OGC Requests

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC®) seeks public comment on the candidate OGC “GeoSPARQL: A Geographic Query Language for RDF Data” Standard. The candidate OGC GeoSPARQL standard defines spatial extensions to the W3C's SPARQL protocol and RDF query language. 

SPARQL is a protocol and query language for the Semantic Web. SPARQL is defined in terms of the W3C's RDF data model and will work for any data source that can be mapped into RDF, which potentially includes sources of geospatial data. The OGC GeoSPARQL standard supports representing and querying geospatial data on the Semantic Web. GeoSPARQL provides the foundational geospatial vocabulary for linked data involving location and defines extensions to SPARQL for processing geospatial data. This standard serves as a common target for vendors to implement and provides rich functionality for building geospatial applications.

GeoSPARQL follows a modular design. A core component defines top-level RDFS/OWL classes for spatial objects. A geometry component defines RDFS data types for serializing geometry data, RDFS/OWL classes for geometry object types, geometry-related RDF properties, and non-topological spatial query functions for geometry objects. A geometry topology component defines topological query functions. A topological vocabulary component defines RDF properties for asserting topological relations between spatial objects, and a query rewrite component defines rules for transforming a simple triple pattern that tests a topological relation between two features into an equivalent query involving concrete geometries and topological query functions.

The candidate OGC GeoSPARQL Standard documents are available for review and comment below.

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC®) seeks public comment on the candidate version 3.3 of the OGC Geography Markup Language (GML). GML 3.3 builds on GML 3.2.1, published by ISO as ISO 19136:2007, and extends GML with additional schema components based on requirements requested by various domains of interest. For example, the 3d modeling community suggest the addition of triangular meshes (TINs) to GML. GML 3.3 is fully backwards compatible with GML 3.2.

GML defines an XML data encoding for geographic data and a grammar to express models of such data using XML Schema. GML has come into wide use since it was first adopted as an OGC standard in 2001 (http://www.ogcnetwork.net/gmlprofiles for examples). GML is the standard that enables information communities and other standards organizations such as the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and OASIS to insert geospatial elements into their standards and be confident that their standards will be compatible with mainstream information infrastructure methods of conveying spatial/temporal information.

Some of the changes between the previous version 3.2.1 and 3.3 are:

• Support for additional date representations based on ISO 8601 (Representation of dates and times)
• Support for an additional, compact encoding of commonly used geometry types
• Support for a new encoding of Triangulated Irregular Networks (TINs)
• Support for Linear Referencing
• Extensions to the XML encoding rule
• Support for grids used by the meteorological and ocean observation communities

All extensions are made in separate XML namespaces to support a modular use of components from the GML schema.

Information on the change requests addressed in GML v3.3 can be found athttp://external.opengeospatial.org/twiki_public/GML/ChangeRequests. The candidate OGC GML v3.3 Standard documents are available for review and comment below.

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC®) seeks public comment on the candidate OGC PUCK Protocol Encoding Standard.

Most sensor networks require careful manual installation and configuration by technicians to assure that software components are properly associated with the physical instruments that they represent. Instrument driver software, configuration files, and "metadata" describing the instrument and its capabilities must be manually installed and associated with a physical instrument port. Sometimes these manual procedures must be performed under physically challenging conditions, increasing the chances of human error. PUCK addresses these challenges by defining a standard instrument protocol to retrieve metadata and other information from the device itself. This information can include OGC SWE SensorML and IEEE 1451 Transducer Electronic Data Sheet (TEDS) documents, as well as actual instrument driver code. Computers on the network can use the PUCK protocol to retrieve this information from installed instruments and utilize it appropriately, e.g. to automatically identify, configure and operate the instruments. Thus PUCK enables automatic self-configuring "plug-and-work" sensor networks.

