The past few years we have witnessed a crystallization of soft computing as a means towards the conception and design of intelligent systems. Soft Computing is a synergetic integration of neural networks, fuzzy logic and evolutionary computation including genetic algorithms, chaotic systems, and belief networks. In this volume, we are featuting seven papers devoted to soft computing as a special issue. These papers are selected from papers submitted to the "The eighth International Fuzzy Systems Association World Congress (IFSA'99)", held in Taipei, Taiwan, in August 1999. Each paper received outstanding recommendations from its reviewers. G-H Tzeng et al. integrate fuzzy numbers, fuzzy regression, and a fuzzy DEA approach as a performance evaluation model for forecasting the productive efficiency of a set of production units when some data are fuzzy numbers. A case of Taipei City Bus Company is adopted for illustration. Y. Shi et al. adopts a fuzzy programming approach to solve a MCMDM (multiple criteria and multiple decision makers) capital budget problem. A solution procedure is proposed to systematically identify a fuzzy optimal selection of possible projects. N. Nguyen et al. propose a new formalism (Chu spaces) to describe parallelism and information flow. Chu spaces provide uniform explanations for different choices of fuzzy methodology, such as choices of fuzzy logical operations of membership functions or defuzzifications. M-C Su et al. propose a technique based on the SOM-based fuzzy systems for voltage security margin estimation. This technique was tested on 1604 simulated data randomly generated from operating conditions on the IEEE 30-bus system to indicate its high efficiency. By defining the concept of approximate dependency and a similarity measure, S-L Wang et al. present a method of using analogical reasoning to infer approximate answers for null queries on similarity-based fuzzy relational databases. K.Yeh et al. use adaptive fuzzy sliding mode control for the structural control of bridges. Combing fuzzy control and sliding mode control can reduce the complexity of fuzzy rule bases and ensure the stability and robustness. This model is demonstrated by three types of bridges, with LRB, sliding isolators and no isolation device. Based on a novel fuzzy clustering algorithm, Y-H Kuo et al. propose an adaptive traffic prediction approach to generalize and unveil the hidden structure of traffic patterns with features of robustness, high accuracy and high adaptability. The periodical, Poisson and real video traffic patterns have been used to verify their approach and investigate its properties. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who has contributed to this special issue including the authors, the co-reviewers, the JACI Editors-in-Chief Toshio Fukuda and Kaoru Hirota.
Chu spaces-a new approach to describing uncertainty in systems
