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An Algebraic Interpretation of Semantic Networks

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Spatial Information Theory. Cognitive and Computational Foundations of Geographic Information Science (COSIT 1999)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 1661))

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Abstract

Semantic networks are among the most popular knowledge reresentation techniques. They have been applied to a large spectrum of applications, including spatial tasks, such as object recognition from images. Their appeal lies in the combination of a structure that combines standard abstraction mechanisms with a simple visual representation. However, applications of semantic networks suffer from their lack of theoretical foundations. The semantics of spatial domains is often modeled with a technique whose semantics are themselves unclear. In our work on semantic interoperability of GIS, we have found this situation to be potentially harmful, but also repairable by our tools. It can be harmful by luring necessary work on application semantics into potentially muddy waters. And it is repairable by interpreting semantic networks from the point of view of algebra, i.e. anothersemantic modeling technique. Thus, the paper proposes an algebraic interpretation of semantic networks, showing how this perspective clarifies their own semantics and how it allows for a sound semantic modeling of spatial domains.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Geoinformatics, University of Muenster, Robert-Koch-Str. 26-28, D-48149, Muenster, Germany

    Werner Kuhn

Authors
  1. Werner Kuhn
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Universität Hamburg, Fachbereich Informatik, Vogt-Kölln-Straße 30, D-22527, Hamburg, Germany

    Christian Freksa

  2. Department of Geography, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14261, USA

    David M. Mark

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© 1999 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Kuhn, W. (1999). An Algebraic Interpretation of Semantic Networks. In: Freksa, C., Mark, D.M. (eds) Spatial Information Theory. Cognitive and Computational Foundations of Geographic Information Science. COSIT 1999. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1661. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-48384-5_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-48384-5_22

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-66365-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-48384-7

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