Space Coast

MATRIX COMPOSITES

Flying High

Behind the aeronautical and space giants of Lockheed Martin and Boeing at Florida’s Space Coast are homegrown innovators such as David Nesbitt, whose Matrix Composites manufactures components that help keep flying things in the sky.

Last year, the Space Coast Economic Development Commission named Matrix its Small Manufacturer for the Year, and this year the company is in the running for GrowFL's Companies to Watch, which honors 50 second-stage companies. The Rockledgebased business has quadrupled in size in recent years, and Nesbitt anticipates growth to continue as he diversifies the business.

Nesbitt graduated with a degree in ocean engineering from Florida Institute of Technology and credits his experience there with his success. “Their senior design program is one of the key catalysts that led me to be an entrepreneur,” he says.

He got involved with composite materials engineering with the design and manufacture of the first U.S. Department of Transportation certified all-composite passenger vehicle before founding Matrix in 1993.

TOMAHAWK ROBOTICS

Robotic Internet of Things

Whether it’s a military drone strike or a wheelchair assist, robotics are increasingly playing a role in making hazardous tasks safer and everyday tasks easier. A Melbourne company is upping the game in what robotics can do and making them easier to use.

Tomahawk Robotics designs and builds mobile robots and has developed a robotic “internet of things” software, Kinesis, that allows multiple robotic devices to be operated by a single interface that can be operated from a cellphone on the other side of the world.

Founded in 2018 by a team that worked together for more than five years at Harris Corp., Tomahawk has attracted the attention of investors and the defense industry. It was among the winners at the Florida Venture Forum Early Stage Capital Conference in May 2018. In December, it received $2.4 million in seed money from Mosley Ventures.

Tomahawk plans to use the investment to evolve Kinesis and grow its product development and engineering teams.

Brevard County Snapshot

• 596,849 — Population
• 91.7% — Have high school diploma
• 28.4% — Have bachelor’s degree or higher
• $51,536 — Median household income
• $162,400 — Median home value

Volusia County Snapshot

• 537,538 — Population
• 89.6% — Have high school diploma
• 22.7% — Have bachelor’s degree or higher
• $43,838 — Median household income
• $149,900 — Median home value

Higher Education

• Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach
• Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Space Coast/Perimeter
• Florida Institute of Technology
• Eastern Florida State College
• Keiser University
• Webster University

SENSATEK PROPULSION

Heat Detector

Overheating is a critical problem with large engines used in aircraft, ships, spacecraft and power plants. Often, by the time sensors detect a malfunction, it’s too late to avoid damage to the engine. Daytona Beach startup Sensatek Propulsion Technology has developed a system that can withstand high temperatures and detect overheating before engines are destroyed. Founder Reamonn Soto says “We are making engines more efficient and powerful and reducing emissions.”

Based in Embry-Riddle Research Park, Sensatek has raised $1.5 million, including a recent $743,200 grant from the National Science Foundation.

Soto, a Florida A&M and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University graduate, founded Sensatek in 2015. He says the company is working with Rolls-Royce and Lockheed Martin, among others. “We recently sold our first system and are now officially in the market," Soto says. “We upped our timeline by two years.”

The company plans to raise another $1 million through private financing. It has four fulltime employees and plans to hire four more by the end of the year. Soto anticipates it will employ 20 to 30 by the end of 2020.

Tech Cooperation

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the Florida Institute of Technology work closely with area employers and the aeronautical and space industries.

One of EmbryRiddle’s recent developments is a new technology that detects and takes control of unauthorized drones, guiding them to land, avoiding having to shoot them down. The university has a licensing agreement with Drone Defense Systems of Daytona Beach to commercialize the technology.

Among the FIT’s collaborations is an agreement with the Air Force Air Combat Command to share research related to artificial intelligence and machine learning.

EMBRY-RIDDLE RESEARCH

Understanding the Atmosphere

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Aroh Barjatya recently received a $1.3million NASA research award that will help fund the launch of two identical rockets from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands in the summer of 2021. The rockets are part of research into a region of the atmosphere 50 to 87 miles above the Earth, where charged particles can affect radio communications, including transmissions to satellites. Barjatya runs EmbryRiddle’s Space and Atmospheric Instrumentation Lab, which seeks to build instruments to help understand the Earth’s atmosphere and space weather.

Boeing Move

Boeing announced in June that it will move its Space and Launch division from Virginia to the Space Coast. The move — expected to be completed by the end of the year — will involve a small number of people, the company says. The relocated employees will move into Boeing’s facility in Titusville.

Space Coast Standouts

The Space Coast hosts a full roster of defense industry and aerospace heavyweights, along with firms like SpaceX and Blue Origin that are involved in space launch-related manufacturing and other activity.

• Boeing
• Leonardo DRS
• General Electric
• L3Harris
• Lighting Science Group
• Lockheed Martin
• MC Assembly
• Raytheon
• Rockwell Collins
• Satcom Direct
• SpaceX
• Blue Origin
• Military Bases
• Patrick Air Force Base
• Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
• Naval Ordnance Test Unit
• Incubators and Accelerators
• Groundswell Startups
• MicaPlex
• TrepHub
• weVenture at Florida Tech