NASA has selected 10 companies to participate as finalists in the 2020 NASA iTech Cycle II forum. The forum, which will be held virtually Oct. 15-16, is the culmination of NASA iTech’s search for dual-use technologies from entrepreneurs in 2020.

The NASA iTech initiative seeks trailblazing technologies that could enhance NASA’s missions while also improving life on Earth. This current cycle specifically called for innovative technologies in the areas of power generation and energy, integrated photonics, advanced engineered materials, and miniaturized systems. NASA also left open a category for “X-factor innovations,” technologies and concepts that may not fit the other prescribed categories but still sparked the agency's curiosity.

Applications for this NASA iTech cycle came from around the globe. Through a competitive process, NASA chief technologists narrowed those entries to the top 10 that demonstrate the most potential to solve problems – in space and on Earth.

The top 10 finalists invited to present at the 2020 NASA iTech Cycle II forum are (in alphabetical order):

AI Technologies & Systems – Milpitas, California

Software that brings artificial intelligence models to micro-controllers to boost the intelligence of billions of devices such as smart appliances

AutonomIQ – San Jose, California

A computer coding solution that leverages modern technologies to generate automation code without human intervention

HyPoint Inc. – Menlo Park, California

A next-generation hydrogen fuel cell system featuring zero carbon dioxide emissions and improved energy performance for the aerospace industry

LVX System – Cape Canaveral, Florida (Winner of a NASA iTech Ignite the Night)

Visible light communications, also known as Li-Fi, that enables devices to send and receive data by modulating light

Nanoprecise Sci Corporation – Edmonton, Canada

A next-generation maintenance solution to diagnose issues with rotating machinery and predict the remaining time to failure

Ommo Technologies Inc. – Dallas

A permanent magnet-based six-degree-of-freedom motion tracking system that tracks user’s movements with submillimeter precision

OrbitsEdge – Titusville, Florida

An in-orbit virtualized data infrastructure designed to handle space-born internet of things data and new applications

organicNANO – Monroe, Louisiana (Winner of a NASA iTech Ignite the Night)

Bioactive therapeutics that use biocompatible and green biomaterials to prevent infection and advance tissue repair and regeneration at the nanoscale

Rapair Medical Devices – Bagotville, Australia (Winner of a NASA iTech Ignite the Night)

A wound dressing that aims to nano-engineer molecules in damaged skin to rapidly repair cuts and lacerations

Stofiel Aerospace – St. Louis

A technology that uses biologically renewable resources with additive manufacturing processes to speed the construction of complex ceramics

At the two-day forum, these finalists will present their solutions as they participate alongside NASA, innovators, investors, and industry leaders in a series of in-depth discussions focused on both technical and commercial potential. Video of the finalists’ presentations will be streamed online starting at 10:30 a.m. EDT, Thursday, Oct. 15. NASA officials will name the top three winners of the 2020 NASA iTech Cycle II after a keynote address which will close out the virtual forum Friday, Oct. 16, at 4 p.m.

View the detailed schedule and watch it live at https://livestream.com/nasaitech.