Rapid knowledge base design via extension of mid-level knowledge components

The full potential of knowledge based systems will be realized only when users who are not knowledge engineers are able to develop and deploy the underlying knowledge bases. To this end we are developing a system for rapid knowledge base design that permits users to draw on an existing library of knowledge components and, through intuitive interfaces, shape them into an ontology for a domain and application of interest. The models created are supported by an expressive language that provides sophisticated constraint reasoning.