In the context of military field, more and more international coalitions among allied forces have takenplace. Information from heterogeneous systems needs to be exchanged without misinterpretation so theinvolved participating actors can share a common situational awareness regarding certain data and/ormessages. This, in turn, requires the preservation of the intended meaning not only on the syntax,language, and representation level, but on a semantic level as well.The application domain of the Business Object Reference Ontology Program (BORO) method focuseson the development of ontological or semantic models for large complex operational applications,especially in the military context. It is chosen by FOI, the Swedish Defense Research Agency in thefield of Information Systems, to apply to their Semantic Interoperability (SI) project.The goal of this thesis is to investigate how BORO method can be implemented for aligning the dataand/or messages between the Swedish Armed Forces and other military organizations on a semanticlevel for the FOI SI project. To achieve this goal the design science research methodology is conductedthrough a series of steps. The analysis regarding the usability of BORO method for FOI to obtainsemantic interoperability in its project will be demonstrated as the result of this thesis, which can alsobe utilized as a reference for other military organizations when conducting activities of informationexchange.

Global flood forecasting can benefit developing countries and ungauged regions that lack observational data, computational infrastructure, and human capacity for streamflow modeling. Many technical challenges exist to provide flood predictions on a global scale. First, existing land surface forecasts use coarse resolution grid cells, which provide limited information when used for flood forecasting at local scales. There is, so far, no modeling system that can provide rapid and accurate global flood predictions with low cost. Second, accurate flood predictions often require integrating interdisciplinary models, data sources, and analysis routines into a workflow. Limited accessibility, reusability, and interoperability of models restrict integrated modeling from producing more reliable results. Web services have been demonstrated as an effective way for data and model sharing because of the capability of enabling communication among heterogeneous applications over the internet. However, publishing models or analysis routines as web services is still challenging and, hence, is not commonly done. To address the above challenges, I present a computational system for global streamflow prediction, using existing, well-established open source software tools, that quickly downscales the runoff generated from such coarse grid-based land surface models (LSMs) onto high-resolution vector-based stream networks then routes the results using a vector-based river routing model. A set of experiments are conducted to demonstrate the feasibility and credibility of this approach. I also present a tool to publish complex environmental models as web services by adopting the OpenGMS Wrapper System (OGMS-WS) and Docker. The streamflow prediction system is deployed as a web service using this tool, and the service is used to analyze the historical streamflow tendency in Bangladesh. Next, I present a ready-to-use tool called Tethys WPS Server, which provides a simplified and formalized way to expose web app functionality as standardized Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Web Processing Services (WPS) alongside a web app's graphical user interface. Three Tethys web apps are developed to demonstrate how web app functionality(s) can be exposed as WPS using Tethys WPS Server, and to show how these WPS can be coupled to build a complex modeling web app. In sum, this dissertation explores new computational approaches and software tools to advance global streamflow prediction and integrated environmental modeling.

The use of simulation has been said to be a useful tool to analyze manufacturing systems, Discrete Event Simulation - DES for instance under the occurrence of different events. Information management in Manufacturing Systems is an important issue and so it is insimulation studies because some of the difficulties in building, reusing and integratingsimulation models with other applications used in manufacturing systems are related withthe data. In this context different efforts have been made to facilitate the use of simulationand overcome interoperability problems through improving the information management,one of this is the Core Manufacturing Simulation Data Information Model - CMSDIMdeveloped by The National Institute of Standards and Technology - NIST. The objective of this thesis is to contribute to the use of the CMSDIM in ExtendSim V8. A method to import databases structured based on the CMSDIM into the Simulation softwareExtendSim V8 is developed and applied in a case study in a production line of SCANIA.

