In this paper, we propose a new method to construct fuzzy partitions from data. The procedure generates a hierarchy including best partitions of all sizes from n to two fuzzy sets. The maximum size n is determined according to the data distribution and corresponds to the finest resolution level. We use an ascending method for which a merging criterion is needed. This criterion is based on the definition of a special metric distance suitable for fuzzy partitioning, and the merging is done under semantic constraints. The distance we define does not handle the point coordinates, but directly their membership degrees to the fuzzy sets of the partition. This leads to the introduction of the notions of internal and external distances. The hierarchical fuzzy partitioning (HFP) is carried independently over each dimension, and, to demonstrate the partition potential, they are used to build fuzzy inference system using both fuzzy decision trees and a simple selection mechanism. Due to the merging technique, all the fuzzy sets in the various partitions are interpretable as linguistic labels. The trade-off between accuracy and interpretability constitutes the most promising aspect in our approach. Well known data sets are investigated and the results are compared with those obtained by other authors using different techniques. The method is also applied to real world agricultural data, the results are analyzed and weighed against those achieved by other methods, such as fuzzy clustering or discriminant analysis.

a b s t r a c tFuzzy inference systems (FIS) are likely to play a significant part in system modeling, provided that they remain interpretable following learning from data. The aim of this paper is to set up some guidelines for interpretable FIS learning, based on practical experience with fuzzy modeling in various fields. An open source software system called FisPro has been specifically designed to provide generic tools for interpretable FIS design and learning. It can then be extended with the addition of new contributions. This work presents a global approach to design data-driven FIS that satisfy certain interpretability and accuracy criteria. It includes fuzzy partition generation, rule learning, input space reduction and rule base simplification. The FisPro implementation is discussed and illustrated through several detailed case studies.

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Phenomic datasets need to be accessible to the scientific community. Their reanalysis requires tracing relevant information on thousands of plants, sensors and events. The open-source Phenotyping Hybrid Information System (PHIS) is proposed for plant phenotyping experiments in various categories of installations (field, glasshouse). It unambiguously identifies all objects and traits in an experiment and establishes their relations via ontologies and semantics that apply to both field and controlled conditions. For instance, the genotype is declared for a plant or plot and is associated with all objects related to it. Events such as successive plant positions, anomalies and annotations are associated with objects so they can be easily retrieved. Its ontology-driven architecture is a powerful tool for integrating and managing data from multiple experiments and platforms, for creating relationships between objects and enriching datasets with knowledge and metadata. It interoperates with external resources via web services, thereby allowing data integration into other systems; for example, modelling platforms or external databases. It has the potential for rapid diffusion because of its ability to integrate, manage and visualize multi-source and multi-scale data, but also because it is based on 10 yr of trial and error in our groups.