Tom Combs
Lead Software Engineertom.combs@galeforcecorp.com
Tom Combs, a Lead Software Engineer with Gale Force Software Corporation, has spent 12 years in the design and development of embedded firmware for systems and electronic devices primarily for the automotive industry. He has a background in control systems, communication system, and digital signal processing theory and has demonstrated proficiency in electronic circuit troubleshooting and repair.
Prior to joining Gale Force Software as a Lead Engineer, Tom served as a Senior Engineer for Software Engineering Professionals, Inc. For the past nine years, he has worked on a variety of automatic transmission controller assignments for the military and the off-highway product teams for an Indianapolis-based division of General Motors Corporation. The following were among the tasks that he undertook on projects for that client:
- Led a 20-month, 5-person effort involving the development of 3 J1939-linked electronic control modules designed to control automatic transmission, brakes, and PTO systems.
- Performed system-level Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA).
- Coordinated requirements between different product teams in order to maximize code re-use.
- Designed and implemented controls software.
- Wrote and executed unit and integration test plans and assisted with vehicle testing at remote sites.
While with SEP, Tom wrote software for an infrared transmitter/receiver pair used for the remote detonation of explosives. He also designed and implemented the software used in a wireless transmitter/receiver system that controls the towing winch on a tow truck via commands sent from a handheld transmitter to a vehicle-mounted winch controller over an RF data link.
Tom wrote and verified software for an automobile back-up aid controller that notifies a driver of obstacles behind a vehicle using ultrasonic sensors and radar to determine proximity of objects to the vehicle.
On a non-automotive project, Tom developed a stereo imaging system that uses two CCD cameras to estimate the relative locations of sensors in a sensor array used in an acoustic imaging medical instrument. This effort involved the use of photogrammetry and camera calibration techniques. He also wrote hardware drivers for a single board computer used in a reflectometer, which included low-level interfaces to an LCD display, serial port, real-time clock, and a small keypad.
Tom holds both Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Electrical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.