| Software Systems Stockroom |
Nov-2009 |
107 pages |
| Authors:
Gabor Karsai; James L Panmicka; Douglas A Stuart; Andrew M Vandivort; Christopher P VanBuskirk; BOEING CO ST LOUIS MO
|
 | This final report contains a record of activities and a description of project deliverables and results from the Software Systems Stockroom (S3) Phase 1 program, which was executed by Boeing Research & Technology (BR&T) form 05-February-2009 to 02- August-2009. BR&T subcontractors on the effort included Raytheon and Vanderbilt University. The work included development of an open, community-driven, technically focused shared infrastructure that will encourage the capture and reuse of domain ... |
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| TARDEC's Intelligent Ground Systems Overview |
27-Oct-2009 |
25 pages |
| Authors:
Matthew Skalny; TACOM RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT AND ENGINEERING CENTER WARREN MI
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| The mission of TARDEC Robotics is to Integrate, Explore, and Develop Robotics, Network and Control Components with a Focus on Customer Driven Requirements to Provide Full System Solutions to the War Fighter. |
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| Cooperative Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Used to Search Large Ocean Areas for Mines |
27-Oct-2009 |
6 pages |
| Authors:
Dean B Edwards; IDAHO UNIV MOSCOW CENTER FOR INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS RESEARCH
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| The overall objective of the research was to develop and apply strategies for autonomous collaboration among UUVs to search for underwater mines. We successfully simulated six behavior modules including Navigation and Formation Control, Vehicle Replacement, Divert to MLO for Inspection, Leader Replacement, Deployment and Recovery, and Multi-Vehicle Sensing. All these modules were implemented and simulated on the MOOS platform except for Multi-Vehicle Sensing. We also defined and developed a mapping ... |
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| Coast Guard Deepwater Acquisition Programs: Background, Oversight Issues, and Options for Congress |
23-Oct-2009 |
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| Authors:
Ronald O'Rourke; LIBRARY OF CONGRESS WASHINGTON DC CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE
|
 | The term Deepwater refers to a collection of more than a dozen Coast Guard acquisition programs for replacing and modernizing the service's aging fleet of deepwater-capable ships and aircraft. Until April 2007, the Coast Guard pursued these programs as a single, integrated acquisition program that was known as the Integrated Deepwater System (IDS) program or Deepwater program for short. The now-separated Deepwater acquisition programs include plans for, among other things, ... |
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| Automated Routing of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) |
Sep-2009 |
46 pages |
| Authors:
Terry Jameson; Edward M Measure; David Knapp; Andrew Butler; ARMY RESEARCH LAB WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE NM INFORMATION AND ELECTRONIC PROTECTION DIV
|
| Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) have become a key component of US military power and are likely to have an increasing role in reconnaissance, surveillance, communication and combat. UAS operations are affected by weather and other environmental effects, but usually have less capability to see, react to, and endure adverse environments than manned aircraft. Weather effects thus become a crucial part of both operational planning and execution of UAS missions. The ... |
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| Counter Piracy: A Repeated Game with Asymmetric Information |
Sep-2009 |
57 pages |
| Authors:
Christopher D Marsh; NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA
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| This thesis presents a model of a counter-piracy operation, where a task force has one operational asset (a destroyer) and one reconnaissance asset (an unmanned aerial vehicle) to reduce piracy in a large region. The region is divided into small areas, and each day the pirates operate in one area to hijack commercial vessels to collect ransoms. The information is asymmetric to the two players. The pirates know which area ... |
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| Incorporating Multi-criteria Optimization and Uncertainty Analysis in the Model-Based Systems Engineering of an Autonomous Surface Craft |
Sep-2009 |
117 pages |
| Authors:
Jon P Letourneau; NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA
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| This thesis presents an effective methodology and tool set, that explicitly considers technological uncertainty, to enable design, development, and assessment of alternative system concept architectures for an autonomous unmanned surface vessel (USV) in a system of systems (SoS) context. Complex system designs often fail due to poor communication of customer needs and inadequate understanding of the overall problem. This frequently results in the design team missing the mark in transforming ... |
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| An Information-Centric Approach to Autonomous Trajectory Planning Utilizing Optimal Control Techniques |
Sep-2009 |
296 pages |
| Authors:
Michael A Hurni; NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA DEPT OF MECHANICAL AND ASTRONAUTICAL ENGINEERING
