99--TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OPPORTUNITY HIGHLY ACCURATE POSITION DETECTION ANDSHAPE SENSING WITH FIBER OPTICS

NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA solicits interest 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. THE TECHNOLOGY: NASA Langley Research Center has demonstrated a patented method and apparatus for determining the position, in three dimensions, of any point on an optical fiber. The new method uses low reflectance Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) strain sensors in a multi-core fiber to determine how any point along that fiber is positioned in space. The characteristics of optical fibers and the FBGs vary with curvature, and by sensing the relative change of FBGs in each of three or more fiber cores, the three-dimensional change in position can be determined. By using this method in monitoring applications where optical fibers can be deployed such as in structures, medical devices, or roboticsprecise deflection, end position, and location can be determined in near real time even in fibers that may be experiencing external twisting. This innovative position detection method offers 10 times greater positional accuracy than comparable optical techniques. To express interest in this opportunity, please respond to Sean Sullivan, Research Triangle International (RTI), at: NASA Langley Research Center, Strategic Relationships Office (SRSO), 17 West Taylor St., Mail Stop 218, Building 1212, Room 110 Hampton, Virginia, E-mail: [email protected], or phone: 757-864-5055. Please indicate the date and title of the FBO notice and include your company and contact information. RTI is responsible for aggregating and acknowledging all responses. These responses are provided to members of NASA Langleys Innovative Partnerships Office within the SRO for the purpose of promoting public awareness of our technology products, and conducting preliminary market research to determine public interest in and potential for future licensing opportunities. If direct licensing interest results from this posting, SRO will follow the formal licensing process of posting in the Federal Register as required. No follow-on procurement is expected to result from responses to this Notice.