Spotlight on Ames Research Center

NASA Ames Research Center is located at Moffett Field, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley--a technology hotbed for the country. In December 1999, Ames celebrated its 60^th anniversary and reflected on the center's growth from a premier aeronautics research facility with the world's largest wind tunnel to its current role as NASA's Center of Excellence for Information Technology (IT). In this role, Ames provides research leadership and world-class capabilities in the fields of supercomputing and networking, high-assurance software development, verification and validation, automated reasoning, planning and scheduling, and human factors. To support NASA goals, Ames has signed 124 cooperative agreements since 1996 with universities, companies, and federal agencies to leverage IT resources and promote use of NASA technologies.

Future Flight Central is the world's first full-scale virtual airport control tower for simulating air and ground traffic control scenarios.

Ames is also the lead center for Aviation Operations Systems. In support of these efforts, Ames recently unveiled its newest facility, "Future Flight Central," the world's first full-scale virtual airport control tower for simulation of air and ground traffic control scenarios. The Ames community celebrated the grand opening in December 1999 and looks forward to performing critical research to improve ground and air traffic control and safety, as well as reduce flight delays and improve cost efficiencies.

As a result of the NASA Administrator's Agenda for Change, the Ames Commercial Technology Office (CTO) has evolved to focus on protecting Ames' intellectual property and working in partnership with industry to leverage precious research and development resources. This shift in focus demanded careful analysis of "commercial potential" for all invention disclosures. With a staff of approximately 25 professionals, including support from contractors and student interns, the CTO works to identify new technologies and assess them for commercial potential. The CTO supports technology commercialization objectives through the efforts of the marketing team, paralegal staff, intellectual property analysts, licensing representatives, and senior scientist expertise.

Ames Technology Transfer Successes

With an increased effort to disseminate technology, patent prosecution is based heavily on technologies that demonstrate commercial potential. For example, a promising patent pending technology, "Smart Surgical Probe" is a surgical tool that uses artificial intelligence technology to increase the safety, accuracy, and efficiency of delicate surgical operations. The probe technology was recently licensed to BioLuminate Inc., with plans to develop, produce, and market a device for early breast cancer diagnosis based on the NASA technology. After developing a product for breast cancer diagnosis, BioLuminate plans to develop additional products for other medical applications.

Another patent pending technology, developed by the Sensors 2000 program, incorporates advanced miniaturized sensors and wireless communication for complex medical applications. This project evolved through a partnership with the University of California at San Francisco Medical Center in an effort to find a solution for monitoring prenatal vital signs. The collaboration led to implanting sensors in the mother to efficiently collect critical data on the health of the fetus. The patents coming from this work may have many uses for effective non-invasive health care in terms of monitoring vital signs and providing accurate data in hospital room and home care environments.

The CTAS software for managing air traffic control systems at major airports is in use daily at Dallas/Ft. Worth International, one of the world's busiest airports.

In addition, Ames' CTO accelerated efforts to grant licenses for Ames' patents. The licensing activities range from tangible materials to information technology software. The following are examples of recent licenses awarded by Ames:

• Environmentally friendly de-icing fluid has produced four non-exclusive licenses for various de-icing fields of use.
• The electro-expulsive de-icing method for airplane wings has yielded two recent licenses.
• Wessex, Inc., was awarded a license for producing the protective coating for ceramic materials (PCCM).
• In software, the Oracis Medical Group licensed the reconstruction of three-dimensional visualization software for use in planning surgical procedures and training medical staff.
• Skywatch Information System licensed a NASA-developed inferometer for calibration of satellite imagery.
• Ames granted Modern School Supplies a license for the educational Mars CD-ROM. Modern School Supplies lists the CD-ROM in the 2000 edition of their nationwide educational products catalog.

In further support of the center's IT mission, the CTO has focused on improving the process of releasing software for beta test while concurrently protecting the intellectual property rights.

Honors, Awards, and Recognition

The CTO has proactively sought recognition for Ames' technological accomplishments through the NASA Space Act Award program. Ames information technology projects have placed in the winner and honorable mention categories for the 1998 and 1999 NASA Software of the Year competition. In 1998, the Center-TRACON (Terminal Radar Approach Control) Automation System (CTAS) software was a winning nomination. CTAS software systems at major airports: Traffic Management Advisor, Final Approach Spacing Tool, and Conflict Predictor Trial Planner. CTAS is designed to optimize flight operations. It is in daily use at Dallas/Ft. Worth International, one of the world's busiest airports, and was seamlessly integrated into the existing radar system, with displays in the control room supplementing the manual air traffic control system. CTAS saves an average of two minutes per flight, in turn saving money for the airlines and their passengers.

OVERSET tools for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis, a suite of CFD tools achieved honorable mention in the 1998 competition. The OVERSET software system is a comprehensive package of programs that streamline the process of performing CFD analysis for complex geometry. This program has had significant impact in the development of Boeing's Next Generation 737 aircraft and in solving aerodynamic-related problems for future U.S. Naval and U.S. Marine Corps fleet aircraft.

In 1999, two other outstanding IT-based projects from Ames were honored. Top honors went to Remote Agent, which was a joint Ames and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) project. Remote Agent is a reusable artificial software system designed to allow spacecraft, life support systems, chemical plants, or other complex systems to operate robustly with minimal human supervision. The Ames Virtual Interactive Imaging and Cybersurgery for Distant Healthcare received honorable mention. This software enables medical staff to analyze human tissue and organs in a 3-D environment in preparation for major surgical procedures.

In addition, seven Ames technologies have been inducted into the U.S. Space Foundation-Space Technology Hall of Fame. To date, 34 technologies have been recognized for their contributions to American society. In 1999, the DeBakey Heart Pump, a joint Ames and Johnson Space Center project, was enshrined. Temper Foam was recognized in 1998 for the numerous spinoffs generated, such as orthopedic cushions in wheelchairs, sports equipment, and mattresses. Anti-Shock Trousers and Fire-Resistant Aircraft Seats were inducted in 1996. Prior to that, in 1993, two more Ames technologies, Liquid-Cooled Garments and Physiological Monitoring Instrumentation, joined the select few technologies honored in the Hall. Finally, Ames' first inductee was a Scratch-Resistant Lens Coating, which was honored in 1989.

Additional Ames CTO Programs

The CTO is participating in the Agency initiative to target industry sectors for commercializing technology. Commercialization plans are being developed to accelerate IT advancement. The goal is to generate partnerships that focus on big picture technology leaps--aiding NASA in IT mission requirements while providing mutual benefit for the industry partner.

Another important CTO program benefiting U.S. businesses and NASA is the Ames Technology Commercialization Center (ATCC) small business incubator. The ATCC, founded in 1993, was established as NASA/Ames' response to a February 22, 1993 White House technology policy directive. As a nonprofit new business incubator and mentoring service, the ATCC's focus is to develop and commercialize NASA supported technologies. The ATCC is a physical and virtual small business incubator, located in San Jose, California, and provides opportunities for start-up companies to utilize NASA technologies. The center uses a lab-to-market approach that takes the technological output of Ames' lab and pairs that technology with appropriate markets to create and foster new businesses. The incubator provides access to a network of business experts in marketing, sales, high-tech management and operations, financing, and patent and corporate law. The ATCC also offers low-cost office space and other start-up services. A current tenant within the ATCC is Reality Capture Technologies, Inc., which is based on a license from Ames for the "Mars Virtual Exploration and Mars Map" technologies. An Ames researcher started this company and is using three-dimensional mapping technologies for diverse applications. The company recently customized mapping products for use in dentistry by mapping the inside of a mouth instead of taking the traditional dental impressions. In addition, mapping the surface of Mars is serving an as educational product for use in museums.

Remote Agent software allows complex systems such as spacecraft, life support systems, and chemical plants to operate with minimal supervision. The software, a joint effort between Ames and Jet Propulsion Laboratory, was recognized as the 1999 NASA Software of the Year.

Ames' CTO has been a major contributor to the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The SBIR program was established by Congress in 1982 to provide seed capital to assist American-owned small businesses to participate in U.S. federal agency research and development efforts. Legislation enacted in 1992 extended and strengthened the SBIR program and increased its emphasis on pursuing commercial applications for innovations developed with SBIR funding. Ames SBIR contractors have generated three of the top four largest Phase III successes in NASA and have been the leader in Phase III funding to SBIR contractors.

In coordination with Ames management, the CTO has collaborated with the California Space and Technology Alliance (CSTA) and other regional groups this past year. Ames hosted a conference with CSTA bringing many esteemed guests from California public office and local industry together. These representatives discussed maximizing statewide space resources and expertise to create jobs and business opportunities for California's space stakeholders.

From award-winning technology to improving the quality and safety of air travel, Ames has demonstrated that it is up to the task of advancing the frontiers of knowledge and new technologies.