Exploiting conceptual spaces for ontology integration

The widespread use of ontologies raises the need to integrate distinct conceptualisations. Whereas the symbolic approach of established representation standards – based on first-order logic (FOL) and syllogistic reasoning – does not implicitly represent semantic similarities, ontology mapping addresses this problem by aiming at establishing formal relations between a set of knowledge entities which represent the same or a similar meaning in distinct ontologies. However, manually or semi-automatically identifying similarity relationships is costly. Hence, we argue, that representational facilities are required which enable to implicitly represent similarities. Whereas Conceptual Spaces (CS) address similarity computation through the representation of concepts as vector spaces, CS rovide neither an implicit representational mechanism nor a means to represent arbitrary relations between concepts or instances. In order to overcome these issues, we propose a hybrid knowledge representation approach which extends FOL-based ontologies with a conceptual grounding through a set of CS-based representations. Consequently, semantic similarity between instances – represented as members in CS – is indicated by means of distance metrics. Hence, automatic similarity detection across distinct ontologies is supported in order to facilitate ontology integration

Spatial groundings for meaningful symbols

The increasing availability of ontologies raises the need to establish relationships and make inferences across heterogeneous knowledge models. The approach proposed and supported by knowledge representation standards consists in establishing formal symbolic descriptions of a conceptualisation, which, it has been argued, lack grounding and are not expressive enough to allow to identify relations across separate ontologies. Ontology mapping approaches address this issue by exploiting structural or linguistic similarities between symbolic entities, which is costly, error-prone, and in most cases lack cognitive soundness. We argue that knowledge representation paradigms should have a better support for similarity and propose two distinct approaches to achieve it. We first present a representational approach which allows to ground symbolic ontologies by using Conceptual Spaces (CS), allowing for automated computation of similarities between instances across ontologies. An alternative approach is presented, which considers symbolic entities as contextual interpretations of processes in spacetime or Differences. By becoming a process of interpretation, symbols acquire the same status as other processes in the world and can be described (tagged) as well, which allows the bottom-up production of meaning

Bridging between sensor measurements and symbolic ontologies through conceptual spaces

The increasing availability of sensor data through a variety of sensor-driven devices raises the need to exploit the data observed by sensors with the help of formally specified knowledge representations, such as the ones provided by the Semantic Web. In order to facilitate such a Semantic Sensor Web, the challenge is to bridge between symbolic knowledge representations and the measured data collected by sensors. In particular, one needs to map a given set of arbitrary sensor data to a particular set of symbolic knowledge representations, e.g. ontology instances. This task is particularly challenging due to the potential infinite variety of possible sensor measurements. Conceptual Spaces (CS) provide a means to represent knowledge in geometrical vector spaces in order to enable computation of similarities between knowledge entities by means of distance metrics. We propose an ontology for CS which allows to refine symbolic concepts as CS and to ground instances to so-called prototypical members described by vectors. By computing similarities in terms of spatial distances between a given set of sensor measurements and a finite set of prototypical members, the most similar instance can be identified. In that, we provide a means to bridge between the real-world as observed by sensors and symbolic representations. We also propose an initial implementation utilizing our approach for measurement-based Semantic Web Service discovery

Towards ontology interoperability through conceptual groundings

Abstract. The widespread use of ontologies raises the need to resolve heterogeneities between distinct conceptualisations in order to support interoperability. The aim of ontology mapping is, to establish formal relations between a set of knowledge entities which represent the same or a similar meaning in distinct ontologies. Whereas the symbolic approach of established SW representation standards – based on first-order logic and syllogistic reasoning – does not implicitly represent similarity relationships, the ontology mapping task strongly relies on identifying semantic similarities. However, while concept representations across distinct ontologies hardly equal another, manually or even semi-automatically identifying similarity relationships is costly. Conceptual Spaces (CS) enable the representation of concepts as vector spaces which implicitly carry similarity information. But CS provide neither an implicit representational mechanism nor a means to represent arbitrary relations between concepts or instances. In order to overcome these issues, we propose a hybrid knowledge representation approach which extends first-order logic ontologies with a conceptual grounding through a set of CS-based representations. Consequently, semantic similarity between instances – represented as members in CS – is indicated by means of distance metrics. Hence, automatic similarity-detection between instances across distinct ontologies is supported in order to facilitate ontology mapping

Towards automated knowledge-based mapping between individual conceptualisations to empower personalisation of Geospatial Semantic Web

Geospatial domain is characterised by vagueness, especially in the semantic disambiguation of the concepts in the domain, which makes defining universally accepted geo- ontology an onerous task. This is compounded by the lack of appropriate methods and techniques where the individual semantic conceptualisations can be captured and compared to each other. With multiple user conceptualisations, efforts towards a reliable Geospatial Semantic Web, therefore, require personalisation where user diversity can be incorporated. The work presented in this paper is part of our ongoing research on applying commonsense reasoning to elicit and maintain models that represent users' conceptualisations. Such user models will enable taking into account the users' perspective of the real world and will empower personalisation algorithms for the Semantic Web. Intelligent information processing over the Semantic Web can be achieved if different conceptualisations can be integrated in a semantic environment and mismatches between different conceptualisations can be outlined. In this paper, a formal approach for detecting mismatches between a user's and an expert's conceptual model is outlined. The formalisation is used as the basis to develop algorithms to compare models defined in OWL. The algorithms are illustrated in a geographical domain using concepts from the SPACE ontology developed as part of the SWEET suite of ontologies for the Semantic Web by NASA, and are evaluated by comparing test cases of possible user misconceptions

