David B. Stewart

About

David B. Stewart is a pioneering researcher in real-time robotic software systems, component-based software architecture, and dynamically reconfigurable computing environments. His most influential contribution — the port-based object abstraction, introduced in his landmark 1997 paper with 296 citations — fundamentally reshaped how control engineers design and implement flexible, reconfigurable real-time software. This programming model provided domain-specific building blocks that brought both structure and adaptability to complex robotic control systems. Stewart's sustained work on the CHIMERA II multiprocessing environment demonstrated practical pathways for deploying real-time, sensor-based robot control across diverse hardware configurations, earning dozens of citations across multiple publications. Alongside these contributions, he advanced human-machine interface design through the Onika system, an iconically programmed interface enabling engineers and end-users to intuitively assemble and reconfigure real-time software modules — a concept he explored from 1994 through 2018, reflecting remarkable research longevity. His work on virtual laboratories and distributed software assembly further extended these ideas into networked, collaborative research environments. With a career spanning decades and a cumulative citation record exceeding 500 references, Stewart's research has meaningfully shaped modern robotic software engineering, offering both theoretical frameworks and practical tools that continue to influence embedded systems development.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Design of dynamically reconfigurable real-time software using port-based objects

   296 citations · 1997
2. 2
   Implementing real-time robotic systems using CHIMERA II

   73 citations · 2002
3. 3
   A human machine interface for distributed virtual laboratories

   41 citations · 1994
4. 4
   A software architecture-based human-machine interface for reconfigurable sensor-based control systems

   32 citations · 2002
5. 5
   Rapid development of robotic applications using component-based real-time software

   24 citations · 2002
6. 6
   CHIMERA II: a real-time multiprocessing environment for sensor-based robot control

   23 citations · 2003
7. 7
   Dynamically reconfigurable embedded software-does it make sense?

   15 citations · 2002
8. 8
   Implementing real-time robotic systems using CHIMERA II

   13 citations · 2002
9. 9
   Using Hypermedia and Reconfigurable Software Assembly to Support Virtual Laboratories and Factories

   12 citations · 2018
10. 10
    An Iconic Programming Language for Sensor-Based Robots

    7 citations · 2018

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links