Chip-Based ADS-B for High Density, Low Altitude UAV Operations

The regulatory landscape for UAVs and AAM vehicles operating in the national airspace is rapidly evolving as fleet operational parameters are ironed out, technologies improve and business opportunities emerge. The FAA is calling for ADS-B In/Out capability for UAVs operating in some classes of airspace, while calling for RemoteID in other airspaces. In the proposed Phase II-E effort, we plan to refine and test our ground network devices which gather ADS-B and RemoteID data from our lightweight airborne ADS-B and RemoteID transmitters, and pass it on to a server for storage and analysis. In addition, we are integrating a ground-based radar to enable real-time discrimination of non-cooperative traffic. These are tasks to support our drive to market entry in 2022. WE HAVE SECURED MATCHING FUNDING OF $375,000 FOR THIS PHASE II-E PROJECT: COMMITMENT LETTER INCLUDED. We have also secured the opportunity to do a 3-month pilot implementation at a potential end user (a major regional electric utility) as part of this Phase II-E (letter of support included). Additional opportunities are under discussion at multiple US Air Force bases to evaluate this for contingency operations. We have broken out the tasks into technical ones (funded by NASA SBIR dollars) and business-related ones (funded by investment dollars) in the proposal. In the development team, we have also included business professionals with decades of experience in aviation, cell network and certification/regulatory domains. Currently, we are in discussions with one of the Big 3 telecom companies in the US for cell network connectivity.

The proposed system can be used at NASA locations and sites for UAV testing and flight operations, to provide monitoring of both manned and unmanned traffic. It can eventually be integrated into NASA and FAA UTM programs, and the emerging Advanced Air Mobility programs. It also supports the testing and roll-out of NASA-funded projects underway at KalScott.

The civilian end user identified is a multi-billion dollar regional electric utility which wants to use the system for monitoring air traffic around its infrastructure during UAV operations. The USAF is in discussions for this airspace monitoring system for expeditionary and emergency operations. Other applications include interoperable IoT and M2M systems for Smart Cities, Advanced Air Mobility.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.