The 1990 progress report and future plans

This document describes the progress and plans of the Artificial Intelligence Research Branch (RIA) at ARC in 1990. Activities span a range from basic scientific research to engineering development and to fielded NASA applications, particularly those applications that are enabled by basic research carried out at RIA. Work is conducted in-house and through collaborative partners in academia and industry. Our major focus is on a limited number of research themes with a dual commitment to technical excellence and proven applicability to NASA short, medium, and long-term problems. RIA acts as the Agency's lead organization for research aspects of artificial intelligence, working closely with a second research laboratory at JPL and AI applications groups at all NASA centers

Automatic synthesis of analog layout : a survey

A review of recent research in the automatic synthesis of physical geometry for analog integrated circuits is presented. On introduction, an explanation of the difficulties involved in analog layout as opposed to digital layout is covered. Review of the literature then follows. Emphasis is placed on the exposition of general methods for addressing problems specific to analog layout, with the details of specific systems only being given when they surve to illustrate these methods well. The conclusion discusses problems remaining and offers a prediction as to how technology will evolve to solve them. It is argued that although progress has been and will continue to be made in the automation of analog IC layout, due to fundamental differences in the nature of analog IC design as opposed to digital design, it should not be expected that the level of automation of the former will reach that of the latter any time soon

Design descriptions to support reasoning about tolerances

This thesis is concerned with the use of Artificial Intelligence techniques to support human designers. The thesis argues that support for human designers can be improved by adopting an Al-based rather than a geometry-based approach to engineering design. Design Support Systems (DSSs) are proposed as an effective means of delivering this improved support. Representing and reasoning about tolerance statements in design is introduced as a valid area to test these claims. Tolerance statements describe the allowable variations in the geometry of a designed artefact. Two distinct, but related problems involving the use of toler¬ ance statements in design are tackled, namely: tolerance combination (including the way tolerance distributions combine), and tolerance allocation. The problem of tolerance combination (and distribution) involves determining the necessary consequences of the application of known tolerance statements to one or more designed artefact features. Tolerance allocation concerns the assignment of tol¬ erance statements during the design process. Solutions to this second problem are essential before manufactured instances of designed artefacts can be tested for compliance with design descriptions. The use of an experimental DSS, the Edinburgh Designer System (EDS), to solve design problems is illustrated. The implementation of techniques to im¬ prove the support of tolerance combination and tolerance allocation is described and where possible has been tested using EDS. The way that design is situated within the product creation process is investigated and the derivation of parts list information from an EDS design description is demonstrated. The thesis con¬ cludes that the Al-based approach can improve support for human designers, but that further research will be required to demonstrate the effective delivery of this support through DSSs

NASA space station automation: AI-based technology review

Research and Development projects in automation for the Space Station are discussed. Artificial Intelligence (AI) based automation technologies are planned to enhance crew safety through reduced need for EVA, increase crew productivity through the reduction of routine operations, increase space station autonomy, and augment space station capability through the use of teleoperation and robotics. AI technology will also be developed for the servicing of satellites at the Space Station, system monitoring and diagnosis, space manufacturing, and the assembly of large space structures

Transformation without Paternalism

Human development is meant to be transformational in that it aims to improve people's lives by enhancing their capabilities. But who does it target: people as they are or the people they will become? This paper argues that the human development approach relies on an understanding of personal identity as dynamic rather than as static collections of preferences, and that this distinguishes human development from conventional approaches to development. Nevertheless, this dynamic understanding of personal identity is presently poorly conceptualized and this has implications for development practice. We identify a danger of paternalism and propose institutionalizing two procedural principles as side constraints on development policies and projects: the principle of free prior informed consent and the principle of democratic development

(WP 2016-01) Transformation without Paternalism

Human development is meant to be transformational in that it aims to improve people’s lives by enhancing their capabilities. But who does it target: people as they are or the people they will become? This paper argues that the human development approach relies on an understanding of personal identity as dynamic rather than as static collections of preferences, and that this distinguishes human development from conventional approaches to development. Nevertheless this dynamic understanding of personal identity is presently poorly conceptualized and this has implications for development practice. We identify a danger of paternalism and propose institutionalizing two procedural principles as side constraints on development policies and projects: the principle of free prior informed consent, and the principle of democratic development

A design for an intelligent monitor and controller for space station electrical power using parallel distributed problem solving

The emphasis is on defining a set of communicating processes for intelligent spacecraft secondary power distribution and control. The computer hardware and software implementation platform for this work is that of the ADEPTS project at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). The electrical power system design which was used as the basis for this research is that of Space Station Freedom, although the functionality of the processes defined here generalize to any permanent manned space power control application. First, the Space Station Electrical Power Subsystem (EPS) hardware to be monitored is described, followed by a set of scenarios describing typical monitor and control activity. Then, the parallel distributed problem solving approach to knowledge engineering is introduced. There follows a two-step presentation of the intelligent software design for secondary power control. The first step decomposes the problem of monitoring and control into three primary functions. Each of the primary functions is described in detail. Suggestions for refinements and embelishments in design specifications are given

A FRAMEWORK FOR FUNCTION SPECIFICATIONS-TO-CONCEPTUAL FORM TRANSLATION TOOL IN FUNCTION-ORIENTED MECHANICAL DESIGN SYSTEMS

Design is functionality driven. All products and parts have some intended reason behind their existence. Although computer aided systems have made considerable advances in capturing and representing geometrical shape, not much progress has been made in capturing and modeling product functionality and its physical realization. This research proposes a methodology to assist designers during the first stages of design. This methodology provides a framework to help the designer translate functional specifications into conceptual forms. This research develops a translation tool to model functionality and to carry out conceptual design with the aid of the computer. This tool serves as a bridge between the conceptual design phase and the detailed design phase of a product. The translation tool developed in this research supports the conceptual design phase by providing a functional data model, a function server model, and a conceptual product model. The functional model includes the use of operands and relations to define and capture product functionality. The function server model represents the physical realization of the specified functions. The conceptual product model organizes and documents the product information in both the functional and the physical domains. The knowledge base for the function servers is stored in a function driven database. This database allows the designer to view design possibilities that may never have occurred to them.Models provided in this work have been implemented as a relational database system by using MySQL. A web-based graphic user interface is developed with PHP to provide an interactive environment for modeling and for searching the function driven database. Propagation of functional and physical information to downstream design activities has been enabled by the use of the XML data format. The models and concepts developed in this research are validated through a case study of a realistic mechanical device