Fifty Fuzzily Gone, Many More to Go: An Appreciation of Fuzziness’ Present and an Outlook on What May Come

In 1965 (Zadeh in Inf Control 8(3):338–353 (1965), [21]), exactly fifty years ago, Lotfi A. Zadeh described a new way to classify objects that went beyond the usual mathematical methods, made of sets and binary membership functions, taking into account uncertainty and the unsharp nature of reality. In the following years, this innovative idea spawned a great deal of research, mostly devoted to systems and applications. The promise of smarter appliances, intelligent cameras, and optimal controls have been (at least partially) fulfilled, and Fuzziness has developed from a quirky curiosity to an established household name, both among scientists and the public.