Object Ontologies

1
CS 785, Fall 2001
Object Ontologies
Gheorghe Tecuci tecuci_at_cs.gmu.eduhttp//lalab.gm
u.edu/
Learning Agents LaboratoryDepartment of
Computer Science George Mason University
2
Overview
General organization of the knowledge base
1
Representation of the object ontology
2
Reasoning with the object ontology
3
An example the COA object ontology
4
More exercises
5
Required reading
6
3
1. General organization of the knowledge base
The structure of the knowledge base
The generality of the ontology
The generality of the rules
4
The structure of the knowledge base
Knowledge Base Object ontology Task reduction
rules
The object ontology is a hierarchical description
of the objects from the domain, specifying their
properties and relationships. It includes both
descriptions of types of objects (called
concepts) and descriptions of specific objects
(called instances).
The task reduction rules specify generic problem
solving steps of reducing complex problem solving
tasks to simpler tasks. They are described using
the objects from the ontology.
5
The structure of the knowledge base (cont.)
Knowledge Base Object ontology Task reduction
rules
A task reduction rule is an IF-THEN structure
that expresses the condition C under which a task
T1 can be reduced to the simpler tasks T1a, or to
a set of simpler tasks T11, , T1n.
T1
T1
C1
C2
T1a
T11 T12 T1n
6
The generality of the ontology
An object ontology is characteristic to an entire
application domain, such as military or medicine.
In the military domain the object ontology will
include descriptions of military units and of
military equipment. These descriptions are most
likely needed in almost any specific military
application. Because building the object
ontology is a very complex task, it makes sense
to reuse these descriptions when developing a
knowledge base for another military application,
rather than starting from scratch.
7
The generality of the rules
The rules from the knowledge base are specific to
a particular application and even to a particular
SME. Consider, for instance, the agents
discussed before, the agent that critiques
courses of action with respect to the principles
of war, and the agent that plans the repair of
damaged bridges or roads. While both agents need
to reason with military units and military
equipment, their reasoning rules are very
different, being specific not only to their
particular application (critiquing vs planning),
but also to the SMEs whose expertise they encode.
8
2. Representation of the object ontology
Sample application COA critiquing
Semantic network representation of the ontology
Instances, concepts and generalization
Object features
Definition of instances and concepts
9
Sample application COA critiquing
Identifies strengths and weaknesses in a military
course of action based on the principles of war
and tenets of army operations.
10
COA411 the sketch
Graphical depiction of a preliminary plan. It
includes enough of the high level structure and
maneuver aspects of the plan to show how the
actions of each unit fit together to accomplish
the overall purpose.
11
COA411 the statement
Explains what the units will do to accomplish the
assigned mission.
12
COA411 the statement (cont.)
13
Object ontology as a Semantic network
The underlying idea of the semantic network
representation is to represent the object
ontology in the form of a graph in which the
nodes represent objects and the arcs represent
the relations between them.
14
Characterization of instances and concepts
A concept is a representation of a set of
instances.
Represents the set of all armored units (which
includes BLUE-ARMORE-BRIGADE2 and
BLUE-TASK-FORCE1)
ARMORED-UNIT--MILITARY-SPECIALTY
INSTANCE-OF
INSTANCE-OF
Represents the entity calledBLUE-TASK-FORCE1
BLUE-TASK-FORCE1
BLUE-ARMOR-BRIGADE2
An instance is a representation of a particular
entity in the application domain.
15
Intuitive definition of generalization
Generalization is a fundamental relation between
concepts. Intuitively, a concept P is said to be
more general than (or a generalization of)
another concept Q if and only if the set of
instances represented by P includes the set of
instances represented by Q.
MODERN-MILITARY-UNIT--DEPLOYABLE
MANEUVER-UNIT-MILITARY-SPECIALTY
AVIATION-UNIT- -MILITARY-SPECIALTY
INFANTRY-UNIT--MILITARY-SPECIALTY
ARMORED-UNIT--MILITARY-SPECIALTY
16
A generalization latice/hierarchy
ORGANIZATION
SUBCLASS-OF
MODERN-MILITARY-ORGANIZATION
SUBCLASS-OF
MODERN-MILITARY-UNIT--DEPLOYABLE
SUBCLASS-OF
SUBCLASS-OF
MANEUVER-UNIT-MILITARY-SPECIALTY
AVIATION-UNIT--MILITARY-SPECIALTY
SUBCLASS-OF
SUBCLASS-OF
ARMORED-UNIT--MILITARY-SPECIALTY
INFANTRY-UNIT--MILITARY-SPECIALTY
INSTANCE-OF
SUBCLASS-OF
BLUE-ARMOR-BRIGADE2
MECHANIZED-INFANTRY-UNIT--MILITARY-SPECIALTY
INSTANCE-OF
BLUE-TASK-FORCE1
INSTANCE-OF
INSTANCE-OF
BLUE-MECH-BRIGADE1
BLUE-TASK-FORCE2
INSTANCE-OF
BLUE-TASK-FORCE3
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Object features
The objects in the application domain may be
described in terms of their properties and their
relationships with each other.
