Cotterman, Dean & Gardner, Ltd. is a professional services partnership dedicated to providing consulting, contract software development, project management, and technical training to clients around the Miami Valley and around the world.

ur specialty is the specification, design, implementation, and deployment of distributed systems requiring high reliability and real-time or near-real-time performance.

ince 1995 we have worked with Siemens Corporation in the development, deployment, and support of distributed airfield lighting and navigation aid control systems. In 1999 we concluded a three-year effort in which CD&G was responsible for the development and deployment of an airfield lighting control system (ALCS) for the Oslo International Airport. This new airport, considered by many to be the world's showcase for airport technology, required a seamlessly fault-tolerant solution with the capability of controlling and monitoring in real-time the thousands of individual lights and the supporting and ancillary equipment necessary to permit continuous airport operation in zero-visibility conditions. From working positions in the control tower, maintenance center, and equipment substations, scattered across 100 square kilometers of airfield, operators and maintenance personnel can control and examine the status of any piece of lighting equipment in the airport with a click of the mouse.

s part of a multi-national consortium, CD&G was the subcontractor responsible for the ALCS software. We managed and staffed the entire effort, including: generation of detailed requirement specifications; development of the complete architecture and detailed design; implementation in a C++/Windows NT/SQL Server environment, employing a team of up to 7 full-time developers; development of test plans, system and user documentation; deployment and acceptance testing; training; and support.

ore recently, we have worked on the development of specifications, system architectures, and detailed designs for the next generation of even more capable lighting control platforms, currently being deployed in Dubai and Brussels. We are currently completing the implementation of a Java-based, substation-level control application for the Brussels airport. This application serves as both a tool for maintenance support and as a component of the redundant architecture of that facility. We are also working on tools for the management of configuration data for these extensive installations.

nother ongoing CD&G project is with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA), which employs a distributed network of Unix-based workstations with a fault-tolerant VAX host at the core to track, dispatch and record the movements of commuter trains operating in and around Philadelphia. This system (ATDS) is closely tied to another distributed Unix network (ACDS) used by management to schedule and dispatch train crew personnel, track their hours and time-off for payroll purposes, and to ensure compliance with Federal rail regulations and union contracts. Data from the train dispatching system also feeds a passenger information display system, which updates display monitors at three major city stations with current arrival and departure information.

s part of a large team of developers, CD&G was heavily involved in the implementation, test and deployment of the ATDS. CD&G was also responsible for the passenger information display system, including interfaces to the unique display hardware and user interfaces for remote diagnostics and management of the displays. CD&G took the lead in the development and installation of the ACDS, and was responsible for both day-to-day management and architecture development for the project. Since the deployment of these systems CD&G has served SEPTA by providing defect correction, numerous system enhancements, Y2K compliance, and ongoing technical support. We are working today with SEPTA on software and hardware upgrades, updated passenger display facilities, and the evolution of these systems towards an even more highly automated and integrated operations control center.

ur experience is not limited to distributed systems, however. The following is a sampling of the many projects with which we have been involved over the past 14 years: