Multigranulation rough sets: From partition to covering

The classical multigranulation rough set (MGRS) theory offers a formal theoretical framework for solving the complex problem under multigranulation environment. However, it is noticeable that MGRS theory cannot be applied in multi-source information systems with a covering environment in the real world. To address this issue, we firstly present in this paper three types of covering based multigranulation rough sets, in which set approximations are defined by different covering approximation operators. Then, by using two different approximation strategies, i.e., seeking common reserving difference and seeking common rejecting difference, two kinds of covering based multigranulation rough set are presented, namely, a covering based optimistic multigranulation rough set and a covering based pessimistic multigranulation rough sets. Finally, we develop some properties and several uncertainty measures of the covering based multigranulation rough sets. These results will enrich the MGRS theory and enlarge its application scope. 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.