News

Welcome to OGC News. You can use the filter below to show only Calls For Participation in or Sponsorship of OGC Initiatives, Requests for Public Comment, General Press Releases, or Blog Posts. Or use the search box to find news on a specific topic.

You may also want to subscribe to the OGC Newsletter: a short digest of news and events sent every two weeks.

All news (1453 match criteria)

April 12, 2006

One OpenGIS Specification Approved; One Released for Public Comment

Wayland, Mass., November 10, 2003 – The Open GIS Consortium, Inc. (OGC) moved two OpenGIS(R) Web Services specifications through the approval process during a meeting held recently in Spain.The Technical and Planning Committees adopted the Web Coverage Service Specification, which defines how to access gridded geographic data and moved the Web Terrain Service Specification, which details how to render vector and raster data as a 3D view, to Request For Comment status.Unlike the Web Map Service (WMS), which returns static maps, the Web Coverage Service provides only data access.The Web Terrain Service (WTS) specification defines a standard interface for requesting three-dimensional terrain scenes from a server capable of their generation.Once comments are collected and reviewed, the specification may be put up for a vote to become an Adopted OpenGIS Specification.

April 12, 2006

OGC Announces Availability of Online Compliance Testing

The tests and resources are the result work on the Compliance & Interoperability Test & Evaluation Initiative (CITE).The Compliance Tests OGC commissioned a planning study from The Open Group, an organization with a 20-year history of testing for the information technology community.The WMS and WFS test development teams were led by Northrop Grumman Information Technology and Galdos Systems respectively.There was no automated method established to test compliance to OGC Web Services, explains Jen Marcus, CITE Initiative Manager, so OGC called on our members with compliance testing experience to put forward their considerable expertise to address the challenge.OpenGIS Specifications support interoperable solutions that geo-enable the Web, wireless and location-based services, and mainstream IT.

April 12, 2006

OGC Prepares the United States Census Bureau for a New Era

This new TIGER/GML® data format is being tested for public acceptance as a standards-based alternative to the TIGER/Line® format currently used to distribute TIGER data.The WebTIGER and WebBAS application demonstrations are the first steps in ground-breaking change for the Census Bureau and OGC.Equally important, the applications plug directly into other systems and portals that support OGC specifications, including GOS.Anne Satterlee of the City of Fort Pierce, Florida was the first local tester of the on-line WebBAS application.The architecture produced as part of this effort can be used to assure the interoperability of future Census Bureau procurements.

April 12, 2006

OGC Seeks Sponsors for Emergency Mapping Symbology Initiative

jharrison [at] opengeospatial.orgWayland, MA, USA, October 3, 2003- The Open GIS Consortium, Inc. (OGC) is issuing a Call for Sponsors for an Emergency Mapping Symbology (EMS) Initiative.This call seeks interested Sponsors to provide input on technology requirements and concepts to address interoperability needs for emergency mapping and homeland security.The development of standards for emergency mapping will strengthen coordination, communication and interoperability.If your organization is interested in driving the evolution of geospatial interoperability and emergency mapping standards by sponsoring and/or participating in the Emergency Mapping Symbology (EMS) Initiative please contact Mr. Jeff Harrison, OGC Executive Director, Program Development, by telephone at (703) 628-8655, or by e-mail at.The EMS Initiative is part of the next phase of OGCs Critical Infrastructure Protection Initiative (CIPI), an OGC Interoperability Initiative designed to test the application of interoperable technology to meet critical infrastructure and homeland security detection, prevention, planning, response, and recovery challenges.

April 12, 2006

OGC Members Adopt Implementation Specifications for Location Based Services and Enhanced Web Mapping

Wayland, MA, July 16, 2003 – In June, OGC members voted to adopt the OpenGIS(R) Location Services (OpenLS(TM)) Implementation Specification, and the OpenGIS Web Map Context Implementation Specification.

April 12, 2006

OGC Delivers an Open Platform for Geospatial Portal Operations

The associated portal architecture, based on a design philosophy compatible with that of the US Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA) is well positioned to support future construction of a national infrastructure of interoperable portal capabilities.The OGC portal and associated architecture are the product of a recent U.S. Government contract to design and validate a comprehensive, multi-vendor geospatial portal and associated architecture.The OGC portal effort was managed within OGCs Interoperability Program, a global, collaborative, hands-on engineering and testing program that rapidly delivers proven candidate specifications into OGCs Specification Program, where they are formalized for public release.Questions about the Interoperability Program should be addressed to Mr. Jeff Harrison, Executive Director,, or +1 (703) 491-9543.Questions about the OGC Portal and Architecture should be addressed to Mr. Mark Reichardt, Executive Director, Outreach and Community Adoption,, or +1 (301) 840-1361.

April 12, 2006

Questerra Joins OGC as Strategic Member

sales [at] questerra.comWayland, MA, June 27, 2003 – Questerra, a wholly owned subsidiary of MeadWestvaco Corporation (NYSE: MWV), and the Open GIS Consortium (OGC) have announced that Questerra has become a Strategic Member of the OGC.As a Strategic Member, Questerra is in a position to provide real leadership on the business intelligence and visualization frontier.About Questerra Questerra is a provider of information technology and services to Global 2000 companies and governments worldwide.About MeadWestvaco MeadWestvaco, headquartered in Stamford, Conn., is a leading global producer of packaging, coated and specialty papers, consumer and office products, and specialty chemicals.About OGC OGC is an international industry consortium of more than 250 companies, government agencies and universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available interface specifications.

April 12, 2006

OGC Members Approve Release of Critical Infrastructure Collaborative Environment Architecture

Recently, OGC members voted to release a document describing the Critical Infrastructure Collaborative Environment (CICE) Architecture.The CICE Architecture can be downloaded at http://ip.opengeospatial.org/cip/ .Applications for critical infrastructure protection, asset management, damage prevention and incident management depend on geospatial information.OGC has established the website to encourage an ongoing dialog and partnership to advance geoprocessing and location-based services objectives of critical infrastructure protection.The CICE Architecture is a living document intended to be a guide / tool for user and developer communities to advance their capabilities rapidly in support of critical infrastructure protection.

April 12, 2006

OGC Honors CubeWerx Trio with Gardels Award

The Gardels Award, a gold medallion, is awarded to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to advance the vision of the OGC.His vision helped clarify the technical needs as well as the cooperation that would be necessary to make interoperable Spatial Web services a reality.He showed his belief in OGCs mission by regularly committing his small companys resources during the second Web Mapping Testbed and OGC Web Services Initiatives.OGC president David Schell noted that, the Gardels Award has traditionally been awarded to an individual who most reflects the dedication, commitment and respect for the OGC process and members in advancing OpenGIS specifications.The Gardels award is presented annually in memory of Kenneth Gardels, one of the founding directors of OGC and OGCs director of academic programs.