Intelligent Systems, Advanced Computer and Electronics Technology, Automation, and Manufacturing Processes

Advanced electronics and computer technologies are developed at the Institute for use in aircraft, ground vehicles, and ships. Applications include avionics design, flight software, test equipment, automated logistics, instructional systems and interactive computer-based training, and advanced simulation. Projects in automation and data systems provide military and industrial clients with engineering and integration services in the areas of manufacturing, intelligent integrated systems, custom software systems, and advanced electronic technology insertion.

Miniature display devices, computer-generated graphics, and three-dimensional position tracking systems were combined in this high-fidelity laser rangefinder simulator, designed at the Institute to support future development of a target location system for the U.S. Marine Corps.

The Institute has developed a fault-tolerant digital media device, the Interactive Translation and Communications Server (ITACS), for a national television station. The server is used for automated delivery and tracking of digital television program content from the station to remote information sources such as on-line services, World Wide Web servers, and information kiosks. The ITACS system consists of two Silicon Graphics workstations equipped with SwRI-developed software.

SwRI has developed a simulator for the training of U.S. Marine Corps Forward Observer/Forward Air Controllers (FO/FAC). This system is used to designate enemy targets for attack by naval gunfire, aircraft, and artillery. The simulator will be used by FO/FAC developers to gather data on system accuracy and for training applications.

To provide spatial disorientation awareness training for aircrews, the Institute has developed computer-generated scenery for "out-the-window" visualizations used in the Advanced Spatial Disorientation Demonstrator (ASDD) at Brooks AFB, Texas. The motion platform of the ASDD, coupled with the computer-generated scenery, can now produce both visual and inner ear vestibular sensations like those encountered in potentially disorientating flight situations.

In support of the Industrial and Logistics Training Division at Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill AFB, Utah, the Institute developed a formal training program on the function and operation of repair equipment for damaged composite parts. The user-friendly equipment employs a combination of hardware and software to provide the repair technician with complete control of the hot-bonding process. When used in conjunction with thermocouples and heat blankets, the system will supply a heat source and monitor hot-bonding repairs on aircraft composite materials. The course of instruction will provide hands-on training to a high degree of competency on the proper procedures for setting up and operating the equipment, which will reduce repair times.

The Institute has completed an interactive electronic warfare (EW) officer training course for the Air Force that will be used to teach basic EW combat principles, systems, and tactics. The computer-based course is unique in that it uses interactive three-dimensional graphics. The simulations allow complex EW concepts, scenarios, and tactical procedures to be diagrammed visually and illustrated in four dimensions (space plus time). This capability enhances conceptual understanding and results in faster learning than instruction methods that rely on two-dimensional graphics.

Recent avionics design programs at SwRI have included heads-up display and digital flight computer redesigns for the A-10, as well as integrated product development studies for the A-10, F-16, and C-130 aircraft.

Institute computer scientists and engineers at Warner Robins AFB, Georgia, are participating on a design team investigating the feasibility of combining radar warning receivers, electronic countermeasures input, and electronic warfare management units for the F-16, A-10, and C-130 aircraft. The next generation of production programs for manned aircraft electronic combat will be based on the results of these integrated product development studies.

Institute engineers redesigned the A-10 aircraft heads-up display and digital flight computer to provide modern, high-capacity control for all critical flight functions. A powerful 68040 commercial instruction set computer with four megabytes of memory was adapted with complete U.S. Air Force standard interfaces. This effort transferred a sophisticated commercial computer design into military use in a short time, at low cost.

To reduce operational costs and keep production distribution more competitive, the Institute offers logistics support that includes the integration of advanced computer technologies. SwRI assisted a petroleum company in fully automating its warehouse inventory management logistics process. Wireless bar code technology was integrated with the company's local and wide area networks and database management systems to produce a digital, paperless, logistics management system that allows real-time data exchange between warehouses and corporate headquarters.

The Institute assisted a petroleum company in fully automating its warehouse inventory management logistics process. Wireless bar code technology was integrated with the company's local and wide area networks and database management systems to provide a paperless logistics management system for warehouses. Inventory and transaction data from three remote warehouses in Texas are now instantaneously exchanged with corporate headquarters.

SwRI is assisting small manufacturers through the Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center (TMAC). The Institute manages and operates TMAC South Central, a regional center that helps improve the competitiveness of small manufacturers by advising firms regarding appropriate manufacturing technologies and techniques. A statewide manufacturing assistance organization, TMAC was established by the Texas Department of Commerce.

TransGuide, the nation's newest Advanced Traffic Management System, began operations in San Antonio in July 1995. The Institute served as consultant for the Texas Department of Transportation during development and implementation of the system. Institute staff members are currently documenting and testing TransGuide components as part of an operational test of the system and are implementing a low- power television system at TransGuide that will provide traffic video and data to the media, emergency service providers, and future travelers’ kiosks.

The Institute is active in the design, development, and deployment of intelligent vehicle highway systems, with the primary focus being Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS). These systems feature real-time traffic monitoring, which incorporates automated traffic flow sensors and intelligent strategies to rapidly detect and respond to traffic incidents. The Institute is supporting the Texas Department of Transportation by providing design review and consultation services for TransGuide, the San Antonio ATMS project. This work includes a media distribution plan, which will transmit traffic data from the TransGuide Control Center over a low-power television station to the San Antonio metropolitan area. SwRI is also judging the effectiveness of implementation of the operational test program.

The TransGuide system uses state-of-the-art cameras for traffic monitoring. Because of the high fidelity of the devices, vibration of roadways and bridges is amplified and appears as shaking of the video image. Using Digital Image Stabilization techniques, SwRI developed a system to steady the video image.

As part of a multiorganization team, the Institute is contributing to the development of a prototype Sensor Combat war game that allows military commanders to plan the use of information warfare techniques. Information warfare is an integrated plan designed to disrupt an enemy's access to information through physical destruction, electronic warfare, tactical deception, security operations, psychological operations, and other means. Sensor Combat allows a commander to experiment with different tactics and analyze the results.

The Institute continues to enhance the Simulation Display and Analysis System (SIMDAS) for the Joint Command and Control Warfare Center. SIMDAS provides military analysts with a mission planning and analysis tool that graphically represents radar coverage, weapon system operational performance, and command, control, and communications information. The analyst is able to establish and view a scenario containing the latest available intelligence data, annotate the scenario for clarity and emphasis, produce plots of the scenario for off-line analysis, and perform contingency analysis by interactive edits and additional model runs on scenario data. SIMDAS is designed to run in an X-Windows™ environment on Unix-based workstations.

An Improved Transmitter Monitoring System (ITMS) is being developed for the Perimeter Acquisition Radar Characterization Subsystem, a phased-array radar in Cavalier, North Dakota, operated by the U.S. Space Command. The system monitors more than 180 parameters to determine the condition of the transmitter. Transmitter degradation or failure is detected by the ITMS and reported to the operator. The system can display a signal trend analysis that documents the events leading to a failure, thereby assisting repair technicians with troubleshooting. The system also allows for automatic degradation by shutting down portions or all of the transmitter in the case of significant impending failure.

This radar transmitter modulator was developed at SwRI to replace an aging unit in the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System at Clear Air Force Station, Alaska, that provides enemy missile launch detection and satellite tracking. The new modulator improves reliability and incorporates less expensive, longer lasting, and more readily available components.

The Ballistic Missile Early Warning System at Clear Air Force Station, Alaska, relies on a mechanical gearbox to resolve the angular position of a moveable dish antenna. The aging gearbox is failure-prone and difficult to repair. The Institute has designed a solid-state electronic replacement unit, called the Target Antenna Angular Position Processor, that provides identical functionality with significantly improved reliability.

The Institute has designed and fabricated a variety of devices and systems to replace aging components in radar installations across the country. These upgrades, including improved transmitter modules and transmitter monitoring systems as well as Global Positioning System devices, will extend the service life of the U.S. ballistic missile warning system and support is conversion to space-oriented missions.

Increasingly stringent environmental regulations have created a growing demand for alternative abatement methods for hazardous gaseous substances such as volatile organic compounds (VOC), perfluorinated compounds (PFC), chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), and oxides of nitrogen and sulfur. While technologies exist for the treatment of some of these pollutants, practical limitations imposed by cost, energy requirements, and by-product disposal exclude or limit their use. SwRI has successfully used a high-efficiency pulsed corona reactor to significantly reduce some VOCs, PFCs, and CFCs in emissions from various sources. The reactor uses minimum energy input to create active radical ions that destroy hazardous compounds, a process that has broad industrial applications. The reduction of oxides of nitrogen in diesel engine emissions is another application now being investigated.

The Institute has developed a stirred-mode or reverberation radiated immunity test method that effectively simulates the electromagnetic fields produced by broadcast stations, two-way radios, cellular phones, and other radio frequency devices. The tests determine whether new aviation and vehicular microprocessor-based systems and electronic components will malfunction or fail when exposed to these fields.

Vehicular and aviation electronics, sensors, and subsystems are frequently susceptible to malfunction or failure when exposed to electromagnetic radiation from sources such as commercial radio and TV stations, radars, and personal communications devices. SwRI staff members have developed a new electromagnetic radiation test facility to evaluate new designs for this susceptibility. The stirred-mode or reverberation radiated immunity test method makes use of a large, high-quality shielded enclosure with boundary conditions that are continuously and randomly perturbed by means of a rotating conductive tuner or stirrer. Analogous to a household microwave oven, it efficiently creates time-averaged homogeneous electric fields over the frequency range of 200 MHz to 18 GHz at up to 200 volts per meter. The stirred-mode facility at SwRI is large enough to test a completely assembled automobile.

In response to an industry need for a PC-based commercial airline provisioning system, the Institute developed the Automated Aircraft Provisioning System. The system interfaces with Illustrated Parts Catalog and Configuration Management Systems for the efficient, automated generation of Air Transportation Association-compliant provisioning data files.

1995 Annual Report SwRI Home