In a broader sense the main research objective of this thesis (and ongoing research work) is distributed knowledge management for mobile dynamic systems. But the primary focus and presented work focuses on communication/interoperability of heterogeneous entities in an infrastructure less paradigm, a distributed resource manipulation infrastructure and distributed learning in the absence of global knowledge. The research objectives achieved discover the design aspects of heterogeneous distributed knowledge systems towards establishing a seamless integration. This thesis doesn’t cover all aspects in this work; rather focuses on interoperability and distributed learning. Firstly a discussion on the issues in knowledge management for swarm of heterogeneous entities is presented. This is done in a broader and rather abstract fashion to provide an insight of motivation for interoperability and distributed learning towards knowledge management. Moreover this will also serve the reader to understand the ongoing work and research activities in much broader perspective. Primary focus of this thesis is communication/interoperability of heterogeneous entities in an infrastructure less paradigm, a distributed resource manipulation infrastructure and distributed learning in the absence of global knowledge. In dynamic environments for mobile autonomous systems such as robot swarms or mobile software agents there is a need for autonomic publishing and discovery of resources and just-in-time integration for on-the-fly service consumption without any a priori knowledge. SOA (Service-Oriented Architecture) serves the purpose of resource reuse and sharing of services different entities. Web services (a SOA manifestation) achieves these objectives but its exploitation in dynamic environments, where the communication infrastructure is lacking, requires a considerable research. Generally Web services are exploited in stable client-server paradigms, which is a pressing assumption when dynamic distributed systems are considered. UDDI (Universal Description Discovery and Integration) is the main pediment in the exploitation of Web services in distributed control and dynamic natured systems. UDDI can be considered as a directory for publication and discovery of categorized Web services but assumes a centralized registry; even if distributed registries and associated mechanism are employed problems of collaborative communication in infrastructure less paradigms are ignored. Towards interoperability main contribution this thesis is a mediator-based distributed Web services discovery and invocation middleware, which provides a collaborative and decentralized services discovery and management middleware for infrastructure-less mobile dynamic systems with heterogeneous communication capabilities. Heterogeneity of communication capabilities is abstracted in middleware by a conceptual classification of computing entities on the basis of their communication capabilities and communication issues are resolved via conceptual overlay formation for query propagation in system. The proposed and developed middleware has not only been evaluated extensively using Player Stage simulator but also been applied in physical robot swarms. Experimental validations analyze the results in different communication modes i. active and ii. passive mode of communication with and without shared resource conflict resolution. I analyze discoverable Web services with respect to time, services available in complete view of cluster and the impact and resultant improvements in distributed Web services discovery by using caching and semantics. Second part of this thesis focuses on distributed learning in the absence of global information. This thesis takes the argument of defeasibility (common-sense inference) as the basis of intelligence in human-beings, in which conclusions/inferences are drawn and refuted at the same time as more information becomes available. The ability of common-sense reasoning to adapt to dynamic environments and reasoning with uncertainty in the absence of global information seems to be best fit for distributed learning for dynamic systems. This thesis, thus, overviews epistemic cognition in human beings, which motivates the need of a similar epistemic cognitive solution in fabricated systems and considers formal concept analysis as a case for incremental and distributed learning of formal concepts. Thesis also presents a representational schema for underlying logic formalism and formal concepts. An algorithm for incremental learning and its use-case for robotic navigation, in which robots incrementally learn formal concepts and perform common-sense reasoning for their intelligent navigation, is also presented. Moreover elaboration of the logic formalism employed and details of implementation of developed defeasible reasoning engine is given in the latter half of this thesis. In summary, the research results and achievements described in this thesis focus on interoperability and distributed learning for heterogeneous distributed knowledge systems which contributes towards establishing a seamless integration in mobile dynamic systems. / QC 20100614 / ROBOSWARM EU FP6

