The problem of extraction of medial axis transformation of a gray image with reference to skeleto... more The problem of extraction of medial axis transformation of a gray image with reference to skeletonization, image representation and uncertainty management in a vision system has been addressed. The Fuzzy Medial Axis Transformation (FMAT) of a fuzzy set f is a set of fuzzy disks whose sup is f. Unfortunately, specifying the FMAT sometimes requires more storage space than specifying f itself. The present paper describes some techniques to improve the compact representation of FMAT; thereby making it practically useful to an image for its skeleton extraction and compact representation, for shape analysis and template matching, for representation and retrieval, for uncertainty management in recognition and for creating new images of various poses. The algorithms involve reduction of redundancy in FMAT, its approximation, and reduction of the searching spaces for its computation. Computational aspects for the convenience of writing an efficient program ha ve been described. Some applications of the FMAT have also been mentioned.
An autonomous intelligent training system which integrates expert system technology with training... more An autonomous intelligent training system which integrates expert system technology with training/teaching methodologies is described. The system was designed to train Mission Control Center Flight Dynamics Officers at NASA/Johnson Space Center to deploy a certain type of satellite from the Space Shuttle. The purpose of the system is to provide a bridge between the fundamental knowledge acquired from textbooks and the procedural skills necessary for successful performance in large-scale integrated simulations. Trainees are exposed to scenarios that evolve to higher levels of difficulty and are provided with assistance tailored to their demonstrated skill level. Such training devices can serve to augment on-the-job training, insure uniformity in training, and allow scarce training expertise to be delivered to a large number of trainees. The architecture of the system is modular and can be adapted to a wide variety of training tasks.
ACM SIGGRAPH 2018 Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality, 2018
Built at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) and Columbia University and tested in JSC's full-sca... more Built at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) and Columbia University and tested in JSC's full-scale mockup of the International Space Station (ISS), StowageApp is a prototype for the future of conducting cargo operations in space. StowageApp dynamically guides astronauts as they complete stowage tasks, packing and unpacking cargo.
NASA’s Advanced Exploration Systems Autonomous Mission Operations (AMO) project conducted an empi... more NASA’s Advanced Exploration Systems Autonomous Mission Operations (AMO) project conducted an empirical investigation of the impact of time delay on today’s mission operations, and of the effect of processes and mission support tools designed to mitigate time-delay related impacts. Mission operation scenarios were designed for NASA’s Deep Space Habitat (DSH), an analog spacecraft habitat, covering a range of activities including nominal objectives, DSH system failures, and crew medical emergencies. The scenarios were simulated at time delay values representative of Lunar (1.2-5 sec), Near Earth Object (NEO) (50 sec) and Mars (300 sec) missions. Each combination of operational scenario and time delay was tested in a Baseline configuration, designed to reflect present-day operations of the International Space Station, and a Mitigation configuration in which a variety of software tools, information displays, and crewground communications protocols were employed to assist both crews and ...
NASA's space programs like many other technical programs of its magnitude is supported by a l... more NASA's space programs like many other technical programs of its magnitude is supported by a large volume of technical documents. These documents are not only diverse but also abundant. Management, maintenance, and retrieval of these documents is a challenging problem by itself; but, relating and cross-referencing this wealth of information when it is all on a medium of paper is an even greater challenge. The Electronic Documentation Project (EDP) is to provide an electronic system capable of developing, distributing and controlling changes for crew/ground controller procedures and related documents. There are two primary motives for the solution. The first motive is to reduce the cost of maintaining the current paper based method of operations by replacing paper documents with electronic information storage and retrieval. And, the other is to improve the efficiency and provide enhanced flexibility in document usage. Initially, the current paper based system will be faithfully re...
Multimedia is making an increasingly significant contribution to our informational society. The u... more Multimedia is making an increasingly significant contribution to our informational society. The usefulness of this technology is already evident in education, business presentations, informational kiosks (e.g., in museums), training and the entertainment environment. Institutions, from grade schools to medical schools, are exploring the use of multifaceted electronic text books and teaching aids to enhance course materials. Through multimedia, teachers and students can take full advantage of the cognitive value of animation, audio, video and other types in a seamless application. The Software Technology Branch at NASA Johnson Space Center (NASA/JSC) is taking similar approaches to apply the state-of-the-art technology to space training, mission operations and other applications. This paper discusses the characteristics and development of multimedia applications at the NASA/JSC.
Method for partial matching of data makes conventional electronic memory addressable via its cont... more Method for partial matching of data makes conventional electronic memory addressable via its contents. When implemented by suitable algorithm, method enables computer system containing memory to search memory for datum making exact or best approximate match to datum in query. Advantages are: requires neither long "learning" time nor "retraining" when additional data stored and attaches to each datum relative importance that can change with time without decreasing speed of retrieval. Responses include exact or approximate recollection, indications of ambiguity, avoidance, and even forgetfulness.
• Prototypes of AR-eProc for Maintenance of Devices on the International Space Station, Deep Spac... more • Prototypes of AR-eProc for Maintenance of Devices on the International Space Station, Deep Space Habitat and UnderSea Lab–Advanced Resistive Exercise Device Maintenance (ARED) –Total Organics Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Cartridge Replacement Procedure–Miniature Exercise Device Assembly (MED) Procedure–Augmented Reality Ultrasound Medical Procedure Assistant–Deep Space Habitat (DSH) Assets Locator
The use of a genetic algorithm (GA) for solving the mobile transporter path planning problem is i... more The use of a genetic algorithm (GA) for solving the mobile transporter path planning problem is investigated. The mobile transporter is a traveling robotic vehicle proposed for the space station which must be able to reach any point of the structure autonomously. Elements of the genetic algorithm are explored in both a theoretical and experimental sense. Specifically, double crossover, greedy crossover, and tournament selection techniques are examined. Additionally, the use of local optimization techniques working in concert with the GA are also explored. Recent developments in genetic algorithm theory are shown to be particularly effective in a path planning problem domain, though problem areas can be cited which require more research.
A hypermedia system is being developed to browse CLIPS (C Language Integrated Production System) ... more A hypermedia system is being developed to browse CLIPS (C Language Integrated Production System) knowledge bases. This system will be used to help train flight controllers for the Mission Control Center. Browsing this knowledge base will be accomplished either by having navigating through the various collection nodes that have already been defined, or through the query languages.
The requirements of a real-time data distribution system are to provide fast, reliable delivery o... more The requirements of a real-time data distribution system are to provide fast, reliable delivery of data from source to destination with little or no impact to the data source. In this particular case, the data sources are inside an operational environment, the Mission Control Center (MCC), and any workstation receiving data directly from the operational computer must conform to the software standards of the MCC. In order to supply data to development workstations outside of the MCC, it is necessary to use gateway computers that prevent unauthorized data transfer back to the operational computers. Many software programs produced on the development workstations are targeted for real-time operation. Therefore, these programs must migrate from the development workstation to the operational workstation. It is yet another requirement for the Data Distribution System to ensure smooth transition of the data interfaces for the application developers. A standard data interface model has alrea...
♦ Spacecraft design and operation stakeholders are creating models/artifacts of the same system w... more ♦ Spacecraft design and operation stakeholders are creating models/artifacts of the same system with different processes, tools, and representations. ♦ These oft uncoordinated approaches create locally successful products but also create a communication barrier among the various stakeholders (the "Tower of Babel" Effect). ♦ The same information is captured multiple times, in multiple places, with multiple representations, creating a maintenance challenge.
SPLICER computer program is genetic-algorithm software tool used to solve search and optimization... more SPLICER computer program is genetic-algorithm software tool used to solve search and optimization problems. Provides underlying framework and structure for building genetic-algorithm application program. Written in Think C.
International Journal of Human Factors Modelling and Simulation
Long duration and complex mission scenarios are characteristics of NASA's human exploration of Ma... more Long duration and complex mission scenarios are characteristics of NASA's human exploration of Mars, and will provide unprecedented challenges. Systems reliability and safety will become increasingly demanding and management of uncertainty will be increasingly important. NASA's current pioneering strategy recognizes and relies upon assurance of crew and asset safety. In this regard, flexibility to develop and innovate in the emergence of new design environments and methodologies, encompassing modeling of complex systems, is essential to meet the challenges.
A comparison is made between the two most sophisticated expert system building tools, the Automat... more A comparison is made between the two most sophisticated expert system building tools, the Automated Reasoning Tool (ART) and the Knowledge Engineering Environment (KEE). The same problem domain (ESFAS) was used in making the comparison. The Expert System for the Flight Analysis System (ESFAS) acts as an intelligent front end for the Flight Analysis System (FAS). FAS is a complex configuration controlled set of interrelated processors (FORTRAN routines) which will be used by the Mission Planning and Analysis Div. (MPAD) to design and analyze Shuttle and potential Space Station missions. Implementations of ESFAS are described. The two versions represent very different programming paradigms; ART uses rules and KEE uses objects. Due to each of the tools philosophical differences, KEE is implemented using a depth first traversal algorithm, whereas ART uses a user directed traversal method. Either tool could be used to solve this particular problem.
2016 Annual Reliability and Maintainability Symposium (RAMS), 2016
An innovative modeling technique was developed to merge Reliability & Maintenance (R&M) a... more An innovative modeling technique was developed to merge Reliability & Maintenance (R&M) activities with Model Based System Engineering processes. Associated tools were developed to automatically extract R&M products (FMECA and Fault Trees) from the model. The modeling technique and tools were successfully applied to a NASA/JSC project. The method enables the R&M perspective to be taken into account as key design decisions are being made during the design process.
The problem of extraction of medial axis transformation of a gray image with reference to skeleto... more The problem of extraction of medial axis transformation of a gray image with reference to skeletonization, image representation and uncertainty management in a vision system has been addressed. The Fuzzy Medial Axis Transformation (FMAT) of a fuzzy set f is a set of fuzzy disks whose sup is f. Unfortunately, specifying the FMAT sometimes requires more storage space than specifying f itself. The present paper describes some techniques to improve the compact representation of FMAT; thereby making it practically useful to an image for its skeleton extraction and compact representation, for shape analysis and template matching, for representation and retrieval, for uncertainty management in recognition and for creating new images of various poses. The algorithms involve reduction of redundancy in FMAT, its approximation, and reduction of the searching spaces for its computation. Computational aspects for the convenience of writing an efficient program ha ve been described. Some applications of the FMAT have also been mentioned.
An autonomous intelligent training system which integrates expert system technology with training... more An autonomous intelligent training system which integrates expert system technology with training/teaching methodologies is described. The system was designed to train Mission Control Center Flight Dynamics Officers at NASA/Johnson Space Center to deploy a certain type of satellite from the Space Shuttle. The purpose of the system is to provide a bridge between the fundamental knowledge acquired from textbooks and the procedural skills necessary for successful performance in large-scale integrated simulations. Trainees are exposed to scenarios that evolve to higher levels of difficulty and are provided with assistance tailored to their demonstrated skill level. Such training devices can serve to augment on-the-job training, insure uniformity in training, and allow scarce training expertise to be delivered to a large number of trainees. The architecture of the system is modular and can be adapted to a wide variety of training tasks.
ACM SIGGRAPH 2018 Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality, 2018
Built at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) and Columbia University and tested in JSC's full-sca... more Built at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) and Columbia University and tested in JSC's full-scale mockup of the International Space Station (ISS), StowageApp is a prototype for the future of conducting cargo operations in space. StowageApp dynamically guides astronauts as they complete stowage tasks, packing and unpacking cargo.
NASA’s Advanced Exploration Systems Autonomous Mission Operations (AMO) project conducted an empi... more NASA’s Advanced Exploration Systems Autonomous Mission Operations (AMO) project conducted an empirical investigation of the impact of time delay on today’s mission operations, and of the effect of processes and mission support tools designed to mitigate time-delay related impacts. Mission operation scenarios were designed for NASA’s Deep Space Habitat (DSH), an analog spacecraft habitat, covering a range of activities including nominal objectives, DSH system failures, and crew medical emergencies. The scenarios were simulated at time delay values representative of Lunar (1.2-5 sec), Near Earth Object (NEO) (50 sec) and Mars (300 sec) missions. Each combination of operational scenario and time delay was tested in a Baseline configuration, designed to reflect present-day operations of the International Space Station, and a Mitigation configuration in which a variety of software tools, information displays, and crewground communications protocols were employed to assist both crews and ...
NASA's space programs like many other technical programs of its magnitude is supported by a l... more NASA's space programs like many other technical programs of its magnitude is supported by a large volume of technical documents. These documents are not only diverse but also abundant. Management, maintenance, and retrieval of these documents is a challenging problem by itself; but, relating and cross-referencing this wealth of information when it is all on a medium of paper is an even greater challenge. The Electronic Documentation Project (EDP) is to provide an electronic system capable of developing, distributing and controlling changes for crew/ground controller procedures and related documents. There are two primary motives for the solution. The first motive is to reduce the cost of maintaining the current paper based method of operations by replacing paper documents with electronic information storage and retrieval. And, the other is to improve the efficiency and provide enhanced flexibility in document usage. Initially, the current paper based system will be faithfully re...
Multimedia is making an increasingly significant contribution to our informational society. The u... more Multimedia is making an increasingly significant contribution to our informational society. The usefulness of this technology is already evident in education, business presentations, informational kiosks (e.g., in museums), training and the entertainment environment. Institutions, from grade schools to medical schools, are exploring the use of multifaceted electronic text books and teaching aids to enhance course materials. Through multimedia, teachers and students can take full advantage of the cognitive value of animation, audio, video and other types in a seamless application. The Software Technology Branch at NASA Johnson Space Center (NASA/JSC) is taking similar approaches to apply the state-of-the-art technology to space training, mission operations and other applications. This paper discusses the characteristics and development of multimedia applications at the NASA/JSC.
Method for partial matching of data makes conventional electronic memory addressable via its cont... more Method for partial matching of data makes conventional electronic memory addressable via its contents. When implemented by suitable algorithm, method enables computer system containing memory to search memory for datum making exact or best approximate match to datum in query. Advantages are: requires neither long "learning" time nor "retraining" when additional data stored and attaches to each datum relative importance that can change with time without decreasing speed of retrieval. Responses include exact or approximate recollection, indications of ambiguity, avoidance, and even forgetfulness.
• Prototypes of AR-eProc for Maintenance of Devices on the International Space Station, Deep Spac... more • Prototypes of AR-eProc for Maintenance of Devices on the International Space Station, Deep Space Habitat and UnderSea Lab–Advanced Resistive Exercise Device Maintenance (ARED) –Total Organics Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Cartridge Replacement Procedure–Miniature Exercise Device Assembly (MED) Procedure–Augmented Reality Ultrasound Medical Procedure Assistant–Deep Space Habitat (DSH) Assets Locator
The use of a genetic algorithm (GA) for solving the mobile transporter path planning problem is i... more The use of a genetic algorithm (GA) for solving the mobile transporter path planning problem is investigated. The mobile transporter is a traveling robotic vehicle proposed for the space station which must be able to reach any point of the structure autonomously. Elements of the genetic algorithm are explored in both a theoretical and experimental sense. Specifically, double crossover, greedy crossover, and tournament selection techniques are examined. Additionally, the use of local optimization techniques working in concert with the GA are also explored. Recent developments in genetic algorithm theory are shown to be particularly effective in a path planning problem domain, though problem areas can be cited which require more research.
A hypermedia system is being developed to browse CLIPS (C Language Integrated Production System) ... more A hypermedia system is being developed to browse CLIPS (C Language Integrated Production System) knowledge bases. This system will be used to help train flight controllers for the Mission Control Center. Browsing this knowledge base will be accomplished either by having navigating through the various collection nodes that have already been defined, or through the query languages.
The requirements of a real-time data distribution system are to provide fast, reliable delivery o... more The requirements of a real-time data distribution system are to provide fast, reliable delivery of data from source to destination with little or no impact to the data source. In this particular case, the data sources are inside an operational environment, the Mission Control Center (MCC), and any workstation receiving data directly from the operational computer must conform to the software standards of the MCC. In order to supply data to development workstations outside of the MCC, it is necessary to use gateway computers that prevent unauthorized data transfer back to the operational computers. Many software programs produced on the development workstations are targeted for real-time operation. Therefore, these programs must migrate from the development workstation to the operational workstation. It is yet another requirement for the Data Distribution System to ensure smooth transition of the data interfaces for the application developers. A standard data interface model has alrea...
♦ Spacecraft design and operation stakeholders are creating models/artifacts of the same system w... more ♦ Spacecraft design and operation stakeholders are creating models/artifacts of the same system with different processes, tools, and representations. ♦ These oft uncoordinated approaches create locally successful products but also create a communication barrier among the various stakeholders (the "Tower of Babel" Effect). ♦ The same information is captured multiple times, in multiple places, with multiple representations, creating a maintenance challenge.
SPLICER computer program is genetic-algorithm software tool used to solve search and optimization... more SPLICER computer program is genetic-algorithm software tool used to solve search and optimization problems. Provides underlying framework and structure for building genetic-algorithm application program. Written in Think C.
International Journal of Human Factors Modelling and Simulation
Long duration and complex mission scenarios are characteristics of NASA's human exploration of Ma... more Long duration and complex mission scenarios are characteristics of NASA's human exploration of Mars, and will provide unprecedented challenges. Systems reliability and safety will become increasingly demanding and management of uncertainty will be increasingly important. NASA's current pioneering strategy recognizes and relies upon assurance of crew and asset safety. In this regard, flexibility to develop and innovate in the emergence of new design environments and methodologies, encompassing modeling of complex systems, is essential to meet the challenges.
A comparison is made between the two most sophisticated expert system building tools, the Automat... more A comparison is made between the two most sophisticated expert system building tools, the Automated Reasoning Tool (ART) and the Knowledge Engineering Environment (KEE). The same problem domain (ESFAS) was used in making the comparison. The Expert System for the Flight Analysis System (ESFAS) acts as an intelligent front end for the Flight Analysis System (FAS). FAS is a complex configuration controlled set of interrelated processors (FORTRAN routines) which will be used by the Mission Planning and Analysis Div. (MPAD) to design and analyze Shuttle and potential Space Station missions. Implementations of ESFAS are described. The two versions represent very different programming paradigms; ART uses rules and KEE uses objects. Due to each of the tools philosophical differences, KEE is implemented using a depth first traversal algorithm, whereas ART uses a user directed traversal method. Either tool could be used to solve this particular problem.
2016 Annual Reliability and Maintainability Symposium (RAMS), 2016
An innovative modeling technique was developed to merge Reliability & Maintenance (R&M) a... more An innovative modeling technique was developed to merge Reliability & Maintenance (R&M) activities with Model Based System Engineering processes. Associated tools were developed to automatically extract R&M products (FMECA and Fault Trees) from the model. The modeling technique and tools were successfully applied to a NASA/JSC project. The method enables the R&M perspective to be taken into account as key design decisions are being made during the design process.
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Papers by Lui Wang