Information Sciences 181 (2011) 3846–3860

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Information Sciences
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ins

Fuzzy approximation relations on fuzzy n-cell number space

and their applications in classification q
Guixiang Wang a,⇑, Peng Shi b,1, Chenglin Wen c
a
Institute of Operations Research and Cybernetics, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China
b
Department of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd CF37 1DL, United Kingdom
c
Institute of Information and Control, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In this paper, the problems of fuzzy binary relations on fuzzy n-cell number space and their
Received 25 November 2009 applications are investigated. Firstly, we have defined some fuzzy approximation relations
Received in revised form 17 April 2011 on fuzzy n-cell number space, and studied their properties. Secondly, as application, we
Accepted 24 April 2011
have developed an algorithmic version of classification in an imprecise or uncertain envi-
Available online 3 May 2011
ronment by using the fuzzy approximation relations. Practical examples are provided to
show the application and rationality of the proposed techniques.
Keywords:
Ó 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Fuzzy numbers
Fuzzy n-cell numbers
n-Dimensional fuzzy vectors
Fuzzy binary relation
Fuzzy approximation relation
Classification

1. Introduction

The concept of fuzzy numbers was introduced by Chang and Zadeh [3] in 1972 with the consideration of the
properties of probability functions. Since then both the numbers (1-dimensional or n-dimensional fuzzy numbers)
and the problems in relation to them have been widely studied, see for example, [4–8,15,17,21,22,32,39]) and the
references therein. With the development of theories and applications of fuzzy numbers, this concept becomes more
and more important. Kaleva [13], however, used a special type of n-dimensional fuzzy number, whose sets of cuts are
all hyper-rectangles. In 2002, we carefully studied the special type of n-dimensional fuzzy number and called it fuzzy
n-cell number in [30]. It has been demonstrated that the fuzzy n-cell number is used much more conveniently than
general n-dimensional fuzzy numbers in theoretical investigations and in some fields of application in [27,30,31]. Fuz-
zy vectors, on the other hand, are already studied by Kaufmann and Gupta in 1985 [14] closely followed by Miyak-
awa and Nakamura et al. (see [19,20,23]), who also investigated joint canonical fuzzy numbers and canonical fuzzy
numbers of dimension two (i.e., fuzzy vectors). In 1997, Butnariu [2] studied Methods of solving optimization prob-
lems and linear equations in the space of fuzzy vectors.

q
This work is supported partially by the Nature Science Foundation of China (Nos. 60934009 and 60772006), the Nature Science Foundation of Zhejiang
Province, China (No. Y7080044), and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, UK (No. EP/F0219195).
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: g.x.wang@hdu.edu.cn, wangguixiang2001@263.net (G. Wang).
1
Also with the School of Engineering and Science, Victoria University, Melbourne, Vic 8001, Australia, and the School of Mathematics and Statistics,
University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes 5095, Australia.

0020-0255/$ - see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ins.2011.04.032
 G. Wang et al. / Information Sciences 181 (2011) 3846–3860 3847

The concepts of fuzzy n-cell numbers and n-dimensional fuzzy vectors were introduced by two different ideas. Fuzzy
n-cell numbers are a kind of special n-dimensional fuzzy numbers, whose sets of cuts are all hyper-rectangles. However,
n-dimensional fuzzy vectors are the Cartesian products of n 1-dimensional fuzzy numbers. Recently, we [27] showed that
fuzzy n-cell numbers and n-dimensional fuzzy vectors can be represented each other (Theorem 3.1 in [27]), and obtained
the representations of joint membership function and the edge membership functions of a fuzzy n-cell number by each other
(Theorem 3.2 [27]).
It is well known that in a precise or certain environment, multi-channel digital signals can be represented by elements of
multi-dimensional Euclidean space, i.e., crisp multi-dimensional vectors. If however we wish to study multi channel digital
signals in an imprecise environment, then the signals themselves are imprecise, and it becomes unwise to use crisp multi-
dimensional vectors to represent them. Recently, we recommended [28] using fuzzy n-cell numbers (i.e., n-dimensional fuz-
zy vectors, see [27,28]) to represent imprecise or uncertain multi-channel digital signals, and established [28,29]
constructing methods of such fuzzy n-cell numbers. In [28], we defined some metrics, difference values on fuzzy n-cell num-
ber space, investigated their properties, and established methods of pattern recognition in an imprecise or uncertain envi-
ronment based on the metrics or difference values on fuzzy n-cell number space. In [29], we introduced the concept of p-
membership functions of on fuzzy n-cell numbers, discussed its properties, and put forward methods of pattern recognition
in an imprecise or uncertain environment based on the maximal membership degree principle and the maximal p-member-
ship degree principle.
On the other hand, classification is all also important research fields. In the aspect, plentiful research achievements have
been obtained. For example, 1n 1995, Abe and Lan discussed how to extract fuzzy rules directly from numerical data for pat-
tern classification in [1]. In 1999,Wei and Mendel transformed a general pattern classification problem into one of function
approximation, so that fuzzy logic systems can be used to construct a classifier in [35]. In 2002, Stutz and Runkler introduced
some application-specific modifications for fuzzy clustering methods in [26]. In 2003, Xu et al. presented a new method
based on nonlinear integral projections for classification in [38]. In 2005, Ishibuchi and Yamamoto proposed two heuristic
methods for rule weight specification in fuzzy rule-based classification systems in [11]. Recently, Juang et al. proposed
[12] a self-organizing TS-type fuzzy network with support vector learning, and applied it to several classification problems,
especially the skin color classification problem. In [33,34], some new refinement technologies were proposed by maximizing
the information entropy and fusing the reducts based on upper-lower approximators which aim to improve the generaliza-
tion of fuzzy rules or fuzzy decision trees. In [25], Sousa et al. proposed a fuzzy classification system to perform word index-
ing in ancient printed documents. In [18], Mansoori et al. considered the automatic design of fuzzy rule-based classification
systems from labeled data. In [16], Lee et al. presented a new iterative fuzzy clustering algorithm that incorporates a super-
visory scheme into an unsupervised fuzzy clustering process. In [9], Hu developed an ANP (analytic network process)-based
classifier for pattern classification problems with interdependence or independence among attributes. In [10], Huang et al.
presented a classification approach for automatically recognizing and analyzing tongue shapes based on geometric features.
In [24], Sanz et al. improved the performance of fuzzy rule-based classification systems with interval-valued fuzzy sets and
genetic amplitude tuning. In [37], Xia et al. made a comparative study of the effectiveness of ensemble technique for senti-
ment classification.
In this paper, the problems of fuzzy binary relations on fuzzy n-cell number space and their applications are considered.
Fuzzy approximation relations on fuzzy n-cell number space are defined, and subsequently their properties are studied. An
algorithmic version of classification in an imprecise or uncertain environment is proposed by using the fuzzy approximation
relations defined by us. Finally practical examples are included to show the application and rationality of the proposed
techniques.

2. Basic definitions and notations

A fuzzy subset (in short, a fuzzy set) of Rn (the Euclidean space) is a function u : Rn ? [0, 1]. For each such fuzzy set u, we
denote by [u]r = {x 2 Rn : u(x) P r} for any r 2 (0, 1], its r-level set. By suppu we denote the support of u, i.e., the {x 2 Rn :
u(x) > 0}. By [u]0 we denote the closure of the suppu, i.e., ½u0 ¼ fx 2 Rn : uðxÞ > 0g.
If u is a normal and fuzzy convex fuzzy set of Rn, u(x) is upper semi-continuous, and [u]0 is compact, then we call u a n-
dimensional fuzzy number, and denote the collection of all n-dimensional fuzzy numbers by En.
It is known that if u 2 En, then for each r 2 [0, 1], [u]r is a compact set in Rn.
Qn  
If u 2 En, and for each r 2 [0, 1], [u]r is a hyper rectangle, i.e., [u]r can be represented by i¼1 ui ðrÞ; ui ðrÞ , where
ui ðrÞ; ui ðrÞ 2 R with ui ðrÞ 6 ui ðrÞ 2 R when r 2 [0, 1], i = 1, 2, . . . , n, then we call u a fuzzy n-cell number. And we denote the
collection of all fuzzy n-cell numbers by L(En).
Let ui 2 E (i.e., E1), i = 1, 2, . . . , n. We call the ordered one-dimensional fuzzy number class u1, u2, . . . , un (i.e., the Cartesian
product of one-dimensional fuzzy numbers u1, u2, . . . , un) a n-dimensional fuzzy vector, denote it as (u1, u2, . . . , un), and call
n
zfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflffl}|fflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflffl{
the collection of all n-dimensional fuzzy vectors (i.e., the Cartesian product E  E      E) n-dimensional fuzzy vector space,
n
and denote it as (E) .
By Theorem 3.1 in [27], we know that fuzzy n-cell numbers and n-dimensional fuzzy vectors can represent each other,
and the representation is unique, so L(En) and (E)n may be regarded as identity.
3848 G. Wang et al. / Information Sciences 181 (2011) 3846–3860

