Search results

Current digital hardware technology has been generally based upon the binary, base 2, number system; but, recent advances in the designing of base 3 circuitry indicate that there may be a future wide choice for the hardware user in multi‐valued circuitry. We have now reached the point in computer hardware, given the cost of wiring, where it certainly may be more economical to construct a base 3 computer as an alternative to a base 2 computer; moreover, many k‐valued arithmetic operations can be executed quicker and more efficiently. Reference in this connection is made to ALGOL‐68.

This paper seeks to lay the computational and mathematical foundations for a “postmodern cybernetics” based on ancient Kabbalah. This new Kabbalistic cybernetics is introduced to act as an unifying science addressing simultaneously, in a common language and framework the triple nature of human, psychological, social, economic, financial, political, cultural systems and their present multi‐faceted crises and conflicts: cognitive objective level of attaining knowledge; subjective emotional level and physical action and behavioral level.

Feedback, hierarchical control and other system and control theoretic features in the Tree of Life (TL) of Kabbalah were identified. These were used to develop a general system theoretic framework of a new type to address human and societal system dynamics, evolution, interaction and feedback control by simultaneously taking into account their triple nature.

The postmodern cybernetics of the TL introduced here as a general system framework, exhibits feedback control with internal model principle, hierarchical control, system multi‐valued logic, category theory pullback and pushout mechanisms, advanced knowledge engineering to aggregate, learn, evolve and solve problems and crises in an integrated way.

“Kabbalistic postmodern cybernetics” proposed here for human and societal systems is the unified scientific framework to solve problems that led to or are just related to economic, financial, political, cultural, societal and human crises and conflicts by addressing their triple intertwined human nature.

Computational foundations for a postmodern cybernetics based on Kabbalah are introduced, where the cognitive, emotional and behavioral and physical action facets of human systems are dealt with in a unified integrated framework to address global problems and crises.

Ant Colony Optimization and Particle Swarm Optimization represent two widely used Swarm Intelligence (SI) optimization techniques. Information processing using Multiple-Valued Logic (MVL) is carried out using more than two discrete logic levels. In this paper, we compare two the SI-based algorithms in synthesizing MVL functions. A benchmark consisting of 50,000 randomly generated 2-variable 4-valued functions is used for assessing the performance of the algorithms using the benchmark. Simulation results show that the PSO outperforms the ACO technique in terms of the average number of product terms (PTs) needed. We also compare the results obtained using both ACO-MVL and PSO-MVL with those obtained using Espresso-MV logic minimizer. It is shown that on average, both of the SI-based techniques produced better results compared to those produced by Espresso-MV. We show that the SI-based techniques outperform the conventional direct-cover (DC) techniques in terms of the average number of product terms required.

A flexible and realistic linguistic assessment approach is developed to provide a mathematical tool for synthesis and evaluation analysis of nuclear safeguards indicator information. This symbolic approach, which acts by the direct computation on linguistic terms, is established based on fuzzy set theory. More specifically, a lattice‐valued linguistic algebra model, which is based on a logical algebraic structure of the lattice implication algebra, is applied to represent imprecise information and to deal with both comparable and incomparable linguistic terms (i.e. non‐ordered linguistic values). Within this framework, some weighted aggregation functions introduced by Yager are analyzed and extended to treat these kinds of lattice‐value linguistic information. The application of these linguistic aggregation operators for managing nuclear safeguards indicator information is successfully demonstrated.

The purpose of this paper is to apply the quantum “eigenlogic” formulation to behavioural analysis. Agents, represented by Braitenberg vehicles, are investigated in the context of the quantum robot paradigm. The agents are processed through quantum logical gates with fuzzy and multivalued inputs; this permits to enlarge the behavioural possibilities and the associated decisions for these simple vehicles.

In eigenlogic, the eigenvalues of the observables are the truth values and the associated eigenvectors are the logical interpretations of the propositional system. Logical observables belong to families of commuting observables for binary logic and many-valued logic. By extension, a fuzzy logic interpretation is proposed by using vectors outside the eigensystem of the logical connective observables. The fuzzy membership function is calculated by the quantum mean value (Born rule) of the logical projection operators and is associated to a quantum probability. The methodology of this paper is based on quantum measurement theory.

