This book deals with the theory, design principles, and application of hybrid intelligent systems using type-2 fuzzy sets in combination with other paradigms of Soft Computing technology such as Neuro-Computing and Evolutionary Computing. It provides a self-contained exposition of the foundation of type-2 fuzzy neural networks and presents a vast compendium of its applications to control, forecasting, decision making, system identification and other real problems. Type-2 Fuzzy Neural Networks and Their Applications is helpful for teachers and students of universities and colleges, for scientists and practitioners from various fields such as control, decision analysis, pattern recognition and similar fields.

This book is dedicated to Prof. Sadaaki Miyamoto and presents cutting-edge papers in some of the areas in which he contributed. Bringing together contributions by leading researchers in the field, it concretely addresses clustering, multisets, rough sets and fuzzy sets, as well as their applications in areas such as decision-making. The book is divided in four parts, the first of which focuses on clustering and classification. The second part puts the spotlight on multisets, bags, fuzzy bags and other fuzzy extensions, while the third deals with rough sets. Rounding out the coverage, the last part explores fuzzy sets and decision-making.

The intensity of global competition and ever-increasing economic uncertainties has led organizations to search for more efficient and effective ways to manage their business operations. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) has been widely used as a conceptually simple yet powerful tool for evaluating organizational productivity and performance. Fuzzy DEA (FDEA) is a promising extension of the conventional DEA proposed for dealing with imprecise and ambiguous data in performance measurement problems. This book is the first volume in the literature to present the state-of-the-art developments and applications of FDEA. It is designed for students, educators, researchers, consultants and practicing managers in business, industry, and government with a basic understanding of the DEA and fuzzy logic concepts.

This book brings together a representative set of Earth System Science (ESS) applications of the neural network (NN) technique. It examines a progression of atmospheric and oceanic problems, which, from the mathematical point of view, can be formulated as complex, multidimensional, and nonlinear mappings. It is shown that these problems can be solved utilizing a particular type of NN the multilayer perceptron (MLP). This type of NN applications covers the majority of NN applications developed in ESSs such as meteorology, oceanography, atmospheric and oceanic satellite remote sensing, numerical weather prediction, and climate studies. The major properties of the mappings and MLP NNs are formulated and discussed. Also, the book presents basic background for each introduced application and provides an extensive set of references.

This is an excellent book to learn how to apply artificial neural network methods to earth system sciences. The author, Dr. Vladimir Krasnopolsky, is a universally recognized master in this field. With his vast knowledge and experience, he carefully guides the reader through a broad variety of problems found in the earth system sciences where neural network methods can be applied fruitfully. (...) The broad range of topics covered in this book ensures that researchers/graduate students from many fields (...) will find it an invaluable guide to neural network methods. (Prof. William W. Hsieh, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada)

Vladimir Krasnopolsky has been the founding father of applying computation intelligence methods to environmental science; (...) Dr. Krasnopolsky has created a masterful exposition of a young, yet maturing field that promises to advance a deeper understanding of best modeling practices in environmental science. (Dr. Sue Ellen Haupt, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, USA)

Vladimir Krasnopolsky has written an important and wonderful book on applications of neural networks to replace complex and expensive computational algorithms within Earth System Science models. He is uniquely qualified to write this book, since he has been a true pioneer with regard to many of these applications. (...) Many other examples of creative emulations will inspire not just readers interested in the Earth Sciences, but any other modeling practitioner (...) to address both theoretical and practical complex problems that may (or will ) arise in a complex system." (Prof. Eugenia Kalnay, University of Maryland, USA)

Humans are remarkable in processing speech, audio, image and some biomedical signals. Artificial neural networks are proved to be successful in performing several cognitive, industrial and scientific tasks. This peer reviewed book presents some recent advances and surveys on the applications of artificial neural networks in the areas of speech, audio, image and biomedical signal processing. It chapters are prepared by some reputed researchers and practitioners around the globe.

The book offers a comprehensive survey of intuitionistic fuzzy logics. By reporting on both the author's research and others' findings, it provides readers with a complete overview of the field and highlights key issues and open problems, thus suggesting new research directions. Starting with an introduction to the basic elements of intuitionistic fuzzy propositional calculus, it then provides a guide to the use of intuitionistic fuzzy operators and quantifiers, and lastly presents state-of-the-art applications of intuitionistic fuzzy sets. The book is a valuable reference resource for graduate students and researchers alike.

This book is intended for engineers, technicians and people who plan to use fuzzy control in more or less developed and advanced control systems for manufacturing processes, or directly for executive equipment. Assuming that the reader possesses elementary knowledge regarding fuzzy sets and fuzzy control, by way of a reminder, the first parts of the book contain a reminder of the theoretical foundations as well as a description of the tools to be found in the Matlab/Simulink environment in the form of a toolbox. The major part of the book presents applications for fuzzy controllers in control systems for various manufacturing and engineering processes. It presents seven processes and problems which have been programmed using fuzzy controllers. The issues discussed concern the field of Environmental Engineering. Examples are the control of a flood wave passing through a hypothetical, and then the real Dobczyce reservoir in the Raba River, which is located in the upper Vistula River basin in Southern Poland, the control and water management in a cascade of reservoirs, a broadly defined combustion process model, modern water heating systems and many other.

This book is intended as an introduction to fuzzy algebraic hyperstructures. As the first in its genre, it includes a number of topics, most of which reflect the authors' past research and thus provides a starting point for future research directions. The book is organized in five chapters. The first chapter introduces readers to the basic notions of algebraic structures and hyperstructures. The second covers fuzzy sets, fuzzy groups and fuzzy polygroups. The following two chapters are concerned with the theory of fuzzy Hv-structures: while the third chapter presents the concept of fuzzy Hv-subgroup of Hv-groups, the fourth covers the theory of fuzzy Hv-ideals of Hv-rings. The final chapter discusses several connections between hypergroups and fuzzy sets, and includes a study on the association between hypergroupoids and fuzzy sets endowed with two membership functions. In addition to providing a reference guide to researchers, the book is also intended as textbook for undergraduate and graduate students.

We do not perceive the present as it is and in totality, nor do we infer the future from the present with any high degree of dependability, nor yet do we accurately know the consequences of our own actions. In addition, there is a fourth source of error to be taken into account, for we do not execute actions in the precise form in which they are imaged and willed. Frank H. Knight [R4.34, p. 202] The "degree" of certainty of confidence felt in the conclusion after it is reached cannot be ignored, for it is of the greatest practical signi- cance. The action which follows upon an opinion depends as much upon the amount of confidence in that opinion as it does upon fav- ableness of the opinion itself. The ultimate logic, or psychology, of these deliberations is obscure, a part of the scientifically unfathomable mystery of life and mind. Frank H. Knight [R4.34, p. 226-227] With some inaccuracy, description of uncertain consequences can be classified into two categories, those which use exclusively the language of probability distributions and those which call for some other principle, either to replace or supplement.

This book explores recent developments in the theoretical foundations and novel applications of general and interval type-2 fuzzy sets and systems, including: algebraic properties of type-2 fuzzy sets, geometric-based definition of type-2 fuzzy set operators, generalizations of the continuous KM algorithm, adaptiveness and novelty of interval type-2 fuzzy logic controllers, relations between conceptual spaces and type-2 fuzzy sets, type-2 fuzzy logic systems versus perceptual computers; modeling human perception of real world concepts with type-2 fuzzy sets, different methods for generating membership functions of interval and general type-2 fuzzy sets, and applications of interval type-2 fuzzy sets to control, machine tooling, image processing and diet. The applications demonstrate the appropriateness of using type-2 fuzzy sets and systems in real world problems that are characterized by different degrees of uncertainty.

Philosophy involves a criticism of scientific knowledge, not from a point of view ultimately different from that of science, but from a point of view less concerned with details and more concerned with the h- mony of the body of special sciences. Here as elsewhere, while the older logic shut out possibilities and imprisoned imagination within the walls of the familiar, the newer logic shows rather what may happen, and refuses to decide as to what must happen. Bertrand Russell At any particular stage in the development of humanity knowledge comes up against limits set by the necessarily limited character of the experience available and the existing means of obtaining knowledge. But humanity advances by overcoming such limits. New experience throws down the limits of old experience; new techniques, new means of obtaining knowledge throw down the limits of old techniques and old means of obtaining knowledge. New limits then once again appear. But there is no more reason to suppose these new limits absolute and final than there was to suppose the old ones absolute and final.

