OGC Newsletter - August 2003
CONTENTS
Presidents MessageOpen GIS Consortium (Europe) Supports Interoperability VisionUpcoming Interoperability EventsNew Issue of OGC User AvailableDEPARTMENTS:
IP Update, New Members, OGC In The News, Events, Contact, Subscribe/Unsubscribe
Back issues of OGC News are available.
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PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
An Opportunity to Move Sensor Web Specifications Forward
In working to define interface specifications to enable connection to disparate sensor webs, OGC has developed something of extraordinary social and commercial value, a perfect example of the power of open IT infrastructure. Applications ranging from environmental monitoring and traffic monitoring to emergency response and disaster management will reap extraordinary benefits from an open, global standards framework for exploiting real time, connected in-situ (in place) and dynamic (moving) sensors. Much work has already been done. The challenge now is for OGC members and industry to mature and marshal these specifications through the Consortium's consensus process. As the OGC membership adopts interface specifications, sensor networks will be more and more available to "internetwork" through wireless networks and the Internet. Scientific and engineering professionals will have a great opportunity to make a wide variety of sensor data universally discoverable, accessible, comparable and usable via the World Wide Web to fulfill a range of critical social, environmental and economic goals.
I urge both members and non-members alike to make Sensor Web succeed. Sponsors are needed to support further development and testing of the interfaces, leading to their adoption as OpenGIS(R) Specifications.
Most OGC members are quite understandably focused on maturing the existing baseline of specifications for Web mapping and OGC Web Services. However, given the importance of Sensor Web to the geospatial industry and markets such as emergency response, it is well worth the while of any member of OGC to devote time and resource to move this work forward.
The question, as always is "What can a member do?" For one thing, you can spread the word - the state of our world environmental, socially, politically and economically makes this a key moment for this set of interfaces. So I urge all of you to tell the Sensor Web story. If there are divisions in your organizations that ought to be supporting Sensor Web I strongly encourage you to get them involved. The sooner we can make these interfaces available, the sooner Sensor Web sponsors, and sponsors and participants in such initiatives as OWS 2.0, as well as the community at large, can put them to good use.
OGC is the world's authoritative source for standards related to geoprocessing interoperability, and has enjoyed strong support from domains that depend on sensors. Because of this positioning, it makes sense that the Sensor Web interface standards should quickly gain traction in the IT community with worldwide implications. The leverage applied by a single agency or corporation furthering the standardization process at this time would be globally recognized as a contribution of major significance.
David Schell, President, OGC
Editor's Note: If you know people whom OGC staff ought to contact about advancing Sensor Web, or have general suggestions for outreach and sponsor recruitment, please contact Ron Fresne Interoperability Program Manager, rfresne [at] opengeospatial.org.
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OPEN GIS CONSORTIUM (EUROPE) SUPPORTS INTEROPERABILITY VISION
The Open GIS Consortium (Europe) Limited (OGCE) was formed in 2001 and is organized and operated as a non-stock, not for profit company limited by guarantee, organized under The Companies Act 1985 of England and Wales. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Open GIS Consortium, Inc. and conducts business in Europe in support of OGC's mission, goals, and objectives.
In particular it:
- Promotes the development and use of advanced open systems standards and techniques to enable full integration of geospatial data and geoprocessing resources into mainstream computing and widespread use of interoperable, commercial geoprocessing software throughout the global information infrastructure
- Represents the European-based membership of OGC in membership organizations/associations in Europe with similar vision and mission, including agencies, collaborators and affiliates of the European Commission
OGCE provides European, national (Member State) and local governments with services that enable their decision-making bodies to take up & adopt interoperable geoprocessing. It facilitates broad and beneficial participation from European public organizations or private business in the development of OpenGIS specifications, assists in bridging the use of interoperable principles, approaches and services (delivered by both public and private European organizations) in European, national and local programs where interoperability is a focus or requirement.
OCGE provides software users a one stop, multi-vendor, multi-technology standards-based entryway to consider technical and business benefits of interoperability prior to making large investments. It brings industry accepted approaches for architecting interoperability to customer organizations and enterprises based on defining user requirements and introduction of industry accepted and approved architecture principles, OpenGIS specifications, and Standards-based Commercial Off the Shelf (SCOTS) software engineering development processes. Finally, OGCE helps organizations in Europe understand the return on investment from interoperability.
OGCE provides four types of services to customers throughout Europe - Architecture, Proof of Concept, Procurement Readiness, and Program Support. Architecture basically means applying the OGC Reference Model (ORM) approach to customer organizations. Proof of Concept refers to the execution of collaborative, multi-company and multi-product projects to demonstrate the benefits of interoperable capabilities in the customer's organization and thereby laying out a framework for future procurement. Procurement Readiness provides customers with critical evaluation and best practice information to justify procurements. It might include development of enterprise verification and validation evaluations of operational performance, and/or return on investment measures and criteria such as life cycle costs as they apply to information processing across the organization. Program Support Services assist organizations in monitoring and managing large programs where interoperability is a focus and where a critical mass of industrial technology are to be applied.
To facilitate the delivery of these services, OGCE has established an Open GIS Consortium (Europe) Limited Virtual Resource Pool (EVPool) for European members. OGCE will conduct its mission by tapping expertise from the pool and form project teams that conduct architectural, proof of concept and procurement readiness services using proven OGC process approaches. For organizations that comprise the European geospatial marketplace who are interested in conducting pre-procurement projects centering on technology architecture and proof of concept, this provides a high level opportunity to gain important operational experience and more fully understand life cycle implications and return on investment from interoperable information solutions. Simultaneously, projects involving OGCE help better prepare European organizations to procure and implement interoperable solutions.
For more information on OGCE visit http://ogce.opengeospatial.org/ or contact Guenther Pichler, //www.opengeospatial.org/press/gpichler [at] opengeospatial.org">gpichler [at] opengeospatial.org.
Louis Hecht
Chairman, Open GIS Consortium (Europe) Ltd.
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UPCOMING INTEROPERABILITY EVENTS
The Institute for Defense & Government Advancement will host the 2003 Interoperability conference, a forum for the exchange of ideas on ways to address interoperability in the US military. This conference will include high-level discussions from the Services, OSD, Joint Staff, Combatant Commands, Federal Agencies and Industry on ways to manage process and systems integration across the Department of Defense and related federal departments. Sessions will address ways that interoperability in the information age can create synergy in the Department of Defense enterprise and increased joint warfighting advantage in the operational theater.
OGC is supporting this event, scheduled for October 15 - 17, 2003 at the Doubletree Hotel Crystal Cit, Arlington.
The Spatial Technologies Industry Association (STIA) along with many sponsors will host GEO-INTEL 2003, an event for private sector executives, Department of Defense and intelligence community leaders, White House and federal government officials, Members of Congress and Congressional staff, state and local government officials, homeland security directors, and emergency management and public safety administrators. GEO-INTEL 2003 will highlight the role of geospatial technologies in securing our homeland from terrorist threats and defending our Nation from Weapons of Mass Destruction. OGC is participating and invites members and interested parties to attend as well. The event runs October 14-17 in New Orleans.
Southeast European Spatial Data Infrastructure Conference (SEE-SDI 2003)
OGC members are invited to participate in the Southeast European Spatial Data Infrastructure Conference (SEE-SDI 2003), to be held October 23 and 24, 2003 in Sofia, Bulgaria. The aim of the conference is to present the status of spatial data infrastructures in South East Europe, to demonstrate their political, economic and social importance, and to review and discuss the funding and partnerships that are coming together. There will be high level political and business participation from countries of the region. Results of the European Commission funded GISEE project, \"GIS Technology and Market in South East Europe,\" will also be presented. There will be presentations on international partnerships and SDI financing sources, including Sixth Framework support for GMES, Galileo, INSPIRE and other programs. The conference will be preceded by tutorials on interoperability and on INSPIRE, the European Spatial Data Infrastructure initiative. OGC members are invited to participate as sponsors and exhibitors. Presentations are by invitation only.
The Object Management Group (OMG), Open GIS Consortium (OGC), Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization (SISO) and Web3D Consortium are hosting the first annual Workshop on Web Enabled Modeling and Simulation (Web Simulation). The workshop is planned for October 27 - 30, 2003 in Crystal City, VA, USA and will bring together experts in the Web Services, Modeling and Simulation communities. The 4-day workshop will include one day of tutorials followed by three days of interactive sessions and panels. Anyone with an interest in interoperability standards for Web based modeling and simulation is welcome to attend.
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NEW ISSUE OF OGC USER AVAILABLE
Looking for real world examples of how OpenGIS Specifications are being used to solve interoperability problems? Turn to OGC User, which this month examines Web Map Service use in Australia, the intersection of open interfaces and public policy in Arkansas (USA), and some in-progress 3D visualization work (also in Australia) that depends on open standards to differentiate it from previous attempts at worldwide 3D mapping.
Subscription (free) information is available here:
Have an OpenGIS story that needs to be told? Drop an e-mail to the editor. adena [at] opengeospatial.org
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IP UPDATE
Critical Infrastructure Protection Initiative Pilot One, Build 2 (CIPI-1.2)
The development server testing is complete and two servers, from IONIC and CubeWerx were installed this month supporting the Department of Defense. Data from CIPI-2 will be loaded and a client from Syncline will provide topological editing and posting to the Web Feature Servers. A plan for the demonstration is under development to illustrate both the server implementations and the extensions to the Web Feature Service Specification.
Conformance & Interoperability Testing & Evaluation Initiative (CITE)
The four beta test periods for CITE testing tools were a success, thanks to the active participation of the OGC membership. The CITE team is finalizing issues raised during testing and plans to release the 1.0 version of the conformance testing tools to the community at the beginning of September. Those tools include tests for WMS, WFS and validation of GML. Final approval of test suite and other resources is expected at the October OGC meeting in Spain.
OGC Web Services (OWS-2)
A request for quotations is in development. During the week of the RFQ release, OGC will hold bidders conference via teleconference. There will be a four-week response period.
GeoSpatial One-Stop Transportation Pilot (GOS-TP)
GOS-TP had a successful internal presentation to the U.S. Department of Transportation and a second successful demonstration to external agencies.
Geographic Objects Initiative Phase 1 (GO-1)
The GO-1 team is editing material from the initiative, which is expected to be presented as a Request for Comment (RFC) at the January TC meeting.
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NEW MEMBERS
OGC welcome a new member who joined us in the month of August.
Universidad Distrital "F.J.C." (Colombia)
Associate
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OGC IN THE NEWS
OGC in the Press
Triple A Concept Promises A Bumper German Harvest
September 2003
One-Stop Shopping
Merrill Douglas
Government Technology
August 2003
The Building of an Interoperable Spatial Data Clearinghouse
Lance McKee
GEOWorld
August 2003
DM Solutions Announces Significant Enhancements to MapServer
August 12, 2003
NASA gives Kentucky $3.1M for maps
Randall Edwards
Federal Computer Week
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EVENTS
September 17-19, 2003
Hamburg, Germany
Intergeo
September 21-25, 2003
Brno, Czech Republic
Digital Earth 2003
September 21-24, 2003
Charlotte/Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
ICMA's 89th Annual Conference
September 29-30, 2003
London, England
GeoSolutions 2003
October 13-17, 2003
Segovia, Spain
OGC Technical and Planning Committee Meetings
October 14-17, 2003
New Orleans, LA
GEO INTEL 2003
October 15 - 17, 2003
Arlington, VA
IDGA Interoperability 2003
October 23 - 24, 2003
Sofia, Bulgaria
Southeast European Spatial Data Infrastructure Conference (SEE-SDI 2003)
January 12-16, 2004 (tentative)
TBD
OGC Technical and Planning Committee Meetings
For further info on events please contact gbuehler [at] opengeospatial.org (Greg Buehler).
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CONTACT
Please send comments and suggestions to:
adena [at] opengeospatial.org (Adena Schutzberg)
Editor, OGC News
Open GIS 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 2003 by the Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc.
