DISCRETE EVENT FUZZY AIRPORT CONTROL

Several researchers have developed analog fuzzy logic controllers based on a continuous state space model to control nonlinear, time-varying systems. In contrast, a discrete event simulation that uses a modified expert system as a controller is described. Fuzzy logic concepts from analog controllers are applied in the expert system controller to mimic human control of an airport, modeled with a combined discrete and continuous state space. The controller is adaptive so rule confidences are automatically varied to achieve near optimum system performance. An explicit formalism, called operational evaluation modeling (OpEM), is used to describe airport operations. This formalism assists a systems analyst in visualizing system operation and, in particular, greatly assists performing the knowledge engineering required to determine control rules.