Semantic Web computing in industry

The Semantic Web has attracted significant attention during the last decade. On the one hand, many research groups have changed their focus towards Semantic Web research and research funding agencies particularly in Europe have explicitly mentioned Semantic Web in their calls for proposals. On the other hand, industry has also begun to watch developments with interest and a number of large companies have started to experiment with Semantic Web technologies to ascertain if these new technologies can be leveraged to add more value for their customers or internally within the company, while there are already several offers of vendors of Semantic Web solutions on the market. The essence of the Semantic Web is to structure Web-based information to make it more interoperable, machine-readable and thereafter to provide a means to relate various information concepts more easily and in a reusable way. The Semantic Web acts as an additional layer on the top of the Web, and is built around explicit representations of information concepts and their relationships such as ontologies and taxonomies. Furthermore, Semantic Web technologies are not only valuable on an open environment like the Web, but also in closed systems such as in industrial settings. Hence, these technologies can be efficiently deployed for domains including Web Services, Enterprise Application Integration, Knowledge Management and E-Commerce, fulfilling existing gaps in current applications. This paper focuses on this synthesis between Semantic Web technologies and systems problems within industrial applications. There will be a short review of Semantic Web standards, languages and technologies followed by a more detailed review of applications of Semantic Web computing in industry. The paper covers theoretical considerations as well as use cases and experience reports on the topic, and we also present some current challenges and opportunities in the domain.     

ViSWeb - the Visual Semantic Web: unifying human and machine knowledge representations with Object-Process Methodology

The Visual Semantic Web (ViSWeb) is a new paradigm for enhancing the current Semantic Web technology. Based on Object-Process Methodology (OPM), which enables modeling of systems in a single graphic and textual model, ViSWeb provides for representation of knowledge over the Web in a unified way that caters to human perceptions while also being machine processable. The advantages of the ViSWeb approach include equivalent graphic-text knowledge representation, visual navigability, semantic sentence interpretation, specification of system dynamics, and complexity management. Arguing against the claim that humans and machines need to look at different knowledge representation formats, the principles and basics of various graphic and textual knowledge representations are presented and examined as candidates for ViSWeb foundation. Since OPM is shown to be most adequate for the task, ViSWeb is developed as an OPM-based layer on top of XML/RDF/OWL to express knowledge visually and in natural language. Both the graphic and the textual representations are strictly equivalent. Being intuitive yet formal, they are not only understandable to humans but are also amenable to computer processing. The ability to use such bimodal knowledge representation is potentially a major step forward in the evolution of the Semantic Web.Received: 14 December 2002, Accepted: 28 November 2003, Published online: 6 February 2004Edited by: V. AtluriDov Dori: dori@ie.technion.ac.il     

Ontology-based assembly design and information sharing for collaborative product development

To realize a truly collaborative product design and development process, effective communication among design collaborators is a must. In other words, the design intent that is imposed in a product design should be seized and interpreted properly; heterogeneous modeling terms should be semantically processed both by design collaborators and intelligent systems. Ontologies in the Semantic Web can explicitly represent semantics and promote integrated and consistent access to data and services. Thus, if an ontology is used in a heterogeneous and distributed design collaboration, it will explicitly and persistently represent engineering relations that are imposed in an assembly design. Design intent can be captured by reasoning, and, in turn, as reasoned facts, it can be propagated and shared with design collaborators. This paper presents a new paradigm of ontology-based assembly design. In the framework, an assembly design (AsD) ontology serves as a formal, explicit specification of assembly design so that it makes assembly knowledge both machine-interpretable and to be shared. An Assembly Relation Model (ARM) is enhanced using ontologies that represent engineering, spatial, assembly, and joining relations of assembly in a way that promotes collaborative assembly information-sharing environments. In the developed AsD ontology, implicit AsD constraints are explicitly represented using OWL (Web Ontology Language) and SWRL (Semantic Web Rule Language). This paper shows that the ability of the AsD ontology to be reasoned can capture both assembly and joining intents by a demonstration with a realistic mechanical assembly. Finally, this paper presents a new assembly design information-sharing framework and an assembly design browser for a collaborative product development.     

