Ronald A. Peterson
email: RonP@sover.net
Web Page: http://www.sover.net/~ronp
Link to my recently published papers.
Link to descriptions of my current projects (search for "Peterson" in the page).
Geographic Data Technology
Lebanon, New Hampshire
Software QA Engineering Consultant
2 month contract
Responsible for writing C++ programs to test routability of ramps on A1 highways.
Wrote recursive ramp following program which traversed elaborate ramp systems and
added turn restrictions where a higher ramp crosses a lower ramp and determined
what street names to associate with exit numbers.
IDX Corporation
Burlington, Vermont
Software QA Engineering Consultant
3.5 month contract
Responsible for interface testing for the Beta and final releases of the
IDXtendR Clinical Management System (CMS). CMS is an integrated patient care information manager, implemented
in Visual Basic and SQL on the Windows 95 & NT platforms. It handles
patient charts, patient
registration, financial management, insurance eligibility,
appointments, transcriptions,
laboratory results, medications, and referrals. Tasks included testing SQL stored procedures,
troubleshooting message flows (from MUMPS based IDX products, through their ConnectR message
mapper, into the CMS database, and then displayed in CMS), testing CMS and ConnectR user interfaces,
and mapping HL7 messages to stored procedure calls using ConnectR.
Dataviews Corporation
Northampton, Massachusetts
Software Engineer
From 9/89 till 7/97
Principle engineer responsible for quality assurance planning, design and
implementation for the companies primary products: Centro and DataViews (which have since been purchased by GE).
Peterson Enterprises
Brattleboro, Vermont
Owner
From 6/86 till Now
Developed and marketed The InterOscitorTM a video controlled, MIDI based, musical instrument.
Developed and marketed The Video Theremin which converts hand
motions in front of a video camera into MIDI music on an Amiga.
Invented and marketed Zebra Lights, a unique novelty light bulb.
Developed GolfPerformalyzer software on an Amiga, under contract,
for analyzing golf swings by superimposing a stick figure, whose
motion is digitized from a pro's, over video freeze frames of a
live golfer. Developed and marketed a 3D ray tracing and
animation program called C-Light for the Amiga home computer. Wrote technical
magazine articles. Developed and marketed a
Microprocessor Training Course. Wrote a video game called Ion Blast for the Commodore 64 computer.
Sanders Associates which was then a Lockheed Martin company
Nashua, New Hampshire
Graphics Software Engineer
From 6/88 till 6/89
Wrote graphic visualization tools
for analyzing and demonstrating
ECM software which was being developed for the YF-22 and YF-23
stealth fighters as part of the INEWS program. This system is
deployed today on the Raptor Advanced Tactical
Fighter (ATF) as well as on other modern platforms.
Designed and coded a mapping tool in C on an IRIS 3030 that displayed a shaded terrain map from digitized data and provided a mouse and window based user interface for placing radars and aircraft on the map and building lists of time-varying radar characteristics. Used to create scenarios for input to an RF environment simulator.
Designed and implemented a new method for evaluating sensor coverage on an aircraft using a modified ray tracer (in C on IRIS 3030) to model sensors as light sources which cast shadows onto a translucent sphere. Wrote a plotting tool in FORTRAN for creating A-size plots, on a Calcomp electrostatic plotter, of aircraft flight paths and radar locations along with geopolitical borders. Designed and coded a set of utilities in C on IRIS 3030 for creating animated system diagrams for use in presentations.
Sanders Associates (now owned by BAE Systems)
Nashua, New Hampshire
Graphics Software Engineer
From 6/86 till 6/88
Designed and coded a multi-leveled, animated, window based program
that showed appropriately formated displays of data received via
Ethernet using TCP/IP protocol from other applications residing on
five MicroVAX's, seven Sun workstations and a VAX 8650. Used as a
debugging and analysis aid by fellow software engineers who were
developing sensor fusion algorithms. This tool also was used in
presentations to the government to provide a "window" into the
algorithms. Coded in C on an
SGI IRIS 3030 workstation, the displays
included a realtime 3D pilots perspective view, a 2D animated
overview, a system block diagram showing status of built-in-test
functions, a cartesean graph display with 15 selectable plots of
system parameters and a bar chart display showing time history of
parameters.
These displays were the key focus at a series of six technology
feasability demonstrations, presented via projection television
(from a broadcast quality video booth I equipped) resulting in
the award of a $120,000,000 contract for a program (INEWS) that
continues today.
Designed and coded animated logos to be shown during breaks in
presentations. Designed and coded 3D flight simulator application
for examining aircraft and missile flight paths. Experimented
with fractal techniques for synthesizing artificial terrain and
clouds for use as input to sensor models. Was system and
security manager for IRIS 3030.
Sanders Associates
Nashua, New Hampshire
Software Engineer
From 4/82 till 6/86
Worked in a three person team creating a
simulation and graphic
analysis facility for the Advanced Development Group's Simulation
Lab, located inside a specially built Tempest vault.
Responsibilities included modifying, designing and coding models
used in simulations of
missiles and airborne decoys in FORTRAN on
a VAX 11/785, researching data for input to models, enhancing
models with graphic displays on a Graphic 8 (Vistagraphic 4000),
analysing results, and giving presentations describing the results
of studies and about the facilities capabilities. Did computer
simulation and analysis work for the U2, SR-71 and many other
programs. Helped start the INEWS program during proposal phase.
Was instrumental in integrating the Graphic 8 with video
recording and projection equipment.
