Meaning and efficiency in the GESTALT-system - an approach to automatic image description

Knowledge-based image recognition and description systems have to balance soundness versus efficiency. For mining purposes in particular a theory of meaning - i.e. formal semantic or ontology - has to be given. However, efficiency is also most important for practicability. This contribution uses production systems. The semantics are analysed by means of confluence. Productions are used in an accumulating way instead of reductive. The interpretation scheme given allows breaking reasoning at any time with an approximate interpretation as result. Two example systems using this interpreter are discussed.