|
The basic ideas underlying soft computing in its current
incarnation have links to many earlier influences, among
them Prof. Zadeh’s 1965 paper
on fuzzy sets; the 1973 paper on the analysis of complex systems and decision
processes; and the 1979 report (1981 paper) on possibility theory and soft
data analysis. BISC Program is the world-leading center for basic and applied
research in soft computing. The principal constituents of soft computing (SC)
are fuzzy logic (FL), neural network theory (NN), evolutionary computing (EC) & DNA
computing, probabilistic reasoning (PR) and including belief networks, chaos
theory and parts of learning theory and machine le arning. Some of
the most striking achievements of BISC Program are: fuzzy reasoning (set and
logic), new soft computing algorithms making intelligent, semi-unsupervised
use of large quantities of complex data, uncertainty analysis, perception-based
decision analysis and decision support systems for risk analysis and management,
computing with words, computational theory of perception (CTP), and precisiated
natural language (PNL).
The successful applications of soft computing and the rapid growth
of BISC suggest that the impact of soft computing will be felt increasingly
in coming years. Soft computing is likely to play an especially important
role in science and engineering, but eventually its influence may
extend much farther. In many ways, soft computing represents a significant
paradigm shift in the aims of computing - a shift which reflects the
fact that the human mind, unlike present day computers, possesses
a remarkable ability to store and process information which is pervasively
imprecise, uncertain and lacking in categoricity. In this perspective,
what is important about BISC is that it provides a platform for the
advancement of soft computing - a platform which lowers barriers between
the constituents of soft computing and facilitates international cooperation
on a global scale.
|
