Relative Location Ontology

Abstract

The Relative Location Ontology (RELOC) enables the expression of the spatial relationship between two objects using directional-topological terms. The ontology is designed to be compatible with the natural language-based approach of describing relative locations, enabling the conversion of existing location descriptions into structured spatial graph representations. The ontology provides directional, axis-related properties (e.g., longitudinal axis: front, center, rear) and topological properties (e.g., meet, contained in, intersect). These properties are finally merged into combined properties (e.g., containedInFront) to reflect the spatial information of statements like 'A is in the front part of B'. The application context of the RELOC Ontology is the processing of existing damage documentation of bridges.

Table 1: Namespaces used in the document
reloc	<https://w3id.org/reloc#>
owl	<http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#>
rdf	<http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#>
rdfs	<http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#>
skos	<http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#>
terms	<http://purl.org/dc/terms/>
vann	<http://purl.org/vocab/vann/>
xml	<http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace>
xsd	<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#>

Relative Location Ontology: Description back to ToC

Graphical overview about the RELOC properties

Technical overview about the RELOC Ontology

Application example of the RELOC Ontology

Cross-reference for Relative Location Ontology classes, object properties and data properties back to ToC

This section provides details for each class and property defined by Relative Location Ontology.

relative location with Offset^c back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#RelativeLocationWithOffset

abstract class to define an offset to a relative location , e.g."A is 10m away from the front front of element B"

is in domain of: Indication of the offset value unit ^dp, has measured distance value ^dp
is in range of: has relative location with Offset ^op
is disjoint with: spatial entitiy ^c

spatial entitiy^c back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#SpatialEntity

The "spatial entity" class includes all types of elements, objects, concepts, etc. that have spatial properties/features and can be located in 2- or 3-dimensional space. A building component would be a typical instance of a spatial entity, but zones/areas that have no concrete physical boundaries are also possible instances.

is in domain of: 2D topological relation ^op, Intersects the left side of ^op, Intersects the rear side of ^op, Intersects the right side of ^op, Intersects with the top of ^op, bottom ^op, contained in ^op, directional relation ^op, directly behind ^op, directly in front of ^op, directly left of ^op, directly on top of ^op, directly right of ^op, directly under ^op, equal ^op, front ^op, has relative location with Offset ^op, has relative spatial relation to ^op, has the same origin and lenght as ^op, has the same origin and width as ^op, has the same vertical origin and height as ^op, intersect ^op, intersects the front side of ^op, intersects with the bottom of ^op, is contained in the front area of ^op, is contained in the left area of ^op, is contained in the longitudinal central area of ^op, is contained in the lower area of ^op, is contained in the rear area of ^op, is contained in the right area of ^op, is contained in the transversal central area of ^op, is contained in the upper area of ^op, is contained in the vertical central area of ^op, left ^op, longitudinal axis relation ^op, longitudinal center ^op, meet ^op, rear ^op, right ^op, top ^op, transversal axis relation ^op, transversal center ^op, vertical axis relation ^op, vertical center ^op
is in range of: 2D topological relation ^op, Intersects the left side of ^op, Intersects the rear side of ^op, Intersects the right side of ^op, Intersects with the top of ^op, bottom ^op, contained in ^op, directional relation ^op, directly behind ^op, directly in front of ^op, directly left of ^op, directly on top of ^op, directly right of ^op, directly under ^op, equal ^op, front ^op, has relative spatial relation to ^op, has the same origin and lenght as ^op, has the same origin and width as ^op, has the same vertical origin and height as ^op, intersect ^op, intersects the front side of ^op, intersects with the bottom of ^op, is contained in the front area of ^op, is contained in the left area of ^op, is contained in the longitudinal central area of ^op, is contained in the lower area of ^op, is contained in the rear area of ^op, is contained in the right area of ^op, is contained in the transversal central area of ^op, is contained in the upper area of ^op, is contained in the vertical central area of ^op, left ^op, longitudinal axis relation ^op, longitudinal center ^op, meet ^op, rear ^op, right ^op, top ^op, transversal axis relation ^op, transversal center ^op, vertical axis relation ^op, vertical center ^op
is disjoint with: relative location with Offset ^c

