Modeling the Diversity of Spatial Information by Using Modular Ontologies and Their Combinations

摘要

Ontologies can specify spatial information based on different aspects, for different purposes, with different formalization details, with different granularity levels, and thus from different perspectives. Spatial systems that formally describe spatial information often have to take into account this diversity in spatial representations. We propose that such a system's ontological representation should preserve the spatial diversity by making the different perspectives explicit. We use modularly designed spatial ontologies for reflecting different spatial perspectives and analyze which existing modularity techniques are relevant for combining the different modules.