Semantic Interoperability of C2 Tools and Technologies

The issue of interoperability is a common focus for current and future DoD efforts. Integration and fusion of information resources is a high priority in both military and commercial business organizations. With the explosion of web-based resources, the interoperability of information has become an even greater problem. The essence of this problem is the implicit and frequently inconsistent semantics of the information. Multiple systems may refer to the same object with different terms, or conversely the same term may reference different objects across systems. Merging information sources without understanding the semantics can lead to potential errors and mistakes. C2OSIF provides the semantic integration framework that allows information from disparate sources to be integrated, compared and analyzed irrespective of the structure and fidelity of the information. The underlying semantic structure captures the capabilities and dependencies of each system, allowing information updates from different sources to be analyzed to identify cascading, cumulative direct and indirect consequences of proposed changes. Sharing data and services is the primary focus of the C2OSIF solution which serves as the bridge between the information needs of each community, allowing the completion of C2 tasks more efficiently and effectively, and introducing the means to discover newer, better ways.