Software Interoperability Research Articles

BIM and Energy Efficient Retrofitting in School Buildings

The aim of the research project presented in this paper is to experiment actions to improve the existing school building management and maintenance through a technological and process innovation based on the Building Information Modeling (BIM). In the field of refurbishment and reuse of existing buildings, some of the most sensible and specific sectors are investigated, particularly focusing on energy efficiency, structural improvement, up-to-date information on completed works and quality control. The project's goal is to take advantage of the information technologies, beginning from software interoperability, and defining a new working philosophy that should use the BIM also in the monitoring, managing and maintenance phases. This will result in an advanced drafting of the design standards for refurbishment/reuse of public buildings by a hierarchic data structure (Preliminary Requirements). The optimization of the process will lead to a complete building modeling (architecture, structure, facilities, deterioration) in order to describe both the residual building performance and the outgoings of the refurbishment design (Final BIM Requirements). The research has been validated by on-field application (school buildings).

Modular Interoperability in Surgical Robotics Software

This article reviews on modular interoperability of the software that is used for these types of systems. One key point is that while hierarchical multi-rate control may be suitable for the master and slave robots, there is also a requirement to handle the video and ultrasound images. This article presented an overview of surgical robot systems, with the recognition that these systems are not just robots, but integrated systems that include robots, databases, and real-time sensors such as video and other medical imaging devices. Common research platforms, such as the da Vinci Research Kit and Raven II, have recently become available. This has underscored the need for modular software interoperability, so that researchers can share software modules and more easily integrate other robots and devices. Standardization and interoperability are most applicable at the higher software layers, and can benefit from the availability of widely-adopted middleware such as ROS. Other interface protocols, such as OpenIGTLink, can be useful due to their wide support within the medical imaging and image-guided intervention domains.

Data interoperability software solution for emergency reaction in the Europe Union

Abstract. Emergency management becomes more challenging in international crisis episodes because of cultural, semantic and linguistic differences between all stakeholders, especially first responders. Misunderstandings between first responders makes decision making slower and more difficult. However, spread and development of networks and IT-based emergency management systems (EMSs) have improved emergency responses, which have become more coordinated. Despite improvements made in recent years, EMSs have not still solved problems related to cultural, semantic and linguistic differences which are the real cause of slower decision making. In addition, from a technical perspective, the consolidation of current EMSs and the different formats used to exchange information offers another problem to be solved in any solution proposed for information interoperability between heterogeneous EMSs in different contexts. To overcome these problems, we present a software solution based on semantic and mediation technologies. EMERGency ELements (EMERGEL) (Fundacion CTIC and AntwortING Ingenieurbüro PartG, 2013), a common and modular ontology shared by all the stakeholders, has been defined. It offers the best solution to gather all stakeholders' knowledge in a unique and flexible data model, taking into account different countries' cultural and linguistic issues. To deal with the diversity of data protocols and formats, we have designed a service-oriented architecture for data interoperability (named DISASTER: Data Interoperability Solution At STakeholders Emergency Reaction) providing a flexible extensible solution to solve the mediation issues. Web services have been adopted as specific technology to implement this paradigm that has the most significant academic and industrial visibility and attraction. Contributions of this work have been validated through the design and development of a cross-border realistic prototype scenario, actively involving both emergency managers and emergency-first responders: the Netherlands–Germany border fire.

An ontology-driven unifying metamodel of UML Class Diagrams, EER, and ORM2

Software interoperability and application integration can be realized through using their respective conceptual data models, which may be represented in different conceptual data modeling languages. Such modeling languages seem similar, yet are known to be distinct. Several translations between subsets of the languages' features exist, but there is no unifying framework that respects most language features of the static structural components and constraints. We aim to fill this gap. To this end, we designed a common and unified ontology-driven metamodel of the static, structural components, and constraints in such a way that it unifies ER, EER, UML Class Diagrams v2.4.1, and ORM and ORM2 such that each one is a proper fragment of the consistent metamodel. The paper also presents some notable insights into the relatively few common entities and constraints, an analysis on roles, relationships, and attributes, and other modeling motivations are discussed. We describe two practical use cases of the metamodel, being a quantitative assessment of the entities of 30 models in ER/EER, UML, and ORM/ORM2, and a qualitative evaluation of inter-model assertions.

