. 16 (2003): 681-690.
An architecture for the operation of a recuperative-type glass furnace is introduced in this paper. It is based on a hierarchical scheme, with two main parts: process optimisation and process modelling. Process optimisation is carried out by an expert controller, and uses genetic algorithms to solve a multiobjective optimisation problem. Process modelling is performed by a learning system, based on a fuzzy learning-by-examples algorithm. Results of real and simulated experiments with the glass manufacturing process are presented.