Tuesday, April 26, 2005

Intuitive Introduction to Fuzzy Logic, with Examples

See Bart Kosko & Satoru Isaka, Fuzzy Logic

Titillating extracts:

Specimen 1: "When mathematicians lack specific algorithms that dictate how a system should respond to inputs, fuzzy logic can control or describe the system by using "commonsense" rules that refer to indefinite quantities. No known mathematical model can back up a truck-and-trailer rig from a parking lot to a loading dock when the vehicle starts from a random spot. Both humans and fuzzy systems can perform this nonlinear guidance task by using practical but imprecise rules such as 'If the trailer turns a little to the left, then turn it a little to the right.'"

Specimen 2: "Applications for fuzzy logic extend beyond control systems. Recent theorems show that in principle fuzzy logic can be used to model any continuous system, be it based in engineering or physics or biology or economics."

Specimen 3: "At the heart of the difference between classical and fuzzy logic is something Aristotle called the law of the excluded middle. In standard set theory, an object either does or does not belong to a set. There is no middle ground : the number five belongs fully to the set of odd numbers and not at all to the set of even numbers. In such bivalent sets, an object cannot belong to both a set and its complement set or to neither of the sets. This principle preserves the structure of logic and avoids the contradiction of an object that both is and is not a thing at the same time.
Sets that are fuzzy, or multivalent, break the law of the excluded middle- to some degree. Items belong only partially to a fuzzy set. They may also belong to more than one set."

Specimen 4: "A few fuzzy systems manage information rather than devices. With fuzzy logic rules, the Japanese conglomerate Omron oversees five medical data bases in a health management system for large firms. The fuzzy systems use 500 rules to diagnose the health of some 10,000 patients and to draw up personalized plans to help them prevent disease, stay fit and reduce stress."

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