A neural network and fuzzy rule base hybrid for pattern classification

Abstract

 This paper presents a novel hybrid of the two complimentary technologies of soft computing viz. neural networks and fuzzy logic to design a fuzzy rule based pattern classifier for problems with higher dimensional feature spaces. The neural network component of the hybrid, which acts as a pre-processor, is designed to take care of the all-important issue of feature selection. To circumvent the disadvantages of the popular back propagation algorithm to train the neural network, a meta-heuristic viz. threshold accepting (TA) has been used instead. Then, a fuzzy rule based classifier takes over the classification task with a reduced feature set. A combinatorial optimisation problem is formulated to minimise the number of rules in the classifier while guaranteeing high classification power. A modified threshold accepting algorithm proposed elsewhere by the authors (Ravi V, Zimmermann H.-J. (2000) Eur J Oper Res 123: 16–28) has been employed to solve this optimization problem. The proposed methodology has been demonstrated for (1) the wine classification problem having 13 features and (2) the Wisconsin breast cancer determination problem having 9 features. On the basis of these examples the results seem to be very interesting, as there is no reduction in the classification power in either of the problems, despite the fact that some of the original features have been completely eliminated from the study. On the contrary, the chosen features in both the problems yielded 100% classification power in some cases.