United States Agencies
Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- Project Title: CSREES (Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service)
A NOVEL DRINKING WATER TREATMENT UNIT FROM AGRICULTURAL BY-PRODUCTS
Topic: 8.8 Industrial Applications Duration: March 2001-Dec 2001.
USDA Award: #2001-33610-20383l Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREAES)
The Principal Investigator:Dr. Mohamed Ahmedna; Senior Food Scientist
The activated carbons were produced in the laboratories of the USDA-ARS Southern Regional Research Center (SRRC) through special arrangement with TII.
The Cooperative Research & Development Agreement (CRADA) No. 58-3K95-2-908 between TII and the USDA/ARS/SRRC, New Orleans, Louisiana is currently in effect and covers the period from December 15, 2001 through December 14, 2002.
Project team: Dr. Abdo A. Husseiny and Dr. Ramu M. Rao.
Consultant: Wayne E. Marshall, Ph.D.; Research Chemist, Commodity Utilization Research, USDA-ARS, SRRC, P.O. Box 19687; 1100 Robert E. Lee Boulevard, New Orleans, LA 70179. PublicationsMohamed Ahmedna (December 30, 2001). A Novel Drinking Water Treatment Unit from Agricultural By-Products. Technology International Incorporated of Virginia (TII-VA) Phase I Final Report to Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREAES). Ahmedna M, Marshall Wayne E, Husseiny Abdo A, Rao Ramu M, Goktepe Ipek; 2004. The use of nutshell carbons in drinking water filters for removal of trace metals. Water Research 38(4):1062-1068. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14769427?dopt=Abstract Ahmedna M, Marshall Wayne E, Husseiny Abdo A, Goktepe Ipek, Rao Ramu M; 2004. The use of nutshell carbons in drinking water filters for removal of chlorination by-products. Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology 79(10):1092-1097. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/109581116/abstract and http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/jws/jctb/2004/00000079/00000010/art00008

SUMMARY
The purpose of this SBIR research project is the development, testing and feasibility evaluation of Envirofilter, a versatile point-of-use (POU) filter for home water treatment manufactured from granular activated carbons (GACs). The GACs are produced from select agricultural by-products subjected to special a combination of physical, chemical and thermal treatments to create an adsorption matrix with maximum affinity for both organic and inorganic compounds found in drinking water.

Eight prototype filters using 100% agricultural by-product-based carbons (Envirofilter) were constructed and tested. These included filters made of individual and binary mixtures of acid and steam activated nutshells (pecan, almond, and English walnut). The outcome of testing the Envirofilter prototypes showed that most Envirofilter prototypes were as efficient as the leading commercial filters in removing select metals (copper, lead and zinc) and organics (chlorination byproducts). The Envirofilter is shown to be highly effective in removal of the largest number of contaminants, being of low cost and high durability, and having sound characteristics such as breakthrough and adsorbent dosage/depth for the broadest spectrum of common drinking water contaminants.

The Envirofilter can provide consumers with an efficient, low cost and reliable capability for purification drinking water while helping to preserve the environment through conversion of agricultural wastes into value added products and replacement of short-lived and costly petroleum-based ion exchange resins currently used in drinking water purification. The commercial viability of the Envirofilter was shown through comparison of the effectiveness of select by-product-based activated carbons and major commercial home water treatment systems in removing select inorganic and organic compounds..

Custom-designed Envirofilter has high commercialization potential in drinking water purification at homes in rural communities and towns. Other potential markets include wastewater and storm water treatment, environmental remediation of polluted water streams, and food purification and recycling (e.g., recycling of frying oils generated by the food and food service industries).


Department of Commerce (DOC)
- NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology)
- Project Title: NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

Department of Defence (DoD)
US AirForce
- Project Title: Connectivity Technologies for the Warfighter Network (MAWNET): Phase I
Connectivity Technologies for the Warfighter Network (MAWNET): Phase I
Topic: AF05-108 (April 13, 2005-Jan 13, 2006) Proposal Number: F051-108-2367
Contract#: FA8760-05-C-0148; AFRL/IFKD; Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), 26 Electronic Parkway, Rome, NY 13441-4514
The Principal Investigator:Dr. Zeinab A. Sabri
Government Technical Point of Contact (TPOC)/Project Manager: Erik M. Wood, 1 LT, USAF; Tactical Network Engineer; AFRL/IFGC; 525 Brooks Road, Rome, NY 13440
Project team: Golden G. Richard, III and Dr. Abdo A. Husseiny PublicationsZeinab A. Sabri; Golden G. Richard, III Abdo A. Husseiny and Erik M. Wood; 1 LT, USAF (January 2006). Connectivity Technologies for the Warfighter Network (MAWNET). Phase I Final Technical Report; Technology International Incorporated of Virginia (TII-VA) Report # TILA-0601-AN-005; Contract Number: FA8760-05-C-0148; AFRL/IFKD; Air Force Research Laboratory; Rome, NY

Abstract
Foundational innovations in connectivity technologies were developed for the warfighter network; especially the Airborne Network (AN) to effectively increase the digital bandwidth to wirelessly connected users. The innovations involve wireless networking architectures and initial designs that provide high bandwidth, energy efficient, communication links between disparate wireless networks; the best two routing algorithms and projected throughput enhancement from their use; and approaches to model and simulate their performance. The innovative applications of radio and networking technologies are based on exploitation of the dense concentrations of wireless users to support high bandwidth but bursty applications such as image and video transfers. Communication between ad hoc networks containing nodes of disparate types can be accommodated by fitting some nodes with multiple radios, in order to bridge the different node types. Route discovery in the next-generation ad hoc routing protocol takes into account the types of nodes involved in a transmission, to ensure that communication between the endpoints is possible.

SUMMARY
The Phase I SBIR Project is aimed at the development, design, prototyping, and feasibility estimates of mobile ad hoc wireless networking (MAWNET); using networking connectivity technologies for the warfighter. Emphasis will be placed on the special requirements of the IP airborne network (IP-AN), including diversity of devices and links, the high speed of movement, very low resident time in the network and the vast distances between nodes. This involves definition of wireless networking architectures and initial designs that provide high bandwidth, energy efficient, communication links between disparate wireless networks; identification of the best two routing algorithms and projected throughput enhancement from their use; provision of approaches to model and simulate the performance of the routing algorithms for the IP-AN; examination of the feasibility of the new systems; and development and design of prototype systems that effectively increase the digital bandwidth to wirelessly connected users and enable energy efficient, reliable, low-latency and self-healing ad-hoc networking amongst heterogeneous devices in the IP-AN including at least one JTRS compliant device. This is considering that a large base of the installed legacy networks will coexist with new equipment.

The connectivity technologies for the warfighter network shall exploit the dense concentrations of wireless users to support high bandwidth but bursty applications such as VoIP and image and video transfers. This would have the benefits of globally conserving energy as well as increasing the effective bandwidth of the system while maintaining high reliability and availability of the network, assurance of self heeling and very low latency. Nevertheless, the energy conservation approach shall also respect the local needs of individual devices (e.g., not penalize a device that is in an advantageous relay location).

The definition of wireless airborne networking architectures as well as the selected initial designs of prototype systems have been shown to be technically feasible through modeling and simulation of the IP-AN. The most appropriate routing algorithms were the Dynamic Source Routing (DSR) protocol and the R-ODMRP (a special reliable modification of the On-Demand Multicast Routing Protocol (ODMRP)). RODMRP is considered for handling the extremely fast moving nodes (fighter jets). A routing algorithm that integrates metrics beyond hop counts during route discovery, such as the Implicit Source Routing (ISR), an improved version of DSR, may be used in place of DSR for on-demand ad hoc network routing, since ISR removes much of the overhead of the standard DSR. However, the basic functionality of ISR is similar to DSR and the results for DSR carry over to ISR.

The basic features of the identified protocols are expected to support a next-generation ad hoc routing protocols as demonstrated through analysis of existing ad hoc routing protocols and to support improved power management, better throughput for unicast and multicast communication (by utilizing multiple routes simultaneously), and to provide better reliability.

The simulation showed that DSR holds up under many mobility scenarios, including movement of terrestrial nodes at 40 mph or more. In the simulations, occasionally a shorter route gets chosen (since DSR always uses the shortest route) that may immediately break because at least one link is at the edge of the radio range. Basically, sometimes a short route is available, but at least one of the links is very weak. In very dense networks, simply choosing the shortest path is not the optimum choice since there will be a lot of overlap. A longer route with strong signals on each link might be more viable. In addition the edge conditions where the DSR protocol falls apart must be found.

Scenarios were developed to handle very fast moving nodes and to test the edge conditions where the routing protocols fall apart. The simulation showed that interactions of very high speed “visiting” nodes with airborne and terrestrial tiers are problematic, as expected. Accordingly, initial formulation of plans for handling very high speed nodes involves store and forward strategy in the airborne tier.

The development of the final prototype systems requires addressing the very fast-moving nodes, by expanding and implementing the store and forward strategy model, including incorporation of the Model/Protocol in OPNET; exporting of topology generating tool Bessie to OPNET Modules, adapting the ISR Protocol to OPNET, integrating the flight patterns into airborne tier routing, eliminating the ground-to-ground network contention, integrating the design; and analyzing reliability, energy conservation efficiency and bandwidth.

Demonstration of the prototype system should employ scenarios for mobile wireless ad hoc networking considering present and future AN; based on planned applications of the IP-AN, especially in the battle-field. Formation of real scenarios can be based on well-documented scenarios of past wars and anticipation of the role of the IP-AN, in future wars.

The Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium (NCOIC) anticipates ample commercial applications for the connectivity of AN. Direct commercial applications of the IP-AN connectivity include large commercial enterprises that may share some of the attributes of the military system; such as mining operations in extended areas of complex topography. This is in addition to rescue and relief missions during devastating natural disasters that cover a wide spread terrain; such as the EXXON Valdez oil spill in Alaska, the tsunami in Southeast Asia, and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the Gulf of Mexico region wherein all communication means were destroyed and the communications via cellular phones and land based phones were interrupted whether between citizen or between emergency and law enforcement personnel. In response to the loss of communication that followed the move of Katrina to the land, the City of New Orleans has decided to build a wireless network infrastructure covering the whole City. This is to help recovery crews to easily communicate via multimedia network from any locations. In anticipation of future storms, the products can be employed during rescue efforts.

The first commercial product of this technology should go into is a homeland security system; specifically a mobile ad hoc wireless networking system for rescue missions during national or regional disasters whether manmade or natural disasters such as Katrina and Rita Hurricanes. This may immediately follow the transition of the fully developed systems to the Air Force. The customers in this case include: DHS (FEMA), State Governments, Parish/County emergency organizations, NIST (DOC), mining industry, organizations engaged in rescue operations including the National Guard as well as international rescue organizations and the UN.

The potential military applications resulting from a store and forward system for the airborne tier include direct use in combat with fighter jets zipping in and out sending/ receiving VoIP, image and video packets to/from big ISR platforms. This would also have extensive application to homeland defense initiatives for network interoperability and increased information throughput as well as the National Airspace System (NAS) in providing a means of positive identification of an aircraft and its altitude in the air traffic control system. Furthermore, the results would benefit the FAA. If aircrafts utilized IP as network computers do, functions in the cockpit could be enabled not currently being provided. It could open up a whole new set of operating capabilities, safety and efficiency for tomorrow’s aviation industry. The functions provided today that require the use of multiple on-board systems could be reduced to two simple systems. Applications include operations and maintenance: engine monitoring, crew communications, fault reporting, and diversion management; cabin services: internet access, and programming distribution; air traffic management: system capacity (separation), hazardous weather avoidance, collaborative decision making, and position reporting; and safety & security: transportation security, real time black box transmission, and telemedicine. Airborne Internet is a vital element in the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NGATS). In the Aerosat Airborne Internet Demonstration, broadband communications over 1000 times as fast as standard 64K satellite service, operating at a small fraction of the cost.

The potential military and commercial applications of the prototype systems include building future capabilities from the foundational innovation of the outcomes of this project; especially on-demand network access and handling flexible networks that dynamically change configuration based on mission, commander’s intent, and security requirements.

Report

- Project Title: Connectivity Technologies for the Warfighter Network (MAWNET): Phase II
Connectivity Technologies for the Warfighter Network (MAWNET): Phase II
Topic: AF05-108 (July 27, 2006-September 30, 2008) Proposal Number: F061-108-2367
Contract # FA8750-06-C-0093; AFRL/RIKE; Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL); 26 Electronic Parkway, Rome, NY 13441-4514
Government Technical Point of Contact (TPOC)/Project Manager: Joseph Suprenant AFRL/RIGC; 525 Brooks Road, Rome, NY 13441-4505
The Principal Investigator: Dr. Zeinab A. Sabri

Project team: Dr. Golden G. Richard, III, Dr. Abdo A. Husseiny and Richard E. Jarka
PEO Need (near-term needs of funded acquisition programs as defined by the Air Force Product Centers and Program Offices): F-35/JSF. Tech Need: 7. Key Performance Parameter (KPP): Prototype demonstration for transition to AFRL. Technology Readiness Level (TRL): 6 PublicationsZeinab A. Sabri; Golden G. Richard, III; Abdo A. Husseiny; Richard E. Jarka and Joseph Suprenant (September 2008). Connectivity Technologies for the Warfighter Network- IP-Airborne Network. Phase II Final Technical Report; Technology International Incorporated of Virginia (TII-VA) Report # TILA-0810-AN-030; Contract Number: FA8750-06-C-0093; AFRL/ RIKE; Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL); Rome, NY

Abstract
This report presents the development, design, prototyping, and demonstration of innovative wireless connectivity technologies for the warfighter mobile ad hoc network. Emphases are placed on the special requirements of the IP airborne network (IP-AN) including diversity of devices and links, high speed of movement, very low resident time in the network and the vast distances between nodes. The innovative applications of networking technologies are directed to effectively increase the digital bandwidth to wirelessly connected users and enable energy efficient communication links between disparate wireless networks and ad-hoc networking amongst heterogeneous devices, including JTRS compliant devices. This is considering that a large base of legacy networks installed that will coexist with new equipment, such as that based on DoD’s JTRS, for decades. The connectivity technologies for the warfighter network exploit the dense concentrations of wireless users to support high bandwidth but bursty applications, such as VoIP and image and video transfers. This would have the benefits of globally conserving energy as well as increasing the effective bandwidth of the system while maintaining high reliability and availability of the network, assurance of self-healing and very low-latency.

SUMMARY
This Phase II SBIR Project is aimed at the development, design, prototyping and demonstration of mobile ad hoc wireless network (MAWNET) connectivity technologies for the warfighter. A set of airborne nodes form a virtual backbone that enables long-range, multi-hop communication between groups of terrestrial nodes, without extensive fixed infrastructure. Emphasis are placed on the special requirements of the IP airborne network (IP-AN), including diversity of devices and links, high speed movement, very low resident time in the network and the vast distances between nodes. This involves definition of wireless networking architectures and designs that provide communication links between disparate wireless networks; identification of the best routing algorithms and projected throughput enhancement from their use; provision of approaches to model and simulate the performance of the routing algorithms for the IP-AN; and development and design of prototype systems that effectively increase the digital bandwidth to wirelessly connected users and enable energy efficient, reliable, low-latency and self-healing ad-hoc networking amongst heterogeneous devices in the IP-AN including at least one JTRS compliant device. This is considering that a large base of the installed legacy networks will coexist with new equipment.

Our prototype is a hybrid design that fuses OLSR (Optimized Link State Routing), a proactive routing protocol, with DSR (Dynamic Source Routing), a reactive routing protocol. Airborne nodes are routed proactively with OLSR, with very high-speed airborne nodes (e.g., jet fighter planes) being temporary members of the airborne tier for only short periods of time. In the terrestrial tier, nodes are routed reactively on a local (cluster) basis, with the airborne tier providing a backbone to connect the terrestrial clusters. Communication between nodes in distinct terrestrial clusters uses a tunneling scheme to tunnel DSR packets between the clusters. Distinguished nodes with dual wireless interfaces (one interface for terrestrial-to-airborne and one interface for cluster-local communication) provide connectivity between terrestrial and airborne tiers and are responsible for tunneling and de-tunneling operations.

We developed scalable, fault-tolerant, hierarchical naming schemes for terrestrial nodes that allow multiple dual-interface nodes per cluster, tolerate movement of terrestrial nodes between clusters and require minimal overhead. The naming schemes involve assignment of first class names to airborne nodes and to the dual-interface, terrestrial nodes. Terrestrial nodes are located either through a distributed registration process or via cluster-local “hello” messages that introduce terrestrial nodes to nearby distinguished nodes. Both schemes require multiple dual-interface nodes in a single terrestrial cluster to cooperate so that communication is maintained seamlessly if one or more of the dual-interface nodes fail.

Phase I work defined wireless networking architectures and initial designs that provide high bandwidth, energy efficient, communication links between disparate wireless ac hoc networks and identified the most appropriate routing algorithms. Extensive modeling and simulation led to a preliminary design that enables energy efficient, ad-hoc networking amongst heterogeneous devices in the IP-AN.

Subsequently, Phase II is geared towards demonstration of a prototype hybrid routing scheme. This encompasses dual-interface wireless node type, capable of handling two distinct routing protocols, one for a terrestrial routing tier comprised of nodes with relatively low mobility rates and one for an airborne tier comprised of both backbone nodes (that provide a stable network backbone) and special transient node types (with high-speed nodes being of particular interest). The dual-interface nodes have the ability to participate in and route traffic between both proactively and reactively routed tiers, tunneling control and data traffic as needed; thus bridging the two routing tiers, providing appropriate routing mechanisms for each tier and allowing efficient communication between tiers.

Our approach uses a hybrid routing strategy, with clusters of nodes in the terrestrial tier using a reactive routing scheme to establish intra-cluster communication routes. Nodes in the airborne tier use a proactive routing scheme, with the airborne tier providing a virtual backbone for the terrestrial clusters. Our approach is simulated in the OPNET network simulator. Implementation of the approach required implementation of dual-interface nodes that are capable of running both reactive and proactive routing protocols (to bridge airborne and terrestrial tiers), investigation of appropriate hierarchical node naming schemes, and development of a tunneling protocol to move data and control messages between the airborne and terrestrial tiers.

Modeling and simulating our prototype architecture in OPNET required implementation of the dual interface node models within OPNET via modification of several library modules. Since OLSR and DSR packets originate at different layers (UDP vs. IP), it is necessary to modify not only the implementation of OLSR and DSR within OPNET, but also to provide a common packet “meeting point” for both types of packets in the OPNET module which handles IP routing, where we can not only integrate the two routing techniques (e.g., provide for packet tunneling when necessary, integrate route discovery, etc.) but also monitor and hijack packets, as necessary.

The innovative applications of networking technologies in our work serve to effectively increase the digital bandwidth to wirelessly connected users and enable energy efficient ad-hoc networking amongst heterogeneous and geographically diverse devices, including JTRS compliant devices. The connectivity technologies for the warfighter network will exploit the dense concentrations of wireless users to support high bandwidth, bursty applications such as VoIP and image and video transfers. Improved networking technologies for the IP Airborne Network will benefit both the DoD's objectives for the JTRS program and have extensive applications to homeland defense initiatives for network interoperability and increased information throughput.

The ad hoc connectivity technology can be leveraged into air traffic and sea navigation expeditions; large scale events such as disaster relief or rescue efforts in a natural disaster area struck by earthquake or hurricane; community networks in dense residential areas and large scale, long-range networks; and can be adapted in the Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B) being under development.

Report

- Project Title: Differential Analysis Software Protection (SoftDASh)
Differential Analysis Software Protection (SoftDASh)
Topic: OSD03-001; Phase I, July 29, 2003 through January 29, 2009
Contract # Award: F33615-03-M-1547; USAF/AFMC, Air Force Research Laboratory; 2310 Eighth Street, Building 167; Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433-7801
TPOC/Project Manager: Jason Sattler; AT-SPI Technology Office AFRL/SN; 2241 Avionics Circle, WPAFB, OH 45433-7320
The Principal Investigator: Dr. Golden G. Richard, III
Project team: Dr. Abdo A. Husseiny; Dr. Zeinab A. Sabri PublicationsGolden G. Richard, III; Abdo A. Husseiny and Zeinab A. Sabri (January 29, 2004). Differential Analysis Software Protection (SoftDASh). Phase I Final Report, Technology International Incorporated of Virginia (TII-VA) Report #: TILA-020408-osd001; Contract # F33615-03-M-1547; USAF/AFMC Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL); AT-SPI Technology Office AFRL/SN Wright-Patterson AFB, OH

SUMMARY
This project addresses the development and feasibility evaluation of the capabilities of SoftDASh (software differential analysis shield) an innovative concept which comprises robust, low cost tools and methodologies for countering differential analysis. The SoftDASh was conceptualized to mitigate the threat of differential analysis, a specific type of reverse engineering, can help pinpoint the locations of changes across released versions of software, potentially allowing newly introduced security features to be more easily defeated.

Starting with specification of the design, implementation and performance requirements of the SoftDASh, in light of the particulars of the topic and the outcome of the kickoff briefing by the AFRL/SN AT-SPI Technology Office; criteria for evaluation of the known differential analysis techniques are developed. Metrics for evaluation of the technical feasibility and commercial viability of the SoftDASh are established based on the general and specific requirements.

A review of the differential analysis techniques showed varying degrees of vulnerability to differential cryptanalysis, differential power analysis, differential time analysis, differential electromagnetic analysis, differential fault analysis, and differential software analysis (DSA) that can incorporate other techniques. Some of the techniques are dependent on penetration of access controls. The strength of the techniques is evaluated showing that DSA is the strongest, given familiarity with earlier versions of the codes or partial access to their modules.

Several software differential analysis techniques were examined to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each technique. Those techniques include: physical protection, wrapping executables, code obfuscation, watermarking and TCPA (Trusted Computing Platform Alliance). Some of the programs that were or being reviewed are: Armadillo (wrapping) and SandMark (watermarking and obfuscation). Under consideration is Cloakware (obfuscation).

We have developed a technique based on extracting key program data from sensitive applications, such as tables of floating point values (e.g. physical properties, material properties, mesh size, etc. which are essential for the computation at hand) and encrypt the data using a machine-specific key. The program data can then be decrypted only on the targeted machine.

COTS wrappers and obfuscation techniques fall short of providing complete protection against differential analysis; whether directly applied or modified. The recommended tools can be implemented in a redundant and diverse fashion to provide the required protection. Here, different ways of using a physically protected server in a cluster computation are presented. Multiple tools relying on diverse techniques are required to provide assured protection using SoftDASh.

Several mechanisms for using a physically protected server in a cluster computation to thwart differential analysis attacks were examined. We envision wrapping technologies as a first level of defense against differential analysis attacks—to prevent an attacker from examining an application’s codes. If first level protection is compromised, for example, if the wrapping technology is defeated, then other measures should be in place. We believe that placing critical application data on a physically secure, remote server (or on a local machine inserted into a cluster, as described in our earlier report on our prototype using the encryption chip in IBM Thinkpad computers) is a good second level of defense. Even if the first level is breached, access to critical data (e.g., tables of empirically-determined constants) is available only through application-endorsed communication with a physically secure server. This server can be hardened against brute-force enumeration attacks by introducing timeouts, auditing communication with particular clusters, or a related mechanism. In the extreme case, the physically secure server might return incorrect values if a brute force enumeration attack is noticed.

We have written and modified a cluster application to access a physically secure server to perform table lookups. Our proof of concept for inserting a secure server component into a cluster application is quite simple, but we believe it illustrates the important concepts. We have modified a cluster-based, z-buffer based rendering engine to perform lookups of textual color names against a secure server. For example, “goldenrod” maps to the RGB triple (0.855 0.647 0.125). The color lookup table on the server comprises some 600+ entries and the secure server implements authentication (username/password) and timeouts to discourage enumeration attacks.

The technical feasibility of the structure of the SoftDASh innovative tools and methodologies were evaluated in terms of countering most or all of the plausible differential analysis techniques and a multi-layer system was provided.
- Project Title: A Prototype of a Superconductive Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) System for Air Force Use
A Prototype of a Superconductive Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) System for Air Force Use
Topic: AF92-013; Superconductive Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES); Duration JULY 1992 - APRIL 1993
Contract #: F08635-92-C-0072, the Air Force Development Test Center, Eglin AFB, FL for AFESC/RDXM; Tyndall AFB, FL 32403-6001; (MSgt Jim Davis, 904-283-6299
Project Officer: Mr. Thomas Hardy AFCESA/RACO.
The Principal Investigator:Dr. Mohamed A. Hilal
Project team: Dr. Abdo A. Husseiny, Dr. Zeinab A. Sabri and Dr. Yehia M. Eyssa PublicationsYehia M. Eyssa, Mohamed A. Hilal, Abdo A. Husseiny, Zeinab A. Sabri (April 1993). Air Force Superconductive Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) Requirements. Contract F08635-92-C-0072, the Air Force Development Test Center, Eglin AFB, FL; Technology International Incorporated; LaPlace, LA; Report to Department Of The Air Force Headquarters Air Force Civil Engineering Support Agency, Tyndall Air Force Base, FL 32403-6001.

SUMMARY
The use of stored electricity is minimal in today's Air Force, due to low ac/dc conversion efficiencies, and high power loss during dc storage, high cost, and high density per kW. With an overall efficiency approaching 95 percent, SMES has the potential to meet Air Force power storage requirements. The benefits and the suitability of SMES units specifically for Air Force applications are numerous providing that concepts compatible with each or most applications can be developed and validated. In this report candidate configurations are provided and required validation tests are proposed for a new dc/dc converter. The product is characterized by high efficiency; light-weight components and supporting systems, including the conductor, the structure, the containment vessels and all auxiliary systems; flexible outputs; low heat leak; and tolerance for dynamic loading during take off, landing, or emergency maneuvers.

A feasible configuration based on a solenoid design was developed and evaluated for a 1 MW system for the Air Force. Alternative toroid design was described and also evaluated for low losses.

A SMES unit can be used as a power supply and can be sized for transportation. e.g., in a C-5 plane and designed to be operational within three days of deployment. A typical 2000 man Air Force-unit would require about 3 MW of average power. The SMES would be used to help provide station-keeping energy storage power 24 hours per day on a continuous basis. Smaller units can be also used for other mobile Air Force base applications. Applications of the product are numerous, in future Air Force operations, and will have wide range of applications in all Department of Defense (DOD) components, the aviation, aerospace, processing industry as well as other commercial applications in low to medium demand on energy storage.

A feasible SMES will increase the use of stored electricity in the Air Force. Efficient, low cost storage systems are needed for various applications by all DOD-components. Commercial demands from vehicles to power industry are limitless. Possible uses as mobile or airborne energy storage units are compatible with both military and civilian environments.

A 1 MW Superconductive Magnetic Energy Storage system (SMES) with 100 kWh energy stored is considered as a baseline design for this study. Design details, component specifications, power conditioning, and estimated cost are included. The SMES meets the U.S. Air Force power storage requirements with an overall input/output efficiency (ac/dc or dc/dc) better than 95 percent, low/minimal power loss during dc storage, low cost, and high power density. The design and manufacturing of such a system will increase the use of stored electricity in the Air Force, which is minimal in today's Air Force. In addition these units can be used as highly mobile, rapidly deployable combat forces quickly responding to dynamic battle field situations.

An important part of SMES usage, as high power density source, is the power conditioning component that connects SMES to the required load. In this report, we concentrate on newly developed ideas in dc/dc conversions that have the advantage of high efficiency, flexibility of power control and low cost.

The converter circuit appears to have potential applications in the cases where the dc current of a constant current source such as SMES coils needs to be stepped up or down. The advantages of this circuit can be summarized as follows:

1)Output voltage and current can be held constant during the operation though the input current from the current source may drop because the input energy source is finite in size. This can be accomplished by either controlling the switching time or/and changing the transformer ratio, N.

2)Ease of power control at the output side through changing the capacitor voltage.

3)High efficiency is possible if the switching time of S1 and S2 is kept above 0.5 tC. By using highly coupled transformer (k>0.95), the efficiency is always better than 90 percent. The losses occur in the resistors across the switches. In case switches are placed at cryogenic temperature, small low duty leads can be used to move these resistors to ambient temperature so that the refrigeration power is kept to a minimum.

Report

Final Report
US Army
Phase I A111-050-1270 Water Generation from Atmospheric Humidity Technologies
Phase I A052-150-1940 Software-based Reverse Engineering Anti-tamper Tools (SoftREAT)
Phase I A052-196-1594 Self-Heated Self-Hydrated Kit (SH2K)
Phase I A052-197-1366 Flameless single-use heater packages (FLASHPACs) for Unitized Group Ration – Express
Phase I A052-195-1090 Packaging configuration for Self-Contained Ration Exothermic-Heater (SRX)
Phase I A054-020-0131 A complete unique oxygen breathe-any-where (Oxy-braw) apparatus
Phase I A054-024-0153 SCABAD, Smart Adsorbents for Chemical and Biological Protection
Phase I A054-025-0055 Acoustic Infrastructure Reconnaissance Capability (AIRCap)
Phase I A032-3280 Individual Cooling Element (ICE) for Improved Warfighter Hydration
Phase I A032-2553 Active Package Olfaction to Increase Soldier Acceptance of Field Rations
Phase I A032-1235 Water Production for Tactical Systems
Phase I A032-1153 Programmable Wrist-Worn Prediction Model and Environmental Stress Monitor
Phase I A022-3243 Security for Open Architecture Web-Centric Systems
Phase I A022-1330 Research in Intrusion Detection Systems for Insider Attacks
Phase I A022-1402 Header Compression for Wireless Ad-hoc Networks in a Military Environment
Phase I A022-0979 Early Warning Detection of Computer Network Attacks Against Mobile Networks
Phase I A012-2345 Devices for Recovery of Water and Reduction of Soldiers Requirements in the Field
Phase I A012-1374 Closed Loop Freshwater System (CLOFS) for the Army Food Sanitation Center
Phase I A012-0884 Reliable Multicast Protocols for Ad Hoc Networks
Phase I A012-0875 Avatar-based Immersive Culture Skills Training Modules (AVICS-TM)
Phase I A012-0833 Reliable Multicast Protocols for Ad Hoc Networks, A01-113
Phase I A093-160-0951 Dry Individual Microclimate Cooling (ICOOL) System
Phase I A093-161-0739 Electro-Osmosis Soldier In-line water Purification System for Hydration
Phase I A032-0094 See Thru the Wall Technologies
Phase I A032-0493 Security for Wireless Handheld Devices
Phase II A2-1682 See Thru the Wall Technologies


DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency)
- Project Title: Development of a Redundant Standoff Detection Capability for Explosive-Filled Ordnance (EFO) Based on Optimal Advanced Technologies
Development of a Redundant Standoff Detection Capability for Explosive-Filled Ordnance (EFO) Based on Optimal Advanced Technologies
Topic: DAAH01-87-C-0946, 8-27-87, 6 months, $49,965
Contract#: DAAH01-87-C-0946
The Principal Investigator:Dr. N. (Bill) Morcos
Project team: Dr. Abdo A. Husseiny - Robert J. Donnelly - Dr. Zeinab A. Sabri - Dr. Edwin D. Stevens
Government Technical Point of Contact (TPOC)/Project Manager: Tom Hafer, DARPA PublicationsMorcos, N. (Bill), Husseiny, Abdo A., Donnelly, Robert J., Sabri, Zeinab A., and Stevens, Edwin D. (1988). Development of a Redundant Standoff Detection Capability for Explosive-Filled Ordnance Based on Optimal Advanced Technologies. DARPA Contract # DAAHO1-87-C-O946, TII Report # TILA/7088220/R.
Patent Abstract
The invention is a detector for detection of concealed explosives, drugs and contraband using x-rays imaging and powder pattern techniques and ultrasonics. In case of inspection of carry-on baggage a combination of computer-aided x-ray transmission imaging and x-ray diffraction analysis is used to screen, confirm and localize threats. The x-ray transmission is used to segregate dense baggage and cargo which are inspected by x-ray backscatter imaging to identify suspicious objects. All suspicious objects are carefully analyzed by x-ray diffraction. In another embodiment a slow processing system uses diffraction for identification of threats and x-ray radiography for localization of the objects. In case of drugs concealed in compartments aboard marine vessels or air crafts a hand-held x-ray system is disclosed which can be used in three modes of operation: x-ray transmission, x-ray backscatter, or x-ray diffraction dependent on the architecture of the compartment. In case of buried mines an oscillating dual-energy x-ray backscatter imaging is used for antipersonnel mines and a combination of x-ray backscatter imaging and prompt gamma detectors is used for antivehicle and antiaircraft mines. Ultrasonic detectors are disclosed for detection of explosives on persons. Also, a tracking system based on bar-code identification system and a central computer is disclosed for baggage.
Husseiny; Abdo A., Stevens; Edwin D., Sabri; Zeinab A. (February 4, 1997). Detection of concealed explosives and contraband. United States Patent 5,600,303; Technology International Incorporated (LaPlace, LA)

SUMMARY
A critical technology effort explored the viability of applying advanced non-destructive testing methods in detection of explosives. The assessment was followed by screening technologies which are impractical or do not meet the requirements. Out of the screened technologies, optimal alternative strategies were defined to develop a concept for the RSDC. The selected technology was the use of prompt gamma nuclear detector and x-ray backscattering. Consideration of using gas chromatography as a second tier was shown to have promise. The formulated concept was analyzed and evaluated. Plans for demonstration were also made.

- Project Title: A Mine and Explosives Detection Capability Employing X Rays (MINDECX)
A Mine and Explosives Detection Capability Employing X Rays (MINDECX)
Topic: DAAH01-88-C-0753, 8-30-88, 6 months, $49,957
Contract#: DAAH01-88-C-0753
The Principal Investigator:Dr. Edwin D. Stevens
Project team: Sam A. Abolrous - Dr. Zeinab A. Sabri - Dr. Abdo A. Husseiny - Robert J. Donnelly - Sam Abolrous
Government Technical Point of Contact (TPOC)/Project Manager: Tom Hafer, DARPA PublicationsStevens, Edwin D., Abolrous, Sam A., Sabri, Zeinab A., Husseiny, Abdo A., and Donnelly, Robert J. (1989, February). A Mine and Explosives Detection Capability Employing X Rays (MINDECX). DARPA Contract # DAAHO1-88-C-O753, TII Rep # 7089110-R.

