Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Air Force Institute of Technology

Discipline
Keyword
Publication Year
Publication
Publication Type
File Type

Articles 991 - 1020 of 8791

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Obsolescence: Evaluating An Educational Serious Game On Artificial Intelligence Impacts To Military Strategic Goals, Timothy C. Kokotajlo Mar 2022

Obsolescence: Evaluating An Educational Serious Game On Artificial Intelligence Impacts To Military Strategic Goals, Timothy C. Kokotajlo

Theses and Dissertations

Artificial Intelligence (AI) threatens to bring significant disruption to all aspects of military operations. This research develops a Serious Game (SG) and assessment methodology to provide education on the mindsets required for engaging with disruptive AI technologies. The game, Obsolescence, teaches strategic-level concepts recommended to the Department of Defense (DoD) from a compilation of reports on the current and future state of AI and warfighting. The methodology for assessing the educational value of Obsolescence addresses common challenges such as subjective reporting, control groups, population sizes, and measuring abstract or high levels of learning. The games proposed educational value is tested …


Relative Magnetic Position And Rotation Sensor Assisted Dual-Foot Pedestrian Dead Reckoning, Jenario Y. Johnson Mar 2022

Relative Magnetic Position And Rotation Sensor Assisted Dual-Foot Pedestrian Dead Reckoning, Jenario Y. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

The use of wearable foot-based inertial measurement units (IMUs) incorporated in a navigation system can address the problem of single-person location tracking in situations and environments where GPS signals may be unavailable or inconsistent. This Pedestrian Dead Reckoning (PDR) approach enables standalone personal tracking. A notable solution involves using inertial measurement units (IMUs) in a filter to apply zero-velocity updates to a Kalman filter to get a position solution. This paper continues on the path of the former method by investigating the feasibility of PDR using a pair of low cost IMUs along with a pair of relative position and …


Team Air Combat Using Model-Based Reinforcement Learning, David A. Mottice Mar 2022

Team Air Combat Using Model-Based Reinforcement Learning, David A. Mottice

Theses and Dissertations

We formulate the first generalized air combat maneuvering problem (ACMP), called the MvN ACMP, wherein M friendly AUCAVs engage against N enemy AUCAVs, developing a Markov decision process (MDP) model to control the team of M Blue AUCAVs. The MDP model leverages a 5-degree-of-freedom aircraft state transition model and formulates a directed energy weapon capability. Instead, a model-based reinforcement learning approach is adopted wherein an approximate policy iteration algorithmic strategy is implemented to attain high-quality approximate policies relative to a high performing benchmark policy. The ADP algorithm utilizes a multi-layer neural network for the value function approximation regression mechanism. One-versus-one …


Air Force Specialty Code Assignment Optimization, Rebecca L. Reynolds Mar 2022

Air Force Specialty Code Assignment Optimization, Rebecca L. Reynolds

Theses and Dissertations

Each year, the Air Force Personnel Center determines which career field newly commissioned officers will serve under during their time in the Air Force. The career fields are assigned while considering five priorities, dictated by Headquarters Air Force, Manpower and Personnel: target number of cadets, education requirements, average cadet percentile, cadet source of commissioning, and cadet preference. A mixed-integer linear program with elasticized constraints is developed to generate cadet assignments according to these priorities. Each elasticized constraint carries an associated reward and penalty, which is used to dictate the importance of the constraint within the model. A subsequent analysis is …


Identifying Characteristics For Success Of Robotic Process Automations, Charles M. Unkrich Mar 2022

Identifying Characteristics For Success Of Robotic Process Automations, Charles M. Unkrich

Theses and Dissertations

In the pursuit of digital transformation, the Air Force creates digital airmen. Digital airmen are robotic process automations designed to eliminate the repetitive high-volume low-cognitive tasks that absorb so much of our Airmen's time. The automation product results in more time to focus on tasks that machines cannot sufficiently perform data analytics and improving the Air Force's informed decision-making. This research investigates the assessment of potential automation cases to ensure that we choose viable tasks for automation and applies multivariate analysis to determine which factors indicate successful projects. The data is insufficient to provide significant insights.


Implementation And Characterization Of Ahr On A Xilinx Fpga, Andrew J. Dittrich Mar 2022

Implementation And Characterization Of Ahr On A Xilinx Fpga, Andrew J. Dittrich

Theses and Dissertations

A new version of the Adaptive-Hybrid Redundancy (AHR) architecture was developed to be implemented and tested in hardware using Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). The AHR architecture was developed to mitigate the effects that the Single Event Upset (SEU) and Single Event Transient (SET) radiation effects have on processors and was tested on a Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipeline Stages (MIPS) architecture. The AHR MIPS architecture was implemented in hardware using two Xilinx FPGAs. A Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART) based serial communication network was added to the AHR MIPS design to enable inter-board communication between the two FPGAs. The …


Performance Assessment Of Navigation Using Carrier Doppler Measurements From Multiple Leo Constellations, Michael J. Hartnett Mar 2022

Performance Assessment Of Navigation Using Carrier Doppler Measurements From Multiple Leo Constellations, Michael J. Hartnett

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this work is to characterize a novel navigation method which uses carrier Doppler shift measurements from LEO satellites. An ever-growing reliance on the GNSS has coincided with an increase in ways it can be degraded or denied, whether naturally occurring or man-made. These potentially disastrous threats to traditional navigation and timing have necessitated new technologies to augment GNSS in the case of an outage. LEO constellations, whose size and higher signal power make them potentially useful for navigation, are one technology that has been explored. The navigation algorithms detailed in this research use Doppler measurements from 8 …


Directionally Sensitive Gamma Imaging Using Rotating Scatter Masks And Inexpensive, Scintillation Detectors, Christopher S. Charles Mar 2022

Directionally Sensitive Gamma Imaging Using Rotating Scatter Masks And Inexpensive, Scintillation Detectors, Christopher S. Charles

Theses and Dissertations

This work demonstrates the first instantiation of the FitzGerald Rotating Scatter Mask (RSM) as a proof-of-concept for two-dimensional source direction determination using a single, inexpensive, non-cooled scintillator, as well as an alternate mask design for comparison. A large RSM was additively manufactured from low-Z, acrylic like material, and rotated around the ubiquitous standard 3" x 3" NaI(Tl) or NaI(Tl)/CsI(Tl) phoswich detector, set internally to the mask. Smaller versions of the FitzGerald and alternate RSM designs were 3D printed for testing and used in conjunction with a LaBr detector to characterize the RSM system with a size and weight reduction applied. …


A Study On The Early Stages Of Degradation Of Multi-Component Alloy Surfaces In Extreme Environments Using The Multi-Cell Monte Carlo Method, Tyler D. Dolezal Mar 2022

A Study On The Early Stages Of Degradation Of Multi-Component Alloy Surfaces In Extreme Environments Using The Multi-Cell Monte Carlo Method, Tyler D. Dolezal

Theses and Dissertations

A computational toolset is presented and used in two examples that examined the interactions between structural materials and their extreme environments. A multi-cell Monte Carlo algorithm was developed to generate thermodynamically realistic solid-state alloy systems. These structures served as the foundation upon which surface slab models were generated. The tedious procedure of generating surface slab models from bulk structures was automated. The tools were used to study the high temperature surface corrosion resistance of a high-entropy alloy, Al10Nb15Ta5Ti30Zr40, and a nickel-based alloy, Ni70Nb10W20, under …


Design Study For An Antenna Radar Cross Section Measurement Test Fixture, Wayne C. Kreimeyer Mar 2022

Design Study For An Antenna Radar Cross Section Measurement Test Fixture, Wayne C. Kreimeyer

Theses and Dissertations

Military technology requires equipment to be undetected by adversaries. Stealth aircraft are designed to be undetected through electromagnetic means by minimizing a return signature called the RCS. Therefore, it is essential to understand how antennas, which are necessary for communication, affect the overall RCS of the aircraft. The antenna is measured in a compact RADAR range. The antenna needs a structure to support it, also referred to as a test fixture, that does not interfere with the measuring process of the antenna’s RCS. This thesis set out to get the lowest RCS possible of a test fixture by evaluating different …


Verficiation And Validation Of Unstructured Meshing Capabilities In Mcnp6, Micah C. Jeroutek Mar 2022

Verficiation And Validation Of Unstructured Meshing Capabilities In Mcnp6, Micah C. Jeroutek

Theses and Dissertations

Discrepancies were found between the legacy CSGs and the new UMs with the latter's introduction in MCNP6. As such, V&V of UMs in MCNP must be conducted to assist in their further development and increase user confidence in them. Currently, the MCNP test suite is lacking in UM benchmarks, and of the few that are present, their range in problem type is limited. To address these issues, two preliminary test cases covering new applications of UMs were developed for future inclusion in the test suite. The first was for the Athena-I experiment which involved the study of electronic devices' responses …


Determination Of Vortex Locations In A 2x2 Array Of Josephson Junctions For Topological Quantum Computation, Casey L. Kowalski Mar 2022

Determination Of Vortex Locations In A 2x2 Array Of Josephson Junctions For Topological Quantum Computation, Casey L. Kowalski

Theses and Dissertations

A large barrier to practical quantum computation exists in the form of qubit decoherence, which leads to high noise and error when implementing quantum algorithms. A potential solution to this problem is the use of topologically-protected Majorana-based qubits, as their nonlocal nature and unique non-abelian exchange statistics render them virtually immune to decoherence while still allowing the state to be easily manipulated. For such a qubit to be constructed, it is essential to know the locations of the Majorana-hosting vortices in the system. This work presents a solution for the formation locations of vortices in a 2x2 superconducting island array, …


Utilization Of Characteristic Modal Analysis For Antenna Design Needed For An Afit Satellite, Scott C. Podlogar Mar 2022

Utilization Of Characteristic Modal Analysis For Antenna Design Needed For An Afit Satellite, Scott C. Podlogar

Theses and Dissertations

Antenna design is a pervasive, growing field for electrical engineers. As the number of new materials and techniques increase so too does the demand and requirements pushing forth new innovative ideas. Among these ideas is a leading edge analytic technique called Characteristic Modal Analysis (CMA) originally credited to Garbacz and Turpin. CMA works to break down the current distribution along a structure in a way that can offer great insights into how that structure operates as an antenna. This technique has great merits in post design analytics but it is rarely seen to be integrated into the design process. This …


Magnetic Anomaly Absolute Positioning For Hypersonic Aircraft, Alexander J. Mcneil Mar 2022

Magnetic Anomaly Absolute Positioning For Hypersonic Aircraft, Alexander J. Mcneil

Theses and Dissertations

GPS has proven to be an extremely valuable asset for navigation, and timing. GPS has become the standard navigation system for all applications, but GPS has limitations. GPS is susceptible to jamming, spoofing, and in the case of hypersonic aircraft, is likely unavailable. When an aircraft is traveling at hypersonic speeds, there is a plasma sheath that surrounds the aircraft. This plasma sheath blocks electromagnetic waves, and is therefore responsible for a GPS blackout. GPS unavailability for hypersonic aircraft has prompted the research into the viability of alternate navigation systems for these aircraft. This paper seeks to explore the viability …


Characterization Of Environmental Conditioning Of Lithium Hydride Using Spectroscopy And Machine Learning, Ryan E. Pinson Mar 2022

Characterization Of Environmental Conditioning Of Lithium Hydride Using Spectroscopy And Machine Learning, Ryan E. Pinson