Integrating commercial ambulatory electronic health records with hospital systems: An evolutionary process

ObjectiveThe increase in electronic health record implementation in all treatment venues has led to greater demands for integration within and across practice settings with different work cultures. We study the evolution of coordination processes when integrating ambulatory-specific electronic health records with hospital systems. Materials and methodsLongitudinal qualitative study using semi-structured interviews and archival documentation throughout a 5-year implementation and integration of obstetrical ambulatory and hospital records with a goal of achieving a perinatal continuum of care. ResultsAs users implement and integrate electronic health records, there is an evolution in their focus from technology acceptance to structural adaptation to coordination. The users’ perspective on standardization evolves from initial concern about the unintended consequences of standardization to recognition of its importance and then finally to more active acceptance. The system itself cannot drive all reengineering; the organization must impose specific work process changes and as the user's perspective evolves, more individually adapted and aligned change will occur. Computer integration alone does not result in coordination; users must value integrated information and incorporate this information within their workflows. DiscussionUsers initially view electronic health records as a documentation tool, but over time they come to recognize the benefits of the system for clinical information retrieval, and finally, for care coordination after the integrated information provided through electronic health records becomes more complete, accessible and adapted to meet user needs. As this occurs, coordination mechanisms move beyond pooled standardization through sequential plans coordinated by the organization to reciprocal mutual adjustments for clinical decision making by individuals. Trust in the information source, not software interoperability, is critical for information sharing. ConclusionsOrganizations implementing commercial electronic health records cannot simply assume that reciprocal coordination will immediately occur. It takes time for users to adjust, and enculturate coordination goals, during which time there are adaptive structurations that require organizational response, and changes in mechanisms for achieving coordination.

ISAC's Gating-ML 2.0 data exchange standard for gating description.

The lack of software interoperability with respect to gating has traditionally been a bottleneck preventing the use of multiple analytical tools and reproducibility of flow cytometry data analysis by independent parties. To address this issue, ISAC developed Gating-ML, a computer file format to encode and interchange gates. Gating-ML 1.5 was adopted and published as an ISAC Candidate Recommendation in 2008. Feedback during the probationary period from implementors, including major commercial software companies, instrument vendors, and the wider community, has led to a streamlined Gating-ML 2.0. Gating-ML has been significantly simplified and therefore easier to support by software tools. To aid developers, free, open source reference implementations, compliance tests, and detailed examples are provided to stimulate further commercial adoption. ISAC has approved Gating-ML as a standard ready for deployment in the public domain and encourages its support within the community as it is at a mature stage of development having undergone extensive review and testing, under both theoretical and practical conditions.

A conceptual model for translating omic data into clinical action

Genomic, proteomic, epigenomic, and other “omic” data have the potential to enable precision medicine, also commonly referred to as personalized medicine. The volume and complexity of omic data are rapidly overwhelming human cognitive capacity, requiring innovative approaches to translate such data into patient care. Here, we outline a conceptual model for the application of omic data in the clinical context, called “the omic funnel.” This model parallels the classic “Data, Information, Knowledge, Wisdom pyramid” and adds context for how to move between each successive layer. Its goal is to allow informaticians, researchers, and clinicians to approach the problem of translating omic data from bench to bedside, by using discrete steps with clearly defined needs. Such an approach can facilitate the development of modular and interoperable software that can bring precision medicine into widespread practice.

Business Archetypes and Archetype Patterns from the HL7 RIM and openEHR RM Perspectives: Towards Interoperability and Evolution of Healthcare Models and Software Systems

Abstract Business archetypes and archetype patterns were originally introduced by Arlow and Neustadt. Business archetype patterns (Product, Party, Order, Inventory, Quantity and Rule), composed of business archetypes (e.g., Person's Name, Address, Phone Number) are the universal information models describing the universe of discourse of businesses. We have redesigned these archetypes and archetype patterns and are using the redesigned version of archetypes and archetype patterns in the development of real life healthcare software. In this paper we compare the redesigned archetypes and archetype patterns with the HL7 Version 3: Reference Information Model and openEHR Reference Model. In our comparison we emphasize semantical aggregation of health data across heterogeneous data sources, as well as the interoperability and evolution of models and software.

