Convergent Aeronautics	Solutions	(CAS) Project

Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program

NASA	Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate

Fostering Innovation	- Pushing	Boundaries & Overcoming	Barriers

NASA	wants to change the way airplanes fly and the aviation industry along with it. The	

CAS Project invests	in seemingly improbable ideas that might lead to solutions to the

problems that	plague	aviation with	respect	to	safety,	environmental and community

impact,	and	the global	growth	in	air	traffic.

The goal of CAS is to rapidly assess the feasibility of novel concepts to determine whether

additional investment is warranted. Those that prove feasible are expected to	transition	

into more focused technology development projects to mature the technologies.

CAS concepts must demonstrate five key attributes:

• Convergent – exploit the benefits of combining multiple disciplines and multiple

partners (both	within	and	external to NASA)

• Transformative – exhibit the potential for substantially greater impact than current

approaches

• Targeted – address challenges and opportunities relevant to NASA’s strategic

objectives and outcomes reflected in the ARMD Strategic Investment Plan

• Feasibility	Focused – determine whether and the degree to which the concept is

feasible using existing technologies or requiring minimal development

• Rapidly	Executed – complete feasibility assessments in less than 2.5 years

Project investment decisions are made using a Venture Capital-inspired	approach	including	

an	annual	“shark-tank” competition called CASTInG (CAS Teams Investment Gateway) that

is	used	to	select	the	next	round	of	feasibility	studies.	

Prior to CASTInG NASA	researchers have access to a variety of services to help them	

“incubate” and accelerate formulation of their concepts to more effectively address the CAS

attributes.	

Concepts that are selected at CASTInG are given management support under an agile “light	

management” approach that minimizes administrative burden on the innovators and

emphasizes outcomes over excessive tracking activity and reporting.
	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	

	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	

	 	

Figure 1	- CAS Project Phases

CAS holds an annual Showcase at one of the NASA	research centers to	share	the	status	of	

the feasibility studies with the NASA	community to broaden awareness, increase the

potential	to	transition	concepts	that	prove	feasible,	and	inspire	new	ideas and	concepts.

The CAS portfolio consists of a collection of activities that strive to span all of the six ARMD

Strategic	Thrusts.	The	activities	are	phased	to	support	the	sustainable	transition	of	

ideas/concepts	into	and	out	of	the	Project.	Below	are	the	description	of	the	feasibility	

assessments conducted since CAS inception per	fiscal year.

Round 1 – FY16-FY17

Aeronautics Autonomy Testbed Capability (AATC) – Investigates

new approaches for developing a UAS testbed capability that can

address a variety of autonomy research questions.

X-Plane – Develops	a cost-effective approach to accomplishing

flight research	with	large-scale experimental airplanes to test

solutions	to	technical challenges	associated	with	ultra-efficient,	

future	aircraft designs.

Scalable	Convergent	Electric	Propulsion	Technology	Operations	

Research	(SCEPTOR) – Evaluates the impacts of using distributed

electric	propulsion	through	a	rapid	concept-to-flight

demonstration to enhance safety while	also	reducing	costs,	noise,	

and emissions.
	 	 	 	

	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	

	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	

	 	 	 	

	 	

	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	

	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

Round 1 – FY16-18

Autonomy	Operating System for	Unmanned	Aerial Vehicles (AOS4UAVs)

– Developing	an	autonomous	pilot that can	fly in the National Air Space

and in	UAS	air	space, using	an	open	flight software framework

that	expands	capabilities	through apps from multiple parties.

Design Environment for Novel Vertical Lift Vehicles (DELIVER) –

Demonstrates whether it’s possible to apply current conceptual

design tools to small and novel vertical lift vehicle designs, and to

improve these tools with new technologies	for	usability,	

operability, and community acceptance.

Mission Adaptive Digital Composite Aerostructure Technologies

(MADCAT) – Exploring the	idea	of	using	emerging	digital	composite

manufacturing methods to build an ultra-lightweight,	adaptable	wing.

High	Voltage	Hybrid	Electric	Propulsion (HVHEP) – Studies	

whether lightweight, efficient power distribution systems could

replace	petroleum	fueled aircraft propulsion systems.

Multifunctional	Structures	for	High	Energy	Lightweight	LoadBearing	Storage	(M-SHELLS) – Evaluates whether it’s	possible	to	

use	nanotechnology	to	create	aircraft	structures	that	can	also	

store	electrical power.

Digital Twin – Explores developing a computer model that can

more accurately predict how a future aircraft will perform	over

time and accelerate certification while still assuring safety and

reliability.

Learn to	Fly	(L2F) – Explores whether aerodynamics modeling,

adaptive controls, computers and sensors can shave years and

dollars	off	designing,	building,	testing	and	certifying	new aircraft.
	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	

	 	

	 	

	 	 	 	

	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	

	 	

	 	 	 	

	 	

	 	

	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	

	 	

	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	

	 	

	 	 	 	 	

	 	 		

	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	

Round 2 – FY17-19

g Compact Additively Manufactured	Innovative Electric Motor (CAMIEM)

– Developing new innovative	electric	motor	topologies	enabled	by	

additive manufacturing	that significantly	increase the state-of-the-art in	

electric	motor	power	densities.