Magister Legum - LLM / Regiоnаl trаde, investment аnd crоss-bоrder remittаnces аre аll criticаl cоmpоnents оf ecоnоmic аnd sоciаl develоpment in the Sоuthern Аfricаn Develоpment Cоmmunity (SАDC) regiоn.1 Crоss bоrder remittаnces аre а mаin аnd stаble sоurce оf incоme fоr а mаjоrity оf the pоpulаtiоn in mоst develоping cоuntries, accounting fоr а third оf the tоtаl Grоss Dоmestic Prоduct (GDP).2 One in seven Аfricаns receives remittаnces frоm fаmily аnd friends аbrоаd аmоunting tо аpprоximаtely US$ 60 milliоn per year.3 As such, crоss bоrder remittаnces аct аs а criticаl lifeline tо develоping ecоnоmies аnd hаve hаd а significаnt impаct оn the stаndаrd оf living оf mаny recipient hоusehоlds.4 In the SАDC regiоn, crоss-bоrder remittаnces аre cоmmоnplаce, wherein remittаnce inflоws аccоunt fоr а sizeаble prоpоrtiоn оf GDP аfter Fоreign Direct Investments (FDI).

Digitalisering och dess möjligheter blir en viktigare del inom fastighetsbranschen. Antalet uppkopplade enheter skapar nya affärsmodeller och analyser för resurseffektivitet och hållbar utveckling men står inför stora utmaningar som säkerhet och interoperabilitet. Fastighetsägare kan nyttja sensorer, automatisering och taggar för att skapa ett bättre inomhusklimat och lägre kostnader. Studien undersöker möjligheter och utmaningar med IoT och IT-plattformar som kan bidra till ett mer hållbart samhälle. Genom att studera branschorganisationen Sveriges Allmännytta och hur de kan nå ut till ett stort antal medlemsföretag kan vi framhäva hur fastigheter kan utvecklas med hjälp av Internet of Things. Resultatet visar att teknologin har en positiv påverkan vid bra implementering gällande energianvändning och hållbarhet men även på människan som bor eller vistas i byggnaden. Arbete för gemensamma standard och interoperabilitet av system ökar innovationskraft och möjlighet för fler företag att ta sig in på marknaden. / The digitalization and its potential is taking a more important role within real estate. The amount of connected devices create new business models and analyzes for better resource efficiency and sustainability but face big challenges such as security and interoperability. Real estate owners can utilize sensors, automation and tags to create a better bioclimate och lower costs. The study researches the opportunities and challenges regarding IoT and IT-platforms that can contribute to a sustainable society. By studying the bransch organisation Sveriges Allmännytta och how they can reach a great amount of affiliated companies, we can emphasize buildings can be improved through Internet of Things. The result shows a positive impact when it’s implemented correctly regarding the energy use and sustainability but also on the residents in the building. The work for standards and interoperability of system increases innovation and the possibility for more companies to enter the market.

Sverige är ett av de mest framträdande digitaliserade länderna inom EU. Men vissa sektorer har hamnat efter i digitaliseringsprocessen, en av dem är sjukvården. Sjukvården är en av de mest informationsintensiva sektorerna i det svenska samhället, det är kritiskt att IT-systemen är sammanhållna och kommunicerande med varandra, s.k. interoperabla. Just där brister sjukvårdens IT-system idag, men sjukvården som organisation brister också i att ha någon form av enhetlig standard för hur vårdinformation ska dokumenteras. Dessa brister leder till försämrad vårdkvalitet och arbetsmiljö för vårdpersonalen. Syftet med denna studie är att utveckla en artefakt för hur blockkedjeteknikens egenskaper kan användas för att förbättra interoperabiliteten i de svenska hälso- och sjukvårdssystemen. Vi har genomfört studien med en designbaserad metod, där vi tar fram en modell baserat på blockkedjans egenskaper och presenterade problem utifrån sex intervjuer av personer som arbetar med IT i vården. Vårt resultat visar att blockkedjan har egenskaper som kan stödja interoperabilitet i sjukvården. Resultatet visar också det krävs en balans mellan säkerhet och flexibilitet samt någon form av standard för hur vårdinformation ska dokumenteras, antingen på nationell eller regional nivå, för att skapa interoperabilitet. / Sweden is one of the most prominent digitized countries within the European Union. But some sectors have fallen behind in the digitizing process; one of them is the healthcare sector. The healthcare sector is one of the most information intensive fields in the Swedish society, where it is critical that the IT-systems are integrated and communicative with each other, so-called interoperable. Today's IT systems in healthcare are failing in terms of interoperability, but the healthcare itself as an organisation also fails to have some sort of uniform standard for documenting health data. These deficiencies lead to an impaired quality of care for the patients but also a worsened environment for the healthcare professionals. The purpose of this study is to develop an artefact for how the capabilities of the blockchain technology can be used to improve interoperability within the Swedish healthcare systems. We’ve conducted this paper by using a design-science based method, where we have developed a model based on the capabilities of blockchain technology and issues presented based on interviews with six people working with IT within healthcare. Our findings show that the blockchain technology has capabilities that can support interoperability within the healthcare systems. Our findings also show that to achieve interoperability there is a need to balance security and flexibility as well as some form of unified standard for how healthcare data is to be documented, on either a national or regional level.

