Using ontologies for simulation integration

This paper describes the motivations, methods, and solution concepts for the use of ontologies for simulation model integration. Ontological analysis has been shown to be an effective initial step in the construction of intelligent systems. However, the modeling and simulation community has not taken advantage of the benefits of ontology management technology. Moreover, the popularity of semantic technologies and the semantic web has provided several beneficial opportunities for the modeling and simulation communities of interest. The paper outlines the technical challenges in simulation integration and describes an ontology-based method that addresses these challenges. An example military combat simulation application scenario is used to illustrate the practical benefits of the simulation model integration approach.