Ontologies, rules, workflow and predictive models: Knowledge assets for an EDSS

D. Sottara, S. Bragaglia, P. Mello, D. Pulcini, L. Luccarini, D. Giunchi

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Given the complexity of Waste-Water Treatment Plants (WWTPs), both from the environmental, legal and economic point of view, Environmental Decision Support Systems (E-DSSs) are getting wider adoption to monitor and manage the plants in real time. From a cognitive perspective, the knowledge required by an E-DSS may be encoded in different forms. In this paper, we argue that the operational domain and its most relevant concepts should be defined in a proper ontology, providing a vocabulary to encode inferential or operational knowledge in the form of decision-making rules. The rules process information extracted from data, acquired through sensors and possibly processed using predictive or analytic models. Eventually, the rules themselves and the actions they recommend, can be orchestrated as business processes, using workflow models. Moreover, we argue that standard formats should be used to facilitate the formalisation and exchange of knowledge between different systems, including OWL 2 (ontologies), RIF/RuleML (rules), BPMN 2.0 (workflows) and PMML (predictive models). Finally, we present a use case modelling a periodic plant monitoring routine which is necessary to check that the plant emissions are compliant with the national legislation. The system, implemented using the open source Knowledge Integration Platform Drools, exploits a hybrid knowledge base but relies on a unified data model and execution environment.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationiEMSs 2012 - Managing Resources of a Limited Planet
Subtitle of host publicationProceedings of the 6th Biennial Meeting of the International Environmental Modelling and Software Society
Pages204-211
Number of pages8
StatePublished - Dec 1 2012
Externally publishedYes
Event6th Biennial Meeting of the International Environmental Modelling and Software Society: Managing Resources of a Limited Planet, iEMSs 2012 - Leipzig, Germany
Duration: Jul 1 2012Jul 5 2012

Publication series

NameiEMSs 2012 - Managing Resources of a Limited Planet: Proceedings of the 6th Biennial Meeting of the International Environmental Modelling and Software Society

Other

Other6th Biennial Meeting of the International Environmental Modelling and Software Society: Managing Resources of a Limited Planet, iEMSs 2012
Country/TerritoryGermany
CityLeipzig
Period7/1/127/5/12

Keywords

  • Environmental decision support systems
  • Hybrid systems
  • Knowledge-base systems
  • Waste- water treatment plants

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Software
  • Environmental Engineering

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