This activity brought two robotic mobile manipulation systems developed by Sandia National Laboratories to the Maneuver Support Center (MANSCEN) at Ft. Leonard Wood for the following purposes: Demonstrate advanced manipulation and control capabilities; Apply manipulation to hazardous activities within MANSCEN mission space; Stimulate thought and identify potential applications for future mobile manipulation applications; and Provide introductory knowledge of manipulation to better understand how to specify capability and write requirements.
This report summarizes the work completed in the MyLink Lab Directed Research and Development project. The goal of this project was to investigate the ability of computers to come to understand individuals and to assist them with various aspects of their lives.
The conventional discrete ordinates approximation to the Boltzmann transport equation can be described in a matrix form. Specifically, the within-group scattering integral can be represented by three components: a moment-to-discrete matrix, a scattering cross-section matrix and a discrete-to-moment matrix. Using and extending these entities, we derive and summarize the matrix representations of the second-order transport equations.
This document is the second in a series that describe graphical user interface tools developed to control the Visual Empirical Region of Influence (VERI) algorithm. In this paper we describe a user interface designed to optimize the VERI algorithm results. The optimization mode uses a brute force method of searching through the combinations of features in a data set for features that produce the best pattern recognition results. With a small number of features in a data set an exact solution can be determined. However, the number of possible combinations increases exponentially with the number of features and an alternate means of finding a solution must be found. We developed and implemented a technique for finding solutions in data sets with both small and large numbers of features. This document illustrates step-by-step examples of how to use the interface and how to interpret the results. It is written in two parts, part I deals with using the interface to find the best combination from all possible sets of features, part II describes how to use the tool to find a good solution in data sets with a large number of features. The VERI Optimization Interface Tool was written using the Tcl/Tk Graphical User Interface (GUI) programming language, version 8.1. Although the Tcl/Tk packages are designed to run on multiple computer platforms, we have concentrated our efforts to develop a user interface for the ubiquitous DOS environment. The VERI algorithms are compiled, executable programs. The optimization interface executes the VERI algorithm in Leave-One-Out mode using the Euclidean metric. For a thorough description of the type of data analysis we perform, and for a general Pattern Recognition tutorial, refer to our website at: http://www.sandia.gov/imrl/XVisionScience/Xusers.htm.
A laser safety evaluation and pertinent output measurements were performed (during March and April 2002) on the M203PI Grenade Launcher Simulator (GLS) and its associated Umpire Control Gun manufactured by Oscmar International Limited, Auckland, New Zealand. The results were the Oscmar Umpire Gun is laser hazard Class 1 and can be used without restrictions. The radiant energy output of the Oscmar M203PI GLS, under ''Small Source'' criteria at 10 centimeters, is laser hazard Class 3b and not usable, under SNL policy, in force-on-force exercises. However, due to a relatively large exit diameter and an intentionally large beam divergence, to simulate a large area blast, the output beam geometry met the criteria for ''Extended Source'' viewing [ANSI Std. 2136.1-2000 (S.l)]. Under this ''Extended Source'' criteria the output of the M203PI GLS unit was, in fact, laser hazard Class 1 (eye safe), for 3 of the 4 possible modes of laser operation. The 4'h mode, ''Auto Fire'', which simulates a continuous grenade firing every second and is not used at SNL, was laser hazard Class 3a (under the ''Extended Source'' viewing criteria). The M203PI GLS does present a laser hazard Class 3a to aided viewing with binoculars inside 3 meters from the unit. Farther than 3 meters it is ''eye safe''. The M203PI GLS can be considered a Class 1 laser hazard and can be used under SNL policy with the following restrictions: (1) The M203PI GLS unit shall only be programmed for: the ''Single Fire'' (which, includes ''Rapid Fire'') and the ''Auto Align'' (used in adjusting the alignment of the grenade launcher simulator system to the target) modes of operation. (2) The M203PI GLS shall never be directed against personnel, using binoculars, inside of 3 meters. DOE Order 5480.16A, Firearms Safety, (Chapter 1)(5)(a)(8)(d) and DOE-STD-1091-96, Firearms Safety (Chapter 4); already prevents ESS laser engagement of personnel (with or without binoculars), ''closer than 10 feet (3.05 meters)''. Both of these restrictions can be administratively imposed, through a formal Operating Procedure or Technical Work Document and by full compliance with DOE orders and standards.
This project makes use of ''biomimetic behavioral engineering'' in which adaptive strategies used by animals in the real world are applied to the development of autonomous robots. The key elements of the biomimetic approach are to observe and understand a survival behavior exhibited in nature, to create a mathematical model and simulation capability for that behavior, to modify and optimize the behavior for a desired robotics application, and to implement it. The application described in this report is dynamic soaring, a behavior that certain sea birds use to extract flight energy from laminar wind velocity gradients in the shallow atmospheric boundary layer directly above the ocean surface. Theoretical calculations, computational proof-of-principle demonstrations, and the first instrumented experimental flight test data for dynamic soaring are presented to address the feasibility of developing dynamic soaring flight control algorithms to sustain the flight of unmanned airborne vehicles (UAVs). Both hardware and software were developed for this application. Eight-foot custom foam sailplanes were built and flown in a steep shear gradient. A logging device was designed and constructed with custom software to record flight data during dynamic soaring maneuvers. A computational toolkit was developed to simulate dynamic soaring in special cases and with a full 6-degree of freedom flight dynamics model in a generalized time-dependent wind field. Several 3-dimensional visualization tools were built to replay the flight simulations. A realistic aerodynamics model of an eight-foot sailplane was developed using measured aerodynamic derivatives. Genetic programming methods were developed and linked to the simulations and visualization tools. These tools can now be generalized for other biomimetic behavior applications.
Historically, high resolution, high slew rate optics have been heavy, bulky, and expensive. Recent advances in MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) technology and micro-machining may change this. Specifically, the advent of steerable sub-millimeter sized mirror arrays could provide the breakthrough technology for producing very small-scale high-performance optical systems. For example, an array of steerable MEMS mirrors could be the building blocks for a Fresnel mirror of controllable focal length and direction of view. When coupled with a convex parabolic mirror the steerable array could realize a micro-scale pan, tilt and zoom system that provides full CCD sensor resolution over the desired field of view with no moving parts (other than MEMS elements). This LDRD provided the first steps towards the goal of a new class of small-scale high-performance optics based on MEMS technology. A large-scale, proof of concept system was built to demonstrate the effectiveness of an optical configuration applicable to producing a small-scale (< 1cm) pan and tilt imaging system. This configuration consists of a color CCD imager with a narrow field of view lens, a steerable flat mirror, and a convex parabolic mirror. The steerable flat mirror directs the camera's narrow field of view to small areas of the convex mirror providing much higher pixel density in the region of interest than is possible with a full 360 deg. imaging system. Improved image correction (dewarping) software based on texture mapping images to geometric solids was developed. This approach takes advantage of modern graphics hardware and provides a great deal of flexibility for correcting images from various mirror shapes. An analytical evaluation of blur spot size and axi-symmetric reflector optimization were performed to address depth of focus issues that occurred in the proof of concept system. The resulting equations will provide the tools for developing future system designs.
GENESIS Version 2.0 is a general circulation model developed at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and is the principal code that is used by paleoclimatologists to model climate at various times throughout Earth's history. The primary result of this LDRD project has been the development of a distributed-memory parallel version of GENESIS, leading to a significant performance enhancement on commodity-based, large-scale computing platforms like the CPlant. The shared-memory directives of the original version were replaced by MPI calls in the new version of GENESIS. This was accomplished by means of parallel decomposition over latitude strip domains. The code achieved a parallel speedup of four times that of the shared-memory parallel version at R15 resolution. T106 resolution runs 20 times faster than the NCAR serial version on 20 nodes of the CPlant. As part of the project, GENESIS was used to model the climatic effects of an orbiting debris ring due to a large planetary impact event.
Electro-microfluidics is experiencing explosive growth in new product developments. There are many commercial applications for electro-microfluidic devices such as chemical sensors, biological sensors, and drop ejectors for both printing and chemical analysis. The number of silicon surface micromachined electro-microfluidic products is likely to increase. Manufacturing efficiency and integration of microfluidics with electronics will become important. Surface micromachined microfluidic devices are manufactured with the same tools as IC's (integrated circuits) and their fabrication can be incorporated into the IC fabrication process. In order to realize applications for devices must be developed. An Electro-Microfluidic Dual In-line Package (EMDIP{trademark}) was developed surface micromachined electro-microfluidic devices, a practical method for getting fluid into these to be a standard solution that allows for both the electrical and the fluidic connections needed to operate a great variety of electro-microfluidic devices. The EMDIP{trademark} includes a fan-out manifold that, on one side, mates directly with the 200 micron diameter Bosch etched holes found on the device, and, on the other side, mates to lager 1 mm diameter holes. To minimize cost the EMDIP{trademark} can be injection molded in a great variety of thermoplastics which also serve to optimize fluid compatibility. The EMDIP{trademark} plugs directly into a fluidic printed wiring board using a standard dual in-line package pattern for the electrical connections and having a grid of multiple 1 mm diameter fluidic connections to mate to the underside of the EMDIP{trademark}.
