MIT Media Lab

The Symbolic Bridge: A Monograph on Niela Miller Life’s Work

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Symbolic Bridge: A Monograph on Niela Miller Life’s Work Labrune, Jean-Baptiste This monograph examines the interdisciplinary contributions of Niela Miller, specifically her development of Symbolic Modeling (SymMod) and its role in bridging humanistic psychology with technological innovation. Situated within the MIT Media Lab’s framework of unconventional synthesis, the study explores how Miller’s focus on tacit, pre-verbal, and intuitive knowledge complements data-driven paradigms. The research archives her transition from bodily-based psychological practices to pioneering work in virtual learning environments and "metaliteracy." By analyzing Miller’s methodology for unlocking human potential through symbolic expression, this document provides a formal architecture for integrating and extending human consciousness into the design of future technologies. In an era dominated by code and explicit data, the work of Niela Miller serves as a vital reminder that human innovation is rooted in the intuitive and the symbolic. This document offers an immersive look into Miller’s lifelong exploration of the "inner landscape," tracing her journey from foundational humanistic psychology to her visionary use of virtual spaces as laboratories for authentic interaction. Through the lens of the MIT Media Lab, we explore her Symbolic Modeling methodology—a replicable system designed to translate deep, pre-verbal insights into tangible creation. Whether she is utilizing bodily performance to map the psyche or defining new frontiers of digital literacy, Miller’s work challenges the boundary between the human experience and technological advancement. This is more than an archive; it is a celebration of the belief that our most profound breakthroughs come from what we can symbolically express but not always logically articulate.

Architecting a decision support system for continuing supervision of commercial in-space servicing

Sat, 07 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Architecting a decision support system for continuing supervision of commercial in-space servicing Smith, Jacqueline H.; Jah, Moriba; Wood, Danielle The rapid development of in-space servicing technology and other novel space capabilities requires robust and transparent governance frameworks to ensure long-term space sustainability and adherence to international regulations, notably Article VI of the Outer Space Treaty. Article VI requires that signatory states provide continuing supervision over non-governmental space activities, a mandate becoming increasingly more challenging to fulfill due to the accelerating pace of commercial space innovations. In previous work published by the authors, a Systems Architecture Framework analysis investigated the governance of in-space servicing in the U.S. and the corresponding Stakeholder Need misalignments with current authorization and supervision processes. The initial research provided insights into the apparent Need for a Decision Support System addressing the practical challenges faced in the operational supervision of in-space servicing activities. In response, this paper roadmaps the application of the Environment-Vulnerability-Decision-Technology (EVDT) systems engineering framework into the realm of space sustainability challenges, such as for authorization and supervision of commercial in-space servicing. Originally conceived by the Space Enabled research group at MIT’s Media Lab, the EVDT framework has demonstrated its effectiveness in facilitating sustainable development decision-making through analysis of complex socio-environmental-technical systems across various terrestrial applications. Historical uses of EVDT span across aiding flood resilience in Indonesia, promoting mangrove preservation in Brazil, managing invasive plant species in Benin, revitalizing cranberry wetlands in the U.S., analyzing environmental injustice in prison landscapes, and urban planning strategies during the pandemic. Most recently, the inaugural adaptation of the EVDT framework to the space domain shows potential to enhance collision avoidance operation decisions for a Stakeholder within NASA. This paper proposes the expansion of the EVDT framework to broader space sustainability challenges, focusing on continuing supervision as the primary use-case, where this prototype’s capability to model and analyze hypothetical commercial in-space satellite servicing missions under U.S. jurisdiction will demonstrate the potential of EVDT to enhance space situational awareness (SSA) and space domain awareness. These operations are critical for collision prediction and consequence, risk assessment, and the implementation of sustainable operational practices. We introduce the plan for developing the Continuing Supervision EVDT software prototype, using a MATLAB-based method characterized by a modular architecture to facilitate integration and extension of functionality. The paper also introduces terminology, key concepts, objectives, and the use of the Systems Architecture Framework method within the EVDT software development process. The software design enables Stakeholders to custom-build and adapt their models to different space sustainability scenarios, improving code reuse, reducing development time, and simplifying interactions for external users and future space-based EVDT projects. The implementation of this Decision Support System has the potential to influence the authorization and supervision of novel space missions and the evolution of supporting SSA technologies, ultimately contributing to the responsible and sustainable use of the space environment. It helps ensure compliance with international space laws and promotes sustainability by equipping Stakeholders with software toolsets capable of simulating the orbital dynamics of spacecraft through mission phases. The paper also envisions the extensive application of the EVDT framework to an array of other space sustainability challenges, such as environmental sensitivity, debris mitigation, resource utilization, and planetary protection. Ultimately, the expansion of the EVDT framework into the domain of space sustainability will empower policymakers, commercial space operators, and other Stakeholders with an adaptive simulation tool that not only conforms to the current space governance systems but also flexibly shapes to future space policies, encouraging responsible stewardship over the space environment.

Preliminary analysis of in-space servicing governance and the challenge of continuing supervision

Sat, 17 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Preliminary analysis of in-space servicing governance and the challenge of continuing supervision Smith, Jacqueline H.; Jah, Moriba; Wood, Danielle The emergence and proliferation of In-space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM) technology holds far-reaching implications, particularly considering the current era of rapid advancements in space technology, escalating commercialization of space activities, and novel utilization of the space domain including in cislunar space. This paper presents the preliminary findings of a multi-year research study undertaking a comprehensive analysis of commercial in-space servicing governance employing the Systems Architecture Framework (SAF) methodology. The focal points of investigation for this study are on understanding the various dimensions that shape the policy and regulation of the commercial in-space servicing ecosystem, encompassing environmental factors and sociopolitical considerations, from the perspective of U.S. Government Stakeholders. Governance of commercial in-space servicing is a complex system in the sense that it is composed of interacting components whose collective behavior and properties emerge from the relationships between these entities. Through the use of SAF, the analysis of this complex socio-environmental-technical system spans these elements: understanding system Context, analyzing Stakeholders and their Needs and Objectives, identifying system Forms and Functions, proposing new Forms and Functions, and Monitor and Evaluate the system. From the SAF analysis, several major findings and recommendations emerge. First, shortcomings currently exist in achieving meaningful continuing supervision by the Stakeholders of commercial in-space servicing activities. Article VI of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 mandates the continuing supervision of all non-governmental space activities by the authorizing nation yet lacks a clear definition for the term continuing supervision. Based on analysis from SAF, this paper introduces tools for addressing ambiguity by providing an interpretation of continuing supervision that can be applied into the operational environment, metrics for evaluating the outcomes, and technical challenges and recommendations for continuing supervision in cislunar. This paper also introduces a recommendation for a Decision Support System (DSS) for aiding U.S. Government Stakeholders in authorizing and supervising commercial in-space servicing activity based on findings from expert interviews. The authors propose that the Environment-Vulnerability-Decision-Technology (EVDT) systems engineering framework developed by the Space Enabled Research Group offers a promising methodology for developing such a DSS as future work. The framework allows system designers to confirm they are addressing Stakeholder Needs identified via the Systems Architecture Framework and combining a variety of sources of information to shape policy. Notably, the EVDT framework has been previously demonstrated as a tool for decision-making in space traffic management applications for a U.S. Stakeholder. Future work of this research study will investigate prototyping a new space-based EVDT model for specific use-cases and exploring a sensitivity analysis of the space environment to certain in-space servicing activities. Ultimately, this research lays a robust foundation for a deeper understanding of the current and future U.S. governance of commercial in-space servicing, resonating with the ongoing discourse concerning the long-term sustainability, mission authorization, and continuing supervision of novel space activities. The insights derived from this multi-year analysis contribute valuable guidance for policymakers, industry leaders, and academic researchers, offering a Stakeholder-focused perspective informing strategic decisions with socio-environmental-technical implications at the forefront.

Developing an Anti-Colonial Practice: Moving from Conversation to Structural and Institutional Change within the Space Community

Sun, 18 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Developing an Anti-Colonial Practice: Moving from Conversation to Structural and Institutional Change within the Space Community Harvey, Alvin Donel; Tavares, Frank; Reynolds-Cuéllar, Pedro; Lombardo, Seamus Navigating questions around the future of space exploration will require cross-cultural conversations and a recognition that all peoples and cultures on Earth have a stake in how we engage in being Off-Earth. Currently, Western and Euro-centric systems dominate the way the space community engages in space exploration, technology development, and science in space. In 2021, the Space Enabled Research Group at the MIT Media Lab hosted a series of online webinars and a workshop on Indigenous Anti-Colonial Views on Human Activity in Space to discuss incorporating and centering Indigenous epistemologies and people in the space community and how to resist and replace colonial structures and tendencies. Post seminars and a workshop a central question remains: how do these conversations turn into long-standing relationships that have a concrete impact on decision-making and technical practices related to space? Ultimately, there is tension when engaging in conversations around anti-colonial thought while operating within institutions that are intertwined with the very systems being critiqued. This tension pervades multiple facets of operating within these structures, affecting the conceptualization, planning, facilitation, and reflection of conversations around Indigenous and anti-colonial views on human activity in space. By critically reflecting on the experience of formulating and facilitating the webinar series and workshop, using data collected from a survey of participants after the series, and learning from continued collaborations with Indigenous and anti-colonial scholars, this paper reflects on the presence of tension, and on how to make it a productive starting point for institutional and structural change within the space community.

Centering Indigenous Voices and Resisting Colonialism In Space Exploration: An Overview Of The Ongoing Webinar Series By Space Enabled

Mon, 25 Oct 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Centering Indigenous Voices and Resisting Colonialism In Space Exploration: An Overview Of The Ongoing Webinar Series By Space Enabled Tavares, Frank; Harvey, Alvin Donel; Lombardo, Seamus; Reynolds-Cuéllar, Pedro; Newman, Dava; Wood, Danielle Indigenous perspectives and an anticolonial framework are essential to an equitable and genuinely sustainable future in space. Often imagined as an extension of manifest destiny and western expansion, space exploration requires a reframing if it is to achieve its potential to be a catalyst for ways of living and forming community that do not reproduce the same destructive systems of western capitalism. By understanding the ways in which past and present systems of coloniality intersect with the space sector and centering the experiences of Indigenous peoples in space exploration, a new way of conceptualizing space exploration can potentially emerge. Centering these issues highlights both near-term policy questions around lunar exploration as well as longer term questions about how to envision interactions with potential extraterrestrial life and sustained human communities on other worlds. To explore these ideas, the authors organized a series of webinars throughout 2021 hosted by the Space Enabled Research Group at the MIT Media Lab, with more events to come. The webinars address topics such as: 1) Indigenous perspectives on space exploration and the impact of a colonial mindset on the field; 2) near-term policy questions for lunar exploration; and 3) the role of astrobiology and opportunities for an anticolonial perspective to open up new ways to imagine potential futures in space. In this paper, the organizers of the webinar series present some of the key outcomes from the webinar series and the discussions it generated, and offer lessons learned from these concepts for the space community.

The political and legal landscape of space debris mitigation in emerging space nations

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMT

The political and legal landscape of space debris mitigation in emerging space nations Smith, Jacqueline H.; Rathnasabapathy, Minoo; Wood, Danielle The issue of space debris and its impact on space sustainability is a growing concern that requires collective action from all nations. Over the past decade, the number of spacefaring nations has increased, as evidenced by the number of satellites launched by emerging space nations and by an increase in the number of applications for United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS) membership from emerging member states. More recently, there has been an increase in emerging space nations stating their commitment to join the COPUOS Long-term Sustainability (LTS) 2.0 Working Group, as well as nations who have opted to join as signatories to initiatives such as “Net Zero Space” (e.g., Azercosmos, EgSA, GISTDA), and the Artemis Accords (e.g., Nigeria, Rwanda, and Angola). These initiatives share a common goal of promoting the sustainable and responsible use of space to ensure the long-term sustainability of space activities, including: 1) the recognition of the need for sustainable practices; 2) the importance of promoting cooperation in long-term sustainability between all nations; 3) the support of international guidelines and best practices; and 4) the recognition of the increasing role and contribution of emerging space nations. Given the rapid diversification of the space sector, and in accordance with Part C International Cooperation, Capacity-Building and Awareness of the 2019 COPUOS Long Term Sustainability guidelines, many emerging nations continue to face challenges in implementing space debris mitigation and removal measures. The aim of this paper is threefold: 1) showcase examples of emerging space nations who are actively supporting the sustained use of space at a national, regional, and international level, which includes complying with existing binding requirements concerning space debris within national laws; 2) discuss how the Space Sustainability Rating (SSR) provides opportunities for emerging space nations to progress in their efforts to participate in seeking space sustainability; and 3) provide an analysis using the SSR for several missions launched by emerging space nations including recommended steps for increased sustainability in both the design phase and during operations. The study aims to identify potential challenges and opportunities in the adoption of the SSR by emerging space nations, and dispel the perception that sustainable design, operations, and implementation of the LTS guidelines is a barrier for emerging space nations. The selection of nations chosen for the analysis of this paper aims to ensure a representative sample of diverse space market sizes and maturity, with particular consideration given to geographic diversity.

Using Earth Observation-Informed Modeling to Inform Sustainable Development Decision-Making

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Using Earth Observation-Informed Modeling to Inform Sustainable Development Decision-Making Reid, Jack This work aims to demonstrate the viability of a methodology for supporting local, sustainable development decision-making through the development of clearer linkages between environmental modeling and societal impact, with a particular emphasis on the use of earth observation data. To accomplish this, it explores the efficacy and difficulties of collaboratively developing a systems-architecture-informed, multidisciplinary GIS decision support system for sustainable development applications that makes significant use of earth observation data. This is done through the development and evaluation of decision support systems (DSSs) for two applications: (1) mangrove forest management and conservation in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and (2) coronavirus response in six regions around the world. In both cases, the methodology involves the application of the System Architecture Framework, which includes analyzing the stakeholders to inform the design of the DSS in question. Other components of the methodology are developing the DSS through a collaborative process with stakeholders; pursuing targeted analyses; and evaluating the usefulness of both the DSS and the development process through interviews, workshops, and other feedback mechanisms. All of this takes place under the umbrella of the Environment, Vulnerability, Decision-Making, Technology (EVDT) Framework for combining remote observation and other types of data to inform decision-making in complex socio-environmental systems, particularly those pertaining to sustainable development. As the name suggests, EVDT integrates four models into one tool: the Environment; Human Vulnerability and Societal Impact; Human Behavior and Decision-Making; and Technology Design for earth observation systems including satellites, airborne platforms and in-situ sensors. The data from each of these domains is used by established models in each domain, which are adapted to work in concert to address the needs identified during the stakeholder analysis. The capabilities provided by this framework will improve the management of earth observation and socioeconomic data in a format usable by non-experts, while harnessing cloud computing, machine learning, economic analysis, complex systems modeling, and model-based systems engineering.

Remote Sensing and Integrated Systems Frameworks for Decision Support in Sustainable Development

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Remote Sensing and Integrated Systems Frameworks for Decision Support in Sustainable Development Lombardo, Seamus Local leaders in sustainable development face challenging decisions due to complex environmental phenomena, intersecting socioeconomic factors, diverse stakeholders, data scarcity, and constrained financial resources. Decision Support Systems (DSS) software can aid these stakeholders by improving understanding of systems dynamics and interrelated societal factors. However, flaws in existing DSS development and functionality often produce DSS that do not meet the objectives of local stakeholders, leading to DSS disuse. This research implements a novel DSS development process to address these issues in two case studies: flood resilience in Pekalongan, Indonesia, and natural resource management for the Yurok Tribe in California. First, System Architecture Framework (SAF) uses inputs of stakeholder interviews to translate stakeholder objectives into DSS functions and forms. Targeted satellite remote sensing (SRS) of permanent water, shoreline change, and mangrove trends are conducted in Pekalongan, and forest trends and above ground biomass are analyzed for the Yurok Tribe. Classification analyses achieve high overall accuracy (>= 84%) and trend analyses have correlations to high resolution data at a significance level of 𝛼 > 0.05. The Environment-Vulnerability-Decision-Technology (EVDT) integrated modeling framework is used to integrate local infrastructure and land use data towards insights for environmental impact mitigation decisions and community aid allocation. DSS user evaluations with Boston-area (n = 20), Indonesian (n = 37), and Yurok Tribe users (n = 9), are conducted to assess DSS utility and verify the mapping of SRS analyses to specific stakeholder decisions and economic metrics. \ High user information-relevancy (<= 94%) and information-sufficiency (<= 81%) ratings, 5 specific decisions mapped to the SRS analyses via dedicated stakeholder interviews, and 57 actionable comments from user studies, provide strong support for the use of SAF and user studies to improve DSS usefulness and accessibility. Higher understanding scores achieved by DSS users compared to control-briefing users on environmental (p = 0.0012), socioeconomic (p = 0.0093), and policy (p = 0.0043) questions, analyses of integrated SRS and local data that provide concrete insights for stakeholder decisions (such as inundation trends for agricultural adaptation budget allocation and forest trends for carbon sequestration project management), and positive stakeholder comments regarding DSS capabilities, support the theory that SRS data and EVDT can improve DSS functionality. Demonstrating the utility of a novel DSS design process in overcoming previous roadblocks to DSS use in sustainable development is this work’s core contribution. SAF to target stakeholder objectives, integration of accessible SRS analyses and local socioeconomic data via EVDT for actionable insights, and user studies to gather stakeholder feedback are the core elements of this novel design process. The DSS developed also provide tangible benefits to users, with local stakeholders expressing a strong desire for DSS institutionalization. Future work includes ensuring DSS longevity and the application of the DSS design process to other relevant case studies. Overall, this research collaborates directly with communities to confront environmental impacts, address challenging decisions, and advance sustainable development.

The Environment-Vulnerability-Decision-Technology Framework: A Process for Developing Multi-Disciplinary Decision Support Systems for Sustainable Development Applications

Sun, 18 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMT

The Environment-Vulnerability-Decision-Technology Framework: A Process for Developing Multi-Disciplinary Decision Support Systems for Sustainable Development Applications

Systems engineering applied to urban planning and development: A review and research agenda

Mon, 19 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Systems engineering applied to urban planning and development: A review and research agenda Reid, Jack; Wood, Danielle

Optical and Thermochemical Analysis for Paraffin and Beeswax Centrifugal Casting

Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Optical and Thermochemical Analysis for Paraffin and Beeswax Centrifugal Casting Stober, Keith J; Sanchez, Alana; Apodaca M, M Regina; Ngetich, Gladys C; Wood, Danielle

Modelling and simulation of in-orbit centrifugal casting of a paraffin wax grain inside a 3U CubeSat

Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Modelling and simulation of in-orbit centrifugal casting of a paraffin wax grain inside a 3U CubeSat Leuteri Costanzo, Daniele; Stober, Keith Javier; Wood, Danielle; Colombo, Camilla

Data-driven Humanitarian Mapping and Policymaking: Toward Planetary-Scale Resilience, Equity, and Sustainability

Sun, 14 Aug 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Data-driven Humanitarian Mapping and Policymaking: Toward Planetary-Scale Resilience, Equity, and Sustainability Gaikwad, Snehalkumar `Neil'; Iyer, Shankar; Lunga, Dalton; Yabe, Takahiro; Liang, Xiaofan; Ananthabhotla, Bhavani; Behari, Nikhil; Guggilam, Sreelekha; Chi, Guanghua

Data-driven Humanitarian Mapping: Harnessing Human-Machine Intelligence for High-Stake Public Policy and Resilience Planning

Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Data-driven Humanitarian Mapping: Harnessing Human-Machine Intelligence for High-Stake Public Policy and Resilience Planning Gaikwad, Snehalkumar 'Neil'; Lunga, Dalton; Iyer, Shankar; Bondi, Elizabeth

Self-employment for autonomous robots using smart contracts

Sat, 01 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Self-employment for autonomous robots using smart contracts Castelló Ferrer, Eduardo; Berman, Ivan; Kapitonov, Aleksandr; Manaenko, Vadim; Chernyaev, Makar; Tarasov, Pavel; Wilson, Bryan; Greenwood, Dazza; Walters, Ed The physical autonomy of robots is well understood both theoretically and practically. By contrast, there is almost no research exploring a robot's potential economic autonomy. In this paper, we present the first economically autonomous robot---a robot able to produce marketable goods while having full control over the use of its generated income. In our proof-of-concept, the robot is self-employed as an artist. It produces physical artistic goods and uses blockchain-based smart contracts on the Ethereum network to autonomously list its goods for sale in online auctions. Using the blockchain-based smart contract, the robot then uses its income from sales to autonomously order more materials from an online shop, pay for its consumables such as network fees, and remunerate human assistance for support tasks. The robot also uses its income to repay investor loans that funded its initial phase of production. In these transactions, the robot interacts with humans as a peer, not as a tool. In other words, the robot makes peer financial transactions with humans in the same way that another human would, first as an investment vehicle, then as a seller at an auction, and then as a shop customer and a client. Our proof-of-concept is conducted as an in-lab experiment, but gives rise to an important discussion of the legal implications of economically autonomous robots, which under existing frameworks can already be embedded in corporate entities that are classed as artificial persons.

