Towards a Higher Level of Interoperability: Ontology Components for Command and Control Systems

The paper at hand argues that ontological components should be incorporated into command and control systems in order to increase their level of interoperability. The term “ontology” is explained, and capabilities of ontological components are illustrated by example. The example’s lessons are generalized and exploited for an advanced approach. 1.0 INTRODUCTION Ongoing and future operations are and will be joint as well as multinational coalition operations. This demands command and control systems which are able to exchange information on a high level of interoperability, a level that “requires that entities be interoperable not only in the information domain, but also in the cognitive domain, so that shared awareness can be achieved” [1: p. 110]. In order to achieve such a level of interoperability, not only information has to be exchanged, but also the meaning behind it, its semantics. As an ontology provides explications of meaning, it is manifest that ontological components might enable command and control systems to achieve the desired level of interoperability. The paper is structured as follows: Section 2 provides a definition for ontology. It also compares it with relating terms like taxonomy, data base, data model, and knowledge base. Then, in section 3, the capabilities of ontological components are illustrated by an example. A system is presented which analyzes military reports given in natural language by means of ontological processes. The analytical results are sufficient for the actualization of the underlying data base as well as for displaying the report’s content on the map. Thereafter, section 4 generalizes the insights from section 3 about the functioning and the capabilities of ontological components. These components improve information exchange among ITsystems such that interoperability is achieved even with respect to the cognitive domain. Finally, section 5 provides an outlook on a project in progress which will demonstrate the capabilities of ontological components beyond the points made. 2.0 ONTOLOGY According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, “ontology” is “the theory or study of being as such; i.e., of the basic characteristics of all reality.” However, this had been a term of philosophy, coined in the 17 century in order to denotate what had originally been “metaphysics” in the ancient times. Recently, “ontology” entered the terminology of computer science. Its use now “has a different slant from the previous philosophical notions” [2: p. 174]. Ontology is defined as an explicit specification of a shared Paper presented at the RTO IST Symposium on “Coalition C4ISR Architectures and Information Exchange Capabilities”, held in The Hague, The Netherlands, 27-28 September 2004, and published in RTO-MP-IST-042. Report Documentation Page Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington VA 22202-4302. Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be subject to a penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control number. 1. REPORT DATE 01 DEC 2005 2. REPORT TYPE N/A 3. DATES COVERED 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Towards a Higher Level of Interoperability: Ontology Components for Command and Control Systems 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER