ViGYAN, Inc. of Hampton, Virginia announced today that it has been selected to receive the 2003 R&D 100 award from R&D Magazine for its Pilot Weather Advisor^TM system, now being sold by WSI Corporation as WSI InFlight^TM. The award recognized the system as "one of the 100 most technologically significant products introduced into the marketplace over the past year." Co-recipients of the award include WSI Corporation of Billerica, Massachusetts, the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, and the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The award will be presented on October 16 at an awards ceremony in Chicago.

The WSI InFlight^TM system provides a continuous satellite-based broadcast of weather information to aircraft cockpits. Both radar and airport condition data is graphically displayed on portable and panel mounted displays. The product concept was developed by Norman Crabill in the NASA Storm Hazards program in the 1980s. The prototype hardware and software was developed by ViGYAN as the Pilot Weather Advisor^TM (PWA) with Crabill as a consultant. Initial development under the NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program was partially funded by the NASA Langley Research Center. Final funding to produce a production prototype was provided by the NASA Glenn Research Center, ViGYAN internal funds, and private investor funds.

PWA^TM was sold to WSI Corporation in April 2002. WSI has developed and is selling the production commercial product as WSI InFlight^TM. The system recently received its FAA certification and is delivering both portable and panel-mounted versions to customers.

Sudhir C. Mehrotra, President of ViGYAN, stated that the award is "a dream come true for a small R&D company. Selection of WSI InFlight^TM system for the award is the result of blood, sweat and tears of many individuals who worked on the project for over a decade."

"This is the ultimate realization of the NASA SBIR program -- a technology the Agency invested in is being turned into a commercial product that will potentially benefit everyone who flies," said Robert Yang, NASA Langley SBIR Program Manager. "Beyond the air traveler, products based on this concept will potentially benefit those who travel using marine and ground transportation." The benefits of the SBIR program were reiterated by Walter Kim, NASA Glenn SBIR Program manager who stated "the SBIR program is a win-win situation for all, truly reflecting NASA's motto of 'For Benefit of All.'"

Keith Hoffler, Director of Business Development for Aviation at WSI and formerly Vice President of the ViGYAN Pilot Weather Advisor Division, said, "The WSI InFlight^TM system is a dream come true for pilots. Now flights can be made with excellent weather awareness, making general aviation aircraft more useful and all aircraft operations safer. It is amazing how much the use of WSI InFlight^TM changes the cockpit environment when the weather is marginal or changing rapidly. Stress levels are reduced and informed decisions are being made. The positive feedback we are receiving from our users confirms R&D Magazine's selection and lets us know the product is truly appreciated."