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| 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 on unmanned ground ... |
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| The Effects of the Joint Multi-Mission Electro-Optical System on Littoral Maritime Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Operations |
Sep-2009 |
164 pages |
| Authors:
Bronchae M Brown; Brian L Schulz; NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA DEPT OF INFORMATION SCIENCES
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| The United States Department of Defense finds itself in a period of reduced resources and growing requirements. In the field of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), there have been calls for both manpower and system cuts, while collection requirements continue to increase. One proposed method for maximizing ISR collection efforts is the development of multi-mission capable collection equipment. In support of this concept, BAE Systems has developed the Joint Multi-Mission ... |
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| IPv6 Tactical Network Management |
Sep-2009 |
223 pages |
| Authors:
John F Dobrydney; NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA
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| Current and emerging technologies and equipment, such as unmanned aerial vehicles, ground sensors, networked radios, operator-worn sensor vests, and nanotechnology applications offer warfighters unprecedented command and control and information detection capabilities, yet the use of this technology has not been fully realized. The current protocol, IPv4, is incapable of providing enough addresses due to a depletion of IPv4 address space. IPv6, however, offers unprecedented network support for tactical-level sensor and ... |
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| Indoor Navigation for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles |
13-Aug-2009 |
30 pages |
| Authors:
Sobers; D M Jr; Girish Chowdhary; Eric N Johnson; GEORGIA INST OF TECH ATLANTA
|
| The ability for vehicles to navigate unknown environments is critical for autonomous operation. Mapping of a vehicle's environment and self-localization within that environment are especially difficult for an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) due to the complexity of UAV attitude and motion dynamics, as well as interference from external influences such as wind. By using a stable vehicle platform and taking advantage of the geometric structure typical of most indoor environments, ... |
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| The Army's Future Combat System (FCS): Background and Issues for Congress |
03-Aug-2009 |
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| Authors:
Andrew Feicket; LIBRARY OF CONGRESS WASHINGTON DC CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE
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| The Future Combat System (FCS) was a multiyear, multibillion dollar program at the heart of the Army's transformation efforts. It was to be the Army's major research, development, and acquisition program consisting of 14 manned and unmanned systems tied together by an extensive communications and information network. FCS was intended to replace current systems such as the M-1 Abrams tank and the M-2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. The FCS program ... |
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| System Engineering Approach to Assessing Integrated Survivability |
Aug-2009 |
15 pages |
| Authors:
Daniel Hicks; Heather Molitoris; ARMY RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT AND ENGINEERING COMMAND WARREN MI
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| Land platforms are increasingly required to carry out a wide range of roles in support of very diverse operations ranging from high intensity conflict to Operations Other Than War (OOTW). The acceptance of casualties is low and reduction is a strategic political imperative. As a result, crew/platform survivability is important to mission effectiveness and success. Methods for achieving survivability need to be objectively assessed and prioritized to meet cost constraints. ... |
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| Medium and High Altitude Unmanned Aircraft System Acquisition: An Efficiency Study of Magnitude and Capability |
12-Jun-2009 |
91 pages |
| Authors:
Hassell; Billy E Jr; ARMY COMMAND AND GENERAL STAFF COLL FORT LEAVENWORTH KS
|
| The procurement of medium and high altitude UAS has dramatically increased since 1988. The DOD now spends billions of dollars annually to research, test, develop and procure medium and high altitude UAS for all military services. In an effort to rapidly field these very capable systems to contribute to Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), there appeared to be two key areas of concern. The magnitude of ... |
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| Improving Situational Awareness in the Counter-IED Fight with the Utilization of Unmanned Sensor Systems |
01-Jun-2009 |
127 pages |
| Authors:
Shannon J Whiteman; NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA
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| An organized and thorough systems design framework is necessary to successfully address large-scale, complex problems, such as the utilization of unmanned sensor technologies to provide situational awareness (SA) in the counter-improvised explosive device (C-IED) fight. An appropriate systems engineering design process was used to develop such a framework, as the completion of the first two phases-problem definition and solution design- provides a basis for analysis of alternatives and a design ... |
