Dafydd Walters
Welcome to my home page on the web. Many folks these days seem to keep a personal diary (or weblog) on their web site, but I'm afraid you won't find one here. I do, however, keep a robotics-specific diary at the robots.net web site, which chronicles the work I do in that field.Work
I have been writing computer programs professionally for over 17 years, much of that time on a freelance basis. My company is Dragon Technology Ltd, through which I carry out my independent software consultancy work. I have successfully completed projects for several clients in the UK and the USA, in many industries (manufacturing, financial, medical, retail, defence and leisure). I hold professional certifications from Sun, Microsoft and the Linux Professional Institute.
I'm currently available to take on new work. If you're a hiring manager looking for an experienced and highly skilled developer who is results-motivated, please feel free to check out my CV and project portfolio. I'm happy to take on software development work of any kind, whether it's "bare-metal" embedded programming, database design, creating professional database-driven web applications, or writing desktop GUI apps: If it's got a microprocessor in it, I can program it ;-)
Robotics
Robotics is my spare-time hobby, and I have developed many autonomous robots including OAP and Lord Nelson. I keep an online diary of my robotics-related activities at robots.net.
Articles Published On-Line
Encoder, the magazine of the Seattle Robotics Society
- Implementing Dead Reckoning by Odometry on a Robot with R/C Servo Differential Drive
- Implementing Vision Using a GAME BOY Camera on the MRM
Mr. Davbot's Musings, on MobileRobotics.org
A Threat to My Profession
The EU is on the verge of adopting legislation that is a serious threat to my profession as a software author. This legislation would make computer programs patentable in Europe.
Patents are very often confused with copyrights or trademarks, but these are each very different. This confusion is not helped by the commonly used term intellectual property, which groups together patents, trademarks, copyright and trade secrets under one banner.
I believe most programmers and software professionals are of the opinion that copyright is a fair and proper form of protection for computer programs, and that it has served the IT industry very well in getting it to where it is today. It's not possible to unintentionally infringe on someone else's copyright.
Contrast this with patents, which when applied to computer software, are effectively a monopoly on ideas. If software patents were legal in Europe, not only would it be possible for a European software author to infringe on a patent without even knowing it, such unintentional infringement would be very likely to apply to a computer program of any reasonable complexity, given the large number of frivolous and broad software patents that have already been illegally granted by the European Patent Office (these are patents that would become legitimate and enforceable if the EU legalizes software patentability). If the EU adopts software patents, this will clear the way for giant software companies to amass colossal patent portfolios, creating an oppressive, stifling environment for small and medium-sized software companies and independent software authors in Europe.
I could write a lot more about why software patents are a terrible idea, and why a Europe without software patents is a great thing for the public interest, but the good people at NoSoftwarePatents.com can make the arguments much better than me, and they've put together a very readable (non-geek) site that makes the case very succinctly, so I urge you to browse their web site; I promise you you'll feel enlightened if you do. If you are convinced by the arguments, please consider helping to fight the legalization of software patents in Europe.
