Precision Mass Property Measurements Using a Five-Wire Torsion Pendulum

A method for measuring the moment of inertia of an object using a five-wire torsion pendulum design is described here. Typical moment of inertia measurement devices are capable of 1 part in 10(exp 3) accuracy and current state of the art techniques have capabilities of about one part in 10(exp 4). The five-wire apparatus design shows the prospect of improving on current state of the art. Current measurements using a laboratory prototype indicate a moment of inertia measurement precision better than a part in 10(exp 4). In addition, the apparatus is shown to be capable of measuring the mass center offset from the geometric center. Typical mass center measurement devices exhibit a measurement precision up to approximately 1 micrometer. Although the five-wire pendulum was not originally designed for mass center measurements, preliminary results indicate an apparatus with a similar design may have the potential of achieving state of the art precision

Localization Using Visual Odometry and a Single Downward-Pointing Camera

Stereo imaging is a technique commonly employed for vision-based navigation. For such applications, two images are acquired from different vantage points and then compared using transformations to extract depth information. The technique is commonly used in robotics for obstacle avoidance or for Simultaneous Localization And Mapping, (SLAM). Yet, the process requires a number of image processing steps and therefore tends to be CPU-intensive, which limits the real-time data rate and use in power-limited applications. Evaluated here is a technique where a monocular camera is used for vision-based odometry. In this work, an optical flow technique with feature recognition is performed to generate odometry measurements. The visual odometry sensor measurements are intended to be used as control inputs or measurements in a sensor fusion algorithm using low-cost MEMS based inertial sensors to provide improved localization information. Presented here are visual odometry results which demonstrate the challenges associated with using ground-pointing cameras for visual odometry. The focus is for rover-based robotic applications for localization within GPS-denied environments

Physical activity and psychological distress: social gradients of living in poverty

Master of Public HealthDepartment of KinesiologyEmily MaileyINTRODUCTION: Research has focused on the relationship between socioeconomic status and physical activity, yet there are limited examinations which directly address social groups dealing with major issues associated with insufficient income. Studies have neglected the role of psychosocial stressors, such as financial stress, food insecurity, availability of government assistance programs, as well as psychological distress relative to the relationship between physical activity and low-income status. The purposes of this study were threefold: 1) to describe the multidimensional characteristics of life among low-income populations; 2) to examine how psychosocial stressors and health conditions vary across subsets of low-income groups; and 3) to examine the relationship among income, psychological distress and physical activity within low-income populations. METHODS: Data from the 2015 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) were analyzed for the purposes of this investigation. Descriptive statistics were calculated for the low-income status individuals who provide complete data for all variables of interest to this study. A series of chi-square analyses were conducted to determine whether key psychosocial stressors, health behaviors, and health conditions differed by low-income (FIPR) groups. Two stepwise logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine these factors and their relationships with moderate-intensity (MPA) and vigorous (VPA)-intensity physical activity. RESULTS: Overall, women made up 58.5% of the sample size. Blacks/African Americans accounted for 20.6% of the sample, yet 28.0% of FIPR Group 1 identified as Black/African American. FIPR Group 1 was disproportionately unemployed, with 63.5% unemployed compared to 46.9% for the sample. One-quarter (25.9%) of the entire sample reported severe psychological distress, yet 33.9% of FIPR Group 1 and 30.8% of FIPR Group 2 reported severe distress. Nearly three-quarters (70%) of the sample was overweight or obese and 44.2% lived with at least one chronic disease at the time the survey was taken. Overall, 67.9% of the sample reported zero minutes of VPA and 51.3% reported zero minutes of MPA. Both psychological distress and income showed significant relationships with VPA. Psychological distress remained significantly associated with VPA after controlling for all covariates; however, income was no longer related to VPA after demographic and health-related variables were added to the model. Income was not related to MPA. Psychological distress demonstrated a weak relationship with MPA before the other covariates were added to the model, at which point the relationship became non-significant. Only the relationship between psychological distress and VPA was significant in the final models. Although some of the psychosocial stressor, demographic, and health-related variables contributed to the relationships between income, physical activity, and psychological distress, these variables explained only a small portion of the variance in both MPA and VPA. CONCLUSION: Low-income individuals are faced with difficult decisions and are limited in the choices they can make to improve health. It is important to understand the multidimensional characteristics of life under limited income to better serve and improve the health of low-income populations. Further study of the relationships among income, physical activity and psychological distress is needed to further this understanding

INTERVENE: BYSTANDER INTERVENTION TRAINING FOR STUDENTS

Master of Public HealthPublic Health Interdepartmental ProgramEmily MaileyIn February of 2017, I met with Jenny Yuen, MPH, CHES with the desire to be involved in raising awareness of sexual assault among students at Kansas State University. We began collaboration on a project with the goal to develop a bystander intervention training workshop to empower students to act in the case of an alcohol emergency, observation of an unhealthy relationship, and to prevent sexual assault. I worked with a small group of three undergraduates to build and deliver Intervene: Bystander Intervention Training for Students in April 2017. This program included a discussion of data collected from a mandatory Alcohol and Sexual Assault Prevention course which every student must complete at the beginning of each Fall semester. This discussion was followed by intervention skills training which featured videos of young actors portraying scenarios in which many college-aged men and women may find themselves throughout their college careers. These videos helped illustrate appropriate action to take to keep peers safe during an alcohol emergency, how to help a close friend escape an unhealthy relationship, and how to safely intervene to prevent sexual assault at a house party. The details of the Intervene programs as well as my involvement in the development of this project as part of my field experience are detailed in the following report

EVA Radio DRATS 2011 Report

In the Fall of 2011, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Glenn Research Center (GRC) participated in the Desert Research and Technology Studies (DRATS) field experiments held near Flagstaff, Arizona. The objective of the DRATS outing is to provide analog mission testing of candidate technologies for space exploration, especially those technologies applicable to human exploration of extra- terrestrial rocky bodies. These activities are performed at locations with similarities to extra-terrestrial conditions. This report describes the Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Dual-Band Radio Communication System which was demonstrated during the 2011 outing. The EVA radio system is designed to transport both voice and telemetry data through a mobile ad hoc wireless network and employs a dual-band radio configuration. Some key characteristics of this system include: 1. Dual-band radio configuration. 2. Intelligent switching between two different capability wireless networks. 3. Self-healing network. 4. Simultaneous data and voice communication

The Influence of Dihedral Angle Error Stability on Beam Deviation for Hollow Retro-Reflectors

Retro-reflectors consist of three reflective optical surfaces, which are oriented to reflect the input beam by 180 . For retro-reflector components, it is common to specify an angular beam deviation tolerance, or rather the deviation from the exact 180 def return direction. Precision-aligned retro-reflectors provide 180 deg beam deviation with tolerances on the order of an arcsecond. It is well known that the performance of the retro-reflector depends on the ability to precisely orient the reflective surfaces at mutually perpendicular angles. Precision assembly is therefore critical to ensure highly accurate beam deviation. The dihedral angle errors, and hence the reflected beam deviation, can be measured for the retro-reflector after fabrication, typically by using interferometric techniques. Yet, what is not commonly reported for a fabricated retro-reflector is the stability of the angular beam deviation. For instance, thermo-mechanical effects of the components will contribute to variations in the return beam direction. While the actual stability is design-specific one can develop a mathematical representation for the expected change in the reflected beam direction as a function of the variation in the dihedral angle errors. Presented here is a mathematical formulation for a hollow retro-reflector's beam deviation as a function of the dihedral angle error stability

Data Analysis Techniques for a Lunar Surface Navigation System Testbed

NASA is interested in finding new methods of surface navigation to allow astronauts to navigate on the lunar surface. In support of the Vision for Space Exploration, the NASA Glenn Research Center developed the Lunar Extra-Vehicular Activity Crewmember Location Determination System and performed testing at the Desert Research and Technology Studies event in 2009. A significant amount of sensor data was recorded during nine tests performed with six test subjects. This paper provides the procedure, formulas, and techniques for data analysis, as well as commentary on applications

Beaconless Optical Communication System Constraints

Deep-space optical communication will enable increased science return and public engagement for robotic and manned missions. The IROC project is studying a beaconless optical communication system for Mars data downlink. A star tracker provides the optical communications pointing information in place of an uplink targeting beacon. The configuration presented in this paper includes a star tracker that is aligned co-boresighted with the optical communication axis. This co-boresight configuration was not discussed in prior work, as it was assumed that large Sun-Probe-Earth keep-out angle requirements for operation of the star tracker would cause significant communication outages. In this paper it is shown that the use of an optimal mechanical mounting angle combined with an advanced star tracker has the capability to yield up to 92% communication availability for an example five-year Mars mission

Cost Optimization and Technology Enablement COTSAT-1

Cost Optimized Test of Spacecraft Avionics and Technologies (COTSAT-1) is an ongoing spacecraft research and development project at NASA Ames Research Center (ARC). The space industry was a hot bed of innovation and development at its birth. Many new technologies were developed for and first demonstrated in space. In the recent past this trend has reversed with most of the new technology funding and research being driven by the private industry. Most of the recent advances in spaceflight hardware have come from the cell phone industry with a lag of about 10 to 15 years from lab demonstration to in space usage. NASA has started a project designed to address this problem. The prototype spacecraft known as Cost Optimized Test of Spacecraft Avionics and Technologies (COTSAT-1) and CheapSat work to reduce these issues. This paper highlights the approach taken by NASA Ames Research center to achieve significant subsystem cost reductions. The COSTAT-1 research system design incorporates use of COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf), MOTS (Modified Off The Shelf), and GOTS (Government Off The Shelf) hardware for a remote sensing spacecraft. The COTSAT-1 team demonstrated building a fully functional spacecraft for $500K parts and$2.0M labor. The COTSAT-1 system, including a selected science payload, is described within this paper. Many of the advancements identified in the process of cost reduction can be attributed to the use of a one-atmosphere pressurized structure to house the spacecraft components. By using COTS hardware, the spacecraft program can utilize investments already made by commercial vendors. This ambitious project development philosophy/cycle has yielded the COTSAT-1 flight hardware. This paper highlights the advancements of the COTSAT-1 spacecraft leading to the delivery of the current flight hardware that is now located at NASA Ames Research Center. This paper also addresses the plans for COTSAT-2

Polyimide Aerogels and Porous Membranes for Ultrasonic Impedance Matching to Air

This work investigates acoustic impedance matching materials for coupling 200 kHz ultrasonic signals from air to materials with similar acoustic properties to that of water, flesh, rubber and plastics. Porous filter membranes as well as a new class of cross-linked polyimide aerogels are evaluated. The results indicate that a single impedance matching layer consisting of these new aerogel materials will recover nearly half of the loss in the incident-to-transmitted ultrasound intensity associated with an air/water, air/flesh or air/gelatin boundary. Furthermore, the experimental results are obtained where other uncertainties of the "real world" are present such that the observed impedance matching gains are representative of real-world applications. Performance of the matching layer devices is assessed using the idealized 3-layer model of infinite half spaces, yet the experiments conducted use a finite gelatin block as the destination medium