Real time control for NASA robotic gripper

Control laws (in some optimal sense) are being developed for the gripper/nut runner end effector. Control laws for the gripper and nut runner portions of the end effector may be developed independently since these two systems are decoupled. A hybrid force/position controller will be used for both the gripper and nut runner. The development of the gripper controller is explained. Sensory data available to the controller is obtained from an array of strain gages as well as a linear potentiometer. Applying well known optimal control theoretic principles, the control which minimizes the transition time between positions is obtained. In addition, a robust force control scheme is developed to contend with the strain gage drift caused by extreme temperature variations encountered in space

Inner and outer star forming regions over the disks of spiral galaxies. I. Sample characterization

Context. The knowledge of abundance distributions is central to understanding the formation and evolution of galaxies. Most of the relations employed for the derivation of gas abundances have so far been derived from observations of outer disk HII regions, despite the known differences between inner and outer regions. Aims. Using integral field spectroscopy (IFS) observations we aim to perform a systematic study and comparison of two inner and outer HII regions samples. The spatial resolution of the IFS, the number of objects and the homogeneity and coherence of the observations allow a complete characterization of the main observational properties and differences of the regions. Methods. We analyzed a sample of 725 inner HII regions and a sample of 671 outer HII regions, all of them detected and extracted from the observations of a sample of 263 nearby, isolated, spiral galaxies observed by the CALIFA survey. Results. We find that inner HII regions show smaller equivalent widths, greater extinction and luminosities, along with greater values of [NII]{\lambda}6583/H{\alpha} and [OII]{\lambda}3727/[OIII]{\lambda}5007 emission-line ratios, indicating higher metallicites and lower ionization parameters. Inner regions have also redder colors and higher photometric and ionizing masses, although Mion/Mphot is slighty higher for the outer regions. Conclusions. This work shows important observational differences between inner and outer HII regions in star forming galaxies not previously studied in detail. These differences indicate that inner regions have more evolved stellar populations and are in a later evolution state with respect to outer regions, which goes in line with the inside-out galaxy formation paradigm.Comment: 16 page

Reply to "Comment on `Validity of path thermodynamic description of reactive systems: Microscopic simulations'

The Comment's author argues that a correct description of reactive systems should incorporate the explicit interaction with reservoirs, leading to a unified system-reservoirs entity. However, this proposition has two major flaws. Firstly, as we will emphasize, this entity inherently follows a thermodynamic equilibrium distribution. In the Comment, no indication is provided on how to maintain such a system-reservoirs entity in a non-equilibrium state. Secondly, contrary to the author's claim, the inclusion of system-reservoir interaction in traditional stochastic modeling of reactive systems does not automatically alter the limited applicability of path thermodynamics to problematic reactive systems. We will provide a simple demonstration to illustrate that certain elementary reactions may not involve any changes in reservoir components, which seems to have been overlooked by the author.Comment: To appear in Physical Review

Overview of context-sensitive technologies for well-being

Today smart devices such as smartphones, smartwatches and activity trackers are widely available and accepted in most developed societies. These devices present a broad set of sensors capable of extracting detailed information about different situations of daily life, which, if used for good, have the potential to improve the quality of life not only for individuals but also for the society in general. One of the key areas where this type of information can help to improve the quality of life is in healthcare since it allows to monitor and infer the current level of well-being of the smart devices carriers. In this paper, some of the available literature about well-being sensing through context-aware data is reviewed. Also, the main types of mechanisms used in these studies are identified. These mechanisms are related to monitoring, generalization, inference, feedback, energy management and privacy. Furthermore, a description of the mechanisms used in each study is presented.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Biology and culture of the clown loach Chromobotia macracanthus (Cypriniformes, Cobitidae) : 4- Thermal biology of embryos and larvae

The knowledge of how fish survive and grow at different temperatures, and how these traits vary between life stages, is essential to evaluate the effects of climate change on wild fish and implement effective strategies in aquaculture. These issues are addressed in this study through a series of experiments that evaluate the effect of temperature (23-34 degrees C) on the embryos and larvae of clown loach, Chromobotia macracanthus. This species is endemic to the rivers of Sumatra and Borneo, highly praised on the ornamental fish market, and has been reproduced in captivity recently. No embryo survived a 24-h exposure to 34 degrees C until the age of 3 days after hatching (dah); mortality was high at 32 degrees C at 2 and 3 dah, whereas it was low and similar from 1 to 4 dah at 23-29 degrees C (<10%). Yolk absorption was proportional to water temperature (Q(10 degrees C) of 1.69 in the 23-32 degrees C range), but fish reared at cold temperatures were larger than others at the start of exogenous feeding (5.7 vs. 5.5 mm TL, at 23 and 32 degrees C, respectively). The survival of larvae fed Artemia nauplii ad libitum was high at 23-32 degrees C (80-100%), but almost null at 34 degrees C. Growth models at different temperatures were produced from weekly measurements in two experiments, and tested by comparing their predictions with the results of a third experiment. Throughout the larval stage, the optimal temperature for growth (T. opt) was close to 29 degrees C, and departures from T. opt resulted in substantial growth penalties (-30% SGR for -5.1 degrees C and +3.1 degrees C). High survival, fast growth (0.7 mm day(-1)) and limited size dispersal at T. opt are encouraging perspectives for the aquaculture of clown loach. From an ecological perspective, the species has an atypical thermal biology, as it is less thermophilic than other tropical fishes, but more stenothermal than temperate fishes exhibiting similar values of T. opt, both traits being of particular concern in the context of global warming