语义Web中开放知识服务体系的研究

WWW是信息时代的重要标志。基于WWW的信息管理系统不仅要能运行在不同的平台上、分布的信息网络中,而且还能提供通用的平台与大量的、独立的、多类型的数据源和应用程序进行交互。开放知识服务体系OKSA就是为实现这一目标而提出的,在开放的Web资源环境中,建立动态的、跨平台的虚拟知识环境,使得人们能够获取、发布、共享和管理各种Web资源,并向用户提供按需的知识服务以支持协同工作、问题求解和决策支持等。     

基于语义匹配复杂Web服务的算法研究

目前,Web服务发现机制中以关键词搜索方式进行服务匹配,忽略人类语言的多样性,造成较低的匹配率,同时单个Web服务无法满足客户面向业务过程的商业需求.本文研究一种基于语义匹配复杂Web服务的算法,在服务注册机制中对复杂Web服务匹配进行预处理,Web服务请求到达进行二次匹配,匹配单个Web服务或面向业务过程的一组Web服务.     

A user requirement driven framework for collaborative design knowledge management

In today’s competitive global marketplace and knowledge-based economy, user requirement becomes an important input information for enterprises to develop new product and a critical factor to drive product collaborative design evolution. Meanwhile, there remains no consensus on how best to support knowledge activities and significant challenges to establishing design information management facing to rapid collaborative product development with dynamic user requirement. This paper introduces solutions for designer to deal with dynamic user requirement information through requirement evaluation and prediction method. In this study, we propose a user requirements-oriented knowledge management concept that is based on a four level hierarchy map model with special regard to knowledge collaboration and information communication. Furthermore, a novel distributed concurrent and interactive user requirement database was constructed, and the framework driven by user requirement was put forward to support collaborative design knowledge management. Finally, the service robot design project of a start-up company is used as a case study to explain the implementation of proposed framework.     

论坛消息的语义漂移分析

引入多维文档模型来组织论坛消息的描述性特征和语义性特征，并在多维索引的基础上，提出了加窗分析技术。目的在于分析论坛站点中语义漂移现象，进而发现论坛中的完整语义信息单元。     

基于语义索引词的语义网信息检索模型

提出了一个基于语义索引词的语义网信息检索模型(Semantic Information Retrieval，SIR)，解决了在传统的基于关键字的信息检索中只能从句法上对关键字进行分析，无法根据信息资源中的语义关系进行检索的问题。     

语义Web中工程设计类知识表示研究

研究了如何在语义Web中,实现工程设计类知识的表示与应用。对工程设计类各种异构知识进行统一描述,在此基础上,运用RDF(S)技术,建立了语义Web环境下,工程设计类知识的Ontology。提出了基于语义Web的知识存储模型以及面向上层应用程序的接口设计,为语义Web环境下工程设计类知识管理系统的开发提供了底层平台。     

语义网环境下的知识集成系统设计

语义网近年来发展迅速,为网络环境下实现知识集成提供理论支撑和技术路线,可以为知识数据建立关联并增强系统的可扩展性。在资源描述框架下构建知识本体,采用Java语言和Jena API对知识集成系统进行设计和开发,构建知识集成框架实现知识内容显示和关联查询。系统设计突出了语义网的功能和特色,应用多种语义网体系技术和工具,提高知识集成系统的数据分析能力和用户体验效果。     

一种面向语义Web服务的语义程序变换方法

语义程序变换是面向语义Web服务的软件设计方法的基础,语义程序只有通过程序变换后才能被运行环境执行和调用,然而目前还缺乏有效的语义程序变换方法。针对这一问题,基于语义编程语言SPL,提出了一种面向语义Web服务的语义程序变换方法。该方法通过对语义数据类型、语义规则、语义服务和语义流程等语义信息的有效变换,不仅提高了面向服务的程序设计的灵活性和健壮性,而且有助于提高业务流程的柔性和重用性。     

A collaborative system for capturing and reusing in-context design knowledge with an integrated representation model

Current research on design knowledge capture and reuse has predominantly focused on either the codification view of knowledge or the personalisation view of knowledge, resulting in a failure to address designers’ knowledge needs caused by a lack of context of information and insufficient computational support. Precisely motivated by this gap, this work aims to address the integration of these two views into a complete, contextual and trustworthy knowledge management scheme enabled by the emerging collaborative technologies. Specifically, a knowledge model is developed to represent an integrated knowledge space, which can combine geometric model, knowledge-based analysis codes and problem-solving strategies and processes. On this basis, a smart collaborative system is also designed and developed to streamline the design process as well as to facilitate knowledge capture, retrieval and reuse as users with different roles are working on various tasks within this process. An engineering case study is undertaken to demonstrate the idea of collaborative knowledge creation and sharing and evaluate the effectiveness of the knowledge representation model and the collaborative technologies employed. As evidenced in the development and evaluation, the methods proposed are effective for capturing an integrated knowledge space and the collaborative knowledge management system not only facilitates problem-solving using knowledge-based analysis but also supplies in-context tacit knowledge captured from the communications between users throughout the design process.     

