Mechatronics Expert Witnesses

Harry Direen, PhD, PE has over 30 years of experience as an engineer Designing and Developing Systems in the Electronics and Software Industry. He has taught engineering courses at the US Air Force Academy and at the University of Colorado. Dr. Direen currently works with a research group at the US Air Force Academy developing control systems and image processing using GPGPUs for UAVs. An inventor, he holds 3 United States patents.

Litigation Support - Dr. Direen has significant experience as an expert witness supporting counsel and testifying in complex patent infringement cases. He has a broad base of knowledge in electronic and software systems gained from a long career developing a wide range of products and systems. His litigation experience also includes encryption / decryption methods associated with databases and signal processing. Dr. Direen has reverse engineered a variety of complex systems over the years, including: media players, modems, modem compression algorithms, coriolis mass flow meters, database systems, and a range of other products to support patent infringement cases generating detailed claim charts and writing expert reports to demonstrate infringement. He has successfully discovered and analyzed complex digital signal processing algorithms and pertinent operations within these products. Dr. Direen's expertise is available to counsel representing both plaintiff and defendant. He is highly proficient in explaining complex systems to laymen.

Areas of Expertise:

View Dr. Direen's Consulting Profile.

Khalid Sorensen, PhD, is a highly accomplished technology leader in Automation, Mechatronics, Motion Control, Manufacturing, Machine Vision, and Human-Machine Interaction. He has over 20 years of experience developing and deploying world-class mechatronic, motion control, and automation solutions.

Dr. Sorensen has directed the development and implementation of 100s of complex, multi-disciplinary mechatronic systems for high-profile industry leaders including Toyota, Ford, Alcoa, Caterpillar, Boeing, NuScale, and many others, and high-profile facilities including Fukushima and Chernobyl.

Litigation Support - Dr. Sorensen has testified in numerous Product Liability and IP disputes – both at the Federal and District court levels, as well as the ITC, USPTO, and US Customs and Border Protection.

Areas of Expertise:

Career Highlights:

• Founded a technology company where he invented and was the Chief Architect of Expertoperator^TM, Safemove^TM, Automove^TM, and Cranevision^TM – technology known within the primary metals, automotive, and heavy-equipment sectors for enhancing crane safety, productivity, and ease-of-use; Developed state-of-the-art, on-line, time-optimal trajectory synthesis software for Cartesian machines - key drivers in the acquisition of his company 5 years after inception by a global leader in automation.
• Served as CTO at PaR Systems, a world-class supplier of large-scale robotic automation, control, advanced manufacturing, and nuclear-handling solutions.
• Founded Finity Engineering, which provides design, analysis, consulting, and litigation support services in the areas of robotics, automation, and mechatronics.
• Adjunct Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech. Teaches various engineering topics including Dynamics, Controls, Vibrations, Mechatronics, the Design Process, Product Development, Engineering IP, Product Liability, and others.
• Invited talks at premiere institutions globally including MIT, Kumoh National Univ. of Tech, Korea Atomic Energy Research Inst., Hyung Hee Univ., Huazhong Univ. of Science & Tech.

View Finity Engineering's Business Consulting Profile.

Dr. Kazerooni is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, where he also serves as the Director of the Berkeley Robotics and Human Engineering Laboratory. With over 35 years of experience in mechanical engineering and a doctorate from MIT, he is a leading expert in automated machinery, including robotics, medical devices, ergonomics and human-machine systems, wearable and assistive devices, exoskeleton systems, as well as orthotic and prosthetic systems. He is the inventor of more than 200 US and International patents, over 80% of which have been licensed, and has been inducted into the U.S. National Academy of Inventors.

In addition to his academic teaching and research, Dr. Kazerooni is an active entrepreneur. In 2005, he founded Ekso Bionics (eksobionics.com), which became a publicly traded company in 2014 and now supplies the Ekso medical exoskeleton to rehabilitation centers worldwide. He later founded suitX (suitx.com), a venture capital-, industry-, and government-funded company providing industrial and medical exoskeletons. suitX was acquired in late 2021 by Ottobock, a medical device company in Europe.

Litigation Support - Dr. Kazerooni has been deposed and testified in various Intellectual Property cases. His services include thorough examination and reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Expertise:

• automated machinery
• robotics
• medical devices
• ergonomics and human-machine systems
• wearable and assistive devices
• exoskeleton systems
• orthotic and prosthetic systems
• intelligent assist devices
• control algorithm