multimodal image data using a camera measuring head capable of capturing both color and 3D images with high accuracy and temporal availability based on the single-shot principle. This sensor head, affixed to a carriage, continuously captures the sewer's inner wall during transit. The collected data serves as the basis for an AI-based automatic analysis of pipe damages as part of the further assessment and monitoring of sewers. Moreover, this paper is focused on the fundamental considerations about the design of the multimodal measuring head and elaborates on some application-specific implementation details. These include data pre-processing, 3D reconstruction, registration of texture and depth images, as well as 2D-3D registration and 3D image fusion

Implementations guidelines, airborne evaluation equipment, advanced system checkout design, phase B Final report, 29 Jun. 1965 - 29 Jul. 1966

Airborne checkout equipment functions and implementation for Saturn IVB stage and instrument uni

Improving elevation resolution in phased-array inspections for NDT

The Phased Array Ultrasonic Technique (PAUT) offers great advantages over the conventional ultrasound technique (UT), particularly because of beam focusing, beam steering and electronic scanning capabilities. However, the 2D images obtained have usually low resolution in the direction perpendicular to the array elements, which limits the inspection quality of large components by mechanical scanning. This paper describes a novel approach to improve image quality in these situations, by combining three ultrasonic techniques: Phased Array with dynamic depth focusing in reception, Synthetic Aperture Focusing Technique (SAFT) and Phase Coherence Imaging (PCI). To be applied with conventional NDT arrays (1D and non-focused in elevation) a special mask to produce a wide beam in the movement direction was designed and analysed by simulation and experimentally. Then, the imaging algorithm is presented and validated by the inspection of test samples. The obtained images quality is comparable to that obtained with an equivalent matrix array, but using conventional NDT arrays and equipments, and implemented in real time.Fil: Brizuela, Jose David. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Camacho, J.. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; EspañaFil: Cosarinsky, Guillermo Gerardo. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; ArgentinaFil: Iriarte, Juan Manuel. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; ArgentinaFil: Cruza, Jorge F.. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; Españ