Patent 1 Abstract
The invention is a detector for detection of concealed explosives, drugs and contraband using x-rays imaging and powder pattern techniques and ultrasonics. In case of inspection of carry-on baggage a combination of computer-aided x-ray transmission imaging and x-ray diffraction analysis is used to screen; confirm and localize threats. The x-ray transmission is used to segregate dense baggage and cargo which are inspected by x-ray backscatter imaging to identify suspicious objects. All suspicious objects are carefully analyzed by x-ray diffraction. In another embodiment a slow processing system uses diffraction for identification of threats and x-ray radiography for localization of the objects. In case of drugs concealed in compartments aboard marine vessels or air crafts a hand-held x-ray system is disclosed which can be used in three modes of operation: x-ray transmission, x-ray backscatter, or x-ray diffraction dependent on the architecture of the compartment. In case of buried mines an oscillating dual-energy x-ray backscatter imaging is used for antipersonnel mines and a combination of x-ray backscatter imaging and prompt gamma detectors is used for antivehicle and antiaircraft mines. Ultrasonic detectors are disclosed for detection of explosives on persons. Also, a tracking system based on bar-code identification system and a central computer is disclosed for baggage.
Husseiny; Abdo A., Stevens; Edwin D., Sabri; Zeinab A. (November 25, 1997). Detection of concealed explosives and contraband. United States Patent 5,692,029; Technology International Incorporated (LaPlace, LA)

Patent 2 Abstract
A system and process for neutralizing unexploded ordinances and clearing explosive infested areas such that maneuvers can be both readily and confidently continued without significant delay is disclosed. The system clears such unexploded ordnances infested areas by initially spraying the explosive infested area with a cryogenic liquid to neutralize the unexploded ordinances and reduce an output voltage of a detonator of the unexploded ordinances thereby rendering the unexploded ordinances inert, gathering the now unexploded ordinances and submerging the inert unexploded ordinances in a tank containing the same or similar cryogenic liquid so that the unexploded ordinances are maintained in a neutralized and inert state to allow for disposal. Alternatively, the neutralization of unexploded ordinance and clearing of explosive infested areas may be carried out by spraying the explosive infested area with liquefied methane to neutralize the unexploded ordinance and reduce an output voltage of a detonator of the unexploded ordinances to render such ordinance inert, igniting the liquefied methane, deflagrating the unexploded ordinances at a temperature less than that required for detonation and subsequently removing the neutralized ordinances from the explosive infested area.
Husseiny; Abdo A., Sabri; Zeinab A. (August 25, 1992). Explosive ordnance disposal and mine neutralization system. United States Patent 5,140,891; Technology International Incorporated (LaPlace, LA)

Patent 3 Abstract
A system and process for neutralizing unexploded ordnances and clearing explosive infested areas such that maneuvers can be both readily and confidently continued without significant delay is disclosed. The system clears such unexploded ordnances infested areas by initially spraying the explosive infested area with a cryogenic liquid to neutralize the unexploded ordnances and reduce an output voltage of a detonator of the unexploded ordnances thereby rendering the unexploded ordnances inert, gathering the now unexploded ordnances and submerging the inert unexploded ordnances in a tank containing the same or similar cryogenic liquid so that the unexploded ordnances are maintained in a neutralized and inert state to allow for disposal. Alternatively, the neutralization of unexploded ordnance and clearing of explosive infested areas may be carried out by spraying the explosive infested area with liquefied methane to neutralize the unexploded ordnance and reduce an output voltage of a detonator of the unexploded ordnances to render such ordnance inert, igniting the liquefied methane, deflagrating the unexploded ordnances at a temperature less than that required for detonation and subsequently removing the neutralized ordnances from the explosive infested area.
Sabri; Zeinab A. (June 29, 1993). Rapid area clearance of explosives. United States Patent 5,223,661; Technology International Incorporated (LaPlace, LA)

Patent 4 Abstract
A system and process for neutralizing unexploded ordinances and clearing explosive infested areas such that maneuvers can be both readily and confidently continued without significant delay is disclosed. The system clears such unexploded ordnances infested areas by initially spraying the explosive infested area with a cryogenic liquid to supercool the unexploded ordinances and reduce an output voltage of a detonator of the unexploded ordinances thereby rendering the unexploded ordinances inert, gathering the now unexploded ordinances and submerging the inert unexploded ordinances in a tank containing the same or similar cryogenic liquid so that the unexploded ordinances are maintained in a supercooled and inert state to allow for disposal. Alternatively, the neutralization of unexploded ordinance and clearing of explosive infested areas may be carried out by spraying the explosive infested area with liquefied methane to supercool the unexploded ordinance and reduce an output voltage of a detonator of the unexploded ordinances to render such ordinance inert, igniting the liquefied methane, deflagrating the unexploded ordinances at a temperature less than that required for detonation and subsequently removing the neutralized ordinances from the explosive infested area.
Husseiny; Abdo A., Sabri; Zeinab A. (October 5, 1993). Rapid area clearance of explosives. United States Patent 5,249,500; Technology International Incorporated (LaPlace, LA)

SUMMARY
A hand-held mine and explosives detection capability employing x-rays (MINEDECX) was developed based on dual-energy x-ray backscatter imaging. The capability was developed for eventual fabrication and troop demonstration of an antipersonnel mine detection system capable of real time operation, at normal troop advance rates; high efficiency; high detection/false target ratios (signal-to-noise ratio); high reliability; negligible miss incidents; and low mass and manufacturing cost. The operation of the MINEDECX provides sufficient standoff to avoid engaging a detected mine.

A preliminary design was established at the onset of the program and then refined, using computer simulation into a baseline proof-of-concept (BPOC) design. Analytical and experimental verification demonstrated the capability of the BPOC to penetrate the soil cover and distinguish between typical mines and the background. The use of dual-energy and multiple displaced detectors demonstrated the ability to provide the desired scanning for foot soldiers without interference from rough surfaces and irregularities in the terrain.

The detector consists of a 20kW rotating anode x-ray generator which switches between two x-ray energies at a rate of 60 switches/sec. An oscillating collimator sweeps across an area of 60 cm at a rate of 1 sweep/sec, that is a forward speed of 120 cm/min can be achieved. Four scintillation detectors with an area of 20 cm2 each are displaced at differing heights. Both the source and detectors will be located approximately 30 cm above the surface.

The MINEDECX differentiates between mines and other objects both by the backscattering intensity and the image appearing on the CRT. Hence, the detector capability can differentiate between a piece of wood and a mine due to the higher intensity of the backscattering detected from the wood (because of the low density) as well as the shape of the object. The BPOC is designed for detection of a mine at depths in the range form 0 to 8.5 cm. An opportunity for a miss or false alarm will arise only if the mine is buried deeper than the range specified for the detector or if the mine is masked by a large rock of the same image and density of the mine. To enhance the discrimination between mines with metallic casings and pieces of metallic debris, such as shells, a metallic detector may be used in parallel with the MINEDECX to provide redundant capability.

The use of more than two switching energies would add unnecessary complexity with no significant increase in the sensitivity of the hand-held antipersonnel mine detector. However, to provide a capability to detect deeply buried mines buried at depths in excess of 8-10 cm as well as surface mines, multiple energies may be useful.

Based on the BPOC design a prototype can be constructed at a reasonable cost using a two rotating anode set for scanning a foot path. The prototype would be physically supported by an all terrain vehicle (ATV) which carries the power supply and a microprocessor. The ATV support will minimize the load of the dismounted troops to allow for ease of movement, sweeping, and observation. The ATV would also provide a physical shield from the scattered x-ray radiation in addition to a lead apron to assure safety of the soldier. The prototype can be prepared for troop demonstration.

All components of the mine detection capability are off-the-shelf items which can be constructed in a manner appropriate for troop use. The switching system is simple and relatively light generators are available. Several future developments can be introduced after prototype demonstration to increase the range of detection and to extend the application to various types of mines.

U.S. SOCOM (United States Special Operations Command)
- Project Title: Head-Mounted and Wrist-Mounted SOF Tactical Information Displays
Head-Mounted and Wrist-Mounted SOF Tactical Information Displays
Topic: SOCOM 01-006; December 03, 2001 through June 03, 2002
Contract#: USZA22-02-P-0502 U.S. Special Operations Command/SOAL-K, 7701 Tampa Point Blvd., MACDILL AFB, FL 33521-523
The Principal Investigator:Dr. Zeinab A. Sabri
Project team: Dr. Golden G. Richard, III; Dr. Abdo A. Husseiny; Richard E. Jarka and Srivatsa Gundala
TPOC, PEO-IIS & PMI Technical Advisor & SBIR Project Manager: Mr. David Widdoes PublicationsZeinab A. Sabri, Golden G. Richard, III; Abdo A. Husseiny; and Richard E. Jarka (July 03, 2002). Head-Mounted and Wrist-Mounted SOF Tactical Information Displays. TII-VA Report #: TILA-02-SOCOM-07, Contract #: C- USZA22-02-P-0502, U.S. Special Operations Command.

SUMMARY
The goal of this Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) project is to enhance personal and/or team performance of the Special Operations Forces (SOF) through the effective use of Tactical Information Assistants. The approach is to seek innovative technology ideas, which offer significant added value to current practice and that can be embedded into SOF Tactical Information Displays (STIDs) to allow individual users or teams to receive video signals that provide them with application-specific graphical and alphanumerical information transmitted from a Portable Digital Assistant (PDA) or any SOF operator’s computer using wireless technology.

Aiming at the design, building and demonstration of a family of tactical/military displays for the war-fighter including: wireless wrist-mounted, head-mounted or helmet-mounted and 4" or 6" hand-held STIDs to provide deployed SOF personnel with hands free information, a set of design, construction and performance requirements were developed. Those requirements were used to establish criteria for evaluation of commercially available displays that may be adapted or modified to meet the SOF needs for mission success and for evaluation of the produced STIDs, which are basically low power “remote” displays, similar to computer monitors.

The STIDs have to be rugged, safe, reliable, inexpensive (throwaways), small, lightweight (portable/wearable) remote electronic displays that consume little power (=0.5W to maximum of 1W) and have high resolution (SVGA/XVGA, with 32k colors). The STIDs are powered by internal rechargeable batteries that last a minimum of 6 hours and may last up to 12 hours. An external DC input is used to run with an external power source and/or to charge the internal battery. The wrist-mounted and hand-held STIDs have adjustable luminance, from off (dark) to bright enough to be seen in bright sunlight. The head-mounted STIDs have 32º viewing angle and may take the form of eyeglasses and/or a helmet mounted display. In either configuration, the mounting of the display should not result in interference with any normal team/crew duties.

With the exception of the cost and power consumption, a few displays; whether commercially available-off-the-shelf (COTS) or under development for the commercial market, partially meet the STIDs criteria, but have been designed and built for specific systems and hence are loaded with hardware irrelevant to the functionality of the STIDs. For those display technologies to be adapted for the STIDs, they have to be stripped from excess components and trinkets, redesigned and rebuilt not only to reduce the cost, size and weight but also to simplify their architecture while maintaining the functionality of the human machine interface. Furthermore, repackaging may be necessary for ruggedness and reduction in cost and size, since commercial products are concerned with decorative appearance that appeals to the consumers and marketability often takes precedence over usability. Furthermore, ergonomics for devices designed and constructed for civilian use differ from the human factors that have to be implemented for the battlefield.

New display technologies such as organic light emitting diode (OLED) and electronic ink displays (EID) cost less in manufacturing and use material less expensive than that used in the more commonly available liquid crystal displays (LCD). OLED employs polymers or organic molecule substrates that can be made of agricultural products. EID employs paper substrates. OLED consumes much less power than LCD, while EID power requirements are a fraction of that required for OLED. Nevertheless, both OLED and EID technologies have yet to develop to the level of maturity and market penetration of the LCD technology. Although the EID technology seems to satisfy the STIDs criteria the most, its development seems to lag behind the OLED technology. Both technologies suffer from the drawback of having short useful life, although this might not be a major impediment for building throwaway displays like the STIDs.

Batteries that are standard for commercial displays cannot deliver the necessary juice for continuous operation during a typical mission without frequent replacement. All COTS batteries of reasonable weight (e.g., suitable for a wrist or head-mounted application) fall short of lasting the required 6 hours. In addition, long life is not the only factor to be considered in selecting rechargeable batteries; as important is the reliability and availability of the power source when needed. Batteries, being dependent in operation on chemical reactions, tend to have uncertain life expectancy and may fail to function when needed the most. That is, their availability when needed as a power source is rather low. Rechargeable batteries often deteriorate in performance and last fewer hours after repeated charges.

One solution to such shortcomings is to direct attention to batteries being used in space; some of which, such as nickel-cadmium batteries last over 10 years. Batteries used in pacemakers produce less energy but are also extremely reliable. Nuclear (beta-emitters or radioisotope) batteries are possibly the best candidate for STIDs because of their high operation life, reliability and dependability. They use a mature technology that has been tested and improved over the years, and can be customized for every application. An evidence for the safety and dependability of the nuclear batteries is their use in pacemakers early on. Although space-grade and nuclear batteries are costly, the trade off in this case is the ability to use the batteries over and over in successive generations of displays. Fuel cells are another promising alternative to traditional batteries, but the technology is still very immature.

Improvement on materials, development of new materials and use of polymers made it possible for some displays to survive exposure to temperature extremes in the range of -20º to +70º C for extended periods. Although the state-of-the-art technology can produce LCD displays that survive and correctly operate after being submersed at depths of 2 atmospheres for 3 hours, parachuted from altitudes of up to 20,000 feet, transported by air at altitudes up to 40,000 feet, this will be at an added cost premium regardless of the display technology. Since environmental compliance is a constraint on the construction of the STIDs, means to further reduce the cost are necessary to implement in order to offset the increased costs of survivability.

We have constructed a Phase I prototype which illustrates the technical feasibility of wireless displays meeting the SBIR requirements. The prototype is a handheld unit, constructed primarily from off-the-shelf components, incorporating a 6.3" Toshiba LCD display, wireless networking components, an on-board computer for handling decompression of the video stream from the source display, and onboard NiMh batteries. A 4" Toshiba LCD was originally planned, but significant backorders (> 12 weeks) precluded our obtaining one in time for the end of Phase I. On the software side, we have adapted VNC and Tight-VNC software to capture changes in the source display and handle compression/decompression of transmitted video. Our prototype uses Bluetooth or 802.11b wireless networking and while we do not currently constrain transmission power to prevent detection beyond 50 feet, modifications to our software can be made to achieve this in Phase II. Additionally, even when detectability is reduced, other threats to wireless communications are and will continue to be major issues of concern that affect acceptability of STIDs. Our software can easily accommodate encryption of the video stream to further harden the wireless STIDs against tampering and eavesdropping. One positive deviation from the original SBIR specification is that we require no hardware to be attached to the computer providing the source display—it need only run a small software application.

The Phase I prototype is a proof of concept, and several enhancements will be necessary to move the STID designs forward in Phase II. We have created baseline Phase II designs for wrist-mounted, handheld, and head-mounted wireless displays which address further reductions in size, improved refresh rates, alternate wireless networking technologies, and better power management. Better refresh rates will be gained primarily by incorporating a more powerful on-board computer and by continuing to enhance our software. Surprisingly, we do not believe our designs are bandwidth starved—additional wireless networking bandwidth will offer only incremental improvements in refresh rate. For Phase II, the wireless transmitter will be packaged into a small box to be attached to an LCD or OLED display element. We will strive to separate the wireless networking and software issues from the choice of display elements to the highest degree possible, allowing a number of display types to be tested easily. For example, since at least two displays of each type (wrist-mounted, head-mounted, etc.) are required in Phase II, one LCD and one OLED display of each type might be constructed. This separation of networking issues and display technology has the added advantage of allowing our designs to rapidly embrace emerging display technologies. As for the Phase I prototype, only a wireless networking interface is needed on the source computer—no hardware is required to be attached to the source. Extensive user acceptance testing will be conducted in Phase II to demonstrate environmental compliance and successful performance of desired functions. Feedback from these tests will be used to improve the STID designs.

OSD (Office of the Secretary of Defense)
- Project available at the US OSD website

Department of Education (DoEd)
- Project Title: A User-Friendly Voice Interactive Learning Aid for Individuals with Handicaps (VILAH)
A User-Friendly Voice Interactive Learning Aid for Individuals with Handicaps (VILAH)
Topic: U. S. Department of Education, Washington DC, 9-30-87, 30 months, $129,255
Contract #: 300-87-0088 & PR7006872
The Principal Investigator:Dr. Jane Y. Murdock
Project team: Dr. Abdo A. Husseiny - Nancy O. Byrd - Cynthia Bechtel - Sam Abolrous
Consultant: Charles Freeman, DOED Publications
  • Murdock, Jane Y., Bechtel, Cynthia Byrd, Nancy, O., Husseiny, Abdo A., and Sabri, Zeinab A. (1992). Voice-interactive, computer-aided instruction, 1992 TAM Conference, New Horizons in Technology, Albuquerque, NM.
  • Murdock, Jane Y., Byrd, Nancy O., and Bechtel Cynthia (1991). Voice-interactive, computer-aided instruction (VI-CAI). 11th Annual Super Conference, Special Education, Feb 20-23, 1991, New Orleans, LA.
  • Murdock, Jane Y., and Byrd, Nancy, O. (1991). A User-Friendly Voice Interactive Learning Aid for Individuals with Handicaps (VILAH). Department of Education Contract # RR88073005, Phase II, TII Rep # TILA/7O910522/R.
  • Murdock, Jane Y., Abolrous, Sam A., Byrd, Nancy O., Husseiny, Abdo A., and Sabri, Zeinab A. (1990). Voice-interactive, computer-aided instruction (VI-CAI) for students with handicaps. Proceedings, Closing the Gap Conference, Microcomputer Technology in Special Ed and Rehab, Minneapolis, MN.
  • Murdock, Jane Y., Husseiny, Abdo A., Liang, Enju, Abolrous, Sam A., and Rodriguez, Rodrigo J. (1988). Improvement on Speech Recognition and Synthesis for Disabled Individuals Using Fuzzy Neural Net Retrofits. Proceedings, IEEE Annual International Conference, Neural Networks, San Diego, CA.
  • Murdock, Jane Y., Abolrous, Sam A., Liang, Enju, and Husseiny, Abdo A. (1988, September). A High Confidence Voice Interactive Hybrid Neural System for Learning. Proceedings, 1st Annual Meeting, International Neural Network Society, Boston, MA. Neural Networks, 1, Sup. 1, 309.
  • Murdock, Jane Y., and Husseiny, Abdo A. (1988). A User-Friendly Voice Interactive Learning Aid for Individuals with Handicaps (VILAH). DOED Con # 300-87-0088, Phase I, TII Rep # TILA/7O88lOO/R.

SUMMARY
Aiming at development of voice input and output mechanisms and devices to assist individuals with handicaps (IWH) has resulted in the conceptualization of a computer-based learning aid characterized by being user-friendly, interactive and efficacious. Accessibility of IWH to the benefits of voice input and voice output devices, especially in microcomputers, has been limited by incompatibility with their needs and high cost. Thus, a voice interactive learning aid for individuals with handicaps (VILAH) was designed as an affordable, computer-assisted instruction system that allows for individualized teaching programs with minimum dependence on tutors. Advances in speech technology and the associated computer support have the promise of resolving ambiguities in recognition and enhancing the overall capability.

Progress in speech recognition and synthesis has been nurtured by the keen interest of the industry and the National Defense in automation, control and robotics. The sophistication level of the technology needed in those applications has limited the implementation of proven and yet novel techniques. Thus, an effort was expended in assessment of technology to identify means to improve voice input and voice output systems for IWH considering the modest needs for a learning aid. Though the VILAH concept has been envisioned as a simple system that utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) as an enhancement tool, the latest achievements in technology have assisted in definition of a set of specific requirements. Those were used to design a skeletal structure of the system to a level of details sufficient for implementations including the engineering and system design, testing, codification and programming, and demonstration.

