Semantic Sensor Web Enablement for COAST

Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) is an Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standard Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) that facilitates discovery and integration of web-enabled sensor data. We propose two enhancements to SWE. One is the creation of Semantic Sensor Web Enablement (SSWE) through the annotation of SWE services and schema using ontologies. This will allow the utilization of the SWE services using semantic queries and concepts as opposed to purely syntactic ones. An integrated sensor ontology would also help fuse data from heterogeneous sensors and associated SWE services. The second enhancement is the use of intelligent software agents to help automate the extraction and handling of relevant data from the SSWE. Together, these two enhancements will make it easier for geospatial browsers like COAST to discover and utilize web-enabled sensor data. We provide two methods by which COAST users can benefit from SSWE. One is through one or more WMS servers which will mash the data through SSWE and provide a regular WMS interface to COAST; in this method, no change will be needed in the existing COAST user-interface. The second method will be a COAST plug-in which provides a means for users (aided by intelligent agents) to directly query the SSWE services through semantic search for web-enabled sensor data.

The Department of Defense geospatial intelligence programs, including the ongoing Global War on Terror (GWOT) are targets for transition and commercialization of the proposed SSWE technology. Utilization of ontologies and intelligent agents will enable semantic discovery, querying and extraction of web-enabled sensor data. Since much of this technology is equally applicable to Google Earth (as it is to COAST), many mapping related applications will benefit. Many different kinds of sensor data can be "semantically mashedup" using this technology to create new capabilities for geospatial mapping and navigation devices and applications.

The first direct application of the proposed SSWE system is the enhancement of NASA's COAST geobrowser. We provide two methods through which this can be accomplished. We expect that this technology will eventually be integrated in some form with the COAST browser. Thus, all existing and emerging NASA programs, projects, and applications that currently use the COAST geobrowser are candidates for technology transition of SSWE. The earth science applied research program at SSC and related programs at ARC and JPL are candidates for technology transition and commercialization. Semantic web decision support applications built on top of the COAST geobrowser have a variety of NASA-related commercial applications.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 3) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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