The information form of the Kalman filter is used as a device for implementing an optimal, linear, decentralized algorithm on a decentralized topology. A systems approach utilizing design tradeoffs is required to successfully implement an effective data fusion network with minimal communication. Combining decentralized results over the past four decades with practical aspects of nodal network implementation, the final product provides an important benchmark for functionally decentralized systems designs.
Inorganic mesoporous thin-films are import for applications such as membranes, sensors, low-dielectric-constant insulators (so-called low {kappa} dielectrics), and fluidic devices. Over the past five years, several research groups have demonstrated the efficacy of using evaporation accompanying conventional coating operations such as spin- and dip-coating as an efficient means of driving the self-assembly of homogeneous solutions into highly ordered, oriented, mesostructured films. Understanding such evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) processes is of interest for both fundamental and technological reasons. Here, the authors use spatially resolved 2D grazing incidence X-ray scattering in combination with optical interferometry during steady-state dip-coating of surfactant-templated silica thin-films to structurally and compositionally characterize the EISA process. They report the evolution of a hexagonal (p6 mm) thin-film mesophase from a homogeneous precursor solution and its further structural development during drying and calcination. Monte Carlo simulations of water/ethanol/surfactant bulk phase behavior are used to investigate the role of ethanol in the self-assembly process, and they propose a mechanism to explain the observed dilation in unit cell dimensions during solvent evaporation.
An approach is presented to compute the force on a spherical particle in a rarefied flow of a monatomic gas. This approach relies on the development of a Green's function that describes the force on a spherical particle in a delta-function molecular velocity distribution function. The gas-surface interaction model in this development allows incomplete accommodation of energy and tangential momentum. The force from an arbitrary molecular velocity distribution is calculated by computing the moment of the force Green's function in the same way that other macroscopic variables are determined. Since the molecular velocity distribution function is directly determined in the DSMC method, the force Green's function approach can be implemented straightforwardly in DSMC codes. A similar approach yields the heat transfer to a spherical particle in a rarefied gas flow. The force Green's function is demonstrated by application to two problems. First, the drag force on a spherical particle at arbitrary temperature and moving at arbitrary velocity through an equilibrium motionless gas is found analytically and numerically. Second, the thermophoretic force on a motionless particle in a motionless gas with a heat flux is found analytically and numerically. Good agreement is observed in both situations.
In this report we describe the construction and characterization of a small quantum processor based on trapped ions. This processor could ultimately be used to perform analogue quantum simulations with an engineered computationally-cold bath for increasing the system's robustness to noise. We outline the requirements to build such a simulator, including individual addressing, distinguishable detection, and low crosstalk between operations, and our methods to implement and characterize these requirements. Specifically for measuring crosstalk, we introduce a new method, simultaneous gate set tomography to characterize crosstalk errors.
The original DAMP (W t a Manipulation Program) was written by Mark Hedemann of Sandia National Laboratories and used the CA-DISSPLA{trademark} (available from Computer Associates International, Inc., Garden City, NY) graphics package as its engine. It was used to plot, modify, and otherwise manipulate the one-dimensional data waveforms (data vs. time) from a wide variety of accelerators. With the waning of CA-DISSPLA and the increasing popularity of Unix{reg_sign}-based workstations, a replacement was needed. This package uses the IDL{reg_sign} software, available from Research Systems Incorporated, a Xerox company, in Boulder, Colorado, as the engine, and creates a set of widgets to manipulate the data in a manner similar to the original DAMP and earlier versions of xdamp. IDL is currently supported on a wide variety of Unix platforms such as IBM{reg_sign} workstations, Hewlett Packard workstations, SUN{reg_sign} workstations, Microsoft{reg_sign} Windows{trademark} computers, Macintosh{reg_sign} computers and Digital Equipment Corporation VMS{reg_sign} and Alpha{reg_sign} systems. Thus, xdamp is portable across many platforms. We have verified operation, albeit with some minor IDL bugs, on personal computers using Windows 95 and Windows NT; IBM Unix platforms; DEC Alpha and VMS systems; HP 9000/700 series workstations; and Macintosh computers, both regular and PowerPC{trademark} versions. Version 4 is an update that removes some obsolete features and better supports very large arrays and Excel formatted data import.