Regarding speech synthesis, an allophone library provides a permanent source of natural languages. An effort was also made to refine the computer spoken language in order to provide a high level of intelligibility. Regarding the speech recognition, conventional systems are retrofitted to reach a reliability of at least 99%, by introducing an innovative neural coprocessor. An inference engine is employed in the speech recognition module as well as in the application algorithms to facilitate programming. Also efforts have been made to filter noise and obtain representative signatures of spoken words.

The VILAH design uses off-the-shelf, inexpensive components and is based on proven technology. Technical feasibility has been shown and benefits of the learning aid much exceeds the costs. Commercial viability is assured since a voice interactive system is in demand for a wide range of applications, in addition to the primary benefit to individuals with disabilities. The advantages of computerized voice output from printed material for blind or visually impaired individuals is obvious. Very often individuals with language-learning disabilities fall into this category. The advantage of synthesized speech is obvious for individuals who, for a variety of reasons, cannot speak themselves. The advantages of being able to speak to and listen to the teaching source is also obvious for very young children, with or without handicaps, who can neither read nor write. Furthermore, persons who have moderate to severe mental retardation are, by definition, normally unable to read or write. Therefore, the typical printed screen or print-out mode or the keyboard typing input mode are, for all practical purposes, inaccessible for them. Other individuals who cannot easily utilize the typing input mode are those with physical handicaps. The purpose of the project was to develop a voice-interactive learning aid for individuals with handi­caps (VILAH), specifi­cally, voice-interactive computer-aided reading instruction (VI-CAI). To accomplish this a team of professionals with educational and programming expertise from Technology International Incorporated (TII) collaborated to modify existing off-the-shelf speech recogni­tion/synthesis systems to improve the quality of speech out­put/ input so that it could be used by students with handicaps. The VILAH team developed VI-CAI reading software designed to improve reading comprehension, ensure high success rates, and motivate students to read for learning and fun.

Two prototypes were demonstrated to special educators, engineers, and others inter­ested in VI-CAI for individu­als with handicaps to get initial feedback from knowledgeable ex­perts. They were also demonstrated to potential economic developers to explore funding sources for Phase III, the produc­tion phase of hard­ware/ software prototypes devel­oped through the present funding. Modified and unmodified versions of the off-the-shelf speech synthesis/recognition systems were tested with stu­dents with handicaps, specifi­cally learning disabili­ties (LD) and mild/moderate mental retarda­tion (MR), to deter­mine whether the speech synthe­sis/recog­nition modifications were effective. Modified versions were better on all measurements.

Finally, students with LD or MR classifica­tions were assigned to experimental and control groups to determine whether those receiving the developed VI-CAI made greater reading compre­hension gains than matched students receiv­ing tradi­tional classroom instruction. These demonstra­tions indicated that partici­pating in the VI-CAI reading program improved reading comprehension gain scores over a matched control group.

- Project Title: Adaptation of Competitive Jobs For Individuals With Severe Disabilities
Adaptation of Competitive Jobs For Individuals With Severe Disabilities
Topic: U. S. Department of Education, Washington DC, 8-5-89, 6 months, $29,558
Contract #: RS89071006
The Principal Investigator:Richard E. Jarka
Project team: Dr. S. Keith Adams - Dr. Abdo A. Husseiny - Nancy 0. Byrd - Dr. Zeinab A. Sabri
Consultant: Richard Melia Publications
  • Adams, S. Keith, Sabri, Zeinab A., Husseiny, Abdo A., Jarka, Richard E., Murdock, Jane Y., Bechtel, Cynthia, and Odom, Brenda (1991). Ergonomics in the Development of Robotic Job Aids to Enhance Competitive Job Opportunities for Individuals With Severe Disabilities. Technology and Disability, to be published.
  • Adams, S. Keith, Husseiny, Abdo A., Jarka, Richard E., Sabri, Zeinab A., Murdock, Jane Y., Odom, Brenda, and Bechtel, Cynthia (1991). Design and Construction of Databases for Selection of Job Aids to Enhance Competitive Job Opportunities for Individuals With Severe Disabilities. Technology and Disability, to be published.
  • Adams, S. Keith, Odom, Brenda, Nagaraj, Neerchal K., Husseiny, Abdo A., Jarka, Richard E., Sabri, Zeinab A., Murdock, Jane Y., and Bechtel, Cynthia (1991). A Needs Assessment for Utilization of Robotic Job Aids to Enhance Competitive Job Opportunities for Individuals With Severe Disabilities. Technology and Disability, to be published.
  • Byrd, Nancy O., Husseiny, Abdo A., Jarka, Richard E., Adams, S. Keith, Sabri, Zeinab A., Odom, Brenda, Murdock, Jane Y., and Bechtel, Cynthia (1991). Design of an Expert System for Adaptation of Competitive Jobs for Individuals With Severe Disabilities. Technology and Disability, to be published.
  • Chattree, Neelu, Adams, S. Keith, Husseiny, Abdo A., Power, James M., Jarka, Richard E., Sabri, Zeinab A., Murdock, Jane Y., Odom, Brenda, and Bechtel, Cynthia (1991). Intelligent Knowledge Base Design, Construction, and Implementation for Enhancement of Job Opportunities for Individuals With Severe Disabilities. Journal of Rehabilitation, to be published.
  • Husseiny, Abdo A., Jarka, Richard E., Adams, S. Keith, , Sabri, Zeinab A., Murdock, Jane Y., Odom, Brenda, and Bechtel, Cynthia (1991). Assessment of technology and operational requirements of job aids for individuals with severe disabilities. Technology and Disability, to be published.
  • Jarka, Richard E., Adams, S. Keith, Husseiny, Abdo A., Sabri, Zeinab A., Murdock, Jane Y., Odom, Brenda, and Bechtel, Cynthia (1991). Application of Artificial Intelligence to Enhancement of Job Opportunities for Individuals With Severe Disabilities. Technology and Disability, to be published.
  • Jarka, Richard E., Adams, S. Keith, Husseiny, Abdo A., Sabri, Zeinab A., Odom, Brenda, Murdock, Jane Y., and Bechtel, Cynthia (1991). A strategy for selecting job aids to enhance competitive job opportunities for individuals with severe disabilities. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, to be published.
  • Jarka, Richard E., Adams, S. Keith, Husseiny, Abdo A., Byrd, Nancy O., and Sabri, Zeinab A. (1990, February). Adaptation of Competitive Jobs For Individuals With Severe Disabilities. Department of Education, Contract # RS89071006, Phase I, Project # RFP-89-O2O, TII REP # TILA 709021-R, LaPlace, LA.
  • Murdock, Jane Y., Bechtel, Cynthia, Byrd, Nancy O., Husseiny, Abdo A., Figueroa, Fernando, Abolrous, Sam A., Odom, Brenda, Sabri, Zeinab A., Jarka, Richard E., and Adams, S. Keith (1991). Advances in Job Aids Technology for Individuals with Severe Disabilities. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, to be published.

SUMMARY
The logic of an interactive set of five databases is designed and partially implemented on an expert shell to enhance job development, job modification, job opportunities, or transition from school to work for individuals with disabilities. The expert system provides the optimal match between capabilities of individual with severe disability, available job performance requirements, and robotic job aids based on economic viability in terms of salary earned, amortized costs, payback, subsidies and net gains or losses. The system is described in detail including the constituents of each database, methodology for construction and continual updating of information, and its feasibility in providing assistance for adaptation of competitive jobs in particular service industries for performance by individuals or a team of individuals with severe disabilities to perform within a normal work setting.

The databases provide information to five modules:
  • Disability Module
  • Job Task Module
  • Robotic Job Aid Module (interrelates Databases I and II)
  • Technology Requirements Module
  • Economic Evaluation Module


Initial sources of information for Databases I, II and IV were determined through an extensive survey of public and private rehabilitation organizations and companies serving the insurance industry as well as a number of insurance companies. The construction Databases I and II requires the development of standardized tests and measures to determine computer and teleoperator interfacing capabilities of individuals with disabilities.

The concept of a Test Center is recommended so that employers contemplating the use of robotic job aids can experiment directly or by simulation with the requirements and thereby determine the engineering and economic feasibility of using a given robotic job aid system in a particular application without having to purchase the system. The benefits of the system outweigh the costs of training or other assistance programs. A major benefit is the ability of the individual to access relevant information to allow selection of career path and to assure success of the use of robotic aids. The expert robotic job aid information system will also benefit individuals with disabilities seeking employment, employers wishing to employ them, and the developers and marketers of robotic equipment by targeting limitations, needs, opportunities and capabilities on specific applications. It is estimated that a robotic job aid information system will pay for the cost of its development and operation many times over in reducing the need for prolonged disability compensation, in stimulating the development of robotic and computer interfacing technology and in providing new insights into understanding the human/computer interface.

- Project Title: A Jobaid Expert for Persons With Disabilities
A Jobaid Expert for Persons With Disabilities
Topic: U. S. Department of Education, Washington DC, 8-29-91, 6 months, $29,948
Contract #: RN91076102
The Principal Investigator:Richard E. Jarka
Project team: Ms. Brenda Odom - J. Sherman Richardson - Dr. Zeinab A. Sabri - Dr. A. A. Husseiny - Ms. Neelu Chattree - Patrick W. Martin
Consultant: Delores Watkins, NIDRR, DOED Publications
  • Jarka, Richard E., Odom, Brenda, Richardson, J. Sherman, Sabri, Zeinab A., Husseiny, Abdo A., Chattree, Neelu, and Martin, Patrick W. (1992, February). A Jobaid for Persons With Disabilities. Department of Education, Contract # RN91076102, Phase I, Project # RFP-92-031, TII REP # TILA 7092021-R, LaPlace, LA.

SUMMARY
The first phase of the program was directed at the development and estimation of the feasibility of a Job Aid Expert system (JobAid Expert). JobAid Expert is conceptualized as a computer-based system that enhances the chances of gainful employments of individuals or a group of individuals with disabilities by matching individuals to jobs and job aids or robotic job aids. The job aids would facilitate the performance of a given job to provide high performance in a competitive job environment. Advances in job aiding devices, workstation interface systems, automation, and robotics provide new tools that would allow an individual with disabilities to compete in the normal setting of a variety of jobs. Special considerations were given to the service industry and to types of disabilities that impair the motion, rather than vision and speech impairments. Also, emphases were placed on transition of students with disabilities from school to the job marketplace. Extension of the concept to other types of job opportunities and types of disabilities is possible.

The JobAid Expert utilizes expert shells, databases, and knowledge bases. By providing matching rules in the expert shell, the information and data stored in the databases and knowledge bases will be accessed simultaneously to provide an optimal match. Information required for implementation was acquired including types of disabilities and associated speech, mental and motion capabilities as well as the potential of acquiring special skills such as mechanical computer skills. Also, information on the capabilities required to perform specific tasks in various jobs were compiled. To assist the individual, commercially available robotic and job aids were examined to identify possible adaptation to facilitate task performance. In case of lack of an aid, the requirements for development of such aid were evaluated. Decisions have to be based on the cost versus benefit to assess the viability of using the aiding devices.

A prototype system (JAExpert) was constructed using PC-Expert Professional shell and C language. The system utilized a menu-driven user-friendly architecture on a personal computer. Simple commands were used for ease of operation and demonstration. An alpha test of the prototype was performed and showed the feasibility of the concept.

Extension of the prototype to a full scope system to be used by counselors, habilitation organizations, job services, job aid manufacturers, and individuals with disabilities requires a more powerful expert shell which can interact with various databases and other programs. The use of the Mentor expert shell was recommended as a tool that can provide the required services. Also, means of communications with a central system were recommended.

- Project Title: Interactive Multimedia Math Instruction for Elementary School Children with Hearing Impairments
Interactive Multimedia Math Instruction for Elementary School Children with Hearing Impairments
Topic: U.S. Department of Education Order # ED-99-PO-4641; September 1, 1999 – March 2000. DURATION: 6 months, TOPIC NO: 7; Development or Adaptation of Innovative Technologies to Enhance Learning and Development for Individuals with Disabilities of All Ages. AMOUNT: $50,000
Contract #: ED-99-Q-0002
The Principal Investigator:Laurel Ann McLagan
Project team: Shane P. Babin, Christine Keiper, Norma Vickers; Thomas Perkins; Candace Martin, Sandy Drummond, Scott Drummond
COTR: Richard Johnson, U.S. Department of Education, Mary E. Switzer Building, 330 C Street SW, Room 3415; Washington, DC Publications
  • Laurel Ann McLagan; Shane P. Babin, Christine Keiper, Norma Vickers; Thomas Perkins; Candace Martin, Sandy Drummond, Scott Drummond, Abdo A. Husseiny, Zeinab A. Sabri (March 2000). Interactive Multimedia Math Instruction for Elementary School Children with Hearing Impairments; “The ASL Math Tutor”. U.S. Department of Education Order # ED-99-PO-4641; TII-VA Report # TIlA-edd-9900-020.

SUMMARY
Technology International Incorporated of Virginia (TII) has developed a prototype “ASL Math Tutor,” an illustrated, interactive multimedia framework which incorporates children’s stories and math lessons in both English and American Sign Language (ASL) for the promotion of math skills of deaf and hard-of -hearing children at the elementary school level. The effort targeted grades K through 6 yet it is still useful for higher grades. The framework provides a means of expressing, teaching, and learning math terms and concepts in ASL as well as in English. The distinguishing features of the math instruction presentation are the video clips of ASL and the colorful, exciting graphics that define and illustrate the math concepts and present the terms on a computer screen. The written English definitions and voiced interpretation of the scientific terms are coordinated with the ASL video and illustrations. For deaf and hard-of -hearing children, video presentation, rich illustrations, and the ASL representation of math concepts will increase the acquisition and enhance the technical development of the targeted children.

Placing the instruction on a CD-ROM makes the academic content easily accessible via personal computers to the targeted audience as well as the deaf and hearing community at large. These combined features provide a complete, multifaceted educational tool, which may be applied to a variety of purposes and populations. For example, deaf, hard-of-hearing and hearing students can increase their knowledge of math, English and ASL. Teachers of the deaf and the hard-of-hearing can use the CD-ROM as a classroom math teaching tool and as an ASL resource. Parents and hearing adults in general could monitor their children’s progress in the area of math and gain knowledge of ASL.

The ASL Math Tutor math lessons are initially developed for CD-ROM format. This format has a direct market for the home PC of families of deaf and hard-of -hearing children. It also has a direct market in the realm of education of deaf and hard-of -hearing students at the elementary school level and eventually middle and high school. Classrooms and libraries in boarding and day schools for the Deaf, as well as public schools that mainstream children with hearing losses have a clear need for educational tools that are designed specifically for this population. Placing the math instruction capability on the World Wide Web will provide greater benefits to the deaf and hard-of -hearing students, their tutors and families.

- Project Title: Tools for Presentation of Visual Translation of Audio Inputs from Music
Tools for Presentation of Visual Translation of Audio Inputs from Music
Topic: Topic 3: Development of Technology for Access and Success for Students and Adults with Disabilities in Education and the Workplace, with a Focus on the Built or Electronic/Information Environments. U.S. Department of Education Order Number: ED-01-PO-3678 August 15, 2001 to March 15, 2002.
Contract #: SOLICITATION NO. ED-01-Q-0003
The Principal Investigator:Jelena Todorovic
Project team: Dr. Golden Richard; III (multimedia); Dr. Zeinab A, Sabri; Torri Carver (music and concerts ASL interpretation).
COTR: Ramon Rodriguez, U.S. Department of Education, 33 C Street, SW, Room 3212, Washington DC; (202) 205-8555 Publications
  • Jelena Todorovic; Torri Carver Zeinab A, Sabri (March 15,2002). Tools for Presentation of Visual Translations of Audio Inputs from Music. Technology International Incorporated of Virginia Report # TILA-edd-0102-005; Phase I Final Report U.S. Department of Education purchase order number ED-01-PO-3678

SUMMARY
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Project addresses the development of a computer-based multimedia system that utilizes computer, video, and electronic graphic systems to present visual translations of audio inputs from music. The overall effort involves conceptualization, development, design, prototyping, evaluation, and implementation of Graphic User Interface (GUI) and software programs that provides deaf people full access to the joy of music through production of a set of visual music CD-ROM’s. The ultimate goal of the proposed program is to provide the visual software and hardware tools for production of CD-ROM’s that present music to the deaf and hard of hearing in a manner that can convey all elements of music appreciation; rhythm, melody and harmony, and convey the poetic essence of the words and their sound quality through signing. The tools will be designed for use in providing training on music appreciation by the deaf and hard of hearing students.

In Phase I the development is aimed at proof-of-concept prototyping of a combination of audio, visual presentation of selected simple, and popular music themes and songs on a CD ROM for use by deaf persons from all age groups for music learning, appreciation, recreation, and leisure time activities. The graphics representation involves a variety of waveforms with dynamic changes of color intensity. This is in addition to the use of ASL video clips for interpretation of lyrics and the music in a manner that provides appreciation of the melody and harmony as well as the rhythm and conveys the variations of instrumentation. Accessibility of the capability on the World Wide Web is studied. A music performer is also introduced to work with the display systems to create music through a MIDI musical board.

The outcome of the project includes tools for music translation for training and production of CD ROM sets of visually based music and songs, and capability to translate audio inputs to visuals on the World Wide Web, for use by deaf individuals in visual display of music combined with awareness of sound effects. The products will have high commercialization potential in clubs, libraries and schools of the deaf as well as deaf individuals.