Development of a Framework for CPS Open Standards and Platforms

This technical report describes a Framework we have developed through our research and investigations in this project, with the goal to facilitate creation of Open Standards and Platforms for CPS; a task that addresses a critical mission for NIST. The rapid development of information technology (in terms of processing power, embedded hardware and software systems, comprehensive IT management systems, networking and Internet growth, system design environments) is producing an increasing number of applications and opening new doors. In addition over the last decade we entered a new era where systems complexity has increased dramatically. Complexity is increased both by the number of components that are included in each system as well as by the dependencies between those components. Increasingly, systems tend to be more software dependent and that is a major challenge that engineers involved in the development of such systems face. The challenge is even greater when a safety critical system is considered, like an airplane or a passenger car. Software-intensive systems and devices have become everyday consumables. There is a need for development of software that is provably error-free. Thanks to their multifaceted support for networking and inclusion of data and services from global networks, systems are evolving to form integrated, overarching solutions that are increasingly penetrating all areas of life and work. When software dependent systems interact with the physical environment then we have the class of cyber-physical systems (CPS) [1, 2]. The challenge in CPS is to incorporate the inputs (and their characteristics and constraints) from the physical components in the logic of the cyber components (hardware and software). CPS are engineered systems constructed as networked interactions of physical and computational (cyber) components. In CPS, computations and communication are deeply embedded in and interacting with physical processes, and add new capabilities to physical systems. Competitive pressure and societal needs drive industry to design and deploy airplanes and cars that are more energy efficient and safe, medical devices and systems that are more dependable, defense systems that are more autonomous and secure. Whole industrial sectors are transformed by new product lines that are CPS-based. Modern CPSs are not simply the connection of two different kinds of components engineered by means of distinct design technology, but rather, a new system category that is both physical and computational [1, 2]. Current industrial experience tells us that, in fact, we have reached the limits of our knowledge of how to combine computers and physical systems. The shortcomings range from technical limitations in the foundations of cyber-physical systems to the way we organize our industries and educate engineers and scientists that support cyber-physical system design. If we continue to build systems using our very limited methods and tools but lack the science and technology foundations, we will create significant risks, produce failures and lead to loss of market. Nowadays, with increasing frequency we observe systems that cooperate to achieve a common goal, even though there were not built for that reason. These are called systems of systems. For example, the Global Positioning System (GPS) is a system by itself. However, it needs to cooperate with other systems when the air traffic control system of systems is under 3 consideration. The analysis and development of such systems should be done carefully because of the emergent behavior that systems exhibit when they are coupled with other systems. However, apart from the increasing complexity and the other technical challenges, there is a need to decrease time-to-market for new systems as well as the associated costs. This specific trend and associated requirements, which are an outcome of global competitiveness, are expected to continue and become even more stringent. If a successful contribution is to be made in shaping this change, the revolutionary potential of CPS must be recognized and incorporated into internal development processes at an early stage. For that Interoperability and Integratability of CPS is critical. In this Task we have developed a Framework to facilitate interoperability and integratability of CPS via Open Standards and Platforms. The purpose of this technical report is to introduce this Framework and its critical components, to provide various instantiations of it, and to describe initial successful applications of it in various important classes of CPS. An additional goal of publishing this technical report is to solicit feedback on the proposed Framework, and to catalyze discussions and interactions in the broader CPS technical community towards improving and strengthening this Framework. CPS integrate data and services from different systems which were developed independently and with disparate objectives, thereby enabling new functionalities and benefits. Currently there is a lack of well-defined interfaces that on the one hand define the standards for the form and content of the data being exchanged, but on the other hand take account of non-functional aspects of this data, such as differing levels of data quality or reliability. A similar situation exists with respect to tools and synthesis environments, although some work has been initiated in the latter. The technological prerequisite for the design of the aforementioned various functions and value added services of CPS is the interoperability and integratability of these systems as well as their capability to be adapted flexibly and application-specifically as well as extended at the different levels of abstraction. Dependent on the objective and scope of the application, it may be necessary to integrate component functions (Embedded Systems (ES), System of Systems (SoS), CPS), to establish communication and interfaces, and to ensure the required level of quality of interaction and also of the overall system behavior. This requires cross-domain concepts for architecture, communication and compatibility at all levels. The effects of these factors on existing or yet undeveloped systems and architectures represent a major challenge. Investigation into these factors is the objective of current national and international studies and research projects. CPS create core technological challenges for traditional system architectures, especially because of their high degree of connectivity. This is because CPS are not constructed for one specific purpose or function, but rather are open for many different services and processes, and must therefore be adaptable. In view of their evolutionary nature, they are only controllable to a limited extent. This creates new demands for greater interoperability and communication within CPS that cannot be met by current closed systems. In particular, the differences in the characteristics of embedded systems in relation to IT systems and services and data in networks lead to outstanding questions in relation to the form of architectures, the definition of system and communication interfaces and requirements for underlying CPS platforms with basic services and parallel architectures at different levels of abstraction. 