Professor Richard Everson and Dr Jonathan Fieldsend have developed a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm for the optimisation of the Short Term Conflict Alert (STCA) system. Described as a tremendous contribution to the safety of air traffic services in the UK, the system is used by NATS to alert air traffic controllers of potential loss of separation between aircraft, for operational planning of STCA systems across the UK airspace.
Dr Ed Keedwell is exploring the application of computing techniques inspired by natural systems; such as the way in which ants find food. With external partners including Mouchel Ltd and Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, Dr Keedwell is investigating the use of these techniques to optimise water distribution networks and to discover gene regulatory networks and small changes in DNA, which have profound effects on human health.
Geographical data provide particular challenges to information system developers. For example, many place names do not correspond to precisely delineated regions and so cannot be represented using exact coordinates. Furthermore, geographical entities and relationships undergo frequent change, leading to the problem of integrating the time dimension into spatial information systems. Such problems are being investigated by Dr Antony Galton in collaboration with Ordnance Survey.
