Abstract: Provided herein are systems to allow an operator to sense, for example, distance of a component from a component connector. The systems include a transmitter associated with the component connector, and a feedback device operable to contact the operator. The feedback device comprises a receiver operable to receive signals transmitted by the transmitter, and an actuator operable to provide haptic feedback to the operator in which, for example, strength, manner, or strength and manner of actuation of the actuator is determined by strength of the signals received by the receiver. Typically, the systems further allow the operator to engage the component to the component connector. Other aspects of the present disclosure provide various methods of allowing an operator to sense, for example, distance of a component from a component connector and to related computer readable media.

Abstract: Provided herein are systems to allow an operator to sense, for example, distance of a component from a component connector. The systems include a transmitter associated with the component connector, and a feedback device operable to contact the operator. The feedback device comprises a receiver operable to receive signals transmitted by the transmitter, and an actuator operable to provide haptic feedback to the operator in which, for example, strength, manner, or strength and manner of actuation of the actuator is determined by strength of the signals received by the receiver. Typically, the systems further allow the operator to engage the component to the component connector. Other aspects of the present disclosure provide various methods of allowing an operator to sense, for example, distance of a component from a component connector and to related computer readable media.

Abstract: A workpiece manipulation system is disclosed. The workpiece manipulation system is configured to provide high-precision manipulation of a workpiece by an aircraft. The workpiece manipulation system comprises a lifting mechanism to couple with the aircraft, an end-effector, and a processor. The lifting mechanism includes one or more joint actuators to extend or retract the lifting mechanism relative to the aircraft. The end-effector includes an end-effector actuator to control an operation of the end-effector to manipulate the workpiece. The processor is communicatively coupled with an aircraft processor and configured to control operation of the end-effector actuator and the one or more joint actuators.

Abstract: A workpiece manipulation system is disclosed. The workpiece manipulation system is configured to provide high-precision manipulation of a workpiece by an aircraft. The workpiece manipulation system comprises a lifting mechanism to couple with the aircraft, an end-effector, and a processor. The lifting mechanism includes one or more joint actuators to extend or retract the lifting mechanism relative to the aircraft. The end-effector includes an end-effector actuator to control an operation of the end-effector to manipulate the workpiece. The processor is communicatively coupled with an aircraft processor and configured to control operation of the end-effector actuator and the one or more joint actuators.

Abstract: A few inexpensive hardware facilities are incorporated in a tightly synchronized cross checked design. These facilities allow initialization software to quickly bring the two processors to the same state by rapid, repeated resets and execution of the initialization software. The resets are done in a way as to be transparent to the rest of the system and to the end user.

Abstract: A mechanism is provided for non-disruptive replacing of a first software module with a second software module in an embedded system. The mechanism includes copying update control code from the first software module to memory space outside a memory location of the first software module, and then replacing the first software module with a second software module by storing the second software module in memory at a location which at least partially overlies the first software module. The replacing includes executing the update control code copied from the first software module during the replacing. Upon completing storing of the second software module, execution of the second software module is begun without resetting the system.

Abstract: A method of writing to cache including initiating a write operation to a cache. In a first operational mode, the presence or absence of a write miss is detected and if a write miss is absent, writing data to the cache and if a write miss is present, retrieving the data from a further memory and writing the data to the cache based on least recently used logic. In a second operational mode, the cache is placed in a memory mode and the data is written to the cache based on an address regardless of whether a write miss is present or absent.