Defuzzification of the discretised generalised type-2 fuzzy set: Experimental evaluation

The work reported in this paper addresses the challenge of the efficient and accurate defuzzification of discretised generalised type-2 fuzzy sets as created by the inference stage of a Mamdani Fuzzy Inferencing System. The exhaustive method of defuzzification for type-2 fuzzy sets is extremely slow, owing to its enormous computational complexity. Several approximate methods have been devised in response to this defuzzification bottleneck. In this paper we begin by surveying the main alternative strategies for defuzzifying a generalised type-2 fuzzy set: (1) Vertical Slice Centroid Type-Reduction; (2) the sampling method; (3) the elite sampling method; and (4) the α-planes method. We then evaluate the different methods experimentally for accuracy and efficiency. For accuracy the exhaustive method is used as the standard. The test results are analysed statistically by means of the Wilcoxon Nonparametric Test and the elite sampling method shown to be the most accurate. In regards to efficiency, Vertical Slice Centroid Type-Reduction is demonstrated to be the fastest technique.