WO2014094069A1

WO2014094069A1 - A system and method for changing at least one real item

Info

Publication number: WO2014094069A1
Application number: PCT/AU2013/001507
Authority: WO
Inventors: Graham Christopher MURRAY
Original assignee: Thoughtweb Systems Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2012-12-21
Filing date: 2013-12-23
Publication date: 2014-06-26
Also published as: AU2013362825A1

Abstract

A system for changing at least one real item through use of a plurality of linked KDs. KDs are contained within an ECN and system includes an input device having an input data port that is responsive to data signals. Those data signals are derived from the real item 601. ECN includes memory for containing records indicative of the plurality of KDs, where each KD is linked to at least one other KD and includes respective unique KD metadata. There is a plurality of linked concepts associated with each KD, and each concept has unique concept metadata. A plurality of objects is associated with each concept, and each object has unique object metadata and at least one attribute. A processor executes for populating attributes and generating a second signal in response to selectively accessing the KD metadata. An output device changes the real item.

Description

A SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CHANGING AT LEAST ONE REAL ITEM FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a system and a method for changing at least one real item.

[0002] The invention has been developed primarily for applications to enterprises and entities that make use of a large number of internal and external data sources for contributing to decision making, planning, and similar activities, and will be described hereinafter with reference to those applications. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to these particular fields of use and is also applicable to small enterprises, robots, and other entities.

[0003] Embodiments and arrangements of the invention have been particularly developed for enabling contextualised access to metadata and underlying data for allowing meaningful and efficient access to relevant metadata and data from typically many large and disparate sources of metadata and data. The embodiments and arrangements will be described herein with particular reference to use within a large corporate environment where use is made of a large number of specialist and disparate databases. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to such a field of use, and is also applicable to other environments, such as public organisations, social communities, and any not-for-profit organisations, or a combination of such organisations, amongst others.

BACKGROUND

[0004] Any discussion of the background art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.

[0005] As businesses and other organisations and enterprises increasingly have to grapple with the challenges of "Big Data" they inevitably need to raise their awareness of the compromises and assumptions that must be made. What was reasonable to ignore in prior times will simply present large and considerable challenges to overcome as further steps are taken to digitise the known universe.

[0006] The purpose of capturing this Big Data is to derive business value from the data or, in a non-commercial context, to improve the quality of decision making by relying ever more greatly upon empirical fact over speculation. Ultimately, the decision-making process results in an action being taken, or not, where either alternative is intended to have an impact upon the physical universe outside of the decision making system. [0007] However, simply capturing data does not automatically give rise to the desired outcomes in the external physical universe, and there is a need for additional effort to achieve the required organisational agility from the increasing abundance of data.

[0008] One key strategic driver for Big Data is to increase business agility through the use of cybernetics - that is, automation with a "human in the loop" - and robotics - that is, "autonomous intelligence". For example, businesses are making increasing use of technology to enable collaboration and information sharing while maintaining efficiency and speed in decision making. This is resulting in the evolution of cybernetics in business decision making - the computer is enabling an enormous increase of data processing and analytics while the human is remaining in the loop, being fed more up-to-date information and visualisations and remaining firmly in control of the decisions while also being better informed. In the case of cybernetics, the human component is maintained at critical decision points while the degree of automation and processing consistency is increased. In the case of robotics, the existence of tacit knowledge in the computer enables the robot to overcome increasingly difficult challenges without resorting to human assistance.

[0009] These developments indicate that one of the frontiers challenging organisations today is tacit knowledge (for example, know-how based on experience) and the difficulty of computerising/digitising tacit knowledge.

[0010] One approach to computerise this tacit knowledge is to provide the relevant data in a contextualised form with metadata. There are a number of known methodologies for arranging information and selectively granting users access to portions of that information through the use of metadata. One such methodology is disclosed in US patent 6,694,329 (Murray) where use is made of business rules and a structure referred to as a knowledge domain (KD). This KD is constructed in response to the business rules and is, in effect, a plurality of linked or related concepts, where the concepts include the concept's information, objects, and the object's information. This methodology is best suited to single organisations or relatively closely related groups and is not readily suitable for up-scaling into larger applications that extend across large organisations, or across multiple organisations or entities.

[0011] Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved a system and a method for changing at least one real item. There is also a need in the art for an improved system and method for providing one or more users with access to metadata.

SUM MARY OF THE INVENTION

[0012] It is an object of the present invention to overcome or ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art, or to provide a useful alternative. [0013] According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a system for changing at least one real item, the system including:

an input device that is responsive to the at least one real item for providing a first signal indicative of one or more characteristics of the at least one real item;

memory for containing records indicative of:

a plurality of knowledge domains (KDs), wherein each KD is linked to at least one other KD and includes respective unique KD metadata that is available to be discovered;

a linked plurality of concepts associated with each respective KD, wherein each concept has unique concept metadata that is available to be discovered and which is derived at least in part from the KD metadata of the associated KD; and

a plurality of objects associated with each concept, wherein each object has: unique object metadata that is available to be discovered and which is derived at least in part from the concept metadata of the associated concept; and at least one attribute that is able to be populated;

a processor for executing computer code so as to: be responsive to the first signal for populating one more of the at least one attribute; and for generating a second signal in response to selectively accessing one or more of the records to discover the KD metadata for at least one KD; and

an output device that is responsive to the second signal to change the at least one real item.

[0014] In an embodiment the input device includes a plurality of sensors and the first signal is indicative of one or physical properties of the real item.

[0015] In an embodiment the output device changes one or more of the physical properties of the real item.

[0016] In an embodiment the real item is a set of accessible data points external to the system, the input device includes an input data port and the first signal is indicative of a first data point selected from the set of accessible data points.

[0017] In an embodiment the output device is a data port and the second signal changes at least one of the data points in the set of accessible data points.

[0018] In an embodiment the second signal changes at least one of the data points by adding additional information to the data point.

[0019] In an embodiment at least one of the data points in the set of accessible data points includes a database and the second signal changes the database. [0020] In an embodiment the database has a plurality of records and the second signal changes the database by: updating one or more of the records; or adding another record to the database.

[0021] In an embodiment the real object is a one or more KDs external to the system.

[0022] In an embodiment the real item includes: a plurality of other systems having respective connected networks of KDs; and other accessible information.

[0023] According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a method for changing at least one real item, the method including the steps of:

being responsive to the at least one real item for providing a first signal indicative of one or more characteristics of the at least one real item;

providing memory for containing records indicative of:

executing computer code with a processor so as to: be responsive to the first signal for populating one more of the at least one attribute; and for generating a second signal in response to selectively accessing one or more of the records to discover the KD metadata for at least one KD; and

being responsive to the second signal to change the at least one real item.

[0024] According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a method for providing one or more users with access to metadata, the method including the steps of: providing records indicative of:

a plurality of knowledge domains (KDs), wherein each KD is able to be linked to at least one other KD and includes respective unique KD metadata that is selectively available to be discovered by the users;

a linked plurality of concepts associated with each respective KD, wherein each concept has unique concept metadata that is selectively available to be discovered by the users and which is derived at least in part from the KD metadata of the associated KD; and

a plurality of objects associated with each concept, wherein each object has: unique object metadata that is selectively available to be discovered by the users and which is derived at least in part from the concept metadata of the associated concept; and at least one attribute that is able to be populated; allowing the users to selectively access the records to discover the KD metadata for at least one KD, wherein access to a given KD selectively provides the user with access to the concepts associated with the given KD; and

selectively allowing a given user with access to a given KD to access the records so as to discover the KD metadata of another KD that is linked to the given KD.

[0025] According to a fourth aspect of the invention there is provided a system for providing one or more users with access to metadata, the system including:

memory for containing records indicative of:

a plurality of objects associated with each concept, wherein each object has: unique object metadata that is selectively available to be discovered by the users and which is derived at least in part from the concept metadata of the associated concept; and at least one attribute that is able to be populated; an interface for allowing the users to selectively access the records to discover the

KD metadata for at least one KD, wherein access to a given KD selectively provides the user with access to the concepts associated with the given KD; and

a processor for executing computer code for selectively allowing a given user with access to a given KD to access the records so as to discover the KD metadata of another

KD that is linked to the given KD.

