Studies of Manufacturing Process Control: A Technological Transfer of Soft Computing

The field of soft computing embraces several techniques that have been inspired by nature but are mathematical. These techniques are artificial neural networks, fuzzy logic and evolutionary algorithms. Often these techniques are considered part of artificial intelligence, however the name artificial intelligence is more properly given to techniques which try to capture and emulate biological intelligence, such as expert systems and thinking computers. This paper focuses on the technology transfer issues and solutions when using soft computing for off line control of manufacturing processes. This paper will discuss each of these three techniques – neural networks, fuzzy logic and evolutionary algorithms in turn and how they might be used in manufacturing. The kind of problems these techniques are best suited for will be defined, and competing techniques will be compared and contrasted.