147 research outputs found

    Personalized persuasion to increase acceptance of automated driving

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    A fault-tolerant multiprocessor architecture for aircraft, volume 1

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    A fault-tolerant multiprocessor architecture is reported. This architecture, together with a comprehensive information system architecture, has important potential for future aircraft applications. A preliminary definition and assessment of a suitable multiprocessor architecture for such applications is developed

    A NOVEL MESSAGE ROUTING LAYER FOR THE COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT OF DISTRIBUTED EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

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    Fault tolerant and distributed embedded systems are research areas that have the interest of such entities as NASA, the Department of Defense, and various other government agencies, corporations, and universities. Taking a system and designing it to work in the presence of faults is appealing to these entities as it inherently increases the reliability of the deployed system. There are a few different fault tolerant techniques that can be implemented in a system design to handle faults as they occur. One such technique is the reconfiguration of a portion of the system to a redundant resource. This is a difficult task to manage within a distributed embedded system because of the distributed, directly addressed data producer and consumer dependencies that exist in common network infrastructures. It is the goal of this thesis work to develop a novel message routing layer for the communication management of distributed embedded systems that reduces the complexity of this problem. The resulting product of this thesis provides a robust approach to the design, implementation, integration, and deployment of a distributed embedded system

    Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems Technologies and Operations

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    As the quarter-century mark in the 21st Century nears, new aviation-related equipment has come to the forefront, both to help us and to haunt us. (Coutu, 2020) This is particularly the case with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). These vehicles have grown in popularity and accessible to everyone. Of different shapes and sizes, they are widely available for purchase at relatively low prices. They have moved from the backyard recreation status to important tools for the military, intelligence agencies, and corporate organizations. New practical applications such as military equipment and weaponry are announced on a regular basis – globally. (Coutu, 2020) Every country seems to be announcing steps forward in this bludgeoning field. In our successful 2nd edition of Unmanned Aircraft Systems in the Cyber Domain: Protecting USA’s Advanced Air Assets (Nichols, et al., 2019), the authors addressed three factors influencing UAS phenomena. First, unmanned aircraft technology has seen an economic explosion in production, sales, testing, specialized designs, and friendly / hostile usages of deployed UAS / UAVs / Drones. There is a huge global growing market and entrepreneurs know it. Second, hostile use of UAS is on the forefront of DoD defense and offensive planners. They are especially concerned with SWARM behavior. Movies like “Angel has Fallen,” where drones in a SWARM use facial recognition technology to kill USSS agents protecting POTUS, have built the lore of UAS and brought the problem forefront to DHS. Third, UAS technology was exploding. UAS and Counter- UAS developments in navigation, weapons, surveillance, data transfer, fuel cells, stealth, weight distribution, tactics, GPS / GNSS elements, SCADA protections, privacy invasions, terrorist uses, specialized software, and security protocols has exploded. (Nichols, et al., 2019) Our team has followed / tracked joint ventures between military and corporate entities and specialized labs to build UAS countermeasures. As authors, we felt compelled to address at least the edge of some of the new C-UAS developments. It was clear that we would be lucky if we could cover a few of – the more interesting and priority technology updates – all in the UNCLASSIFIED and OPEN sphere. Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems: Technologies and Operations is the companion textbook to our 2nd edition. The civilian market is interesting and entrepreneurial, but the military and intelligence markets are of concern because the US does NOT lead the pack in C-UAS technologies. China does. China continues to execute its UAS proliferation along the New Silk Road Sea / Land routes (NSRL). It has maintained a 7% growth in military spending each year to support its buildup. (Nichols, et al., 2019) [Chapter 21]. They continue to innovate and have recently improved a solution for UAS flight endurance issues with the development of advanced hydrogen fuel cell. (Nichols, et al., 2019) Reed and Trubetskoy presented a terrifying map of countries in the Middle East with armed drones and their manufacturing origin. Guess who? China. (A.B. Tabriski & Justin, 2018, December) Our C-UAS textbook has as its primary mission to educate and train resources who will enter the UAS / C-UAS field and trust it will act as a call to arms for military and DHS planners.https://newprairiepress.org/ebooks/1031/thumbnail.jp

