Michael Barr is a
software engineer
Software engineering is a branch of both computer science and engineering focused on designing, developing, testing, and maintaining software applications. It involves applying engineering principles and computer programming expertise to develop ...
specializing in software design for medical devices and other
embedded system
An embedded system is a specialized computer system—a combination of a computer processor, computer memory, and input/output peripheral devices—that has a dedicated function within a larger mechanical or electronic system. It is e ...
s. He is a past editor-in-chief of Embedded Systems Design magazine and author of three books and more than seventy articles about embedded software.
Barr has often worked as an expert witness, including testifying in the
Toyota
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
Sudden Unintended Acceleration
Sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) is the unintended, unexpected, uncontrolled acceleration of a vehicle, often accompanied by an apparent loss of braking effectiveness. It may be caused by some combination of driver error (such as pedal misap ...
litigation. In October 2013, after reviewing Toyota's source code as part of a team of seven engineers, he testified in a jury trial in Oklahoma that led to a "guilty by software defects" finding against Toyota. There are several technical articles that discuss the various
electronic throttle control
Electronic throttle control (ETC) is an Automotive engineering, automotive technology that uses electronics to replace the traditional mechanical linkages between the driver's input such as a Car controls#Throttle control, foot pedal to the vehi ...
defects he testified were linked to unintended acceleration that caused deaths in
Toyota Camry
The Toyota Camry (; Japanese: トヨタ・カムリ ''Toyota Kamuri'') is an automobile sold internationally by the Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota since 1982, spanning multiple generations. Originally compact in size (narrow-body), the Cam ...
vehicles.
Earlier in his career, Barr testified as an expert witness in the
DirecTV
DirecTV, LLC is an American Multichannel television in the United States, multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital Satellite television, s ...
anti-piracy
end user litigation, which involved over 25,000 end users.
[ He has also worked as a testifying expert witness in other high-profile litigation involving software, such as SmartPhone Technologies vs ]Apple
An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
and in a copyright dispute about EA's early Madden Football video game source code.
Barr began his career working as an embedded programmer at Hughes Network Systems
Hughes Network Systems, LLC is an American telecommunications company that specializes in providing satellite-based communication services for consumer and enterprise markets. It is headquartered in Germantown, Maryland and provides satellite i ...
, where he wrote software for products including the first-generation Hughes-branded DirecTV
DirecTV, LLC is an American Multichannel television in the United States, multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital Satellite television, s ...
receiver, which sold in the millions of units. He subsequently wrote embedded software at TSI TelSys, PropHead Development, and Netrino. His three books are ''Programming Embedded Systems in C with GNU Development Tools'', ''Embedded Systems Dictionary'' (co-authored by Jack Ganssle), and "Embedded C Coding Standard".University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...
in College Park, from which he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1994 and a Master of Science degree in 1997.[
]
References
External links
Barr Code
blog
Barr Group
website
magazine (formerly Embedded Systems Programming)
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
University of Maryland, College Park alumni
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