Communication Platform Payload Definition (CPPD) study. Volume 2: Technical report

This is Volume 2 (Technical Report) of the Ford Aerospace & Communications Corporation Final Report for the Communication Platform Payload Definition (CPPD) Study program conducted for NASA Lewis Research Center under contract No. NAS3-24235. This report presents the results of the study effort leading to five potential platform payloads to service CONUS and WARC Region 2 traffic demand as projected to the year 2008. The report addresses establishing the data bases, developing service aggregation scenarios, selecting and developing 5 payload concepts, performing detailed definition of the 5 payloads, costing them, identifying critical technology, and finally comparing the payloads with each other and also with non-aggregated equivalent services

Proceedings of the Second International Mobile Satellite Conference (IMSC 1990)

Presented here are the proceedings of the Second International Mobile Satellite Conference (IMSC), held June 17-20, 1990 in Ottawa, Canada. Topics covered include future mobile satellite communications concepts, aeronautical applications, modulation and coding, propagation and experimental systems, mobile terminal equipment, network architecture and control, regulatory and policy considerations, vehicle antennas, and speech compression

A Mobile Robot System for Ambient Intelligence

Over the last years, Ambient Intelligence (AmI) has been pointed out as an alternative to current practices in home care. AmI supports the concept of Ambient Assisted Living, which aims to allow older people to remain independent at their own homes for longer. The integration of a mobile robot into a database-centric platform for Ambient Assisted Living is described in this thesis. The robot serves as a rst-aid agent to respond to emergencies, such as a fall, detected by the intelligent environment. To accomplish that the robot must 1) be able to receive tasks from intelligent environment; 2) execute the task; 3) report the progress and the result of the task back to the intelligent environment. The system of the robot is built on top of the Robot Operating System, while the existing intelligent environment on a PostgreSQL database. To receive tasks from the intelligent environment, the robot maintains an active connection with the database and subscribes to specic tasks. A task, for example, is to nd a person in the environment, which includes asking if the person is doing well. To nd a person a map-based approach and a face recognition are used. The robot can interact with people in the environment using text-to-speech and speech recognition. The active connection with the database enables the robot to report back about the execution of a task and to receive new or abort tasks. As a conclusion, together with an AAL system, mobile robots can support people living alone. The system has been implemented and successfully tested at Halmstad University on a Turtlebot 2. The code is available on Github

Delineation of Landslide, Flash Flood, and Debris Flow Hazards in Utah

During 1982, 1983, and 1984, abnormally wet conditions in Utah triggered flash floods, landslides, and debris flows. Pore pressures built in hillside soils below melting snows and during prolonged periods of rainfall until the mass suddenly gave way, sometimes as a landslide and other times as a non-Newtonian debris flow that moved rapidly long distances down mountain slopes until finally stiffened by moisture loss or velocity loss because of flatter gradients. Also, runoff from heavy rainfall bursts picked up weathered and other loose material that accumulated on land surfaces over long dry periods . The sediment laden waters flowed out of mountain canyons onto lowlands where they deposited their loads, filled channels and c logged culverts, and then spread over the land surface to infiltrate, except as intercepted and diverted by streets, storm sewers, and irrigation canals. These were in turn often over topped to cause flooding in areas with no natural hazard. Snow melt runoff continued over extended periods, keeping stream flows too high to be contained within the clogged streams, and causing water to flow down streets for weeks disrupting traffic and inundating low-lying property. In closed basins, the waters eventually drain into a terminal lake where rising waters gradually inundated large areas. This complex of interrelated phenomena created a hazard situation that is greatest at the toe of the mountain slopes and concentrates where mountain canyons drain onto alluvial fans and the water spreads in a pattern that varies substantially from storm to storm. These hillside areas are prime res identical site s and command a high pr ice in the market. Development that should not be located in high hazard areas is reasonable a little further down slope where the risk is less. Quantitative methods are needed for mapping flood, debris, and landslide risks in these basin margin areas so that objective decisions can be made on where to locate and how to landscape and design buildings. Monitoring programs and warning systems are needed to track emerging hazards, emergency plans, and get people to respond. During two spring months of 1983, Utah sustained direct damages from landslides and debris floods in excess of 250 million dollars. Public official.s and residents were prepared for water flooding. However, neither the scientific community nor the agencies responsible for dealing with emergency situations were prepared for the widespread 1andslides and devastating debris flows. At least 92 significant landslides along a 30-mile length of the Wasatch Front Mountains sent torrents of water and debris down on the residential areas below. Along the Wasatch Plateau, more than 1000 landslides occurred. Additional massive landslides in Spanish Fork Canyon, Utah County, created Thistle Lake, and in 12-Hile Canyon, Sanpete County, dammed a river and sent a 30-foot high flash flood surge down the canyon. These devastating floods, landslides and debris flows were so extensive that 22 of Utah\u27s 28 counties were declared national disaster areas

