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RFC on RFC Glossary |
Time Machine RFC-0001 |
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The Time Machine Glossary's function is to provide clear definitions of the terms used in the RFCs and throughout related Time Machine documentation. It should be updated regularly as new RFCs are introduced and published.
4D Map : A core element of the Time Machine which is used to locate resources, services and reconstructions. It is both the map where activities can be followed and the map that aggregates results. It is used for plotting Local Time Machines in particular. The density of the 4D Maps is not uniform, in particular some zones may be modelled only in 3D, 2D and even 1D, such as a list of included elements.
4D Simulator : One of the Time Machine Engines. It manages a continuous spatiotemporal simulation of all possible pasts and futures that are compatible with the data. The 4D Simulator includes a multiscale hierarchical architecture for dividing space and time into discrete volumes with unique identifiers. It is a simulation engine for producing new datasets based on the information stored, and each possible spatiotemporal multiscale simulation corresponds to a multidimensional representation in the 4D computing infrastructure. When a sufficient spatiotemporal density of data is reached, it can produce a 3D representation of the place at a chosen moment in History. In navigating the representation space, one can also navigate in alternative simulations of the past and future. Uncertainty and incoherence are managed at each stage of the process and are directly associated with the corresponding reconstructions of the past and the future.
Annotators : Dedicated Apps for annotating images and documents.
API : The abbreviation of Application programming interface. It is a contract and technical implementation that defines the ways to programmatically interact with a particular piece of software.
App : An application, either web-based or not, that performs operations on Time Machine Components. Apps can be developed by the Time Machine Organisation or by third parties. Apps are pieces of software (in general built as part of official Projects but not necessarily) that enables users to experience and edit the information in the Data Graph and the 4D Map. They can be grouped into families of Apps like the Navigators or the Annotators.
Big Data of the Past : A huge distributed digital information system mapping social, cultural and geographical evolution. A key objective of Time Machine is to ensure that there is a system to bring together dense, interoperable, standardised (linked data, preferably open) and localised (marked up with spatial-temporal information) social, cultural and geographical heritage resources.
Code Library : A collection of software components written in Python (and possibly later other languages) regrouping key Operators for processing Data in the Time Machine Environment.
Component : A part of the Time Machine that is itself a Machine in the sense of systems reacting in a predictable manner to input given an internal State. Each component can react or be acted upon through a defined set of inputs / operations. Some of these operations can be internal, others can be external. Internal Operations change the internal structure or state of the Machine and therefore update its history. External Operations changes are characterised by the usage of a Component, producing an external output based on the current State of the Machine. Sequences of consecutive states permit the reconstruction of the current state of the component.
Conflict Detectors : Specialized Apps that detect incoherence in the Data Graph and help users to solve them.
Data Graph : A formal representation of knowledge using semantic web technologies and extracted by human or automatic processes.
Data Synchronisation : An automated process that compares data documented by a project with conflicting data from another project or an inference.
Digital Content Processor : An automated process extracting information from documents (images, video, sound, etc.). Level 1 Digital Content Processor labels mentions of entities. Level 2 Digital Content Processor labels relations between entities. The Digital Content Processor of Level 3 labels rules. Each process is fully traceable and reversible. The results of the processing constitute the core dataset of the Big Data of the Past and are integrated into the Data Graph.
Digitisation Hubs : Decentral and local structures that offer digitisation services based on open-hardware technology. They are an example of a Service to Local Time Machines for digitisation (e.g. scanning of documents, streets, 3D scanning). Contractual aspects are dealt with via Standard Contracts. The Digitisation Hubs will enable Time Machine to seamlessly aggregate new documents and metadata into a Data Graph with the appropriate standards in terms of resolution, file formats and metadata assured during acquisition. As a service, it can be associated with a Zone of Coverage and will use Standard Metrics to determine the exact price of operations. As Digitisation Hubs are based on open-hardware technology they can be duplicated anywhere and can thus progressively create a dense network of service providers.
