Neural Networks and Fuzzy Logic (15A02605) Lecture Notes

UNIT-IV
FUZZY SET THEORY
Classical Sets and Fuzzy Sets:
Fuzzy sets vs. crisp sets

Crisp sets are the sets that we have used most of our life. In a crisp set, an element is
either a member of the set or not. For example, a jelly bean belongs in the class of food known as
candy. Mashed potatoes do not.

Fuzzy sets, on the other hand, allow elements to be partially in a set. Each element is
given a degree of membership in a set. This membership value can range from 0 (not an element
of the set) to 1 (a member of the set). It is clear that if one only allowed the extreme membership
values of 0 and 1, that this would actually be equivalent to crisp sets. A membership function is
the relationship between the values of an element and its degree of membership in a set. An
example of membership functions. In this example, the sets (or classes) are numbers that are
negative large, negative medium, negative small, near zero, positive small, positive medium, and
positive large. The value, µ, is the amount of membership in the set.

Fig: Membership Functions for the Set of All Numbers (N = Negative, P = Positive, L = Large,
M = Medium, S = Small)

A classical set is defined by crisp boundaries

A fuzzy set is prescribed by vague or ambiguous properties; hence its boundaries are
ambiguously specified

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 Neural Networks and Fuzzy Logic (15A02605) Lecture Notes

The universe of discourse is the universe of all available information on a given problem
a universe of discourse, X, as a collection of objects all having the same characteristics

• The clock speeds of computer CPUs

• The operating currents of an electronic motor
• The operating temperature of a heat pump (in degrees Celsius)
• The Richter magnitudes of an earthquake
• The integers 1 to 10
• The individual elements in the universe X will be denoted as x. The features of the
elements in X can be discrete, countable integers or continuous valued quantities on the
real line.
The total number of elements in a universe X is called its cardinal number, denoted nx
Collections of elements within a universe are called sets
Universe of discourse: The Richter magnitudes of an earthquake
Set in the universe of discourse?
Collections of elements within sets are called subsets
The collection of all possible sets in the universe is called the whole set (power set).

Operation on Classical Sets

Union
A ∪ B = {x | x ∈ A or x ∈ B}

The union between the two sets, denoted A ∪ B, represents all those elements in the universe
that reside in (or belong to) the set A, the set B, or both sets A and B. This operation is also
called the logical or

Fig: Union of sets A and B (logical or) in terms of Venn diagrams

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 Neural Networks and Fuzzy Logic (15A02605) Lecture Notes

Intersection

A ∩ B = {x | x ∈ A and x ∈ B}
The intersection of the two sets, denoted A ∩ B, represents all those elements in the
universe X that simultaneously reside in (or belong to) both sets A and B. This operation is also
called the logical and

Fig: Intersection of sets A and B.

Complement

The complement of a set A,is defined as the collection of all elements in the universe
that do not reside in the set A.

Fig: Complement of set A

The difference of a set A with respect to B, denoted A | B, is defined as the collection of all
elements in the universe that reside in A and that do not reside in B simultaneously

Fig: Difference operation A | B

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 Neural Networks and Fuzzy Logic (15A02605) Lecture Notes

Properties of Classical (Crisp) Sets

Commutativity A ∪ B = B ∪A
A∩B=B∩A

Associativity A ∪ (B ∪ C) = (A ∪ B) ∪ C
A ∩ (B ∩ C) = (A ∩ B) ∩ C

Distributivity A ∪ (B ∩ C) = (A ∪ B) ∩ (A ∪ C)

A ∩ (B ∪ C) = (A ∩ B) ∪ (A ∩ C) (2.7)

Idempotency A ∪ A = A
A∩A=A

Identity A∪∅= A
A∩X=A

A∩ ∅= ∅

A ∪ X =X

Transitivity If A ⊆ B and B ⊆ C, then A ⊆ C

Two special properties of set operations,

The excluded middle axioms

De Morgan’s principles
The excluded middle axioms not valid for both classical sets and fuzzy sets. There are two
excluded middle axioms The first, called the axiom of the excluded middle, deals with the
union of a set A and its complement. The second, called the axiom of contradiction, represents
the intersection of a set A and its complement.