    Software Verification for a Custom Instrument using VectorCAST and CodeSonar

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    The goal of this thesis is to apply a structured verification process to a software package using a set of commercially available verification tools. The software package to be verified is adapted from a project that was developed to monitor an industrial machine at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and includes two major subsystems. One subsystem, referred to as the Industrial Machine Monitoring Instrument (IMMI), connects to a machine and monitors operating parameters using common industrial sensors. A second subsystem, referred to as the Distributed Control System (DCS), interfaces between the IMMI and a personal computer, which provides a human machine interface using a hyperterminal. Both the IMMI and DCS are built around Freescale’s MC9S12XDP microcontroller using CodeWarrior as the Integrated Development Environment (IDE). The software package subjected to the structured verification process includes the main C code with its header file and the code for its interrupt events for the IMMI as well as the main C code for the DCS and its interrupt events. The software package is exposed to the scrutiny of two verification tools, VectorCAST and CodeSonar. VectorCAST is used to execute test cases and provide results for code coverage based on statement and branch coverage. CodeSonar is used to identify issues with the code at compile time such as allocation/deallocation issues, unsafe functions, and language use problems. The results from both verification tools are evaluated and necessary changes made to the software package. The modified software is then tested again with VectorCAST and CodeSonar. The final verification step is downloading the modified code into the IMMI and DCS microcontrollers and testing the overall system to ensure the expected results are achieved with hardware that is developed to simulate realistic signals

    Autonomous vehicles in the response to maritime incidents

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    The future role of autonomous vehicles in the emergency response to maritime incidents isdiscussed and a framework for their integration into existing response plans is proposed. This is done inthe context of the developments on autonomous vehicle systems from the Underwater Systems andTechnologies Laboratory from Porto University

    ACAP: The Autonomous Cargo Aircraft Project

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    Development of autonomy in fly-by-wire aircraft has long been limited to multi-million dollar systems, or large remotely operated vehicles due to regulatory restrictions and the difficulty of designing a system around existing light aircraft. This report summarises the development of an experimental, optionally piloted aircraft with the capability of fully autonomous decisionmaking and controlled flight. Particular time is spent discussing the safety features of the mechanical and electrical systems, as well as a novel control system design for light aircraft autopilots. This phase of the project included successful independant ground tests of all electromechanical systems, and simulator tests of all autoflight software. The next phase of the project will include flight testing

    ACAP: The Autonomous Cargo Aircraft Project

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    Development of autonomy in fly-by-wire aircraft has long been limited to multi-million dollar systems, or large remotely operated vehicles due to regulatory restrictions and the difficulty of designing a system around existing light aircraft. This report summarises the development of an experimental, optionally piloted aircraft with the capability of fully autonomous decision making and controlled flight. Particular time is spent discussing the safety features of the mechanical and electrical systems, as well as a novel control system design for light aircraft autopilots. This phase of the project included independant ground tests of all electromechanical systems, and simulator tests of all autoflight software. The next phase of the project will include flight testing

    Validação Computacional tendo em vista a Interoperabilidade entre os Veículos Aéreos Não Tripulados

