Vector Tiles Pilot Phase 2

For more information please contact innovation@ogc.org

The Pilot has completed. The Vector Tiles Pilot Phase 2 developed new capabilities to deliver a consistent, interoperable online/offline architecture for vector tiles based on feature and tile servers, and GeoPackage.

The objective of Vector Tiles Pilot Phase 2, was to deliver a consistent, interoperable online/offline architecture for vector tiles based on feature and tile servers, and GeoPackage. The feature and tile servers included WMTS, OGC API – Features, and OGC API – Tiles provided support for map projections other than Web Mercator. All APIs and service types further supported the vector tile metadata model and filtering language, the two other essential work items of VTP-2.

The initiative also tested styled vector tiles with multiple data sources, perspective views, opacity, color backgrounds, imagery backgrounds and day/night display conditions. VTP-2 conducted thorough testing of the OGC APIs for Maps and Tiles, as developed in Testbed-15, and further advanced support for vector tiles.

There are three Engineering Reports that have been generated from the Pilot. All Reports will be linked here when approved for public release:

Tile Set Metadata Engineering Report – 19-082

Vector Tiles Filtering Language Engineering Report – 19-084

OGC Vector Tiles Pilot 2 Summary Engineering Report – 19-088

There are seven videos that are on the OGC Youtube Channel for the Vector Tiles Pilot Phase 2:

The VTP-2 initiative built on the previous Vector Tiles Pilot (VTP-1) efforts to visualize geospatial vector data on different client types, and on intermediate results stemming from the Testbed-15 Open Portrayal Framework (OPF) thread.

VTP-1, the first phase 1 of the Vector Tiles Pilot, has successfully developed and delivered Vector Tile (VT) extensions for the OGC API – Features specification (formerly named Web Feature Service 3.0), Web Map Tile Service (WMTS) and GeoPackage in collaboration with industry partners. These extensions delivered VTP-1 supported web clients, desktop application clients, and mobile clients with support for offline situations. The effort also developed a draft WMTS Styles API and a prototype OGC API for Styles. In addition, VTP-1 developed a conceptual model for tiled feature data.

Testbed-15 OPF developed a framework that allows applying styles to maps, raster, and vector tiles. The OPF Thread also developed Web APIs that complement and upgrade existing OGC Web Services (e.g., WMTS and WMS) with OGC APIs for Maps, Tiles, and Images. These APIs include style elements to request the application of specific styles to data, including vector tiles. The APIs are further complemented with an OGC API – Styles specification to allow posting and retrieval of styles from a style server, modification using visual style editors, and re-distribution for further sharing and use. Testbed-15 developed a conceptual model for styles, metadata for styles, and elaborates linkages between rendering instructions and vector attributes of the corresponding data, including use with GeoPackages.

The Call for Participation for the Vector Tiles Pilots Phase 2 has closed but is available below:

Master Schedule

M01 09 September 2019 Release of Call for Participation – Completed

M02 18 October 2019 Proposals due – Completed

M03 31 October 2019 Participant selection and agreements – Completed

M04 12 November 2019 Virtual Kick-off meeting (Go to Meeting) – Completed

M05 24 January 2020 Draft Engineering Report(s) due – Completed

M06 25 March 2020 Final demonstration of results – Available online

M07 01 April 2020 Documentation and Engineering Reports due – Completed (Available online)