Video Synthesis from the StyleGAN Latent Space

Generative models have shown impressive results in generating synthetic images. However, video synthesis is still difficult to achieve, even for these generative models. The best videos that generative models can currently create are a few seconds long, distorted, and low resolution. For this project, I propose and implement a model to synthesize videos at 1024x1024x32 resolution that include human facial expressions by using static images generated from a Generative Adversarial Network trained on the human facial images. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first work that generates realistic videos that are larger than 256x256 resolution from single starting images. This model improves the video synthesis in both quantitative and qualitative ways compared to two state-of-the-art models: TGAN and MocoGAN. In a quantitative comparison, this project reaches a best Average Content Distance (ACD) score of 0.167, as compared to 0.305 and 0.201 of TGAN and MocoGAN, respectively

Space Station communications and tracking systems modeling and RF link simulation

In this final report, the effort spent on Space Station Communications and Tracking System Modeling and RF Link Simulation is described in detail. The effort is mainly divided into three parts: frequency division multiple access (FDMA) system simulation modeling and software implementation; a study on design and evaluation of a functional computerized RF link simulation/analysis system for Space Station; and a study on design and evaluation of simulation system architecture. This report documents the results of these studies. In addition, a separate User's Manual on Space Communications Simulation System (SCSS) (Version 1) documents the software developed for the Space Station FDMA communications system simulation. The final report, SCSS user's manual, and the software located in the NASA JSC system analysis division's VAX 750 computer together serve as the deliverables from LinCom for this project effort

Design and experimental validation of planar programmable inertia generators

This paper investigates the design and experimental development of planar programmable inertia generators. An inertia generator is a hand-held haptic device that has a programmable inertia. By moving internal masses in reaction to accelerations induced by the user, the effective inertia of the device is modified in order to render a prescribed inertia. In this paper, a one-degree-of-freedom device with one internal moving mass is first proposed. The corresponding dynamic model is developed and the rendering capabilities of the device are investigated. Then, a controller is designed to produce the appropriate motion of the internal mass in reaction to the acceleration induced by the user. A prototype is presented and experimental results are discussed. A mechanical architecture is then proposed for the design of a planar three-degree-of-freedom inertia generator. The corresponding dynamic model is derived, and it is shown that the generalized inertia matrix of the proposed mechanism is always of full rank. The rendering capabilities of the device are also investigated. Finally, simulation results obtained with the three-degree-of-freedom inertia generator are reported and discussed

Functional requirements for the man-vehicle systems research facility

The NASA Ames Research Center proposed a man-vehicle systems research facility to support flight simulation studies which are needed for identifying and correcting the sources of human error associated with current and future air carrier operations. The organization of research facility is reviewed and functional requirements and related priorities for the facility are recommended based on a review of potentially critical operational scenarios. Requirements are included for the experimenter's simulation control and data acquisition functions, as well as for the visual field, motion, sound, computation, crew station, and intercommunications subsystems. The related issues of functional fidelity and level of simulation are addressed, and specific criteria for quantitative assessment of various aspects of fidelity are offered. Recommendations for facility integration, checkout, and staffing are included

Planning and Control Strategies for Motion and Interaction of the Humanoid Robot COMAN+

Despite the majority of robotic platforms are still confined in controlled environments such as factories, thanks to the ever-increasing level of autonomy and the progress on human-robot interaction, robots are starting to be employed for different operations, expanding their focus from uniquely industrial to more diversified scenarios. Humanoid research seeks to obtain the versatility and dexterity of robots capable of mimicking human motion in any environment. With the aim of operating side-to-side with humans, they should be able to carry out complex tasks without posing a threat during operations. In this regard, locomotion, physical interaction with the environment and safety are three essential skills to develop for a biped. Concerning the higher behavioural level of a humanoid, this thesis addresses both ad-hoc movements generated for specific physical interaction tasks and cyclic movements for locomotion. While belonging to the same category and sharing some of the theoretical obstacles, these actions require different approaches: a general high-level task is composed of specific movements that depend on the environment and the nature of the task itself, while regular locomotion involves the generation of periodic trajectories of the limbs. Separate planning and control architectures targeting these aspects of biped motion are designed and developed both from a theoretical and a practical standpoint, demonstrating their efficacy on the new humanoid robot COMAN+, built at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia. The problem of interaction has been tackled by mimicking the intrinsic elasticity of human muscles, integrating active compliant controllers. However, while state-of-the-art robots may be endowed with compliant architectures, not many can withstand potential system failures that could compromise the safety of a human interacting with the robot. This thesis proposes an implementation of such low-level controller that guarantees a fail-safe behaviour, removing the threat that a humanoid robot could pose if a system failure occurred