Self-employment for autonomous robots using smart contracts

Sat, 01 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Incentivizing Collaboration on Space Sustainability: Detectability, Identifiability, and Trackability of Space Missions

Sun, 01 May 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Incentivizing Collaboration on Space Sustainability: Detectability, Identifiability, and Trackability of Space Missions Slavin, Maya The world has increasingly come to rely on satellites to provide services such as navigation, global communications, banking, national security, and weather forecasting. However, as satellites are launched into space at increasing rates, the risk of collision between active payloads or with pieces of debris rises exponentially. One of the initiatives to combat congestion is the Space Sustainability Rating. The Space Sustainability Rating is a rating system commissioned by the World Economic Forum in 2018 that scores a space mission on how sustainable it is for the long-term usability of the space environment, particularly in regards to debris mitigation and collision avoidance. It aims to incentivize more responsible design decisions by satellite operators and encourage the acceleration and establishment of sustainable norms of behavior. One of the six scoring modules in the Space Sustainability Rating is the Detectability, Identifiability, and Trackability (DIT) module. This thesis builds on the earlier work that was done to develop the first version of the DIT module and makes three primary contributions to it. First, it investigates using the previously proposed concept of orbital zip codes for the Identifiability scoring process and then suggests an alternative scoring methodology based on constructing Cypher queries that count the number of similar space objects that could make identifying a given object more difficult. Second, this thesis demonstrates how ASTRIAGraph, a knowledge-graph database that combines data from multiple space data sources, can be used to facilitate parts of the DIT analysis. Finally, it conducts a multi-case study to examine how missions from regions outside of the United States and Europe score in the DIT module and whether there are factors related to the national contexts in which they were developed that impact their scores.

Centrifugal Casting of Paraffin and Beeswax for Hybrid Rockets

Sat, 01 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Centrifugal Casting of Paraffin and Beeswax for Hybrid Rockets Stober, Keith J; Sanchez, Alana; Wanyiri, Juliet; Jiwani, Suzanna; Wood, Danielle Renee © 2020, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA. All rights reserved. A high-level research framework is presented which seeks to navigate the barriers associated with reusing wax phase change material onboard a satellite as a hybrid rocket fuel for de-orbit or other in-space propulsion needs, while also conducting fundamental studies of the fluid mechanics and heat transfer phenomena which drive the cooling and solidification of wax within a horizontal rotating cylinder in various gravitational and thermal environments. A detailed review of past work in the area of beeswax fuel for hybrid chemical propulsion is reported and served to motivate consideration of this fuel for centrifugal casting efforts, due to previously reported values of regression rate comparable to that of paraffin wax. The production process of beeswax fuel from beekeeping detritus was perfected and documented. Analysis of the shrinkage of beeswax and the neat Candlewic FR5560 paraffin wax used herein determined a volume shrinkage percentage during liquid to solid phase transition of 18.7 ± 0.62 and 13.3 ± 0.22%, respectively. An image analysis routine was developed in order to automate the process of determining the instantaneous solidification rate for each one-second timestep through the centrifugal casting process of paraffin and beeswax fuel grain sizes common for small-scale hybrid rockets. Beeswax completed solidification in 22% less time than paraffin under identical conditions but exhibited more coning of resulting solid wax. Calculated time-and space-averaged solidification rates for paraffin and beeswax were 0.017 and 0.028 mm/s, respectively, within a 50.8 mm inner diameter, 57.15 mm outer diameter, and 254 mm length polycarbonate tube. Careful analysis, however, shows that instantaneous solidification rate increases very slightly but steadily over time for both paraffin and beeswax, though the rate increase is greater for beeswax. The image analysis routine was most effective when applied to the beeswax solidification process as compared to that of paraffin, as the solid/liquid interface is considerably more salient in beeswax due to a distinct color change upon solidification. Dye will be used with paraffin casting in the future with the goal of improving solid/liquid phase contrast.

The large footprint of small-scale artisanal gold mining in Ghana

Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT

The large footprint of small-scale artisanal gold mining in Ghana Barenblitt, Abigail; Payton, Amanda; Lagomasino, David; Fatoyinbo, Lola; Asare, Kofi; Aidoo, Kenneth; Pigott, Hugo; Som, Charles Kofi; Smeets, Laurent; Seidu, Omar; Wood, Danielle Renee Gold mining has played a significant role in Ghana's economy for centuries. Regulation of this industry has varied over time and while industrial mining is prevalent in the country, the expansion of artisanal mining, or Galamsey has escalated in recent years. Many of these artisanal mines are not only harmful to human health due to the use of Mercury (Hg) in the amalgamation process, but also leave a significant footprint on terrestrial ecosystems, degrading and destroying forested ecosystems in the region. In this study, the Landsat image archive available through Google Earth Engine was used to quantify the total footprint of vegetation loss due to artisanal gold mines in Ghana from 2005 to 2019 and understand how conversion of forested regions to mining has changed over a decadal period from 2007 to 2017. A combination of machine learning and change detection algorithms were used to calculate different land cover conversions and the timing of conversion annually. Within the study area of southwestern Ghana, our results indicate that approximately 47,000 ha (⨦2218 ha) of vegetation were converted to mining at an average rate of ~2600 ha yr-1. The results indicate that a high percentage (~50%) of this mining occurred between 2014 and 2017. Around 700 ha of this mining occurred within protected areas as mapped by the World Database of Protected Areas. In addition to deforestation, increased artisanal mining activity in recent years has the potential to affect human health, access to drinking water resources and food security. This work expands upon limited research into the spatial footprint of Galamsey in Ghana, complements mapping efforts by local geographers, and will support efforts by the government of Ghana to monitor deforestation caused by artisanal mining.

Vida Decision Support System: An International, Collaborative Project for COVID-19 Management with Integrated Modeling

Fri, 01 Oct 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Vida Decision Support System: An International, Collaborative Project for COVID-19 Management with Integrated Modeling Reid, Jack B.; Lombardo, Seamus; Turner, Katlyn; Zheng, Maggie; Wood, Danielle R. The Vida Decision Support System (Vida) is an application of the Environment-Vulnerability- Decision-Technology (EVDT) integrated modeling framework specifically aimed at COVID-19 impact and response analysis. The development of Vida has been an international collaboration involving multidisciplinary teams of academics, government officials (including public health, economics, environmental, and demographic data collection officials), and others from six states: Angola, Brazil, Chile, Indonesia, Mexico, and the United States. These collaborators have been involved with the identification of decision support needs, the surfacing and creation of relevant data products, and the evaluation of prototypes, with the vision of creating an openly available online platform that integrates earth observation instruments (Landsat, VIIRs, Planet Lab’s PlanetScope, NASA’s Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center, etc.) with in-situ data sources (COVID-19 case data, local demographic data, policy histories, mobile device-based mobility indices, etc.). Vida both visualizes historical data of relevance to decision-makers and simulates possible future scenarios. The modeling techniques used include system dynamics for public health, EO-based change detection and machine learning for environmental analysis, and discrete-event simulation of policy changes and impacts. In addition to the direct object of this collaboration (the development of Vida), collaborators have also benefited from sharing individual COVID-19-related insights with the network and from considering COVID-19 response in a more integrated fashion. This work outlines the Vida Decision Support System concept and the EVDT framework on which it is based. The international team is using Vida to evaluate the outcomes in several large cities regarding COVID cases, environmental changes, economic changes and policy decisions. It provides an overview of the overlapping and diverging needs and data sources of each of the collaborating teams, as well as how each of those teams have contributed to the development of Vida. The current state of the Vida prototypes and plans for future development will be presented. Additionally, this work will discuss the lessons learned from this development process and their relevance to other integrated applications.

Understanding Socio-Technical Issues Affecting the Current Microgravity Research Marketplace

Sat, 01 Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMT

Understanding Socio-Technical Issues Affecting the Current Microgravity Research Marketplace Joseph, Christine; Wood, Danielle For decades, the International Space Station (ISS) has operated as a bastion of international cooperation and a unique testbed for microgravity research. Beyond enabling insights into human physiology in space, the ISS has served as a microgravity platform for numerous science experiments. In recent years, private industry has also been affiliating with NASA and international partners to offer transportation, logistics management, and payload demands. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), which manages the ISS U.S. National Laboratory, has developed a diverse portfolio of private, public, international, and outreach projects. As the costs of flying projects to the ISS decrease, the barriers limiting non-traditional partners from accessing the ISS as a platform also decrease. However, the ISS in its current form cannot be sustained forever. As NASA looks towards commercialization of the low Earth orbit (LEO) space and the development of a cislunar station, concrete plans for shifting the public-private relationship of the ISS are unclear. With the consistent need to continue microgravity research - from governments and private industry - understanding the socio-technical and policy issues that affect the marketplace for future microgravity platforms is essential to maintaining an accessible and sustainable space economy. How will the U.S. and other governments design public-private partnerships to pursue economic and social goals in the LEO microgravity ecosystem? What governance structures will influence who is eligible to operate platforms for activities including tourism, research, manufacturing and outreach? How will international collaboration occur in the future LEO microgravity ecosystem? This paper presents a review of the current microgravity research ecosystem with a focus on potential future marketplace dynamics.

Mediating the Marginal: A Computational Analysis of Representational Hierarchies, Aesthetic Tourism, and Queer Imagination on Instagram

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Mediating the Marginal: A Computational Analysis of Representational Hierarchies, Aesthetic Tourism, and Queer Imagination on Instagram Souza, Garrett Images are world-building technologies, engendering futurity through collective imagination. An ontological trace of visual culture positions media technologies as sites of both regulation of and resistance to racial, sexual, and gender norms.. The rise of computational media and neoliberal sociopolitics has paradoxically both destabilized and bolstered visual hegemony, expanding Black and queer representation and visibility through a new vanguard of empowered visual creators, while also facilitating old traditions of oppression and co-option with an unprecedented precision, surveillance, and opacity. This project leverages a computational analysis of algorithmically curated imagery to situate Instagram within a lineage of technologies used to visually mediate marginality, particularly focusing on how how race, gender, and sexuality are structured within hypersegregated queer spaces on Instagram. Analysis of skin tone presentations, emoji usage, and engagement metrics within the #gay search feed reveal a continued erasure of Blackness within mediated content, in tandem with widespread co-option of Black aesthetics. A coupled differential reading of dominant representational paradigms, hashtag usage, and normative generative modeling within the Explore feed of a gay-coded user further exposes the co-option of Black and queer aesthetics, as well as an overwhelming promotion of hypermasculine and homonormative content. These results suggest that, while contemporary visual power has certainly diffused to previously marginalized positionalities, this reallocation is contingent on market capital, assimilation to normative ideals, and continued marginality. Results are directed towards a discussion of how imagery, image-making, digital media technologies, and computation might be used in service of liberatory praxis.

Centrifugal Casting of Paraffin and Beeswax for Hybrid Rockets

Centrifugal Casting of Paraffin and Beeswax for Hybrid Rockets Stober, Keith J; Sanchez, Alana; Wanyiri, Juliet; Jiwani, Suzanna; Wood, Danielle © 2020, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA. All rights reserved. A high-level research framework is presented which seeks to navigate the barriers associated with reusing wax phase change material onboard a satellite as a hybrid rocket fuel for de-orbit or other in-space propulsion needs, while also conducting fundamental studies of the fluid mechanics and heat transfer phenomena which drive the cooling and solidification of wax within a horizontal rotating cylinder in various gravitational and thermal environments. A detailed review of past work in the area of beeswax fuel for hybrid chemical propulsion is reported and served to motivate consideration of this fuel for centrifugal casting efforts, due to previously reported values of regression rate comparable to that of paraffin wax. The production process of beeswax fuel from beekeeping detritus was perfected and documented. Analysis of the shrinkage of beeswax and the neat Candlewic FR5560 paraffin wax used herein determined a volume shrinkage percentage during liquid to solid phase transition of 18.7 ± 0.62 and 13.3 ± 0.22%, respectively. An image analysis routine was developed in order to automate the process of determining the instantaneous solidification rate for each one-second timestep through the centrifugal casting process of paraffin and beeswax fuel grain sizes common for small-scale hybrid rockets. Beeswax completed solidification in 22% less time than paraffin under identical conditions but exhibited more coning of resulting solid wax. Calculated time-and space-averaged solidification rates for paraffin and beeswax were 0.017 and 0.028 mm/s, respectively, within a 50.8 mm inner diameter, 57.15 mm outer diameter, and 254 mm length polycarbonate tube. Careful analysis, however, shows that instantaneous solidification rate increases very slightly but steadily over time for both paraffin and beeswax, though the rate increase is greater for beeswax. The image analysis routine was most effective when applied to the beeswax solidification process as compared to that of paraffin, as the solid/liquid interface is considerably more salient in beeswax due to a distinct color change upon solidification. Dye will be used with paraffin casting in the future with the goal of improving solid/liquid phase contrast.

Inclusive Design of Earth Observation Decision Support Systems for Environmental Governance: A Case Study of Lake Nokoué

Wed, 01 Sep 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Inclusive Design of Earth Observation Decision Support Systems for Environmental Governance: A Case Study of Lake Nokoué Ovienmhada, Ufuoma; Mouftaou, Fohla; Wood, Danielle Renee Earth Observation (EO) data can enhance understanding of human-environmental systems for the creation of climate data services, or Decision Support Systems (DSS), to improve monitoring, prediction and mitigation of climate harm. However, EO data is not always incorporated into the workflow for decision-makers for a multitude of reasons including awareness, accessibility and collaboration models. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate a collaborative model that addresses historical power imbalances between communities. This paper highlights a case study of a climate harm mitigation DSS collaboration between the Space Enabled Research Group at the MIT Media Lab and Green Keeper Africa (GKA), an enterprise located in Benin. GKA addresses the management of an invasive plant species that threatens ecosystem health and economic activities on Lake Nokoué. They do this through a social entrepreneurship business model that aims to advance both economic empowerment and environmental health. In demonstrating a Space Enabled-GKA collaboration model that advances GKA's business aims, this study first considers several popular service and technology design methods and offer critiques of each method in terms of their ability to address inclusivity in complex systems. These critiques lead to the selection of the Systems Architecture Framework (SAF) as the technology design method for the case study. In the remainder of the paper, the SAF is applied to the case study to demonstrate how the framework coproduces knowledge that would inform a DSS with Earth Observation data. The paper offers several practical considerations and values related to epistemology, data collection, prioritization and methodology for performing inclusive design of climate data services.

Using earth observation data to inform community management of invasive plants and traditional fishing practices on Lake Nokoué in Benin

Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Using earth observation data to inform community management of invasive plants and traditional fishing practices on Lake Nokoué in Benin Ovienmhada, Ufuoma; Fatoyinbo, T; Lagomasino, D; Mouftaou, F; Ashcroft, E; Lombardo, Seamus(Seamus Joseph Holt); Wood, Danielle The research explores an Earth Observation (EO) application with the enterprise Green Keeper Africa (GKA) based in Cotonou, Benin, that addresses the management of an invasive plant species that threatens economic activities such as fishing, transportation and irrigation. GKA pays local community members to harvest the water hyacinth and transform it into a product that absorbs oil-based waste. The EO application is an online observatory and decision support tool that utilizes satellite, aerial and ground data to map the location of the water hyacinth and a fish farming practice known as “acadja” over time, providing valuable information for government, private and public users. The acadja analysis is relevant due to the adverse effects on water quality that the practice results in. This paper is a follow up on the work presented in the 2019 contribution to IAC session B1.5 by the authors. New research in this paper includes (i) improved and validated remote sensing algorithms for monitoring water hyacinth extent, (ii) trend analysis and forecasting of water hyacinth growth with other environmental data sets, (iii) improved and validated remote sensing algorithms for identifying and quantifying acadja and (iv) analysis of water quality parameters describing the coastal ecosystem.

Space sustainability rating: Designing a composite indicator to incentivise satellite operators to pursue long-term sustainability of the space environment

Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Space sustainability rating: Designing a composite indicator to incentivise satellite operators to pursue long-term sustainability of the space environment Rathnasabapathy, Minoo; Wood, Danielle; Letizia, F; Lemmens, S; Jah, M; Schiller, A; Christensen, C; Potter, S; Khlystov, N; Soshkin, M; Acuff, K; Lifson, Miles(Miles Thelonius Keylor); Steindl, Riley M. The Space Sustainability Rating (SSR) was first conceptualised within the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Space Technologies, and is being designed by an international and transdisciplinary consortia including the World Economic Forum, Space Enabled Research Group at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab, European Space Agency, University of Texas at Austin, and Bryce Space and Technology. With the increasing awareness of the rapidly growing number of objects in space, the implementation of a rating system, such as the SSR, provides an innovative way to address the orbital challenge by incentivising industry to design missions compatible with sustainable and responsible operations, and operate missions considering potential harm to the orbital environment and impact on other operators in addition to mission objectives and service quality. This paper builds upon the SSR concept introduced at the IAC in 2019, and provides in-depth description into the methodology used to design the SSR, based on successful rating systems in other industries such as LEED (green building energy and environmental design). This method seeks to provide a practice tool that governments, satellite operators and insurers can reference. The process also seeks to build capability among emerging space actors as they seek to understand how to design responsible space missions. The SSR is a composite indicator that is a function of the Space Traffic Footprint, measured through a mission index and compared to the so-called Environment Capacity and other measures of the responsibility shown by operator actions. The components of the SSR take into account mission aspects including on-orbit fragmentation risk, collision avoidance capabilities, detectability, identification, trackability, data sharing, on-orbit servicing, collision avoidance, debris mitigation, and adoption of international standards. The paper further explores key questions including; (i) what factors are most important to influence whether an operator seeks to reduce the potential for debris creation, (ii) how can the SSR can contribute to existing mechanisms (eg. UN Long-term Sustainability Guidelines, IADC) in supporting long-term space sustainability, and (iii) how can the SSR educate policy makers regarding manufacturers' and operators' motivations in choosing specific criteria and certifications in designing their mission to achieve a high rating or improve their existing rating.

Exploratory methods and techniques for space technology development and space mission concept development

Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Exploratory methods and techniques for space technology development and space mission concept development B. De La Torre, Lizbeth(Barrios De La Torre); Wood, Danielle This paper hopes to fill a gap in literature by framing the current state of exploratory design methods and techniques within space mission development and laying the groundwork to begin utilizing a wider variety of these methods and accompanying techniques. The purpose of this paper is to review the ways in which design methods and techniques used in other fields may be used in support of the space mission concept development process and space technology development. Designers are almost synonymous with the consumer product, automotive and entertainment industries. Fields such as Product Design, Transportation Design and Entertainment emphasize finding solutions to problems using exploratory design methods and techniques. Often, they are leaders in their organizations. However, there is not a direct appreciation or understanding of how to utilize these methods and techniques within aerospace. These methods have been shown to support mission concept development, however may also directly support technology development, as is seen in the consumer product industry. Evidence shows that these methods have sporadically been utilized by NASA for habitat design, software development and astronaut wearables. This paper explores opportunities within the space mission concept development process where these techniques are currently used and develops a design library of methods and techniques used outside of Aerospace that may be supportive of technology development. The current Pre-Phase A concept development process is mapped along with exploratory design methods used in other industries. Design Thinking is a heuristic problem solving method that can be applied to many fields. Human Centered Design and User Centered Design have been utilized for architecture and software development; these same tools could also be used to help inform the design of long term human habitation system on planetary surfaces. The Imagineering process is instrumental in theme park development; this paper argues it should also inform design of robotic science missions such as Mars Sciences. Science Fiction Thinking is a method of extrapolating future technology. How can this type of thinking inform the design of systems that aim to detect life in locations such as the liquid oceans on Europa and Titan? Techniques that are instrumental throughout these methods, such as storyboarding, sketching and prototyping are also defined. Interviews with employees within aerospace, consumer products and entertainment may shed light on opportunities and barriers to utilizing these techniques.

Leveraging microgravity to investigate earth- And space-based centrifugal casting of wax

Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Leveraging microgravity to investigate earth- And space-based centrifugal casting of wax Stober, Keith J; Sanchez, Alana; Apodaca Moreno, Maria Regina.; Ngetich, Gladys; Erkel, Daniel; Wanyiri, Juliet; Wood, Danielle A multi-year research effort aimed at increasing understanding of the centrifugal casting process of wax fuels for hybrid chemical propulsion in multiple thermal and gravitational environments is described. As both radiative and convective heat transfer drive the casting process, the suborbital and orbital microgravity environments are critical to disentangling these contributions to heat transfer away from the fuel. The experimental effort comprises testing on multiple platforms, including the ambient atmosphere of the laboratory, as well as various mobile microgravity platforms. Testing onboard reduced-gravity aircraft facilitates increased understanding of how these types of fluids perform in the microgravity environment, while a suborbital spaceflight and orbital platform under standard atmosphere allow for longer-term observation of natural convection sans buoyancy. An orbital platform subjected to the space environment facilitates understanding of the contribution of radiation to the heat transfer away from the liquid fuel. Each progressive testing environment requires updates to the experimental setup in order to accommodate respective physical and electrical constraints which are described in detail herein. An image analysis routine was developed in order to automate post-processing and determine the solidification front speed for each test. A rotation rate actuation routine is in development which aims to improve the accuracy of the centrifuge control system by leveraging electromagnetic sensing and feeding back rotation rate measurements to the motor driver. Preliminary modeling work was conducted which aims to elucidate the fundamental physics of the centrifugal casting problem; specifically, the impact of rotation rate, material properties, and environmental conditions on the heat transfer and fluid mechanics which constitute the larger casting problem. Both paraffin wax - a solid fuel with two decades of heritage - and the more novel beeswax are considered in this study.

Secure and secret cooperation in robotic swarms

Mon, 07 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Secure and secret cooperation in robotic swarms Castelló Ferrer, Eduardo; Hardjono, Thomas; Pentland, Alex 'Sandy'; Dorigo, Marco The importance of swarm robotics systems in both academic research and real-world applications is steadily increasing. However, to reach widespread adoption, new models that ensure the secure cooperation of large groups of robots need to be developed. This work introduces a novel method to encapsulate cooperative robotic missions in an authenticated data structure known as Merkle tree. With this method, operators can provide the "blueprint" of the swarm's mission without disclosing its raw data. In other words, data verification can be separated from data itself. We propose a system where robots in a swarm, to cooperate towards mission completion, have to "prove" their integrity to their peers by exchanging cryptographic proofs. We show the implications of this approach for two different swarm robotics missions: foraging and maze formation. In both missions, swarm robots were able to cooperate and carry out sequential operations without having explicit knowledge about the mission's high-level objectives. The results presented in this work demonstrate the feasibility of using Merkle trees as a cooperation mechanism for swarm robotics systems in both simulation and real-robot experiments, which has implications for future decentralized robotics applications where security plays a crucial role such as environmental monitoring, infrastructure surveillance, and disaster management.

Developing the detectability, identifiability, and trackability analysis for the space sustainability rating

Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Developing the detectability, identifiability, and trackability analysis for the space sustainability rating Steindl, Riley M. Three of the core activities in maintaining Space Situational Awareness (SSA) efforts are the Detection, Identification, and Tracking of Anthropogenic Space Objects (ASOs). For much of the space age, the onus for improving global SSA has fallen primarily on the ground-based satellite surveillance and tracking community, leading to more technically advanced and powerful sensing systems. With the focus on improving sensor design for SSA purposes, designers of surveillance and tracking systems have been able to push the envelope of observing increasingly smaller ASOs. Meanwhile, ventures in the use of nanosatellite and picosatellite architectures for commercial business models have become increasingly popular due to their lower material and launch costs. The proliferation of these small ASOs has made it easier than ever to add to the orbital population while also stretching thin the increasingly taxed ground-based sensing systems on which the world depends for SSA.; With the number of ASOs in orbit increasing rapidly, effort is required from both the sensing and satellite communities to ensure that humans can maintain adequate SSA for the foreseeable future. To aid in these efforts, the Detectability, Identifiability, and Trackability (DIT) analyses have been developed through this thesis work to quantitatively assess how difficult it is to detect, identify, and track ASOs from the Earth as a function of orbital and spacecraft characteristics. The DIT analysis first assumes a fictional network of medium quality ground-based sensors with optical and radar observation capabilities that are distributed in geographic locations around the world providing excellent coverage in high, middle and low latitudes.; The Detectability analysis utilizes geometric approximations of the shape of an ASO, along with its orbital parameters, to produce estimates of its visual magnitude and probability of detection by radar, in order to determine whether or not an ASO is likely to be detectable by the assumed ground sensor network. The Trackability analysis characterizes how the ASO's orbit interacts with the generically defined ground sensor network over time. Utilizing access statistics for both optical and radar sensing modes, the Trackability analysis calculates the percentage of the orbit that is tracked by the network, average time between ground sensor access and the duration of the access. These metrics inform how much information is available to improve state estimation for the ASO. Finally, for the Identifiability analysis, the vision is to describe how difficult it would be for an uninformed observer to determine if a given ASO can be matched to a known record in a catalog of space objects.; The author has been exploring an approach proposed by Professor Moriba Jah of the University of Texas at Austin based on clustering analysis of ASO orbital angular momentum data. Currently this analysis is limited to the population size data for each cluster, but work is underway to incorporate ASO characteristic data. The goal of including characteristic data is to consider groups of satellites that share common characteristics as sharing a so-called "orbital zip code". The analysis asks how many objects within a given orbital zip code are indistinguishable from the ASO based on data that can be observed by a ground observer with no prior information about the ASO. This paper delves into the specifics of the analysis and discusses the current plans for its implementation. While still a work-in-progress, work is underway to address the limitations of the analysis and improve its functionality.; The author has also been working closely with the developers of the Space Sustainability Rating (SSR), an initiative to create an incentive system to reward operators of satellites that take actions to reduce space debris and collision risk. The methods from the DIT analysis will be used as one of the scoring inputs for the Space Sustainability Rating. Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, February, 2021; Cataloged from the official PDF version of thesis.; Includes bibliographical references (pages 117-120).

Designing for voice in the vacuum : property in citizenship for democratic equality for future spacefarers

Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Designing for voice in the vacuum : property in citizenship for democratic equality for future spacefarers Reed, David Colby. The hostile environments of space will require that human life beyond Earth be mediated by many advanced technologies and the many operationally prescriptive systems needed to manage them. Such sociotechnical systems will be characterized by hierarchy, routine, and continuous monitoring. Any humans living in space will spend the entirety of their time under conditions characterized by such systems. Under constant surveillance, totalizing hierarchy, and circumscribed routines, the prospects for democratic social relations appear dim. I offer up several frames that can be used to consider social relations among future spacefarers. By considering perspectives on technology studies, group psychological processes, and legal institutions I explore the question of democratic equality in space from multiple perspectives. I suggest that contemporary discussions of designs for future spacefaring society should center on how those designs will influence democratic equality, and I offer some preliminary sketches of what this might look like. I view my contributions as synthesis and reframing. My hope is that this work begins to bring subject matter experts who do not typically apply their expertise to space to do so. Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, September, 2020; Cataloged from the official PDF version of thesis.; Includes bibliographical references (pages 66-71).

Interactive Model for Assessing Mangrove Health, Ecosystem Services, Policy Consequences, and Satellite Design in Rio de Janeiro Using Earth Observation Data

Thu, 01 Oct 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Interactive Model for Assessing Mangrove Health, Ecosystem Services, Policy Consequences, and Satellite Design in Rio de Janeiro Using Earth Observation Data Reida, Jack B.; Wood, Danielle There is an increasing need for tools to translate Earth Observation (EO) data into societally rele- vant metrics to inform human decision-making. To address this need, we present a multi-disciplinary, interactive modeling framework to advance ecological forecasting and policymaking using EO data. This framework will integrate four model components into one tool: Earth Science, Social Impact, Human Behavior and Satellite Design. The capabilities provided by this framework will improve the management of EO and socioeconomic data in a format usable by non-experts, while harnessing cloud computing, machine learning, economic analysis, complex systems modeling, and model-based systems engineering. This paper presents a prototype that demonstrates the viability of the framework via a case study: the mangrove forests in the Guaratiba area of Rio de Janeiro. These mangroves are vulnerable due to urbanization and rising sea levels. They provide a variety of ecosystem services, including serving as a mechanism for carbon sequestration, supporting subsistence shing, preventing coastal erosion, and attracting an ecotourism industry. The case study of mangrove and community health in Rio de Janeiro demonstrates all four model components. The Earth Science Model builds upon work by NASA biospheric scientists to use EO data, cloud computing and machine learning to track mangrove extent, health, and vulnerability over time for a 600 km2 area, as well as work by the Espa co research group at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro on the local mangrove ecosystem. To create the Human Decision Making model, we have partnered with Instituto Pereira Passos (the data science o ce of the Rio de Janeiro municipal government) to understand the policy history and socioeconomic factors. To build the Social Impact model, we are collaborating with ecosystem services economists to explain how policies impact mangrove health and how mangroves impact socioeconomic wellbeing. The Satellite Design Model accounts for the types of data collection used by policy makers since 1985. Through such collaborations, we are able to build an integrated, interactive model that policymakers can use to assess mangrove health, ecosystem services value, and policy consequences. The model helps answer such questions as: (a) What is the state of the mangroves over time? (b) How are human communities impacting the mangroves? (c) what is the value of the mangrove ecosystem services to human communities? and (d) what policies can improve human and mangrove outcomes? This case study is demonstrative of the viability of a similar approach for ecosystems around the world.

