A Supervisor for Control of Mode-switch Process

Many processes operate only around a limited number of operation points. In order to have adequate control around each operation point, and adaptive controller could be used. When the operation point changes often, a large number of parameters would have to be adapted over and over again. This makes application of conventional adaptive control unattractive, which is more suited for processes with slowly changing parameters. Furthermore, continuous adaptation is not always needed or desired. An extension of adaptive control is presented, in which for each operation point the process behaviour can be stored in a memory, retrieved from it and evaluated. These functions are co-ordinated by a ¿supervisor¿. This concept is referred to as a supervisor for control of mode-switch processes. It leads to an adaptive control structure which quickly adjusts the controller parameters based on retrieval of old information, without the need to fully relearn each time. This approach has been tested on experimental set-ups of a flexible beam and of a flexible two-link robot arm, but it is directly applicable to other processes, for instance, in the (petro) chemical industry

SARSCEST (human factors)

People interact with the processes and products of contemporary technology. Individuals are affected by these in various ways and individuals shape them. Such interactions come under the label 'human factors'. To expand the understanding of those to whom the term is relatively unfamiliar, its domain includes both an applied science and applications of knowledge. It means both research and development, with implications of research both for basic science and for development. It encompasses not only design and testing but also training and personnel requirements, even though some unwisely try to split these apart both by name and institutionally. The territory includes more than performance at work, though concentration on that aspect, epitomized in the derivation of the term ergonomics, has overshadowed human factors interest in interactions between technology and the home, health, safety, consumers, children and later life, the handicapped, sports and recreation education, and travel. Two aspects of technology considered most significant for work performance, systems and automation, and several approaches to these, are discussed

NASA space station automation: AI-based technology review

Research and Development projects in automation for the Space Station are discussed. Artificial Intelligence (AI) based automation technologies are planned to enhance crew safety through reduced need for EVA, increase crew productivity through the reduction of routine operations, increase space station autonomy, and augment space station capability through the use of teleoperation and robotics. AI technology will also be developed for the servicing of satellites at the Space Station, system monitoring and diagnosis, space manufacturing, and the assembly of large space structures

NASA space station automation: AI-based technology review. Executive summary

Research and Development projects in automation technology for the Space Station are described. Artificial Intelligence (AI) based technologies are planned to enhance crew safety through reduced need for EVA, increase crew productivity through the reduction of routine operations, increase space station autonomy, and augment space station capability through the use of teleoperation and robotics

Improving situation awareness of a single human operator interacting with multiple unmanned vehicles: first results

In the context of the supervision of one or several unmanned vehicles by a human operator, the design of an adapted user interface is a major challenge. Therefore, in the context of an existing experimental set up composed of a ground station and heterogeneous unmanned ground and air vehicles we aim at redesigning the human-robot interactions to improve the operator's situation awareness. We base our new design on a classical user centered approach

Advancing automation and robotics technology for the Space Station and for the US economy. Volume 1: Executive overview

In response to Public Law 98-371, dated July 18, 1984, the NASA Advanced Technology Advisory Committee has studied automation and robotics for use in the Space Station. The Executive Overview, Volume 1 presents the major findings of the study and recommends to NASA principles for advancing automation and robotics technologies for the benefit of the Space Station and of the U.S. economy in general. As a result of its study, the Advanced Technology Advisory Committee believes that a key element of technology for the Space Station is extensive use of advanced general-purpose automation and robotics. These systems could provide the United States with important new methods of generating and exploiting space knowledge in commercial enterprises and thereby help preserve U.S. leadership in space

Human factors in space telepresence

The problems of interfacing a human with a teleoperation system, for work in space are discussed. Much of the information presented here is the result of experience gained by the M.I.T. Space Systems Laboratory during the past two years of work on the ARAMIS (Automation, Robotics, and Machine Intelligence Systems) project. Many factors impact the design of the man-machine interface for a teleoperator. The effects of each are described in turn. An annotated bibliography gives the key references that were used. No conclusions are presented as a best design, since much depends on the particular application desired, and the relevant technology is swiftly changing

Space Applications of Automation, Robotics and Machine Intelligence Systems (ARAMIS), phase 2. Volume 1: Telepresence technology base development

The field of telepresence is defined, and overviews of those capabilities that are now available, and those that will be required to support a NASA telepresence effort are provided. Investigation of NASA's plans and goals with regard to telepresence, extensive literature search for materials relating to relevant technologies, a description of these technologies and their state of the art, and projections for advances in these technologies over the next decade are included. Several space projects are examined in detail to determine what capabilities are required of a telepresence system in order to accomplish various tasks, such as servicing and assembly. The key operational and technological areas are identified, conclusions and recommendations are made for further research, and an example developmental program is presented, leading to an operational telepresence servicer

Technology assessment of advanced automation for space missions

Six general classes of technology requirements derived during the mission definition phase of the study were identified as having maximum importance and urgency, including autonomous world model based information systems, learning and hypothesis formation, natural language and other man-machine communication, space manufacturing, teleoperators and robot systems, and computer science and technology

Non-Linear Robust Observers For Systems With Non-Collocated Sensors And Actuators

Challenges in controlling highly nonlinear systems are not limited to the development of sophisticated control algorithms that are tolerant to significant modeling imprecision and external disturbances. Additional challenges stem from the implementation of the control algorithm such as the availability of the state variables needed for the computation of the control signals, and the adverse effects induced by non-collocated sensors and actuators. The present work investigates the adverse effects of non-collocated sensors and actuators on the phase characteristics of flexible structures and the ensuing implications on the performance of structural controllers. Two closed-loop systems are considered and their phase angle contours have been generated as functions of the normalized sensor location and the excitation frequency. These contours were instrumental in the development of remedial actions for rendering structural controllers immune to the detrimental effects of non-collocated sensors and actuators. Moreover, the current work has focused on providing experimental validation for the robust performances of a self-tuning observer and a sliding mode observer. The observers are designed based on the variable structure systems theory and the self-tuning fuzzy logic scheme. Their robustness and self-tuning characteristics allow one to use an imprecise model of the system and eliminate the need for the extensive tuning associated with a fixed rule-based expert fuzzy inference system. The first phase of the experimental work was conducted in a controlled environment on a flexible spherical robotic manipulator whose natural frequencies are configuration-dependent. Both controllers have yielded accurate estimates of the required state variables in spite of significant modeling imprecision. The observers were also tested under a completely uncontrolled environment, which involves a 16-ft boat operating in open-water under different sea states. Such an experimental work necessitates the development of a supervisory control algorithm to perform PTP tasks, prescribed throttle arm and steering tasks, surge speed and heading tracking tasks, or recovery maneuvers. This system has been implemented herein to perform prescribed throttle arm and steering control tasks based on estimated rather than measured state variables. These experiments served to validate the observers in a completely uncontrolled environment and proved their viability as reliable techniques for providing accurate estimates for the required state variables