Fuzzy Logic and Soft Computing—In Memory of Lotfi A. Zadeh

A special issue of Mathematics (ISSN 2227-7390). This special issue belongs to the section "Fuzzy Sets, Systems and Decision Making".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2024 | Viewed by 6424

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Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad, Arad, Romania
Interests: fuzzy logic; fuzzy functional analysis; fuzzy spaces; fuzzy decision-making
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Dear Colleagues,

In 1965, Lotfi A. Zadeh published “Fuzzy Sets”, his pioneering and controversial paper, which has now reached over 132,000 citations. All of Zadeh’s papers have, together, been cited over 231,000 times (Google Scholar).

Starting from the ideas presented in that paper, Zadeh later founded the Fuzzy Logic Theory, which proved to have useful applications, from consumer goods to industrial intelligent products.

In accordance with Zadeh’s definition, soft computing (SC) consists of computational techniques in computer science, machine learning, and some engineering disciplines to study, model, and analyze very complex realities, for which more traditional methods have been either unusable or inefficient.

SC uses soft techniques, contrasting it with classical artificial intelligence hard computing (HC) techniques, and includes fuzzy logic, neural computing, evolutionary computation, machine learning, and probabilistic reasoning.

HC is bound by a computer science (CS) concept called NP-complete, which means that there is a direct connection between the size of a problem and the amount of resources needed to solve that called the “grand challenge problem”. SC helps to surmount NP-complete problems by using inexact methods to give useful but inexact answers to intractable problems.

SC became a formal CS area of study in the early 1990s. Earlier computational approaches could model and precisely analyze only relatively simple systems. More complex systems arising in biology, medicine, the humanities, management sciences, and similar fields often remained intractable to HC. It should be pointed out that the simplicity and complexity of systems are relative, and many conventional mathematical models have been both challenging and very productive.

SC techniques resemble biological processes more closely than traditional techniques, which are largely based on formal logical systems, such as Boolean logic, or rely heavily on computer-aided numerical analysis (such as finite element analysis).

SC techniques are intended to complement HC techniques. Unlike HC schemes, which strive for exactness and full truth, SC techniques exploit the given tolerance of imprecision, partial truth, and uncertainty for a particular problem. Inductive reasoning plays a larger role in SC than in HC. SC and HC can be used together in certain fusion techniques.

SC can deal with ambiguous or noisy data and is tolerant of imprecision, uncertainty, partial truth, and approximation. In effect, the role model for SC is the human mind. Artificial intelligence and computational intelligence based on SC provide the background for the development of smart management systems and decisions in the case of ill-posed problems.

We are pleased to invite you and your collaborators to submit your research papers for the Special Issue, “Fuzzy Logic and Soft Computing”, which is in memory of Lotfi A. Zadeh (1921–2017).

Prof. Dr. Sorin Nadaban
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • fuzzy mathematics
  • soft computing
  • fuzzy logic
  • fuzzy sets theory
  • neuro-fuzzy applications

