Now
Co-Founder · EE/Firmware, Slingshot
Electrical Engineering, UCLA, Class of 2029
Ryan
Tao
I take hardware from first principles to a finished device, RF, analog, PCB, firmware, DSP, and Verilog. I'm co-founding a wearables startup as its EE & firmware lead.
RYAN TAOUCLA · EE '29
Major
Electrical Engineering
Focus
RF · Embedded · PCB · FPGA
Class
UCLA 2029
Base
Los Angeles, CA
01
About
I'm a second-year Electrical Engineering student at UCLA, salutatorian of my high-school class, who does his best thinking with a soldering iron and an oscilloscope nearby. I'm drawn to the hard middle of a system: where RF meets analog, where firmware meets a real sensor, where a signal has to survive the trip from the physical world to a clean number on a screen.
I'm the co-founder and electrical / firmware lead of Slingshot, a basketball training-load wearable, where I own a 4-layer mixed-signal board and its embedded systems end to end. Alongside that I research real-time computer vision at UCLA's i2bl Lab and build flight electronics for the UCLA Rocket Project. For fun I built an X-band Doppler radar speed gun end to end, and I'm currently writing Verilog for a real-time FPGA spectrum analyzer. I also speak Mandarin at a professional working level.
02
Selected Work
// click any project for the full build
01 · Flagship
Co-Founder & EE / Firmware Lead
Slingshot
Basketball training-load BLE wearable · Mar 2026 – Present
A matchbook-sized 4-layer mixed-signal sensor pod worn on a compression sleeve, fusing motion and heart-rate into a single training-load score. As one of two engineers, I own the board and firmware end to end, schematic, layout, power tree, sensor bring-up, and BLE.
4-Layer PCBnRF52840 · BLEPower electronicsSensor fusion
View the build
02 · Flagship
Solo build · End-to-end system
X-Band Doppler Radar Speed Gun
RF → analog → DSP → embedded → readout · June 2026
A handheld radar speed gun that measures vehicle speed in real time, from a 10.525 GHz X-band module, through a custom analog chain, into a real-time FFT pipeline, to a live OLED readout. Standalone on a power bank, no computer required.
X-band RFReal-time FFTRP2350LTspice-verified
View the build
Research & more projects
Personal buildJul 2026 – Present
Real-Time FPGA Spectrum Analyzer
Verilog · Tang Nano 9K (Gowin GW1NR-9)
Custom SPI master, gray-code async FIFO for clock domain crossing, fixed-point Goertzel filterbank, and video timing from first principles. Six modules simulation-verified against NumPy golden models.
Read moreResearchNov 2025 – Present
Ferrofluid Computer Vision
i2bl Lab · UCLA
Real-time detection and tracking of ferrofluid droplets, estimating per-droplet volume in microliters from vision alone, with live demo footage from the lab rig.
Read moreProject · TeamJan 2026 – Present
Rocket Altimeter Avionics
UCLA Rocket Project
Avionics for a rocket altimeter, sensor integration, signal conditioning, and data acquisition, validating altitude for real-time telemetry and post-flight analysis.
Read morePersonal build2026
ESP32-S3 Keychain Camera
Firmware · Web UI · 3D-printed enclosure
Pocket-sized WiFi-transfer keychain camera on a XIAO ESP32-S3 Sense. Tap to snap, hold to broadcast a WiFi AP for phone-side photo transfer through a browser gallery — no app, no cable.
Read moreResearchMay 2024 – Oct 2024
IoT Network Security
Cal Poly Pomona
Benchmarked five ML classifiers on packet-capture data to detect malicious IoT traffic, published as a research poster at Cal Poly Pomona.
Read moreExperience & leadership
03
Skills
Hardware & PCB
Schematic capture4-layer mixed-signal PCBBGA / WLCSP via-in-padPower electronics / PMICDC-DC buck-boostLi-Po charging & fuel gaugingRF / 2.4 GHz layoutGround-plane integrityDFMBOM & sourcingI²C / SPI / QSPIBring-up & debug (SWD/J-Link)
Embedded & Firmware
Embedded C/C++Nordic nRF52840Nordic nRF54L15RP2350 / Pico 2ESP32-S3BLEPlatformIOSensor driversUSB CDCFlash loggingSensor fusionReal-time FFT / DSP
Digital & FPGA
Verilog RTLFSM designClock domain crossingGray-code async FIFOFixed-point DSP (Q-format)Goertzel filterbankVideo timing generationUART / SPI from scratchIcarus VerilogGTKWaveGowin EDASelf-checking testbenches
RF & Signals
Doppler radarX-bandAnalog signal conditioningBiasing & AC couplingLTspiceFFTADC samplingNyquist & resolution
Software
Python · NumPyJavaJavaScriptC#Web BluetoothHTML / CSSReactGit
CAD & Tools
Autodesk Fusion (ECAD + MCAD)JLCPCBSolidWorksFusion 360AudacityVercel
Domains & Spoken
Computer VisionMachine LearningData AnalysisEnglishMandarin, Professional
04
Education
University of California, Los Angeles
Expected June 2029B.S. Electrical Engineering · Samueli School of Engineering
Relevant coursework
Calc of Several Variables I/IIDifferential EquationsLinear Algebra (in progress)Physics: MechanicsOscillations, Waves & FieldsIntro to Computer Science I & II
Glen A. Wilson High School
May 2025Engineering & Computer Science Pathways
Honors & awards
Engineering Scholarship
John Richard Leffler Scholarship
UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, a merit award endowed specifically for electronic engineering.
Engineering Scholarship
Muriel K. & Robert B. Allan Fund
UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, a merit scholarship for students in the school of engineering.
Academic Honor
Salutatorian
Glen A. Wilson High School, second in the graduating class, GPA 4.8.
Let's build something
The fastest way to reach me is email. Happy to talk hardware, walk through any project in more depth, or chat about working together.