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NASA Technology

Innovative Software Tools Measure Behavioral Alertness. Johnson Space Center Pulsar Informatics Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NASA Technology

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NASA Technology

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  1. Innovative Software Tools Measure Behavioral Alertness Johnson Space Center Pulsar Informatics Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • NASA Technology • For astronauts living in space, getting adequate rest is a challenge due to erratic schedules, microgravity-related ailments, and disrupted circadian rhythms • The Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT), a 10-minute test which helps ascertain levels of fatigue, is too time-consuming of a process for busy astronauts • Technology Transfer • Pulsar Informatics helped shorten the PVT and developed software for the test that is now used on the International Space Station • The company commercialized the software, which is now used by companies and government agencies to monitor personnel fatigue • Benefits • Trucking companies and commercial airlines use the test to help prevent accidents caused by driver and pilot fatigue • Since the NASA collaboration, the number of full-time engineers and computer developers has grown from 3 to 24, and revenues have grown 75 percent every year Spinoff 2013 Health and Medicine

  2. Miniaturized, Portable Sensors Monitor Metabolic Health Glenn Research Center Orbital Research Inc. Cleveland, Ohio • NASA Technology • Astronauts who work in space for long durations suffer from cardiovascular deconditioning • NASA, Case Western University, and the Cleveland Clinic developed the Portable Unit for Metabolic Analysis (PUMA), which can measure metabolic rates as efficiently as the bulkier metabolic carts • Technology Transfer • Orbital Research entered into a Space Act Agreement and worked with NASA to shrink PUMA’s components even further in order for the US Navy to study problems with pilots and oxygen deficiency • The company then entered into a contract with the US Air Forceto develop carbon dioxide sensors, which helped the agency investigate issues with the life support systems onboard F-22 fighter aircraft • Benefits • The current PUMA technology is even more lightweight and portable, and improved electronics allow for longer battery life • Other projects include contracts with the Navy and bringing the technology into hospitals to monitor patient oxygen intake to improve recovery time Spinoff 2013 Health and Medicine

  3. Patient Simulators Train Emergency Caregivers Johnson Space Center CAE Healthcare Sarasota, Florida • NASA Technology • Prior to spaceflight, astronauts must be trained in basic emergency procedures and skills • Patient simulators on the market were not well-suited for the surprisingly heavy impacts incurred by astronauts training in microgravity • Technology Transfer • METI (now CAE Healthcare) worked with Johnson through Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) funding to develop more rugged patient simulators • The company implemented the improvements into later models of patient simulators that entered the commercial market • Benefits • CAE Healthcare sells its ruggedized models to the Army Medics and the Air Force’s Critical Care Air Transport Team, which use the equipment in simulated emergency exercises • Newer models include one used in combat casualty and disaster response scenarios and another that operates wirelessly Spinoff 2013 Health and Medicine

  4. Solar Refrigerators Store Life-Saving Vaccines Johnson Space Center SunDanzer Refrigeration Inc. El Paso, Texas • NASA Technology • Over the years, NASA has advanced photovoltaic technology to power components on spacecraft, rovers, and the International Space Station • The Space Agency has transferred this technology for uses on Earth, including water pumping systems, medical equipment, and lighting • Technology Transfer • David Bergeron, former head of the Advanced Refrigerator Technology Team at Johnson, founded SunDanzer Refrigeration in 1999 • SunDanzer offers a variety of battery and non-battery solar-powered refrigerators, the latter of which the company used as the basis in developing a vaccine refrigerator that was approved for use by the World Health Organization • Benefits • The units are ideal for use in rural, sunny areas with little or inconsistent access to electricity • Setup is simple and doesn’t require a technician • The refrigerator can withstand combination cloudy weather and outside temperatures of 109.4 °F for 3½ days Spinoff 2013 Health and Medicine

  5. Monitors Enable Medication Management in Patients’ Homes Glenn Research Center FlexLifeHealth Cleveland, Ohio • NASA Technology • Despite exercise on the International Space Station, astronauts were losing their body’s bone mass • Pressure sensors were placed in the astronauts’ shoes to quantify the force transmitted to their feet during exercise • NASA needed a device to capture and transmit data • Partnership • Glenn awarded Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding to Cleveland-based ZIN Technologies to develop a device to collect and communicate data about astronauts’ health • After obtaining additional funding from other organizations, ZIN formed a new company called FlexLife Health to commercialize the spinoff technology • Benefits • Called vMetrics, the device is part of an anti-coagulation management system for people with chronic cardiovascular disease • It enables medication monitoring at home • Nearly 83 percent of clinical trial participants reported vMetrics made management of their medication easier and/or saved time Spinoff 2013 Health and Medicine

