Banner
[ MAIN | DARTS |DSHELL |ROAMS |DSENDS |SimScape |GNEIMO |Dspace |YaM |SOA | References |]

The Spatial Operator Algebra


Table of Contents:

  1. Mathematical Roots of the DARTS Software
  2. The Domain of Linked Multibody Systems is Very Large
  3. The Mathematics for the Dynamical Motion of Such Systems is Very Challenging
  4. Mathematical Complexity is Overwhelming Even for Relatively Simple Systems
  5. The Spatial Operator Algebra Eliminates Complexity
  6. Computational Complexity Grows Only Linearly with the Number of Degrees of Freedom
  7. The Spatial Operators Extend to 3-Dimensional Mechanical Systems the Computationally Efficient Digital Filtering Techniques of Modern Signal Processing
  8. The Spatial Operator Algebra Emerges from a Synthesis of Several Scientific Disciplines Previously Thought to be Unrelated
  9. The Spatial Operator Algebra Leads to a Hierarchical Software Architecture Built from Standardized, Reusable Modules
  10. High-Performance Simulation for Real-Time Planetary Spacecraft Dynamics
  11. Robotics Applications
  12. Large Scale Molecular Dynamics Simulations
  13. Concluding Remarks


  1. MATHEMATICAL ROOTS OF THE DARTS SOFTWARE

    DARTS is a hierarchically layered software architecture rooted on a new approach to modeling of linked multibody systems developed by the authors, referred to as a spatial operator algebra. DARTS is therefore a model-based software architecture, in which the underlying mathematical model for the physical system very efficiently organizes the inherent system complexity into several layers of mathematical abstraction. The organization of the software architecture very closely follows that dictated by the mathematical model. Because this model determines the software architecture, every software module and computational step has a physical interpretation which can be obtained by examining the model. The physical relationships inherent in the system itself provide the software architecture. This features makes the software architecture very elegant, as this architecture is driven by an almost overwhelming logic determined by nature, as reflected in the system mathematical model. Furthermore, the system mathematical model used to determine the DARTS architecture is itself very efficiently organized by the spatial operator algebra. One therefore gets the best of two worlds: 1) the DARTS software architecture is very efficiently organized because it is model-driven; and 2) the model used to drive the architecture is very efficiently organized by the spatial operator algebra. The DARTS software is the embodiment of the spatial operator algebra, and is the spatial operator algebra reduced to practice, using the principles of modern software engineering. This algebra is at the root of the elegance and efficiency of the DARTS software.

  2. [ Return to Top ]

  3. THE DOMAIN OF LINKED MULTIBODY SYSTEMS IS VERY LARGE

    The Spatial Operator Algebra is a new way to do the mathematics of arbitrary collections of rigid or deformable bodies connected either by physical joints or by interactive forces acting at a distance. This domain is huge. It includes SPACECRAFT, ROBOTS, VEHICLES, ANIMALS, MOLECULES, the SOLAR SYSTEM, etc. The list is endless. In fact, most of the objects that we perceive with our ordinary senses in daily life can be viewed as linked multibody systems. It is difficult to conceive of an ordinary object, or collection of objects, that cannot be viewed in this way. Other much smaller systems, such as molecular structures, we cannot experience directly with our ordinary senses. Special instruments nonetheless reveal their linked, multibody structure.

  4. [ Return to Top ]

  5. THE MATHEMATICS FOR THE DYNAMICAL MOTION OF SUCH SYSTEMS IS VERY CHALLENGING

    Newton said f = ma, force equals mass multiplied by acceleration. This equation of motion has been at the root of science and technology for several centuries. It is a very simple equation, as are most fundamental laws of physics. It is easy to understand and use. In modern times, it is taught as early as high-school, and even earlier in some schools. However, as fundamental as it is, this equation needs further elaboration: In its simplest form, it only governs the dynamical behavior of a fictitious "point" particle in space that does not occupy any volume. Things are not so simple when modeling linked, multibody systems. Such systems differ from a "point" particle in that dynamical interactions between the various bodies in the multibody system must be accounted for. An example of such a dynamic interaction occurs when a spinning figure skater contracts the arms in order to change the speed of rotation. Another important example occurs in space, when pointing a gimballed camera toward a target may cause dynamic disturbances in the rest of the spacecraft. This interaction occurs even if the camera is small compared to the rest of the spacecraft. In some aerospace engineering circles, this type of interaction is known as the "tail wags dog" effect. Similar examples occur in all types of linked, multibody systems.

