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- Background , The Planetary Cloud Aerosols Research Facility (PCARF) currently under construction at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is designed to enable experimental investigation into atmospheric aerosol processes on a variety of planets. Cloud formation is studied by injecting particles and pumping saturated vapors into the 3 m tall cylindrical chamber, then inducing convection cells by heating the…, Approach , The PlanetCARMA code was modified to simulate the environment of a meter-scale cloud chamber rather than a kilometer-scale column of atmosphere. Because PlanetCARMA is a 1-D model, the 3-D environment of the chamber was simulated using multiple independent columns. Initial temperature, pressure, and vertical velocities (simulating the up/downdrafts of the convection cells) were supplied by the…, Accomplishments , PlanetCARMA was able to simulate cloud formation, growth, and evaporation, using a narrow log-normal distribution of involatile particles to represent the cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) particles that will be injected into PCARF and the water vapor output fields from SAM. The simulations remained stable for the full 30 minutes of model time. Because PlanetCARMA is a bin-microphysics model, the…Type: IRD Synopsis
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- Background , The field of data analytics, especially when combined with the visualization of large datasets, has the potential to reveal insights that are often hidden in traditional data reviews. This growing business area spans multiple sectors, including transportation, the environment, and space sciences. However, the adoption of existing tools is hindered by their inability to efficiently highlight…, Approach , Figure 1: Lunar visualization. Figure 1: Lunar visualization. This project focused on creating an extensible, cross-platform tool for analyzing and visualizing geolocated data, facilitating data analysis and comparison of data sources. Initial visualizations were created in the transportation domain and included connected vehicle, travel times, incident, and work zone data Subsequently, we…, Accomplishments , Incorporating data from these varied domains, the toolset produced visualizations that facilitate exploration of dataset correlations The application enables data mapping and user-defined filters, providing customizable data insights. Examples of custom transportation visualizations include exploration of the correlations between connected vehicles and roadside device data, travel time…Type: IRD Synopsis
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- Background , Figure1: LAMP logo. Figure1: LAMP logo. This project supports a Focused Internal Research and Development (IR&D) Program to explore and harness the capabilities of Large Language Models (LLMs), which are artificial intelligence designed to understand and generate human-like content, including text and images. These models, built on extensive datasets, are already leveraged for tasks such as…, Approach , The program had an initial call for proposals across the Institute and selected ten projects across technical domains such as transportation, defense solutions, biomechanics, chemistry, robotics, and probabilistic analysis of structural components. Demos and presentations to SwRI staff highlighted the lessons learned and the technical expertise gained. Initial projects may submit proposals for…, Accomplishments , Projects used a range of LLMs from the closed-source GPT-4 to open-source models such as Llama and Mistral, with many projects incorporating Retrieval Augmented Generation for a variety of tasks. Automation was a core output of most of the projects, although the level of automation varied from project to project. An interesting topic illustrated by two of the projects involved workforce…Type: IRD Synopsis
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- The SwRI IR&D Program exists to broaden the Institute's technology base and to encourage staff professional growth. Internal funding of research enables the Institute to advance knowledge, increase its technical capabilities, and expand its reputation as a leader in science and technology. The program also allows Institute engineers and scientists to continually grow in their technical fields…Type: IRD Year TOC