CANEUS 2004 Conference on Micro-Nano-Technologies for Aerospace Applications

From Concepts to Systems
Hyatt Regency Monterey, Monterey, California, USA
November 1 - 5, 2004

CANEUS Pilot Project Concept Papers

The Pilot Project Concept Paper is essentially a proto business plan or technology development blueprint aimed at developing system-level prototypes for aerospace applications. The purpose of the concept paper is to characterize a potential area of mutual interest from the selected concept topics. It will be used to guide discussions at the CANEUS 2004 workshops.

The Concept Papers will make the case for development of the MNT concepts by addressing:

• Key technology elements that need to be developed,
• Organizations that can provide the necessary expertise and infrastructural support
• Potential sources of funding from governmental, industrial, and institutional sources
• Challenges related to intellectual property management across different organizations
• Relevant governmental policies.
  

SCOPE:

At a minimum the Concept Paper will contain the following:

Background Information:
Description of the current status of technologies and applications

• Benefits of the MNT approach over the current state-of-the-art
• Comparison of leading technologies and organizations on significant technical and commercial parameters including infrastructure, accomplishments,strengths, weaknesses and financial information where available
• Key applications and market segments for the Proposed MNT system including market size if available
• List of leading organizations involved and their relative positioning in the industry (i.e. their key applications and customers)
• Description of major trends and consequent scenarios impacting the industry

Recommendations and Implications to CANEUS:

• Justification for a pilot project aimed at developing MNT-based aerospace systems
• Step-by-step approach to advancing the maturity of the promising MNT avionics concepts
• Proposed teaming arrangements and description of complementary expertise and infrastructure
  
• Proposed implementation of the pilot project and metrics for evaluating progress
  
• Intergovernmental agreements that could impact the proposed development
  
• Potential sources of seed funding from governmental and venture capital sources
  
• Strategy for intellectual property management
  
• Plan for expansion of the proposed pilot project into full-scale manufacturing
  

 

SUBSEQUENT STEPS:

From mid summer to November 2004, the CANEUS Core committee members will be able to assess the concept paper results and evaluate the best alternatives for proceeding with subsequent steps and official presentations at the CANEUS 2004 workshop discussions. Actions may include:

1. Presenting the findings "as is" at the CANEUS 2004 Conference.
2. A "No Go" decision to stop all work on a particular concept. In this case the concept will be dropped from the CANEUS 2004 Conference agenda
3. A decision for further analysis of a concept paper prior to the CANEUS 2004 Conference. This could include the further elaboration of one or more alternatives, creation of a business plan, cost estimation for prototype development and initial business development discussions with potential industrial partners and academia, etc. The results of the additional analysis will be presented at the CANEUS 2004 Conference.
   

PAPER DEVELOPMENT:

1.  
   1. World experts chosen from the teams responding to the RFPs will research the pilot project concept papers.
   2. The Coordinator and the Technical / Advisory Committee Members for each concept topic, listed in Appendix I, will review and validate the research results presented by the expert/consultant for accuracy and objectivity. The Committee will work in an interactive manner with the selected team during the preparation of the concept paper.
   3. The sponsor for each concept paper will participate in the CANEUS committee decision making process.
      

PILOT PROJECT CONCEPT TOPICS: