Soft Computing is dedicated to system solutions based on soft computing techniques. It provides rapid dissemination of important results in soft computing technologies, a fusion of research in evolutionary algorithms and genetic programming, neural science and neural net systems, fuzzy set theory and fuzzy systems, and chaos theory and chaotic systems.  Soft Computing encourages the integration of soft computing techniques and tools into both everyday and advanced applications. By linking the ideas and techniques of soft computing with other disciplines, the journal serves as a unifying platform that fosters comparisons, extensions, and new applications. As a result, the journal is an international forum for all scientists and engineers engaged in research and development in this fast growing field.  Indexed by Science Citation Index, Inspec, Compendex, DBLP, Computer Science Index, Current Abstracts, Current

ソフトコンピューティングの本質What is Soft Computing

We propose a methodology to optimize the natural frequencies of functionally graded structures by tailoring their material distribution. The element-free Galerkin method is used to analyze the two-dimensional steady-state free and forced vibration of functionally graded beams. To optimize the material composition, the spatial distribution of volume fractions of the material constituents is defined using piecewise bicubic interpolation of volume fraction values that are specified at a finite number of grid points. Subsequently, we use a real-coded genetic algorithm to optimize the volume fraction distribution for three model problems. In the first problem, we seek material distributions that maximize each of the first three natural frequencies of a functionally graded beam. The goal of the second model problem is to minimize the mass of a functionally graded beam while constraining its natural frequencies to lie outside certain prescribed frequency bands. The last problem aims to minimize the mass of a functionally graded beam by simultaneously optimizing its thickness and material distribution such that the fundamental frequency is greater than a prescribed value.

Optimization of natural frequencies of bidirectional functionally graded beams

: Visualization is often referred to as scientific visualization or visualization in scientific computing. Visualization helps us extract useful information from complex or often voluminous data sets through the use of interactive graphics and imaging. The theory of visualization uses foundations of the following fields and unifying them: Computer Graphics, Image processing, Computer Vision, Computer Aided Design, Signal processing, User Interface Studies, Cognitive Science, and Computational Geometry. The visualization technology was started with excitement and enthusiasm and gradually changed the scientific field for the past two decades. In this presentation we briefly review the following topics: Visualization - Some important points to note Visualization - Microarchitecture workbench Visualization - Medical field Visualization - Computer Generated Forces (CGF).

Visualization in Scientific Computing.

Two-dimensional optimization of material composition of functionally graded materials using meshless analyses and a genetic algorithm

Multi-objective optimization of functionally graded materials with temperature-dependent material properties

COVID-19 pandemic affects people in various ways and continues to spread globally. Researches are ongoing to develop vaccines and traditional methods of Medicine and Biology have been applied in diagnosis and treatment. Though there are success stories of recovered cases as of November 10, 2020, there are no approved treatments and vaccines for COVID-19. As the pandemic continues to spread, current measures rely on prevention, surveillance, and containment. In light of this, emerging technologies for tackling COVID-19 become inevitable. Emerging technologies including geospatial technology, artificial intelligence (AI), big data, telemedicine, blockchain, 5G technology, smart applications, Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), robotics, and additive manufacturing are substantially important for COVID-19 detecting, monitoring, diagnosing, screening, surveillance, mapping, tracking, and creating awareness. Therefore, this study aimed at providing a comprehensive review of these technologies for tackling COVID-19 with emphasis on the features, challenges, and country of domiciliation. Our results show that performance of the emerging technologies is not yet stable due to nonavailability of enough COVID-19 dataset, inconsistency in some of the dataset available, nonaggregation of the dataset due to contrasting data format, missing data, and noise. Moreover, the security and privacy of people's health information is not totally guaranteed. Thus, further research is required to strengthen the current technologies and there is a strong need for the emergence of a robust computationally intelligent model for early differential diagnosis of COVID-19.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/hbe2.237

A critical review of emerging technologies for tackling COVID-19 pandemic.

Visualization of surface data to preserve positivity and other simple constraints

The outbreak of COVID-19 affects Zimbabwe’s education sector leading to disruption of teaching and learning activities across the country. Though there are positive results from the implemented COVID-19 measures, however, higher institutions remained closed as cases continue escalating. COVID-19 poses tremendous challenges in higher institutions and opportunities to revise education policies and adopting emerging technologies for teaching and learning purposes are not yet explored in Zimbabwe. Therefore, this study aimed at providing a special reflection of the effects of COVID-19 in higher education and their responses to the pandemic to ensure safe re-opening. Also, the paper presents the critical role of emerging technologies in teaching and learning. To achieve that we applied literature search of memos, reports from the Ministry of Higher Education, COVID-19 reports and guidelines and articles from Google Scholar, Elsevier and Web of Science. The study revealed that there is significant progress in preventing the spread of COVID-19 and reopening is inevitable. The study recommends colleges and universities improve internet bandwidth, provision of psychosocial support services, create hybrid learning model, increase Wi-Fi access points, change of learning and pedagogical policies, implementation of phased learning approach and training of staff and students as institutions of learning reopen.

COVID-19 Pandemic in Higher Education: Critical Role of Emerging Technologies in Zimbabwe

The soil is composed of several nutrients which are important for the effective growth of plants. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are micronutrients which are very important for plant growth. There have been several methods and soil tests developed to test the compositions of these nutrients in the soil. Interpreting the results gotten from such tests has been a herculean task for farmers. Employing the use of a soft computing method to interpret such result would be a noble idea. In this paper, we describe the use of fuzzy logic to interpret the values of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) gotten from conventional soil test to know their levels in the soil and predict possible NPK inputs.

/pdf/fuzzy-logic-tool-to-forecast-soil-fertility-in-nigeria-1cg3v95itt.pdf

Petros Mashwama

Papers

A critical review of emerging technologies for tackling COVID-19 pandemic.

Visualization of surface data to preserve positivity and other simple constraints

COVID-19 Pandemic in Higher Education: Critical Role of Emerging Technologies in Zimbabwe

Fuzzy Logic Tool to Forecast Soil Fertility in Nigeria.

Controlled Interpolation for Scientific Visualization