• Question: WHAT WAS YOUR BEST WORK

    Asked by Busterboy(tommy) to Ed on 9 Mar 2015.
    • Photo: Ed Rial

      Ed Rial answered on 9 Mar 2015:

      Hey Busterboy

      I think my best work is actually something that could sound boring! I wrote a new piece of software for my job which I think works in a much cleverer manner than the software we used to use.

      I design and build machines that use hundreds of slightly imperfect permanent magnets. However I still want to combine these magnets in such a way that they give me a perfect answer. It is a type of problem called an ‘optimisation problem’. There are billions and billions and billions of different ways to combine the magnets so not even a computer can figure out every combination and pick the best one, so you have to be smarter about how you look.

      A colleague at work suggested we use a method called ‘Artificial Immune Systems’ where we program the computer to behave like a human fighting off an infection. It works really well and I’m really pleased with it!

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