OGC seeks public comment on OGC CDB v1.3

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is seeking public comment on version 1.3 of the Volume 1: OGC CDB Core Standard: Model and Physical Data Store Structure Standard and related Volume 10: OGC CDB Implementation Guidance (Best Practice). Comments are due by July 6, 2024. Version 1.3 provides three substantive changes: the ability to use NAS and other feature dictionaries without changing the underlying CDB structure, a rework of the Gamma Tutorial, and four new texture types.

The OGC CDB Standard defines a data model and the representation, organization, storage structure, and conventions necessary to support all of the subsystems of a simulation workflow. The CDB Standard makes use of existing commercial and simulation data formats. Future versions of the CDB Standard will continue to define the use of other industry approved standards and formats.

The CDB synthetic environment is a representation of the natural environment including external features such as human-made structures and systems. A CDB data store can include terrain relief, terrain imagery, three-dimensional (3D) models of natural and human-made cultural features, 3D models of dynamic vehicles, the ocean surface, and the ocean bottom, including features (both natural and human-made) on the ocean floor. In addition, the data store can include the specific attributes of the synthetic environment data as well as their relationships. 

A data store that conforms to the CDB Standard (i.e. a CDB) contains datasets organized in layers, tiles, and levels-of-detail. Together, these datasets represent the features and models of a synthetic environment for the purposes of distributed simulation applications. The organization of the geospatial data in a CDB data store is specifically tailored for real-time applications.

The application of CDB to simulation architectures significantly reduces runtime-source level and algorithmic correlation errors, while reducing development, update, and configuration management timelines. 

The CDB Version 1.3 release provides three substantive changes:

• Ability to use NAS and other feature dictionaries without changing the underlying CDB structure. CDB Version 1.2 and earlier used feature codes and semantics from the Features and Attributes Catalog (FACC). FACC is an older specification maintained as part of the Digital Geographic Information Exchange Standard. The CDB community wanted the ability to use feature codes and semantics as defined in the The National System for Geospatial Intelligence (NSG) Application Schema (NAS), a platform independent model for geospatial data. CDB Version 1.3 details how the NAS as well as other feature dictionaries can be used without changing the underlying CDB structure. 
• A rework of the Gamma Tutorial. Gamma encoding of images is used to optimize the usage of bits when encoding an image, or the bandwidth used to transport an image, by taking advantage of the non-linear manner in which humans perceive light and color. As such, Gamma encoding is a critical aspect related to rendering of model content stored in a CDB datastore. The tutorial was updated and the formulas corrected to provide better implementation guidance.
• The addition of four new texture types. Occlusion Roughness Metallic (ORM), Mask, Decal, and Heat Map texture types are now possible for enhanced physically based rendering (PBR).

In addition to the substantive changes, numerous editorial changes were applied to v1.3 of the CDB Standard to correct problems such as the numbering of figures and tables.

OGC Members interested in staying up to date on the progress of this standard, or contributing to its development, are encouraged to join the CDB Standards Working Group via the OGC Portal. Non-OGC members who would like to know more about participating in this SWG are encouraged to contact the OGC Standards Program.

The candidate Volume 1: OGC CDB Core Standard: Model and Physical Data Store Structure Standard v1.3 (15-113r7) (.HTML) and related Volume 10: OGC CDB Implementation Guidance (Best Practice) v1.3 (16-006rX) (.HTML) are available for review and comment on the OGC Portal. Comments are due by July 6, 2024, and should be submitted via the method below.

To Comment: 
Comments can be submitted as an issue on the OGC CDB Volume 1 GitHub repository for a period ending on the “Close request date” listed above. Comments received will be consolidated and reviewed by OGC members for incorporation into the document.