Telerobotics: problems and research needs

With major emphasis on simulation, a university laboratory telerobotics facility permits problems to be approached by groups of graduate students. Helmet-mounded displays provide realism; the slaving of the display to the human operator's viewpoint gives a sense of `telepresence' that may be useful for prolonged tasks. Using top-down 3-D model control of distant images allows distant images to be reduced to a few parameters to update the model used for display to the human operator in a preview model to circumvent, in part, the communication delay. Also, the model can be used as a format for supervisory control and permit short-term local autonomous operations. Image processing algorithms can be made simpler and faster without trying to construct sensible images from the bottom. Control studies of telerobots lead to preferential manual control modes and, in this university environment, to basic paradigms for human motion and thence, perhaps, to redesign of robotic control, trajectory path planning, and rehabilitation prosthetics. Speculation as to future industrial drives for this telerobotic field suggests efficient roles for government agencies such as NASA     

两凸平面相贯立体的隐藏线消去法

本文介绍了一种消去两相贯凸平面立体的隐藏线算法。首先利用外法线法单体消隐,然后用线与面比较法作组合消隐计算,逐一确定各个单体上可见棱线在组合体上的可见线段,最后显示或绘制所有的可见棱线段和两体的可见交线,得到消隐后的立体图。本法信息输入量较小,功能较强,不但适用于两相贯的凸平面立体的消隐,而且也适用于两迭加的凸平面立体的消隐。本程序还适用于两体具有共面的情况。     

Recurrent isolation of hydrogen peroxide-resistant spores of Bacillus pumilus from a spacecraft assembly facility

While the microbial diversity of a spacecraft assembly facility at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Pasadena, CA) was being monitored, H2O2-resistant bacterial strains were repeatedly isolated from various surface locations. H2O2 is a possible sterilant for spacecraft hardware because it is a low-temperature process and compatible with various modern-day spacecraft materials, electronics, and components. Both conventional biochemical testing and molecular analyses identified these strains as Bacillus pumilus. This Bacillus species was found in both unclassified (entrance floors, anteroom, and air-lock) and classified (floors, cabinet tops, and air) locations. Both vegetative cells and spores of several B. pumilus isolates were exposed to 5% liquid H2O2 for 60 min. Spores of each strain exhibited higher resistance than their respective vegetative cells to liquid H2O2. Results indicate that the H2O2 resistance observed in both vegetative cells and spores is strain-specific, as certain B. pumilus strains were two to three times more resistant than a standard Bacillus subtilis dosimetry strain. An example of this trend was observed when the type strain of B. pumilus, ATCC 7061, proved sensitive, whereas several environmental strains exhibited varying degrees of resistance, to H2O2. Repeated isolation of H2O2-resistant strains of B. pumilus in a clean-room is a concern because their persistence might potentially compromise life-detection missions, which have very strict cleanliness and sterility requirements for spacecraft hardware.     

Computer Optimization of FM/FM Telemetry Systems

In this correspondence, the threshold carrier power of FM/FM systems and the receiver IF bandwidth are optimized through a computer program. For a typical set of IRIG (inter-range instrumentation group) channels, it is demonstrated that the required carrier signal-to-noise ratio can be as low as 5 dB (much less than the conventional 12 dB value) in order to maintain the subcarrier signal-to-noise ratio at 12 dB, the threshold level. comparison of the optimized and the conventional taper analysis is tabulated.     

火箭发动机基于神经网络非线性辨识的故障检测

应用神经网络方法，提出了一种液体火箭发动机故障实时检测算法。神经网络采用非线性辨识技术贴近发动机的工作过程，并输出包合发动机故障信息的辨识误差信号。若辨识误差变大超过一定阈值，检测逻辑就预报发动机故障。在发动机启动阶段离线训练神经网络，在发动机稳态过程可以采用离线或在线学习算法。实验研究表明神经网络可以成功地应用于大型泵压式液体火箭发动机的故障检测。     

椭圆振动切削加工的同步控制研究

利用椭圆振动切削加工的回转体表面微织构是在机床主轴旋转、平台进给和装置椭圆振动的联合运动下得到的,机床主轴转动与装置位移输出如果不能保持完全的实时同步,会造成微织构加工的偏差。为了解决这一问题,提出了一种新的基于转角的同步控制方法,该方法在主轴的对位基准处实现装置正弦信号的复位,以修正转速漂移造成的加工位置误差,并通过判断主轴角度信号实时输出对应幅值电压来实时同步信号输出和机床旋转运动。基于LabVIEW FPGA搭建同步控制模块,经试验验证,利用该方法加工的矩形阵列微织构轴向排列与中轴线平行,与周向排列的夹角和仿真结果的偏差不超过0.1°,织构深度随转角的不同发生预设的变化,因此,同步控制方法具有实时同步控制椭圆振动切削装置的能力。     

The propagation features of LF radio waves at topside ionosphere and their variations possibly related to Wenchuan earthquake in 2008

The artificial low frequency (LF) signals recorded at topside ionosphere from DEMETER satellite were analyzed in this paper, and the typical diurnal and seasonal variations were illustrated around 162?kHz in electric field spectra. The larger power spectrum density (PSD) values in electric field at local nighttime and in winter season all demonstrate the correlation feature of lower plasma content to higher penetration of LF waves into ionosphere. Around Wenchuan earthquake, the comparison of signal-noise-ratio (SNR) values in electric field with each half month during January to May in 2008 and the same half month in May from 2005 to 2007 revealed their lowest values and small covering area around the preparation region of Wenchuan earthquake in 2008. Combined with other researches in VLF radio waves and geochemical observations from satellite, the interaction of ion accumulation and upward movement from gas-water release at surface might be a key factor to disturb the ionospheric plasma density, and then possibly leading to the decrease of low energy penetration of LF radio waves from the artificial transmitted source at ground.     

Regolith X-Ray Imaging Spectrometer (REXIS) Aboard the OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission

The Regolith X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (REXIS) is the student collaboration experiment proposed and built by an MIT-Harvard team, launched aboard NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission. REXIS complements the scientific investigations of other OSIRIS-REx instruments by determining the relative abundances of key elements present on the asteroid’s surface by measuring the X-ray fluorescence spectrum (stimulated by the natural solar X-ray flux) over the range of energies 0.5 to 7 keV. REXIS consists of two components: a main imaging spectrometer with a coded aperture mask and a separate solar X-ray monitor to account for the Sun’s variability. In addition to element abundance ratios (relative to Si) pinpointing the asteroid’s most likely meteorite association, REXIS also maps elemental abundance variability across the asteroid’s surface using the asteroid’s rotation as well as the spacecraft’s orbital motion. Image reconstruction at the highest resolution is facilitated by the coded aperture mask. Through this operation, REXIS will be the first application of X-ray coded aperture imaging to planetary surface mapping, making this student-built instrument a pathfinder toward future planetary exploration. To date, 60 students at the undergraduate and graduate levels have been involved with the REXIS project, with the hands-on experience translating to a dozen Master’s and Ph.D. theses and other student publications.     

Predicting performance in manually controlled rendezvous and docking through spatial abilities

Manually controlled rendezvous and docking (manual RVD) is a challenging space task for astronauts. This study aims to identify spatial abilities that are critical for accomplishing manual RVD. Based on task analysis, spatial abilities were deduced to be critical for accomplishing manual RVD. 15 Male participants performed manual RVD task simulations and spatial ability tests (the object-manipulation spatial ability and spatial orientation ability). Participants’ performance in the test of visualization of viewpoints (which measures the spatial orientation ability) was found to be significantly correlated with their manual RVD performance, indicating that the spatial orientation ability in the sense of perspective taking is particularly important for accomplishing manual RVD.