The Reuse of Technology as an Aid to Problem Solving in the Automotive Industry

A system has existed since the early 1960's to provide U.S. industry access to NASA's reservoir of technology. This paper describes the process used by the NASA sponsored Aerospace Research Applications Center (ARAC) to implement technology transfer. Five years worth of surveys conducted for clients from the automotive industry are reviewed. Both ARAC and client assessments are analyzed to determine the effectiveness of the process. Client surveys are divided into nine categories, the most frequent being technology assessment. Utilization of NASA's (1) RECON database, (2) technology and (3) counselors is identified. The highest client-rated projects are reviewed. Specific cases are discussed; they illustrate that technology transfer goes beyond simple literature searches.