An Ontology-Based Collaborative Design System

Abstract

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A collaborative design system architecture based on ontology is proposed. In the architecture, OWL is used to construct global shared ontology and local ontology; both of them are machine-interpretable. The former provides a semantic basis for the communication among designers so as to make the designers share the common understanding of knowledge. The latter which describes knowledge of designer's own is the basis of design by reasoning. SWRL rule base comprising rules defined based on local ontology is constructed to enhance the reasoning capability of local knowledge base. The designers can complete collaborative design at a higher level based on the local knowledge base and the global shared ontology, which enhances the intelligence of design. Finally, a collaborative design case is presented and analyzed.