Strategic Planning and Deconfliction

Currently, the urban air mobility (UAM) community faces several challenges. The manner in which UAM cooperative areas are managed is not known, as well as performance characteristics of UAM vehicles is uncertain. In addition, the identification of where strategic planning and capacity management services break down and when are tactical services needed is a significant consideration.

To address these challenges, NASA will develop Strategic Planning and Deconfliction services that:

1. provide for the management of urban air mobility aircraft at midterm operational tempos, and
2. evaluate the extent that strategic planning and predeparture deconfliction cooperative operating practices maintain safe and efficient traffic flow.

The Strategic Planning and Deconfliction subproject is executed by the Air Mobility Pathfinders Project in NASA’s Airspace Operations and Safety Program (AOSP). AOSP conceives, develops, and demonstrates technologies to safely improve aircraft systems that will operate in the National Airspace System (NAS). The program develops advanced technologies for a service‑oriented and federated NAS architecture to enable seamless integration of emergent vehicles (e.g., unmanned aircraft systems and advanced air mobility vehicles) with present-day aircraft. AOSP also works with other Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate programs to define safe NAS operational requirements for the next generation of vehicles, mature new transformative concepts, and demonstrate integrated systems.

This technical challenge looks to:

1. advance the development of consensus UAM service provider standards by assessing the efficacy of strategic scheduling and deconfliction functions of UAM flight operations,
2. determine architectural requirements and candidate procedures facilitating coordination into and through UAM Cooperative Areas, and
3. establish recommended requirements for airspace structures, candidate procedures, and data exchanges using flight data .

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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.