Practical Semantics

Large, Distributed & Diverse Data Sets – Earth Observation Application

Easily identifying and accessing the information needed in large, distributed and diverse multimedia data sets is a well known challenge. An example of that, which is discussed in this presentation, is accessing Earth Observation (EO) products (satellite images). Such distributed data sets provide different interfaces, and require the use of complicated terminology to identify the satellite, the sensor, etc. We demonstrate how users can access such data using terms he is familiar with.

Mapping Information Processes at House of Representatives

In 2007, the Norwegian Parliament renewed their portal and used Topic Maps so that users would be able to quickly find publications and information connected to a bill (proposed law). This inspired the Dutch House of Representatives to start a Topic Maps pilot project in 2009 with the same goals. We present the ongoing work: several data sources have been integrated into a single-access application showing the status of a bill, links to relevant documents, and phases in the law making process.

Semantic Repowering the Afghanistan War Diary

The Afghanistan War Diary, over 91,000 reports published by Wikileaks, comprises numerous documents by many individuals. It provides a comprehensive, if unstructured, source of valuable information. However, the sometimes contradictory nature of the text made it difficult to obtain correct answers to complex questions. We present and demonstrate how the ‘semantic repowering’ of the data improves findability, queryability, and enables federation with background knowledge.

Finding a Needle in a Haystack – The Video Surveillance Application

In facilities, such as train stations, airports or large buildings, many security cameras are deployed, all generate vast amounts of video data. Obtaining just those video clips which show a particular event from its start to end can take hours or days of laboriously playing and watching video from each camera. We present and demonstrate how in a direct and natural way one can identify and access just those video clips which document the event that is of interest.

Federation of Police Intelligence Information

TopicView, used by the Dutch police, federates multiple existing data sources in one tool, provides a way to merge systems in a non-intrusive way and at the same time allows building rich information structures. It solves the problem policemen faced of trying to access needed information over distributed data resources. This has made a beneficial shift from an application landscape to an information landscape. We explain in detail the lessons learned in this project and demonstrate its results.

Practical Knowledge Management – Semantic Technology in Action

Organizations which do not know what they know and cannot retain their knowledge over time will become incompetent. Key aspects which enable an organization’s knowledge to be managed are collecting and organizing information, making links between items, accessing information and making timely, cost effective use of the information within the organization. We describe and demonstrate straight forwardly how to organize and access information in a way that satisfies these needs.

Making Sense of Fuzzy Biomedical Knowledge

Millions of scientific publications still bury high-level knowledge essential for the understanding of complex diseases like Diabetes or Alzheimer. Today it is fairly simple to generate, with high-throughput experiments, GB of data per day. But reading 30.000 Alzheimer related publications for the interpretation of the data is impossible for humans. We present scalable technologies capable to interpret fuzzy information (literature) and combine them with structured data in a uniform semantic way.

Federation of Data – Space Payloads Data

Larger organizations often have specialized and voluminous data sets which are under-utilised. Such is the situation with space science experimentation where results from space experiments are rarely re-used, and the potential knowledge obtainable by accessing two or more data sets from different disciplines coherently is not realizable. We present the ULISSE project where results from seven different disciplines were integrated and made understandable and accessible.

Effective After Action Review – Crisis Management & Space Control Centre Applications

After Action Review (AAR) is a learning process in which past events, during training or operations, are examined. Due to the fact that the data of past events is usually stored in various locations, and is provided as raw data and in various formats (video, audio, telemetry, geo-location etc.), such a review is complex to conduct. We present two applications where these challenges are addressed: AAR in Crisis Response training and AAR in Space Control Centre operations.