Robot selection by a multiple criteria complex proportional assessment method under an interval-valued fuzzy environment.

Recent research is recognizing that multiple criteria analysis should take account of the concepts of uncertainty and risk. In some cases, precise determination of the exact value of alternatives and weights of criteria is difficult. Consequently, to deal with these potential problems, their values are regarded as fuzzy and intervals. This paper proposes an interval-valued fuzzy multiple criteria complex proportional assessment (IVF-COPRAS) method that can reflect both a subjective judgment and objective information in real-life situations. In this method, the performance rating values versus selected criteria as well as the weights of conflicting criteria are linguistic variables represented by interval-valued triangular fuzzy numbers. Moreover, performances of alternatives against subjective criteria are described via linguistic variables and then transformed into interval-valued triangular fuzzy numbers. Finally, an application example for the robot selection problem is given in this paper to show this decision-making steps and the effectiveness of the proposed method in manufacturing companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]