The document discusses an approach to improving information sharing for Next Generation air transportation systems (NextGen). It outlines challenges with current information sharing, and proposes a semantic service-oriented architecture approach using ontologies, web services, and a federated infrastructure. This would include developing shared understandings through domain ontologies, a technical capabilities stack to enable discovery and access, and an interagency test environment to demonstrate and validate the approach. The goal is to specify services that can drive acquisition of interoperable systems to support information exchange.

1. A Semantic SOA Approach to
NextGen Information Sharing
Wen Zhu, Alion Science and
Technology
Germaine Forbes, SAF/ CIO A6 /
JPDO
26 Jan 2012
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2. Agenda
• Mission
• NextGen Information Sharing Challenges
• Information Sharing Approach
– Process
– Technical Capabilities
– Infrastructure
• Demonstrations
• Putting It Together
• Way Ahead
2

3. Mission
Net-Centric Operations Division (NCOD) leads the Joint Planning and
Development Office (JPDO), agency partners, and industry to realize
information sharing capabilities to improve situational awareness,
enhance decision making, and facilitate collaboration.
Information Network Demonstration Experimentation
Exchange Infrastructure Capability and
Architecture, Measurement
Process, Ontology
Outreach
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4. Big Picture
• Net-Centric Operations Division (NCOD) promotes policies
and strategies for information sharing and coordinate
investment and development of network-enhancing
capabilities
– Work to make the information understandable by:
• Defining an ontology (or shared vocabulary)
• Documenting required information exchanges
• Provisioning services to improve discoverability, re-use, understandability
– Work to make the information discoverable and accessible through
• Service registry, Semantic Metadata Catalog and Portal
– Help to identify accurate and timely data
• Identifying Authoritative Data Sources, which provide accurate and timely
data
• Incorporating metadata about the accuracy and timeliness of data
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5. Information Sharing Challenges
Integrated Flight and Airport Airline
Weather UAS Safety Other
Surveillance Flow Operations Operations
Community Community Community Communities
Community Community Community Community
Services
conform Weather
Flight publish
Track
Standards Data
SAR Time
AXIM
KML
WXXM Classification Live
GML
FIXM
Other Services
WCS ebXML Geospatial Recorded
WFS UDDI Coverage
WMS
Temporal
Other Standards Coverage Simulated
State/Local Commercial International
Government Entities Partners
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6. Inter-Agency Information Sharing Challenges
Security / Governance
NAS Target GIG
Information Integration
Service Interoperability
Network Connectivity
Source: FAA Information Exchange Conference 9/2011 Source: DoD Global Information Grid Architectural Vision, 6/2007
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7. Information Sharing Approach
• Repeatable process for developing
shared understanding through definition
of information elements across
domains.
• Technology capabilities stack
that enables the information sharing
vision of NextGen.
• Services Oriented Architecture
• Semantic Web Technology
• Federated Ontology
• Interagency infrastructure that
employs the technology stack and
information sharing approaches and
validates them in a near-realistic
environment.
• Enables shared R&D
• Addresses real-world info
sharing obstacles
• Identifies pathways to near-term
operational improvements
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8. Shared
Understanding
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9. Process for Shared Understanding Development
Transformation
• Key Deliverables
COI Ontology
(RDF/OWL) Rules (XSLT)
– COI Ontology Business Process Message Schema
– Business Context (DoDAF Artifacts) Analysis (XSD)
(OV-2)
– Other Artifacts Information Service
• Current Engagements
Exchange Description
Description (WSDL)
(OV-3)
– Weather Operational Activity Architectural
– Integrated Surveillance Model Impact Report
(OV-5b)
– Unmanned Aircraft System Business Rules
Requirements
• Consistent with DoD Information Document
(SV-4)
Service
Constraints
Exchange
Net-Centric Data Architecture,
Systems
Communications
Strategy Process, Ontology Description
(SV-2)
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10. Technical
Capabilities
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11. Semantics Metadata Catalog and Portal
SOA Registry Scope
•Governed within an Agency
•Focused on discoverability of published services
•Supports only flat, non-semantic data
•Focused on governance
Semantic Metadata Catalog and Portal Extended Capabilities
•Utilizes existing SOA Registry capabilities
•Addresses cross-agency information exchanges
•Facilitates collaboration
•Focuses on discoverability of defined information exchanges
•Takes full advantage of Semantic Relationships defined in ontologies
Bottom Line: • Provides an intelligent search
• Utilizes semantic discovery beyond simple keywords
capabilities
• Yields a more targeted result set
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12. Inter-Agency
Infrastructure
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13. Infrastructure
Net-Enabled Test Environment (NETE)
• Concept
– Virtual test environment – no new facility
– Government and industry participation
– Experimental approach – test, measure, evaluate, adjust
– Adopting existing projects; leveraging progress
• Benefits
– Data sets made available will bring interested developers
– Allows demonstration of concepts to flesh out requirements
– Allows trade-off studies for architectural decisions – standards, processes,
TTPs, tools, infrastructure design
– Tests Governance model for efficiency
– Accessible to all NextGen participants; can link to outside data
sources/consumers
– Leverages work already done by NextGen stakeholders
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14. Technology in Action: NETE Demonstrations
Service descriptions from NOAA NET
Weather
registry will imported for
Community inter-agency discovery.
AF Electronic Systems Center ebXML
NOAA
Registry
Integrated
Semantic Metadata Catalog and Portal WCS
Surveillance Data
Community
WFS
Source
Semantic Process WMS
Semantic Layer
Alion NETE Lab Metadata FAA
Web Services Layer
Portal
Integration Layer
Artifact
NETE Ontology Catalog NAS
Dashboard Portal Service
Registry
FAA/National
JPDO User NNEW
Security Semantic
Interface Layer
Display Metadata Web
3-D
Catalog Coverage Radar
Demo Control
Service RI Mosaic
R&D Domain
Mock Services
SWIM
FAA Emergency OPS ASDI
EON DEX
ASDE
Dashboard
HWDS
Other Services will be NASA LaRC
SMDC entered into the Semantic
Metadata Catalog
through User Interface. Timing
GIIEP
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Demo 1 Demo 2 One Year Challenge External/Future

