A novel conflict management considering the optimal discounting weights using the BWM method in Dempster-Shafer evidence theory.

• Obtaining the optimal discounting weights of BPAs is proposed using the BWM method by considering consistency ratio. • A new way to determine the best and worst BPA is presented based on the distance of evidences. • Partially decrease the computing cost of fusion system by decreasing the number of comparisons using the BWM method. • More reasonable results in decision making are obtained by the proposed methodology. Dempster-Shafer evidence theory (DST) could show its advantages during the process of data fusion. In DST, the determination of the weight of evidence in conflict management is attracting growing interest. Limited work has been done based on the discount model, the consistency of the weight is still virgin and may become a fascinating question. In this paper, a novel strategy about how to ascertain the optimal weight of basic probability assignment (BPA) using BWM method is proposed, which provides a promising way to ascertain the best BPA and the worst BPA. Then, a consistency ratio is utilized for BPA, which has the ability of inspecting the reliability of the comparisons and producing more rational results. Some numerical experiments and application examples are used to illustrate the effectiveness and practicability of the proposed methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]