Distributed SATCOM On-The-Move Terminal Open Standard Architecture architectural details

This work provides an overview of three prototype augmented reality (AR) applications developed for the Microsoft HoloLens with the intention of exploring the strengths and weaknesses of AR for supporting planning and decision making–specifically, within the domain of US Army Mission Command and Battle Management Command and Control (BMC2) execution. We present each prototype application accompanied by the target audience from whom we sought feedback, key features of the application, and technical goals we hoped to achieve, demonstrate, and evaluate. Findings with respect to AR strengths and weaknesses, framed around the technical goals of each of the AR applications, are then presented to begin to shed light on limitations and opportunities of the state-of-the-art in AR hardware, and the potential to support Mission Command and BMC2 stakeholders. This material is based upon work supported by the Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC) under Contract No. W56KGU-18-C-0002. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of CERDEC.

WATT Fuel Cell wins CERDEC contract, expands production

This paper proposes a statistical approach to off-axis EIRP masks, in order to accommodate satellite communications on the move (SOTM) terminals. A ¿statistical mask¿ provides a reference EIRP Spectral Density (ESD) limitation, which can be exceeded with a specified maximum probability. Statistical masks and their implementation approaches are discussed in detail. Simulations are provided to show that the resulting interference is quantifiable and bounded. The statistical mask provides a sound and practical means in controlling interference. This work provides input to the on-going effort of setting emission standards for SOTM by ITU and military standard bodies.

This paper describes a research and development program called Proactive Integrated Link Selection for Network Robustness (PILSNER) that is being executed at the Communications-Electronics Research Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC), Ft. Monmouth, NJ. The objective of PILSNER is to develop, mature and integrate networking technologies that will solve the issues of limited network reliability and connectivity, resulting from the inability to make optimal use of all available link types simultaneously. The PILSNER effort therefore focuses on the development of Pro-active Diverse Link Selection (PAD-LS) technologies, which enable automatic link selection based on network characteristics and mission objectives, over a heterogeneous multi-tiered, multi-link network, in order to bypass congestion and outages. The PAD-LS technologies are designed to proactively allocate and manage bandwidth over multiple transmission paths in order to provide a level of redundancy for assured network availability and connectivity. PAD-LS technologies will address issues related to optimal link selection, capturing link local information and neighbor link information across multi-hop connections, adaptive bandwidth management, IP Quality of Service, IP multicast, and functionality within a mobile tactical environment. Demonstration of these technologies shall be integrated and conducted with a variety of transmission media consistent with the projected Warfighter Information Network - Tactical (WIN-T) capabilities. PILSNER is part of the Tactical Mobile Networks (TMN) Advanced Technology Objective (Demonstration) (ATO(D)), and is scheduled to run from FY2006 through FY2009.

Journal of Polymer ScienceVolume 38, Issue 134 p. 552-554 Note Determination of the molecular weight distribution of near monodisperse polymers by chromatographic fractionation N. S. Schneider, N. S. Schneider Pioneering Research Division, U.S. Army Quartermaster Research and Engineering Center, Natick, MassachusettsSearch for more papers by this authorL. G. Holmes, L. G. Holmes Pioneering Research Division, U.S. Army Quartermaster Research and Engineering Center, Natick, MassachusettsSearch for more papers by this author N. S. Schneider, N. S. Schneider Pioneering Research Division, U.S. Army Quartermaster Research and Engineering Center, Natick, MassachusettsSearch for more papers by this authorL. G. Holmes, L. G. Holmes Pioneering Research Division, U.S. Army Quartermaster Research and Engineering Center, Natick, MassachusettsSearch for more papers by this author First published: August 1959 https://doi.org/10.1002/pol.1959.1203813428Citations: 14AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Citing Literature Volume38, Issue134August 1959Pages 552-554 RelatedInformation

SYNOPTIC ABSTRACT Reliability engineers search for methods to improve system reliability. The use of redundancy is one of the several ways to improve system reliability. A problem arises when we have to choose the components to which the redundant components are to be added, because the amount of increase in system reliability is different with each component. This article presents a study that solves a redundancy allocation problem in a coherent system considering active redundancy at the component level and develops a general rule to identify the component in a system to which a redundant component is to be added in order to maximize the system reliability. The rule can be applied to add any number of redundant components having independently and identically distributed lives in any simple or complex coherent system. Some examples of various commonly used systems have been discussed to demonstrate how the rule works.

