THE nEXT lEVEl For Radley Angelo , ’ 15 , UCSD offered the unique chance to hone the piloting talent he first developed while flying RC vehicles in his youth .
“ I wanted to be able to get a bird ’ s-eye view in areas that were more tree covered . . . I found Radley , who was really into remote control helicopters , and took him with me .”
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44 TRITON | FALL 2015
Childhood hobbies pay off The use of unmanned aerial vehicles ( UAVs ) has not always been so complex and not nearly so intimidating . For Radley Angelo , Warren ’ 15 , his entrance into the field started innocently enough . His father being a remote control ( RC ) enthusiast , Angelo spent weekends building and flying RC planes and helicopters with his dad and brothers in the Bay Area . He never thought that such a hobby would put him on track to start his own business , but while earning his degree in computer science at UC San Diego , Angelo ’ s flight skills made him a prime candidate for a unique project .
In 2008 , research scientist and alumnus Dr . Albert Lin , Marshall ’ 04 , M . S . ’ 05 , Ph . D . ’ 08 , had just teamed up with Ryan Kastner , professor of computer science and engineering , and Curt Schurgers of Calit2 , now known as the Qualcomm Institute , to form Engineers for Exploration — an organization designed to develop technology to push the future of exploration . Based upon Lin ’ s previous travels , that meant a partnership with National Geographic and repeated expeditions to Mongolia to search for the tomb of the legendary Genghis Khan . Because of the environmental density and sensitivity of the region , Lin elected to utilize satellite imagery and drones to scout areas that were previously unreachable .
“ We were in a very remote location and had really great access to satellite imagery , but I wanted to be able to get a bird ’ s-eye view in areas that were more tree covered ,” says Lin . “ I found Radley , who was really into remote control helicopters , and took him with me .”
Many of the drones the team used they built themselves , because the technology simply wasn ’ t as ubiquitous as it is now . At the time of Lin ’ s first expedition to Mongolia , their drones cost upward of $ 20,000 each . Today they can be purchased for a fraction of the price , allowing the organization to take on additional adventures around the globe .
For his part , Angelo has seen firsthand how quickly the technology has changed — from the RC devices he built with his family , to the drones he worked with at UC San Diego , to what has become the cornerstone of his career . Angelo is the CEO of Spark Aerial , a systems integration company focused on aerial robotics , founded with fellow students Kurt Selander and Austin Hill while all three of them were at Earl Warren College . “ As far as what we ’ re actually doing day to day now , there ’ s almost nothing similar to what we were doing at UCSD ,” says Angelo .