De Morgan’s principles

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 Neural Networks and Fuzzy Logic (15A02605) Lecture Notes

Fig: Information about the complement of a set (or event), or the complement of combinations of
sets (or events), rather than information about the sets themselves
Example : a universe with three elements, X = {a, b, c}, we desire to map the elements of the
power set of X, i.e., P(X), to a universe, Y, consisting of only two elements (the characteristic
function), Y = {0, 1}
The elements of the power set?
The elements in the value set V(P(X))?
The elements of the power set

P(X) = {∅, {a}, {b}, {c}, {a, b}, {b, c}, {a, c}, {a, b, c}}
The elements in the value set V(P(X))

V{P(X)} = {{0, 0, 0}, {1, 0, 0}, {0, 1, 0}, {0, 0, 1}, {1, 1, 0}, {0, 1, 1}, {1, 0, 1}, {1, 1, 1}}

Fuzzy Sets

Fuzzy Set Theory was formalised by Professor Lofti Zadeh at the University of
California in 1965. What Zadeh proposed is very much a paradigm shift that first gained
acceptance in the Far East and its successful application has ensured its adoption around the
world.
A paradigm is a set of rules and regulations which defines boundaries and tells us what to
do to be successful in solving problems within these boundaries.
The boundaries of the fuzzy sets are vague and ambiguous. Hence, membership of an
element from the universe in this set is measured by a function that attempts to describe
vagueness and ambiguity
Elements of a fuzzy set are mapped to a universe of membership values using a
function-theoretic form. fuzzy sets are denoted by a set symbol with a tilde under strike;
A∼ would be the fuzzy set A.
This function maps elements of a fuzzy set A∼ to a real numbered value on the interval 0 to 1.
If an element in the universe, say x, is a member of fuzzy set A∼, then this mapping is given by

When the universe of discourse, X, is discrete and finite, is as follows for a fuzzy setA∼ :

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 Neural Networks and Fuzzy Logic (15A02605) Lecture Notes

When the universe, X, is continuous and infinite, the fuzzy setA∼

Membership function for fuzzy set A∼

Three fuzzy sets A , B, and C on the universe X

For a given element x of the universe, the following function-theoretic operations for the set-
theoretic operations of union, intersection, and complement are defined for aA, B, and C on X
Fuzzy Set Operations
Union The membership function of the Union of two fuzzy sets A and B with membership
functions and respectively is defined as the maximum of the two individual membership
functions. This is called the maximum criterion.

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 Neural Networks and Fuzzy Logic (15A02605) Lecture Notes

Fig: The Union operation in Fuzzy set theory is the equivalent of the OR operation in
Boolean algebra.

Intersection

The membership function of the Intersection of two fuzzy sets A and B with membership
functions and respectively is defined as the minimum of the two individual membership
functions. This is called the minimum criterion.

Fig: The Intersection operation in Fuzzy set theory is the equivalent of the AND
operation in Boolean algebra.

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 Neural Networks and Fuzzy Logic (15A02605) Lecture Notes

Complement

The membership function of the Complement of a Fuzzy set A with membership function
is defined as the negation of the specified membership function. This is caleed the
negation criterion.

The Complement operation in Fuzzy set theory is the equivalent of the NOT operation in
Boolean algebra.

The following rules which are common in classical set theory also apply to Fuzzy set theory.

De Morgans law

Associativity

Commutativity

Distributivity

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 Neural Networks and Fuzzy Logic (15A02605) Lecture Notes

Universe of Discourse
The Universe of Discourse is the range of all possible values for an input to a fuzzy
system.
Fuzzy Set
A Fuzzy Set is any set that allows its members to have different grades of membership
(membership function) in the interval [0,1].

