TECoSA Seminar – A Data, Information and Time model for Distributed real-time computer systems

We aim to bring you a TECoSA Seminar on the first Thursday* of each month during term-time. For Spring 2022, the talks will be on-line or hybrid. All are welcome to attend and we look forward to some lively discussions. Members can accept the invitations, non-members can email tecosa-admin@kth.se to register.

The March talk (*moved slightly to accommodate sportlov) is given by Prof Hermann Kopetz, Vienna University of Technology.  The session will be chaired by Martin Törngren, and given as a hybrid option (you can join in Zoom or at KTH Campus).  This seminar will be held in collaboration with Digital Futures: Distinguished lecture: Prof Hermann Kopetz, Vienna University of Technology — Digital Futures (kth.se)

The Data, Information, and Time (DIT) Model

ABSTRACT:  This seminar aims to present a model that clarifies the semantics behind the terms data, information and their relations to the passage of real time. According to the DIT model a data item is a symbol the signifier of which  appears as a pattern (e.g. visual, sound, gesture, or any bit pattern) in physical space.  The signifier of the symbol is generated by a human or a machine in the current contextual situation and is linked to a concept in the human mind or a set of operations of a machine as its signified.  An information item delivers the sense or the idea that a human mind extracts out of a given natural language proposition that is composed of meaningful data items. Since the given tangible, intangible and temporal context are part of the explanation of a data item, a change of context can have an effect on the meaning of data and the sense of a proposition. The DIT model provides a framework to show how the flow of time can change the truth-value of a proposition. Prof Kopetz compares the notions of data, information, and time in differing contexts: in human communication, in the operation of a computer system and in a biological system.  In the final section, he will present a simple example to demonstrate how the lessons learned from the DIT-model can help to reduce the complexity and improve the design of a real-time computer system.

BIO:Hermann Kopetz is a professor emeritus at Vienna University of Technology. He was named an IEEE Fellow in 1994 for contributions to fault-tolerant, real-time systems. He is a cofounder of the company TTTech https://www.tttech.com/innovation/research-projects/.