The addition, scalar multiplication and multiplication on En is defined by

ðu þ v ÞðxÞ ¼ sup minðuðyÞ; v ðzÞÞ;
yþz¼x

(
uðk1 xÞ if k – 0;
ðkuÞðxÞ ¼
^
0ðxÞ if k ¼ 0;

ðuv ÞðxÞ ¼ sup minðuðyÞ; v ðzÞÞ

yz¼x

n
for u, v 2 E and k 2 R.
For any a 2 Rn, define an n-dimensional fuzzy number a
^ by

1 if x ¼ a;
^ðxÞ ¼
a
0 if x–a
n
for any x 2 R .
For any u, v 2 L(En), define [30] u 6 v if and only if ui(r) 6 vi(r) and ui ðrÞ 6 v i ðrÞ, i = 1, 2, . . . , n (denoted by [u]r 6 [v]r) for any
r 2 [0, 1]. Obviously, ‘‘6’’ is a partial order on L(En).
R1
For any u 2 E (i.e., E1), define M u ¼ 0 r½uðrÞ þ uðrÞdr, and call Mu the mean of u. For any u, v 2 E, define [8] u  v if and only
R1 R1
if Mu 6 Mv, i.e., 0 r ½uðrÞ þ uðrÞdr 6 0 r ½v ðrÞ þ v ðrÞdr. It is obvious that ‘‘’’ is reflexive and transitive, but is not antisymmet-
ric. So ‘‘’’ is a pre-order, but is not a partial order. In addition, for any pair u, v 2 E, we have u  v or v  u, so ‘‘’’ is a weak
order (i.e., total pre-order).
R1
For any u 2 E, define Du ¼ 0 r ½uðrÞ  uðrÞdr, and call Du the fuzzy degree of u.
Pn
For u = (u1, u2, . . . , un) 2 L(En) and p = (p1, p2, . . . , pn) 2 Rn with pi P 0 (i = 1, 2, . . . , n) and i¼1 pi ¼ 1, we denote
Pn Pn
Mu;p ¼ i¼1 pi M ui and Du;p ¼ i¼1 pi Dui .

3. Fuzzy approximation relations

Pn
Let p = (p1, p2, . . . , pn) 2 Rn with pi P 0 and i¼1 pi ¼ 1, we denote
X
n Z 1   
dp ðu; v Þ ¼ pi r ui ðrÞ  v i ðrÞ þ jui ðrÞ  v i ðrÞj dr
i¼1 0

for any u = (u1, u2, . . . , un), v = (v1, v2, . . . , vn) 2 L(En).

P
Definition 1. Let p = (p1, p2, . . . , pn) 2 Rn with pi P 0 and ni¼1 pi ¼ 1, and a 2 (0,+ 1). We define fuzzy binary relations Sp;a
and Sp;a on L(En), i.e., mappings Sp;a : LðEn Þ  LðEn Þ ! ½0; 1 and Sp;a : LðEn Þ  LðEn Þ ! ½0; 1 as following:

1
Sp;a ðu; v Þ ¼ ð1Þ
1 þ ajM u;p  Mv ;p j
and
1
Sp;a ðu; v Þ ¼ ð2Þ
1 þ adp ðu; v Þ
for any u = (u1, u2, . . . , un), v = (v1, v2, . . . , vn) 2 L(En), respectively. We call the fuzzy binary relations Sp;a and Sp;a fuzzy approx-
imation relations (with respect to weight p and parameter a) on fuzzy n-cell number space, and say the values Sp;a ðu; v Þ and

Fig. 3.1. Fuzzy 2-cell numbers u and v.

 G. Wang et al. / Information Sciences 181 (2011) 3846–3860 3849

Sp;a ðu; v Þ to be the approximation degrees of u and v with respect to fuzzy approximation relations Sp;a and Sp;a ,
respectively.

Remark 1. In practical applications, the parameters pi (i = 1, 2, . . . , n) can be selected by experience according to the impor-
tance degree of the (ith) factor corresponding fuzzy number ui and vi. The bigger of the (ith) factor corresponding fuzzy num-
ber ui and vi is, the bigger the parameter pi should be. About the parameter a, by the definitions of the fuzzy approximation
relations, we see that for two u, v 2 L(En), the bigger the parameter a is, the smaller the approximation degree of u and v is. In
practice, dependent on practicality, we may select the required a according to experience or experiments. In some practical
systems, the difference of selected a will not affect the result obtained, for example, the application in classification given in
Section 4 just is such. So, in such applications, in order to make the calculation easier, without loss of generality, we can
always select a = 1.
Fuzzy approximation relations Sp;a and Sp;a have essential differences in characterizing the approximation of fuzzy n-
cell numbers u and v. Fuzzy approximation relation Sp;a emphasizes the approximation of the comprehensive average
(weighted) states of all components of fuzzy n-cell numbers u and v, that is, when we use Sp;a to characterize the approx-
imation of fuzzy n-cell numbers u and v, the means of the components of u and v may offset each other, respectively.
However, fuzzy approximation relation Sp;a do not allow the such offsetting, it emphasizes the approximation of all cor-
responding components of fuzzy n-cell numbers u and v, that is, only when the approximation degrees of all correspond-
ing components ui and vi, i = 1, 2, . . . , n of u and v are bigger, the value Sp;a ðu; v Þ is bigger. For example, if we use Sp;a and
Sp;a to characterize the approximation of the following fuzzy 2-cell number u and v (see the Fig. 3.1):
8 8
<x
> if x 2 ½0; 1; < x þ 2 if
> x 2 ½2; 1;
u ¼ ðu1 ; u2 Þ; u1 ¼ 2  x if x 2 ð1; 2; u2 ¼ x if x 2 ð1; 0;
>
: >
:
0 if x 2 ½0; 2; 0 if x 2 ½2; 0
and
8 8
< x þ 2 if
> x 2 ½2; 1; <x
> if x 2 ½0; 1;
v ¼ ðv 1 ; v 2 Þ; v 1 ¼ x
>
if x 2 ð1; 0; v2 ¼ 2  x if
>
x 2 ð1; 2;
: :
0 if x 2 ½2; 0; 0 if x 2 ½0; 2;
then Sp;a ðu; v Þ is bigger than Sp;a ðu; v Þ i.e., the approximation degree of u and v with respect to Sp;a is bigger than the
approximation degree of u and v with respect to Sp;a since Sp;a ðu; v Þ ¼ 1 and Sp;a ðu; v Þ ¼ 0:2 (where, taking p = (1/2, 1/2)
and a = 1). In applications, using which of the two kinds of fuzzy relations to characterize the approximation of fuzzy n-cell
numbers should depend on practicality.
Pn
Proposition 1. Let p = (p1, p2, . . . , pn) 2 Rn with pi > 0 (i = 1, 2, . . . , n) and i¼1 pi ¼ 1, and a 2 (0, +1). Then for any u, v, w 2 L(En),
we have

(1) Sp;a ðu; uÞ ¼ 1;

(2) u ¼ v () Sp;a ðu; v Þ ¼ 1;
(3) Sp;a ðu; v Þ ¼ Sp;a ðv ; uÞ and Sp;a ðu; v Þ ¼ Sp;a ðv ; uÞ;
(4) u 6 v 6 w ) Sp;a ðu; v Þ P Sp;a ðu; wÞ and Sp;a ðu; v Þ P Sp;a ðu; wÞ;
(5) ui  vi  wi, i = 1, 2, . . . , n ) Sp;a ðu; v Þ P Sp;a ðu; wÞ, where ui, vi, wi is respectively the ith component of u, v, w;
(6) Sp;a ðu þ w; v þ wÞ ¼ Sp;a ðu; v Þ and Sp;a ðu þ w; v þ wÞ ¼ Sp;a ðu; v Þ;

(7) h 2 R; jhj 6 1 ) Sp;a ðhu; hv Þ P Sp;a ðu; v Þ; Sp;a ðhu; hv Þ P Sp;a ðu; v Þ;
(8) h 2 R; jhj P 1 ) Sp;a ðhu; hv Þ 6 Sp;a ðu; v Þ; Sp;a ðhu; hv Þ 6 Sp;a ðu; v Þ.

Proof. Denote u = (u1, u2, . . . , un), v = (v1, v2, . . . , vn) and w = (w1, w2, . . . , wn). It is obvious that Sp;a ðu; uÞ
 ¼ 1 and Sp;a ðu;  uÞ ¼ 1
R1 
hold. If Sp;a ðu; v Þ ¼ 1, then 1 = 1 + adp(u,v), so dp(u, v) = 0. This implies 0 r ui ðrÞ  v i ðrÞ þ jui ðrÞ  v i ðrÞj dr ¼ 0,
 
i = 1, 2, . . . , n, so we know that r ui ðrÞ  v i ðrÞ þ jui ðrÞ  v i ðrÞj ¼ 0, i.e., ui(r) = vi(r) and ui ðrÞ ¼ v i ðrÞ, i = 1, 2, . . . , n hold for r
almost everywhere on [0, 1]. Therefore, we see that [u]r = [v]r holds for r almost everywhere on [0, 1], so we know u = v by
Lemma 2.1 in [36]. Thus, we have shown the (1) and (2) of the proposition.
It is obvious that the (3) of the proposition holds.
Let u 6 v 6 w. Then we have  that ui(r)6 vi(r) 6 wi(r) and hui ðrÞ 6 v i ðrÞi6 wi ðrÞ for any r 2 h [0, 1] and ii= 1, 2, . . . , n. This
 
implies
 Mu,p 6 M  v,p 6 Mw,p and ui ðrÞ  v i ðrÞ þ jui ðrÞ  v i ðrÞj ¼ v i ðrÞ  ui ðrÞ þ½v i ðrÞ  ui ðrÞ 6 wi ðrÞ  ui ðrÞ þ ½wi ðrÞ  ui ðrÞ
 
¼ ui ðrÞ  wi ðrÞ þ jui ðrÞ  wi ðrÞj for any r 2 [0, 1] and i = 1, 2, . . . , n, so we have ajMu,p  M v,pj = a(Mv,p  Mu,p) 6
P R  P R
a(Mw,p  Mu,p) = ajMu,p  Mw,pj and dp ðu; v Þ ¼ ni¼1 pi 01 r ui ðrÞ  v i ðrÞ þjui ðrÞ  v i ðrÞjÞdr 6 ni¼1 pi 01 r ui ðrÞ  wi ðrÞ þ jui ðrÞ
wi ðrÞjÞdr ¼ dp ðu;wÞ. Therefore, we can obtain Sp;a ðu; v Þ P Sp;a ðu; wÞ and Sp;a ðu; v Þ P Sp;a ðu;wÞ by the definitions of the fuzzy
relations Sp;a and Sp;a , respectively. Therefore, the (4) of the proposition holds.
3850 G. Wang et al. / Information Sciences 181 (2011) 3846–3860

The proof of the (5) of the proposition can be completed from the front proof of the conclusion ‘‘u 6 v 6 w ?
Sp;a ðu; v Þ P Sp;a ðu; wÞ’’ in (4)
By Theorem 3.3 in [27] and Theorem 3.2 in [30], we have
X
n X
n X
n Z 1 h i
Muþw;p ¼ pi M ðuþwÞi ¼ pi M ui þwi ¼ pi r ðui þ wi ÞðrÞ þ ðui þ wi ÞðrÞ dr
i¼1 i¼1 i¼1 0

X
n Z 1 X
n Z 1 X
n Z 1
     
¼ pi r ui ðrÞ þ wi ðrÞ þ ui ðrÞ þ wi ðrÞ dr ¼ pi r ui ðrÞ þ ui ðrÞ dr þ pi r wi ðrÞ þ wi ðrÞ dr
i¼1 0 i¼1 0 i¼1 0

¼ Mu;p þ M w;p :
In the same way, we can also obtain Mv+w,p = Mv,p + Mw,p, so we have jMu+w,p  Mv+w,pj = jMu,p + Mw,p  Mv,p  Mw,pj
= jMu,p  Mv, pj. This implies Sp;a ðu þ w; v þ wÞ ¼ Sp;a ðu; v Þ.
Using Theorem 3.3 in [27] and Theorem 3.2 in [30] again, we have
X
n Z 1    

   
dp ðu þ w; v þ wÞ ¼ pi r ðu þ wÞi ðrÞ  ðv þ wÞi ðrÞ þ ðu þ wÞi ðrÞ  ðv þ wÞi ðrÞ dr
i¼1 0

X
n Z 1    

   
¼ pi r ðui þ wi ÞðrÞ  ðv i þ wi ÞðrÞ þ ðui þ wi ÞðrÞ  ðui þ wi ÞðrÞ dr
i¼1 0

X
n Z 1   
¼ pi r ui ðrÞ þ wi ðrÞ  v i ðrÞ  wi ðrÞ þ jui ðrÞ þ wi ðrÞ  ui ðrÞ  wi ðrÞj dr
i¼1 0

X
n Z 1   
¼ pi r ui ðrÞ  v i ðrÞ þ jui ðrÞ  ui ðrÞj dr ¼ dp ðu; v Þ;
i¼1 0

so we can obtain Sp;a ðu þ w; v þ wÞ ¼ Sp;a ðu; v Þ. Thus, we complete the proof of the (6) of the proposition.
At last, we show the (7) and 8 of the proposition in the following. By Theorem 3.3 in [27] and Theorem 3.2 in [30], we have
X
n X
n X
n Z 1 h i X
n Z 1  
Mhu;p ¼ pi MðhuÞi ¼ pi M hui ¼ pi r hui ðrÞ þ hui ðrÞ dr ¼ h pi r ui ðrÞ þ ui ðrÞ dr ¼ hM u;p
i¼1 i¼1 i¼1 0 i¼1 0

and
X
n Z 1    

   
dp ðhu; hv Þ ¼ pi r ðhuÞi ðrÞ  ðhv Þi ðrÞ þ ðhuÞi ðrÞ  ðhv Þi ðrÞ dr
i¼1 0

X
n Z X
n Z
1    1   
¼ pi r hui ðrÞ  hv i ðrÞ þ jhui ðrÞ  hv i ðrÞj dr ¼ jhj pi r ui ðrÞ  v i ðrÞ þ jui ðrÞ  v i ðrÞj dr
i¼1 0 i¼1 0

¼ jhjdp ðu; v Þ:
Therefore, if jhj 6 1, then ajMhu,p  Mhv,pj = ajhjjMu,p  Mv,pj 6 ajMu,p  Mv,pj and adp(hu, hv) 6 adp(u, v), so we have
Sp;a ðhu; hv Þ P Sp;a ðu; v Þ and Sp;a ðhu; hv Þ P Sp;a ðu; v Þ by Formulas (1) and (2), respectively. If jhj P 1, then
ajMhu,p  Mhv,pj = ajhjjMu,p  Mv,pj P ajMu,p  Mv,pj and adp(hu, hv) P adp(u, v), so we have Sp;a ðhu; hv Þ 6 Sp;a ðu; v Þ and
Sp;a ðhu; hv Þ 6 Sp;a ðu; v Þ by formulas (1) and (2), respectively. h
If a fuzzy binary relation F on a set X is reflexive (i.e., Fðx; xÞ ¼ 1 for any x 2 X) and symmetric (i.e., Fðx; yÞ ¼ Fðy; xÞ for
any x; y 2 X), then we call it a fuzzy similar relation on X. If a fuzzy binary relation F on a set X is reflexive, symmetric and
transitive (i.e., Fðx; yÞ P r and Fðy; zÞ P r ! Fðx; zÞ P r for any x; y; z 2 X and r 2 [0, 1]), then we call it a fuzzy equivalent
relation on X. From (1)–(3) of Proposition 1, we know that Sp;a and Sp;a are fuzzy similar relations. But they are not tran-
sitive (see Example 3.2), so the both fuzzy approximation relations are not fuzzy equivalent relations.

Example 3.1. Let

8

1 if x 2 ½0; 1; < x þ 2 if
> x 2 ½2; 1;
u ¼ ðu1 ; u2 Þ; u1 ¼ u2 ¼ x if x 2 ð1; 0;
0 if x 2 ½0; 1; >
:
0 if x 2 ½2; 0;
8

1 if x 2 ½0; 1; < x þ 1 if
> x 2 ½1; 0;
v ¼ ðv 1 ; v 2 Þ; v 1 ¼ v2 ¼ 1  x if
>
x 2 ð0; 1;
0 if x 2 ½0; 1; :
0 if x 2 ½1; 1
and
 G. Wang et al. / Information Sciences 181 (2011) 3846–3860 3851

8

1 if x 2 ½0; 1; <x
> if x 2 ½0; 1;
w ¼ ðw1 ; w2 Þ; w1 ¼ w2 ¼ 2  x if x 2 ð1; 2;
0 if x 2 ½0; 1; >
:
0 if x 2 ½0; 2:
Taking p = (1/2, 1/2) and a = 1/2, we have Sp;a ðu; v Þ ¼ 45 ; Sp;a ðv ; wÞ ¼ 45 ; Sp;a ðu; wÞ ¼ 23 ; Sp;a ðu; v Þ ¼ 45 ; Sp;a ðv ; wÞ ¼ 45 and
Sp;a ðu; wÞ ¼ 23. From this, we know that Sp;a and Sp;a do not satisfy the condition of transitivity, so the both fuzzy relations
are not fuzzy equivalent relations.
From the meanings of the definition formulas (1) and (2) of Sp;a and Sp;a , we can easily see that the both fuzzy relations
can be indeed used to characterized the approximation degree of two fuzzy n-cell numbers in a sense. However, they possess
certain shortcomings in some applications. The shortcomings will be illustrated by the following Example 3.2.

Example 3.2. Let

8 8
< x þ 1 if
> x 2 ½1; 0; <x
> if x 2 ½0; 1;
u ¼ ðu1 ; u2 Þ; u1 ¼ 1  x if x 2 ð0; 1; u2 ¼ 2  x if x 2 ð1; 2;
>
: >
:
0 if x 2 ½1; 1; 0 if x 2 ½0; 2;
8 8
4 5
< x þ 1 if
> x 2 ½1; 0; < 3 x  3 if
> x 2 ½5=4; 2;
v ¼ ðv 1 ; v 2 Þ; v 1 ¼ 1  x if
>
x 2 ð0; 1; v2 11 4
¼ 3  3 x if
>
x 2 ð2; 11=4;
: :
0 if x 2 ½1; 1; 0 if x 2 ½5=4; 11=4
and
8
< x þ 1 if
> x 2 ½1; 0;
w ¼ ðw1 ; w2 Þ; w1 ¼ 1  x if x 2 ð0; 1; ^
w2 ¼ 2:
>
:
0 if x 2 ½1; 1;
Then the approximation degree of u and v should be bigger than the approximation degree of u and w (see Fig. 3.2) as a
matter of fact. But the both fuzzy relations Sp;a and Sp;a cannot tell us the difference of Sp;a ðu; v Þ and Sp;a ðu; wÞ since
Sp;a ðu; v Þ ¼ 1þ1ap2 ¼ Sp;a ðu; wÞ and Sp;a ðu; v Þ ¼ 1þ1ap2 ¼ Sp;a ðu; wÞ. In order to improve the both fuzzy relations, we will intro-
duce the fuzzy approximation relations Sp;a;b and Sp;a;b in the following.

P
Definition 2. Let p = (p1, p2, . . . , pn) 2 Rn with pi P 0 and ni¼1 pi ¼ 1, and a, b 2 (0, +1). We define fuzzy binary relations Sp;a;b
and Sp;a;b on L(E ), i.e., mappings Sp;a;b : LðE Þ  LðE Þ ! ½0; 1 and Sp;a;b : LðEn Þ  LðEn Þ ! ½0; 1 as following:
n n n

1
Sp;a;b ðu; v Þ ¼ ð3Þ
1 þ ajMu;p  M v ;p j þ bjDu;p  Dv ;p j
and
1
Sp;a;b ðu; v Þ ¼ P ð4Þ
1 þ adp ðu; v Þ þ b ni¼1 pi jDui  Dv i j
for any u = (u1, u2, . . . , un), v = (v1, v2, . . . , vn) 2 L(En), respectively. We call the fuzzy binary relations Sp;a;b and Sp;a;b fuzzy
approximation relations (with respect to weight p and parameters a, b) on fuzzy n-cell number space, and say the values
Sp;a;b ðu; v Þ and Sp;a;b ðu; v Þ to be the approximation degrees of u and v with respect to fuzzy approximation relations Sp;a;b
and Sp;a;b , respectively.

Fig. 3.2. Fuzzy 2-cell numbers u, v, and w.

3852 G. Wang et al. / Information Sciences 181 (2011) 3846–3860

Remark 2. About the selection of parameters p, a and b, we can refer to Remark 1. In addition, in practical applications, the
factor of mean is usually much more important than the factor of fuzzy degree for a fuzzy n-cell number, so the parameters a
and b taken by us should satisfy a  b.

Example 3.3. In Example 3.2, if Sp;a;b and Sp;a;b are used to characterize the approximation degrees of u, v and w, then we
have
1 1
Sp;a;b ðu; v Þ ¼ 1
> ¼ Sp;a;b ðu; wÞ
1 þ ða þ 12 bÞp2 1 þ ða þ 13 bÞp2
and
1 1
Sp;a;b ðu; v Þ ¼ 1
> ¼ Sp;a;b ðu; wÞ:
1 þ ða þ 12 bÞp2 1 þ ða þ 13 bÞp2

From this we can conclude the approximation degree of u and v is bigger than the approximation degree of u and w. This
conclusion accords with fact. So fuzzy approximation relations Sp;a;b and Sp;a;b , in some ways, improve fuzzy approximation
relations Sp;a and Sp;a , respectively.

Pn
Proposition 2. Let p = (p1, p2, . . . , pn) 2 Rn with pi > 0 (i = 1, 2, . . . , n) and i¼1 pi ¼ 1, and a, b 2 (0, +1). Then for any u, v,
w 2 L(En), we have

(1) Sp;a;b ðu; uÞ ¼ 1;

(2) u = v ,Sp;a;b ðu; v Þ ¼ 1;
(3) Sp;a;b ðu; v Þ ¼ Sp;a;b ðv ; uÞ and Sp;a;b ðu; v Þ ¼ Sp;a;b ðv ; uÞ;
(4) Sp;a;b ðu þ w; v þ wÞ ¼ Sp;a;b ðu; v Þ and Sp;a;b ðu þ w; v þ wÞ ¼ Sp;a;b ðu; v Þ;
(5) h 2 R; jhj 6 1 ) Sp;a;b ðhu; hv Þ P Sp;a;b ðu; v Þ; Sp;a;b ðhu; hv Þ P Sp;a;b ðu; v Þ;
(6) h 2 R; jhj P 1 ) Sp;a;b ðhu; hv Þ 6 Sp;a;b ðu; v Þ; Sp;a;b ðhu; hv Þ 6 Sp;a;b ðu; v Þ.

