Crosscutting Technologies and the Mapping Applicable Technologies to Exploration CHallenges (MATCH) Database Elaine Gresham*, Jason Hay†, Paul Guthrie‡, and Carie Mullins§ The Tauri Group, Alexandria, VA, 22310
The Mapping Applicable Technologies to Exploration Challenges (MATCH) database is a software tool that maps technologies to NASA’s program needs. The tool helps NASA assess its technology portfolio, identify and address gaps, leverage external research, and justify budgetary decisions. The MATCH database consists of three primary data sets, the Exploration Technology Development Program (ETDP) data set, the NASA Requirements data set, and the External Government Technology data set. These data sets work together to highlight technology gaps (requirements lacking an associated development projects), identify potentially applicable external technologies, and to provide top-level analyses of NASA progress toward the lunar architecture. This paper provides an overview of the MATCH system, discusses the processes and procedures to integrate the three data sets into a single tool, and identifies lessons learned. It also profiles some promising crosscutting technologies identified by using the database. Finally, the paper addresses the next steps for the MATCH system, which is increasingly used to promote technology partnerships.
I. Introduction A. Overview The Mapping Applicable Technologies to Exploration CHallenges (MATCH) database is a unique software tool and set of processes that maps technologies to NASA’s program needs. MATCH was developed jointly by NASA’s Technology Assessment and Integration Team (TAIT), which has members from NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) and the National Institute for Aerospace, and The Tauri Group. NASA has used MATCH since 2005 to support Exploration System Mission Directorate (ESMD) technology assessment activities. ESMD uses MATCH specifically to enable human lunar exploration by identifying technologies that will enable and enhance the lunar architecture. MATCH helps NASA by providing a repository for lunar capability and technology needs, technology development data, and information on technologies being developed outside of the agency that allow NASA analyst to assess the agency’s technology portfolio, identify and address gaps, leverage external research, and justify budgetary decisions. It also helps communicate research and technology development accomplishments across projects and to ESMD leadership. ESMD uses MATCH specifically to enable human lunar exploration by identifying technologies that will enable and enhance the lunar architecture. The ESMD Directorate Integration Office (DIO) is also currently using MATCH to target and foster cooperation with external governmental agencies. The MATCH database consists of three primary data sets. The Exploration Technology Development Program (ETDP) Projects data set tracks NASA ETDP technology projects, highlights specific technology solutions NASA is developing, and monitors resources devoted to technology development. The NASA Requirements data set stores official requirements for lunar exploration and lunar capability needs, providing a detailed look at the lunar architecture and a basis to identify challenges that need technological solutions. Finally, the External Government Technology data set identifies and records non-NASA U.S. government technology development programs that may have relevance to NASA’s lunar mission. A key goal of the external data set is to connect NASA researchers and
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decision makers to technologies, components, approaches, and research personnel in other areas of the U.S. government, thereby promoting technology partnerships. B. Goals and Mission Three main goals drove the development of MATCH and are still relevant today. The first goal is to aid NASA in forming investment decisions by providing an understanding of current investments by other government agencies and broader technology trends. This involves identifying and researching potentially applicable technology development funded by the Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Energy (DoE), and other government agencies; developing white papers and other reports for specific areas of interest; identifying technologies that could have a game-changing effect on the lunar architecture, focusing on technologies which could be infused into the NASA human lunar mission; and maintaining the MATCH External Government Technologies data set. The second goal for MATCH is to identify opportunities for cooperation, collaboration, and partnerships based on knowledge and understanding of other agency programs, objectives, and institutional sponsorship. This involves participating on the DIO Partnering Action Team to develop reports and analyses; coordinating technology assessment activities; gathering information on and prioritizing working groups, conferences, and meetings; supporting the interaction between potential partners; and supporting the establishment of partnerships, including short and long term partnership opportunities. The third goal for MATCH is to provide a repository of technology data for the use of all stakeholders in technology identification, assessment, prioritization, development, and insertion. This involves continuing to develop and maintain the MATCH database; providing an online version of MATCH that will provide live access to MATCH by the NASA user community; supplying a forum for online collaborative editing of detailed technology information by multiple users; continuing to enhance MATCH database features; providing a mapping of technology projects to NASA’s