Ontologies are a formal model of knowledge, in which the model consists of a set of elements and the relationships between them. This paper reviews the basics of ontologies and presents a general framework for ontology engineering through the discussion of practical issues encountered in the creation and use of ontologies. A brief survey of applications in autonomous robots is provided as a concrete example of how ontologies are used. This paper also presents a critical view of formalism based on experiences of groupware and discusses the implications for the design and use of ontologies.
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