597
597
Jun 1, 2011
06/11
by
Shuster, Malcolm D.; Markley, F. Landi
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It is shown that the Euler angles can be generalized to axes other than members of an orthonormal triad. As first shown by Davenport, the three generalized Euler axes, hereafter: Davenport axes, must still satisfy the constraint that the first two and the last two axes be mutually perpendicular if these axes are to define a universal set of attitude parameters. Expressions are given which relate the generalized Euler angles, hereafter: Davenport angles, to the 3-1-3 Euler angles of an...
Topics: ROVING VEHICLES, PLANNING, UNMANNED GROUND VEHICLES, DECISION THEORY, MARKOV PROCESSES,...
190
190
Jun 12, 2011
06/11
by
Cameron, A. G. W
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A recent remarkable discovery by Katharina Lodders showed that the abundances of extinct radioactivities (relative to reference nuclei) in chondrites, achondrites, and irons are proportional to the squares of their mean lives, whereas no such abundance-mean life relationship is apparent for the data of calcium-aluminum rich inclusions (CAIs) and a variety of other inclusion types. In this talk I shall interpret these results in terms of galactic and solar nebula processes. The first step in...
Topics: MARS ROVING VEHICLES, MISSION PLANNING, SCHEDULING, GROUND SUPPORT SYSTEMS, UNMANNED GROUND...
Robotic land vehicles would be equipped with small radar systems to detect negative obstacles, according to a proposal. The term "negative obstacles" denotes holes, ditches, and any other terrain features characterized by abrupt steep downslopes that could be hazardous for vehicles. Video cameras and other optically based obstacle-avoidance sensors now installed on some robotic vehicles cannot detect obstacles under adverse lighting conditions. Even under favorable lighting...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), HAZARDS, OBSTACLE AVOIDANCE, ROBOTICS, TERRAIN, RADAR, ROBOT...
Despite the growing popularity of unmanned systems being deployed in the military domain, limited research efforts have been dedicated to the progress of ground system developments. Dedicated efforts for unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) focused largely on operations in continental environments, places where vegetation is relatively sparse compared to a tropical jungle or plantation estate commonly found in Asia. This research explore methods for the development of an UGV that would be capable of...
Topics: unmanned ground vehicles, pure pursuit, vector field histogram, feature recognition
A reusable space flight launch system is configured to eliminate complex descent and landing systems from the space flight hardware and move them to maneuverable ground based systems. Precision landing of the reusable space flight hardware is enabled using a simple, light weight aerodynamic device on board the flight hardware such as a parachute, and one or more translating ground based vehicles such as a hovercraft that include active speed, orientation and directional control. The ground...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), SPACECRAFT RECOVERY, RECOVERABLE LAUNCH VEHICLES, HOVERCRAFT...
Naval Postgraduate School
29
29
May 3, 2019
05/19
by
Harvey, Steven D.; Trevino, Lorenso Jr.
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In order to continue the Unmanned Tactical Autonomous Control and Collaboration (UTACC) program, an accurate understanding of the current unmanned vehicles (UxVs) available on the commercial market is required. This thesis used site visits, conference attendance, trade shows, and online databases to evaluate and rank both unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs). This thesis identified 10 out of 46 UAVs and five UGVs that could be quick-wins for the Marine Corps if...
Topics: UAS, UAV, UGV, UMS, UTACC, UXS, autonomy, coactive design, collaboration, collaborative autonomy,...
The advanced inspection system is an autonomous control and analysis system that improves the inspection and remediation operations for ground and surface systems. It uses optical imaging technology with intelligent computer vision algorithms to analyze physical features of the real-world environment to make decisions and learn from experience. The advanced inspection system plans to control a robotic manipulator arm, an unmanned ground vehicle and cameras remotely, automatically and...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), AUTONOMY, COMPUTER VISION, AUTOMATIC CONTROL, INSPECTION,...
No abstract available
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), ROVING VEHICLES, ROBOTICS, ELECTRIC MOTOR VEHICLES, UNMANNED...
The Modular Robotic Vehicle, or MRV, completed in 2013, was developed at the Johnson Space Center in order to advance technologies which have applications for future vehicles both in space and on Earth. With seating for two people, MRV is a fully electric vehicle modeled as a "city car", suited for busy urban environments.
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), ROBOTICS, ELECTRIC MOTOR VEHICLES, RESEARCH VEHICLES,...