People around the world who are working in companies and organisations need to collaborate, and in their collaboration use information managed by different information systems. The requirements of information systems to be interoperable are therefore apparant. While the technical problems, of communicating or sharing information between different information systems, have become less difficult to solve, the attention has turned to other aspects of interoperability. Such aspects concern the bussiness processes, the knowledge, the syntax and the semantics that involves the information managed by information systems. Enterprise modelling is widely used to achieve integration solutions within enterprises and is a research area both for the integration wihin an enterprise (company or organisation) and the integration between several different enterprises. Enterprise modelling takes into account several of the aspects, mentioned as important for interoperability, in the models that are created. This thesis describes a research which has resulted in the connector view concept. The main contribution with this framework comprises a model structure and an approach, for performing the modelling of the collaboration between several partners in an extended enterprise. The purpose of the enterprise models thus created, by using the connector view concept, is to find solutions to interoperability problems, that exist in the collaboration between several enterprises.

Dans la plupart des systèmes disponibles aujourd'hui l'interopérabilité est fournie comme une capacité statique qui est le résultat d'une intégration conçue manuellement. En conséquence, un nombre important de systèmes fonctionnellement compatibles ne sont pas conçues pour être interopérables. L'objectif de cette thèse est de permettre l'interopérabilité automatisée des protocoles pour les systèmes, services et applications à travers des médiateurs de protocoles synthétisés dynamiquement. Les médiateurs représentent des composants logiciels qui peuvent coordonner les interactions entre deux ou plusieurs systèmes fonctionnellement compatibles, en utilisant les différents moyens de communication (réseaux IP, IPC, la mémoire partagée, etc.). Les médiateurs synthétisés dynamiquement devraient permettre aux applications de s'adapter sans difficulté aux protocoles a priori inconnus, soutiennent l'évolution de ces protocoles tout en contournant les contraintes des systèmes du monde réel, comme celles introduites par la mobilité de l'appareil et des systèmes d'exploitation. Dans cette thèse, nous nous concentrons sur les problèmes de recherche liés à l'automatisation du processus d'adaptation de données dans le cadre de la médiation de protocoles. L'adaptation des données est une étape clé dans la médiation de protocoles qui ne peut pas être résolu indépendamment. Cette dépendance devient visible lorsque les systèmes reposant sur des piles de protocoles complexes doivent être rendus interopérables, malgré les dépendances inter-couche à l'intérieur des données échangées. Il y a la nécessité d'un cadre qui synthétise les médiateurs, tout en tenant compte de l’adaptation de données. / In most systems available today interoperability is provided as a static capability that is the result of manually designed and hand coded integration. In consequence, a substantial number of functionally-compatible systems are not conceived to be interoperable. The focus of this thesis is to enable automated protocol interoperability for systems, services and applications through the means of dynamically synthesized protocol mediators. Protocol mediators represent concrete software components which can coordinate interactions between two or more functionally-compatible systems, relying on various means of communication (IP networks, personal area networks, inter-process communication, shared memory, etc.). Dynamically synthesised mediators should allow applications to seamlessly adapt to a priori unknown protocols, support the evolution of such protocols while circumventing real-world system constraints, such as those introduced by device mobility and operating system differences. In this thesis we focus on the research problems related to automating the process of data adaptation in the context of protocol mediation. Data adaptation is a key phase in protocol mediation that cannot be solved independently. This strong dependence becomes visible when systems relying on multilayer protocol stacks have to be made interoperable, despite cross-layer dependencies inside the exchanged data. There is the need of a frame- work that synthesises mediators while taking into account cross-layer data adaptation.

