ABSTRACT
8.1 Introduction
Fuzzy logic and fuzzy set theory were introduced by Zadeh (1965). There has been a rapid growth in the number and variety of their applications during the past few decades. The applications range from consumer products such as cameras, washing machines and microwave ovens to industrial process control, decision-support systems, medical instrumentation, portfolio selection, etc. A recent trend is the use of fuzzy logic in combination with neurocomputing and genetic algorithms. In fact, fuzzy logic, neurocomputing and genetic algorithms are all principal constituents of soft computing. Amongst various hybrid combinations of methodologies in soft computing, an appropriate combination of fuzzy logic and neurocomputing should be highlighted. The resulting adaptive-network-based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) is an effective system that operates through a parallel and fault-tolerant architecture on both linguistic descriptions of the parameters and the numeric values. In this chapter, the characteristics of fuzzy logic, fuzzy inference systems and ANFIS are delineated. A real application of ANFIS is also demonstrated, for the prediction of long-term flow discharges in Manwan based on historical records.
