OGC Newsletter - March 2005

March 2005

CONTENTS
President's Message
News From Europe
Website of the Month

DEPARTMENTS:
IP Update, New Members, OGC In The News, Events, Contact, Subscribe/Unsubscribe

Back issues of OGC News are available.


PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Another Spiral

As I write this column, our next major testbed is ramping up for an April 2005 kick off. OGC Web Services 3 (OWS3) is designed to build out OGC's standards-based architecture to address new business, government and consumer needs for geospatial interoperability. Sensor Web Enablement, Geospatial Digital Rights Management, Geo-Decision Support, Common Architecture and Open Location Services are the OWS3 focus areas. All of these address specific user requirements and all contribute to the integration of geospatial technologies and information into the broader IT enterprise.

OWS3 also shows the success of OGC's rapid prototyping approach to standards development. With each "spiral" of testbed activities, candidate OpenGIS specifications are further matured. The process helps to validate developing standards and reduce implementation risk. OWS3 participants will test, validate and demonstrate candidate standards by implementing them in their existing products and then putting the products through their paces in user defined scenarios.

OGC testbeds are just one facet of the overall OGC process. Specifications refined or developed in OGC testbeds are introduced to OGC's consensus process for further validation, maturation and consideration for adoption. OGC's outreach program works to raise awareness and market acceptance of OGC specifications in the global community. And, we are diligent in building partnerships with other standards consortia to assure that our work is properly harmonized with complementary IT standards efforts. The need for these partnerships grows as we expand into new technology domains, such as sensors, CAD/GIS integration, and digital rights management. Our growing technical purview is reflected in a broader representation in our membership, which now includes civil engineering firms, insurers, and sensor service providers.

I wish to thank OGC members for their contributions of time and energy to develop and maintain our current framework of adopted specifications, which are now in hundreds of products worldwide. It is reassuring to see that work continues in the maintenance of the current baseline of OpenGIS(R) standards, even as members take on new work.

I look forward to the coming months as a more comprehensive framework of interoperability rolls out to support a more comprehensive set of Web and wireless services that meet the needs of consumers, business and government enterprises, and local to global stakeholders of the world's expanding spatial data infrastructure.

There is still time to consider participation in OWS3. Visit the website for more information.

Mark Reichardt
President
OGC

NEWS FROM EUROPE

Call for Participation

The Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) initiative of North Rhine-Westphalia (GDI NRW) in Germany works with other initiatives that are responsible for developing regional spatial data infrastructures.

The SDI Joint Project 2005 is the continuation of the SDI NRW Joint Project 2004. During the first joint project an operational core was arranged. This core consists of more than 120 geo-information services, more than 20 applications and 2 meta-information systems. Every component within this SDI satisfies OGC and ISO based SDI NRW specifications.

The Call for Participation for the SDI Joint Project 2005 – Networking Business was published on March 4th, 2005 (in German only). If you have any questions or need more information, please contact niklas [dot] panzer [at] cegi [dot] de (Niklas Panzer).

Call for Papers

The Call for papers for the 11th EC GI & GIS Workshop, ESDI: Setting the Framework has been posted. The workshop will be held June 29-July 1, 2005 in Sardinia, Italy.

Over the last few years, the EC GI & GIS Workshop has focused on the development of a European Spatial Data Infrastructure (ESDI) reviewing work in progress (Dublin 2002), user needs (Coruna, 2003), and the state of the art (Warsaw, 2004). The adoption by the European Commission of the INSPIRE proposed Directive in July 2004, and the publication of the INSPIRE Workprogramme 2005-06 in February 2005 mark a major step forward in the development of the ESDI. This year's theme is ESDI: Setting the Framework.

WEBSITE OF THE MONTH

The Surveying and Mapping Agency of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) Germany hosts TIM-online, a website that has handled 40,000,000 requests in 3 months.