SCRIBE : crowdsourcing indigenous knowledge

Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT

SCRIBE : crowdsourcing indigenous knowledge Muniyappa, Prathima. The Ethnosphere is woven into the matrix of the biosphere as a simultaneous duality, and yet cartographers of disciplinary territories raise boundaries to dis-entangle the dialectic dualities: Nature from culture, scientific knowledge from indigenous knowledge and the form from the formless. The project of modernity with its predilection for organizing knowledge into disciplinary silos served to render the boundary between nature and culture impermeable. Myths, folklore ,language and heritage are animating phenomena for the human experience of mediating matter ,establishing networks that permeate boundaries between life-non life, human- other than human, form and the formless.; This research will journey through the overt but out-of-sight ecosystem transformations that are instigated from historically muted indigenous tribes and will develop a method of conservation of indigenous knowledge that is in-situ, espouses a critical conservation approach, engages with the issues of indigenous self representation and offers defensive intellectual property protection. It explores the design of a tool called SCRIBE to crowdsource and document oral histories, ecological memory and indigenous knowledge and practices relating to ecosystem management using new media. The tool can be used to and spatially correlate such media alongside earth observation data and scientific studies on resource conservation emerging from the same geographies.; Re-positioning two ontologies: the scientific and indigenous, in juxtaposition with one another, dismantles the false divide between these two categories and presents an opportunity to combine two sets of data sources that are rarely ever combined, and privilege vastly different ways of knowing. In crystallizing process into product and research into a technology that can be used for conservation, the thesis will seek to dwell deeply on devising the methodology of interaction with the communities, on the co-creation of a structure of engagement, of humbling learning from both their knowledge and their ontologies. This will inform the design principles for a tool that can address the complex questions of justice that underly the politics of knowledge conservation. Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, September, 2020; Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.; Includes bibliographical references (pages 102-106).

A study of emerging space nation and commercial satellite operator stakeholder preferences for space traffic management

Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT

A study of emerging space nation and commercial satellite operator stakeholder preferences for space traffic management Lifson, Miles(Miles Thelonius Keylor) The near-Earth space environment is a finite, shared resource. Trends including reduced launch costs, electronics miniaturization, and preference for resilient, disaggregated architectures are driving significant growth in the orbital population. Existing systems to coordinate and manage space traffic do not scale to this higher level of utilization or promote the efficient and equitable use of space. There is growing need for both new technical space traffic management (STM) systems and policy regimes to coordinate activities going to, in, and returning from space. This thesis describes several contributions to developing this integrated corpus. A literature review of proposed STM architectures highlights gaps in understandings of emerging space nation STM perspectives and commercial operator attitudes on data sharing. Based on United Nations documents and interviews with emerging space nation representatives, a set of four recommendations is developed for future international STM development efforts. These recommendations stress affordability, achievable technical requirements for participation, inclusive system design, and careful consideration of satellite control allocation. Through a review of operator U.S. regulatory filings and new interviews with operators and experts, operator attitudes are traced successively through 1) potential STM domains and functions; 2) per function data requirements; 3) concerns about data sharing; 4) attitudes towards data protection mechanisms; and 5) influence on potential STM system design. Key insights include the importance of operator perceived self-benefit from data sharing, and significant heterogeneity in operator data sharing attitudes. Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, September, 2020; Thesis: S.M. in Technology and Policy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Engineering, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, Technology and Policy Program, September, 2020; Cataloged from student-submitted PDF of thesis.; Includes bibliographical references (pages 199-213).

Decision Support Model and Visualization for Assessing Environmental Phenomena, Ecosystem Services, Policy Consequences, and Satellite Design Using Earth Observation Data

Mon, 02 Nov 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Decision Support Model and Visualization for Assessing Environmental Phenomena, Ecosystem Services, Policy Consequences, and Satellite Design Using Earth Observation Data Reid, Jack Burnett; Wood, Danielle Renee

Exploratory design methods and techniques in support of space mission concept development

Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Exploratory design methods and techniques in support of space mission concept development B. De La Torre, Lizbeth(Barrios De La Torre) I Designers are ubiquitous in the Consumer Product Industry, the Automotive Industry and Entertainment. Fields such as Product Design, Transportation Design and Entertainment Design emphasize finding solutions to problems using Exploratory Design Methods and Techniques. However, there is not a direct appreciation or understanding of how to utilize these Methods and Techniques within Aerospace. This thesis explores opportunities within the Space Mission Concept Development process where exploratory design methods and techniques may be supportive, and where these techniques are currently used. The work develops a design library of Methods and Techniques used outside of Aerospace that may help teams reach the goals of Space Mission Design defined by the milestones within the NASA Flight Mission Lifecycle. The thesis analyses Exploratory Design Methods used in other industries, such as Design Thinking, Human Centered Design, Imagineering and Science Fiction Thinking and shows how these methods can be subdivided into a common set of techniques, such as Storyboarding, Sketching and Prototyping. Interviews with employees within Aerospace and the Consumer Product Industry may shed light on opportunities and barriers to utilizing these Techniques. This thesis hopes to fill a gap in literature by framing the current state of Exploratory Design Methods and Techniques within Space Mission Development and laying the groundwork to begin utilizing a wider variety of Design Methods and accompanying Techniques. This thesis also contributes to documenting the roles that Designers have played in the Aerospace Industry throughout its history and argues for the benefits of including Design professionals within Aerospace teams as valued contributors. Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, May, 2020; Cataloged from the official PDF of thesis.; Includes bibliographical references (pages 150-156).

Earth observation technology applied to environmental management : a case study in Benin

Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Earth observation technology applied to environmental management : a case study in Benin Ovienmhada, Ufuoma. Coastal ecosystems provide habitats for a wide variety of plant and animal species. They also provide many benefits to humans in the form of transportation, subsistence, and economic opportunity. These benefits are at risk due to both anthropogenic and naturally-occurring environmental harms. Effective management of these environmental harms is important to protect the ecological balance of an ecosystem and the benefits that humans derive from them. Decision Support Systems (DSS) enabled by environmental and socioeconomic data can help inform effective management. However, data cannot always be incorporated into the decision-making workflow for a multitude of reasons from awareness, to interpretability, accessibility and cost. The research outcomes presented in this thesis address processes that (1) enable a stakeholder to set priorities for the design of a DSS and (2) utilize earth observation technologies to enable low cost data collection of parameters relevant to a stakeholder. These processes are studied through a case study on Lake Nokoué in Benin Republic with the stakeholder Green Keeper Africa (GKA), a social enterprise located in Benin. Lake Nokoué faces several challenges with sustainable water management due to an invasive plant species known as the water hyacinth, and anthropogenic pressure from population growth and lake-dependent economic activities. Earth Observation technologies are applied to demonstrate (1) a method for detection and long-term analysis of water hyacinth growth trends, (2) a method for detection of a traditional fish farming practice, (3) a method for long-term water quality sensing and (4) methods for validation of all data results. The results of this thesis show progress towards creating a multi-data stream DSS that can be used by GKA, government, and community members to engage with the Lake in a manner that preserves the lake's health while protecting the ecosystem services of the surrounding human populations. Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, May, 2020; Cataloged from the official PDF of thesis.; Includes bibliographical references (pages 147-153).

Monitoring water-related ecosystems with Earth observation data in support of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 reporting

Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Monitoring water-related ecosystems with Earth observation data in support of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 reporting Hakimdavar, Raha; Hubbard, Alfred; Policelli, Frederick; Pickens, Amy; Hansen, Matthew; Fatoyinbo, Temilola; Lagomasino, David; Pahlevan, Nima; Unninayar, Sushel; Kavvada, Argyro; Carroll, Mark; Smith, Brandon; Hurwitz, Margaret; Wood, Danielle Renee; Schollaert Uz, Stephanie Lack of national data on water-related ecosystems is a major challenge to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 targets by 2030. Monitoring surface water extent, wetlands, and water quality from space can be an important asset for many countries in support of SDG 6 reporting. We demonstrate the potential for Earth observation (EO) data to support country reporting for SDG Indicator 6.6.1, ‘Change in the extent of water-related ecosystems over time’ and identify important considerations for countries using these data for SDG reporting. The spatial extent of water-related ecosystems, and the partial quality of water within these ecosystems is investigated for seven countries. Data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Landsat 5, 7, and 8 with Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) are used to measure surface water extent at 250 m and 30 m spatial resolution, respectively, in Cambodia, Jamaica, Peru, the Philippines, Senegal, Uganda, and Zambia. The extent of mangroves is mapped at 30 m spatial resolution using Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI), Sentinel-1, and SRTM data for Jamaica, Peru, and Senegal. Using Landsat 8 and Sentinel 2A imagery, total suspended solids and chlorophyll-a are mapped over time for a select number of large surface water bodies in Peru, Senegal, and Zambia. All of the EO datasets used are of global coverage and publicly available at no cost. The temporal consistency and long time-series of many of the datasets enable replicability over time, making reporting of change from baseline values consistent and systematic. We find that statistical comparisons between different surface water data products can help provide some degree of confidence for countries during their validation process and highlight the need for accuracy assessments when using EO-based land change data for SDG reporting. We also raise concern that EO data in the context of SDG Indicator 6.6.1 reporting may be more challenging for some countries, such as small island nations, than others to use in assessing the extent of water-related ecosystems due to scale limitations and climate variability. Country-driven validation of the EO data products remains a priority to ensure successful data integration in support of SDG Indicator 6.6.1 reporting. Multi-country studies such as this one can be valuable tools for helping to guide the evolution of SDG monitoring methodologies and provide a useful resource for countries reporting on water-related ecosystems. The EO data analyses and statistical methods used in this study can be easily replicated for country-driven validation of EO data products in the future.

