Award Data

Development of a device to allow a person who is blind or has significant visual impairment to sense the location and movements of people in the immediate area

The proposed optical device is a fiber-based multi-channel switch to quickly switch a fiber-coupled laser among many possible output channels to create a fiber-based fixed-array laser transmitter for next-generation NASA lidar systems. The key innovation is the use of an arrangement of electro-optic prisms created in a nonlinear optical crystal through domain reversal to direct the laser into one ...

Aircraft encounters with turbulence are the leading cause of injuries in the airline industry and result in significant human, operational, and maintenance costs to the airline community each year. A large contributor to the above injuries and costs is that flight crews do not have sufficient situational awareness of the location and severity of potential turbulence hazards to their aircraft. Ae ...

As the complexity of flight controllers grows so does the cost associated with verification and validation (V&V). Current-generation controllers are reaching a level of complexity that pushes the envelopes of existing V&V approaches, and without improved approaches there is little hope for affordable V&V of next-generation intelligent systems. Unfortunately, controller complexity and controller v ...

A powered device mounting and positioning system to enable people with severe physical impairments to reposition devices independently from a bed, wheelchair or workstation via switch, joystick, or voice input

Advanced life-support systems, which use chemical, physical, and biological processes, are being developed to support future long-term human planetary exploration. As a result, there is a need to develop innovative food processes for baseline crops, such as dry beans (legumes) that have a shelf-life of more than one year and can support human life during extended space travel. Legumes are hydrat ...

The SSC needs a hydrogen temperature sensor that can provide high accuracy, fast response and can be operated on a superheated hydrogen (SHH2) environment. This will help prepare the SSC testing facility to support the new NASA mission for US space exploration as proposed by the President in January 2004. Here, we propose to develop an innovative, non-intrusive temperature sensor based on Spontan ...

Luna Innovations proposes to adapt its current aqueous-based, fiber-optic microcantilever sensor technology for real-time, monitoring of ammonia in air. Phase I studies will focus on confirming sensor operation in a vapor-phase detection format and will build upon Luna's current NASA SBIR Phase II program to develop novel affinity microcantilever-based biosensors for monitoring bacterial and chem ...

Luna Innovations, Inc., in collaboration with the SUNY Stony Brook, proposes to extend ultrasonic pulsed phase locked loop (PPLL) derivative measurements to the noninvasive assessment of bone strain during exercise. The PPLL is a high-resolution ultrasonic spectrometer that measures changes in natural velocity with parts in ten million accuracy. With this resolution, the PPLL can be used to meas ...

The John C. Stennis Space Center's primary mission is testing rocket propulsion systems and components for the Space Shuttle and for future generations of space vehicles. Research to develop new instrumentation technologies and techniques for test facility monitoring and control during propulsion testing includes the need for instrumentation to improve reliability and performance of ground test f ...