Object Properties

2D topological relation
bottom
contained in
directional relation
directly behind
directly in front of
directly left of
directly on top of
directly right of
directly under
equal
front
has relative location with Offset
has relative spatial relation to
has the same origin and lenght as
has the same origin and width as
has the same vertical origin and height as
intersect
intersects the front side of
Intersects the left side of
Intersects the rear side of
Intersects the right side of
intersects with the bottom of
Intersects with the top of
is contained in the front area of
is contained in the left area of
is contained in the longitudinal central area of
is contained in the lower area of
is contained in the rear area of
is contained in the right area of
is contained in the transversal central area of
is contained in the upper area of
is contained in the vertical central area of
left
longitudinal axis relation
longitudinal center
meet
rear
right
top
transversal axis relation
transversal center
vertical axis relation
vertical center

2D topological relation^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#2DTopologicalRelation

main topological property that defines the topological relationship between axis-related areas of two elements. The validity of the relationship is limited to one axis, and considering all three axis-related topological relationships is necessary to make statements about an entire element.

has super-properties: has relative spatial relation to ^op
has sub-properties: contained in ^op, equal ^op, intersect ^op, meet ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

bottom^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#bottom

the property "bottom" should express that the located object has a relation to the lower part or bottom side of the reference object.The exact kind of relation is defined by the topological relation.

has super-properties: vertical axis relation ^op
has sub-properties: directly under ^op, intersects with the bottom of ^op, is contained in the lower area of ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

contained in^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#containedIn

the property "contained in" expresses that the extension of the located object A is inside the extension/boundary of the reference object B for a specific axis (e.g. vertical axis)

has characteristics: transitive

has super-properties: 2D topological relation ^op
has sub-properties: is contained in the front area of ^op, is contained in the left area of ^op, is contained in the longitudinal central area of ^op, is contained in the lower area of ^op, is contained in the rear area of ^op, is contained in the right area of ^op, is contained in the transversal central area of ^op, is contained in the upper area of ^op, is contained in the vertical central area of ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

directional relation^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#directionalRelation

defines a directional / axis-related relative relationship between to objects.

has super-properties: has relative spatial relation to ^op
has sub-properties: longitudinal axis relation ^op, transversal axis relation ^op, vertical axis relation ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

directly behind^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#meetRear

the property "meet rear" should express that the located object is in behind the reference object, with no (or almost no) distance to the rear side of the reference object.

has super-properties: meet ^op, rear ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c
is inverse of: directly in front of ^op

directly in front of^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#meetFront

the property "meet front" should express that the located object is in front of the reference object, with no (or almost no) distance to the front side of the reference object.

has super-properties: front ^op, meet ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c
is inverse of: directly behind ^op

directly left of^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#meetLeft

the property "meet left" should express that the located object is to the left of the reference object, with no (or almost no) distance to the left side of the reference object.

has super-properties: left ^op, meet ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c
is inverse of: directly right of ^op

directly on top of^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#meetTop

the property "meet top" should express that the located object is in on top of the reference object, with no (or almost no) distance to the top of the reference object.

has super-properties: meet ^op, top ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c
is inverse of: directly under ^op

directly right of^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#meetRight

the property "meet right" should express that the located object is to the right of the reference object, with no (or almost no) distance to the right side of the reference object.

has super-properties: meet ^op, right ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c
is inverse of: directly left of ^op

directly under^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#meetBottom

the property "meet bottom" should express that the located object is under the reference object, with no (or almost no) distance to the bottom of the reference object.

has super-properties: bottom ^op, meet ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c
is inverse of: directly on top of ^op

equal^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#equal

the property "equal" expresses that the extension of the located object A and the extension of the reference object B for a specific axis (e.g. vertical axis) are the same.

has characteristics: symmetric, transitive

has super-properties: 2D topological relation ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

front^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#front

the property "front" should express that the located object has a relation to the front part or side of the reference object.The exact kind of relation is defined by the topological relation.

