Control of a Spherical Robot: Path Following Based on Nonholonomic Kinematics and Dynamics

This paper presents the controller design for the path following of a spherical mobile robot,BHQ-1.Firstly,a desired velocity for the reference path is deduced from the kinematic model,which cannot be transformed into the classic chained form.Secondly,a necessary torque for the desired velocity is obtained based on the dynamic model.As to the kinematics,a one-dimensional function is selected to measure the two-directional tracking error,and the velocity of rolling forward is reasonably assumed to be constant;therefore the multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system is transformed into a single-input single-output (SISO) system.As to the dynamics,both exact dynamics and inexact dynamics with modeling error as well as bounded unknown disturbance are taken into account,based on which a proportional-derivative (PD) controller and a sliding mode controller with adaptive parameters are proposed respectively.Finally,convergence analysis and simulation results are provided to validate these controllers.     

The Martian Surface Composition

Mars is unique to have undergone all planetary evolutionary steps, without global resets, till its geological death: this is reflected in the variety of its surface features. The determination of Mars surface composition has thus the potential to identify the processes responsible for the entire Mars evolution, from geological timescales to seasonal variations. Due to technical challenges, only few investigations have been performed so far. They are summarized in this paper, and their interpretation is discussed in terms of surface materials (minerals, ices and frosts).     

Rosina – Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis

The Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis (ROSINA) will answer important questions posed by the mission’s main objectives. After Giotto, this will be the first time the volatile part of a comet will be analyzed in situ. This is a very important investigation, as comets, in contrast to meteorites, have maintained most of the volatiles of the solar nebula. To accomplish the very demanding objectives through all the different phases of the comet’s activity, ROSINA has unprecedented capabilities including very wide mass range (1 to >300 amu), very high mass resolution (m/Δ m > 3000, i.e. the ability to resolve CO from N₂ and ¹³C from ¹²CH), very wide dynamic range and high sensitivity, as well as the ability to determine cometary gas velocities, and temperature. ROSINA consists of two mass spectrometers for neutrals and primary ions with complementary capabilities and a pressure sensor. To ensure that absolute gas densities can be determined, each mass spectrometer carries a reservoir of a calibrated gas mixture allowing in-flight calibration. Furthermore, identical flight-spares of all three sensors will serve for detailed analysis of all relevant parameters, in particular the sensitivities for complex organic molecules and their fragmentation patterns in our electron bombardment ion sources.     

WHISPER, A RESONANCE SOUNDER AND WAVE ANALYSER: PERFORMANCES AND PERSPECTIVES FOR THE CLUSTER MISSION

The WHISPER sounder on the Cluster spacecraft is primarily designed to provide an absolute measurement of the total plasma density within the range 0.2–80 cm^-3. This is achieved by means of a resonance sounding technique which has already proved successful in the regions to be explored. The wave analysis function of the instrument is provided by FFT calculation. Compared with the swept frequency wave analysis of previous sounders, this technique has several new capabilities. In particular, when used for natural wave measurements (which cover here the 2–80 kHz range), it offers a flexible trade-off between time and frequency resolutions. In the basic nominal operational mode, the density is measured every 28 s, the frequency and time resolution for the wave measurements are about 600 Hz and 2.2 s, respectively. Better resolutions can be obtained, especially when the spacecraft telemetry is in burst mode. Special attention has been paid to the coordination of WHISPER operations with the wave instruments, as well as with the low-energy particle counters. When operated from the multi-spacecraft Cluster, the WHISPER instrument is expected to contribute in particular to the study of plasma waves in the electron foreshock and solar wind, to investigations about small-scale structures via density and high-frequency emission signatures, and to the analysis of the non-thermal continuum in the magnetosphere.     

The Ultraviolet Spectrograph on NASA’s Juno Mission

The ultraviolet spectrograph instrument on the Juno mission (Juno-UVS) is a long-slit imaging spectrograph designed to observe and characterize Jupiter’s far-ultraviolet (FUV) auroral emissions. These observations will be coordinated and correlated with those from Juno’s other remote sensing instruments and used to place in situ measurements made by Juno’s particles and fields instruments into a global context, relating the local data with events occurring in more distant regions of Jupiter’s magnetosphere. Juno-UVS is based on a series of imaging FUV spectrographs currently in flight—the two Alice instruments on the Rosetta and New Horizons missions, and the Lyman Alpha Mapping Project on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission. However, Juno-UVS has several important modifications, including (1) a scan mirror (for targeting specific auroral features), (2) extensive shielding (for mitigation of electronics and data quality degradation by energetic particles), and (3) a cross delay line microchannel plate detector (for both faster photon counting and improved spatial resolution). This paper describes the science objectives, design, and initial performance of the Juno-UVS.     