Conformal Lightweight Antenna Structures for Aeronautical

Communication Technologies (CLAS-ACT) – Developing a	conformal

microwave antenna based on an ultralight and thin aerogel that can

conform to the	aircraft’s	contours—avoiding	interference, reducing	

drag, fuel burn	and	emissions.

Fostering Ultra-Efficient, Low-Emitting Aviation	Power	(FUELEAP) –

Leveraging technology	convergence in	high-efficiency	Solid	Oxide	Fuel

Cells (SOFC), high-yield	fuel reformers, and	hybrid-electric	aircraft

architectures	to develop	tightly	integrated power	system producing	

electricity	from hydrocarbon	fuels	at twice	the	combustion	efficiencies.

Lithium Oxygen	Batteries	for	NASA	Electric Aircraft (LION) –

Investigating feasibility of	designing	ultra-stable	electrolytes	that are	

resistant to	decomposition	so	that batteries	last longer, allowing	

electric-powered	aircraft to	fly	farther.

Spanwise	Adaptive	Wing	(SAW) – Increasing aircraft efficiency	by	

articulating	outboard	portions	of the	wing using shape	memory	

actuators	to allow the size of	the rudder	to be reduced while

maintaining stability.

Round 3 – FY18-20

Autonomy	Teaming & TRAnsparency	for	Complex Trusted	Operational

Reliability	(ATTRACTOR) – Building	a	basis	for	certification	of	

trustworthy	multi-agent autonomous	systems	based on	explainable AI

(XAI), persistent modeling, and simulation, and mission	planning	and

execution	with	analyzable	trajectories.

Fit to	Fly	(F2F) – How will operators of commercial drone	fleets	

know, for	sure,	that	their	vehicles	are	Fit2Fly?	Automated	inspection	and

live	digital	airworthiness	certificates	are	parts	of	the	answer. Using a

combination	of	automated monitoring, inspection, and testing	to create	

an	auditable system to	determine	whether	aircraft have	sufficient

airworthiness	to perform their	intended missions.

Toward	a Safe	and	Secure	Future	of Aviation through	Quantum

Communication and	Computation (QTech) – Harnessing the power of

quantum computing	for	optimization and key distribution to assure

reliability	of communications	needed	for	traffic	management of

autonomous	aircraft networks.
Round 4 – FY19-20

AdhEsive	fRee	BONDing of Complex Composite Structures (AERoBOND)

- Seeking to	increase	manufacturing	rate	of	composite	airframes	using a

joining	method	with	reduced	dependence	on	redundant	mechanical	

fasteners and improved reliability and manufacturability over	currently	

available methods.

Aqueous, QUick-charging	battery	Integration	For	Electric	flight Research

(AQUIFER) - Exploring	a	novel integration	concept using	nanoelectrofuel (NEF) aqueous	batteries	and	rim-driven	motors	(RDM) to	

retire	fire	and	explosion	hazards, decouple	power	and	energy, and	

reduce	EMI and	noise	for	multiple	electrified	aircraft configurations.

	 	 	 	

	 	 	

	 	

	 	 	

	 	

	 	

	 	

	 	

	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	

	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	

	 	

 

High-Efficiency	Electrified	Aircraft Thermal Research	(HEATheR) -

Exploring the	feasibility	of	managing	the	waste	heat	on a	megawatt-level	

electric	aircraft propulsion	system while	achieving	performance	and	

operational cost benefits.

Round 5 – FY20-21

Solid-state	Additively-manufactured Batteries for enhanced Energy,

Recharging, and	Safety (SABERS) – Exploring	how	to enable	

energy intensive Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and all electric

aerovehicle designs	through	new battery	technology	that

intrinsically meets rigorous aerospace safety and performance

criteria

Sensor-based Prognostics	to Avoid Runaway	Reactions	&

Catastrophic	Ignition	(SPARRCI) – Eploring	how	catastrophic	

battery	failures can	be	avoided to	enable	safe	next-generation	

ultra-high	energy	batteries	for	propulsive	aircraft	power

Scalable	Traffic	Management for	Emergency	Response	Operations	

(STEReO) – Exploring to what extent can a UTM ecosystem reduce 

response times, scale aircraft operations, and provide operational 

resiliency to dynamic changes during a disaster event 
	 	 	 	

	 	

	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	

Incubation	Activities (sample) – FY18-19

TAiloRing Materials and	Manufacturing AutomatiCally (TARMMAC) -

Exploring	the	use	of clear	box data	science	and	high-performance	

computing	to streamline	the	development of	additively	manufactured

aeronautics	structures.

Prognostics	as	a Service	(PaaS) – Exploring the	idea	of	leveraging	cloud

resources	to	provide	wide	access	to	precise	and	timely	system failure	

prediction	(prognostics)	information	to	improve	decision-making

capabilities.

MAchine learning ESTimations for uRban Operations (MAESTRO) -

Enhancing	the	safety	and	efficiency	of urban	UAS	operations	by	

providing	onboard	estimation of urban	winds	through	machine	learning

and commodity	airborne sensors	without requiring	GPS.