Application of advanced technology to space automation

Automated operations in space provide the key to optimized mission design and data acquisition at minimum cost for the future. The results of this study strongly accentuate this statement and should provide further incentive for immediate development of specific automtion technology as defined herein. Essential automation technology requirements were identified for future programs. The study was undertaken to address the future role of automation in the space program, the potential benefits to be derived, and the technology efforts that should be directed toward obtaining these benefits

Quality Assurance of Cervical Smear Slide Inspection Using a Novel Eye-Tracking Technique

A novel objective quality assurance system for smear slide screening is investigated in this thesis. A method of data validation was developed that compares data from an eye tracked image display, machine image colour texture analysis and expert judgements in a statistical manner to identify salient areas of cervical cytological images. These data are used to construct screener performance profiles, which have been compared to screener experience. The experimental methodology is described and how the screener performance profile is constructed. Results from a study of 10 screeners, checkers and pathologists are presented showing predicted trends of human performance. Relations to experience and strategy are also shown, though these relationships are not statistically significant. A standardised quality assurance test is developed that profiles screeners across many performance measures. Highly significant correlations were found between fixation saliency and machine colour texture (maxima density), though fixation saliency suffers from a lack of a significant statistical basis. Further fixation data is needed, however if it conforms to the existing trends then the results would support the new data validation method as a framework from which image analysis techniques applied to cytology may be objectively tested. Furthermore, this new approach to cervical cytology quality assurance would have the potential to further reduce human errors in the cervical smear inspection process by lowering levels of observer variation found in all aspects of the cervical screening process

Supporting Focus and Context Awareness in 3D Modeling Using Multi-Layered Displays

Although advances in computer technology over the past few decades have made it possible to create and render highly realistic 3D models these days, the process of creating these models has remained largely unchanged over the years. Modern 3D modeling software provide a range of tools to assist users with creating 3D models, but the process of creating models in virtual 3D space is nevertheless still challenging and cumbersome. This thesis, therefore, aims to investigate whether it is possible to support modelers more effectively by providing them with alternative combinations of hardware and software tools to improve their 3D modeling tasks. The first step towards achieving this goal has been to better understand the type of problems modelers face in using conventional 3D modeling software. To achieve this, a pilot study of novice 3D modelers, and a more comprehensive study of professional modelers were conducted. These studies resulted in identifying a range of focus and context awareness problems that modelers face in creating complex 3D models using conventional modeling software. These problems can be divided into four categories: maintaining position awareness, identifying and selecting objects or components of interest, recognizing the distance between objects or components, and realizing the relative position of objects or components. Based on the above categorization, five focus and context awareness techniques were developed for a multi-layer computer display to enable modelers to better maintain their focus and context awareness while performing 3D modeling tasks. These techniques are: object isolation, component segregation, peeling focus, slicing, and peeling focus and context. A user study was then conducted to compare the effectiveness of these focus and context awareness techniques with other tools provided by conventional 3D modeling software. The results of this study were used to further improve, and evaluate through a second study, the five focus and context awareness techniques. The two studies have demonstrated that some of these techniques are more effective in supporting 3D modeling tasks than other existing software tools

The Commercial Application of Missile/Space Technology, Parts 1 and 2

This report is concerned with the transfer of technology from missile and space programs to non-missile/space applications in the United States. It presents the findings of a University of Denver Research Institute study sponsored by a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) grant awarded in November 1961. Initial stimulation for the unsolicited proposal leading to this study came from a 1960 Brookings Institution report to NASA, Proposed Studies on the Implications of Peaceful Space Activities for Human Affairs

Proceedings of the Flat-Plate Solar Array Project Research Forum on the Design of Flat-Plate Photovoltaic Arrays for Central Stations

The Flat Plate Solar Array Project, focuses on advancing technologies relevant to the design and construction of megawatt level central station systems. Photovoltaic modules and arrays for flat plate central station or other large scale electric power production facilities require the establishment of a technical base that resolves design issues and results in practical and cost effective configurations. Design, qualification and maintenance issues related to central station arrays derived from the engineering and operating experiences of early applications and parallel laboratory reserch activities are investigated. Technical issues are examined from the viewpoint of the utility engineer, architect/engineer and laboratory researcher. Topics on optimum source circuit designs, module insulation design for high system voltages, array safety, structural interface design, measurements, and array operation and maintenance are discussed

Design, construction and commissioning of the Thermal Screen Control System for the CMS Tracker detector at CERN

The CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) laboratory is currently building the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Four international collaborations have designed (and are now constructing) detectors able to exploit the physics potential of this collider. Among them is the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS), a general purpose detector optimized for the search of Higgs boson and for physics beyond the Standard Model of fundamental interactions between elementary particles. This thesis presents, in particular, the design, construction, commissioning and test of the control system for a screen that provides a thermal separation between the Tracker and ECAL (Electromagnetic CALorimeter) detector of CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid experiment). Chapter 1 introduces the new challenges posed by these installations and deals, more in detail, with the Tracker detector of CMS. The size of current experiments for high energy physics is comparable to that of a small industrial plant: therefore, the techniques used for controls and regulations, although highly customized, must adopt Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) hardare and software. The âﾜslow controlâ systems for the experiments at CERN make extensive use of PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers) and SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) to provide safety levels (namely interlocks), regulations, remote control of high and low voltages distributions, as well as archiving and trending facilities. The system described in this thesis must follow the same philosophy and, at the same time, comply with international engineering standards. While the interlocks applications belong straightforwardly to the category of DES (Discrete Event System), and are therefore treated with a Finite State Machine approach, other controls are more strictly related to the regulation problem. Chapter 2 will focus on various aspects of modern process control and on the tools used to design the control system for the thermal screen: the principles upon which the controller is designed and tuned, and the model validated, including the Multiple Input-Multiple Output (MIMO) problematics are explained. The thermal screen itself, the constraints and the basis of its functioning are described in Chapter 3, where the thermodynamical design is discussed as well. For the LHC experiments, the aim of a control system is also to provide a well defined SIL (Safety Interlock Level) to keep the system in a safe condition; yet, in this case, it is necessary to regulate the temperature of the system within certain values and respect the constraints arising from the specific needs of the above mentioned subsystems. The most natural choice for a PLC-based controller is a PID (Proportional Integral Derivative) controller. This kind of controller is widely used in many industrial process, from batch production in the pharmaceutics or automotive field to chemical plants, distillation columns and, in general, wherever a reliable and robust control is needed. In order to design and tune PID controllers, many techniques are in use; the approach followed in this thesis is that of black-box modeling: the system is modeled in the time domain, a transfer function is inferred and a controller is designed. Then, a system identification procedure allows for a more thorough study and validation of the model, and for the controller tuning. Project of the thermal screen control including system modeling, controller design and MIMO implementation issues are entirely covered in Chapter 4. A systems engineering methodology has been followed all along to adequately manage and document every phase of the project, complying with time and budget constraints. A risk analysis has been performed, using Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA) and Hazard and Operability Studies (HAZOP), to understand the level of protection assured by the thermal screen and its control components. Tests planned and then performed to validate the model and for quality assurance purposes are described in Chapter 5. A climatic chamber has been designed and built at CERN, where the real operating conditions of the thermal screen are simulated. Detailed test procedures have been defined, following IEEE standards, in order to completely check every single thermal screen panel. This installation allows for a comparison of different controller tuning approaches, including IAE minimization, Skogestad tuning rules, Internal Model Control (IMC), and a technique based upon the MatLab Optimization toolbox. This installation is also used for system identification purposes and for the acceptance tests of every thermal screen panel (allowing for both electrical and hydraulic checks). Also, tests have been performed on the West Hall CERN experimental area , where a full control system has been set up, for interlock high- and low- voltage lines. The interlock system operating procedures and behaviour have been validated during real operating conditions of the detector esposed to a particle beam. The satisfactory results of tests take the project to full completion, allowing the plan to reach the âﾜexitâ stage, when the thermal screen is ready to be installed in the Tracker and ready to be operational

Proceedings of the Fourth MIT/ONR Workshop on Distributed Information and Decision Systems Motivated by Command-Control-Communications (C3) Problems, June 15-June 26, 1981, San Diego, California

"OSP number 85552"--Cover.Library has v. 2 only.Includes bibliographies.Workshop suppported by the Office of Naval Research under contract ONR/N00014-77-C-0532edited by Michael Athans ... [et al.].v.1. Surveillance and target tracking--v.2. Systems architecture and evaluation--v.3. Communication, data bases & decision support--v.4. C3 theory