openEO API approved as an OGC Community Standard; supporting openEO Processes specification approved as an OGC Community Practice.

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) announces the publication of the openEO specification as a new OGC Community Standard.

openEO specifies an open application programming interface (API) for connecting applications and other client software to large-scale Earth observation (EO) cloud backends in a simple and unified way.

The openEO specification aims to increase interoperability in the processing of large EO datasets, including satellite imagery, in the cloud. Implementations of openEO can be used to add an interoperability layer on top of existing services.

Its development has been driven by the need to overcome challenges associated with different tools, APIs, and data formats in geospatial technology. openEO has been developed from the bottom up, with each version of the specification supported by implementations.

The primary use case for openEO is to simplify and unify data processing through a common API and a specification for a set of predefined processes.

Users can continue working in their preferred programming language without needing to manage data organization and pre-processing. openEO also helps avoid vendor lock-in, as generated process descriptions can be executed across multiple provider endpoints, making it easier to compare and reproduce processing results.

openEO is already being used in major Earth observation initiatives. In the Copernicus Dataspace Ecosystem, openEO supports both interactive querying and large-scale FAIR-compliant processing of EO data. It has also been selected by ESA APEx and EarthCODE to expose on-demand services that support reproducible scientific workflows and near real-time processing.

“openEO has always focused on providing an accessible EO processing interface for researchers and other end users, as reflected in its broad ecosystem of user-friendly clients and datacube-centric predefined processes,” said Matthias Mohr, Managing Director of moreGeo. “The specification has evolved alongside OGC Standards and aligns closely with existing standards, making openEO processing results readily usable across a wide range of OGC and STAC client software.”

The specification consists of two parts:

  • The openEO API (version 1.2.0), an HTTP API description specified as an OpenAPI document, approved as an OGC Community Standard; and
  • The openEO Processes (version 1.2.0), a set of requirements for separately versioned predefined processes conforming to the openEO API specification, approved as an OGC Community Practice.

The openEO specification is openly licensed, governed, and maintained. It is released under the Apache 2.0 license and is publicly available via GitHub.

The project is governed by a Project Steering Committee.

About OGC

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is a membership organization dedicated to using the power of geography and technology to solve problems faced by people and the planet. OGC unlocks value and opportunity for its members through Standards, Innovation, and Collaboration. Our membership represents a diverse and active global community drawn from government, industry, academia, international development agencies, research & scientific organizations, civil society, and advocates.

Visit ogc.org for more information about our work.