Lessons learned from soft computing applications at SCK-CEN

By answering "what is soft computing?" we briefly examine four research projects of soft computing applications at the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK•CEN) from the practical point of view. We draw lessons learned from the examined projects including reactor control, cost estimation, energy policy, and nuclear safeguards. We conclude that soft computing techniques are new computer information processing methods that are complementary to all traditional approaches for real-problem solving and that present great challenges in practice.