Geospatial Semantic Web: Is there life after geo:lat and geo:long ? Joshua Lieberman Traverse Technologies & Open Geospatial Consortium European Geoinformatics Workshop, March 2007

Joshua Lieberman - European Geoinformatics Workshop 2007 ©Traverse Technologies. Slide 2 Whats the (Geo) Problem? Special spatial What is geospatial interoperability? semantic Web - microformat tagging and (multiple) identity Semantic Web - (actionable) relationships and triple identity geosemantic - geotagging position Geosemantic - spatial(-temporal) theories, relationships, mediations, transformations Feature (type) and Geometry (representation) Model dependencies –Community of discourse –Scale –Reference frame / coordinate system –Perspective Geospatial plus other (semantic) dimensions

Joshua Lieberman - European Geoinformatics Workshop 2007 ©Traverse Technologies. Slide 3 Background My context - earth / environmental sciences -> data manager -> Web 1.0 victim -> geospatial standards geek What is the geospatial problem, anyway? Is it a geospatial problem? Who needs interoperability? Playing fields and players, an arbitrary list: –Open Geospatial Consortium –Worldwide Web Consortium –SOCoP Standards are great, there are so many to choose from OGC is full of semantics, we just dont let much of it leak out If there is artificial intelligence, does that mean there is also artificial stupidity?

Joshua Lieberman - European Geoinformatics Workshop 2007 ©Traverse Technologies. Slide 4 Geospatial Semantic Web Challenge: Interoperability The Geospatial part –Maps and map visualization –Features and feature geometries –Geographic and other relationships –Coordinate and other reference systems The Web part –Distributed data - own and maintain locally / find and access globally –Shared services, loosely or tightly coupled to geodata –Interoperability between technologies, vendors, architectures The Semantic part –Accessibility of secret knowledge –Interoperability between communities and domains –Softer software –Automated (machine to machine) reasoning and inference The Geosemantic part –Feature discernment –Spatial reasoning –Representational dissonance No particular part –Cognitive dissonance –Context and viewpoint

Joshua Lieberman - European Geoinformatics Workshop 2007 ©Traverse Technologies. Slide 5 What are OGC and OWS ? The Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc. (OGC) is a non-profit, international, voluntary consensus standards organization that is leading the development of standards for geospatial and location based services Opengeospatial Web Services (OWS) - OGC has been developing for some time specifications for a suite of Web services (sensu latu) and associated encodings to expose geospatial content and operations from distributed content repositories to remote clients across diverse platforms: –GML - geographic markup language (an information model and XML schema) for encoding features (geometric representations of geography). –Web Feature Service - service providing access to collections of features –Web Map Service - service providing access to map layers (cartographically rendered features and images) –Catalog Service / Web - service supporting (spatial) discovery of geospatial datasets and services –Several other associated specifications, e.g. coordinate reference system encoding –Many corresponding or related ISO standards, especially 191nn (TC211)

Joshua Lieberman - European Geoinformatics Workshop 2007 ©Traverse Technologies. Slide 6 General Feature Model

Joshua Lieberman - European Geoinformatics Workshop 2007 ©Traverse Technologies. Slide 7 Interoperability Stack Meaning - ? (OWL, RDF, MDL, …) Vocabulary – UML, XML Schema, OWS Encoding - ASCII, UTF-8, XML Control – TCP, HTTP, WAP Signal – Internet Protocol, DNS Transport – Ethernet, WiFi, GPRS Medium – Physical Connection Increasing / higher level interoperability Human-centric Machine-centric

Joshua Lieberman - European Geoinformatics Workshop 2007 ©Traverse Technologies. Slide 8 Geospatial R/Evolution Geospatial Semantic Web: forming and distributing rich geospatial relationships across the Web GeoRSS: adding features to information Google Earth: the terrain as video game GeoWeb: connecting features across the Web GIS: adding information to features Cartography: symbolic representation of the terrain Geography: perception of the terrain

Joshua Lieberman - European Geoinformatics Workshop 2007 ©Traverse Technologies. Slide 9 Which Geospatial Role? Tasks / Processes Information Domains Petro Aero Geo HydroWeatherSolar Collect Model Interpret Visualize Geographic Infromation System Common Geospatial Perspective Upper Ontologies? Base Ontologies?

Joshua Lieberman - European Geoinformatics Workshop 2007 ©Traverse Technologies. Slide 10 Use cases and roles for semantic Web processing Cross-domain resource discovery Heterogeneous resource query Resource translation Find Provision Publish Order Bind ClientServer(s)Trader Broker

Joshua Lieberman - European Geoinformatics Workshop 2007 ©Traverse Technologies. Slide 11 Typical Geospatial Query (Intelligence / Logistics Domain) Which airfields within 500 miles of Kandahar support C5A aircraft? Aero Feature or Geo Feature? Buffer or proximity? Statutory or Nautical? Straight-line or driving? Coordinate system? Afghanistan? Centroid or outline? What does this mean to a GIS ? Feature property or non-spatial information?

Joshua Lieberman - European Geoinformatics Workshop 2007 ©Traverse Technologies. Slide 12 Multiple GSW Ontology Components GeoIntel Problem Domain Ontology Base Geospatial Ontology (e.g. filter encoding) Aero Feature Ontologies (AIXM, DAFIF) OGC Upper Ontology (e.g. Feature) Other Base Ontologies (e.g. measurements) Other Upper Ontologies

Joshua Lieberman - European Geoinformatics Workshop 2007 ©Traverse Technologies. Slide 13 Which airfields within 80 miles of Banda Aceh support C5A aircraft, i.e. have a runway length >= ft? equivalence or subsumption based on Domain Ontology Ontological (DL) description of the query concept Query concept Ontological (DL) description of the application concept Dafif_Airport Application Ontology Concept Hybrid Ontology Approach Logical Reasoning Ontologies for Enhanced GI Discovery

Joshua Lieberman - European Geoinformatics Workshop 2007 ©Traverse Technologies. Slide 14 OWL-S Service Description Components and Questions Type of Service Themes of Content Provider / business terms Content Description Service Bindings / Messages Bound Parameters Process and Behavior Smart Service Consumption Service Composition Service Profile Service Grounding Service Model Feature Schema Content Domain Feature Individuals ?

Joshua Lieberman - European Geoinformatics Workshop 2007 ©Traverse Technologies. Slide 15 GeoRSS geospatially enabled resource references Geospatial Ontologies workshops (resource, process, service) W3C Geospatial Semantic Activities GSW IE and Beyond The OGC geospatial semantic web interoperability experiment tested initial architectures and technologies for cross-domain, distributed geospatial knowledge query, leading to multiple follow-on activities. Aero Data (DAFIF) WFS Aero Data (AIXM) WFS Geonames Data Gazetteer Service DAFIF Ontology AIXM Ontology Gazetteer Ontology Query Domain Ontology OWL-S Description OWL-S Description OWL-S Description Geospatial Intelligence Query: Which airfields within 500 miles of Kandahar support C5A aircraft

Joshua Lieberman - European Geoinformatics Workshop 2007 ©Traverse Technologies. Slide 16 A Theory of Ones Own Classical Scientific Method: –Observation -> Hypothesis -> Test SWE: –Procedure -> Sensor -> Measurement -> Observation -> Hypothesis John Wesley Powell: –Multiple Hypothesis -> Observation -> Selection Practical / Tenure track –Theory -> Procedure -> Measurement -> Observation -> Publication In reality observations are always predicated upon a theory, although they may subsequently induce theory revision.

Joshua Lieberman - European Geoinformatics Workshop 2007 ©Traverse Technologies. Slide 17 Problems of heterogeneity Semantics: two names for the same thing Semiotics: one name for two different things Schizophrenia (cognitive dissonance): two names for two different things LighthouseVertical Obstruction

Joshua Lieberman - European Geoinformatics Workshop 2007 ©Traverse Technologies. Slide 18 Semantic quandaries Two co-located shapes -> semantic heterogeneity Agree obstruction equals lighthouse -> boat crashes into a water tower Agree lighthouse is a vertical obstruction -> ship ignores light buoy, hits shoal Agree vertical obstruction is a lighthouse -> plane hits watertower We have cognitive heterogeneity -> two theories for the same reality

Joshua Lieberman - European Geoinformatics Workshop 2007 ©Traverse Technologies. Slide 19 Unsettling Solutions Possible solution: intersect theories -> lighthouse and vertical obstruction are both elevations, but little may be agreed on the role or behavior of that shared reality. Semantic technology provides few tools to distinguish the theories of the subclasses. Vertical Obstruction Elevation Lighthouse Marine Navigation Aid Aero Hazard

