JIMS Engineering Management Technical Campus

Unit 1 Notes
Soft Computing (SC‐401T)

INTRODUCTION TO SOFT COMPUTING

1. Objectives
In this chapter, we will try to learn what soft computing is, the difference between hard
computing and soft computing and the reason why soft computing evolved. At the end,
some applications of soft computing will be discussed.

2. Concept of computing systems

Historical Context

● Early Mechanical Calculators: Discuss the abacus, Napier's bones, and

Pascal's calculator as early examples of mechanical computing devices.
● The Analytical Engine: Highlight Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine as a
significant milestone in the development of programmable computers.
● Electronic Computers: Explore the transition from mechanical to electronic
computers, starting with ENIAC and moving on to the development of transistors
and integrated circuits.

Different Types of Computing

● Analog Computing: Explain how analog computers represent data using

physical quantities like voltage or current.
● Digital Computing: Discuss the binary system used in digital computers and the
advantages of digital over analog computing.
● Quantum Computing: Introduce the concept of quantum computing, its potential
applications, and the challenges involved in its development.
● Cloud Computing: Explain the concept of cloud computing, its benefits, and
different cloud service models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS).
Analog vs. Digital: A comparison of how analog and digital computers represent data.

Quantum Computing: A diagram illustrating the principles of quantum computing and

its potential applications.

Cloud Computing: A visual representation of cloud computing infrastructure and

service models.
Impact of Computing

● Scientific Advancements: Discuss how computing has revolutionized fields like

physics, biology, and chemistry.
● Technological Innovations: Explore the impact of computing on various
technologies, such as smartphones, artificial intelligence, and the internet.
● Economic Growth: Highlight the economic benefits of computing, including job
creation, increased productivity, and global connectivity.
● Social Changes: Discuss the social implications of computing, such as the
digital divide, privacy concerns, and the rise of social media.

Traditional (Hard) Computing

● Boolean Logic: The foundation of traditional computing is Boolean logic, which

deals with binary values (0 and 1).
● Algorithms: Traditional computing relies on precise algorithms to solve
problems, following a step-by-step procedure.
● Deterministic Nature: The output of a traditional computer is always the same
for the same input, making it predictable.
● Limitations:
○ Lack of Tolerance: Traditional computing struggles to handle uncertainty,
imprecision, and partial truth.
○ Complexity: Complex real-world problems often cannot be easily
modeled using traditional computing methods.

Visual Representation:

● Flowchart: A flowchart illustrating the steps involved in a traditional computer's

calculation.
● Truth Table: A truth table demonstrating the operations of Boolean logic gates
(AND, OR, NOT).
The Need for Soft Computing

Real-World Challenges: Discuss real-world problems that are difficult to solve using
traditional computing methods, such as pattern recognition, natural language
processing, and decision-making under uncertainty.

Limitations of Hard Computing: Explain how the limitations of hard computing, such
as the need for precise mathematical models and the inability to handle uncertainty,
hinder its effectiveness in solving these problems.

3. Computational Paradigm

Fig: Computational Paradigms

Computational paradigm is classified into two viz: Hard computing and soft computing.
Hard computing is conventional computing. It is based on the principles of precision,
certainty, and inflexibility. It requires mathematical models to solve problems. It deals
withs the precise models. This model is further classified into symbolic logic and
reasoning, and traditional numerical modelling and search methods. The basics of
traditional artificial intelligence are utilized by these methods. It consumes a lot of time
to deal with real life problems which contain imprecise and uncertain information. The
following problems cannot accommodate hard computing techniques:
 1. Recognition problems
2. Mobile robot co-ordination, forecasting
3. Combinatorial problems

Soft computing deals with approximate models. It handles imprecise and uncertain
information of the real world. It can be used in all industries and business sectors to
solve problems. Complex systems can be designed with soft computing to deal with the
incomplete information, where the system behaviour is not completely known or the
existence of measures of variables is noisy.

Soft Computing v/s Hard Computing

Hard Computing Soft Computing

1. It uses precisely stated analytical 1. It is tolerant to imprecision,

models. uncertainty, partial truth and
approximation.
2. It is based on binary logic and crisp 2. It is based on fuzzy logic and
systems. probabilistic reasoning.
3. It has features such as precision and 3. It has features such as approximation and
categoricity. dispositionality.
4. It is deterministic in nature. 4. It is stochastic in nature.

5. It can work with exact input data. 5. It can work with ambiguous and noisy
data.
6. It performs sequential computation. 6. It performs parallel computation.

7. It produces precise outcomes. 7. It produces an approximate outcome.

4. What is Soft Computing?
The real-world problems require systems that combine knowledge, techniques, and
methodologies from various sources. These systems should possess human-like
expertise within a specific domain, adapt themselves and learn to do better in the
changing environments and explain how they make decisions or take actions.

