Airport Configuration Prediction, Phase I

There is presently poor knowledge throughout the National Airspace System (NAS) of the airport configurations currently in use at each airport. There is even less information about expected future configuration changes. The airport configuration is a primary factor in various airport characteristics such as arrival and departure capacities and terminal area traffic patterns. These characteristics, in turn, are central to a variety of Air Traffic Management (ATM) decisions, such as setting arrival restrictions to avoid airborne holding. Consequently, uncertainty about the current or future airport configuration can result in traffic management decisions that under-utilize or overload airports, resulting in unnecessary or inefficient delays. Moreover, air carriers would make use of configuration information. FedEx, for example, selects parking gates for arrivals to Memphis based on expected departure runways to minimize taxi congestion and time. The proposed effort will develop an airport configuration recognition and prediction system. The airport configuration depends on a variety of factors; Phase 1 will consider local weather, arrival and departure demand, noise restrictions, and airport-specific considerations.

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.