TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OPPORTUNITY: Safe2Ditch Technology (LAR-TOPS-243)

NASA’s Technology Transfer Program solicits inquiries from companies interested in obtaining license rights to commercialize, manufacture and market the following technology. License rights may be issued on an exclusive or nonexclusive basis and may include specific fields of use. NASA provides no funding in conjunction with these potential licenses.

THE TECHNOLOGY:

Highly capable small UAVs provide substantial business opportunity, especially if allowed to operate in the suburban market. Reliability issues force the use of a safety pilot for each vehicle in operation, which is cost-prohibitive for large scale commercial applications and limits the use of these vehicles to line-of-site (LOS) operation. Extending the use of small UAVs to beyond visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) and to fleet operations requires a vehicle system to autonomously perform emergency management activities as a replacement to the human pilot to maintain safety to people and property in populated areas.

Safe2Ditch is a crash management system that resides on a small processor onboard a small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). The system's exclusive mission is emergency management to get the vehicle safely to the ground in the event of an unexpected critical flight issue. It uses the remaining control authority and battery life of the crippled vehicle in an optimal way to reach the safest ditch location possible. It performs this mission autonomously, without any assistance from a safety pilot or ground station. In the event of an imminent crash, Safe2Ditch uses its intelligent algorithms, knowledge of the local area, and knowledge of the disabled vehicle's remaining control authority to select and steer to a crash location that minimizes risk to people and property. As it approaches the site, it uses machine vision to inspect the selected site to ensure that it is clear as expected.

To express interest in this opportunity, please submit a license application through NASA’s Automated Technology Licensing Application System (ATLAS) by visiting https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/LAR-TOPS-243

If you have any questions, please e-mail NASA’s Technology Transfer Program at Agency-Patent-Licensing@mail.nasa.gov with the title of this Technology Transfer Opportunity as listed in this SAM.gov notice and your preferred contact information. For more information about licensing other NASA-developed technologies, please visit the NASA Technology Transfer Portal at https://technology.nasa.gov/

These responses are provided to members of NASA’s Technology Transfer Program for the purpose of promoting public awareness of NASA-developed technology products, and conducting preliminary market research to determine public interest in and potential for future licensing opportunities. No follow-on procurement is expected to result from responses to this Notice.