Image Smearing Modeling and Verification for Strapdown Star Sensor

To further extend study on celestial attitude determination with strapdown star sensor from static into dynamic field, one prerequisite is to generate precise dynamic simulating star maps. First a neat analytical solution of the smearing trajectory caused by spacecraft attitude maneuver is deduced successfully, whose parameters cover the geometric size of optics, three-axis angular velocities and CCD integral time. Then for the first time the mathematical law and method are discovered about how to synthesize the two formulae of smearing trajectory and the static Gaussian distribution function (GDF) model, the key of which is a line integral with regard to the static GDF attenuated by a factor 1/ L s (L s is the arc length of the smearing trajectory) along the smearing trajectory. The dynamic smearing model is then obtained, also in an analytical form. After that, three sets of typical simulating maps and data are simulated from this dynamic model manifesting the expected smearing effects, also compatible with the linear model as its special case of no boresight rotation. Finally, model validity tests on a rate turntable are carried out, which results in a mean correlation coefficient 0.920 0 between the camera images and the corresponding model simulated ones with the same parameters. The sufficient similarity verifies the validity of the dynamic smearing model. This model, after parameter calibration, can serve as a front-end loop of the ground semi-physical simulation system for celestial attitude determination with strapdown star sensor.     

Asymptotic Performance of Sparse Signal Detection Using Convex Programming Method

The detection of sparse signals against background noise is considered. Detecting signals of such kind is difficult since only a small portion of the signal carries information. Prior knowledge is usually assumed to ease detection. In this paper, we consider the general unknown and arbitrary sparse signal detection problem when no prior knowledge is available. Under a Neyman-Pearson hypothesis-testing framework, a new detection scheme is proposed by combining a generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT)-like test statistic and convex programming methods which directly exploit sparsity in an underdetermined system of linear equations. We characterize large sample behavior of the proposed method by analyzing its asymptotic performance. Specifically, we give the condition for the Chernoff-consistent detection which shows that the proposed method is very sensitive to the 2 norm energy of the sparse signals. Both the false alarm rate and the miss rate tend to zero at vanishing signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), as long as the signal energy grows at least logarithmically with the problem dimension. Next we give a large deviation analysis to characterize the error exponent for the Neyman-Pearson detection. We derive the oracle error exponent assuming signal knowledge. Then we explicitly derive the error exponent of the proposed scheme and compare it with the oracle exponent. We complement our study with numerical experiments, showing that the proposed method performs in the vicinity of the likelihood ratio test (LRT) method in the finite sample scenario and the error probability degrades exponentially with the number of observations.     

Defect Recognition in Thermosonic Imaging

This work is aimed at developing an effective method for defect recognition in thermosonic imaging.The heat mechanism of thermosonic imaging is introduced,and the problem for defect recognition is discussed.For this purpose,defect existing in the inner wall of a metal pipeline specimen and defects embedded in a carbon fiber reinforced plastic(CFRP) laminate are tested.The experimental data are processed by pulse phase thermography(PPT) method to show the phase images at different frequencies,and the characteristic of phase angle vs frequency curve of thermal anomalies and sound area is analyzed.A binary image,which is based on the characteristic value of defects,is obtained by a new recognition algorithm to show the defects.Results demonstrate good defect recognition performance for thermosonic imaging,and the reliability of this technique can be improved by the method.     

The Freja Hot Plasma Experiment—Instrument and first results

The Hot Plasma Experiment, F3H, on boardFreja is designed to measure auroral particle distribution functions with very high temporal and spatial resolution. The experiment consists of three different units; an electron spectrometer that measures angular and energy distributions simultaneously, a positive ion spectrometer that is using the spacecraft spin for three-dimensional measurements, and a data processing unit. The main scientific objective is to study positive ion heating perpendicular to the magnetic field lines in the auroral region. The high resolution measurements of different positive ion species and electrons have already provided important information on this process as well as on other processes at high latitudes. This includes for example high resolution observations of auroral particle precipitation features and source regions of positive ions during magnetic disturbances. TheFreja orbit with an inclination of 63° allows us to make detailed measurements in the nightside auroral oval during all disturbance levels. In the dayside, the cusp region is covered during magnetic disturbances. We will here present the instrument in some detail and some outstanding features in the particle data obtained during the first months of operation at altitudes around 1700 km in the northern hemisphere auroral region.