The South Dakota State University team secured first place at NASA’s fifth annual Gateways to Blue Skies Competition, which focused on innovations to advance commercial aircraft maintenance by 2035. Their winning entry, WINGMAN, is a system of augmented reality safety glasses designed to assist mechanics during routine servicing and minor repairs.
The competition, organized by NASA’s University Innovation project within the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, invited postsecondary teams to propose new technologies and practices addressing challenges in the aviation maintenance workforce. WINGMAN features voice-controlled manuals, automatic documentation, and photo recognition functionality, enabling hands-free access to critical information and reporting tools for mechanics performing line inspections.
The eight finalist teams presented their concepts at the 2026 Gateways to Blue Skies Forum, held on May 18 and 19 at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. A judging panel comprised experts from NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration, and major airlines including Southwest and American Airlines evaluated the projects. Besides pitching their innovations, student participants had opportunities to network with industry professionals, tour NASA facilities, and explore career pathways.
The WINGMAN team members will be offered internships at one of NASA’s four aeronautics research centers during the 2026–27 academic year, including Langley, Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ames Research Center in California, and Armstrong Flight Research Center in California.
Other awards at the event included University of California, Irvine’s Aishield for Best Infographic; University of Georgia’s Quasar recognized as a Future Game-Changer; and South Dakota State University’s SPIDER system honored with the Safety Spotlight.
Why it matters
With the commercial aviation sector facing workforce shortages and increasing demands to extend aircraft operational lifespans, innovations like WINGMAN are crucial for improving maintenance efficiency and safety. NASA’s program aims to foster technologies that can directly enhance airline maintenance practices and support the future aviation workforce.
Background
The Gateways to Blue Skies Challenge is part of NASA’s Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program, overseen by the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. The NASA Tournament Lab manages the competition through the National Institute of Aerospace, encouraging collaborative innovations from academia to address aviation challenges.
Sources
This article is based on reporting and publicly available information from the following source:
Read more Space & NASA stories on Goka World News.