Glossary · Semantic interoperability and information models
Semantic model
Also known as: Semantic data model
German: Semantisches Modell
In information management, a semantic model is a model that represents the meaning of data explicitly, as concepts, their properties and their relationships, often with references to shared vocabularies or ontologies, so that people and machines can interpret the data consistently across systems.
- Information models
In one sentence
A semantic model represents the meaning of data explicitly as concepts, properties and relationships so systems interpret it consistently.
Example
A semantic model states that a temperature value belongs to a specific motor winding, is measured in degrees Celsius and is an instance of a defined property.
How it applies
- Engineering: Semantic models add meaning to raw data: what a value refers to, its unit and how it relates to other objects. OPC UA information models, AAS submodels and RDF-based models are examples.
- AI: Semantic models and knowledge graphs give AI systems reliable context, for example to find the right document for a machine component (Knowledge graph).
- Documentation: Documentation metadata models, such as iiRDS, are semantic models for content. Aligning them with the product's semantic model links documents to the right components.
Semantic model vs. data model
A Data model defines how data is structured, such as tables, fields and types. A semantic model defines what the data means and how concepts relate. A data model can be semantically poor, for example a table with a column named value; a semantic model makes the meaning explicit.