Rough Set Approximations in Formal Concept Analysis

Abstract

Conventional set approximations are based on a set of attributes; however, these approximations cannot relate an object to the corresponding attribute. In this study, a new model for set approximation based on individual attributes is proposed for interval-valued data. Defining an indiscernibility relation is omitted since each attribute value itself has a set of values. Two types of approximations, single- and multiattribute approximations, are presented. A multi-attribute approximation has two solutions: a maximum and a minimum solution. A maximum solution is a set of objects that satisfy the condition of approximation for at least one attribute. A minimum solution is a set of objects that satisfy the condition for all attributes. The proposed set approximation is helpful in finding the features of objects relating to condition attributes when interval-valued data are given. The proposed model contributes to feature extraction in interval-valued information systems.