Standards Working Groups

List of Standards Working Groups

Members can access SWG sites by visiting the OGC Member Portal. If you would like to join a SWG but are not currently an OGC member, please get in touch.

---

3D GeoVolumes SWG (3DGeoVol SWG):  The 3D GeoVolumes SWG seeks to provide an API to integrate various approaches to the access and transfer 3D geospatial content over the internet (e.g. 3D Tiles, I3S, glTF, CDB, CityGML) into a single, open standards-based solution.

3D Portrayal SWG (3DP SWG): The 3D Portrayal Service (3DPS) is an OGC service implementation Standard targeting the delivery of 3D portrayal in an interoperable fashion. When the client and service(s) involved share a common set of capabilities, it becomes possible to view and analyze 3D geoinformation from diverse sources in a combined manner.

Agriculture Information Model SWG (AIM.SWG): The Agriculture Information Model SWG will develop, publish and maintain an Agriculture Information Model (AIM) to support interoperability of information in the Agriculture Domain, with emphasis on the re-use of generic OGC standards as appropriate.

Analysis Ready Data SWG (ARD SWG): The Analysis Ready Data (ARD) SWG is chartered to develop a multi-part standard on geospatial Analysis Ready Data.

CDB SWG (CDB SWG): The CDB Standard defines an open format for the storage, access, and modification of a synthetic environment database. A synthetic environment is a computer simulation that represents activities at a high level of realism, from simulation of theaters of war to factories and manufacturing processes.

CityGML SWG (CityGML SWG): CityGML is an open data model and XML-based format for the storage and exchange of virtual 3D city models. It is an application schema for the Geography Markup Language version 3.1.1 (GML3), the extendible international standard for spatial data exchange issued by the OGC and the ISO / TC211.

Connected Systems SWG (CONSYS SWG): The Connected Systems SWG will focus on modernization of the SensorML and related Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) Standards.

Coverages SWG (CoveragesSWG): Coverages, as defined in Abstract Topic 6 and Coverage Implementation Schema (CIS), have proven valuable as a unified, comprehensive representation of spatio-temporal grids, point clouds, and meshes. In particular, coverages serve to model “datacubes”.

CRS SWG (CRS SWG): A Coordinate Reference System (CRS) is a coordinate-based local, regional, or global system used to locate geographical entities. A spatial reference system defines a specific map projection, as well as transformations between different spatial reference systems.

CRS Well Known Text SWG (CRS WKT SWG): The purpose of this SWG is to manage a Standard for Well Known Text (WKT) representation of Coordinate Reference System (CRS) definitions.

Discrete Global Grid Systems SWG (DGGS SWG): The purpose of this SWG is to explore and manage a Standard to enable interoperability through the use of Discrete Global Grid Systems (DGGS). The goal of the SWG is to increase awareness of the advantages of DGGSs in general, to define the qualities of a DGGS, to make them interoperable – with conventional and other DGGS data sources, and to standardize operations on them.

Environmental Data Retrieval API SWG (EDR-API SWG): The Environmental Data Retrieval API SWG will standardize several APIs, defined with OpenAPI (Version 3), to query and retrieve various common data patterns from a relatively persistent data store. The data patterns will include, but are not restricted to, data at a point in space and time, time series at a point, data along a trajectory, which may be 2, 3, or 4 dimensional, within a ‘corridor’ around a trajectory, or covering a specified polygon or rectangular tile possibly with vertical and temporal extensions.

EO Product Metadata and OpenSearch SWG (EO PMOS SWG): The Earth Observation Metadata profile of Observations & Measurements is an OGC Implementation Standard that provides a concise model for documenting Earth Observation Product metadata.

Features and Geometries JSON SWG (FeatGeoJSON SWG): The OGC Features and Geometries JSON SWG is chartered to develop a JSON encoding for geospatial feature data. This encoding is intended to build upon the foundational OGC standards (such as Simple Features), be inclusive of other geospatial JSON encodings (such as GeoJSON), and support content delivery per the OGC API suite of standards.