15. Putting It All Together
• Business Concept
• Service Governance
• Service Relationships
• Service Discovery
• Data Sources Shared Understanding Communities of Interest
SWIM
Design Time
SIP
Service NAS Service Registry and Semantic Metadata
Registry Repository (NSRR) Catalog and Portal
Service
Provider
Run Time
Semantic Mediation
SWIM NAS Enterprise
Messaging Service (NEMS)
Service
Consumer
State/Local
Government
• COI Governance • Semantic Commercial
• Service Reuse • Semantic Discovery Interoperability Entities
• Service Interoperability • Information Federation • ESB Federation
International
Partners
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16. NextGen Information Sharing Environment
Information Providers
Flight
Geospatial Weather Safety Security Intel Sensor Airline Airport Other Info
Object
Info Info Info Info Reports Data Info Info Providers
Info
NextGen Enterprise
Services (Notional) Semantically-Enabled Core
User Defined
Enterprise Services
Operation Enterprise
Semantic Layer Messaging Security
Picture Services Service
Service Service
Management
Decision Support Data Layer
Semantic Mediation Bus™
Services
NextGen Information
Service Layer
Semantically- Semantically-
Collaboration
SharingSecurity Layer
Environment Enabled Enabled
Content Service
Services Discovery Discovery
Network Layer
Track Correlation Business Operations Layer
Services The Technical Profile defines a set
NISE Technical Profile of NextGen Service Specifications
to guide future NextGen enterprise
Other Services service development programs
Human Users,
GOAL – Procurement-quality Aircraft Air Traffic Control Applications, or
Unanticipated
Human Users, Human Users,
specifications that can be used to Applications, or
Services Applications, or
drive acquisition of interoperable in Aviation Services
Services Operations
services, systems, and networks in
support of information sharing. Information Consumers
16

17. Way Ahead
• Provide operational transition plan for the technical concepts
• Continue to foster JPDO and Inter-Agency Partnership
17

18. Backup Slides
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19. Semantic Web Technologies
• Semantic Web (aka Linked Data or Web 3.0) is a set
of W3C standards and technologies designed to allow
machines to understand the meaning of the
information on the WWW
• Standards-based
• Open-source tools
• Agent-based distributed computing paradigm
• Web Oriented Architecture
• Agile Development, improved interoperability
• Semantic Web in the Enterprise: A tool for
knowledge discovery and management
• Common Vocabulary
• Open Linked Data
• Intelligent Searches
• Semantic Web in the Industry
• US government and leading social network companies have
been implementing semantic-driven solutions
Source: Tim Berners-Lee: “Semantic Web and Linked D
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20. NextGen Ontology Portal
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21. Semantic Metadata Catalog and Portal
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22. Semantic Mediation Bus™ (SMB)
• An ontology-based web services mediation component that enables services
with different message formats to interoperate
• Embedding in an Enterprise Service Bus (e.g. SWIM Enterprise Messaging
Service) enables runtime semantic mediation within traditional SOA
infrastructure, creating a Semantic Mediation BusTM
Common
Ontology
Semantic Mediation BusTM Registry/ Repository
Enterprise Service Bus
Semantic
Semantic Mediator™ Annotation
Message Schema Semantic Lookup and
Web Service Proxy Interoperability Assessment
Mapping Metadata
Management
Protocol Message Message Service
Security
Adaption Transformation Routing Discovery
Traditional SOA
infrastructure
Semantic Mediation Bus ™ and Semantic Mediator are trade marks of Alion Science and
Semantic Mediation
Infrastructure Technology Corporation. The Technology is provided to JPDO under a limited use
license.
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23. Semantic Mediation Bus™
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24. NETE Demonstration Scenario
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