Semantic Formats for Emergency Management

• Main Author: Uppukunnathe, Deepak
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Linköpings universitet, Institutionen för datavetenskap 2014
• Subjects: semantic web; edxl; emergency communication
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-105178

Over a decade ago, there was no standardised method for information sharing during emergency situations. Governments, first responders, and emergency practitioners often had to rely on what little technology that was available to them. This situation slowed down communications, putting entire recovery operations, and lives at stake. The Emergency Data Exchange Language (EDXL) is the umbrella standard for several emergency communication standards that are being developed to address this issue. The Semantic Web is slowly, but steadily becoming a natural extension of the present-day Web. Thanks to efforts from researchers, and corporations such as Google, Facebook, etc., we are seeing more, and more semantics aware applications on the Web. These applications have been successful in bringing Semantic Web technologies to the common user to a large extent. Semantic Web technologies have found applications in a wide range of domains, from medical research to media management. However, a study to see if EDXL messaging standards can benefit from Semantic Web technologies has not yet been made. In this thesis, we investigate the possibility of enabling Semantic Web technologies for EDXL standards, specifically the EDXL Resource Messaging (EDXL-RM) standard, and explore the benefits that can come out of it. The possibility of converting XML based EDXL-RM messages to semantic formats is explored at first. This step is achieved through the evaluation of existing tools and technologies. Based on the outcome of this study, an EDXL to OWL converter that works in two stages is developed. The motivation for enabling semantic support for EDXL standards is illustrated through several use cases.