OBJECT-ACTED-ON
RED-MECH-COMPANY4
PENETRATE1
FORCE-RATIO
10.6
PENETRATE1 acts on RED-MECH-COMPANY4 with a force
ratio of 10.6.
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Feature definition
An object feature is itself characterized by
several features which include documentation,
domain and range. The domain is the concept that
represents the set of objects that could have
that feature. The range is the set of possible
values of the feature.
ASSIGNMENT
BLUE-TASK-FORCE2
SUPPORTING-EFFORT1
ltOBJECT-FEATUREgt
DOCUMENTATION
SUBCLASS-OF
"Indicates the assignment of a unit"
DOMAIN
ASSIGNMENT
MODERN-MILITARY-UNIT--DEPLOYABLE
RANGE
COA-ASSIGNMENT
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Feature definition example
IS-OFFENSIVE-ACTION-FOR
PENETRATE--MILITARY-TASK
"military offensive operation"
ltOBJECT-FEATUREgt
DOMAIN
ACTION
SUBCLASS-OF
IS-OFFENSIVE-ACTION-FOR
RANGE
"military offensive operation, "military
offensive operation
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Partially learned feature
IS-OFFENSIVE-ACTION-FOR
PENETRATE--MILITARY-TASK
"military offensive operation"
DOCUMENTATION
"Indicates the context in which the action is
considered as having an offensive nature
ACTION
PLAUSIBLE UPPER BOUND
DOMAIN
IS
-
OFFENSIVE
-
ACTION
-
FOR
PLAUSIBLE LOWER BOUND
PENETRATE-MILITARY-TASK
PLAUSIBLE UPPER BOUND
"military offensive operation, "military
defensive operation
RANGE
PLAUSIBLE LOWER BOUND
"military offensive operation
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Feature hierarchy
ltOBJECT
-
FEATUREgt
DOCUMENTATION
"Indicates the assignment of a unit"
MODERN
-
MILITARY
-
UNIT
--
DEPLOYABLE
UPPER BOUND
DOMAIN
MANEUVER
-
UNIT
-
MILITARY
-
SPECIALTY
LOWER BOUND
ASSIGNMENT
COA
-
ASSIGNMENT
UPPER BOUND
RANGE
MAIN
-
EFFORT
LOWER BOUND
DOMAIN
ACTION
IS
-
ACTION
-
TYPE
-
FOR
RANGE
"military offensive operation, "military
defensive operation
IS
-
SURPRISE
-
ACTION
-
FOR
IS
-
SECURITY
-
ACTION
-
FOR
"Indicates the context in which the action is
considered as having an offensive nature
DOCUMENTATION
ACTION
UPPER BOUND
DOMAIN
IS
-
OFFENSIVE
-
ACTION
-
FOR
PENETRATE
-
MILITARY
-
TASK
LOWER BOUND
UPPER BOUND
"military offensive operation,"military
defensive operation
RANGE
"military offensive operation
LOWER BOUND
22
Definition of instances and concepts
When designing a knowledge base, one has to first
specify some basic concepts, as well as the
features that may characterize instances and
concepts. Once basic concepts and features are
specified, one can define new concepts and
instances as logical expressions of the known
concepts.
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Basic representation unit
conceptk ISA concepti FEATURE1 value1 . .
. FEATUREn valuen
This is a necessary definition of conceptk.
It defines conceptk as being a subconcept of
concepti and having additional features. This
means that if concepti represents the set Ci of
instances, then conceptk represents a subset Ck
of Ci. The elements of Ck have the features
FEATURE1,..., FEATUREn with the values
value1,..., valuen, respectively.
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Example Concepts definition
We can define a concept as being a sub-concept of
known concepts and having additional features, as
in the following example
MILITARY-MANEUVER
MILITARY-ATTACK
COMPLEX-MILITARY-TASK
INDICATES-MISSION-TYPE
"military offensive operation"
SUBCLASS-OF
IS-OFFENSIVE-ACTION-FOR
"military offensive operation"
PENETRATE--MILITARY-TASK
RECOMMENDED-FORCE-RATIO
3
HAS-SURPRISE-FORCE-RATIO
6
PENETRATE--MILITARY-TASK is a complex military
task, a military maneuver, and a military attack.
It indicates that a COA that has a penetration
mission is an offensive COA. In the context of an
offensive operation, a penetration should be
considered an offensive action. The doctrinal
recommended force ratio for a penetration is 3.0.
A force ratio of 6.0 should be considered a
surprisingly high force ratio.
