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lighthouse

vr.tr.lighthouse · thing-q39715

Let an agent handle lighthouses by name, location, light characteristic, status and heritage.

Thing Registry Physical world and living systems PHY.BLT

Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled

4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions

Identity Which lighthouse.

Name

Location.

Name

Lighthouse identity.

  1. Which lighthouse, and where? provenance
  2. What is its official light number? provenance

Status

Active or inactive.

Status

Status.

  1. Is it active and automated? provenance
  2. Who operates it? provenance
Light Characteristic.

Characteristic

Pattern.

Characteristic

Light characteristic.

  1. What is its light characteristic and colour? definition
  2. What is its range? measurement

Notices

Changes.

Notices

Notices to mariners.

  1. Are there notices of changes or outages? provenance
  2. From which authority? provenance
Heritage History.

History

Construction.

History

History.

  1. When was it built, and by whom? provenance
  2. Is it a protected building? provenance

Visiting

Access.

Visiting

Visiting.

  1. Is it open to visitors? provenance
  2. What safety rules apply? boundary
Navigation Use at sea.

Charts

Official data.

Charts

Chart data.

  1. How is it shown on charts? definition
  2. Is the chart current? boundary

Hazard

What it marks.

Hazard

Marked hazard.

  1. What hazard or approach does it mark? definition
  2. Are sectors coloured? definition

Classifiers Filled

Family
Thing Registry
Category
Physical world and living systems
Entry kind
thing
Plane
PHY
Domain
PHY.BLT
Other names and narrower kinds
approach lighthouse, Heidenstam lighthouse, Harwich High and Low Lighthouses, Live Fire Warning beacon, inactive lighthouse, fishers lighthouse, fanal, Blüse, bascule light, Lights of North Shields, leading lights, nuclear beacon

What it is Filled

A tower or structure with a powerful light to guide ships at sea or on inland waterways, marking coasts, hazards and harbour entrances with characteristic light patterns; many are now automated or historic.

Why it exists Filled

Let an agent handle lighthouses by name, location, light characteristic, status and heritage.

Distinguishing features Filled

  • Navigational light structure
  • Unique light characteristic
  • Listed in official lists of lights
  • Many automated

What robots and AI may and may not do Filled

Must not

  • Show false lights or alter a light's characteristic.
  • Interfere with the light, power or equipment of a working lighthouse.
  • Present a decommissioned light as active, or the reverse.
  • Damage a historic lighthouse or enter it without permission.

Only with a human decision

  • Any change to a light used for navigation.

May

  • Report a lighthouse's position, light characteristic and status from official notices.
  • Report a light that is out or shows the wrong characteristic to the lighthouse authority.

Moral aspects Filled

  • Mariners' lives depend on lights being where and as charts show.

Who is affected

  • Mariners
  • Coastal communities
  • Heritage visitors

Owners Filled

Steward

The national lighthouse authority; historic lighthouses may be held by heritage trusts.

Master systems

  • Official lists of lights and notices to mariners

Links to other meta-models Filled

parent

  • Q3565782 - registry parent class
  • Q41176 - registry parent class
  • Q7321258 - registry parent class

related

  • navigational aid and building - category
  • ship - users
  • lighthouse authority - operator
  • beacon and buoy - aids

What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled

Identity and identifiers required Filled

  • Vercy registry: vr.tr.lighthouse
  • Wikidata: Q39715 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q39715)
  • ARLHS number: amateur radio lighthouse society id lighthouses
  • Admiralty List of Lights number: official light number navigation

Direct properties required Filled

  • nominal range: 10-30 nautical miles - major lights

Recognition required Filled

  • Light characteristic such as Fl(2) 10s
  • Daymark colours and bands
  • Inactive lighthouses no longer show a light
  • A tall tower, often striped, with a lantern room at the top.

Capabilities and actions required Filled

  • identify it from its light characteristic
  • look it up in the list of lights
  • visit where open
  • preserve it as heritage

Hazards and failure modes required Filled

  • Relying on out-of-date light data
  • Unsafe access on cliffs and towers

Standards and interfaces required Filled

  • IALA recommendations
  • SOLAS Chapter V
  • Heritage protection law

Context of use required Filled

  • Navigation safety; also heritage and tourism.
  • coastal lighthouses
  • harbour and approach lights
  • range or leading lights
  • lightships and offshore towers
  • inactive and historic lighthouses

Sources Filled

  1. Wikidata item Q39715: lighthouse - identity and sense of the item
  2. Wikipedia: Lighthouse - general description of the item

Open questions

  • Should lighthouses be instances with light numbers?
  • How should light characteristics be recorded?
  • How should heritage status be linked?

Machine files

Provenance

thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed

Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q39715/spec.json