INFORM, provider of intelligent decision-making software systems, is delighted with the prestigious Fuzzy Systems Pioneer Award 2011 that has been presented to company founder Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Hans-Jürgen Zimmermann. This prize was awarded to Zimmermann by the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society, the internationally renowned society for the research and development of neural networks, fuzzy systems and hybrid intelligent systems.
The society honours Zimmermann, an internationally renowned expert in the field of fuzzy logic, for his outstanding achievements in the field of research and development. This technology is used primarily in the INFORM RiskShield software, which currently supports fraud detection in banks and insurance companies. Recently INFORM has developed a new concept of applying this software-based monitoring solution to the airfreight sector, where it can detect suspect shipments in real-time.
“This award is both an affirmation of my work and of the ongoing development of INFORM software systems”, says Zimmermann, who is currently acting as scientific advisor at INFORM. Since the foundation of INFORM in 1969, Zimmerman has always been committed to both operations research and fuzzy logic as one of the key technologies for INFORM products.
Fuzzy logic imitates the human ability to make correct decisions based on vague information. When analysing complex situations and considering many different alternatives, it has been proven that fuzzy logic leads to better decisions as opposed to classical procedures that are based on two-valued logic.
Following the terror attack attempts using explosive parcels in air freight, INFORM has recently launched a new concept based on fuzzy logic profiling techniques to identify suspicious cargo items. The software assesses the threat risk from individual freight shipments in real-time and allows as many genuine transactions as possible to go ahead unhindered.
INFORM specialises in solutions that, unlike software that merely manages data, actually ‘think’ and make intelligent planning and scheduling decisions in real time. The software is based on scientifically substantiated, mathematical optimisation algorithms derived from fuzzy logic and operations research, which are adapted to each operational area. The intelligent decision-making software optimises business processes in transport management, production, banking and insurance, and in material and goods handling. INFORM’s 350 plus employees currently serve numerous customers all over the world, including airlines, airports and ground handling companies, hospitals and clinics, sea and inland ports, manufacturing companies, including car and pharmaceutical companies, wholesalers, storage and handling centres, and transport companies.