Standard fuzzy operations

Fig: Union of fuzzy sets A∼ and B∼

Fig: Intersection of fuzzy sets A∼ and B∼

Fig: Complement of fuzzy sets A∼ and B∼

All other operations on classical sets also hold for fuzzy sets, except for the excluded middle
axioms

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 Neural Networks and Fuzzy Logic (15A02605) Lecture Notes

RELATIONS
Relations represent mappings between sets and connectives in logic. A classical binary
relation represents the presence or absence of a connection or interaction or association between
the elements of two sets. Fuzzy binary relations are a generalization of crisp binary relations, and
they allow various degrees of relationship (association) between elements.
Fuzzy Relations

Crisp and Fuzzy Relations

A crisp relation represents the presence or absence of association, interaction, or

interconnectedness between the elements of two or more sets. This concept can be generalized to
allow for various degrees or strengths of relation or interaction between elements. Degrees of
association can be represented by membership grades in a fuzzy relation in the same way as
degrees of set membership are represented in the fuzzy set. In fact, just as the crisp set can be
viewed as a restricted case of the more general fuzzy set concept, the crisp relation can be
considered to be a restricted case of the fuzzy relations.
Cartesian product
The Cartesian product of two crisp sets X and Y, denoted by , is the crisp set of all
ordered pairs such that the first element in each pair is a member of X and the second element is
a member of Y. Formally,

The Cartesian product can be generalized for a family of crisp sets and denoted
either by . Elements of the Cartesian product of n crisp sets are n-

tuples Thus,

It is possible for all sets to be equal, that is, to be a single set X. In this case, the Cartesian
product of a set X with itself n times is usually denoted by .

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 Neural Networks and Fuzzy Logic (15A02605) Lecture Notes

Relation among sets

A relation among crisp sets is a subset of the Cartesian

product It is denoted either by or by the

abbreviated form . Thus,

so for relations among sets , the Cartesian product

represents the universal set. Because a relation is itself a set, the basic set concepts such as
containment or subset, union, intersection, and complement can be applied without modification
to relations.

Each crisp relation R can be defined by a characteristic function that assigns a value 1 to every
tuple of the universal set belonging to the relation and a 0 to every tuple that does not belong.
Thus,

The membership of a tuple in a relation signifies that the elements of the tuple are related or
associated with one another.

A relation can be written as a set of ordered tuples. Another convenient way of representing a

relation involves an n-dimensional membership array:

Each element of the first dimension i1 of this array corresponds to exactly one member of X1,
each element of the first dimension i2 to exactly one member of X2, and so on. If the n-tuple ,then

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 Neural Networks and Fuzzy Logic (15A02605) Lecture Notes

Just as the characteristic function of a crisp set can be generalized to allow for degrees of set
membership, the characteristic function of a crisp relation can be generalized to allow tuples to
have degrees of membership within the relation.

Thus, a fuzzy relation is a fuzzy set defined on the Cartesian product of crisp

sets , may have varying degrees of

membership within the relation. The membership grade is usually represented by a real number

in the closed interval and indicates the strenght of the relation present between the
elements of the tuple.

A fuzzy relation can also conveniently be represented by an n-dimensional membership array

whose entries correspond to n-tuples in the universal set. These entries take values representing
the membership grades of the corresponding n-tuples.

Examples

Let R be a crisp relation among the two sets X={dollar, pound, franc, mark} and Y={United
States, France, Canada, Britain, Germany}, which associates a country with a currency as
follows:

R(X,Y)= {(dollar,United States),(franc,France),(dollar,Canada),(pound,Britain),(mark,Germany)}

This relation can also be represented by the following two dimensional membership array:

U.S. France Canada Britain Germany

dollar 1 0 1 0 0
pound 0 0 0 1 0
franc 0 1 0 0 0
mark 0 0 0 0 1

Let R be a fuzzy relation among the two sets the distance to the target X={far, close, very close}
and the speed of the car Y={very slow, slow, normal, quick, very quick}, which represents the
relational concept "the break must be pressed very strong".

This relation can be written in list notation as

R(X,Y) = {0/(far, very slow) + .3/(close, very slow) + .8/(very close, very slow) + 0/(far, slow) +
.4/(close, slow) + .9/(very close, slow) + 0/(far, normal) + .5/(close, normal) + 1/(very close,
normal) + .1/(far, quick) + .6/(close, quick) + 1/(very close, quick) + .2/(far,very quick)+
.7/(close,very quick)+ 1/(very close,very quick)}. This relation can also be represented by the
following two dimensional membership array:

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 Neural Networks and Fuzzy Logic (15A02605) Lecture Notes

very slow slow normal quick very quick

far 0 0 0 .1 .2
close .3 .4 .5 .6 .7
very close .8 .9 1 1 1

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