A detection process, contact recognition process, classification process, and identification process are applied to raw sensor data to produce an identified contact record set containing one or more identified contact records. A prioritization process is applied to the identified contact record set to assign a contact priority to each contact record in the identified contact record set. Data are removed from the contact records in the identified contact record set based on the contact...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), DATA TRANSFER (COMPUTERS), RANGEFINDING, DETECTION, DATA...
Water bodies are challenging terrain hazards for terrestrial unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) for several reasons. Traversing through deep water bodies could cause costly damage to the electronics of UGVs. Additionally, a UGV that is either broken down due to water damage or becomes stuck in a water body during an autonomous operation will require rescue, potentially drawing critical resources away from the primary operation and increasing the operation cost. Thus, robust water detection is a...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), SURFACE WATER, HAZARDS, DETECTION, STEREOSCOPIC VISION,...
This years conference will highlight robotic dual-use technologies originating from defense laboratories, NASA, the medical and automotive industries. In attendance will be leaders, designers and operators from a variety of robotic activities. This conference will provide a great opportunity to learn hard lessons the easy way!
Topics: DTIC Archive, NATIONAL DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL ASSOCIATION ARLINGTON VA ARLINGTON United States, DUAL...
In planning for future exploration missions, architecture and study teams have made numerous assumptions about how crew can be telepresent on a planetary surface by remotely operating surface robots from space (i.e. from a flight vehicle or deep space habitat). These assumptions include estimates of technology maturity, existing technology gaps, and operational risks. These assumptions, however, have not been grounded by experimental data. Moreover, to date, no crew-controlled surface telerobot...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), TELEROBOTICS, LUNAR FAR SIDE, ROVING VEHICLES, TELEOPERATORS,...
A method of automated detection of negative obstacles (potholes, ditches, and the like) ahead of ground vehicles at night involves processing of imagery from thermal-infrared cameras aimed at the terrain ahead of the vehicles. The method is being developed as part of an overall obstacle-avoidance scheme for autonomous and semi-autonomous offroad robotic vehicles. The method could also be applied to help human drivers of cars and trucks avoid negative obstacles -- a development that may entail...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), DETECTION, INFRARED RADIATION, OBSTACLE AVOIDANCE, THERMAL...
The Robotic Interactive Visualization and Experimentation Technology (RIVET) is a computer-based simulation system that was developed to merge game-based technologies with current and next-generation robotic development. The original design of RIVET specifically addressed engineering-related functionality, including the capability to test critical algorithms prior to field testing a robotic system, perform rapid consecutive test scenarios to find software bugs, and conduct algorithm...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Schaefer, Kristin E, US Army Research Laboratory Aberdeen Proving Ground United...
Eclipse is going to space for the first time in 2013! The International Space Station (ISS) is used as a site for experiments any software developed as part of these experiments has to comply with extensive and strict user interface guidelines. NASA Ames Research Center's Intelligent Robotics Group is doing 2 sets of experiments, both with astronauts using Eclipse RCP applications to remotely control robots. One experiment will control SPHERES with an Android Smartphone on the ISS the other...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), ROBOTICS, MICROSATELLITES, SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT TOOLS,...
This software addresses the issue of underwater localization of unmanned vehicles and the inherent drift in their onboard sensors. The software gives a 2 to 3 factor of improvement over the state-of-the-art underwater localization algorithms. The software determines the localization (position, heading) of an AUV (autonomous underwater vehicle) in environments where there is no GPS signal. It accomplishes this using only the commanded position, onboard gyros/accelerometers, and the bathymetry of...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), UNDERWATER VEHICLES, COMPUTER PROGRAMS, GLOBAL POSITIONING...
A navigation system designed for a Mars rover has been designed to deal with rough terrain and/or potential slip when evaluating and executing paths. The system also can be used for any off-road, autonomous vehicles. The system enables vehicles to autonomously navigate different terrain challenges including dry river channel systems, putative shorelines, and gullies emanating from canyon walls. Several of the technologies within this innovation increase the navigation system s capabilities...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), AUTONOMY, NAVIGATION, TERRAIN, MARS ROVING VEHICLES, UNMANNED...
A proposed mobile robot, denoted the amorphous rover, would vary its own size and shape in order to traverse terrain by means of rolling and/or slithering action. The amorphous rover was conceived as a robust, lightweight alternative to the wheeled rover-class robotic vehicle heretofore used in exploration of Mars. Unlike a wheeled rover, the amorphous rover would not have a predefined front, back, top, bottom, or sides. Hence, maneuvering of the amorphous rover would be more robust: the...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), AMORPHOUS MATERIALS, ROBOTS, ROVING VEHICLES,...
Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV s) have received increasing attention in recent years as military and commercial users look for means to maintain a mobile and persistent presence in the undersea world. Compact, neutrally buoyant power systems are needed for both small and large vehicles. Batteries are usually employed in these applications, but the energy density and therefore the mission duration are limited with current battery technology. At a certain energy or mission duration...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), ENERGY REQUIREMENTS, UNDERWATER VEHICLES, AUTONOMY, HYDROGEN...
Robust mud detection is a critical perception requirement for Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) autonomous offroad navigation. A military UGV stuck in a mud body during a mission may have to be sacrificed or rescued, both of which are unattractive options. There are several characteristics of mud that may be detectable with appropriate UGV-mounted sensors. For example, mud only occurs on the ground surface, is cooler than surrounding dry soil during the daytime under nominal weather conditions, is...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), AUTONOMOUS NAVIGATION, DETECTION, MULTISENSOR APPLICATIONS,...
This software has been designed to detect water bodies that are out in the open on cross-country terrain at mid- to far-range (approximately 20 100 meters), using imagery acquired from a stereo pair of color cameras mounted on a terrestrial, unmanned ground vehicle (UGV). Non-traversable water bodies, such as large puddles, ponds, and lakes, are indirectly detected by detecting reflections of the sky below the horizon in color imagery. The appearance of water bodies in color imagery largely...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), DETECTION, PONDS, SURFACE WATER, WATER COLOR, OPTICAL...
A high-efficiency 110 W Stirling Radioisotope Generator 110 (SRG110) is being developed for potential NASA exploration missions. The SRG system efficiency is greater than 20%, making it an attractive candidate power system for deep space missions and unmanned rovers. The Department of Energy SRG110 Project team consists of the System Integrator, Lockheed Martin (LM), Stirling Technology Company (STC), and NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC). One of the GRC roles is to provide Independent...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), CONVERTERS, STIRLING ENGINES, CROSS SECTIONS, MISSION...
During Summer 2013, we conducted a series of tests to examine how astronauts in the In- ternational Space Station (ISS) can remotely operate a planetary rover. The tests simulated portions of a proposed mission, in which an astronaut in lunar orbit remotely operates a planetary rover to deploy a radio telescope on the lunar farside. In this paper, we present the design, implementation, and preliminary test results.
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), TELEROBOTICS, LUNAR FAR SIDE, ROVING VEHICLES, TELEOPERATORS,...
A document presents an updated discussion on a method of autonomous navigation for a robotic vehicle navigating across rough terrain. The method involves, among other things, the use of a measure of traversability, denoted the fuzzy traversability index, which embodies the information about the slope and roughness of terrain obtained from analysis of images acquired by cameras mounted on the robot. The improvements presented in the report focus on the use of the fuzzy traversability index to...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), AUTONOMOUS NAVIGATION, ROBOTICS, ROBOTS, TERRAIN, ROBOT...
A robotic two-wheeled vehicle comprising a connection body interposed between the two wheels are described. A drum can be coaxially located in a central region of the connection body and can support a hollow arm projecting radially from the drum. A tether can be inserted in the arm and connected to a second drum. Instruments and sensors can be accommodated in a case housed inside each wheel.
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), ROBOTICS, UNMANNED GROUND VEHICLES, VEHICLE WHEELS, SAMPLERS,...
This software is a component in an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) perception system that builds compact, single-frame terrain maps for distribution to other systems, such as a world model or an operator control unit, over a local area network (LAN). Each cell in the map encodes an elevation value, terrain classification, object classification, terrain traversability, terrain roughness, and a confidence value into four bytes of memory. The input to this software component is a range image (from a...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), CLASSIFICATIONS, COMPUTER PROGRAMS, ROBOTICS, TERRAIN,...
This software has been designed to detect water bodies that are out in the open on cross-country terrain at close range (out to 30 meters), using imagery acquired from a stereo pair of color cameras mounted on a terrestrial, unmanned ground vehicle (UGV). This detector exploits the fact that the color variation across water bodies is generally larger and more uniform than that of other naturally occurring types of terrain, such as soil and vegetation. Non-traversable water bodies, such as large...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), UNMANNED GROUND VEHICLES, WATER COLOR, WATER DEPTH,...
Modular exploratory robotic vehicles that will be able to reconfigure themselves in the field are undergoing development. Proposed for use in exploration of the surfaces of Mars and other remote planets, these vehicles and others of similar design could also be useful for exploring hostile terrain on Earth.