  6. Handheld Diagnostic Device Delivers Quick Medical Readings Glenn Research Center DNA Medicine Institute Inc. Cambridge, Massachusetts • NASA Technology • In preparing for a manned mission to Mars, NASA was looking for a reliable, durable handheld device that could quickly deliver health readings • With a single drop of blood, they wanted the device to display white and red blood cell counts and also measure for biomarkers like electrolytes • Technology Transfer • Through Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding, DNA Medicine Institute developed such a device in the rHEALTH • rHEALTH has the added capability of registering readings for several biomarkers in a single blood sample using nanostrip technology • Benefits • The rHEALTH delivers readings in a matter of minutes, cutting the waiting time drastically when compared to samples sent to labs for analysis • Patients can measure their own insulin, thyroid hormone ,and cholesterol levels from home • Unlike conventional blood test cartridges, the device’s sensor units are reusable Spinoff 2013 Health and Medicine

  7. Experiments Result in Safer, Spin-Resistant Aircraft Langley Research Center ICON Aircraft Los Angeles, CA • NASA Technology • NASA’s General Aviation Spin Program at Langley Research Center devised the first-of-their-kind guidelines for designing more spin-resistant aircraft • The program generated knowledge and techniques that now enable safer aircraft designs • Partnership • Thanks to NASA’s contributions, the Federal Aviation Administration introduced the Part 23 spin-resistance standard in 1991 to assist engineers in evaluating an aircraft’s stall and spin characteristics • Turning to the Part 23 standard, ICON Aircraft contacted people from the Langley team and then designed a light sport aircraft for consumer recreational flying that provides spin resistance • Benefits • ICON’s A5 aircraft met the complete set of criteria specified for Part 23 testing • More than 1,000 orders have been made for the A5 aircraft • Aside from personal use, there is demand from flight schools, flying clubs, resorts, and adventure companies for multiple A5 aircraft Spinoff 2013 Transportation

  8. Interfaces Visualize Data for Airline Safety, Efficiency Langley Research Center WxAnalyst Ltd. Fairfax, Virginia • NASA Technology • The A-Train Constellation of Earth observing satellites gather data about the composition of the atmosphere to understand the affects on climate • The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) satellite provides measurements of the altitude of aerosols and clouds • Partnership • To construct a transparent user interface to visualize data like that from CALIPSO, Langley Research Center awarded an SBIR award to WxAnalyst Ltd. • WxAnalyst’s WxAzygy interface was refined so users could see and work with the data over the Earth • WxAnalyst obtained additional funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA to improve the technology • Benefits • Hawaiian Airlines is now using the software to help see four-dimensional data in the skies and route its planes more efficiently • The technology helps the airline manage flights carrying over 6 million passengers a year • In the future, WxAzygy may be used to visualize radar and underground data also Spinoff 2013 Transportation

  9. Data Mining Tools Make Flights Safer, More Efficient Ames Research Center Southwest Airlines Co. Dallas, Texas • NASA Technology • The Aviation Safety Program under the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate has many initiatives to enable safer air transport systems • A data-mining team at Ames developed multiple algorithms useful for sorting through flight data and has shared them with the industry • Partnership • Southwest first used some of NASA’s tools in 2003 when evaluating a higher-than-usual rate of actual unstable approaches versus reported ones • After years of on-off collaboration, Southwest and NASA signed a Space Act Agreement in 2011 to share NASA’s algorithms and refine them using Southwest’s real-world flight data • Benefits • The two algorithms—the Multivariate Time Series search and Virtual Sensors—have been used by the company to track and improve fuel efficiencies for flight paths between cities • Southwest has also leveraged the technology to work with air traffic controllers, developing methods to increase the number of stable approaches by its planes Spinoff 2013 Transportation

  10. NASA Standards Inform Comfortable Car Seats Johnson Space Center Nissan Motor Company Franklin, Tennessee • NASA Technology • NASA examined the natural body posture (NBP), or the posture the human body naturally assumes in microgravity, to develop more comfortable spacecraft • NASA documented the characteristics in the Man-Systems Integration Standards (MSIS) to design systems that support human health and safety • Partnership • Scientists and engineers at Nissan Motor Company turned to NASA’s NBP research as a starting point for the development of a new driver’s seat • The company used NASA’s NBP as a benchmark for a comfortable, balanced posture, with the intention of lessening fatigue on a person’s body • Test results showed the seat improved blood flow and reduced physical exhaustion • Benefits • Nissan debuted the seat in the 2013 Altima and has plans to include it in upcoming Nissan and Infiniti vehicles • The technology will be applied to the driver’s, front passenger’s, and rear seats • According to Nissan’s research, the seats will make long car rides more pleasant Spinoff 2013 Transportation

  11. Heat Shield Paves the Way for Commercial Space Ames Research Center Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (Space X) Hawthorne, California • NASA Technology • The Stardust spacecraft required a lightweight heat shield that could withstand extreme temperatures during Stardust’s reentry in Earth’s atmosphere • The PICA heat shield, made of a ceramic carbon substrate, allowed Stardust to return successfully to Earth in 2006 • Technology Transfer • SpaceX won a contract to develop a spacecraft to transport cargo to and from the International Space Station (ISS) • Working with Agency engineers, the company used materials and designs from the PICA heat shield, and renamed it the PICA-X for use on its Dragon capsule • Benefits • The US can once again transport cargo to and from the ISS using domestic spacecraft • SpaceX is retrofitting Dragon to transport humans into space • SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled for 50 planned launches of both private and government-run satellites through 2017 Spinoff 2013 Transportation

  12. Air Systems Provide Life Support to Miners Johnson Space Center Paragon Space Development Corporation Tucson, Arizona • NASA Technology • To support private sector transport of astronauts to the International Space Station, NASA funded development of life support systems • Johnson Space Center awarded funding to Paragon to develop the Commercial Crew Transport-Air Revitalization System (CCT-ARS) • Technology Transfer • Refuge alternatives, which are metal-encased chambers used by miners in the event of an emergency, also have air purification systems • Refuge alternative manufacturer Mineshield LLC negotiated a 10-year license with Paragon to install CCT-ARS technology into its chambers • Benefits • The system removes carbon dioxide and trace contaminants, circulates the air, and provides temperature control • Battery-operated, it can run for 4 days and needs very little upkeep in an emergency • Mining companies can save $30,000 long-term maintenance costs per chamber Spinoff 2013 Public Safety

  13. Coatings Preserve Metal, Stone, Tile, and Concrete Goddard Space Flight Center AdsilCorporation Daytona Beach, FL • NASA Technology • John B. Schutt, a chemist at Goddard, experimented to create super-durable coatings for spacecraft • He found that a potassium silicate and zinc coating kept corrosion from forming on steel or metal • The formula was used at Kennedy Space Center to protect launch facilities • Partnership • Schutt retired and used his NASA expertise to create hybrids of the formulation for Adsil Corporation • Adsilholds patents related to the coatings for anti-graffiti; anti-skid; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and refrigeration applications; corrosion protection; and concrete or tile sealing • The company now markets MicroGuard coatings • Benefits • MicroGuard is used at hotels, restaurants, schools, stores, amusement parks, museums, on outdoor sculptures, in stadiums, and more • The spinoff reduces maintenance costs by 13 percent for HVAC and refrigeration, and increases energy efficiency up to 12 percent • Adsil has created 150 jobs Spinoff 2013 Public Safety

  14. Robots Spur Software That Lends a Hand Johnson Space Center Universal Robotics Nashville, Tennessee • NASA Technology • With the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Johnson aimed to build a humanoid robot—Robonaut 1—to work alongside its human counterparts in space • Johnson wanted to develop software to deliver automatic intelligence and learning in the robot • Partnership • Dr. Richard Alan Peters, a professor at Vanderbilt, developed learning algorithms for robots, and under a NASA Cooperative Agreement, showed the algorithms could produce learned knowledge • The work led to patents for Peters, who took the NASA-derived technology to a company called Universal Robotics, where the technology is now available in a product called Neocortex • Benefits • Neocortex can improve efficiency and worker safety in places like warehousing, mining, handling hazardous waste, and more • One popular use is for placing, stacking, or removing boxes from pallets or trailers • It is currently being installed to robotically stack and package meat for a Fortune 500 company Spinoff 2013 Public Safety

  15. Cloud-Based Data Sharing Connects Emergency Managers Stennis Space Center StormCenter Communications Inc. Baltimore, Maryland • NASA Technology • Stennis researchers develop capabilities for remote sensing and geographic information systems • One particular need the Center had was for a geobrowser (or software that displays data spatially) that was platform-independent and could be accessed via the Internet • Partnership • StormCenter completed Phase I and II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts with Stennis to develop a 100 percent cloud-based geobrowser to use for real-time data sharing and collaboration • GeoSync allows users to share data over the Internet, and GeoCollaborate allows participants to take turns controlling the collaboration session • Benefits • Because the collaboration tools are cloud based, there is no need to rely on screen-sharing programs or other proprietary software • StormCenter’s tools are used by the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center in Alaska and have been recommended for adoption by international agencies in global volcanic ash coordination Spinoff 2013 Public Safety

