Utilization of fuzzy techniques in intelligent sensors

Abstract Today, several advanced transducer device and emerging signal processing technologies are combined to establish the important area of so called ‘intelligent sensors’. They offer new or improved operational and processing capabilities. However, as modern technical systems get more and more complex with increasing requirements on system reliability and availability, appropriate systemarchitectures have to be designed, which will have strong impacts on kind and quality of signal processing tasks to be performed by intelligent sensors. Regarding this back-ground motivation, this paper will provide to practitions some hints and explanations for processing uncertain information by utilizing basic fuzzy set theory. The proposed applications include uncertainty propagation, self-calibration, human-machine-interfaces, and semantic classification in fuzzy combinatorial networks. The presentation emphasis on the relation between practical issues and appropriate modeling and processing of information with fuzzy techniques. The industrial application to an intelligent sensor for detection of oil pollution in water is described.