Title
Resolution Authorizing The Execution Of A Revocable License Agreement Between The City Of Hampton And The Longbow Group, LLC To Use A Portion of 100 Stilwell Drive for Unmanned Systems Testing and Research From Two Launch Pad Sites in the Vicinity of the Fort Monroe Community Center
Purpose
PURPOSE/BACKGROUND:
Mr. Marius Sterk is the owner of the Longbow Group LLC located in Hampton’s REaKTOR Business Accelerator in the Hampton Roads Center North business park. The company was established in 2006 and provides aviation consulting services. He relocated the company from Tennessee in 2018 based on Hampton’s focus on Unmanned Systems as well as the close proximity to NASA Langley. His previous experiences includes 5 years as an engineer with Airbus and 13 years with FedEx as a Chief Development Engineer and Program Manager. Additionally, Mr. Sterk also founded Express Drone Parts in 2015 to serve the specific needs of the commercial Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) industry.
Longbow Group is seeking to commercialize technology from NASA Langley, a strategic goal of Hampton’s, in a targeted industry, Unmanned Systems. Researchers at NASA’s Langley Research Center have developed an assured safety net technology for Unmanned Aircraft Systems. They are calling their breakthrough technology “Safeguard.” Safeguard can alleviate the dangers of unmanned aircraft flying beyond their authorized perimeters and into no-fly zones, taking action to guarantee the perimeters are not breached. The system does this with the use of geo-fencing technologies. Geo-fencing prohibits UAS flight operations in predetermined restricted areas. Combined, these emerging technologies are groundbreaking and critically important as Unmanned Systems become highly integrated into all aspects of transportation, industry and economic growth nationwide.
This technology will be tested at a proposed Unmanned Systems Research and Test Center (USRTC) being established at Fort Monroe. The...
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