Proof. By the proof of Proposition 1 and the definitions of fuzzy binary relations Sp;a;b and Sp;a;b , we can easily see (1)–(3) of
the proposition hold. And so, in the proof of Proposition 1, we have also proved

jM uþw;p  M v þw;p j ¼ jM u;p  Mv ;p j;

dp ðu þ w; v þ wÞ ¼ dp ðu; v Þ;

jM hu;p  Mhv ;p j ¼ jhj  jMu;p  M v ;p j

and
dp ðhu; hv Þ ¼ jhj  dp ðu; v Þ:
Likewise, we can also show
jDuþw;p  Dv þw;p j ¼ jDu;p  Dv ;p j;

jDhu;p  Dhv ;p j ¼ jhj  jDu;p  Dv ;p j;

X
n X
n
pi jDðuþwÞi  Dðv þwÞi j ¼ pi jDui  Dv i j
i¼1 i¼1

and
X
n X
n
pi jDðhuÞi  Dðhv Þi j ¼ jhj pi jDui  Dv i j:
i¼1 i¼1

Therefore we have that

ajMuþw;p  Mv þw;p j þ bjDuþw;p  Dv þw;p j ¼ ajMu;p  Mv ;p j þ bjDu;p  Dv ;p j;
 G. Wang et al. / Information Sciences 181 (2011) 3846–3860 3853

X
n X
n
adp ðu þ w; v þ wÞ þ b pi jDðuþwÞi  Dðv þwÞi j ¼ adp ðu; v Þ þ b pi jDui  Dv i j;
i¼1 i¼1

ajMhu;p  Mhv ;p j þ bjDhu;p  Dhv ;p j ¼ jhjðajMu;p  Mv ;p j þ bjDu;p  Dv ;p jÞ

and
X
n X
n
adp ðhu; hv Þ þ b pi jDðhuÞi  Dðhv Þi j ¼ jhjðadp ðu; v Þ þ b pi jDui  Dv i jÞ;
i¼1 i¼1

so we know that (4)–(6) of the proposition hold. h

Although the fuzzy degrees of fuzzy n-cell numbers have already concerned in the definitions of Sp;a;b and Sp;a;b , the both
fuzzy binary relations used to characterize the approximation degree of two fuzzy n-cell numbers still possess certain lim-
itation when the fuzzy n-cell numbers are not symmetric in applications. The limitation can be illustrated by the following
example.

Example 3.4. Let

8 8
< x þ 1 if
> x 2 ½1; 0; < x if
> x 2 ½0; 1;
 
u ¼ ðu1 ; u2 Þ; u1 ¼ 1  x if x 2 ð0; 1; u2 ¼ 1 if x 2 1; 43 ;
>
: >
:  4
0 if x 2 ½1; 1; 0 if x 2 0; 3 ;
8 8 5 
< x þ 1 if
> x 2 ½1; 0; <1
> if x2 3
;2 ;
v ¼ ðv 1 ; v 2 Þ; v 1 ¼ 1  x if
>
x 2 ð0; 1; v2 ¼ 3  x if
>
x 2 ð2; 3;
: :  
0 if x 2 ½1; 1; 0 if x 2 53 ; 3
and
8 8
< x þ 1 if
> x 2 ½1; 0; < x  1 if
> x 2 ½1; 2;
 
w ¼ ðw1 ; w2 Þ; w1 ¼ 1  x if x 2 ð0; 1; w2 ¼ 1 if x 2 2; 73 ;
>
: >
:  7
0 if x 2 ½1; 1; 0 if x 2 1; 3 :

Then the approximation degree of u and v should be smaller than the approximation degree of u and w (see Fig. 3.3) as a
matter of fact. But the both fuzzy relations Sp;a;b and Sp;a;b cannot tell us the difference of Sp;a;b ðu; v Þ and Sp;a;b ðu; wÞ since
Sp;a;b ðu; v Þ ¼ 1þ1ap2 ¼ Sp;a;b ðu; wÞ and Sp;a;b ðu; v Þ ¼ 1þ1ap2 ¼ Sp;a;b ðu; wÞ. In order to further improve the both fuzzy relations, we
will introduce the fuzzy approximation relations f e p;a;b in the following.
S p;a;b and S
P
Let p = (p1, p2, . . . , pn) 2 Rn with pi P 0 and ni¼1 pi ¼ 1, we denote
X
n Z 1   X
n Z 1  
ui ð1Þ þ ui ð1Þ ui ð1Þ þ ui ð1Þ
LDu;p ¼ pi r  ui ðrÞ dr; RDu;p ¼ pi r ui ðrÞ  dr
i¼1 0 2 i¼1 0 2
n
for any u = (u1, u2, . . . , un) 2 L(E ), and call LDu,p and RDu,p the left fuzzy degree and the right fuzzy degree of u with respect to
weight p, respectively. It is obvious that LDu,p, RDu,p P 0 and LDu,p + RDu,p = Du,p for any u 2 L(En).
P
Definition 3. Let p = (p1, p2, . . . , pn) 2 Rn with pi P 0 and ni¼1 pi ¼ 1, and a, b 2 (0, +1). We define fuzzy binary relations f
S p;a;b
e n f n n
and S p;a;b on L(E ), i.e., mappings S p;a;b : LðE Þ  LðE Þ ! ½0; 1 and S e p;a;b : LðEn Þ  LðEn Þ ! ½0; 1 as following:

f 1
S p;a;b ðu; v Þ ¼ ð5Þ
1 þ ajMu;p  M v ;p j þ bðjLDu;p  LDv ;p j þ jRDu;p  RDv ;p jÞ

Fig. 3.3. Fuzzy 2-cell numbers u, v, and w.

3854 G. Wang et al. / Information Sciences 181 (2011) 3846–3860

and

e p;a;b ðu; v Þ ¼ 1
S P ð6Þ
1 þ adp ðu; v Þ þ b ni¼1 pi ðjLDui  LDv i j þ jRDui  RDv i jÞ
for any u = (u1, u2, . . . , un), v = (v1, v2, . . . , vn) 2 L(En), respectively. We call the fuzzy binary relations f e p;a;b fuzzy
S p;a;b and S
approximation relations (with respect to weight p and parameters a, b) on fuzzy n-cell number space, and say the values
f
S p;a;b ðu; v Þ and S e p;a;b ðu; v Þ to be the approximation degrees of u and v with respect to fuzzy approximation relations
f
S p;a;b and S e p;a;b , respectively.

Example 3.5. In Example 3.4, if f e p;a;b ðu; v Þ are used to characterize the approximation degrees of u, v and w,
S p;a;b ðu; v Þ and S
then we have

f 1 1
S p;a;b ðu; v Þ ¼   < ¼f
S p;a;b ðu; wÞ
1 þ a þ 13 b p2 1 þ ap2
and

e p;a;b ðu; v Þ ¼ 1 1 e p;a;b ðu; wÞ:

S   < ¼S
1 þ a þ 13 b p2 1 þ ap2
From this we can conclude the approximation degree of u and v is smaller than the approximation degree of u and w. This
conclusion accords with fact. So fuzzy approximation relations f e p;a;b , in some ways, improve further fuzzy approx-
S p;a;b and S
imation relations Sp;a;b and Sp;a;b , respectively.

Remark 3. From Examples 3.1–3.5, it can be easily seen that fuzzy approximation relations f e p;a;b ) are better
S p;a;b (resp. S
than Sp;a;b (resp. Sp;a;b ) and Sp;a (resp. Sp;a ) since f e p;a;b ) can more objectively characterize the essential
S p;a;b (resp. S
attribute of the approximation of two objects. On the other hand, fuzzy approximation relations f e p;a;b ) are more
S p;a;b (resp. S
complex in computing than Sp;a;b (resp. Sp;a;b ) and Sp;a (resp. Sp;a ). In practical applications, if we pay attention to the
rationality, we should use f e p;a;b ), but if we focus on the simplicity of computing, we should use Sp;a;b (resp.
S p;a;b (resp. S
Sp;a;b ) or Sp;a (resp. Sp;a ).
Using similar argument as in the proof of Proposition 2, we can also obtain the following propositions of fuzzy approx-
imation relations f e p;a;b .
S p;a;b and S
Pn
Proposition 3. Let p = (p1, p2, . . . , pn) 2 Rn with pi > 0 (i = 1, 2, . . . , n) and i¼1 pi ¼ 1, and a, b 2 (0, +1). Then for any u, v,
w 2 L(En), we have

(1) f
S p;a;b ðu; uÞ ¼ 1;
(2) u ¼ v () S e p;a;b ðu; v Þ ¼ 1;
(3) f
S p;a;b ðu; v Þ ¼ fS p;a;b ðv ; uÞ and S e p;a;b ðu; v Þ ¼ Se p;a;b ðv ; uÞ;
(4) f f e
S p;a;b ðu þ w; v þ wÞ ¼ S p;a;b ðu; v Þ and S p;a;b ðu þ w; v þ wÞ ¼ S e p;a;b ðu; v Þ;
(5) h 2 R; jhj 6 1 ) f S p;a;b ðhu; hv Þ P f S p;a;b ðu; v Þ; Se p;a;b ðhu; hv Þ P Se p;a;b ðu; v Þ;
(6) h 2 R; jhj P 1 ) f S p;a;b ðhu; hv Þ 6 fS p;a;b ðu; v Þ; Se p;a;b ðhu; hv Þ 6 S
e p;a;b ðu; v Þ.

