OPTOWARES INC — National Aeronautics and Space Administration SBIR Phase I: H3
OPTOWARES INC — SBIR Phase I award from National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Phase I SBIR feasibility signal
- Phase I awards fund proof-of-concept work. For capture teams, they mark early interest from National Aeronautics and Space Administration in a technical approach.
- Watch for Phase II follow-ons from the same firm/topic family — that conversion path is where budgets and transition pressure rise.
- Obligated amount $124,999. Cross-check similar awards in the same agency and technology tags for going-rate context.
- Topic code H3 links this award to a solicitation family — search the same topic stem for incumbents and recompete timing.
- Amount
- $124,999
- Agency
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Program / Phase
- SBIR · Phase I
- Topic
- H3
- Solicitation
- SBIR_20_P1
- NAICS
- —
- Place of performance
- MA
- Period
- 2020-08-30 → 2021-03-01
Description
Extended space missions require that potable water be stored or recycled over periods of time that leave the water supply vulnerable to microbial contamination. Microbial colonies form as difficult-to-eradicate biofilms, contaminating the bulk water at unpredictable rates, and are impossible to quantify using standard grab sampling techniques. The proposed technology leverages microbial propensities for biofilm formation to concentrate the microbes on a stationary optical element. Optowares will utilize a proven combination of molecular fingerprinting with machine learning, with which they have previously demonstrated microbial speciation and an LOD of le;100 CFU/mL for water contaminating species such as P. Aeruginosa. The system will be multiplexable, self-cleaning, automated, can run continuously without user input, and results may be accessed remotely.