Standard Interface and reference framework for LCA

The antelope package is an interface specification for accessing LCA data resources. The goal of the Antelope project is to reduce the complexity of LCA along three central fronts:

1. Reduce complexity of modeling by providing a simple, recursive data structure (the fragment) that can effectively describe complex, dynamic LCA models;
2. Reduce complexity of software by liberating users from costly and cumbersome desktop LCA software applications and relocating reference data to the cloud, without compromising computational sophistication;
3. Reduce complexity of communication by providing online tools for describing and sharing LCA models that conceal or omit confidential and proprietary information.

The Antelope framework is distributed by design, intended to allow data owners to independently create and manage their own intellectual property, allowing access by others while regulating what can be seen and concealed.

Antelope provides a hosting platform for working online and sharing information within a trust network. User-owned data is managed by owners, while reference data is curated by the user community.

Antelope uses separation of concerns to help organize different computational facets of the LCA problem into separate services.

Coming to github.io

• vault.lc Home to the Antelope authentication service
• antelope_core The reference implementation including local data source management.
• antelope_background Used for partial ordering of databases and construction and inversion of matrices
• antelope_foreground Used for building foreground models