42,783 research outputs found
HATSouth: a global network of fully automated identical wide-field telescopes
HATSouth is the world's first network of automated and homogeneous telescopes
that is capable of year-round 24-hour monitoring of positions over an entire
hemisphere of the sky. The primary scientific goal of the network is to
discover and characterize a large number of transiting extrasolar planets,
reaching out to long periods and down to small planetary radii. HATSouth
achieves this by monitoring extended areas on the sky, deriving high precision
light curves for a large number of stars, searching for the signature of
planetary transits, and confirming planetary candidates with larger telescopes.
HATSouth employs 6 telescope units spread over 3 locations with large longitude
separation in the southern hemisphere (Las Campanas Observatory, Chile; HESS
site, Namibia; Siding Spring Observatory, Australia). Each of the HATSouth
units holds four 0.18m diameter f/2.8 focal ratio telescope tubes on a common
mount producing an 8.2x8.2 arcdeg field, imaged using four 4Kx4K CCD cameras
and Sloan r filters, to give a pixel scale of 3.7 arcsec/pixel. The HATSouth
network is capable of continuously monitoring 128 square arc-degrees. We
present the technical details of the network, summarize operations, and present
weather statistics for the 3 sites. On average each of the 6 HATSouth units has
conducted observations on ~500 nights over a 2-year time period, yielding a
total of more than 1million science frames at 4 minute integration time, and
observing ~10.65 hours per day on average. We describe the scheme of our data
transfer and reduction from raw pixel images to trend-filtered light curves and
transiting planet candidates. Photometric precision reaches ~6 mmag at 4-minute
cadence for the brightest non-saturated stars at r~10.5. We present detailed
transit recovery simulations to determine the expected yield of transiting
planets from HATSouth. (abridged)Comment: 25 pages, 11 figures, 1 table, submitted to PAS
Mariner Mars 1969 SCAN control subsystem design and analysis
Design and analysis of self correcting automatic navigation system for Mariner Mars spacecraf
Experiment definition phase shuttle laboratory, LDRL-10.6 experiment. Shuttle sortie to ground receiver terminal
System development and technology are described for a carbon dioxide laser data transmitter capable of transmitting 400 Mbps over a shuttle to ground station link
Design of an Elastic Actuation System for a Gait-Assistive Active Orthosis for Incomplete Spinal Cord Injured Subjects
A spinal cord injury severely reduces the quality of life of affected people. Following the injury,
limitations of the ability to move may occur due to the disruption of the motor and sensory functions
of the nervous system depending on the severity of the lesion. An active stance-control
knee-ankle-foot orthosis was developed and tested in earlier works to aid incomplete SCI subjects
by increasing their mobility and independence. This thesis aims at the incorporation of
elastic actuation into the active orthosis to utilise advantages of the compliant system regarding
efficiency and human-robot interaction as well as the reproduction of the phyisological compliance
of the human joints. Therefore, a model-based procedure is adapted to the design of
an elastic actuation system for a gait-assisitve active orthosis. A determination of the optimal
structure and parameters is undertaken via optimisation of models representing compliant actuators
with increasing level of detail. The minimisation of the energy calculated from the positive
amount of power or from the absolute power of the actuator generating one human-like gait cycle
yields an optimal series stiffness, which is similar to the physiological stiffness of the human
knee during the stance phase. Including efficiency factors for components, especially the consideration
of the electric model of an electric motor yields additional information. A human-like
gait cycle contains high torque and low velocities in the stance phase and lower torque combined
with high velocities during the swing. Hence, the efficiency of an electric motor with a gear unit
is only high in one of the phases. This yields a conceptual design of a series elastic actuator with
locking of the actuator position during the stance phase. The locked position combined with the
series compliance allows a reproduction of the characteristics of the human gait cycle during
the stance phase. Unlocking the actuator position for the swing phase enables the selection of
an optimal gear ratio to maximise the recuperable energy. To evaluate the developed concept,
a laboratory specimen based on an electric motor, a harmonic drive gearbox, a torsional series
spring and an electromagnetic brake is designed and appropriate components are selected. A
control strategy, based on impedance control, is investigated and extended with a finite state
machine to activate the locking mechanism. The control scheme and the laboratory specimen
are implemented at a test bench, modelling the foot and shank as a pendulum articulated at the
knee. An identification of parameters yields high and nonlinear friction as a problem of the system,
which reduces the energy efficiency of the system and requires appropriate compensation.
A comparison between direct and elastic actuation shows similar results for both systems at the
test bench, showing that the increased complexity due to the second degree of freedom and
the elastic behaviour of the actuator is treated properly. The final proof of concept requires the
implementation at the active orthosis to emulate uncertainties and variations occurring during
the human gait
Actuators for smart applications
Actuator manufacturers are developing promising technologies\ud
which meet high requirements in performance, weight and\ud
power consumption. Conventionally, actuators are characterized\ud
by their displacement and load performance. This hides the\ud
dynamic aspects of those actuation solutions. Work per weight\ud
performed by an actuation mechanism and the time needed to\ud
develop this mechanical energy are by far more relevant figures.\ud
Based on these figures, a selection process was developed.\ud
With time and energy constraints, it highlights the most\ud
weight efficient actuators. This process has been applied to the\ud
Gurney flap technology used as a morphing concept for rotorblades.\ud
Three control schemes were considered and simulations\ud
were performed to investigate the mechanical work required. It\ud
brought forward piezoelectric stack actuators as the most effective\ud
solution in the case of an actively controlled rotorblade. The\ud
generic nature of the procedure allows to use it for a wide range\ud
of applications
Planetary film reconnaissance system
Design, fabrication, assembly of planetary film reconnaissance syste
Experiment definition phase shuttle laboratory (LDRL-10.6 experiment): Shuttle sortie to elliptical orbit satellite
The following topics were reviewed: (1) design options for shuttle terminal, (2) elliptical orbit satellite design options, (3) shuttle terminal details, (4) technology status and development requirements, (5) transmitter technology, and (6) carbon dioxide laser life studies
The walking robot project
A walking robot was designed, analyzed, and tested as an intelligent, mobile, and a terrain adaptive system. The robot's design was an application of existing technologies. The design of the six legs modified and combines well understood mechanisms and was optimized for performance, flexibility, and simplicity. The body design incorporated two tripods for walking stability and ease of turning. The electrical hardware design used modularity and distributed processing to drive the motors. The software design used feedback to coordinate the system and simple keystrokes to give commands. The walking machine can be easily adapted to hostile environments such as high radiation zones and alien terrain. The primary goal of the leg design was to create a leg capable of supporting a robot's body and electrical hardware while walking or performing desired tasks, namely those required for planetary exploration. The leg designers intent was to study the maximum amount of flexibility and maneuverability achievable by the simplest and lightest leg design. The main constraints for the leg design were leg kinematics, ease of assembly, degrees of freedom, number of motors, overall size, and weight
Performance interface document for users of Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) electromechanically steered antenna systems (EMSAS)
Satellites that use the NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) require antennas that are crucial for performing and achieving reliable TDRSS link performance at the desired data rate. Technical guidelines are presented to assist the prospective TDRSS medium-and high-data rate user in selecting and procuring a viable, steerable high-gain antenna system. Topics addressed include the antenna gain/transmitter power/data rate relationship; Earth power flux-density limitations; electromechanical requirements dictated by the small beam widths, desired angular coverage, and minimal torque disturbance to the spacecraft; weight and moment considerations; mechanical, electrical and thermal interfaces; design lifetime failure modes; and handling and storage. Proven designs are cited and space-qualified assemblies and components are identified
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