needs; mapping external technology development to NASA’s needs to identify synergies and potential partnerships to enhance NASA’s investment portfolio; and analyzing technology portfolio impacts on mission schedules and budget. C. The MATCH Team The successes of the MATCH database have been the product of an exceptional partnership between The Tauri Group and NASA’s TAIT. The two groups have worked in concert through several contracts to develop what is now a productive and well-used tool, the MATCH database. These two groups make up the MATCH team, which has successfully leveraged the strengths of its members. Within the MATCH team, the Tauri Group has been responsible for the development of the MATCH architecture; development and upkeep of the EGT data set; data collection and analysis in the Requirements and Projects data sets; and programming and tool development. In addition, The Tauri Group also is responsible for development of white papers, the creation of output tools for MATCH, and supporting the users of the database to conduct analyses based on MATCH data. The TAIT also plays many roles critical to the success of MATCH. The TAIT is responsible for cultivating relationships within NASA to enable data collection and validation; providing current information used to populate the data sets; providing technology assessment and analysis used in the data sets; producing and updating the DIO technology list used as an output of MATCH; managing the use of MATCH through both approving new users to MATCH; communicating MATCH’s capabilities within NASA; providing data updates and analysis for the Capability Needs, Gap Analysis and ETDP project data sets; coordinating with NASA’s information technology teams to provide a host for online MATCH; and identification of functionality and analyses required by MATCH users. The TAIT also plays key roles in reviewing and finalizing technology white papers and ensuring the data in MATCH is updated and reliable. Although each of the team members have areas of specific focus, the team regularly works together to ensure that MATCH contains accurate data, is updated regularly, and has a reliable functionality for users of the database. The team is able to accomplish this through close coordination, open lines of communication, and strong relationships.
II. MATCH Data Sets A. What NASA Needs – Requirements Data Sets The Requirements data sets provide a clear and consolidated source for NASA’s exploration technology needs. These needs provide the basis for the lunar architecture requirements, which guide technology development and selection. Needs are periodically updated from official NASA documents as the lunar architecture is continually defined. NASA’s program managers use the Requirements data sets as a data tool to quickly identify gaps, target leveraged external technologies, and justify budgetary decisions. The data sets include two types of requirement data: high-level, mission-wide requirements and lower-level, element-specific requirements in the form of capability needs. The higher-level requirements are captured through
official and validated NASA sources such as the Exploration Architecture Requirements Document (EARD) and Constellation Architecture Requirements Document (CARD). These sources are mostly static with occasional updates to refine requirement wording or add new requirements. Lower-level requirements, or capability needs, are captured through official documents like the Surface Architecture Reference Document, Lunar Architecture Team studies, and official NASA planning process such as the Constellation Technology Prioritization Process (Cx TPP). The Cx TPP and the similar Constellation Architecture Team (CxAT Lunar) studies provide periodic program-office reviews of the lunar architecture and refine NASA’s technology needs. Timely updates capture the products of these reviews and maintain accuracy within the data set. As capability needs are formalized into official requirements the data set will shift to less dynamic sources. Every requirement or capability need captured in the data set includes a detailed description of the requirement; the date a technology solution is needed by; the source of the need; and for capability needs, a prioritized ranking relative to other needs. By maintaining the Requirements data set, the team ensures continued access to timely requirements data for NASA management and provides a key component of MATCH, allowing for analyses against NASA projects and external technology data. B. What NASA Has – Projects Data Sets 1. ETDP Projects The ETDP Projects data set was developed as part of MATCH to illustrate technology development currently taking place within NASA. The ETDP Projects data set contains data on 23 ETDP projects and over 160 ETDP tasks. The Projects data set also tracks ETDP projects that are “in formulation.” The data is compiled from the most recent ETDP project plans; Constellation customer supplier agreements (CSAs); funding information; and the ETDP technology interchange meetings (TIMs). For each project, the MATCH team combines descriptive project data (e.g., project description, tasks, Constellation architecture elements mappings); technical data (e.g., performance parameters); and programmatic data (e.g., project manager, funding, and breakouts by center) to provide a thorough summary of each of the ETDP projects. This data set allows NASA managers to view, in one easy-to-read format, the most pertinent data related to exploration technology development. The data is also mapped to lunar capability needs and to external government technologies. Mapping to capability needs provides NASA managers with the ability to easily view which needs are currently satisfied by ETDP projects as well as gaps, where those needs are not currently being developed by ETDP. Additionally, the data is mapped to relevant external technology programs. This mapping allows NASA to quickly identify potential areas for cooperation and partnership. 