The OGC® Announces Call for Participation in OWS-4 Testbed

April 11, 2006, Wayland, Massachusetts. The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC®) has issued a Request for Quotes/Call for Participation (RFQ/CFP) for the OGC Web Services, Phase 4 (OWS-4) Interoperability Initiative, a testbed to advance OGC's open interoperability framework for geospatial capabilities. The RFQ/CFP is available at http://www.opengeospatial.org/initiatives/?iid=199 .The OWS-4 sponsors are organizations from multiple countries seeking open standards for their interoperability requirements: GeoConnections (Canada), Oak Ridge National Laboratory ORNL (US), BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin Corporation, the US National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA), the US General Services Administration (GSA), other major US agencies, the National Technology Alliance, the NATO C3 Agency, the Ordnance Survey of Great Britain, and TeleAtlas NV. OWS-4 activities are proceeding in coordination with other standards initiatives in OASIS, IEEE and IAI.After analyzing the sponsors' input, the OGC Interoperability Team recommended to the sponsors that the content of the OWS-4 initiative be organized around the following 7 threads:- Sensor Web Enablement (SWE): Standards for discovering and accessing Web-resident sensors- Geo Processing Workflow (GPW): Development of GML Application Schemas and testing OWS in the larger Web service workflow environment- Geo Decision Support (GeoDSS): Refining OWS as an open framework for DSS- Geo-Digital Rights Management (GeoDRM): Standards to support geospatial DRM including underlying security standards.- Computer Aided Design/Geospatial/Building Information Model integration (CAD/GIS/BIM)- OGC Location Services (OpenLS): Extending OGC standards for Location Based Services- Compliance Testing (CITE): Improving tools for testing compliance and interoperability of products and services that implement OGC standardsThe RFQ/CFP includes details of these threads as well as details of the bidders' conference, selection process and kickoff. Responses are due by May 5, 2006. If your organization is interested in participating, contact George Percivall at percivall@opengeospatial.org.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 test beds, 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 industry consortium of more than 300 companies, government agencies, research organizations, 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.”