A formal model of computing with words

Classical automata are formal models of computing with values. Fuzzy automata are generalizations of classical automata where the knowledge about the system´s next state is vague or uncertain. It is worth noting that like classical automata, fuzzy automata can only process strings of input symbols. Therefore, such fuzzy automata are still (abstract) devices for computing with values, although a certain vagueness or uncertainty are involved in the process of computation. We introduce a new kind of fuzzy automata whose inputs are instead strings of fuzzy subsets of the input alphabet. These new fuzzy automata may serve as formal models of computing with words. We establish an extension principle from computing with values to computing with words. This principle indicates that computing with words can be implemented with computing with values with the price of a big amount of extra computations.