Selected Systems & Embedded Projects

Distributed Control System Simulation for Large-Scale Field Infrastructure

Environment: Embedded firmware, digital radio communications, distributed control systems

Context:

A globally deployed control platform used specialised hardware controllers communicating via digital radio networks across large installations. The controllers were expensive devices, typically costing around US$100,000 each, and were deployed across sites worldwide.

Challenge:

Testing firmware and control software directly on physical hardware was slow and disruptive. Field testing was difficult to coordinate, while replicating full system behaviour in a lab environment was costly and impractical. As a result, debugging radio communication behaviour and validating system changes was inefficient and time-consuming.

Approach:

I developed a virtual controller simulator of the physical hardware. The simulator wrapped the existing firmware environment, enabling firmware-level testing and broader system interaction testing without requiring physical devices.

This allowed engineers to reproduce complex scenarios, investigate communication behaviour and validate software changes in a controlled environment at substantially lower cost.

Outcome:

The simulator significantly improved development and debugging workflows. Radio communication behaviour could be analysed more effectively, control software could be tested at scale, and firmware extensions could be developed and validated far more efficiently without reliance on expensive field hardware.

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Diagnosing Intermittent Failures in Naval Sonar Systems

Environment: Defence systems, sonar processing, low-level fault diagnosis

Context:

A major oceanographic sonar system used by the Royal Australian Navy was producing intermittent and unexplained errors in the generation of ocean floor maps. The system was a critical tool for seabed mapping and analysis.

Challenge:

The failures were inconsistent and difficult to reproduce, resulting in corrupted mapping data. Investigation was complicated by the nature of the software environment, where critical components were implemented in low-level assembly code and had evolved over time through incremental changes.

Approach:

The system was analysed through a combination of simulation, controlled testing and detailed static code inspection. Particular attention was given to areas of the software that had been modified through operational patches rather than formal development processes.

This investigation identified a previously introduced functional extension that had been applied without adequate testing, creating conditions under which the sonar processing pipeline would produce invalid results.

Outcome:

Once the underlying fault was isolated, the issue was corrected and the system returned to stable operation. The sonar platform was again able to generate reliable ocean floor maps, supporting the Navy's ongoing seabed mapping work.

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Re-Architecting a Nationwide Infrastructure System

Environment: Government infrastructure, constrained systems, nationwide deployment

Context:

A workflow infrastructure system was being developed for deployment across offices of the Australian Taxation Office [ATO] throughout Australia. The system needed to operate reliably on relatively constrained processing platforms installed in each location.

Challenge:

The architecture had been derived from a much larger enterprise system and was being forced onto significantly smaller hardware. As a result, the design proved impractical to implement within the available resources. Previous attempts to deliver the system had failed, and the team remained committed to an architectural approach that simply could not work in the target environment.

Approach:

I reviewed the project's development history to understand the original design decisions and the assumptions that had driven them. Once those assumptions were examined, it became clear that the inherited architecture was inappropriate for the deployment context.

As a result, I re-architected the system from first principles to suit the constraints of the target environment. Additional software components were sourced, and the new architecture had a focus on reliability and operational simplicity.

Outcome:

The redesigned system was successfully implemented and deployed across ATO locations nationwide. The rollout occurred simultaneously across all offices on the scheduled deployment date and proceeded without operational disruption.

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Satellite Communications Control Systems Under Export Constraints

Environment: Satellite communications, embedded firmware, regulated hardware constraints

Context:

A major satellite communications project required the development of monitoring and control systems for ground station transmit power. The system formed part of a wider infrastructure deployment designed to provide reliable telecommunications connectivity to a large urban population in a developing nation.

Challenge:

The work was undertaken under strict export control regulations, which significantly constrained the available hardware platforms and development environment. These restrictions required careful engineering decisions to ensure reliability, accuracy and maintainability within a limited set of approved technologies.

Approach:

Firmware was designed and implemented to monitor and control transmitter power levels within the satellite ground station environment. Development required balancing regulatory constraints, hardware limitations and the operational demands of critical communications infrastructure.

The system was delivered and supported through deployment, ensuring stable operation within the broader telecommunications network.

Outcome:

The completed system formed part of a satellite communications infrastructure that enabled reliable telephone connectivity for a large metropolitan region, linking it to international networks and significantly improving communications capability.

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Pioneering Internet Access to Global Medical Research

Environment: Medical research, internet infrastructure, institutional systems change

Context:

A renowned medical academic on the National Health and Medical Research Council [NHMRC] wanted access to global medical literature through the Medline database. At the time, however, most medical professionals in Australia had no internet access and therefore no practical way to consult the international research record.

Challenge:

Access to Medline was restricted through a commercial subscription model that placed the database behind expensive institutional systems used only by a small number of large university libraries. This meant that many researchers and decision-makers responsible for evaluating medical research funding proposals were operating without direct access to the underlying literature.

In addition, the intended users had little familiarity with internet technologies, and the institutional and technical pathways for access were unclear.

Approach:

Working with the academic, new computing infrastructure was established through external sponsorship, and internet access was enabled within the university environment to allow direct online research access. This was the firts of its kind.

Further investigation uncovered the institutional arrangements governing the publication and distribution of medical research information. By analysing the technical and policy structures involved and presenting evidence to an Australian federal parliamentary committee, the systemic barriers to access were formally documented and overcome.

Outcome:

Within months of the parliamentary inquiry, Medline was made publicly accessible via the internet. This significantly improved the ability of researchers and funding bodies to verify claims and review prior work, strengthening the rigour of medical research evaluation in Australia.