WAYLAND, Mass.-- The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC®) has issued calls for sponsors of two interoperability initiatives: the OGC Web Services, Phase 6 (OWS-6) Testbed, and the OGC Pilot in support of GEOSS. OGC also seeks to establish alliances with standards bodies having technology relevant to the two initiatives.

 

The OWS series of Testbeds has been an effective mechanism for organizations to meet their interoperability needs through development of open geospatial standards. OWS-6 will develop interoperability specifications in the areas of Sensor Web Enablement, geoprocessing workflows, 3-dimensional information management including indoor location, aeronautical information systems, enterprise web services, mass-market geoservices and compliance testing of OGC standards. These "threads" address interoperability issues affecting emergency management and homeland security, defense, Earth observation, transport and logistics, e-commerce and other domains. Interested organizations are invited to a planning meeting on 30 April 2008 in Herndon, Virginia. The 30 April Sponsor Meeting will review the OGC standards baseline, discuss OWS-5 results, and identify OWS-6 requirements and plans.

The OGC is contributing to development of the Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS) by conducting a Pilot interoperability initiative. OGC is a Participating Organization of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO). OGC Pilot initiatives are an effective mechanism to rapidly deploy, test and validate standards-based services based on real-world use cases. The OGC Pilot for GEOSS is an effective way for sponsors to contribute to the GEOSS objective of achieving comprehensive, coordinated, and sustained observations of the Earth system. The GEOSS Pilot will bring GEOSS partners together with the broader industry and academic communities to cooperatively test, validate and demonstrate standards-based GEOSS capabilities. The pilot will advance the sponsors’ interest in adoption of standards and best practices as a basis of GEOSS Interoperability Arrangements.

Alliances with other Standards Developing Organizations (SDOs) are a key element of developing OGC specifications for geospatial applications. Maintaining strategic SDO alliances assures cooperation and sharing among the SDOs and convergence of standards employed by OGC members. Therefore, the OGC is also seeking partnerships with other SDOs to develop sponsorship of OWS-6 Testbed and the GEOSS Pilot.

If your organization is interested in either of these initiatives, contact George Percivall at

OWS initiatives 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 testbeds, pilot projects, interoperability experiments and interoperability support services - all designed to encourage rapid development, testing, validation and adoption of OpenGIS standards.

The OGC® is an international industry consortium of more than 345 companies, government agencies and universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available interface specifications. OpenGIS® Specifications support interoperable solutions that "geo-enable" the Web, wireless and location-based services, and mainstream IT. The specifications empower technology developers to make complex spatial information and services accessible and useful with all kinds of applications. Visit the OGC website at http://www.opengeospatial.org.