  16. Catalytic Converters Maintain Air Quality in Mines Langley Research Center Airflow Catalyst Systems Inc. Rochester, New York • NASA Technology • Carbon dioxide (CO2) lasers were used to detect wind shears, which can wreak havoc on airplanes and cause crashes • NASA developed a tin oxide-based catalyst to rid the laser of carbon monoxide (CO) byproducts and conserve CO2 • Technology Transfer • Airflow Catalyst Systems licensed the NASA technology and adapted it for use as a catalytic converter for exhaust systems • The company found a niche in providing catalytic converters for underground diesel mining equipment, which produce harmful emissions that are exacerbated by the enclosed environment • Benefits • The product neutralizes CO, hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen, and particulate matter • Unlike mechanical filters, which must be changed daily, the converters do not require frequent maintenance • Converters are projected to last for 7,000 hours Spinoff 2013 Public Safety

  17. NASA-Enhanced Water Bottles Filter Water on the Go Johnson Space Center ÖKO Greenbrae, California • NASA Technology • Complex systems on board the International Space Station (ISS) collect and recycle moisture using powerful filtration technology • The filters not only supply ISS occupants with drinkable water; they are likely to play a role in future deep space missions as well • Partnership • Mohssen Ghiassi, an entrepreneur who develops products for the travel industry, was looking for an advanced filtration system • Typical filtration systems pass water too slowly to be of use to travelers on the move • Ghiassi began purchasing a spinoff filter based on NASA’s filtration technology to anchor his product • Benefits • The ÖKO bottle employs two filters and purifies as the user squeezes water through it • Rated as effective in more than 120 countries, the bottle can instantly create potable water from a wide variety of sources • Among other contaminates, the NASA filter eliminates E. coli and cryptosporidium Spinoff 2013 Consumer Goods

  18. Brainwave Monitoring Software Improves Distracted Minds Langley Research Center Unique Logic Fletcher, North Carolina • NASA Technology • NASA engineer Alan Pope was the first person to use neurofeedback to influence the outcome of a computer program when working on flight automation • The technology measures brainwaves that correlate with how attentive a person is at any moment • Technology Transfer • Teacher Peter Freer was inspired by Pope’s work with neurofeedback and founded Unique Logic, which helps students learn by teaching them to be in their peak attention states while studying • His spinoff company, Freer Logic, uses brainwave technology to monitor drowsiness, improve workplace and sports performance, and encourage relaxation • Benefits • The company’s patented BodyWave technology allows for brainwave measurements through an armband device, rather than the traditional helmets that are used • Unique Logic employs 38 people, and customers include NASA, the nuclear power industry, US Olympics sports teams, and NASCAR Spinoff 2013 Consumer Goods

  19. Thermal Materials Protect Priceless, Personal Keepsakes Johnson Space Center DreamSaver Enterprises LLC Houston, Texas • NASA Technology • Following the Space Shuttle Columbia accident, NASA developed materials and techniques for the inspection and repair of the shuttle’s thermal protection system, should it be damaged during flight • Dr. Scott Parazynski was designated the Astronaut Office lead for TPS inspection and repair • Partnership • Parazynski retired from NASA and started working with Chris Shiver to incorporate concepts from his NASA work into an enclosure to protect personal items in the event of a fire or flood • Shiver and Parazynski collaborated with former NASA engineer Clark Thompson for DreamSaver Enterprises LLC and borrowed concepts from their space work for a commercial product • Benefits • DreamSaver’s Home Protection System is a footlocker-sized box that can withstand 98 percent of residential fires and 99 percent of water disasters • The company can create custom coverings for the box to match home décor • DreamSaver is on the HTC/Johnson campus Spinoff 2013 Consumer Goods

  20. Home Air Purifiers Eradicate Harmful Pathogens Marshall Space Flight Center Akida Holdings Jacksonville, Florida • NASA Technology • To survive in space for extended periods, astronauts need a dependable source of food, which on deep-space missions means growing their own produce • NASA researched how to keep fruits and vegetables fresh longer by being able to remove ethylene gas, which promotes decay, from the air • Technology Transfer • NASA funded a university to develop an ethylene scrubber that converts the gas into water and carbon dioxide, which are beneficial for plants • KES Science and Technology licensed the technology and worked with Akida Holdings to deliver Airocide, which purges the air of pathogens • Benefits • Airocide destroys airborne bacteria, mold, fungi, mycotoxins, viruses, volatile organic compounds, and odors • The portable home unit can be mounted on a floor stand or hung on a wall • The only upkeep required is replacing the reaction chamber once a year Spinoff 2013 Consumer Goods

