Posted by Dr Serena Coetzee on 22 Feb 2011, 10:22 (last modified on 22 Feb 2011, 12:37)

A team of UP third-year computer science students made it into the finals of the InformatiCup computer science competition organized by the German Informatics Society (Gesellschaft für Informatik, GI). Christoph Stallmann and Bianca Voigts made an impact with a computer program for the optimal positioning of ATMs in urban environments.

The Gesellschaft für Informatik (GI) is the biggest computer society in German speaking countries. Since 2005, the GI organizes the InformatiCup, which has since then become the biggest and one of the most prestigious
collegiate computer science competitions in Germany. This year’s incarnation, which attracted the participation of teams from almost 50 universities, featured intricate algorithmic problems such as simulating marble runs or optimally positioning ATMs in urban environments. The ATM positioning problem was conceived by Alexander Paar, post-doctoral research fellow in the SSFM research group and a long-term contributor to the GI InformatiCup, together with Serena Coetzee, head of the Polelo research group in the department. The problem statement had a special South African touch since geographic and recent Census data of the Gauteng province formed the official input based on which submissions were evaluated.

The solution submitted by Christoph Stallmann and Bianca Voigts is based on genetic algorithms and includes visually-stunning GUI applications for Windows and Linux. The InformatiCup reviewers praised Christoph and Bianca for their industrial-strength software engineering, excellent user interface design, as well as a solid algorithmic solution attempt.

The InformatiCup finals will take place at the end of March during the annual general meeting of the Gesellschaft für Informatik in Bonn, Germany. Christoph and Bianca will compete there against teams from reputable European universities and research institutions. Finalists include, for example: Universität Freiburg, Freie Universität Berlin, and the Hasso-Plattner-Institute. The winners will be elected by a jury comprising of members from academia and industrial sponsors Deutsche Bank and Capgemini.