Toward generic, immersive, and collaborative solutions to the data interoperability problem which target end-users

ABSTRACT

In this position paper we describe our vision of a "just-in-time" approach to the Data Interoperability Problem (a.k.a. INTEROP.) It empowers data stakeholders (e.g. data producers and data consumers) with integrated tools to interact and collaborate with each other while directly manipulating visual representations of their data in an immersive environment (e.g. implemented via Second Life.) The semantics of these visual representations and the operations associated with the data are supported by ontologies defined using the Common Logic Framework (CL). Data operations gestured by the stakeholders, through their avatars, are translated to a variety of generated resources such as multi-language source code, visualizations, web pages, and web services. The generality of the approach is supported by a plug-in architecture which allows expert users to customize tasks such as data admission, data manipulation in the immersive world, and automatic generation of resources. This approach is designed with a mindset aimed at enabling stake-holders from diverse domains to exchange data and generate new knowledge.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
        D.2.12 Interoperability
            Subjects: Interface definition languages

Additional Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
        D.2.11 Software Architectures
            Subjects: Data abstraction; Languages (e.g., description, interconnection, definition); Patterns (e.g., client/server, pipeline, blackboard)

  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.1 Multimedia Information Systems
          Subjects: Animations; Artificial, augmented, and virtual realities
      H.5.3 Group and Organization Interfaces
          Subjects: Web-based interaction; Synchronous interaction; Computer-supported cooperative work

General Terms:
Algorithms, Design, Human Factors, Languages

Keywords:
CL, IKL, INTEROP, Second Life, data interoperability, end-user approaches, immersive collaboration, ontologies, plug-in architectures