Services

Product Development / Design / Manufacturing / Deployment

Bright Star Engineering specializes in providing engineering design services to the hi-tech community. We work with you on your project from product concept through the delivery of working prototypes. We work with you on your project from product concept through the delivery of working prototypes. Projects have been completed for small startups, Fortune 500 companies, and the U.S. Government. With our commitment to quality work and customer satisfaction, we can be a driving force in accomplishing your next project in a timely manner. Services we can provide include:

 

 

Microprocessor Systems
Embedded Control
Programmable Logic
Test Apparatus
Digital Video and Audio
Analog Design
Data Acquisition

 

 

Fault Tolerant Systems
Optoelectronics
Digital Signal Processing
Real-Time Systems
FPGA Logic Development
Computer Telephony
Speech Recognition and Synthesis

Software Development

 

APPLICATION SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

If customized software is needed to meet your challenges, you’ve come to the right place. We develop software in every major language utilizing agile project management methodologies and best practices. Beginning with the end in mind, we’ll help you minimize development risks and accelerate the software design process with realistic and functional prototypes. Agile programming techniques assure quick and progressive development with the agility to optimize and enhance the end product as improvement ideas are discovered along the way.

     

Custom applications include enterprise web-based tools, mobile apps for iOS and Android platforms, or custom software for other off-the-shelf platforms. If you find yourself wishing things could be easier, better, or faster, we’ll help you get there by leveraging technology to accomplish your goals.

 

EMBEDDED SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

BSE has expertise in custom embedded software development and is able to support custom software packages for any boards it produces. BSE has been developing and shipping Embedded Linux to a majority of customer base since 1998 that includes a BSE eLinux toolkit with tools, kernel, and embedded distribution. Platforms include MIPS, PowerPC, and ARM.

Process Development Services

When we evaluate your project we’ll look at your

  • GOALS
  • PROCESSES
  • STAKEHOLDERS
  • BUDGET
  • TECHNOLOGY

When we evaluate your project we look at everything that affects the outcome, not just the symptoms of the problem. We’ll work closely with you to determine how to get the results you need.

Our clients are faced with many process challenges including:

  • Ineffiecient error-prone manual processes
  • Limited knowledge and sharing of available company data
  • Legacy software and tools that are out dated and difficult to maintain and add improvements.
  • Inadequate customer service and support systems

Our team of engineers is process oriented, so as we get involved in your project, we assess your existing processes and technology and identify the changes necessary to meet your future goals. We evaluate everything that influences the desired outcome and will work closely with you to determine how to improve your processes within existing budget parameters.

Antares Service Solution 

ANTARES AUTOMOTIVE WIRING SOLUTIONS

As automotive OEMs are introducing electric powertrains and advancing with more sophisticated electronics in their vehicle designs, the need for innovative diagnostics and wiring-based solutions continues to grow.  Antares offers modern solutions for the technician that are a cut above the rest that address these challenges. Join us on a fantastic voyage to better diagnostics!

ANTARES AUTO-RENDERED, VIN-SPECIFIC WIRING DIAGRAMS

  • Antares auto-renders diagrams dynamically based on the VIN specific vehicle information
  • Only diagrams and circuits as they are built on the VIN specific vehicle are displayed
  • Dynamically links to detailed wiring information such as part numbers, images, PIN information, circuit functions, wire colors, gauges, etc.
  • System schematics are also provided along with the VIN specific, auto-rendered diagrams to increase understanding of systems and provide navigation to VIN specific auto-rendered diagrams
  • Rich location view images add detail for maximum clarity

ANTARES 3D WIRING CONNECTOR AND DEVICE LOCATION VIEWS

  • Provides added clarity and detail so technicians can visualize and find component
    locations quickly
  • Fast image loading
  • No web browser plug-in required

