An innovative approach to the determination of uncertainty in measurements based on fuzzy variables

The determination of the uncertainty of the result of a measurement is presently attained by means of a statistical inference, as suggested by the ISO Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement. This paper proposes an approach compatible with that of the ISO Guide, though based on a different mathematical tool. This approach is based on the application of the fuzzy variables and mathematics to the determination of the uncertainty, since they appear to be able to describe the possible distribution of the results of a measurement in a more effective way than the statistical approach. The fundamentals of the employed mathematics are recalled, and applied, as a first example, to the determination of the uncertainty in power measurements. The results obtained by the proposed method are compared with those obtained experimentally.