Jake Rawal

Software Engineer

Kaizen

Upcoming Projects to be Launched by My Co-Founded Company, Kaizen

RecipeAI: Out Now!

Founded January 2024

Timeline

January - March 2024
Team Leader for FoodFa: A Major Group Project
Team Leader for FoodFa: A Major Group Project
React Native Frontend with NodeJS Backend Food Logging Application with Pack Opening Gamification
As Team Leader it was my responsibilty to plan and designated other team members roles and weekly user stories based on their strengths. Encouraging challenging and breaking the mold with different ideas and approaches to the project, the team and I were able to successful deliver a working app for both Android and Ios.
Implemented a User Authentication System which utlized JWT Tokens and Bcrypt for security.
A Peer Review from one of my Team Members:
Jake has been an indispensable leader within our team, steering our efforts with confidence and exceptional organizational skills. As the chair of all team meetings, he has ensured that discussions are productive and goals are clearly set and communicated. His diligence in writing comprehensive notes on Notion and scheduling meetings has been critical in keeping the team organized and on track.
Jake's reliability and commitment to quality are evident in every task he undertakes. He consistently completes his work to a high standard and has a reassuring presence, confidently managing his responsibilities alongside other priorities. This has been particularly valuable in times of tight deadlines and complex project phases.
His technical acumen is impressive, especially in troubleshooting and resolving significant challenges, such as race conditions in our automated test suites for both the frontend and backend. These contributions have not only enhanced the quality and reliability of our application but also demonstrated Jake's problem-solving capabilities and deep understanding of the technology stack.
Moreover, Jake's role in the iOS branch of our project has been transformative. His leadership and technical contributions have propelled this aspect of the project forward, proving his versatility and capacity to drive progress across different facets of our work.
February - April 2024
Operating System InfOS
Operating System InfOS
Participated in a comprehensive C++ coursework project focused on maintaining and improving a basic operating system called InfoOS. This project provided hands-on experience with operating system concepts and advanced C++ programming techniques.
Improvements include Page Fault Handling. Identifying and handling page faults in the operating system, ensuring that memory access violations are detected and resolved correctly.
Lazy Allocation: Implementing lazy allocation to improve memory management and optimize memory usage in the operating system. Ensured memory was allocated only when necessary, reducing overheads and improving performance.
Stack Tracing: Implementing stack tracing to track the execution of programs and identify potential issues or errors in the operating system.
Boundary Checking: Implementing boundary checking to prevent buffer overflows and other memory-related vulnerabilities in the operating system.
Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces was used as a reference for this project, providing valuable insights into operating system design and implementation.
January 2024
Snake AI using PyTorch Deep Q Learning
Snake AI using PyTorch Deep Q Learning
This project represents my foray into the world of artificial intelligence (AI) using Python and PyTorch. Inspired by the classic game3 of Snake, I embarked on this journey to visualize and understand how reinforcement learning and deep learning can be applied in a practical, engaging context. Following a tutorial, I gained a foundational understanding of PyTorch and the implementation of AI in Python. I really wanted to see a real example that I could code of AI learning, to inspire me on the path of AI.
Uses Deep Q Learning and Neural Networks. Developed using PyTorch
Gained a basic understanding of PyTorch and its application in AI. Explored the concepts of reinforcement learning and deep learning. Developed a hands-on project that consolidates theoretical knowledge into practical skills.
This project has sparked a deep interest in AI, and I am keen to delve deeper into this field. It has inspired me to access more resources and build a robust understanding of the fundamentals of AI. I am excited to take on more projects like this, furthering my knowledge and skills in AI and PyTorch.
January 2024
Original React Website
Original React Website
Example Project used to learn React fundamentals before going on to build the website you are currently on.
The best way to learn is by building projects, so the old personal website was a direct reflection of that idea.
Deployed using Github Pages and Custom Domain configuration
November 2023 - January 2024
Hyena Team Manager
Hyena Team Manager
This Project was a group Project using Python Django as the backend. We created a Website where users could create accounts and create teams with other members of the site, which in turn would let them create tasks and assign these tasks to other team mates.
The Website included many additional features such as notifications and a gamification element to encourage Task Completion for all users.
Built using Agile lifecycle and weekly sprints, while using Test Driven Development. On top of my coding work, I was responsible for the weekly sprints, User Stories, and ensuring that the team was on track to meet the deadline
December 2023
Evil Wordle
Evil Wordle
Evil Wordle is similar to normal Wordle, but with extra calculations to figure out the most evil word to set as the word after the user has made their first guess.
Using Scala, this was implemented effectively using immutable design. The project emphasizes immutability, ensuring that data structures and states are handled in a purely functional manner.
I applied functional programming concepts, such as pure recursive backtracking, to enhance the maintainability of the code.
December 2023
Shogun
Shogun
This Scala project brings to life the classic game of Shogun, where strategic moves and careful planning are key.
The implementation includes determining all possible moves for each piece and ensuring the legality of those moves, with special consideration given to the king to prevent moves that put it in check or lead to capture.
December 2023
Brainf**k Interpreter and Compiler
Brainf**k Interpreter and Compiler
This Scala project provides both an interpreter and a compiler for the Brainf**k programming language. Bf is an esoteric programming language known for its minimalistic design, consisting of a small set of commands.
The interpreter executes bf programs directly, while the compiler compiles Brainf**k programs into an intermediate representation for execution. Scala was chosen for this project because, as a functional programming language, it allowed me to utilize pattern matching and the speed of immutable recursive functions to compile a bf file into a much smaller file.
I demonstrated the progress of gradually improving the compile process to increase the speed at which bf files can be run. Brainf**k consists of a simple set of commands, each represented by a single character. The commands include >, <, +, -, [, ], ., and ,. The language operates on a memory tape with cells, and the commands manipulate the tape and its contents.
December 2023
Brzozowski Regular Expression Pattern Matcher
Brzozowski Regular Expression Pattern Matcher
This Scala project implements a regular expression pattern matcher based on the Brzozowski derivative.
The implementation covers checking if the regular expression can match an empty string, calculating the derivative of a regular expression, simplifying regular expressions, and calculating the size of the regular expression tree.
It checks if the given regular expression can match an empty string. The derivative of a regular expression is calculated using the Brzozowski derivative. Regular expressions can be simplified for more efficient matching, and the size of the regular expression tree is calculated.
November 2023
Robotics Project - Patrol Robot with AI
Robotics Project - Patrol Robot with AI
A project developed in Python using Rospy and the Robotic Operating System (ROS).
Features include autonomous patrolling between rooms using the turtlebot3 cost mapping A* Heuristic Search, and Visual Recognition Artificial Intelligence using YOLO (You Only Look Once) to detect the presence of humans, animals, and objects in different rooms.
The system then uses Text-To-Speech to report these detections.
October - November 2023
Sudoku Number Sets Solver
Sudoku Number Sets Solver
This C++ project provides a solver for the 9x9 NumberSets puzzle, a challenging variation of Sudoku.
The solver is designed to efficiently find solutions for 9x9 grids with added complexity, making it nearly instantaneous for all examples, including extra difficulty boards.
It is implemented using efficient Backtracking algorithms. Number-Sets is a more difficult version of Sudoku, so the challenge was determining how to use Dynamic Programming.
October - November 2023
Countdown Game
Countdown Game
This C++ project provides a solver for Countdown problems, inspired by the British TV show.
The solver uses Reverse Polish Notation (RPN) to determine if it's possible to reach a target number by applying basic arithmetic operations (+, -, *, /) to a set of given numbers.
Given a set of numbers and a target, the solver determines if it's possible to reach the target using the provided numbers and basic arithmetic operations. Intermediate results and operands are represented and evaluated using RPN.
Efficiency was key here, as without a fast algorithm, it could take a less advanced code a lot of time to find the solutions. I set myself the challenge of improving the performance of the algorithms used.
October - November 2023
String Processing
String Processing
This C++ project provides a highly efficient String-Constructor capable of processing strings of up to 50,000 characters in less than 10 seconds.
The String-Constructor is designed to recreate a target string using the append and clone operations with specified costs. The goal is to find the most cost-effective way to reconstruct the target string by strategically choosing between character append and substring cloning.
The project leverages Dynamic Programming and Backtracking algorithms to efficiently explore and optimize the reconstruction process.
March 2023
Covid Data Viewer GUI - Group Project
Covid Data Viewer GUI - Group Project
This Java project processed large data and displayed statistics related to the Covid-19 effect in the London Boroughs.
The GUI was developed using JavaFX.
February 2023
Predator and Prey Simulation - Pair Programming
Predator and Prey Simulation - Pair Programming
This Java project is inspired by the Game of Life simulation.
We extended the simulation to add more relationships and simulations to the original, such as diseases and antibiotics, predators and preys.
Each simulation (cell) had its own unique simulation and interaction with every other type of cell, leading to a dynamic and different simulation every single time the program is run.
2022
Chess Game using Python Tkinter with Basic AI - For a Client
Chess Game using Python Tkinter with Basic AI - For a Client
Python project of a Chess Game using Tkinter for the GUI. Created for a client with requirements elicitation and interviews to adhere to specific requirements.
There are 4 different modes: Play, Computer, Analysis, and Puzzles. Play lets you go against another human player. Computer lets you play against an AI with 3 different difficulties, from inexperienced to experienced players.
Analysis lets users create their own games and replay old games they've saved. They can place any piece anywhere as many times as they like to play their own custom games. Finally, Puzzles allow the user to load in a puzzle and have to follow the chess puzzle steps until they get it correct.