Manned remote work station development article

The two prime objectives of the Manned Remote Work Station (MRWS) Development Article Study are to first, evaluate the MRWS flight article roles and associated design concepts for fundamental requirements and embody key technology developments into a simulation program; and to provide detail manufacturing drawings and schedules for a simulator development test article. An approach is outlined which establishes flight article requirements based on past studies of Solar Power Satellite, orbital construction support equipments, construction bases and near term shuttle operations. Simulation objectives are established for those technology issues that can best be addressed on a simulator. Concepts for full-scale and sub-scale simulators are then studied to establish an overall approach to studying MRWS requirements. Emphasis then shifts to design and specification of a full-scale development test article

Improving the skills of forest harvester operators

Forestry suffers from a shortage of trained machine operators, which jeopardises efficient and productive operations. Extensive training is required to skilfully master the complex tasks of operators of forest harvesters and forest forwarders. Therefore, the digitisation of the industry envisages training and support systems on machines that provide real-time support to operators, both on-site and remotely. The aim of this thesis was to improve training methods and pave the way for the development of future operator support systems, therefore a detailed analysis of harvester operators' work tasks, focussing on motor control skills and cognitive (work)load, was conducted. The work was guided by the following two general research questions, which were systematically answered throughout the studies presented in this thesis. (1) How can training methods for robotic arm operators be improved by analysing performance limiting factors in the bimanual control of the robotic cranes and (2) How can the machine operators be effectively supported with different sensorimotor support systems to ensure high level performance? To this end, a multi-pronged approach using qualitative and quantitative methods was adopted and five scientific studies were carried out. For three quantitative laboratory studies, a multi-joint robotic manipulator was designed and programmed as a simulation environment, which in its basic layout resembles the crane of real forestry machines. To identify the challenges in learning the motor control of such robotic cranes, this work focussed on the joystick control of the individual joints (joint control) or the movement of the tip (end-effector) of the robotic crane. Two experimental studies on the acquisition of operating skills with the two different control schemes, showed that in spite of a gain in mental workload reduction with end-effector control, movement accuracy remains difficult with both control schemes. This refers with joint control to the challenging use of the joints involved in the fine control of the robotic crane and with end-effector control to a general lack of accuracy. In a third study, visual and auditory (sonification) support systems were implemented in the simulation environment and compared for increasing accuracy. Auditory support systems showed higher effectiveness, which depends on initial operator performance level. In summary, this thesis has shown that behavioural analysis at the level of joystick movements and the analysis of crane movements can be very fruitful for studying the development of human control skills and deriving new performance indicators that can be used in operator training and the design of different operator support systems. The development of machines with increasing technical operator support will potentially lead to new challenges in real-world operation, where the management of cognitive workload and the detrimental effects, specifically of cognitive underload conditions, will require a rethinking and design of the operators’ work

Control of free-ranging automated guided vehicles in container terminals

Container terminal automation has come to the fore during the last 20 years to improve their efficiency. Whereas a high level of automation has already been achieved in vertical handling operations (stacking cranes), horizontal container transport still has disincentives to the adoption of automated guided vehicles (AGVs) due to a high degree of operational complexity of vehicles. This feature has led to the employment of simple AGV control techniques while hindering the vehicles to utilise their maximum operational capability. In AGV dispatching, vehicles cannot amend ongoing delivery assignments although they have yet to receive the corresponding containers. Therefore, better AGV allocation plans would be discarded that can only be achieved by task reassignment. Also, because of the adoption of predetermined guide paths, AGVs are forced to deploy a highly limited range of their movement abilities while increasing required travel distances for handling container delivery jobs. To handle the two main issues, an AGV dispatching model and a fleet trajectory planning algorithm are proposed. The dispatcher achieves job assignment flexibility by allowing AGVs towards to container origins to abandon their current duty and receive new tasks. The trajectory planner advances Dubins curves to suggest diverse optional paths per origin-destination pair. It also amends vehicular acceleration rates for resolving conflicts between AGVs. In both of the models, the framework of simulated annealing was applied to resolve inherent time complexity. To test and evaluate the sophisticated AGV control models for vehicle dispatching and fleet trajectory planning, a bespoke simulation model is also proposed. A series of simulation tests were performed based on a real container terminal with several performance indicators, and it is identified that the presented dispatcher outperforms conventional vehicle dispatching heuristics in AGV arrival delay time and setup travel time, and the fleet trajectory planner can suggest shorter paths than the corresponding Manhattan distances, especially with fewer AGVs.Open Acces

NASA/FAA helicopter simulator workshop

A workshop was convened by the FAA and NASA for the purpose of providing a forum at which leading designers, manufacturers, and users of helicopter simulators could initiate and participate in a development process that would facilitate the formulation of qualification standards by the regulatory agency. Formal papers were presented, special topics were discussed in breakout sessions, and a draft FAA advisory circular defining specifications for helicopter simulators was presented and discussed. A working group of volunteers was formed to work with the National Simulator Program Office to develop a final version of the circular. The workshop attracted 90 individuals from a constituency of simulator manufacturers, training organizations, the military, civil regulators, research scientists, and five foreign countries

Digital Twins in Industry

Digital Twins in Industry is a compilation of works by authors with specific emphasis on industrial applications. Much of the research on digital twins has been conducted by the academia in both theoretical considerations and laboratory-based prototypes. Industry, while taking the lead on larger scale implementations of Digital Twins (DT) using sophisticated software, is concentrating on dedicated solutions that are not within the reach of the average-sized industries. This book covers 11 chapters of various implementations of DT. It provides an insight for companies who are contemplating the adaption of the DT technology, as well as researchers and senior students in exploring the potential of DT and its associated technologies

Advancing automation and robotics technology for the Space Station Freedom and for the US economy

The progress made by levels 1, 2, and 3 of the Office of Space Station in developing and applying advanced automation and robotics technology is described. Emphasis is placed upon the Space Station Freedom Program responses to specific recommendations made in the Advanced Technology Advisory Committee (ATAC) progress report 10, the flight telerobotic servicer, and the Advanced Development Program. Assessments are presented for these and other areas as they apply to the advancement of automation and robotics technology for the Space Station Freedom

Augmenting low-fidelity flight simulation training devices via amplified head rotations

Due to economic and operational constraints, there is an increasing demand from aviation operators and training manufacturers to extract maximum training usage from the lower fidelity suite of flight simulators. It is possible to augment low-fidelity flight simulators to achieve equivalent performance compared to high-fidelity setups but at reduced cost and greater mobility. In particular for visual manoeuvres, the virtual reality technique of head-tracking amplification for virtual view control enables full field-of-regard access even with limited field-of-view displays. This research quantified the effects of this technique on piloting performance, workload and simulator sickness by applying it to a fixed-base, low-fidelity, low-cost flight simulator. In two separate simulator trials, participants had to land a simulated aircraft from a visual traffic circuit pattern whilst scanning for airborne traffic. Initially, a single augmented display was compared to the common triple display setup in front of the pilot. Starting from the base leg, pilots exhibited tighter turns closer to the desired ground track and were more actively conducting visual scans using the augmented display. This was followed up by a second experiment to quantify the scalability of augmentation towards larger displays and field of views. Task complexity was increased by starting the traffic pattern from the downwind leg. Triple displays in front of the pilot yielded the best compromise delivering flight performance and traffic detection scores just below the triple projectors but without an increase in track deviations and the pilots were also less prone to simulator sickness symptoms. This research demonstrated that head augmentation yields clear benefits of quick user adaptation, low-cost, ease of systems integration, together with the capability to negate the impact of display sizes yet without incurring significant penalties in workload and incurring simulator sickness. The impact of this research is that it facilitates future flight training solutions using this augmentation technique to meet budgetary and mobility requirements. This enables deployment of simulators in large numbers to deliver expanded mission rehearsal previously unattainable within this class of low-fidelity simulators, and with no restrictions for transfer to other training media