Page:Advanced Automation for Space Missions.djvu/388

 Dump - The removal of all or part of the contents of a computer storage medium such as memory or disc and its reproduction in some other medium such as hard copy printout, tapes, or cards.

Feedback - Information returned from the output of a machine or process intended for use as output in subsequent operations or for purposes of automatic control.

GEO - Geosynchronous Earth Orbit; also Geostationary Earth Orbit.

Hardwired - Computer or computer controlled system which functions by means of fixed or committed circuitry; reprogramming is possible only by altering the nature of or interconnections among physical components.

Heuristic - A heuristic computer program is one which begins with only an approximate method of solving a problem within the context of some goal, and then uses feedback from the effects of the solution to improve its own performance.

ICAM - Integrated computer-aided manufacturing.

IESIS - Intelligent Earth-Sensing Information System.

Integrated Circuits (ICs) - a very small single structure assembly of electronic components containing many circuits and functions on a chip.

Interface - The medium by which two separate elements of a computer system are joined to permit mutual interaction.

I/O Device - Input or output equipment or programming, used to communicate with a computer or control system.

LBM - Laser beam machining.

LEO - Low-Earth Orbit.

LSI - Large-scale integration; the organization of many integrated circuits on a single, very small substrate; the basis of microcomputers and minicomputer logic systems.

Manipulator Systems - A generic term for any mechanical device which a robot uses to directly manipulate its environment.

Motive Systems - A generic term for the mechanisms used to convey a robot around its environment.

NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

N/C Machine Tool - Numerical controlled machine tool; a mill, lathe, or other production machine driven by computer-generated instructions for manufacturing that are read from a tape or other input medium, which the machine follows to complete a given task.

NEEDS - NASA End-to-End Data System.

NSF - National Science Foundation.

NTM - Nonterrestrial manufacturing.

Offline Operation - Peripheral equipment operating independently of a central computer, to conserve expensive online central computer time.

Open-Loop System - A system which generates output signals but which depends on the integrity of the system to execute them, without feedback for monitoring or comparison purposes. Open-loop systems ignore error signals and operate on the assumption that no errors occur.

OTV - Orbital Transfer Vehicle.

PROM - Programmable read-only memory; can be programmed only by special routines. One programmed with permanent data, it becomes a ROM or read-only memory.

RAM - Random access memory; access time is effectively independant of the data location.

R&amp;D - Research and development.

Real Time - The ability of a computer to function and control processes as they actually occur.

ROM - Read only memory; see PROM.

SETI - Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.

SMF - Space manufacturing facility.

SRS - Self-replicating system(s).

STS - Space transportation system; the Space Shuttle.

Teleoperator - A mechanical device for following displaying, or amplifying the motions of the human body (hands, legs, head) to perform some useful task.

Turkey Ratio - In a nonterrestrial manufacturing facility, a measure of closure defined as the fraction of all terrestrial materials supplied per unit mass of output product.

World Model - An information structure built up in the memory of a computer or robot, based on both initialization and heuristic interaction with the environment.