2. Other NASA Projects MATCH has been designed to easily incorporate technology project data sets from other NASA Table 1: Selection of External Technologies programs and directorates. Currently, MATCH includes a pilot data set for the Human Research Program (HRP) based on data collected from the HRP Task Book. This data set was developed with a consistent structure to all other MATCH data sets including descriptive, technical, and programmatic fields. Expanding the Projects data set beyond ETDP would allow NASA to have a more complete picture of technology development occurring within NASA. Mapping these new data sets to lunar capability needs could give NASA the ability to identify if needs were being satisfied by projects outside of ESMD. Additionally, since these new data sets would be mapped to external technologies, NASA’s potential for cooperation and partnering would expand. C. What Others Have – External Government Technologies 3. External Government Technologies The External Government Technologies (EGT) data set monitors and catalogues technology development programs in other government agencies (e.g., DoD, DOE, and Department of Homeland
Security) that may be leveraged to address NASA technology needs and gap areas. EGT has been in development since 2004, with over 1000 technologies identified for consideration. The data set currently profiles over 250 technologies, a selection of these are included in Table 1. Over time, the MATCH team has increasingly leveraged its involvement in working with ESMD data to deliberately focus the data collection process on technologies that could provide the highest impact on NASA’s exploration goals. Gap analyses and in-depth knowledge of lunar architecture developments have also informed recent data sets. Information on external technologies is obtained through open-source data collection, and is supplemented by interviews with appropriate researchers and program managers. Examples of the information EGT tracks include a description of the technology, its intended application, its potential application for NASA, key performance metrics, Technology Readiness Level (TRL) assessment, funding profile, organizations and universities involved in development, and contact information. The focus of this data set is on collecting data to help NASA ESMD gain insight into the technology itself, and enable collaboration with funding and contact information.
III. MATCH Process and Methodology A. Integration of Data, Mapping, and Cross Linking The MATCH team designed the database to include and integrate all data and analyses required for ESMD technology portfolio management amidst continually evolving mission requirements and architecture concepts. In order for MATCH to operate as a truly integrated data set, the database must be structured to enable mapping and cross linking of data and the data must be carefully managed to allow comparisons. In order to enable the comparison of data across data sets, a consistent structure and formatting is maintained throughout MATCH system data sets. One of the tools used to ensure the data sets can productively work together is the mapping of every data set to common indices such as ESMD architecture elements and functional breakdown structure. Here ESMD’s architecture elements refer to the major components of the lunar exploration architecture such as: Orion, surface mobility, communications, and robotics systems. Our functional breakdown structure uses a NASA-developed list to explain the functions of the technologies in the data sets. For example there are categories for energy storage, power generation, propulsion, and life support. The functional breakdown structure is tiered to allow for more precise mapping. Each record in the data sets is carefully mapped, by MATCH team members, to all of the relevant architecture elements and functional categories. Because this mapping is common throughout the data sets, it enables users to do complex analyses across MATCH. For example, a MATCH user can search for all records (projects, requirements, and external technologies) that related to robotics systems or all records that will impact surface mobility and relate to energy storage. This mapping is illustrated in Figure 1 below. Another tool the MATCH team uses to help in the cross linking of data in MATCH is the identification and mapping of individual records within MATCH to other records. For example within the capability needs data set, each capability need has a list of the most relevant external technologies. These mappings are updated when new data is added to the database and are reflected both in the individual data sets and on outputs such as the project and capability need quad charts. As the MATCH database tool develops further, the team is also incorporating electronic links to supporting documents including MATCH white papers, NASA architecture study reports, and ETDP projects plans. Links to documents are provided from both the MATCH main page and from appropriate records within the system. Examples of links within the system include linking project plans to technology project records and linking white papers to the technologies being addressed by the paper. This will help users of MATCH to easily access more information about records they find of interest, and to enhance the use of MATCH as an analysis support tool for NASA.
Figure 1.
Data Mapping within MATCH.