    To extend f = ma from a "point" particle to linked multibody systems, equations of motion must be developed that govern the interactive behavior of the complete system. These equations are typically very complex. A significant number of history's greatest scientists and mathematicians have made definitive contributions on how to develop such equations of dynamical motion. Euler, Lagrange, and Hamilton are among the most prominent. The science they created is classical mechanics, which governs the dynamical motion of most ordinary events when viewed at an ordinary human scale. Relativity and quantum mechanics were revolutions which came later.

  6. [ Return to Top ]

  7. MATHEMATICAL COMPLEXITY IS OVERWHELMING EVEN FOR RELATIVELY SIMPLE SYSTEMS

    A simple robot with 6 articulated joints and 6 rigid links is one of the most common tools for robotics applications and research throughout the world. Fig. 1 displays the complexity of the corresponding equations of motion. There is an overwhelming proliferation of mathematical symbols and trigonometric functions (Sine, Cosine, etc.) of the various joint angles. There are also many subscripts. Counting the number of symbols is an overwhelming exercise, even without trying to comprehend what the symbols mean. There are so many trees that one cannot see the forest.

    Figure 1

    Figure 1

    [ Back to Section IV | Back to Section V ]

    Complexity gets even more out of hand for more complex systems. Some of the applications mentioned above (molecular structures, animals, etc.) have significantly many more degrees of freedom than a simple robot. Unless the equations of motion for such systems are organized efficiently, the mathematical complexity may be far beyond human capabilities.

  8. [ Return to Top ]

  9. THE SPATIAL OPERATOR ALGEBRA ELIMINATES COMPLEXITY

    The Spatial Operator Algebra is a new approach to the mathematics of linked multibody systems. One of its key innovations is that it eliminates mathematical complexity. It reduces the number of symbols that a human analyst must see and understand by several orders of magnitude. This is done by using such spatial operators as f and H in Fig. 1, with each operator symbol representing up to 10,000 more detailed arithmetical operations. Fig. 1 compares the extremely simple mathematical expressions prevalent in the Spatial Operator Algebra and the corresponding very complex expressions in prior approaches.

    While complexity is eliminated, no information about the system is lost in the Spatial Operator approach, as the spatial operators still contain precise information about the system. However, this information is organized and presented to the analyst using much fewer symbols.

    Complexity is reduced to what may be the absolute minimum. Even very complex systems require only a few spatial operator symbols. It is difficult to conceive how there could ever be a simpler mathematical representation.

  10. [ Return to Top ]

  11. COMPUTATIONAL COMPLEXITY GROWS ONLY LINEARLY WITH THE NUMBER OF DEGREES OF FREEDOM

    Each spatial operator in the Spatial Operator Algebra is mechanized by an algorithm requiring arithmetical operations which grow only linearly with the number of degrees of freedom. These are known as "Order N" algorithms, because the number of arithmetical operations is of the same order as the number N of degrees of freedom. This means that, as system complexity grows, computational complexity grows only linearly. This is almost ideal. It would be absolutely ideal if the number of computations did not grow at all with system complexity, but this may not be possible. However, the Spatial Operator Algebra comes close to this. This is particularly true, because in most traditional methods, the number of arithmetical operations grows as the cube of the number of degrees of freedom. Fig. 2 shows a comparison, in terms of the number of arithmetical operations required, between the Order N algorithms embedded in the Spatial Operator Algebra and the Order N-Cube algorithms of prior state of the art. The Order N algorithms in the Spatial Operator Algebra are referred to in Fig. 2 as NEIMO, which stands for Newton Euler Inverse Mass Operator method.

