Press release

The OGC® Announces Call for Participation in OWS-6 Testbed

The Open Geospatial Consortium(OGC®) has issued a Request for Quotes/Call for Participation (RFQ/CFP) for the OGC Web Services, Phase 6 (OWS-6) Interoperability Initiative, a testbed to advance OGCs open interoperability framework for geospatial capabilities.OWS testbeds are part of OGCs Interoperability Program, a global, hands-on and collaborative prototyping program designed to rapidly develop, test and deliver proven candidate specifications into OGCs Specification Program, where they are formalized for public release.In OGCs Interoperability Initiatives, international teams of technology providers work together to solve specific geoprocessing interoperability problems posed by the Initiatives Sponsors.OGC Interoperability Initiatives include testbeds, pilot projects, interoperability experiments and interoperability support services – all designed to encourage rapid development, testing, validation and adoption of OGC standards.OGC Standards empower technology developers to make geospatial information and services accessible and useful with any application that needs to be geospatially enabled.

July 21, 2007, Wayland, Massachusetts. The Open Geospatial Consortium
(OGC®) has issued a Request for Quotes/Call for Participation (RFQ/CFP) for the OGC Web Services, Phase 6 (OWS-6) Interoperability Initiative, a testbed to advance OGC's open interoperability framework for geospatial capabilities. The RFQ/CFP will available at http://www.opengeospatial.org/standards/requests/50 after 18:30 EDT, July 21.

The organizations sponsoring OWS-6 seek open standards for their interoperability requirements. After analyzing those requirements, the OGC Interoperability Team recommended to the sponsors that the content of the OWS-6 initiative be organized around the following threads:

  1. Sensor Web Enablement (SWE)
  2. Geo Processing Workflow (GPW)
  3. Aeronautical Information Management (AIM)
  4. Decision Support Services (DSS)
  5. Compliance Testing (CITE)

The RFQ/CFP includes details of these threads as well as details of the bidders' conference, selection process and kickoff. Responses are due by September 5, 2008. If your organization is interested in participating, contact David Arctur at darctur@opengeospatial.org.

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 Initiatives' Sponsors. OGC Interoperability Initiatives include testbeds, pilot projects, interoperability experiments and interoperability support services – all designed to encourage rapid development, testing, validation and adoption of OGC standards.

The OGC® is an international consortium of more than 365 companies, government agencies, research organizations, and universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available geospatial standards. OpenGIS® Standards support interoperable solutions that "geo-enable" the Web, wireless and location-based services, and mainstream IT. OGC Standards empower technology developers to make geospatial information and services accessible and useful with any application that needs to be geospatially enabled. Visit the OGC website at http://www.opengeospatial.org/.