Human/computer control of undersea teleoperators

The potential of supervisory controlled teleoperators for accomplishment of manipulation and sensory tasks in deep ocean environments is discussed. Teleoperators and supervisory control are defined, the current problems of human divers are reviewed, and some assertions are made about why supervisory control has potential use to replace and extend human diver capabilities. The relative roles of man and computer and the variables involved in man-computer interaction are next discussed. Finally, a detailed description of a supervisory controlled teleoperator system, SUPERMAN, is presented

Optimization of satellite altimeter and wave height measurements

Two techniques for simultaneously estimating altitude, ocean wave height, and signal-to-noise ratio from the GEOS-C satellite altimeter data are described. One technique was based on maximum likelihood estimation, MLE, and the other on minimum mean square error estimation, MMSE. Performance was determined by comparing the variance and bias of each technique with the variance and bias of the smoothed output from the Geos altimeter tracker. Ocean wave height tracking performance for the MLE and MMSE algorithms was measured by comparing the variance and bias of the wave height estimates with that of the expression for the return waveform obtained by a fit to the average output of the 16 waveform sampling gates

Technical guidance and analytic services in support of SEASAT-A

The design of a high resolution radar for altimetry and ocean wave height estimation was studied. From basic principles, it is shown that a short pulse wide beam radar is the most appropriate and recommended technique for measuring both altitude and ocean wave height. To achieve a topographic resolution of + or - 10 cm RMS at 5.0 meter RMS wave heights, as required for SEASAT-A, it is recommended that the altimeter design include an onboard adaptive processor. The resulting design, which assumes a maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) processor, is shown to satisfy all performance requirements. A design summary is given for the recommended radar altimeter, which includes a full deramp STRETCH pulse compression technique followed by an analog filter bank to separate range returns as well as the assumed MLE processor. The feedback loop implementation of the MLE on a digital computer was examined in detail, and computer size, estimation accuracies, and bias due to range sidelobes are given for the MLE with typical SEASAT-A parameters. The standard deviation of the altitude estimate was developed and evaluated for several adaptive and nonadaptive split-gate trackers. Split-gate tracker biases due to range sidelobes and transmitter noise are examined. An approximate closed form solution for the altimeter power return is derived and evaluated. The feasibility of utilizing the basic radar altimeter design for the measurement of ocean wave spectra was examined

Development of a computer program to obtain ordinates for NACA-6 and 6A-series airfoils

A computer program was developed to produce the ordinates for airfoils of any thickness, thickness distribution, or camber in the NACA 6- and 6A-series. For the 6-series and for all but the leading edge of the 6A-series, agreement between the ordinates obtained from the new program and previously published values is generally within .00005 chord. Near the leading edge of the 6A-series airfoils, differences up to .00035 chord are found

A streamline curvature method for design of supercritical and subcritical airfoils

An airfoil design procedure, applicable to both subcritical and supercritical airfoils, is described. The method is based on the streamline curvature velocity equation. Several examples illustrating this method are presented and discussed

Continuously operating induction plasma accelerator Patent

Continuous operation, single phased, induction plasma accelerator producing supersonic speed

Development of a computer program to obtain ordinates for NACA 4-digit, 4-digit modified, 5-digit, and 16 series airfoils

A computer program developed to calculate the ordinates and surface slopes of any thickness, symmetrical or cambered NACA airfoil of the 4-digit, 4-digit modified, 5-digit, and 16-series airfoil families is presented. The program produces plots of the airfoil nondimensional ordinates and a punch card output of ordinates in the input format of a readily available program for determining the pressure distributions of arbitrary airfoils in subsonic potential viscous flow

Effect of blockage ratio on drag and pressure distributions for bodies of revolution at transonic speeds

Experimental data were obtained in two wind tunnels for 13 models over a Mach number range from 0.70 to 1.02. Effects of increasing test-section blockage ratio in the transonic region near a Mach number of 1.0 included change in the shape of the drag curves, premature drag creep, delayed drag divergence, and a positive increment of pressures on the model afterbodies. Effects of wall interference were apparent in the data even for a change in blockage ratio from a very low 0.000343 to an even lower 0.000170. Therefore, models having values of blockage ratio of 0.0003 - an order of magnitude below the previously considered safe value of 0.0050 - had significant errors in the drag-coefficient values obtained at speeds near a Mach number of 1.0. Furthermore, the flow relief afforded by slots or perforations in test-section walls - designed according to previously accepted criteria for interference-free subsonic flow - does not appear to be sufficient to avoid significant interference of the walls with the model flow field for Mach numbers very close to 1.0

Lunar penetrometer Patent

Development and characteristics of pentrometer for measuring physical properties of lunar surfac

Study of radar pulse compression for high resolution satellite altimetry

Pulse compression techniques are studied which are applicable to a satellite altimeter having a topographic resolution of + 10 cm. A systematic design procedure is used to determine the system parameters. The performance of an optimum, maximum likelihood processor is analysed, which provides the basis for modifying the standard split-gate tracker to achieve improved performance. Bandwidth considerations lead to the recommendation of a full deramp STRETCH pulse compression technique followed by an analog filter bank to separate range returns. The implementation of the recommended technique is examined