Description: In the Phase I, The Longbow Group, LLC (LONGBOW), with Daniel H. Wagner Associates, Inc. (DHWA) as a subcontractor, demonstrated the feasibility of developing key components of a future In-Time Aviation Safety Management System (IASMS) and commercializing those components as IASMS Services, Functions, and Capabilities (SFCs) within one or more Supplemental Data Service Providers (SDSPs) supporting Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM). Phase I laid the groundwork for Phase II prototype development of a Multi-Objective Risk Prediction and Hazard Evaluation/optimization for Urban air Services (MORPHEUS), which will support (1) pre-flight planning to assess and mitigate risk (e.g., to the populace, infrastructure, airframe/payload/mission); (2) in-flight monitoring and mitigation of risk; and (3) post-flight analysis of risk and model and database updates. MORPHEUS will leverage LONGBOW’s development of PEGASUS which will soon be used to demonstrate safe, effective, and efficient UAS operations in Hampton, VA, as well as NASA Langley Research Center’s (LaRC) Ground Risk Assessment Service Provider (GRASP), DHWA’s experience with AI and Machine Learning (ML) and commercialization of a NASA Langley Phase II SBIR for UAS route evaluation/optimization with respect to weather LONGBOW’s Space Act Umbrella Agreement SAA134272 for uncrewed systems collaborative testing with NASA LaRC at LONGBOW’s Unmanned Systems and Research and Technology Center (USRTC) at Fort Monroe, and Ph II NASA SBIRs to develop an Urban Weather Testbed (UWT) and Weather Sensor Data Monitoring System (WSDM) for UAS operations in Hampton Ph II prototype development will result in a functional MORPHEUS system as a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) ready for transition to PEGASUS and other UTM systems. Benefits to NASA and the UAS commercial enterprise will include safer and more efficient flights in the NAS.

Benefits: MORPHEUS will directly support NASA programs/projects related to UAS/eVTOL safety and risk mitigation such as the High Density Vertiplex (HDV) program, which used GRASP data in a recent FAA COA Safety Case application for BVLOS operations at NASA LaRC, and particularly the AOSP System Wide Safety (SWS) initiative. MORPHEUS would also benefit programs involved in human-autonomy teaming (e.g., the HAT Lab), providing multi-objective optimization for humans to review and understand, accept/reject, and/or modify.

With FAA recognition as a Risk Assessment and Mitigation tool for UAS/eVTOL operations over populated areas, the market opportunity for a fully developed MORPHEUS, as a stand-alone SDSP or as part of a scalable, expandable end-to-end PEGASUS Urban Air Services platform, are excellent and valuable for air cargo logistics and air taxi companies to gain regulatory approval inside urban environments