Dedukti est un cadre logique résultant de la combinaison du typage dépendant et de la réécriture. Il permet d'encoder de nombreux systèmes logiques au moyen de plongements superficiels qui préservent la notion de réduction. Ces traductions de systèmes logiques dans un format commun sont une première étape nécessaire à l'échange de preuves entre ces systèmes. Cet objectif d'interopérabilité des systèmes de preuve est la motivation principale de cette thèse. Pour y parvenir, nous nous inspirons du monde des langages de programmation et plus particulièrement des langages orientés-objet parce qu'ils mettent en œuvre des mécanismes avancés d'encapsulation, de modularité et de définitions par défaut. Pour cette raison, nous commençons par une traduction superficielle d'un calcul orienté-objet en Dedukti. L'aspect le plus intéressant de cette traduction est le traitement du sous-typage. Malheureusement, ce calcul orienté-objet ne semble pas adapté à l'incorporation de traits logiques. Afin de continuer, nous devons restreindre les mécanismes orientés-objet à des mécanismes statiques, plus faciles à combiner avec la logique et apparemment suffisant pour notre objectif d'interopérabilité. Une telle combinaison de mécanismes orientés-objet et de logique est présente dans l'environnement FoCaLiZe donc nous proposons un encodage superficiel de FoCaLiZe dans Dedukti. Les difficultés principales proviennent de l'intégration de Zenon, le prouveur automatique de théorèmes sur lequel FoCaLiZe repose, et de la traduction du langage d'implantation fonctionnel de FoCaLiZe qui présente deux constructions qui n'ont pas de correspondance simple en Dedukti : le filtrage de motif local et la récursivité. Nous démontrons finalement comment notre encodage de FoCaLiZe dans Dedukti peut servir en pratique à l'interopérabilité entre des systèmes de preuve à l'aide de FoCaLiZe, Zenon et Dedukti. Pour éviter de trop renforcer la théorie dans laquelle la preuve finale est obtenue, nous proposons d'utiliser Dedukti en tant que méta-langage pour éliminer des axiomes superflus. / Dedukti is a Logical Framework resulting from the combination ofdependent typing and rewriting. It can be used to encode many logical systems using shallow embeddings preserving their notion of reduction. These translations of logical systems in a common format are a necessary first step for exchanging proofs between systems. This objective of interoperability of proof systems is the main motivation of this thesis.To achieve it, we take inspiration from the world of programming languages and more specifically from object-oriented languages because they feature advanced mechanisms for encapsulation, modularity, and default definitions. For this reason we start by a shallow translation of an object calculus to Dedukti. The most interesting point in this translation is the treatment of subtyping. Unfortunately, it seems very hard to incorporate logic in this object calculus. To proceed, object-oriented mechanisms should be restricted to static ones which seem enough for interoperability. Such a combination of static object-oriented mechanisms and logic is already present in the FoCaLiZe environment so we propose a shallow embedding of FoCaLiZe in Dedukti. The main difficulties arise from the integration of FoCaLiZe automatic theorem prover Zenon and from the translation of FoCaLiZe functional implementation language featuring two constructs which have no simple counterparts in Dedukti: local pattern matching and recursion. We then demonstrate how this embedding of FoCaLiZe to Dedukti can be used in practice for achieving interoperability of proof systems through FoCaLiZe, Zenon, and Dedukti. In order to avoid strengthening to much the theory in which the final proof is expressed, we use Dedukti as a meta-language for eliminating unnecessary axioms.