Methods and apparatus for semantic knowledge transfer

A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

• establish a semantic knowledge base for the first domain, the semantic knowledge base comprising:
• concepts of the first domain;
• properties of the first domain concepts;
• relationships between the first domain concepts;
• and
• constraints governing the first domain concepts;
• establish a semantic information base for the second domain, the semantic information base comprising:
• concepts of the second domain;
• and, for a concept of the second domain:
• determining measures of similarity between the second domain concept and concepts of the first domain;
• identifying, on the basis of the determined measures of similarity, a first domain concept which is equivalent to the second domain concept;
• mapping properties, relationships and constraints from the semantic knowledge base of the first domain which apply to the identified first domain concept to the second domain concept;
• and
• populating a semantic knowledge base for the second domain with the second domain concept and the mapped properties, relationships and constraints.

An apparatus for transferring semantic knowledge between domains of a network, the network comprising a first domain and a second domain, the apparatus comprising a processor and a memory, the memory containing instructions executable by the processor such that the apparatus is operative to:

• establish a semantic knowledge base for the first domain, the semantic knowledge base comprising:
• concepts of the first domain;
• properties of the first domain concepts;
• relationships between the first domain concepts;
• and
• constraints governing the first domain concepts;
• establish a semantic information base for the second domain, the semantic information base comprising:
• concepts of the second domain;
• and, for a concept of the second domain:
• determine measures of similarity between the second domain concept and concepts of the first domain;
• identify, on the basis of the determined measures of similarity, a first domain concept which is equivalent to the second domain concept;
• map properties, relationships and constraints from the semantic knowledge base of the first domain which apply to the identified first domain concept to the second domain concept;
• and
• populate a semantic knowledge base for the second domain with the second domain concept and the mapped properties, relationships and constraints.