  21. Thermal Materials Drive Professional Apparel Line Johnson Space Center Ministry of Supply Boston, Massachusetts • NASA Technology • Students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) dreamed of professional apparel designs incorporating elements from active wear • Working on spacesuit designs for human travel to Mars, a student came upon phase change materials (PCMs), a technology developed with NASA • Partnership • The MIT students joined forces to create a company called Ministry of Supply (MOS) • MOS set about to develop a professional dress shirt for men that felt and acted like active apparel • MOS created a unique synthetic fabric that incorporated NASA-derived PCMs, could wick away moisture, and control odors and bacterial growth • Benefits • Available in white and oxford blue, the Apollo shirt is a machine-wash only garment that will not wrinkle or absorb stains from perspiration • The Apollo and other MOS products are currently available on the MOS website • Since its launch, MOS has sold 12,500 tops and bottoms combined Spinoff 2013 Consumer Goods

  22. Radiant Barriers Save Energy in Buildings Langley Research Center RadiaSource Ogden, Utah • NASA Technology • Langley needed a thin, lightweight, reflective material to use on a satellite to “echo” voice, radio, and television signals from Earth back to the ground • The Agency collaborated with private industry to create a new technique for coating materials with an extremely fine mist of vaporized metal particles • Partnership • Known as “radiant barrier technology,” it was made available in the public domain, and products across the world started incorporating the technology • Entrepreneur Ryan Garrett learned about a new version manufactured by vapor phase encapsulation, a patented process, and founded RadiaSource to share the benefits of the innovation through a unique product offering • Benefits • The company produces insulation, garage doors, shipping materials, and water heater wraps • A case study demonstrated a home with RadiaSource saved 18–20 percent on energy in the winter and 46 percent in the summer • Opportunities exist in warehouses, gymnasiums, large buildings, and agricultural settings Spinoff 2013 Consumer Goods

  23. Open Source Initiative Powers Real-Time Data Streams Dryden Flight Research Center Open Source DataTurbine Initiative San Diego, California • NASA Technology • An experiment at Dryden to collect flight data led to the development of the Ring Buffered Network Bus (RBNB), software to stream data in real-time • RBNB found use at NASA as “middleware,” or software that can receive any kind of input and use it to create any kind of output • Partnership • Matthew Miller of Creare Inc. developed RBNB under a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract • Following interest from academic researchers, scientists, and government organizations, Miller worked with Creare to release the software under an open source license • Benefits • The Open Source DataTurbine Initiative was founded in 2007, making RBNB available to anyone for free • DataTurbine allows researchers to stream live data and lets them pause or rewind feeds • The software has been deployed with sensors in diverse settings around the globe Spinoff 2013 Energy and Environment

  24. Shuttle Engine Designs Revolutionize Solar Power Marshall Space Flight Center SolarReserve Santa Monica, California • NASA Technology • The Space Shuttle Main Engine was built under contract to NASA in the 1970s by Rocketdyne, now part of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) • PWR’s NASA work allowed it to glean expertise in handling high heat flux, extreme temperatures, and cyclic temperature gradients over long periods • Partnership • With funding from the Department of Energy (DOE) and industry, PWR leveraged its NASA experience to develop large demonstrations of solar power tower plant technology: Solar One and Solar Two • A decade later, PWR granted an exclusive license of its NASA spinoff solar technology to SolarReserve, which now develops concentrating solar power that is 100 percent renewable with no harmful emissions • Benefits • The technology can provide electricity from the Sun on-demand, even after dark or when cloudy • The company is constructing a plant in Nevada to power 75,000 homes during peak electricity periods, creating more than 4,300 jobs • SolarReserve has numerous upcoming installation projects Spinoff 2013 Energy and Environment

  25. Procedure-Authoring Tool Improves Safety on Oil Rigs Ames Research Center TRACLabs Inc. Webster, Texas • NASA Technology • Procedures, or detailed lists of step-by-step instructions, guide every aspect of NASA operations, especially in human spaceflight • Traditionally, procedures have been printed on paper, but recently NASA has shifted to digital formats for current and future planned missions • Partnership • TRACLabs developed tools for authoring and managing procedures under multiple Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts • The resulting software tools have been used to author procedures for the International Space Station, project Morpheus (a prototype lander), and the Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle • Benefits • TRACLab’s software is the Procedure Integrated Development Environment (PRIDE), a suite of tools that eliminate much of the tedium in procedure authoring and organization • PRIDE is now used within the oil and gas industry to increase safety in oil rig operations and to provide better information for auditing purposes Spinoff 2013 Energy and Environment

