Section 3 : Other approaches to uncertain reasoning

Commentary

Section Goals

• To introduce other approaches to uncertain reasoning, such as Dempster-Shafer theory and fuzzy logic.

Learning Objectives

Learning Objective 1

• Outline issues related to the rule-based methods for uncertain reasoning.
• Explain how to represent ignorance and vagueness using Dempster-Shafer and fuzzy logic, respectively.
• Explain the following concepts or terms:
  • Certainty factor
  • Ignorance
  • Belief function
  • Vagueness
  • Fuzzy set
  • Fuzzy logic

Objective Readings

Required readings:

Reading topics:

Other Approaches to Uncertain Reasoning (see Section 14.7 of AIMA3ed)

Naranjo, J. E., Gonzalez, C., Garcia, R., de Pedro, T., and Sotelo MA. (2007). Using fuzzy logic in automated vehicle control. IEEE Intelligent Systems, 22(1), 36-45. Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MIS.2007.18

Objective Questions

• What are the desirable properties and difficulties of rule-based methods for uncertain reasoning?
• Which type of uncertainty is handled by the Dempster-Shafer theory? By fuzzy logic?

Objective Activities

• Explore recent papers and articles from related journals and conferences for some other methods and techniques that would be capable of handling uncertainty in performing real world tasks.
• Report your findings in the course conference.