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January 23, 2001
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TECHN
Page 5
THE BATTALION
By Stuart Hutson
The Battalion
Computers speak in the clear,'
pristine language of basic logic,
where subject matter is black or
white, true or false, one or zero. Hu
mans, on the other hand, speak in a
language that is as garbled as Bobcat
Goldthwaite on a CB radio.
In this world where interconnec
tion among humans and computers is
becoming increasingly important,
this language barrier has become a
target for Texas A&M researchers
who realize that, since there is little
chance that humans will become
adept at speaking in the digital lan
guage of ones and zeros, computer
logic must become a little “fuzzy.”
“The idea behind it is to general
ize some of the science and technol
ogy concepts that have black and
white notions into areas of gray,”
John Yen, a professor of computer
science and director of the Center for
Fuzzy Logic, said.
Yen said the purpose behind this
blurring of logical results is to allow
researchers to design technology that
takes the nuances of human actions
and other highly variable activities
into account so that the technology
can function more effectively.
The “fuzzification” of computer
logic is being used to improve inter
action in technologies ranging from
voice and handwriting recognition to
safety at nuclear power plants.
St]®®) Jfe maoriks
Computer programming typical
ly uses a form of logic called
Boolean logic, which assigns a zero
for false and a one for true. Yen said
fuzzy logic seeks to allow a range
between zero and one.
“For example, you could assign a
man who is completely bald as zero
and a man who has a full head of hair
as one,” he said. “But what if the man
has some hair? Fuzzy logic could al
low you to say that a man is .25 hairy,
or a little hairy, instead of trying to fit
him in one category or another.”
Using this kind of logic, technol
ogy can be adapted to receive input,
use the fuzzy logic to determine what
action it should take and then per
form the action or produce output in
a logical manner.
For example, when a person using
handwriting-recognition technology
writes a word on a touch pad, the com
puter reads the input, allowing for
small variations in letter formation.
No one writes a letter the same way
twice, regardless of how much his
first-grade teacher made him practice.
This is where the fuzzy part comes in.
The computer then determines
what letters were intended and
records the digitalized word.
Using more advanced tech
niques/fuzzy logic has been ap
plied to numerous technologies in
a variety of fields.
“I have heard of a car that had six
features which used fuzzy logic,”
Yen said. “Along with things like
better braking and fuel efficiency, it
also had a windshield tint controlled
by fuzzy logic.”
Common applications of fuzzy
logic include automated controls for
dam gates at hydroelectric plants,
simplified controls for robots, im
proved safety regulators for nuclear
power plants, voice recognition for
computers, automated camera aiming
for telecasts of sporting events and
even software designed to help inter
pret activity on the stock exchange.
At A&M’s Center for Fuzzy Log
ic, Yen and his fellow researchers
are adding to the growing list of
fuzzy applications.
s^wdh
Anyone who has ever tried to use
a common search engine, only to get
so many erroneous results that a trip
to a public library would be faster,
may appreciate the center’s work on
building a search engine that uses
fuzzy relationships.
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Currently, search engines work by
matching exact words entered by the
user with words found on Websites.
The center’s engine uses additional
background information about sub
ject matter, either provided by the
user or stored by the engine, to find
additional sites with information re
lated to that subject matter.
“Relationships between subjects
can be fuzzy,” Yen said. “An example
of this is whether a term is general or
specific. 'A&M’ is more specific than
‘university’ and the ‘Big 12 Confer
ence’ is more specific than ‘sports con
ference.’ And the results for searches
for these terms should be more specif
ic. Results for ‘Big 12’ could include
players and other related subjects.”
Yen said the search engine is cur
rently exclusively for researchers, but
he hopes similar techniques will soon
be used by public search engines.
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While fuzzy logic does not make
an electronic pet any furrier than a
toaster, the center is conducting re
search to make electronic pets more
emotionally textured.
Yen said PETEEI, which stands
for a “PET with Evolving Emotional
Intelligence,” seeks to simulate emo
tional dynamics of a household pet
by giving it the ability to recognize
and cope with the various moods and
emotional responses of its owner.
Just as the handwriting recogni
tion tool interprets variations in
handwriting, PETEEI can ob
serve the actions of its own-
n| I \ er and respond accordingly.
11 “It will get upset and
moody if it is not fed or if
its battery is low,” Yen said. “But
much of an emotional response is
the anticipation of an action.”
Thus the pet would be affection
ate if it anticipated that it would be
receiving affection.
A similar emotional re
sponse system is being de
veloped to construct a
simulation of a baby’s face,
which would produce appropri
ate facial expressions for chang
ing environments.
In October, professor of engi
neering Richard Volz, professor of
computer science Thomas loerger
and Yen, along with two professors
from Wright State University in Day-
ton, Ohio, were awarded a $4.3 mil
lion grant from the Department of
Defense to develop intelligent com
puter software that will help soldiers
learn how to perfect teamwork.
“Modeling human teamwork is
another application where expecta
tions of reactions is an important
factor that can help to be understood
by fuzzy logic,” Yen said.
The software will be designed to
allow soldiers to interact with virtu
al team members and coaches in set
tings such as a flight control deck*in
hazardous weather.
AN AGGIE TRADITION SINCE 1984
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SPRING SESSION I
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SIGN-UPS WILL BE
IN THE MSC FLAGROOM FROM SAM - 3PM
Begins Monday January 22 thru Thursday January 25
Cost: $ 35 per couple
s 40 per couple for advanced lessons
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE AGGIE WRANGLERS ON-LINE AT
http://www.tamu.edu/aggie_wranglers
Order has returned
to Texas A&M
Kappa Alpha Order
Spring Rush 2001
Tuesday, Tan. 23
Fish Fry 6-8 KA Property
Wednesday, Ian. 24
Pool 7-9 Fox & Hound
Thursday, Tan. 25
*Steak Night 7-9 T-Bone Jones
Friday, Ian. 26
+*Date Party 7-9 College Station Hilton
Saturday. Tan. 27
*Bid House Systems Building
*By Invitation only
+Coat & Tie
Zach Present - President: 764-8521
Eric Brigger - Rush Chair: 846-5879
John Clinkscales- Rush Chair: 695-7612
Silas Sarver - Rush Chair: 680-0990
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