Maryland Business Spotlight: University of Maryland MATRIX Lab

University of Maryland MATRIX Lab Director of Operations and Outreach Matt Scassero discusses all things autonomy in a Maryland Business Spotlight interview. The segment is presented by TEDCO (Maryland Technology Development Corporation), an organization that facilitates the creation of businesses and supports their growth in all regions of the state.

Scassero talked about the lab’s focus on autonomous technologies and uncrewed systems and mentioned its ability to support basic, applied, and operational research. He also discussed the importance of testing and evaluating when it comes to autonomy.

“The one area that’s really been challenging is how do we know it’s going to work the way we think it’s going to? How do we test and evaluate it, especially at that level 5 autonomy where it’s really doing its own thing and the humans are basically just watching it work? That’s an area that we’re really getting involved in with our partners,” Scassero said. “We’re trying to provide a focal point of doing that work together so that we all get the best synergistic value out of all that work, get it all together at once.”

The MATRIX Lab partners with TEDCO with the shared mission of inspiring cutting-edge research, growing the STEM workforce in Southern Maryland, and sparking innovation throughout the region.

“It’s clear that the SMART Building’s unique offerings, coupled with resources and support from a number of partners – TEDCO, the Navy, industry and education – contribute to Southern Maryland’s success,” TEDCO CEO Troy LeMaile-Stovall said in a DC Inno article published October 15. “Whether it’s helping STEM entrepreneurs successfully launch or graduating new members of the STEM workforce, the future looks bright from the vantage of the SMART building.”

You can listen to Scassero’s interview on WPOC’s website. You can also see how the MATRIX Lab-TEDCO partnership is driving autonomous research in Maryland in this ABC7 Good Morning Washington interview.

Published November 2, 2023