Derivation and analysis on the analytical structure of interval type-2 fuzzy controller with two nonlinear fuzzy sets for each input variable

Abstract

Type-2 fuzzy controllers have been mostly viewed as black-box function generators. Revealing the analytical structure of any type-2 fuzzy controller is important as it will deepen our understanding of how and why a type-2 fuzzy controller functions and lay a foundation for more rigorous system analysis and design. In this study, we derive and analyze the analytical structure of an interval type-2 fuzzy controller that uses the following identical elements: two nonlinear interval type-2 input fuzzy sets for each variable, four interval type-2 singleton output fuzzy sets, a Zadeh AND operator, and the Karnik-Mendel type reducer. Through dividing the input space of the interval type-2 fuzzy controller into 15 partitions, the input-output relationship for each local region is derived. Our derivation shows explicitly that the controller is approximately equivalent to a nonlinear proportional integral or proportional differential controller with variable gains. Furthermore, by comparing with the analytical structure of its type-1 counterpart, potential advantages of the interval type-2 fuzzy controller are analyzed. Finally, the reliability of the analysis results and the effectiveness of the interval type-2 fuzzy controller are verified by a simulation and an experiment.