- Project Title: Web-Based Adult Learning Interactive Multimedia (ALIM)
Web-Based Adult Learning Interactive Multimedia (ALIM)
Topic: Department of Education RFP ED-01-PO-3188; September 1, 2001 – March 2002. Topic: 11- Development or Adaptation of Emerging and Cutting-Edge Technologies for Improving Teaching and Learning in Pre-Kindergarten to Postsecondary Education, or for Supporting School/Classroom Management and Comprehensive School Reform.
Contract #: RFP ED-01-PO-3188
The Principal Investigator:Richard E. Jarka
Project team:Dr. Kasimu H. Ingawa (distance learning); Dr. Golden G. Richard, III (software development); Dr. Mohamed Ahmedna (nutrition); Ms. Judy Rae Allen (adult learning, literacy); Dr. Timothy A. Keiper (pedagogical analysis); Ms. Magdalena Ruz Hoppe (Spanish and adult learning). Publications
  • Richard E. Jarka; Kasimu H. Ingawa; Mohamed Ahmedna; Abdo A. Husseiny, Zeinab A. Sabri, Golden G. Richard, III; Judy Rae Allen (August 1, 2002). Web-Based Adult Learning Interactive Multimedia (ALIM). Technology International Incorporated of Virginia (TII) Phase I Final Report; U.S. Department of Education U.S. Department of Education purchase order number ED-01-PO-3188.

SUMMARY
Phase I of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Project addresses the development of an innovative, interactive, web-based “Adult Learning Interactive Multimedia” (ALIM) capability to facilitate assessment and teaching of higher-order reading and comprehension skills to adult learners who have less than a high school diploma. Development of ALIM will involve adaptation of emerging and cutting-edge technologies for improving teaching and learning; including the most recent multimedia authoring, presentation, web, storage, and delivery tools that permit interaction on the web between the teacher and the learner and provide the learner with feedback on queries or response to questions. The software is developed in HTML however it is conceptualized to operate in a Java-based environment.

The ALIM prototype consists of a user-friendly computer-based instructional technology system, wherein instructors can use interactive, multimedia course modules on the Internet to provide the material necessary to enhance adult reading and comprehension skills. Illustrations, representation of concepts and interactive exercises, a vocabulary level checker/thesaurus, and a web mail are also included. Access to the system allows the learner to use the system at his/her pace with maintenance of a large degree of privacy, interactively review the information of interest and communicate with instructors by web-mail.

Being web-based; adult learners are encouraged by anonymity to use ALIM. Outcomes of the use of the ALIM-course modules are expected to include literacy, compuracy and fluency. Extension of the ALIM for enhancement of numeracy and language proficiency is natural. ALIM can also be used to develop instructional materials for adults with learning disability.


Department of Energy (DOE)
- Project Title: Conceptual Fusion Reactor Design and System Studies of the Reversed-Field Pinch
Conceptual Fusion Reactor Design and System Studies of the Reversed-Field Pinch
Topic: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM. May 1981, 30 months, $190,835
Contract #: 9-X62-9197K-1
The Principal Investigator:Dr. Randy Hagenson
Project team: Dr. Abdo A. Husseiny
Technical Moderator: Dr. Robert Krokowski, LANL Publications
  • K. F. Schoenberg, R. W. Moses Jr., Randy L. Hagenson (1984), Plasma resistivity in the presence of a reversed-field pinch dynamo. Phys. Fluids 27(7):1671
  • R. L. Hagenson and R. A. Krakowski, (1982). Los Alamos National Laboratory Report No. LA-9389-MS.
  • R. L. Hagenson and R. A. Krakowski (1985). Steady-state spheromak reactor studies. Fusion Tech., 8:1606.
  • Hagenson, R.L. ; Krakowski, R.A.; Dreicer, H. (1982) High-power-density approaches to magnetic fusion energy: problems and promise of compact Reversed-Field Pinch Reactors (CRFPR). Report Number LA-UR-82-1480; CONF-820644-2 DOE Conference on new trends in unconventional approaches to magnetic fusion, Stockholm, Sweden, 16 Jun 1982
  • Hagenson, R.L. ; Krakowski, R.A.;. Utilization of the catalyzed-DD fuel cycle in reversed-field pinch reactors (RFPRs) Report Number LA-UR-82-207; CONF-811228-1 Conference: Alternate fuels reactor workshop, La Jolla, CA, USA, 7 Dec 1981

SUMMARY
The work continued the assessment of the reactor potential of a compact, high-power-density version of the Reversed-Field Pinch (RFP) reactor. The generally favorable results of the past Level I studies at Los Alamos during FY77-80, the strong experimental and theoretical interest at Los Alamos, and the recent results of studies of compact RFPs dictate a continued study of this fusion concept. In addition the RFP, work on Compact Torus Reactor (CTOR) will proceed as time allows. The Compact Torus is also a fusion concept with high interest at Los Alamos, and like the RFP has been the subject of previous reactor studies by the seller.

- Project Title: Parameter Identification Technique, A New Approach to Wear Measurement in LMFBR
Parameter Identification Technique, A New Approach to Wear Measurement in LMFBR
Topic: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), German Town, MD and Oak Ridge, TN. SUBCONTRACTOR: Argonne National Laboratory, West, Idaho Falls, ID. Subcontractor Team: Ronald W. King and Reed Manson. STARTING DATE: 9-13-84. DURATION:30 months. AMOUNT: $549,932
Contract #: DOE-05-84ER80121.000
The Principal Investigator:Dr. Shahla Keyvan
Project team: Richard E. Jarka - Dr. Abdo A. Husseiny - Pamela Hoeppel - Dr. Neerchal K. Nagaraj - Dr. Enju Liang
Consultant: Andrew Van Echo, DOE Publications
  • Hagenson, Randy L., Husseiny, Abdo A., and Keyvan Shahla (1984). Coal fired plant extension and modernization. Trans. Am. Nucl. Soc., 46:5.
  • Husseiny, Abdo A. and Keyvan, Shahla (1986, October). Classification of equipment for detection of wear in LMR's based on EBR-II operation experience. Proceedings, Operability of Nuclear Systems in Normal and Adverse Environment, Albuquerque, American Nuclear Society/European Nuclear Society, pp. 134-141.
  • Keyvan, Shahla, Jarka, Richard E., Hoeppel, Pamela, Husseiny, Abdo A., Nagaraj, Neerchal K., King, Ronald W., and Manson, Reed (1987, October). Parameter Identification Technique, A New Approach to Wear Measurement in LMFBR. U.S Department of Energy (DOE) Contract # DE-ACO5-84ER8Ol2l, Report # DOE/ER/8Ol2l-lO, Phase II.
  • Van Echo, Andrew, Keyvan, Shahla, and King, Ronald W. (1986, October). On-line wear monitoring in liquid metal reactors. Proceedings, Operability of Nuclear Systems in Normal and Adverse Environment, Albuquerque, American Nuclear Society/European Nuclear Society, pp. 278-282.
  • Keyvan, Shahla, Jarka, Richard E., Husseiny, Abdo A., King, Ronald W., and Manson, Reed (1985, March). Parameter Identification Technique, A New Approach to Wear Measurement in LMFBR. U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Contract # DE-ACO5-84ER8Ol2l, Report # DOE/ER/8Ol2l-l, Phase I.
  • Husseiny, Abdo A., Jarka, Richard E., Adams, S. Keith, , Sabri, Zeinab A., Murdock, Jane Y., Odom, Brenda, and Bechtel, Cynthia (1991). Assessment of technology and operational requirements of job aids for individuals with severe disabilities. Technology and Disability, to be published.
  • Keyvan, Shahla, Husseiny, Abdo A. and Hagenson Randy L. (1984). Extension and Refurbishment of Nuclear Power Stations. Trans. Am. Nucl. Soc., 46, 559.
  • Keyvan, Shahla, and Grossmann, L. M. (1984). A unified model for on-line monitoring of reactor abnormalities and dynamic modes. Trans. Am. Nucl. Soc., 46, 741.
  • Keyvan, Shahla, and Grossmann, L. M. (1984). Resolution of the negative real root phenomenon in stochastic time series analysis. Trans. Am. Nucl. Soc., 46, 419.

SUMMARY
The results of Phase I included an effort to develop and implement a novel technique for on-line early detection of degradation and wear in LMFBR equipment. The approach evolves around design of a wearout monitor (WONITOR) as a diagnostic tool capable of providing the operator with indication of early symptoms of aging of specific equipments during operation. Phase I is concerned about evaluation of the feasibility of and identification of the requirements for the development of the WONITOR.

The WONITOR has to be designed for specific equipments. Hence, candidate equipments for demonstration of the capability of WONITOR are selected. LMFBR equipments for which early detection of wear is critical have been identified, using EBR II as a specific case. The selected equipments are then rank ordered; using value-impact analysis, according to the impact of their performance on LMFBR safety and productivity. The intermediate heat exchanger and the primary centrifugal pumps top ranked other primary equipments.

The WONITOR is based on adaptation of parameter identification techniques using regression models to analyze fluctuation data from measurements of parameters related to the equipments of interest. Such parameters are identified as flow rate measurements, temperatures, and pressure. Considering the case of EBR II, fluctuation data from such measurements are evaluated and found adequate for providing information on the state of the selected equipment. No additional instrumentation or sensors seemed to be necessary for the information required for implementation of the WONITOR. Ultrasonic techniques and in-service visual inspection are explored as means of localization of wear following its detection. A combination of both methods is conceptualized.

Specifications of the WONITOR are detailed including software logic, hardware, ancillary equipments, and layout of the system in the plant proper. Implementation cost estimates are found in the neighborhood of $360,000 in 1985 dollars. The present development of the WONITOR indicates that the system can be easily applied to other equipment in LMFBRs. The system can be directly adopted for light water reactors. Also, the wear monitor is suitable for wear detection of equipment operating in hostile environments or in operation environments inaccessible to human.

The objective of the Phase II work was to design a wearout monitor for on-line diagnostic surveillance. The approach is to utilize operation data to identify measures associated with aging of specific equipment, then, to monitor these wear measures through the use of updated operation signal data. Results include: theoretical equipment modeling for intermediate heat exchanger and pump, sensitivity analysis, operation and simulation data analysis, signal characteristic determination and correlation analysis. Identification of wear related parameters and development of wear measure parameters for monitoring purposes for selected IHX and pump wear scenarios. The software modules are integrated into a user-friendly menu-driven wear monitor system called WONITOR. The project results provided a system for early detection of wear in nuclear power plant equipment which would assist in plant maintenance and operation. Minor modifications can be employed to adapt the monitoring system to other processes.
Patent Abstract
A wearout monitor for failure prognostics is a prognosis tool to predict incipient failure in rotating mechanical equipment. The wearout monitor provides maintenance management of a plant or process with information essential to planning preventive maintenance strategies. The monitor also assists in constructing a data base for development and implementation of policies for plant life extension, refurbishment, and modernization. The apparatus identifies systems of operation degradation of the whole system, as well as diagnosis of signs of commencing aging cycles of specific equipment, components or parts of equipment during operation. Data from the system is stored and also supplied to a central processing unit which includes an expert system, rule-based failure data bank, a predictor, a performance evaluator and a system identifier. The results of the predictions are supplied to management terminals or other indicators for subsequent use. Combination of prognostics and diagnostics of the symptoms of existing fault in mechanical equipment allows continuous on-line monitoring of systems to predict failures at early stages before leading to catastrophic breakdown and to assure safe and economic operation. By providing correlations between defect sizes and life expectancy of a rotating mechanical component, the monitor can provide the operator of the equipment with a warning time that indicates the time before loss of operation, thereby being critical to operation of transport systems wherein gearboxes can lead to loss of transmission power and subsequent loss of life particularly in helicopters.
Husseiny; Abdo A. (May 11, 1993). System for prognosis and diagnostics of failure and wearout monitoring and for prediction of life expectancy of helicopter gearboxes and other rotating equipment. United States Patent # 5,210,704; Technology International Incorporated (LaPlace, LA)
- Project Title: A Compact Electrodialysis-Freezing, Low-Level Radioactive Waste Volume Reduction System for Nuclear Power Plants
A Compact Electrodialysis-Freezing, Low-Level Radioactive Waste Volume Reduction System for Nuclear Power Plants
Topic: U.S. Department of Energy, German Town, MD. STARTING DATE: September 1984. DURATION: 6 months. AMOUNT: $50,000
Contract #: DE-AC05-84ER80199
The Principal Investigator:Dr. Abdo A. Husseiny
Project team: Dr. Abdo A. Husseiny
TECHNICAL MONITOR: EG&G, Idaho Falls, ID Publications
  • Abdul-Fattah, Abdul-Rahman F. (1987). In-plant treatment of low-level radwaste by electrodialysis. ATOMKERNENERGIE, 50, 188-192.
  • Husseiny, Abdo A. (1986, March). A Compact Electrodialysis- Freezing, Low-Level Radioactive Waste Volume Reduction System for Nuclear Power Plants. U.S. Department of Energy Contract # DE-ACO5-84ER8Ol99, Rep # DE/ER/8O199-l, Volumes 1 through 7, TII Rep # TILA-7O85O23-II, LaPlace, LA.

SUMMARY
Present in-situ low-level liquid radioactive waste processing techniques involve the production of secondary streams; such as spent resins and evaporator bottoms. Processing temperatures also contribute to the gaseous streams. To minimize the secondary streams waste, the innovative system; examined in here, can be employed as a retrofit or as a replacement of existing liquid waste streams. The electrodialysis and freezing processes do not add to the waste burden. In addition, high concentration (high recovery) of the radioactive elements (pure water) lead to a high volume reduction of the waste from the plant. The processes can also handle volatile elements to reduce the gas waste.

The arrangement of the freezing and ED units is also considered. For this specific stream a freezing process followed by ED treatment is preferred. However, this arrangement has to be verified experimentally.

A prototype system (JAExpert) was constructed using PC-Expert Professional shell and C language. The system utilized a menu-driven user-friendly architecture on a personal computer. Simple commands were used for ease of operation and demonstration. An alpha test of the prototype was performed and showed the feasibility of the concept.

The new system is appropriate for processing low purity waste (high conductivity) streams and chemical waste streams. A freezing unit can be used to treat the high purity (low conductivity) waste streams. However, conventional methods will also suffice. A freezing unit may also be used to process laundry and floor drain wastes whenever needed. The new system is appropriate for boiling water reactors (BWRs) for all streams of liquid waste. The system is expected to meet utility requirements. Also, the system can operate well within regulatory limits. Detailed plans are made for a pilot experiment. The cost of the experiment is expected to be in the $500,000 range.


Patent Abstract
A volume reduction process comprises combinations of a freezing eutectic, bulk, indirect crystallization process and a radwaste electrodialysis process. When employed as a liquid radioactive waste management system (LWMS) for light water reactors (LWR's), this process is designed to process liquid low-level radioactive waste (LLW) and to handle the radioactive influent in nuclear power plants (NPPs) prior to release to the environment and disposal of the radioactive material present in the waste streams.
Husseiny, Abdo A. (1991, October, 8). Method of compacting low-level radioactive waste utilizing freezing and electrodialyzing concentration process. Patent #5,055,237; Technology International Incorporated; LaPlace, LA.
- Project Title: A Reliable Fuzzy Fault-Tolerant Controller
A Reliable Fuzzy Fault-Tolerant Controller
Topic: CUSTOMER: U.S. Department of Energy, German Town, MD. STARTING DATE: June 1987.DURATION: 6 months. AMOUNT: $49,970
Contract #: DE-AC05-87ER80509
The Principal Investigator:Rodrigo J. Rodriguez
Project team: Dr. Abdo A. Husseiny - Dr. Zeinab A. Sabri - Dr. Neerchal K. Nagaraj - Dr. Enju Liang - Richard E. Jarka
Technical Monitor Harry Alter, DOE Publications
  • Husseiny, Abdo A., Sabri, Zeinab A., Adams, S. Keith, and Rodriguez, Rod J. (1990). Automation of Nuclear Power Plants. Nuclear Technology, 90, 34.
  • Husseiny, Abdo A., Sabri, Zeinab A., Packer, Dan, Holmes, J. W., Adams, S. Keith, and Rodriguez, Rodrigo J. (1989). Operating Procedure Automation to Enhance Safety of Nuclear Power Plants. Nuclear Engineering and Design, 110, 277.
  • Liang, Enju, Rodriguez, Rodrigo J., Husseiny, Abdo A., and Nagaraj, Neerchal K. (1989). A Systematic Approach to the Design and Reliability of a Fault-Tolerant Controller: I - Design Aspects. Reliability Engineering and System Safety, 24, 297.
  • Liang, Enju, Rodriguez, Rodrigo J., and Husseiny, Abdo A. (1989). A Systematic Approach to the Design and Reliability of a Fault-Tolerant Controller: II - Reliability Analysis and Assurance. Reliability Engineering and System Safety, 25, 59.
  • Liang, Enju, Abolrous, Sam A., and Husseiny, Abdo A. (1989). Logic Reliability Analysis of Adaptive Control Strategies. Annals Nucl. Energy, 16(5), 231-243.
  • Liang, Enju, and Husseiny, Abdo A. (1989). Structural Reliability of Adaptive Control Systems. Annals Nucl. Energy, 16(3), 129-137.
  • Liang, Enju, Husseiny, Abdo A., and Rodriguez, Rodrigo J. (1989). Operational Reliability Assessment of Adaptive Control Strategies. Annals Nucl. Energy, 16(2), 73-85.
  • Rodriguez, Rodrigo J., Liang, Enju, Husseiny, Abdo A., Sabri, Zeinab A. (1989). A Reliable Fuzzy-Fault Tolerant Automatic Controller (REFFTAC), for Nuclear Power Plant Equipment. Kerntechnic, 45, 26.
  • Rodriguez, Rodrigo J., Liang, Enju, and Husseiny, Abdo A. (1988, September). A Rule-Based Fault Tolerant Neurocontroller. Proceedings, First Annual Meeting, International Neural Network Society, Boston, MA. Neural Networks, 1, Sup. 1, 465.
  • Rodriguez, Rodrigo J., Husseiny, Abdo A., Sabri, Zeinab A., and Liang, Enju (1987, November). Design of a Reliable Fault-Tolerant Automatic Controller (REFFTAC). U.S. Department of Energy Contract # DE-AC05-87ER80509, DOE Rep # DOE/ER/8O5O9-1 and TII Rep # TILA-7O871O1/PR.