Media Missionaries: American Support for Journalism Excellence and Press Freedom Around the Globe

Outlines a variety of efforts to develop and support journalism, including fellowships, exchanges, training, grants, loans, equipment, infrastructure, staff, and conferences. Includes regional analyses, and lessons learned

Anàlisi teòric de les debilitats de seguretat dels estàndards per a la Medició Intel·ligent

[ANGLÈS] This project has been accomplished in the Department of Telecommunications Engineering of the Czech Technical University, as a part of a collaborative work within the department to long-term study the development of software applications related to security in technologies for Smart Metering. This project aims to analyze the weaknesses, concerned in terms of security mechanisms, of the telecommunications standards that are used for communication with smart meter technology inside the Smart Metering. A wide range of these standards have been included in the draft standards based on different technologies such as the radio frequency, the PLC (PowerLine Communications) or infrared. For each of these technologies, there can be found an extensive description of the security mechanisms used for each of them for the purpose of encryption of messages, protect the keys used, authentication of terminals and network identification to access the network. To complete the description of each standard there can be found a description of possible attacks that may make possible to overcome the security barriers of these technologies. Once viewed in detail the characteristics of each of the standards, next steps for the analysis are the comparisons between them to highlight the weaknesses and strengths of each one of them towards the other technologies. And finally, there can be found a compilation of a wide range of tools, both software and hardware, developed for research of security professionals, which may allow performing various attacks that can affect the protocols described.[CASTELLÀ] Este proyecto realizado en el departamento de telecomunicaciones de la Czech Technical University, forma parte de un trabajo colaborativo dentro del departamento a largo plazo para el estudio y el desarrollo de aplicaciones software relacionadas con la seguridad de las tecnologías de Medición Inteligente. En este proyecto se pretende analizar los puntos débiles, en cuanto a mecanismos de seguridad se refiere, de los estándares de telecomunicaciones que se utilizan para la comunicación de los electrómetros inteligentes dentro del la tecnología del Smart Metering. Para ver un amplio abanico de estos estándares, se han incluido en el proyecto estándares basados en tecnologías dispares y diversas como pueden ser la radiofrecuencia, las PLC (PowerLine Communications) o los infrarrojos. Para cada una de estas tecnologías, podemos encontrar en el proyecto una amplia descripción de los mecanismos de seguridad utilizados en cada uno para la encriptación de los mensajes enviados, la protección de las claves que utiliza, la autentificación de los terminales de la red o la identificación para acceder a la red. Para terminar la descripción detallada de cada estándar podemos encontrar una descripción de los posibles ataques que es factible realizar para vencer las barreras de seguridad de estas tecnologías. Una vez vistas con detalle las características de cada uno de los estándares, se incluyen comparaciones entre todos ellos para destacar los puntos débiles y los puntos fuertes hacia el resto de tecnologías. Y, por último, podemos encontrar un recopilatorio de un amplio abanico de herramientas tanto de software como de hardware, desarrolladas para la investigación de los profesionales de la seguridad en telemática, que permiten realizar varios de los ataques que pueden afectar a los protocolos descritos.[CATALÀ] Aquest projecte realitzat en el Departament de Telecomunicacions de la Czech Technical University, forma part d'un treball col·laboratiu dins el departament a llarg plaç per a l'estudi i el desenvolupament d'aplicacions software relacionades amb la seguretat de les tecnologies de Medició Intel·ligent. En aquest projecte es pretén analitzar els punts dèbils, en quant a mecanismes de seguretat es refereix, dels estàndards de telecomunicacions que s'utilitzen per a la comunicació dels electròmetres intel·ligents dins del la tecnologia del Smart Metering. Per tal de veure un ampli ventall de aquests estàndards, s'han inclòs en el projecte estàndards basats en tecnologies dispars i diverses com poden ser la ràdiofreqüència, les PLC (PowerLine Communications) o els infrarojos. Per a cadascuna d'aquestes tecnologies, podem trobar en el projecte una amplia descripció dels mecanismes de seguretat utilitzats per a cadascun per a l'encriptació dels missatges enviats, la protecció de les claus que utilitza, l'autentificació del terminals de la xarxa o la identificació per accedir a la xarxa. Per acabar la descripció detallada de cada estàndard podem trobar una descripció dels possibles atacs que es factible realitzar per a vèncer les barreres de seguretat d'aquestes tecnologies. Un cop vistes amb detall les característiques de cadascun dels estàndards, s'inclouen comparacions entre tots ells per destacar els punts dèbils i els punts forts vers la resta de tecnologies. I, per últim, podem trobar un recopilatori d'un ampli ventall de eines tant de software com de hardware, desenvolupades per a la investigació dels professionals de la seguretat en telemàtica, que permeten realitzar varis dels atacs que poden afectar als protocols descrits