TIM-online conforms to the OGC WMS specification and to the locally created GDI.NRW WMS 1.0-profile. TIM-online provides access to all topographic maps and digital orthophotos of North Rhine-Westphalia free, for private use. Commercial users are required to develop an agreement with the Surveying and Mapping Agency to use the service.

Users of TIM-online can view reference data in different scales or locate a target via its address and merge other thematic data available via WMS services which support the GDI.NRW WMS profile.

A second goal of the project is to allow users to provide information about errors in the data via the TIM-online website via text and graphics. Within TIM-online the user notifies errors using mark up tools and by adding text, both sent via email to the Surveying and Mapping Agency. There the topographers verify the suggested changes and start the updating process of the data.

The Surveying and Mapping Agency worked with con terra GmbH to develop the site which generated more than 40,000,000 successful requests of data in 3 months (starting in October 2004). The map update tools were used several hundred times – proving the data is quite accurate. The agency and developers are proud to note that a regional television program which judges Internet applications awarded the website five stars, the top rating and that the participants of the joint SDI-project 2004 voted TIM-online as the best application in 2004. The Surveying and Mapping Agency considers the service is an example for "living e-Government" in North Rhine- Westphalia, Germany.

For further information see this pdf.

Know of a website that uses OpenGIS specifications to solve a real world problem or demonstrates an interesting use? Drop the adena [at] opengeospatial [dot] org (editor) an e-mail with the details including the URL, organization behind the website, specifications used, technology used and the goal of the website.

IP UPDATE

OWS-3, a major OGC Interoperability Program Initiative, recently released a Request for Quotations. Two Interoperability Experiments (IEs) were recently approved and teams began work.

OGC Web Services, Phase 3 (OWS-3)

The RFQ/CFP for OWS-3 was posted on February 10. OWS-3 participants will work collaboratively to extend and refine existing and draft OpenGIS specifications. The work is organized into these threads:

* Common Architecture
* Sensor Web Enablement (SWE)
* Geo-Decision Support Services (GeoDSS)
* Geo-Digital Rights Management (GeoDRM)
* Open Location Services (OpenLS)

Sponsors include: BAE Systems, IONIC, GeoConnections (Canada), Lockheed Martin, MAGIC Services Initiative, National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA), National Technology Alliance (NTA), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, NAVTEQ, Questerra, US Geological Survey (USGS) and other organizations.

Responses to the RFQ are due by March 14, 2005.

Web Processing Service (WPS) IE (WPS IE)

The WPS IE activity plan was approved. The kickoff meeting will beheld March 7th. This IE will implement a number of prototype Web Processing services based on the interface described in the OGC Web Processing Service (WPS) Discussion Paper. The purpose of the IE will be to confirm that the specification will support the requirements of geospatially related calculations and modeling over the Internet, and to improve the specification if it does not support these requirements.

Natural Resources Canada is the lead initiator of the Interoperability Experiment. The other initiators are PCI Geomatics, Inc. (Canada) and Galdos Systems, Inc. (Canada). Participant organizations include Aachen University of Technology (Germany); Centre for Computational Geography, Leeds (UK); MIT Department of Urban Studies & Planning (USA); and Wupperverband (Germany).

GML in JPEG 2000 Interoperability Experiment (GMLJP2)

The GMLJP2 IE activity plan was approved. The kickoff meeting was held on
February 28th. This Encoding Interoperability Experiment will implement a number of prototype GMLJP2 compressor/decompressors (codecs) based on the specification described in the OGC Document "GML in JPEG 2000 for Geographic Imagery." The purpose of the IE will be to confirm that the draft specification will support the requirements of geospatially related imagery over the Internet, and to improve the specification if it does not support these requirements.

Galdos Systems, Inc. is the lead initiator of the Interoperability Experiment. The other initiators are LizardTech, Inc. and the European Union Satellite Centre. Participant organizations include DM Solutions Group, ITT Industries - Space Systems Division, SPOT Image, US Geological Survey - Astrogeology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Intergraph (Z/I Imaging)

For further information about these and other initiatives visit the initiatives website.

For further information contact gpercivall [at] opengeospatial [dot] org (George Percivall), Executive Director, Interoperability Architecture.

NEW MEMBERS

OGC welcomes new members who joined us recently.

BiLGi GIS Geographic Information Systems Co. Ltd. (Turkey)
Small Company

ESRI Canada
Technical

Fulton County (Georgia, USA)
Government

LGN - State Survey & Geospatial Basic Information Lower Saxony (Germany)
Government

Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) (UK)
Government

Technische Universität Hamburg Harburg (Germany)
University

OGC IN THE NEWS

- OGC in the Press

OGC Works to Enable Sensor Webs
Sam Bacharach
Directions Magazine
March 1, 2005

Open Standards-Based Architectures Scale Up
Carl Reed
Geospatial Solutions
March 2005

OGC Update - 52nd Technical Committee and Planning Committee Meetings
Sam Bacharach
Directions Magazine
February 27, 2005

OGC'S New Board Reflects Consortium's Expanding Global Role
David Schell
Directions Magazine
February 22, 2005

Geonova; Nova Scotia's Gateway to Geographic Information
Glenn Letham
GIS User
February 16, 2005

A Day at Geotec Event, Vancouver. BC, Canada
Glenn Letham
GIS User
February 15, 2005

OGC Papers Widen Geospatial Perspectives
Mark Reichardt
GeoWorld
February 2005

Application Schemas Help Build the Geo-Web
Ron Lake
GeoWorld
February 2005

Geo-information for Disaster Management
Peter van Oosterom, Sisi Zlatanova and Elfriede Fendel
Directions Magazine
February 8, 2005

- OGC Press Releases

OGC and USGIF Illustrate Interoperability at Inaugural European DGI Event
Feb 25, 2005

OGC Calls for Participants in a Major OGC Web Services Testbed
Feb 11, 2005

EVENTS

March 6-9, 2005
Denver, Colorado, USA
GITA's Annual Conference 28 - Crossing Boundries:

March 21-23, 2005
Delft, The Netherlands
The First International Symposium on Geo-information for Disaster Management

April 1, 2005
Rome, Italy
Italian Interoperability Day

April 4-7, 2005
Frascati, Italy
OGC Technical and Planning Committee Meetings

April 8, 2005
Frascati, Italy
Earth Observation and Risk Management Workshop (European Space Agency)

April 14-15, 2005
Washington, DC
Emerging Technology Summit III: Advancing the Sensor Web

April 16, 2005
Cairo, Egypt
8th International Conference for Global Spatial Data Infrastructure (GSDI-8)

May 26 – 28, 2005
Estoril, Portugal
AGILE 2005 Conference

May 30 – June 2
Lisboa, Portugal
2005 GISPLANET 2005

June 9-10, 2005
Stockholm, Sweden
ISO/TC 211 20th Plenary

June 13 – 17, 2005
St John's, Newfoundland, Canada
OGC Technical and Planning Committee Meetings:

June 29 – July 1, 2005
Sardinia, Italy
11th EC-GI & GIS Workshop, ESDI: Setting the Framework

July 4-15 2005
Fiesole (Florence) Italy
3rd annual Vespucci International Summer School on GI Science

July 6-8, 2005
Salzburg, Austria
AGIT 2005

July 18-22, 2005
Vancouver, British Columbia
GML And Geo-Spatial Web Services Conference 2005

For further info on events please contact gbuehler [at] opengeospatial [dot] org (Greg Buehler).

CONTACT

Please send comments and suggestions to:

adena [at] opengeospatial [dot] org (Adena Schutzberg)
Editor, OGC News

Open Geospatial Consortium
35 Main Street Suite 5
Wayland MA 01778-5037
USA Phone: +1 508 655 5858
Fax: +1 508 655 2237

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Copyright 2005 by the Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc.