Innovative Research
Technosoft Develops Software Product with SBIR Assistance
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| Software developed by Technosoft Inc., provides an underlying architecture on which applications can be built. With the assistance of the Small Business Innovation Research program, the technology continues to evolve and is useful to government and industrial entities. |
In the early 1990s, Technosoft Inc., a small company in Cincinnati, developed software called Adaptive Modeling Language (AML) for the United States Air Force. AML was created to save time and money during the design and engineering process of building a vehicle. Simply put, AML is a framework — an underlying architecture — on which applications can be built.
Based on the Air Force’s success with the software, Technosoft knew that it also would be useful to others with similar research initiatives, such as NASA. Air Force officials helped pave the way for the firm to meet with innovators at LaRC.
A researcher from the Air Force Research Lab was working collaboratively with the group on different projects to learn best practices in vehicle design. The researcher recommended using Technosoft’s AML.
John Martin of the Vehicle Analysis Branch (VAB) says, “We were skeptical at first. We’d invested quite a bit of time into developing our own code for collaborative applications, but it didn’t perform that well.”
“The AML software also came with extensive corporate knowledge, and that was a real plus for us,” says Shelly Ferlemann, another VAB branch researcher.
Their skepticism aside, Technosoft eventually received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract from Langley to further develop the software. Working with the LaRC team, Technosoft built a Collaborative Hypersonic Air-breathing Vehicle Design Environment, also known as “CoHAVE,” on their AML framework. CoHAVE was being used to look at scramjet/ramjet engine based vehicles for 2-stage to Earth orbit and hypersonic cruise missions.
NASA aerospace partners like Boeing and Lockheed Martin became interested in the capabilities of the enhanced software. Because it provided a mechanism for different disciplines like structural analysis and optimization to collaboratively work together, CoHAVE improved the product and process design, and saved time and money. Technosoft was ahead of schedule on the software’s development, and by the time the company was into an SBIR Phase 2 contract, the product was already being used in design processes. The success of CoHAVE led to a Phase 3 contract from Langley for the firm. Ferlemann is sold on using Technosoft for their applications.
“It’s great for knowledge-capture. You don’t have to start from scratch. The tools make it easy for new users to run it. They’re then more productive quickly. Before it would take days to generate the same data. With Technosoft’s visualization features, mistakes are evident right away and can be corrected before a project gets too far along,” says Ferlemann.
Martin and Ferlemann also like the fact that the software can run on any computer, and they’re able to take models from elsewhere and do quick system analysis studies.
Partnering with Langley on CoHAVE has helped Technosoft to further evolve the AML product. “A lot of the technology developed within the SBIR has transitioned to general purpose technology within our environment,” says Chemaly.
Building on CoHAVE’s capabilities, the firm has developed a subsequent product called Adaptive Modeling, Rapid Air Vehicle Engineering Environment (AMRaven). NASA, Boeing and Lockheed Martin are currently using it.
Today, Technosoft is continuing to expand on CoHAVE and bring partners together for other vehicle design projects. At Langley, CoHAVE has morphed into “ADVISE” (Advanced Vehicle Integration and Synthesis Environment), because the branch’s research scope has been broadened to meet the Agency’s space exploration needs.
By leveraging the work they’ve done so far, the company won a large contract from the Air Force and has subcontracted Langley as their partner on the work. Hilmi Alkamhawi, a Technosoft software engineer, is currently working on site with Martin and Ferlemann.
The firm also demonstrated AML and CoHAVE for the Navy and are now partnering on submarine design.
Based on the AML framework, the firm has created design environments for other applications, such as an interactive missile design for the military. They’ve been able to transition it to commercial industries as well, like automotive and trucking, and structures for oil and gas.
Today, the original work with NASA has been widely deployed to the Agency’s partners.
“Presently, there are more than 14 programs at Lockheed that have directly or indirectly used some of the results from our NASA SBIR,” says Chemaly.
When it comes to developing software, Technosoft likes the challenge of trying to solve what seem to be impossible design problems, and so users of its software will continue to benefit from future evolutions of Technosoft products.
For more information, contact Sheri Beam, Langley Research Center, (757) 864-9104, s.f.beam@larc.nasa.gov.
Please mention that you read about it in Technology Innovation.
“One NASA” Peer Award Presented to SBIR/STTR Program Management Office
Members of the Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) Program management office recently were honored for mission success utilizing a “One NASA” approach.
Team members were recognized by their peers for outstanding management of NASA’s SBIR and STTR programs in a manner that partners mission directorates, centers, small businesses and research institutions to enable NASA’s future missions.
The certificates were signed by Edward Weiler, director of Goddard Space Flight Center.
Did you know?
An interesting fact to stimulate the mind
What type of technology originally developed by NASA for plant growth experiments in space is improving the treatment of brain and skin tumors and other medical problems, such as wounds?
Photodynamic Therapy
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