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Technology Readiness Level (TRL) is a measure used by some United States Government agencies and many major world's companies (and agencies) to assess the Maturity Of Evolving Technologies (materials, components, devices, etc.) prior to incorporating that technology into a system or subsystem. Generally speaking, when a new technology is first Invented or conceptualized, it is not suitable for immediate application. Instead, new technologies are usually subjected to Experiment ation, refinement, and increasingly realistic testing. Once the technology is sufficiently proven, it can be incorporated into a System / Subsystem . DEFINITIONS Different definitions are used by different agencies, although they are somewhat similar. The most common definitions are those used by the Department Of Defense (DOD) and the National Aeronautics And Space Administration (NASA). DOD definitions Related DOD definitions The DOD uses similar definitions for the following specialized areas. See ''DOD Technology Readiness Assessment (TRA) Deskbook'' for more information.
NASA definitions Other definitions The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) references Technology Readiness Levels in some of their documents, and seems to rely on the NASA definitions. BRIEF HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY READINESS LEVELS Technology Readiness Levels were originally developed by NASA in the 1980s. The original definitions only included only seven levels. These were later expanded to nine levels. Original NASA TRL Definitions by Sadin, et al., 1989 (Source: Nolte 2003) :Level 1 Basic Principles Observed and Reported :Level 2 Potential Application Validated :Level 3 Proof of Concept Demonstrated, Analytically and/or Experimentally :Level 4 Component and/or Breadboard Laboratory Validated :Level 5 Component and/or Breadboard Validated In Simulated or Real-space Environment :Level 6 System Adequacy Validated In Simulated Environment :Level 7 System Adequacy Validated In Space The United States Air Force adopted the use of Technology Readiness Levels in the 1990's. In 1995, John C. Mankins, NASA, wrote a "White Paper on Technology Readiness Levels" that discussed NASA’s use of TRLs and proposed descriptions for each TRL. In 1999, the United States General Accounting Office (GAO) produced an influential report GAO/NSIAD-99-162 that examined the differences in Technology Transition between the DOD and private industry. It concluded that the DOD takes greater risks and attempts to transition emerging technologies at lesser degrees of maturity than does private industry. The GAO concluded that use of immature technology increased overall program risk. The GAO recommended that the DOD adopt the use of NASA's Technology Readiness Levels as a means of assessing technology maturity prior to transition. In 2001, the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology issued a memorandum that endorsed use of TRLs in new major programs. Guidance for assessing technology maturity was incorporated into the Defense Acquisition Guidebook. Subsequently, the DOD developed detailed guidance for using TRLs in the 2003 DOD Technology Readiness Assessment Deskbook. TRL ASSESSMENT TOOLS A Technology Readiness Level Calculator was developed by the United States Air Force by Nolte et al. This tool is standard set of questions implemented in Microsoft ''Excel''™ that produces a graphical display of the TRLs achieved. This tool is intended to provide a snapshot of technology maturity at a given point in time. USES OF TECHNOLOGY READINESS LEVELS The primary purpose of using Technology Readiness Levels is to help management in making decisions concerning the development and transitioning of technology. Advantages include:
Disadvantages include:
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