Upload
jose-gunn
View
216
Download
2
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
1
Preliminary results of the
Environmental Data Exchange Network for Inland Waters (EDEN-IW) project
Practical lessons.
P. Haastrup
2
The Environmental Data Exchange Network for Inland Water project
Funded by the EC 5th FP, IST programme, DG INFSO
3
EDEN-IW Overview
• Objective: access to distributed environmental data using agent technology
• Partners: CNR (I), ED (GR), IOW (F), NERI (DK), QMUL (UK), JRC (EC)
• Users community: EEA, ETC/W, IME, US-EPA, US-DOE, US-DOD
• Start: July 2001 – End: December 2004.• Budget: 4.8 M€
4
Initial (ambitious) objectives:
• provide access to distributed environmental data for water
• through an intelligent, configurable interface acting as a one-stop shop
• databases, translations, models, policy support
5
Vision
• Potentials for making a world-wide database
• for inland water; all water or indeed all environmental data
• ready for policy support
6
Data harmonisation goals:
• maintaining autonomy of the data custodians• databases are integrated into an efficient tool• shared knowledge base• providing uniform access to disparate
information resource• Technology utilised/researched: Independent
software agents. Links to previous US project EDEN.
7
Conceptual Model
DB1
Resources
Key
DirectoryDB1DB1
Ontology
Tasks
Agent
DataBaseResources
Users
HumanUsers
WebServices
8
Advanced Application
DirectoryAgents
ResourceAgents
DSSAgents
OntologyAgents
StatisticsAgents
UserAgents
9
Agents - what are they doing ?
Richer “vocabulary” than normal software programs– Around 50 words vocabulary “agree, accept, reply,
query, wait, later……..”– Conceptually similar to sending email to another
“person”, however we would like to have the environmental data returned in close to real time.
1010
Features of EDEN-IW Prototype
• Core query and meta-data high-level queries supported • Edges of system are two Web portals
• Data Owner Web portal implemented as Java Servlet • Data User Web portal implemented as JSP
• System Infrastructure implemented as an integrated set of agents and Web services
• User Agent • Queries via Form supplemented by Map User Interface • Web-client on Web-server on UA node• Multi-lingual queries (but not yet multi-lingual results) • Results returned in graphical and table format
11
EDEN-IW Application
12
EDEN-IW GIS Interface
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
Scaling and Aggregating Data
2828
Exploitation Areas
• Agent Technology• Data Bases and linkage to Agents• System Design • Ontologies and Multi-lingual Aspects• Safety and Security Issues
2929
Lessons and plans:
• Agent Technology– Maturing, but slowly
– Right now slow on developments and slow on testing
– Distribution issues: Open source
– Network architecture issues not yet completely resolved (sub-nets, firewalls, open ports (at least 2 ports needed - most of the world are now opening only port 80! (and sometimes 25 (email servers)!!)
3030
3131
Lessons and plans:
• Data Bases and linkage to Agents– Implicit knowledge in databases are hard to get explicitly
build into the agents world.
– Resource agents are thus laborious to make
– Database owners needs convincing
3232
Lessons and plans:
• System Design– The distributed architecture is the “future”…
– Links to both the Water Information System for Europe (WISE) and the Intercalibration Reportnet node
– (email protocols may be the future to get around firewall issues)
– Distributed System Architecture
– User Interface Map Server using JRC/CCM
3333
Ontologies and Multi-lingual Aspects
• Ontologies are implemented through DAML/OIL - XML/RDF
• We use both a global and a local implementation “close to the user, and close to the resource
• Cross mapping is an issue• Glossary (Inland water) included• Propagation through the software components is an
issue
3434
Global Ontology Observation Station
U nit Determinant
Medium
AnalyticalFraction TimeStamp
NERIObservationCharacteristics NERITime
NERIStation
Table(x) Table(y) Table(z) Table(m)
Local Ontology
Local DB Schema
Semantic Mapping
3535
Safety and Security Issues
• Firewalls getting up faster than we can implement the necessary changes in the software
• security issues in general “just” similar to a web server…..
36
Work in progress:
State of play after 3 years (4 month to go)
• Technology well understood (including limits)
• 2-3 Inland Water databases in system
• Several agents running in test net
• Keyword translation running in test net (3 languages).
• Distributed resources running on test network
• Real net application: work ongoing
• Software developed: open source
37
Final comments
We have learned a lot about:
– distributed systems, agents, ontologies, terminology matching, environmental management
Clearly we are still some distance from rolling out the agent technology/service
38
International links
EDEN project Hazardous substances (US) -> EDEN-IW (EU) Water
(cross Atlantic collaboration working!!)
It would be beneficial to have the research happening at the same time…..
39
What happens next ?
To be discussed - also during this meeting.