Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/297333
60 florida.HIGH.TECH 2014 Faces of Technology Thomas Rambo Altavian Inc. | www.Altavian.com Chief Operating Officer Education: B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, M.S. in Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida Company: Altavian delivers end-to-end custom Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) solutions that strategically correspond to clients' specific applications. Altavian's UAS are ideal for agricultural use, environmental surveillance, geomatics and mapping, and other commercial applications. It's a bird. It's a plane. It's an … unmanned aircraft? As unmanned aircrafts navigate into the federal airspace, engineers look toward the future of flight. One such engineer is Thomas Rambo, chief op- erating officer of Gainesville's Altavi- an, who runs the systems engineering group and data collection teams for Altavian's unmanned aircraft systems. "The industry is in the midst of explosive growth," said Rambo. "Our company started from technology at the University of Florida (UF) in 2011 and has since grown, tripling in size. It's been a pretty wild ride." UAS provide solutions for dull, dirty and dangerous jobs that can more effectively be completed by a robot. Efficiency and safety are the driving factors in using the systems for aerial photography, wildlife monitoring in the Everglades, crop dusting and re- porting, natural disaster recovery and others jobs. The challenge is changing public perception of UAS from lethal and unintelligent military drones to intelligent and efficient aircraft. While working at a micro air vehicle research lab at UF, Rambo was part of a team who developed a vehicle that collects data for biology research. The project had potential for the commercial market, so he and his partners proceeded to spin off a company. "UF has a great graduate, entrepreneurship and innovation program," said Rambo. "It was never my intention to go into the unmanned aircraft industry or start a business. The program opened my eyes to business opportunities and I took them." Now, his favorite part of the job is having a consistent engineering challenge. Unmanned aircraft call for knowledge in propulsion, aerospace, electrical and computer engineering – to name a few. Rambo's days vary from flying the aircraft to building the "brains." He also stays current on the latest technology as he states the industry turns over information every 18-24 months. "We have just scratched the surface in the field," Rambo said. "As regula- tions become standard for unmanned aircraft, we believe growth will continue; however, the work we do will still be specialized and will remain as a niche industry for professionals." Rambo found his niche at a young age. He received his pilot's license at 18 and always knew airplanes would be part of his future. He may not regu- larly sit in the cockpit of an airplane, but being at the helm of a sophisticated remote control on a good day with fair winds is just as good.