SUMMARY
Application of fuzzy set theory to automatic control has shown to affect high quality reliable controls in applications pertinent to nuclear power plant equipment. A scheme is developed her based upon incorporation of software-tolerant method to assure high reliability of software. Application of the method to centrifugal pumps and heat exchanger are selected to demonstrate the viability of a redundant technique utilizing fuzzy and deterministic controls. The work is aimed at development of a methodology to assure reliability of control systems when they interact or become part of the plant protection system. This is a step towards providing autonomy in controlling complex processes; such as nuclear reactors.

The work in Phase I of a project to Design a Reliable Fuzzy Fault-Tolerant Automatic Controller (REFFTAC) is reported here. The REFFTAC is based on the employment of two diverse controllers. Reliability is achieved via redundancy and diversification in the design. Control actions are tested via an interface between the two controllers. The interface system assures error-free control command, delegates the control action to either controller, and actuates a tie-breaker in case of a disagreement between the two controllers.

Though the logic design of the REFFTAC is developed for a generic process, the controller is designed for a heat exchanger and its applicability to a pump is examined. The fact that most power processes involve a boiler or a heat exchanger and pumps led to that selection. However, the designed controller can provide continuous and discrete control actions to other processes.

In the design of the REFFTAC logic, a primary adaptive direct digital controller was designed based on parameter estimation and on-line control design. The output of the adaptive controller is examined to assure proper control actions and to transfer the control command to a fuzzy controller in case of failure. The fuzzy controller provides heuristic control actions based on predetermined strategies.

The reliability of the REFFTAC is examined using complexity analysis, and failure mode and effect analysis. A high level of fault-tolerance is expected to be achieved by deployment of this controller. However, a reliability criterion is employed in which the controller would be able to perform control tasks as good as a human operator. To enhance the reliability of the system, a self-diagnosis scheme is provided. Also, both controllers employ a learning expert system that utilizes historic data in control design.

As a follow-on of this work, the reliability needs to be tested in the environment of fault-tolerant hardware. The plan is to demonstrate the REFFTAC on a full-scope simulator and on EBR-II as a test facility. This is to examine the operability of the controller as well as it superiority over redundant or single controller. Higher targets of reliability also needs to be tested.

The REFFTAC utilizes proven technology and is found to be viable in control of heat exchangers and pumps. The fact that the system can be customized for various operations allows for application in complex processes which can be automated.

The fuzzy controller has the merits of being able to adapt operating procedures as control functions without the need for elaborate modeling, of using technical specifications as limits of operations, and of designing controls based on past experience.


Patent Abstract

    The invention is a controller which provides continuous regulation of the output of a process or a plant as well as performing discrete control functions. The REFFTAC includes an adaptive direct digital controller (ADDC) as a primary expert controller and a fuzzy expert controller (FECD) as a backup controller. In case of an error or failure of the primary ADDC the control function is transferred via an interface system (INF) to the FEC, thus preventing any fault in the REFFTAC mission. The INF system is a simple fuzzy controller which includes means to verify the control action and a timer to assure proper control action. It also includes a simulator that performs a self diagnosis on both the ADDC and the FEC to assure fault tolerance. Also, the REFFTAC comprises learning expert units which stores correct control actions for direct application to save time and to provide a reference for the INF system.ontrol functions. The REFFTAC includes an adaptive direct digital controller (ADDC) as a primary expert controller and a fuzzy expert controller (FECD) as a backup controller. In case of an error or failure of the primary ADDC the control function is transferred via an interface system (INF) to the FEC, thus preventing any fault in the REFFTAC mission. The INF system is a simple fuzzy controller which includes means to verify the control action and a timer to assure proper control action. It also includes a simulator that performs a self diagnosis on both the ADDC and the FEC to assure fault tolerance. Also, the REFFTAC comprises learning expert units which stores correct control actions for direct application to save time and to provide a reference for the INF system.
  • Husseiny, Abdo A., Liang, Enju, and Rodriguez, Rodrigo, J. (1991, January 15). Reliable Fuzzy Fault Tolerant Controller. Patent #4,985,824.
  • Sabri, Zeinab A., and Husseiny, Abdo A. (1992). ASPEXER, an automated performance evaluation and examination system for training on simulators. Patent disclosure.

Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS)
Health Care Financing Administartion (HCFA)
- Project Title: Voice-Assisted Data Entry and Management for Home Health Agencies
Voice-Assisted Data Entry and Management for Home Health Agencies
Topic: Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA); Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS)
Contract#: 97-P-08120/6-01
The Principal Investigator:Kenneth C. Barnett
Project team: Shane P. Babin and S. Keith Adams PublicationsBarnett KC, Babin SP, Adams SK (1996). Voice-Assisted Data Entry and Management for Home Health Agencies. Phase I Final Report to HCFA, Grant #97-P-08120-6-01.

SUMMARY
A prototype Voice-Assisted Data Entry (VADEÔ) system has been developed for processing Medicare and Medicaid claims, to increase the efficiency of management and general operation and to facilitate entry of patient data associated with tasks required of health agencies. The VADEÔ system was designed to incorporate all the standard information content associated with the existing claims for filling out of the forms through voice recognition technology while allowing for voice-assisted processing of modified or new claim forms as well as performance of associated management functions. Accordingly, the VADEÔ package reduces the burden of data entry, eliminates the need for extensive visual search and manual cross referencing of code manuals, enhance the overall efficiency of the process, and increases the productivity of the personnel involved. Technology International Incorporated of Virginia (TII) developed the graphical user interface (GUI); incorporated diagnosis codes, medications, and patient data into databases to allow for instantaneous cross-referencing of claim information; and employed a speaker-independent speech recognition system along with customized software developed in Visual Basic to allow voice input of form data and automatic input of diagnosis and claim codes based on the verbal descriptions given.

Follow on efforts are aimed at the full development and demonstration of the hardware/ software of the VADEÔ system for the completion of medical digitized forms via automatic speech recognition. The objectives involve beta testing with home health agencies, and expansion of the VADEÔ system to a networked, multi-platform environment to allow implementation over local area networks, company Intranets, or over the World Wide Web.

National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
- Project Title: Development Of Enhanced Multivariate Statistical Technology For Complex Sample Surveys
Voice-Assisted Data Entry and Management for Home Health Agencies
Topic: Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA); Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS)
Contract#: ADM 281-90-005; National Institute Of Alcohol Abuse And Alcoholism (NIAAA); 1990
The Principal Investigator: Abdo A. Husseiny, Ph.D.
Project team: Brenda Odom, Neerchal K. Nagaraj, Ph.D., William D. Johnson, Ph.D.
Project Manager: Dr. Bridget Grant; National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; Parklawn Building, Room 14C; 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD

NIH (National Institute of Health)
- Project Title: Projects available at the NIH website

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
HSARPA (Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency)
- Project Title: Projects available at the DHS website

U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)
John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center; Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA)
- Project Title: A RELIABLE LOCOMOTIVE CAB ALERTER
A RELIABLE LOCOMOTIVE CAB ALERTER
Topic: 1992 DOT-FR 1 ADVANCED LOCOMOTIVE CAB ALERTER (Dec 1992-May 1993)
Contract#: DTRS-57-92-C-0100. Research and Special Programs Administration, Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation (DOT); John A. Volpe National Transportation System Center, 55 Broadway, Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA
The Principal Investigator:Dr. Zeinab A. Sabri
Project team: David C. Greig, Heba A. Sabri, Dr. S. Keith Adams; Mr. John L. DiFulco, Certified Locomotive Engineer with Illinois Central Gulf Railroad; Shane P. Babin PublicationsZeinab A. Sabri; David C. Greig, Heba A. Sabri and S. Keith Adams (May 1993). A Reliable Locomotive Cab Alerter. Technology International Incorporated of Virginia (TII-VA) LaPlace, LA; Report DOT/FRA/CT-93-3; Contract # DTRS-57-92-C-0100, for Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration, Research and Special Programs Administration, John A. Volpe National Transportation System Center, 55 Broadway, Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA.

SUMMARY
To meet the needs of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) safety program for an innovative advance in the design of an alerter system to be used in locomotive cabs, Technology International Incorporated (TII) developed and evaluated several concepts for an advanced, reliable locomotive cab alerter (CabAlerter), including:

Follow on efforts are aimed at the full development and demonstration of the hardware/ software of the VADEÔ system for the completion of medical digitized forms via automatic speech recognition. The objectives involve beta testing with home health agencies, and expansion of the VADEÔ system to a networked, multi-platform environment to allow implementation over local area networks, company Intranets, or over the World Wide Web.
  • A DigiAlerter based on a low-cost data entry device similar to a touchtone telephone keypad and to other handheld devices used for remote data entry. In its general form, the device is simply comprised of a keypad with a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) window located on the top of a set of buttons or touchpad membrane. Each key is assigned a number or letter. A randomly programmed code formed of a string of characters to be entered is flashed on the LCD. Each number/letter or the whole code will flash for a short time and then disappear before the next number/letter is displayed. In the final model, the entire code will be displayed for a predetermined amount of time. By touching keys and entering a sequence of numbers or letters, a timer can be reset before the end of a selected time interval. The alphanumeric code will change each time the reset is required. Mental alertness is necessary to read the displayed code and simultaneously enter the code on the DigiAlerter pad. The random change of the code does not allow the engineer to systematically enter the code from memory without cognitive action.
  • A KeyAlerter similar to devices suggested to prevent drunk drivers from starting the ignition of the car before being sober enough to drive, wherein the user resets a timer by turning a key after alignment with a beam of light. The KeyAlerter is the simplest of all concepts considered here.
  • A MovAlerter design that involves touching a moving target (such as a bull's eye) on a touchscreen. The target moves in straight lines and bounces off the screen boundaries. The size and speed of the motion of the target can be adjusted within predetermined bounds. The engineer has to touch the touchscreen at the location of a moving target to affect a reset of the timer. The timer will only be reset by hitting the target on the touchscreen. Failure to hit the target the first time sets a localized alarm on the MovAlerter which is reset by subsequent success. Failure in the second round sets the actual alarm, which can only be reset by success of a third attempt. Success is awarded by an audible sound and a display on the screen. Failure is followed by a buzzer and actuation of alarms and eventual stopping of the train. The MovAlerter requires mental alertness to locate and touch the target on the MovAlerter screen. The target will appear at a random point on the screen and will require coordination and cognition to follow its path and score a hit.
  • A dynamic PC-based DynAlerter similar to system simulators, which engage the operator in retraining as a secondary task whenever no primary tasks are required. This assures continuous alertness of the engineer at all times. The DynAlerter is viable provided that the engineer would not be overloaded to the extent of overlooking his/her task. The device has to be mounted in such a way that all annunciators will be in the Line-of-Sight (LOS) and road following functions can be performed. The central thrust of the DynAlerter lies in the collection and organization of valid, realistic operation and test items from actual railroad operations, together with an assemblage of the necessary hardware and software to administer the retraining and testing. The tests have to be stimulating and interesting to assure alertness. A system similar to the DynAlerter is successfully used by Electricite' de France (EDF) for operators of power plants. The integration of the DynAlerter in alert systems can be accomplished by introducing the timer or light prompts on the screen of the computer.

Railroads have employed many devices to warn the locomotive engineer of impending danger. These include fuses, torpedoes, flags, lights, fires, the deadman switch, and radio communication (where available). The key issue of all devices is to maintain the level of conscious alertness of the engineer. Modern alerter systems produce a light signal prompt at regular intervals if an engineer's action does not otherwise reset a timer before the end of the selected time interval. The engineer's response involves touching, and in most cases operating a control (such as the throttle) on the operator's console or pressing the alerter reset switch. If the appropriate reset action is not taken in a specified period of time, an audible alarm will sound. The same actions that reset the light prompt will reset the audible alarm. If response is not made to the alarm within a specified period of time, the train brakes are automatically applied and the train is stopped. It is now believed that an experienced engineer can and may reset the alerter timer when the light prompt appears (before the audible alarm) while actually dozing or asleep and thereby defeat the purpose of the alerter system.
Information available on environmental work stress in the locomotive cab was analyzed. An interview was held with an engineer from the Illinois Central Railroad with over 30 years of experience in the Baton Rouge district. He confirmed observations made earlier and offered additional insights based on personal experience, including:
  • The deadman switch, which has been used on some locomotives, is impractical from the standpoint of postural fatigue and unreliable as an indicator of alertness.
  • Work hours are long.
  • Long and irregular hours of duty make it difficult to stay alert or even awake during monotonous periods, especially at night. Dozing off was a problem for a significant number of train crew personnel on some occasions.
  • Wheel noise is more harmful to hearing than engine and horn noise.
  • Climate control is lacking in the cab.
  • There is a need for an alertness monitoring and/or alerting system of some kind. All control of cab crew alertness should be confined to the cab. Outside signaling or intervention is unnecessary, unwarranted, and unacceptable.

Three basic strategies were examined for maintaining alertness in the locomotive cab:
  • Monitoring alertness by sampling and encouraging a self-alertness assurance strategy: This involves monitoring the alertness with two levels of testing and an alerting stimulus (alarm or cool air stream) to the engineer. This strategy is the one being pursued because it is the most practical, reliable, and acceptable approach.
  • Maintenance of alertness through the introduction of secondary, possibly artificial tasks: While this strategy has theoretical merit based on laboratory research and application in other settings, it is not practical or acceptable to operators in this application. It is unrealistic to expect the engineer to perform tasks not related to his/her job just to prove alertness. These secondary tasks could also cause distraction from primary tasks in the event of unexpected emergencies.
  • Having operating cab crew members maintain each other's alertness or take over each other's job functions: This is a type of "buddy" system that would require each of two or three crew members to monitor each other's alertness. Since crews often work together on the same schedule, all members could be fatigued at the same time. There would also be a tendency to cover for someone with a chronic alertness problem. Railroad job classification rules also forbid job substitution in the cab. Only a few conductors and brakeman are qualified to perform the duties of the locomotive engineer. The helper also cannot serve as a conductor.

Studies of locomotive operation were conducted to provide the basis for simulating train operation in the laboratory, which was needed for full scale laboratory testing and evaluation of the DigiAlerter and other cab alerter systems. Information on locomotive operation was gathered from visits to locomotive cabs and a study of cab operating systems, accompanied by a locomotive engineer; discussions with locomotive engineers; and studies of several manuals of operating rules and instructions for train operation.
The locomotive cab presents severe restrictions in the location and size of a cab alerting device. Considering the geometry and layout of the cab and of the engineer's workstation, it is feasible to locate the cab alerting system somewhere on the throttle stand. Several locations could be used; however, it is necessary that the alerting device be small, no more than five to six inches on a side and no more than two to three inches deep so that it does not protrude into the work area. Any device placed in a locomotive cab has to be protected from vibration, dust, moisture, temperature extremes, and occasional impacts. Simplicity and ruggedness are necessary for a device to perform reliably with a minimum of maintenance over time under these conditions.
Design requirements and feasibility criteria were established indicating that the device has to be:
  • Physically sound, rugged, compact, portable, and tamper-proof.
  • Compatible with existing equipment and alert systems: capable of interfacing with telecommunication systems, intervening equipment (e.g. braking system), and can be easily retrofitted in existing alert systems (e.g. audible or visual alarms).
  • Compatible with cab layout and operation area: located within easy reach of the engineer while he/she is seated in a normal working position, visible under all operating conditions, and must not cover other displays or controls.
  • Easy to operate operation causes minimum or no distraction from other operating tasks; operation should be stimulating, but not frustrating, boring, or routine; operation should involve manipulation and cognition tasks; errors can be recovered within a window of time; operation relies on randomness and changes after every use; operation is simple but not systematic and requires alertness.
  • Functional, capable of indicating a level of alertness necessary for operating a locomotive, of providing cause-independent evaluation, and of establishing threshold for acceptable operation and processing time limitation; cannot be simply by-passed or rigged for self-response; has a built-in virtual award and penalty system, such as a pleasant tune as opposed to noise; provides feedback stimuli to the engineer's action; capable of interacting with intervening activity (to alert the engineer or stop the train) should this be necessary; easily programmable.
  • Simple, reliable design: clear displays and controls, does not cause prolonged postural stress, poses minimal visual and cognitive demands.
  • Compatible with cab operation environment: unaffected by severe weather extremes, thermal stresses, dust, fumes, odors, and withstands high levels of vibration.
  • Cost-effective: low lifecycle cost, long service life.
  • Acceptable by users: acceptable by locomotive engineers and other operating personnel as a device to assure their personal safety, not as a means for management to invade their personal work space or individual work behavior, acceptable to FRA.