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| Flow Visualization Studies over a UCAV 1303 Model |
Jun-2009 |
58 pages |
| Authors:
Weng H Chua; NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA
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| This study is a qualitative documentation of the main flow features over an Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) 1303 model by flow visualization techniques where it gives the first understanding of the UCAV maneuverability under steady and unsteady maneuver conditions. The relevant fluid flow physics is not available presently and, hence, this thesis concentrated on generating those critical details. Towards this goal, model studies were conducted on the United States ... |
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| A Multiresolution Experiment to Enable Impacts of High Fidelity Environments on Unmanned Ground Vehicle Representation |
Jun-2009 |
59 pages |
| Authors:
Joyce A Nagle; Niki C Goerger; Suzanne M DeLong; Paul W Richmond; MILITARY ACADEMY WEST POINT NY OPERATIONS RESEARCH CENTER
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| Geospatially enriched synthetic environments are needed for development and assessment of unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) performance to support sensor fusion and sense making. This work will address how the high-fidelity/resolution environment is achieved and integrated to inform simulations addressing critical questions. We will investigate a multi-resolution modeling capability to inform development of a high-fidelity synthetic environment (HFSE) testbed and to link to other models and simulations. This report will discuss ... |
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| Determination of Critical Factors in Unmanned Casualty Evacuation in the Distributed Environment |
Jun-2009 |
67 pages |
| Authors:
Ralph L Featherstone; NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA
|
| The current battlefield is changing rapidly. Combat operations against irregular forces are set in a dispersed, non-linear battlefield. Vast distances between small units such as the infantry squad, and the distances from these small elements to their supporting organizations, pose unique challenges. Casualty evacuation is an evolving challenge. The goal of casualty evacuation is to transport an injured Marine from the point of injury to a medical care facility. Increased ... |
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| TNT Testbed for Self-Organizing Tactical Networking and Collaboration |
Jun-2009 |
64 pages |
| Authors:
Alex Bordetsky; David Netzer; NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA
|
| Beginning in 2002, a team of Naval Postgraduate School researchers together with sponsors from USSOCOM, and later joined by the OSD and DHS S&T Programs, started a new campaign of discovery and constraints analysis experiments (Alberts and Hayes, 2007), which is now collectively known as Tactical Network Topology (TNT) Experiments. This campaign of experimentation, carried out under the USSOCOMNPS Field Experimentation Cooperative program and OSD/ HLS S&T support unfolds in ... |
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| Voice-on-Target: A New Approach to Tactical Networking and Unmanned Systems Control via the Voice Interface to the SA Environment |
Jun-2009 |
34 pages |
| Authors:
Alex Bordetsky; Eugene Bourakov; NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA DEPT OF INFORMATION SCIENCES
|
| Since 2004 the authors have been actively involved in the innovative Tactical Network Topology (TNT) experimentation program, which the Naval Postgraduate conducts quarterly with the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) to explore emerging agile adaptive tactical networks. One of our first findings was a set of solutions enabling rapid adaptation of broadband wireless networks to the commander's needs, which we have named Network-on-Target (Bordetsky and Bourakov, 2006). According to ... |
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| Scalability of Robotic Controllers: Speech-Based Robotic Controller Evaluation |
Jun-2009 |
54 pages |
| Authors:
Elizabeth S Redden; Rodger A Pettitt; Christian B Carstens; ARMY RESEARCH LAB ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND MD HUMAN RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING DIRECTORATE
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| This study, which took place at Fort Benning, GA, focused on the feasibility of reducing robotic controller size by replacing some of the manual controls with speech-based controls. Eleven Soldiers from the Officers Candidate School served as participants. After training on the operation of the iRobot PackBot small unmanned ground vehicle (SUGV) system, each Soldier teleoperated the SUGV using two controller conditions; a combination of speech and manual control and ... |
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| Coast Guard Deepwater Acquisition Programs: Background, Oversight Issues, and Options for Congress |
29-May-2009 |
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| Authors:
Ronald O'Rourke; LIBRARY OF CONGRESS WASHINGTON DC CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE
|
