Contract · Federal

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OPPORTUNITY: Capacitive Impedance Water Ice Sensor (CIWIS) (LEW-TOPS-183)

Agency: NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION / NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
Location: HUNTSVILLE, AL
Amount: Amount not listed
Posted: Aug 10, 2026
Set-aside: None (open competition)
NAICS code: 927110 look up NAICS codes
PSC code: 9999

Timeline

Posted

Aug 10, 2026
Status

Open now

What contracts like this typically pay

No award history yet for this category (NAICS 927110).

What this contract is for

Agency: NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION / NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
Location: HUNTSVILLE, AL
NAICS: 927110
Scope: Federal

NASA’s Technology Transfer Program solicits inquiries from companies interested in obtaining license rights to commercialize, manufacture and market the following technology.

License rights may be issued on an exclusive or nonexclusive basis and may include specific fields of use.

NASA provides no funding in conjunction with these potential licenses.

THE TECHNOLOGY: Ice accumulation on an aircraft’s surface poses a serious safety risk, causing stalls and crashes due to the distortion of the smooth flow of air necessary to maintain lift.

There are a variety of sensors commonly used to identify materials collecting on the surface of an aircraft, however, they all have operational limitations.

Vibrating sensors are not able to detect small amounts of accumulation, optical sensors can be blocked by dirt or debris, and magnetostrictive sensors require precise calibration and have limited range.

Engineers at NASA’s Glenn Research Center have developed a novel method for detecting ice or other material accumulation on the surface of aircraft.

The Capacitive Impedance Water Ice Sensor (CIWIS).

CIWIS works by measuring the impedance of accumulation using the phase of a smart capacitive sensor.

This allows users to accurately determine when ice, water, or other materials are on the surface of an aircraft.

The CIWIS is configured to detect ice, water, and other material accretion on an aircraft's surface using a capacitive sensor comprised of metal traces on a printed circuit board (PCB) with a dielectric surface covering.?

While NASA originally developed the CIWIS to detect ice on aircraft, it may also be useful to sense the presence of water and other contaminants in pharmaceutical production; condensation in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems; and ice accumulation o...

Official solicitation and documents

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