PUCK is relatively simple, and several manufacturers have implemented the protocol in their instruments' firmware. PUCK augments but doesn't replace existing instrument command sets, so can be implemented without abandoning existing firmware and software applications. PUCK was originally developed by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) for oceanographic applications, but is useful in any sensor network containing RS232 or Ethernet-connected instruments. PUCK-enabled instruments have been deployed on ocean observatories in the USA and Europe, and the protocol is being considered for adoption by other projects as well. The OGC Technical Committee’s PUCK Standards Working Group was chartered to process the existing MBARI PUCK protocol as a candidate OGC standard compatible with the OGC Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) standards baseline.

The candidate OGC PUCK Standard documents are available for review and comment below.

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC®) seeks public comment on the candidate standard “Earth Observation Metadata profile of the OGC Observations and Measurements Standard.” 

The Earth Observation (EO) profile of Observations and Measurements is intended to provide a standard schema for encoding Earth Observation metadata to support the description and cataloguing of products from sensors aboard EO satellites.

This second version of the Earth Observation metadata profile is based on Observations and Measurements, an OGC and ISO standard used in several communities. For example, O&M is used as a basis for the application schemas in several draft INSPIRE Annex II+III data specifications.

The metadata elements defined in this candidate standard are applicable for use in catalogues and applications, including various EO cataloguing applications based on OGC standards like the ebRIM Application Profile of the OGC Catalog Services – Web (CS-W) Interface Standard.

EO products are differentiated by parameters such as date of acquisition and location as well as characteristics pertaining to the type of sensor, such as cloud, haze, smoke or other phenomena obscuring optical imagery. Metadata used to distinguish EO product types are defined in this candidate standard for generic products and also for specific thematic EO products, such as optical, radar, atmospheric, altimetry, limb-looking and synthesized products. In addition, this document describes the mechanism used to extend these schemas to specific EO missions.

The candidate OGC Earth Observation Metadata profile of Observations & Measurements Standard documents are available for review and comment below.

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC®) seeks public comment on the candidate OGC Open GeoSMS Standard - Core.

The candidate OGC Open GeoSMS Standard allows applications to location enable Short Message Service (SMS). SMS is the text communication service component of phone, web and mobile communication systems. SMS uses standardized communications protocols that allow the exchange of short text messages between fixed line or mobile phone devices.

Open GeoSMS enables developers to use extended Short Message Service (SMS) to facilitate communication of location content between different LBS (Location-Based Service) devices or applications. The encoding is extremely light weight and the standards document is quite short.
 
The Taiwan Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) contributed this candidate standard to the OGC. Open GeoSMS is already in use in a number of deployed commercial applications in Taiwan as well as in a number of disaster response applications such as those provided by Sahana.

The candidate OGC Open GeoSMS Standard can be found below.  The period for issuing comments expires on 24 April 2011.

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC®) seeks public comment on the candidate OGC Ordering Services for Earth Observation Products Interface Standard. This candidate interface standard defines interfaces for ordering products derived from Earth observation satellites. In particular it provides interfaces for:

• Getting the processing and delivery options available for specific Earth observation products

• Getting the price quotation for an order to be submitted

• Submitting the order

• Monitoring the status of the submitted orders and optionally cancelling them

• Retrieving the products (on-line, if supported by the server)

This candidate standard has been prepared by the OGC Technical Committee Ordering Standards Working Group and it is based on an existing specification prepared and implemented in several ESA (European Space Agency) projects. Currently, implementations are available from at least the following space agencies:

• ESA

• Eumetsat

• DLR

Other implementations are being developed, including those being developed in GMES-related activities.

This candidate standard is designed to work with the OGC Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) suite of standards: For the modelling of ordering options the SWE Common specification has been selected and some elements are shared with the OGC Sensor Planning Service Interface Standard (SPS).

The candidate OGC Ordering Services for Earth Observation Products Interface Standard can be found below. The period for issuing comments expires on 23 February 2011.

RFQ Issuance Date: 22 November 2010

OWS-8 Bidder's Conference: 6 December 2010, 10:00-11:30am US EST
Proposal Due Date: 14 January 2011, 5:00 p.m. EST.

