Towards ontology-driven knowledge synthesis for heterogeneous information systems
Information integration enables delivery of the right information to the right user in a timely manner giving manufacturers a competitive edge in today's global manufacturing market. However, as enterprise information is usually aggregated from a variety of heterogeneous information sources, without using an adequate integration framework it is difficult to extract pertinent information and apply current knowledge to assessing production situations and making informed decisions. This paper investigates a method of facilitating knowledge synthesis in a distributed computing environment. A formal model of domain ontology and knowledge base is presented, which aims at providing a vehicle for representing information and knowledge using a common shared semantics in a given application domain. As a result, a common knowledge representation based architecture is proposed, creating a foundation for establishing a systematic approach for ease of knowledge synthesis in a manufacturing environment
knowledge synthesis heterogeneity decision-making information fusion e-manufacturing