Fuzzy sets were for a long time not accepted by the AI community. Now they have become highly evolved and their techniques are well established. This book will teach the reader how to construct a fuzzy expert system to solve real-world problems. After a general discussion of expert systems, the basic fuzzy math required is presented first, requiring little more math background than high-school algebra. This book will fill a void in the market because although there are many books on expert systems, none devote more than a few pages to the notion of fuzzy sets and their applications in this domain. Therefore their use in this book is timely and should be well received.

The book is designed as a text and has ample problems with solutions, a solutions manual and an accompanying program on our ftp site. Coverage is accessible to practitioners and academic readers alike.

From the Back Cover

The most advanced systems that can emulate human thought

Fuzzy Expert Systems and Fuzzy Reasoning presents new, cutting-edge theories that enable programmers to emulate human thought processes to solve real-life problems. This text begins with an overview and comparison of current approaches, including rule-based and neural net systems that programmers have developed to solve real-world problems. Next, the authors introduce readers to three key concepts that considerably advance both the power and the speed of conventional expert systems: nonprocedural data-driven languages; fuzzy systems theory (fuzzy logic, fuzzy sets, fuzzy numbers); and a language that allows statements to be executed either sequentially or in parallel, as opposed to conventional one-statement-at-a-time languages that presently dominate programming.

While providing a conceptual framework for fuzzy expert systems, the focus is on the development of skills for applications. In addition to the text, readers have access via an FTP site to the fuzzy expert system language FLOPS, which enables them to actually write and debug a fuzzy expert system. Moreover, tutorials and simplified examples help to show how abstract concepts of logic and reasoning are used for problem solving.

Special features include:

• An introduction to fuzzy mathematics that anyone with an understanding of basic algebra can follow
• Question sets with answers accompanying each chapter ensure that readers can apply their new knowledge to develop their own fuzzy expert systems
• An FTP site with a complete demonstration version of a fuzzy expert system, Integrated Development Environment

Fuzzy Expert Systems and Fuzzy Reasoning, with its expert presentation of both theory and application, is an excellent textbook for graduate and upper-level undergraduate students. In addition, this is essential reading for program designers and researchers in fuzzy sets, fuzzy logic, computer science, and artificial intelligence.

About the Author

WILLIAM SILER, of Southern Dynamic Systems, Inc., is a former academician, having served as chairman of the Biomedical Computer Science program at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, and as professor and chairman of the Biomathematics Department at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. For the past forty years, he has been developing scientific software tools for general use. He is now Senior Scientist at the Kemp-Carraway Heart Institute at Birmingham, Alabama.

JAMES J. BUCKLEY is Associate Professor of Mathematics at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. A prominent researcher in fuzzy mathematics, he has published over 200 papers and several books on the topic.