Joshua Lieberman - European Geoinformatics Workshop 2007 ©Traverse Technologies. Slide 20 Top of the Interoperability Stack Purpose – Enlightenment, tenure Perception – Visual - aural - tactile Theory - persistence, consequence Discernment – Feature, context Application – Discovery, analysis, profit Representation– geometry, equation Ontology – domain, upper, lower Increasing / higher level interoperability Human-centric Machine-centric

Joshua Lieberman - European Geoinformatics Workshop 2007 ©Traverse Technologies. Slide 21 W3C Geo XG W3C Geospatial Incubator is a new type of activity for short-term and/or startup goalsIncubator The (proposed) Geo XG has three objectives which address needs of the Local Web: –Immediate: update and harmonization with GeoRSS of the W3C Basic Geo vocabulary, aka simpler than possible geospatial ontology. –Short Term: draft recommendations for a geospatial ontology focused on Web resources and tasks. – Longer Term: draft a charter for a proposed W3C Local Web WG and/or IG to address issues beginning with geotags and continuing towards geospatial enablement of the Semantic Web. Largely open to public participation Chartered until June

Joshua Lieberman - European Geoinformatics Workshop 2007 ©Traverse Technologies. Slide 22 W3C 2003 Geo Vocabulary Devised and posted by Dan Brickley (danbri) Not a Note or Recommendation Separate latitude & longitude properties, presumes WGS 84 Implies a point feature and single position. Makes no other assertion as to the meaning of the coordinates or their relationship to the item or resource they characterize. Geo:lat and geo:long are also used for geotagging other content (e.g. XHTML microformats). The vocabulary defines a class 'Point', whose members are points. Points can be described using the 'lat' and 'long' properties In common usage, the containing Point is dropped, for brevity.... An example annotation Just an example

Joshua Lieberman - European Geoinformatics Workshop 2007 ©Traverse Technologies. Slide 23 GeoRSS 1.0 Content Featurizing Model

Joshua Lieberman - European Geoinformatics Workshop 2007 ©Traverse Technologies. Slide 24 GeoRSS Examples Simple city is-contained- within GML GeoRSS Simple maps directly onto GeoRSS GML !

Joshua Lieberman - European Geoinformatics Workshop 2007 ©Traverse Technologies. Slide 25 SOCoP: Spatial Ontology Community of Practice SOCoP is chartered as a Community of Practice under the Best Practices Committee of the Federal CIO Council. Charter: The strict purpose and focus of the Spatial Ontology Community of Practice (SOCoP) is to foster collaboration among researchers, technologists & users of spatial knowledge representations and reasoning towards the development of a set of core, common spatial ontologies for use by all in the Semantic Web. As a Community of Practice SOCoP using open collaboration and open standards, SOCoP developed ontologies will offer increased interoperability of spatial data across government (via synchronization with Geospatial Profile of FEA & GeoLOB) as well as across the entire spectrum of the World Wide Web (via W3C, ISO, OGC, etc.). SOCoP represents a strategic investment for ontology development, building on core ontological competencies, documenting best practices, and creating opportunities to partner with other cross domain and ontology COP groups. Among other things SOCoP can help inventory geospatial ontologies, develop an approach to institutionalizing and streamline the effort to support the development and management of ontologies across the GeoLOB.

Joshua Lieberman - European Geoinformatics Workshop 2007 ©Traverse Technologies. Slide 26 Geospatial Semantic Web Standards (?) Geospatial Ontologies –Neogeo / GeoRSS –Feature metamodel –Feature types –Geonames / toponymology –Spatial relationships –Coordinate reference systems Geospatial Semantic Web Services –(Does) content matter? –Transformation services –Mediation (semiotic, semantic, cognitive) and client perspective Geosemantic Reasoning –Geospatial subsumption –Processing spatial relationships –Geospatial rules –(Geo) SPARQL ? –Visual reasoning - map and reality Geospatial Discovery –Indexing vs modeling –GeoRSS: geographic assertions over resources –GRL: Geo resource locator –GREF: Geo reference –GNS: Geo Name Server

Joshua Lieberman - European Geoinformatics Workshop 2007 ©Traverse Technologies. Slide 27 Geospatial Semantic Convergence When geography-on-demand joins knowledge-with-location, the result will be a richer and more capable Web of physical resources, a Geospatial Semantic Web or Local Web having identity, connection, and locality Local Web Geographic representation standards Geospatial Web services architecture standards Geospatial enablement of enterprise information Resource identifier and transport standards Resource relationship standards Semantic enablement of the World Wide Web Semantic Web Web of Knowledge Information Silos GIS Guilds Geospatial Web Geospatial Enablement

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