Using these design and functional requirements and feasibility criteria, several concepts were screened and rank ordered according to the degree of meeting the criteria. Trade-offs was made between the DigiAlerter and other systems (MovAlerter, KeyAJerter, DynAlerter) on a conceptual basis. A Locomotive Cab Alerter Simulator (LCAS) was developed for evaluation of the concepts and for comparison of design options. Trade-offs were made using the DigiAlerter as the baseline design. Other trade-offs were considered regarding the frequency of alertness testing and actions to be taken when no response is given in the alarm mode of a two level response task. Trade-offs involving the type of response required in the alertness monitoring test, including the length and type of display (letters versus numbers) were evaluated experimentally. Additional trade-offs were made during simulated locomotive operation tests to finalize the design of the DigiAlerter as an alertness monitoring device.
TII has selected DigiAlerter as a viable CabAlerter that meets the FRA requirements and meets all the feasibility criteria. The DigiAlerter was designed, constructed, and bench-tested as a Proof-of-Concept (POC) CabAlerter for prototyping and field demonstration. The CabAlerter system is intended to ensure that the locomotive engineer remains alert to operating restrictions or otherwise stops the train if the engineer does not respond properly to provide prompts. This low-cost innovation can be retrofitted to alerter systems already in service.
A full scale software model was implemented on a 486 microprocessor to emulate the actual "look and feel" of the DigiAlerter from a visual and functional perspective. The program allows an evaluation of the system and the user responses through parameters such as length of the alphanumeric string, allowable response time before an alert mode is entered, number of times the user must correctly respond to codes in the alarm mode before the simulation resumes normal operation, probability of a letter occurring in the code, and minimum and maximum bounds on the delay between new codes.
The POC hardware design of the DigiAlerter consisted of a sixteen-key keypad with an attached four character Light Emitting Diode (LED) display. Upon starting the prototype DigiAlerter, it generates four random characters in the range 0 to 9 or A through F. These characters are then displayed on the LED readout. The user must enter the code though the keypad. If he/she enters the code correctly, the system will delay approximately one to two minutes and then display another four-digit code. If the user enters the code incorrectly, the system will switch to an alarm state. Once in the alarm state, the system will not generate additional codes until the reset button is pressed. Two LED's, one red (alert mode) and one green (normal mode), were provided for indication of the state of the DigiAlerter. As long as correct codes are entered, the green LED will remain lit. If an incorrect character is entered, however, the red LED will turn on.
Several preliminary tests were performed, including an alert testing computer simulation using keypads, the DigiAlerter emulator on the microprocessor, and the POC hardware.
A standard keypad entry device was interfaced with a PC using specially written software to produce a LCAS similar in operation to the TII DigiAlerter. The LCAS generates random codes of selected length and type (numeric, alphanumeric, or letters only) at random intervals on a screen to the user (representing the locomotive engineer) whose task is to repeat the code by entering it on a keypad in order to reset a timer which will then delay for a randomly chosen interval. At the end of this interval the process is repeated. If the user fails to enter the code within a specified time or if he/she enters an incorrect character, the system switches into an alarm mode. When this happens, the user must enter another randomly selected code correctly using the keypad a specified number of times within a specified time period in order to cancel the alarm mode. If the user fails to complete the required sequences in the alarm mode, the alarm will be activated. The program written for this experiment specified that the train would automatically be stopped (as when the braking system is put into emergency mode when the conductor activates the emergency brake).
A series of controlled laboratory experiments were conducted, using LCAS. The experiments involved four independently tested male subjects aged 22-26 years to investigate the concepts and alertness criteria and to determine the optimum characteristics of the response required to verify alertness. Since the job of operating a locomotive is variable in its cognitive demands and does not require a fixed posture or eye focal point, the task used to simulate this job consisted of engaging the subject in a group conversation with three other male participants while also providing background music. Other normal computer related activity (conversation, printing laboratory reports, etc.) was present in the surrounding area.
It was determined experimentally that a recommended alertness test protocol, consisting of a visually presented six-letter string, be keyed in using a standard alphanumeric keypad, possibly with an audio or visual signal indicating that the test is being made. Failure to respond correctly or within 13.35 seconds would result in the activation of a signaled alarm mode requiring the correct entry of two additional six-letter codes. Failure to perform this second level task would result in intervention or a stream of cool air being blown into the engineer's face, possibly from several angles. It was estimated that the alertness test should be given every 10-30 minutes during long runs across sparsely populated areas.
The software emulation test was carried out simultaneously with hardware design. After a random delay, the program displays a variable length code consisting of letters and numbers. The user then has a fixed amount of time to respond by selecting the correct digits from the simulated keypad using the mouse. If the user enters the code correctly within the specified time limit, the program waits a random amount of time before displaying a new code. If the user enters the code incorrectly or takes too much time to respond, the program enters the alert mode. The user must in this case correctly respond to a user-specified number of random codes to prevent the system from setting off a simulated alarm (a buzzer). If the correct code is entered each time, the program will return to normal operation, waiting a random amount of time before displaying a new code. If the user fails to enter in each code correctly, the program will inform the user that an error has occurred. Following each session, the program records the results of the simulation to a file. These results include: the user's identification number, the length of the generated codes, the probability of occurrence of letters, the correct character and missed character (in the case of a failure), the time the user required to respond to each code, and a result code. The data file is particularly useful in determining the optimum parameters for the final hardware implementation of the DigiAlerter.
The POC hardware model was tested for operability and functionality. Considering the attributes of a viable CabAlerter, the POC tests and the construction and operability tests of the POC model of the DigiAlerter have shown that the selected alerter is technically feasible and commercially viable.
The feasibility evaluation shows that:
  • Physical soundness: The DigiAlerter POC model is compact and portable and can be further reduced in size by burning all controls on a chip. Although the device is relatively rugged, the prototype can be further ruggedized for field use. Tamper proofing of the device can be easily achieved due to the limited entry points and the simplicity of the design. The box itself can be well sealed or formed by a plastic mold that will not allow reaching the internals without destruction of the casing. The low cost of the device will allow for such an option. The use of microchips adds another layer of safeguarding against deliberate tampering. Ruggedness and tamper proofing will be provided in the prototype model in Phase II.
  • Compatibility with existing equipment and alert systems: Although the POC model was not designed to interface with other systems (except with a computer), the DigiAlerter can be programmed to interface with telecommunication systems and intervening equipment (e.g. braking system). Failure to properly respond to the alerter can produce a signal through appropriate leads to the proper destination for actuation of an alarm or control system. The DigiAlerter can be easily retrofitted in existing alert systems (e.g. audible or visual alarms). If desired, it can be connected to a deadman switch for validation. All interfaces will be designed and tested in Phase II.
  • Compatibility with cab layout and operation area: The compactness of the DigiAlerter allows the location of the device within easy reach of the engineer while he/she is seated in a normal working position. Several locations in the cab have been considered to allow visibility under all operating conditions and to avoid obstruction of the view of other displays or controls. The portability and compactness of the device will provide many possibilities. In fact, a locomotive engineer may prefer one location over another that provides him/her convenient access that is more suited to his/her physical attributes. In Phase II recommended locations will be provided.
  • Operability: The DigiAlerter POC model is simple and easy to operate; however, the sequence of operation is not systematic and does require alertness. The use of touch buttons and keypad configurations is becoming part of several daily activities. The simulations and emulation showed that the keypad type of device is the easiest to operate and is the most reliable in operation compared to the other devices whether in use or proposed. Operation of the device causes no distraction from other operating tasks. Matching alphanumerics is moderately challenging, but not frustrating. Random change of the displayed numbers/letters after every use is relatively stimulating and prevents the alert test from becoming boring or routine. The touch pad manipulation to match the display involves cognitive action. In case of an inadvertent error, the engineer can recover and enter the correct response within a short window of time.
  • Functionality: The DigiAlerter POC model cannot be simply by­passed or rigged for self-response. Additional safeguard tamper proofing will be provided in the design and construction of the prototype. Currently, the POC model has a simple built-in virtual award and penalty system. Other systems may be considered for the prototype. Both provide feedback stimuli to the engineer's action. The device simplicity makes the alertness test brief without the need for special skills or training. However, sufficient cognitive demand is provided to prevent execution of the test in a semiconscious state as in turning off an alarm clock. The demand does not interfere with other operating tasks by causing distraction. In Phase II simple prototype interfaces will allow for interacting with intervening activity (to alert the engineer or stop the train) should this be necessary. The device simulation has shown a capability to indicate a level of alertness necessary for operating a locomotive engine. The number of allowed attempts before sounding the alarm establishes the threshold for acceptable operation and the limitation on the processing time. Failure or success in the alert test is independent of the cause of non-alertness, whether it is induced by sleep, drowsing, or intoxication.
  • Design appropriateness: The DigiAlerter POC model design is simple and reliable. The constructed model has clear displays and controls. Clarity will be improved in the prototype to minimize visual and cognitive demands. The use of an EPROM makes the programming of the device simple, but requires subject-matter-expert. The layout design does not require prolonged postural stress to operate.
  • Compatibility with cab operation environment: The rugged casing provides some protection from severe weather extremes and from dust (from sanding of wheels for traction), fumes, odors, etc. However, additional protective measures may be necessary to ensure high performance when the device is subjected to high thermal stresses. The location and installation of the device in the cab will affect its ability to withstand high levels of noise and vibration. These are easily implemented and will be part of the activity in Phase 2.
  • Cost competitiveness: The cost of production of the DigiAlerter is low. The touch buttons (or touch surface) is likely to wear out from frequent use. The life of the surface will be shortened if used with soiled fingertips. In general the device life may not exceed five years with heavy use. Overhauling may be limited to change of the casing. However, the low capital cost may make replacement more cost-effective. Testing the device operability against a calibrated system is simple and a self-testing feature may be introduced. Testing the electric circuits will be the same as any simple device. Visual inspection of the surface is sufficient. A short service life is not a drawback in the present case due to low replacement cost and because frequent refurbishment or modernization of the system will contribute to its utility in testing of alertness.
  • Acceptability: The team for Phase I included railroad engineers with over thirty years experience. The input and responses to this new alerter system assures the acceptance, by the end users and their Union, of this new addition to the train cab.
  • Further Applications: In addition to its obvious utility in the railway industry for maintaining operator alertness, the DigiAlerter has further applications in other areas requiring alertness, such as the airline industry, the entire transportation service industry, security companies, and the military. The DigiAlerter was designed with these multiple applications in mind and was consequently designed so as to be easily modifiable to suit its use in any particular setting.

Based on the POC model, the results of the tests, and the feasibility estimates, a prototype alerter was designed for implementation in Phase II. Also, plans are provided for Phase II, which will involve demonstration of the alerter in an actual moving environment. The DigiAlerter prototype planned for Phase II must perform the following functions:
  • Test the alertness of the locomotive engineer.
  • Provide stimulus, such as a cool air stream, scented mist, etc., in the event initial tests indicate lack of alertness.
  • Take over train control function and notify central command post in the event of failure of the operator to respond. This will result in complete stopping of the train.

The concept for stimulation of the engineer has been established, options include cool air stream, scented mist, etc. Actuation signals are available in the POC model. Phase II will incorporate the appropriate refreshing system and the interfaces with other cab equipment and devices. In addition, Environmental Qualification (EQ) must be performed. This requires consideration of the operability of the DigiAlerter in the locomotive cab environment as well as the ability of the engineer to smoothly interact with the device. The prototype design and construction in Phase II will accommodate for EQ factors in selection of the type and resolution of the display as well as the surface of the keypad (protected buttons versus membrane switch touchpad).
Patent Abstract Sabri, Heba A.; Abdallah. Omar M.; Sabri, Zeinab A.; Husseiny, Abdo A. and Sabri, Aziz A. (2009). Locomotive Engineer Cab Alert Apparatus. US Patent pending.


U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
- Project Title: Projects available at the NRC website

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
- Project Title: Projects available at the NASA website

National Science Foundation (NSF)
- Project Title: Projects available at the NSF website

State Governments
State Governments
Louisiana
- Project Title: Louisiana Economic Development Corporation (LEDC)
Iowa
- Project Title: Wallace Foundation, State of Iowa

Electric Utility Industry
Electric Utility Industry
Shoreham Nuclear Power Station; LILCO (Long Island Light Company)
- Project Title: Shoreham Nuclear Power Station - Long Island Lighting Company (LILCO), Long Island, NY
Voice-Assisted Data Entry and Management for Home Health Agencies
Topic: STARTING DATE: December 1983. DURATION: 2 year. AMOUNT: $2,000,000
Contract#: 369878-3
The Principal Investigator: Michael Barnett
Project team: Bill Rigby, Ron Krusz, Paul Lynch, Bob Paradez, Tom McCabe, Brian Riordan, Kamal Shah, Harold Jenkins, Bill Scott, Joe Licata, Jack Halverson, Richard Plommer, Larry Godby, Tom Williams, Tom Seuss Off-Site: Dr. Zeinab A. Sabri
Project Manager: Dr. Bill Morcos, LILCO; Dr. Steve Daniel, LILCO
Services: TII provided the services of radiochemistry technicians to LILCO's radiochemistry section. The technicians augment the forces of the radiochemistry staff and work for, with, and along-side other members of the permanent radiochemistry staff.

Waterford III; Louisiana Power & Light (LP&L); now Entergy
- Project Title: Review of Chemistry and Radiochemistry Training
Review of Chemistry and Radiochemistry Training
Topic: STARTING DATE: August 1981. DURATION:5 months. AMOUNT:$20,000
Contract#: L14351H
The Principal Investigator: Paul Brandt
Project team: Dr. Zeinab A. Sabri, LP&L
Publication:Sabri, Zeinab A., and Brandt, Paul (1984). Lesson Plans for Chemistry and Radio-chemistry Training. TII Rep # TILA-7084201, Waterford 3, LP&L Contract # L14351H.
Summary
TII provided a Chemist to work on-site to review all chemistry and radiochemistry training material that had been developed by another vendor. Recommendations were made to meet the requirements defined by the job task analysis and to meet the INPO guidelines.

- Project Title: Compact Simulator Training Material
Compact Simulator Training Material
Topic: STARTING DATE: August 1981. DURATION: 2 weeks. AMOUNT:$30,000
Contract#: L14351H
The Principal Investigator: Dr. Said I. Abdel-Khalik
Project team: Dr. Zeinab A. Sabri, LP&L
Publication:Sabri, Zeinab A., and Abdel-Khalik, Said I. (1984). Lesson Plans for Training on the Compact Simulator. TII Rep # TILA-7084200, Waterford 3, LP&L contract # L14351H.
Summary
TII provided training material and instruction on the compact simulator for Waterford 3. The material included training on safety functions and safety parameters. Lesson plans and test banks were developed for self-paced instruction on anticipated transients without scram (ATWS) and accident scenarios.

- Project Title: Development of Training Materials based on Industry Operating Experience Relevant to Waterford 3
Development of Training Materials based on Industry Operating Experience Relevant to Waterford 3
Topic: Customer: Waterford 3, LP&L, Kelona, . STARTING DATE: August 1981. DURATION: 1 year. AMOUNT:$350,000
Contract#: L14351H
The Principal Investigator: Abdo A. Husseiny, Ph.D.
Project team: Dr. Terry E. Dix - William Hennessey - Dr. Hang Y. Cho - Gary P. McLagan - Dr. See-Meng Wong - Brian Fitzsimmons - Paul Brandt - Dr. S. Keith Adams
Project Manager/TECHNICAL MONITOR: Dr. Zeinab A. Sabri, LP&L
Publication:
  • Sabri, Zeinab A., and Abdel-Khalik, Said I. (1984). Lesson Plans for Training on the Compact Simulator. TII Rep # TILA-7084200, Waterford 3, LP&L contract # L14351H.
  • Sabri, Zeinab A., Hagenson, Randy L., Dix, Terry E., Hennessey, William, Cho, Hang Youn, Wong, See Meng, Fitzsimmons, Brian, and Brandt, Paul (1984). General System Training: Maintenance and Testing Personnel. TII Rep # TILA-7084211, Waterford 3, LP&L contract # L14351H.
  • Sabri, Zeinab A., Hagenson, Randy L., Dix, Terry E., Hennessey, William, Cho, Hang Youn, McLagan, Gary P., Wong, See Meng, Fitzsimmons, Brian, and Brandt, Paul (1984). Industry Operating Experience Relevant to Waterford 3: Maintenance and Testing Personnel. TII Rep # TILA-7084219, and TII Rep # TILA-7084221, Waterford 3, LP&L contract # L14351H.
  • Sabri, Zeinab A., Hagenson, Randy L., Dix, Terry E., Hennessey, William, Cho, Hang Youn, Wong, See Meng, Fitzsimmons, Brian, and Brandt, Paul (1984). General System Training: Operator Training. TII Rep # TIWA-2084112, Waterford 3, LP&L contract # L14351H.
  • Sabri, Zeinab A., Hagenson, Randy L., Dix, Terry E., Hennessey, William, Cho, Hang Youn, McLagan, Gary P., Wong, See Meng, Fitzsimmons, Brian, and Brandt, Paul (1984). Industry Operating Experience Relevant to Waterford 3: Operators. TII Rep# TILA-7084220, Waterford 3, LP&L contract # L14351H.
  • Sabri, Zeinab A., Hagenson, Randy L., Dix, Terry E., Hennessey, William, Cho, Hang Youn, Wong, See Meng, Fitzsimmons, Brian, and Brandt, Paul (1984). General System Training: Non-Licensed Personnel. TII Rep # TILA-7084212, Waterford 3, LP&L contract # L14351H.
  • Sabri, Zeinab A., Hagenson, Randy L., Dix, Terry E., Hennessey, William, Cho, Hang Youn, McLagan, Gary P., Wong, See Meng, Fitzsimmons, Brian, and Brandt, Paul (1984). Industry Operating Experience Relevant to Waterford 3: Non-licensed Personnel. TII Rep# TILA-7084221, Waterford 3, LP&L contract # L14351H.

Summary
TII developed course material to supplement existing training manuals. The material was based on TII data base of generic human errors in nuclear plants of the same vintage as Waterford 3. Lessons learned from past history were provided for operators, and maintenance and testing crews. This is to avoid recurrence of events. Seven engineers have worked at different times on-site to implement the program. This is in addition to in-house analysis personnel. The work utilized the results of earlier work by TII staff for NRC prior to TMI.

- Project Title: General Training and Development of Lesson Plans for General Training: Non-nuclear Personnel
General Training and Development of Lesson Plans for General Training: Non-nuclear Personnel
Topic: Customer: Waterford 3, LP&L, Kelona, . STARTING DATE: August 1981. DURATION: 1 year. AMOUNT:$350,000
Contract#: L14351H
The Principal Investigator: Dr. See-Meng Wong
Project Manager/TECHNICAL MONITOR: Dr. Zeinab A. Sabri, LP&L
Publication:Sabri, Zeinab A., and Wong, See Meng (1983). Lesson Plans for General Training: Non-nuclear Personnel. Waterford 3, LP&L Contract # L14351H, TII Rep #TILA-83OO5(PR).
Summary
TII provided personnel, lesson plans and test banks for the General System Training of Non-licensed personnel in Waterford 3. The effort was repeated in two cycles.


Other Countries and Organizations
Egypt
Egypt
- Project Title: IBID, Cairo, Egypt
Automation of Bank Terminals
Topic: STARTING DATE: June 1981, 3-months. AMOUNT: $150,,000
Contract#:
The Principal Investigator: Gary P. McLagan
Project team: Richard E. Jarka
Project Manager / Technical Monitor: Mr. Samir Elaish, DPS
Services: TII has developed a design layout of a banking network and made recommendations for use of IBM equipment for bank terminals in branches of the bank in different cities. Also, TII has selected various software packages for tracking of commercial and personal accounts.

