scholarly journals Radiation testing of low cost, commercial off the shelf microcontroller board

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomas Fried ◽  
Antonio Di Buono ◽  
David Cheneler ◽  
Neil Cockbain ◽  
Jonathan M. Dodds ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Radiation Testing ◽  
Commercial Off The Shelf

scholarly journals Development of a low-cost X-band meteorological radar

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Hrach
Keyword(s):  
Material Selection ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Technology Selection ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Radar Network ◽  
X Band ◽  
Spatially Distributed ◽  
Commercial Off The Shelf ◽  
Slotted Waveguide ◽  
Small Team

<p>We have undertaken a journey to develop a small X-band radar based on widely available commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components. We have evaluated various radar transmitters, antenna and radome designs and sizes and we are currently operating the second-largest radar network in Europe, spanning 5 countries and consisting of 30 radars.</p><p>The final solution can be deployed by a small team in two days and operated without supervision with negligible maintenance and recurring costs. With approximately 120 kilometers of effective range and high refresh rate, it might be a good fit as an early warning radar, for areas with no current radar coverage or to fill gaps in larger networks; however, due to some limitations of the X band, namely higher attenuation in spatially distributed rain, it may not be a replacement of long-range observation radars.</p><p>In this work, we present an overview of our undertakings, technical solutions we have chosen and problems we have encountered. First, we cover transmitter technology selection, and discuss advantages and disadvantages of currently available magnetron and solid-state transmitters. Then we show the evolution of our antenna design, from 1-dimensional slotted waveguide to parabolic antennas with tapered beam. </p><p>With large parabolic antennas, another problem arises: the mechanics of the radar cannot cope with the additional weight and angular momentum, thus we had to develop various mechanical supports and a custom rotator. This rotator can also tilt the antenna, effectively adding volumetric scanning; the tilting is also needed to cope with non-ideal radar locations, where the horizon is partially obscured, which are unfortunately common for a radar network with limited budget. Finally, we discuss design and material selection of our custom radomes, and present an overall experience with everyday running and maintaining the network.</p>

scholarly journals AUTOMATED EXTRACTION OF SATELLITE TRAILS FROM WIDE ANGLE CCD IMAGERY

2019 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 150-158
Author(s):  
G. Privett ◽  
S. George ◽  
W. Feline ◽  
A. Ash
Keyword(s):  
Optical Sensors ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Situational Awareness ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Automated Analysis ◽  
Wide Angle ◽  
National Space ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Commercial Off The Shelf ◽  
Sovereign Territory

The current UK’s National Space and Security Policy states that the identification of potential on-orbit collisions and warning of re-entries over UK sovereign territory is of high importance, driving requirements for indigenous Space Situational Awareness (SSA) systems capable of delivering these products. The UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is examining options for the creation of a distributed network of longitudinally distributed, low cost commercial–off-the-shelf electro-optical sensors to support survey work and catalogue maintenance. To effectively exploit this, a robust data handling system is required to autonomously detect satellite trails in a manner that can handle variable target intensities, periodicities and rates of apparent motion, as well as meteors and aircraft. Data captured during the United Kingdom/New Zealand Automated Transfer Vehicle-5 (ATV-5) deorbit observation trial have been employed to inform the development of a prototype processing pipeline for autonomous on-site processing. The approach taken employs pre-existing and documented tools such as Astrometry.NET and DAOPHOT from the astronomical community, together with image processing and orbit determination software developed in-house by Dstl. Some preliminary results from the automated analysis of data collected from wide angle sensors are described, together with an appraisal of the limitations of the proposed system and our plans for future development

A Primer for Telemetry Interfacing in Accordance with NASA Standards Using Low Cost FPGAs

2016 ◽  
Vol 05 (01) ◽  
pp. 1640002
Author(s):  
Jake McCoy ◽  
Ted Schultz ◽  
James Tutt ◽  
Thomas Rogers ◽  
Drew Miles ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Photon Counting ◽  
Sounding Rocket ◽  
Photon Counting Detector ◽  
Field Programmable ◽  
Programmable Gate Arrays ◽  
Custom Hardware ◽  
Commercial Off The Shelf ◽  
Main Component

Photon counting detector systems on sounding rocket payloads often require interfacing asynchronous outputs with a synchronously clocked telemetry (TM) stream. Though this can be handled with an on-board computer, there are several low cost alternatives including custom hardware, microcontrollers and field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). This paper outlines how a TM interface (TMIF) for detectors on a sounding rocket with asynchronous parallel digital output can be implemented using low cost FPGAs and minimal custom hardware. Low power consumption and high speed FPGAs are available as commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products and can be used to develop the main component of the TMIF. Then, only a small amount of additional hardware is required for signal buffering and level translating. This paper also discusses how this system can be tested with a simulated TM chain in the small laboratory setting using FPGAs and COTS specialized data acquisition products.

