The effect of ionizing radiation on robotic trajectory movement and electronic components

peer reviewedRobotics applications are greatly needed in hazardous locations, e.g., fusion and fission reactors, where robots must perform delicate and complex tasks under ionizing radiation conditions. The drawback is that some robotic parts, such as active electronics, are susceptible to radiation. It can lead to unexpected failures and early termination of the robotic operation. This paper analyses the ionizing radiation effect from 0.09 to 1.5 Gy/s in robotic components (microcontrollers, servo motors and temperature sensors). The first experiment compares the performance of various microcontroller types and their actuators and sensors, where different mitigation strategies are applied, such as using Radiation-Hardened (Rad-Hard) microcontrollers or shielding. The second and third experiments analyze the performance of a 3-Degrees of Freedom (DoF) robotic arm, evaluating its componentsʼ responses and trajectory. This study enhances our understanding and expands our knowledge regarding radiationʼs impact on robotic arms and components, which is useful for defining the best strategies for extending the robotsʼ operational lifespan, especially when performing maintenance or inspection tasks in radiation environments

Goal Structured Notation in a Radiation Hardening Safety Case for COTS-Based Spacecraft

A systematic approach is presented to constructing a radiation assurance case using Goal Structured Notation (GSN) for spacecraft containing COTS parts. The GSN paradigm is applied to an SRAM single-event upset experiment board designed to fly on a CubeSat November 2016. Construction of a radiation assurance case without use of hardened parts or extensive radiation testing is discussed

Internet of Things 36-rotor Multicopter for Ionizing Radiation Surveying

This paper presents an Internet of things 36-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle suitable for radiological surveying of buildings and facilities. The design of the 36-rotor multicopter platform is disclosed. The aircraft is used as a testbed for a lightweight gamma/beta/neutron ionizing radiation sensor closely coupled with the autopilot of the multirotor aircraft. A prototype of the drone and sensor was developed and initial tests were conducted. Test results are presented with data from measuring different radiation sources. The proposed novel design is compared to existing work and advantages to the latter were established

Compendium of Single Event Effects Test Results for Commercial Off-The-Shelf and Standard Electronics for Low Earth Orbit and Deep Space Applications

We present the results of Single Event Effects (SEE) testing with high energy protons and with low and high energy heavy ions for electrical components considered for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and for deep space applications

Generic on-board-computer hardware and software development for nanosatellite applications

This study outlines the results obtained from the development of a generic nanosatellite on-board-computer (OBC). The nanosatellite OBC is a non-mission specific design and as such it must be adaptable to changing mission requirements in order to be suitable for varying nanosatellite missions. Focus is placed on the commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) principle where commercial components are used and evaluated for their potential performance in nanosatellite applications. The OBC design is prototyped and subjected to tests to evaluate its performance and its feasibility to survive in space

超小型衛星搭載宇宙天気観測システムの開発と太陽活動極小期における地球低軌道環境の観測

The emergence of commercial space, the growing use of space by universities and emerging countries, as well as the adoption of reduced-cost missions by national space agencies have boosted the use of small satellites with a wide range of innovative concepts and in some cases ambitious plans ranging from Earth orbit to deep space missions. Small satellite missions are characterized by a fast development process and low cost, in order to provide service for the end-users, whether commercial or non-commercial. These characteristics impose constraints on the small satellite manufacturers and developers to follow a different path from the traditional space design, development and operation phases. One such difference relies on the use of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) parts, especially for the electrical, electronic, and electro-mechanical (EEE) components, as well as new materials that are used to build the different satellite subsystems. The use of COTS combined with a reduced lifetime of the missions and the increased in launch opportunities has enabled the growing of a commercial industry market that is predicted to reach $37 000 million USD by the year 2027. On the other hand, independently of the design strategy approach (traditional space or new space), all spacecraft have to be able to survive the launching environment and the natural space environment. For the last one, the space weather as the study field of the Sun-Earth environment its effects are also considered as one of the main hazards to modern human technology, which can affect assets located through all the Earth’s magnetosphere and on the plant’s surface. Therefore, space weather is important from the basic science perspective and from the pragmatic point of view as it impacts human society. For artificial satellites operating in space, the technologies involved in their systems are constantly exposed to energetic particles mainly from the solar origin and from the galaxy. As small satellites facilitate the use of new technologies on-board, the adoption of a different strategy for the assessment, testing, and validation of new devices, materials and architectures is a fundamental step towards a mission to be successful. In this context, the present thesis addresses a methodology for in-flight testing and evaluation from direct measurements of the charged particles environment inside a small satellite. The case of study is based on the development and operation of the Ten-Koh satellite, where the orbit, satellite size and its structure made of composite materials represent a good opportunity for validation. As a means of achieving the research aims, the following studies have been done: ・Study comparison of the different design strategies implemented by traditional satellite development and small satellite development. ・Environmental models prediction variability and its impact on the satellite mission and systems design. ・Design of an experiment for measuring the charged particles environment inside a micro-satellite in a Sun-synchronous orbit. ・Preparation and operation of the high-energy electrons and charged particles main mission on-board the Ten-Koh satellite to perform measurements in orbit. ・Processing of the received mission data from the Ten-Koh CPD payload. ・Results interpretation from the Liulin detector. The results are presented together with an evaluation of the space weather effects that the Ten-Koh satellite experienced in orbit.九州工業大学博士学位論文 学位記番号：工博甲第497号 学位授与年月日：令和2年3月25日1 Introduction|2 Space weather and its interactions with spacecraft systems|3 Small satellite design: selection of components and radiation considerations|4 Use of COTS components for space vehicles|5 Space weather effects on the operation of small satellites|6 Conclusions九州工業大学令和元年

