Learning maximal structure fuzzy rules with exceptions

This paper proposes a method to solve the conflicts that arise in the framework of fuzzy model identification with maximal rules (Fuzzy Sets and Systems 101 (1999) 331) where rules are selected as general as possible. This resolution is expressed by including exceptions in the rules, that way achieving a higher model interpretability with respect to other techniques and a more accurate model. Besides, several methods are presented to improve the interpretability, based on compacting the rules and exceptions of the model. Furthermore, in order to reduce the number of conflicts that arise from the maximal rules, a heuristic strategy is proposed to generate those maximal rules. Finally, the method is applied to an example and the results are compared with other identification methods.