[0026] In an embodiment the interface selectively allows the users to populate one or more of the attributes.

[0027] In an embodiment at least one of the attributes is populated from the attribute of another concept. [0028] In an embodiment the at least one attribute is within a first object that is associated with a first concept that is associated with a first KD and the another concept is associated with a second KD that is other than the first KD.

[0029] In an embodiment the system includes a database for storing data, wherein at least one of the attributes is derived from the data.

[0030] In an embodiment the database is a plurality of separate databases.

[0031] In an embodiment the separate databases are arranged in sets of separate databases, wherein the separate databases in the sets are accessible through respective computer networks and the processor includes a plurality of processors each of which is associated with one of the networks.

[0032] In an embodiment the processor is a plurality of separate processors.

[0033] In an embodiment the processor executes the computer code for two of the KDs for defining link metadata for those two KDs that is indicative of a link between those two

KDs.

[0034] In an embodiment the link is between one or more concepts associated with a first of the two KDs and one or more concepts associated with the other of the two KDs.

[0035] In an embodiment the processor executes the computer code for at least two KDs that are linked to each other to allow one or more objects associated with one or more concepts associated with a first of the two KDs to be linked to one or more of the objects associated with one or more of the concepts that are associated with the other of the two KDs.

[0036] In an embodiment the processor executes the computer code for at least two KDs to allow one or more objects associated with the other of the two KDs to be linked to one or more of the objects in the first of the two KDs.

[0037] In an embodiment the processor executes the computer code such that the linking of objects in different KDs is dependent upon one or more characteristics of the link between the relevant KDs.

[0038] In an embodiment the processor, in executing the KD computer code for a given KD, is responsive to one or more of the KD metadata, the concept metadata and the object metadata for that KD.

[0039] In an embodiment the system operates on a single contained network.

[0040] In an embodiment the computer code operates on one or more of the KD metadata, the concept metadata and the object-meta data to generate further metadata.

[0041] In an embodiment each user has an access permission and the processor, in executing the computer code for the KDs, is responsive to the access permission for a given user for selectively allowing that user to access the records for another KD that is linked to the given KD.

[0042] In an embodiment the computer code for each KD is standardised for enabling linking between the KDs.

[0043] According to a fifth aspect of the invention there is provided a system for changing at least one real item, the system including:

memory for maintaining records indicative of a plurality of linked knowledge domains (KDs);

a processor for executing computer code so as to: be responsive to the first signal for updating one more of the records; and generating a second signal in response to selectively accessing one or more of the records; and

[0044] In an embodiment the input device includes a plurality of sensors and the first signal is indicative of one or physical properties of the real item.

[0045] In an embodiment the output device changes one or more of the physical properties of the real item.

[0046] In an embodiment the real item is a set of accessible data points external to the system, the input device includes an input data port and the first signal is indicative of a first data point selected from the set of data points.

[0047] In an embodiment the output device is a data port and the second signal changes at least one of the data points in the set of data points.

[0048] In an embodiment the real object is a one or more KDs external to the system.

[0049] According to a sixth aspect of the invention there is provided a method for changing at least one real item, the method including the steps of:

providing memory for maintaining records indicative of a plurality of linked knowledge domains (KDs);

executing computer code with a processor so as to: be responsive to the first signal for updating one more of the records; and generating a second signal in response to selectively accessing one or more of the records; and

being responsive to the second signal to change the at least one real item. [0050] According to a seventh aspect of the invention there is provided a computing structure for allowing users of an organisation to change at least one real item external to the structure, the computing structure including:

a system of the fourth aspect, wherein the processor executes the computer code so as to: be responsive to the first signal for updating one more of the records; and generating a second signal in response to selectively accessing one or more of the records; and

[0051] In an embodiment the users are selected from the group including the elements: humans; machines, software, virtual machines, or a combination of any two or more of the preceding elements.

[0052] In an embodiment the computing structure includes at least two separate systems of the fourth aspect having respective sets of linked KDs that are selectively discoverable by users in the other system.

[0053] According to an eighth aspect of the invention there is provided a method for operating a computing structure for allowing users of an organisation to change at least one real item external to the structure, the method including the steps of:

providing a system of the fourth aspect, wherein the processor executes the computer code so as to: be responsive to the first signal for updating one more of the records; and generating a second signal in response to selectively accessing one or more of the records; and

being responsive to the second signal to change the at least one real item.

[0054] According to a ninth aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for providing one or more users with access to metadata. The method may comprise the step of providing records. The records may be indicative of a plurality of knowledge domains (KDs), wherein each KD is able to be linked to at least one other KD and includes respective unique KD metadata that is selectively available to be discovered by the users. The records may further be indicative of a linked plurality of concepts associated with each respective KD, wherein each concept has unique concept metadata that is selectively available to be discovered by the users and which is derived at least in part from the KD metadata of the associated KD. The records may further be indicative of a plurality of objects associated with each concept, wherein each object has: unique object metadata that is selectively available to be discovered by the users and which is derived at least in part from the concept metadata of the associated concept; and at least one attribute that is able to be populated.

[0055] The method may further comprise the step of allowing the users to selectively access the records to discover the KD metadata for at least one KD, wherein access to a given KD selectively provides the user with access to the concepts associated with the given KD.

[0056] The method may further comprise the step of selectively allowing a given user with access to a given KD to access the records so as to discover the KD metadata of another KD that is linked to the given KD.

[0057] In an arrangement of the ninth aspect, there is provided a method for providing one or more users with access to metadata, the method including the steps of: providing records indicative of: a plurality of knowledge domains (KDs), wherein each KD is able to be linked to at least one other KD and includes respective unique KD metadata that is selectively available to be discovered by the users; a linked plurality of concepts associated with each respective KD, wherein each concept has unique concept metadata that is selectively available to be discovered by the users and which is derived at least in part from the KD metadata of the associated KD; and a plurality of objects associated with each concept, wherein each object has: unique object metadata that is selectively available to be discovered by the users and which is derived at least in part from the concept metadata of the associated concept; and at least one attribute that is able to be populated; allowing the users to selectively access the records to discover the KD metadata for at least one KD, wherein access to a given KD selectively provides the user with access to the concepts associated with the given KD; and selectively allowing a given user with access to a given KD to access the records so as to discover the KD metadata of another KD that is linked to the given KD.

[0058] According to a tenth aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for providing one or more users with access to metadata, the system comprising memory for containing records. The records contained in the memory may be indicative of a plurality of knowledge domains (KDs), wherein each KD is able to be linked to at least one other KD and includes respective unique KD metadata that is selectively available to be discovered by the users.

[0059] The records contained in the memory may further be indicative of a linked plurality of concepts associated with each respective KD, wherein each concept has unique concept metadata that is selectively available to be discovered by the users and which is derived at least in part from the KD metadata of the associated KD.

[0060] The records contained in the memory may further be indicative of a plurality of objects associated with each concept, wherein each object has: unique object metadata that is selectively available to be discovered by the users and which is derived at least in part from the concept metadata of the associated concept; and at least one attribute that is able to be populated.

[0061] The system may further comprise an interface allowing the users to selectively access the records to discover the KD metadata for at least one KD, wherein access to a given KD selectively provides the user with access to the concepts associated with the given KD.

[0062] The system may further comprise a processor for executing computer code for selectively allowing a given user with access to a given KD to access the records so as to discover the KD metadata of another KD that is linked to the given KD.

[0063] In an arrangement of the second aspect, there is provided a system for providing one or more users with access to metadata, the system including: memory for containing records indicative of: a plurality of knowledge domains (KDs), wherein each KD is able to be linked to at least one other KD and includes respective unique KD metadata that is selectively available to be discovered by the users; a linked plurality of concepts associated with each respective KD, wherein each concept has unique concept metadata that is selectively available to be discovered by the users and which is derived at least in part from the KD metadata of the associated KD; and a plurality of objects associated with each concept, wherein each object has: unique object metadata that is selectively available to be discovered by the users and which is derived at least in part from the concept metadata of the associated concept; and at least one attribute that is able to be populated; an interface allowing the users to selectively access the records to discover the KD metadata for at least one KD, wherein access to a given KD selectively provides the user with access to the concepts associated with the given KD; and a processor for executing computer code for selectively allowing a given user with access to a given KD to access the records so as to discover the KD metadata of another KD that is linked to the given KD.

[0064] The interface may selectively allow the users to populate one or more of the attributes. At least one of the attributes may be populated from the attribute of another concept. The at least one attribute may be within a first object that is associated with a first concept that is associated with a first KD and the another concept may be associated with a second KD that is other than the first KD. [0065] The system may further comprise a database for storing data. At least one of the attributes may be derived from the data. The database may be a plurality of separate databases. The separate databases may be arranged in sets of separate databases. The separate databases in the sets may be accessible through respective computer networks. The processor may include a plurality of processors. Each one of the processors may be associated with one of the networks.

[0066] The processor may be a plurality of separate processors. The processor may execute the computer code for two of the KDs for defining link metadata for those two KDs that is indicative of a link between those two KDs. The link may be between one or more concepts associated with a first of the two KDs and one or more concepts associated with the other of the two KDs.

[0067] The processor may execute the computer code for at least two KDs that are linked to each other to allow one or more objects associated with one or more concepts associated with a first of the two KDs to be linked to one or more of the objects associated with one or more of the concepts that are associated with the other of the two KDs.

[0068] The processor may execute the computer code for at least two KDs to allow one or more objects associated with the other of the two KDs to be linked to one or more of the objects in the first of the two KDs.

[0069] The processor may execute the computer code such that the linking of objects in different KDs is dependent upon one or more characteristics of the link between the relevant KDs. The linking rules that are executed through the computer code include, for example, matching of objects, creation of objects, synchronisation of object information and navigation from one object to another.

[0070] The processor, in executing the KD computer code for a given KD, may be responsive to one or more of the KD metadata, the concept metadata and the object metadata for that KD.

[0071] The system may operate on a single contained network. The computer code may operate on one or more of the KD metadata, the concept metadata and the object- meta data to generate further metadata.

[0072] Each user of the system may have an access permission and the processor, in executing the computer code for the KDs, may be responsive to the access permission for a given user for selectively allowing that user to access the records for another KD that is linked to the given KD.

[0073] The computer code for each KD may be standardised for enabling linking between the KDs. [0074] The system may be configured to provide a variety of web services including named information products and personalised information products. The system may be deployed into a Servlet container 2.5 or above. The system may be provided in a Tomcat environment. The system may be provided in a Tomcat 6.0.29 or above environment.

[0075] The system may access a persistent data area of a host computing system upon which the system resides to store modified HTML templates and resources. The system may provide facilities such as, for example, an XML inbox and storage for research data and information generated during operation. The system may create the persistent data area if it is not found on the host computing system.

[0076] The system may utilise one or more relational databases for application data associated with the system. The relational database may be of a database type selected from the group comprising: SQL server, Oracle, DB2 and/or PostreSQL databases.

[0077] According to an eleventh aspect of the invention there is provided a computer program product for performing a method as described herein.

[0078] According to a twelfth aspect of the invention there is provided a non-transitive carrier medium for carrying computer executable code that, when executed on a processor, causes the processor to perform a method as described herein.

[0079] According to a thirteenth aspect of the invention there is provided a system configured for performing a method as described herein.

[0080] The following definitions are provided as general definitions and should in no way limit the scope of the present invention to those terms alone, but are put forth for a better understanding of the following description. Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment", "some embodiments" "an embodiment", "an arrangement", "one arrangement" means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or arrangement is included in at least one embodiment or arrangement of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment", "in some embodiments", "in an embodiment", "in one arrangement", or "in and arrangement" in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment or arrangement, but may. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from this disclosure, in one or more embodiments or arrangements.

[0082] As used herein, unless otherwise specified the use of the ordinal adjectives "first", "second", "third", etc., to describe a common object, merely indicate that different instances of like objects are being referred to, and are not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any other manner.

[0083] Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention belongs. For the purposes of the present invention, the following terms are defined below. The articles "a" and "an" are used herein to refer to one or to more than one (that is, to at least one) of the grammatical object of the article. By way of example, "an element" refers to one element or more than one element. The term "about" is used herein to refer to quantities that vary by as much as 30%, preferably by as much as 20%, and more preferably by as much as 10% to a reference quantity. In the claims below and the description herein, any one of the terms "comprising", "comprised of" or "which comprises" is an open term that means including at least the elements/features that follow, but not excluding others. Thus, the term "comprising", when used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being limitative to the means or elements or steps listed thereafter. For example, the scope of the expression "a device comprising A and B" should not be limited to devices consisting only of elements A and B. Any one of the terms "including" or "which includes" or "that includes" as used herein is also an open term that also means including at least the elements/features that follow the term, but not excluding others. Thus, "including" is synonymous with and means "comprising".

[0087] As used herein, the term "exemplary" is used in the sense of providing examples, as opposed to indicating quality. That is, an "exemplary embodiment" is an embodiment provided as an example, as opposed to necessarily being an embodiment of exemplary quality.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0088] Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic conceptual representation of a network environment for an embodiment of the invention, the network environment comprising multiple knowledge domains (KDs), and the Figure showing exemplary layers of metadata that exist between users and source data in one or more data sources;

Figure 2 is a schematic representation of how an exemplary network of KDs enables connections between concepts within the KD or across multiple KDs; Figure 3 is an example of the physical instantiation of the network environment of Figure 1 including a plurality of linked KDs of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a schematic representation of an embodiment of a system to connect users and data sources through records arranged in many layers of metadata; Figure 5 is a schematic representation of one of the many ways that KDs can belong to networks of networks; and

Figure 6 is a schematic representation of an embodiment of a system for changing at least one real item making use of a plurality of linked KDs.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0089] The filing of this patent specification was preceded by the filing of Australian provisional patent application no. 2012905642. The subject matter of the latter is incorporated herein by way of cross-reference.

[0090] Use is made in this specification of the term "metadata". This term is used broadly to include any informational content that is "data about data" and the many ways in which data can be stored, processed, or interpreted. More precisely, metadata is the underlying definition or structured description of the content, quality, condition or other characteristics of data and provides information about a certain item's content. By way of example, the term includes structural metadata (data about the containers of data), descriptive metadata (data about data content), guide metadata/metacontent (used to assist in finding specific items and is usually expressed as a set of keywords in a natural language), business or process metadata (data about business rules or processes), contextual metadata (data about the context of data), amongst others.

[0091] Described herein are a system and method for arranging information and selectively granting users access to portions of that information through the use of metadata. Furthermore, also described herein are a system and a method for changing at least one real item making use of the above system and method.

[0092] To be agile, organizations need intelligent integration - that is, a fast-acting "nervous system" that delivers relevant, timely information in context to support the decision making needs of every team leader across the organization. For instance, to maximise the utility of data (big data) generated by an organisation, to that organisation's analytics, the organisation must: incorporate the principles of adaptable contextual framework and automated contextual reasoning. Software to support an organisation and day-to-day decision making must go beyond simple search, entity extraction and word matching. It must provide the human insights necessary for people to connect in the right way with the right outcomes and purpose drivers, and stimulate decisions and behaviours that support leadership and increase effectiveness in the context of the associated business process and their purpose drivers. To increase the effectiveness of the support software packages, such software should capture all relevant data required in decisionmaking processes, including the tacit knowledge - that is the knowledge and know-how that is conventionally contained within the human mind - that is, the knowledge and know- how that is delivered through the faculty of mind available to the employees and decision makers within the organisation. Ideally, the software package should mimic the human processing methods of data structuring, organisation and recall to closely support the decision making processes of the organisation.

[0093] Unless the software solution follows the principle of "less is more" through the use of intelligent software that knows how to put data in context and automatically determine relevance and priority, the users will continue to drown in the huge amount of data that is generated every day.