Библиотека ограничений для спецификации индустриальных моделей данных

The paper is addressed to an analysis of object-oriented data models specified at EXPRESS language and widely used in industrial applications. These models play important role for achievement of software interoperability and system integration in accordance with STEP standard family (ISO 10303). The examples of such models are STEP application protocols for machinery construction, automobile industry, shipbuiling, electronics, electrical engineering, systems engineering, furniture production as well as IFC (ISO 16739) model for architecture, engineering and construction, CIS/2 model for manufacturing using constructional steel work, POSC Caesar (ISO 15296) model for oil and gas producing industry. The purpose of the performed analysis is to unify representation of data integrity constraints typically used in the models by means of identification of constraint patterns. The identified patterns are specified at EXPRESS language as an unified constraint library that can be applied both on refactoring of the existing models and on development of new ones. Utilizing the constraint library users can improve clearness of the specifications, to simplify their maintenance and evolution and, on the whole, to accelerate their development. Besides, CASE tools can be effectively applied to analyze the specifications in highly automatic way. Possibility to apply the library for verification of the data models is also discussed in the paper. Rules for resolving the appropriate constraints have been proposed for each pattern. The constraint library can be recommended to industrial consortiums and technical committees that are engaged in development and standardization of the data models. The work is supported by RFBR (grant 13-07-00390).

Enterprise Interoperability for Global Collaborative Networks through Cloud Knowledge-Oriented Collaboration System

New opportunities for global enterprise collaboration are leading into an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) era of network ubiquity through the development of new cooperative cyber-processes, which will provide the ability to deliver real-time integration capabilities. This move is supported by interconnected clouds computing with the idea of extending interoperable software and hardware environments from a physical to a virtual infrastructure. Whilst the Internet and cloud technology are indispensable for the operation and collaboration of modern enterprises, they remain nevertheless, at the level of cloud-enabled databases and IT software integration. They fall far short of the knowledge that is relevant for collaborative creation and operation. This paper aims to introduce and develop the concept of a Cloud Knowledge-Oriented Collaboration Systems (cKOCS), which combines cloud computing, the knowledge community, self-learning knowledge and rule-based moderator technology for global collaborative networks. The cloud knowledgeoriented collaboration system must facilitate the effective and efficient transmission of knowledge with the right expertise and those that enable connections with the right information, enable ad-hoc collaboration, provide a platform to establish real-time notification and awareness in collaborative situations and support collaborative enterprises decision making among participations.

Toward an interoperable software platform for sustainable energy

A draft architecture of a software platform is proposed to support software components interoperability in energy production systems. The scope of the platform is to address the sustainability of energy production and use efficiency. A first prototype of this platform is under development in the framework of the French ANR Plate-Form(E)3 project. Interoperability issues have been faced to design the platform. Best available candidate technologies for implementing the platform are also discussed. One architecture for facing the basic interoperability issues is also presented. A real industrial application case example is proposed to show the potential use of the proposed architecture.

The Emergence of Open-Source Software for the Weather Radar Community

Abstract Weather radar analysis has become increasingly sophisticated over the past 50 years, and efforts to keep software up to date have generally lagged behind the needs of the users. We argue that progress has been impeded by the fact that software has not been developed and shared as a community. Recently, the situation has been changing. In this paper, the developers of a number of open-source software (OSS) projects highlight the potential of OSS to advance radar-related research. We argue that the community-based development of OSS holds the potential to reduce duplication of efforts and to create transparency in implemented algorithms while improving the quality and scope of the software. We also conclude that there is sufficiently mature technology to support collaboration across different software projects. This could allow for consolidation toward a set of interoperable software platforms, each designed to accommodate very specific user requirements.

Standards for Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) Techniques within Manufacturing Operations


 
 
 Prognostics and health management (PHM) technologies reduce time and costs for maintenance of products or processes through efficient and cost-effective diagnostic and prognostic activities. These activities aim to provide actionable information to enable intelligent decision-making for improved performance, safety, reliability, and maintainability. Thoughtful PHM techniques can have a dramatic impact on manufacturing operations, and standards for PHM system development, data collection and analysis techniques, data management, system training, and software interoperability need to exist for manufacturing. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) conducted a survey of PHM-related standards applicable to manufacturing systems to determine the needs addressed by such standards, the extent of these standards, and any commonalities as well as potential gaps among the documents. Standards from various national and international organizations are summarized, including those from the International Electrotechnical Commission, the International Organization for Standardization, and SAE International. Finally, areas for future PHM-related standards development are identified.
 
 

FESTivE: an information system method to improve product designers and environmental experts information exchanges

Effective collaboration between product designers and environmental experts is an important driver for the ecodesign practice in industry. This paper investigates the principal functions required for such an effective collaboration and aims at facilitating them. Product designers should be able to integrate the environmental parameters into their activities, and to exchange information dynamically with the environmental expert whenever needed during the design process. Therefore, the IT system should be in itself dynamic and flexible to the integration of new concepts (knowledge, software). Recent developments in Model Driven Engineering (MDE) are showing some interesting results to gain flexibility and dynamism in the IT system. Combining software interoperability using model federation based on MDE with the specificity of ecodesign practice in industry this paper proposes the FESTivE method for Federate EcodeSign Tool modEls. Experimented in two different industrial contexts the practical feasibility of FESTivE has been validated with practitioners. Results on the effects of using FESTivE in industry shows that product designers and environmental experts are more equipped to anticipate and to respond to each other's needs at each stage of the design process of product or service.

The Bioinformatics Open Source Conference (BOSC) 2013.

Abstract Contact: nlharris@lbl.gov

Public sector software and the revolution: digital literacy in communist Kerala

In the context of cost-cutting and austerity measures, public sector software based on the principles and technologies of free and open source software is increasingly being used by governments in both the developed and developing worlds. The move to adopt non-proprietorial software has been precipitated by a number of factors apart from cost, including the recognition of the effects of vendor lock-in, the consequences of efficiency deficits linked to the lack of inter-operability of software across sectors and departments, the recognition of the failure of existing software policy and its consequences, particularly a heightened comprehension of risk, and the realisation of the need for informational independence. This article explores public sector software as a ‘public good’, with specific reference to the IT@School project in Kerala state, India, that has enabled access and, in that process, empowered local, state-funded secondary school teachers and students to define, shape and create their own informational futures.

Second Workshop on Coupling Technologies for Earth System Models

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Rocky Dunlap, College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, 801 Atlantic Drive, Atlanta, GA 30332, E-mail: rocky@cc.gatech.edu

Interoperability requirements for automated manufacturing systems in construction

Multi-disciplinary software interoperability in the Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Operations industry is becoming a new and widely adopted business culture. Technical advances in inte...

Development of Concrete Bridge Data Schema for Interoperability

The advancement of key aspects of bridge information modeling for software interoperability and data exchange has attracted increasing interest from various stakeholders in the bridge industry. Potential benefits include reductions in project delivery time, errors, and cost. However, a lack of standardized data exchange protocols hinders the development and deployment of such modeling. This situation causes the still-all-too-fragmented bridge industry to waste a large amount of money each year. The research presented in this paper was motivated by the advantages of using interoperability to streamline the approaches used to deliver concrete bridge projects. Every bridge project requires frequent communication; without improved software interoperability, projects can become bogged down with requests for information. This paper develops, demonstrates, and implements key aspects of interoperable data schema protocols that can be used to facilitate the exchange of bridge information in the planning, design, detailing, fabrication, and construction phases of concrete bridge projects. These protocols will be public domain and software neutral with their implementation being considered in various bridge software applications.

On Architecting and Composing Through-life Engineering Information Services to Enable Smart Manufacturing

Engineering information systems play an important role in the current era of digitization of manufacturing, which is also known as smart manufacturing. Traditionally, these engineering information systems spanned the lifecycle of a product by providing interoperability of software subsystems through a combination of open and proprietary exchange of data. But research and development efforts are underway to replace this paradigm with engineering information services that can be composed dynamically to meet changing needs in the operation of smart manufacturing systems. This paper describes the opportunities and challenges in architecting such engineering information services and composing them to enable smart manufacturing.