Type-2 FLCs: A New Generation of Fuzzy Controllers

Type-1 fuzzy logic controllers (FLCs) have been applied to date with great success to many different applications. However, for dynamic unstructured environments and many real-world applications, there is a need to cope with large amounts of uncertainties. The traditional type-1 FLC using crisp type-1 fuzzy sets cannot directly handle such uncertainties. A type-2 FLC using type-2 fuzzy sets can handle such uncertainties to produce a better performance. Hence, type-2 FLCs will have the potential to overcome the limitations of type-1 FLCs and produce a new generation of fuzzy controllers with improved performance for many applications, which require handling high levels of uncertainty. This paper introduces briefly the interval type-2 FLC and its benefits. We also present briefly the type-2 FLC application to three challenging domains: industrial control, mobile robots control and ambient intelligent environments control     

Type-2 fuzzy control for a flexible-joint robot using voltage control strategy

Type-1 fuzzy sets cannot fully handle the uncertainties. To overcome the problem, type-2 fuzzy sets have been proposed. The novelty of this paper is using interval type-2 fuzzy logic controller (IT2FLC) to control a flexible-joint robot with voltage control strategy. In order to take into account the whole robotic system including the dynamics of actuators and the robot manipulator, the voltages of motors are used as inputs of the system. To highlight the capabilities of the control system, a flexible joint robot which is highly nonlinear, heavily coupled and uncertain is used. In addition, to improve the control performance, the parameters of the primary membership functions of IT2FLC are optimized using particle swarm optimization (PSO). A comparative study between the proposed IT2FLC and type-1 fuzzy logic controller (T1FLC) is presented to better assess their respective performance in presence of external disturbance and unmodelled dynamics. Stability analysis is presented and the effectiveness of the proposed control approach is demonstrated by simulations using a two-link flexible-joint robot driven by permanent magnet direct current motors. Simulation results show the superiority of the IT2FLC over the T1FLC in terms of accuracy, robustness and interpretability.     

A hierarchical type-2 fuzzy logic control architecture for autonomous mobile robots

Autonomous mobile robots navigating in changing and dynamic unstructured environments like the outdoor environments need to cope with large amounts of uncertainties that are inherent of natural environments. The traditional type-1 fuzzy logic controller (FLC) using precise type-1 fuzzy sets cannot fully handle such uncertainties. A type-2 FLC using type-2 fuzzy sets can handle such uncertainties to produce a better performance. In this paper, we present a novel reactive control architecture for autonomous mobile robots that is based on type-2 FLC to implement the basic navigation behaviors and the coordination between these behaviors to produce a type-2 hierarchical FLC. In our experiments, we implemented this type-2 architecture in different types of mobile robots navigating in indoor and outdoor unstructured and challenging environments. The type-2-based control system dealt with the uncertainties facing mobile robots in unstructured environments and resulted in a very good performance that outperformed the type-1-based control system while achieving a significant rule reduction compared to the type-1 system.     

Design and stability analysis of single-input fuzzy logiccontroller

In existing fuzzy logic controllers (FLCs), input variables are mostly the error and the change-of-error regardless of complexity of controlled plants. Either control input u or the change of control input Deltau is commonly used as its output variable. A rule table is then constructed on a two-dimensional (2-D) space. This scheme naturally inherits from conventional proportional-derivative (PD) or proportional-integral (PI) controller. Observing that 1) rule tables of most FLCs have skew-symmetric property and 2) the absolute magnitude of the control input |u| or |Deltau| is proportional to the distance from its main diagonal line in the normalized input space, we derive a new variable called the signed distance, which is used as a sole fuzzy input variable in our simple FLC called single-input FLC (SFLC). The SFLC has many advantages: The total number of rules is greatly reduced compared to existing FLCs, and hence, generation and tuning of control rules are much easier. The proposed SFLC is proven to be absolutely stable using Popov criterion. Furthermore, the control performance is nearly the same as that of existing FLCs, which is revealed via computer simulations using two nonlinear plants.     

Type-2 fuzzy multi-intersection traffic signal control with differential evolution optimization

This paper proposes a multi-agent type-2 fuzzy logic control (FLC) method optimized by differential evolution (DE) for multi-intersection traffic signal control. Type-2 fuzzy sets can deal with models’ uncertainties efficiently because of its three-dimensional membership functions, but selecting suitable parameters of membership functions and rule base is not easy. DE is adopted to decide the parameters in the type-2 fuzzy system, as it is easy to understand, simple to implement and possesses low space complexity. In order to avoid the computational complexity, the expert rule base and the parameters of membership functions (MF) are optimized by turns. An eleven-intersection traffic network is studied in which each intersection is governed by the proposed controller. A secondary layer controller is set in every intersection to select the proper phase sequence. Furthermore, the communication among the adjacent intersections is implemented using multi-agent system. Simulation experiments are designed to compare communicative type-2 FLC optimized by DE with type-1 FLC, fixed-time signal control, etc. Experimental results indicate that our proposed method can enhance the vehicular throughput rate and reduce delay, queue length and parking rate efficiently.     

基于改进QPSO的两轮移动机器人区间二型模糊逻辑控制

以两轮移动机器人(TWMR)为对象,针对机器人的非线性模型分别设计控制机器人平衡和位置的区间二型模糊逻辑控制器(IT2 FLC).针对区间二型模糊规则中参数难以设定的问题,通过改进的量子粒子群算法(LTQPSO)优化区间二型模糊集参数,并给出优化算法的流程图.针对区间二型模糊逻辑控制器和一型模糊逻辑控制器(T1 FLC)对平衡和位置的控制效果进行对比.进一步考虑质量不确定和位置扰动对两种控制器控制效果的影响.仿真结果表明,IT2 FLC可以有效地达到设定的控制目标,与T1 FLC相比,IT2 FLC拥有更好的处理不确定性的能力以及更强的抗扰动能力.     

Control of a distillation column by type-2 and type-1 fuzzy logic PID controllers

The aim of this paper is to develop a type-1 and a type-2 fuzzy logic PID controller (type-1 FLC and type-2 FLC, respectively) for the control of a binary distillation column, the mathematical model of which is characterized by both high nonlinearities and parameter uncertainties. Attention was focused on the tuning procedure proposed by the authors and representing a development of the original Jantzen [1] method for type-1 and type-2 fuzzy controllers, in particular including input type-2 Gaussian membership functions. A theoretical explanation of the differences in fuzzy controller performance was in fact provided in the light of simulation results. The performance of a type-1 FLC was then compared in simulation with the one of type-2 FLC. All the simulation results confirmed the robustness and the effective control action of each fuzzy controller, with evident advantages for the type-2 FLC.     

Type-2 Fuzzy Logic Control of a Flexible-Joint Manipulator

A type-2 fuzzy logic controller (FLC) is proposed in this article for robot manipulators with joint elasticity and structured and unstructured dynamical uncertainties. The proposed controller is based on a sliding mode control strategy. To enhance its real-time performance, simplified interval fuzzy sets are used. The efficiency of the control scheme is further enhanced by using computationally inexpensive input signals independently of the noisy torque and acceleration signals, and by adopting a trade off strategy between the manipulator’s position and the actuators’ internal stability. The controller is validated through a set of numerical experiments and by comparing it against its type-1 counterpart. It is shown through these experiments the higher performance of the type-2 FLC in compensating for larger magnitudes of uncertainties with severe nonlinearities. This work was partially supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Canadian Microelectronics Corporation (CMC).     

