Mark ter Maat @ Nedap Livestock Management

Hello, I’m Mark. I’m a Software Developer and have worked at Nedap since 2012.

What does no one know about you?

I obtained my PhD in Human Media Interaction (HMI), specialising in the field of dialogue systems. This mostly concerns analysing and interpreting human behaviour in order to make human-like virtual characters. How did I end up in Livestock Management? Secretly, I think there’s not that much difference between analysing and interpreting human behaviour with that of cows and pigs.

Role within Nedap?

Our unit works on systems that give cattle and pig farmers a better insight into what their animals are doing and how they’re doing. My job mostly entails back ends, architecture, and streaming data processing. We have three teams of around four or five people who work independently on various products.

What’s your code?

We mostly work with .Net and Typescript, but also use Java, Ruby and Python if needed.

What attracted you to Nedap?

The variety of the work. Not only does it differ from day to day and week to week, but every year I’ve worked at Nedap, I’ve worked on completely different things. Plus, there’s always room – and the freedom – for new ideas and alternative solutions. It keeps things fresh and fun!

Nedap ambitions?

I want to keep developing myself and learning new things. And of course, continue to make cool products and experiment with the latest innovative approaches.