By (1)–(3) of Proposition 3.5 and 3.7, we know fuzzy approximation relations Sp;a;b ; Sp;a;b ; f e p;a;b are all fuzzy
S p;a;b , and S
similar relations. But we should also take note of that they are also not fuzzy equivalent relations like fuzzy approximation
relations Sp;a and Sp;a .

4. Applications in classification

It is known that classifying some objects based on fuzzy similar relations can be done by different methods. The methods
that are often used in applications include transitive closure method, direct classifying method and maximal tree method. In
the following, taking maximal tree method as an example, we give the method and steps to show to classify imprecise or
uncertain objects (multi-channel digital signals) based on the fuzzy approximation relations (taking only fS p;a;b as an exam-
ple) introduced by us.

4.1. Problem

Suppose that the following l sets of data respectively come from the l objects (denoted by O1, O2, . . . , Ol), which have n
characteristics with some imprecise or uncertain attributes.
 G. Wang et al. / Information Sciences 181 (2011) 3846–3860 3855

Sample 1 : ok11 ok21    okn1

Sample 2 : ok12 ok22    okn2
Ok : . .. .. .. k ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; l
.. . . .
Sample mk : ok1mk ok2mk    oknmk
Our thing to be done is classifying the imprecise or uncertain objects.

4.2. The first step

For all k = 1, 2, . . . ,l and i = 1, 2, . . . , n, we first calculate

mk
1 X
lki ¼ okij :
mk j¼1

And then we calculate

1 X 1 X
Lrki ¼ ðlki  okij Þ; Rrki ¼ ðokij  lki Þ
NLki o <l NRki o >l
kij ki kij ki

for each k = 1, 2, . . . , l and i = 1, 2, . . ., n, where N Lki and N Rki are the number of the character values okij which satisfy okij < lki and
the number of the character values okij which satisfy okij > lki, respectively.

4.3. The second step

For each k = 1, 2, . . . , l and i = 1, 2, . . . , n, according to the practical case, we take out proper domain Dki of the ith character
value oki of Ok and parameter q (usually q 2 [2, 4]). For each k = 1, 2, . . . , l, by
8 xðl qLr Þ
>
>
ki
qLrki
ki
if x 2 ½lki  qLrki ; lki  \ Dki
>
>
>
<
uki ðxÞ ¼ ðlki þqRrki Þx ði ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; nÞ; ð7Þ
> qRrki if x 2 ðlki ; lki þ qRrki  \ Dki
>
>
>
>
:
0 if x 2 ½lki  qLrki ; lki þ qRrki  \ Dki
we construct n-cell number uk = (uk1, uk2, . . . , ukn), i.e.,

uk ðx1 ; x2 ; . . . ; xn Þ ¼ minfuk1 ðx1 Þ; uk2 ðx2 Þ; . . . ; ukn ðxn Þg ðx1 ; x2 ; . . . ; xn Þ 2 Rn

to express object Ok.

4.4. The third step

According to the important degrees of the character to the objects, we take out proper weight p = (p1, p2, . . . , pn) with
P
ps P 0 (s = 1, 2, . . . , n) and ns¼1 ps ¼ 1. Take parameters a and b (usually a  b). For all k, s = 1, 2, . . . , n with k 6 s, we calculate

f 1
S p;a;b ðuk ; us Þ ¼ :
1 þ ajM uk ;p  M us ;p j þ bðjLDuk ;p  LDus ;p j þ jRDuk ;p  RDus ;p jÞ

4.5. The fourth step

We denote r ks ¼ f S p;a;b ðuk ; us Þ, k, s = 1, 2, . . . , n and k < s; r1 ¼ frks : k; s ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; n; k < sg and r 1 ¼ max r1 . Let
r k1 s1 ; rk2 s2 ; . . . ; rkt1 st1 are the all in r1 that are equal to r1. We should take a note that some in the natural numbers
k1 ; s1 ; k2 ; s2 ; . . . ; kt1 ; st1 may be equal, but ðk1 s1 Þ; ðk2 s2 Þ; . . . ; ðkt1 st1 Þ are not equal. We denote the numbers of the elements of
set fuk1 ; us1 ; uk2 ; us2 ; . . . ; ukt1 ; ust1 g (denoted as U1) by l1. We choose properly l1 dots in a plane to represent the l1 fuzzy n-cell
numbers, and link the two dots corresponding fuzzy numbers uki ; usi with a line segment for each i = 1, 2, . . . , t1 (note: if two
dots have been linked with one line segment or broken line, then the two dots should be not linked by a line segment, that is,
there should be two or more than two linking paths between two dots) such that all line segments linking these dots do not
cross each other. We cluster respectively the objects corresponding the dots linked by line segments or broken lines into
same class, and the rest each object which is corresponded without the dots is self a class. Thus, we obtain a classification
corresponding level-value r1.
3856 G. Wang et al. / Information Sciences 181 (2011) 3846–3860

We Denote r2 ¼ r1 n fr 1 g (¼ fr 2 r1 : r – r1 g) and r 2 ¼ max r2 . Let r k1s1 ; r k2s2 ; . . . ; r kt st be the all that are equal to r2 in r2 .
2 2
We should take a note that some in the natural numbers k 1 ; s1 ; k
2 ; s2 ; . . . ; k
t ; st may 1s1 Þ; ðk
be equal, but ðk 2s2 Þ; . . . ; ðk
t st Þ
2 2 2 2

are not equal. We denote the numbers of the elements of set fuk1 ; us1 ; uk2 ; us2 ; . . . ; ukt ; ust2 g n U 1 (denoted as U2) by l2. In the
2
aforementioned plane, we choose again l2 dots to the l2 fuzzy n-cell numbers. For the l1 + l2 dots, we link the two dots
corresponding fuzzy numbers uki ; usi with a line segment for each i = 1, 2, . . . , t2 (note: if two dots have been linked with
one line segment or broken line, then the two dots should be not again linked by a line segment, that is, there should
be two or more than two linking patches between two dots) such that all line segments linking these dots do not cross
each other. We cluster respectively the objects corresponding the dots linked by line segments or broken lines into same
class, and the rest each object which is corresponded without the dots is self a class. Thus, we obtain a classification cor-
responding level-value r2.
We Denote r3 ¼ r1 n fr 1 ; r 2 g and r 3 ¼ max r3 . For r3 ¼ max r3 , we can choose dots in the plane, and link the corresponding
dots with line segments as for r1 and r2. And keep such processing up until the minimal value in r1 is done, or the all fuzzy n-
cell numbers u1, u2, . . . , ul have corresponding dots in the plane. Thus, we obtain a figure (i.e. so called ‘‘maximal tree’’), and
from the figure we can obtain a variable classification with the changing of level-value ri.

Example 4.1. Consider the problem in classifying seven cities A; B; C; D; E; F; G according to characteristics of certain
aspects of the cities. In order to simplify the problem, we only choose the following five aspects as evaluating evidences:

E1: Families’ annual average income per capita (the unit: thousand CNY) in the city;
E2: Living space per person (the unit: m2) in the city;
E3: Years spent in education per person aged between 18 and 60 in the city;
E4: Satisfaction of merchandise availability (graded by percentage points) in the city;
E5: Satisfaction of traffic conditions (graded by percentage points) in the city.