Design and evaluation of buffered triple modular redundancy in interleaved-multi-threading processors

Fault management in digital chips is a crucial aspect of functional safety. Significant work has been done on gate and microarchitecture level triple modular redundancy, and on functional redundancy in multi-core and simultaneous-multi-threading processors, whereas little has been done to quantify the fault tolerance potential of interleaved-multi-threading. In this study, we apply the temporal-spatial triple modular redundancy concept to interleaved-multi-threading processors through a design solution that we call Buffered triple modular redundancy, using the soft-core Klessydra-T03 as the basis for our experiments. We then illustrate the quantitative findings of a large fault-injection simulation campaign on the fault-tolerant core and discuss the vulnerability comparison with previous representative fault-tolerant designs. The results show that the obtained resilience is comparable to a full triple modular redundancy at the cost of execution cycle count overhead instead of hardware overhead, yet with higher achievable clock frequency

SINGLE EVENT UPSET DETECTION IN FIELD PROGRAMMABLE GATE ARRAYS

The high-radiation environment in space can lead to anomalies in normal satellite operation. A major cause of concern to spacecraft-designers is the single event upset (SEU). SEUs can result in deviations from expected component behavior and are capable of causing irreversible damage to hardware. In particular, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are known to be highly susceptible to SEUs. Radiation-hardened versions of such devices are associated with an increase in power consumption and cost in addition to being technologically inferior when compared to contemporary commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) parts. This thesis consequently aims at exploring the option of using COTS FPGAs in satellite payloads. A framework is developed, allowing the SEU susceptibility of such a device to be studied. SEU testing is carried out in a software-simulated fault environment using a set of Java classes called JBits. A radiation detector module, to measure the radiation backdrop of the device, is also envisioned as part of the final design implementation

Fault Tolerant Nanosatellite Computing on a Budget

In this contribution, we present a CubeSat-compatible on-board computer (OBC) architecture that offers strong fault tolerance to enable the use of such spacecraft in critical and long-term missions. We describe in detail the design of our OBC’s breadboard setup, and document its composition from the component-level, all the way down to the software level. Fault tolerance in this OBC is achieved without resorting to radiation hardening, just intelligent through software. The OBC ages graceful, and makes use of FPGA-reconfiguration and mixed criticality. It can dynamically adapt to changing performance requirements throughout a space mission. We developed a proof-of-concept with several Xilinx Ultrascale and Ultrascale+ FPGAs. With the smallest Kintex Ultrascale+ KU3P device, we achieve 1.94W total power consumption at 300Mhz, well within the power budget range of current 2U CubeSats. To our knowledge, this is the first scalable and COTS-based, widely reproducible OBC solution which can offer strong fault coverage even for small CubeSats. To reproduce this OBC architecture, no custom-written, proprietary, or protected IP is needed, and the needed design tools are available free-of-charge to academics. All COTS components required to construct this architecture can be purchased on the open market, and are affordable even for academic and scientific CubeSat developers

Toward Fault-Tolerant Applications on Reconfigurable Systems-on-Chip

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen