Background, The objective of this internal research project was to investigate a potential method for providing hardware-level support for mitigating code injection vulnerabilities in software, and to demonstrate the capability on field-programmable gate array (FPGA) hardware. “Code injection” refers to a class of software vulnerabilities which allow an attacker to send malicious code to a target for…, Approach, To demonstrate injection mitigation at the hardware level, the first step was to develop a module which maintains an efficient record structure for known unsafe memory regions. The research team explored potential solutions by using high-level synthesis (HLS) techniques to iteratively develop and test a custom algorithm for this purpose. Using the latency and resource utilization info provided by…, Accomplishments, While this project is still in progress, a demonstration of the module’s intended effect on security has already proven successful on one CPU design. In its default configuration, the memory tracker module manages 65,536 ranges with a 5-10 cycles of lookup latency. Over the remaining duration of the project, work is underway to produce an interactive demo on a much more capable processor, which…
Type: IRD Synopsis
Background, Diagnostic errors committed by radiologists can have serious consequences on patient outcomes. These diagnostic errors have considerable impact in the field of oncology as most errors occur during radiological diagnosis. Radiologist fatigue is widely accepted as a significant contributor to diagnostic errors and is expected to increase as physician workloads have climbed in recent years. Both eye…, Approach, A dataset of physician speech, gaze and fatigue data will be compiled. Self-reported fatigue metrics from a standard survey will be used to build training labels. Machine learning models will be trained on gaze and speech data through pre-extracted features and raw data streams. The best machine learning models generated from this training phase will be assembled to create a predictive model…, Accomplishments, Data collection for this project is nearing completion and much of the data infrastructure has been built. A large dataset has been developed to organize and store this collected data. Database access scripts have been written to make updates to the database, pull data for local use, and for data preprocessing. A suite of scripts has been developed to analyze physician performance on the…
Type: IRD Synopsis
Background, Over the past decade SwRI has developed a strong reputation for providing innovative solutions to challenging technical problems in the field of automated vehicles. As a consequence of this success, SwRI regularly receives requests to carry out very ambitious automated vehicle projects. Although SwRI is fully capable of achieving project objectives from a technical perspective, the corresponding…, Approach, This research effort bridges together SwRI’s various automated vehicle technology offerings on a single vehicle platform. Phase 1 created an initial shuttle on a SwRI-owned passenger sedan. SwRI’s commercial automated driving system was installed, and a safety driver was trained to operate the vehicle on SwRI’s campus. The safety driver performed mileage accumulation to collect data and identify…, Accomplishments, We successfully operated the shuttle platform autonomously with our Ranger localization solution. We tested and added to our map pedestrian detection capabilities and crosswalk integration. Additional testing was conducted in a controlled environment at our test track as well as on campus roads with real traffic and pedestrians. The shuttle was demonstrated to executive management and multiple…
Type: IRD Synopsis
Background, Preparedness is key to a community's ability to respond to and recover from an adverse event, but assessing preparedness is a larger and more complex task than emergency management planning alone. With the development of proposed consolidated spent nuclear fuel (SNF) storage facilities, shipments of SNF across the United States (U.S.) are anticipated to increase. Thus, efficiently assessing…, Approach, The two main phases of this project were extending the framework tool’s application and enhancing the framework tool. For the first phase, the 31 indicators were reexamined as to whether the indicator scales and weights are appropriate for application across the U.S. by considering how geographical areas other than the western U.S. are impacted by the societal and environmental factors captured…, Accomplishments, About half of the total number of indicators were able to be automated (16 indicators) using VBA macros, some indicators were updated to assist a user in acquiring data manually (12 indicators), and a small number of indicators were unable to be automated or updated (3 indicators). To make the framework tool more user-friendly and reduce opportunities for user error, general user instructions…
Type: IRD Synopsis
Background, Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) is a process commonly used to remediate pollutants from diesel engines. This process incorporates an externally supplied reductant, typically ammonia (NH3), to convert NOX (oxides of nitrogen) to N2 (nitrogen) and H2O (water). The NH3 is generated through the decomposition of a 32.5 wt.% Urea-Water Solution (UWS), known in industry as Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF…, Approach, In this work, both the surfactant and catalyst type and concentration were optimized such that low-temperature deposit generation would be reduced while balancing the cost and commercial producibility of the solution. Eighteen surfactants underwent a surface tension evaluation study to determine the type and concentration impact of surfactant on surface tension reduction of UWS. Six distinct…, Accomplishments, A surfactant and catalyst modified UWS was successfully optimized in this program, and sufficiently reduced deposits while simultaneously ensuring the fluid can be produced commercially at a viable price point of less than $0.10 per gallon. The surfactant concentration was reduced by 94% (from initial evaluations) while maintaining surface tension reduction of over 50%. When optimizing the…
Type: IRD Synopsis
Background, We are developing a high-sensitivity portable Raman instrument capable of detecting complex molecular species and minerals that are fundamental to investigating minerals and volatiles essential for in situ resource utilization (ISRU) and organic molecules whose detection is essential for the search for life elsewhere. Field-portable Raman spectrometers are becoming an important tool in field-…, Approach, We leverage the integrating Cavity Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (iCERS) breadboard design from Co-I Retherford’s PDIR 15-R8834 to build a research-grade analytical iCERS instrument, which can be used for sample return analyses for several years with a companion field-portable version for terrestrial analog sample analysis (Figure 1). This instrument, named Astronaut Raman for ISRU and Astrobiology…, Accomplishments, We established an Optics Laboratory in Div 18’s B82, which houses laboratory space, Raman spectrometers, multiple lasers, optical components, and the clean tent for cavity production along with associated equipment and developed sample handling techniques for returned samples which must be preserved given their rarity. We designed and fabrication of our portable prototype instrument, named, A, stronaut, R, aman for, I, SRU and, A, strobiology (ARIA), which includes four key subsystems: (1) 150 mW 638 nm laser excitation source, (2) 638 nm QEPro Raman spectrometer, (3) a newly designed monolithic integrating cavity to enhance the Raman signal, and (4) an electronics box that is powered by a 12 V rechargeable battery power supply and/or solar panels. We performed initial LOD testing of the instrument as part of our cavity…
Type: IRD Synopsis
Background, Natural fracture networks are important conduits for fluid flow in the subsurface. Fracture attributes and patterns exhibit significant variability in 3D, which strongly controls the hydraulic properties of rock volumes at depth. As fractures are below the detection limits of most geophysical imaging (e.g., 3D seismic reflection data) and direct in-situ information from well logging (e.g., image…, Approach, This project combines new techniques in data acquisition, processing, and analysis to more fully sample outcrop exposures than is currently achievable through traditional methods and leverages these data to improve fracture prediction in the subsurface. Close-range remote sensing techniques and semi-automatic feature detection are combined with multiple variable statistical analysis to determine…, Accomplishments, Acquisition and processing of photogrammetric data, achieving sub-cm-resolution for point-cloud reconstructions at multiple outcrop exposures of sedimentary strata in Central and West Texas. Development of new protocols and methods for post-processing photogrammetric point-clouds and generating high-resolution surfaces for geological analysis. Allows geospatial data to be filtered, removing…
Type: IRD Synopsis
Background, As the automotive industry moves towards electrification and decarbonization, fuel cell technology is emerging as a viable alternative in certain areas. Fuel cells are much more energy-dense than current state-of-the-art battery technology, making them an ideal choice for applications that require continuous high-power demanding duty cycles with brief periods of downtime. In addition, fuel cells…, Approach, The power flow and distribution of the powertrain of a 2021 Toyota Mirai were measured through instrumentation. On-road tests were conducted at the SwRI test track and on surface roads to evaluate the fuel cell control strategies at different acceleration rates, cruise speeds, and lithium-ion battery State-of-Charge (SoC) levels. Dyno-tests were conducted in compliance with SAE J2572 to evaluate…, Accomplishments, A 2021 Toyota Mirai was purchased, instrumented, and subjected to carefully designed road, chassis dynamometer, and thermal tests to collect data for analysis of system operation and performance in a range of conditions. The vehicle is powered by Toyota's state-of-the-art 128-kW humidifier-less free fuel cell system and has three hydrogen tanks (as shown in Figure 1 at the top). The key…
Type: IRD Synopsis
Background, Climate change, attributed to increased CO 2 concentration in the atmosphere, is driving worldwide Zero Carbon. The marine industry, to reduce its carbon footprint, is pushing for carbon-neutral fuels and 50-percent carbon emissions reduction by 2050 compared to 2008. The marine industry is considering multiple paths toward a zero-carbon future. These paths generally rely on renewable hydrogen (…, Approach, A Cummins ISX15 (15L) engine was selected for the study. The ISX15 model geometry and calibrated model were available. Appropriate boundary conditions were selected for the simulation. An ammonia combustion kinetic mechanism was identified in the literature and merged with the diesel kinetic mechanism to form a dual-fuel mechanism for the simulation. The model was refined to better match the…, Accomplishments, The simulations identified multiple mechanisms critical to diesel-ammonia dual-fuel combustion. The dominant mechanism is dependent on the substitution ratio (SR) and air-ammonia equivalence ratio. At low substitution ratios, the air-ammonia equivalence ratios are too lean to propagate a flame, so the ammonia conversion efficiency is largely dependent on the effectiveness of the air “utilization…
Type: IRD Synopsis
Background, Electrification has continued to permeate through the automotive market, with future projections showing an exponential growth in market share for both light and heavy-duty applications. Existing tribological test machines for the automotive industry were originally developed to model internal combustion engine propelled operation and are now less representative. One such machine, the Bruker…, Approach, The methodology needed to electrify the UMT test rig in a way that simulates in-vehicle conditions is to isolate the rotating component from other potential paths to ground and apply a voltage to it. Electrical isolation can be achieved by replacing paths to ground around the rotating component with a material that exceeds the dielectric strength of the lubricant, likely PTFE or similar plastic.…, Accomplishments, Following modification of the test rig to accept an applied voltage, a study varying rotational speed, applied load, lubricant temperature, voltage type, voltage waveform, and AC frequency was completed. Three test lubricants were used: an ultra-low viscosity automatic transmission fluid (ATF) formulated to Ford’s MERCON specification, an ATF formulated to General Motor’s DEXRON VI specification…
Type: IRD Synopsis