has super-properties: longitudinal axis relation ^op
has sub-properties: directly in front of ^op, intersects the front side of ^op, is contained in the front area of ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

has relative location with Offset^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#hasRelativeLocationWithOffset

links the located element to the abstract class (as instance :blank node) that defined the relative location and the offset value

has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: relative location with Offset ^c

has relative spatial relation to^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#hasRelativeSpatialRelationTo

main/root property of the RELOC Ontology that defines the spatial relationship between the located element A to the reference element B. This relationship should not reflect exact geometric dependencies or boundaries but rather represent the meaning of natural language location descriptions.

has sub-properties: 2D topological relation ^op, directional relation ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

has the same origin and lenght as^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#equalLongitudinal

property that expresses that two objects have the same longitudinal extension and position

has super-properties: longitudinal axis relation ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

has the same origin and width as^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#equalTransversal

property that expresses that two objects have the same transversal extension and position

has super-properties: transversal axis relation ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

has the same vertical origin and height as^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#equalVertical

property that expresses that two objects have the same vertical extension and position

has super-properties: vertical axis relation ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

intersect^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#intersect

the property "intersect" expresses that the extension of the located object A is partially overlapping with the extension of the reference object B for a specific axis (e.g. vertical axis)

has characteristics: symmetric

has super-properties: 2D topological relation ^op
has sub-properties: Intersects the left side of ^op, Intersects the rear side of ^op, Intersects the right side of ^op, Intersects with the top of ^op, intersects the front side of ^op, intersects with the bottom of ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

intersects the front side of^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#intersectFront

the property "intersect front" should express that the located object intersects the front part/side of the reference object

has super-properties: front ^op, intersect ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

Intersects the left side of^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#intersectLeft

the property "intersect left" should express that the located object intersects the left part/side of the reference object

has super-properties: intersect ^op, left ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

Intersects the rear side of^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#intersectRear

the property "intersect rear" should express that the located object intersects the rear part/side of the reference object

has super-properties: intersect ^op, rear ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

Intersects the right side of^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#intersectRight

the property "intersect right" should express that the located object intersects the right part/side of the reference object

has super-properties: intersect ^op, right ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

intersects with the bottom of^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#intersectBottom

the property "intersect bottom" should express that the located object intersects the bottom/ lower part of the reference object

has super-properties: bottom ^op, intersect ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

Intersects with the top of^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#intersectTop

the property "intersect top" should express that the located object intersects the top /upper part of the reference object

has super-properties: intersect ^op, top ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

is contained in the front area of^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#containedInFront

the property "contained in front" should express that the located object is inside the front part/area of the reference object

has super-properties: contained in ^op, front ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

is contained in the left area of^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#containedInLeft

the property "contained in left" should express that the located object is inside the left part/area of the reference object

has super-properties: contained in ^op, left ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

is contained in the longitudinal central area of^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#containedInLongitudinalCenter

the property "contained in longitudinal center" should express that the located object is inside the longitudinal central part of the reference object

has super-properties: contained in ^op, longitudinal center ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

is contained in the lower area of^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#containedInBottom

the property "contained in bottom" should express that the located object is inside the lower area of the reference object

has super-properties: bottom ^op, contained in ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

is contained in the rear area of^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#containedInRear

the property "contained in rear" should express that the located object is inside the rear part/area of the reference object

has super-properties: contained in ^op, rear ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

is contained in the right area of^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#containedInRight

the property "contained in right" should express that the located object is inside the right part/area of the reference object

has super-properties: contained in ^op, right ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

is contained in the transversal central area of^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#containedInTransversalCenter

the property "contained in transversal center" should express that the located object is inside the transversal central part of the reference object

has super-properties: contained in ^op, transversal center ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

is contained in the upper area of^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#containedInTop

the property "contained in top" should express that the located object is inside the upper area of the reference object

has super-properties: contained in ^op, top ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

is contained in the vertical central area of^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#containedInVerticalCenter

the property "contained in vertical center" should express that the located object is inside the vertical central part of the reference object

has super-properties: contained in ^op, vertical center ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

left^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#left

the property "left" should express that the located object has a relation to the left part or side of the reference object.The exact kind of relation is defined by the topological relation.