A micro- and macro- analysis of human-machine interfaces and systems in space

Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMT

A micro- and macro- analysis of human-machine interfaces and systems in space Joseph, Christine Humans and machines interact with each other on a variety of scales. Interactions can involve tightly coupled interfaces or even be socio-technical in nature. In terms of large complex systems, humans learn to interact and access these systems in the context of dierent social, political, technical, and economic environments. And yet despite this breadth, research on human-machine interactions on all scales depends on having metrics for evaluation and platforms upon which measurement can take place. This thesis investigated the utilization of new metrics for studying human-machine interfaces and systems at a micro and macro scale. At the micro scale, we investigated how humans may strategize to move their bodies in order to complete a agility-based running tasks. For a slalom course, an optimal control model was formulated to analyze the characteristics of an optimal path trajectory to complete the task as quickly as possible.; Opportunities to improve the model were informed by the utilization of a \micro" system - wearable inertial measurement unit (IMU) devices. While the path trajectories estimated from these devices have limitations, IMUs offer an opportunities to measure human movement in natural operational environments. In the context of space exploration, such natural environments could also include planetary surfaces with reduced gravity. To evaluate how locomotion might change in such conditions, the optimal control model was used to investigate how an optimal path trajectory would change while completing the slalom task in reduced gravity. The results demonstrated that as gravity decreased, it would take a human more time to complete the task and the curvature about turning regions would decrease (wider turns).; The results and limitations of the model in nominal and reduced gravity conditions demonstrated the strong influences gravity and ground reaction forces have on the path trajectories humans can execute. Investigating some of the limitations of the optimal models depended on having experimental trajectories estimated from the IMUs as a platform of measurement. Reflecting on how the curvature of the path trajectories decreased as gravity decreased, the metric of integrated curvature was proposed for analyzing the path trajectories of humans completing an agility task. The feasibility of using this metric was analyzed via a pilot study of another agility-based running task. Along with other common metrics of characterizing agility and path trajectories (task completion time and path length), the integrated curvature metric was evaluated using both optical motion capture (Vicon) and wearable IMU measurement platforms.; The pilot study results demonstrated that subject performance in terms of completion time, path length, and integrated curvature could depend on the structure of the task and whether a subject had a priori knowledge of the task goal. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that there are opportunities to leverage the integrated curvature metric via the wearable IMU measurement platform to make decision-making conclusions. Wearable IMUs offer a measurement platform that could be utilized in natural field settings, including reduced gravity planetary environments. But in order to test out and improve metrics for IMUs in these conditions, we require access to reduced gravity research platforms. Accessibility to microgravity platforms is complex and dependent on a variety of factors beyond just financial costs.; And just as it is important to use human performance measurement platforms and metrics that can be leveraged in dierent operational environments for generalized user populations, it also important that access to microgravity research platforms is available for non-traditional partners. Non-traditional partners include users like startups, early career academics, emerging space nations, and education outreach groups. In order to capture the complexities and nuances behind accessibility for end users in the microgravity research ecosystem, new metrics of economic openness and administrative openness were proposed. The current and future microgravity research ecosystems were surveyed using case study research methods. Systems architecture methods were utilized to analyze the stakeholders and forms of access (pathways) present in the ecosystem.; Analysis demonstrated that mixed public/private pathways can foster relatively high economic and administrative openness, but these levels of openness can decrease dependent on the capabilities and type of the end user and the type of funding sources used at dierent stages of the pathway. Opportunities exist to refine the accessibility metrics and add new dimensions of analysis. Whether it be for wearable devices or microgravity research, by refining metrics and examining platforms now, we can help ensure accessibility to these systems for any type of user in the future. This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.; Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2019; Thesis: S.M. in Technology and Policy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Engineering, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, Technology and Policy Program, 2019; Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.; Includes bibliographical references (pages 153-165).

Combining Social, Environmental and Design Models to Support the Sustainable Development Goals

Fri, 01 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMT

Combining Social, Environmental and Design Models to Support the Sustainable Development Goals Reid, Jack Burnett; Zeng, Cynthia; Wood, Danielle Renee There are benefits to be gained from combining the strengths of modeling frameworks that capture social, environ- mental and design-based considerations. Many of the impor- tant challenges of the next decade lie at the intersection of the natural environment, human decision making and the design of space technology to inform decision making. There are 17 Sustainable Development Goals outlined by the United Nations through 2030. Several of these Sustainable Development Goals can be addressed by asking: 1) What is happening in the natural environment? 2) How will humans be impacted by what is happening in the natural environment? 3) What decisions are humans making in response to environmental factors and why? and 4) What technology system can be designed to provide high quality information that supports human decision making? The answers to these questions are often interrelated in complex ways; thus it is helpful to use a framework from complex systems to integrate these questions. Within the list of Sustainable De- velopment Goals, several fit the three questions above, including #2 Zero Hunger, #6 Clean Water and Sanitation, #13 Climate Action, #14 Life Below Water, and #15 Life on Land. This paper presents a research agenda to apply environmental modeling, complex systems modeling, and model-based systems engineering to inform the design of space systems in support of the Sustainable Development Goals. This work builds on previous research in the following areas: 1) physics-based en- vironmental modeling; 2) complex systems modeling to simu- late human decision making using agent-based models; and 3) model based systems engineering to inform the architecture of satellites or space-enabled data systems. This paper presents a review of the state of the art, shows examples of how these methods have been combined to inform space system design and presents a future research agenda. As an example, the paper discusses a project related to Sustainable Development Goal #15 to design an earth observation system using space- based and ground-based data collection regarding an invasive plant species in Benin, West Africa. In this example, insights are needed regarding natural variables (i.e. salinity, temperature and turbidity of local waterways), social variables (i.e. economic impact of the invasive plant on local communities), and design variables (i.e. the technical performance of existing imagery satellites and in-situ sensor networks).

Urban Swarms: A new approach for autonomous waste management

Thu, 18 Oct 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Urban Swarms: A new approach for autonomous waste management Alfeo, Antonio Luca; Castelló Ferrer, Eduardo; Lizarribar Carrillo, Yago; Grignard, Arnaud; Alonso Pastor, Luis; Sleeper, Dylan T.; Cimino, Mario G.C.A.; Lepri, Bruno; Vaglini, Gigliola; Larson, Kent; Dorigo, Marco; Pentland, Alex ('Sandy') Modern cities are growing ecosystems that face new challenges due to the increasing population demands. One of the many problems they face nowadays is waste management, which has become a pressing issue requiring new solutions. Swarm robotics systems have been attracting an increasing amount of attention in the past years and they are expected to become one of the main driving factors for innovation in the field of robotics. The research presented in this paper explores the feasibility of a swarm robotics system in an urban environment. By using bio-inspired foraging methods such as multi-place foraging and stigmergy-based navigation, a swarm of robots is able to improve the efficiency and autonomy of the urban waste management system in a realistic scenario. To achieve this, a diverse set of simulation experiments was conducted using real-world GIS data and implementing different garbage collection scenarios driven by robot swarms. Results presented in this research show that the proposed system outperforms current approaches. Moreover, results not only show the efficiency of our solution, but also give insights about how to design and customize these systems.

Managing Byzantine Robots via Blockchain Technology in a Swarm Robotics Collective Decision Making Scenario

Fri, 25 May 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Managing Byzantine Robots via Blockchain Technology in a Swarm Robotics Collective Decision Making Scenario Strobel, Volker; Castelló Ferrer, Eduardo; Dorigo, Marco While swarm robotics systems are often claimed to be highly fault-tolerant, so far research has limited its attention to safe laboratory settings and has virtually ignored security issues in the presence of Byzantine robots—i.e., robots with arbitrarily faulty or malicious behavior. However, in many applications one or more Byzantine robots may suffice to let current swarm coordination mechanisms fail with unpredictable or disastrous outcomes. In this paper, we provide a proof-of-concept for managing security issues in swarm robotics systems via blockchain technology. Our approach uses decentralized programs executed via blockchain technology (blockchain-based smart contracts) to establish secure swarm coordination mechanisms and to identify and exclude Byzantine swarm members. We studied the performance of our blockchain-based approach in a collective decision-making scenario both in the presence and absence of Byzantine robots and compared our results to those obtained with an existing collective decision approach. The results show a clear advantage of the blockchain approach when Byzantine robots are part of the swarm.

RoboChain: A Secure Data-Sharing Framework for Human-Robot Interaction

Wed, 14 Feb 2018 00:00:00 GMT

RoboChain: A Secure Data-Sharing Framework for Human-Robot Interaction Castelló Ferrer, Eduardo; Rudovic, Ognjen (Oggi); Hardjono, Thomas; Pentland, Alexander (Sandy) Robots have potential to revolutionize the way we interact with the world around us. One of their largest potentials is in the domain of mobile health where they can be used to facilitate clinical interventions. However, to accomplish this, robots need to have access to our private data in order to learn from these data and improve their interaction capabilities. Furthermore, to enhance this learning process, the knowledge sharing among multiple robot units is the natural step forward. However, to date, there is no well-established framework which allows for such data sharing while preserving the privacy of the users (e.g., the hospital patients). To this end, we introduce RoboChain - the first learning framework for secure, decentralized and computationally efficient data and model sharing among multiple robot units installed at multiple sites (e.g., hospitals). RoboChain builds upon and combines the latest advances in open data access and blockchain technologies, as well as machine learning. We illustrate this framework using the example of a clinical intervention conducted in a private network of hospitals. Specifically, we lay down the system architecture that allows multiple robot units, conducting the interventions at different hospitals, to perform efficient learning without compromising the data privacy.

Personal Food Computer: A new device for controlled-environment agriculture

Mon, 19 Jun 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Personal Food Computer: A new device for controlled-environment agriculture Castelló Ferrer, Eduardo; Rye, Jake; Brander, Gordon; Savas, Tim; Chambers, Douglas; England, Hildreth; Harper, Caleb Due to their interdisciplinary nature, devices for controlled-environment agriculture have the possibility to turn into ideal tools not only to conduct research on plant phenology but also to create curricula in a wide range of disciplines. Controlled-environment devices are increasing their functionalities as well as improving their accessibility. Traditionally, building one of these devices from scratch implies knowledge in fields such as mechanical engineering, digital electronics, programming, and energy management. However, the requirements of an effective controlled-environment device for personal use brings new constraints and challenges. This paper presents the OpenAg Personal Food Computer (PFC); a low cost desktop size platform, which not only targets plant phenology researchers but also hobbyists, makers, and teachers from elementary to high-school levels (K-12). The PFC is completely open-source and it is intended to become a tool that can be used for collective data sharing and plant growth analysis. Thanks to its modular design, the PFC can be used in a large spectrum of activities. Accepted at the 2017 Future Technologies Conference (FTC)

A wearable general-purpose solution for Human-Swarm Interaction

Thu, 11 May 2017 00:00:00 GMT

A wearable general-purpose solution for Human-Swarm Interaction Castelló Ferrer, Eduardo Swarms of robots will revolutionize many industrial applications, from targeted material delivery to precision farming. Controlling the motion and behavior of these swarms presents unique challenges for human operators, who cannot yet effectively convey their high-level intentions to a group of robots in application. This work proposes a new human-swarm interface based on novel wearable gesture-control and haptic-feedback devices. This work seeks to combine a wearable gesture recognition device that can detect high-level intentions, a portable device that can detect Cartesian information and finger movements, and a wearable advanced haptic device that can provide real-time feedback. This project is the first to envisage a wearable Human-Swarm Interaction (HSI) interface that separates the input and feedback components of the classical control loop (input, output, feedback), as well as being the first of its kind suitable for both indoor and outdoor environments.