B. Engagement with User Communities and Data Providers 4. Forging Relationships with MATCH User Communities As MATCH has evolved over its several years of existence, it has been demonstrated that to remain relevant and useful to its primary users, strong lines of communication must be forged. The primary user, sponsor, and catalyst for the MATCH database is ESMD’s DIO. The DIO regularly leverages MATCH to support decision making, as inputs to meetings and conferences, as a tool to justify decisions to Congress, to support partnering opportunities, and as a repository of technology details. In order to ensure MATCH remains relevant and useful to the DIO, the MATCH team has cultivated an open relationship with the office to discuss needs for both the functional and data sides of MATCH. The team also works closely with the DIO to develop a schedule for MATCH releases and data updates that is in synch with the office’s schedule of meetings and activities. Although the DIO is the primary user of MATCH, the database is also used by a wider community with users ranging from those requiring occasional data references to those more tied in with using MATCH tools and updating the data within the data sets. The MATCH team encourages relationships with the user communities by participating in NASA workshops, conducting demonstrations of the database tool and data, and providing outputs and analyses in response to requests. One example of one of these user communities is the Exploration Technology Development Program Office (ETDPO). This group is major user of MATCH and also works with the MATCH team to ensure that MATCH has updated and relevant project information in the Projects data set. The MATCH team has grown the relationship with the ETDPO over the last several years through regular demonstrations and data coordination meetings. One example of the outputs of this relationship is the decisions on which fields are most relevant to include in the data set, and the recent addition of task information for each project. One particularly strong benefit of the relationship between the MATCH team and ETDP is ensuring that MATCH has timely project information in the data set. At the inception of the Projects data set, the data was pulled from the most recent version of the individual ETDP project plan documents, and updated as needed or once a year as the new project plans became available. As the relationship strengthened between the MATCH team and ETDP, updates to the data set became more frequent with MATCH eventually timing updates to the data set to correspond with the program and budget cycles of ETDP. Part of the development of the online version of MATCH has been an online editing tool that will allow ETDP users, and other data set contributors, to edit and approve live MATCH data, ensuring the latest version of the data is available to all MATCH users. 5. Relationships with Data Providers – an EGT Example Just as it is with all the data sets, since the initiation of the EGT data set, the team recognized that building strong relationships with the data providers would be critical to ensuring the accuracy and quality of data in the data set. Specifically, the team has found that it is very important for EGT data set research to have contact with the individuals working on the technology. This serves to provide information that may not be published, and provides initial point of contact between NASA and the researchers involved. EGT analysts have forged relations with external organizations both from the bottom up and top down. For the most part, connections with researchers are made from a bottom-up level, connecting analysts directly with researchers and program managers working on the profiled technology. Top down approaches coordinate research
and interviews at an organizational level, and have been successful with some organizations. Since EGT is a tool designed for a wide range of users, the focus is on collecting data that can be readily shared rather than data requiring security clearances or non-disclosure agreements. C. Flexibility in MATCH, Adapting to NASA’s Needs In order to be an effective tool in NASA’s dynamic environment, MATCH has needed to be flexible, quickly adjusting to changing priorities. Rapid and adaptable response to NASA’s requests for maintenance, expansion, and customized analyses was common during the development of the database. In order to provide this support the MATCH team deliberately programmed flexibility into the data structure and underling framework of MATCH. Initially, flexibility in the Microsoft Excel-based version of MATCH involved changing data interfaces, updating common indexing, and regularly editing to data content. In the current online MATCH, the team has been able to expand database flexibility to the underlying code and data structure, associative tables, and customizable reports. This enables MATCH to quickly and efficiently respond to NASA’s needs and ensure the tool remains relevant to current challenges. 