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Re: [ontolog-forum] International Alliance for Interoperability

To: "'[ontolog-forum] '" <ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
From: Matthew West <dr.matthew.west@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:45:32 -0000
Message-id: <49b93c3f.48c3f10a.3bcc.ffffb8bf@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Dear Deborah,    (01)

Just to tie this up for people not in the know...    (02)

> The International Alliance for Interoperability has changed its name to
> building SMART international http://www.buildingsmart.com/. Another
> relevant ISO standard to add to your list is 16739 Industry Foundation
> Classes (IFC). Here is part of a diagram for referencing classes in IFC
> http://ontolog.cim3.net/file/work/BSP/FPML/IFC2xObjectDiagram%23141B04B
> .jpg. Please also see the Model View Definitions at http://www.blis-
> project.org/IAI-MVD/ for IFC data exchange, ideally supported by the
> IFD.
> 
> There are a number of chasms and gaps in the connections from the IFCs,
> to the IFD, to EPISTLE and related standards.      (03)

[MW]  The EPISTLE work is standardised as ISO 15926 of course.    (04)

Regards    (05)

Matthew West                            
Information  Junction
Tel: +44 560 302 3685
Mobile: +44 750 3385279
matthew.west@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.matthew-west.org.uk/    (06)

This email originates from Information Junction Ltd. Registered in England
and Wales No. 6632177.
Registered office: 2 Brookside, Meadow Way, Letchworth Garden City,
Hertfordshire, SG6 3JE.    (07)



> Today, even though the
> files are huge and hard to push around or share real time, most
> building models are "at the gross level, there is very little
> difference between an ontology and a terminology". Nevertheless,
> accurate models at this level can be useful to public services such as
> fire departments to exchange basic information about building
> configurations and types because simple accuracy is all that is needed.
> There is still much work to do on consistency and flexible terminology
> for the simple level to work. As more data can be reported out from
> buildings to monitor performance such as energy efficiency on regional
> levels, it will be more and more important to reach consensus on a
> solid working ontology for the "detailed levels where all the complex
> reasoning and computations are carried out." Right now there is not one
> continuous chain of communication
>   to do this.
> 
> Building Information Models (BIM) and Geographic Information Systems
> (GIS) are converging at a rapid pace, the need for simple exchanges can
> get lost in the quest for the complex levels to work together. What I
> have been wishing for is someone really good in complex reasoning
> standards to take this 50,000 foot up hierarchy developed by the Open
> Geospatial Consortium and National Building Information Modeling
> Standard http://ontolog.cim3.net/file/work/BSP/ConferenceCall_2008-11-
> 28/NBIMHierarchicalRelationship.jpg and write it out in OWL or other
> preferred ontology language. I would like to develop a few scenarios
> and try working with this all the way through from top to bottom, from
> a component, node or room to the place of this thing in the whole
> world.
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> Deborah MacPherson
> Specifications and Research, Cannon Design
> Projects Director, Accuracy&Aesthetics
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ontolog-forum-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ontolog-forum-
> bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of John F. Sowa
> Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2009 10:46 AM
> To: [ontolog-forum]
> Subject: [ontolog-forum] International Alliance for Interoperability
> 
> The subject line above states the name of an organization that is
> devoted to interoperability.  That particular organization has its
> roots in the building industry, but every branch of science,
> engineering, and business has similar organizations.
> 
> As an example of what they do, see their description of IFD:
> 
>     International Framework for Dictionaries (ISO 12006-3) is a
>     library with terminology and ontologies assisting in identifying
>     the type of information being exchanged. It is developed with
>     the purpose of adding value to the IFCs and is language and
>     culture independent.
> 
>     The International Framework for Dictionaries (IFD) (ISO 12006-3)
>     standard is developed by ISO TC 59/SC 13/WG 6. Many of the members
>     of the work group are also members of International Construction
>     Information Society (ICIS ). The IFD standard has many similarities
>     with the EPISTLE standard for the Oil and Gas industry.
> 
>     While the IFC standard describes objects, how they are connected,
>     and how the information should be exanged and stored, the IFD
>     standard uniquely describe what the objects are, and what
>     properties, units and values they can have. IFD provides the
>     dictionary, the definitions of concepts, the relationships between
>     them and the common understanding necessary for the communication
>     to flow smoothly.
> 
> Source:
> 
> http://www.iai-tech.org/products/related-
> specifications/ifd_specification
> 
> That web page has a link to "IFD in a Nutshell", which gives examples:
> 
>     http://dev.ifd-library.org/index.php/Ifd:IFD_in_a_Nutshell
> 
> The following diagram describes 'door':
> 
> http://dev.ifd-library.org/images/thumb/8/8d/Ontology.png/450px-
> Ontology.png
> 
> That diagram uses relations with the following names:  'is a type of',
> 'is a part of', 'consists of', 'can be', and 'relates to'.
> 
> Those five relations by themselves (including the catchall 'relates
> to') provide a gross level classification, but they aren't sufficient
> for detailed reasoning.  However, they are very important for
> searching, classifying, and natural language analysis and
> disambiguation.
> 
> That level of detail is certainly insufficient for designing doors that
> can be interchanged among different buildings.  Those details, however,
> have always been stated in very low-level specifications, such as
> traditional blueprints or CAD/CAM programs.
> 
> Those two levels of specification are typical of every field:
> 
>   1. A gross-level classification with very few relation types and
>      few if any axioms.
> 
>   2. A precise, extremely detailed specification that can support
>      extended reasoning, computation, construction, and assembly.
> 
> At the gross level, there is very little difference between an ontology
> and a terminology.  The detailed levels are where all the complex
> reasoning and computations are carried out.
> 
> If our ontology proposals are to be useful in practice, it is essential
> for us to recognize those two levels and incorporate them in any
> proposed standards or guidelines.
> 
> John Sowa
> 
> 
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