Basic Formal Ontology
Encyclopedia
The Basic Formal Ontology (BFO) is a formal ontological framework developed by Barry Smith
and his associates that consists in a series of sub-ontologies at different levels of granularity. The ontologies are divided into two varieties: SNAP (or snapshot) ontologies, comprehending continuant entities such as three-dimensional enduring objects, and SPAN ontologies, comprehending processes conceived as extended through (or as spanning) time. BFO thus incorporates both three-dimensionalist and four-dimensionalist perspectives on reality within a single framework. Interrelations are defined between the two types of ontologies in a way which gives BFO the facility to deal with both static/spatial and dynamic/temporal features of reality. Each SNAP ontology is an inventory of all entities existing at a time. Each SPAN ontology is an inventory (processory) of all the processes unfolding through a given interval of time. Both types of ontology serve as basis for a series of sub-ontologies, each of which can be conceived as a window on a certain portion of reality at a given level of granularity.
(OBI).
Barry Smith (ontologist)
Barry Smith is a Julian Park Distinguished Professor of Philosophy in the University at Buffalo and Research Scientist in the New York State . From 2002 to 2006 he was Director of the Institute for Formal Ontology and Medical Information Science in Leipzig and Saarbrücken, GermaUny...
and his associates that consists in a series of sub-ontologies at different levels of granularity. The ontologies are divided into two varieties: SNAP (or snapshot) ontologies, comprehending continuant entities such as three-dimensional enduring objects, and SPAN ontologies, comprehending processes conceived as extended through (or as spanning) time. BFO thus incorporates both three-dimensionalist and four-dimensionalist perspectives on reality within a single framework. Interrelations are defined between the two types of ontologies in a way which gives BFO the facility to deal with both static/spatial and dynamic/temporal features of reality. Each SNAP ontology is an inventory of all entities existing at a time. Each SPAN ontology is an inventory (processory) of all the processes unfolding through a given interval of time. Both types of ontology serve as basis for a series of sub-ontologies, each of which can be conceived as a window on a certain portion of reality at a given level of granularity.
Applications of BFO
BFO has been adopted as a foundational ontology by many projects, principally in the area of biomedical ontological engineering. An example application of BFO can be seen in the Ontology for Biomedical InvestigationsOntology for Biomedical Investigations
The Ontology for Biomedical Investigations is an open access, integrated ontology for the description of biological and clinical investigations. OBI provides a model for the design of an investigation, the protocols and instrumentation used, the materials used, the data generated and the type of...
(OBI).