RBF-based supervisor path following control for ASV with time-varying ocean disturbance

1028-1036A robust model-free path following controller is developed for autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) with time-varying ocean disturbance. First, the geometrical relationship between ASV and virtual tracking point on the reference path is investigated. The differentiations of tracking errors are described with the relative motion method, which greatly simplified the direct differential of tracking errors. Furthermore, the control law for the desired angular velocity of the vehicle and virtual tracking point are built based on the Lyapunov theory. Second, the traditional proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller is developed based on the desired velocities and state feedback. The radial basic function (RBF) neural network taking as inputs the desired surge velocity and yaw angular velocity is developed as the supervisor to PID controller. Besides, RBF controller tunes weights according to the output errors between the PID controller and supervisor controller, based on the gradient descent method. Hence, PID controller and RBF supervisor controller act as feedback and feed forward control of the system, respectively. Finally, comparative path following simulation for straight path and sine path illustrate the performance of the proposed supervisor control system. The PID controller term reports loss of control even in the unknown disturbance

Aerial Vehicles

This book contains 35 chapters written by experts in developing techniques for making aerial vehicles more intelligent, more reliable, more flexible in use, and safer in operation.It will also serve as an inspiration for further improvement of the design and application of aeral vehicles. The advanced techniques and research described here may also be applicable to other high-tech areas such as robotics, avionics, vetronics, and space

Mobile and Wireless Communications

Mobile and Wireless Communications have been one of the major revolutions of the late twentieth century. We are witnessing a very fast growth in these technologies where mobile and wireless communications have become so ubiquitous in our society and indispensable for our daily lives. The relentless demand for higher data rates with better quality of services to comply with state-of-the art applications has revolutionized the wireless communication field and led to the emergence of new technologies such as Bluetooth, WiFi, Wimax, Ultra wideband, OFDMA. Moreover, the market tendency confirms that this revolution is not ready to stop in the foreseen future. Mobile and wireless communications applications cover diverse areas including entertainment, industrialist, biomedical, medicine, safety and security, and others, which definitely are improving our daily life. Wireless communication network is a multidisciplinary field addressing different aspects raging from theoretical analysis, system architecture design, and hardware and software implementations. While different new applications are requiring higher data rates and better quality of service and prolonging the mobile battery life, new development and advanced research studies and systems and circuits designs are necessary to keep pace with the market requirements. This book covers the most advanced research and development topics in mobile and wireless communication networks. It is divided into two parts with a total of thirty-four stand-alone chapters covering various areas of wireless communications of special topics including: physical layer and network layer, access methods and scheduling, techniques and technologies, antenna and amplifier design, integrated circuit design, applications and systems. These chapters present advanced novel and cutting-edge results and development related to wireless communication offering the readers the opportunity to enrich their knowledge in specific topics as well as to explore the whole field of rapidly emerging mobile and wireless networks. We hope that this book will be useful for students, researchers and practitioners in their research studies

Aeronautical engineering: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 211)

A continuing bibliography (NASA SP-7037) lists 519 reports, journal articles and other documents originally announced in February 1987 in Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports (STAR) or in the International Aerospace Abstracts (IAA). The coverage includes documents on the engineering and theoretical aspect of design, construction, evaluation, testing, operation, and performance of aircraft (including aircraft engines) and associated components, equipment, and systems. It also includes research and development in aerodynamics, aeronautics, and ground support equipment for aeronautical vehicles. Each entry in the bibliography consists of a standard bibliographic citation accompanied in most cases by an abstract. The listing of the entries is arranged by the first nine STAR specific categories and the remaining STAR major categories. The arrangement offers the user the most advantageous breakdown for individual objectives. The citations include the original accession numbers from the respective announcement journals. The IAA items will precede the STAR items within each category. Seven indexes entitled subject, personal author, corporate source, foreign technology, contract number, report number, and accession number are included

