Recently, the fuzzy logic-based technique has received attention world-wide and has been becoming an emerging area with significant application possibilities. Fuzzy control theory is a combination of the fuzzy theory and the control system theory. It is a practical alternative for a variety of challenging control applications since it provides methods for designing non-linear controllers by the use of heuristic information. Fuzzy logic problems deal with situations that may have several reasonable solutions. The objective is to find the best of these possible solutions. Control systems based on the fuzzy logic theory can become more functional and flexible in comparison with conventional control systems. This book presents modern scientific knowledge in fuzzy logic control theory.

How has computer science changed mathematical thinking? In this first ever comprehensive survey of the subject for popular science readers, Arturo Sangalli explains how computers have brought a new practicality to mathematics and mathematical applications. By using fuzzy logic and related concepts, programmers have been able to sidestep the traditional and often cumbersome search for perfect mathematical solutions to embrace instead solutions that are "good enough." If mathematicians want their work to be relevant to the problems of the modern world, Sangalli shows, they must increasingly recognize "the importance of being fuzzy."

As Sangalli explains, fuzzy logic is a technique that allows computers to work with imprecise terms--to answer questions with "maybe" rather than just "yes" and "no." The practical implications of this flexible type of mathematical thinking are remarkable. Japanese programmers have used fuzzy logic to develop the city of Sendai's unusually energy-efficient and smooth-running subway system--one that does not even require drivers. Similar techniques have been used in fields as diverse as medical diagnosis, image understanding by robots, the engineering of automatic transmissions, and the forecasting of currency exchange rates. Sangalli also explores in his characteristically clear and engaging manner the limits of classical computing, reviewing many of the central ideas of Turing and Godel. He shows us how "genetic algorithms" can solve problems by an evolutionary process in which chance plays a fundamental role. He introduces us to "neural networks," which recognize ill-defined patterns without an explicit set of rules--much as a dog can be trained to scent drugs without ever having an exact definition of "drug." Sangalli argues that even though "fuzziness" and related concepts are often compared to human thinking, they can be understood only through mathematics--but the math he uses in the book is straightforward and easy to grasp.

Of equal appeal to specialists and the general reader, "The Importance of Being Fuzzy" reveals how computer science is changing both the nature of mathematical practice and the shape of the world around us.

In recent years, substantial efforts are being made in the development of reliability theory including fuzzy reliability theories and their applications to various real-life problems. Fuzzy set theory is widely used in decision making and multi criteria such as management and engineering, as well as other important domains in order to evaluate the uncertainty of real-life systems. Fuzzy reliability has proven to have effective tools and techniques based on real set theory for proposed models within various engineering fields, and current research focuses on these applications. Advancements in Fuzzy Reliability Theory introduces the concept of reliability fuzzy set theory including various methods, techniques, and algorithms. The chapters present the latest findings and research in fuzzy reliability theory applications in engineering areas. While examining the implementation of fuzzy reliability theory among various industries such as mining, construction, automobile, engineering, and more, this book is ideal for engineers, practitioners, researchers, academicians, and students interested in fuzzy reliability theory applications in engineering areas.

This volume covers the integration of fuzzy logic and expert systems. A vital resource in the field, it includes techniques for applying fuzzy systems to neural networks for modeling and control, systematic design procedures for realizing fuzzy neural systems, techniques for the design of rule-based expert systems using the massively parallel processing capabilities of neural networks, the transformation of neural systems into rule-based expert systems, the characteristics and relative merits of integrating fuzzy sets, neural networks, genetic algorithms, and rough sets, and applications to system identification and control as well as nonparametric, nonlinear estimation. Practitioners, researchers, and students in industrial, manufacturing, electrical, and mechanical engineering, as well as computer scientists and engineers will appreciate this reference source to diverse application methodologies.
Key Features
* Fuzzy system techniques applied to neural networks for modeling and control
* Systematic design procedures for realizing fuzzy neural systems
* Techniques for the design of rule-based expert systems
* Characteristics and relative merits of integrating fuzzy sets, neural networks, genetic algorithms, and rough sets
* System identification and control
* Nonparametric, nonlinear estimation
Practitioners, researchers, and students in industrial, manufacturing, electrical, and mechanical engineering, as well as computer scientists and engineers will find this volume a unique and comprehensive reference to these diverse application methodologies

An introduction to category theory as a rigorous, flexible, and coherent modeling language that can be used across the sciences. Category theory was invented in the 1940s to unify and synthesize different areas in mathematics, and it has proven remarkably successful in enabling powerful communication between disparate fields and subfields within mathematics. This book shows that category theory can be useful outside of mathematics as a rigorous, flexible, and coherent modeling language throughout the sciences. Information is inherently dynamic; the same ideas can be organized and reorganized in countless ways, and the ability to translate between such organizational structures is becoming increasingly important in the sciences. Category theory offers a unifying framework for information modeling that can facilitate the translation of knowledge between disciplines. Written in an engaging and straightforward style, and assuming little background in mathematics, the book is rigorous but accessible to non-mathematicians. Using databases as an entry to category theory, it begins with sets and functions, then introduces the reader to notions that are fundamental in mathematics: monoids, groups, orders, and graphs-categories in disguise. After explaining the "big three" concepts of category theory-categories, functors, and natural transformations-the book covers other topics, including limits, colimits, functor categories, sheaves, monads, and operads. The book explains category theory by examples and exercises rather than focusing on theorems and proofs. It includes more than 300 exercises, with solutions. Category Theory for the Sciences is intended to create a bridge between the vast array of mathematical concepts used by mathematicians and the models and frameworks of such scientific disciplines as computation, neuroscience, and physics.

The widespread use of fuzzy set theory in almost every science attests to its intuitive appeal and the powerful insights it offers. Despite its relevance as a tool for evaluating non-stochastic behavioural uncertainty and its clear applicability to the business world, fuzzy mathematics has yet to establish itself in mainstream economic analysis.Fuzzy Sets and Economics presents a clear and concise introduction to fuzzy mathematics and demonstrates its adaptability to the analysis of oligopolistic competition. In particular, the author indicates how the economic evaluation of non-cooperative oligopoly markets is changed when fuzzy set mathematics is used. The neoclassical view that oligopolistic competition is inefficient is shown only to apply in the short run while policy matters, such as antitrust, and some basic economic fundamentals, such as the supply-demand paradigm, are affected by the introduction of a fuzzy mathematics framework.

In this innovative approach to the practice of social science, Charles Ragin explores the use of fuzzy sets to bridge the divide between quantitative and qualitative methods. Paradoxically, the fuzzy set is a powerful tool because it replaces an unwieldy, "fuzzy" instrument--the variable, which establishes only the positions of cases relative to each other, with a precise one--degree of membership in a well-defined set.
Ragin argues that fuzzy sets allow a far richer dialogue between ideas and evidence in social research than previously possible. They let quantitative researchers abandon "homogenizing assumptions" about cases and causes, they extend diversity-oriented research strategies, and they provide a powerful connection between theory and data analysis. Most important, fuzzy sets can be carefully tailored to fit evolving theoretical concepts, sharpening quantitative tools with in-depth knowledge gained through qualitative, case-oriented inquiry. This book will revolutionize research methods not only in sociology, political science, and anthropology but in any field of inquiry dealing with complex patterns of causation.

Fuzzy set theory deals with sets or categories whose boundaries are blurry or, in other words, "fuzzy." This book presents an accessible introduction to fuzzy set theory, focusing on its applicability to the social sciences. Unlike most books on this topic, Fuzzy Set Theory: Applications in the Social Sciences provides a systematic, yet practical guide for researchers wishing to combine fuzzy set theory with standard statistical techniques and model-testing. Key Features: Addresses Basic Concepts: Fuzzy set theory is an analytic framework for handling concepts that are simultaneously categorical and dimensional. Starting with a rationale for fuzzy sets, this book introduces readers with an elementary knowledge of statistics to the necessary concepts and techniques of fuzzy set theory and fuzzy logic. Introduces Novel Ways of Analyses: Researchers are shown alternative methods to conventional models, especially for testing theories that are expressed in set-wise terms. Issues of operationalizing graded membership in a fuzzy set and the measurement of the properties of such sets are a few of the topics addressed. Illustrates Techniques and Applications: Real examples and data-sets from various disciplines in the social sciences are used to demonstrate the connections between fuzzy sets and other data analytic techniques, empirical applications of the technique, and the critiques of fuzzy set theory. Intended Audience: Ideal for researchers in the social sciences, education, and behavioral sciences; as well as graduate students in the applied social sciences

