United States - TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OPPORTUNITY: ShuttleSCAN 3-D (TOP2-128)

Description

Added: Aug 28, 2019 2:00 pm

NASA's Technology Transfer Program solicits inquiries from companies interested in obtaining license rights to commercialize, manufacture and market the following technology.  License rights may be issued on an exclusive or nonexclusive basis and may include specific fields of use.  NASA provides no funding in conjunction with these potential licenses.

THE TECHNOLOGY:
 
NASA Ames Research Center offers for license its patented ShuttleSCAN 3-D surface scanning and profiling technology.  Originally developed for critical, real-time inspection of damage to the thermal protection tiles of the Space Shuttle, this advanced system can be used for a wide range of commercial applications from product quality control to autonomous navigation.  Powered by the onboard Surface Profiling and Characterization Engine (SPACE) processor, ShuttleSCAN provides real-time analysis of surfaces ranging from the small (such as circuit boards) to the large (such as panels or roads).

The scanners operation is based on the principle of Laser Triagulation.  The ShuttleSCAN contains an imaging sensor; two lasers mounted on opposite sides of the imaging sensor; and a customized, on-board processor for processing the data from the imaging sensor.  The lasers are oriented at a given angle and surface height based on the size of objects being examined.  For inspecting small details, such as defects in space shuttle tiles, a scanner is positioned close to the surface.  This creates a small field of view but with very high resolution.  For scanning larger objects, such as use in a robotic vision application, a scanner can be positioned several feet above the surface. This increases the field of view but results in slightly lower resolution.  The laser projects a line on the surface, directly below the imaging sensor.  For a perfectly flat surface, this projected line will be straight.  As the ShuttleSCAN head moves over the surface, defects or irregularities above and below the surface will cause the line to deviate from perfectly straight.  The SPACE processors proprietary algorithms interpret these deviations in real time and build a representation of the defect that is then transmitted to an attached PC for triangulation and 3-D display or printing.  Real-time volume calculation of the defect is a capability unique to the ShuttleSCAN system.

To express interest in this opportunity, please submit a license application through NASA's Automated Technology Licensing Application System (ATLAS) by visiting https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/TOP2-128

If you have any questions, please contact Ames Research Center at ARC-TechTransfer@mail.nasa.gov with the title of this Technology Transfer Opportunity as listed in this FBO notice and your preferred contact information.  For more information about licensing other NASA-developed technologies, please visit the NASA Technology Transfer Portal at https://technology.nasa.gov/

These responses are provided to members of NASA's Technology Transfer Program for the purpose of promoting public awareness of NASA-developed technology products, and conducting preliminary market research to determine public interest in and potential for future licensing opportunities.  No follow-on procurement is expected to result from responses to this Notice.

Opportunity closing date

23 August 2020

Value of contract

to be confirmed