Target Acquisition and Guidance System for Wildfire Response (TAGS)

TAGS (Target Acquisition and Guidance System) is an autonomous, platform-agnostic UAS navigation and coordination system that acts as a high level mission manager for operations for multi-domain autonomous vehicles. TAGS enables real-time situational awareness without continuous human intervention through a hierarchical structure where a centralized computer processes field collected data from vehicles and remotes sensors, dynamically adapts flight plans based on fire behavior predictions, wind patterns, and detected hotspots, and dynamically distributes tasks to the autonomous vehicle fleet. The system communicates via a mesh network, ensuring data relay even in areas with limited connectivity, and generates situational awareness and predictions maps that are shown to the user via TAK platform for real-time visualization by incident commanders.

FireSense Program – TAGS can support wildfire behavior modeling, risk assessment, and real-time situational awareness during airborne wildfire campaigns, providing critical data for NASA's fire management research. ACERO and ATM-X Programs – Enhancing UAS airspace management capabilities, TAGS can integrate with NASA's airspace deconfliction research, improving tactical airspace management and cross-checking UAS registration for compliance. Distributed Space Architectures – TAGS can be adapted for satellite swarming and autonomous spacecraft coordination, contributing to future planetary exploration missions and space-based surveillance. NOAA Fire Weather Testbed – TAGS can aid in weather-driven fire spread predictions by integrating real-time environmental data into NOAA’s predictive models, supporting fire weather research. NASA’s Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Initiatives – By offering real-time airspace deconfliction and situational awareness, TAGS can enhance NASA’s UAM research for integrating drones into urban environments. TAGS also contributes significantly to NASA’s strategic thrusts by providing a robust, intelligent, and scalable autonomy framework for UAS. TAGS enhances situational awareness, autonomy, and operational efficiency, making it a critical enabler for safe and efficient airspace integration, real-time mission adaptability, and risk mitigation. TAGS also contributes significantly to NASA’s strategic thrusts by providing a robust, intelligent, and scalable autonomy framework for UAS. TAGS enhances situational awareness, autonomy, and operational efficiency, making it a critical enabler for safe and efficient airspace integration, real-time mission adaptability, and risk mitigation. Government Applications: Department of Defense (DoD) – TAGS enhances persistent surveillance, reconnaissance, and threat mitigation capabilities, supporting UAS coordination in contested environments. Public Firefighting Agencies – Autonomous UAS missions powered by TAGS will aid in early fire detection, suppression efforts, vegetation management, and disaster preparedness, improving wildfire response strategies. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) – Real-time situational awareness for disaster relief, supporting optimized resource deployment in emergencies such as wildfires, hurricanes, and floods. FAA Operations – By enhancing UAS Traffic Management (UTM) systems and integrating with the FAA’s UAS Service Supplier Infrastructure (USS), TAGS can improve airspace deconfliction and situational awareness during emergency response missions. Private Sector Applications: Utility Companies – Infrastructure monitoring and vegetation risk assessments, helping utilities prevent wildfires caused by electrical infrastructure. Insurance Companies– Predictive insights into wildfire risks, supporting underwriting, risk mitigation, and claims management for insurers dealing with wildfire-related damages. Agricultural Enterprises – Precision farming applications, such as crop monitoring, pest detection, and optimizing irrigation to improve agricultural yields and sustainability. Industrial Inspection and Infrastructure Monitoring – Oil, gas, and construction firms can leverage TAGS for remote inspections of pipelines, power lines, and structural integrity assessments, improving safety and reducing operational risks. Delivery and Logistics – Autonomous delivery of medical supplies, emergency materials, and essential goods in disaster-affected or remote areas, enhancing supply chain resilience. Future Expansion Opportunities also include Emergency Response Automation for Hurricanes and Large-Scale Disasters & Smart City Integration and Defense Applications.

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.