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Barr Group's experienced automotive software expert witnesses advise attorneys in product liability and intellectual property cases.  All of our experts in automotive systems technology have hands-on experience designing electronic systems for cars and trucks.  Barr Group experts have testified in high-profile multi-million dollar class action jury trials.

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Electronic Automotive Systems

Motorcycles, cars, and trucks are increasingly powered by networks of embedded systems, each of which is a combination of software and electronics. Some modern vehicles have over one hundred processors and when even one of these electronic automotive systems malfunctions, the results can be deadly. Barr Group is in the business of designing reliable and secure computers and our team of expert software engineers, electrical engineers, and mechanical engineers is intimately familiar with electronic automotive subsystems including:

  • Engine control units (ECU) and transmissions
  • Anti-lock braking systems​ (ABS)
  • Navigation systems and GPS
  • Airbag controllers and electronic data recorders (EDR)
  • Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS)
  • Automotive vision systems and self-driving technologies
  • Other vehicle safety and security systems
  • In-vehicle infotainment (IVI) and telematics like OnStar
  • CAN busses and related SAE network protocols
  • Hybrid and electric vehicles and battery charging

Barr Group's software experts are familiar with all of the operating systems used by carmakers, including real-time operating systems like OSEK and QNX, and Android/Linux, as well as all programming languages such as assembly, C, C++, and Matlab.  And we are just as comfortable with electronic circuits and ASICs and the Verilog and VHDL languages.

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Expert Witness Services

Barr Group's automotive software experts support plaintiffs and defendants in litigation in U.S. District Courts, at the International Trade Commission (ITC), and before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Our services include:

  • Technical assistance with drafting of discovery requests
  • Software source code review and analysis
  • Source code comparisons for copyright and trade secret theft
  • Analysis of electronics and related design documents
  • Prior art review for patent invalidity
  • Reverse engineering, including disassembly of binary code
  • Forensic analysis and accident reconstruction
  • Crash data retrieval and analysis
  • Expert reports, declarations, and witness statements
  • Testimony at deposition, oral hearings, and trials

Our experience with automotive litigation is extensive and includes source code analysis and testimony in the runaway Toyota economic loss and personal injury cases as well as in suits relating to excess VW diesel emissions, faulty MyFord Touch subsystems, and deadly GM ignition switches.

Barr Group has a demonstrated ability to quickly activate one or more code reviewers to match the size, scope, and complexity of any project.

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The following is a representative subset of Barr Group's experts who have experience designing and/or testifying about these technologies:

Automotive Systems Expert Witness List

The following is a representative subset of Barr Group's experts who have experience designing and/or testifying about these technologies:

Systems engineer with decades of hands-on experience in the design and implementation of Internet-connected products using WiFi, cellular, and other protocols
Chemist and portable power expert with thirty years of industry experience at the leading edge of lithium battery and ultracapacitor technology development.
Professor of electrical and computer engineering with years of industry experience in the design of microprocessors for infotainment and multimedia systems.
Professor and expert with twenty five years of experience in power electronics, including power quality and conditioning as well as renewable energy generation.
PhD chemist and explosives expert, including airbag propellants, with thirty-five years of industrial R&D experience as a designer of energetic solid materials.
Computer engineering professor and expert in renewable energy and smart grid technologies with twenty-five years of experience in industry and academia.
Automotive engineer with twenty five years of experience in vehicle design as well as in forensic consulting for attorneys regarding product liability litigations.
Consultant with over two decades of experience in semiconductor design and testing, including foundry process evaluation and selection.
Professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering with expertise in sensor fusion and computer perception for autonomous systems, including self-driving cars.
Independent consultant and former professor of technical product management with decades of industry experience in automotive sensors, electronics, and systems.