[0094] Consider, for an example, a possible solution which moves in the opposite direction "less is more" principle. This possible solution is to simply apply more computing power to the problem - that is, the "hardware solution". This, for example, requires the purchase, installation and operation of the required hardware to undertake an ongoing analysis of all or most of the available data using statistical methods or otherwise. This solution can work in limited circumstances and for a limited time. However, the growth of the data being now being captured and which is available for use in making any given decision is so rapid, that the cost of implementing a hardware solution is often prohibitive, even in the short-term. In addition, this approach requires constant upgrading of the hardware to continue to contain processing times as more and more data becomes available, which further increases the ongoing costs.

[0095] Another approach, which does accord with the "less is more" principle, is to make use of Computing-ln-Context. This is an approach to Big Data Management (BDM) that involves the key principles of using a distributed network of knowledge domains as a contextual framework to facilitate improved connectivity and collaboration across the organization.

[0096] In order to be a practical, cost-effective approach, Computing-ln-Context needs to include Rapid Application Development (RAD), a software facility for the rapid configuration of a federated, collaborative network of knowledge domains. Knowledge domains (KDs) as discussed herein are adaptable networks of concepts and objects and associated linkages to data and metadata that build up knowledge about entities, people, relationships and associated data and content. Knowledge domains also store information about organizational processes and purpose drivers (for example, goals, desired outcomes, risks, etc.). Knowledge domains capture human - that is, tacit - knowledge about how various entities (for example, activities) relate to other entities (for example, desired outcomes), and use this knowledge to assist humans in seeing the direct and indirect effects of one thing on another, both immediately and over time. This process of automated reasoning, which is referred to herein as contextual reasoning, is an important development for extracting maximum value from data.

[0097] Intelligent Collaboration: Every organization faces the challenge of trying to get its people to collaborate and "join the dots" across the many work places and organisational and informational silos that exist. While use is made of the term "non- intelligent software for collaboration", this remains an elusive dream in practice. The conundrum remains for the individual, who is left to answer the question "How can I know what you need to know, but don't know, especially when everything you know and need to know keeps changing?"

[0098] The only effective solution to this dilemma is intelligent collaboration - that is, the implementation of software that has the ability to: automatically discover who needs to know what; discover who and what can contribute to this knowledge; and facilitate connection between the right people and the right information in real time. This requires the software to have access to the tacit knowledge that drives our need for knowledge and to make sense of data in context. The inventor has found that, in practice, it is the lack of this contextual intelligence that blocks organizations from harnessing the potential value that lies buried in all those failed attempts at collaboration.

[0099] Prioritization and Effectiveness: The human faculty of mind has an amazing ability to build up layers of information enabling individual humans to "intuitively" know what is more important than something else. Despite this, people often become disconnected from the bigger picture, and our decision making then becomes sub- optimized.

[00100] The implantation of the embodiments of the invention described herein allow the software to be configured to build up as many layers of thoughts and ideas as are needed to connect the tiniest, most localized activity with the highest-level purpose drivers, for example, enterprise vision. It enables, to a greater level of granularity, for every user/person to be connected to small pieces of information that make most sense to them, where those small pieces are part of a network that connects the whole enterprise.

[00101] This, in effect, allows all kinds of tacit knowledge including goals, objectives, risks and opportunities applicable to every unit or team or person in the organization to be absorbed as nodes in the network. Moreover, all kinds of data, both structured and unstructured, are able to be connected automatically to appropriate entities or nodes in this same network. This system is capable of "making sense" of data in context, and facilitates a clearer determination of the relevance for every user/person in the network, and of the priority of every activity and every piece of information in the context of what the organization and teams are trying to achieve. Organizational effectiveness arises when people know and do the right things. The inventor believes this is a core and mandatory capability of Computing-ln-Context as is able to be delivered by the embodiments of the invention described herein.

[00102] The increasing need to extract knowledge buried in content and to include that knowledge in business processes and analytics is paramount to organisational decision making processes. The key is that organizations need to implement Master Data Management (MDM) in the form of an MDM Hub and a distributed network of MDM Master Data. Computing-ln-Context is an innovative approach to the implementation of MDM Master Data. The RAD component of Computing-ln-Context is a software facility for the configuration of a federated, collaborative network of KDs. More particularly, KDs facilitate the organisation and dynamic discovery of master-data-related content in the unstructured data and provide a contextual framework for the integration of structured data and related content in context, which is a fundamental requirement for the implementation of MDM Master Data.

[00103] Organizations generally struggle with the challenge of managing rapid change while maintaining enterprise know-how and quality standards. If large volumes and varieties of structured and unstructured data are transformed into analytical results, there is a risk that the meaning is lost in the process - that is: we may have learned "what", but not know "why", and as such, failed the "so what?" test.

[00104] A primary reason for prior art systems failing the "so what?" test is that the data and results have not been put in context, and there has been inadequate "joining of the dots" across the many organizational silos and data sources used as inputs to the management process. As a result, decision makers (be they users or otherwise) have a limited or distorted view of the bigger picture. In focusing in on the detail and its constituents, if connections with the over-arching business purpose drivers and decisionmaking context are not maintained, there is a risk that the organization fails in the goal to be more agile and effective. In this context, decision makers includes any person, software, or machine that must make a decision based on data or metadata.

[00105] Organisations tend to evolve in functional, geographic, operational or informational silos. Similarly, and in parallel, data warehousing solutions for organisations tend to evolve into a multiplicity of data warehouses and data marts that are poorly connected and inefficient and which tend to the creation of new specialised and localised databases. As a result, information quality tends to degrade with the size of an organisation, and agility is lost. The implementation of a single KD, for example, for a specific part of the organisation may put that part of the organisation in context, but operating in isolation it cannot act as a cohesive layer across the organisation. Conversely, it has been found that the implementation of one monolithic KD is unwieldy and will fragment in the same way that organisations inevitably fragment. A networked approach, where multiple knowledge domains can evolve in parallel and become connected as and when required, obviates these challenges and enables a powerful, agile solution to evolve rapidly and at an acceptably low cost.

[00106] Referring to Figure 1 , there is illustrated a conceptualisation of an Enterprise Cognitive Network (ECN) 100 as implemented, in principle, in the embodiments disclosed herein. The ECN 100 comprises a plurality of Knowledge Domains (KDs) 1 10. Each KD 1 10 captures in a digital form human know-how (for example, knowledge of desired outcomes, risks and other tacit knowledge) to define a contextual framework relevant to any aspect of the organization. Each KD could be, for example, specific to a respective business unit or business function. Computing-in-Context software functionally connects these KDs into a network via connection linkages 11 1 to form the ECN 100. This software endows the KDs with the ability to share data and enable navigation seamlessly (albeit selectively based upon permissions being available) from one KD to another linked KD. Each KD comprises metadata defining the KD and its associated concepts and linkages as discussed below. This metadata is selectively available to be discovered by a user 105 via an interface on a suitable client device 106. Again, this is on the assumption that user 105 possesses the requisite access privileges to the ECN 100 and KD or KDs 1 10 comprised therein. The discovery of other KDs is able to take the form of user 105 actively exploring linked KDs, or through the software suggesting specific exploration, or through the software updating existing established links to information contained in linked KDs that were earlier identified as relevant. Other possibilities for discovery also exist, such as another user (not shown) suggesting discovery of another KD.

[00107] As foreshadowed above, each user of ECN 100 is typically included within the group comprising: a person or individual; software; a machine; a virtual machine; or a combination of any two or more of the previously stated elements of this group.

[00108] Each KD 110 has associated with it a Concept Map 120 which is expressed in the form of software rules for assisting with the definition of the relevant KD 110. That is, each KD 1 10 is defined at least in part by its unique concept map 120. Each of these concept maps is formed by a linked plurality of concepts 121 associated with a respective KD 1 10. Each concept 121 comprises unique concept metadata that is selectively able to be discovered by a user having access privileges to the concept metadata. The concept metadata is typically derived, at least in part, from the KD metadata of the KD to which the concept is associated. The Concept Map 120 defines a network of possible relationships between Objects 121 within a KD 1 10. The Objects 131 within each Concept 121 are able to be connected to each other according to this network of possible relationships, and these connections are able to be given weightings or 'Connection Strengths'.

[00109] Associated with each concept in the concept map 120 there is a plurality of objects 131. Each object 131 has unique object metadata that is selectively available to be discovered by a user having access privileges to the object metadata. Such object metadata access privileges are derived from the access privileges of the associated concept metadata, which, in turn, are derived from the access privileges of the associated KD metadata. Also the object metadata is derived, at least in part, from the concept metadata of the associated concept. Each object 131 comprises at least one attribute 141. The at least on object attribute 141 is able to be populated with attribute data. The attribute data is derived from at least one data source 151. Each of the at least one data source 151 may be any form of data source and may comprise either structured or unstructured data. The object metadata for an object having an attribute populated by a data source provides the context of the structured or unstructured data populated to the attribute. This object metadata is then able to be discovered by a user with appropriate access privileges in order to support a function of their position in the organisation.

[00110] As specifically illustrated in Figure 1 , an Object 131a that is associated with a Concept B KD 3 is able to be connected to other objects associated with other concepts. In this Figure, and by way of example only, Object 131 a is connected with Object 131 b, which is associated with Concept C in the Concept Map 120. This connection will be allocated a connection strength either automatically by the software or individually by the user. According to the connection strengths of each of the object connections, a user is able to discover relationships between Concepts (and indeed between KDs) which may not be otherwise readily apparent and to leverage over time from the connection that has been so made. Typically, the connection strength will be expressed quantitatively, for example, as a percentage. In some embodiments a predetermined number of percentage points are available to be allocated to the connection strength field, such as 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90% and 100%. However, in other embodiments, the percentage is able to be openly defined to whatever level of accuracy is required. In further embodiments the connection strength is designated by selecting a qualitative tag such as "Critical", "Important", "Of Interest" and "Low Priority". While in other embodiments different qualitative tags are used, such as "High Priority", "Medium Priority" and "Low Priority".

[0011 1] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the connection between specific objects mentioned in the preceding paragraph was exemplary only, and that different and additional connections are able to be made between any objects in any concepts that are available to be discovered by the relevant user.

[00112] Each of the KD metadata, Concept metadata, Object metadata and Attribute metadata are provided in records enabling access to each of the metadata. For example, a user is permitted to selectively access the records to discover the KD metadata for at least one KD wherein access to a given KD selectively provides the user with access to the Concepts, Objects, and Attributes associated with the given KD.

[00113] Additionally a user with access to a given first KD is selectively provided with access privileges to one or more other KDs through linkages with the first KD. For instance, the user is selectively allowed to access the records (the records being indicative of a plurality of KDs having a linked plurality of Concepts, having a linked plurality of Objects, each Object comprising at least one Attribute able to be populated with data from a selected data source) to discover KD metadata of the at least one other KD that is linked to the first KD, thereby to discover metadata of Concepts and/or Objects associated with the at least one other KD that are connected to one or more Concepts and/or Objects of the first KD, thus providing the user with additional information and data concerning relationships between the KDs which may be useful to the user in carrying out their functions or making decisions in relation to an Object or Objects in the first KD.

[00114] In practice, the records which are indicative of a plurality of KDs having a linked plurality of Concepts, each Concept having a linked plurality of Objects, each Object comprising at least one Attribute able to be populated with data from a selected data source are all stored in a memory module of a computing device upon which an instance of the ECN software is instantiated. The records may be stored in an ECN database as schematically depicted in Figure 4 and which is referred to below in more detail. In a particular arrangement, each of the plurality of KDs may be instantiated by an instance of the ECN software operating on a unique one of a plurality of computing devices, wherein each of the plurality of computing devices are connected via a network. In another arrangement, a plurality of instances of the ECN software, and therefore a corresponding plurality of KDs, may be instantiated on a single computing device.

[00115] A significant advantage of the ECN disclosed herein, and shown conceptually in Figure 2, is that each instance of a unique KD 110a and 1 10b is instantiated by a unique instance of the same ECN software. Each instance of the ECN software, and thus each unique KD 1 10a and 110b, etc., is associated with a unique Concept Map 120 and 125 respectively. Each of the unique Concepts 121 and 126 are able to be linked to other concepts within the Concept Map via internal concept map links 127a and 127b. Additionally, or alternatively, a Concept 121 in a first Concept Map 120 is able to be linked to a Concept 126 in a second Concept Map 125 for example via a link 129 as seen in Figure 2. Each of the links 127a, 127b and 129 are defined with respective connection strengths and, optionally with a connection direction. For example Concept H 126 in Concept Map 125 directly affects Concept C 121 in Concept Map 120, but Concept C 121 in Concept Map 120 does not have any direct affect on Concept H 126 in Concept Map 125. In this example, the concept link 129 is a directional link from Concept H 126 to Concept C 121.

[00116] It is emphasised that the links, connections, connection strengths, and connection directions etc. mentioned above are exemplary only, and these are able to dynamically change over time in response to the operation of the separate ECN software installed in those robots. That software will be responsive to user input, new data, new KDs & other factors in regulating such changes. Accordingly, two initially like entities (for example, two robots) that have the same initial hardware and software will over time develop different connections and connection strengths in response to the external environment (which for each robot includes the other robot) as the respective ECN software codes operate.

[00117] The ECN software as discussed above comprises an interface allowing the users to selectively access the records to discover the KD metadata for at least one KD. The interface enables the user to discover metadata and data associated with Concepts and or Objects associated with the KD or the plurality of KDs to which the user has sufficient access privileges.

[00118] Access to a given KD by the user selectively provides the user with access to the concepts associated with the given KD. The interface provides the user with the ability to conduct a variety of tasks within the ECN software, including, for example, providing the user with the ability to populate one or more attributes associated with a given concept. In other embodiments the ability is limited to populating at least one of the attributes from the attribute of another concept or deriving the attribute from a selected data source. In further embodiments the user is able to update or define the linkages between selected concepts and/or Objects within a KD to which the user has sufficient access privileges.

[00119] The major advantages of the above aspects and arrangements of the ECN software include: The ability to integrate data from many sources, leading to powerful analytics capabilities accessible across the organization.

Contributing to the leadership commitment to new business processes and culture necessary to harness new value in everyday activities through intelligent information sharing and networking.

The ability to accommodate many and diverse databases within an organisation or across multiple organisations. This is consistent with the working of human beings, where specialist silos of information and knowledge sharing naturally occur and evolve. Accordingly, the above arrangements of the invention conform to and leverage from the human condition rather than imposing a technical solution upon the human condition.

Preventing redundancy of effort and information storage by facilitating discovery of the relevant KDs, concepts, objects and attributes and allowing for the linking of those discovered items to existing concepts, object and attributes in the same or a different KD.

The ability for a user to discover KDs linked to the home KD and, in turn, discover, via the metadata, the concepts etc. associated with the linked KDs. This, in effect, has the user navigating between KDs (and the associated concepts), and takes the form of virtual movement or travel across the KDs. Conversely, in undertaking such travel the user is able to make linkages with a concept etc. in another KD to then have the data or metadata, in effect, travel to the home KD.

An evolving structure that accommodates and seamlessly keeps pace with change in: the relationships between communities of users within an organisation or across organisations; and the business rules of the or each organisation.

Obviates the need for building large databases to consolidate many smaller databases, and yet will operate with large databases.

Deals primarily with metadata to allow contextualisation of all data, and to contain the need to transfer, duplicate or mirror large amounts of data.

Simplifies the integration of disparate networks and allows immediate leverage to those networks.

Facilitates the population of the attributes by providing the context to the user to easily do so. For example, having context, the user is able to be prompted directly for the data to populate the field. In other instances the user is able to easily link the contextualised attribute to an existing attribute of another object that is known to contain the data. Whilst the "data" populating the two attributes will have the same value or form, it will be given different context in those two different attributes.

