Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I would like to thank my wife, Rachel, and daughter, Skye, for encouraging me to undertake this challenge and tolerating long days of developing code and late nights of writing up. You are the best and I love you beyond bounds! Also, thanks to my family for putting up with me (in general).

Tomasz Bednarz has not only been a great friend but also a great mentor when I was learning programming—thank you! I also want to thank my current and former managers, Mike Stephenson and Rory Carter, as well as numerous colleagues and friends who also encouraged me to finish this book.

Special thanks go to my two former supervisors, Dr Richard Cheng-Lung Wu and Dr Tomasz Jablonski. The master's project with Tomasz sparked my interest in neural networks—lessons that I will never forget. Without Richard's help, I would not have been able to finish my PhD and will always be grateful for his help, guidance, and friendship.