Data processing has become essential to modern civilization. The original data for this processing comes from measurements or from experts, and both sources are subject to uncertainty. Traditionally, probabilistic methods have been used to process uncertainty. However, in many practical situations, we do not know the corresponding probabilities: in measurements, we often only know the upper bound on the measurement errors; this is known as interval uncertainty. In turn, expert estimates often include imprecise (fuzzy) words from natural language such as "small"; this is known as fuzzy uncertainty. In this book, leading specialists on interval, fuzzy, probabilistic uncertainty and their combination describe state-of-the-art developments in their research areas. Accordingly, the book offers a valuable guide for researchers and practitioners interested in data processing under uncertainty, and an introduction to the latest trends and techniques in this area, suitable for graduate students.

Data processing has become essential to modern civilization. The original data for this processing comes from measurements or from experts, and both sources are subject to uncertainty. Traditionally, probabilistic methods have been used to process uncertainty. However, in many practical situations, we do not know the corresponding probabilities: in measurements, we often only know the upper bound on the measurement errors; this is known as interval uncertainty. In turn, expert estimates often include imprecise (fuzzy) words from natural language such as "small"; this is known as fuzzy uncertainty. In this book, leading specialists on interval, fuzzy, probabilistic uncertainty and their combination describe state-of-the-art developments in their research areas. Accordingly, the book offers a valuable guide for researchers and practitioners interested in data processing under uncertainty, and an introduction to the latest trends and techniques in this area, suitable for graduate students.

In many practical situations, we are interested in statistics characterizing a population of objects: e.g. in the mean height of people from a certain area. Most algorithms for estimating such statistics assume that the sample values are exact. In practice, sample values come from measurements, and measurements are never absolutely accurate. Sometimes, we know the exact probability distribution of the measurement inaccuracy, but often, we only know the upper bound on this inaccuracy. In this case, we have interval uncertainty: e.g. if the measured value is 1.0, and inaccuracy is bounded by 0.1, then the actual (unknown) value of the quantity can be anywhere between 1.0 - 0.1 = 0.9 and 1.0 + 0.1 = 1.1. In other cases, the values are expert estimates, and we only have fuzzy information about the estimation inaccuracy. This book shows how to compute statistics under such interval and fuzzy uncertainty. The resulting methods are applied to computer science (optimal scheduling of different processors), to information technology (maintaining privacy), to computer engineering (design of computer chips), and to data processing in geosciences, radar imaging, and structural mechanics.

In many practical situations, we are interested in statistics characterizing a population of objects: e.g. in the mean height of people from a certain area. Most algorithms for estimating such statistics assume that the sample values are exact. In practice, sample values come from measurements, and measurements are never absolutely accurate. Sometimes, we know the exact probability distribution of the measurement inaccuracy, but often, we only know the upper bound on this inaccuracy. In this case, we have interval uncertainty: e.g. if the measured value is 1.0, and inaccuracy is bounded by 0.1, then the actual (unknown) value of the quantity can be anywhere between 1.0 - 0.1 = 0.9 and 1.0 + 0.1 = 1.1. In other cases, the values are expert estimates, and we only have fuzzy information about the estimation inaccuracy. This book shows how to compute statistics under such interval and fuzzy uncertainty. The resulting methods are applied to computer science (optimal scheduling of different processors), to information technology (maintaining privacy), to computer engineering (design of computer chips), and to data processing in geosciences, radar imaging, and structural mechanics.