NPSNET and the Naval Postgraduate School Graphics and Video Laboratory

1993 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 244-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Zyda ◽  
David Pratt ◽  
John Falby ◽  
Paul Barham ◽  
Kristen Kelleher
Keyword(s):  
Computer Science ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Interactive Simulation ◽  
Naval Postgraduate School ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Distributed Interactive Simulation ◽  
Vehicle Simulator ◽  
Commercial Off The Shelf

The Naval Postgraduate School Networked Vehicle Simulator IV (NPSNET-IV) is a low-cost, student-written, real-time networked vehicle simulator that runs on commercial, off-the-shelf workstations (the Silicon Graphics IRIS family of computers). NPSNET-IV has been developed at the Naval Postgraduate School's (NPS) Department of Computer Science in the Graphics and Video Laboratory. It utilizes Simulation Network (SIMNET) databases and SIMNET and Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) networking formats. The DIS networking format is flexible enough to allow multiple players to game over the Internet. The availability of NPSNET-IV lowers the entry costs of researchers wanting to work with SIMNET, DIS, and follow-on systems. Without the contributions of the department's M.S. and Ph.D. candidates, the NPSNET project would be impossible to maintain and continue. The diversity of their interests accounts for the broad range of research areas within the project.

Low Cost, Open-Loop Temperature Controller for MEMS and Modular Microfluidics Applications

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brooks B. Lowrey ◽  
Christopher R. Brown ◽  
Daniel S. Park ◽  
Michael C. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Open Loop ◽  
Thermal Reactor ◽  
Temperature Controller ◽  
Thermally Responsive ◽  
Channel Temperature ◽  
Temperature Boundary ◽  
In Series ◽  
Commercial Off The Shelf ◽  
Model C

A commercially manufactured thermostat (Model C Thermostat, Portage Electronic Products Inc., North Canton, OH) was employed as a precision MEMS temperature controller for a simulated continuous flow thermal reactor, with three temperature zones to mimic a polymerase chain reaction (CFPCR) device but different temperature set points to allow use of off-the-shelf controllers and thermally-responsive fluids. The ability of the commercial thermostats to maintain the temperatures within given tolerance bands in the thermal reactor was investigated. The factory supplied and calibrated thermostats were actuated by trimetallic strips, and supplied in a normally-closed configuration. Each thermostat was arranged in series with a 28 VDC power supply, a Kapton heater, and an aluminum thermal block to establish a constant temperature boundary condition for each temperature zone. Calibration temperatures for each thermostat reflected the three temperature set points of the simulated PCR device in the testing apparatus. Temperatures were collected by fixing Type K thermocouples in the fluidic channels of the simulated PCR device, and recording the temperature over time. The commercial, off-the-shelf, open-loop controllers successfully maintained ±1°C tolerance bands within each thermal zone. The ±1°C variation in the channel temperature was caused by the chatter due to the switching of the thermostat.

Survey of Environmental Data for COTS (Commercial Off-the-Shelf) Used in Military Systems

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Medy Ramot ◽  
Eran Weiss ◽  
Niv Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Market Demand ◽  
Quality Performance ◽  
Home Entertainment ◽  
Military Applications ◽  
Increasing Trend ◽  
Military Systems ◽  
Potential Risks ◽  
Commercial Off The Shelf

COTS — Commercial Off-The-Shelf items — used in electronic military systems present advantages of being state-of-the-art technology, low cost and readily available on the market. Demand to reduce design lead-time and minimize cost bring on an increasing trend to use COTS in military applications. COTS manufacturers design the parts for moderate environmental conditions, which characterizes consumer goods, computers, telecommunications, and home entertainment industries. Military systems require reliable, high quality performance and survival in harsh environment. Therefore, in order to asses the potential risks of COTS implementations in military applications, it is necessary to be acquainted with the parts environmental specifications. This paper presents a survey of mechanical and environmental specifications as presented in various data sheets, by the manufacturers. Observations and concerns results of observations will be presented about issues that have to be addressed in the process of using COTS in military systems.

scholarly journals Experimental Determination of Low-Cost Servomotor Reliability for Small Unmanned Aircraft Applications

2014 ◽  
Vol 629 ◽  
pp. 202-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jarrow Sarson-Lawrence ◽  
Roberto Sabatini ◽  
Reece Clothier ◽  
Alessandro Gardi
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Test Bench ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Business Case ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft Systems ◽  
Time To Failure ◽  
Aircraft Systems ◽  
Commercial Off The Shelf

One of the key challenges of designing low-cost Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) is to ensure acceptable and certifiable reliability factors for the adopted Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS) components since their reliability is often not quantified. In this paper, the experimental results obtained for quantifying the reliability of mini Unmanned Aircraft (UA) servomotors (by recording their time-to-failure on a defined set of test runs) are presented. The Weibull prediction model is adopted for quantitative analysis and the associated key mathematical models. The methodology adopted for performing the reliability analysis including the test bench setup used for the experiments is described. The results indicate a level of reliability expected for low-cost servos. Such servos could be used for low-risk UAS operations (e.g. small UA operating over sparsely populated regions) and where the economics of the business case permitted higher loss rates.

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