UMBEL: Overview and Relation to OSF

UMBEL, the Upper Mapping and Binding Exchange Layer, is an extracted subset of OpenCyc, providing the Cyc data in an RDF ontology based on SKOS and OWL 2. UMBEL has two main functions:


 * 1) It is an upper ontology of about 28,000 reference concepts, designed to provide common mapping points for relating different ontologies or schema to one another, and
 * 2) A vocabulary for aiding that ontology mapping, including expressions of likelihood relationships distinct from exact identity or equivalence. This vocabulary is also designed for interoperable domain ontologies.

With respect to OSF, UMBEL can contribute via both of these functions.


 * First, as an upper ontology, the 28,000 reference concepts in UMBEL can provide a common reference point for your own OSF instance ontologies. Doing so will aid the interoperability of your own OSF instance with other external instances. UMBEL can also be a supplement for tagging purposes with your own ontologies when using scones.
 * Second, in constructing your OSF domain ontologies, you may want to look at and consider portions of the UMBEL vocabulary. UMBEL's predicates are specifically designed to aid construction of domain ontologies, as well as to aid linkage of your own ontologies with other external ones (via various exact to approximate mapping predicates).

There are some specific articles on this OSF site of particular relevance of how UMBEL can contribute to the framework. These may be found under the UMBEL category.

For further information, including demos, services and specifications, see the main UMBEL Web site.