ICS488: Soft Computing (Dr. El-Alfy@KFUPM)

King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals

College of Computer Sciences and Engineering

ICS 488: Soft Computing (3-0-3)

Summer Semester 2010-2011 (093)

Course Information

<< Syllabus >>

N.B. All course material and related resources are made available

through WebCT (Blackboard CE 8) and will be added here soon.

Class Time, Venue and Instructor Information:

Sec.

Time

Venue

Instructor

Office Hours

SUMTW
9:20-10:20am

24-106

Dr. EL-SAYED EL-ALFY

Office: 22-108

Phone: 03-860-1930,

E-mail: alfy@kfupm.edu.sa,

http:faculty.kfupm.edu.sa/ics/alfy

MT: 11:20 -11:59 am
SU: 12:20 – 01:00 am
Or by appointment

Course Catalog Description:

Introduction to Soft Computing, Fuzzy Sets Theory, Fuzzy Logic, Artificial Neural Networks, Probabilistic Reasoning, Genetic Algorithms, Neuro-Fuzzy Technology, Combination of Genetic Algorithms with Neural Networks, Combination of Genetic Algorithms and Fuzzy Logic, Applications of Soft Computing (three to four real life applications).

Pre-requisite: STAT 319 and Senior Standing

Objectives
- Introduce students to soft computing concepts and techniques and foster their abilities in designing and implementing soft computing based solutions for real-world problems.
Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the course, you should be able to:

1. Identify and describe soft computing techniques and their roles in building intelligent machines
2. Recognize the feasibility of applying a soft computing methodology for a particular problem
3. Apply fuzzy logic and reasoning to handle uncertainty and solve engineering problems
4. Apply genetic algorithms to combinatorial optimization problems
5. Apply neural networks to pattern classification and regression problems
6. Effectively use existing software tools to solve real problems using a soft computing approach
7. Evaluate and compare solutions by various soft computing approaches for a given problem.

Required Material
- Soft Computing and Intelligent Systems Design, Theory, Tools and Applications, F. Karray and C. De Silva, Prentice Hall, 2004.
- Lecture Handouts
Other Recommended References & Web Resources
- Timothy J. Ross, Fuzzy Logic with Engineering Applications, 3rd Edition, Willey, 2010.
- J.-S. R. Jang, C.-T. Sun, & E. Mizutani, Neuro-Fuzzy and Soft Computing: A Computational Approach to Learning and Machine Intelligence, Prentice Hall, 1997.
- Andries P. Engelbrecht, Computational Intelligence: An Introduction, 2nd Edition, Wiley, 2007.
- Randy L. Haupt & Sue E. Haupt, Practical genetic algorithms, John Wiley & Sons Inc, 2004.
- Edmund K. Burke and Graham Kendall, Search Methodologies: Introductory Tutorials in Optimization and Decision Support Techniques, Springer 2005.
- Matlab Technical Language with its Toolboxes: Fuzzy Logic, Neural Networks, and Genetic Algorithms.
Grading Policy

Assessment Tool	Weight
Project	15%
Quizzes	10 %
Homework Assignments	10%
Major Exam 1 (Date & Room: TBA)	15 %
Major Exam 2 (Date & Room: TBA)	20 %
Final Exam (semi-comprehensive) [Date: as announced by the registrar]	30 %

Tentative Major Topics
- Introduction to soft computing and its role in building intelligent machines
- Fuzzy sets, logic operations, and relations; Fuzzy decision-making; Basics of fuzzy control;
- Neural networks: Basic concepts and major classes of neural networks, Single-layer perceptron, Multi-layer perceptron, Radial-basis function networks, Support vector machines, Polynomial and dynamic neural networks
- Introduction to evolutionary computation and genetic algorithms
- Introduction to probabilistic reasoning and Bayesian belief networks
- Hybrid systems: Combination of genetic algorithms with neural networks, Combination of genetic algorithms and fuzzy logic, Neuro-fuzzy inference systems
- Soft computing tools (e.g. Matlab, Weka and DTREG) and applications to pattern classification and clustering, function optimization, regression problems

Additional Notes
- Course Website & Participation: Students are required to periodically check the course website and download course material as needed. Several resources will be posted through the website as well. Keys to quizzes and exams are generally discussed during class as time permits but solutions will not be posted. WebCT will be used for communication and interaction, posting and submitting assignments, posting grades, posting sample exams, etc. It is expected that you get benefit of the discussion board by raising questions or answering questions put by others.
- Attendance: Regular attendance is a university requirement; hence attendance will be checked at the beginning of each class. Late arrivals will disrupt the class session. Hence, two late attendances (more than 10 minutes) will be considered as one absence. Missing more than 9 lectures will result in a DN grade without prior warning. To avoid being considered as absent, an official excuse must be shown no later than one week of returning to classes. Every unexcused absence leads to a loss of 0.5% of total grade.
- No makeup of homework, quizzes or exams will be given.
- Re-grading policy: If you have a complaint about any of your grades, discuss it with the instructor no later than a week of distributing the grades (except for the final). Only legitimate concerns on grading should be discussed.
- WP/WF grade policy: To get a WP grade, you should get at least 40% in class work and an excellent attendance record prior to withdrawal.
- Office Hours: Students are encouraged to use the office hours to clarify any part of the material that is not clear; however the instructor will only provide hints if it is an assigned task but not solve it.
- Academic honesty: Students are expected to abide by all the university regulations on academic honesty. Cheating will be reported to the Department Chairman and will be severely penalized. Although collaboration and sharing knowledge is highly encouraged, copying others’ work without proper citation, either in part or full, is considered plagiarism. Whenever in doubt, review the university guidelines or consult the instructor. Cheating in whatever form will result in F grade.
- Courtesy: Students are expected to be courteous toward the instructor and their classmates throughout the duration of this course. Talking while someone else is speaking will not be tolerated. Furthermore, all cell phones must be turned off during class and exams. In addition, students are expected to be in class on time. More importantly, you are not allowed to leave the class unless it is an urgent matter. To contact your instructor, please use email through WebCT whenever possible and avoid using phone calls or written notes. When necessary to send an email through the university email system, please indicate ICS488-093 in the "Subject" field of your email, e.g. ICS488-093: Question about hw1.

888 Best of luck!! 888

Potential Applications

Other Related Web Resources

Under Construction

Groups

Journals

Articles

Important links
- The AI Dictionary

Other related book
- S. N. Sivanandam, Introduction to fuzzy logic using MATLAB, Springer 2007.
- Fuzzy Expert Systems and Fuzzy Reasoning, Wiley 2005
- R A Aliev & R R Aliev, Soft Computing and Its Applications, World Scientific, 2001.
- C. Bishop, Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning, Springer, 2006.
- M. T. Hagan, H. B. Demuth, M. Beale, Neural Networks Design, PWS Publishing, 2002.
- John Yen and Reza Langari, Fuzzy Logic: Intelligence, Control, and Information, Prentice Hal, 1999.
- T. Mitchell, Machine Learning, Mc-Graw Hill, 1997.
- George J. Klir, Ute St. Clair, & Bo Yuan, Fuzzy Set Theory: Foundations and Applications, Prentice Hall, 1997.