Insights/News
Cignus awarded Phase II Digital Twin Contract
August 28, 2025
Cignus has been awarded a NASA SBIR Phase II contract to develop a commercial airport safety digital twin platform — a follow-on to Phase I research and a major step toward an AI-driven safety analytics product for airports nationwide.
Cignus Consulting has been awarded a NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II contract to continue development of its Airport Safety Digital Twin platform. The Phase II award follows a successful Phase I research effort and represents a significant acceleration toward bringing real-time, AI-driven safety intelligence to airports across the United States.
The Phase II program builds on the foundational architecture established during Phase I, expanding the prototype into a fully operational platform capable of commercial deployment. Developed on Cignus's proprietary Helios AWS cloud infrastructure, the Airport Safety Digital Twin integrates live ATC surveillance feeds, surface movement data, weather, and NOTAM information to provide airport operators and safety managers with continuous, quantitative risk monitoring and predictive alerting around the clock across multiple airports simultaneously.
The core of the Phase II effort is the transition from research prototype to commercial-grade product. The Cignus team will expand its AI and machine learning capabilities for safety risk prediction, deepen integration with FAA SWIM data feeds, refine the Cesium-based 3D visualization interface, and develop the subscription-based service architecture that will underpin commercial deployments. The platform is designed to serve airport authorities, air navigation service providers, and aviation safety regulators seeking data-driven, always-on safety management at scale.
"Receiving this Phase II award is a proud moment for the entire Cignus team," said Dr. Florian Hafner, Executive VP and CTO. "This contract validates the technical foundation we built in Phase I and gives us the runway to turn that research into a real commercial product. More broadly, it marks an important turning point for Cignus — this is how we become a solutions-driven, AI-first organization. The Airport Safety Digital Twin is not just a platform; it is a blueprint for how we intend to deliver value to our clients going forward."
The Phase II program is expected to span 24 months and will produce a commercially licensable airport safety monitoring platform, with targeted deployments planned in coordination with NASA and FAA aviation safety program stakeholders.