KR20100061270A - Apparatus and method for servicing placeness-based context information by using ontology - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A device and a method for servicing situation information based on place using ontology are provided to model placeness contextual information of ontology base. CONSTITUTION: A temporal context management unit(806) comprises time information in a situation law and a PHLC(Placeness-based High Level Context) situation law syntax based on a location and a placeness context. A context inference engine unit(808) reasons whether a situation law satisfying relevant condition exists or not based on the situation law and the PHLC situation law syntax. A context event management unit(810) generates event information about corresponding situation law. The contextual information event control unit transfers the event information to the application service unit.

Description

Placement based context information service device and method using ontology {APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SERVICING PLACENESS-BASED CONTEXT INFORMATION BY USING ONTOLOGY}

The present invention relates to a technology for serving context information in a ubiquitous environment, and in particular, a context-aware middleware system for intelligent space in a ubiquitous environment can provide a more appropriate service to a user in consideration of the location of a place where the user is located. The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for location-based contextual information service using an ontology suitable for supporting such information.

In general, context-aware system technology research in a ubiquitous computing environment mainly uses a fragmentary aspect of location as user's context information. This is because the existing ubiquitous computing middleware does not take into account the location of the location where the user is located, so that an application service department has to directly specify the contents in order to provide appropriate services for different locations.

For example, when a user is resting in a living room at home and sitting in a meeting place within a company, in advance, the type of service that an application service department can provide in a living room at home and a meeting place within a company to provide different services. There was an inconvenience to be defined. In addition, it was not possible to provide adequate services for new locations that were not predefined.

In the context-aware system in the prior art ubiquitous computing environment operating as described above, since the ubiquitous computing middleware does not consider the location of the place where the user is located, the user performs the situation-aware service in each other place. If you do, you will receive the same service. Therefore, in order to provide an appropriate service for each place where a user is located in different places, there is a problem that an application program should be implemented while defining the contents thereof.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a location-based contextual information service using an ontology capable of modeling ontology-based locale contextual information in order to provide a locality of a place where a user is located to a context-aware middleware system for an intelligent space in a ubiquitous environment. An apparatus and method are provided.

In addition, the present invention by considering the user's activity (activity) and the social / temporal meaning of the place where the user is located at the same time, ubiquitous middleware based location information service device using the ontology that can provide the appropriate application services to the user And methods.

In addition, the present invention uses the degree of publicity, similarity, preference, and familiarity between users / places / tasks / resources to enable ubiquitous middleware to provide a more appropriate service to users. Provided are an apparatus and method for location based context information service using an ontology.

In addition, the present invention is a combination / combination of current situation information such as space, user activity, social relationship, interaction, and past situation information such as experiential knowledge. Provides an apparatus and method for location-based contextual information service using an ontology that can provide an effective user query method.

An embodiment of the present invention, the situation information query processing unit for receiving the situation information query data or the situation law in conjunction with the application service unit of the portable user device, and provides a processing result for the situation, and the place in the situation law When the gender-based high-level context information (PHLC) is included, the PHLC management unit generates a PHLC context law statement using a context law function, and includes location and location context information, based on the context law and PHLC context law syntax. A temporal context information management unit including time information in the context information, a context information inference engine unit for inferring whether there is a context law that satisfies the condition based on the context law and PHLC context law syntax transmitted from the temporal context information manager; The situation rule satisfies the condition based on the inference result transmitted from the situation information inference engine unit. In one case, it includes a situation information event management unit for generating the event information for the situation law and deliver the generated event information to the application service.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a process of receiving context information query data or a situation rule through an interface in connection with an application service unit of a portable user device, and the situation rule includes location-based high-level context information (PHLC) In this case, a process of generating a PHLC context rule phrase using a context law function, including time information in the context law and PHLC context law syntax based on location and location context information, and including the time information Event information generated by inferring whether there exists a situation law that satisfies the condition based on the situation law and PHLC situation law syntax, and generating event information on the situation rule when the situation law satisfies the condition. It includes the process of delivering to the application service unit.

In the present invention, the effects obtained by the representative ones of the disclosed inventions will be briefly described as follows.

The present invention has the effect of generating three kinds of location-based high-dimensional context information in consideration of the location of the place where the user is located, and the ubiquitous computing middleware can provide a more appropriate service to the user.

Hereinafter, the operating principle of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. The following terms are defined in consideration of the functions of the present invention, and may be changed according to the intentions or customs of the user, the operator, and the like. Therefore, the definition should be made based on the contents throughout the specification.

The present invention is to provide an appropriate application service to the user by the ubiquitous middleware by considering the user's activity (Activity) and the social / temporal meaning of the place where the user is located in the ubiquitous environment at the same time. For example, when a user is resting in a living room and sitting at a meeting place, the social / temporal meaning of each place is different, and thus, different services must be provided.

In addition, the present invention is to model the ontology-based geospatial context information to provide the locality of the place where the user is located in the context-aware middleware system for intelligent space, the detailed function of the contextual awareness middleware system for intelligent space A method of extracting and managing Placeness-based High Level Context (hereinafter referred to as PHLC). Here, PHLC is an extension of existing high-level contextual information based on locationality, and high-dimensional contextual information refers to contextual information inferred by situational law using contextual information collected from sensors or uninferred basic contextual information.

A brief description of the technique used in the present invention is as follows.

Context-aware based service provision technology is a technology that provides the appropriate information or service to the user according to the collected context information. If the situation changes, the existing service is replaced with a new service.

On the other hand, Placeness or Sense of Place in general means 1) the spatial semantics / social relation of the place formed in the temporal flow from the point of view of the place, and 2) the temporal flow in the perspective of the user who uses the space. Refers to the characteristics of a place where the user synthesizes experiences formed through personal interpretation of the target place. In the context-aware system, location information is defined as the location of the location where the user is located. Based on this, 1) the user's behavior is interpreted. In addition, they can harness user behavior, social relationships, interactions, and empirical knowledge.

An embodiment of the present invention proposes a method of modeling locational situation information, three types of PHLC modeling methods, a method of generating situational rule syntax through a PHLC manager, and a structure of a space-time based situation information management system using ontology.

In the present invention, an ontology-based contextual information modeling method is used to represent locational contextual information.

1 is a diagram illustrating an ontology modeling high-dimensional contextual information based on location in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the ontology-based contextual information modeling method not only supports a flexible spatial representation model, but also easily stores, queries, and expresses a situational rule. The requirements for modeling the situational information are to be able to interpret the user's behavior based on the locationality, and the degree of publicity, similarity, and preference between people / places / tasks / resources. In other words, it should be able to express familiarity and utilize user's empirical knowledge, social relations and interaction information in a space.

That is, FIG. 1 illustrates an ontology modeling locational situation information reflecting such a requirement, and considers three types of PHLCs 100.

The first form is defined as PHLC Type 1 (110) as the situation-specific situation information considering the locality 104 and the user's behavior 102, Figure 2 shows the ontology expressing this. Person has an Activity 102 characteristic. Act 102 represents a person's active state. The behavior class subclasses the staying 204 and moving 202 classes. Since the user's behavior 102 is interpreted differently according to the location where the user is currently located, the PHLC Type1 110 is extracted using the locationality 104 of the location where the user is currently located and the user's behavior 102 information. can do.

For example, if the place where you are currently located in a staying situation of a withdrawal is a subway platform, you can create an instance of the WaitForTrain class 206 that says "Awaiting the subway on the subway platform."

3 is a diagram illustrating a situation information extraction method in a subway platform according to an embodiment of the present invention, which shows an example of a subclass of PHLC Type1 110 that can be defined in a subway platform.

In other words, if the user's behavior previously entered the subway platform, when walking on the platform, the user's current behavior in waiting, the user's behavior over time on the subway platform, such as waiting, riding, or changing the subway, Depending on the type, each PHLC subclass can be created.

The second form is defined as PHLC Type2 130 as relationship-based context information.

4 is a diagram of an ontology representing relationship-based contextual information in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the class of person 400 / place 402 / task 404 / resource 406 is a publicity 132. ), Similarity (Similarity) 134, preference (136), and familiarity (Familiarity) (138) have a different relationship. These relationships can be expressed numerically and used to rank the list of services when ubiquitous computing middleware recommends multiple application services.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the meaning of each class based on a person used in relationship-based context information according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the degree of publicity 132, similarity 134, and preference 136 for a person 400 / place 402 / task 404 / resource 406. ), Each meaning according to Familiarity 138, which can be extended to a combination centering on location 402, task 404, and resource 406.

For example, when ubiquitous computing middleware provides a music sharing service to Bob based on PHLC, he can have similar music and music propensities, and can share networks with people who are already familiar with each other.

The third form is defined as PHLC Type 3 (120) as combinational / general context information, and FIG. 6 shows an ontology representing this. Current situational information and experiential knowledge such as Space 104, User Activity 102, Interaction 122, Social Relationship 124, etc. The PHLC is formed by using the past situation information such as) in combination / combination. The PHLC Type 3 120 may provide an effective user query method.

7 is a diagram illustrating a query made by using the combinational / comprehensive context information according to an embodiment of the present invention. For example, referring to FIG. 7, the location and interaction information may be used to create a query such as "What interaction is being used by people near the withdrawal?"

8 is a block diagram illustrating a structure of a space-time based context information management system using an ontology according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, the time-space based context information management system 800 may interoperate with a user's portable user device, and provide ubiquitous computing middleware capable of providing suitable services for different places in consideration of the location of a place where the user is located. As the situation information query processing unit 802, the PHLC management unit 804, the temporal situation information management unit 806, the situation information inference engine unit 808, the situation information event management unit 810, and the placeness context information PCT) model management unit 812, the situation information collection unit 814 and the like.

The context information query processing unit 802 provides an interface through which the ubiquitous application service unit 850 included in the portable user device can register the context law or perform the context information query, and provide a result of the query. The situation law or query registered by the ubiquitous application service unit 850 is added to time information through the temporal context information management unit 806 and registered in the context information inference engine unit 808. In addition, when the received situation law is analyzed and PHLC is included, it is converted into the PHLC situation rule syntax through the PHLC management unit 804 and then transferred to the temporal situation information management unit 806.

The PHLC management unit 804 sends the PHLC Type 1 (110) as the situation-specific situation information to the received situation law, the PHLC Type 2 (130) as the relationship-based context information, and the PHLC Type 3 (120) as the combined / combined context information. If the same PHLC is included, the PHLC situation rule syntax written in FOL (First Order Logic) is generated from the situation law function. For example, FIG. 9 shows a situation rule syntax indicating "withdrawal waits for subway on platform 2" generated from the PHLC Type1 WaitForTrain (withdrawal, subway platform) situation law function using the PHLC management unit 804.

The temporal situation information management unit 806 adds time information to the input situation information or the situation law and registers the situation information inference engine unit 808. Through this, it is possible to manage the history of all the situation information, it is possible to define the subclass of PHLC Type1 by tracking the change of user behavior based on the place, and can also create the empirical knowledge used in PHLC Type3.

The situation information inference engine unit 808 may register / delete the situation information and check whether there is a situation law that satisfies the condition based on the stored situation information. It also provides a query function for context information. The context information event management unit 810 provides a function of delivering an event occurring when the situation law is satisfied to the ubiquitous application service unit 850 that has registered the situation law. The PCT model management unit 812 continuously collects the location information through the web 852 connected to the Internet network to define a PCT concept model, and interoperates with the temporal context information management unit 806 to form a ubiquitous computing middleware. The information management system 800 provides a basis for utilizing locational situation information.

The contextual information collecting unit 814 abstracts the sensing values transmitted through the various sensors 854 into values usable in the space-time-based contextual information management system 800, and transmits them to the temporal contextual information managing unit 806, thereby providing temporal information. The context information management unit 806 stores time information by including the transmitted sensing value. In addition, the ubiquitous application service unit 850 allows the sensing value to be utilized in the same manner regardless of the type of the sensor 854.

10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of a space-time based context information management system using an ontology according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 10, in operation 1000, context information queried by a user is input or generated through a ubiquitous application service unit 850 included in a portable user device such as a user's mobile phone or a portable multimedia player (PMP). The law is transmitted to the contextual information query processing unit 802 through the construction-based contextual information management system 800.

The context information query processing unit 802 determines whether the PHLC (for example, 1 to 3 types of PHLCs) is included in the situation law received in step 1002, and when the PHLC is included, the process proceeds to step 1004. In step 804, the conversion to the corresponding PHLC situation rule syntax is performed based on the PHLC situation rule function.

However, if the PHLC is not included in the situation law received in step 1002, the process proceeds to step 1006, where time information is added in step 1008 by adding time information to the situation law through the temporal situation information management unit 806. The law is registered in the situation information inference engine unit 808. In addition, when the transformed PHLC context rule syntax is transferred to the temporal context information management unit 806 in step 1004, time information is added to the PHLC context rule syntax and registered in the context information inference engine unit 808.

In operation 1010, the PCT model manager 812 continuously collects new location information through the web 852 connected to the Internet network, and the collected information is transferred to the temporal context information manager 806. In operation 1012, the situation information collecting unit 814 periodically reports the situation information collected from the various sensors 854 to the temporal situation information managing unit 806. For example, the position sensing value collected through the position sensor is reported to the temporal situation information management unit 806. The temporal situation information management unit 806 attaches time information to the situation information collected from the sensor 854 (eg, the position sensing value) and stores the time information in the situation information reasoning engine unit 808.

In step 1014, the situation information inference engine unit 808 performs the following inference. For example, the current user's location is on the subway platform. On the other hand, another situation law confirms that the user stays within the designated radius for the designated time, and infers the waiting situation information with the behavior situation information of the user. The WaitForTrain situation law of PHLC Type1 is satisfied due to the inferred wait situation information and the user's current platform location situation information.

As described above, the situation information inference engine unit 808 infers whether or not there is a situation law that satisfies the condition based on the registered or stored situation information, and transfers the inferred result to the situation information event management unit 810. In step 1016, the context information event management unit 810 notifies the event to the ubiquitous application service unit 850 in which the situation law is registered when the situation law is satisfied. When application services are recommended, they can be used to rank the list of services.

As described above, the present invention considers the social / temporal meaning of the user's behavior and the place where the user is located in the ubiquitous environment, and the ubiquitous middleware provides an appropriate application service to the user.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but is capable of various modifications within the scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined not only by the scope of the following claims, but also by those equivalent to the scope of the claims.

1 is a diagram illustrating an ontology modeling high-level contextual information based on location according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a diagram of an ontology representing situation information specific to a place according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a diagram illustrating a context information extraction method in a subway platform according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a diagram of an ontology representing situation based context information according to an embodiment of the present invention;

5 is a view showing the meaning of each class based on the person used in the relationship-based context information according to an embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 6 is a diagram of an ontology representing combinatorial / general contextual information in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

7 illustrates a query made using combinatorial / general context information according to an embodiment of the present invention;

8 is a block diagram showing the structure of a space-time based context information management system using an ontology according to an embodiment of the present invention;

9 is a diagram illustrating a situation law syntax generated from a situation law function using a PHLC manager according to an embodiment of the present invention;

10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of a space-time based context information management system using an ontology according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of Signs of Major Parts of Drawings>

800: context-based context information management system 802: context information query processing unit

804: PHLC management unit 806: temporal situation information management unit

808: context information inference engine 810: context information event management unit

812: PCT model management unit 814: situation information collection unit

850: Ubiquitous Application Services Division 852: Web

854: Sensor

Claims (12)

A situation information query processor which receives the situation information query data or the situation law by interworking with the application service unit of the portable user device and provides a processing result for the situation; A PHLC management unit for generating a PHLC situation rule phrase using a situation law function when the situation law includes the location-based high-dimensional context information (PHLC); A temporal context information management unit including position and location context information and including time information in the context law and PHLC context law syntax based on this; A situation information reasoning engine unit for inferring whether there is a situation law that satisfies the condition based on the situation rule and the PHLC situation rule syntax transmitted from the temporal situation information management unit; Situation information event management unit for generating the event information for the situation law and forwarded to the application service unit when the situation law satisfies the condition based on the inference result delivered from the situation information inference engine unit Location-based contextual information service device using an ontology comprising a. The method of claim 1, The PHLC is, Location-based contextual information service device using ontology, characterized in that the situation-specific contextual information, relationship-based contextual information, combined or comprehensive contextual information is modeled ontology. 3. The method of claim 2, The situation information peculiar to the place mentioned above, Location-based contextual information service device using an ontology, characterized in that the behavior of the user and the social and temporal meaning of the place where the user is located is modeled. 3. The method of claim 2, The relationship-based situation information, Location-based contextual information service device using an ontology characterized in that it is an ontology modeling the meaning of the degree of publicity, similarity, preference, familiarity for users, places, tasks, resources. The method of claim 4, wherein The relationship-based situation information, When the situation information event management unit recommends an application service by forming each relationship, the location-based context information service device using the ontology, characterized in that used as the sort order of the service list. 3. The method of claim 2, The combined or comprehensive situation information, Location-based contextual information service device using ontology, characterized in that the ontology modeled by using the combination of the current situation information, such as place, user behavior, social relations, interaction, and the past situation information, such as empirical knowledge combined or comprehensively. Receiving the situation information query data or the situation law through the interface in connection with the application service unit of the portable user device; Generating a PHLC situation rule syntax using a situation law function when the situation law includes the location-based high-level context information (PHLC); Including time information in the situation rule and the PHLC situation rule syntax based on location and location context information; Deducing whether there is a situation rule that satisfies the condition based on the situation rule including the time information and the syntax of the PHLC situation rule; When the situation rule satisfies the condition, the process of generating event information on the situation law and delivering it to the application service unit. Location-based context information service method using an ontology comprising a. The method of claim 7, wherein The PHLC is, Location-based contextual information service method using ontology, characterized in that the situation-specific contextual information, relationship-based contextual information, combined or comprehensive contextual information is modeled ontology. The method of claim 8, The situation information peculiar to the place mentioned above, Location-based contextual information service method using an ontology characterized in that the behavior of the user and the social and temporal meaning of the place where the user is located is modeled. The method of claim 8, The relationship-based situation information, Location-based context information service method using an ontology, characterized in that the ontology modeling the meaning of the degree of publicity, similarity, preference, familiarity for users, places, tasks, resources. The method of claim 10, The relationship-based situation information, The situation-based contextual information service method using ontology, wherein each relationship is formed as a numerical value, and the contextual information event manager uses the service list as an order of sorting the service list. The method of claim 8, The combined or comprehensive situation information, Location-based context information service method using ontology characterized in that the ontology modeled by using the combination of the current situation information, such as place, user behavior, social relations, interaction, and the past situation information, such as empirical knowledge combined or comprehensively.

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