Nov 3, 2015 -- The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) announces a Call for Participation (CFP) in the OGC GeoPackage (GPKG) Elevation Extension Interoperability Experiment (GPKG-EE IE).

The OGC GeoPackage Standards Working Group (SWG) has identified a need to store tiled gridded elevation data in a GeoPackage. GeoPackage is an open, standards-based, platform-independent, portable, self-describing, compact format for transferring geospatial information. The SWG has developed a candidate extension to the GeoPackage Encoding Standard to support elevation data.

This capability will be used to support use cases such as the following:

• Visualization
  • 2D (hillshade, color relief, slope)
  • 3D (supporting changing view angles and level of detail)
• Analysis
  • Viewshed and line-of-sight
  • Cross-country mobility (off-road routing)
  • Site suitability and planning (slope analysis such as helicopter landing zones)
  • 3D geometry representations of features (ground-based, airspace)
  • Terrain association (associating images to mapped locations)
  • Augmented reality based training

The SWG proposes validating the extension by running an Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Interoperability Experiment. An OGC Interoperability Experiment is a rapid, low overhead, formally structured OGC-facilitated activity in which members achieve specific technical objectives that further the OGC Standards Baseline. The GPKG-EE IE will test and refine the elevation extension. To do this, the SWG needs the international support and acceptance of a globally representative community that provides both domain and technical expertise to this project. While the OGC is a member-driven organisation and the SWG needs a core of OGC members to support and initiate this work, non-members can participate as ‘observers’.

The GPKG-EE IE will perform the following experiments:

• Experiment #1: produce GeoPackages containing tiled gridded elevation data in accordance with the proposed extension.
• Experiment #2: use the GeoPackages to perform visualization and/or analysis operations as described above.

The results of the Interoperability Experiment will be documented in an OGC Engineering Report. In addition to the Engineering Report, a demonstration is tentatively scheduled for the OGC Technical Committee meeting in Washington DC in March 2016.

The OGC asks interested organizations to indicate their support and commitment to be involved in this Interoperability Experiment. A summary of the activity plan, requirements for participation, schedule, and kick-off meeting details are available at: www.opengeospatial.org/projects/initiatives/geopackageelev. Contact details are included in the activity plan.

Participants in the GPKG-EE IE, which will run until 31 March 2016, will test implementations and provide constructive comments on the exchange data model and resulting trial documentation. Experience has shown that those working in these initiatives gain valuable insights that can be used to improve existing information systems or fast-track the development of new systems. Participants gain sufficient expertise to start deploying working services for their existing data and local situations.

The following OGC members proposed the GeoPackage Elevation Extension Interoperability Experiment:

• Luciad, Belgium
• Image Matters LLC
• Compusult, Canada
• US Army Geospatial Center

The OGC® is an international geospatial standards consortium of more than 515 companies, government agencies, research organizations, and universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available standards. OGC standards support interoperable solutions that "geo-enable" the Web, wireless and location-based services and mainstream IT. Visit the OGC website at www.opengeospatial.org/.

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