During the past decade, there has been a considerable growth of interest in problems of pattern recognition, adaptive, and learning systems. This interest has created an increasing need for methods and techniques for the design of engineering systems which exhibit pattern recognition, adaptation, and/or learning capabilities. Many different approaches have been proposed. Preliminary results in both theoretical research and practical applications are quite promising. This book is intended to summarize most of the recent results in the areas of pattern recognition, adaptive, and learning systems.
The material presented in this volume is contributed by eight authors. We believe that for such new and broad areas, multi-authorship is probably one of the best (though perhaps not the optimal) arrangements. In presenting the material, emphasis is placed upon the balance of basic theory and practical applications. For this reason, authors were drawn from research groups in both the university and industry.