NASA, currently, has over 1000 technological inventions under its name, with potential uses in a wide array of commercial applications. They are looking to continue innovating to add an average of 200 more inventions every year. These inventions will represent commercial technology breakthroughs that can be developed into a whole host of potentially disruptive products.
Development that can be done - and has been done - by academia, industry and public-private partnerships to deliver new products to market in a broad range of commercial applications. With applications ranging from aeronautics to health-medicine-biotech, commercial space, environmental, information technology, manufacturing, energy, robotics, and more, these technology advancements are novel and unique within commercial areas, and thus, all are patented or patent-pending. That means NASA can grant exclusive rights to commercialize its patented technologies giving that one of the strongest competitive positions in the marketplace (royalties and fees associated with exclusive rights are negotiable).
NASA is required by law to make its patented inventions available to the U.S. public through NASA's Technology Transfer Program. Why? To aid the U.S. in its effort to technologically innovate, disrupt markets, gain competitive advantage and create business revenue. Many companies, entrepreneurs, and university faculty/students have already done so. Hundreds of new products and services created from NASA patented inventions have been developed and launched in the global marketplace since NASA was founded. NASA refers to these as NASA Spinoffs and they have collectively generated billions in revenue for U.S. companies and entrepreneurs over the last decade. Click here to learn more about the Spinoffs already created by the U.S. public. To know more about the patented inventions available now and their commercial uses, click here.
NASA innovations are developed for its mission to explore space. Inventions that have commercial advancements typically require further development and testing for those applications. Thus, many universities obtain rights (typically with no cost) to develop these breakthroughs for industry or public sector partners, or to validate the technologies for industry investment in commercialization.
To discuss more about how NASA’s Patented Inventions function, G. Michael Lester from NASA will be giving a plenary talk on this subject on 22 January 2019 at the 2019 Radio Wireless Week, event to be held in Orlando FL from 20-23 Jaunuary, 2019.
Click here to learn more about the upcoming Radio Wireless Week.
