Interactive Modelling and Visualisation of Information

1
Interactive Modelling and Visualisation of
Information

• SWIG-UK
• Peter Hale PhD Research

2
Program Transformation

• Take Diagrammatic Input of user And Convert it to
  code.
• Possible interfaces Tree Controls, Diagrams of
  objects to be modelled.
• Ontologies and Taxonomies important for the
  information management.
• Semantics essential for the transformation
  process.

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Semantic Web

• All the technologies used for this are part of a
  general Semantic Web Approach.
• Make use of High Level Semantic Web Tools and
  technologies, which can be adapted for use by
  End-Users.
• Many of these High Level Semantic Web
  Technologies are based on Hewlett-Packard
  Semantic Web Technologies.

4
Visualisation for User Driven Programming

• Software can be created using visual design
  techniques.
• This would speed up software design and
  development and allow users to build software.
• This presentation demonstrates how a taxonomy can
  be used to automatically produce software.
• This technique is most suitable at present to
  modelling, visualisation, and searching for
  information.

5
The Need

• Software development is time consuming and error
  prone because of the need to learn computer
  languages.
• Harness the intelligence of users, to create
  software, improvements would feed back into
  future versions.
• Easing software development allows users to
  devote full effort to the problem to be solved.
• There should be no clear divide or hurdles for a
  computer literate user advancing into visual
  programming.
• Technique involves creating software that enables
  people to program using a visual representation.
• The tree representation is translated into
  computer languages.
• This technique is here applied to aerospace
  engineering, but it should be applicable to any
  subject.

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Methodology
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Translation Process Simple Example

• Ontology
• Modelling System -
• Visualisations
• Translation
• Diagrammatic -
• Web

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Translation Process Complex Example

• Translation
• The taxonomy representation is translated into a
  computer model.
• Relationships can be conveyed to a software model
  that evaluates them. 
• Information is translated from the taxonomy and
  is visualised in tree form in a decision support
  tool with the example of spar manufacture
  information.
• Visualisation
• Program visualises information for the spar and
  its part definition and material. The model also
  includes manufacturing processes and cost rates
  and calculates a full cost breakdown.

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Visualisation Equations
Vanguard System http//www.vanguardsw.com/products
/vanguard-studio/.
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Complex Example Translations

• Wing spar translated into XML and visualised
  using a stylesheet, or translated into an SVG
  (Scalable Vector Graphics) diagram.

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Visualisation of large Ontologies

• Translation to XML and Visualised in Flash

Rhodes, G., Macdonald, J., Jokol, K., Prudence,
P., Aylward, P., Shepherd, R., Yard, T. (2002) A
Flash Family Tree, in Flash MX Application and
Interface Design. http//www.friendsofed.com/books
/1590591585/.
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Translation to Java
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Future Research

• Need to Link with Natural Language Processing
  Research
• E.g. NLP (Natural Language Processing) for NLP
  (Natural Language Programming) -
• Rada Michalcea, Hugo Liu, Henry Liebermann
• http//www.media.mit.edu/7Elieber/Publications/NL
  P4NLP.pdf
• Conceptual Graphs - http//www.jfsowa.com/cg/
• Christoph Kiefer Ginseng A Guided Input Natural
  Language Search Engine for Querying Ontologies -
  http//jena.hpl.hp.com/juc2006/proceedings.html
• Further Research into Meta Programming
• Any further ideas?