LESSON 6: FUZZY NUMBERS

In this Chapter we will take a good long look at fuzzy logic, and a brief look at fuzzy sets and fuzzy numbers. (Later chapters will look more deeply into fuzzy sets and fuzzy numbers.) 1.3 Fuzzy Numbers. The final major member of our fuzzy systems arsenal is the fuzzy number . A fuzzy number is simply an ordinary number whose precise value is somewhat uncertain. Here, for example, is a fuzzy two. is approximately equal to about 30. This is often very useful when our data or imprecise, or when we dont want the rigidity of accepting a person 30 years old but rejecting one thirty years plus one day old. A very convenient way to describe fuzzy numbers is to use modifying words. For example, the fuzzy two shown in Figure 2 could be completely specified by roughly 2. Other modifying words available are nearly, about and crudely, with progressively larger uncertainties. These words are called hedges in fuzzy math circles. With fuzzy numbers, we can make approximate comparisons. It is quite possible, for example, to ask if an input persons age is approximately equal to about 30. This is often very useful when our data or imprecise, or when we dont want the rigidity of accepting a person 30 years old but rejecting one thirty years plus one day old.
LOGIC AND FUZZY SYSTEM

A fuzzy subset of the universe of a numerical number. For instance fuzzy real number is a fuzzy subset of the domain of real numbers. A fuzzy integer is a subset of domain of integers. An example of fuzzy integer, about-20 is as shown in the figure.

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Fig : A fuzzy number Here our confidence that numbers 1.5 or less belong to the fuzzy 2 is zero, as is our confidence that numbers 2.5 or greater belong to the fuzzy 2. Our confidence that 1.6 belongs to the fuzzy 2 is 200; for 1.7, 400; and so on to confidence 1000 for 2. For numbers greater than 2, the confidence declines as the number increases, being 800 for 2.1, 600 for 2.2, and so on to zero confidence for 2.5. A very convenient way to describe fuzzy numbers is to use modifying words. For example, the fuzzy two shown in Figure 1 could be completely specified by roughly 2. Other modifying words available are nearly, about and crudely, with progressively larger uncertainties. These words are called hedges in fuzzy math circles. With fuzzy numbers, we can make approximate comparisons. It is quite possible, for example, to ask if an input persons age

Operations on Fuzzy Numbers: Addition and Subtraction

Illustration of Arithmetic Operations on Fuzzy numbers

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LOGIC AND FUZZY SYSTEM

Operations on Fuzzy Numbers: Multiplication and Division

In[5]:=

2.6.1 Introduction This lesson deals with discrete fuzzy arithmetic operations. Well be using Fuzzy Logic, along with standard Mathematica functions. This loads the package. In[1]:= 2.6.2 Creating Fuzzy Numbers When working with fuzzy numbers and performing fuzzy arithmetic, we should use a large universal space because the intervals over which fuzzy numbers are defined widen as arithmetic operations are performed. Also, like traditional numbers, fuzzy numbers can be negative or positive, so the universal space should be symmetric around zero. Taking this into consideration, we investigate fuzzy arithmetic with a universal space from -100 to 100. We change the default universal space to this range with the following command. In[2]:= The following function is used to create fuzzy numbers. The function accepts an integer as its argument and returns a triangular fuzzy set centered around the integer. This is a common representation of a fuzzy number. In[3]:= We can create a set of fuzzy numbers by using the function we just defined and Mathematicas Table function. Here we create fuzzy numbers ranging from NegSIX (Negative Six) to SIX. In[4]:=

Using Infix Form When performing arithmetic operations, it is traditional to write out the operation from left to right, with the sign for the operation to be performed located between the two numbers on which it is to be performed. To simulate the traditional form, we use Mathematicas infix form in the following examples. Instead of surrounding the operands with square brackets and the function name (e.g., Func[ A, B]), the infix form locates the function name between the operands and surrounds the operand with tildes (e.g., A~Func~ B). Lets look at the following example to see how this works. In this example, we perform fuzzy addition on the fuzzy numbers NegFOUR and THREE. In[9]:= Out[9]= After defuzzifying the result with the MeanOfMax method, we see that the result is a fuzzy number centered around -1. This is the answer we would expect to get when performing the operation -4 + 3. In[10]:=

Example 1

2.6.3 Fuzzy Arithmetic

Shortening Arithmetic Names

The following example demonstrates the fuzzy equivalent of the operation: (5 - (-1)) * (-3) In[11]:= By using the MeanOfMax defuzzification, we receive -18, which would be the solution to the equivalent nonvisual operation. In[12]:=

The Fuzzy Logic package comes with a number of convenient functions for performing discrete arithmetic, but the names of these functions are quite long. To save some typing, we rename the functions here to shorten their names.

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LOGIC AND FUZZY SYSTEM

Example 2

In this example, we perform the fuzzy equivalent of the operation: -(5 + 3 - 4). In[13]:= After defuzzification, we receive the expected result of -4. In[14]:=

Questions
1. Why is conventional logic sometimes called two-valued? 2. Would it be correct to call fuzzy logic multi-valued? 3. What is the normal range of truth values in fuzzy logic? 4. What range of truth values does FLOPS use? 5. If statement A has a truth value of 750, and statement B has a truth value of 825, what is the truth value of the statement both A AND B are true? of the statement either A or B is true? 6. Why does fuzzy logic have a strong impact on theories of reasoning? 7. What can we use instead of numbers in fuzzy reasoning? 8. How can we determine the confidence to be placed in a fuzzy set member such as size? 9. Do fuzzy set members always describe numbers? 10. What can we use to describe uncertain numbers in a fuzzy reasoning system? 11. Is there an easy way to describe an uncertain number? Notes

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