| The term Deepwater refers to a collection of more than a dozen Coast Guard acquisition programs for replacing and modernizing the service?s aging fleet of deepwater-capable ships and aircraft. Until April 2007, the Coast Guard had pursued these programs as a single, integrated acquisition program that was known as the Integrated Deepwater System (IDS) program or Deepwater program for short. The now-separated Deepwater acquisition programs include plans for, among other ... |
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| United States Air Force Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan 2009-2047 |
18-May-2009 |
77 pages |
| Authors:
DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE WASHINGTON DC
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| Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and the effects they provide have emerged as one of the most in demand capabilities the USAF provides the Joint Force. The attributes of persistence, endurance, efficiency, and connectivity are proven force multipliers across the spectrum of global Joint military operations. This document presents a USAF Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan 2009 to 2047. it is an actionable plan, characterized by Doctrine, Organization, Training, Materiel, Leadership ... |
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| Counterinsurgency and Robots: Will the means Undermine the Ends? |
04-May-2009 |
28 pages |
| Authors:
Samuel N Deputy; NAVAL WAR COLL NEWPORT RI JOINT MILITARY OPERATIONS DEPT
|
| The recent introduction of unmanned and robotic systems into counterinsurgency (COIN) operations has created marked advantages at the tactical level of operations. Despite tactical advantages created by increasing capabilities and presence on the battlefield, unmanned and robotic systems produce a collective operational impact that increases risk. The operational risk assumed by commanders charged with conducting COIN is a result of unknown variables and side effects generated by the interaction of ... |
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| Mobility Performance Algorithms for Small Unmanned Ground Vehicles |
May-2009 |
111 pages |
| Authors:
Paul W Richmond; Jason Pusey; George L Mason; Barry A Coutermarsh; Victoria D Moore; ENGINEER RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER VICKSBURG MS GEOTECHNICAL AND STRUCTURES LAB
|
| Future Combat Systems will include Small Unmanned Ground Vehicles (SUGV). Several have already been deployed, including the TALON(R), an 80-lb SUGV; PackBot(R) at 50 lb, and Gator(TM) at 2500 lb. As doctrine, tactics, techniques, and procedures continue to evolve, there exists a need to represent the performance of these vehicles in Army models and simulations. Army simulations such as COMBATXXI and OneSAF will use the Standard Mobility Application Programmers Interface ... |
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| Tethered Antennas for Unmanned Underwater Vehicles |
27-Apr-2009 |
40 pages |
| Authors:
Roger E Race; Jacob C Piskura; BROOKE OCEAN TECHNOLOGY USA NEW BEDFORD MA
|
| The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program has funded the development of a system that will allow UUVs to communicate through RF communication and collect GPS location while below the surface and travelling at speed. Under this effort, Brooke Ocean Technology USA, Inc. (BOT USA) has conducted a Phase I study to develop, evaluate, and select innovative concepts for a Towed Antenna System (TAS). Based on this study, a functional ... |
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| Evolving U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Unmanned Systems Research, Development, Test, Acquisition & Evaluation (RDTA&E) |
Apr-2009 |
9 pages |
| Authors:
Robin T Laird; SPACE AND NAVAL WARFARE SYSTEMS CENTER SAN DIEGO CA
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| As research, development, test, acquisition and evaluation (RDTA&E) of unmanned systems experiences increased attention by the Department of Defense (DoD), elements within the acquisition community are responding by mapping out changes to management systems, including fundamental policy shifts, to support the expanding role of robots on the battlefield. Unmanned systems - air, land, and sea - are increasing in complexity and capability such that their use is becoming pervasive in ... |
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| Robotics Strategy White Paper |
19-Mar-2009 |
38 pages |
| Authors:
ARMY TRAINING AND DOCTRINE COMMAND FORT MONROE VA ARMY CAPABILITIES INTEGRATION CENTER
|
| The enclosed Robotics Strategy White Paper is the result of a collaborative effort between the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) and the Tank-Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC). This paper builds on a confederated Army robotics strategy that is described by senior leader direction, studies, and various systems-based road maps. The purpose of this paper is to propose task areas that can further enable the Army's 1.1 ... |
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| Using the Advanced Research Version of the Weather Research and Forecast Model in Support of ScanEagle Unmanned Aircraft System Test Flights |
Mar-2009 |
42 pages |
| Authors:
Robert Flanigan; Jeffrey E Passner; Robert E Jr; Dumais; Stephen Kirby; ARMY RESEARCH LAB WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE NM COMPUTATIONAL AND INFORMATION SCIENCE DIRECTORATE
|