The competitive and evolving nature of the commercial communications satellite market sector, combined with the limited number of allocations in geosynchronous orbit, have led to a steady increase in the complexity, size and weight of satellites. Satellite manufacturers in the sector have suffered from increased non-recurring engineering costs and low rate production, leading to insufficient profit margins. This paper identifies an opportunity to capitalize on the overcrowding of prime geosynchronous orbit slots and provides satellite service providers with a scalable space system solution that fulfills their need to follow market evolution. The proposed space system, FormSat, is based on standardized medium power satellites flying in formation in the geosynchronous orbit. The system will consist of transparent communication satellites connected via intersatellite links to a hub satellite, which carries the processing and routing functionality of the communication satellites in the formation, allowing management and optimization of in-orbit resources. FormSat allows gradual increase of capacity by adding additional communication satellites in the same formation. This system architecture is integrated with attractive services using a new payload hosting business model. Satellite service providers can reduce upfront investment, and are able to gradually deploy and expand to new applications or commercial markets with reduced risks. The FormSat architecture will provide a profitable and sustainable business for satellite manufacturers with low upfront investment and additional new value added for satellite service providers.

The Institute of Optical Sensor Systems (OS) as member of the Robotics and Mechatronics Cluster of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) has more than 30 years experiences with high-resolution imaging technology. The technology changes in the development of detectors, as well as the significant change of the manufacturing accuracy in combination with the engineering research define the next generation of spaceborne sensor systems focusing on Earth observation and remote sensing. The combination of large TDI (time delay and integration) lines, intelligent synchronization control, fast-readable sensors and new focal-plane concepts open the door to new remote-sensing instruments. This class of instruments is feasible for high-resolution sensor systems regarding geometry and radiometry and their data products like 3D virtual reality. Systemic approaches are essential for such designs of complex sensor systems for dedicated tasks. The system theory of the instrument inside a simulated environment is the beginning of the optimization process for the optical, mechanical and electrical designs. Single modules and the entire system have to be calibrated and verified. Suitable procedures must be defined on component, module and system level for the assembly test and verification process. This kind of development strategy allows the hardware-in-the-loop design. The paper gives an overview about the current developments at DLR OS in the field of innovative sensor systems design for spatial and spectral high resolution remote sensing instruments.

The Government Reference Architecture (GRA) was initiated in response to unique requirements of above 2 GHz Satellite Communications (SATCOM) systems not effectively addressed by the Software Communications Architecture (SCA). Fundamental objectives of the GRA effort were to, 1) develop a modular open systems architecture (MOSA) approach that promotes well-defined module decomposition and use of COTS, 2) define a reference model of the terminal architecture using standard modeling languages and tools, and 3) address system-level architecture aspects of the SATCOM domain not effectively specified by the SCA. A key objective was to maximize the use of available systems design tools and languages thereby decreasing the lead time required to initiate SATCOM projects. This paper presents benefits and drawbacks of COTS system design tools and languages for the SATCOM domain. The paper will also present the results of early prototypes developed to validate specific aspects of the GRA and the development tools output with analysis of specific areas of the validation prototype.