Suppose that the following set of data are the statistical values of the twenty samples that are arbitrarily taken from city A:
E1 E2 E3 E4 E5
Sample 1 21:3 32 19 85 70;
Sample 2 33:5 43 16 90 80;
Sample 3 0:5 20 12 75 75;
Sample 4 82:3 60 12 90 55;
Sample 5 26:6 26 11 80 60;
Sample 6 5:3 12 6 80 90;
Sample 7 0:9 35 19 70 65;
Sample 8 15:6 28 9 82 65;
Sample 9 11:3 25 12 85 65;
A : Sample 10 20:6 26 22 60 65;
Sample 11 13:8 24 12 85 70;
Sample 12 17:9 30 6 86 50;
Sample 13 23:6 31 16 86 70;
Sample 14 28:1 33 12 88 75;
Sample 15 11:5 28 9 88 55;
Sample 16 21:4 27 16 90 75;
Sample 17 19:7 25 19 80 80;
Sample 18 15:6 18 16 75 60;
Sample 19 13:1 23 9 78 80;
Sample 20 52:6 108 16 95 60:
In the following, we use the method introduced in [29] (see Example 2.1 in [29]) to construct a fuzzy 5-cell number to
express city A:
P P P
At first, using li ¼ m1 m
j¼1 oij ; Lri ¼ NLi
1
oij <li ðli  oij Þ and Rri ¼ NRi
1
oij >li ðoij  li Þ (see (2.2)–(2.4) in [29]) we work out the
following means li, left separation degrees Lri and right separation degrees Rri, i = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, respectively.
E1 E2 E3 E4 E5
li l1 ¼ 21:775 l2 ¼ 32:7 l3 ¼ 13:45 l4 ¼ 82:4 l5 ¼ 68:25;
Lri Lr1 ¼ 8:318 Lr2 ¼ 7:7 Lr3 ¼ 3:45 Lr4 ¼ 6:84 Lr5 ¼ 8:25;
Rri Rr1 ¼ 19:392 Rr2 ¼ 23:1 Rr3 ¼ 4:22 Rr4 ¼ 5:6 Rr5 ¼ 8:25:
 G. Wang et al. / Information Sciences 181 (2011) 3846–3860 3857

For practicality, we take D1 = [0.5, +1), D2 = (0, +1), D3 = [0, 23], D4 = [0, 100] and D5 = [0, 100]. Using formula (7), and
taking q = 4
8 xðl 4Lr Þ
>
< 4Lri
i i
if x 2 ½li  4Lri ; li  \ Di ;
uAi ðxÞ ¼ ðli þ4Rri Þx i ¼ 1; 2; 3; 4; 5;
> 4Rri if x 2 ðli ; li þ 4Rri  \ Di ;
:
0 if x 2 ½li  4Lr; li þ 4Rr \ Di ;
we construct five triangular model one-dimensional fuzzy numbers as
8 xþ11:50 8 x1:90
< 33:27 if x 2 ½0:5; 21:78; < 30:80 if x 2 ½1:90; 32:70;
uA1 ðxÞ ¼ 99:34x if x 2 ð21:78; 99:34; uA2 ðxÞ ¼ 125:10x
if x 2 ð32:70; 125:10;
: 77:57 : 92:40
0 if x 2 ½0:5; 99:34; 0 if x 2 ½1:90; 125:10;
8 xþ0:35 8 x55:04
< 13:80 if x 2 ½0; 13:45; < 27:36 if x 2 ½55:04; 82:40;
uA3 ðxÞ ¼ 30:33x uA4 ðxÞ ¼ 104:8x
if x 2 ð13:45; 23; if x 2 ð82:40; 100;
: 16:88 : 22:40
0 if x 2 ½0; 23; 0 if x 2 ½55:04; 100;
8 x35:25
< 33:00 if x 2 ½35:25; 68:25;
uA5 ðxÞ ¼ 101:25x
if x 2 ð68:25; 100;
: 33:00
0 if x 2 ½35:25; 100:
By Theorems 3.1 and 3.2 in [27], we know that uA1 ; uA2 ; uA3 ; uA4 and uA5 determine a fuzzy 5-cell number
uA ¼ ðuA1 ; uA2 ; uA3 ; uA4 ; uA5 Þ, and its membership function is

uA ðxÞ ¼ minfuA1 ðx1 Þ; uA2 ðx2 Þ; uA3 ðx3 Þ; uA4 ðx4 Þ; uA5 ðx5 Þg; x ¼ ðx1 ; x2 ; x3 ; x4 ; x5 Þ 2 R5
Then City A can be represented by the fuzzy 5-cell number uA . By using the same methods, we can get uB ; uC ; uD ; uE ; uF
and uG to represent City B, City C, City D, City E, City F and City G, respectively. Suppose that we have get uB, uC, uD, uE, uF and
uG as following
uB ¼ ðuB1 ; uB2 ; uB3 ; uB4 ; uB5 Þ; uC ¼ ðuC1 ; uC2 ; uC3 ; uC4 ; uC5 Þ;

uD ¼ ðuD1 ; uD2 ; uD3 ; uD4 ; uD5 Þ; uE ¼ ðuE1 ; uE2 ; uE3 ; uE4 ; uE5 Þ;

uF ¼ ðuF1 ; uF2 ; uF3 ; uF4 ; uF5 Þ; uG ¼ ðuG1 ; uG2 ; uG3 ; uG4 ; uG5 Þ;

where
8 xþ4:81 8 x0:26
< 31:41 if x 2 ½0:60; 26:60; < 25:31 if x 2 ½0:26; 25:57;
uB1 ðxÞ ¼ 113:35x uB2 ðxÞ ¼ 106:09x
if x 2 ð26:60; 113:35; if x 2 ð25:57; 106:09;
: 86:75 : 80:52
0 if x 2 ½0:6; 113:35; 0 if x 2 ½0:26; 106:09;

8 x0:10 8 x37:63
< 14:22 if x 2 ½0:10; 14:32; < 40:50 if x 2 ½37:63; 78:13;
uB3 ðxÞ ¼ 29:88x uB4 ðxÞ ¼ 106:97x
if x 2 ð14:32; 23; if x 2 ð78:13; 100;
: 15:56 : 28:84
0 if x 2 ½0:10; 23; 0 if x 2 ½37:63; 100;

8 x29:42 8 xþ2:04
< 37:21 if x 2 ½29:42; 66:63; < 27:38 if x 2 ½0:67; 25:34;
uB5 ðxÞ ¼ 99:76x if x 2 ð66:63; 99:76; uC1 ðxÞ ¼ 103:65x
if x 2 ð25:34; 103:65;
: 33:13 : 78:31
0 if x 2 ½29:42; 99; 76; 0 if x 2 ½0:67; 103:65;

8 x3:89 8 x1:98
< 31:37 if x 2 ½3:89; 35:26; < 15:10 if x 2 ½1:98; 17:08;
uC2 ðxÞ ¼ 125:56x uC3 ðxÞ ¼ 31:08x
if x 2 ð35:26; 125:56; if x 2 ð17:08; 23;
: 90:30 : 14:00
0 if x 2 ½3:89; 125:56; 0 if x 2 ½2:08; 23;

8 x59:10 8 x28:18
< 30:21 if x 2 ½59:10; 89:31; < 32:17 if x 2 ½28:18; 60:35;
uC4 ðxÞ ¼ 102:50x uC5 ðxÞ ¼ 92:52x
if x 2 ð89:31; 100; if x 2 ð60:35; 92:52;
: 13:19 : 32:17
0 if x 2 ½59:10; 100; 0 if x 2 ½28:18; 92:52;
3858 G. Wang et al. / Information Sciences 181 (2011) 3846–3860

8 xþ2:93 8 x5:24
< 29:37 if x 2 ½0:65; 26:44; < 20:09 if x 2 ½5:24; 25:33;
uD1 ðxÞ ¼ 107:25x uD2 ðxÞ ¼ 104:65x
if x 2 ð26:44; 107:25; if x 2 ð25:33; 104:65;
: 80:81 : 79:32
0 if x 2 ½0:65; 107:25; 0 if x 2 ½5:24; 104:65;

8 x0:75 8 x53:71
< 13:81 if x 2 ½0:75; 14:56; < 26:30 if x 2 ½53:71; 80:01;
uD3 ðxÞ ¼ 30:46x uD4 ðxÞ ¼ 104:6x
if x 2 ð14:56; 23; if x 2 ð80:01; 100;
: 15:90 : 24:59
0 if x 2 ½0:75; 23; 0 if x 2 ½53:71; 100;

8 x27:15 8 x0:92
< 34:12 if x 2 ½27:15; 61:27; < 30:61 if x 2 ½0:92; 31:53;
uD5 ðxÞ ¼ 95:61x if x 2 ð61:27; 95:61; uE1 ðxÞ ¼ 131:98x
if x 2 ð31:53; 131:98;
: 34:34 : 100:45
0 if x 2 ½27:15; 95:61; 0 if x 2 ½0:75; 131:98;

8 xþ2:19 8 x1:63
< 33:46 if x 2 ½0; 31:27; < 13:18 if x 2 ½1:63; 14:81;
uE2 ðxÞ ¼ 133:58x uE3 ðxÞ ¼ 29:91x
if x 2 ð31:27; 133:58; if x 2 ð14:81; 23;
: 102:31 : 15:10
0 if x 2 ½0; 133:58; 0 if x 2 ½1:63; 23;

