One of the key factors that hinders integration of distributed, heterogeneousinformation systems is the lack of a formal basis for modeling the complex, structuredknowledge that is to be exchanged. To alleviate this situation, we present anapproach based on core ontologies. Core ontologies are characterized by a high degreeof axiomatization and formal precision. This is achieved by basing on a foundationalontology. In addition, core ontologies should follow a pattern-oriented designapproach. By this, they are modular and extensible. Core ontologies allow forreusing the structured knowledge they define as well as integrating existing domainknowledge. The structured knowledge of the core ontologies is clearly separatedfrom the domain-specific knowledge. Such core ontologies allow for both formallyconceptualize their particular fields and to be flexibly combined to cover the needsof concrete, complex application domains. Over the last years, we have developedthree independent core ontologies for events and objects, multimedia annotations,and personal information management. In this paper, we present the simultaneoususe and integration of our core ontologies at the example of a complex, distributedsocio-technical system of emergency response. We describe our design approachfor core ontologies and discuss the lessons learned in designing them. Finally, weelaborate on the beauty aspects of our core ontologies.[...]
