Most distributed applications today manage to utilize only a small percentage of the needed and available network bandwidth. Often application developers are not aware of the potential bandwidth of the network, and therefore do not know what to expect. Even when application developers are aware of the specifications of the machines and network links, they have few resources that can help determine why the expected performance was not achieved. What is needed is a ubiquitous and easy-to-use service that provides reliable, accurate, secure, and timely estimates of dynamic network properties. This service will help advise applications on how to make use of the network's increasing bandwidth and capabilities for traffic shaping and engineering. When fully implemented, this service will make building currently unrealizable levels of network awareness into distributed applications a relatively mundane task. For example, a remote data visualization application could choose between sending a wireframe, a pre-rendered image, or a 3-D representation, based on forecasts of CPU availability and power, compression options, and available bandwidth. The same service will provide on-demand performance information so that applications can compare predicted with actual results, and allow detailed queries about the end-to-end path for application and network tuning and debugging.

This paper describes the development and performance of a Linear Scarifying End-Effector (LSEE) designed and fabricated for deployment by a remotely operated vehicle. The end-effector was designed to blast or scarify in-grained residual contamination from gunite tank walls using high-pressure water jets after the bulk sludge had been removed from the tanks using an integrated suite of remotely operated tools. Two generations of the LSEE were fabricated, tested, and deployed in the gunite tanks at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, with varying levels of success. Because the LSEE was designed near the end of a four-year project to clean up the gunite tanks at Oak Ridge, a number of design constraints existed. The end-effector had to utilize pneumatic, hydraulic and electrical interfaces already available at the site; and to be deployable through one of the containment structures already in place for the other remote systems. Another primary design consideration was that the tool had to effectively extend the reach of an existing remotely operated vehicle from six ft. to at least ten ft. to allow cleaning the tank walls from floor to ceiling. In addition, the combined weight and thrust of the LSEE had to be manageable by the manipulator …

This is the final report for the project. The report describes the project results and conclusions. It also lists all technical documents and software artifacts.