Engine : An automated software mechanism that operates on the Data Graph to enrich it. Examples of Engines include: the 4D Simulator, the Large-Scale Inference Engine and the Universal Representation Engine.
Frontier Year : Assuming a strict Retrochronological approach, it is the oldest year in the past for which the Information Skeleton of a given place is established. This may, for instance, correspond to the data extracted from the most ancient cadastral map of a city.
GeoEntities : Existing geographical entities (e.g. a list of Places documented in OpenStreetMap) defined as standard Geographical Information System objects (points - lines - polygons).
Importers : Apps that enable linking of existing datasets to the Data Graph, for example:
- IIIF Source Importer
- Collection creator
- Geographical Layer Importer (e.g. GeoJSON importer)
- Datatable importer (e.g. CSV)
- Cadastral Parcels Importer
- Cloud Point Importer
- Spherical Image Importer
- 3D Model Importer
Information Skeleton : A data structure that contains the core information of the Data Graph. It should be reconstructed first.
Large-Scale Inference Engine : One of the Time Machine Engines, capable of inferring the consequences of chaining any information in the database. It enables Time Machine to induce new logical consequences of existing data and is used to shape and to assess the coherence of the 4D Simulations based on human-understandable concepts and constraints.
Local Datasets : Data produced and published about a particular place. Published Datasets are Open Access and can be freely downloaded, even if they are not yet integrated with the global Data Graph. They have authors and are possibly derived from other datasets. The history of their production must be documented, hence they cannot be unpublished once made available, and they appear in in the Local Time Machine Webspace
Local Time Machine : Zones of high rebuilding-the-past activity density, consisting of one or multiple Projects operating in and on a particular zone. A Local Time Machine focuses on a Municipality and features the activities and the results of the Projects located in this Municipality. Standard values of activities are used to define a scale to represent a Local Time Machine. They are fully defined in RFC-0005.
Local Time Machine Activities : Declared Activities (e.g. events, training sessions) undertaken by participants in the Projects of a Local Time Machine.
Local Time Machine Community : The list of active users of a Local Time Machine . These include users active in Projects as well as users participating in crowdsourcing activities (e.g. transcription, correction, training, etc.). By default, the active users will be updated with news and announcements concerning Local Time Machine Activities in their declared Local Time Machine of interest.
Local Time Machine Density of Operations : A key data point that characterises the number of activities underway in a given Local Time Machine at the given time. It characterises both the activities that are part of Projects and those related to Citizen Scientist activities.
Local Time Machine Operations : A list of basic operations produced by Projects and concerning particular GeoEntities. They appear as a log of activities in the Local Time Machines Webspace.
Local Time Machine Visual Plan : An automatically generated representation of the spatiotemporal focus of different Projects participating in a Local Time Machine.
Local Time Machine Webspace : A part of the Time Machine Website dedicated to the Local Time Machines. It includes information on Local Time Machine Activities, Services to Local Time Machines and the Local Datasets. It also features information on all Local Time Machine Projects linked to a given Municipality.
Long-term Preservation Service : Services offered by operators to enable the long-term preservation of particular datasets (e.g. IIIF repository). Some of these services may include innovative technology such as DNA storage.
Memory Store : The aspect of physical artifacts as stores of complex information from and about the past. Local Time Machines use extraction tools to redocument the content of these memory stores into the Data Graph.
Metadata : Data about data in its most narrow sense. This includes data about file formats or modification dates for digital files or information about the authorship of a book, creation date of a work of art or various handwriting patterns in a written text.
Metadata Generation : The automatic generation of Metadata using methods of pattern recognition, machine learning and artificial intelligence. Such automated extraction methods are already being explored for hand-written text recognition and entity extraction. Yet this is only a first step, as today’s systems fail in identifying, for example, text in complex 2-D scenes such as paintings and maps and on 3-D objects such as vases and sculptures. Significant amounts of metadata currently being created by curators in museums and archives could, however, be generated automatically, such as classification of materials and object sizes, as well as linking to other public data sources such as wiki data given appropriate digitisation workflows and sensors. By doing so, Time Machine strives to create a new dimension of accessibility in digital history and cultural heritage. By indexing objects by their content, it will also be possible to link collection items at large scale, thus providing the capability to propagate metadata through these connections. In the current design, this help for metadatation will be provided through Time Machine Tools and API. This will enable Time Machine to combine automatic suggestions of metadata with expert curation.
Municipalities : A geo-spatial division of the surface of earth into administratively non-ambiguous zones. The list of Municipalities is therefore that of potential Local Time Machines and is fixed and predetermined. Thus, this sets the granularity of the Local Time Machines.
Navigators : Tools to view and query the data in Time Machine similar to the web browser for the World Wide Web. They interpret the Data Graph and the 4D Map to create different processes for exploration. Various typologies of Navigators can be designed: Search Engines, Collection Browsers, 4D Browser (web-based or application-based for better performances), Data Graph Inspector / Editor, Pattern Finder / Navigators, Genealogical Explorers, etc.
OpenStreetMap : A public project1 to create a free and editable map of the world. It is commonly abbreviated OSM.
Operator : Functions in the Code Library that can be chained in a procedural way.
Operation Graph : A formal representation of the past, ongoing and future operations of the partners in the Time Machine Network.
Place : An identified geo-spatial container in which activities can occur. A Place corresponds to a particular extent in space, usually determined in reference to another place. A place can be contained in another Place and can contain other Places. Places are symbolic entities in which temporarily extended processes can occur. A Place may not be determined by a geographical coordinate. Some moving entities are places (e.g. a car, a plane, a ship).
Project : An operation, typically conducted by institutions or individuals that produces data for a particular or several GeoEntities. They may be new or redocumentation of ancient projects, can mine Sources and ingest their extracted data into the Data Graph. They are associated with a Zone of Coverage that links them with Local Time Machines, producing content for GeoEntities. They may also produce intermediary datasets that can be downloaded even if they are not yet integrated in the Data Graph. Projects can develop Apps that interact with the 4D Map and the Data Graph and contribute to the Code Library by working on the GitHub repository of the Time Machine to produce new Operators. These different objectives are non-exclusive from one another. The Project Development Space is a space in the Time Machine Website that features the Apps relevant to the development of Projects.
Project Repository : The central tool to monitor all active Time Machine projects.
Retrochronological Approach : A way to model the traversal of information available about an entity starting from the present day and moving backwards in time, retropropagating the data precision found in the present through Transfer.
RFC book : An automatically created PDF document containing all released and draft RFC texts for simpler reading and sharing.
RFC Editor: The person responsible for managing the Time Machine Request for Comments Process. The role is fully defined in RFC-0003.
RFC Editorial Committee : The people assisting the RFC Editor in managing the Time Machine Request for Comments process. This committee is fully defined in RFC-0003.
RFC Tree : An information structure that is used to aid the production and planning of Time Machine Request for Comments . Its authoritative version is kept up-to-date in RFC-0002.
Scouting Projects : Projects that operate beyond the Frontier year
Segmenters : Operators that can be used for segmenting objects and persons in images, parcels in Cadastral Maps, performing Document Layout analysis or 3D object segmentation.
Service to Local Time Machines : Services offered to Local Time Machines, appearing as active Apps for some Local Time Machines and using Standard Contracts. Services typically appear in the Local Time Machine WebSpace. Examples include Digitisation Hubs, Time Machine Box and Long-term preservation Service.
Spatio-temporal Anchoring : The objective of Time Machine is to localise cultural objects in space and time. For instance, an object in a museum can be associated with several spatio-temporal references: its place of production, the various places it was stored before entering the museum and the spatio-temporal entity it represents. One consequence of this is that a museum in Paris may contribute to many Local Time Machines in the world, having, for instance, paintings representing Venice, Madrid or Budapest. Inversely, in many cases, the information for reconstructing the past of a city or a site is scattered in collections all over the world. The granularity of such spatio-temporal repositioning can be more or less precise or more or less uncertain. To be ingested in the Data Graph, the museum will create a dedicated project whose goal is to produce the spatio-temporal anchoring of some of its collections in one way or another and to document the process by which this repositioning has been done. In many cases, this work has already been done by the curator or researchers in the museums and the goal is thus only to redocument this work in the Time Machine framework. In other cases, dedicated projects must be conducted.