- Project Title: IBID/Compumart, Cairo, Egypt
Development of a Computer Enterprise
Topic: STARTING DATE: May 1981. DURATION: 2 months. AMOUNT: $120,000
Contract#:
The Principal Investigator: Gary P. McLagan
Project team: On-Site: Gary P. McLagan - Dr. Abdo A. Husseiny
Project Manager: Mr. Samir Elaish, DPS; Mr. Abdelrahman Bousaila, DPS; Dr. Ismail Abdelfattah, Compumart
Services: TII provided a plan for starting retail microcomputer shops. The effort included market survey and recommendation of requirements for workshop, computer maintenance, and warehouses for spare parts. The computer shop is currently operating in Cairo and Alexandria.


EDF (Electricité de France)
- Project Title: Electricité de France (EDF) Training
Electricité de France (EDF) Trainin
Summary
In a cooperative program with the training branch and the human factors division of EDF, TII-VA provided several services adaptation of training programs for nuclear power plant operators and maintenance technicians as well as plant maintenance procedures to the American nuclear power market. Also, TII-VA has represented EDF in the marketing of nuclear power plant safety systems in the USA; particularly the SPDS.
EDF and TII-VA exhibited the products in the 1984 Annual American Nuclear Society (ANS) Meeting, New Orleans, LA. https://www.edf.fr


Kuwait
Kuwait
- Project Title: Establishment of Technical Services Centers and Industrial Workshops for the Oil Sector: A Feasibility Study
Establishment of Technical Services Centers and Industrial Workshops for the Oil Sector: A Feasibility Study
Topic/Client: Industrial Bank of Kuwait (IBK) and Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS); Contract to Safe Oil International (SOI)
Contract#:
The Principal Investigator: Abdo A, Husseiny
Project team: Dr. Soliman Mohammed Shams-el-Din, Syed N. Hussain, Safe Oil International (SOI); Subcontract to TII-VA. Dr. Abdo A, Husseiny, TII-VA; Dr. Y. Aksoy, Professor, A. B. Freeman School of Business, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA; Alfred M. "AL" Allen, President, Energy Technical Services, Inc. (ETS), Lafayette, LA and Houston, TX.
Project Manager / Technical Monitor: Dr. Rasheed Salem Al-Ameeri, Safe Oil International (SOI)
Publication:Abdo A, Husseiny and Y. Aksoy (November 1996). Establishment of Technical Services Centers and Industrial Workshops for the Oil Sector: A Feasibility Study. TII-VA report TILA-96005-SOIK.
Summary
The idea of establishment of technical service centers and industrial workshops has been floating around in the oil sector for some time. In line with this idea, this study presents a formal analysis of the establishment of a new private workshop for maintenance and spare parts needs of the oil sector.

While we focused on the needs of the oil sector due to its dominance in our economy, the proposed facility would also serve other markets, such as power and private industries. A major portion of maintenance and repair work is done in-house in oil sector. High tech jobs are either done overseas or on-site in Kuwait by overseas contractors. Most of the maintenance contracts are for manpower. While 95% of the top and the middle management are Kuwaitis, the technical employees are mostly expatriates. The oil sector has not yet given high priority to systematic technical training and utilization of the national workforce.

We observed an increase in demand for oil in global and local markets. Working with the oil sector we assessed the demand for a new workshop in the market. Demand for spare parts manufacturing is limited to small items whose production does not require high technology. The option of buying is still optimal for the more complex items.

- Project Title: National Industries Company (NIC), Safat, Kuwait
Evaluation and Selection of Computer Vendors
Topic/Client: SUBCONTRACTOR: Science Applications, Inc., Ames, IA
Contract#: STARTING DATE: July 1980. DURATION: 3 months. AMOUNT: $35,000
The Principal Investigator: Gary P. McLagan
Project team: Gary P. McLagan - Richard E. Jarka - James F. Welch, Off-Site: Dr. Hang Y. Cho - Dr. Janet J. Turnage - Dr. Randy L. Hagenson - Dr. Abdo A. Husseiny - Dr. Terry E. Dix.
Project Manager / Technical Monitor: Mr. Ali Al-Shuraidah, Computer Project Manager, NIC; Mr. Abdul-Rahman Al-Jerawi NIC, Kuwait
Publication: McLagan, Gary P.; Jarka, Richard E.; and Welch, James F. (October 1980). Evaluation of Computer Vendors for the NICIS. 5 Volumes.
Summary
TII personnel performed evaluation of Vendor responses for Tender from NIC for a computer-based information system (NICIS). All information contained within is NIC proprietary. The evaluation of vendor responses was performed based upon qualitative and semi-quantitative evaluation of software and hardware, contractual examinations, financial considerations, and by application of the Multiattribute Utility Package (MAUP) developed by TII personnel.

The MAUP computerized package is especially tailored for evaluation of multiple proposals under conditions of uncertainty. Selection of evaluation criteria and identification of attribute levels of measure were performed collectively by the NIC and SAI staffs involved. Attribute, weighing average, and scaling factors for all attributes and subattributes were generated. All procedures which were used in the development and application of the evaluation approach for selection of vendor(s) for the NICIS were documented together with all results. The outcome of the evaluation was implemented in selection of the computer hardware and of the software vendors.

- Project Title: School of Special Education

Kuwait
Saudi Arabia
- Project Title: Al-Mukawel/The Contractor, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Project Title: FRDC (Fakieh Research & Development Center), http://www.fakieh-rdc.org
- Project Title: KAU (King Abdulaziz University), http://www.kau.edu.sa/Home_english.aspx/a>
- Project Title: MAY Corporation
- Project Title: Bafadel Establishment
Supplies for ARAMCO Saudi Arabia
Topic/Client: Omar Bafadal
Contract#:
The Principal Investigator: Missy Bordelon
Services
Preparation of bids for procurement of equipment and medical supplies for the ARAMCO Saudi facilities in Dhahran.

- Project Title: Bechtel Arabia/Jubail and Yenbu Royal Commission
Design and Construction of a Graphic Arts Center in Jubail, Saudi Arabia SERVICES
Topic/Client: SUBCONTRACTOR: Science Applications, Inc., Ames, IA
Contract#: 114-C06, STARTING DATE: April 1982. DURATION: 1 Year. AMOUNT: $450,000 ($9.5M)
The Principal Investigator: Dr. Abdo A. Husseiny
Project team: On-Site: Jack Clements, KAT Peterson - Dr. Mansur Al-Ammar - Dr. Randy L. Hagenson
Project Manager / Technical Monitor: Ahmed Abdel-Moety, the Contractor
Summary
TII provided a design layout for the center that houses advanced copying, painting, drafting, and graphic instrumentation and equipment. Two main frame computers were installed. Color overlays and combinations were done using commercial advertisement techniques. Laser printers and etching equipment were installed. TII also provided a U. S. expert to manage the project for one year. This is in addition to the engineering work performed in the U.S.

- Project Title: ETM

Date and Contract#:START DATE: 1999.
  • Setting-up of Citrus fruit and Mango Processing Facility in Saudi Arabia
    ServicesDesign and development of a processing facility in Saudi Arabia for producing juice from citrus fruit and mango, with the juice containers to be placed on the shelf without refrigeration. The juice would possess all the sensory attributes of juice extracted from freshly harvested fully ripened fruits.
    Date: March-June 1999
    The Principal Investigator and Project Team: Dr. Ramu Rao, Dr. M. Ahmedna
    Project Manager / Technical Monitor: Dr. Annas Madani
  • Construction of a Power Plant in Jeddah
    ServicesArrangement for a joint venture with a USA power company for construction of a power plant in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
    Date: March 1999
    The Principal Investigator and Project Team: Dr. Annas Madani
    Project Manager / Technical Monitor: Dr. A. David Rossin
  • Establishing Private University in Saudi Arabia
    ServicesArrangement for a US university to start undergraduate program in Saudi Arabia.
    Date: March 1999
    The Principal Investigator and PRoject Team Teresa L. Jenna
    Project Manager / Technical Monitor: Dr. Abdul Rahman Foad
  • Development of Food Irradiation Facility
    ServicesSpecification of equipment for food irradiation facility and radiology laboratory.
    Date: March 1999
    The Principal Investigator and PRoject Team Dr. Abdo Husseiny
    Project Manager / Technical Monitor: Dr. Abdul Rahman Foad
  • Development of Education Material
    ServicesDevelopment of Special Education Curriculum for the university.
    Date: 1999
    The Principal Investigator and PRoject Team Dr. Abdo Husseiny
    Project Manager / Technical Monitor: Dr. Abdul Rahman Foad
  • Planning for Meteorology Station
    ServicesProvide plans for a meteorology station.
    Date: March 1999
    The Principal Investigator and PRoject Team Dr. Shane Babin
    Project Manager / Technical Monitor: Dr. Abdul Rahman Foad


- Project Title: KARA (Kara Establishment), Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), Golden, CO
Environment Controlled Agriculture
Topic/Client: SUBCONTRACTOR: Science Applications, Inc., Ames, IA
Contract#: STARTING DATE: May 1981. DURATION: 3 months. AMOUNT: $695,000
The Principal Investigator: Dr. Abdo A. Husseiny
Project team: Dr. Randy L. Hagenson - Dr. Terry E. Dix - Gary P. McLagan - Dr. Said I. Abdel-Khalik
Project Manager / Technical Monitor: Mr. Tareq Osman Al-Kasabi, KARA
Summary
TII provided a conceptual design of a passive solar greenhouse for hot and humid arid area wherein water was purified by a solar still located on the roof of the structure and another still covering a solar pond. The structure encloses several compartments for growing, cold storage, packaging and shipment, control and monitoring room, and administration. Cooling is provided by fans and a rock energy storage. The solar pond is used to generate electricity. Water, nutrients, pesticides and herbicides were provided through a drip system. The soil was formed by sand and gravel in most of the growth area. A hydroponic system was also included for special plants. The cost was estimated at 1 $M per hectare. The breakeven was about 9 months.

- Project Title: KARA (Kara Establishment), Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Design and Construction of a Graphic Arts Center in Jubail, Saudi Arabia SERVICES
Topic/Client: SUBCONTRACTOR: Science Applications, Inc., Ames, IA
Contract#: 114-C06, STARTING DATE: April 1982. DURATION: 1 Year. AMOUNT: $450,000 ($9.5M)
The Principal Investigator: Dr. Abdo A. Husseiny
Project team: On-Site: Jack Clements, KAT Peterson - Dr. Mansur Al-Ammar - Dr. Randy L. Hagenson
Project Manager / Technical Monitor: Ahmed Abdel-Moety, the Contractor
Summary
TII provided a design layout for the center that houses advanced copying, painting, drafting, and graphic instrumentation and equipment. Two main frame computers were installed. Color overlays and combinations were done using commercial advertisement techniques. Laser printers and etching equipment were installed. TII also provided a U. S. expert to manage the project for one year. This is in addition to the engineering work performed in the U.S.

Publication:
  • Al-Kasabi, Tareq O., Abdel-Khalik, Said I., Dix, Terry E., Hagenson, Randy L., Husseiny, Abdo A., McLagan, Gary P., LaPorta, Carlo, and Matthews, Judy (1981). Design of a Commercial Solar-Powered Greenhouse. Desalination, 39, 53.
  • Husseiny, Abdo A., and Dix, Terry E. (1981). SOLAG, A computer code for simulation, optimization and cost analysis of solar-driven installations; agriculture and aquaculture, TII Comp Lab Rep TIWA-2O8l768/C.
- Project Title: KSU (King Saud University)
Supply of X-Ray System for Oil Analysis
Topic/Client: King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Contract#: 114-C06, STARTING DATE: 1981. DURATION: 9 months. AMOUNT: $27,000
The Principal Investigator: Dr. Randy Hagenson
Project team: Kat Peterson
Project Manager / Technical Monitor: Dr. Salah Medani, KSU
Summary
TII supplied an x-ray system for petroleum engineering laboratory for use by students in analysis of oil impurities and particle suspension.

Publication:
  • Al-Kasabi, Tareq O., Abdel-Khalik, Said I., Dix, Terry E., Hagenson, Randy L., Husseiny, Abdo A., McLagan, Gary P., LaPorta, Carlo, and Matthews, Judy (1981). Design of a Commercial Solar-Powered Greenhouse. Desalination, 39, 53.
  • Husseiny, Abdo A., and Dix, Terry E. (1981). SOLAG, A computer code for simulation, optimization and cost analysis of solar-driven installations; agriculture and aquaculture, TII Comp Lab Rep TIWA-2O8l768/C.
- Project Title: KSU (King Saud University)
Design and Supply of Mechanical/Production Engineering Workshop Equipments
Topic/Client: King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Contract#: PO# INQ: NO. 5902/QT/1402, STARTING DATE: September 1981. DURATION: 4 months. AMOUNT: $385,000
The Principal Investigator: Dr. Randy Hagenson
Project team: Kat Peterson
Project Manager / Technical Monitor: Dr. Salah Medani, KSU
Summary
TII supplied equipment for the College of Engineering mechanical and production shops, including: lathes, grinders, bandsaw, jigsaw, molding machines, sanding machines, etc. Some of the machines were supplied by Iowa Machinery, Des Moines, Iowa.

- Project Title: RDO (Riyada Development Office), http://www.reyadadev.com

Client:Riyada Development Office
Date and Contract#:2006-2007
  • September 11: Events, Analysis and Implications
    ServicesDesign and development of a processing facility in Saudi Arabia for producing juice from citrus fruit and mango, with the juice containers to be placed on the shelf without refrigeration. The juice would possess all the sensory attributes of juice extracted from freshly harvested fully ripened fruits.
    Date: Aug 2006 – March 2007
    The Principal Investigator and Project Team: Dr. Essam Yahia Omar Alfilaly
    Project Manager / Technical Monitor: Dr. Annas Madani
  • Nigeria: History, Poverty & Oil
    Date: March – June 2007
    The Principal Investigator and PRoject Team Dr. Abdo A. Husseiny
    Project Manager / Technical Monitor: Dr. Essam Yahia Omar Alfilaly
  • Judicial Systems Models and Comparative Study
    Date: August – November 2008
    The Principal Investigator and PRoject Team Dr. Abdo Husseiny
    Project Manager / Technical Monitor: Dr. Essam Yahia Omar Alfilaly
  • Development of Plans for Research Schools at King Abdulaziz University
    ServicesDevelopment of Special Education Curriculum for the university.
    Date: Sept 2009
    The Principal Investigator and PRoject Team Dr. Abdo Husseiny, Lindsay Millet
    Project Manager / Technical Monitor: Dr. Essam Yahia Omar Alfilaly
    Summary
    The aim of this project is to investigate the potential of establishing research schools at King Abdulaziz University as multidisciplinary groups to perform diversified research in selected areas of importance to the country, the region and the welfare of the world and the human race. The capital of the research schools is primarily the University human resources and hence faculty members and young researchers will be encouraged to participate in the research conducted in different schools. Areas of excellence at the University would be grouped together into few schools, wherein optimal utilization will be assured of the natural and cultural resources of the Kingdom. Each school will have at least one Nobel Laureate to guide the researchers and become a source of inspiration to them and the new generation of researchers. This is in addition to drawing on the internationally distinguished subject matter experts.

    The project will develop the structure of the schools, their goals, mission, vision and objectives. In addition, the relationship with the University and other academic programs will be established to assure no conflict or duplication in the efforts of the research schools, the research institutes and the academic departments at the University. In the same time difficulties in implementation will be assessed.

    Publication:
    • Abdo A. Husseiny and Lindsay Millet (2009). Development of Plans for Research Schools at King Abdulaziz University. TII-VA Report TILA-sa/rdo-2009-005
- Project Title: Saudi Arabian Government: Majlis al-Shura (Senate)
Comparative Analysis of Legislative and Parliamentary Systems in Developed Countries.
Topic/Client: King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Contract#: Dec 2007-Feb 2008; Makkah Province Development; MPD http://www.mpd.gov.sa/
The Principal Investigator: Dr. Abdo Husseiny
Project Manager / Technical Monitor: Dr. Magde M. Hariari, Senator
Publication: Majde M. Hariari and Abdo A. Husseiny (2009). Comparative Analysis of Legislative and Parliamentary Systems in Developed Countries. In Press
Summary
A comparative analysis is conducted between models of legislative assemblies encompassing their legislative activities as well as their watch over other government branches. The study concentrated on the parliamentary model of the UK and most European countries the presidential model of the USA and most Latin American countries. In realty, most of the other systems are a variation from either model wherein modifications are introduced to suite national traditions and local customs.

- Project Title: Saudi Arabian Governmen: MPD - http://www.mpd.gov.sa
Curricula and Education Programs: K-12 in Science Mathematics and English Language.
Topic/Client: King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Contract#: PO# INQ: NO. 5902/QT/1402, STARTING DATE: September 1981. DURATION: 4 months. AMOUNT: $385,000
The Principal Investigator: Dr. Abdo Husseiny
Project Manager / Technical Monitor: Dr. Sami Ben Yasseen Brahmin, Umul-Qura University
Publication: Abdo A. Husseiny (Feb 2008). Curricula and Education Programs: K-12 in Science Mathematics and English Language. TII-VA Report TILA-200802-MPDEd-SA-001.
Summary
The study involved critical assessment and comparison between the best programs and curricula of Science, Mathematics and English Language around the world with the aim of providing recommendations for adaptation and implementation of the best practices in grades from K to 12 in the public education of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Based on the international outcome assessment measures, especially those used by the United Nations Organization in evaluation of national education programs, the top five educational programs were identified. Furthermore, analyses of the programs in Canada, Singapore and New Zealand were performed to determine the common quality features among these specific programs and approaches to introduction of those features in the Saudi Arabian education system. Accordingly, a comparative study of the programs in those three countries in the fields of interest was carried out to examine applicability of the excellence aspects to the education system in Saudi Arabia. An effort was dedicated to examine the experience of some Arab countries in application of programs of distinction in other countries and the outcome of such application. Based on these studies, recommendations are provided for the administrative procedures and approaches of adaptation and implementation of the selected features in Saudi Arabia. This is in addition to listing of institutions, organizations and private enterprises that can assist in the implementation of the new programs.