Theses and Dissertations

Lithium compounds such as lithium hydride (LiH) and anhydrous lithium hydroxide (LiOH) have various applications in industry but are highly reactive when exposed to moisture and CO2. These reactions create new molecular forms, including compounds such as lithium oxide (Li2O), lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LiOH ·H2O), and lithium carbonate (Li2CO3). These new compounds degrade the effectiveness in applications using these compounds. The negative effects induced by new lithium compounds creates a need for the ability to characterize the in-growth of such compounds. To study these in-growths, this work will present environmental …


Modeling Gadolinium Self Powered Neutron Detectors In A Transient Reactor, Alexander L. Q. Spring Mar 2022

Modeling Gadolinium Self Powered Neutron Detectors In A Transient Reactor, Alexander L. Q. Spring

Theses and Dissertations

Contributions to the electron current from the three components of a gadolinium SPND, emitter, insulator, and sheath, are identified, characterized, and quantified to provide information on how the SPND interacts within the transient neutron and photon flux of the TREAT to create a measurable current. These contributions are measured by defining the SPND interactions as a dose response function used within a Monte Carlo simulation of a TREAT experiment. The data obtained from the Monte Carlo simulations are then used to compare against two analytic models, developed by Jaschik and Warren, as well as the experimental results. It was found …


An Exploratory Analysis Of Time Series Econometric Data For Retention Forecasting Using Deep Learning, John C. O'Donnell Mar 2022

An Exploratory Analysis Of Time Series Econometric Data For Retention Forecasting Using Deep Learning, John C. O'Donnell

Theses and Dissertations

Officer retention in the Air Force has been researched many times in an attempt to better predict the personnel needs of the Air Force for the future. There has been previous work done in regards to specific AFSCs and how their retention compares to specific yet similar private sector jobs. This study considers different econometric time series statistics as a feature space and an average Air Force officer separation rate as the response variable for the multivariate time series analysis deep learning techniques. The econometric indicators used in this study are New Business Formations, New Durable Good Orders, and the …


Multiagent Routing Problem With Dynamic Target Arrivals Solved Via Approximate Dynamic Programming, Andrew E. Mogan Mar 2022

Multiagent Routing Problem With Dynamic Target Arrivals Solved Via Approximate Dynamic Programming, Andrew E. Mogan

Theses and Dissertations

This research formulates and solves the multiagent routing problem with dynamic target arrivals (MRP-DTA), a stochastic system wherein a team of autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (AUAVs) executes a strike coordination and reconnaissance (SCAR) mission against a notional adversary. Dynamic target arrivals that occur during the mission present the team of AUAVs with a sequential decision-making process which we model via a Markov Decision Process (MDP). To combat the curse of dimensionality, we construct and implement a hybrid approximate dynamic programming (ADP) algorithmic framework that employs a parametric cost function approximation (CFA) which augments a direct lookahead (DLA) model via a …


Incorporating Armed Escorts To The Military Medical Evacuation Dispatching Problem Via Stochastic Optimization And Reinforcement Learning, Andrew G. Gelbard Mar 2022

Incorporating Armed Escorts To The Military Medical Evacuation Dispatching Problem Via Stochastic Optimization And Reinforcement Learning, Andrew G. Gelbard

Theses and Dissertations

The military medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) dispatching problem seeks to determine high-quality dispatching policies to maximize the survivability of casualties within contingency operations. This research leverages applied operations research and machine learning techniques to solve the MEDEVAC dispatching problem and evaluate system performance. More specifically, we develop an infinite-horizon, continuous-time Markov decision process (MDP) model and approximate dynamic programming (ADP) solution approach to generate high-quality policies. The ADP solution approach utilizes an approximate value iteration algorithm strategy incorporating gradient descent Q-learning to approximate the value function. A notional, synthetically-generated scenario in Africa based around the capital city of Niger, Niamey is …


Smoothing Of Convolutional Neural Network Classifications, Glen R. Drumm Mar 2022

Smoothing Of Convolutional Neural Network Classifications, Glen R. Drumm

Theses and Dissertations

Smoothing convolutional neural networks is investigated. When intermittent and random false predictions happen, a technique of average smoothing is applied to smooth out the incorrect predictions. While a simple problem environment shows proof of concept, obstacles remain for applying such a technique to a more operationally complex problem.


An Investigation Of Data Storage In Entity-Component Systems, Bailey V. Compton Mar 2022

An Investigation Of Data Storage In Entity-Component Systems, Bailey V. Compton

Theses and Dissertations

Entity-Component Systems (ECS) have grown vastly in application since their introduction more than 20 years ago. Providing the ability to efficiently manage data and optimize program execution, ECSs, as well as the wider field of data-oriented design, have attained popularity in the realms of modeling, simulation, and gaming. This manuscript aims to elucidate and document the storage frameworks commonly found in ECSs, as well as suggesting conceptual connections between ECSs and relational databases. This formal documentation of the in-memory storage formats of entity-component systems affords the United States Air Force, the Department of Defense, and the software engineering community a …


Deep Learning Techniques To Estimate 3d Position In Stereoscopic Imagery, Jonathan I. Nicholson Mar 2022

Deep Learning Techniques To Estimate 3d Position In Stereoscopic Imagery, Jonathan I. Nicholson

Theses and Dissertations

Current AAR efforts utilize machine vision algorithms to estimate the pose of a receiver aircraft. However, these algorithms are dependent on several conditions such as the availability of precise 3D aircraft models; the accuracy of the pipeline significantly degrades in the absence of high-quality information given beforehand. We propose a deep learning architecture that estimates the 3D position of an object based on stereoscopic imagery. We investigate the use of both machine learning techniques and neural networks to directly regress the 3D position of the receiver aircraft. We present a new position estimation framework that is based on the differences …


Estimating Atmospheric Turbulence Within A Short Exposure Frame Selection Algorithm, Aaron J. Deluca Mar 2022

Estimating Atmospheric Turbulence Within A Short Exposure Frame Selection Algorithm, Aaron J. Deluca

Theses and Dissertations

Space is becoming an increasingly crowded domain. As it becomes more congested, the ability to accurately detect and track objects, both natural and man-made, becomes more and more important. Having an accurate space surveillance network allows us to protect our own space assets while also maintaining awareness of foreign space assets and threats to our satellites such as debris and small meteorites. This means that the ability to detect small, dim objects is key to being able to protect our space assets. This thesis will seek to expand on and improve certain existing space object detection techniques and algorithms.


Autonomous And Resilient Management Of All-Source Sensors For Navigation Integrity: A Comparison And Analysis, Niles A. Tate Mar 2022

Autonomous And Resilient Management Of All-Source Sensors For Navigation Integrity: A Comparison And Analysis, Niles A. Tate

Theses and Dissertations

When navigating using Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), multiple/redundant, synchronous pseudorange measurements are readily available. However, when navigating in a GNSS degraded and/or denied region, this is not guaranteed. In response to this challenge, the ANT Center developed a framework known as Autonomous and Resilient Management of All-source Sensors (ARMAS). The ARMAS framework is designed to be resilient towards data corruption caused from mismodeled, uncalibrated, and faulty sensors. This thesis further expands on this work by performing a comparison against a Residual-Based Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (RBRAIM) scheme using simulated and real flight data to evaluate each systems performance.


Simultaneous Actuation And Sensing Of Electrostatic Mems, Jacob E. Song Mar 2022

Simultaneous Actuation And Sensing Of Electrostatic Mems, Jacob E. Song

Theses and Dissertations

Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) are devices that play important roles of sensing and actuation in many different industries including automation, electronics, medical, communications, and defense. In order to make full use of these devices, it is important to understand the peripherals that enable these devices. Simultaneous actuation and control of MEMS devices is an important area of research as it enables feedback control of these device and allows devices to maintain performance as devices depreciate over their lifetime. The aim of this thesis is to perform a design space analysis on an electrostatic MEMS simultaneous actuation and sensing circuit that is …


Global Sporadic-E Climatological Analysis Using Gps Radio Occultation And Ionosonde Data, Travis J. Hodos Mar 2022

Global Sporadic-E Climatological Analysis Using Gps Radio Occultation And Ionosonde Data, Travis J. Hodos

Theses and Dissertations

A climatology of sporadic-E (Es) derived from a combined data set of GPS radio occultation (GPS-RO) and ground-based ionosonde soundings is presented for the period from September 2006 to February 2019. The ionosonde soundings were measured using the Lowell Digisonde International (LDI) Global Ionosphere Radio Observatory (GIRO) network consisting of 65 sites and 13,141,060 total soundings. The GPS-RO observations were taken aboard the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC) satellites and processed using two binary Es detection algorithms, totaling 9,072,922 occultations. The first algorithm is an S4 amplitude threshold calibrated to the occurrence of any blanketing Es …


Real Time Evaluation Of Boom And Drogue Occlusion With Aar, Xiaoyang Wu Mar 2022

Real Time Evaluation Of Boom And Drogue Occlusion With Aar, Xiaoyang Wu

Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) have seen a rise in popularity. Various navigational algorithms have been developed as a solution to estimate a UAV’s pose relative to the refueler aircraft. The result can be used to safely automate aerial refueling (AAR) to improve UAVs’ time-on-station and ensure the success of military operations. This research aims to reach real-time performance using a GPU accelerated approach. It also conducts various experiments to quantify the effects of refueling boom/drogue occlusion and image exposure on the pose estimation pipeline in a lab setting.


Towards The Integration Of Ferroelectric Negative Capacitance With Gallium Oxide Semiconductors For High Power Applications, Guillermo A. Salcedo Mar 2022

Towards The Integration Of Ferroelectric Negative Capacitance With Gallium Oxide Semiconductors For High Power Applications, Guillermo A. Salcedo

Theses and Dissertations

Gallium oxide is a relatively new semiconductor material with characteristics auspicious for high frequency and high-voltage applications. Although several research groups have already demonstrated radio-frequency (RF) devices on Ga2O3 with remarkable features, there is still room for improvement. For instance, the operating frequency of RF field-effect transistors (FET) decreases with the parasitic capacitance, which can be counteracted by higher gate capacitance. Implementing ferroelectric dielectrics with suitable parameters in Ga2O3 FET promises to enhance the gate capacitance and therefore increase operating frequency. This work investigated the effect of various factors (film composition, film thickness, TiN …


Leveraging Machine Learning For Large Scale Analysis Of Publicly-Available Data For Gnss Interference Events, David K. Stamper Mar 2022

Leveraging Machine Learning For Large Scale Analysis Of Publicly-Available Data For Gnss Interference Events, David K. Stamper

Theses and Dissertations

This research documents architecture and implementation of an enhanced interference detection and classification analysis system, using both a database and storage solution utilizing machine learning algorithms to detect changes in Carrier-to-Noise strength over multiple GNSS sites. The system uses publicly-available government supported receivers to detect interference, and built using FOSS packaged as a programming library through Python. Two algorithms are discussed in terms of enhancing interference detection using both non-machine learning and machine learning approaches. Two algorithms are also discussed which are used for classification of events. In addition, an approach to Large Scale data analytics is demonstrated via a …


A Proposed Mission Assurance Framework For University Cubesat Programs, Mitchell R. Thomas Mar 2022

A Proposed Mission Assurance Framework For University Cubesat Programs, Mitchell R. Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

The low cost, small form factor, and use of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf components make CubeSats an ideal platform for university use given their unique constraints. Since 2000, roughly 55% of CubeSats developed by universities fail to meet mission goals. Mission assurance, which is used to increase confidence in mission success, is based around traditional government programs, and does not provide an adequate road map for universities. Leaving them without specific guidance in tailoring mission assurance activities to operate within their constraints. This paper adapts these traditional practices to develop a baseline mission assurance framework for university CubeSat programs.