• The ability to easily allow cooperation between two separate ECNs, whether those ECNs are commonly owned by a single entity, or owned by respective entities. That is, while embodiments of the invention are able to be implemented to deliver significant agility to large organisations, other embodiments are able to be implemented to increase the ability of smaller organisations collaborate with each other.

[00120] The ECN software is able to be instantiated using a computing device/computer system 300, such as that shown in Figure 3. The ECNs of Figures 1 to 2 are able to be implemented as software, for example, as one or more application programs executable within the computing device 300. In particular, the instances of each unique KD are affected by instructions in the software that are carried out within the computer system 300. The instructions may be formed as one or more code modules, each for performing one or more particular tasks. The software may also be divided into two separate parts, in which a first part and the corresponding code modules performs the described methods and a second part and the corresponding code modules manage a user interface between the first part and the user. The software may be stored in a computer readable medium, including the storage devices described below, for example. The software is loaded into the computer system 300 from the computer readable medium, and then executed by the computer system 300. A computer readable medium having such software or computer program recorded on it is a computer program product and constitutes a further embodiment of the invention.

[00121] With reference to Figure 3, an exemplary computing device 300 is illustrated. Device 300 includes in this embodiment one or more central processing units (CPUs) 301 comprising one or more processors 302. Device 300 also includes a system memory 303, and a system bus 304 that couples various system components including the system memory 303 to the processing unit 301. The system bus 304 is one of any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures.

[00122] Device 300 also includes computer readable media, which include any available media that is able to be accessed by device 300 and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media and removable and non-removable media. By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media includes in some embodiments computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media includes media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by device 300. Communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of the any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer readable media.

[00123] Memory 303 includes computer storage media in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) 305 and random access memory (RAM) 306. A basic input/output system 307 (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within device 300, such as during start-up, is typically stored in ROM 305. RAM 306 typically contains data and/or program modules that are immediately accessible to and/or presently being operated on by unit 301. By way of example, and not limitation, Figure 3 illustrates an operating system 308, other program modules 309, and program data 310.

[00124] Device 300 may also include other removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media. By way of example only, Figure 3 illustrates a hard disk drive 31 1 that reads from or writes to non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media. Other removable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer storage media that can be used with the exemplary computing device include, but are not limited to, magnetic tape cassettes, flash memory cards, digital versatile disks, digital video tape, solid state RAM, solid state ROM, and the like. Drive 31 1 is typically connected to bus 304 through a nonremovable memory interface such as interface 312.

[00125] The drives and their associated computer storage media discussed above and illustrated in Figure 3 provide storage of computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for device 300. In Figure 3, for example, drive 31 1 is illustrated as storing an operating system 308, other program modules 314, and program data 315. Note that these components can either be the same as or different from operating system 308, other program modules 309 and program data 310. Operating system 308, other program modules 314 and program data 315 are given different numbers in this embodiment to illustrate that, at a minimum, they are different copies. [00126] Device 300 also includes one or more input/output (I/O) interfaces 330 connected to bus 304. That bus includes an audio-video interface that couples to output devices including one or more of a video display 334 and loudspeakers 335. Input/output interface(s) 330 also couple(s) to one or more input devices including, for example a mouse 331 , a keyboard 332 or touch sensitive device 333 such as for example a smart- phone or tablet device.

[00127] Of relevance to the descriptions below, device 300 is able to operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers. For simplicity of illustration, device 300 is shown in Figure 3 to be connected to a network 320 that is not limited to any particular network or networking protocols, but which may include, for example Ethernet, Bluetooth, IEEE 802. X wireless protocols, or other protocols in use. The logical connection depicted in Figure 3 is a general network connection 321 that can be a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) or other network, for example, the internet. Device 300 is connected to connection 321 through a network interface or adapter 322 which is, in turn, connected to bus 304. In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to device 300, or portions or peripherals thereof, may be stored in the memory of one or more other computing devices that are communicatively coupled to device 300 through the connection 321. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between computing devices may be used.

[00128] Depicted in Figure 4 is an example implementation 400 of a specific ECN 100 as disclosed herein. In particular, a computer server system 401 comprises one or more instances of the ECN software running thereon. As described above, each running instance of the ECN Software embodies and enables a unique Knowledge Domain. System 401 comprises or otherwise is connected to an ECN database 403. This database 403 stores the plurality of records 405 that are respectively indicative of a unique knowledge domain. Each Knowledge Domain record - that is, each of records 405 - includes: metadata comprising a plurality of Concept records 407 comprising concept metadata describing each of the linked concepts comprised in the knowledge domain; and link metadata describing linkages between each of the concepts comprised in the Knowledge Domain. Each record 407 includes metadata comprising a plurality of Object records 409 comprising concept metadata describing each of the linked Objects comprised in the particular Concept, and link metadata describing linkages between each of the Object comprised in the particular Concept. Each record 409 includes metadata comprising a plurality of Object Attribute records 411 comprising object metadata describing each of the linked Attributes comprised in the particular Object, and link metadata describing linkages between each of the Attribute comprised in the particular Object. Each record 411 comprises metadata relating to one or more data sources 413 comprising data which may be used to populate the particular Object Attribute.

[00129] In use, a user 420 having access to a user client device 300 is able to access system 401 and, according to the particular user's access privileges, is able to access and navigate the ECN database records to discover metadata relating to a particular Knowledge Domain record 405 and, in turn, particular concept records 407, object records 409 and attribute records 411 within a particular instance of a knowledge domain. This allows that user 420 to discover or obtain access to data comprised in one or more data sources 413 to discern information about a particular concept or object of interest to the user and/or to obtain information relevant to a particular task or decision to be made by the user. As will be appreciated by the skilled addressee, the system 400 is able to accommodate a plurality of users 420 simultaneously. In some embodiments there are many hundreds, or thousands, or more users accommodated simultaneously. The users access system 401 to gain access to one or a plurality of knowledge domains (i.e. knowledge domain records 405) via a variety of possible client devices 300. For example, client devices 300 may comprise a user interface comprising one or more of a personal computer (PC or Mac), notebook computer, a tablet device, a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance, a network router, smart phone, or any alternate network accessible device adapted to make a connection to system 401 via a suitable network 320. As will be appreciated by the skilled addressee, network 320 may comprise, for example Ethernet, Bluetooth or IEEE 802. X wireless protocols. The logical connection depicted in Figure 3 is a general network connection 321 that can be a connection to network 320 which may be a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) or other network, for example, the internet.

[00130] It will be appreciated by the skilled addressee that any or all of the functions and devices depicted in Figure 4 could exist and operate in a standalone mode with limited, intermittent or no connection to external networks or devices. It will further be appreciated by the skilled addressee that the user 420 could be a computing device or software and that the whole system as depicted in Figure 4 could operate standalone, for example, as a mobile robot. In particular arrangements, the mobile robot may be autonomous. In a particular arrangement, the robot may comprise at least one processor, at least one memory module, and at least one database wherein the memory module includes instructions in the form of computer software code adapted to be executed by the processor to enable the robot to access records stored in the at least one database, those records being indicative of: a plurality of knowledge domains (KDs), wherein each KD is able to be linked to at least one other KD and includes respective unique KD metadata that is selectively available to be discovered by the users; a linked plurality of concepts associated with each respective KD, wherein each concept has unique concept metadata that is selectively available to be discovered by the users and which is derived at least in part from the KD metadata of the associated KD; and a plurality of objects associated with each concept, wherein each object has: unique object metadata that is selectively available to be discovered by the users and which is derived at least in part from the concept metadata of the associated concept; and at least one attribute that is able to be populated.

[00131] The software code executed by the processor may enable the robot to selectively access the records to discover the KD metadata for at least one KD, wherein access to a given KD selectively provides the robot with access to the concepts associated with the given KD; and selectively allowing a given robot with access to a given KD to access the records so as to discover the KD metadata of another KD that is linked to the given KD.