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Example Instance definition
ARMORED-UNIT--MILITARY-SPECIALTY
MECHANIZED-INFANTRY-UNIT--MILITARY-SPECIALTY
INSTANCE-OF
INSTANCE-OF
ECHELON-OF-UNIT
BATTALION--UNIT-DESIGNATION
SOVEREIGN-ALLEGIANCE-OF-ORG
BLUE--SIDE
ASSIGNMENT
MAIN-EFFORT1
BLUE-TASK-FORCE1 is a blue armored and
mechanized infantry battalion assigned to be
main effort1. It performs two tasks, penetrate1
and clear1. It has a regular strength and has the
following units under its operational control
BLUE-MECH-COMPANY1,
TASK
PENETRATE1
TASK
BLUE-TASK-FORCE1
CLEAR1
TROOP-STRENGTH-OF-UNIT
REGULAR-STATUS
OPERATIONAL-CONTROL-MILITARY-ORG
BLUE-MECH-COMPANY1
OPERATIONAL-CONTROL-MILITARY-ORG
BLUE-MECH-COMPANY2
OPERATIONAL-CONTROL-MILITARY-ORG
BLUE-ARMOR-COMPANY1
OPERATIONAL-CONTROL-MILITARY-ORG
BLUE-ARMOR-COMPANY2
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3. Reasoning with the object ontology
Transitivity of INSTANCE_OF and SUBCLASS_OF
Inheritance
Object expressions
Generalization and specialization rules
Types of generalizations and specializations
Ontology matching
Ontology maintenance
Steps in ontology development
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Transitivity of INSTANCE_OF and SUBCLASS_OF
ORGANIZATION
ORGANIZATION
ORGANIZATION
SUBCLASS-OF
MODERN-MILITARY-ORGANIZATION
SUBCLASS-OF
MODERN-MILITARY-UNIT--DEPLOYABLE
SUBCLASS-OF
MANEUVER-UNIT--MILITARY-SPECIALTY
SUBCLASS-OF
SUBCLASS-OF
INFANTRY-UNIT--MILITARY-SPECIALTY
INFANTRY-UNIT--MILITARY-SPECIALTY
SUBCLASS-OF
MECHANIZED-INFANTRY-UNIT--MILITARY-SPECIALTY
INSTANCE-OF
INSTANCE-OF
BLUE-MECH-BRIGADE1
BLUE-MECH-BRIGADE1
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Inheritance
MILITARY-TASK
MILITARY-MANEUVER
SUBCLASS-OF
MILITARY-ATTACK
COMPLEX-MILITARY-TASK
INDICATES-MISSION-TYPE
"military offensive operation"
SUBCLASS-OF
IS-OFFENSIVE-ACTION-FOR
"military offensive operation"
PENETRATE--MILITARY-TASK
RECOMMENDED-FORCE-RATIO
3
HAS-SURPRISE-FORCE-RATIO
6
INSTANCE-OF
OBJECT-ACTED-ON
RED-MECH-COMPANY4
FORCE-RATIO
PENETRATE1
10.6
IS-TASK-OF-OPERATION
ATTACK2
TASK-HAS-PURPOSE
TASK
(missing element)
UNIT-ASSIGNED-TO-TASK
ASSIGNMENT
BLUE-TASK-FORCE1
MAIN-EFFORT1
SOVEREIGN-ALLEGIANCE-OF-ORG
BLUE--SIDE
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Object concept representation
One can define more complex concepts as logical
expressions involving the basic concepts from the
object ontology.
The following concept represents the set of all
COA specifications that contain between 1 and 25
offensive actions
?O1 IS COA-SPECIFICATION-MICROTHEORY
TOTAL-NBR-OFFENSIVE-ACTIONS-FOR-MISSION
?N1 ?N1 IS-IN 1 .. 25
?O1 is a generic instance of this concept. It is
a COA specification that has ?N1 offensive
actions, where ?N1 is between 1 and 25.
30
Object expressions
The following, for instance, represents the set
of deployable military units ?O2 of the red side
that perform some intelligence collection
military task
?O2 IS MODERN-MILITARY-UNIT--DEPLOYABLE
SOVEREIGN-ALLEGIANCE-OF-ORG ?O4
TASK ?O3 ?O3 IS
INTELLIGENCE-COLLECTION--MILITARY-TASK ?O4 IS
RED--SIDE
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Generalization (and specialization) rules
Turning constants into variables
Climbing the generalization hierarchy
Dropping condition
Generalizing numbers
Adding alternatives
32
Generalization and specialization rules
A generalization rule is a rule that transforms
an expression/concept into a more general one.
A specialization rule is a rule that transforms
an expression/concept into a less general one.
The reverse of any generalization rule is a
specialization rule.
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Turning constants into variables
Generalizes an expression by replacing a constant
with a variable.
The set of COAs with 5 offensive actions.
?O1 IS COA-SPECIFICATION-MICROTHEORY
TOTAL-NBR-OFFENSIVE-ACTIONS-FOR-MISSION 5
generalization
specialization
5 ? ?N1
?N1? 5
?O1 IS COA-SPECIFICATION-MICROTHEORY
TOTAL-NBR-OFFENSIVE-ACTIONS-FOR-MISSION ?N1
The set of COAs with any number of offensive
actions.
34
Climbing the generalization hierarchy
Generalizes an expression by replacing a concept
with a more general one.
MODERN
-
MILITARY
-
UNIT
--
DEPLOYABLE
MODERN
-
MILITARY
-
UNIT
--
DEPLOYABLE
SUBCLASS
-
OF
SUBCLASS
-
OF
SUBCLASS
-
OF
SUBCLASS
-
OF
MANEUVER
-
UNIT
-
MILITARY
-
SPECIALTY
AVIATION
-
UNIT
--
MILITARY
-
SPECIALTY
MANEUVER
-
UNIT
-
MILITARY
-
SPECIALTY
AVIATION
-
UNIT
--
MILITARY
-
SPECIALTY
SUBCLASS
-
OF
SUBCLASS
-
OF
SUBCLASS
-
OF
SUBCLASS
-
OF
ARMORED
-
UNIT
--
MILITARY
-
SPECIALTY
INFANTRY
-
UNIT
--
MILITARY
-
SPECIALTY
ARMORED
-
UNIT
--
MILITARY
-
SPECIALTY
INFANTRY
-
UNIT
--
MILITARY
-
SPECIALTY
The set of armored units at the battalion level.
?O1 IS ARMORED-UNIT--MILITARY-SPECIALTY
ECHELON-OF-UNIT BATTALION--UNIT-DESIGNATION
generalization
specialization
ARMORED-UNIT--MILITARY-SPECIALTY ?
MANEUVER-UNIT--MILITARY-SPECIALTY
MANEUVER-UNIT --MILITARY-SPECIALTY ? ARMORED-UNIT
--MILITARY-SPECIALTY
?O1 IS MANEUVER-UNIT--MILITARY-SPECIALTY
ECHELON-OF-UNIT BATTALION--UNIT-DESIGNATION
The set of maneuver units at the battalion level.
35
Dropping condition
Generalizes an expression by removing a
constraint from its description.
The set of armored units at the battalion level.
?O1 IS ARMORED-UNIT-MILITARY-SPECIALTY
ECHELON-OF-UNIT BATTALION-UNIT-DESIGNATION
generalization
specialization
?O1 IS ARMORED-UNIT-MILITARY-SPECIALTY
The set of armored units (at any level).
Conversely, one can specialize an expression by
adding a constraint.
36
Generalizing numbers
Generalizes an expression by replacing a number
with an interval, or by replacing an interval
with a larger interval.
The set of COAs with 5 offensive actions.
?O1 IS COA-SPECIFICATION-MICROTHEORY
TOTAL-NBR-OFFENSIVE-ACTIONS-FOR-MISSION 5
generalization
specialization
5 ? 1 .. 25
1 .. 25 ? 5
?O1 IS COA-SPECIFICATION-MICROTHEORY
TOTAL-NBR-OFFENSIVE-ACTIONS-FOR-MISSION
?N1 ?N1 IS-IN 1 .. 25
generalization
specialization
1 .. 25 ? 1 .. 30
1 .. 30 ? 1 .. 25
?O1 IS COA-SPECIFICATION-MICROTHEORY
TOTAL-NBR-OFFENSIVE-ACTIONS-FOR-MISSION
?N1 ?N1 IS-IN 1 .. 30
The set of COAs with at least one and at most 30
of offensive actions.
37
Adding alternatives
Generalizes an expression by replacing a concept
C1 with the union (C1 U C2), which is a more
general concept.
The set of armored units at the battalion level.
?O1 IS ARMORED-UNIT-MILITARY-SPECIALTY
ECHELON-OF-UNIT BATTALION-UNIT-DESIGNATION
Removing alternatives specializes an expression.
generalization
specialization
?O1 IS (ARMORED-UNIT-MILITARY-SPECIALTY
or INFANTRY-UNIT-MILITARY-SPECIALTY)
ECHELON-OF-UNIT BATTALION-UNIT-DESIGNATION
The set including both armored units and infantry
units at the battalion level.
38
Types of generalizations and specializations
Operational definition of generalization/specializ
ation
Generalization/specialization of two concepts
Minimally general generalization of two concepts
Maximally general specialization of two concepts
Least general generalization of two concepts
39
Operational definition of generalization
Non-operational definition
A concept P is said to be more general than
another concept Q if and only if the set of
instances represented by P includes the set of
instances represented by Q.
