JBI Ontology Services (JBI-OS)

We will create a JBI ontology and ontology management, authoring, translation anddistribution system that will serve both to make DoD software components morerobust and to make integration possible at the semantic level. We will deliver:(1) A large, standards-based, open-source, upper ontology from the IEEE StandardUpper Ontology effort (2) A collaborative ontology authoring system from the DARPARKF program (3) Knowledge compilation technology from the Army ICCES, CIA ATT, andDARPA EndState jumpstart efforts (4) Inference technology from a CIA ATT program(5) Search technology from the DARPA DAML program (6) Ontology browsing, editingand translation to XML from the DARPA IA&S program.Research and applications in computer science are creating the need for precisedefinitions of the concepts that make up our world. Web searching is handicappedby the limitations of specifying search criteria in terms of keywords rather thanconcepts. Automated natural language understanding, both oral and written, isseverely limited by the ambiguity of language. Software engineering is limited bythe need for engineers to define concepts to model the world. Integrating themeaning (or semantics) of databases and programs is crucial for creating softwarethat is reliable and scalable. The use of ontologies to specify semantics isemerging as a promising technique for software integration. We propose an approachin which we define all the concepts formally in first order logic. In this way,we ensure that there is a truly shared definition. We also will build on a largecommon sense ontology that already has a huge number of fundamental distinctions.This helps guard against the need to reorganize the representation when assumptionschange. Our commercialization strategy is founded on an open-source approach for basetechnology development and dissemination and development of commercial applicationson top of the open-source base. The impact of our technology transitionopportunities will be significant. In particular, Teknowledge has two majore-commerce business areas that these tools will support which include ourTekPortal(tm) financial information portal and our retail SalesAssociate(tm)product.