[00132] Figure 5 depicts a system 500 of interconnected ECNs between a plurality of organisations 501a, 501 b, and 501 c. Each organisation 501 a, 501 b, and 501 c comprises a respective network 503a, 503b, and 503c. In a particular arrangement, each network 503a, 503b, and 503c includes a respective server system 505a, 505b, and 505c, each of which is adapted to execute an instance of the ECN Software disclosed herein similarly to system 401 of Figure 4. In the depicted arrangement each network 503a, 503b, and 503c further includes a respective ECN database 507a, 507b, and 507c - similarly to database 403 of Figure 4 - and a plurality of client devices 509a, 509b, and 509c. The respective networks 503a, 503b, and 503c are interconnected by external network 520. As described above, network 520 may make use of, for example, Ethernet, Bluetooth or IEEE 802. X wireless protocols. The logical connection depicted in Figure 5 is a general network connection 521 that can be a connection to network 520 which may be a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) or other network, for example, the internet. In this manner, the ECN Software instances running on each of the server systems 505a, 505b, and 505c is adapted to include records comprising metadata indicative of a plurality of knowledge domains. Each knowledge domain metadata comprises link metadata between objects, concepts and knowledge domains instantiated on each respective one of systems 505a, 505b, and 505c. Also, the knowledge domain metadata comprises link metadata between objects, concepts and knowledge domains instantiated on one or more other server systems 505a, 505b, and 505c. A significant advantage of the ECN software disclosed herein when implemented across organisations (or even logical groups within a single organisation) is that the same underlying software is operated on each of systems 505a, 505b, and 505c thereby eliminating any incompatibility issues between ECN Software running in a different organisation or network. This in turn provides the significant advantage that a user of a first organisation (e.g. organisation 501a of Figure 5) is technically able to be readily provided with access privileges for knowledge domain(s) within one or more other organisations (e.g. organisations 501 b and/or 501 c of Figure 5). By accessing a knowledge domain of the first organisation, the ECN software is able to - as access privileges allow and where linkages exist between knowledge domains, concepts and or object of the other organisation - permit the user to discover metadata from one or more knowledge domains of the other organisation. In embodiments that user is also selectively permitted to discover and access data sources linked to the knowledge domain(s) of the other organisation. This is achieved without the user being required to know anything about the network protocols or structure of the other organisation which may be vastly different or even incompatible to the network protocols and structure of the first organisation's network.

[00133] It will be appreciated by the skilled addressee that each of the organisations depicted in Figure 5 could represent a system operating intermittently in standalone mode and which could be mobile, for example, a robot, a nano-robot or an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). A network of such systems or devices (e.g. a plurality of robots) could be considered a "swarm" that is able to operate in a coordinated manner, with contextual intelligence, guided by the ECN as depicted in Figure 5.

[00134] Further, implementation of Master Data Management (MDM) though a federated network of Knowledge Domains (KDs); and use of intelligent software with automated facilities for making sense of data in context, determining relevance and setting priorities to increase organisational effectiveness and agility is also required. Use of "Computing-ln- Contexf may also be made to deliver a Logical Data Warehouse (LDW) strategy, which may assist in saving money and increasing the effectiveness and agility of the systems and methods as disclosed herein.

[00135] Reference is now made to Figure 6 where there is illustrated schematically an embodiment of a system 600 for changing at least one real item 601 through use of a plurality of linked KDs 602 (not all explicitly numbered). KDs 602 are contained within an ECN 603 and system 600 includes an input device 604 having an input data port 605 that is responsive to data signals 606. Those data signals are derived from item 601 by receptors 607 and port 605 provides a first signal 608 indicative of one or more characteristics of item 601. ECN 603 includes memory (not shown in this Figure) for containing records indicative of the plurality of KDs 602, where each KD is linked to at least one other KD and includes respective unique KD metadata that is available to be discovered. As in the above described embodiments, there are a linked plurality of concepts associated with each respective KD 602, and each concept has unique concept metadata that is available to be discovered and which is derived at least in part from the KD metadata of the associated KD. Similarly to the above described embodiments, a plurality of objects are associated with each concept, and each object has: unique object metadata that is available to be discovered and which is derived at least in part from the concept metadata of the associated concept; and at least one attribute that is able to be populated. A processor (also not explicitly illustrated for clarity purposes) executes computer code so as to: be responsive to signal 608 for populating one or more of the at least one attribute; and generate a second signal 609 in response to selectively accessing one or more of the records to discover the KD metadata for at least one KD 602. An output device 610 includes an output data port 61 1 that is responsive to signal 609 for providing an actuation signal 612 that actuates a physical device 613 that changes item 601.

[00136] While the Figure 6 embodiment illustrates a specific number of linked KDs 602 it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that another number of linked KDs are included at another time, or in other embodiments. The number of KDs is able to be small - for example, two or more - to being high - for example, many hundreds or even thousands of KDs.

[00137] For the sake of clarity the links between KDs 602 have been omitted from Figure 6. Those links will also be dynamic based upon the operation of the software operating to instantiate ECN 603 and KDs 602.

[00138] Item 601 is one that exists within the known universe and is in some embodiments a discrete physical object such as a real article that is under observation. More typically, item 601 is defined by a combination of discrete articles that collectively make up item 601 , and system 600 is responsive to input about one of those articles - that is, it is responsive to one aspect of item 601 - for changing another of the articles - that is, changing a different aspect of item 601. For example, in an embodiment ECN 603 is for the entirety of a Company A (not shown) that is listed on a public stock exchange and item 601 is the entirety of the physical universe outside of system 600 of which system 600 has awareness. (That awareness is limited by the nature and accuracy of signals 606 provided by receptors 607). One aspect of item 601 of which system 600 is aware is the current stock price for Company A as provided by the public exchange. Should the stock price change significantly, as indicated by successive signals 606, ECN 603 operates such that signals 609 are generated and the following exemplary actions are taken to change item 601 : communication with the exchange is initiated to comply with any regulatory reporting requirements; a press release is generated to keep shareholders and other stakeholders informed of relevant developments; and communications are initiated to selected large shareholders to offer a briefing. That is, the issued communications, press releases and the like which flow outward from system 600 now become part of item 601 and, hence, change item 601. For some actions the operation of the ECN will have involved a "human in the loop", while for other actions these will be driven entirely by the underlying software without there being a requirement for human intervention or involvement.

[00139] When item 601 is the known universe external to system 600 for a business, it is referred to as "the business environment". In such embodiments, input device 604 is also able to take the form of mass storage and a processing facility for the input of Big Data (about the business environment) which is then made available to ECN 603 to allow signals 609 to be provided.

[00140] In another embodiment, system 600 is for the control of a robot (not shown) and item 601 is the external physical environment of the robot. The input device takes in the data acquired by the receptors available to the robot and signals 609 are generated. In some embodiments device 613 is a motor, actuator or other such device for acting directly physically upon item 601 (by acting on a portion or part of item 601).

[00141] It will be appreciated that item 601 in the above example is able to include one or more other systems like system 600. More particularly, item 601 will include the data points in those like systems that is available to be discovered by system 600. Upon discovery it may also be permissible for system 600 to create links or connections with those data points (in the event they are part of a KD).

[00142] Some data points are consistently accessible - for example, public databases - when a network connection is available between system 600 and the data point. Other data points are only available periodically or at predetermined times. Moreover, in some embodiments the network connection between system 600 and a like system is established by short range wireless network and, as such, the accessibility of the data points is dependent upon the relative location between system 600 and the like system. This is particularly relevant to a system 600 that is movable, such as a robot or a system within a vehicle or vessel. [00143] It will also be appreciated that system 600 is able to operate autonomously if a network connection is not available at any given time to any one or more of the data points.

Conclusions and Interpretation

[00144] It will be appreciated that the disclosure above provides various significant systems and methods for providing one or more users with access to metadata.

[00145] Unless specifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the following discussions, it is appreciated that throughout the specification discussions utilising terms such as "processing," "computing," "calculating," "determining", analysing" or the like, refer to the action and/or processes of a computer or computing system, or similar electronic computing devices, that manipulate and/or transform data represented as physical, such as electronic, quantities into other data similarly represented as physical quantities.