Free Space Optical Communications with High Intensity Laser Power Beaming

This research demonstrates the feasibility of utilizing high intensity laser power beaming (HILPB) systems as a conduit for robust free-space optical communications over large distances and in challenging atmospheric conditions. The uniqueness of vertical multi-junction (VMJ) photovoltaic cells used in HILPB systems in their ability to receive and to convert at high efficiency, very high intensity laser light of over 200 W/cm2, presents a unique opportunity for the development of the robust free space optical communication system by modulating information signals onto the transmitted high intensity photonic energy. Experiments were conducted to investigate and validate several optical communications concepts. A laser modulator was implemented to exhibit the excellent transient response of the VMJ technology at very high illumination intensities, and thus show its applicability to optical communications. In addition, beam polarization optic stages were employed to demonstrate a secure multi-channel communications scheme. The off-axis response of the receiver and the beam profile were characterized in order to evaluate the feasibility of developing acceptable pointing and tracking geometries. Finally, the impact of signal modulation on the total converted energy was evaluated and shown to have minimal effect on the overall power transmission efficiency. Other aspects of the proposed communication system are studied including: quantifying beamwidth and directivity, signal-to-noise-ratio, information bandwidth, privacy, modulation and detection schemes, transmission channel attenuation and disturbances (atmospheric turbulence, scintillation from index of refraction fluctuations, absorption and scattering from thermal and moisture variation) and beam acquisition tracking and pointing influence on the performance metrics of optical transmission technologies. The result of this research demonstrates the feasibility of, and serves as a comprehensive design guide for the implementation of a HILPB communication system. S

Free Space Optical Communications with High Intensity Laser Power Beaming

This research demonstrates the feasibility of utilizing high intensity laser power beaming (HILPB) systems as a conduit for robust free-space optical communications over large distances and in challenging atmospheric conditions. The uniqueness of vertical multi-junction (VMJ) photovoltaic cells used in HILPB systems in their ability to receive and to convert at high efficiency, very high intensity laser light of over 200 W/cm2, presents a unique opportunity for the development of the robust free space optical communication system by modulating information signals onto the transmitted high intensity photonic energy. Experiments were conducted to investigate and validate several optical communications concepts. A laser modulator was implemented to exhibit the excellent transient response of the VMJ technology at very high illumination intensities, and thus show its applicability to optical communications. In addition, beam polarization optic stages were employed to demonstrate a secure multi-channel communications scheme. The off-axis response of the receiver and the beam profile were characterized in order to evaluate the feasibility of developing acceptable pointing and tracking geometries. Finally, the impact of signal modulation on the total converted energy was evaluated and shown to have minimal effect on the overall power transmission efficiency. Other aspects of the proposed communication system are studied including: quantifying beamwidth and directivity, signal-to-noise-ratio, information bandwidth, privacy, modulation and detection schemes, transmission channel attenuation and disturbances (atmospheric turbulence, scintillation from index of refraction fluctuations, absorption and scattering from thermal and moisture variation) and beam acquisition tracking and pointing influence on the performance metrics of optical transmission technologies. The result of this research demonstrates the feasibility of, and serves as a comprehensive design guide for the implementation of a HILPB communication system. S

Free Space Optical Communications with High Intensity Laser Power Beaming

This research demonstrates the feasibility of utilizing high intensity laser power beaming (HILPB) systems as a conduit for robust free-space optical communications over large distances and in challenging atmospheric conditions. The uniqueness of vertical multi-junction (VMJ) photovoltaic cells used in HILPB systems in their ability to receive and to convert at high efficiency, very high intensity laser light of over 200 W/cm2, presents a unique opportunity for the development of the robust free space optical communication system by modulating information signals onto the transmitted high intensity photonic energy. Experiments were conducted to investigate and validate several optical communications concepts. A laser modulator was implemented to exhibit the excellent transient response of the VMJ technology at very high illumination intensities, and thus show its applicability to optical communications. In addition, beam polarization optic stages were employed to demonstrate a secure multi-channel communications scheme. The off-axis response of the receiver and the beam profile were characterized in order to evaluate the feasibility of developing acceptable pointing and tracking geometries. Finally, the impact of signal modulation on the total converted energy was evaluated and shown to have minimal effect on the overall power transmission efficiency. Other aspects of the proposed communication system are studied including: quantifying beamwidth and directivity, signal-to-noise-ratio, information bandwidth, privacy, modulation and detection schemes, transmission channel attenuation and disturbances (atmospheric turbulence, scintillation from index of refraction fluctuations, absorption and scattering from thermal and moisture variation) and beam acquisition tracking and pointing influence on the performance metrics of optical transmission technologies. The result of this research demonstrates the feasibility of, and serves as a comprehensive design guide for the implementation of a HILPB communication system. S

Aeronautical Engineering. A continuing bibliography with indexes, supplement 142

This bibliography lists 398 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in November 1981