Semantic technologies are reaching maturity on and off the web. The In-Use track at ESWC 2021 provides a forum for the community to explore the benefits and challenges of applying semantic technologies in concrete, practical applications, in contexts ranging from industry to government and science. We are especially interested in applications that use knowledge graphs, Linked Data or semantic annotations on the Web, possibly combined with other techniques such as data mining, machine learning or natural language processing, to the benefit of concrete, real-life scenarios. We are also looking for descriptions of applied and validated industry or government solutions as software tools, systems or architectures that benefit from the adoption of semantic technologies.
Importantly, papers presenting applications in use of semantic technologies should provide evidence that there is use of the proposed application or tool by the target user group, preferably outside the group that conducted the development. A main focus of the submission should be on the way semantics and semantic technologies are impacting this development, through benefiting the intended use case, as well as, if relevant, through the added challenges they introduce.
We strongly encourage authors to clearly expose:
- limitations of existing (if any) “non-semantics” approaches that address similar challenges,
- benefits of semantic technologies (e.g., measurable impacts such as accuracy, scalability, usability or functionality) in real-world settings, and
- lessons learned from experimentation and / or large scale deployment.
We therefore expect submissions to the In Use track to contain at least the following elements
- A clear description of the problem being addressed, and of its importance in the corresponding domain
- A description of the system, application or tool developed that clearly shows the role Semantic Technologies and Principles are playing in its architecture, or the contribution helping the adoption of Semantic Technologies and Principles
- A clear statement about the current user base of this system, application or tool (including size and composition, e.g. domain experts, developers, etc.), as well as plans for deployment/adoption
- A discussion on the benefits and challenges associated with the use of Semantic Technologies and Principles in the considered scenario, both from a technical (what the technology enables) and a non-technical (e.g. development effort required, effect on user interaction/satisfaction, policy-related issues) point of view
- A clear description of the impact in the respective industry and motivation for the need of semantic web technologies
- A clear evaluation of the performance of the tool/system according to relevant measures (speed, usability, efficiency, etc.)
Topics of Interest
We invite the submission of original papers organized around some of the following aspects:
- Description and analysis of concrete problems and user requirements for applying semantic technologies in a specific domain
- Descriptions of how Semantic Web resources (ontologies, datasets, software, standards, etc.) are being used in practice
- Analysis and evaluation of usability and uptake of Semantic Web tools and technologies
- Scalability analysis and large scale deployment in real world scenarios
- Assessment of the pros and cons of using semantic technologies to solve a particular and practical problem
- Comparison of semantic technologies with alternative approaches that use conventional or competing technologies
- Learned lessons and best practices from deploying and using an application or service based on Semantic Web technologies
- Assessment of costs and benefits of implementing, deploying, using, and managing Semantic Web technologies
- Analysis of risks and opportunities of using Semantic Web technologies in organizations with respect to their businesses and customers
- Descriptions of alternative semantic technologies being deployed in practice
- Mobile apps based on semantic technologies that have substantial user base
- Applications in domain-specific areas such as Health & Life Sciences, Digital Libraries & Cultural Heritage, Media & Entertainment, Smart Cities, and Open Government
Delineation from other Tracks
We strongly recommend that prospective authors carefully check the calls of the other main tracks of the conference in order to identify the optimal track for their submission.
Submissions to the In-Use track should rely on a concrete implementation of either the application or the tool being presented, which should be evaluated according to measures/indicators that are relevant to the evaluation of the adoption of an application or the performance of a tool.
Papers presenting a research prototype where the main objective is to support the validation of a research hypothesis or answering a research question are more appropriate to the research track.
Emerging applications that are not yet deployed, as well as vision papers describing future applications should be submitted to the Poster & Demo track.
Authors who want to present an interesting industry application but who do not want to submit a full paper should submit to the industry track.
Authors who want to present a success story of the deployment & establishment of applications using Semantic Web technologies in a real world environment addressing main benefits for their organization, key success factors or challenges encountered for the integration in an industrial setting should submit to the industry track.
Review Criteria
The Semantic Web In-Use papers will be evaluated on their relevance to the track, rigor in the methodology and analysis used to reach conclusions, originality, readability, and usefulness to developers, researchers, and practitioners. Review criteria include:
- Novelty and significance of the problem addressed
- Value of the use case in demonstrating benefits/challenges of semantic technologies
- Adoption by domain practitioners and general members of the public
- Impact of the solution, especially in supporting the adoption of semantic technologies
- Applicability of the lessons learnt to other use cases
- Clarity and quality of the description
Submission
Important dates and submission guidelines are specified here.
Authors will have the opportunity to submit a rebuttal to the reviews to clarify questions posed by program committee members.
Track chairs
Oscar Corcho. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
ocorcho@fi.upm.es
Petar Ristoski. IBM
petar.ristoski@ibm.com
Acknowledgements
The text from this CfP is based on the call for In-Use Papers for ESWC 2020, by Anna Lisa Gentile and Peter Haase, which was already based on previous calls: In-Use Papers for ISWC 2017 by Philippe Cudré-Mauroux and Juan Sequeda and the call for In-Use Papers for ESWC 2018 by Anna Tordai and Laura Hollink, and the call for In-Use Papers for ESWC 2019 by Vanessa Lopez and Armin Haller.
