Smart Product Description Object (SPDO)
Current version SPDO Core: SPDO 1.3 (OWL- DL)Current version SPDO Cosmetics module: SPDO cosmetics 1.0 (OWL- DL)
Physical products are mainly described in a non-semantic way; their descriptions exist in terms of static databases or XML structures (e.g., BMEcat , ETIM/eCl@ss and GS1). Modeling of enterprises or processes is generally sophisticated, but the description of products rarely exceeds the scope of classification. We intend to integrate physical products into communicative situations in ambient shopping environments. Therefore, semantically annotated product information is required to realize personalized communications between different stakeholders and products (Maass & Filler, 2006).
Since 2005, we are working on the Smart Product Description Object (SPDO) - a semantic and dynamic product information that describes Smart Products in ambient environments. It enables an advanced and automatic processing in terms of updates and extensions based on rule languages, for instance SWRL (Maass & Filler, 2007; Maass et al., 2007). Our first version of the SPDO consisted of three parts – the foundational ontology (DOLCE Ultralite), the Container Model and Domain-Specific Ontologies (Janzen & Maass, 2008). The Container Model covered five facets: Product Description, Business Description, Community Description, Presentation Description and Trust&Security Description. Each of the facets was able to be extended by domain-specific information of the domain ontologies.
AmI environments are required to be context-oriented, user-centered, and network-enabled. In summary, such intelligent environments possess a modularized structure consisting of (1) users, (2) objects, (3) services, (4) physical space, (5) infosphere (information space), and (6) social space. The first version of the SPDO integrated all scopes of this structure in a single ontology. This did not correspond to the modular character of ambient environments and affected the processing of the ontology within the ambient environment, more precisely Tip `n Tell negatively.
We developed the second version of the SPDO for an AmI application in the cosmetics domain to solve the aforementioned problems. In line with this development, we defined the Pattern-based Ontology Building Method for Ambient Environments (POnA) (Maass & Janzen, 2009). The methodology reuses UPON's detailed engineering approach and combines it with an approach proposed by the NeOn methodology that is centered on ontology design patterns. Our hypothesis is that a combination of systematic methodologies and ontology design patterns constitute a more detailed and thus efficient approach to designing ontologies for ambient environments. Based on descriptions of situation types, Competency Questions and term structures, prototypical ontology design patterns (PODPs) are derived and formally modeled by reusing Ontology Design Patterns grounded in DOLCE. PODPs consist of conceptual entities, called scopes, and relations (Maass & Varshney, 2009). There are four scopes: product, context, user and information. The product scope covers all necessary information that is part of the product itself, e.g., information about price and material.
The resulting second version of the SPDO covers the product scope and represents a core model of generic prototypical aspects of consumer products. Domain-specific conceptualizations can be added as modules, for instance concepts of the cosmetic domain. SPDO consists of 21 classes, 40 object and 30 data properties. Statements about alternative or matching products are generated by processing certain concepts of SPDO instantiations while each SPDO describes one particular product.
Now, we are able to clearly separate product-centered knowledge from other ontological parts, which is important for AmI environments. Thus, each product could be labeled by dedicated semantic product information. Instances of SPDO models are used as product-centered knowledge bases for Natural Language Processing modules and product reasoning (Janzen & Maass, 2008). In addition, SPDO is geared to concepts of standardized product descriptions (e.g. BMEcat) and affords the import and export of product information into the SPDO and respectively into external data systems.
Referencing SPDO
Maass, W.; Janzen, S.; Filler, A.: Smart Product Description Object (SPDO), http://im.dm.hs-furtwangen.de/ontologies/spdo/2010b/SPDO.owl, Version 1.3, 2010.