    Figure 2

    Figure 2

    [ Back to Section VI ]

  12. [ Return to Top ]

  13. THE SPATIAL OPERATORS EXTEND TO 3-DIMENSIONAL MECHANICAL SYSTEMS THE COMPUTATIONALLY EFFICIENT DIGITAL FILTERING TECHNIQUES OF MODERN SIGNAL PROCESSING

    Each spatial operator in the Spatial Operator Algebra is implemented using a spatiallly recursive algorithm, in which the necessary computations are performed in a sequential series of steps. Each sequence starts at one end of the system and terminates at the other end. Many of the spatial operators, those requiring inversion of the system mass matrix for example, are mechanized by spatially recursive Kalman filtering algorithms, quite popular in digital filtering and signal processing. Since it was announced by R. E. Kalman, now at the University of Florida, in the early 1960's, his Kalman filtering algorithm has found its way to countless applications in science and engineering: aerospace navigation, guidance and control; satellite orbit determination; digital image processing; stock market modeling and prediction; weather forecasting; etc. It has been stated in some occasions that a good metric to measure the relative state of advancement of a society is the number of Kalman filtering applications in this society. While this claim may have been made somewhat in jest, it may not be far from the truth.

    That the Kalman filter embedded in the Spatial Operator Algebra solves computational bottlenecks in classical mechanics is a very surprising scientific discovery, requiring a deep understanding of both classical mechanics and filtering methods.

  14. [ Return to Top ]

  15. THE SPATIAL OPERATOR ALGEBRA EMERGES FROM A SYNTHESIS OF SEVERAL SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES, PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT TO BE UNRELATED

    The Spatial Operator Algebra solves problems in classical mechanics using a combination of powerful methods previously thought to be unrelated to mechanics: (1) Filtering and Prediction Methods, which emerged initially during World War II to address problems in predicting the future trajectories of missiles and other projectiles. N. Wiener, the father of the term Cybernetics, was among the most prominent founders of this scientific discipline; (2) Functional Analysis and Linear Operator Methods, a unifying mathematical framework used widely in engineering and science (for example in quantum mechanics); (3) Linear Control System Theory, which has enabled the design of digital automatic control systems in many space and terrestrial applications.

    Finding previously undiscovered relationships and analogies among areas is one of the most fundamental contributions that can be made. Such discoveries inevitably enhance our knowledge and understanding of the areas synthesized. For example, efficient computational techniques, which have emerged from about 50 years of intensive research in Filtering and Prediction Methods, can now be used to organize complexity and solve computational bottlenecks in classical mechanics. Knowledge from any given area is applied to previously unresolved problems in the other areas. Finding analogies and relationships therefore fills in gaps in our knowledge, and it advances knowledge in all related areas. To a large extent, the Spatial Operator Algebra does this.

  16. [ Return to Top ]

  17. THE SPATIAL OPERATOR ALGEBRA LEADS TO A HIERARCHICAL SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE BUILT FROM STANDARDIZED, REUSABLE MODULES

    The Spatial Operator Algebra is easily implemented using modern software development methods. At any given level in the hierarchy, the computer automatically decomposes each spatial operator into a set of a few more detailed operations at the next lower level in the hierarchy. There is a corresponding decomposition in the software architecture. This process of decomposition can be viewed as that of "smart" compilation, in the sense that the compiler is made smart by built-in knowledge about the system dynamical model embedded in the spatial operators. The software modules which constitute the architecture are simple, standardized, and easily debugged.

    Figure 3

    Figure 3

    Fig. 3 illustrates the software architecture. At the highest level (Level 1 in the figure) of abstraction, the user inputs a mathematical statement. This input requires that the program decompose the operators H, J, and K that appear at this level. This decomposition occurs at Level 2 in the hierarchy. At the next level, labeled 3 in the figure, the computer recognizes that j is what is referred to as a Kalman filter transition operator. This in turn implies that j can be mechanized using an inward Kalman filtering recursion, shown at Level 4, from the tip of the system to the base. Subsequent levels are decomposed in the same fashion. At the lowest level, Level 7 in the figure, are the very detailed coordinate transformations for reference frames attached to the various bodies constituting the multibody system.

    This programming approach achieves a very high level of abstraction. The number of symbols visible to the analyst at any level in the hierarchy is very small. This means that the corresponding computer programs are also very simple. The programs are modular and map to a modular software architecture. The programs are also to a large extent system-independent, in the sense that going from one system to another is easy to do. Although the programs are simple, computational efficiency is not lost. Embedded in the programs are very efficient computational algorithms.