This definition is not operational because it
requires to show that each instance I from a
potential infinite set Q is also in the set P.
Operational definition
A concept P is said to be more general than
another concept Q if and only if Q can be
transformed into P by applying a sequence of
generalization rules.
40
Generalization of two concepts
Definition
The concept Cg is a generalization of the
concepts C1 and C2 if and only if Cg is more
general than C1 and Cg is more general than C2.
MANEUVER-UNIT-MILITARY-SPECIALTY
MANEUVER-UNIT-MILITARY-SPECIALTY is a
generalization of ARMORED-UNIT--MILITARY-SPECIALTY
and INFANTRY-UNIT--MILITARY-SPECIALTY
INFANTRY-UNIT--MILITARY-SPECIALTY
ARMORED-UNIT--MILITARY-SPECIALTY
Operational definition
The concept Cg is a generalization of the
concepts C1 and C2 if and only if both C1 and C2
can be transformed into Cg by applying
generalization rules.
41
Generalization of two concepts example
C1
?O1 IS COA-SPECIFICATION-MICROTHEORY TOTAL-NBR-OF
FENSIVE-ACTIONS-FOR-MISSION 10 TYPE OFFENSIVE
C2
?O1 IS COA-SPECIFICATION-MICROTHEORY TOTAL-NBR-OF
FENSIVE-ACTIONS-FOR-MISSION 5
Generalize 10 to 5 .. 10 Drop ?O1 TYPE
OFFENSIVE
Generalize 5 to 5 .. 10
C
?O1 IS COA-SPECIFICATION-MICROTHEORY TOTAL-NBR-OF
FENSIVE-ACTIONS-FOR-MISSION ?N1 ?N1 IS-IN 5
10
42
Exercise
Consider the following two concepts
Indicate different generalization of them.
43
Specialization of two concepts
Definition
The concept Cs is a specialization of the
concepts C1 and C2 if and only if Cs is less
general than C1 and Cs is less general than C2.
MILITARY-MANEUVER
MILITARY-ATTACK
PENETRATE-MILITARY-TASK is a specialization
of MILITARY-MANEUVER and MILITARY-ATTACK
PENETRATE-MILITARY-TASK
Operational definition
The concept Cs is a specialization of the
concepts C1 and C2 if and only if both C1 and C2
can be transformed into Cs by applying
specialization rules (or Cs can be transformed in
both C1 and C2 by applying generalization rules).
44
Other definitions
The concept G is a minimally general
generalization of A and B if and only if G is a
generalization of A and B, and G is not more
general than any other generalization of A and B.
If there is only one minimally general
generalization of two concepts A and B, then this
generalization is called the least general
generalization of A and B.
The concept C is a maximally general
specialization of two concepts A and B if and
only if C is a specialization of A and B and no
other specialization of A and B is more general
than C.
45
Exercise
Consider the following two concepts and ontology.
Indicate four specializations of G1 and G2
(including two maximally general specializations).
46
Ontology matching
Ontology matching allows one to look for
instances of complex concepts in the object
ontology (i.e. ask questions about the objects
in the ontology).
Example
Is there a deployable military unit of the red
side that performs an intelligence collection
military task?
Yes, RED-CSOP1 is a deployable military unit of
the red side that performs SCREEN1 which is an
intelligence collection military task?
47
Ontology matching example
Is there a deployable military unit of the red
side that performs an intelligence collection
military task?
RED--SIDE
MODERN-MILITARY-UNIT--DEPLOYABLE
INTELLIGENCE-COLLECTION-MILTARY-TASK
IS
IS
SOVEREIGN-ALLEGIANCE-OF-ORG
?O4
?O2
IS
TASK
?O3
MODERN-MILITARY-UNIT--DEPLOYABLE
SUBCLASS-OF
MANEUVER-UNITMILITARY-SPECIALTY
SUBCLASS-OF
INFANTRY-UNITMILITARY-SPECIALTY
SUBCLASS-OF
MECHANIZED-INFANTRY-UNITMILITARY-SPECIALTY
SUBCLASS-OF
INTELLIGENCE-COLLECTION-MILTARY-TASK
MECHANIZED-INFANTRY-MORTAR-UNITMILITARY-SPECIALTY
SUBCLASS-OF
INSTANCE-OF
SOVEREIGN-ALLEGIANCE-OF-ORG
RED-CSOP1
RED--SIDE
SCREEN-MILITARY-TASK
INSTANCE-OF
TASK
SCREEN1
Yes, RED-CSOP1 is a deployable military unit of
the red side that performs SCREEN1 which is an
intelligence collection military task?