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 1196 KiB  
Article
IBA-VNS: A Logic-Based Machine Learning Algorithm and Its Application in Surgery
by Nevena Čolić, Pavle Milošević, Ivana Dragović and Miljan S. Ćeranić
Mathematics 2024, 12(7), 950; https://doi.org/10.3390/math12070950 - 23 Mar 2024
Viewed by 859
Abstract
The interpretability and explainability of machine learning (ML) approaches play a key role in the trustworthiness of ML models in various applications. The objective of this paper is to incorporate a logic-based reasoning in the ML model that is not only accurate but [...] Read more.
The interpretability and explainability of machine learning (ML) approaches play a key role in the trustworthiness of ML models in various applications. The objective of this paper is to incorporate a logic-based reasoning in the ML model that is not only accurate but also interpretable and easily applied. More precisely, we propose a hybrid IBA-VNS approach based on interpolative Boolean algebra (IBA) and variable neighborhood search (VNS). IBA is chosen over traditional multi-valued and/or fuzzy logic techniques due to its consistency in preserving all Boolean axioms. The VNS heuristic is used for model training, i.e., determining the optimal logical aggregation function within the IBA framework for solving observed prediction problems. Obtained logic aggregation functions are easy to understand and may provide additional insight to the decision-maker. The proposed approach does not require any domain knowledge and is applicable in various domains. IBA-VNS is evaluated on several standard datasets. Further, IBA-VNS is applied to the real-world problem of predicting hospital length of stay (LOS), showing exceptional results in terms of interpretability and accuracy. In fact, the dataset is collected from the LabSerb program regarding colorectal surgeries in the period 2015–2023. The proposed approach extracted knowledge regarding the problem, i.e., the causal relations between the patient’s health condition and LOS, along with achieving an MAE of 1.144 days. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fuzzy Logic and Soft Computing—In Memory of Lotfi A. Zadeh)
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15 pages, 532 KiB  
Article
Empiric Solutions to Full Fuzzy Linear Programming Problems Using the Generalized “min” Operator
by Bogdana Stanojević and Sorin Nǎdǎban
Mathematics 2023, 11(23), 4864; https://doi.org/10.3390/math11234864 - 4 Dec 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1303
Abstract
Solving optimization problems in a fuzzy environment is an area widely addressed in the recent literature. De-fuzzification of data, construction of crisp more or less equivalent problems, unification of multiple objectives, and solving a single crisp optimization problem are the general descriptions of [...] Read more.
Solving optimization problems in a fuzzy environment is an area widely addressed in the recent literature. De-fuzzification of data, construction of crisp more or less equivalent problems, unification of multiple objectives, and solving a single crisp optimization problem are the general descriptions of many procedures that approach fuzzy optimization problems. Such procedures are misleading (since relevant information is lost through de-fuzzyfication and aggregation of more objectives into a single one), but they are still dominant in the literature due to their simplicity. In this paper, we address the full fuzzy linear programming problem, and provide solutions in full accordance with the extension principle. The main contribution of this paper is in modeling the conjunction of the fuzzy sets using the “product” operator instead of “min” within the definition of the solution concept. Our theoretical findings show that using a generalized “min” operator within the extension principle assures thinner shapes to the derived fuzzy solutions compared to those available in the literature. Thinner shapes are always desirable, since such solutions provide the decision maker with more significant information. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fuzzy Logic and Soft Computing—In Memory of Lotfi A. Zadeh)
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11 pages, 290 KiB  
Article
Fuzzy Differential Subordination and Superordination Results Involving the q-Hypergeometric Function and Fractional Calculus Aspects
by Alina Alb Lupaş and Georgia Irina Oros
Mathematics 2022, 10(21), 4121; https://doi.org/10.3390/math10214121 - 4 Nov 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1319
Abstract
The concepts of fuzzy differential subordination and superordination were introduced in the geometric function theory as generalizations of the classical notions of differential subordination and superordination. Fractional calculus is combined in the present paper with quantum calculus aspects for obtaining new fuzzy differential [...] Read more.
The concepts of fuzzy differential subordination and superordination were introduced in the geometric function theory as generalizations of the classical notions of differential subordination and superordination. Fractional calculus is combined in the present paper with quantum calculus aspects for obtaining new fuzzy differential subordinations and superordinations. For the investigated fuzzy differential subordinations and superordinations, fuzzy best subordinates and fuzzy best dominants were obtained, respectively. Furthermore, interesting corollaries emerge when using particular functions, frequently involved in research studies due to their geometric properties, as fuzzy best subordinates and fuzzy best dominants. The study is finalized by stating the sandwich-type results connecting the previously proven results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fuzzy Logic and Soft Computing—In Memory of Lotfi A. Zadeh)
11 pages, 271 KiB  
Article
Fuzzy Continuous Mappings on Fuzzy F-Spaces
by Sorin Nădăban
Mathematics 2022, 10(20), 3746; https://doi.org/10.3390/math10203746 - 12 Oct 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1129
Abstract
In the present paper, we first introduce different types of fuzzy continuity for mappings between fuzzy F-normed linear spaces and the relations between them are investigated. Secondly, the principles of fuzzy functional analysis are established in the context of fuzzy F-spaces. More precisely, [...] Read more.
In the present paper, we first introduce different types of fuzzy continuity for mappings between fuzzy F-normed linear spaces and the relations between them are investigated. Secondly, the principles of fuzzy functional analysis are established in the context of fuzzy F-spaces. More precisely, based on the fact that fuzzy continuity and topological continuity are equivalent, we obtain the closed graph theorem and the open mapping theorem. Using Zabreiko’s lemma, we prove the uniform bounded principle and Banach–Steinhaus theorem. Finally, some future research directions are presented. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fuzzy Logic and Soft Computing—In Memory of Lotfi A. Zadeh)
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