SKUA (Semantic Knowledge Underpinning Astronomy) is a project, funded by JISC out of Capital Call 01/07 running from January 2008 to June 2009.

Details

SKUA proposes the creation of a semantic infrastructure for astronomy based on the organisation of assertion services with simple interfaces. Astronomy has been part of the UK's e-Science effort since its inception, the majority of this under the AstroGrid project. The focus of this effort, in the UK and within projects in at least 15 other countries, is the creation of a worldwide VirtualObservatory (VO), making astronomical data and applications easily available to astronomers regardless of their location and affiliation. The VO will, by defining and implementing standard interfaces, make it possible to access common resources from multiple applications. These resources are located via a globally distributed resource registry, which has been defined and working for over two years now.

The SKUA proposal to JISC is available here (pdf).

Personnel

• NormanGray (PI)
• TonyLinde (co-I)
• KonaAndrews (50% dev)

Key Pages

• A SAC is the core notion of SKUA. We cover, in SACFeatures, a list of features which a SAC might/ought to cover in some release. A SAC is structured around users' claims about resources.
• We're using a distributed agile methodology, described on our Process page.
• That process involves describing, and then implementing, relatively small and self-contained UserStories; it also means that we have visions.
• The agile process avoids making very strong design commitments up-front, but there are a few points of Architecture which will structure our designs in the months to come.
• The project's biggest anticipated application of the infrastructure is in a Spacebook application