| The U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) supported unmanned aircraft flights in a specified airspace domain at Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) in November and December 2007. The Battlefield Environment Division of the Computational and Information Sciences Directorate (CISD), Army Research Laboratory (ARL), was asked to provide real-time meteorological modeling support and weather products such as low-level wind and turbulence forecasts at YPG to help determine areas and ... |
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| Using Agent-Based Modeling to Evaluate UAS Behaviors in a Target-Rich Environment |
Mar-2009 |
93 pages |
| Authors:
van; Joseph A Kuiken; AIR FORCE INST OF TECH WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB OH SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
|
| The trade-off between accuracy and speed is a re-occurring dilemma in many facets of military performance evaluation. This is an especially important issue in the world of ISR. One of the most progressive areas of ISR capabilities has been the utilization of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). Many people believe that the future of UAS lies in smaller vehicles flying in swarms. We use the agent-based System Effectiveness and Analysis Simulation ... |
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| Tools for the Conceptual Design and Engineering Analysis of Micro Air Vehicles |
Mar-2009 |
156 pages |
| Authors:
Mustafa Turan; AIR FORCE INST OF TECH WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB OH GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT
|
| Micro Air Vehicles (MAV) are a subset of Unmanned Aircraft (UAS) that are up to two orders of magnitude smaller than manned systems. Near-Earth environments, such as forests, caves, tunnels and urban structures make reconnaissance, surveillance and search-and-rescue missions difficult and dangerous to accomplish. Therefore, MAVs are considered ideal for these types of missions. However, the data using full size aircraft is inadequate to characterize miniature aircraft parameters due to ... |
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| Using Predictive Rendering as a Vision-Aided Technique for Autonomous Aerial Refueling |
Mar-2009 |
90 pages |
| Authors:
Adam D Weaver; AIR FORCE INST OF TECH WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB OH SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
|
| This research effort seeks to characterize a vision-aided approach for an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) to autonomously determine relative position to another aircraft in a formation, specifically to address the autonomous aerial refueling problem. A system consisting of a monocular digital camera coupled with inertial sensors onboard the UAS is analyzed for feasibility of using this vision-aided approach. A three-dimensional rendering of the tanker aircraft is used to generate predicted ... |
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| Developing a Framework for Control of Agile Aircraft Platforms in Autonomous Hover |
Mar-2009 |
75 pages |
| Authors:
Kyle J Krogh; WASHINGTON UNIV SEATTLE DEPT OF AERONAUTICS AND ASTRONAUTICS
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| This thesis extends previous work on autonomous agile aircraft to develop a framework for control in both linear and non-linear flight profiles. Two dynamical systems are considered, a scale YAK-54 aerobatic remote control aircraft and the Flexrotor concept developed by Aerovel. Both models are capable of hover and level flight, requiring complex control transitions between the flight regimes. Linear controllers are developed for both models in a hover configuration. Open-loop ... |
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| Target Acquisition Involving Multiple Unmanned Air Vehicles: Interfaces for Small Unmanned Air Systems (ISUS) Program |
Mar-2009 |
83 pages |
| Authors:
Lamar Warfield; Thomas R Carretta; Airam Gonzalez-Garcia; Michael J Patzek; Sarah E Spriggs; Allen J Rowe; Kristen K Liggett; HUMAN EFFECTIVENESS DIRECTORATE WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB OH 711 HUMAN PERFORMANCE WING
|
| The use of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and micro air vehicles (MAVs) in military reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition (RSTA) missions is becoming increasingly widespread. The Supervisory Control Interfaces Branch of the Air Force Research Laboratory is exploring interface design techniques to support multiple-UAV, single-operator employment concepts. These employment concepts require that a single operator monitor manage multiple vehicles and or sensors which may increase visual/cognitive workload and degrade ... |
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| Centralized Cooperative Control for Route Surveillance With Constant Communication |
Mar-2009 |
126 pages |
| Authors:
Joseph D Rosal; AIR FORCE INST OF TECH WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB OH GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT
|
| The route surveillance (RS) mission is a new application of unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) to meet the reconnaissance and surveillance needs of combatant commanders. This mission intends to field a four-vehicle UAS that can provide surveillance of convoy routes. This research focuses on developing a solution strategy based on the application of optimal control and cooperative control theory. The RS controller uses the UAS team size to divide the route ... |
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| Three-Dimensional Feature Reconstruction with Dual Forward Looking Sonars for Unmanned Underwater Vehicle Navigation |
Mar-2009 |
83 pages |
| Authors:
Nevin A McChesney; NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA
|
| Unmanned Underwater Vehicles frequently rely on two-dimensional sensors for information about their surroundings. These sensors do not provide adequate information for obstacle avoidance in cluttered maritime environments. To address that issue, a three-dimensional reconstruction of the environment utilizing occupancy grids and a prototype forward looking sonar will be considered. Providing the vehicle with three-dimensional views of the environment will allow for optimal route planning and an increase in successful missions ... |
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| Testing of Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) Systems |
12-Feb-2009 |
39 pages |
| Authors:
ABERDEEN TEST CENTER MD
|
| This TOP describes a systematic approach to safety and performance testing of Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs). The objective is to ensure that the design of each UGV includes positive measures to enhance system safety, and that hazards which could reduce system safety are eliminated or controlled to an acceptable level of risk. |
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| Modeling for Semi-Autonomous Control of Cooperative Vehicles |
15-Jan-2009 |
22 pages |
| Authors:
Mark E Campbell; CORNELL UNIV ITHACA NY
|
| This report details work completed in an AFOSR program focused on semi-autonomous control of cooperative vehicles. Coupled operator-multiple vehicle systems are modeled in a unified framework using probabilistic graphs to yield a methodology for analyzing semi-autonomous systems. The framework uses conditional probabilistic dependencies between elements, leading to a Bayesian network with probabilistic evaluation capability. Both discrete and continuous human decisions are modeled using statistical tools such as softmax and discrete, ... |
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| AH-64D Apache Longbow Aircrew Workload Assessment for Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Employment |
Jan-2009 |
76 pages |
| Authors:
David B Durbin; Jamison S Hicks; ARMY RESEARCH LAB ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND MD
|
| This study assessed whether workload was tolerable for AH-64D pilots when they employed an unmanned aerial system (UAS) during simulated missions. Ten AH-64D pilots participated in the study. Pilot workload, situation awareness, crew coordination, crewstation interface, switch actuations, simulator sickness, visual gaze and dwell times (using a head-eye tracker), audio-video, and tactics, techniques and procedures data were collected and analyzed. Pilot workload was found to be tolerable for the tasks ... |
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| Unmanned Ground Vehicle Tactical Behaviors Technology Assessment |
Jan-2009 |
86 pages |
| Authors:
Marshal A Childers; Barry A Bodt; Susan G Hill; Richard Camden; Robert M Dean; William F Dodson; Lyle G Sutton; Leonid Sapronov; ARMY RESEARCH LAB ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND MD
|
| During 4-14 February 2008, the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and General Dynamics Robotic Systems conducted an unmanned systems tactical behaviors technology assessment at three training areas of Ft. Indiantown Gap, PA. The purpose of the assessment was to examine the ability to use sensed information to locally orient an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) in order to obtain line of sight for an onboard reconnaissance surveillance target acquisition system to scan ... |
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| Robust Data Alignment and its Application in an Integrated Multi-Sensor Surveillance System Consisting of UAVs and Fixed Platforms. The Current and Future Phase of the RASER Project |
Jan-2009 |
91 pages |
| Authors:
U Ozguner; S Jwa; J Martin; K Redmill; OHIO STATE UNIV COLUMBUS
|
| This report introduces a new algorithm called Robust Data Alignment (RDA) for persistent sensing in multi-layered sensor network. Invariant features collected from a set of images are used for image registration. Information-theoretic cost models a functional structure where an optimal transformation can be recovered from feature representations of different but related images. By using a cooperative search strategy, we believe that RDA can help to understand and deal with many ... |
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| Fuel Economy and Mobility of Multi-Wheel Drive Vehicles: Modeling and Optimization Technology |
Jan-2009 |
9 pages |
| Authors:
Vladimir V Vantsevich; Jeremy P Gray; LAWRENCE TECHNOLOGICAL UNIV SOUTHFIELD MI
|
| A distinctive feature of unmanned and conventional terrain vehicles with four or more driving wheels consists of the fact that energy/fuel efficiency and mobility depend markedly not only on the total power applied to all the driving wheels, but also on the distribution of the total power among the wheels. As shown, under given terrain conditions, the same vehicle with a constant total power at all the driving wheels, but ... |
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| A Fight for the Human Element of Marine Corps Offensive Air Support |
Jan-2009 |
33 pages |
| Authors:
Bruce V Greene; MARINE CORPS COMMAND AND STAFF COLL QUANTICO VA
|
| The quick rise in popularity of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) in the last decade has touched off myriad debates about the future of military aviators and their usefulness in the combat arena. To best utilize technology and prove that the human element is still a necessary part of Marine offensive air support, one must study three things: American military history, U.S. Marine Corps doctrine, and John Boyd's theory of the ... |
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| PointCom: Semi-Autonomous UGV Control With Intuitive Interface |
Jan-2009 |
11 pages |
| Authors:
Mitchell M Rohde; Victor E Perlin; Karl D Iagnemma; Robert M Lupa; Steven M Rohde; James Overholdt; Graham Fiorani; QUANTUM SIGNAL LLC ANN ARBOR MI
|
| Unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) will play an important role in the nation's next-generation ground force. Advances in sensing, control, and computing have enabled a new generation of technologies that bridge the gap between manual UGV teleoperation and full autonomy. In this paper, we present current research on a unique command and control system for UGVs named PointCom (Point-and-Go Command). PointCom is a semi-autonomous command system for one or multiple UGVs. ... |
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| Neuroergonomics - Analyzing Brain Function to Enhance Human Performance in Complex Systems |
02-Dec-2008 |
38 pages |
| Authors:
Raja Parasuraman; GEORGE MASON UNIV FAIRFAX VA SYSTEMS ARCHITECTURE LAB
|
| Why Neuroergonomics? To design effective human-machine systems, we must (1) Understand mind in relation to work and technology -- ergonomics (2) Mind cannot be understood without studying the brain -- neuroscience (3) Hence study brain and mind in complex work domains -- Neuroergonomics. Neuroergonomics can provide for more effective and natural interaction between humans and technology. Two examples of Neuroergonomics: (1) Neuroimaging and adaptive automation -- Enhancing performance of operators ... |
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| Hardware in the Loop Implementation of Adaptive Vision Based Guidance Law for Ground Target Tracking |
Dec-2008 |
109 pages |
| Authors:
Soh M L Bernard; NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA
|
| An adaptive guidance law of a Vision Based Target Tracking (VBTT) system was previously developed and implemented onboard a Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (SUAV) in order to track a ground target moving with a constant velocity. This work extends previous results by considering scenarios where the variation of target velocity, in both magnitude and direction, is used to excite the feedback control law for further robustness analysis. This provides essential ... |
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| Stabilization System for Camera Control on an Unmanned Surface Vehicle |
Dec-2008 |
51 pages |
| Authors:
Jaya K Kandasamy; NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA
|
| SeaFox is an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) primarily used for maritime security operations. Currently, a remotely operated vision based camera is used to track a particular target whilst the USV approaches the intended target. While the USV is in motion, the hydrodynamic forces and mechanical vibrations makes it difficult for the operator to lock on to the target at all times. This thesis addresses this issue through the development of ... |
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| Power Distribution System for a Small Unmanned Rotorcraft |
Dec-2008 |
12 pages |
| Authors:
Brian Porter; Gary Haas; ARMY RESEARCH LAB CLEVELAND OH VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY DIRECTORATE
|
| In quest of weight savings, several modifications were made to a Joker model unmanned rotorcraft. Battery power for various subsystems was consolidated in a custom box, and smaller gauge wiring was substituted for the original. The results included a 17% increase in flight time as well as logistics benefits from fewer batteries to be recharged. |
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| Systems Approach to Defeating Maritime Improvised Explosive Devices in U.S. Ports |
Dec-2008 |
200 pages |
| Authors:
Christopher Causee; Eric Winn; Joel Wheatley; Bobby Rowden; Julio Nilsson; Hua-Lim Cheng; Dan Tyler; Rich Jimenez; Mike Hellard; Mark Ellis; Tim Smith; NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA DEPT OF SYSTEMS ENGINEERING
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| Insight gained from terrorist attacks, training exercises, and intelligence intercepts over the past few years has shown a renewed interest in the use of mining as an effective means of disrupting commerce and damaging critical infrastructure. In an attempt to develop a system-of-systems architecture to defeat mines and Maritime IEDs (MIED), the project team developed several system alternatives, or Adaptive Force Packages, that incorporate both existing systems and emerging technologies. ... |
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| Simulation of Flow Past a Sphere using the Fluent Code |
Dec-2008 |
35 pages |
| Authors:
D A Jones; D B Clarke; DEFENSE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ORGANIZATION VICTORIA (AUSTRALIA) MARITIME PLATFORMS DIV
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| We use the commercial computational fluid dynamics code Fluent to simulate the flow around a sphere in several different flow regimes; steady-state laminar flow at a Reynolds number (Re) of 100, time-dependent laminar flow at Re = 300, and turbulent flow at Re = 10,000 and Re = 1,000,000. These simulations provide a test of the ability of the code to accurately reproduce typical flow structures observed in generic bluff ... |
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