Enabling Hybrid Architectures and Mesh Network Topologies to Support the Global Multi-Domain Community

The turn of the new decade also represents the dawn of a new shift in domain operations. Concepts such as “Space Dial Tone,” reliable global access to internet, on-demand Earth observation, and remote sensing, while still not fully realized, are no longer purely imaginative. These concepts are in high demand and are coupled with the goals of Global Multi-Domain Operations (MDO). Small satellites (smallsats) have emerged as functionally reliable platforms, driving the development of next-generation satellite constellations. To achieve the potential of tomorrow’s technology, these constellations must embrace space mission architectures based on interoperable, open-system constructs such as hybrid architectures and mesh network topologies. This paper presents the full timeline for realization of multi-node, disparate (sovereign, coalition, commercial, etc.) multi-domain (Space, Air, Maritime, Land, and Cyber) systems to support future space mission architectures. It identifies and discusses the underlying technologies needed to bring new “system-of-systems” concepts to operational capability. Technologies to be discussed include: message-agnostic physical/protocol “Bridges”; Machine-to-Machine (M2M) data sharing enabled through Electronic Data Sheet (EDS) standards; and, new concepts related to Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled human decision making. Tying these technologies together effectively will positively impact the smallsat market and fundamentally change mission architectures in the near future

Oscillations, metastability and phase transitions in brain and models of cognition

Neuroscience is being practiced in many different forms and at many different organizational levels of the Nervous System. Which of these levels and associated conceptual frameworks is most informative for elucidating the association of neural processes with processes of Cognition is an empirical question and subject to pragmatic validation. In this essay, I select the framework of Dynamic System Theory. Several investigators have applied in recent years tools and concepts of this theory to interpretation of observational data, and for designing neuronal models of cognitive functions. I will first trace the essentials of conceptual development and hypotheses separately for discerning observational tests and criteria for functional realism and conceptual plausibility of the alternatives they offer. I will then show that the statistical mechanics of phase transitions in brain activity, and some of its models, provides a new and possibly revealing perspective on brain events in cognition

Organic Design of Massively Distributed Systems: A Complex Networks Perspective

The vision of Organic Computing addresses challenges that arise in the design of future information systems that are comprised of numerous, heterogeneous, resource-constrained and error-prone components. The notion organic highlights the idea that, in order to be manageable, such systems should exhibit self-organization, self-adaptation and self-healing characteristics similar to those of biological systems. In recent years, the principles underlying these characteristics are increasingly being investigated from the perspective of complex systems science, particularly using the conceptual framework of statistical physics and statistical mechanics. In this article, we review some of the interesting relations between statistical physics and networked systems and discuss applications in the engineering of organic overlay networks with predictable macroscopic propertie

The use of a feedback system incorporated with a morphological matrix for product/system development

Critical steps in the design process is the gathering of data, processing the data into a useful form of information (a design concept) which meets specific needs, passing this refined design solution down the path to production, where it is released into the larger environment. With in the designing process there are multiple feedback loops as the solution becomes more refined. Even as it reaches the final end user, other design refinement feedback loops continue as new and improved products or systems. Along with the interdisciplinary teams involved with the product/system development, the more complexity the product or system becomes the more critical the organization of the data becomes. This paper will present and test a concept of a design feedback and feed forward communication tool for product/system design that uses Dr. Walter A. Schaer s Three Functions of an Artifact as the methodological structure for design development. The essence of this design tool is the merging of a new communication system within an existing methodology of organizing complex systems into a morphological matrix, developed by Dr. Walter A. Schaer, based on the Charles Morris s work on semiotics. This communication tool is a new feedback / feed forward mechanism which correspond with the semiotic structure in a morphological matrix to assist the designer develop design solutions. The research will measure the success rate of the tool in the design process, examine of how the designers took advantage of the new tool, and evaluate their perception of its usefulness.M.S.Committee Chair: Wayne Chung; Committee Member: Abir Mullick; Committee Member: Randy Bernar

Complexity in biological organization: deconstruction (and subsequent restating) of key concepts

The "magic" word complexity evokes a multitude of meanings that obscure its real sense. Here we try and generate a bottom-up reconstruction of the deep sense of complexity by looking at the convergence of different features shared by complex systems. We specifically focus on complexity in biology but stressing the similarities with analogous features encountered in inanimate and artefactual systems in order to track an integrative path toward a new "mainstream" of science overcoming the actual fragmentation of scientific culture

Airborne Directional Networking: Topology Control Protocol Design

This research identifies and evaluates the impact of several architectural design choices in relation to airborne networking in contested environments related to autonomous topology control. Using simulation, we evaluate topology reconfiguration effectiveness using classical performance metrics for different point-to-point communication architectures. Our attention is focused on the design choices which have the greatest impact on reliability, scalability, and performance. In this work, we discuss the impact of several practical considerations of airborne networking in contested environments related to autonomous topology control modeling. Using simulation, we derive multiple classical performance metrics to evaluate topology reconfiguration effectiveness for different point-to-point communication architecture attributes for the purpose of qualifying protocol design elements