It is a well known fact that managed care and new treatment technologies are revolutionizing the health care provider world. Community Health Information Network and Computer-based Patient Record projects are underway throughout the United States. More and more hospitals are installing digital, `filmless' radiology (and other imagery) systems. They generate a staggering amount of information around the clock. For example, a typical 500-bed hospital might accumulate more than 5 terabytes of image data in a period of 30 years for conventional x-ray images and digital images such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Computer Tomography images. With several hospitals contributing to the archive, the storage required will be in the hundreds of terabytes. Systems for reliable, secure, and inexpensive storage and retrieval of digital medical information do not exist today. In this paper, we present a Medical Image Archive and Distribution Service (MIADS) concept. MIADS is a system shared by individual and community hospitals, laboratories, and doctors' offices that need to store and retrieve medical images. Due to the large volume and complexity of the data, as well as the diversified user access requirement, implementation of the MIADS will be a complex procedure. One of the key challenges to implementing a MIADS is to select a cost-effective, scalable system architecture to meet the ingest/retrieval performance requirements. We have performed an in-depth system engineering study, and developed a sophisticated simulation model to address this key challenge. This paper describes the overall system architecture based on our system engineering study and simulation results. In particular, we will emphasize system scalability and upgradability issues. Furthermore, we will discuss our simulation results in detail. The simulations study the ingest/retrieval performance requirements based on different system configurations and architectures for variables such as workload, tape access time, number of drives, number of exams per patient, number of Central Processing Units, patient grouping, and priority impacts. The MIADS, which could be a key component of a broader data repository system, will be able to communicate with and obtain data from existing hospital information systems. We will discuss the external interfaces enabling MIADS to communicate with and obtain data from existing Radiology Information Systems such as the Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS). Our system design encompasses the broader aspects of the archive node, which could include multimedia data such as image, audio, video, and free text data. This system is designed to be integrated with current hospital PACS through a Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine interface. However, the system can also be accessed through the Internet using Hypertext Transport Protocol or Simple File Transport Protocol. Our design and simulation work will be key to implementing a successful, scalable medical image archive and distribution system.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

The Fiberoptic Guided Missile (FOG-M) was developed in the U.S. Army's Research, Development, and Engineering Center (RDEC) as a demonstration system for killing armor in an infantry application. The RDEC design uses a television sensor in the nose of the missile for in-flight target acquisition, bringing the video signal down a fiberoptic link that pays out behind the missile as it flies, to a gunner securely hidden in a defiladed launch vehicle. The gunner is able to select the target on a video screen and lock on an autotracker or alternately manually track the target to impact. The system design would use a common warhead for either armor or helicopter targets. The system is currently mounted on the High Mobility, Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), containing the gunner's station, launcher, and flight missiles. The gunner's station includes the capability for detailed mission planning, digital map display based on the Defense Mapping Agency's digital map databases, and display of the air battle situation for the gunner. Automatic targeting, control of multiple missiles in the air simultaneously, navigation using a digital correlator, and autotracking of moving targets in cluttered backgrounds with gunner selectable offset tracking capability are also available. The system has a capability to train the gunner using a perspective view scene generator that mimics the video scene he would be presented during missile flight. The scene generator uses the same hardware that displays the digital map, while a simulation of the missile runs in one of the system's computer processors to accurately move the seeker presentation around the scene. All of the other hardware used in embedded training is the same as the actual firing hardware. The system concept has been chosen by the Army as the non-line-of-sight (NLOS) component of the Forward Area Air Defense System (FAADS). The initial design is being upgraded for the MIL SPEC environment to allow early operational evaluation by the user. The lessons learned by these tests will be used to aid the full scale development program beginning in FY88. This paper describes aspects of the system designed by the Army's RDEC, with special emphasis on the mechanics of fiberoptic datalink winding and payout concerns.

We present a proof-of-principle demonstration using Sony's IBM Cell processor-based PlayStation 3 (PS3) to run-in near real-time-a hyperspectral anomaly detection algorithm (HADA) on real hyperspectral (HS) long-wave infrared imagery. The PS3 console proved to be ideal for doing precisely the kind of heavy computational lifting HS based algorithms require, and the fact that it is a relatively open platform makes programming scientific applications feasible. The PS3 HADA is a unique parallel-random sampling based anomaly detection approach that does not require prior spectra of the clutter background. The PS3 HADA is designed to handle known underlying difficulties (e.g., target shape/scale uncertainties) often ignored in the development of autonomous anomaly detection algorithms. The effort is part of an ongoing cooperative contribution between the Army Research Laboratory and the Army's Armament, Research, Development and Engineering Center, which aims at demonstrating performance of innovative algorithmic approaches for applications requiring autonomous anomaly detection using passive sensors.

Among web-based systems being widely used now, there are so many systems which are still using an user-level access control method. By successfully applying role-based access control(RBAC) to web-based application systems, we can expect to have an effective means with reinforced security for Internet-based systems. In order to apply RBAC to web-based application systems, we should come up with a system architecture for it. I proposed a system architecture which is needed to apply RBAC to web-based application systems. The proposed system architecture is largely composed of system composition and system functioning. For details, firstly, a certificate used by RBAC is specified. Secondly, a system architecture using a user-pull method is proposed and overall system components are mentioned with a role server being centered. Then, I showed how the system architecture can work to carry out RBAC on web-based application systems. Lastly, the analyses on the proposed system architecture are described for the purpose of proving its feasibility.