Core Concepts of Smart Product Description Object - Current version: SPDO 1.3 (OWL - DL)
| Name | Product |
| Example | A toothpaste is a product. |
| Glossary Information | The noun product is defined as a "thing produced by labor or effort" or the "result of an act or a process", and stems from the verb produce, from the Latin prōdūce(re) '(to) lead or bring forth'. Since 1575, the word "product" has referred to anything produced. Since 1695, the word has referred to "thing or things produced". The economic or commercial meaning of product was first used by political economist Adam Smith. |
| Usage | Color, Price, AggregateState, Function, LogicalSpace, Manufacturer, ProductStatus, IdentificationNumber, Dimension, Weight, GeographicalPlace, Brand, Product |
| Properties | hasColor: Color (*) hasPrice: Price (*) hasAggregateState: AggregateState (1) hasFunction: Function (*) hasLogicalSpace: Logical Space (1) hasManufacturer: Manufacturer (1) hasStatus: Product Status (1) wasManufacturedIn: GeographicalPlace (1) hasID: IdentificationNumber (1) hasDimension: Dimension (1) hasWeight: Weight (1) fitsTo: Product (*) isAlternativeOf: Product (*) belongsToProductCategory: External Ontology (*) hasBrand: Brand (1) name (DatatypeProperty:String) (1) description-of-product-category (DatatypeProperty:String) (1) |
| Name | Color |
| Example | The toothpaste is pink. |
| Glossary Information | A visual attribute of things that results from the light they emit or transmit or reflect; "a white color is made up of many different wavelengths of light". |
| Usage | Product |
| Properties | isColorOf: Product (*) belongsToColorCategory: External Ontology (*) name (DatatypeProperty:String) (*) |
| Name | Price |
| Example | The product costs 2.19€. |
| Glossary Information | Price in economics and business is the result of an exchange, we assign a numerical monetary value to a good, service or asset. |
| Usage | Product, GeographicalPlace |
| Properties | isPriceOf: Product (1) hasCurrency: Currency (1) hasTax: Tax (1) price-amount (DatatypeProperty:Float) (1) isValidIn: GeographicalPlace (*) hasVaildStartDateTime: DateTime (1) hasVaildEndDateTime: DateTime (1) |
| Name | Function |
| Example | The product cares for the skin. |
| Glossary Information | In engineering, in psychology, as well as in common parlance, function denotes the property of something which is used/applied for an objective/goal/purpose/scope. |
| Usage | Product |
| Properties | isFunctionOf: Product (*) belongsToFunctionCategory: External Ontology (*) description-of-function (DatatypeProperty:String) (*) |
| Name | LogicalSpace |
| Example | The product speaks German. |
| Glossary Information | Logical space in the sense of language is a dynamic set of visual, auditory, or tactile symbols of communication and the elements used to manipulate them. |
| Usage | Product |
| Properties | isLogicalSpaceOf: Product (*) description-of-logical-space (DatatypeProperty:String) (*) |
| Name | Manufacturer |
| Example | The product was manufactured by XY. |
| Glossary Information | Manufacturing (from Latin manu factura, "making by hand") is the use of tools and labor to make things for use or sale. The manufacturer of a product. |
| Usage | Product, City |
| Properties | isManufacturerOf: Product (*) hasHeadOfficeIn: City (1) name (DatatypeProperty:String) (1) adress-of-manufacturer (DatatypeProperty:String) (1) url-of-manufacturer (DatatypeProperty:String) (*) |
| Name | ProductStatus |
| Example | The product is new. |
| Glossary Information | A situation or state of affairs, in the sense of SPDO the state of a physical product, e.g. new (based on BMEcat2005:type of PRODUCT_STATUS): bargain=sales offer with temporal low price; core_product=product of the core assortment; new_product=new product in the catalogue or assortment; old_product=product cannot be ordered anymore (can be reference to successor product) e.g. The product is new within the assortment. |
| Usage | Product |
| Properties | isProductStatusOf: Product (*) status-category (DatatypeProperty:String) (1) (e.g. new) |
| Name | Identification Number |
| Example | The product has the ID 123456789. |
| Glossary Information | The function of identification is to map a known quantity to an unknown entity so as to make it known. The known quantity is called the identifier (or ID) and the unknown entity is what needs identification. (Based on BMEcat2005:INTERNATIONAL_PID.) |
| Usage | Product |
| Properties | isIdentificationNumberOf: Product (1) number-category (DatatypeProperty:String) {"EAN" "GTIN" "EPC" "UPC"} (1) identification-number (DatatypeProperty:String) (1) |
