ABSTRACT
A fuzzy inference system comprises a set of rules that employ linguistic terms similar to those used in natural language and an inference mechanism able to extract correct conclusions from approximate or incomplete data. This chapter elaborates the concepts of linguistic variables and rule bases, and in troduces the mathematical formalisms for the numerical interpretation of fuzzy inference mechanisms. The different fuzzy operators will be consid ered in terms of their use as linguistic connectives, implication functions, ag gregation operators and defuzzification methods. Finally, some of the inference mechanisms most widely used in practical applications of fuzzy logic will be analyzed.
