Hybrid Soft Computing Systems: Industrial and Commercial Applications

Soft computing (SC) is an association of computing methodologies that includes as its principal members fuzzy logic, neurocomputing, evolutionary computing and probabilistic computing. We present a collection of methods and tools that can be used to perform diagnostics, estimation, and control. These tools are a great match for real-world applications that are characterized by imprecise, uncertain data and incomplete domain knowledge. We outline the advantages of applying SC techniques and in particular the synergy derived from the use of hybrid SC systems. We illustrate some combinations of hybrid SC systems, such as fuzzy logic controllers (FLC’s) tuned by neural networks (NN’s) and evolutionary computing (EC), NN’s tuned by EC or FLC’s, and EC controlled by FLC’s. We discuss three successful real-world examples of SC applications to industrial equipment diagnostics, freight train control, and residential property valuation.