Features API SWG (FeatAPI SWG): The purpose of the OGC Features API SWG is to develop new and maintain existing parts of the OGC API Features multipart Standard, develop corrigenda for the WFS 2.0 and FES 2.0 Standards, and review draft Engineering Reports from the OGC Innovation Program related to OGC API Features.

GeoAPI SWG (GeoAPI SWG): The OGC GeoAPI SWG aims to maintain the GeoAPI Standard, which defines a set of programming language API along with an associated test suite, to provide a standardized, programming language level realization of some core OGC Standards.

Geocoding API SWG (GeocodeAPISWG): Geocoding is a core activity for linking an address or text description to a location on earth. It is in many cases the entry point into the location dimension, unlocking the application of location to many problems including business intelligence, mapping, and routing.

GeoDataCube SWG (GeoDataCube.SWG): The GeoDataCube SWG has the goal to facilitate the handling of different GeoDataCubes via a Standardized API that will serve the core functionalities of GeoDataCubes.

GeoDCAT SWG (GeoDCAT.SWG): The purpose of this SWG is to revise, publish, and maintain GeoDCAT, a spatio-temporal profile of the W3C DCAT Recommendation [DCAT] , and provide guidance about its use and further specialization.

GeoPackage SWG (GeoPackage SWG): GeoPackage is an open, platform-independent, portable, self-describing, compact format for transferring geospatial information.

GeoParquet SWG (GeoParquet SWG): The OGC GeoParquet SWG will work to advance the GeoParquet encoding format for cloud-native vector data to an OGC Encoding Standard. GeoParquet builds upon Apache Parquet, described by Apache as “an open source, column-oriented data file format designed for efficient data storage and retrieval. It provides efficient data compression and encoding schemes with enhanced performance to handle complex data in bulk.”

GeoPose SWG (GeoPose SWG): This SWG developed GeoPose 1.0, a standard for geographically-anchored pose (GeoPose) with 6 degrees of freedom referenced to one or more standardized Coordinate Reference Systems (CRSs). The SWG now supports implementers of GeoPose 1.0 standard and identifies future enhancements for the widespread adoption of this standard.

GeoSciML SWG (GeoSciML SWG): The purpose of this SWG is to maintain the GeoSciML data model and application schema for geoscience information interchange.

GeoSPARQL SWG (GeoSPARQL SWG): Since the release of GeoSPARQL [1] in 2012, there has been growth of both the Semantic Web and spatial information represented in Semantic Web [2] form. The purpose of this SWG is to revise, and likely extend, the GeoSPARQL standard.

Geospatial Reporting Indicators SWG (GRI SWG): The standardization promoted by this SWG will support transparency in international reporting indicators which rely on geospatial data, referred to as Geospatial Reporting Indicators.

Geospatial User Feedback SWG (GUFswg): The Geospatial User Feedback Model and Catalogue profile give the user community a formal process for maintaining, improving, documenting feedback on the suitability and use of geospatial data.

GeoSynchronization 1.0 SWG (Geosync SWG): A Geosynchronization service, deployed by a data provider, sits between the features a provider offers via a Web Feature Service and data collectors. It allows data collectors to submit new data or make modifications to existing features without directly affecting the features in the provider’s data store(s) until validation has been applied thus ensuring that the data published by the provider is of high quality.

GeoTIFF SWG (GeoTIFF SWG): The purpose of this SWG is to incorporate the GeoTIFF specification into the OGC Standards suite by updating the specification to bring it into conformance with current OGC practices and to provide a forum for evolving the standard in the future, if need be.

GeoXACML SWG (GeoXACML SWG): The purpose of the GeoXACML SWG is to develop and maintain an OGC GeoXACML standard and associated coordination.

GeoZarr SWG (GeoZarr SWG): The GeoZarr Standard Working Group (SWG) is chartered to develop a Zarr encoding for geospatial gridded data in the form of Zarr conventions.

