Abstract

The allocation of scarce business resources is becoming a major problem for management nowadays. Limited by lack of
resources, management needs to make project selection decisions under the constraints of available information, and often
makes decisions based on incomplete information. Traditionally, quantitative techniques dominate decision-making in
selecting management information systems (MIS) projects. However, encapsulating or simply discarding the qualitative
concerns makes a project economically sound but not operationally sound. This is often the reason that causes a project to
fail. This paper establishes a model by incorporating fuzzy logic as a decision tool, which smoothly aids decision makers
dealing with uncertain or incomplete information without losing existing quantitative information

What's so great about Fuzzy Logic?

More and more these days, we hear about fuzzy logic being used in high tech research fields
and government laboratories. We see on the news or read in scientific magazines that
scientists and researches from all over the world are using fuzzy logic to solve or simulate
complex systems and problems which until now have proven too complex to comprehend
even to the brightest minds of the day. With all this talk about fuzzy logic, one must wonder
what it is, and how it could potentially apply to him.

The answer to this question is much different than you would think. Fuzzy logic is actually
much more simple than standard linear or mathematical logic which we have come to know.
Fuzzy logic is designed to simulate human thought much more closely than the standard
programming code used in most industries. For example, the PLC code for a certain holding
tank might incorporate multiple IF-THEN statements to control the speed of agitation in the
tank based on fill level. However, in fuzzy logic, the agitation is controlled via several
statements which might read, "If the level in the tank is LOW, SLOW the agitator down."
This version of code is much more similiar to the way humans would think in that it
incorporates certain predefined levels of imprecession into the decision making process.

The benefits of using fuzzy logic are vast and include:

1) Reduced development time/cycle
2) Simplifies design complexity
3) Reduces time to market
4) Improves control performance
5) Simplifies implementation
6) Reduces hardware costs

A reduction in development time can be realized by eliminating unecessary steps previously

incorporated in the development of standard PID controllers such as developing linear
models of sensors, actuators, and drives. It can also eliminate the need to generate a
simplified control loop using standard control theory. In essence, you move straight from
identifying the problem to generating the fuzzy logic control to implementing. Once
implemented, changes can easily be made by modifying the fuzzy logic statements or
parameters rather than developing an entirely new PID controller.

A simplification in the design complexity can be realized by utilizing only a few rules which
are in plain english that can control an entire system. This system may have required
multiple lines of code using standard practice. This reduction in programming time and the
fact that most people are able to learn this method, given that it utilizes few rules all in
english language format, rather quickly greatly reduces the complexity of the design.

Fuzzy logic can reduce the time to market by greatly reducing the development time spent
on software generation. Since the system is much less complex than traditional controllers,
and since it can be shared and understood more readily by separate groups or teams, it can
greatly reduce the troubleshooting and commissioning times necessary for most control
systems thus reducing the time to market of the package.

By using fuzzy logic, control performance and response time can be greatly improved much
easier than with standard systems of linear equations. Take for example the problem of
heating up a room to a desired temperature. The time it takes to heat the room is critical as
is the exact temperature of the room at any given time. As time progresses, the goal would
be to heat the room to the exact desired temperature as fast as possible without
overshooting or undershooting, and to maintain the temperature. Under normal conditions,
this would require combining a system of linear and non-linear equations in order to achieve
the correct amount of response time and damping. However, with fuzzy logic, only a few
statements must be made to properly heat the room at very fast response times.

Fuzzly logic can simplify implementation by controlling multiple inputs and outputs with one
IF-THEN statement as opposed to traditional code which may require multiple lines to adress
each variable. For instance, if an output is driven by a combination of inputs, and IF-THEN
statement combined with an AND or OR statement can be used to control the entire system
very effectively.

Fuzzy logic requires much less memory space and processing power/time to operate than
standard code which uses look-up tables etc. Look up tables, for instance, on standard code
may take up 64Kb of memory where as Fuzzy logic requires less than 0.5Kb for labels and
object code.

In summary, fuzzy logic is definitely not just designed to aid high tech research or
problems. It appears that it has very real applications in today's society and industry. Does
anyone have any experience either using or dealing with examples of fuzzy logic in your day
to day lives?

Why Use Fuzzy Logic?

• An Alternative Design Methodology Which Is Simpler, And Faster
○ Fuzzy Logic reduces the design development cycle
○ Fuzzy Logic simplifies design complexity
○ Fuzzy Logic improves time to market
• A Better Alternative Solution To Non-Linear Control
○ Fuzzy Logic improves control performance
○ Fuzzy Logic simplifies implementation
○ Fuzzy Logic reduces hardware costs
Fuzzy Logic is a paradigm for an alternative design methodology which can be applied
in developing both linear and non-linear systems for embedded control. By using fuzzy
logic, designers can realize lower development costs, superior features, and better end
product performance. Furthermore, products can be brought to market faster and more
cost-effectively.
An Alternative Design Methodology Which Is Simpler, And Faster
In order to appreciate why a fuzzy based design methodology is very attractive in
embedded control applications let us examine a typical design flow. Figure 4 illustrates
a sequence of design steps required to develop a controller using a conventional and a
Fuzzy approach.
Using the
conventional
approach our
first step is to
understand the
physical
system and its
control
requirements.
Based on this
understanding,
our second
step is to
develop a model which includes the plant, sensors and actuators. The third step is to
use linear control theory in order to determine a simplified version of the controller, such
as the parameters of a PID controller. The fourth step is to develop an algorithm for the
simplified controller. The last step is to simulate the design including the effects of non-
linearity, noise, and parameter variations. If the performance is not satisfactory we need
to modify our system modeling, re-design the controller, re-write the algorithm and re-
try.
With Fuzzy Logic the first step is to understand and characterize the system behavior by
using our knowledge and experience. The second step is to directly design the control
algorithm using fuzzy rules, which describe the principles of the controller's regulation in
terms of the relationship between its inputs and outputs. The last step is to simulate and
debug the design. If the performance is not satisfactory we only need to modify some
fuzzy rules and re-try.
Although the two design methodologies are similar, the fuzzy-based methodology
substantially simplifies the design loop. This results in some significant benefits, such as
reduced development time, simpler design and faster time to market:
Fuzzy Logic reduces the design development cycle
With a fuzzy logic design methodology some time consuming steps are eliminated.
Moreover, during the debugging and tuning cycle you can change your system by
simply modifying rules, instead of redesigning the controller. In addition, since fuzzy is
rule based, you do not need to be an expert in a high or low level language which helps
you focus more on your application instead of programming. As a result, Fuzzy Logic
substantially reduces the overall development cycle.
Fuzzy Logic simplifies design complexity
Fuzzy logic lets you describe complex systems using your knowledge and experience in
simple English-like rules. It does not require any system modeling or complex math
equations governing the relationship between inputs and outputs. Fuzzy rules are very
easy to learn and use, even by non-experts. It typically takes only a few rules to
describe systems that may require several of lines of conventional software. As a result,
Fuzzy Logic significantly simplifies design complexity.
Fuzzy Logic improves time to market
Commercial applications in embedded control require a significant development effort a
majority of which is spent on the software portion of the project. Development time is a
function of design complexity, and the number of iterations required in a debugging and
tuning cycle. As we explained above, a fuzzy based design methodology addresses
both issues very effectively. Moreover, due to its simplicity the description of a fuzzy
controller not only is transportable across design teams, but also provides a superior
media to preserve, maintain, and upgrade intellectual property. As a result, Fuzzy Logic
can dramatically improve time to market.
A Better Alternative Solution To Non-Linear Control
Most real life physical systems are actually non-linear systems. Conventional design
approaches use different approximation methods to handle non-linearity. Some typical
choices are, linear, piecewise linear, and lookup table approximations to trade off factors
of complexity, cost, and system performance.
A linear approximation technique is relatively simple, however it tends to limit control
performance and may be costly to implement in certain applications. A piecewise linear
technique works better, although it is tedious to implement because it often requires the
design of several linear controllers. A lookup table technique may help improve control
performance, but it is difficult to debug and tune. Furthermore in complex systems
where multiple inputs exist, a lookup table may be impractical or very costly to
implement due to its large memory requirements.
Fuzzy logic provides an alternative solution to non-linear control because it is closer to
the real world. Non-linearity is handled by rules, membership functions, and the
inference process which results in improved performance, simpler implementation, and
reduced design costs:
Fuzzy Logic improves control performance
In many applications Fuzzy Logic can result in better control performance than linear,
piecewise linear, or lookup table techniques. For instance, a typical problem associated
with traditional techniques is trading-off the controller's response time versus overshoot.
For the simple one-input temperature controller example this is illustrated in Figure 5:
The first linear approximation for the desired curve generates a slow output response
with no overshoot, which implies that the room would be too cold for a while. The
second linear approximation results in faster response with an overshoot and
subsequent fluctuations, which implies that the temperature will be uncomfortable for a
period of time.
With fuzzy logic we can use rules and membership functions to approximate any
continuous function to any degree of precision. Figure 6 illustrates how we can
approximate the desired control curve for our temperature controller using four points
(or four rules). We can also add more rules to increase the accuracy of the
approximation (similar to a Fourier transform), which yields an improved control
performance. Rules are much simpler to implement and much easier to debug and tune
than piecewise linear or lookup table techniques.
IF temperature IS cold THEN force IS high
IF temperature IS cool THEN force IS medium
IF temperayure IS warm THEN force IS low
IF temperature IS hot THEN force IS zero
Rules are not like a lookup table because the
fuzzy arithmetic interpolates the shape of the
non-linear function. The combined memory
required for the labels and fuzzy inference is
substantially less than a lookup table, especially
for multiple input systems. As a result,
processing speed can be improved as well.
Another example of robust control that can be
achieved with Fuzzy Logic is the classical
problem of the inverted pendulum. A conventional controller for the pendulum depends
on system parameters such as length, weight, and mass. If the parameters change,
then we need to re-design our controller. With fuzzy control this is not necessary
because a fuzzy system is robust. Aptronix has demonstrated an actual device where
we can vary the weight or length of the pendulum and the system is still stable using the
original set of rules.
By using a more natural rule-based approach which is closer to the real world, Fuzzy
control can offer a superior performance and a better trade-off between system
robustness and sensitivity, which results into handling non-linear control better than
traditional methods.
Fuzzy Logic simplifies implementation
The one input temperature controller presented so far has helped us illustrate some
fundamental concepts, however real life control is much more complex in nature. Most
control applications have multiple inputs and require modeling and tuning of a large
number of parameters which makes implementation very tedious and time consuming.
Fuzzy rules can help you simplify implementation by combining multiple inputs into
single if-then statements while still handling non-linearity.
Consider a modified version of the
temperature controller example, with
two inputs, temperature and
humidity and the same output,
fan_speed (Figure 7). This example
can be described with a small set of
rules as follows:

IF temperature IS cold AND humidity IS high THEN fan_spd IS high

IF temperature IS cool AND humidity IS high THEN fan_spd IS medium
IF temperature IS warm AND humidity IS high THEN fan_spd IS low
IF temperature IS hot AND humidity IS high THEN fan_spd IS zero
IF temperature IS cold AND humidity IS med THEN fan_spd IS medium
IF temperature IS cool AND humidity IS med THEN fan_spd IS low
IF temperature IS war m AND humidity IS med THEN fan_spd IS zero
IF temperature IS hot AND humidity IS med THEN fan_spd IS zero
IF temperature IS cold AND humidity IS low THEN fan_spd IS medium
IF temperature IS cool AND humidity IS low THEN fan_spd IS low
IF temperature IS warm AND humidity IS low THEN fan_spd IS zero
IF temperature IS hot AND humidity IS low THEN fan_spd IS zero
A linear approximation requires handling each input separately which multiplies design
effort. Similarly, a piecewise linear approach requires the design of several controllers
and is costly to implement. A lookup table seems more appropriate for this problem but
it takes time to develop, debug and tune. For example, if we assume that each input
requires eight bits, a lookup table would require 64K entries which makes it very time
consuming to implement (Figure 8).
Using Fuzzy Logic we can describe the output as a function of two or more inputs linked
with operators such as AND. This relationship can also be represented in a table form
illustrated in Figure 8. The fuzzy approach requires significantly less entries than a
lookup table depending upon the number of labels for each input variable. Rules are
much easier to develop, and simpler to debug and tune compared to a lookup table.
Another example of
simplicity is the classical
control problem of the
double stage inverted
pendulum. Using
conventional
programming, this problem
is extremely difficult, or
impossible to implement.
Aptronix has demonstrated
a physical model of the 2-
stage inverted pendulum
which was accomplished
using only 30 rules. The software portion of the project took only two days to develop.
Fuzzy Logic reduces hardware costs
Using a lookup table the two-input temperature controller requires 64Kb of memory,
while the fuzzy approach is accomplished with less than 0.5Kb of memory for labels and
object code combined. This difference in memory savings implies a cheaper hardware
implementation. In addition, conventional techniques in most real life applications
require complex mathematical analysis and modeling, floating point algorithms, and
complex branching. This typically yields a substantial size of object code which requires
a high end DSP chip to run. Fuzzy Logic enables you to use a simple rule based
approach which offers significant cost savings, both in memory and processor class.
As an example, consider again the 2-stage inverted pendulum, whose model is
equivalent to a second order differential equation. With a traditional approach, the
model requires a high end workstation to develop, and the controller is extremely
difficult or very costly to implement. For example, a non-linear equation would require a
costly high end processor to cope with calculation intensity, while a lookup table would
require a huge amount of memory. Aptronix's 2-stage pendulum was developed on a
PC, runs on a low cost 8-bit microcontroller and requires under 1Kb of memory. This
achievement demonstrates that we can use existing low end hardware to tackle an
order of magnitude more complex applications.
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