The Phase I portion of this SBIR initiative researched ways in which the resiliency and robustness of UAS Traffic Management (UTM) ecosystems can and should be improved. The primary result of those activities was the formulation of a flexible, service-based architecture for Health & Integrity (H&I) monitoring, assessment, and mitigation of complex, federated System of Systems (SoS). This aptly named Health & Integrity Management System (HIMS) adds another dimension of capability to the UTM architecture wherein it is intended to holistically monitor and respond to the ecosystem, providing continuity between independent UTM services from a system reliability perspective.
The proposed HIMS is in direct alignment with NASA’s Strategic Thrust 5 relating to In-time System-wide Safety Assurance (ISSA) capabilities development and integration. Specifically, the HIMS supports progress towards achievement of the first major ISSA milestone, namely the development of domain-specific safety monitoring and alerting tools.
Phase 2 of this SBIR effort proposes to build on our HIMS concept. We will take the research and innovative conceptual design produced under Phase I and conduct the detailed development, test, and demonstration of capability that is necessary to provide a commercialized product of valuable to both NASA and industry.
The CAL Team is well positioned to commercialize our innovation. We have a proven track record of integrating UAS into the National Airspace System and are working with the leading UTM/UAM firms around the world. Our team also has multiple complementary efforts which not only enhance this research but show that the commercial market for the resulting product is already forming. With the additions of AIS and ResilienX to the team as commercialization partners, we have developed a strong commercialization approach.
Our Phase 2 SBIR has applications throughout the NASA portfolio, where a HIMS product would further NASA efforts and research. This includes the following areas:
UAM Grand Challenge - ResilienX on a participating team
Strategic Thrust 5 – ISSA research and validation platform
NextGen - ISSA research and validation platform
FAA UTM RTT – Operationalization enabling technology
Our architecture is loosely coupled, making it an ideal platform to perform research around many additional safety critical applications such as NASA’s space-based endeavors.
The HIMS concept has already gained traction with DOTs and ANSPs looking to operationalize UTM ecosystems. We are solving critical pain points for complex system of systems with safety, availability or uptime requirements. Our market research has shown that this same technology is applicable to additional markets such as Counter UAS, Smart Cities, Industrial Internet of Things, and Vertiports.