Simultaneous ant colony optimisation algorithms for learning linguistic fuzzy rules

An approach based on Ant Colony Optimisation for the induction of fuzzy rules is presented. Several Ant Colony Optimisation algorithms are run simultaneously, with each focusing on finding descriptive rules for a specific class. The final outcome is a fuzzy rulebase that has been evolved so that individual rules complement each other during the classification process. This novel approach to fuzzy rule induction is compared against several other fuzzy rule induction algorithms, including a fuzzy genetic algorithm and a fuzzy decision tree. The initial findings indicate comparable or better classification accuracy, and superior comprehensibility. Thisis attributed to both the strategy of evolving fuzzy rules simultaneously, and to the individual rule discovery mechanism, the Ant Colony Optimisation heuristic. The strengths and potential of the approach, and its current limitations, are discussed in detail.