The blockchain: a new framework for robotic swarm systems

Thu, 11 May 2017 00:00:00 GMT

The blockchain: a new framework for robotic swarm systems Castelló Ferrer, Eduardo Swarms of robots will revolutionize many industrial applications, from targeted material delivery to precision farming. However, several of the heterogeneous characteristics that make them ideal for certain future applications --- robot autonomy, decentralized control, collective emergent behavior, etc. --- hinder the evolution of the technology from academic institutions to real-world problems. Blockchain, an emerging technology originated in the Bitcoin field, demonstrates that by combining peer-to-peer networks with cryptographic algorithms a group of agents can reach an agreement on a particular state of affairs and record that agreement without the need for a controlling authority. The combination of blockchain with other distributed systems, such as robotic swarm systems, can provide the necessary capabilities to make robotic swarm operations more secure, autonomous, flexible and even profitable. This work explains how blockchain technology can provide innovative solutions to four emergent issues in the swarm robotics research field. New security, decision making, behavior differentiation and business models for swarm robotic systems are described by providing case scenarios and examples. Finally, limitations and possible future problems that arise from the combination of these two technologies are described.

Investigating Social Presence and Communication with Embodied Avatars in Room-Scale Virtual Reality

Mon, 26 Jun 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Investigating Social Presence and Communication with Embodied Avatars in Room-Scale Virtual Reality Greenwald, Scott W.; Wang, Zhangyuan; Funk, Markus; Maes, Pattie Room-scale virtual reality (VR) holds great potential as a medium for communication and collaboration in remote and same-time, same-place settings. Related work has established that movement realism can create a strong sense of social presence, even in the absence of photorealism. Here, we explore the noteworthy attributes of communicative interaction using embodied minimal avatars in room-scale VR in the same-time, same-place setting. Our system is the first in the research community to enable this kind of interaction, as far as we are aware. We carried out an experiment in which pairs of users performed two activities in contrasting variants: VR vs. face-to-face (F2F), and 2D vs. 3D. Objective and subjective measures were used to compare these, including motion analysis, electrodermal activity, questionnaires, retrospective think-aloud protocol, and interviews. On the whole, participants communicated effectively in VR to complete their tasks, and reported a strong sense of social presence. The system's high fidelity capture and display of movement seems to have been a key factor in supporting this. Our results confirm some expected shortcomings of VR compared to F2F, but also some non-obvious advantages. The limited anthropomorphic properties of the avatars presented some difficulties, but the impact of these varied widely between the activities. In the 2D vs. 3D comparison, the basic affordance of freehand drawing in 3D was new to most participants, resulting in novel observations and open questions. We also present methodological observations across all conditions concerning the measures that did and did not reveal differences between conditions, including unanticipated properties of the think-aloud protocol applied to VR. Submission includes video.

Multi-User Framework for Collaboration and Co-Creation in Virtual Reality

Sun, 18 Jun 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Multi-User Framework for Collaboration and Co-Creation in Virtual Reality Greenwald, Scott W.; Corning, Wiley; Maes, Pattie We present CocoVerse, a shared immersive virtual reality environment in which users interact with each other and create and manipulate virtual objects using a set of hand-based tools. Simple, intuitive interfaces make the application easy to use, and its flexible toolset facilitates constructivist and exploratory learning. The modular design of the system allows it to be easily customized for new room-scale applications. Presented as a poster.

Linking Historical Roots and Current Methodologies of Engineering Systems

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Linking Historical Roots and Current Methodologies of Engineering Systems Santen, Nidhi R.; Wood, Danielle This paper reviews the historical context and present impact of two sets of literature: the work of Joseph Schumpeter and the field of Strategy Development. Schumpeter’s theories about the impact of technology or innovation on the economy are an important input into modern Engineering Systems (ES) thinking. Meanwhile, Strategy Development is an active contemporary methodology that is relevant to Engineering Systems. Both Schumpeter and the scholars in Strategy Development are concerned with how firms perform, but Schumpeter's approach is descriptive while Strategy Development is prescriptive. The approach in this paper is as follows. It first introduces the theories of Schumpeter on innovation and the major ideas within Strategy Development. Next, two historical reviews are presented. One review looks forward to find the impact that Schumpeter has had on modern fields; the second review looks backward to understand the roots of Strategy Development. These historical reviews are initially done independently. The final section asks whether there are direct historical links between Schumpeter and the scholars or ideas of Strategy Development. The major result of this investigation is that Schumpeter’s influence is widespread as are the roots of Strategy Development. The results also show that the writing of Schumpeter is related to Strategy literature because many of Schumpeter’s ideas have become foundational realities for Strategy Development. Meanwhile, this connection is just one of many for each field, and the link between Schumpeter and Strategy Development does not appear to be the most important.

TagAlong: Informal Learning from a Remote Companion with Mobile Perspective Sharing

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 00:00:00 GMT

TagAlong: Informal Learning from a Remote Companion with Mobile Perspective Sharing Greenwald, Scott W.; Khan, Mina; Vazquez, Christian D.; Maes, Pattie Questions often arise spontaneously in a curious mind, due to an observation about a new or unknown environment. When an expert is right there, prepared to engage in dialog, this curiosity can be harnessed and converted into highly effective, intrinsically motivated learning. This paper investigates how this kind of situated informal learning can be realized in real-world settings with wearable technologies and the support of a remote learning companion. In particular, we seek to understand how the use of different multimedia communication mediums impacts the quality of the interaction with a remote teacher, and how these remote interactions compare with face-to-face, co-present learning. A prototype system called TagAlong was developed with attention to features that facilitate dialog based on the visual environment. It was developed to work robustly in the wild, depending only on widely-available components and infrastructure. A pilot study was performed to learn about what characteristics are most important for successful interactions, as a basis for further system development and a future full-scale study. We conclude that it is critical for system design to be informed by (i) an analysis of the attentional burdens imposed by the system on both wearer and companion and (ii) a knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of co-present learning.

Building technological capability within satellite programs in developing countries

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Building technological capability within satellite programs in developing countries Wood, Danielle Renee Global participation in space activity is growing as satellite technology matures and spreads. Countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America are creating or reinvigorating national satellite programs. These countries are building local capability in space through technological learning. They sometimes pursue this via collaborative satellite development projects with foreign firms that provide training. This phenomenon of collaborative satellite development projects is poorly understood by researchers of technological learning and technology transfer. The approach has potential to facilitate learning, but there are also challenges due to misaligned incentives and the tacit nature of the technology. Perspectives from literature on Technological Learning, Technology Transfer, Complex Product Systems and Product Delivery provide useful but incomplete insight for decision makers in such projects. This work seeks a deeper understanding of capability building through collaborative technology projects by conceiving of the projects as complex, socio-technical systems with architectures. The architecture of a system is the assignment of form to execute a function along a series of dimensions. The research questions explore the architecture of collaborative satellite projects, the nature of capability building during such projects, and the relationship between architecture and capability building. The research design uses inductive, exploratory case studies to investigate six collaborative satellite development projects. Data collection harnesses international field work driven by interviews, observation, and documents. The data analysis develops structured narratives, architectural comparison and capability building assessment. The architectural comparison reveals substantial variation in project implementation, especially in the areas of project initiation, technical specifications of the satellite, training approaches and the supplier selection process. The individual capability building assessment shows that most trainee engineers gradually progressed from no experience with satellites through theoretical training to supervised experience; a minority achieved independent experience. At the organizational level, the emerging space organizations achieved high levels of autonomy in project definition and satellite operation, but they were dependent on foreign firms for satellite design, manufacture, test and launch. The case studies can be summarized by three archetypal projects defined as "Politically Pushed," "Structured," and "Risk Taking." Countries in the case studies tended to start in a Politically Pushed mode, and then moved into either Structured or Risk Taking mode. Decision makers in emerging satellite programs can use the results of this dissertation to consider the broad set of architectural options for capability building. Future work will continue to probe how specific architectural decisions impact capability building outcomes in satellite projects and other technologies. Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2012.; Vita. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.; Includes bibliographical references.

The use of satellite-based technology in developing countries

Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The use of satellite-based technology in developing countries Wood, Danielle Renee Satellite technology in the areas of remote sensing, communication, and navigation can provide valuable information in a number of areas from business to disaster management to agriculture. There is great potential for such technology to help solve problems in developing countries. Unfortunately, due to lack of funds, expertise, equipment or awareness, developing countries are not using satellite technology to its full potential. This thesis is motivated by a desire to increase and improve the use of satellite-based technology in developing countries. Three Research Questions guide the study. Question 1 is, "How does national development level relate to national space activity?" For this question, national development level is measured by a series of Development Indicators such as Gross Domestic Product. The level of space activity is measured using a Space Participation Metric that is created by the author. Statistical analysis is used to learn if there is any significant difference in the space activity of countries at different development levels. Research Question 2 asks, "What Mission and Management Architectures are developing countries using to apply satellite-based technology to national needs?" The data used to answer this question comes from 90 Space Project Case Studies about satellite-enabled activities in Africa. The information from the Case Studies is organized so that trends can be found in the accomplishments of the projects. Research Question 3 asks, "How does national development level influence the Mission and Management Architectures used by developing countries in satellite-based technology projects?" This question builds on the data from Research Question 2.; (cont.) Statistical analysis is used to determine if African countries at different development levels perform differently in the Space Project Case Studies. In addition to addressing these three Research Questions, this study explores the policy context of African countries through a series of interviews. Thirty interviews were held with representatives from African embassies in the United States. The interview questions explore the institutional structure of the country?s National Innovation System. To summarize the results, the analysis for Question 1 shows that there is a significant difference in the space activity of countries at different development levels. Question 2 shows that most African space projects involve either one African country or a collaboration with a non-African partner. The third Research Question shows that there is a significant difference in the level of technical expertise and programmatic leadership shown by African countries at different development levels. This study closes with policy recommendations for developing country policy makers about next steps for using satellite-based technology. Thesis Supervisor: Annalisa Weigel Assistant Professor, Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems Division Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2007.; This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.; Includes bibliographical references.