CaseWare Analytics develops enterprise level solutions using the Microsoft .NET environment. I was contracted out to them through Flick Software to develop an import export tool that would transferconfiguration settings from a staging environment to a production system. The existing tool handled transferring complete configurations to empty systems. The new tool had the additional requirement of being able to handle periodic updates or partial configuration changes to existing… Show more CaseWare Analytics develops enterprise level solutions using the Microsoft .NET environment. I was contracted out to them through Flick Software to develop an import export tool that would transferconfiguration settings from a staging environment to a production system. The existing tool handled transferring complete configurations to empty systems. The new tool had the additional requirement of being able to handle periodic updates or partial configuration changes to existing systems. This required doing side by side comparison of the exported settings with current settings on the target system and alert the user of any conflicts. It then would provide choices as to how the conflict should be resolved.Development was done in the C# language. The user interface was designed using WPF, Microsofts latest incarnation for creating interfaces. It uses an XML like syntax language as well as a visual WYSIWYG tool. Some additional work was done using WCF. Show less

The Kratt Brothers develop educational content to teach kids about wildlife. Their current show Wild Kratts appears regularly on PBS and TVO stations.I was hired to help start up their interactive division. The goal was to create interactive educational apps using content from the TV show to promote their brand. The targeted platforms were mobile devices, initially for iOS only, but later for Android as well. I had developed a game library earlierto support my own projects, so I… Show more The Kratt Brothers develop educational content to teach kids about wildlife. Their current show Wild Kratts appears regularly on PBS and TVO stations.I was hired to help start up their interactive division. The goal was to create interactive educational apps using content from the TV show to promote their brand. The targeted platforms were mobile devices, initially for iOS only, but later for Android as well. I had developed a game library earlierto support my own projects, so I decided to use this as the basis for these apps. I preferred to use my own library because it gave me the flexibility to implement new features or resolve issues that may have been harder if I was using a third party library. In addition, as I had prior experience developing similar libraries and this one was already made it made the decision easier.All the apps were developed in C, except for a small amount of glue code needed to handle interaction with the system. I was responsible for most of the development process from initial planning and design, to coordination with the artist and animator, to final testing and deployment.I also designed and developed a game in HTML5. Show less

Gesturetek specialized in designing and developing applications for camera based gesture recognition. I starting work in the newly created mobile division. The goal was to port their existing motion tracking software to a mobile phone and use the device camera as the input sensor. I was given the task of taking the tracking software and getting it to work on the device, and then to use the output it generated as input for a simple game where you controlled a rolling ball by tilting… Show more Gesturetek specialized in designing and developing applications for camera based gesture recognition. I starting work in the newly created mobile division. The goal was to port their existing motion tracking software to a mobile phone and use the device camera as the input sensor. I was given the task of taking the tracking software and getting it to work on the device, and then to use the output it generated as input for a simple game where you controlled a rolling ball by tilting the phone in different directions. Along with porting the tracking software, I also had to learn how to use the phone API, design and develop a game library and write the game, all in the span of five weeks. The work was completed on time, and the demo went on to generate lot of interest in the company. As well, the library was ported to several other platforms allowing the demos to be shown on multiple devices. I also added support for a displaying visualization information and for creating a simple UI. This allowed the developer designing the algorithm to do initial testing on the PC, which was a much more forgiving environment, and then be able to perform final testing on the device using the same library.I later moved on to work as a tools programmer. One of the main projectsI worked on was a multi-platform toolkit to assist in the design and development of new tracking algorithms. It used a simple filtering mechanism that allowed common processing to be shared between different trackers. The tracking parameters were defined in an XML file along with the different filters. Code was generated to create a simple UI to present and adjust the tracking parameters. Show less

Over the years between working for Artech and Gesturetek, I was involved in a number of different start up companies.Ghostchip Inc was founded shortly after I left Artech and included three former coworkers. The goal was to explore a business around grid computing, or making use of the shared computing power of computers hooked up to the internet, similar to what SETI was doing. Different ideas were explored including what was the best language to use, to what markets could best make… Show more Over the years between working for Artech and Gesturetek, I was involved in a number of different start up companies.Ghostchip Inc was founded shortly after I left Artech and included three former coworkers. The goal was to explore a business around grid computing, or making use of the shared computing power of computers hooked up to the internet, similar to what SETI was doing. Different ideas were explored including what was the best language to use, to what markets could best make use of the technology, to how algoritms would be designed. A business plan was generated around the idea of trying to commoditize the whole process, but the idea never gained traction.I also helped other coworkers with their game businesses, including one, Joule Media, which focused on generating content distributed over a cable network. Work involved writing game play and supporting library code.Casino Webcam created internet based casino games. Their main hook was using live dealers that the players could see and chat with while they played. This also reassured players that the gameplay was authentic. I was involved in a variety of work including handling localization, to writing code to implement gameplay. Show less

Artech Studios designed and developed multimedia applications and games for a variety of platforms. I started out assisting programming leads and was promoted to project lead within two years.Most of the development work was done in C. The target platform was mainly Windows, but there was some development done for consoles including the Sega Genesis and Sony Playstation. I also designed and developed several tools to aid in the development of other projects.