| Name | Dimension |
| Example | The product has the dimension: width 3 cm, length 5 cm, depth 2 cm. |
| Glossary Information | In mathematics the dimension of a space is roughly defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify every point within it. In this case, dimension is meaned iin the sense of the depth, length, width of a product. (based on BMEcat2005: PRODUCT_DIMENSIONS) --> important for CO2-print |
| Usage | Product |
| Properties | isDimensionOf: Product (1) unit (DatatypeProperty:String) (1) (e.g. cm) depth (DatatypeProperty:Float) (1) length (DatatypeProperty:Float) (1) width (DatatypeProperty:Float) (1) |
| Name | Weight |
| Example | The product weighs 100 gram. |
| Glossary Information | In the physical sciences, weight is a measurement of the gravitational force acting on an object. Near the surface of the Earth, the acceleration due to gravity is approximately constant; this means that an object's weight is roughly proportional to its mass. |
| Usage | Product |
| Properties | isWeightOfProduct: Product (1) unit (DatatypeProperty:String) (1) (e.g. g) weight-amount (DatatypeProperty:Float) (1) |
| Name | AggregateState |
| Example | The product has a solid aggregate state. |
| Glossary Information | A mass, assemblage, or sum of particulars; something consisting of elements but considered as a whole; A mass formed by the union of homogeneous particles; – in distinction from a compound, formed by the union of heterogeneous particles. |
| Usage | Product |
| Properties | isAggregateStateOf: Product (*) aggregate-form (DatatypeProperty:String) {"solid" "fluid" "gaseous"} (1) |
| Name | Brand |
| Example | This is an ABC product. |
| Glossary Information | Trade name: a name given to a product or service. |
| Usage | Product |
| Properties | isBrandOf: Product (*) name (DatatypeProperty:String) (*) url-of-brand (DatatypeProperty:String) (*) |
| Name | Currency |
| Example | The product costs 1.69€. |
| Glossary Information | A currency is a unit of exchange, facilitating the transfer of goods and/or services. It is one form of money, where money is anything that serves as a medium of exchange, a store of value, and a standard of value. |
| Usage | Price |
| Properties | isCurrencyOf: Price (*) currency-code (DatatypeProperty:String) (1) (e.g. ISO 4217) currency-name (DatatypeProperty:String) (1) (e.g. Euro) currency-symbol (DatatypeProperty:String) (1) (e.g. €) |
| Name | Tax |
| Example | The VAT amounts to 0.55€. |
| Glossary Information | A Tax is a financial charge or other levy imposed on an individual or a legal entity by a state or a functional equivalent of a state (for example, secessionist movements or revolutionary movements). (Based on BMEcat2005) |
| Usage | Product |
| Properties | isTaxOf: Product (*) hasJurisdiction: GeographicalPlace (*) tax-category (DatatypeProperty:String) {"reduced_rate" "standard_rate" "zero_rate" "other"} (1) tax-type (DatatypeProperty:String) (1)(e.g. VAT) tax-value (DatatypeProperty:Float) (1)(e.g. 19)(in %) |
| Name | GeographicalPlace |
| Example | The product was manufactured in Germany. |
| Glossary Information | Geographical place, e.g. country, city, shop etc. --> important for CO2-print (Subclasses: Country, StateOfCountry, City, Shop) |
| Usage | Price, Manufacturer, Product, Tax |
| Properties | isLocationOfMFGOf: Product (*) (class-specific --> City) isValidGeographicalPlaceOf: Price (*) isHeadOfficeLocationOf: Manufacturer (*) (class-specific --> City) isJurisdictionOf: Tax (*) (class-specific --> Country, StateOfCountry) name (DatatypeProperty:String) (1) isLocatedIn: GeographicalPlace (*) hasLocation: GeographicalPlace (*) location-coordinates (DatatypeProperty:String) (1) |
| Name | DateTime |
| Example | The price is valid until 07/01/2010. |
| Glossary Information | An instant in time; a specific time on a specific date, in a specific timezone. (Based on BMEcat2005.) |
| Usage | Price |
| Properties | datetime (DatatypeProperty:dateTime) (1) timezone (DatatypeProperty:string) (1) |
Domain-specific Concepts of Smart Product Description Object (Example: Cosmetic domain) - Current version: SPDO cosmetics 1.0 (OWL - DL)
| Name | Flavor (domain-specific) |
| Example | The toothpaste has cherry flavor. |
| Glossary Information | Flavor or flavour (see spelling differences) is the sensory impression of a food or other substance, and is determined mainly by the chemical senses of taste and smell. The "trigeminal senses", which detect chemical irritants in the mouth and throat, may also occasionally determine flavor. The flavor of the food, as such, can be altered with natural or artificial flavorants, which affect these senses. |
