Request Closed: May 10, 2024 12:00 am — June 10, 2024 11:59 pm
The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) invites interested organizations to respond to the Call for Participation (CFP) for OGC’s Testbed-20 Collaborative Solutions and Innovation (COSI) Initiative. Testbed-20 is a collaborative effort to rapidly prototype, design, develop, and test solutions to location-related problems. Funded participation is available. Responses are due by June 10, 2024. A Bidders Q&A Webinar will occur on May 24, 2024.
Testbed-20 will drive innovation at the foundations of geospatial data ecosystems. Testbed-20’s sponsors are offering selected participants a unique opportunity to recoup a portion of the expenses associated with the development, engineering, and demonstration of the outcomes.
While working across four tasks, participants will collaborate to create mechanisms that improve Integrity, Provenance, and Trust (IPT) in geospatial data systems and workflows; transform Standards for GEOINT Imagery Media for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (GIMI); enhance the usability of, and investigate new applications for, GeoDataCubes; and explore options for High-Performance Geospatial Computing Optimized Formats.
Testbed-20 provides an outstanding opportunity to engage with the latest research on geospatial system design, concept development, and rapid prototyping with sponsoring government organizations from across the globe. Testbed-20 provides a business opportunity for stakeholders to mutually define, refine, and evolve service interfaces and protocols in the context of hands-on experience and feedback. The outcomes of the initiative are expected to shape the future of geospatial software development and data publication.
The Sponsors of Testbed-20 include OGC Strategic Members the European Space Agency (ESA), the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). Additional sponsorship comes from the Institute for Geospatial Understanding through an Integrative Discovery Environment (I-GUIDE) supported by the US National Science Foundation. OGC is grateful for the industry leadership displayed by their sponsorship, as well as their help shaping the vision for Testbed-20, their active guidance of its activities, and their support of the work of its participants.
The benefits of participating in the OGC COSI Program are many, and include access to funded research & development; reduced costs, risks, and lead-time when developing new products or solutions; close relationships with potential customers; a first-to-market competitive advantage on the latest geospatial innovations; influence in the development of global standards; partnership opportunities within OGC’s global community of experts; and broader market reach via the recognition that OGC Standards bring. Further, exceptional demonstrators may be selected for ongoing support and public showcasing beyond the Initiative period.
Testbed-20 is being conducted under the OGC Collaborative Solutions and Innovation (COSI) Program, which aims to solve the biggest challenges in location. Under the COSI Program, OGC members come together to solve problems, produce prototypes, develop demonstrations, provide best practices, and advance the future of standards. Since 1999, more than 100 funded initiatives have been executed, from small interoperability experiments to multi-million dollar Testbeds with hundreds of OGC-member participants. OGC COSI Initiatives promote rapid prototyping, testing, and validation of technologies, such as location standards or architectures. This encourages rapid technology development, determines the technology maturity of potential solutions, and increases technology adoption in the marketplace.
As the largest Research & Development (R&D) Initiatives conducted under OGC’s COSI Program, OGC Testbeds exist at the cutting edge of technology, actively exploring and evaluating future geospatial technologies to solve today’s problems. Testbeds provide an opportunity to engage with and lead the latest research on geospatial system design, concept development, and rapid prototyping. They also provide a business opportunity for stakeholders to mutually define, refine, and evolve service interfaces and protocols in the context of hands-on experience and feedback. The solutions developed in Testbeds eventually move into the OGC Standards Program, where they are reviewed, revised, and potentially approved as new international open standards that can reach millions of individuals.
For more information on Testbed-20, including the full Call For Participation document and how to apply to participate, visit the OGC Testbed-20 webpage. Applications to participate close June 10, 2024. A Bidders Q&A Webinar will be held on 24 May, 10:00-11:00 (US Eastern) to respond to any questions.
