A Survey of Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Multi-source Information Fusion Based on Rough Set Theory

Multi-source information fusion (MSIF) can be defined as the process of automatically analyzing and synthesizing information and data from multiple sensors or sources based on certain standards so as to achieve the required decisions and estimates, and it includes two types of information, homogeneous information and heterogeneous information. MSIF is also referred as multi-sensor information fusion. Rough set theory (RST) provides an effective method to process uncertain, inaccurate, or incomplete data. Therefore, many homogeneous and heterogeneous MSIF approaches based on RST have been put forward. In this paper, we summarize the homogeneous and heterogeneous MSIF based RST. Firstly, we introduce the background knowledge of rough set theory and multi-source information fusion. Secondly, we classify the existing homogeneous and heterogeneous MSIF models based on RST. Then, we discuss these MSIF models and summarize their application scenarios. At the end of this paper, we propose the challenges and future trends of homogeneous and heterogeneous MSIF based on RST from the perspectives of data processing and privacy security.