基于FPSO的电力巡检机器人的广义二型模糊逻辑控制

针对电力巡检机器人(Power-line inspection robot, PLIR)的平衡调节问题, 设计了广义二型模糊逻辑控制器(General type-2 fuzzy logic controller, GT2FLC); 针对GT2FLC中隶属函数参数难以确定的问题, 通过模糊粒子群(Fuzzy particle swarm optimization, FPSO)算法来优化隶属函数参数. 将GT2FLC的控制性能与区间二型模糊逻辑控制器(Interval type-2 fuzzy logic controller, IT2FLC)和一型模糊逻辑控制器(Type-1 fuzzy logic controller, T1FLC) 的控制性能进行对比. 除此之外, 还考虑了外部干扰对三种控制器控制效果的影响. 仿真结果表明, GT2FLC具有更好的性能和处理不确定性的能力.     

MPEG VBR video traffic modeling and classification using fuzzytechnique

We present an approach for MPEG variable bit rate (VBR) video modeling and classification using fuzzy techniques. We demonstrate that a type-2 fuzzy membership function, i.e., a Gaussian MF with uncertain variance, is most appropriate to model the log-value of I/P/B frame sizes in MPEG VBR video. The fuzzy c-means (FCM) method is used to obtain the mean and standard deviation (std) of T/P/B frame sizes when the frame category is unknown. We propose to use type-2 fuzzy logic classifiers (FLCs) to classify video traffic using compressed data. Five fuzzy classifiers and a Bayesian classifier are designed for video traffic classification, and the fuzzy classifiers are compared against the Bayesian classifier. Simulation results show that a type-2 fuzzy classifier in which the input is modeled as a type-2 fuzzy set and antecedent membership functions are modeled as type-2 fuzzy sets performs the best of the five classifiers when the testing video product is not included in the training products and a steepest descent algorithm is used to tune its parameters     

Design of interval type-2 fuzzy sliding-mode controller

In this paper, an interval type-2 fuzzy sliding-mode controller (IT2FSMC) is proposed for linear and nonlinear systems. The proposed IT2FSMC is a combination of the interval type-2 fuzzy logic control (IT2FLC) and the sliding-mode control (SMC) which inherits the benefits of these two methods. The objective of the controller is to allow the system to move to the sliding surface and remain in on it so as to ensure the asymptotic stability of the closed-loop system. The Lyapunov stability method is adopted to verify the stability of the interval type-2 fuzzy sliding-mode controller system. The design procedure of the IT2FSMC is explored in detail. A typical second order linear interval system with 50% parameter variations, an inverted pendulum with variation of pole characteristics, and a Duffing forced oscillation with uncertainty and disturbance are adopted to illustrate the validity of the proposed method. The simulation results show that the IT2FSMC achieves the best tracking performance in comparison with the type-1 Fuzzy logic controller (T1FLC), the IT2FLC, and the type-1 fuzzy sliding-mode controller (T1FSMC).     

A comparative experimental study of type-1/type-2 fuzzy cascade controller based on genetic algorithms and particle swarm optimization

In this study, we introduce the design methodology of an optimized fuzzy controller with the aid of particle swarm optimization (PSO) for ball and beam system.The ball and beam system is a well-known control engineering experimental setup which consists of servo motor, beam and ball. This system exhibits a number of interesting and challenging properties when being considered from the control perspective. The ball and beam system determines the position of ball through the control of a servo motor. The displacement change of the position of ball leads to the change of the angle of the beam which determines the position angle of a servo motor.The fixed membership function design of type-1 based fuzzy logic controller (FLC) leads to the difficulty of rule-based control design when representing linguistic nature of knowledge. In type-2 FLC as the expanded type of type-1 FL, we can effectively improve the control characteristic by using the footprint of uncertainty (FOU) of the membership functions. Type-2 FLC exhibits some robustness when compared with type-1 FLC.Through computer simulation as well as real-world experiment, we apply optimized type-2 fuzzy cascade controllers based on PSO to ball and beam system. To evaluate performance of each controller, we consider controller characteristic parameters such as maximum overshoot, delay time, rise time, settling time, and a steady-state error. In the sequel, the optimized fuzzy cascade controller is realized and also experimented with through running two detailed comparative studies including type-1/type-2 fuzzy controller and genetic algorithms/particle swarm optimization.     

