• International Telemetering Conference Proceedings, Volume 46 (2010)

      International Foundation for Telemetering, 2010-10
    • Range-Video Network (RNET)

      Berard, Alfredo; Buckley, Mark; Roach, John; Eglin Air Force Base; Teletronics Technology Corporation (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2010-10)
      The deployment of network-based airborne instrumentation systems is leading to cost-efficient replacement of legacy instrumentation systems. One application of airborne data acquisition that has been developed and maintained separately from traditional avionics and orange-wire data acquisition systems is high-speed camera packages. The development of network-based instrumentation systems has led to an opportunity to unify these two previously distinct airborne data acquisition activities. This paper describes the range-video network-based instrumentation system (rNET) being implemented by the 46th Test Wing, 846th Test Support Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, FL to replace the existing Airborne Separation Video System (ASVS).
    • Visually Lossless Compression Based on JPEG2000 for Efficient Transmission of High Resolution Color Aerial Images

      Marcellin, Michael W.; Bilgin, Ali; Oh, Han; University of Arizona (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2010-10)
      Aerial image collections have experienced exponential growth in size in recent years. These high resolution images are often viewed at a variety of scales. When an image is displayed at reduced scale, maximum quantization step sizes for visually lossless quality become larger. However, previous visually lossless coding algorithms quantize the image with a single set of quantization step sizes, optimized for display at the full resolution level. This implies that if the image is rendered at reduced resolution, there are significant amounts of extraneous information in the codestream. Thus, in this paper, we propose a method which effectively incorporates multiple quantization step sizes, for various display resolutions, into the JPEG2000 framework. If images are browsed from a remote location, this method can significantly reduce bandwidth usage by only transmitting the portion of the codestream required for visually lossless reconstruction at the desired resolution. Experimental results for high resolution color aerial images are presented.
    • Time Stamp Synchronization in Video Systems

      Yang, Hsueh-szu; Kupferschmidt, Benjamin; Teletronics Technology Corporation (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2010-10)
      Synchronized video is crucial for data acquisition and telecommunication applications. For real-time applications, out-of-sync video may cause jitter, choppiness and latency. For data analysis, it is important to synchronize multiple video channels and data that are acquired from PCM, MIL-STD-1553 and other sources. Nowadays, video codecs can be easily obtained to play most types of video. However, a great deal of effort is still required to develop the synchronization methods that are used in a data acquisition system. This paper will describe several methods that TTC has adopted in our system to improve the synchronization of multiple data sources.
    • How to Use Analog Telemetry to Produce Equipment with 100% Reliability

      Losik, Len; Failure Analysis (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2010-10)
      Equipment reliability is driven by infant mortality failures, which can be eliminated using a prognostic analysis prior, during and/or after the exhaustive and comprehensive dynamic environmental factory acceptance testing which conducted to increase equipment reliability by identifying equipment that fails during test for repair/replacement. To move to the 100% reliability domain, equipment dynamic environmental factory testing should be followed by a prognostic analysis to identify the equipment that will fail within the first year of use. During all equipment testing, only equipment functional performance is measured and equipment performance is unrelated to short-term or long-term equipment reliability making testing alone inadequate to produce equipment with 100% reliability. A prognostic analysis converts performance measurements to reliability measurements invasively by sharing test data used to measure equipment performance. Performance data that is converted to reliability data provides a time-to-failure (TTF) in minutes/hours/days/months for equipment that will fail within the first year of use, allowing the production of equipment with 100% reliability, decreasing risk and making getting to space safe and reliable.
    • Advanced Test Range Verification at RF Without Flights

      Williams, Steve; RT Logic (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2010-10)
      Flight and weapons test ranges typically include multiple Telemetry Sites (TM Sites) that receive telemetry from platforms being flown on the range. Received telemetry is processed and forwarded by them to a Range Control Center (RCC) which is responsible for flight safety, and for delivering captured best source telemetry to those responsible for the platform being flown. When range equipment or operations are impaired in their ability to receive telemetry or process it correctly, expensive and/or one-of-a-kind platforms may have to be destroyed in flight to maintain safety margins, resulting in substantial monetary loss, valuable data loss, schedule disruption and potential safety concerns. Less severe telemetry disruptions can also result in missing or garbled telemetry data, negatively impacting platform test, analysis and design modification cycles. This paper provides a high level overview of a physics-compliant Range Test System (RTS) built upon Radio Frequency (RF) Channel Simulator technology. The system is useful in verifying range operation with most range equipment configured to function as in an actual mission. The system generates RF signals with appropriate RF link effects associated with range and range rate between the flight platform and multiple telemetry tracking stations. It also emulates flight and RF characteristics of the platform, to include signal parameters, antenna modeling, body shielding and accurate flight parameters. The system is useful for hardware, software, firmware and process testing, regression testing, and fault detection test, as well as range customer assurance, and range personnel training against nominal and worst-case conditions.
    • Using Telemetry to Measure Equipment Reliability and Upgrading the Satellite and Launch Vehicle Factory ATP

      Losik, Len; Failure Analysis (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2010-10)
      Satellite and launch vehicles continues to suffer from catastrophic infant mortality failures. NASA now requires satellite suppliers to provide on-orbit satellite delivery and a free satellite and launch vehicle in the event of a catastrophic infant mortality failure. The infant mortality failure rate remains high demonstrating that the factory acceptance test program alone is inadequate for producing 100% reliability space vehicle equipment. This inadequacy is caused from personnel only measuring equipment performance during ATP and performance is unrelated to reliability. Prognostic technology uses pro-active diagnostics, active reasoning and proprietary algorithms that illustrate deterministic data for prognosticians to identify piece-parts, components and assemblies that will fail within the first year of use allowing this equipment to be repaired or replaced while still on the ground. Prognostic technology prevents equipment failures and so is pro-active. Adding prognostic technology will identify all unreliable equipment prior to shipment to the launch pad producing 100% reliable equipment and will eliminate launch failures, launch pad delays, on-orbit infant mortalities, surprise in-orbit failures. Moving to the 100% reliable equipment extends on-orbit equipment usable life.
    • The Test and Training Enabling Architecture (TENA) Enabling Technology for the Joint Mission Environment Test Capability (JMETC) in Live, Virtual, and Constructive (LVC) Environments

      Hudgins, Gene; Poch, Keith; Secondine, Juana; TENA Software Development Activity (SDA) (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2010-10)
      The Joint Mission Environment Test Capability (JMETC) is a distributed live, virtual, and constructive (LVC) testing capability developed to support the acquisition community and to demonstrate Net-Ready Key Performance Parameters (KPP) requirements in a customer-specific Joint Mission Environment (JME). JMETC, using the Test and Training Enabling Architecture (TENA), provides connectivity to the Services' distributed test capabilities and simulations, and Industry test resources. TENA is well-designed for supporting JMETC events through its architecture and software capabilities which enable interoperability among range instrumentation systems, facilities, and simulations. TENA, used in major exercises and distributed test events, is also interfacing with other emerging range systems.
    • Introduction to XidML 3.0 An Open XML Standard for Flight Test Instrumentation Description

      Cooke, Alan; Herbepin, Christian; ACRA Control; Eurocopter (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2010-10)
      A few years ago XidML was introduced as an open XML standard for capturing the meta-data associated with flight test instrumentation (FTI). This meta-data schema was broken down into elements for Parameter (name, range, units, offset-binary), Instrument (name, serial number, misses-to loss), Package (bits per word, words per minor-frame, rate) and Link (name, type) and so on. XidML remains one of the only published schema for FTI meta-data and with XidML 3.0 many simplifications have been introduced along with support for nested tree structures and a single instrument schema allowing anyone to define the validation for instruments from any vendor. This paper introduces the XidML schema and describers the benefits of XidML 3.0 in particular. It begins by giving a brief description of what XidML is and describes its history and motivation. The paper then outlines the main differences between XidML-3.0 and earlier versions, and how the XidML schema has been further refined to meet the challenges faced by the FTI community. As an example of usage the FTIManager software developed at Eurocopter will be briefly presented in order to illustrate the XidML ability to describe a multi-vendor FTI configuration.
    • Accessing Chapter 10 Recorder Media from Windows PCs

      Kupferschmidt, Benjamin; Teletronics Technology Corporation (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2010-10)
      The RCC IRIG Chapter 10 standard requires that Chapter 10 recorders use the STANAG- 4575 (NATO Advanced Data Storage Interface) file system to store data files. The STANAG-4575 standard defines a linear file system in which each file is stored in a single contiguous block of disk space. There is a small directory listing at the beginning of the disk. This listing stores the starting position and length for each file. It also stores the file's name and its creation date and time. This file system is very efficient for storing files that are recorded sequentially because it does not require the disk to constantly update a file allocation table on each write. Unfortunately, the STANAG-4575 file system is not directly supported by Microsoft Windows. This means that it is not possible to simply attach a recorder's disk to a PC and copy the files directly using Windows Explorer. This paper will discuss an approach that allows the contents of a STANAG formatted disk to be read from a standard Windows PC. In addition to copying files from the disk, this approach allows several other useful operations to be performed on the disk. These operations include advanced copy options such as partial file copies and splitting files into multiple pieces. It can also provide a mechanism for deleting files, reformatting the disk and performing a sanitization procedure on a disk to declassify it.
    • Verification, Validation and Completeness Support for Metadata Traceability

      Darr, Timothy; Fernandes, Ronald; Hamilton, John; Jones, Charles; Knowledge Based Systems, Inc.; Edwards Air Force Base (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2010-10)
      The complexity of modern test and evaluation (T&E) processes has resulted in an explosion of the quantity and diversity of metadata used to describe end-to-end T&E processes. Ideally, it would be possible to integrate metadata in such a way that disparate systems can seamlessly access the metadata and easily interoperate with other systems. Unfortunately, there are several barriers to achieving this goal: metadata is often designed for use with specific tools or specific purposes; metadata exists in a variety of formats (legacy, non-legacy, structured and unstructured metadata); and the same information is represented in multiple ways across different metadata formats.
    • X-Tools: A Case Study in Building World Class Software

      Cooke, Alan; ACRA Control (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2010-10)
      X-Tools is a collection of utilities for validation, translation, editing and report generation designed to enable the Flight Test Instrumentation (FTI) community to quickly adopt the XidML 3.0 meta-data standard. This paper discusses the challenges of developing such software that meets the current and future needs of the FTI community, and meets the increasingly high quality standards expected of modern software. The paper first starts by discussing the needs of the FTI community and the specific functional requirements of software. These include the ability to fit in with legacy systems, the ability to handle many tens of thousands of parameters, support for new networked-based technologies and support for hardware from any vendor. The non-functional requirements of FTI orientated software are also described and it is suggested that the key non-functional requirements include testability, modifiability, extensibility and maintainability. Finally, as a case study, the X-Tools from ACRA CONTROL are presented. The paper discusses their design, and the tactics used to meet the functional and non-functional requirements of the FTI industry. The paper then outlines how the rigorous quality standards were met and describes the specific mechanisms used to verify the quality of the software.
    • A Low Cost, Quick Reaction TM Acquisition System Solution for Deployed Testing

      Pozmantier, Ronald; Edwards Air Force Base (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2010-10)
      Design, development, fabrication, and deployment of an austere, deployable telemetry (TM) system, in only 3 1/2 weeks, will be discussed. This austere approach will be compared to a standard approach. TM candidate systems will be discussed along with exigencies and limitations (test geometry, link analysis, multiple test areas, schedule, cost, fabrication ...) that shaped their selection. Utilization of existing Radio Frequency (RF) systems in "unintended" applications will be discussed. System setup and BER testing with a simulated 'aircraft' will be presented, including observed multipath effects during testing, versus actual performance. Finally, benefits and test efficiencies garnered by having vehicle TM, real- time TM acquisition, processing and display, while deployed to a test area with no range instrumentation, will be presented.
    • Telemetry System for the Solar Miner VII

      Kosbar, Kurt; Guenther, Clinton; Mertens, Robert; Lewis, Adam; Missouri University of Science and Technology (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2010-10)
      This paper describes a telemetry system used in the Missouri S&T solar car, which competed in the American Solar Challenge. The system monitors parameters of a number of the on-board electronic and mechanical systems, and also the activities of the vehicle driver. This data is transmitted to a lead vehicle, where the support team analyzes the performance in real-time to optimize the vehicle's performance. In previous vehicles the data was displayed using a LabVIEW based user interface. In this work we will describe a custom software solution, which provides the team with additional flexibility to display and analyze the data.
    • Novel Angle of Arrival Algorithm for Use in Acoustical Positioning Systems with Non Uniform Receiver Arrays

      Lee, Hua; Utley, Christopher; University of California, Santa Barbara (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2010-10)
      Traditional angle of arrival algorithms operate with uniform receiver arrays. Non-uniform arrays typically introduce significant elevation of computation complexity. This paper utilizes the double-integration method for the accurate estimation of the angle of arrival with non-uniform receiver arrays, while maintaining high computation efficiency. Because of the simplicity, the double-integration method is not significantly affected by the increase of the number of receivers or the non-uniform configuration. This approach allows us to perform high-speed high-accuracy estimation of the two-dimensional bearing angle without the constraints of structured receiver arrays, which is important to the realization of real-time tracking of mobile acoustic sources.
    • Mapping Traffic Flow for Telemetry System Planning

      Kosbar, Kurt; Rivera, Grant; Missouri University of Science and Technology (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2010-10)
      Telemetry receivers must typically be located so that obstacles do not block the signal path. This can be challenging in geometrically complex indoor environments, such as factories, health care facilities, or offices. An accurate method for estimating the paths followed by typical telemetry transmitters in these environments can assist in system planning. It may be acceptable to provide marginal coverage to areas which are rarely visited, or areas which transmitters quickly transit. This paper discusses the use of the ant colony optimization and its application to the telemetry system planning problem.
    • A Robotic Platform for Student System Design

      Kosbar, Kurt; Rodhouse, Kathryn; Ziegler, Steven; Huttsell, Ryan; Missouri University of Science and Technology (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2010-10)
      The goal of the project described in this paper, is to develop a platform for undergraduate engineering students to use in system analysis and design courses. We chose to develop an inexpensive robotic platform. The robot is intended to be autonomous, under the control of an on-board microcontroller. In the first revision of the hardware, a three wheeled design will be used, with the intention of being used indoors, on smooth surfaces. Students in their first year of college education will purchase the components, and assemble the robot. After analyzing the baseline design, they will be encouraged to incorporate new sensors and actuators in the subsequent laboratory courses.
    • Multiple-Input Multiple-Output Systems for Spinning Vehicles

      Kosbar, Kurt; Petersen, Samuel; Missouri University of Science and Technology (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2010-10)
      This paper investigates the performance of a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) digital communication system, when the transmitter is located on a spinning vehicle. In particular, a 2x2 MIMO system is used, with Alamouti coding at the transmitter. Both Rayleigh and Rayleigh plus line-of-sight, or Rician, models combined with a deterministic model to simulate the channel. The spinning of the transmitting vehicle, relative to the stationary receive antennas, modulates the signal, and complicates the decoding and channel parameter estimation processes. The simulated system bit error rate is the primary performance metric used. The Alamouti channel code is shown to perform better than the maximal ratio receiver combining (MRRC) and single receiver (2x1) system in some circumstances and performs similarly to the MRRC in the broadside case.
    • Localization Using CDMA-MIMO Radar

      Iltis, Ronald A.; University of California, Santa Barbara (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2010-10)
      A MIMO radar system for target localization is presented which uses direct-sequence CDMA (DS-CDMA) waveforms. The received DS-CDMA signal at each antenna is expressed directly in terms of the target positions. The waveforms employed are Gold sequences, and hence are not exactly orthogonal. A generalized successive interference cancellation (GSIC) approach is used to resolve multiple scatterers and reduce clutter. Simulation results are presented which suggest the capability to detect weak scatterers in the presence of clutter using the cancellation method.
    • Modular Field Programmable Gate Array Implementation of a MIMO Transmitter

      Kosbar, Kurt; Shekhar, Richa; Missouri University of Science and Technology (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2010-10)
      Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) systems have at least two transmitting antennas, each generating unique signals. However some applications may require three, four, or more transmitting devices to achieve the desired system performance. This paper describes the design of a scalable MIMO transmitter, based on field programmable gate array (FPGA) technology. Each module contains a FPGA, and associated digital-to-analog converters, I/Q modulators, and RF amplifiers needed to power one of the MIMO transmitters. The system was designed to handle up to a 10 Mbps data rate, and transmit signals in the unlicensed 2.4 GHz ISM band.