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), RESEARCH VEHICLES, ROTATING SHAFTS, ROVING VEHICLES, UNMANNED...
No abstract available
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), ROVING VEHICLES, ROBOTICS, SPACE EXPLORATION, AUTONOMY, NASA...
Today, Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) provide significant supporting capabilities in military operations worldwide. When UGVs are used to their full potential, the number of casualties is decreased and the combat effectiveness of warfighters is increased. UGVs are being developed in different sizes to meet different mission capability requirements. The employment of available UGVs and the development of new UGV capabilities have been rising steadily. Countries have started giving more...
Topics: Unmanned Ground Vehicles, UGVs
Operating the Mars Exploration Rovers is a challenging, time-pressured task. Each day, the operations team must generate a new plan describing the rover activities for the next day. These plans must abide by resource limitations, safety rules, and temporal constraints. The objective is to achieve as much science as possible, choosing from a set of observation requests that oversubscribe rover resources. In order to accomplish this objective, given the short amount of planning time available,...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), MARS ROVING VEHICLES, MISSION PLANNING, SCHEDULING, GROUND...
A robotic two-wheeled vehicle comprising a connection body interposed between the two wheels are described. A drum can be coaxially located in a central region of the connection body and can support a hollow arm projecting radially from the drum. A tether can be inserted in the arm and connected to a second drum. Instruments and sensors can be accommodated in a case housed inside each wheel.
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), ROBOTICS, VEHICLE WHEELS, UNMANNED GROUND VEHICLES, BICYCLE,...
For applications in which unmanned vehicles must traverse unfamiliar terrain, there often exists the risk of vehicle entrapment. Typically, this risk can be reduced by using feedback from on-board sensors that assess the terrain. This work addressed the situations where a vehicle has already become immobilized or the desired route cannot be traversed using conventional rolling. Specifically, the focus was on using push-pull locomotion in high sinkage granular material. Push-pull locomotion is...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), LOCOMOTION, UNMANNED GROUND VEHICLES, ENTRAPMENT,...
The PER-Force Handcontroller was originally developed for the International Space Station under a Johnson Space Center Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract. Produced by Cybernet Systems Corporation, the unit is a force-reflecting system that manipulates robots or objects by "feel." The Handcontroller moves in six degrees of freedom, with real and virtual reality forces simulated by a 3-D molecular modeling software package. It is used in molecular modeling in metallurgy...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), COMMERCE, CONTROLLERS, AEROSPACE INDUSTRY, ROBOTICS, THREE...
An improved method of processing information for autonomous navigation of a robotic vehicle across rough terrain involves the integration of terrain maps into a reactive navigation strategy. Somewhat more precisely, the method involves the incorporation, into navigation logic, of data equivalent to regional traversability maps. The terrain characteristic is mapped using a fuzzy-logic representation of the difficulty of traversing the terrain. The method is robust in that it integrates a global...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), AUTONOMOUS NAVIGATION, ROBOTICS, TERRAIN, TRAJECTORY...
Planetary rovers are small unmanned vehicles equipped with cameras and a variety of sensors used for scientific experiments. They must operate under tight constraints over such resources as operation time, power, storage capacity, and communication bandwidth. Moreover, the limited computational resources of the rover limit the complexity of on-line planning and scheduling. We describe two decision-theoretic approaches to maximize the productivity of planetary rovers: one based on adaptive...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), ROVING VEHICLES, UNMANNED GROUND VEHICLES, DECISION THEORY,...
Autonomous ground vehicles navigating on road networks require robust and accurate localization overlong term operation and in a wide range of adverse weather and environmental conditions. GPS/INS solutions, which areby themselves insufficient to maintain a vehicle within a lane, can fail due to significant radio frequency noise or jamming,tall buildings, trees, and other blockage or multipath scenarios. LIDAR and camera map-based vehicle localization can fail when the optical features change...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Stanley,Byron M, MIT Lincoln Laboratory Lexington United States, inertial navigation,...
As the technological capabilities of the worlds combat systems grow at a breathtaking pace, the reins by which humanity regulates and directs these instruments of destruction must keep pace. Unmanned Tactical Autonomous Collaboration and Control (UTACC) is a system of systems that will reduce the cognitive load of the warfighter while enhancing mission effectiveness. With any emerging concept, testing and development of UTACC are critical underpinnings of successful deployment to operating...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Kirkpatrick,Timothy D, Naval Postgraduate School Monterey United States, unmanned...
