Automated Radiation Measurements for Aviation Safety (ARMAS)

The existing state-of-the-art for physics-based, data-driven, climatological specification of the global radiation environment is the capability embodied by Nowcast of Atmospheric Ionizing Radiation for Aviation Safety (NAIRAS) and supported by the validation activity in the Automated Radiation Measurements for Aviation Safety (ARMAS) project Phase I. In Phase II the ARMAS team will: i) integrate, fly, and operate two micro dosimeters on aircraft; ii) validate and calibrate the micro dosimeters with a tissue equivalent proportional counter; iii) retrieve the micro dosimeter dose and dose rate data in real-time via an automated downlink system; iv) use the dose and dose rate measurements in a data assimilation algorithm to correct the NAIRAS model dose and dose rate output along the flight track; and v) report the corrected dose and dose rate via server, web, Google Earth, and smart phone apps for aviation safety.

NASA has a demonstrated interest in quality, cutting-edge research that leads to revolutionary capabilities for the airspace system and the aircraft that fly within it. Aviation safety has been a strong concern for those developing the nation's Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), particularly in the area of technologies for improved aviation crew safety. ARMAS, when automated and operational in Phase III will provide data for assimilation into the NAIRAS system and will facilitate a safer and more efficient air transportation system. ARMAS will enable the airline industry, crew, frequent flyers, and FAA to more quickly and accurately mitigate radiation exposure risk due to cosmic rays and solar energetic particle events. ARMAS will provide the accuracy and timeliness of measurements that can be assimilated into advanced physics-based models for global effective dose rate specification and radiation risk mitigation

The end-user communities that benefit from ARMAS are the commercial airline industry (airline corporations, aircrew professional associations, and frequent flyers), the FAA, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), DoD aviation, and NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center. The ARMAS commercialization strategy is to develop a prototype system in Phase II to include aircraft measurements retrieved through services (AirDat) for data assimilation into NAIRAS. Once at TRL 8 system is demonstrated at the end of Phase II, we will expand the number of dosimeter-equipped aircraft with the objective of global aviation radiation risk mitigation. Expansion will start with major air transportation corridors (CONUS, North Atlantic, Pacific, Cross-Polar) and then expand to other regions.

This is a mature technology (TRL 8) — 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.