Development of a neuro-fuzzy expert system for predictive maintenance

In this paper, a method for automatic constructing a fuzzy expert system from numerical data using the ILFN network and the Genetic Algorithm is presented. The Incremental Learning Fuzzy Neural (ILFN) network was developed for pattern classification applications. The ILFN network, employed fuzzy sets and neural network theory, is a fast, one-pass, on-line, and incremental learning algorithm. After trained, the ILFN network stored numerical knowledge in hidden units, which can then be directly mapped into if-then rule bases. A knowledge base for fuzzy expert systems can then be extracted from the hidden units of the ILFN classifier. A genetic algorithm is then invoked, in an iterative manner, to reduce number of rules and select only important features of input patterns needed to provide to a fuzzy rule-based system. Three computer simulations using the Wisconsin breast cancer data set were performed. Using 400 patterns for training and 299 patterns for testing, the derived fuzzy expert system achieved 99.5% and 98.33% correct classification on the training set and the test set, respectively.