NASA Tech Briefs, July 1995

Topics include: mechanical components, electronic components and circuits, electronic systems, physical sciences, materials, computer programs, mechanics, machinery, manufacturing/fabrication, mathematics and information sciences, book and reports, and a special section of Federal laboratory computing Tech Briefs

Distance: a framework for improving spatial cognition within digital architectural models

This research investigates the need for improvements to navigation tools and locational awareness within digital architectural models so that users’ spatial cognition can be enhanced. Evidence shows that navigation and disorientation are common problems within digital architectural models, often impairing spatial cognition. When a designer or contractor explores a completed digital architectural model for the first time, it can be a progressively frustrating experience, often leading to the creation of an incorrect cognitive map of the building design. A reflective practice research method across three project-based design investigations is used drawing on aspects of architectural communication, digital interaction, and spatial cognition. The first investigation, Translation projects, explores the transformation of two- dimensional drawing conventions into three-dimensional interactive digital models, exposing the need for improved navigation and wayfinding. The second investigation, a series of artificial intelligence navigation projects, explores navigation methods to aid spatial cognition by providing tools that help to visualise the navigation process, paths to travel, and paths travelled. The third and final investigation, Distance projects, demonstrates the benefits of productive transition in the creation of cognitive maps. During the transition, assistance is given to aid the estimation of distance. The original contribution to knowledge that this research establishes is a framework for navigation tools and wayshowing strategies for improving spatial cognition within digital architectural models. The consideration of wayshowing methods, focusing on spatial transitions beyond predefined views of the digital model, provides a strong method for aiding users to construct comprehensive cognitive maps. This research addresses the undeveloped field of aiding distance estimation inside digital architectural models.There is a need to improve spatial cognition by understanding distance, detail, data, and design when reviewing digital architectural models

Technology 2002: The Third National Technology Transfer Conference and Exposition, volume 2

Proceedings from symposia of the Technology 2002 Conference and Exposition, December 1-3, 1992, Baltimore, MD. Volume 2 features 60 papers presented during 30 concurrent sessions

Unmanned Aircraft Systems in the Cyber Domain

Unmanned Aircraft Systems are an integral part of the US national critical infrastructure. The authors have endeavored to bring a breadth and quality of information to the reader that is unparalleled in the unclassified sphere. This textbook will fully immerse and engage the reader / student in the cyber-security considerations of this rapidly emerging technology that we know as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The first edition topics covered National Airspace (NAS) policy issues, information security (INFOSEC), UAS vulnerabilities in key systems (Sense and Avoid / SCADA), navigation and collision avoidance systems, stealth design, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms; weapons systems security; electronic warfare considerations; data-links, jamming, operational vulnerabilities and still-emerging political scenarios that affect US military / commercial decisions. This second edition discusses state-of-the-art technology issues facing US UAS designers. It focuses on counter unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS) – especially research designed to mitigate and terminate threats by SWARMS. Topics include high-altitude platforms (HAPS) for wireless communications; C-UAS and large scale threats; acoustic countermeasures against SWARMS and building an Identify Friend or Foe (IFF) acoustic library; updates to the legal / regulatory landscape; UAS proliferation along the Chinese New Silk Road Sea / Land routes; and ethics in this new age of autonomous systems and artificial intelligence (AI).https://newprairiepress.org/ebooks/1027/thumbnail.jp

Recoding the nautical archaeology : virtual museum of underwater cultural heritage

Ankara : The Department of Interior Architecture and Environment Design and the Institute of Economics and Social Sciences of İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University , 2011.Thesis (Ph. D.) -- Bilkent University, 2011.Includes bibliographical references leaves 173-187.The preservation of underwater cultural heritage requires the availability and access to data produced by nautical archaeology alongside tools for analysis, visualization and communication. Although numerous archaeological surveys and excavations have been carried out in the past decades in Turkey, there is no publicly available information system integrated to nautical archaeology. This dissertation proposes a framework of a virtual museum of underwater cultural heritage (VM). VM incorporates the practices of collection, preservation, research, visualization and exhibit, thus offers new approaches to the preservation of cultural heritage. In this dissertation, a web-based information system has been developed for a model of virtual museum using the data collected during underwater surveys conducted on the coastal region of Kaş, Turkey in 2007-2010. Divers from a variety of professional backgrounds followed the practice of in situ preservation, collecting visual, geographical and descriptive data using structured datasheets. Through the analysis of these nondestructive methods, an information system and a data collection methodology are developed aiming the contribution of all interested parties in a collaborative manner. The system currently contains information on c.600 finds in the form of sketches, measurements, drawings, photographs of finds. Combined with Google Maps, the database illustrates the initial technological steps towards the development of a virtual museum. Divers, archaeologists and other interested users of this information system participate in the musealization of information through separately applied analysis, visualization and communication tools by open software programs. These initial steps demonstrate the methods for the automation of data analysis and visual documentation, the visualization of information and the communication of this knowledge. Futuristic concepts of automated, immersive and interactive design redefine the virtual museum of underwater cultural heritage as well as offer different approaches to the discipline of nautical archaeology.Varinlioğlu, GüzdenPh.D

Bioinspired metaheuristic algorithms for global optimization

This paper presents concise comparison study of newly developed bioinspired algorithms for global optimization problems. Three different metaheuristic techniques, namely Accelerated Particle Swarm Optimization (APSO), Firefly Algorithm (FA), and Grey Wolf Optimizer (GWO) are investigated and implemented in Matlab environment. These methods are compared on four unimodal and multimodal nonlinear functions in order to find global optimum values. Computational results indicate that GWO outperforms other intelligent techniques, and that all aforementioned algorithms can be successfully used for optimization of continuous functions

Experimental Evaluation of Growing and Pruning Hyper Basis Function Neural Networks Trained with Extended Information Filter

In this paper we test Extended Information Filter (EIF) for sequential training of Hyper Basis Function Neural Networks with growing and pruning ability (HBF-GP). The HBF neuron allows different scaling of input dimensions to provide better generalization property when dealing with complex nonlinear problems in engineering practice. The main intuition behind HBF is in generalization of Gaussian type of neuron that applies Mahalanobis-like distance as a distance metrics between input training sample and prototype vector. We exploit concept of neuron’s significance and allow growing and pruning of HBF neurons during sequential learning process. From engineer’s perspective, EIF is attractive for training of neural networks because it allows a designer to have scarce initial knowledge of the system/problem. Extensive experimental study shows that HBF neural network trained with EIF achieves same prediction error and compactness of network topology when compared to EKF, but without the need to know initial state uncertainty, which is its main advantage over EKF

Federal Register

Daily publication of the U.S. Office of the Federal Register contains rules and regulations, proposed legislation and rule changes, and other notices, including "Presidential proclamations and Executive Orders, Federal agency documents having general applicability and legal effect, documents required to be published by act of Congress, and other Federal agency documents of public interest" (p. ii). Table of Contents starts on page iii