Go Directly to the Request for Quotation Document
Go Directly to the Bidder's Conference Information Overview
Go Directly to the Request for Quotation Clarifications

OGC members who wish to observe OWS-8 may do so upon submission of the OGC Observer Agreement: 
http://bit.ly/aTGi8T

Overview

OWS testbeds are part of OGC's Interoperability Program, a global, hands-on and collaborative prototyping program designed to rapidly develop, test and deliver proven candidate specifications into OGC's Specification Program, where they are formalized for public release. In OGC's Interoperability Initiatives, international teams of technology providers work together to solve specific geoprocessing interoperability problems posed by the Initiative's sponsoring organizations. OGC Interoperability Initiatives include test beds, pilot projects, interoperability experiments and interoperability support services - all designed to encourage rapid development, testing, validation and adoption of OGC standards.

The OWS-8 sponsors are organizations seeking open standards for their interoperability requirements. After analyzing their requirements, the OGC Interoperability Team recommend to the sponsors that the content of the OWS-8 initiative be organized around the following threads:

• Observation Fusion
• Geosynchronization (Gsync)
• Cross-Community Interoperability (CCI)
• Aviation

OWS-8 Sponsors

• U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA)
• U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
• U.S. Army Geospatial Center (AGC)
• U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
• EUROCONTROL
• U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
• U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
• European Space Agency (ESA)
• U.K. Defence, Science and Technology Laboratary (DSTL)
• Lockheed Martin Corporation

OWS-8 Threads

In July 2010, the OGC issued a call for sponsors for the OWS-8 interoperability initiative to advance OGC's open framework for interoperability in the geospatial industry.  Two meetings were conducted with potential OWS-8 sponsors to review the OGC technical baseline, discuss OWS-7 results, and identify new requirements to be addressed in OWS-8.  The following organization and scope of activity threads resulted from consolidation of all sponsors’ requirements:

• Observation Fusion
  • WCS 2.0 Earth Observation Application Profile, WCPS, Compliance Test Scripts
  • Detection, tracking, and bookmarking of moving objects in video, implemented using SWE and other OGC encodings and interfaces.
• Geosynchronization
  • Geodata Bulk Transfer: The ability to distribute individual data sets and/or collections of data sets in a consistent manner offline and over networks.
  • Geosynchronization: Web services and client components to support synchronization and updates of geospatial data across a hierarchical Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI).

• Cross-Community Interoperability (CCI)
  • Advancement of semantic mediation approaches to query and use data based on different heterogeneous data models, which are available via OGC WFS.
  • Advancement of the use of style registries and styling services.
  • Advancement of the use of KML.
  • Advancement of the use of UML/OCL for Schema Automation on Domain Models.

• Aviation
  • AIXM: Maturing the delivery, filtering and update of AIXM 5.1 using WFS-T/FE 2.0; continuing the development of reusable tools, benchmarking of compression techniques for enhanced performance, advancing styling and portrayal support, and validating the emerging metadata and GML profiles.
  • Event Notification Architecture: including Digital NOTAM Events.
  • WXXM and weather information: using coverages for encoding representative weather forecast and radar datasets, supporting on-demand Coordinate Reference System (CRS) specifications/transformations, exploring alternative distributed architectures for managing Units of Measure (UoM), demonstrating the applications of probabilistic Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts (TAF) decision making applications, and reviewing/validating the WXXM schemas.

Schedule of Events and Milestones

• Request for Quotation / Call for Participation (RFQ/CFP): 22 November 2010
• Bidders Conference (Q&A with WebEx): 6 December 2010. Go to the WebEx calendar here: http://opengeospatial.webex.com/ and look for the OWS8 Bidders event.
• Last date for submitting questions or changes to the RFQ: 15 December 2010
• Proposals due: 14 January 2011
• Participant selections completed: 28 January 2011
• OWS-8 Kickoff (3-day workshop in DC area, attendance required): 9-11 March 2011
• OWS-8 Completion (final reports due): 30 September 2011

Live demonstrations of OWS-8 results will be conducted at the September 2011 OGC Technical Committee meeting in Boulder, Colorado USA 

Demonstration videos of the testbed results will be posted for public viewing within 30 days of testbed completion. 

The Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc. (OGC®) seeks public comment on the candidate OGC Sensor Observation Service (SOS) Standard Version 2.0. The SOS candidate interface standard is designed to provide access to sensor observations, sensor descriptions, and digital representations of observed features in an interoperable and standardized way. Further, the SOS 2.0 candidate standard provides means to insert new sensor descriptions or observations.

The OGC Sensor Observation Service revision incorporates several enhancements. These include a modular restructuring of the document, new KVP and SOAP bindings, redesign of the observation offering concept, and reliance on the OGC Sensor Web Enablement Service Model. SOS 2.0 is highly modular and follows the OGC core/extension design pattern. The main SOS 2.0 document incorporates the core as well as the transactional extension, result handling extension, enhanced operations extension, binding extension, and a profile for spatial filtering of observations. An additional document specifies the extension for the operation to retrieve metadata about the observations stored by a service.

The proposed OGC SOS 2.0 standard and information on submitting comments on this document are available below.  The public comment period closes on 1 December 2010.

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) has issued a Request for Quotations/Call for Participation (RFQ/CFP) to solicit proposals in response to requirements for the Special Activity Airspace (SAA) Dissemination Pilot, sponsored by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The RFQ/CFP is below. Responses are due by October 18, 2010. A bidders’ teleconference will be held on October 4, 2010. The Point of Contact for the SAA SWIM Pilot is Nadine Alameh nalameh [at] opengeospatial [dot] org.

The FAA SAA Dissemination Pilot will extend the SAA SWIM Services to enable the dissemination of SAA information (including updates and schedule changes) to National Airspace System (NAS) stakeholders and other external users via services that implement OGC Web Services (OWS) standards.

In support of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), the FAA SWIM program seeks to achieve systems interoperability and information management for diverse Air Traffic Management (ATM) systems using Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA). The FAA SWIM capabilities include supporting the exchange of SAA information between operational ATM systems. SAAs include Special Use Airspaces (SUA) - regions of airspace designated for use by the military ensuring no other traffic uses that airspace during scheduled times.

The FAA SAA DisseminationPilot shall build on SAA SWIM Services leveraging the OGC Web Feature Service (WFS), the OGC Feature Portrayal Service (FPS), the (draft) Event Service and the Aeronautical Information Exchange Model (AIXM), Support the filtering, access and portrayal of SAA information as well as the notification to subscribed users of SAA updates and schedule changes,and support the evolution towards end-to-end automated information flow from the US Department of Defense (DoD) - originators of SAA activation requests - to airlines and other NAS stakeholders.

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC®) members are seeking comments on three candidate standards – the OGC CF-netCDF Primer, OGC Network Common Data Form (NetCDF) Core Encoding Standard, and the OGC NetCDF Binary Encoding Extension Standard - NetCDF Classic and 64-bit Offset Format.

NetCDF (network Common Data Form) is comprised of a data model for array-oriented scientific data, related access libraries, and a machine-independent data format. Together, the interfaces, libraries, and format support the creation, access, and sharing of georeferenced scientific data.

NetCDF and CF-NetCDF were developed by the weather and climate communities and have been maintained by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) (www.ucar.edu).  These standards has been formally recognized by US Government standards bodies. UCAR introduced NetCDF into the OGC as a candidate OGC standard to encourage broader international use and greater interoperability among clients and servers interchanging data in binary form. Establishing CF-netCDF as an OGC standard for binary encoding will enable standard delivery of data in binary form via several OGC service interface standards, including the OGC Web Coverage Service (WCS), Web Feature Service (WFS), and Sensor Observation Service (SOS) Interface Standards.

The following organizations submitted these candidate standards to the Open Geospatial Consortium:

IMAA-CNR Italy

METEO-FRANCE

Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)

Northrop Grumman Corporation

University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)

US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

The candidate OGC OGC standards and information about submitting comments on this document are available below. The public comment period closes on 7 October , 2010.