Ontologies enable explicit expression of collective concepts and support Machine-to-Machine (M2M)... more Ontologies enable explicit expression of collective concepts and support Machine-to-Machine (M2M) interactions at the semantic level. Ontologies expressed in a standard language, such as the Web Ontology Language (OWL) and exposed on a network offer the potential for unprecedented interoperability solutions since they are semantically rich, computer interpretable and inherently extensible. In this chapter, we describe how we applied ontologies in OWL for rapid enterprise integration of heterogeneous data sources to track objects in a battlespace. We found that once a robust foundational domain ontology is established, it is easy and quick to integrate new data sources and therefore rapidly provide new system capabilities. In particular, we demonstrate how moving tracks can be quickly integrated with intelligence and space events to provide enhanced situational awareness using ontologies. This chapter also describes the overall SEER and SWORIER systems we developed, the latter of whi...
We are researching the interaction between the rule and the ontology layers of the Semantic Web, ... more We are researching the interaction between the rule and the ontology layers of the Semantic Web, by comparing two options: 1) using OWL and its rule extension SWRL to develop an integrated ontology/rule language, and 2) layering rules on top of an ontology with RuleML and OWL. Toward this end, we are developing the SWORIER system, which enables efficient automated reasoning on ontologies and rules, by translating all of them into Prolog and adding a set of general rules that properly capture the semantics of OWL. We have also enabled the user to make dynamic changes on the fly, at run time. This work addresses several of the concerns expressed in previous work, such as negation, complementary classes, disjunctive heads, and cardinality, and it discusses alternative approaches for dealing with inconsistencies in the knowledge base. In addition, for efficiency, we implemented techniques called extensionalization, avoiding reanalysis, and code minimization.
International Journal of Metadata, Semantics and Ontologies, 2009
The US Department of Defense (DoD) Chief Information Office (CIO) has embarked on an enterprise d... more The US Department of Defense (DoD) Chief Information Office (CIO) has embarked on an enterprise data management transformation initiative known as the DoD Net-Centric Data Strategy (NCDS). NCDS-related directives require DoD components, such as the United ...
Abstract. Historically, the behavior of Department of Defense (DoD) Command and Control (C2) syst... more Abstract. Historically, the behavior of Department of Defense (DoD) Command and Control (C2) systems has been embedded in executable code, providing static functionality that is difficult to change. As the complexity and tempo of the world increase, C2 systems must move to ...
Ontologies enable explicit expression of collective concepts and support Machine-to-Machine (M2M)... more Ontologies enable explicit expression of collective concepts and support Machine-to-Machine (M2M) interactions at the semantic level. Ontologies expressed in a standard language, such as the Web Ontology Language (OWL) and exposed on a network offer the potential for unprecedented interoperability solutions since they are semantically rich, computer interpretable and inherently extensible. In this chapter, we describe how we applied ontologies in OWL for rapid enterprise integration of heterogeneous data sources to track objects in a battlespace. We found that once a robust foundational domain ontology is established, it is easy and quick to integrate new data sources and therefore rapidly provide new system capabilities. In particular, we demonstrate how moving tracks can be quickly integrated with intelligence and space events to provide enhanced situational awareness using ontologies. This chapter also describes the overall SEER and SWORIER systems we developed, the latter of whi...
We are researching the interaction between the rule and the ontology layers of the Semantic Web, ... more We are researching the interaction between the rule and the ontology layers of the Semantic Web, by comparing two options: 1) using OWL and its rule extension SWRL to develop an integrated ontology/rule language, and 2) layering rules on top of an ontology with RuleML and OWL. Toward this end, we are developing the SWORIER system, which enables efficient automated reasoning on ontologies and rules, by translating all of them into Prolog and adding a set of general rules that properly capture the semantics of OWL. We have also enabled the user to make dynamic changes on the fly, at run time. This work addresses several of the concerns expressed in previous work, such as negation, complementary classes, disjunctive heads, and cardinality, and it discusses alternative approaches for dealing with inconsistencies in the knowledge base. In addition, for efficiency, we implemented techniques called extensionalization, avoiding reanalysis, and code minimization.
International Journal of Metadata, Semantics and Ontologies, 2009
The US Department of Defense (DoD) Chief Information Office (CIO) has embarked on an enterprise d... more The US Department of Defense (DoD) Chief Information Office (CIO) has embarked on an enterprise data management transformation initiative known as the DoD Net-Centric Data Strategy (NCDS). NCDS-related directives require DoD components, such as the United ...
Abstract. Historically, the behavior of Department of Defense (DoD) Command and Control (C2) syst... more Abstract. Historically, the behavior of Department of Defense (DoD) Command and Control (C2) systems has been embedded in executable code, providing static functionality that is difficult to change. As the complexity and tempo of the world increase, C2 systems must move to ...
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Papers by Deborah Nichols