Mine detection dogs have a demonstrated capability to locate hidden objects by trace chemical detection. Because of this capability, demining activities frequently employ mine detection dogs to locate individual buried landmines or for area reduction. The conditions appropriate for use of mine detection dogs are only beginning to emerge through diligent research that combines dog selection/training, the environmental conditions that impact landmine signature chemical vapors, and vapor sensing performance capability and reliability. This report seeks to address the fundamental soil-chemical interactions, driven by local weather history, that influence the availability of chemical for trace chemical detection. The processes evaluated include: landmine chemical emissions to the soil, chemical distribution in soils, chemical degradation in soils, and weather and chemical transport in soils. Simulation modeling is presented as a method to evaluate the complex interdependencies among these various processes and to establish conditions appropriate for trace chemical detection. Results from chemical analyses on soil samples obtained adjacent to landmines are presented and demonstrate the ultra-trace nature of these residues. Lastly, initial measurements of the vapor sensing performance of mine detection dogs demonstrates the extreme sensitivity of dogs in sensing landmine signature chemicals; however, reliability at these ultra-trace vapor concentrations still needs to be determined. Through this compilation, additional work is suggested that will fill in data gaps to improve the utility of trace chemical detection.
The purpose of the report is to summarize discussions from a Ceramic/Metal Brazing: From Fundamentals to Applications Workshop that was held at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM on April 4, 2001. Brazing experts and users who bridge common areas of research, design, and manufacturing participated in the exercise. External perspectives on the general state of the science and technology for ceramics and metal brazing were given. Other discussions highlighted and critiqued Sandia's brazing research and engineering programs, including the latest advances in braze modeling and materials characterization. The workshop concluded with a facilitated dialogue that identified critical brazing research needs and opportunities.
This report provides a review of the open literature relating to numerical methods for simulating deep penetration events. The objective of this review is to provide recommendations for future development of the ALEGRA shock physics code to support earth penetrating weapon applications. While this report focuses on coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian methods, a number of complementary methods are also discussed which warrant further investigation. Several recommendations are made for development activities within ALEGRA to support earth penetrating weapon applications in the short, intermediate, and long term.
The quality of low-cost multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) has improved to the point that it forms approximately 50% of the worldwide photovoltaic (PV) power production. The performance of commercial mc-Si solar cells still lags behind c-Si due in part to the inability to texture it effectively and inexpensively. Surface texturing of mc-Si has been an active field of research. Several techniques including anodic etching [1], wet acidic etching [2], lithographic patterning [3], and mechanical texturing [4] have been investigated with varying degrees of success. To date, a cost-effective technique has not emerged.
This report summarizes the activities of the Computer Science Research Institute at Sandia National Laboratories during the period January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2001.
This study on the opportunities for energy storage technologies determined electric utility application requirements, assessed the suitability of a variety of storage technologies to meet the requirements, and reviewed the compatibility of technologies to satisfy multiple applications in individual installations. The study is called ''Opportunities Analysis'' because it identified the most promising opportunities for the implementation of energy storage technologies in stationary applications. The study was sponsored by the U.S. DOE Energy Storage Systems Program through Sandia National Laboratories and was performed in coordination with industry experts from utilities, manufacturers, and research organizations. This Phase II report updates the Phase I analysis performed in 1994.
A new concept has been developed which allows direct-to-RF conversion of digitally synthesized waveforms. The concept named Quadrature Error Corrected Digital Waveform Synthesis (QECDWS) employs quadrature amplitude and phase predistortion to the complex waveform to reduce the undesirable quadrature image. Another undesirable product of QECDWS-based RF conversion is the Local Oscillator (LO) leakage through the quadrature upconverter (mixer). A common technique for reducing this LO leakage is to apply a quadrature bias to the mixer I and Q inputs. This report analyzes this technique through theory, lab measurement, and data analysis for a candidate quadrature mixer for Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) applications.
Biomass feedstocks contain roughly 10-30% lignin, a substance that can not be converted to fermentable sugars. Hence, most schemes for producing biofuels (ethanol) assume that the lignin coproduct will be utilized as boiler fuel to provide heat and power to the process. However, the chemical structure of lignin suggests that it will make an excellent high value fuel additive, if it can be broken down into smaller molecular units. From fiscal year 1997 through fiscal year 2001, Sandia National Laboratories was a participant in a cooperative effort with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the University of Utah to develop and scale a base catalyzed depolymerization (BCD) process for lignin conversion. SNL's primary role in the effort was to utilize rapidly heated batch microreactors to perform kinetic studies, examine the reaction chemistry, and to develop alternate catalyst systems for the BCD process. This report summarizes the work performed at Sandia during FY97 and FY98 with alcohol based systems. More recent work with aqueous based systems will be summarized in a second report.