Hi! I am a research computer engineer at University of Southern California's (USC) Information Sciences Institute (ISI) in Arlington, VA. I am is passionate about many engineering and computational concepts including embedded systems, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and microprocessor technologies. Applications that interest me range from interactive technologies (Virtual and Mixed Reality) to bioinformatics!
I maintain a list of my professionala experiences and projects at my main website: oshears.github.io.
In my free time I work on game development projects with other artists and devs to develop multiplayer, VR, and 3D games. Updates are posted to my studio website: OSGames.
My FPGA-ASIC design projects include the following:
- BladeRF Delayed Feedback Reservoir (DFR) Accelerator: A project to implement a delayed feedback reservoir (DFR) on the bladeRF 2.0 micro software defined radio (SDR) FPGA.
- Hybrid Delayed Feedback Reservoir (DFR) FPGA Bridge: A project that leverages a heterogenous FPGA-ASIC architecture to implement a hardware accelerated and energy efficient delayed feedback reservoir (DFR).
- FPGA Spiking Neural Network (SNN): A simple implementation of a spiking neural network with FPGA synthesizable RTL.
- FPGA Friendly SNN Models: Python implementations of Spiking Neural Networks (SNNs) that have been designed for operation on FPGA.
- Neuromorphic ASIC Bridge: The HDL FPGA Module to interface with the MICS Neuromorphic Reservoir Computing ASIC
- Neuromorphic ASIC Vision: A set of scripts to feed video and images to the Neuromorphic ASIC
- Neuromorphic ASIC PetaLinux: The PetaLinux source files for the Neuromorphic ASIC Bridge project
I have had experience working with the following open-source hardware development projects:
- OpenFPGA: Used to create and analyze FPGA architectures and bitstreams for custom architectures.
- BladeRF: An open-source software defined radio (SDR).
- Project X-Ray: Reverse engineering Xilinx Series 7 bitstreams.
- Embedded Scalable Platforms (ESP): Open-source NoC generator with an Arianne RISC-V CPU and FPGA emulation capability.
- Xilinx FINN: A neural netork compiler for Xilinx FPGAs.
- RapidWright: A Java-based placement and routing tool for Xilinx FPGAs.
- CocoTB: A Python-based RTL verification framework using the Verilog programming interface (VPI).
My game development projects include:
- Synthicate: A cyberpunk adaptation of Settlers of Catan. Check it out on itch here!
- Lonnie's Fish Tank: A cozy fish tank simulator game where players live in an underwater world! Check it out on Itch here!
- Skeleton Hell: A co-op comedy horror game feature unique skeleton bone based mechanics. Check it out on steam here!
- OSGames Board Game Unity Package: A Unity package for creating a generic turn-based board game style game. Developed for my project: Primordial - a video game adaptation of the Nemesis board game.
- OSGames Unity Utilities: A Unity package containing utility scripts for automating common operations across different systems.
- Settlers of Catan: A simple Unity adaptation of the board game, Settlers of Catan.
I am actively seeking opportunities to collaborate on game design projects related to 3D, multiplayer, and virtual reality! Feel free to reach out by emailing oyshears@gmail.com.