Synthetic environment representational semantics using the Web Ontology Language

Abstract

The application of Ontologies for the definition and interoperability of complementary taxonomies has been well-recognised within the Modelling & Simulation (M&S) community. Our research pertaining to the specification of Synthetic Environment (SE) representational semantics has proposed the use of an Synthetic Environment Data Representation Ontology (sedOnto), which is modeled using W3C's Web Ontology Language(OWL). The vocabulary specified in sedOnto is based the SEDRIS Data Representation Model (DRM), which is a technological framework for SE data interchange and interoperability. In this paper, we present STOWL - SEDRIS To OWL Transform that automates the transformation of a SEDRIS based SE to a Web-Ontology based representation scheme in the OWL language. The target representation scheme, which shall be based on sedOnto, is in actuality an instantiation of the SE data representation terminology as specified by sedOnto. Such a transformation has many perceived advantages: It enhances SE interoperability by utilizing a Web-Ontology based approach for the specification of SE representation data, is consistent with existing industry based SE representation standards, namely SEDRIS, and that the representation scheme facilitates ontological reasoning over SE objects; a facility that is not directly supported by the SEDRIS DRM. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.