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Dynamics and Aerial Attitude Control for Rapid Emergency Deployment of the Four-Wheel Independent Drive and Steering (4WIDS) Agile Ground Robot AGRO
No full textIn this work we present a Four-Wheeled Independent Drive and Steering (4WIDS) robot named AGRO and a method of controlling its orientation while airborne using wheel reaction torques. This is the first documented use of independently steerable wheels to both drive on the ground and achieve aerial attitude control when thrown. Inspired by a cat\u27s self-righting reflex, this capability was developed to allow emergency response personnel to rapidly deploy AGRO by throwing it over walls and fences or through windows without the risk of it landing upside down. It also allows AGRO to drive off of obstacles and ensure it lands on all four wheels. We have demonstrated a successful thrown deployment of AGRO.
A novel parametrization and singularity analysis of 4WIDS kinematics reveals independent yaw authority with simultaneous adjustment of the ratio between roll and pitch authority. Simple PD controllers allow for stabilization of roll, pitch, and yaw. These controllers were tested in a simulation using derived dynamic equations of motion, then implemented on the AGRO Mk I prototype. An experiment comparing a controlled and non-controlled fall was conducted in which AGRO was dropped from a height 0.85 m with an initial roll and pitch angle of 16 degrees and -23 degrees respectively. With the controller enabled, AGRO can use the reaction torque from its wheels to stabilize its orientation within 402 milliseconds
The Canary in the Military Justice Mineshaft: A Review of Recent Sexual Assault Courts-Martial Tainted by Unlawful Command Influence
No full textIn the 17-month time period of May 2017-September 2018, military appellate courts have reversed five sexual assault convictions based on the legal doctrine of Unlawful Command Influence. Many of these cases are directly tied to the military\u27s response to congressional criticism of the military\u27s handling of such cases. This article examines the five cases and the greater context in which they were decided, along with a recent report on the prosecution of sexual assault courts-martial. The cases and report suggest that the military has over-corrected in its response to congressional criticism and the fairness of trials are being called into question. The article concludes with observations for addressing these concerns
Unsupervised Machine Learning for Anomaly Detection in Synchrophasor Network Traffic
No full textIn this paper, the k-means algorithm is applied to IEEE C37.118.2 synchrophasor network traffic data to model the expected packet features under normal operating conditions. Once the model is trained, anomalies in the data are introduced using packet manipulation and packet injection. Anomalies in this research are defined as any packets in the network traffic from an unknown IP address, irregularities in the byte length of the synchrophasor data, or any packet with a network latency longer than is characteristic of the network. The trained model detects these simulated anomalies by assigning each test packet to a trained cluster centroid and determining if the distortion of the test packet qualifies it as an anomaly. This paper describes the problems and opportunities that arise from smart grid technologies, why using machine learning for anomaly detection is essential in control system environments, and how the model is developed to detect anomalies
What is the rationale behind election interference?
Get PDFAny attempt to interfere with democratic elections, and the peaceful transition of power that is the result of these elections, is an attack on the country itself as it seeks to destabilize and undermine the core societal functions and constitutional framework. We all agree on the severity of these attempts and that it is a real, ongoing concern for our democratic republic. That is all good, and democracies have to safeguard the integrity of their electoral processes.
But what is less discussed is why the main perpetrator — Russia, according to media — is seeking to interfere with the U.S. election. What is the Russian rationale behind these information operations targeting the electoral system?
The Russian information operations in the fault lines of American society, seeking to make America more divisive and weakened, has a more evident rationale. These operations seek to expand cleavages, misunderstandings and conflicts within the population. That can affect military recruiting, national obedience in an national emergency, and have long-term effects on trust and confidence in the society. So seeking to attack the American cognitive space, in pursuit of split and division in this democratic republic, has a more obvious goal. But what is the Russian return on investment for the electoral operations
Government cyber breach shows need for convergence
Get PDFThe SolarWinds breach points out the importance of having both offensive and defensive cyber force experience.
The breach is an ongoing investigation, and we will not comment on the investigation. Still, in general terms, we want to point out the exploitable weaknesses in creating two silos — OCO and DCO.
The separation of OCO and DCO, through the specialization of formations and leadership, undermines broader understanding and value of threat intelligence. The growing demarcation between OCO and DCO also have operative and tactical implications. The Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) concept emphasizes the competitive advantages that the Army — and greater Department of Defense — can bring to bear by leveraging the unique and complementary capabilities of each service.
It requires that leaders understand the capabilities their organization can bring to bear in order to achieve the maximum effect from the available resources. Cyber leaders must have exposure to a depth and the breadth of their chosen domain to contribute to MDO.
