Small Business Connections Help Meet Researcher Needs

The University of Maryland (UMD) A. James Clark School of Engineering MATRIX Lab is working with its small business partners to provide a seamless path through the research process.

The team is currently forming a partnership with a Southern Maryland-based test and development company, Offshore Aviation Group (OAG), which recently purchased the historic Piney Point Terminal in St. Mary’s County. The site served as a torpedo test facility and naval aviation base during World War II. According to a September 2025 press release, the company plans to transform the unused 320-acre waterfront property into a “world-class center for unmanned systems development, testing, and operations.”

“This is an exciting opportunity to harness the MATRIX Lab’s state-of-the-art facilities to accelerate the science and technology capabilities of our industry partners,” said Dr. Reza Ghodssi, Executive Director of Research and Innovation for the MATRIX Lab and Distinguished University Professor at UMD. “Researchers across academia, government, and industry are welcome to use these spaces to accomplish their goals.”

To showcase the ability to accelerate the company's science and technology capabilities, OAG, with support from UMD’s Department of Computer Science, scanned a drone to produce a 3D rendering of it. 3D drone models are used inside simulators so researchers can run countless flight scenarios in a safe and cost-effective way. Data gathered from these tests provides crucial information about the system, including flight performance, autonomy/AI reliability, and sensor perception. The team used the MATRIX Lab’s Omni-Domain Autonomous Systems Integration Space (OASIS) for scanning because of its size and controlled environment.

This is part of a continued effort by the MATRIX Lab to connect with small businesses to collaborate on research that addresses real-world problems and accelerates the connection from basic to applied research. The MATRIX Lab’s partners can work on their basic research in one of the MATRIX Lab’s state-of-the-art facilities, including the OASIS, one of the largest labs of its kind in the country, and the Hydrodynamics Lab, home to the second-largest water tunnel in the state of Maryland.

When done, they can move on to the applied research stage with any one of the MATRIX Lab’s partners, who provide quick and seamless access to unique environments on private land for real-world tests. OAG’s Piney Point facility allows researchers to team devices across air, land, and sea with its sheltered inlet, deep-water pier, and private airfield exempt from FAA-imposed sanctions.

“By uniting OAG’s unmatched air, land, and maritime testing environment with the University of Maryland’s world-class research and engineering talent, we have the opportunity to create a new innovation frontier for the state. A place where ideas become industries, where students become pioneers, and where Maryland becomes the nation’s leader in unmanned systems,” said Robert Hicks, the CEO of OAG. “This is more than a partnership; it is the launch point for a generational technology ecosystem rooted in discovery, economic growth, and the future of engineering opportunity itself.”

Previously, defense tech leader AV (then BlueHalo) connected with the MATRIX Lab when its researchers needed to accelerate their testing of long-range communications and autonomous systems. They used the lab’s anechoic chamber to complete their research. The MATRIX Lab also recently announced its partnership with the Mission Technologies division of all-domain defense provider HII.

The MATRIX Lab’s small business connections help scale research more efficiently and achieve results that satisfy end-user needs. The team looks forward to connecting with even more companies to continue to support researchers.

Published December 10, 2025