Infrastructure and cities ontologies

Date published

2022-07-26

Free to read from

Supervisor/s

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Institution of Civil Engineers - ICE

Department

Type

Article

ISSN

Format

Citation

Varga L, McMillan L, Hallett S, et al., (2023) Infrastructure and city ontologies, Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Smart Infrastructure and Construction, Volume 176, Issue 2, June 2023, pp. 43-52

Abstract

The creation and use of ontologies has become increasingly relevant for complex systems in recent years. This is because of the growing number of use of cases that rely on real-world integration of disparate systems, the need for semantic congruence across boundaries and the expectations of users for conceptual clarity within evolving domains or systems of interest. These needs are evident in most spheres of research involving complex systems, but they are particularly apparent in infrastructure and cities where traditionally siloed and sectoral approaches have dominated, undermining the potential for integration to solve societal challenges such as net zero, resilience to climate change, equity and affordability. This paper reports on findings of a literature review on infrastructure and city ontologies and puts forward some hypotheses inferred from the literature findings. The hypotheses are discussed with reference to the literature and provide avenues for further research on (a) belief systems that underpin non-top-level ontologies and the potential for interference from them, (b) the need for a small number of top-level ontologies and translation mechanisms between them and (c) clarity on the role of standards and information systems in the adaptability and quality of data sets using ontologies. A gap is also identified in the extent that ontologies can support more complex automated coupling and data transformation when dealing with different scales.

Description

Software Description

Software Language

Github

Keywords

artificial intelligence, city-scale infrastructure operations, City-scale Simulations and Data Analytics, Urban Infrastructure Development, critical infrastructure, data analytics for infrastructure

DOI

Rights

Attribution 4.0 International

Relationships

Relationships

Supplements

Funder/s