# Worldsphere SBIR Opportunity Pitches

**Prepared by:** Weatherflow Team  
**Date:** 2025-11-05

## Overview

This document compiles the top five Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) opportunities that align with Worldsphere's strengths in global-scale weather intelligence, probabilistic forecasting, and climate resilience analytics. Each pitch package below is structured to be ready for upload into agency portals, summarizing the opportunity fit, proposed innovation, technical objectives, work plan, commercialization path, and key compliance considerations.

## Opportunity Summary Table

| Priority | Agency & Topic | Proposal Title | Worldsphere Value Proposition |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | NASA SBIR FY2024/25 Phase I – Focus Area: Earth Science Data Analytics | "Adaptive Multi-Modal Earth Observation Fusion for Climate Resilience" | Extends Worldsphere's physics-guided flow models to fuse satellite, airborne, and surface data for rapid climate risk detection. |
| 2 | NOAA SBIR FY2024 Phase I – Topic 9: Improved Weather, Water & Climate Services | "Hyperlocal Marine and Coastal Hazard Intelligence Platform" | Deploys fine-grained probabilistic forecasts for maritime and coastal stakeholders with explainable risk scores. |
| 3 | U.S. Air Force AFWERX SBIR Open Topic (Focus Area: Installation Resilience) | "Operational Weather Twin for Mission Planning" | Provides real-time, base-specific weather digital twins that couple logistics constraints with advanced atmospheric predictions. |
| 4 | NSF SBIR Phase I – Technology Topic: Climate & Sustainability | "Trustworthy Climate Analytics Engine for Critical Infrastructure" | Packages Worldsphere's flow-matching models into a SaaS platform with auditable decision layers for utilities. |
| 5 | U.S. Department of Energy SBIR Phase I – Topic 7: Grid Resilience Technologies | "Weather-Informed Grid Stability Orchestrator" | Integrates predictive weather intelligence with grid operations to prevent weather-driven outages. |

---

## 1. NASA SBIR FY2024/25 Phase I – Earth Science Data Analytics

**Proposed Title:** Adaptive Multi-Modal Earth Observation Fusion for Climate Resilience  
**Agency Portal Sections:** Executive Summary, Technical Objectives, Work Plan, Commercialization, Risk Mitigation

### Opportunity Fit
- Focus area seeks high-impact applications of Earth observation data for climate resilience and hazard mitigation.
- Worldsphere's differentiator is the fusion of physics-guided flow models with flow-matching diffusion techniques for probabilistic forecasting.

### Problem & Innovation
- Climate disasters are increasing faster than municipalities can analyze evolving satellite observations.
- We propose an adaptive fusion pipeline that ingests multi-sensor satellite (Sentinel, Landsat), UAV, and ground observations into Worldsphere's generative weather flow models.
- Innovation lies in on-demand uncertainty quantification and explainable hazard maps via attention-based attribution layers.

### Technical Objectives
1. Build cloud-native data assimilation connectors for Earth observation streams with latency <2 hours.
2. Extend Weatherflow's flow-matching core to support multi-modal embeddings and run ensemble forecasts at 2 km resolution.
3. Deliver explainable resilience analytics dashboards featuring hazard heatmaps and decision support narratives for emergency managers.

### Work Plan & Deliverables
- **Phase I (6 months):**
  - Milestone 1: Data pipeline prototypes with latency benchmarking.
  - Milestone 2: Extended model trained on historical flood and wildfire events.
  - Milestone 3: Pilot dashboard delivered to two municipal partners with user feedback summaries.
- **Key Deliverables:** Technical report, prototype dashboard, validation dataset, commercialization roadmap.

### Commercialization & Impact
- Phase II will transition to a subscription climate resilience service for state and local governments.
- Partnerships: NASA DEVELOP, municipal emergency agencies, insurers.
- Market: $2.2B climate adaptation analytics (projected CAGR 18%).

### Compliance & Submission Notes
- Max budget: $150k Phase I.
- Requires registration in NSPIRES and SAM; Letters of support recommended.

---

## 2. NOAA SBIR FY2024 Phase I – Topic 9: Improved Weather, Water & Climate Services

**Proposed Title:** Hyperlocal Marine and Coastal Hazard Intelligence Platform  
**Agency Portal Sections:** Innovation, Technical Objectives, Commercial Potential, Key Personnel

### Opportunity Fit
- NOAA seeks solutions improving maritime and coastal forecasting accuracy.
- Worldsphere already supports coastal sensor ingestion and probabilistic nowcasting.

### Problem & Innovation
- Harbor operators and offshore energy platforms lack unified views of rapidly changing coastal weather hazards.
- Innovation: Deploy a hyperlocal forecast engine leveraging Worldsphere's flow models fine-tuned on HF radar, buoy, and LiDAR feeds, with risk scoring for surge, wave, and wind events.

### Technical Objectives
1. Develop data ingestion connectors for NOAA Tides & Currents, HF radar, and private buoy networks.
2. Retrain flow-matching models for 500 m coastal grids, integrating wave-ice coupling physics.
3. Deliver an interactive dashboard with event-driven alerts and API endpoints for maritime logistics systems.

### Work Plan & Deliverables
- **Phase I (6 months):**
  - Milestone 1: Data integration completed with automated QA/QC.
  - Milestone 2: Model validation achieving >15% improvement in Brier score over NOAA baseline at 0-12 hour horizons.
  - Milestone 3: Pilot deployment with two port authority partners.
- **Key Deliverables:** Forecast API, dashboard beta, validation study, commercialization plan.

### Commercialization & Impact
- Monetization through tiered SaaS licenses for ports, offshore energy, shipping insurers.
- Strategic partners: Port authorities, NOAA Cooperative Institutes, maritime software vendors.

### Compliance & Submission Notes
- Budget: Up to $175k for Phase I.
- Requires eRA Commons registration and 15-page technical volume.

---

## 3. U.S. Air Force AFWERX SBIR Open Topic – Installation Resilience Focus

**Proposed Title:** Operational Weather Twin for Mission Planning  
**Agency Portal Sections:** Problem Statement, Solution, Technical Merit, Military Utility, Commercialization Strategy

### Opportunity Fit
- AFWERX Open Topic encourages dual-use technologies supporting mission resilience and installation operations.
- Worldsphere's ability to run site-specific, high-resolution weather twins supports runway, logistics, and energy planning.

### Problem & Innovation
- Air Force bases encounter weather-driven disruptions affecting flight operations and logistics; existing tools lack predictive logistics context.
- We propose a digital twin that fuses Worldsphere's forecasts with base asset data and mission schedules to identify weather risks 0-72 hours ahead.

### Technical Objectives
1. Integrate base-level meteorological sensors, satellite data, and maintenance logs into a secure data fabric.
2. Extend Weatherflow's models to produce asset-level risk indices (runway crosswinds, UAV operations, energy loads).
3. Develop mission-aware visualization layers with automated COA (course of action) recommendations.

### Work Plan & Deliverables
- **Phase I (3 months rapid prototyping):**
  - Milestone 1: Data ingestion & security accreditation plan.
  - Milestone 2: Prototype risk dashboard with two operational scenarios.
  - Milestone 3: Transition plan with sponsoring wing.
- **Key Deliverables:** Prototype, SBIR Pitch Deck (AF format), customer discovery interviews, Phase II commercialization strategy.

### Commercialization & Impact
- Path to Phase II/III with Air Force, expansion to Space Force, DoD logistics, and commercial airports.
- Dual-use market: airport operations, logistics hubs, critical infrastructure resilience.

### Compliance & Submission Notes
- Budget: Up to $75k Phase I; submission via DSIP with required 5-slide pitch deck and 15-page technical volume.

---

## 4. NSF SBIR Phase I – Climate & Sustainability Technologies

**Proposed Title:** Trustworthy Climate Analytics Engine for Critical Infrastructure  
**Agency Portal Sections:** Project Pitch (4Q), Technical Volume, Commercialization, Broader Impacts

### Opportunity Fit
- NSF supports high-risk, high-reward innovations with strong commercialization potential in climate resilience.
- Worldsphere's generative weather models can power auditable analytics for utilities and infrastructure operators.

### Problem & Innovation
- Utilities must plan for extreme weather while meeting regulatory requirements for transparency and equity.
- Innovation: Build a trustworthy analytics engine layering explainable AI, fairness audits, and scenario planning on top of Worldsphere's forecasts.

### Technical Objectives
1. Implement explainability modules (SHAP-style and counterfactual analyses) for infrastructure risk metrics.
2. Develop fairness auditing pipelines to ensure equitable service recommendations across communities.
3. Create a SaaS interface with regulatory reporting exports and API integration for grid planning tools.

### Work Plan & Deliverables
- **Pre-Project Pitch:** Submit NSF Project Pitch articulating technology, innovation, market, and team.
- **Phase I (6-12 months):**
  - Milestone 1: MVP analytics engine with explainability dashboards.
  - Milestone 2: Pilot with two utility partners demonstrating 20% improvement in outage mitigation planning.
  - Milestone 3: Commercialization & fundraising roadmap.
- **Key Deliverables:** Prototype SaaS portal, pilot reports, IP strategy, Phase II work plan.

### Commercialization & Impact
- Revenue through subscription and enterprise integrations with grid management platforms.
- Potential partnerships: DOE national labs, utility innovation programs, insurance carriers.

### Compliance & Submission Notes
- Budget: Up to $275k Phase I; requires Project Pitch approval before full proposal.

---

## 5. DOE SBIR Phase I – Topic 7: Grid Resilience Technologies

**Proposed Title:** Weather-Informed Grid Stability Orchestrator  
**Agency Portal Sections:** Technical Volume, Work Plan, Commercialization, Risk Management, Quad Chart

### Opportunity Fit
- DOE seeks technologies that enhance grid resilience against extreme weather events.
- Worldsphere can integrate probabilistic weather forecasts with grid operation models to provide actionable controls.

### Problem & Innovation
- Utilities struggle to orchestrate distributed energy resources during storms, leading to cascading outages.
- Innovation: Coupling Worldsphere's high-resolution forecasts with grid topology models to drive preemptive reconfiguration and DER dispatch.

### Technical Objectives
1. Develop integration between Worldsphere predictions and grid simulation tools (e.g., GridLAB-D, HELICS).
2. Implement reinforcement learning policies that translate forecast scenarios into DER and load management actions.
3. Validate system through hardware-in-the-loop simulation with partner utility data.

### Work Plan & Deliverables
- **Phase I (6-9 months):**
  - Milestone 1: Data integration and simulation environment setup.
  - Milestone 2: RL policy achieving 25% reduction in simulated outage duration across test storms.
  - Milestone 3: Field pilot design and technology-to-market plan.
- **Key Deliverables:** Technical report, simulation results, commercialization strategy, letters of support.

### Commercialization & Impact
- Pathways include licensing to grid management vendors, direct sales to utilities, and partnerships with microgrid operators.
- Addresses $3B+ annual cost of weather-induced outages.

### Compliance & Submission Notes
- Budget: Typically up to $200k Phase I; requires DOE SBIR portal submission with quad chart and commercialization history.

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## Next Steps Checklist

1. Confirm opportunity timelines and update internal CRM with submission deadlines.
2. Assign lead proposal managers and subject matter experts for each agency package.
3. Initiate partner outreach for letters of support (utilities, municipalities, DoD installations).
4. Prepare compliance materials: SAM, SBA Company Registry, agency-specific certifications.
5. Schedule red team reviews two weeks before each submission deadline.

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## Appendices

### Worldsphere Core Capabilities Summary
- Physics-guided flow matching models delivering probabilistic weather forecasts at 0.5–5 km resolution.
- Multi-modal data assimilation for satellite, radar, and in-situ sensors with robust QA/QC.
- Explainable AI tooling for regulatory-grade analytics and decision transparency.
- Cloud-native deployment with REST/GraphQL APIs and streaming alert infrastructure.

### Key Contact Information
- **Program Lead:** Worldsphere BD Team (bd@worldsphere.ai)
- **Technical POC:** Lead Scientist, Weatherflow (research@worldsphere.ai)

