Gideon Langholz

Fuzzy logic has found applications in an incredibly wide range of areas in the relatively short time since its conception. It was invented by Lotfi Zadeh, a leading systems expert, so it is perhaps not surprising that system theory is one of the areas in which fuzzy logic has made a profound impact. Fuzzy logic combined with the paradigm of computing with words allows the use and manipulation of human knowledge and reasoning in the modeling and control of dynamical systems.This monograph presents new approaches to the construction of fuzzy models and to the design of fuzzy controllers. The emphasis is on developing methods that allow systematic design on the one hand and mathematical analysis of the resulting system on the other. In particular, the methods described allow rigorous analysis of the stability and robustness of the systems, which are crucial issues in control theory.The first theme of the book is a new approach to the systematic design and analysis of fuzzy controllers, given linguistic information concerning the plant and the control objective. The new approach, fuzzy Lyapunov synthesis, is a computing with words version of the well-known (classical) Lyapunov synthesis method.The second theme of the book is to show that fuzzy controllers are in fact solutions of a nonlinear optimal control problem. The authors formulate a novel nonlinear optimal control problem, consisting of a new state-space model — referred to as the hyperbolic state-space model — and a new cost functional, and show that its solution is a fuzzy controller. This leads to a new framework for fuzzy modeling and control that combines the advantages of the fuzzy world, such as linguistic interpretability, and of classical optimal control theory, such as guaranteed stability and robustness.

This text is intended for a first course in digital logic design, at the sophomore or junior level, for electrical engineering, computer engineering and computer science programs, as well as for a number of other disciplines such as physics and mathematics. The book can also be used for self-study or for review by practicing engineers and computer scientists not intimately familiar with the subject. After completing this text, the student should be prepared for a second (advanced) course in digital design, switching and automata theory, microprocessors or computer organization.

Fuzzy set theory is a mathematical structure for representing uncertainty. Modern intelligent systems must combine knowledge based on techniques for gathering and processing information with methods of approximate reasoning. This enables an intelligent system to better emulate human decision-making in uncertain environments. Complimentary to the text is a software package containing executable FEST code. The text contains a detailed description of FEST and its coherent and systematic exploitation.

Hybrid architecture for intelligent systems is a new field of artificial intelligence concerned with the development of the next generation of intelligent systems. This volume is the first book to delineate current research interests in hybrid architectures for intelligent systems. The book is divided into two parts. The first part is devoted to the theory, methodologies, and algorithms of intelligent hybrid systems. The second part examines current applications of intelligent hybrid systems in areas such as data analysis, pattern classification and recognition, intelligent robot control, medical diagnosis, architecture, wastewater treatment, and flexible manufacturing systems. Hybrid Architectures for Intelligent Systems is an important reference for computer scientists and electrical engineers involved with artificial intelligence, neural networks, parallel processing, robotics, and systems architecture.