ANTARES 3D CIRCUIT TRACER / 3D WIRING DIAGRAMS

  • Auto renders the complete 3D wire routing for any circuit
  • Enables the technician to visualize the entire circuit at once locate key components
  • Huge time saver when diagnosing wiring related issues
  • No web browser plug-in required

ANTARES USER INTERFACE

  • World class, intuitive, web-based user interface
  • Real-time updates ensure technicians receive latest available information
  • Seamlessly links to other service related information such as diagnostics, removal and installation procedures, technical service bulletins, parts catalog systems, etc.
  • Full support for third party applications
  • Customizable to support OEM’s specific or unique requirements
  • Easily integrate or replace OEM’s existing Service Information applications existing

ANTARES SERVICE VAULT

  • BSE offers more than just Wiring development and distribution. We deliver 3D Dynamic Removal and Installation procedures, 3D Parts catalogs, etc.
  • BSE utilizes OEM’s existing engineering information / data
  • Engineering wiring lists / netlists (Any format can be utilized)
  • Supplier 2D Engineering harness / device prints
  • 3D vehicle and wire harness CAD models (All CAD formats supported) VIN information

Other Services

ELECTRONICS PACKAGING

     

As part of our electrical engineering service, we can also provide the mechanical design of the box that contains the circuit board and wiring circuitry. Your requirements for an electronic device will guide us to design the ultimate electronic device for your project. Electronic packaging will be functional and attractive to consumers, and can be designed to be weather resistant if required by your application.

 

NETWORKING SERVICES

BSE has expertise to support a wide variety of networking services including:

  • Local storage, network monitoring, and offline functionality device
  • Nationwide data acquisition, storage, and reporting/analysis
  • Local wireless networking & routing enhancements
  • Mobile application for cloud-based identity management
  • Online portal solutions
  • Specialized technical resources
 

DATA MANAGEMENT

Included with most every technical project is data management and database design. We have developed many databases to fit the needs of our customers by taking a holistic look at your environment, break down the data silos, open up data flow, and empower your teams with data management, analysis, and reporting tools. If your project needs a database, user interfaces to load and search the data, and automated utilities to streamline workflow processes, our team of capable developers will provide you a solution.

One of the most productive investments a company can make is to create data interchange and consistent execution of business rules across the operation. Through application integrations we’ll help you move data across functional teams, applications, third party applications, and database repositories. When people and systems work together, your business thrives.

 

DATA VALIDATION

BSE’s team of experienced mechanics and technicians verify data that we have collected, or that was produced by outside sources. We are especially familiar with automotive data, and currently provide wiring diagram verification and improvement for several major vehicle lines. Our online content management system (CMS) options allow easy data sharing, collaboration, and check-ins.

 

TECHNICAL HELP DESK SUPPORT

Need assistance launching a new product or providing technical support to an existing or new customer base? For over 15 years, BSE has provided contact center and help desk support services for US, Canada, Mexico, and international clients for wired networking, wireless networking, infrastructure, and technical applications. We also provide international solutions with 24/7 capability in multiple languages assuring robust support to customers anywhere.

BSE has experience aiding customers with the installation and operation of both hardware and software, as well as assisting with sales, equipment returns, and user interface guidance. We utilize state-of-the-art technical tools including fully integrated ticketing and phone systems and remote assistance solutions, and our workforce management tools ensure that your support model will always be appropriately staffed to meet service level agreements (SLAs). Our support solutions range from budget-friendly base models all the way up to premium bundled packages to meet and exceed your customers’ expectations.

BSE’s current customer satisfaction ratings are consistently at 4.5 out of 5 stars and higher, and we have HDI-certified management on-site to manage day-to-day operations. We are dedicated to providing your clients with quick and reliable customer service.

 

TESTING SERVICES

BSE offers comprehensive testing & quality assurance services to many of our customers. Testing services we can provide include:

  • System Testing
  • System Integration Testing
  • Interface Testing
  • Automation Testing
  • Security Testing
  • Performance Testing
  • Load Testing
  • Volume Testing
  • Stress Testing
  • Manual Testing

Sometimes it’s not possible to completely remove manual testing, but since we can produce test systems and software to augment or replace manual resources, our testing services can help you save money and reduce quality assurance costs. We work hard to find the right balance of manual and automated testing to assure testing processes are robust and accurate.

