Our partners at Mosaic ATM recently received NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding to develop a NextGen Incident Response Communication System (NIRCS). Together, we have developed an innovative system that has proven to improve coordination in emergency response operations by utilizing ATSC 3.0 broadcasting technology.
NIRCS is designed as a mobile, rapidly deployable broadcast communications system that functions as an "ATSC 3.0 broadcast station on the go," capable of being quickly positioned to support emergency operations. The system leverages the latest digital terrestrial broadcast technology built on internet protocol (IP) to enable one-way datacasting of various data types, including ultra-high-definition video, high-fidelity audio, and critical aircraft position information.
The Phase I research project, which concluded in early February 2025, directly addresses a critical technological need identified by NASA's Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) project: the requirement for reliable, resilient, and secure data communication systems that can support effective decision-making during emergencies.
Fred Engel, Device Solutions' Director of ATSC3.0 technologies, recently had the chance to present the details of this project alongside Mosaic ATM's Timothy Bagnall at the 2025 NAB Conference, highlighting the benefits of a specific use case: wildland firefighting.
"Currently, uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) must maintain significant separation from the central firefighting area because crewed aircraft pilots lack real-time knowledge of UAS positions. This uncertainty creates an unacceptable collision risk, limiting the effectiveness of drones in firefighting operations."
In this particular use case, the NIRCS solution would be collocated with UAS operations and broadcast their real-time positions to crewed aircraft, allowing for safer and more efficient integration of drones in operational airspace. The system would also broadcast UAS operational volumes and surveillance video collected by the drones.
The team hopes to continue development with a Phase II project beginning in Summer 2025, which would produce a prototype NIRCS system and demonstrate the technology in formal flight tests.
Interested in learning more about these efforts? Request a copy of our paper using the form below.