[00146] In a similar manner, the term "processor" may refer to any device or portion of a device that processes electronic data, e.g., from registers and/or memory to transform that electronic data into other electronic data that, e.g., may be stored in registers and/or memory. A "computer" or a "computing machine" or a "computing platform" or a "server" may include one or more processors.

[00147] The methodologies described herein are, in one embodiment, performable by one or more processors that accept computer-readable (also called machine-readable) code containing a set of instructions that when executed by one or more of the processors carry out at least one of the methods described herein. Any processor capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken are included. Thus, one example is a typical processing system that includes one or more processors. Each processor may include one or more of a CPU, a graphics processing unit, and a programmable DSP unit. The processing system further may include a memory subsystem including main RAM and/or a static RAM, and/or ROM. A bus subsystem may be included for communicating between the components. The processing system further may be a distributed processing system with processors coupled by a network, or may be implemented as a cloud computing system. If the processing system requires a display, such a display may be included, e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT) display. If manual data entry is required, the processing system also includes an input device such as one or more of an alphanumeric input unit such as a keyboard, a pointing control device such as a mouse, and so forth. The term memory unit as used herein, if clear from the context and unless explicitly stated otherwise, also encompasses a storage system such as a disk drive unit. The processing system in some configurations may include a sound output device, and a network interface device. The memory subsystem thus includes a computer-readable carrier medium that carries computer-readable code (e.g., software) including a set of instructions to cause performing, when executed by one or more processors, one of more of the methods described herein. Note that when the method includes several elements, e.g., several steps, no ordering of such elements is implied, unless specifically stated. The software may reside in the hard disk, or may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the RAM and/or within the processor during execution thereof by the computer system. Thus, the memory and the processor also constitute computer-readable carrier medium carrying computer-readable code.

[00148] Furthermore, a computer-readable carrier medium may form, or be included in, a computer program product.

[00149] In alternative embodiments, the one or more processors operate as a standalone device or may be connected, e.g., networked to other processor(s), in a networked deployment, the one or more processors may operate in the capacity of a server or a user machine in server-user network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer or distributed network environment. The one or more processors may form a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance, a network router, a smart phone, tablet device, a switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine.

[00150] Note that while diagrams only show a single processor and a single memory that carries the computer-readable code, those in the art will understand that many of the components described above are included, but not explicitly shown or described in order not to obscure the inventive aspect. For example, while only a single machine is illustrated, the term "machine" shall also be taken to include any collection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

[00151] Thus, one embodiment of each of the methods described herein is in the form of a computer-readable carrier medium carrying a set of instructions, e.g., a computer program that is for execution on one or more processors, e.g., one or more processors that are part of web server arrangement. Thus, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, embodiments of the present invention may be embodied as a method, an apparatus such as a special purpose apparatus, an apparatus such as a data processing system, or a computer-readable carrier medium, e.g., a computer program product. The computer-readable carrier medium carries computer readable code including a set of instructions that when executed on one or more processors cause the processor or processors to implement a method. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the form of a method, an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of carrier medium (e.g., a computer program product on a computer-readable storage medium) carrying computer-readable program code embodied in the medium.

[00152] The software may further be transmitted or received over a network via a network interface device. While the carrier medium is shown in an exemplary embodiment to be a single medium, the term "carrier medium" should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. The term "carrier medium" shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by one or more of the processors and that cause the one or more processors to perform any one or more of the methodologies of the present invention. A carrier medium may take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical, magnetic disks, and magneto-optical disks. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as main memory. Transmission media includes coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise a bus subsystem. Transmission media also may also take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio wave and infrared data communications. For example, the term "carrier medium" shall accordingly be taken to included, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, a computer product embodied in optical and magnetic media; a medium bearing a propagated signal detectable by at least one processor of one or more processors and representing a set of instructions that, when executed, implement a method; and a transmission medium in a network bearing a propagated signal detectable by at least one processor of the one or more processors and representing the set of instructions.

[00153] It will be understood that the steps of methods discussed are performed in one embodiment by an appropriate processor (or processors) of a processing (i.e., computer) system executing instructions (computer-readable code) stored in storage. It will also be understood that the invention is not limited to any particular implementation or programming technique and that the invention may be implemented using any appropriate techniques for implementing the functionality described herein. The invention is not limited to any particular programming language or operating system. [00154] It should be appreciated that in the above description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, various features of the invention are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, Figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of one or more of the various inventive aspects. This method of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the Detailed Description are hereby expressly incorporated into this Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this invention.

[00155] Furthermore, while some embodiments described herein include some but not other features included in other embodiments, combinations of features of different embodiments are meant to be within the scope of the invention, and form different embodiments, as would be understood by those skilled in the art. For example, in the following claims, any of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination.

[00156] Furthermore, some of the embodiments are described herein as a method or combination of elements of a method that can be implemented by a processor of a computer system or by other means of carrying out the function. Thus, a processor with the necessary instructions for carrying out such a method or element of a method forms a means for carrying out the method or element of a method. Furthermore, an element described herein of an apparatus embodiment is an example of a means for carrying out the function performed by the element for the purpose of carrying out the invention.

[00157] In the description provided herein, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is understood that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description.

[00158] Similarly, it is to be noticed that the term "coupled" or "connected", when used in the description and claims, should not be interpreted as being limited to direct connections only. The terms "coupled" and "connected," along with their derivatives, may be used. It should be understood that these terms are not intended as synonyms for each other. Thus, the scope of the expression "a device A coupled to a device B" should not be limited to devices or systems wherein an output of device A is directly connected to an input of device B. Rather, it means that there exists a path between an output of A and an input of B which may be a path including other devices or means. "Coupled" may mean that two or more elements are either in direct physical or electrical contact, or that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other but yet still co-operate or interact with each other.

[00159] Thus, while there has been described what are believed to be the preferred embodiments of the invention, those skilled in the art will recognize that other and further modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is intended to claim all such changes and modifications as falling within the scope of the invention. For example, any formulas or flowcharts provided are merely representative of procedures that may be used. Functionality may be added or deleted from the block diagrams and operations may be interchanged among functional blocks. Steps may be added or deleted to methods described within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A system for changing at least one real item, the system including:

memory for containing records indicative of:

2. A system according to claim 1 wherein the input device includes a plurality of sensors and the first signal is indicative of one or physical properties of the real item.

3. A system according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the output device changes one or more of the physical properties of the real item.

4. A system according to claim 1 wherein the real item is a set of accessible data points external to the system, the input device includes an input data port and the first signal is indicative of a first data point selected from the set of accessible data points.

5. A system according to claim 1 or claim 4 wherein the output device is a data port and the second signal changes at least one of the data points in the set of accessible data points.

6. A system according to claim 5 wherein the second signal changes at least one of the data points by adding additional information to the data point.

7. A system according to any one of claims 4 to 6 wherein at least one of the data points in the set of accessible data points includes a database and the second signal changes the database.

8. A system according to claim 7 wherein the database has a plurality of records and the second signal changes the database by: updating one or more of the records; or adding another record to the database.

9. A system according to claim 1 wherein the real object is a one or more KDs external to the system.

10. A system according to claim 1 wherein the real item includes: a plurality of other systems having respective connected networks of KDs; and other accessible information.

11. A method for changing at least one real item, the method including the steps of: being responsive to the at least one real item for providing a first signal indicative of one or more characteristics of the at least one real item;

providing memory for containing records indicative of:

being responsive to the second signal to change the at least one real item.

12. A method for providing one or more users with access to metadata, the method including the steps of:

providing records indicative of:

a plurality of knowledge domains (KDs), wherein each KD is able to be linked to at least one other KD and includes respective unique KD metadata that is selectively available to be discovered by the users; a linked plurality of concepts associated with each respective KD, wherein each concept has unique concept metadata that is selectively available to be discovered by the users and which is derived at least in part from the KD metadata of the associated KD; and

13. A system for providing one or more users with access to metadata, the system including:

memory for containing records indicative of:

KD that is linked to the given KD.

14. A system according to claim 13 wherein the interface selectively allows the users to populate one or more of the attributes.

15. A system according to claim 13 or claim 14 wherein at least one of the attributes is populated from the attribute of another concept.