  26. Satellite Data Aid Monitoring of Nation’s Forests Stennis Space Center Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center Asheville, North Carolina • NASA Technology • The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) is an instrument onboard two Earth-observing satellites • Each MODIS satellite collects data on the Earth’s surface to improve our understanding of global dynamics and processes • Benefits • The imagery is available through a data viewer called the Forest Change Assessment Viewer and provides a broader-scale understanding of vegetation disturbances • ForWarn is being used by federal and state forest and natural resource managers and will likely result in time and cost savings for the organizations • Partnership • The Healthy Forests Restoration Act called for the development of a National Early Warning System to detect potential threats to the United States’ forests • The USDA Forest Service’s Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center partnered with Stennis and other government organizations to create ForWarn, an early warning system using MODIS data to identify regional disturbances Spinoff 2013 Energy and Environment

  27. Mars Technologies Spawn Durable Wind Turbines Ames Research Center Northern Power Systems (NPS) Barre, Vermont • NASA Technology • Planning for an extended stay on Mars, NASA concentrated on creating an ecological life support system to sustain crewmembers on the Red Planet • Ames started looking at how to make power on Mars and turned to wind and solar power technologies • Partnership • Ames awarded an SBIR award to Northern Power Systems to construct a wind turbine at the South Pole, a place with harsh conditions like Mars • The company then began developing a larger turbine that could function in the same conditions • By 2000, the wind turbine technology had won an R&D 100 Award • Benefits • One Northern Power 100 turbine produces enough energy for 25–30 homes • The technology is used at university campuses, residences, farms, businesses, and more—across 25 states and 4 countries • More than 200 turbines in operation reduce carbon emissions by 50,000 tons annually Spinoff 2013 Energy and Environment

  28. Programs Visualize Earth and Space for Interactive Education Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Elumenati Milwaukee, Wisconsin • NASA Technology • A team at JPL produced an interactive video-game style program to show the orbit insertion of Cassini, the first spacecraft to orbit Saturn, in real-time • The team received requests to develop similar programs encompassing all of the spacecraft in orbit around Earth and in the Solar System • Partnership • The team worked with The Elumenati, a company that provides domes, projection systems, and software to create immersive visual environments • The partners rewrote the NASA programs using Elumenati’s Omnity plugin for Unity3D, in order to show the content on domes and spheres • Elumenati licensed the programs from NASA and now provides the spinoff product to its customers • Benefits • Users can explore data from NASA missions at their own speed and time inside Elumenati theaters and use interactive controls to navigate to planets, asteroids, or satellites • The markets for the software include schools, museums, science centers, and other institutions providing Earth and space science education Spinoff 2013 Energy and Environment

  29. Processor Units Reduce Satellite Construction Costs Marshall Space Flight Center Orbital Telemetry Inc. Huntsville, Alabama • NASA Technology • NASA worked with other organizations to develop the Fast Affordable Science and Technology Satellite • To cut costs, engineers designed their own telemetry unit, a critical tool used to relay information between a satellite and its corresponding ground station • Technology Transfer • A former NASA engineer realized the potential of commercializing a more affordable telemetry unit for use by the private sector. • In 2012, after obtaining an exclusive licensing agreement with NASA, Orbital Telemetry was founded • Benefits • Telemetry units can cost upwards of a million dollars each; Orbital Telemetry offers to provide them for a fraction of the price • Due to a Space Act Agreement between NASA and the company, Marshall engineers test the model to make sure it meets the customer’s specifications and is ready for launch into space Spinoff 2013 Information Technology

  30. Software Accelerates Computing Time for Complex Math Ames Research Center EM Photonics Inc. Newark, Delaware • NASA Technology • Scientists at the Space Agency use supercomputers to calculate large algorithms based on linear algebra that are used in setting up climate models • Scientists using regular computers, which lack the processing power of supercomputers, often must wait far longer for algorithms to be calculated • Technology Transfer • Through Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding, EM Photonics utilized graphics processing unit (GPU) technology, originally used to run video game graphics, and programmed it to perform scientific computing • The company commercialized the technology as CULA tools, which can compute the industry-standard LAPACK library of linear algebra equations • Benefits • EM Photonics offers CULA software for both dense and sparse computations • CULA’s simplified interface makes it far simpler for scientists to set up computations • In some cases, processing times can be reduced by more than 100-fold Spinoff 2013 Information Technology

  31. Simulation Tools Prevent Signal Interference on Spacecraft Kennedy Space Center Delcross Technologies LLC Champaign, Illinois • NASA Technology • Preparing for a satellite launch includes ensuring that the radio communications systems in the rocket and the satellite do not interfere with each other • Computer simulations can predict interference, which allows engineers to remedy the issue, but setting up the model can be time-consuming • Technology Transfer • Through SBIR funding, Delcross improved its interference simulation software by expanding the library of various transmitter and receiver specifications that can be dragged and dropped into models being set up • The company then included the added feature through an update to its software product • Benefits • The expanded database can shave days off of setting up the simulation • Since the new feature was introduced, business has increased with the US military, telecommunications companies, and others who depend on clear radio transmission signals Spinoff 2013 Information Technology

