Innovative P1451-Enabled Smart Power IVHM Sensor, Phase I

NASA has expressed a requirement for advanced Smart Sensors to support new systems for harsh environments. Power systems are an integral component of virtually any electronic or electromechanical system and thus are an excellent application for non-intrusive power system state-of-health and IVHM-enabled sensing. Ridgetop will provide a non-intrusive, eigenvalue-based, IEEE P1451-compatible, power system health sensor. The sensor connects to the power source, as a "black box", by means of a current pickup loop, and load changes produce a characteristic response that contains the intrinsic eigenvalues. Variations in the eigenvalues from nominal are correlated with internal component degradation or aging, and reveal the overall state-of-health of the power supply. By P1451 enabling the Smart Sensor, interfacing to Integrated Vehicle Health Monitoring (IVHM) systems is fully supported and adoption of this technology will be much more rapid.

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.