Sources : Entities that contain information that can be extracted (mined). It is typical to distinguish primary sources (e.g. archival records) from secondary sources (e.g. academic articles).
Standard Contracts : Sets of standard contracts used to facilitate the interaction between Time Machine partners, for instance in the case of Digitisation Hubs.
Standard Metrics : Metrics that help partners in the Time Machine Network to compare performance with one another and to set benchmarks.
Technical Charter : A document that defines the Time Machines Rules, Recommendations, Metrics and Official software. The document is periodically revised.
Time Machine API : An API that can be used by Projects to interact with the Data Graph.
Time Machine Box : A collection of hard- and software that allows partners to store their documents and metadata in a decentralised way, to easily integrate them into the Time Machine Network and to ensure they are appropriately documented in the Data Graph. The Time Machine Box is one of the Time Machine Official Components.
Time Machine CSA : A project with 33 partners supported by European Commission, taking place from 2019-2020, to produce a 10-year roadmap for Time Machine. All deliverables and roadmaps are available publicly2.
Time Machine Community : All users registered in the Time Machine Website. Each user's Time Machine ID can be used to login to third parties Apps, and, depending on their level of activity, users may reach different status types linked with particular privileges in terms of operations. These statuses are defined and organised taking inspiration from the Wikipedia systems of privilege (e.g. Administrators, Stewards, etc.).
Time Machine Index : A global system for indexing different types of objects: e.g. documents; iconography; 3D geometries. It gathers all information on documents and their contents and can be used as a basis for additional search engine infrastructure.
Time Machine Infrastructure Alliance : The coalition of the Time Machine partners consisting of in-kind donators of infrastructure components (server space and computing power).
Time Machine Horizon : The asymptotic objective of the Time Machine.
Time Machine Mirror World : The Time Machine Mirror World is a digital twin of the real world, enabling 4D navigation. It is based an advanced stage of the 4D Map associated with dedicated Apps. The Time Machine Mirror World results from the the processing of the Time Machine Engines producing a continuous representation model that can be accessed as an information stratum overlaying the real world.
Time Machine Network : The Time Machine Network is the set of all the partners actually interacting in the Time Machine as part of Projects.
Time Machine Official Components : Pieces of hard- and software (e.g. Time Machine Box) that help partners conform to and interact with the Time Machine Tools and Time Machine API to simplify interaction with the Data Graph.
Time Machine Organisation : A non-profit Association under the Austrian Law responsible for Time Machine governance and operations.
Time Machine Request for Comments : A set of documents as well as a process of development and feedback for the progressive design of the Time Machine infrastructure, standards, recommendations and rules, inspired by the process which has been used for 50 years for the development of Internet Technology, today administrated by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) as part of Internet Society (ISOC). Their functioning is described in RFC-0000 and related RFCs.
Time Machine Tools : Data ingestion and curation services offered to Projects to enter their data in the Data Graph
Time Machine Website : Main website of the Time Machine3". Includes the Local Time Machine WebSpace
Transfer : Transfer of a structure of a given year to the year before assuming no change has occurred. Linked with the principle of continuity. If the transfer of a given structure is not impossible, it means that an event occurred. This event must be modelled in order to push the information backward.
Universal Representation Engine : One of the Time Machine Engines. It manages a multidimensional representation of latent space resulting from the integration of the pattern of extremely diverse types of digital cultural artefacts (text, images, videos, 3D), and permitting new types of data generation based on transmodal pattern understanding.
Zone of Coverage : The geo-spatial zone of activity of a Project.