The primary aim of the book is to provide a systematic development of the theory of metric spaces of normal, upper semicontinuous fuzzy convex fuzzy sets with compact support sets, mainly on the base space n. An additional aim is to sketch selected applications in which these metric space results and methods are essential for a thorough mathematical analysis.This book is distinctly mathematical in its orientation and style, in contrast with many of the other books now available on fuzzy sets, which, although all making use of mathematical formalism to some extent, are essentially motivated by and oriented towards more immediate applications and related practical issues. The reader is assumed to have some previous undergraduate level acquaintance with metric spaces and elementary functional analysis.

From Simon & Schuster, Fuzzy Logic is about the revolutionary computer technology that is changing our world. Fuzzy logic is a way to program computers so that they can mimic the imprecise way that humans make decisions. This technology allows for many innovative applications, including cars that virtually drive themselves, washing machines that pick the right wash cycles and water temperature automatically and air conditioning and heaters that adjust to the number of people in the room.

Information granules, as encountered in natural language, are implicit in nature. To make them fully operational so they can be effectively used to analyze and design intelligent systems, information granules need to be made explicit. An emerging discipline, granular computing focuses on formalizing information granules and unifying them to create a coherent methodological and developmental environment for intelligent system design and analysis. Granular Computing: Analysis and Design of Intelligent Systems presents the unified principles of granular computing along with its comprehensive algorithmic framework and design practices. Introduces the concepts of information granules, information granularity, and granular computing Presents the key formalisms of information granules Builds on the concepts of information granules with discussion of higher-order and higher-type information granules Discusses the operational concept of information granulation and degranulation by highlighting the essence of this tandem and its quantification in terms of the associated reconstruction error Examines the principle of justifiable granularity Stresses the need to look at information granularity as an important design asset that helps construct more realistic models of real-world systems or facilitate collaborative pursuits of system modeling Highlights the concepts, architectures, and design algorithms of granular models Explores application domains where granular computing and granular models play a visible role, including pattern recognition, time series, and decision making Written by an internationally renowned authority in the field, this innovative book introduces readers to granular computing as a new paradigm for the analysis and synthesis of intelligent systems. It is a valuable resource for those engaged in research and practical developments in computer, electrical, industrial, manufacturing, and biomedical engineering. Building from fundamentals, the book is also suitable for readers from nontechnical disciplines where information granules assume a visible position.

The formal description of non-precise data before their statistical analysis is, except for error models and interval arithmetic, a relatively young topic. Fuzziness is described in the theory of fuzzy sets but only a few papers on statistical inference for non-precise data exist. In many cases, for example when very small concentrations are being measured, it is necessary to describe the imprecision of data. Otherwise, the results of statistical analysis can be unrealistic and misleading. Fortunately, there is a straightforward technique for dealing with non-precise data. The technique - the generalized inference method - is explained in Statistical Methods for Non-Precise Data. Anyone who understands elementary statistical methods and simple stochastic models will be able to use this book to understand and work with non-precise data.
The book includes explanations of how to cope with non-precise data in different practical situations, and makes an excellent graduate level text book for students, as well as a general reference for scientists and practitioners.

Features

Ever since fuzzy logic was introduced by Lotfi Zadeh in the mid-sixties and genetic algorithms by John Holland in the early seventies, these two fields widely been subjects of academic research the world over. During the last few years, they have been experiencing extremely rapid growth in the industrial world, where they have been shown to be very effective in solving real-world problems. These two substantial fields, together with neurocomputing techniques, are recognized as major parts of soft computing: a set of computing technologies already riding the waves of the next century to produce the human-centered intelligent systems of tomorrow; the collection of papers presented in this book shows the way. The book also contains an extensive bibliography on fuzzy logic and genetic algorithms.