GML 3.3 SWG (GML 3.3 SWG): The purpose of the OGC GML SWG is to maintain the OpenGIS® Geography Markup Language (GML) Encoding Standard.The SWG may decide that the revision should be a joint project with ISO/TC 211 and result in a revision of ISO 19136, too.

GMLJP2 SWG (GMLJP2-SWG): The purpose of OGC GMLJP2 SWG is to manage revision to the GMLJP2 Standard. The SWG will process impacts to this standard from updates of dependent standards, address omissions from the initial standard, process comments from Innovation Program initiatives, and assess future work items for the Standard.

Groundwater SWG (GroundwaterSWG): The Groundwater SWG aims to maintain a data exchange standard for the groundwater domain. The Standard is known as GroundWater Markup Language 2 (GWML2) and consists of conceptual and logical information models, as well as language specific implementations, which initially minimally include a GML-XML encoding specification.

HDF SWG (HDF SWG): The purpose of the OGC HDF SWG is to Standardize the HDF5 data model, its binary encodings, related extensions, and other appropriate items, and support other OGC working groups (SWG and DWG) in understanding the HDF5 data model and applying it in their domains of interest.

Hydrologic Features SWG (HydroFeat SWG): Water information needs to be shared across organizational and jurisdictional boundaries, which can be facilitated by OGC’s interoperability Standards. The Hydrologic Features SWGbrings together interested parties to develop and promote the technology for improving the way in which surface water information is organized, managed, and shared.

IndoorGML SWG (IndoorGML SWG): The purpose of this IndoorGML SWG is to develop an application schema of OGC GML and manage the adopted OGC Standard. This Standard provides a common schema framework for indoor navigation applications.

KML 2.3 SWG (KML SWG): The purpose of this SWG is to manage the OGC KML Implementation Standard and to accommodate known issues and extensions identified in formal OGC Change Request Proposals (CRPs) and tested through implementation experience.

Land Admin Domain Model SWG (LADM SWG): The LADM SWG will develop an encoding Standard (or multi-part Standard) of the five Parts of the ISO LADM Standard (some Parts currently under development). The content of the encoding Standard will derive requirements from the conceptual model items in the source LADM Parts.

Land and Infrastructure SWG (LandInfraSWG): This SWG maintains the Land and Infrastructure (LandInfra) Conceptual Model Standard and the associated parts of the InfraGML encoding Standard to describe the built environment.

Moving Features SWG (MovFeat SWG): With the development of communication and positioning technology such as Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), Wi-Fi, and Beacon, collecting movement data for moving features, typically vehicles and pedestrians, has become easy. The Moving Features SWG develops Standards to manage information about features whose locations continuously change over time.

MUDDI SWG (MUDDI SWG): The MUDDI (Model for Underground Data Definition and Integration) SWGwill standardize a conceptual model, a modular framework, one or more logical models, one or more implementation Standards and mappings to/from other models for geospatial data that represent underground infrastructure assets and characterize the underground environment that contains those assets.

NetCDF SWG (NetCDFSWG): The OGC netCDF SWG works to develop extensions of the existing OGC netCDF suite of Standards for additional data models, encodings, and conventions. It is focused on Earth Observation specific conventions in netCDF, and the NetCDF Classic Linked Data coding standard.

Observations, Measurements, and Samples SWG (OMS SWG): Standards-based exchange of observed, measured, or modeled data are key enablers for many critical online consumer and governmental services. The Observations and Measurements Standard defines a conceptual level data model for these datasets.

OGC API – Common SWG (OGC API-Common): The purpose of this SWG is to develop a new Common core Standard for the OGC API suite of Standards as well as to manage any changes required for the OWS Common Standard.

OGC API – Joins SWG (TJS): The purpose of the TJS SWG is to update and maintain the OpenGIS Georeferenced Table Joining Service Implementation Standard [OGC 10-070r2]. Updates will consider Change Requests (CRs) to the current standard as well as requirements identified by the SWG.

OGC API – Maps SWG (OGC API – Maps): The OGC-API Maps SWG will develop and document a Maps API candidate standard that will provide a web based, common, and consistent interface to services that aligns with the current architecture of the Web and the Spatial Data on the Web Best Practices (https://www.w3.org/TR/sdw-bp/).

OGC API – Processes SWG (OAPIProc SWG): The OGC API – Processes Standard will enable the execution of computing processes and the retrieval of metadata describing their purpose and functionality. Typically, these processes combine raster, vector, and/or coverage data with well-defined algorithms to produce new raster, vector, and/or coverage information.

OGC API – Records SWG (API Records SWG): OGC API – Records provides discovery and access to metadata about geospatial data and services. OGC API standards define modular API building blocks to spatially enable Web APIs in a consistent way. OpenAPI is used to define the reusable API building blocks.

OGC API – Styles SWG (Styles API SWG): The OGC API – Styles Standard will describe the interface and exchange of styling parameters and instructions. The construction of symbology components of styles is addressed in OGC Symbol Encoding Conceptual Model: Core Part and multiple OGC and other style encoding standards.

OGC API – Tiles SWG (OAPITileSWG): The OGC API – Tiles draft Standard references the OGC Two Dimensional Tile Matrix Set (TMS) standard. The TMS standard defines the rules and requirements for a tile matrix set as a way to index space based on a set of regular grids defining a domain (tile matrix) for a limited list of scales in a Coordinate Reference System (CRS).

OWS Common – Security SWG (ComSecuritySWG): This SWG maintains a Standard that defines a common publication to declare that one or more operations of a Service instance or individual operations thereof is protected by the implementation of one or more security frameworks from ISO 10181 except 10181-4 and 10181-7.

OWS Context SWG (OWScontextSWG): The purpose of the SWG is to maintain the OWS Context Standard standard. The principle use case for an OWS Context document is for defining the application state of an Integrated Client. When this application state is reproduced by two or more Integrated Clients, such clients are said to share a common operational picture.

PipelineML SWG (PipeML SWG): The purpose of the SWF is to manage and enhance the PipelineMLStandard to enable the interchange of pipeline data between parties, disparate systems, and software applications without loss of accuracy, density, or data resolution and without need for conversion between intermediate or proprietary formats.

Points of Interest SWG (PoI SWG): The Points of Interest (POI) SWG is developing Standards to model and encode POI data. The SWG is not developing a POI database or service, rather enabling interoperability between such services.

PubSub SWG (PubSub SWG): The purpose of the OGC PubSub SWG is to define an OGC Implementation Standard that enables publish/subscribe functionality for resources supported by OGC API Standards in a well-defined manner.

Routing SWG (Routing SWG): The Routing SWG is chartered to develop and maintain an OGC API – Routes core standard and its extensions. Further, the SWG plans to publish and maintain a route exchange model.

SensorThings SWG (SensorThings): The OGC SensorThings API provides an open and unified way to interconnect Internet of Things (IoT) devices, data, and applications over the Web. The OGC SensorThings API is an open Standard, and that means it is non-proprietary, platform-independent, and perpetual royalty-free.

Simple Features SWG (SF SWG): The purpose of the ISO 19125 SWG is to update the common Standard that is both the OGC Simple Features Implementation Standard and the ISO 19125 Standards (Part 1: Common Architecture, and Part 2 SQL Option).

Styles and Symbology Encoding SWG (Styles SE SWG): This working group defines a conceptual model and encodings for symbolizing digital Feature and Coverage data. It is also responsible for maintaining SLD/SE, an XML encoding for styles & symbology.

Temporal WKT for Calendars SWG (TemporalWKT): The purpose of this SWG is to adapt a set of existing Standards to provide the capability to represent and encode temporal metadata within data sets and protocols which uses a customized calendar.

TimeSeriesML SWG (TimeSeriesML): The purpose of this SWG is to manage and update the TimeSeriesML Standard. The work derived, in part, from WaterML 2.0 Part 1.

Training Data Markup Language for AI SWG (TrainingDML SWG): The TrainingDML-AI SWG is chartered to develop the model and encodings for geospatial Machine Learning training data.