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Air Force Institute of Technology

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Articles 2251 - 2280 of 3052

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Extensible Markup Language As A Weather Tool, Michael J. Calidonna Mar 2000

Extensible Markup Language As A Weather Tool, Michael J. Calidonna

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a proof of concept work that will extend the Core Mapping Application Program Interface (CMAPI) components to include weather data. The CMAPI project is headed by Air Force Research Lab (AFRL)/Information Directorate Information Handling Branch (IFEB) at Rome labs in Rome, New York. This work extends the CMAPI project in two distinct areas. The first goal is to figure out how to overlay and display weather data on a dynamically linked Internet platform. This was accomplished by incorporating existing data from the Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA) into the CMAPI program in a static environment. The other …

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An Information Visualization Solution For The Analysis Of The Afm Simulation Output Data, Stuart H. Kurkowski Mar 2000

An Information Visualization Solution For The Analysis Of The Afm Simulation Output Data, Stuart H. Kurkowski

Theses and Dissertations

With the advancement of computer hardware and software computer simulations are now able to run faster and track more elements than ever before burdening the analyst with more and more data to analyze. Air Mobility Command's (AMC) Airlift Flow Model (AFM) is the Air Force's logistics simulator that simulates multi-day mobility scenarios in a matter of minutes producing megabytes of output data. Because the analysts' needs for summaries, trends, and comparisons of the data have surpassed the capabilities of current desktop spreadsheet analysis techniques new tools are needed.

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A Neural Network Solution To Predicting Wind Speed At Cape Canaveral’S Atlas Launch Pad, Kenneth P. Cloys Mar 2000

A Neural Network Solution To Predicting Wind Speed At Cape Canaveral’S Atlas Launch Pad, Kenneth P. Cloys

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis demonstrates the potential for using time-delay neural networks to provide Launch Weather Officers (LWOs) at 45th Weather Squadron (45 WS) with advance warning of wintertime (November-March) peak wind speeds at the Atlas launch pad. The 45 WS provides weather support to the United States space program at Cape Canaveral Air Station, NASA's Kennedy Space Center, and Patrick Air Force Base. Due to the complex wintertime environment produced by the effects of friction and instability, 45 WS LWOs consider wintertime launch pad winds their toughest forecast challenge. Neural networks were developed, trained, and tested using observations of wintertime peak …

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Data Warehouse Techniques To Support Global On-Demand Weather Forecast Metrics, Meriellen C. Joga Mar 2000

Data Warehouse Techniques To Support Global On-Demand Weather Forecast Metrics, Meriellen C. Joga

Theses and Dissertations

Air Force pilots and other operators make crucial mission planning decisions based on weather forecasts; therefore, the ability to forecast the weather accurately is a critical issue to Air Force Weather (AFW) and its customers. The goal of this research is to provide Air Force Weather with a methodology to automate statistical data analysis for the purpose of providing on-demand metrics. A data warehousing methodology is developed and applied to the weather metrics problem in order to present an option that will facilitate on-demand metrics. On-line analytical processing (OLAP) and data mining solutions are also discussed.

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An Intelligent User Interface To Support Air Force Weather Product Generation And Automated Metrics, Darryl N. Leon Mar 2000

An Intelligent User Interface To Support Air Force Weather Product Generation And Automated Metrics, Darryl N. Leon

Theses and Dissertations

Air Force pilots require dependable weather reports so they may avoid unsafe flying conditions. In order to better gauge the accuracy of its weather products, Air Force Weather has established the requirement for an Air Force-wide automated weather metrics program. Under the guidelines for this program, forecasts will automatically be compared to observed weather to determine their accuracy. Statistics will be collected in the hopes of determining forecast error trends that can be corrected through education and training. In order for the statistical data produced by such a program to draw reliable conclusions about forecast accuracy, however, the correct format …

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An Evaluation Of Microburst Prediction Indices For The Kennedy Space Center And Cape Canaveral Air Station (Ksc/Ccas), Steven N. Dickerson Mar 2000

An Evaluation Of Microburst Prediction Indices For The Kennedy Space Center And Cape Canaveral Air Station (Ksc/Ccas), Steven N. Dickerson

Theses and Dissertations

A wet-microburst event on 16 August 1994 at the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility alerted forecasters from the 45th Weather Squadron (45WS), the provider of weather support to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Air Station (CCAS), to the challenges of wet-microburst prediction. Although there was no operational impact, this event caused the 45WS to revise their severe thunderstorm forecasting procedures to specifically address microbursts, resulting in the locally developed Microburst-Day Potential Index (MDPI). MDPI provides a several-hour outlook of microburst potential based on the results of the Microburst and Severe Thunderstorm (MIST) project. The 45WS also …

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A Study Of Morning Radiation Fog Formation, Jimmie L. Trigg Jr. Mar 2000

A Study Of Morning Radiation Fog Formation, Jimmie L. Trigg Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

This research focuses on developing a linear regression formula that forecasters in the Midwest can use to accurately anticipate the formation of radiation fog. This was accomplished in three stages. First a study of the surface and upper air parameters and processes required to develop radiation fog were identified and explored. Next, a linear regression technique was applied to the 23 parameters identified. The top four indicators were then reprocessed and a new linear regression equation was developed. Finally, the new regression equation was compared to an existing fog forecasting technique. The existing forecast technique selected was the 2nd Weather …

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Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics For The Compensation Of Amplitude And Phase Distortions, Peter N. Crabtree Mar 2000

Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics For The Compensation Of Amplitude And Phase Distortions, Peter N. Crabtree

Theses and Dissertations

Two deformable mirrors (DMs) with finite conjugate ranges are investigated for compensating amplitude and phase distortions due to laser propagation through turbulent atmospheres. Simulations are performed based on Adaptive Optics (AO) for an Airborne Laser-type scenario. The Strehl ratio, the number of branch points in DM controls, and the number of iterations to convergence are used as figures of merit to evaluate performance of the Sequential Generalized Projection Algorithm that generates mirror commands. The results are ensemble averages over 32 realizations of the scintillated test fields for each value of the Rytov parameter within the test scenario. The Gaussian beam …

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A 3d Display System For Lightning Detection And Ranging (Ldar) Data, Michael W. Darwin Mar 2000

A 3d Display System For Lightning Detection And Ranging (Ldar) Data, Michael W. Darwin

Theses and Dissertations

Lightning detection is an essential part of safety and resource protection at Cape Canaveral. In order to meet the unique needs of launching space vehicles in the thunderstorm prone Florida environment, Cape Canaveral has the only operational three- dimensional (3D) lightning detection network in the world, the Lightning Detection and Ranging (LDAR) system. Although lightning activity is detected in three dimensions, the current LDAR display, developed 20 years ago, is two-dimensional. This thesis uses modern three-dimensional graphics, object-oriented software design, and innovative visualization techniques to develop a 3D visualization application for LDAR data.

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Tunable Mid-Ir Optical Parametric Oscillator Using Periodically Poled Rubidum Titanyl Arsenate, Frank J. Glavic Mar 2000

Tunable Mid-Ir Optical Parametric Oscillator Using Periodically Poled Rubidum Titanyl Arsenate, Frank J. Glavic

Theses and Dissertations

Tunable sources of coherent radiation are needed for a variety of military and commercial applications, including infrared countermeasures and atmospheric remote sensing. This research investigates a tunable mid-infrared coherent source using periodically-poled rubidium titanyl arsenate (PPRTA) as a quasi-phase matched (QPM) optical parametric oscillator (OPO). The advantages of PPRTA over periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) are presented. Quasi-phase matching and periodic poling theory are discussed, along with some important historical results and current developments. Experimental setups for determining threshold, conversion efficiency, pump depletion, and beam quality are presented along with experimental results. The research effort is focused on characterizing PPRTA …

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Three-Dimensional Data Visualization Of Electronic Military Intelligence Using The Project Broadsword System, Michael L. Goeringer Mar 2000

Three-Dimensional Data Visualization Of Electronic Military Intelligence Using The Project Broadsword System, Michael L. Goeringer

Theses and Dissertations

Today's military electronic infrastructure solves many problems while creating others. Using computers, battlefield and global awareness is brought to bear through the near real-time linking of sensor platforms from around the globe. These intelligence networks produce vast amounts of data that must be parsed, interpreted, digested and stored by information gathering systems. As the amount of intelligence data continues to increase, these text-based systems become cumbersome and inadequate. To ensure vital information is not overlooked or discovered too late, other forms of intelligence product management and data navigation need to be investigated. This thesis explores procedures for enhancing the capabilities …

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Techniques For Forecasting The Cessation Of Lightning At Cape Canaveral Air Station And The Kennedy Space Center, Michael W. Holmes Mar 2000

Techniques For Forecasting The Cessation Of Lightning At Cape Canaveral Air Station And The Kennedy Space Center, Michael W. Holmes

Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this research effort is directed toward identifying new methods of forecasting the cessation of lightning along the Central Atlantic Coast of Florida. Cloud-to-ground lightning flashes place Air Force (AF) personnel and assets at risk almost daily at this location. Providing a more accurate method of forecasting the cessation of lightning would allow for safer and more efficient execution of AF operations. A data set consisting of 40 thunderstorm cases was identified within a 90 nautical miles (nmi) region surrounding the Melbourne, Florida WSR-88D (KMLB) site. Each case falls between the months of May and September and the …

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An Analysis In Cloud-To-Ground Lightning Over Land Versus Water, Elizabeth A. Boll Mar 2000

An Analysis In Cloud-To-Ground Lightning Over Land Versus Water, Elizabeth A. Boll

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding lightning characteristics over land and water is vital to achieving optimal safety and success in Air Force missions. Lightning safety rules are often based on experience rather than a scientific understanding of lightning. Examining lightning characteristics over water and land will assist in a better understanding of lightning and provide answers that can protect human lives and property. Water and land have different compositions and surface conductivity values. A lightning stroke is detected through a change in the electro-magnetic field at the surface. The change in surface conductivity values from land to water can affect the detection of a …

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An Object-Oriented Repository-Based Software Synthesis System, Gary L. Cornn Jr. Mar 2000

An Object-Oriented Repository-Based Software Synthesis System, Gary L. Cornn Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

This research provides a repository on which various Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) transformational software synthesis tools can store, share, and manage data using a common repository information model. This information model was created by integrating a variety of separately developed AFIT software synthesis object models into a "wide-spectrum" model. Additionally, a methodology for describing complex relationships between artifacts in the repository is described. These relationships can be used to relate software synthesis artifacts created in a variety of formats, including text, binary, and the AFIT Wide-Spectrum Object Modeling Environment (AWSOME) information model. The relationships can be exploited for …

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Investigation Of Laser Beam Combining And Cleanup Via Seeded Stimulated Brillouin Scattering In Multimode Optical Fibers, Bryan J. Choi Mar 2000

Investigation Of Laser Beam Combining And Cleanup Via Seeded Stimulated Brillouin Scattering In Multimode Optical Fibers, Bryan J. Choi

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis research was to determine if stimulated Brillouin scattering amplification in multimode optical fibers would exhibit the same laser beam combining and clean-up properties exhibited by SBS oscillation, and to characterize the Brillouin amplification process in a multimode optical fiber. Beam combining in multimode fibers via SBS is being considered as a method of combining low power laser beams into a single beam having higher power and superior spatial coherence for applications such as electro-optic countermeasures. Experimental results demonstrate seeding a 9.5 mm fiber significantly reduced the pump power required to initiate SBS. An amplified Stokes …

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A Comparative Analysis Of Cockpit Display Development Tools, Matthew J. Gebhardt Mar 2000

A Comparative Analysis Of Cockpit Display Development Tools, Matthew J. Gebhardt

Theses and Dissertations

Currently, no standard methodology exists that enables cockpit display engineers to evaluate software tools used in the development of graphical cockpit displays. Furthermore, little research has been accomplished in comparing current software development tools with traditional hand-coded methods, This research effort discusses a framework for analyzing cockpit display software development tools and follows through with a detailed analysis comparing today's hand-coding standard, OpenGL, with two of today's cockpit display software development suites, Virtual Application Prototyping System (VAPS) and Display Editor. The comparison exploits the analysis framework establishing the advantages and disadvantages of the three software development suites. The analysis framework …

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Descriptive And Conditional Climatology For Specific Launch Commit Criteria For Cape Canaveral, Florida, Edward C. Goetz Mar 2000

Descriptive And Conditional Climatology For Specific Launch Commit Criteria For Cape Canaveral, Florida, Edward C. Goetz

Theses and Dissertations

In 1987, an unmanned Atlas-Centaur-67 launched from the Cape triggered a lightning discharge that disabled the on-board guidance system and Range Control destroyed the platform. This incident spurred the review and revision of the natural and triggered lightning launch commit criteria (LCC). The LCC are a set of eleven complex rules that are constantly evaluated by the Launch Weather Team (LWT) of 45th Weather Squadron (45WS). Unfortunately, the 45WS LWT does not have either a descriptive or conditional climatology for many of the LCC. This thesis addresses the lightning and the cumulus LCC. A descriptive climatology for both the lightning …

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Modeling The Effect Of Nonlinear And Rate-Limited Sorption On The Natural Attenuation Of Chlorinated Ethenes, Peter P. Feng Mar 2000

Modeling The Effect Of Nonlinear And Rate-Limited Sorption On The Natural Attenuation Of Chlorinated Ethenes, Peter P. Feng

Theses and Dissertations

Chlorinated solvents like tetrachloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE) are the most common detected groundwater contaminants at Department of Defense installations in the United States. Unfortunately, technologies conventionally used to remediate chlorinated solvent-contaminated groundwater often fall short of achieving regulatory goals. Natural attenuation of chlorinated solvents offers an alternative remediation strategy that may achieve goals. However, the processes involved with natural attenuation are not fully understood, and this lack of understanding has hindered acceptance of natural attenuation by regulatory agencies. This study involved use of a numerical model that incorporated the physical, chemical, and biological processes thought to be relevant to …

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Modeling Chlorinated Ethene Removal In Constructed Wetlands: A System Dynamics Approach, Colby D. Hoefar Mar 2000

Modeling Chlorinated Ethene Removal In Constructed Wetlands: A System Dynamics Approach, Colby D. Hoefar

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to gain understanding of the dynamics of the processes that degrade Perchloroethene (PCE) to ethylene, or carbon dioxide (CO2), within the confines of a constructed wetland. A system dynamics approach will be used. This model is focused on identifying and optimizing the naturally occurring processes in stratified wetland sediment that reduce mass, toxicity, mobility, volume or concentration of contaminants in groundwater. Contaminant fate and transport within a wetland system is extremely complex and the mechanisms that drive wetland behavior are dynamic. Confidence in the model was built through verification and testing. Reasonable …

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Analysis Of The Air Force Iso 14001 Pilot Study Conducted By Dod, Rodney C. Harris Mar 2000

Analysis Of The Air Force Iso 14001 Pilot Study Conducted By Dod, Rodney C. Harris

Theses and Dissertations

The Department of Defense (DoD) conducted an ISO 14001 pilot study with the primary goal of determining how ISO 14001 could help DoD organizations reduce risks, improve compliance with environmental regulations, enhance stewardship, contain costs, and meet emerging regulatory requirements. This thesis analyzed the pilot study, specifically looking at the ISO 14001 implementation at three Air Force installations participating in the study. The research objectives were to identify factors that affect implementation of ISO 14001, compare the implementation strategies used by the bases, and develop propositions for Air Force managers to consider when implementing ISO 14001. Interviews of key personnel, …

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Finite Element Model Updating Using Antiresonant Frequencies, Keith W. Jones Mar 2000

Finite Element Model Updating Using Antiresonant Frequencies, Keith W. Jones

Theses and Dissertations

The applications of antiresonant frequencies to finite element (FE) model updating are few and usually limited to numerical examples. This work uses antiresonant frequencies in the model updating of an experimental structure and analyzes the physical correctness of the updated model by using it to detect damage. Antiresonant frequencies were used in the FE model updating of a six-meter aluminum truss. The model used rigid links to model welded and bolted joints. Rigid link dimensions were used as parameters in an iterative update based on eigenvalue and antiresonance sensitivities. The first update used 11 natural frequencies and 21 antiresonant frequencies …

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Temperature Determination In An I2 Gas Using Dopper-Limited Saturation Spectroscopy, James W. Myers Jr. Mar 2000

Temperature Determination In An I2 Gas Using Dopper-Limited Saturation Spectroscopy, James W. Myers Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Saturation spectroscopy techniques were used to demonstrate the ability to make spatially resolved temperature measurements by exploiting the B3 ∏(O+u) - X1 Σ ;(O+g) electronic transition in molecular iodine (I2). Doppler-free saturation spectroscopy measurements resulted in hyperfine spectral profiles for the P(7O) 17-1 and P(53) 19-2 ro-vibrational transitions between the electronic levels. Doppler-limited saturation spectroscopy, an adaptation of the Doppler-free technique in which beams propagate in the same direction and cross within the gas sample, allowed for the measurement of spatially resolved Doppler profiles for the same transitions. The profiles were measured …

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Collection Of Detonation Signatures And Characterization Of Spectral Features, Jay A. Orson Mar 2000

Collection Of Detonation Signatures And Characterization Of Spectral Features, Jay A. Orson

Theses and Dissertations

The remote observations of the temporal and spectral characteristics of the infrared (IR) emissions from exploding ordnance have been correlated with explosion conditions. A Bomem MR-154 Fourier Transform Interferometer with two detectors, InSb and HgCdTe, and a 75 mrad telescope was used to record spectra in the 1.3 - 20 µm range. Data was collected at spectral resolutions of 16 cm-1 and 4 cm-1 and temporal resolutions of 0.045 s and 0.123 s respectively. Two field tests were conducted: (1) a set of dynamic drop explosions and (2) a series of static detonations. In most events, the temporal …

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Determining The Horizontal Distance Distribution Of Cloud-To-Ground Lightning, Tamara L. Parsons Mar 2000

Determining The Horizontal Distance Distribution Of Cloud-To-Ground Lightning, Tamara L. Parsons

Theses and Dissertations

This research effort attempted to quantify what constitutes a safe distance when lightning is present. The method used in this research project groups lightning flashes into clusters using spatial and temporal constraints. However, not all flashes meet the time and distance criteria for clustering and remained outside of tile grouped flashes and as such are identified as isolated flashes. These isolated flashes are outliers in the data set, but are precisely the flashes that prove most dangerous. For this reason not only were the distances between each flash and cluster center studied, but also the distances between each isolated flash …

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Toxicity Of Tolyltriazole To Gram-Positive Coccus Microorganisms, Heather L. Mitchell Mar 2000

Toxicity Of Tolyltriazole To Gram-Positive Coccus Microorganisms, Heather L. Mitchell

Theses and Dissertations

Maintaining safe flight operations, military and civilian, in cold weather requires the use of de-icing fluids. Glycols, the primary component of de-icers, have been extensively studied. Water and additives such as corrosion inhibitors and other performance enhancing chemicals make up the remaining portion of de-icing fluids. Little research has been conducted on the additives, but several are suspected toxins to microorganisms, therefore the EPA regulates the disposal of spent de-icing fluids. Tolyltriazole, a corrosion inhibitor found in de-icing fluids, is a suspected human carcinogen. It is also known to be moderately toxic to microorganisms based on Microtox results. The purpose …

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Atmospheric Temperature Profiles By Ground-Based Infrared Spectrometer Measurements, Jon M. Saul Mar 2000

Atmospheric Temperature Profiles By Ground-Based Infrared Spectrometer Measurements, Jon M. Saul

Theses and Dissertations

A method to recover atmospheric temperature profiles using a ground-based Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometer was investigated. The method used a difference form of the radiative transfer equation, a Bomem MR series Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer to collect atmospheric radiance values, and the Phillips Laboratory Expert- assisted User Software (PLEXUS) atmospheric radiance model, to recover an atmospheric temperature profile. The method researched uses radiance values from both the spectrometer measurements and the atmospheric model, along with kernel functions calculated by the atmospheric model as input to a difference form of the radiation transfer equation. From this the change in brightness temperatures …

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Enhancing A Virtual Distributed Library User Interface Via Server-Side User Profile Caching, Jason T. Ward Mar 2000

Enhancing A Virtual Distributed Library User Interface Via Server-Side User Profile Caching, Jason T. Ward

Theses and Dissertations

Various Department of Defense (DoD) agencies archive terabytes of intelligence imagery and electrooptical signature data. The Air Force Research Laboratory, Sensors Directorate (AFRL/SN), is tasked with creating and managing a virtual distributed library that facilitates secure, detailed queries across these distributed holdings using the internally developed Advanced Query Tool (AQT). In this research, a methodology is proposed to utilize user profiling techniques to augment a digital library. As part of this methodology, product-oriented usability analysis metrics are introduced that quantitatively verify the usability of an interface. The methodology is applied to the AFRL/SN's Virtual Distributed Laboratory AQT and subsequently analyzed …

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Improving The Analyst And Decision-Maker’S Perspective Through Uncertainty Visualization, Evan T. Watkins Mar 2000

Improving The Analyst And Decision-Maker’S Perspective Through Uncertainty Visualization, Evan T. Watkins

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis constructs the Taxonomy of Uncertainty and an approach for enhancing the information in decision support systems. The hierarchical categorization of numerous causes for uncertainty defines the taxonomy, which fostered the development of a technique for visualizing uncertainty. This technique is fundamental to expressing the multi-dimensional uncertainty that can be associated with any object. By including and intuitively expressing uncertainty, the approach facilitates and enhances intuition and decision-making without undue information overload. The resulting approach for enhancing the information involves recording uncertainty, identifying the relevant items, computing and visualizing uncertainty, and providing interaction with the selection of uncertainty. A …

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Extracting Mission Semantics From Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Telemetry And Flight Plans, Walter T. Berridge Mar 2000

Extracting Mission Semantics From Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Telemetry And Flight Plans, Walter T. Berridge

Theses and Dissertations

With the acceptance of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) as a primary platform within the Department of Defense (DOD) for gathering intelligence data, the amount of video information being recorded, analyzed, and archived continues to grow. Mechanisms for quickly locating and retrieving video segments of interest amongst the many hours of recorded video are required to accommodate the rapid turnaround expected in today's wartime planning environments. This research demonstrates that text-based data accompanying UAV video yields sufficient information to identify and create data items that can be indexed to provide for rapid identification and retrieval of video segments of interest. Four …

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Generating Executable Persistent Data Storage/Retrieval Code From Object-Oriented Specifications, Steven R. Buckwalter Mar 2000

Generating Executable Persistent Data Storage/Retrieval Code From Object-Oriented Specifications, Steven R. Buckwalter

Theses and Dissertations

This research creates a methodology and corresponding prototype for the transformation of object-oriented (OO) specifications to represent the corresponding relational schemas that are used to automatically generate database design language (DDL). The transformation design decisions and specifications are then used to generate database manipulation language (DML) that can be embedded within the software application code generated from the same OO specifications. This concept of developing a model for producing compilable and executable code from formal software specifications has long been a goal of software engineers. Previous research at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) has not focused on the …

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