Spatial Data Infrastructures and Spatial Ontologies and

Semantics

John MoellerNorthrop Grumman

Co-Chair of Spatial Ontology Community of Practice

The Geospatial Web

• “The Geospatial Web is not just a bunch of mash-ups or even the hundreds of SDI's that have been successfully deployed. The Geospatial Web is about the complete integration and use of location at all levels of the internet and the web. This integration will often be invisible to the user. But at the end of the day, the ubiquitous permeation of location into the infrastructure of the internet and the web is being built on standards. “

Dr. Carl Reed

CTO Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc

What is a Spatial Data Infrastructure ?

• A Spatial Data Infrastructure is the “Dial-Tone” of the geospatial web

– “the means to assemble geographic information that describes the arrangement and attributes of features and phenomena on the Earth” (US National Research Council)

– ‘the technology, policies, standards, and human resources necessary to acquire, process, store, distribute and improve utilization of geospatial data” (US NSDI EO 12906)

– “the policies, organizational remits, data, technologies, standards, delivery mechanisms, and financial and human resources necessary to ensure that those working at the global and regional scale are not impeded in meeting their objectives” (GSDI Association)

SDI Key Components• Network• Spatial Data• Catalogues/Clearing Houses/Registries• Data Services• An Integrating Data Framework/Foundation• Guidelines/policies • Standards and Specifications

– Metadata– Core/base data– Spatial data– Services

• Institutional capacity and partnerships

SDI Development• Pre –SDI through Initial Development and Implementation

• 1990’s – current

• Web-based, standards based understanding of value of geospatial as an integrating function for the enterprise

• Early 2000 – current

• Implementation of service oriented architectures, development of implementation profiles and service chaining Web services

• 2006 – 2009

• Enterprise connections enabled through semantic capabilities, embedded business processes, sensor integration, data discrimination services

• Anticipated timeframe: 2008 – 2010

• Intelligent SDI Networks are in place using metadata for date, service, applications and models etc, registries and catalogues, semantics, chained services, e-commerce, to provide cost/accuracy/time options to meet users requests

• Anticipated timeframe: 2010

Geoparser

From a Foundation of SDI Best Practices

• Reduce Reduce deployment costs deployment costs by reusing by reusing information from information from other communitiesother communities

• Meet requirements Meet requirements for Citizen access.for Citizen access.

• Foundation for Foundation for interoperable interoperable service networks service networks

• Easier access to multiple online info sources and servicesEasier access to multiple online info sources and services

• Use and reuse different vendor solutions.Use and reuse different vendor solutions.

ClearinghouseClearinghouseGeoparser

VendorData

Local Government

NationalGovernment

OtherCollections

Clearinghouse

WhovilleCedar Lake

WhovilleCedar Lake

BuildingsRoadsImagesTargetsBoundaries ...

CatalogView

Common interfaces enable interoperability

Queries extract info from diverse sources

Integrated View

Gazetteer CoordinateTransform

Web Mapping Server, Web Feature Server, Web Coverage Server Catalog Services

OtherServices

MetadataData

MetadataData

MetadataData

Metadata

Internet

Geoparser

Geocoder

Source: Open Geospatial Consortium

To Geospatially Enabling The Enterprise

Source: Open Geospatial Consortium

Some Comments/Questions

• Open standards provide the framework for geospatial interoperability and data sharing

• SDI’s around the world are expressing support for interoperable solutions

• Are SOA’s along with ontology and semantic tools ready for incorporation into SDI’s of different levels of maturity or only in the most mature?

• If not what is needed to stimulate implementation?