 

VEHICLE TESTING AND VALIDATION

BSE’s technical center includes multiple bays of garage space where our technicians perform vehicle teardown services to verify and improve service information and wiring diagrams. We are involved in the entire validation process, from on-vehicle examination to final verification for our OEM clients.

 

PROJECT MANAGEMENT SERVICES

In addition to development and implementation of new technology solutions, BSE provides project management resources to supervise the extended team, from planning and development to final testing and handoff. With the right solution and low-cost partners identified, we provide full service project management to assure your project is developed and launched successfully.

Our project managers work closely with project resources so that all the client’s needs are accounted for in the solution. Once the project is launched, we follow up on performance targets and implement updates for continuous improvement. We treat both our internal and external partners as members of the team, and as members of the team, we take ownership to assure the overall project is coordinated and managed properly.  Our expertise in managing established customer partners and our own partners gives you the flexibility you need to operate in an efficient way with low overhead.

Design Examples

FIBER OPTIC STRAIN SENSING INSTRUMENT

BSE was contracted to develop a board to do the signal acquisition and processing for a novel fiber optic based strain sensing system. This project involved the design of a very low noise photodiode transimpedance amplifier front-end along with high-performance analog filters, A/D, D/A and DSP electronics. As part of this contract BSE also developed all the signal processing software used by the 56002 DSP and delivered 10 pre-production prototypes.

EMBEDDED SPEECH SYNTHESIZER

BSE was retained to develop a high-quality speech synthesis module that utilized very little power and fit into less than three square inches of real estate within a hand-held palmtop computer. We utilized the latest in low-power (3.3 volt) logic and high throughput signal processing to meet the rigorous requirements for this application. The design/board contains over 60 components including FLASH ROM, SRAM, a 16-bit microprocessor, 80 MHz DSP, D-to-A converter, amplifier and two switching power supplies yet utilized less than 2 milliamps of current when in idle mode. BSE also ported the needed speech synthesis software to the module that is now in production.

QUAD REDUNDANT FAULT TOLERANT VME SYSTEM

BSE developed two VME board designs as part of developing the proof-of-concept prototype for a quad fault tolerant VME system funded by a research grant to BSE by the National Science Foundation. The first VME board is a generic processor board capable of supporting 68040, Intel 486 and Power PC 603 processors via a plug-in daughtercard. The other VME card consists of the redundancy management hardware for a single channel of BSE’s quad clock synchronous fault tolerant system.

VME CARD FOR WAFER-PROCESSING SYSTEM SENSOR AND ACTUATOR CONTROL

BSE developed a DSP/FPGA based VME card for controlling all sensors and actuators for a next generation wafer-processing system. This task included the development of 5,000 lines of VHDL/AHDL code for the 50,000 gate FPGA and board-level test bench. It also included implementing software for board a level test and integration with the customer’s existing application software.

RECONFIGURABLE PCI AND SBUS INTERFACE CARDS

BSE developed a reconfigurable SBus and PCI bus interface cards for Sun Microsystems Inc. These boards allowed rapid prototyping of custom co-processors, “soft” peripherals and/or I/O logic with little or no physical hardware development. The SBX+ consists of re-configurable logic in the form of FPGAs (initially from ALTERA and/or XILINX), shared SRAM, a bus interface ASIC or FPGA, a user-attachable daughtercard and miscellaneous glue and clocking logic. The FPGA logic is contained on 1-4 stacking mezzanine boards allowing one to mix-and-match FPGA technology from a variety of vendors and part families. The SBX+ daughtercard expansion interface allows the end-user to attach a daughtercard with the desired I/O connectors and/or user hardware.