Spinoff 2016 CONSUMER GOODS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
National Aeronautics and Space Administration 2016 2016 Technology Transfer Program NASA Headquarters Daniel Lockney, Technology Transfer Program Executive Spinoff Program Office On the cover: An artist’s concept of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Space Launch System, or SLS, is shown here on its way to space. SLS is on track to be Daniel Coleman, Editor-in-chief the most powerful rocket ever built for deep Samson Reiny, Senior Science Writer space exploration, with the ultimate goal of Mike DiCicco, Science Writer sending humans to Mars. The system will also support commercial and international Amber M. Healy, Science Writer partner transportation services, for crew and John Jones, Senior Graphics Designer cargo, to the ISS. TABLE OF CONTENTS DEPARTMENTS PUBLIC SAFETY 60 Rice Crop Models Stabilize Global Markets, 5 Foreword Enable Efficient Irrigation 7 Introduction 64 GPS Sensor Web Helps Forecasters Warn of 8 Monumental Opportunities of the SLS Monsoon Flash Floods 14 Executive Summary 68 Analytic Tool Simplifies Metal Fracture Assessments 26 NASA Technologies Benefiting Society 70 Mars Methane Detector Identifies Harmful 182 Partnership News Gas Leaks 196 Award-Winning Technologies 72 Hydrogen Detection Tape Saves Time 212 Spinoffs of Tomorrow and Lives 238 NASA Technology Transfer Program Directory 76 Single-Photon Lidar Maps Ground Features Quickly, Efficiently 80 Temperature Sensors Cement Integrity of Bridges 82 Primer Stops Corrosion without Requiring HEALTH AND MEDICINE Rust Removal 30 Rodent Research Contributes to Osteoporosis Treatments 8 34 Pressure Garments Save New Mothers’ Lives 38 Tool Kit Simplifies Development of High-Affinity Molecules TRANSPORTATION 42 Space-Ready Spectrometer Offers Terrestrial 46 Unmanned Research Aircraft Test Cutting-Edge Advantages Innovations 48 Data Visualizer Enhances Modeling for Cars, Consumer Products 50 Lightweight, Ultra-Strong Nanotubes to Transform Industry 52 Multidisciplinary Software to Help Take Aircraft to the Next Level 54 Orbital Trajectory Analyzer Takes Mission Planning to New Heights 56 Open Source Aircraft Design Software Helps Industry, Hobbyists 42 52 2 Table of Contents Spinoff 2016 CONSUMER GOODS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 86 NODE+ Platform Integrates Sensors with 132 System-Health Monitor Predicts Failures before Smartphones They Happen 90 Precision Coffeemaker Adapts Brews to 136 Algorithm Predicts and Evaluates Storm Surges Beans, Taste 140 Mars Rover Work Spawns PDF Collaboration 92 CO2 Recovery System Saves Software Brewers Money, Puts Bubbles into Beer 142 Open Source Tools Popularize Infrastructure 94 Space Blanket-Inspired Cases Protect for Cloud Computing Expensive Devices 144 Software Optimizes Designs from Spaceships 96 Antimicrobial Agent Updates Ancient Industry to Wind Turbines of Prayer Mats 148 NASA Climate Analytics Support Biological 98 Heat-Reflecting Material Regulates Body Research Temperature 152 Artificial Intelligence Targets Advertising by 100 Modified Monitor Provides Glasses-Free 3D for Understanding User Pilots, Gamers 154 Modeling Software Helps Rocket Scientists Go with the Flow 156 Electro-Optic Ceramic Creates High-Speed Fiber-Optic Networks 86 INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTIVITY 160 DigitalClone Software Predicts, Extends Machine Life ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT 162 Cryocoolers Fuel Exploration in Space and 104 Flock of Nanosatellites Provides a Daily Picture of Earth on Earth 108 Multispectral Satellite Imagery Shows Farmers’ Fields in 164 Temperature-Resistant Materials Enable Space- New Light Like Cold on Earth 112 Software Helps Restore Fire-Ravaged Habitats 168 Lasers Enable Alternative Power Transmission 116 Buildings for Manipulating Magnetism 172 Helium Recapture System Reclaims Hydrogen Revolutionize Magnetometers for Industry Use 118 Cost-Saving Method Yields Solar Cells for 174 Laser Vision Helps Hubble, Package Shippers Exploration, Gadgets See Clearly 120 Wide Area Thermal Imaging System Brings the 176 Space-Ready Durometers Measure Hardness Landscape into Focus on Earth 122 Photocatalytic Water Splitter Stores Energy as Hydrogen 178 High-Temperature Superconductors Deliver Power without Heat 126 Recycling Technology Converts Plastic Waste to Energy 180 Electrospray Thrusters Boost Efficiency, 128 Tiny Capsules Enable a World of Possibilities Precision 128 Spinoff 2016 Table of Contents 3 DISCLAIMER: While NASA does not manufacture, market, or sell commercial products, many commercial products are derived from NASA technology. Many NASA-originated technologies are adapted by private industry for use by consumers like you. Spinoff developments highlighted in this publication are based on information provided by individual and private industry users of NASA-originated aerospace technology who acknowledge that such technology contributed wholly or in part to development of the product or process described. NASA cannot accept responsibility or liability for the misinterpretation or misrepresentation of the enclosed information provided by these third-party users. Publication herein does not constitute NASA endorsement of the product or process, nor confirmation of manufacturers’ performance claims related to any particular spinoff development. In celebration of the Hubble Space Telescope’s 25th anniversary in April 2015, NASA revisited the Eagle Nebula (M16), a region of space best known as the subject of Hubble’s most iconic photo, “Pillars of Creation,” taken in 1995. The new image is bigger and sharper than the original and, thanks to its assembly from both visible and near-infrared light, reveals details of the M16 nebula that have never been seen before. To learn more about the image and explore it in full, scan this code. Foreword he history of astronomy is a history of reced- system’s planets, as well as many of their moons, and they ing horizons.” have given us our first up-close look at two dwarf planets, “TThese words were penned by Edwin Hubble, Pluto and Ceres, this past year. the great astronomer whose namesake has, perhaps more There are many other groundbreaking accomplishments than any other scientific instrument, expanded our knowl- I could tell you about, but I would also like to mention edge of the universe. In 2015 we celebrated the Hubble the numerous secondary benefits that have resulted from Space Telescope’s 25th year in operation, and what a Agency endeavors. Since the year Hubble went into orbit, quarter century it has been for NASA missions—not to Spinoff has recorded nearly 1,200 examples of NASA tech- mention the tangible benefits those missions have had for nology coming down to Earth in the form of commercial the public, recorded each year in Spinoff. products and services. Spinoffs have made an impact on Hubble has provided us with some of the most spec- nearly every facet of American life, from consumer goods tacular images ever taken, and it has facilitated some of the used daily to critical improvements to our Nation’s pro- Charles F. Bolden, Jr. most important scientific discoveries ever made. Its 25th ductive capacity and public infrastructure. Here at NASA, Administrator anniversary has a special significance to me, as I served as transferring technology to the private sector is one of our National Aeronautics and a pilot on the Shuttle mission that placed Hubble in orbit. core missions. Space Administration For me, Hubble and everything it has accomplished serve A lot can happen in 25 years. A quarter century from as an enduring symbol of the great things our Nation is now is the close of the decade in which we are planning capable of when we test the limits of human possibility. the first trip to Mars by human explorers, sent there by A lot can happen in 25 years. Twenty-five years ago, the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft. And astronomers were confident that many stars in our galaxy by 2040, Hubble’s successor, the powerful James Webb also harbored planets, but we had yet to confirm their Space Telescope, will have completed its mission, giving existence. Today—thanks to Hubble and the Kepler us even greater insight into the early universe and the Mission—we’ve identified and confirmed more than one birth of the first galaxies. It will even allow us to study the thousand exoplanets, some of them Earth-sized and orbit- composition of exoplanet atmospheres, a key capability for ing within the habitable zone around their stars. determining whether there is life on other worlds. In that same timespan, NASA and its international At NASA, we are as excited as ever at the prospects the partners constructed, flew, and assembled a permanent next several decades of U.S. space and aeronautics mis- home for humans off the planet. Today, the International sions hold in store for us. And the American public can Space Station serves as a test bed for new technologies, a rest assured that the missions we invest in today will not national laboratory for unique scientific research, and a only continue to push back the horizons of human explo- training ground for us to learn how humans can live safely ration but also produce practical benefits that make life and even flourish in space. better on Earth. Meanwhile, since 1990 NASA robotic missions have flown by, orbited, or landed on all but two of our solar Spinoff 2016 Foreword 5 Spinoff (spin´ôf) -noun. 1. A commercialized product incorporating NASA technology or expertise that benefits the public. These include products or processes that: • were designed for NASA use, to NASA specifications, and then commercialized; • are developed as a result of