Unfortunately, within the Army’s operational cyber forces, there is a tendency to designate officers as either offensive cyber operations (OCO) or defensive cyber operations (DCO) specialists. The shortsighted nature of this categorization is detrimental to the Army’s efforts in cyberspace and stymies the development of the cyber force, affecting all soldiers.
The Army will suffer in its planning and ability to operationally contribute to MDO from a siloed officer corps unexposed to the domain’s inherent flexibility
Perfect Hash Families: The Generalization to Higher Indices
Get PDFPerfect hash families are often represented as combinatorial arrays encoding partitions of kitems into v classes, so that every t or fewer of the items are completely separated by at least a specified number of chosen partitions. This specified number is the index of the hash family. The case when each t-set must be separated at least once has been extensively researched; they arise in diverse applications, both directly and as fundamental ingredients in a column replacement strategy for a variety of combinatorial arrays. In this paper, construction techniques and algorithmic methods for constructing perfect hash families are surveyed, in order to explore extensions to the situation when each t-set must be separated by more than one partition.https://digitalcommons.usmalibrary.org/books/1029/thumbnail.jp
Head Strong: How Psychology is Revolutionizing War Revised and Expanded Edition
No full textSince the publication of the first edition of Head Strong: How Psychology Is Revolutionizing War in 2014, developments in military psychology have been rapid and important—so much so that this revised edition is necessary to accurately capture the vital role that psychology continues to play in twenty-first-century military success. The ideas contained in the first edition influenced emerging doctrine in the Army’s Human Dimension and informed military leaders around the globe of ways that psychological science and practice may be leveraged to improve combat effectiveness. Many of the predictions made in the first edition have come true, and new and exciting products of military psychology now offer novel ways of impacting military outcomes. This revised edition of Head Strong updates the 13 chapters included in the first edition with breaking news in military psychology and adds new material to augment those chapters. Two entirely new chapters are included in this edition. The first focuses on human performance optimization. It captures rapid developments in psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and other disciplines that may help the military optimize soldier and unit performance. The second dives deeply into character and discusses how to measure it, how to develop it, and how character plays a vital role in the performance of individual soldiers and their units. Like the other topics in Head Strong, these two new chapters have significant applicability to nonmilitary organizations including schools, corporations, and sports teams
Early Predictors of Successful Military Careers Among West Point Cadets
Get PDFThe importance of leadership to organizational performance puts a premium on identifying future leaders. Early prediction of high-potential talent enables organizations to marshal scarce develop- mental resources and opportunities to those who are best positioned to show distinction in elevated roles. Much of the existing literature indicates that general mental ability remains the strongest predictor of future professional performance. Using data from 13 classes of West Point graduates who stayed in the Army to be considered for at least early promotion to the rank of major (N = 5,505), regression analyses indicate that cadet military grade point average surpasses both cognitive ability and academic performance by a considerable margin in the ability to predict future professional outcomes such as selection for early promotion or battalion command. Moreover, these differences in predicting managerial career outcomes endure over 16 years. Both practical and theoretical implications are discussed.https://digitalcommons.usmalibrary.org/books/1054/thumbnail.jp
Extending the American Century: Revisiting the Social Contract
No full textAmericans today resent seemingly endless military deployments across the globe with no discernible security benefits, feel abandoned by the supposed economic benefits of globalization that have not accrued to a majority, and are suspicious of laissez-faire capitalism. In this article, we argue that the US role in world affairs is fundamentally shaped by its democratic system of governance. US foreign engagements historically depended on the government’s ability to maintain an implicit and explicit social contract with the American public that guaranteed domestic prosperity in exchange for supporting foreign-policy goals. The social contract remained legitimate to the extent that the government fulfilled its obligation to pursue goals abroad that contributed to the public interest. When the government failed to do so, the public withdrew its support by demanding new policies and electing new leadership to act in accordance with the public’s will.
Growing levels of domestic political turmoil increasingly point to a failing American social contract that does not contribute to improves economic wellbeing for all Americans. The indictment of America’s foreign-policy elites is the result of a fundamental breakdown of the social contract that undergirded the domestic legitimacy of American global engagement during the twentieth century. Our article suggests that strategic retrenchment may provide an opportunity for reevaluation that will contribute to the strategic solvency necessary for maintaining American leadership in the twenty-first century
Dean\u27s Significant Activities Report 09-04-2020
Get PDFhttps://digitalcommons.usmalibrary.org/books/1027/thumbnail.jp