8 x49:39 8 x23:89
< 25:91 if x 2 ½49:39; 75:30; < 32:32 if x 2 ½23:89; 56:21;
uE4 ðxÞ ¼ 99:68x if x 2 ð75:30; 99:68; uE5 ðxÞ ¼ 88:53x if x 2 ð56:21; 88:53;
: 24:38 : 32:32
0 if x 2 ½49:39; 99:68; 0 if x 2 ½23:89; 88:53;

8 8
> xþ8:61 > xþ6:28
< 28:92 if x 2 ½0:50; 20:31; < 32:80 if x 2 ½0; 26:52;
uF1 ðxÞ ¼ 90:35x uF2 ðxÞ ¼ 130:92x
if x 2 ð20:31; 90:35; if x 2 ð25:52; 130:92;
> 70:04
: > 104:40
:
0 if x 2 ½0:50; 90:35; 0 if x 2 ½0; 130:92;

8 8
> xþ3:62 > x54:03
< 16:84 if x 2 ½0; 13:22; < 29:12 if x 2 ½54:03; 83:15;
uF3 ðxÞ ¼ 30:06x uF4 ðxÞ ¼ 108:35x
if x 2 ð13:22; 23; if x 2 ð83:15; 100;
> 16:84
: > 25:20
:
0 if x 2 ½0; 23; 0 if x 2 ½54:03; 100;

8 8
> x39:92 > xþ10:93
< 29:4 if x 2 ½39:92; 69:32; < 27:56 if x 2 ½0:48; 16:63;
uF5 ðxÞ ¼ 101:72x uG1 ðxÞ ¼ 77:03x
if x 2 ð69:32; 100; if x 2 ð16:63; 77:03;
> 32:40
: >
:
60:40
0 if x 2 ½39:92; 100; 0 if x 2 ½0:48; 77:03;

8 x0:11 8 x1:67
< 30:44 if x 2 ½0:11; 30:55; < 12:48 if x 2 ½1:67; 14:15;
uG2 ðxÞ ¼ 147:75x uG3 ðxÞ ¼ 29:67x
if x 2 ð30:55; 147:75; if x 2 ð14:15; 23;
: 117:20 : 15:52
0 if x 2 ½0:11; 147:75; 0 if x 2 ½1:67; 23;

8 x51:41 8 x25:90
>
< 24:92 if x 2 ½51:41; 76:33; < 36:40 if
> x 2 ½25:90; 62:3;
uG4 ðxÞ ¼ 104:93x uG5 ðxÞ ¼ 91:70x
if x 2 ð76:33; 100; if x 2 ð62:3; 91:70;
> 28:60
: >
:
29:40

0 if x 2 ½51:41; 100; 0 if x 2 ½25:90; 91:70;

1 
Take p ¼ ;1;1;1;
4 4 4 8 8
1
; a ¼ 0:5 and b = 0.1. Then, by formula (5) we have that

r1;2 ¼ f
S p;a;b ðuA ; uB Þ ¼ 0:5153; r 1;3 ¼ f
S p;a;b ðuA ; uC Þ ¼ 0:5815;

r1;4 ¼ f
S p;a;b ðuA ; uD Þ ¼ 0:4818; r 1;5 ¼ f
S p;a;b ðuA ; uE Þ ¼ 0:6829;
 G. Wang et al. / Information Sciences 181 (2011) 3846–3860 3859

Fig. 4.1. Classifications of cities A–G.

r1;6 ¼ f
S p;a;b ðuA ; uF Þ ¼ 0:4912; r 1;7 ¼ f
S p;a;b ðuA ; uG Þ ¼ 0:4124;

r2;3 ¼ f
S p;a;b ðuB ; uC Þ ¼ 0:3767; r 2;4 ¼ f
S p;a;b ðuB ; uD Þ ¼ 0:8702;

r2;5 ¼ f
S p;a;b ðuB ; uE Þ ¼ 0:4158; r 2;6 ¼ f
S p;a;b ðuB ; uF Þ ¼ 0:8965;

r2;7 ¼ f
S p;a;b ðuB ; uG Þ ¼ 0:6522; r 3;4 ¼ f
S p;a;b ðuC ; uD Þ ¼ 0:3711;

r3;5 ¼ f
S p;a;b ðuC ; uE Þ ¼ 0:6581; r 3;6 ¼ f
S p;a;b ðuC ; uF Þ ¼ 0:3632;

r3;7 ¼ f
S p;a;b ðuC ; uG Þ ¼ 0:3176; r 4;5 ¼ f
S p;a;b ðuD ; uE Þ ¼ 0:3959;

r4;6 ¼ f
S p;a;b ðuD ; uF Þ ¼ 0:8658; r 4;7 ¼ f
S p;a;b ðuD ; uG Þ ¼ 0:6591;

r5;6 ¼ f
S p;a;b ðuE ; uF Þ ¼ 0:4013; r5;7 ¼ f
S p;a;b ðuE ; uG Þ ¼ 0:3481;

r6;7 ¼ f
S p;a;b ðuF ; uG Þ ¼ 0:7053:

Denote r1 ¼ frk;s : k; s ¼ 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; k < sg and r1 ¼ max r1 , then r1 = 0.8965 = r2,6. We take arbitrarily two dots B and F
in a plane to represent City B and F, respectively, and link the two dots with the line segment labeled with the degree 0.8965
(see (a) of Fig. 4.1).
Denote r2 ¼ r1 n fr 1 g (¼ fr 2 r1 : r – r 1 g) and r2 ¼ max r2 , then r2 = 0.8702 = r2,4. We take arbitrarily one dot D in the plane
((a) of Fig. 4.1) to represent City D (note City B is not thought over since it has been appeared), and link dots B and D with the
line segment labeled with the degree 0.8702 (see (b) of Fig. 4.1).
Denote r3 ¼ r1 n fr 1 ; r 2 g and r3 ¼ max r3 , then r3 = 0.8658 = r4,6. But, about r3, we do not need to do something since the
corresponding dots D and F have been appeared.
With the same way, we have that r4 = 0.7053 = r6,7, r5 = 0.6829 = r1,5, r6 = 0.6591 = r4,7, r7 = 0.6581 = r3,5, r8 = 0.6522 = r2,7,
r9 = 0.5815 = r1,3, and r10 = 0.5153 = r1,2. About r4, r5, r7, and r10, we can obtain (c)–(f) of Fig. 4.1, respectively. The (f) of Fig. 4.1
is just the ‘‘maximal tree’’. About r6, r8, and r9, we do not need to do something. Thus, we can obtain a variable classification
with the changing of level-value. For example, if level-value is r = 0.8, then r2 > r > r4, so from (b) of Fig. 4.1, we can obtain the
following classifications: City B, City D, and City F are same class, City A is self a class, City C is self a class, City E is self a
class, and City G is self a class (i.e., each one of the cities that do not appear in the figure is self a class). If level-value is
r = 0.66, then r5 > r > r7, so from (d) of Fig. 4.1, we can obtain the following classifications: City B, City D, City F, and City
G are same class, City A and City E are same class, City C is self a class.

5. Conclusion

In this paper, on fuzzy n-cell number space, we firstly defined two fuzzy approximation relations Sp;a and Sp;a , pointed
respectively out their characteristics and some shortcomings, and investigated their properties. And then, in order to over-
come the certain shortcoming, we introduced the other two approximation relations Sp;a;b and Sp;a;b on L(En), and investi-
3860 G. Wang et al. / Information Sciences 181 (2011) 3846–3860

gated also their properties. However, the both fuzzy binary relations Sp;a;b used to characterize the approximation degree of
two fuzzy n-cell numbers possess still certain limitation when the fuzzy n-cell numbers are not symmetric in applications.
Therefore, we defined again two approximation relations f e p;a;b on L(En), and given their properties. At last, as
S p;a;b and S
application, we established an algorithmic version of classification in an imprecise or uncertain environment by using the
fuzzy approximation relations defined by us, and also given a practical example to show the application of the proposed
techniques.

Acknowledgment

The authors thank the Editor-in-Chief, Prof Witold Pedrycz, the associate editor, and the reviewers for their very construc-
tive and helpful comments and suggestions which have helped improve the presentation of the paper.

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