6. Flexible Mapping to NASA Exploration Requirements MATCH has demonstrated flexibility as a data tool by adjusting the database to integrate many generations of requirements data in the last several years. In 2006, when the MATCH team first started integrating the data sets, which would later become MATCH, the Exploration Systems Architecture Study (ESAS) report had recently been released and NASA was working on the first Lunar Architecture Team (LAT) study. The team was looking to identify a detailed set of requirements to use to compare against project and external technology information. The first set of requirements identified was extracted from the ESAS study report since a list of requirements had been developed to support the study’s analysis. As the focus of ESMD turned from the ESAS results to the LAT study, MATCH also adapted to incorporate the most relevant requirements documents at that time, the CARD and the EARD, which had their baseline versions released in December 2006 and March 2007, respectively. These documents provided the first official requirements for the lunar architecture and were subsequently incorporated into the Requirements data set. Both the EARD and CARD focus on high-level requirements, which did not perfectly map to the technology-level data within other MATCH data sets. Fortunately for MATCH, the team was tied in with the Technology Prioritization Process (TPP) that was underway, and the results of that study were pulled in as a second Requirements data set, and treated as capability needs. This Capability Needs data set was able to bridge the gap between high level requirements and specific technologies, allowing for detailed mappings between requirements, projects, and external technologies. The capability needs data set is dynamic and helps to maintain a strong link between NASA requirements and targeted external technologies. The data and structure of the Requirements data set can continue to change as NASA refines requirements, ensuring NASA’s technology investment and acquisition remains tightly linked to the agency’s needs. 7. Flexibility in External Technologies, Staying Focused on NASA’s Needs The MATCH team has expanded the EGT data set 17 times, adding new related external technologies with each update. The current EGT data set contains over 260 technologies under development. Expanded sources of data for EGT include technologies being developed by the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, and the National Institutes of Health. Through these agencies, all major national laboratories are represented. EGT focuses technology research on areas of particular NASA needs—these needs, and the source of this information, have evolved over the course of development of EGT itself. Initial development in 2004 began using focus areas of the then-emerging lunar architecture. Close work with the Lunar Architecture Team studies in subsequent years honed the focus of MATCH team researchers. Gap analyses identified through the TPP process at LaRC brought this focus down to an even tighter level, and a study of potential game-changing technologies infused a commercial and international perspective. D. Regular Data Updates The MATCH team continues to expand MATCH data sets as NASA annual project reporting, and new technology information becomes available. In many cases this requires expansion or update of current data sets, such as expanding the Requirements data set upon release of EARD or CARD revisions. In other instances, the data structure is changed to include new data, such as the integration of the Constellation TPPs. In cases where the data structure is changed, the MATCH team designs user interfaces that are consistent with the previous MATCH architecture, and the new data is integrated into the MATCH systems, providing a fully functional, integrated data set. Recently, the team released an online collaborative editor to streamline updates and increased maintenance efficiency. This editor is still in the testing process but has shown potential. Using the editor, those responsible for
updating data in MATCH, such as NASA ETDP project managers, can directly update their information in the data set. Updates are reviewed and approved by program and mission directorate personal before publication in the ‘live’ version of MATCH. Efforts were made to limit the burden on those editors, who will be updating data, to help ensure we will continue the tradition of strong data integrity MATCH. The editor enables efficient changes to the data within MATCH and promotes timely updates, keeping the data fresh and applicable to NASA’s mission. The editor also streamlines data entry for the External Government Technologies and Requirements data sets and enables additional collaboration and communication between NASA and the MATCH team.
IV. The MATCH Database Tool The underlying philosophy of MATCH has been to not make this effort about developing a database tool, but instead to develop the underlying data sets and build only the tools around them that are required to make the data sets functional. This data-forward philosophy has driven the tool development approach throughout the history of MATCH. The first data sets were simply disconnected Microsoft Excel worksheets containing the many data records. Later, an integrated data set was built to pull the information together and to allow simple analyses and queries. This was followed by a much more user-friendly version of MATCH, housing the data sets and using MS Excel and Visual Basic to perform complex queries, analyses, and reporting functions. The latest addition to the MATCH arsenal is the development of the online version of MATCH. The online version provides web access to the entire MATCH community and provides a new, more intuitive, interface for the database. As mentioned in pervious sections, online MATCH also provides varying levels of read/write user access, furthering effective collaboration and data sharing across the ten NASA centers. The new system leverages the infrastructure, user interfaces, analyses, and reports from the previous MATCH system, while providing enhancements to the user experience. Each of these forward steps has been driven by requirements identified by MATCH’s sponsors and user community.
