Corporation for National Research Initiatives

About: Corporation for National Research Initiatives is a nonprofit organization based out in Reston, Virginia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: The Internet & Etching (microfabrication). The organization has 45 authors who have published 88 publications receiving 3557 citations. The organization is also known as: CNRI.

An Introduction to Description Logic

Abstract: This introduction presents the main motivations for the development of Description Logics (DLs) as a formalism for representing knowledge, as well as some important basic notions underlying all systems that have been created in the DL tradition. In addition, we provide the reader with an overview of the entire book and some guidelines for reading it.We first address the relationship between Description Logics and earlier semantic network and frame systems, which represent the original heritage of the field. We delve into some of the key problems encountered with the older efforts. Subsequently, we introduce the basic features of DL languages and related reasoning techniques.DL languages are then viewed as the core of knowledge representation systems. considering both the structure of a DL knowledge base and its associated reasoning services. The development of some implemented knowledge representation systems based on Description Logics and the first applications built with such systems are then reviewed.Finally, we address the relationship of Description Logics to other fields of Computer Science. We also discuss some extensions of the basic representation language machinery; these include features proposed for incorporation in the formalism that originally arose in implemented systems, and features proposed to cope with the needs of certain application domains.

System for uniquely and persistently identifying, managing, and tracking digital objects

Abstract: Methods of managing digital objects in a network are presented. Holders of rights in digital objects are enabled to control terns and conditions under which they are accessed by users in a network, or are granted to others.

A framework for distributed digital object services

Abstract: The following paper was written by the authors over a period of approximately 16 months during the period November 1993 to May 1995 in an attempt to explore a set of open research issues and to integrate them with certain ideas of a small group of researchers who had been briefed on the notions inherent in the Digital Object Architecture that one of the authors (Kahn) had been developing at the Corporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI). This research group had been organized by CNRI as part of its "Computer Science Technical Reports" (CSTR) project that was funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The CSTR project had several objectives, of which one was to digitize existing collections of technical reports from five leading computer science departments at universities in the U.S and make the reports available on the Internet. A second objective was to fund research at these institutions on digital libraries, especially research that made good use of their local collections. A third objective was to link heterogeneous electronic libraries, such as were being developed in the program. The difficulties inherent in this third objective ultimately led to this paper. In particular, the motivation arose from a set of concerns first expressed by these researchers at a meeting at CNRI on October 25, 1993 when the Digital Object Architecture was first presented to the research group by Kahn. In the discussion that resulted, many issues emerged, some of which we ultimately decided must be resolved in any architecture, and some of which-perhaps just as crucially-could be deferred for the time being. For example, questions arose about the role of semantics in identifiers; we decided to address them early on. Another issue that proved controversial was how to deal with situations in which the digital objects were actually mobile programs in the network. Since a digital object could contain other digital objects, this led directly to the notion of a mobile repository. The basic question was how best to describe this kind of situation and explain how to access information that was not at a known specific location or IP address on the net. We decided not to cover this aspect of the architecture in the interest of getting closure on the paper. A critical part of this effort was dealing with various intellectual property issues; and the architecture was designed to take this important aspect into account. We were fortunate to have the help of Ms. Patrice Lyons, an experienced intellectual property lawyer, in the formulation of certain key elements of the architecture dealing with terms and conditions for access to information, and in the drafting of the paper. Although her name does not appear on the paper, her insights and contributions played an important role in the preparation of the paper. One key component of the architecture is a general-purpose resolution system, known as the Handle System®, an implementation of which has been operational on the Internet since 1994. At present, close to 50 million identifiers are assigned to digital objects and resolvable by the system, which has been available 7x24 for many years. It is anticipated that the number of resolvable identifiers in the system will grow rapidly and could easily exceed a billion in the not too distant future.

Radio frequency microelectromechanical systems (mems) devices on low-temperature co-fired ceramic (ltcc) substrates

Abstract: A phased-array antenna system and other types of radio frequency (RF) devices and systems using microelectromechanical switches (“MEMS”) and low-temperature co-fired ceramic (“LTCC”) technology and a method of fabricating such phased-array antenna system and other types of radio frequency (RF) devices are disclosed. Each antenna or other type of device includes at least two multilayer ceramic modules and a MEMS device fabricated on one of the modules. Once fabrication of the MEMS device is completed, the two ceramic modules are bonded together, hermetically sealing the MEMS device, as well as allowing electrical connections between all device layers. The bottom ceramic module has also cavities at the backside for mounting integrated circuits. The internal layers are formed using conducting, resistive and high-k dielectric pastes available in standard LTCC fabrication and low-loss dielectric LTCC tape materials.

System and method for establishing and monitoring the relative location of group members

Abstract: Systems and methods for monitoring a perimeter for ingress or egress by a member of an ad hoc wireless network. A wireless device is equipped with location means. In an embodiment, the wireless device is a cellular telephone equipped with a GPS chip set. A plurality of such wireless devices form an ad hoc network and are linked to a server in association with each other. The server receives retains perimeter boundary data and receives positioning information from each of the plurality of associated wireless devices. The locations of each member of a network are tracked relative to perimeter. A perimeter may be an egress perimeter, which defines an area in which monitored units are permitted to roam but from which network members may not leave. A perimeter may be an ingress perimeter, which defines an area in which monitored units are not permitted to enter. An ingress perimeter may reside within an egress perimeter. The system provides warnings when a perimeter boundary is approached or crossed.