Semantic Web Mining: State of the art and future directions

Semantic Web Mining aims at combining the two fast-developing research areas Semantic Web and Web Mining. This survey analyzes the convergence of trends from both areas: More and more researchers are working on improving the results of Web Mining by exploiting semantic structures in the Web, and they make use of Web Mining techniques for building the Semantic Web. Last but not least, these techniques can be used for mining the Semantic Web itself.The Semantic Web is the second-generation WWW, enriched by machine-processable information which supports the user in his tasks. Given the enormous size even of today’s Web, it is impossible to manually enrich all of these resources. Therefore, automated schemes for learning the relevant information are increasingly being used. Web Mining aims at discovering insights about the meaning of Web resources and their usage. Given the primarily syntactical nature of the data being mined, the discovery of meaning is impossible based on these data only. Therefore, formalizations of the semantics of Web sites and navigation behavior are becoming more and more common. Furthermore, mining the Semantic Web itself is another upcoming application. We argue that the two areas Web Mining and Semantic Web need each other to fulfill their goals, but that the full potential of this convergence is not yet realized. This paper gives an overview of where the two areas meet today, and sketches ways of how a closer integration could be profitable.     

Research on an active knowledge push service based on collaborative intent capture

The quality of a knowledge service influences the quality, efficiency and innovation of product conceptual design. Existing approaches lack intelligence and individuation when providing a knowledge retrieval service via rules and cases. In this paper, we propose a framework of an active knowledge service based on collaborative intent capture to assist product conceptual design. First, a collaborative intent capture model is constructed through the study of the expression and capture of collaborative intent; second, a framework and a process of active knowledge push based on collaborative intent capture are designed after analyzing the method of knowledge resources acquisition based on the constraint satisfaction theory. Finally, match algorithms for text content are studied. Based on the above research achievements, a prototype system of a collaborative design and active knowledge service platform (C-AKSP) has been developed for providing a knowledge service and assisting product conceptual design. An example, the conceptual design of a machine tool spindle system, is used to validate the proposed theories for the model, the framework and the algorithm. As a result, C-AKSP can provide a superior knowledge service that meets the designer's knowledge needs.     

基于语义Web的网络化制造资源检索方法*

资源检索是网络化制造系统中的一个重点,也是一个难点问题。分析传统检索算法在制造资源检索方面的缺陷,提出一个基于语义Web资源检索方法模型。通过实例说明该模型的有效性、先进性。     

Semantic based aspect-oriented programming for context-aware Web service composition

An aspect-oriented programming (AOP) based approach is proposed to perform context-aware service composition on the fly. It realises context-aware composition by semantically weaving context into Web service composition. The context weaver algorithm is implemented and illustrated. The proposed semantic weaving allows Web services to be composed as the context changes.     

一种基于主体的语义Web服务模型

要实现Web服务组合自动快速准确性,必须对Web服务进行语义标注,使计算机能在"理解"服务的基础上实现快速准确查找和自动组合.Agent以其独特的性质,被普遍认为是可以代替人做出某些行为的实体.借鉴主动服务的思想,在传统面向服务体系架构(SOA)的基础上,将Agent技术引入到SOA模型中,提出了一种基于主体的语义Web服务模型,采用Agent来封装不同角色模块,使得Web服务的调用和组合过程可看成是代表各自角色的A-gent之间的协商和协作解决问题的过程.     

一种语义Web服务调用代理的模型与实现

Web Service是最新的程序间协作交互技术,当前的Web Service应用开发过程中,程序员需要预先知道某个服务的接口细节,并写入应用程序中,这样的紧耦合降低了不同服务之间的互换性,该文提出了一种使用语义Web和Agent技术在客户端发现和调度Web Service的系统模型,并通过原型系统的演示说明其灵活性。