OGC Announces Kick Off of OGC Web Services Initiative

Wayland, MA, USA, October 23, 2001 – The Open GIS Consortium, Inc. (OGC) (Wayland, MA) announced that Phase 1 of its OGC Web Services Initiative (OWS-1) has begun. Over 50 representatives from 26 organizations attended the successful kick-off meeting held in Tyson's Corner, Virginia in late September. Some of these organizations are sponsors of OWS-1. Sponsors establish the requirements, technical scope and agenda, and form and content of demonstrations, and they contribute resources to support the Initiative. Other attendees represented technology vendors who will work together to define, test, and document open interface specifications that enable web services in the geospatial community.The OWS-1 initiative mission is the definition and specification of interfaces that support interoperability among geospatially enabled web services. A Web service is an application that can be published, located, and dynamically invoked across the Web. Web services perform functions ranging from simple requests to complicated business processes. Once a Web service is deployed, other applications and other Web services can discover and invoke the deployed service.The sponsors of OWS-1 include the Federal Geographic Data Committee, GeoConnection / Natural Resources Canada, Lockheed Martin, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EMPACT Program, the U.S. Geological Survey; and the US National Imagery and Mapping Agency.The sponsors of OWS-1 include the Federal Geographic Data Committee, GeoConnection / Natural Resources Canada, Lockheed Martin, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EMPACT Program, the U.S. Geological Survey; and the US National Imagery and Mapping Agency.Participants include BAE Systems, Compusult Ltd., CubeWerx, Dawn Corporation, DLR (German Aerospace Center), ESRI, Galdos Systems, George Mason University, Intergraph, Ionic Software, Laser-Scan, PCI Geomatics, Polexis, SAIC, Social Change Online, University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) and Syncline.OWS-1 is envisioned as a multi-phase initiative. Each phase will focus on specific technology and specification “thread sets”. The OWS-1 Thread Set 1 will end in February 2002 with a demonstration of the capabilities that have been developed. OGC and the OWS-1 Sponsors have begun planning for OWS Thread Set 2, which will commence in early CY 2002. The current OWS-1 Thread Set is focusing on:- Common Architecture: OGC Services Model, OGC Registry Services, and Sensor Model Language. – Web Mapping: Interoperable clients for display and interaction and the next generation of OpenGIS interfaces for Web Map Server (raster maps), Web Feature Server (vector data), Web Coverage Server (imagery) and new interfaces for OpenGIS Coverage Portrayal Services. – Sensor Web: New open interfaces, including an OpenGIS Sensor Collection Service, as well as test clients and other applications enabling diverse systems to access data from a variety of land, water, air and other environmental sensors.Much of the work in this phase capitalizes on the existing OpenGIS interface specifications. OWS-1 will be conducted as part of an integrated set of OGC Interoperability Initiatives that include the Military Pilot Project, Phase 1 (MPP-1), the Open Location Services Initiative, the Multi-hazard Mapping Initiative, Phase 1 (MMI-1) and other activities.Organizations interested in learning more about the OGC Web Services Initiative should contact Mr. Jeff Harrison, Director of OGC Interoperability Programs, (703) 491-9543, jharrison@opengeospatial.org .OGC is an international industry consortium of more than 230 companies, government agencies and universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available geoprocessing 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 www.opengeospatial.org .– end –“