V. Outputs As MATCH has evolved, being flexible to reflect changes at NASA, updating data to ensure timeliness, and adapting the tool to support functionality; the outputs of MATCH have grown to reflect the more advanced tool it has become. MATCH has now developed to the point that it can support activities underway throughout ESMD and DIO, with sophisticated support and analyses tools. A. Partnering Support DIO has recently been focusing activities on developing partnerships with commercial and government groups outside of NASA. MATCH is well suited to support this activity and has played an important role in helping to foster these partnerships. One element of this support has been providing the partnering team with detailed assessments of likely partnering activities within an organization. For example, if a meeting is planned with another government agency, the MATCH team can quickly mine the EGT data set to extract a list of technologies being developed by that agency which are closely tied with NASA’s exploration needs. Each of the technologies identified has detailed budget, programmatic, and contact information as well as summaries of the technology, which put critical information in the decision maker’s hand. B. White Papers MATCH is also leveraged to develop detailed technology white papers, which help to articulate promising technologies for potential partnerships with NASA. White papers are developed based on NASA’s exploration need priorities, as identified through studies, or directly from the DIO. White paper topics covered in the past include: miniature medical sensors, air and water filtration systems, lunar dust-related external technologies, energy storage technologies, robotics technologies, and technologies that would support the Lunar Electric Rover. White papers profile NASA technology needs, and compare those needs with technologies and technology programs developing solutions with similar metrics, goals, or that offer an attractive alternative approach. White papers include contact details, and often a profile of the organizational structure, with recommendations on the best level and method of partnership. The team works directly with designated NASA representatives to determine analysis parameters and the final requirements and specifications for each white paper. C. Game-Changing Technology Study The team has also used MATCH as an important tool in developing a study of game-changing technologies for NASA. The study identifies emerging and external technologies that could have a game-changing effect on the lunar architecture. The focus is on technologies that could be infused into the NASA human lunar architecture, and the study hopes to help NASA to: • Plan flexibility into the architecture to accommodate promising new technology areas
• Inform technology investment decisions, including decisions to monitor rather than invest • Identify areas for partnership ranging from memorandums of understanding (MOUs) to joint technology development • Give a timeline for potential technology infusion Potential game-changing technologies were identified from over 16 game-changing technology reports and from the EGT data set. The EGT data set was initially used to search for emerging technologies, which could be game changing. As the analysis progressed, the team also leveraged EGT to identify relevant example technologies for the areas selected as most game changing. For this report, MATCH provided a quick, reliable, and efficient tool for identifying emerging technologies relevant to NASA’s lunar architecture. D. Examples of Cross-Cutting Technologies Another output of MATCH is in the identification of crosscutting technologies. The technologies in the EGT data set combined with the indexing and search functionality in MATCH enables the easy identification of crosscutting technologies. These crosscutting technologies range from space-ready technologies to those beyond the obvious. For example, energy storage, materials, and information technologies are platform areas that will be important for nearly any space task, and have obvious crosscutting applications. Other, less obvious forms of synergy, may come from rugged robotics technologies, disruption tolerant networking, CO2 scrubbing, or radiation hardening. For example, robotics in deployed military locations must negotiate similar obstacles and terrain to those found on the lunar surface while being tele-operated; and technologies for closed-loop life support must eliminate CO2 similar to some diving equipment, submarines, and coal power plants. The EGT data set captures a wide range of technologies from nearly plug and play space technologies, to those that are applicable only insofar as they address a common problem in a new way. Example technologies from EGT that have crosscutting properties are detailed below: Examples of EGT technologies specifically developed for space activities include: • Satellite Components o Cryocoolers: Low and ultra-low temperature cryocoolers developed for cooling military optics o Digital Cesium Atomic Clock Atomic clock designed to fly on GPS block IIF spacecraft o Optical Intersatellite Links Air Force research on inter-satellite laser communications EGT also includes technologies that are crosscutting in that they address a common need across the government, although for use in different environments. Examples include: • Armor technologies o Liquid Armor Sheer thickening fluid-impregnated fibers that are flexible when worn, but turn hard when struck by a projectile o Optical Ceramic Armor, Optically Transparent Fiber Composites, S-2 Glass Armor Army and Air Force developed vehicle and optical armor made from composites, ceramics, or polymers, that may be used as windshields and windows, with applications in NASA MMOD protection • Radiation protection o Demron A DOE-tested polymer fabric with imbedded heavy metals for radiation shielding o Anti-Radiation Drugs A number of drugs developed and tested through the Armed Forces Radiobiological Institute that protect from radiation damage in the body • Health Technologies o Direct Contact Miniature Medical Sensors Army sponsored development of medical sensors that record transmit medical data for monitoring of deployed warfighters o Trauma Pod Automated treatment facilities for autonomous or telerobotic medical intervention, in development by DARPA Additionally, EGT profiles crosscutting technologies that suggest new approaches to common problems. EGT data set examples include:
Biological Inspired Sensors o Artificial Muscles Carbon nanotube enabled nanotube yarns that mimic the function of muscles, in hydraulic and piston-type applications o Biological Sensory Structure Emulation Air Force and DARPA research on temperature, pressure, and flow sensors leveraging biological sensing mechanisms for these functions • In-Situ Resource Technologies o Enzymatic Biofuel Cells, Microbial Fuel Cells Developed by DARPA, Air Force, and the Navy, these fuel cell for deployed operations that are able to use waste streams, or organic materials, as fuel cell fuel stocks o BioOil Convertible Plastic Packaging material that can be converted into liquid fuel, developed at DARPA • User Interface Technologies o Hand-Worn Computer Input Device A sensor-embedded glove developed at the Natick Soldier Center that interfaces with a soldiers’ portable electronics, using a series of gestures as signals o Eye-Gaze Following System An Army, hands free system that tracks eye movements as a basis for inputs o Noise Robust Voice Recognition System Army-developed automatic speech recognition software designed for complex phrase and voice recognition, and to screen out background noise E. Reports and Analysis Tools The MATCH team developed the MATCH to provide customized reports and complex analysis for the requirements, technology projects, and external government technology data sets. To meet the needs of MATCH users, the MATCH team developed two types of reporting from MATCH summary quad charts and sample analyses. Autonomously-generated, printable quad charts provide MATCH users with reliable summary information for each of the ETDP Projects and Capability Needs records. The quad charts integrate summary information on NASA technology projects and technology needs, and integrates it with relevant capability needs and architecture element mappings to show architecture applicability. The quad charts also show external government technologies that have been mapped to this area to provide possible technology leveraging opportunities. All reports are automatically updated with the latest data when generated. The reports help NASA quickly view critical information and are designed to be high quality, suitable for use in presentations to OMB, Congress, or other government agencies. The team also has developed tools within MATCH to demonstrate the ability to use it as a complex analysis tool. MATCH has an advanced search functionality, which allows users to search across four data sets on either related architecture element or technology function. Additionally, MATCH has several sample analyses designed to demonstrate the power of the integrated data sets, including a gap analysis and several sample portfolio analysis designed for decision makers. •
VI. Conclusion The MATCH database has proved itself a reliable asset for supporting NASA ESMD. The database has a unique capability to pull together information on NASA’s Human Lunar Exploration requirements and projects and comparing them against external government technologies. The MATCH team’s flexible approach to the data structure has allowed it to stay relevant to ESMD’s needs and to keep the data in MATCH up to date. The combined strength of the underlying data, functionality of the database, and strong working relationship between The Tauri Group and the TAIT team has resulted in a powerful tool for NASA and its mission for human space exploration. Because of the advanced state of MATCH today, the team has been able to leverage MATCH to support a range of ongoing efforts within NASA. The partnering and white paper support MATCH is able to provide is unparalleled with any other resource available to NASA. The tool has also proven itself uniquely qualified for providing insight into a range of crosscutting technologies that have relevance for NASA as well as the larger space community. The analysis and reporting functionality, which were developed as part of MATCH, have proven to be valuable tools to decision makers throughout NASA and are indeed regularly used. As MATCH continues to develop in the future, it will likely remain a powerful resource for NASA ESMD and beyond.
VII. Acknowledgments The Tauri Group would like to thank NASA’s Technology Assessment and Integration Team. Specifically we would like to thank Trina Chytka, Jennifer Keyes, Andrea Salas, and Julie Williams-Byrd for their support in writing this paper and contributions to the development of the MATCH database. The Tauri Group would also like to acknowledge ESMD’s Directorate Integration Office, and specifically Douglas Craig, for sponsoring and supporting the MATCH database.
