DDHRPS: A Data-Driven Hierarchical Method for Constructing Random Permutation Set From the Perspective of Layer-2 Belief Structure

As an ordered extension of evidence theory, Random permutation set (RPS) theory has received increasing attention due to its advantage in dealing with order-structured uncertain information. However, a significant research gap remains in the current literature concerning the construction of RPS. Building on the interpretation of RPS as a layer-2 belief structure, this paper proposes a data-driven hierarchical method for generating RPS, called DDHRPS. Specifically, DDHRPS first generates BPA from statistical features of data on the layer-1 belief structure, and then refines them with propensity information derived from distance analysis between samples to single classes, ultimately forming RPS on the layer-2 belief structure. Moreover, a DDHRPS-based classification algorithm (DDHRPSCA) is presented. Experimental comparisons involving two kinds of classifiers, namely, two uncertainty-based classifiers and seven machine learning classifiers validate the effectiveness and superiority of DDHRPSCA in handling uncertain information in classification tasks.