Implementing Dempster's rule for hierarchical evidence

Abstract

This article gives an algorithm for the exact implementation of Dempster's rule in the case of hierarchical evidence. This algorithm is computationally efficient, and it makes the approximation suggested by Gordon and Shortliffe unnecessary. The algorithm itself is simple, but its derivation depends on a detailed understanding of the interaction of hierarchical evidence. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.