Fuzziness arises naturally when considering systems described by state vectors not in the considered logical eigensystem. These states correspond to incompatible and complementary systems outside the realm of classical logic. Considering these states allows the detection of new Braitenberg vehicle behaviours related to identified emotions; these are linked to quantum-like effects.

The method does not deal at this stage with first-order logic and is limited to different families of commuting logical observables. An extension to families of logical non-commuting operators associated to predicate quantifiers could profit of the “quantum advantage” due to effects such as superposition, parallelism, non-commutativity and entanglement. This direction of research has a variety of applications, including robotics.

The goal of this research is to show the multiplicity of behaviours obtained by using fuzzy logic along with quantum logical gates in the control of simple Braitenberg vehicle agents. By changing and combining different quantum control gates, one can tune small changes in the vehicle’s behaviour and hence get specific features around the main basic robot’s emotions.

New mathematical formulation for propositional logic based on linear algebra. This methodology demonstrates the potentiality of this formalism for behavioural agent models (quantum robots).

A new expression of the philosophy framework of pansystems theory is stated. Some generalized quantification formulae are developed. Concrete contents include: new forms of panderivative and pansymmetry, meta‐equation, eight‐counter methodology, pansystems relativity, dialectical logic, panbox principle, complex systems, systems engineering, analytic hierarchy process, general living systems, economy‐sociology, clustering, topology, morphology, master equation, approximation‐transforming theory, equivalence theory of dynamics of electromagnetic media, etc.

Numerous leanness assessment models were developed for both manufacturing and service sectors. However, little research effort was made to provide an instrument that can be used to measure the leanness level of the product-service system (PSS). This paper aims to propose an index to assess the leanness of PSS in a UK manufacturing company.

The development of the assessment model was carried out through an iterative process. Commencing from existing literature on lean manufacturing assessment and lean service assessment, the initial model for assessing PSS leanness was developed. This initial model was refined via two consecutive phases. The first one includes semi-structured interviews with academic researchers involved in lean projects where their comments were considered. In the second phase, semi-structured interviews with several experts working in different UK manufacturing industries and involved in lean and continuous improvement projects were conducted to reach the final assessment model. After developing the model, the next step was identifying a suitable company for applying the model. The case company was selected because of its commitment to implement lean practices and its ability to participate in this study. After that, data was collected from the case company and the PSS leanness index was calculated using a multi-grade fuzzy approach. Finally, areas for further improvement were identified and the results obtained were validated.

The PSS leanness index computed for the case company indicates that the service offering process provided by the company is generally lean. Areas for further improvement were identified.

This study focussed on a single case company and is based on the experts’ opinions; this may tend to be biased. However, future studies will be performed to multiple-case studies to enhance findings and more empirical research will be conducted to catch more insights into PSS leanness.

This paper provides guidelines to manufacturing companies’ managers for measuring the PSS leanness index and planning for the future. This index gives information regarding the degree of lean adoption in the service offering process and identifying the gap between the current PSS leanness level and the desired state.

The proposed model has been developed by the opinion of academicians and industry experts. The proposed model can provide guidelines and directions for managers for PSS leanness assessment.

The task of transferring our essential cognitions from the physical world to that of economics presupposes a certain view on our part, namely, that the nature of our cognition has nothing to do with the difference between the two worlds.

When an enterprise wants to design its distribution chain, it needs first to assess all possible distributors, then select the eligible ones to form the design model. This assessing process can be finished by distributor benchmarking. In this paper, a new approach is developed to benchmark distributors. The benchmarking process is done by the following three steps. First, all factors needed for benchmarking a distributor are identified by a systematic analysis. Second, an internet‐based information acquisition module is developed to get all needed information from possible distributors. Third, an inference module based on the combination of fuzzy logic and array‐based logic is developed to benchmark a distributor. As the information acquisition module is implemented via Internet, and the inference process for benchmarking a distributor is executed by computer applications, it is possible to realize online distributor benchmarking by the approach provided in this paper.