TerraSAR-X active radar ground calibrator system

In April 2006, the TerraSAR-X satellite was launched. This paper describes the development of a novel and highly integrated, digitally-controlled active SAR system calibrator (DARC). It consists of both an active transponder path for absolute radiometric calibration and a calibrated receiver chain for antenna pattern evaluation of the satellite antenna. A total of 16 active transponder and receiver systems and 17 receiver-only systems will be fabricated for a calibration campaign in 2006.     

Almost instant time inference for hybrid partially dynamic Bayesian networks

A Bayesian network (BN) is a compact representation for probabilistic models and inference. They have been used successfully for many military and civilian applications. It is well known that, in general, the inference algorithms to compute the exact a posterior probability of a target node given observed evidence are either computationally infeasible for dense networks or impossible for general hybrid networks. In those cases, one either computes the approximate results using stochastic simulation methods or approximates the model using discretization or a Gaussian mixture model before applying an exact inference algorithm. This paper combines the concept of simulation and model approximation to propose an efficient algorithm for those cases. The main contribution here is a unified treatment of arbitrary (nonlinear non-Gaussian) hybrid (discrete and continuous) BN inference having both computation and accuracy scalability. The key idea is to precompile the high-dimensional hybrid distribution using a hypercube representation and apply it for both static and dynamic BN inference. Since the inference process essentially becomes a combination of table look-up and some simple operations, the method is shown to be extremely efficient. It can also he scaled to achieve any desirable accuracy given sufficient preprocessing time and memory for the cases where exact inference is not possible     

Recent Breakthroughs in RF Photonics for Radar Systems

Radar systems require transmission of very high purity signals. Photonics is now mature enough to achieve analog transmission with very low noise, strong immunity, and wide-bandwidth even in harsh environments. We present our recent developments of optimized optical links dedicated to radar and multifunction systems     

Performance evaluation for MAP state estimate fusion

This paper presents a quantitative performance evaluation method for the maximum a posteriori (MAP) state estimate fusion algorithm. Under ideal conditions where data association is assumed to be perfect, it has been shown that the MAP or best linear unbiased estimate (BLUE) fusion formula provides the best linear minimum mean squared estimate (LMMSE) given local estimates under the linear Gaussian assumption for a static system. However, for a dynamic system where fusion is recursively performed by the fusion center on local estimates generated from local measurements, it is not obvious how the MAP algorithm will perform. In the past, several performance evaluation methods have been proposed for various fusion algorithms, including simple convex combination, cross-covariance combination, information matrix, and MAP fusion. However, not much has been done to quantify the steady state behavior of these fusion methods for a dynamic system. The goal of this work is to present analytical fusion performance results for MAP state estimate fusion without extensive Monte Carlo simulations, using an approach developed for steady state performance evaluation for track fusion. Two different communication strategies are considered: fusion with and without feedback to the sensors. Analytic curves for the steady state performance of the fusion algorithm for various communication patterns are presented under different operating conditions.     

Microdosimetric measurements of heavy ion tracks.

The biological effectiveness of radiations depends on the spatial pattern of ionizations and excitations produced by the charged particle tracks involved. Ionizations produced by both the primary ion and by energetic delta rays may contribute to the production of biologically relevant damage and to the concentration of damage which may effect the probability of repair. Although average energy concentration (dose) can be calculated using homogeneous track models, the energy is actually concentrated in small volumes containing segments of the ion and delta ray tracks. These local concentrations are studied experimentally using low pressure proportional counters, and theoretically, using Monte Carlo methods. Small volumes near an ion track may be traversed by a delta ray. If they are, the energy deposited will be similar to that produced by a single electron track in a low-energy x-ray irradiation. The probability of a delta ray interaction occurring decreases with the square of the radial distance from the track. The average energy deposited is the product of this probability and the energy deposited in an interaction. Average energy deposited calculated from measured interaction probability is in good agreement with the results of homogeneous track models.     

罗-罗在A3XX发动机竞争中首战告捷

在Ａ３ＸＸ的发动机竞争中，英国罗－罗公司的遄达９００选用于新加坡航空公司订购的Ａ３ＸＸ     

Design for validation

An approach is outlined for the development of ultrareliable avionics for civil air transports using a design-for-validation philosophy that includes rigorous application of formal methods. The basic concept of the methodology is introduced, and the role of formal methods is explored. The impact of the design-for-validation philosophy on the system design process is then demonstrated by two simple examples. More details about the design-for-validation methodology are then given     

An experiment with an S-band radar using pulse compression andrange sidelobe suppression for meteorological measurements

A major technology barrier to the application of pulse compression for the meteorological functions required by a next generation ATC radar is range/time sidelobes which mask and corrupt observations of weak phenomena occurring near areas of strong extended meteorological scatterers. Techniques for suppressing range sidelobes are well known but without prior knowledge of the scattering medium's velocity distribution their performance degrades rapidly in the presence of Doppler. Recent investigations have presented a “doppler tolerant” range sidelobe suppression technique. The thrust of the work described herein is the extension of previous simulations to actual transmitted dispersed/coded waveforms using the S-band surveillance radar located at Rome Laboratory Surveillance Facility. The objectives of the experiment are: 1) to extend the verification of the simulation of the Doppler tolerant technique; and 2) to demonstrate that the radar transmitter, waveform generator, and receiver imperfections do not significantly degrade resolution, performance or reliability of meteorological spectral moment estimates     

Carbon dioxide and oxygen budgets of a plant cultural system in a CELSS--a case of cultivation of lettuce and turnips.

In order to collect basic data about CO2 and O2 budgets of a plant cultural system in a CELSS, the variation of the CO2 absorption rates of lettuce and turnips were observed during the growing period, under different conditions. The O2 release rates were deduced from the CO2 absorption rates multiplied by 32/44. As a result, when the light intensity, the photoperiod and the atmospheric CO2 concentration increased, the rates also increased. The effects on the turnips were more significant than those on the lettuce. Turnips at 310 micromoles/m2/s of PPFD, 24 hours of photoperiod and 1100 ppm of CO2 concentration grew most actively in the present experimental conditions. One turnip absorbed 32.3 g CO2 and released 23.5 g O2 for 6 days between 24 days and 30 days after sowing.     

First estimations of the aerosol optical thickness using Langley Method at Southern Brazil (29.4°S, 53.8°W)

The first estimations of the aerosol optical thickness (AOT) using Langley Method at Southern Space Observatory (SSO) at Southern Brazil (29.4°S, 53.8°W) are presented. In addition to ozone and sulphur dioxide columns, AOT can be obtained using Brewer Spectrophotometer at specific wavelengths: 306.3, 310.1, 313.5, 316.8 and 320.1 nm. The AOT was obtained for the period from November/2002 to May/2003. Very low AOT averages were obtained, whose values were about 0.21 ± 0.03 at 306.3 nm, 0.21 ± 0.02 at 310.1 nm, 0.19 ± 0.02 at 313.5 nm, 0.20 ± 0.02 at 316.8 nm and 0.20 ± 0.02 at 320.0 nm for all period analysed. Different behaviour of AOT were obtained at two daily specific periods of aerosol accumulation, one in the afternoons from November/2002 to February/2003, caused mainly by a mild biomass burning season’s in the region and other in the mornings from March to May/2003, due the high relative humidity presented in the region studied.