基于量子粒子群的斜坡上两轮移动机器人的广义二型模糊控制

两轮移动机器人(2WMR)本身具有多变量和非线性等特征,从而使其控制变得复杂。当2WMR在倾斜的表面上移动时,控制问题变得更加复杂。针对2WMR的非线性模型,设计2WMR的广义二型模糊逻辑平衡控制器和位置控制器。针对广义二型模糊逻辑控制器(GT2FLC)中前、后件中参数难以设定的问题,通过量子粒子群算法(QPSO)优化隶属函数中的参数。针对GT2FLC和区间二型模糊逻辑控制器(IT2FLC)在不同斜面上对移动2WMR的平衡和位置控制的效果进行进一步的对比分析,并干扰对控制效果的影响。仿真结果表明,GT2FLC具有更好的抗干扰能力。     

Theoretical analysis of crisp-type fuzzy logic controllers usingvarious t-norm sum-gravity inference methods

The input-output parametric relationship of a class of crisp-type fuzzy logic controllers (FLCs) using various t-norm sum-gravity inference methods is studied. Four most important t-norms are used to calculate the matching level of each control rule and the explicit mathematical forms of reasoning surfaces obtained by using these four t-norms are addressed. Reasoning surfaces of these crisp-type FLCs are proved to be composed of a two-dimensional multilevel relay no matter which t-norm is used and a local position-dependent nonlinear compensator with output pattern influenced by the t-norms is selected. By analyzing the intrinsic operation of the four t-norms, the authors find that both standard intersection and algebraic product are suitable operators to perform the inference of the FLC. However, bounded difference and drastic intersection are disqualified because they cannot satisfy some important criteria. A measure of relative degree-of-nonlinearity is defined to examine the output figures of these crisp-type FLCs. The ultimate behavior of these crisp-type FLCs as the number of linguistic terms approaches infinity is also explored. The local stability criteria for the proportional-integral (PI)-type fuzzy control systems and the natural global stability characteristic for the proportional-derivative (PD)-type fuzzy control systems are also examined     

Automatic design of fuzzy logic controllers for medium access control in wireless body area networks – An evolutionary approach

Soft computing techniques including fuzzy logic have been successfully applied to wireless body area networks (WBANs). However, most of the existing research works rely on manual design of the fuzzy logic controller (FLC). To address this issue, in this paper, we propose an evolutionary approach to automate the design of FLCs for cross layer medium access control in WBANs. With the goal of improving network reliability while keeping the communication delay at a low level, we have particularly studied the usefulness of three coding schemes with different levels of flexibility during the evolutionary design process. The influence of fitness functions that measure the effectiveness of each possible FLC design has also been examined carefully in order to achieve a good balance between reliability and performance. Moreover, we have utilised surrogate models to improve the efficiency of the design process. In consideration of practical usefulness, we have further identified two main design targets. The first target is to design effective FLCs for a specific network configuration. The second target focuses on designing FLCs to function across a wide range of network settings. In order to examine the usefulness of our design approach, we have utilised two widely used evolutionary algorithms, i.e. particle swarm optimisation (PSO) and differential evolution (DE). The FLC designed by our approach is also shown to outperform some related algorithms as well as the IEEE 802.15.4 standard.     

Decomposed fuzzy proportional–integral–derivative controllers

In this paper, several types of decomposed proportional–integral–derivative fuzzy logic controllers (PID FLCs) are tested and compared. An important feature of decomposed PID FLCs are their simple structures. In its simplest version, the decomposed PID FLC uses three one-input one-output inferences with three separate rule bases. Behaviours of proportional, integral and derivative PID FLC parts are defined with simple rules in proportional rule base, integral rule base and derivative rule base. The proposed decomposed PID FLC has been compared with several PID FLCs structures. All PID FLCs have been realised by the same hardware and software tools and have been applied as a real-time controller to a simple magnetic suspension system.     