48
Rules as ontology-based representations of PSS
Condition

IF the task to accomplish is ASSESS-SECURITY-WRT-
COUNTERING-ENEMY-RECONNAISSANCE
FOR-COA ?O1
?O1 is a COA and ?O2 is a deployable military
unit of ?O4 (which is the red side) and performs
the task ?O3 (which is an intelligence collection
military task)
Condition ?O1 IS COA-SPECIFICATION-MICROTHE
ORY ?O2 IS MODERN-MILITARY-UNIT--DEPLOYABLE
SOVEREIGN-ALLEGIANCE-OF-ORG
?O4 TASK ?O3 ?O3 IS
INTELLIGENCE-COLLECTION--MILITARY-TASK ?O4 IS
RED--SIDE
Then accomplish the task ASSESS-SECURITY-WHEN-ENE
MY-RECON-IS-PRESENT FOR-COA
?O1 FOR-UNIT ?O2
FOR-RECON-ACTION ?O3
This rule will be applicable only if the current
ontology contains an instance of the complex
concept (?O1 ?O2 ?O3 ?O4) represented by the
condition.
A rule is an ontology-based representation of a
problem solving step.
49
Ontology maintenance
Maintaining the consistency of the object
ontology is a complex knowledge engineering
activity because the object and feature
definitions interact in complex
ways. Example Deleting an object concept
requires the updating of all the knowledge base
elements that refer to it (e.g. the rules that
contain it in their conditions the features that
contain it in their ranges or domains the
concepts that inherit its features).
50
Potential consequence of editing operations
Illustration
domain
domain
f
A
f
A
C can no longer have the feature f because it is
no longer in the domain of f
A
A
B
B
f
f
C
C
7
7
Initial State
Modified State
51
Potential consequence of editing operations
Illustration
A
A
D
D
added superconcept
B
B
resulted redundancy
C
C
Initial State
Modified State
52
Steps in ontology development

• Define the basic concepts, and their organization
  into a hierarchical structure (the generalization
  hierarchy).
• Define the generic object features, using the
  previously defined concepts to specify their
  domains and ranges.
• Extend the object ontology with new concepts and
  features.
• Repeat steps 1,2,3 until the ontology is judged
  to be complete enough.

53
Steps in ontology development illustration
54
4. An example the COA object ontology
Representation of the input description of a COA
Overall organization of the COA object ontology
Ontology of military organizations
Ontology of military events
Representation of the structure of the COA
55
Representation of the input description of a COA
The information from the COA sketch and COA
statement is translated into descriptions in the
object ontology.
Example BLUE-TASK-FORCE1, a balanced task force
(MAIN-EFFORT1) attacks to penetrate
RED-MECH-COMPANY4, then clears RED-TANK-COMPANY2

SOVEREIGN-ALLEGIANCE-OF-ORG
BLUE--SIDE
ASSIGNMENT
MAIN-EFFORT1
IS-TASK-OF-OPERATION
ATTACK2
TASK
OBJECT-ACTED-ON
PENETRATE1
RED-MECH-COMPANY4
OBJECT-ACTED-ON
TASK
RED-TANK-COMPANY2
BLUE-TASK-FORCE1
CLEAR1
56
Overall organization of the COA object ontology
ltOBJECTgt
PURPOSE
GEOGRAPHICAL-REGION
ACTION
ORGANIZATION
MILITARY-PURPOSE
EQUIPMENT
PLAN
MILITARY-EVENT
MILITARY-EQUIPMENT
MILITARY-OPERATION
MILITARY-TASK
MODERN-MILITARY-ORGANIZATION
SUBCLASS-OF
COA-SPECIFICATION-MICROTHERY
57
Ontology of military organizations
MODERN-MILITARY-ORGANIZATION
MODERN-MILITARY-UNIT--DEPLOYABLE
MANEUVER-UNIT-MILITARY-SPECIALTY
AVIATION-UNIT--MILITARY-SPECIALTY
ARMORED-UNIT--MILITARY-SPECIALTY
INFANTRY-UNIT--MILITARY-SPECIALTY
BLUE-ARMOR-BRIGADE2
MECHANIZED-INFANTRY-UNIT--MILITARY-SPECIALTY
BLUE-TASK-FORCE1
BLUE-MECH-BRIGADE1
BLUE-TASK-FORCE2
BLUE-TASK-FORCE3
INSTANCE-OF
SUBCLASS-OF
58
Representation of a specific organization
ARMORED-UNIT--MILITARY-SPECIALTY