This volume collects a selection of contributions which has been presented at the 22nd Italian Workshop on Neural Networks, the yearly meeting of the Italian Society for Neural Networks (SIREN). The conference was held in Italy, Vietri sul Mare (Salerno), during May 17-19, 2012. The annual meeting of SIREN is sponsored by International Neural Network Society (INNS), European Neural Network Society (ENNS) and IEEE Computational Intelligence Society (CIS). The book - as well as the workshop- is organized in three main components, two special sessions and a group of regular sessions featuring different aspects and point of views of artificial neural networks and natural intelligence, also including applications of present compelling interest.

Many computer scientists, engineers, applied mathematicians, and physicists use geometry theory and geometric computing methods in the design of perception-action systems, intelligent autonomous systems, and man-machine interfaces. This handbook brings together the most recent advances in the application of geometric computing for building such systems, with contributions from leading experts in the important fields of neuroscience, neural networks, image processing, pattern recognition, computer vision, uncertainty in geometric computations, conformal computational geometry, computer graphics and visualization, medical imagery, geometry and robotics, and reaching and motion planning. For the first time, the various methods are presented in a comprehensive, unified manner.

This handbook is highly recommended for postgraduate students and researchers working on applications such as automated learning; geometric and fuzzy reasoning; human-like artificial vision; tele-operation; space maneuvering; haptics; rescue robots; man-machine interfaces; tele-immersion; computer- and robotics-aided neurosurgery or orthopedics; the assembly and design of humanoids; and systems for metalevel reasoning.

Recently, there has been considerable research interest in neural network control of robots, and satisfactory results have been obtained in solving some of the special issues associated with the problems of robot control in an "on-and-off" fashion. This book is dedicated to issues on adaptive control of robots based on neural networks. The text has been carefully tailored to (i) give a comprehensive study of robot dynamics, (ii) present structured network models for robots, and (iii) provide systematic approaches for neural network based adaptive controller design for rigid robots, flexible joint robots, and robots in constraint motion. Rigorous proof of the stability properties of adaptive neural network controllers is provided. Simulation examples are also presented to verify the effectiveness of the controllers, and practical implementation issues associated with the controllers are also discussed.

Since the outstanding and pioneering research work of Hopfield on recurrent neural networks (RNNs) in the early 80s of the last century, neural networks have rekindled strong interests in scientists and researchers. Recent years have recorded a remarkable advance in research and development work on RNNs, both in theoretical research as weIl as actual applications. The field of RNNs is now transforming into a complete and independent subject. From theory to application, from software to hardware, new and exciting results are emerging day after day, reflecting the keen interest RNNs have instilled in everyone, from researchers to practitioners. RNNs contain feedback connections among the neurons, a phenomenon which has led rather naturally to RNNs being regarded as dynamical systems. RNNs can be described by continuous time differential systems, discrete time systems, or functional differential systems, and more generally, in terms of non linear systems. Thus, RNNs have to their disposal, a huge set of mathematical tools relating to dynamical system theory which has tumed out to be very useful in enabling a rigorous analysis of RNNs."

This is a brand new edition of an essential work on Bayesian networks and decision graphs. It is an introduction to probabilistic graphical models including Bayesian networks and influence diagrams. The reader is guided through the two types of frameworks with examples and exercises, which also give instruction on how to build these models. Structured in two parts, the first section focuses on probabilistic graphical models, while the second part deals with decision graphs, and in addition to the frameworks described in the previous edition, it also introduces Markov decision process and partially ordered decision problems.

The development of neural networks has now reached the stage where they are employed in a large variety of practical contexts. However, to date the majority of such implementations have been in software. While it is generally recognised that hardware implementations could, through performance advantages, greatly increase the use of neural networks, to date the relatively high cost of developing Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) has meant that only a small number of hardware neurocomputers has gone beyond the research-prototype stage. The situation has now changed dramatically: with the appearance of large, dense, highly parallel FPGA circuits it has now become possible to envisage putting large-scale neural networks in hardware, to get high performance at low costs. This in turn makes it practical to develop hardware neural-computing devices for a wide range of applications, ranging from embedded devices in high-volume/low-cost consumer electronics to large-scale stand-alone neurocomputers. Not surprisingly, therefore, research in the area has recently rapidly increased, and even sharper growth can be expected in the next decade or so.

Nevertheless, the many opportunities offered by FPGAs also come with many challenges, since most of the existing body of knowledge is based on ASICs (which are not as constrained as FPGAs). These challenges range from the choice of data representation, to the implementation of specialized functions, through to the realization of massively parallel neural networks; and accompanying these are important secondary issues, such as development tools and technology transfer. All these issues are currently being investigated by a large numberof researchers, who start from different bases and proceed by different methods, in such a way that there is no systematic core knowledge to start from, evaluate alternatives, validate claims, and so forth. FPGA Implementations of Neural Networks aims to be a timely one that fill this gap in three ways: First, it will contain appropriate foundational material and therefore be appropriate for advanced students or researchers new to the field. Second, it will capture the state of the art, in both depth and breadth and therefore be useful researchers currently active in the field. Third, it will cover directions for future research, i.e. embryonic areas as well as more speculative ones.

This book uses numerical analysis as the main tool to investigate methods in machine learning and neural networks. The efficiency of neural network representations for general functions and for polynomial functions is studied in detail, together with an original description of the Latin hypercube method and of the ADAM algorithm for training. Furthermore, unique features include the use of Tensorflow for implementation session, and the description of on going research about the construction of new optimized numerical schemes.

Networks of Learning Automata: Techniques for Online Stochastic Optimization is a comprehensive account of learning automata models with emphasis on multiautomata systems. It considers synthesis of complex learning structures from simple building blocks and uses stochastic algorithms for refining probabilities of selecting actions. Mathematical analysis of the behavior of games and feedforward networks is provided. Algorithms considered here can be used for online optimization of systems based on noisy measurements of performance index. Also, algorithms that assure convergence to the global optimum are presented. Parallel operation of automata systems for improving speed of convergence is described. The authors also include extensive discussion of how learning automata solutions can be constructed in a variety of applications.

Neural Networks in Business: Techniques and Applications aims to be an introductory reference book for professionals, students and academics interested in applying neural networks to a variety of business applications. The book introduces the three most common neural network models and how they work, followed by a wide range of business applications and a series of case studies presented from contributing authors around the world. Each chapter serves as a tutorial describing how to use the previously described neural network models to solve a given business problem.

Understanding how the human brain represents, stores, and processes information is one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of science today. The cerebral cortex is the seat of most of the mental capabilities that distinguish humans from other animals and, once understood, it will almost certainly lead to a better knowledge of other brain nuclei. Although neuroscience research has been underway for 150 years, very little progress has been made. What is needed is a key concept that will trigger a full understanding of existing information, and will also help to identify future directions for research. This book aims to help identify this key concept. Including contributions from leading experts in the field, it provides an overview of different conceptual frameworks that indicate how some pieces of the neuroscience puzzle fit together. It offers a representative selection of current ideas, concepts, analyses, calculations and computer experiments, and also looks at important advances such as the application of new modeling methodologies. Computational Models for Neuroscience will be essential reading for anyone who needs to keep up-to-date with the latest ideas in computational neuroscience, machine intelligence, and intelligent systems. It will also be useful background reading for advanced undergraduates and postgraduates taking courses in neuroscience and psychology.

Recent years have seen a rapid development of neural network control tech niques and their successful applications. Numerous simulation studies and actual industrial implementations show that artificial neural network is a good candidate for function approximation and control system design in solving the control problems of complex nonlinear systems in the presence of different kinds of uncertainties. Many control approaches/methods, reporting inventions and control applications within the fields of adaptive control, neural control and fuzzy systems, have been published in various books, journals and conference proceedings. In spite of these remarkable advances in neural control field, due to the complexity of nonlinear systems, the present research on adaptive neural control is still focused on the development of fundamental methodologies. From a theoretical viewpoint, there is, in general, lack of a firmly mathematical basis in stability, robustness, and performance analysis of neural network adaptive control systems. This book is motivated by the need for systematic design approaches for stable adaptive control using approximation-based techniques. The main objec tives of the book are to develop stable adaptive neural control strategies, and to perform transient performance analysis of the resulted neural control systems analytically. Other linear-in-the-parameter function approximators can replace the linear-in-the-parameter neural networks in the controllers presented in the book without any difficulty, which include polynomials, splines, fuzzy systems, wavelet networks, among others. Stability is one of the most important issues being concerned if an adaptive neural network controller is to be used in practical applications."