Representing Imprecise Time Intervals in OWL 2

Representing and reasoning on imprecise temporal information is a common requirement in the field of Semantic Web. Many works exist to represent and reason on precise temporal information in OWL; however, to the best of our knowledge, none of these works is devoted to imprecise temporal time intervals. To address this problem, we propose two approaches: a crisp-based approach and a fuzzy-based approach. (1) The first approach uses only crisp standards and tools and is modelled in OWL 2. We extend the 4D-fluents model, with new crisp components, to represent imprecise time intervals and qualitative crisp interval relations. Then, we extend the Allen’s interval algebra to compare imprecise time intervals in a crisp way and inferences are done via a set of SWRL rules. (2) The second approach is based on fuzzy sets theory and fuzzy tools and is modelled in Fuzzy-OWL 2. The 4D-fluents approach is extended, with new fuzzy components, in order to represent imprecise time intervals and qualitative fuzzy interval relations. The Allen’s interval algebra is extended in order to compare imprecise time intervals in a fuzzy gradual personalized way. Inferences are done via a set of Mamdani IF-THEN rules.