A RESEARCH WING OF MICROTHEORY ENGINEERING
No Contract. No Constraints. Just the Problem.
MTE Lab51 is the independent research arm of MicroTheory Engineering. We self-fund the work that matters — hardware, software, and design problems that industry needs solved. What we build, we share.
We don't wait for a contract to solve a problem worth solving.
Lab51 exists because some of the most important problems in engineering don’t come with a statement of work. They come with a deadline that has already passed, a gap nobody funded, or a tool that simply doesn’t exist yet.
We are engineers, researchers, and builders at MicroTheory Engineering. On our own time and our own investment, we tackle those problems — across hardware, software, and systems design. We file the patents. We build the products. And when the solution is software the whole industry can benefit from, we open-source it.
WHAT WE DO
We don't wait for a contract to solve a problem worth solving.
02
Software & Intelligent Systems
We develop software tools, data pipelines, and AI-assisted systems. When the result is a tool the wider engineering community can use, we release it as open source.
01
Hardware & Embedded Systems
From sensors to embedded controllers, we prototype and build physical solutions to real-world engineering problems. If it needs to exist and doesn’t, we make it.
03
Systems Design & Architecture
Some problems aren’t about components — they’re about how everything connects. We bring systems-level thinking to complex, cross-domain challenges across aviation and federal infrastructure.
WHAT WE DO
Built Here. Free for Everyone.
Lab51 exists because some of the most important problems in engineering don’t come with a statement of work. They come with a deadline that has already passed, a gap nobody funded, or a tool that simply doesn’t exist yet.
We are engineers, researchers, and builders at MicroTheory Engineering. On our own time and our own investment, we tackle those problems — across hardware, software, and systems design. We file the patents. We build the products. And when the solution is software the whole industry can benefit from, we open-source it.
INTELECTUAL PROPERTY
We Own What We Build.
Lab51’s output isn’t just ideas — it’s defensible intellectual property. We file patents on novel solutions and build products designed to reach market.
Patent Pending · USPTO Provisional
Next-Generation Surveillance & Tracking for Advanced Air Mobility
A new approach to keeping air taxis and unmanned aircraft reliably and safely tracked across the diverse airspace and operating environments of Advanced Air Mobility — purpose-built for where the industry is heading.
Filed: May 2026 Status: USPTO Provisional Patent Application
Patent Pending · USPTO Provisional
More patents and ideas on the way.
The AMSM is the first of several. We have additional patents and concepts in active development across hardware, software, and systems design — more to follow.
Who We Are
Born from Micro Theory Engineering.
MicroTheory Engineering has spent over two decades delivering precision engineering and research solutions to the FAA and federal agencies. Lab51 is what happens when those same engineers stop waiting for someone to write the brief — and start solving the problems themselves.
Backed by two decades of federal engineering
Let’s TALK
Work on Something That Matters.
We’re always interested in collaborators, partners, and engineers who think like we do. If you’re working on a hard problem — or want to be — let’s talk.