In this paper we discuss the assessment methods for a senior capstone design project involving teams from three geographically separated universities, as well as the challenges the students faced and lessons learned. The project title was the Joint Cooperative Unmanned Systems Initiative (JCUSI). Each team was tasked with developing an unmanned autonomous system operating in a different medium (air,, water, and ground) to cooperatively work together to complete a mission of protecting a harbor....
Topics: DTIC Archive, York,George, U.S. Air Force Academy Colorado Springs, unmanned aerial vehicles,...
No abstract available
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), CHASSIS, TECHNOLOGY UTILIZATION, MOBILITY, SAFETY, WHEELS,...
Robust and reliable autonomous navigation in unstructured, off-road terrain is a critical element in making unmanned ground vehicles a reality. Existing approaches tend to rely on evaluating the traversability of terrain based on fixed parameters obtained via testing in specific environments. This results in a system that handles the terrain well that it trained in, but is unable to process terrain outside its test parameters. An adaptive system does not take the place of training, but...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), UNMANNED GROUND VEHICLES, AUTONOMOUS NAVIGATION, LASER RANGE...
Drone swarms are here. The United States, China, and Russia are on the forefront of drone swarm development and utilization. However, the low cost and easy accessibility to drones allow non-state actors to utilize drones in imaginative and creative ways, to include swarming. The aim of the monograph is to address the following question: What utility do drone swarms provide the military? Drone swarms provide numerous advantages, to include persistent intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance,...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Sanders,Andrew W, US Army School for Advanced Military Studies Fort Leavenworth...
Despite the growing popularity of unmanned systems being deployed in the military domain, limited research efforts have been dedicated to the progress of ground system developments. Dedicated efforts for unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) focused largely on operations in continental environments, places where vegetation is relatively sparse compared to a tropical jungle or plantation estate commonly found in Asia. This research explore methods for the development of an UGV that would be capable of...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Lim,Eng S, Naval Postgraduate School Monterey United States, UNMANNED GROUND...
In a GPS-denied environment, one of the possible selections for navigating an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) is through real-time visual odometry. To navigate in such an environment, the UGV needs to be able to detect, identify, and relate the static and dynamic objects such as trucks, motorbikes, and pedestrians in the on-board camera field of view. Therefore, object recognition becomes crucial in navigating UGVs. However, object recognition is known to be one of the challenges in the field of...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Lai,Wee L, Naval Postgraduate School Monterey United States, UNMANNED GROUND...
This TOP describes procedures for measuring teleoperated system latencies of Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) for the purpose of analyzing system performance and compliance with Military Standard (MIL-STD)-1472G requirements. This TOP does not include procedures for measurement and ranking of discrete system components or measurements of latency in autonomous systems.
Topics: DTIC Archive, Zwiebel,Michael J, US Army Aberdeen Test Center Aberdeen Proving Ground United...
Reconnaissance of sites suspected to contain chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats is currently a manned missionone that exposes humans to health risks and that relies on imperfect human observations. Lincoln Laboratory participated in an advanced technology demonstration program aimed at improving the safety and efficacy of this manned mission by supplementing it with robotics-based reconnaissance. The resulting prototype system consists of an unmanned ground vehicle equipped...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Boulet,Michael T, MIT Lincoln Laboratory Lexington United States, robotics,...
Issues related to defining the Soldiers role in future battlefields populated by autonomous systems are driving important US Army research programs. Mixed-initiative systems entailing shared decision-making between humans and intelligent software are a promising strategy that combines the advantages of human insight and autonomous control. This report discusses empirical results related to shared decision-making in the context of military applications including outcomes from research on...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Barnes,Michael J, US Army Research Laboratory Aberdeen Proving Ground United States,...
Cyber-physical systems (CPS) ranging from critical infrastructures such as power plants, to modern (semi) autonomous vehicles are systems that use software to control physical processes that interact in intricate manners. This makes verification of the software complex and unwieldy. In this report, an approach towards taming part of the complexity is described. The approach utilizes intrinsic multi-modal redundancies to detect brewing problems, provides formal guarantees for control algorithms,...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Franchetti,Franz, Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh United States, robotics,...
This work introduces a new information-centric pseudospectral optimal control based algorithm for autonomous trajectory planning and control of unmanned ground vehicles with real-time information updates. It begins with a comprehensive study and comparison of the various path planning methods currently in use. It then provides an analysis of the optimal control method, including vehicle and obstacle modeling techniques, several different problem formulations, and a number of important insights...
Topics: Real-time programming., Optimal control, pseudospectral, autonomous trajectory planning, unmanned...