Natural language is used by humans for reasoning and drawing conclusions. In

conventional AI, the human intelligent behaviour is expressed in the language form or
symbolic rules. It manipulates the symbols on the assumption that such behaviour can
be stored in a symbolically structured knowledge base known as the physical symbol
system hypothesis.

“Basically, Soft Computing is not a homogenous body of concepts & techniques. Rather,
it is a partnership of distinct methods that in one way or another conform to its guiding
principle. At this juncture, the dominant aim of soft computing is to exploit the tolerance
for imprecision and uncertainty to achieve tractability, robustness and low solutions cost.
The principal constituents of soft computing are fuzzy logic, neurocomputing, and
probabilistic reasoning, with the latter subsuming genetic algorithms, belief networks,
chaotic systems, and parts of learning theory. In partnership with fuzzy logic,
neurocomputing, and probabilistic reasoning, fuzzy logic is mainly concerned with
imprecision and approximate reasoning; neurocomputing with learning and curve-fitting;
and probabilistic reasoning with uncertainty and belief propagation.”
-Zadeh (1994)

Soft computing combines different techniques and concepts. It can handle imprecision
and uncertainty. Fuzzy logic, neurocomputing, evolutionary and genetic programming,
and probabilistic computing are fields of soft computing. Soft computing is designed to
model and enable solutions to real world problems, which cannot be modelled
mathematically. It does not perform much symbolic manipulation.
The main computing paradigms of soft computing are: Fuzzy systems, Neural Networks
and Genetic Algorithms.
● Fuzzy Logic Example: A real-world example demonstrating the application of
fuzzy logic, such as a fuzzy logic controller for a washing machine.
● Neural Network Learning: A visualization of a neural network learning from
data.
● Genetic Algorithm Evolution: A visualization of the evolution of a population of
solutions in a genetic algorithm.

To achieve close resemblance with human-like decision making, soft computing aims
to exploit the tolerance for approximation, uncertainty, imprecision, and partial truth.
● Approximation: the model has similar features but not the same.
● Uncertainty: the features of the model may not be the same as that of the
entity/belief.
● Imprecision: the model features (quantities) are not the same as the real ones
but are close to them.

5. Characteristics of Soft Computing

● Uncertainty Handling: Discuss how soft computing techniques can handle
uncertainty using methods like probability theory and fuzzy logic.
● Imprecision Handling: Explain how soft computing techniques can deal with
imprecision through the use of fuzzy sets and approximate reasoning.
● Partial Truth Handling: Discuss how soft computing techniques can
accommodate partial truth using fuzzy logic and other methods.
● Heuristic Reasoning: Explain the use of heuristics in soft computing to find
approximate solutions to complex problems.
6. Application of Soft Computing
The application of soft computing has proved following advantages:

● The application that cannot be modelled mathematically can be solved.

● Non-linear problems can be solved.

● Introducing human knowledge such as cognition, understanding,

recognition, learning and others into the field of computing.

Control Systems

● Fuzzy Logic Controllers: These controllers are widely used in industries like process
control, robotics, and consumer electronics. They excel at handling nonlinear and
uncertain systems, providing more human-like control strategies.
● Neuro-Fuzzy Control: Combining neural networks and fuzzy logic, these controllers can
learn from data and adapt to changing conditions.

Pattern Recognition

● Neural Networks: These networks are powerful tools for pattern recognition tasks such
as image classification, speech recognition, and handwriting recognition. Their ability to
learn from data makes them highly adaptable.
● Fuzzy Rule-Based Systems: These systems can be used for pattern classification
based on fuzzy rules and membership functions.

Optimization

● Genetic Algorithms: Inspired by the process of natural selection, genetic algorithms are
used to solve optimization problems in fields like engineering, finance, and scheduling.
● Particle Swarm Optimization: This metaheuristic optimization technique is effective for
solving complex optimization problems.

Decision Making

● Fuzzy Decision Making: Fuzzy logic can be used to make decisions in situations with
uncertainty and imprecision, such as medical diagnosis, financial forecasting, and risk
 assessment.
● Multi-Criteria Decision Making: Soft computing techniques can help in making
decisions based on multiple criteria, often conflicting or uncertain.

Natural Language Processing

● Fuzzy Rule-Based Systems: These systems can be used for tasks like sentiment
analysis, text categorization, and machine translation.
● Neural Networks: Deep learning models, especially recurrent neural networks, have
achieved significant success in natural language processing tasks.

Robotics

● Fuzzy Logic Control: Fuzzy logic controllers are used to control robots in various
applications, including manufacturing, healthcare, and exploration.
● Neural Network-Based Control: Neural networks can be used for learning-based
control of robots, enabling them to adapt to changing environments.

Other Applications

● Image Processing: Fuzzy logic can be used for tasks like image enhancement, noise
reduction, and feature extraction.
● Data Mining: Soft computing techniques can help in extracting valuable information from
large datasets.
● Bioinformatics: Fuzzy logic and neural networks have been applied to various
bioinformatics problems, such as gene expression analysis and protein structure
prediction