Computational Appliance for Rapid Prediction of Aircraft Trajectories, Phase II

Next generation air traffic management systems will be based to a greater degree on predicted trajectories of aircraft. Due to the iterative nature of future air traffic management algorithms, the success of these systems will depend strongly on the ability to rapidly generate trajectory predictions. By combining algorithmic improvements and high-performance computing hardware, Phase I research demonstrated significantly accelerated prediction of high-fidelity aircraft trajectories using the NASA-FACET software. Phase II research will build on the Phase I feasibility demonstration results to develop a full-scale computational appliance for rapid prediction of aircraft trajectories (CARPAT). The proposed architecture will combine the trajectory and airspace modeling capabilities of the FACET software with commercial, off-the-shelf high-performance computing technology. High-speed trajectory predictions and iterative computation of traffic flow management algorithms will be demonstrated under realistic traffic scenarios. The trajectory prediction appliance will commercialized during the Phase III work.

Potential NASA Commercial Applications: The hardware and software technology elements of the CARPAT system have several commercial applications. The high-performance computing hardware can be used in applications such as Bio-Informatics to accelerate pattern matching, automatic target recognition and multi-target tracking. It can also be used in flight simulation and real-time signal processing.

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.