has super-properties: transversal axis relation ^op
has sub-properties: Intersects the left side of ^op, directly left of ^op, is contained in the left area of ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

longitudinal axis relation^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#longitudinalAxisRelation

super property of all relative spatial relationships referring to the longitudinal axis

has super-properties: directional relation ^op
has sub-properties: front ^op, has the same origin and lenght as ^op, longitudinal center ^op, rear ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

longitudinal center^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#longitudinalCenter

the property "center" should express that the located object has a relation to the longitudinal central part of the reference object.

has super-properties: longitudinal axis relation ^op
has sub-properties: is contained in the longitudinal central area of ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

meet^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#meet

the property "meet" expresses an adjacency relationship for one axis. There is no or almost no distance between the objects. They touch each other or are at least so close to each other that they are commonly regarded as (directly) neighbouring elements.

has characteristics: symmetric

has super-properties: 2D topological relation ^op
has sub-properties: directly behind ^op, directly in front of ^op, directly left of ^op, directly on top of ^op, directly right of ^op, directly under ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

rear^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#rear

the property "rear" should express that the located object has a relation to the rear part or side of the reference object.The exact kind of relation is defined by the topological relation.

has super-properties: longitudinal axis relation ^op
has sub-properties: Intersects the rear side of ^op, directly behind ^op, is contained in the rear area of ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

right^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#right

the property "right" should express that the located object has a relation to the right part or side of the reference object.The exact kind of relation is defined by the topological relation.

has super-properties: transversal axis relation ^op
has sub-properties: Intersects the right side of ^op, directly right of ^op, is contained in the right area of ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

top^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#top

the property "top" should express that the located object has a relation to the upper part or top side of the reference object.The exact kind of relation is defined by the topological relation.

has super-properties: vertical axis relation ^op
has sub-properties: Intersects with the top of ^op, directly on top of ^op, is contained in the upper area of ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

transversal axis relation^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#transversalAxisRelation

super property of all relative spatial relationships referring to the transversal axis, is horizontally orthogonal to longitudinal axis relations

has super-properties: directional relation ^op
has sub-properties: has the same origin and width as ^op, left ^op, right ^op, transversal center ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

transversal center^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#transversalCenter

the property "center" should express that the located object has a relation to the transversal central part of the reference object.

has super-properties: transversal axis relation ^op
has sub-properties: is contained in the transversal central area of ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

vertical axis relation^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#verticalAxisRelation

super property of all relative spatial relationships referring to the vertical axis

has super-properties: directional relation ^op
has sub-properties: bottom ^op, has the same vertical origin and height as ^op, top ^op, vertical center ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

vertical center^op back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#verticalCenter

the property "center" should express that the located object has a relation to the vertical central part of the reference object.

has super-properties: vertical axis relation ^op
has sub-properties: is contained in the vertical central area of ^op
has domain: spatial entitiy ^c
has range: spatial entitiy ^c

Data Properties

has measured distance value
Indication of the offset value unit

has measured distance value^dp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#hasOffsetValue

the property indicates the measured offset/distance value of a located object to a relative location (e.g. front) of the reference object.

has domain: relative location with Offset ^c
has range: float

Indication of the offset value unit^dp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/reloc#hasOffsetValueUnit

the property indicates the documented unit of the measured offset/distance value as a string

has domain: relative location with Offset ^c
has range: string

Legend back to ToC

^c: Classes
^op: Object Properties
^dp: Data Properties

Acknowledgments back to ToC

The authors would like to thank Silvio Peroni for developing LODE, a Live OWL Documentation Environment, which is used for representing the Cross Referencing Section of this document and Daniel Garijo for developing Widoco, the program used to create the template used in this documentation.

Relative Location Ontology

Release: 2024-02-01

Abstract

Introduction back to ToC

Namespace declarations