Design and analysis of a fuzzy logic controller

The fuzzy logic controller (FLC) presented by Siler and Ying (1989) is discussed here and is proved to be equivalent to a non-fuzzy, nonlinear, proportional-integral (PI) controller. Some characteristic properties of this fuzzy logic controller are then investigated. The achievable performance of such a specific fuzzy controller is examined and found to be not necessarily better than that of the conventional, linear, non-fuzzy PI controller. Various extended designs of the basic FLC, including the FLC with dual control laws and the three-piece FLC, are then presented to enhance control performance. These extensions can provide servo-control performance. These extensions can provide servo-control performance superior to that of the basic FLC design, as illustrated by simulation results. Finally a highly nonlinear neutralization process is advanced to demonstrate the applicability of the various FLCs to industrial process control.     

Sine-square embedded fuzzy sets versus type-2 fuzzy sets

The uncertainty is an inherent part of real-world applications. Type-2 fuzzy sets minimize the effects of uncertainties that cannot be modeled using type-1 fuzzy sets. However, the computational complexity of the type-2 fuzzy sets is very high and it is more difficult than type-1 fuzzy sets to use and understand. This paper proposes sine-square embedded fuzzy sets and gives a comparison with type-2 and nonstationary fuzzy sets. The sine-square embedded fuzzy sets consist of type-1 fuzzy sets and the sine function. The footprint of uncertainty in the type-2 fuzzy sets is provided with amplitude and frequency of sine-square function in the proposed algorithm. The proposed sine-square embedded fuzzy sets are much simpler than the type-2 fuzzy sets and the nonstationary fuzzy sets. Two control applications that are chosen as position control of a dc motor and simulation of human lifting motion using five-segment human model are carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.     

Digital fuzzy logic controller: design and implementation

In this paper, various aspects of digital fuzzy logic controller (FLC) design and implementation are discussed, Classic and improved models of the single-input single-output (SISO), multiple-input single-output (MISC), and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) FLCs are analyzed in terms of hardware cost and performance. A set of universal parameters to characterize any hardware realization of digital FLCs is defined. The comparative study of classic and alternative MIMO FLCs is presented as a generalization of other controller configurations. A processing element for the parallel FLC architecture realizing improved inferencing of MIMO system is designed, characterized, and tested. Finally, as a case feasibility study, a direct data stream architecture for complete digital fuzzy controller is shown as an improved solution for high-speed, cost-effective, real-time control applications     

Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Hierarchical Adaptive Cruise Following-Control for Intelligent Vehicles

Intelligent vehicles can effectively improve traffic congestion and road traffic safety. Adaptive cruise following-control (ACFC) is a vital part of intelligent vehicles. In this paper, a new hierarchical vehicle-following control strategy is presented by synthesizing the variable time headway model, type-2 fuzzy control, feedforward + fuzzy proportion integration (PI) feedback (F+FPIF) control, and inverse longitudinal dynamics model of vehicles. Firstly, a traditional variable time headway model is improved considering the acceleration of the lead car. Secondly, an interval type-2 fuzzy logic controller (IT2 FLC) is designed for the upper structure of the ACFC system to simulate the driver’s operating habits. To reduce the nonlinear influence and improve the tracking accuracy for the desired acceleration, the control strategy of F+FPIF is given for the lower control structure. Thirdly, the lower control method proposed in this paper is compared with the fuzzy PI control and the traditional method (no lower controller for tracking desired acceleration) separately. Meanwhile, the proportion integration differentiation (PID), linear quadratic regulator (LQR), subsection function control (SFC) and type-1 fuzzy logic control (T1 FLC) are respectively compared with the IT2 FLC in control performance under different scenes. Finally, the simulation results show the effectiveness of IT2 FLC for the upper structure and F+FPIF control for the lower structure.