| Usage | spdo:Product, Ingredient |
| Properties | isFlavorOf: spdo:Product, Ingredient(*) isInfluencedBy: Ingredient(*) name (DatatypeProperty:String) (*) |
| Name | Ingredient (domain-specific) |
| Example | The product consists of the following ingredients: water, fluoride ... |
| Glossary Information | An ingredient is a substance that forms part of a mixture (in a general sense). |
| Usage | spdo:Product, Consistency, Color, Flavor, Fragrance |
| Properties | isIngredientOf: spdo:Product (*) spdo:hasAggregateState: spdo:AggregateState (1) hasInfluenceOn: Consistency, Color, Flavor, Fragrance (*) spdo:hasColor: spdo:Color (*) hasAreaOfApplication: AreaOfApplication (*) hasFlavor: Flavor (1) hasConsistency: Consistency (1) spdo:hasFunction: spdo:Function (*) hasFragrance: Fragrance (1) spdo:hasWeight: spdo:Weight (1) spdo:fitsTo: Ingredient (*) name (DatatypeProperty:String) (*) |
| Name | Area of Application (domain-specific) |
| Example | The area of application of the product are the mouth and the teeth. |
| Glossary Information | Any part of an organism such as an organ or extremity, e.g. head, face, hair. (SPDO-specific: intention of product) |
| Usage | spdo:Product, Ingredient |
| Properties | isAreaOfApplicationOf: spdo:Product, Ingredient (*) belongsToAreaCategory: External Ontology (*) description-of-area (DatatypeProperty:String) (*) |
| Name | Consistency (domain-specific) |
| Example | The product has a liquid consistency. |
| Glossary Information | The degree of density or viscosity of something, e.g. a product or ingredient of a product. |
| Usage | spdo:Product, Ingredient |
| Properties | isConsistencyOf: spdo:Product, Ingredient (*) isInfluencedBy: Ingredient (*) description-of-consistency (DatatypeProperty:String) (*) |
| Name | Fragrance (domain-specific) |
| Example | The product smells of mint. |
| Glossary Information | An aroma compound, also known as odorant, aroma, fragrance or flavor, is a chemical compound that has a smell or odor. |
| Usage | spdo:Product, Ingredient |
| Properties | isFragranceOf: spdo:Product, Ingredient (*) isInfluencedBy: Ingredient (*) name (DatatypeProperty:String) (*) |
| Name | ShelfLife (domain-specific) |
| Example | The product is best before 6 month after opening. |
| Glossary Information | Shelf life is that length of time that food, drink, medicine and other perishable items are given before they are considered unsuitable for sale or consumption. |
| Usage | spdo:Product |
| Properties | isShelfLifeOf: spdo:Product (*) amount-of-shelf-life (DatatypeProperty:Integer) (1) |
Publications
Maass, W. & Varshney, W. A Framework for Smart Healthcare Situations and Smart Drugs. SIG-Health Pre-AMCIS Workshop at the 15th Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS 2009). San Francisco, USA.
Maass, W. & Janzen, S.
A Pattern-based Ontology Building Method for Ambient Environments
Workshop on Ontology Patterns - WOP2009 at the 8th International Semantic Web Conference (ISWC 2009), Washington, DC, 2009.
Janzen, S. & Maass, W.
CoRA - Interactive Communication with Smart Products
Workshop AmI Blocks at the European Conference on Ambient Intelligence (AmI-08), Nürnberg, Germany, 2008.
Janzen, S. & Maass, W.
Smart Product Description Object (SPDO)
Poster Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Formal Ontology in Information Systems (FOIS2008), Saarbrücken, Germany, 2008.
Maass, W., Filler, A. & Janzen, S.
Reasoning on Smart Products in Consumer Good Domains
Workshop AmI Blocks at the European Conference on Ambient Intelligence (AmI-07) , Darmstadt, 2007.
Maass, W., Behrendt, W. and Gangemi, A.
Carrier Model for Semantically Annotated Information Goods
Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research (JTAER), 2(3), p. 18-35, 2007.
Maass, W. & Filler, A.
Tip 'n Tell: Product-Centered Mobile Reasoning Support for Tangible Shopping , Proc. of MSWFB 2007: Making Semantics Work For Business, part of 1st European Semantic Technology Conference, Vienna, Austria, 2007.
  | Maass_Filler_MSWFB07.pdf | 87.05 KB |
Maass, W.
A Tentative Design Model for Smart Products
Proc. of Workshop Design of Smart Products, Furtwangen, 2007.
Filler, A. & Maass, W.
Towards Navigation in Semantically Annotated Physical Product Descriptions, In: Maass, W.; Schoder, D.; Stahl, F.; Fischbach, K. (eds.): Design of Smart Products, pp. 47-54, Furtwangen, 2007.
Maass, W. & Filler, A.
Towards an infrastructure for semantically annotated physical products.
In Ch. Hochberger and R. Liskowsky, editors, Informatik 2006, volume P-94 of Lecture Notes in Informatics, p. 544–549, Berlin, Springer, 2006.
| TnT.pdf | 101.20 KB |