Fuzzy Logic (1)

In this two-part article Owen Bishop looks at designing fuzzy control systems with the aid of software.What is your size in shirts? There are two ways of answering this. Many shirtmakers quote one of several dimensions such as size of collar or circumference of chest. Run a tape measure around your neck, read off the size in centimetres, and select a shirt of the appropriate size. Wearer’s necks are allocated to different size categories, often at 2 cm intervals. Thus, the category ‘41 cm’ may refer to necks that are 40 cm of more in circumference but less than 42 cm. Note that the sizes of customer’s necks, not the sizes of the necks of the shirts. The customers in a store could be measured and sorted out into groups on this basis. The manufacturers classify the customers, then make shirts intended to fit them. Each group of customers can be sold shirts that fit their necks with sufficient degree of comfort. Whether the shirts also fit the customers on the chest or waist in another matter! Putting this in logical terms, customers are classified into sets based on neck circumference.