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    Nos dias de hoje, com o contínuo desenvolvimento e inovação no campo dos UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehciles), o mundo já tem como adquiridos os benefícios que estes sistemas podem fornecer. Os benefícios obtidos com a aplicação destes sistemas abrange tanto as forças armadas como industrias e organizações civis. Todas as nações e indústrias querem ter uma cota parte no futuro desta tecnologia. Diferentes UAVs foram desenvolvidos, mas estes, diferem em termos de arquitetura e protocolos de comunicação. Protocolos como o STANAG 4586, MAVLink, JAUS e ROS são só alguns exemplos. A proliferação de informação através destes sistemas e as suas consolas de comando e controlo é uma das principais preocupações, principalmente pelas forças armadas. Uma das principais prioridades é combinar forças de diferentes nações, principalmente pelos membros NATO. A necessidade de uma consola para cada tipo de sistema devido à falta de padronização apresenta assim um problema. É conhecida a necessidade de uma padronização em termos de arquitetura por camadas e de comunicação tendo em vista a interoperabilidade entre estes sistemas. Não existe nenhuma que esteja a ser implementada como documento padrão. Pretende-se que o STANAG 4586 seja o documento padrão para os membros NATO e, por conseguinte, todos os esforços estão direcionados em desenvolver sistemas que o consigam implementar. Os diferentes UAVs já existentes possuem o seu próprio protocolo de comunicação e a alteração de toda a sua estrutura não é fácil. A ideia de fazer uma conversão de linguagens como alternativa surge como uma solução teórica ótima. Utilizando um piloto automático que comunica com a sua consola através da linguagem MAVLink esta dissertação tem como objetivo desenvolver um programa computacional que converta as mensagens MAVLink em STANAG 4586 e estudar se o tempo de conversão é operacionalmente válido tendo em conta os requisitos operacionais dos sistemas.Nowadays, in the continuous technological development and innovation regarding UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehciles), the world has acknowledged the benefits that these systems bring to our environment. The profits received with the application of these robots cover almost all the fields regarding the armed forces, environmental and agriculture industries and civil protection organizations. Every nation and industry wants to take part in this future main technology. Different UAVs have been designed and developed that differ in terms of architecture and communication protocols. Frameworks like STANAG 4586, MAVLink , JAUS and ROS are some examples. The proliferation of information through these systems and their command and control consoles is one of the main concerns, mainly by armed forces. Combining forces from different nations, mainly by NATO members, in exercises and real time crisis fights are one of the primary priorities due to the benefits that they can combine. It’s known the necessity of a standard in terms of layered architecture and communication towards the interoperability between these systems. Many standards have been created trying to fulfil this gap but there isn’t one that is currently implemented as the main standard document. The STANAG 4586 is intended to be implemented as the main standard for NATO members and, therefore, all the efforts go towards to develop systems that implement these architecture and communication protocol. The different UAVs already created have their one communication protocol and the redesign of the entire architecture of the systems by one company isn’t easy and could not be convenient or affordable. The idea of doing a conversion of languages instead of redesign all the system architecture emerges as the optimal theoretical solution. Using a PIXHAWK autopilot that communicates to the Ground Control Station (GCS) through MAVLink it’s possible to develop computational software that converts MAVLink messages to the format of STANAG 4586. Starting from there, the objective is to check if it is viable for the protocol requirements and study the delay that the conversion introduces to the system in comparison with the channel without the conversion. The delay must not be inviable for the communication requirements between the GCS and the UAV

    Developing a strategic controller with haptic and audio feedback for autonomous driving

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    Traffic accidents cause over 1.2 million deaths, and tens of millions of people are injured or disabled every year. Advanced driver assistant systems and other safety features have the possibility to reduce traffic accidents but do not account for human errors. Studies show that over 90% of all traffic accidents are caused by human errors. One way to reduce human errors is to introduce automation, and several major car manufacturers predict that autonomous vehicles will be available on the consumer marker as early as 2020. In theory automated cars could reduce deaths and injuries caused by traffic accidents, but there are several issues which need to be solved before it can be realized. One of these issues is how to keep the driver in the loop while the car is in autonomous mode. A human-machine interface of a strategic controller for autonomous driving was developed. Multimodal feedback consisting of auditory and haptic signals was developed for the strategic controller using an iterative design process. A user study was carried out in order to evaluate the multimodal feedback and identify usability issues, and a simulator study was carried out in order to benchmark the concept’s usability. The strategic controller prototype developed in this thesis allows the driver to take part of the driving process and control of the car by inputting commands. The controller also provides the driver with multimodal feedback based on an analysis of mock-up sensor/image data from the vehicle. User input is either denied or accepted depending on the analysed data, and on demand feedback is also provided related to the general state of the autonomous system. Multimodal feedback was found to be promising for communicating complex information in humanmachine interactions. Although users had little to no experience of autonomous driving, they found the developed concept to be attractive and would use it for daily commuting. As it is difficult to mirror reality in simulators, test subjects may have had a more positive attitude towards the concept. However, the issue of keeping the user in the loop still persists. Feedback needs to be designed thoroughly and should not be limited to two modalities. Instead, information should be distributed through several modalities in order to reduce cognitive load and increase the user’s situational awareness. The benchmark of the developed concept showed promising results, although the results may have suffered due to hardware limitations
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