  32. Software Simplifies the Sharing of Numerical Models Goddard Space Flight Center Parabon Computation Inc. Reston, Virginia • NASA Technology • The Space Agency develops many climate models that simulate how the Earth’s atmosphere is affected by factors such as greenhouse gases and aerosols • Models are shared with graduate students and other researchers by sharing programming codes, which can be finicky when deployed on other computers • Technology Transfer • Parabon Computation developed software that allows a researcher to run models through any standard web browser • The company commercialized the NASA-funded technology through its Frontier Collaborative Online Development Environment (Frontier CODE), which includes technologies such as cloud-computing and online collaboration tools • Benefits • In Frontier CODE, a central server carries out all computations, thereby eliminating problems caused by running code on various computer hardware systems • When a computer runs on an incompatible operating system, CODE can still use a virtual machine to do the data processing Spinoff 2013 Information Technology

  33. Virtual Machine Language Controls Remote Devices Kennedy Space Center Blue Sun Enterprises Boulder, Colorado • NASA Technology • Chris Grasso created Virtual Machine Language (VML) as the sequencing language for the Spitzer Space Telescope • VML let the spacecraft respond to its environment and dispatch commands to its instruments at the right time, under the right conditions • Partnership • Grasso cofounded Blue Sun Enterprises to provide spacecraft software-engineering services • Kennedy Space Center worked with Blue Sun to enhance VML for use with the Regolith and Environment Science and Oxygen and Lunar Volatiles Extraction mission • VML provided coordination and the capability for sequencing onboard the spacecraft • Benefits • Blue Sun’s NASA-derived VML 3.0 is commercially available for spacecraft and provides operational cost reductions for customers • On Earth, potential applications include unmanned aerial vehicles, remote sensing devices, and autonomous vehicles like submarines, weather balloons, and telescopes Spinoff 2013 Information Technology

  34. Micro-Accelerometers Monitor Equipment Health Glenn Research Center Evigia Systems Ann Arbor, Michigan • NASA Technology • Experiments performed on the International Space Station may be skewed by the effects of gravitational forces • Accelerometers are used to account for such effects in experimental outcomes, but the Space Agency was looking for a smaller, more cost-effective model • Technology Transfer • NASA awarded Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding to Evigia to develop a low-cost micro-accelerometer • Evigia’s work with the accelerometer has helped the company with its line of prognostic sensors, which help monitor the condition of industrial equipment • Benefits • Accelerometers are used in sensors that record equipment diagnostic data, such as vibration, humidity, temperature, and mechanical shock • The US Air Force and the Department of Defense have funded the company to advance the technology further • Product sales have resulted in five new hires Spinoff 2013 Information Technology

  35. Reactors Save Energy, Costs for Hydrogen Production Glenn Research Center Catacel Corporation Garrettsville, Ohio • NASA Technology • To save energy and reduce pollution, Glenn Research Center examined fuel cells for producing electricity onboard commercial aircraft • Glenn looked at fuel reforming technology, which uses fuel, air, steam, and a catalyst (reactor), to produce hydrogen for the fuel cell to make electricity • Partnership • Glenn partnered with Catacel under the Glenn Alliance Technology Exchange program and then through a Space Act Agreement • Catacel developed a novel catalytic combustor module called a stackable structural reactor (SSR) • The partners tested and modified an SSR for industrial hydrogen production, which demonstrated cost savings up to 35 percent • Benefits • Catacel installed the first commercial version in a hydrogen production plant in Turkey • A food oils processing plant in Mexico saw an immediate 13.5 percent natural gas cost reduction after installing the technology • On average, the technology results in energy savings of about 20 percent Spinoff 2013 Industrial Productivity

  36. Cameras Monitor Spacecraft Integrity to Prevent Failures Jet Propulsion Laboratory Malin Space Science Systems Inc. San Diego, California • NASA Technology • The Curiosity rover is exploring the surface of Mars in part to help figure out whether the Red Planet could ever have supported living organisms • The Space Agency needed to outfit the rover with the latest in radiation-hardened cameras in order to capture vibrant images of the planet’s terrain • Technology Transfer • Malin Space Science Systems, which had developed cameras for several Mars satellites, entered into a contract with NASA to supply Curiosity with 4 of its 17 cameras • Malin’s cameras are responsible for landing the rover, taking photos of varying focal lengths, and (through a zoom feature) capturing images of features thinner than the diameter of a human hair • Benefits • The firm has now developed an off-the-shelf imaging system called ECAM that can be installed on satellites to monitor their functionality in space • Monitoring a satellite can help in troubleshooting problems that may arise during activities such as antenna and solar array deployment Spinoff 2013 Industrial Productivity

