The median of a random fuzzy number. The 1-norm distance approach

Abstract

In quantifying the central tendency of the distribution of a random fuzzy number (or fuzzy random variable in Puri and Ralescu's sense), the most usual measure is the Aumann-type mean, which extends the mean of a real-valued random variable and preserves its main properties and behavior. Although such a behavior has very valuable and convenient implications, ‘extreme’ values or changes of data entail too much influence on the Aumann-type mean of a random fuzzy number. This strong influence motivates the search for a more robust central tendency measure. In this respect, this paper aims to explore the extension of the median to random fuzzy numbers. This extension is based on the 1-norm distance and its adequacy will be shown by analyzing its properties and comparing its robustness with that of the mean both theoretically and empirically.