Machine Controls and Robotics Expert Witness

Barr Group's industrial controls experts provide failure analysis, design/safety reviews, and testimony for litigation relating to control systems and robotics for manufacturing and other industrial processes. Our experts combine industry experience as designers of electronic systems and software with the credentials and composure needed for courtroom success.

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Robotics and Factory Automation

Barr Group's industrial controls expert witnesses are highly qualified software engineers, electrical engineers, and mechanical engineers who are experienced in the design of robotics and factory automation equipment for a range of industries from food and pharmaceuticals production to fossil fuel and solar energy generation and distribution to automobile and electronics assembly lines. As professional designers of reliable and secure embedded systems, Barr Group is knowledgeable in IEC 61508 and other functional safety standards that apply to industrial controls and automation systems as well as the following technologies:

Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems
Programmable Logic Controls (PLCs) a/k/a "ladder logic"
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)
Open Smart Grid Protocol (OGSP) and ISO/IEC 14908
IEC 61158 "Fieldbus" networks for real-time distributed control
DeviceNet and CANopen interoperability network software
Environmental monitoring and remote sensing technologies
Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS) per IEC 61511 (ISA 84)
Machine Vision (MV) for automated process and quality control
Computer Numeric Control (CNC) and 3-D printing
ANSI/RIA R15.06 and other robotics safety considerations
Electrical interlocks, failsafes, and machine guarding

Barr Group's expert witnesses are familiar with all of the operating systems used in industrial controls, including real-time operating systems like VxWorks and QNX as well as Linux and Windows, and also the languages used to program these systems such as assembly, C/C++, and Labview. And we are just as comfortable with electronic circuit and mechanical design.

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Expert Witness Services

Barr Group's industrial controls 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
Review of mechanical designs and safety interlocks
Comparison to IEC 61508 and other functional safety standards
Prior art review for patent invalidity
Reverse engineering, including disassembly of binary code
Forensic analysis and malfunction reconstruction
Expert reports, declarations, and witness statements
Testimony at deposition, oral hearings, and trials

Barr Group has a demonstrated ability to quickly activate one or more code reviewers to match the size, scope, and complexity of any project. And our team includes licensed Professional Engineers (P.E.s).

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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:

Industrial Controls

Full Title:

Experts in Industrial Controls

Image and Facial Recognition Expert Profile

Professor of electrical and microelectronic engineering with over thirty years of combined academic, industrial and consulting experience in the fields of computer vision and digital image and video processing. Created and taught a range of academic courses, conducted research on industry and government grants, and served in conference and academic committees. Developed and conducted training for engineering personnel in the areas of signal and image processing, color engineering, and control systems with a distinct focus on digital front ends and print engines.

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Adaptive Control Systems Expert Profile

Mechanical and electrical engineering consultant and professor with decades of experience in systems for automated industrial control and intelligent transportation. Significant expertise in adaptive control and intelligent transportation systems as well as nonlinear systems, vehicle dynamics and control, marine transportation, and neural networks.

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Vehicle Informatics & Safety Expert Profile

Independent consultant and electrical engineer with more than four decades of industry experience. Has significant experience in systems engineering, advanced technology development, enterprise software, strategic planning, and program/project management. Majority of career spent in automotive industry where he developed expertise in vehicle electrical and electronics systems, vehicle informatics systems, and vehicle safety and control systems. Also has experience with spacecraft electronics, communications systems, and mobile information technologies.

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Battery Design & Testing Expert Profile

Experienced electrochemist, consultant, and adjunct professor of materials science and engineering. Has extensive experience in research and industry for battery electronics, including new product development, manufacturing and testing, applications engineering, as well as battery system design.

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Battery Failure Electrochemistry Expert Profile

Chemist and consultant with four decades of experience in the area of electrochemical energy related devices, including batteries, capacitors, fuel cells, electrolysis and corrosion. Has significant expertise in laptop, cell phone, and e-cigarette batteries, electric vehicles, and other applications of electrochemical energy storage. Expert working knowledge of electronics and laboratory instrumentation as applied to the testing of batteries, chargers, and battery-powered devices.

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Cellular Wireless Air Interface Expert Profile

Professor of electrical engineering and computer science with decades of R&D experience in communications networks and wireless signal detection and estimation.

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Speech-Based Interface & RFID Expert Profile

Consultant and former professor of computer science with decades of hands-on experience in speech recognition, IVR, RFID, streaming multimedia, and data encryption.

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Speech & Voice Recognition Expert Profile

Professor of computer science with over two decades of experience at the forefront of the analysis and processing of electronic documents and document images as well as expertise in speech processing and voice input.

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FDA Medical Software Quality Expert Profile

Former director of software engineering and independent consultant with deep experience in the medical products and telecommunications industries and FDA 510(k), ISO-13485, and IEC-62304 compliant software quality systems.

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Surveillance Camera Networks Expert Profile

Stanford-educated professor of electrical engineering and computer science whose career in industry began at AT&T Bell Labs and has specialized expertise in cyber-physical systems, IoT technologies, and computer vision.