  18. [ Return to Top ]

  19. HIGH-PERFORMANCE SIMULATION FOR REAL-TIME PLANETARY SPACECRAFT DYNAMICS

    Real-time computer simulators which accurately predict the dynamical motion of an actual spacecraft in flight lead to significant reductions in cost during system design, development and testing. They also improve system performance and reliability during flight operations. In the early stages of a flight project, when the actual spacecraft to be flown may not yet exist in its final form, design options and trades can easily be made by computer simulation. For example, changing a sensor in a computer simulation costs much less than changing it in an actual spacecraft. In the final stages of design and testing, when the spacecraft may already be built and almost ready to be flown, computer simulations are used for hardware-in-the-loop testing and evaluation. Such hardware-in-the-loop simulations are hybrid systems consisting of both flight hardware (sensors, actuators, etc.) together with software for spacecraft dynamics. They are invaluable at this stage because they provide relatively inexpensive end-to-end testing and evaluation prior to flight.

    DARTS (Dynamics Algorithms for Real Time Simulation) is a software package developed by the innovators which has been adopted as a standard for several current and emerging JPL flight projects. It is an integral element of the JPL Flight System Testbed (FST) and PDC (Project Design Center), and it provides a cost-effective, rapid-prototyping tool for end-to-end system design, development and testing. DARTS has been adopted as a standard by the JPL Pathfinder and Cassini projects for hardware-in-the-loop spacecraft simulations. It is also being used to support Galileo mission operations.

    Productivity gains enabled by DARTS are as follows. The DARTS simulation software meets project needs through all phases of a project. Its reusability makes it the simulation standard for current and future projects. It allows exploration of a larger design and test space, thus reducing risks. Its high-speed algorithms reduce simulation time by at least an order of magnitude. It easily accommodates multiple spacecraft configurations and simulation scenarios. It also allows easy testing of the fault-protection subsystem by allowing insertion of simulated faults while the computer simulation program is running.

  20. [ Return to Top ]

  21. ROBOTICS APPLICATIONS

    The Spatial Operator Algebra organizes very efficiently the mathematics and computations required by high-performance robotic manipulators, arm-like systems consisting of linked objects joined together by articulated joints. A robotic manipulator is a very special type of a linked, multibody system. The Spatial Operator Algebra ranks among the best fundamental contributions to robotics research in recent years. The innovators have been systematically using the Spatial Operator Algebra to solve a number of important research problems in robotics research: 1) efficient inversion of the manipulator mass matrix required to conduct robot dynamics simulation; 2) non-interacting manipulator control, in which the control system at each of the joints is independent of all of the other joints; 3) control of underactuated manipulators, in which not all of the degrees of freedom are actively controlled; and 4) dual arm manipulation in which two or more arm-like systems work together to move a commonly held object. These results have been communicated to the robotics community through publication in technical journals.

  22. [ Return to Top ]

  23. LARGE SCALE MOLECULAR DYNAMICS SIMULATIONS

    In a joint effort with Professor W. Goddard, III of the Caltech Chemistry Department, the Spatial Operator Algebra is being used to investigate the dynamics of large (~1,000,000 atom) molecular structures. Fig. 4 illustrates such an application. The Spatial Operator Algebra is being used to study: the structural and functional relationships of proteins and enzymes; protein folding mechanisms and pathways; new drug design; and design and study of catalysts and polymers. The fundamental technical problem being addressed is the global and local dynamical behavior a complex collection of many atoms joined together by interactive forces. The efficiency of the dynamics algorithms in the Spatial Operator Algebra enable the accurately detailed study of much larger systems than could be studied with previous methods. This project is being supported as part of a National Science Foundation (NSF) Grand Challenge Grant in High-Performance Computing.

  24. Figure 4

    Figure 4

    [ Back to Section XII ]

    [ Return to Top ]

  25. CONCLUDING REMARKS

    The Spatial Operator Algebra is a fundamental contribution to engineering, science and applied mathematics. It is not only technically elegant, but it is also very practical in a "hard-nosed" engineering sense. Its primary applications to date have been in space vehicle dynamics (spacecraft, robots, etc.), but there are many more potential applications. The fundamental body of knowledge that the Spatial Operator Algebra represents is being disseminated at universities and through publications in technical societies. This process is gradual but unstoppable. As the Spatial Operator Algebra becomes more widely understood, there will be many more applications. Some of the contributions in it (e.g. the Kalman filter solves computational bottlenecks in classical mechanics) are definitive. These contributions will stand the test of time. The DARTS software implements this algebra using the tools of modern software engineering, and has made substantial contributions to wide variety of NASA flight projects.

    [ Return to Top ]