BIM semantic-enrichment for built heritage representation

In the built heritage context, BIM has shown difficulties in representing and managing the large and complex knowledge related to non-geometrical aspects of the heritage. Within this scope, this paper focuses on a domain-specific semantic-enrichment of BIM methodology, aimed at fulfilling semantic representation requirements of built heritage through Semantic Web technologies. To develop this semantic-enriched BIM approach, this research relies on the integration of a BIM environment with a knowledge base created through information ontologies. The result is knowledge base system - and a prototypal platform - that enhances semantic representation capabilities of BIM application to architectural heritage processes. It solves the issue of knowledge formalization in cultural heritage informative models, favouring a deeper comprehension and interpretation of all the building aspects. Its open structure allows future research to customize, scale and adapt the knowledge base different typologies of artefacts and heritage activities

Blending the physical and the digital through conceptual spaces

The rise of the Internet facilitates an ever increasing growth of virtual, i.e. digital spaces which co-exist with the physical environment, i.e. the physical space. In that, the question arises, how physical and digital space can interact synchronously. While sensors provide a means to continuously observe the physical space, several issues arise with respect to mapping sensor data streams to digital spaces, for instance, structured linked data, formally represented through symbolic Semantic Web (SW) standards such as OWL or RDF. The challenge is to bridge between symbolic knowledge representations and the measured data collected by sensors. In particular, one needs to map a given set of arbitrary sensor data to a particular set of symbolic knowledge representations, e.g. ontology instances. This task is particularly challenging due to the vast variety of possible sensor measurements. Conceptual Spaces (CS) provide a means to represent knowledge in geometrical vector spaces in order to enable computation of similarities between knowledge entities by means of distance metrics. We propose an approach which allows to refine symbolic concepts as CS and to ground ontology instances to so-called prototypical members which are vectors in the CS. By computing similarities in terms of spatial distances between a given set of sensor measurements and a finite set of CS members, the most similar instance can be identified. In that, we provide a means to bridge between the physical space, as observed by sensors, and the digital space made up of symbolic representations

Technology Integration around the Geographic Information: A State of the Art

One of the elements that have popularized and facilitated the use of geographical information on a variety of computational applications has been the use of Web maps; this has opened new research challenges on different subjects, from locating places and people, the study of social behavior or the analyzing of the hidden structures of the terms used in a natural language query used for locating a place. However, the use of geographic information under technological features is not new, instead it has been part of a development and technological integration process. This paper presents a state of the art review about the application of geographic information under different approaches: its use on location based services, the collaborative user participation on it, its contextual-awareness, its use in the Semantic Web and the challenges of its use in natural languge queries. Finally, a prototype that integrates most of these areas is presented

Two-fold Semantic Web service matchmaking – applying ontology mapping for service discovery

Semantic Web Services (SWS) aim at the automated discovery and orchestration of Web services on the basis of comprehensive, machine-interpretable semantic descriptions. Since SWS annotations usually are created by distinct SWS providers, semantic-level mediation, i.e. mediation between concurrent semantic representations, is a key requirement for SWS discovery. Since semantic-level mediation aims at enabling interoperability across heterogeneous semantic representations, it can be perceived as a particular instantiation of the ontology mapping problem. While recent SWS matchmakers usually rely on manual alignments or subscription to a common ontology, we propose a two-fold SWS matchmaking approach, consisting of (a) a general-purpose semantic-level mediator and (b) comparison and matchmaking of SWS capabilities. Our semantic-level mediation approach enables the implicit representation of similarities across distinct SWS by grounding service descriptions in so-called Mediation Spaces (MS). Given a set of SWS and their respective grounding, a SWS matchmaker automatically computes instance similarities across distinct SWS ontologies and matches the request to the most suitable SWS. A prototypical application illustrates our approach

Extending the Foundational Model of Anatomy with Automatically Acquired Spatial Relations

Formal ontologies have made significant impact in bioscience over the last ten years. Among them, the Foundational Model of Anatomy Ontology (FMA) is the most comprehensive model for the spatio-structural representation of human anatomy. In the research project MEDICO we use the FMA as our main source of background knowledge about human anatomy. Our ultimate goals are to use spatial knowledge from the FMA (1) to improve automatic parsing algorithms for 3D volume data sets generated by Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging and (2) to generate semantic annotations using the concepts from the FMA to allow semantic search on medical image repositories. We argue that in this context more spatial relation instances are needed than those currently available in the FMA. In this publication we present a technique for the automatic inductive acquisition of spatial relation instances by generalizing from expert-annotated volume datasets