January 26, 2017 -- The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC®) invites interested organizations to respond to the just released Call for Participation (CFP) in the OGC Testbed 13 Interoperability Testbed.

Organizations selected to participate in Testbed 13 will develop prototype solutions based on the sponsors’ use cases, requirements and scenarios. These are described in detail in the CFP. Participants’ prototype solutions will implement existing OGC standards as well as new prototype interface and encoding specifications introduced or developed in Testbed 13. Prototype specifications may ultimately become official, member approved OGC standards, revisions to existing OGC standards, or best practices for using OGC standards.

Testbed 13 requirements, use cases, and cost-sharing funding are provided testbed Sponsors, which include:

• Airbus Defence and Space

• CGI IT UK Limited

• Defence Science & Technology Laboratory (Dstl)

• DigitalGlobe, Inc.

• European Space Agency (ESA)

• FAA System Operations Airspace and AIM Office

• Natural Resources Canada

• Geonovum

• Ordnance Survey, Great Britain

• US Geological Survey (USGS)

• US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA)

• US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

The sponsors’ requirements have been organized into the following technical threads:

• Dynamic Source Integration

• Earth Observation Clouds

• Cross Community Interoperability

• Field Operations

• Streaming & 3D Data

• Compliance Testing

OGC testbeds are part of OGC's Interoperability Program, a global, hands-on and collaborative prototyping program designed to rapidly develop, test, innovate and deliver proven candidate standards into OGC's standards program where they are formalized for public release. In OGC's Interoperability Initiatives, international teams of technology providers work together to solve specific geoprocessing interoperability problems posed by the Initiative Sponsors. OGC Interoperability Initiatives include testbeds, pilot projects, interoperability experiments and interoperability support services – all designed to encourage rapid development and mobilization of OGC standards

This leading-edge standards work has enormous potential and value for testbed stakeholders – both technology users and technology providers. Shared investment in spatial standard prototype solutions brings improved sharing and integration of spatial information, which has widespread and longstanding value for the Testbed sponsors and for society at large. Technology providers gain market exposure, market intelligence, and a chance to quickly take advantage of the business opportunities that arise with the introduction of new standards and associated technical capabilities.

Anyone interested in learning more about this opportunity should contact Scott Serich, Director Interoperability Programs ( Email Contact). See www.opengeospatial.org/ogc/programs/ip for more information about the Interoperability Program in which OGC testbeds, pilot projects and interoperability experiments are organized, planned, and managed.

Further information regarding Testbed 13 is available at www.opengeospatial.org/projects/initiatives/testbed13. The CFP is available at www.opengeospatial.org/standards/requests/154. Responses for the CFP are due by 17 February 2017.

About the OGC

The OGC is an international consortium of more than 525 companies, government agencies, research organizations, and universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available geospatial standards. OGC standards support interoperable solutions that "geo-enable" the Web, wireless and location based services, and mainstream IT. OGC standards empower technology developers to make geospatial information and services accessible and useful with any application that needs to be geospatially enabled. Visit the OGC website at www.opengeospatial.org.

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