The Need for Taxonomies in the Ontological Approach for Interoperability of Heterogeneous Information Models
Aaron M. Costin, Charles M. Eastman, Raja R. A. Issa · 2017
With the future becoming more technologically advanced with the modeling of all types of information across varying domains, it is imperative that the information contained in the models can be shared and exchanged seamlessly and effortlessly by the end user. The purpose of this research is to develop a methodology that would enable the interoperability of multi-disciplinary information models. Current methods of producing information models have been mostly dependent on proprietary software programs, non-compatible program languages, or standards specific to only a single domain. Therefore, the objective is to have a methodology that applies across the heterogeneous landscape of information modeling. Although the approach is extendable to other domains, the scope for this paper is for bridge information modeling (BrIM) and the architecture, engineering, construction, and operations (AECO) industry. This research is motivated by the fundamental issues of interoperability, such as semantics, logic, and software issues. The use of an ontology, the formal naming and definition of the types, properties, and interrelationships of the entities in a domain, has been shown to facilitate the sharing of knowledge. This paper builds on the assertion that a well-established taxonomy, a formal hierarchical classification of terms, is the imperative first step in defining an ontology. Therefore, the focuses of this paper is a discussion of defining and organizing a taxonomy. An ongoing case study with a joint industry subcommittee of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the National Steel Bridge Alliance (NSBA) is used to evaluate and validate the methodology. Preliminary results of taxonomy being developed by the case study is presented to show the importance of defining the semantic and syntactic information in a natural language to promote interoperability. By reducing semantic issues and maintaining consistency of terminology at the software level, reliable, automatic, and standardized electronic exchange of data can be ultimately achieved.