SWAD-Europe Weblog

Update on Semantic Web Environment Directory

The second SWAD-E open demonstrator (work package 12.1) is a demonstration of using the semantic web to collect community published information into a browsable portal. Our test application is a directory of Environmental Organizations.

On the demonstrator itself we've had good responses from some key players. In particular, the UK Environment Council have generously offered support in locating organizations to supply data, and also to explore options for continuing the service beyond SWAD-E should the demonstrator prove of use and interest to the community.

We've also had some excellent discussions with the Natural History Museum (NHM). As well as being a museum and educator the NHM plays a major role in maintaining a integrated picture of the state of the natural world, in integrating data from many sources and fostering standards for description of items, observations and collections. As a result of discussions on the environmental directory demonstrator, NHM have identified places where the semantic web could help them with several of their information integration projects. In particular there are several national and international projects underway to integrate descriptions of collections. The demonstrator has communicated the ability of the semantic web to support a decentralized approach where supplying organizations host their own data which is then harvested but can be enriched by annotations and additional links from other sources. This might solve key problems in the flexibility and sustainability of the integrated collection level descriptions. Much work remains to test out whether the technology can fulfill the promise but this does look like a promising set of applications.

This seems like a great endorsement of the SWAD-E dissemination model. Without seeing simple, concrete demonstrators of semantic web usage the technology appeared too complex and insufficiently relevant to their problems. Having now seen the possibilities, if they go ahead with this and the semantic web approach does prove useful then their many partners in such projects will similarly be exposed to the technology in a practical setting and the take up can continue to spread.

Categories trip report
Posted by dreynold2 at May 30, 2004 04:12 PM