  37. Testing Devices Garner Data on Insulation Performance Kennedy Space Center QinetiQ North America (QinetiQ NA) McLean, Virginia • NASA Technology • After developing a high-performance insulation material, Kennedy Space Center needed a test instrument to accurately measure the material’s thermal performance • The team developed the Cryostat 1, which led to a simplified version, the Cryostat 2 • Partnership • A private aerospace company expressed interest in having its own cryostat test capability • QinetiQ NA saw a business opportunity and applied for a license to make and sell one of several versions of the NASA Cryostat • Commercialization of the technology will allow on-site tests at production or lab facilities making and testing new materials • Benefits • The company will market the technology for piping and storage tank insulation, appliances, consumer goods, and more • A likely application is to test insulation used in the food refrigeration industry • The device may also evaluate the materials to insulate pharmaceuticals being shipped Spinoff 2013 Industrial Productivity

  38. Smart Sensors Gather Information for Machine Diagnostics Stennis Space Center Lion Precision St. Paul, Minnesota • NASA Technology • Equipment failures at the E-Complex, home to three propulsion test stands at Stennis Space Center, are expensive • To avert equipment failures and save thousands of dollars, Stennis considered smart sensors, which could report problems on the test stands • Partnership • Lion Precision partnered with Stennis through a Cooperative Agreement to develop a smart sensor • As part of the agreement, the measurements were transmitted using MTConnect, a standard to integrate devices through a common interface • Lion Precision produced sensors for the test stand and the partnership was the first implementation of the sensor protocols of MTConnect • Benefits • The same sensor is commercially available, and Lion Precision is incorporating the diagnostic capabilities into its next generation of sensors • The company has used its NASA experience to create a battery-powered wireless device • Future applications include the manufacturing or machining of metal parts Spinoff 2013 Industrial Productivity

  39. Oxygen Sensors Monitor Bioreactors and Ensure Health and Safety Kennedy Space Center Polestar Technologies Inc. Needham Heights, Massachusetts • NASA Technology • Scientists in the 1990s were testing cow digestive bacteria’s ability to break down plant matter in space and were cultivating it in bioreactors • O2 sensors that monitored the units were prone to false reads because the viscous biological material tended to block the sensor’s intake • Technology Transfer • Polestar Technologies received Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding to develop O2 sensors that use fluorescent quenching, which is not prone to false reads, to measure oxygen levels • The company commercialized the NASA-funded technology, bringing to market its line of O2 sensors used by medical research universities and the private sector alike for a variety of purposes • Benefits • A typical sensor can record about 4 million readings before needing to be replaced • The screw-on screw-off method of replacing sensor tips makes for easy maintenance • The same computer instrument used for the O2 sensor can also be used for the company’s pH and carbon dioxide sensors Spinoff 2013 Industrial Productivity

  40. Vision Algorithms Catch Defects in Screen Displays Ames Research Center Radiant Zemax LLC Redmond, Washington • NASA Technology • As a part of its goal to enable the human exploration of the cosmos, NASA’s Human Systems Integration Division at Ames focuses on how human beings interact with systems • A senior researcher on the team created an algorithm that optimizes robotic vision technology • Partnership • The Standard Spatial Observer (SSO) algorithm is a simplified model of human vision that focuses on how contrast is perceived by the human eye • Radiant Zemax, a company that provides display-testing systems, wanted its imaging colorimeter to “see” screen defects as a person would • The company licensed the SSO from NASA and integrated it into their software • Benefits • TrueMURA provides an objective classification of screen defects using the industry-standard just noticeable difference (JND) scale • The company’s tools are deployed on hundreds of production lines and have inspected millions of TVs, phones, laptops, and tablets Spinoff 2013 Industrial Productivity

  41. Deformable Mirrors Capture Exoplanet Data, Reflect Lasers Goddard Space Flight Center Iris AO, Inc. Berkeley, California • NASA Technology • The Balloon Exoplanet Nulling Interferometer mission will use a visible nulling coronagraph (VNC) to detect, image, and characterize exoplanets • Starlight can seep through the VNC and lower the contrast in an image so Goddard turned to deformable mirrors (DMs) to correct for the light • Partnership • Goddard started working with Iris AO to improve the company’s microelectromechanical (MEMS) DMs for imaging and characterizing exoplanets • Iris AO and Goddard tested the new DMs, and they had impressive results • Outside of NASA, the technology is being evaluated and used in research and industrial applications • Benefits • The technology is being used in ophthalmic instruments to improve images of the eye • In the future, it could be incorporated into biological microscopes to get a better view of tissues • The technology also has promise in shaping laser beams more precisely for manufacturing Spinoff 2013 Industrial Productivity

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