MECHANIZED-INFANTRY-UNIT--MILITARY-SPECIALTY
INSTANCE-OF
INSTANCE-OF
ECHELON-OF-UNIT
BATALLION--UNIT-DESIGNATION
SOVEREIGN-ALLEGIANCE-OF-ORG
BLUE--SIDE
ASSIGNMENT
MAIN-EFFORT1
TASK
PENETRATE1
TASK
BLUE-TASK-FORCE1
CLEAR1
TROOP-STRENGTH-OF-UNIT
REGULAR-STATUS
OPERATIONAL-CONTROL-MILITARY-ORG
BLUE-MECH-COMPANY1
OPERATIONAL-CONTROL-MILITARY-ORG
BLUE-MECH-COMPANY2
OPERATIONAL-CONTROL-MILITARY-ORG
BLUE-ARMOR-COMPANY1
OPERATIONAL-CONTROL-MILITARY-ORG
BLUE-ARMOR-COMPANY2
COA411
59
Ontology of military events
MILITARY-EVENT
MILITARY-MANEUVER
MILITARY-OPERATION
MILITARY-TASK
SCREEN--MILITARY-TASK
AREA-DEFENSE--MILITARY-OPERATION
PENETRATE--MILITARY-MANEUVER
SCREEN1
DEFEND1
DEFEND2
PENETRATE1
PENETRATE2
INSTANCE-OF
SUBCLASS-OF
60
Representation of military tasks
MILITARY-TASK
SUBCLASS-OF
INDICATES-MISSION-TYPE
"military offensive operation"
IS-OFFENSIVE-ACTION-FOR
DESTROY--MILITARY-TASK
"military offensive operation"
RECOMMENDED-FORCE-RATIO
2.5
INSTANCE-OF
OBJECT-ACTED-ON
RED-CSOP1
FORCE-RATIO
DESTROY1
20
TASK-HAS-PURPOSE
PREVENT-MILITARY-PURPOSE3
IS-TASK-OF-OPERATION
(missing element)
UNIT-ASSIGNED-TO-TASK
TASK
ASSIGNMENT
BLUE-TASK-FORCE2
SUPPORTING-EFFORT1
COA-411
61
Representation of military tasks
MILITARY-TASK
IS-INDEPENDENT-ACTION-FOR
"military offensive operation"
IS-INDEPENDENT-ACTION-FOR
"military defensive operation"
SUBCLASS-OF
IS-SECURITY-ACTION-FOR
"military offensive operation"
SCREEN--MILITARY-TASK
IS-SECURITY-ACTION-FOR
"military defensive operation"
IS-ECONOMY-OF-FORCE-ACTION-FOR
INSTANCE-OF
"military offensive operation"
IS-ECONOMY-OF-FORCE-ACTION-FOR
"military defensive operation"
SCREEN1
62
Representation of the structure of the COA
OPERATION-OF-COA
BLUE-BRIGADE-OP
COA- SPECIFICATION- MICROTHERY
MISSION-LEVEL-TASK-OF-COA
BLUE-BRIGADE-TASK
END-STATE-OF-COA
PLAN-TO-ACHIEVE1
HAS-DECISIVE-POINT
DECISIVE-POINT1
TOTAL-NBR-ACTIONS
11
INSTANCE-OF
TOTAL-NBR-OFFENSIVE-ACTIONS-FOR-MISSION
6
COA-MAIN-EFFORT-OFFENSIVE-ACTION-FOR-MISSION
PENETRATE1
TOTAL-NBR-MAIN-EFFORT-OFFENSIVE-ACTIONS-FOR-MISSIO
N
1
TOTAL-NBR-SUPPORTING-EFFORTS-OFFENSIVE-ACTIONS-FOR
-MISSION
4
COA411
COA-SUPPORTING-EFFORT-OFFENSIVE-ACTION-FOR-MISSION
DESTROY1
COA-SUPPORTING-EFFORT-OFFENSIVE-ACTION-FOR-MISSION
DESTROY2
COA-SUPPORTING-EFFORT-OFFENSIVE-ACTION-FOR-MISSION
FIX1
COA-SUPPORTING-EFFORT-OFFENSIVE-ACTION-FOR-MISSION
COA-SECURITY-ACTION-FOR-MISSION
FIX2
COA-SECURITY-ACTION-FOR-MISSION
COA-SECURITY-ACTION-FOR-MISSION
SECURE1
TOTAL-NBR-SECURITY-ACTIONS-FOR-MISSION
3
TOTAL-NBR-SURPRISE-ACTIONS-FOR-MISSION
0
TOTAL-NBR-DECEPTION-ACTIONS-FOR-MISSION
0
COA411
TOTAL-NBR-INDEPENDENT-ACTIONS-FOR-MISSION
0
63
Representation of the main operation of COA411
CLOSE-UNIT-IN-MISSION
BLUE-TASK-FORCE1
MILITARY-OFFENSIVE-OP
CLOSE-UNIT-IN-MISSION
CLOSE-UNIT-IN-MISSION
BLUE-TASK-FORCE2
INSTANCE-OF
SECURITY-UNIT-IN-MISSION
BLUE-MECH-BATALION1
SECURITY-UNIT-IN-MISSION
BLUE-BRIGADE-OP
RESERVE-UNIT-IN-MISSION
BLUE-MECH-COMPANY8
REAR-UNIT-IN-MISSION
BLUE-MECH-PLT1
DEEP-OPERATION-TASK
DESTROY3
FIRE-OPERATION-TASK
SUPRESS1
COA-411
64
Representation of the main task of COA411
PENETRATE--MILITARY-TASK
OBJECT-ACTED-ON
RED-MECH-REGIMENT2
IS-TASK-OF-OPERATION
BLUE-BRIGADE-OP
TASK-HAS-PURPOSE
ENABLE-MILITARY-PURPOSE1
INSTANCE-OF
SUB-TASKS--MILTARY
PENETRATE1
SUB-TASKS--MILTARY
CLEAR1
BLUE-BRIGADE-TASK
SUB-TASKS--MILTARY
FIX1
SUB-TASKS--MILTARY
CLEAR2
SUB-TASKS--MILTARY
FIX2
SUB-TASKS--MILTARY
CLEAR3
SUB-TASKS--MILTARY
DESTROY1
SUB-TASKS--MILTARY
DESTROY2
SUB-TASKS--MILTARY
DESTROY3
SUB-TASKS--MILTARY
SECURE1
SUB-TASKS--MILTARY
SUPRESS1
INDICATES-MISSION-TYPE
