Thanks for your comment. I don't see how the difficulty of a problem alters the class of the algorithm that is applied towards finding a solution; the algorithms that we used here are mentioned in almost every classic textbook on AI (Russel, Norvig etc.). If you're alluding towards the difference b/w weak and strong AI, then that's another discussion (btw, I didn't down-vote your comment).

(Sorry for the slow reply.)

Yes, these optimization algorithms are used in AI. But that doesn't make them AI. Loops are used in AI; strings are used in AI; but a loop isn't an "AI algorithm" and a string isn't an "AI data structure", and writing a program that uses strings and loops wouldn't be "using AI to [do whatever]".

Simulated annealing is a less trivial thing than loops and strings. But it still isn't specifically an AI technique. Simple hill-climbing optimization, even less so. I'm pretty sure that a hefty majority of the uses of these things is unambiguously not AI unless AI is defined super-broadly (e.g., as "doing something tricky with a computer").

(No, I wasn't alluding to the distinction between "weak" and "strong" AI. I'm perfectly happy to call things AI that don't come close to actually implementing human-like intelligence!)

Thanks for your comments. Plugging in a Physics engine to do just that did cross my mind but I ended up using more traditional optimization algorithms b/c they're incredibly easy to implement. Plus, I had worked with them before.

I've added the output at the end of the blog post for that image... check it out!

This algorithm works pretty well for billboards in urban settings as well -- since the photos come with the units outlined.

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oh shit, i had no idea that it was clickable.

The site has two major goals:

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2. Developing an 'Open Ideas Initiative' so that ideas may become "open source".

I think www.iinspireus.com does a much better job at soliciting feedback for your ideas!

I couldn't agree more... good ideas are a dime-a-dozen. What's rare are people who put in the effort to execute ideas, and execute them well.

People tend not to act upon their ideas because of the lack of time, money, or the right skills. I'm trying to help solve the third problem on my site www.iinspireus.com -- helping people find real collaborators/partners with skills complementary to theirs, so that they can realize their ideas.