Soft Computing Applications: Proceedings of the 7th International Workshop, Volume 1

These two volumes constitute the Proceedings of the 7th International Workshop on Soft Computing Applications (SOFA 2016), held on 24–26 August 2016 in Arad, Romania. This edition was organized by Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad, Romania, University of Belgrade, Serbia, in conjunction with the Institute of Computer Science, Iasi Branch of the Romanian Academy, IEEE Romanian Section, Romanian Society of Control Engineering and Technical Informatics (SRAIT) - Arad Section, General Association of Engineers in Romania - Arad Section, and BTM Resources Arad.

The soft computing concept was introduced by Lotfi Zadeh in 1991 and serves to highlight the emergence of computing methodologies in which the accent is on exploiting the tolerance for imprecision and uncertainty to achieve tractability, robustness and lower costs. Soft computing facilitates the combined use of fuzzy logic, neurocomputing, evolutionary computing and probabilistic computing, leading to the concept of hybrid intelligent systems. The rapid emergence of new tools and applications calls for a synergy of scientific and technological disciplines in order to reveal the great potential of soft computing in all domains.