"military offensive operation"
IS-OFFENSIVE-ACTION-FOR
"military offensive operation"
COA-411
65
5. Exercises
Exercises
66
Exercise
Develop an object ontology that represents the
following information Birds have feathers, fly
and lay eggs. Albatros is a bird. Donald is a
bird. Tracy is an albatros. You should define
object concepts, object features and instances.
67
Exercise
Develop an object ontology that represents the
following information Puss is a calico. Herb
is a tuna. Charlie is a tuna. All tunas are
fishes. All calicos are cats. Cats like to eat
fishes. You should define object concepts,
object features and instances.
68
Exercise
Develop an object ontology that represents the
following information The color of Apple1 is
red. The color of Apple2 is green. Apple1 is an
apple. Apple2 is an apple. Apples are
fruits. You should define object concepts,
object features and instances.
69
Exercise
Develop an object ontology that represents the
following information Basketball players are
tall. Muresan is a basketball player. Muresan
is tall. You should define object concepts,
object features and instances.
70
Exercise
Insert the additional knowledge that platypus
lays eggs into the following object ontology
birth-mode
mammal
live
subclass-of
subclass-of
platypus
cow

Explain the result.
71
Exercise
Consider the question Is there a part of a
loudspeaker that is made of metal? In the
context of the following object ontology. a)
Which are all the answers to this question? b)
Which are the reasoning operations that need to
be performed in order to answer this
question. c) Consider one of the answers that
requires all these operations and show how the
answer is found.
72
Exercise
Consider the ontology from the previous slide and
the following expressions E1 ?X IS
MEMBRANE E2 ?X IS
MECHANICAL-CHASSIS MADE-OF ?M MADE-OF
?M ?M IS PAPER ?M
IS METAL ?Z IS
CONTACT-ADHESIVE ?Z IS
MOWICOLL GLUES ?M GLUES ?M
STATE fluid a) Find the minimally general
generalizations of E1 and E2. b) Find two
generalizations of E1 and E2 that are not
minimally general generalizations. c) Consider
one of the generalizations found at b) and
demonstrate why it is a generalization of E1 and
E2 but it is not a minimally general
generalization. d) What would be a least general
generalization of E1 and E2? Does it exist? e)
Indicate a specialization of E1.
73
Exercise
Develop an object ontology that represents the
following information "Blue task force 1
penetrates Red mechanized brigade 1 with a force
ratio of 10.6. The recommended force ratio for a
penetration is 3. A penetration is a complex
military task, a military maneuver and a military
attack. Use of a penetration indicates that the
mission is offensive You should draw the
ontology and should also define the features used
in it (in terms of their domains and ranges).
74
Exercise
Consider the background knowledge represented by
the following generalization hierarchies and
theorem
Consider also the following concept E ?u IS ob
ject COLOR yellow SHAPE circle RADIUS
5 Indicate five different generalization rules.
For each such rule determine an expression Eg
which is more general than E according to that
rule.
75
6. Required reading
G. Tecuci, Building Intelligent Agents, Academic
Press, 1998, pp. 33-78 (required). Boicu M.,
Tecuci G., Stanescu B., Balan G.C. and Popovici
E., Ontologies and the Knowledge Acquisition
Bottleneck, in Proceedings of IJCAI-2001 Workshop
on Ontologies and Information Sharing, Seattle,
Washington, August 2001. http//lalab.gmu.edu/publ
ications/data/2001/ontbottleneck.pdf (required)