Smart Earth: From Pervasive Observation over Emergent Understanding to Trusted Information (slides).
Karl Aberer, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland

Abstract. We introduce a model for information management in a world where information from the physical environment is gathered through a ubiquitous wireless networks. Thus the Internet information space and the physical environment become increasingly entangled in a tightly connected system, that we call a Smart Earth. We illustrate technical challenges and applications from the work of the Swiss National Competence Centre of Research in Mobile Information and Communication Systems (NCCR-MICS). We identify the three layers of data access networks, semantic overlay networks and social networks as essential building blocks for networked information management and observe that each of these network layers will be largely self-organized. Finally we argue that understanding the interplay among these self-organizing network layers will be an important research challenge for the future.

Semantic Web: Schism of the Languages (slides).
Michael Kifer, Department of Computer Science - State University of New York at Stony Brook, USA

Abstract. In this talk we will describe the current efforts towards defining a Semantic Web knowledge representation language. The talk will deal with the foundations of the current standard, the Web Ontology Language (OWL), its limitations, and the efforts to extend OWL with a rule-based component. We will explain the problems facing researchers who work in this area as well as possible resolutions of these issues. Much of this work has been taken as input to W3C's Rule Interchange Format Working Group (RIF WG), which is tasked with developing a standard way of interchanging rule sets over the Web. We will describe the current architecture of RIF and the main ideas underlying RIF Core -- the core component of the RIF architecture.