Exergetic and integrated exergoeconomic assessments of a hybrid solar-biomass organic Rankine cycle cogeneration plant

Abstract. The Integration of BIM and GIS is conducive to urban planning, construction and management, and have explored by relevant researchs (Yeo et al., 2016; Gilbert et al.; Wang et al.). From the beginning, BIM researchers thought that GIS could represent the building environment partially, while GIS researchers considered that BIM could only provide a detail data model about the buildings as one of GIS data sources. With deepening the technique integration and broadening the applications, it become a trend to integrate BIM and GIS, and both semantics and geometry between them are feasible to interlink and interact (Zhu et al., 2019; Deng et al., 2016). In this case, the paper studies the visualization method and the visual effects of BIM model (with IFC format as input) in virtual geographic environment (VGE), in order to improve human interaction and cognitive ability of BIM model in VGE. Based on Focus + Context techniques (Correa et al., 2016; Bjork et al., 2000; Carpendale et al., 1996), current development focuses on the solutions to the following problems.1) Focused BIM model in geographic environment.During the visualization process, BIM model has serious occlusion problems in two level: group level and component (sub-group) level. The group level occlusion means BIM model as an integral object may be occluded by other buildings in VGE (Qu et al., 2016; Deng et al., 2016; Johansson et al., 2015), and at the component level, inner components inside the BIM model may be occluded by other outer components when we focus or select inner one (Motamedi et al., 2014). So, there are corresponding component-level and group-level focus + context visualization.In VGE, buildings are important parts, but most of the time, the display of buildings are in the form of block or volume shapes. According to the definition of CityGML, buildings are usually represented by LOD1 or LOD2 objects. However, with the development of BIM technology, more and more requirements are needed to model the focus buildings. The corresponding building information and details are even more abundant than the LOD4 model in CityGML. When BIM model is imported into VGE as a significant rendering object, other buildings that are shown as blocks or volumes are often used as context, so BIM models will be the focus of VGE (Fig 1).2) Visualization of the internal details of BIM model.At the component-level focus + context visualization, conventional visualization software of BIM model use cutaway view, transparent view and explode view to visualize and obtain internal details of the BIM model, but they all have their own limitations.When we explore BIM model by the cutaway view (Fig2.a), an invisible vertical “knife” is put in the scene and divides the BIM model into two sections. The building part on one side of the section is completely preserved, while the building part on the other side is hidden, which loses the description of the overall relationship and structure of the building. When we visualize the BIM model by transparent view (Fig2.b), the components are highlighted and be semi-transparent, but the superposition of the transparent components and the selected opaque components causes the visible confusion.While explode view (Fig2.c) to visualize BIM model is a novel method, but the current software just adjusts each components’ position without considering global viewing effects.In the Focus + Context techniques, the corresponding focus visualization method achieves a deformation effect by enlarging, shrinking and shifting the position of focus object (Islam et al., 2007), thus to highlight the focus object and weaken the context. This paper proposes a two-layer Focus + Context visualization method to obtain the inner details of the focus components in BIM model (shown as Fig. 3). Moreover, the key of our researches is that considering the integration of the BIM model visualization in VGE, rather than in BIM model viewing software. In addition, the factors of geographic environment are discussed to improve the visualization effects. The two-layer and two-level (component-level and group-level) focus + context visualization (Section 1 and Section 2) should be combined together in VGE to achieve a progressive visualization from macro geographic environment to micro building element environment.3) Visualization of spatial relationship in BIM model.Spatial relationships are core elements in GIS. Current BIM models have seldom records and studies on spatial relationships but are necessary (Juszczyk et al., 2016). In geographic environment, it is vital to give the full play to the advantages of BIM models, especially its detail components, and to bound full cycle-life information. So building component-level spatial relationships among BIM models are constructed to integrate spatial analysis. The connectivity relationships among walls, doors and windows in Figure 4 are built as lines between walls to support the indoor navigation and wayfinding.