4 The technological developments underlying CPS evolution require the development of standards in the individual application domains, as well as basic infrastructure investments that cannot be borne by individual companies alone. This is particularly significant for SMEs. The development and operation of uniform platforms to migrate individual services and products will therefore be as much of a challenge as joint specification standards. The creation of such quasi standards, less in the traditional mold of classic industry norms and standards and more in the sense of de facto standards that become established on the basis of technological and market dominance, will become an essential part of technological and market leadership. To summarize and emphasize, the complexity of the subject in terms of the required technologies and capabilities of CPS, as well as the capabilities and competences required to develop, control and design/ create innovative, usable CPS applications, demand fundamentally integrated action, interdisciplinarity (research and development, economy and society) and vertical and horizontal efforts in: The creation of open, cross-domain platforms with fundamental services (communication, networking, interoperability) and architectures (including domainspecific architectures); The complementary expansion and integration of application fields and environments with vertical experimentation platforms and correspondingly integrated interdisciplinary efforts; The systematic enhancement with respect to methods and technologies across all involved disciplines to create innovative CPS. The aim of our research and investigations under this Task of the project, was precisely to clarify these objectives and systematically develop detailed recommendations for action. Our research and investigations have identified the following essential and fundamental challenges for the modeling, design, synthesis and manufacturing of CPS: (i) The creation and demonstration of a framework for developing cross-domain integrated modeling hubs for CPS. (ii) The creation and demonstration of a framework for linking the integrated CPS modeling hub of (i) with powerful and diverse tradeoff analysis methods and tools for design exploration for CPS. (iii) The creation of a framework of linking the integrated CPS synthesis environment of (i) and (ii) with databases of modular component and process (manufacturing) models, backwards compatible with earlier legacy systems; (iv)The creation of a framework for translating textual requirements to mathematical representations as constraints, rules and metrics involving both logical and numerical variables and the automatic (at least to 75%) allocation of the resulting specifications to components of the CPS and of processes, in a way that allows traceability. 5 These challenges have been listed here in the order of increasing difficulty both conceptually and in terms of arriving at implementable solutions. The order also reflects the extent to which the current state of affairs has made progress towards developing at least some initial instantiations of the desired frameworks. In this context, it is useful to compare with the advanced state of development of similar frameworks and their instantiations for synthesis and manufacturing of complex microelectronic VLSI chips including distributed ones, which have been available as integrated tools by several vendors for at least a decade. Regarding challenge (i) we have performed extensive work and research in this project towards developing model-based systems engineering (MBSE) procedures for the design, integration, testing and operational management of cyber-physical systems, that is, physical systems with cyber potentially embedded in every physical component. Thus in the Framework, described in this report, for standards for integrated modeling hubs for CPS, MBSE methods and tools are prominent. Regarding the search for a framework for standards for CPS this selection has the additional advantage that it is also emerging as an accepted framework for systems engineering by all industry sectors with substantial interest in CPS [3, 7]. Regarding challenge (ii) we have performed extensive work and research in this project towards developing the foundations for such an integration, and we have developed and demonstrated the first ever integration of a powerful tradeoff analysis tool (and methodology) with our SysMLIntegrated system modeling environments for CPS synthesis [3, 7]. Primary applications of interest that we have instantiated this framework are: microgrids and power grids, wireless sensor networks (WSN) and applications to Smart Grid, energy efficient buildings, microrobotics and collaborative robotics, and the overarching (for all these applications) security and trust issues including our pioneering and innovative work on compositional security systems. A key concept here is the integration of multi-criteria, multi constraint optimization with constrained based reasoning. Regarding challenge (iii) we have only developed the conceptual Framework, as any required instantiations will require substantial commercial grade software development beyond the scope of this project. It is clear however that object-relational databases and database mediators (for both data and semantics) will have to be employed. Regarding challenge (iv) we have developed a Framework for checking and validating specifications, after they have been translated to their mathematical representations as constraints and metrics with logical and numerical variables. Various multi-criteria optimization, constrained based reasoning, model checking and automatic theorem proving tools will have to be combined. The automatic annotation of the system blocks with requirements and parameter specifications remains an open challenge.Research supported in part by Cooperative Agreement, NIST 70NANB11H148, to the University of Maryland College Park