Design and Development of a Multi-Purpose Input Output Controller Board for the SPES Control System

This PhD work has been carried out at the Legnaro National Laboratories (LNL), one of the four national labs of the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN). The mission of LNL is to perform research in the field of nuclear physics and nuclear astrophysics together with emerging technologies. Technological research and innovation are the key to promote excellence in science, to excite competitive industries and to establish a better society. The research activities concerning electronics and computer science are an essential base to develop the control system of the Selective Production of Exotic Species (SPES) project. Nowadays, SPES is the most important project commissioned at LNL and represents the future of the Lab. It is a second generation Isotope Separation On-Line (ISOL) radioactive ion beam facility intended for fundamental nuclear physics research as well as experimental applications in different fields of science, such as nuclear medicine; radio-pharmaceutical production for therapy and diagnostic. The design of the SPES control system demands innovative technologies to embed the control of several appliances with different requirements and performing different tasks spanning from data sharing and visualization, data acquisition and storage, networking, security and surveillance operations, beam transport and diagnostic. The real time applications and fast peripherals control commonly found in the distributed control network of particle accelerators are accompanied by the challenge of developing custom embedded systems. In this context, the proposed PhD work describes the design and development of a multi-purpose Input Output Controller (IOC) board capable of embedding the control of typical accelerator instrumentation involved in the automatic beam transport system foreseen for the SPES project. The idea behind this work is to extend the control reach to the single device level without losing in modularity and standardization. The outcome of the research work is a general purpose embedded computer that will be the base for standardizing the hardware layer of the frontend computers in the SPES distributed control system. The IOC board is a Computer-on-Module (COM) carrier board designed to host any COM Express type 6 module and is equipped with a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and user application specific I/O connection solutions not found in a desktop pc. All the generic pc functionalities are readily available in off-the-shelf modules and the result is a custom motherboard that bridges the gap between custom developments and commercial personal computers. The end user can deal with a general-purpose pc with a high level of hardware abstraction besides being able to exploit the on-board FPGA potentialities in terms of fast peripherals control and real time digital data processing. This document opens with an introductory chapter about the SPES project and its control system architecture and technology before to describe the IOC board design, prototyping, and characterization. The thesis ends describing the installation in the field of the IOC board which is the core of the new diagnostics data readout and signal processing system. The results of the tests performed under real beam conditions prove that the new hardware extends the current sensitivity to the pA range, addressing the SPES requirements, and prove that the IOC board is a reliable solution to standardize the control of several appliances in the SPES accelerators complex where it will be embedded into physical equipment, or in their proximity, and will control and monitor their operation replacing the legacy VME technology. The installation in the field of the IOC board represents a great personal reward and crowns these years of busy time during which I turned what was just an idea in 2014, into a working embedded computer today

NASA Tech Briefs, January 1996

This issue has a special focus on sensors, and include articles on Electronic Components and Circuits, Electronic Systems, Physical Sciences, Materials, Computer Programs, Mechanics, Machinery/Automation, Manufacturing/Fabrication, and Mathematics and Information Science

Proceedings of the Second International Mobile Satellite Conference (IMSC 1990)

Presented here are the proceedings of the Second International Mobile Satellite Conference (IMSC), held June 17-20, 1990 in Ottawa, Canada. Topics covered include future mobile satellite communications concepts, aeronautical applications, modulation and coding, propagation and experimental systems, mobile terminal equipment, network architecture and control, regulatory and policy considerations, vehicle antennas, and speech compression

Mobile Robots Navigation

Mobile robots navigation includes different interrelated activities: (i) perception, as obtaining and interpreting sensory information; (ii) exploration, as the strategy that guides the robot to select the next direction to go; (iii) mapping, involving the construction of a spatial representation by using the sensory information perceived; (iv) localization, as the strategy to estimate the robot position within the spatial map; (v) path planning, as the strategy to find a path towards a goal location being optimal or not; and (vi) path execution, where motor actions are determined and adapted to environmental changes. The book addresses those activities by integrating results from the research work of several authors all over the world. Research cases are documented in 32 chapters organized within 7 categories next described

Research reports: 1985 NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program

A compilation of 40 technical reports on research conducted by participants in the 1985 NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is given. Weibull density functions, reliability analysis, directional solidification, space stations, jet stream, fracture mechanics, composite materials, orbital maneuvering vehicles, stellar winds and gamma ray bursts are among the topics discussed

Proceedings of the 8th Annual Summer Conference: NASA/USRA Advanced Design Program

Papers presented at the 8th Annual Summer Conference are categorized as Space Projects and Aeronautics projects. Topics covered include: Systematic Propulsion Optimization Tools (SPOT), Assured Crew Return Vehicle Post Landing Configuration Design and Test, Autonomous Support for Microorganism Research in Space, Bioregenerative System Components for Microgravity, The Extended Mission Rover (EMR), Planetary Surface Exploration MESUR/Autonomous Lunar Rover, Automation of Closed Environments in Space for Human Comfort and Safety, Walking Robot Design, Extraterrestrial Surface Propulsion Systems, The Design of Four Hypersonic Reconnaissance Aircraft, Design of a Refueling Tanker Delivering Liquid Hydrogen, The Design of a Long-Range Megatransport Aircraft, and Solar Powered Multipurpose Remotely Powered Aircraft

Characterisation of concentrating solar optics by Light Field Method

Abstract: This dissertation develops ideas and techniques for the measurement of the light field produced by the concentrating optics that are used in solar thermal power systems. The research focussed on developing a framework and the principles for the implementation of a scalable technology that is suitable, in principle, for cost effective industrial implementation in the field. Investigation from first principles and technological surveys resulted in formulation of a number of model techniques, from which one was developed. A key component of the proposed model was evaluated using a novel reformulation and application of electrical impedance tomography (EIT). This was to implement an information transform effecting a highly non-linear compressive sensing mechanism, offsetting manufacturing and material complexity in the measurement of high solar flux levels. The technique allows sensing of a wide range of phenomena over arbitrary manifolds in three-dimensional space by utilizing passive transducers. An inverse reconstruction method particular to the structure of the device was proposed, implemented, and tested in a full simulation of intended operation. The parameter space of internal configurations of the method were the subject of a uniform, statistical search, with results also indicating geometrical properties of the transform used. A variety of design guides were developed to better optimize the implementation of the techniques in a range of applications.M.Ing. (Mechanical Engineering Science