OGC Seeks Sponsors for Emergency Mapping Symbology Initiative

The Open GIS Consortium, Inc. is issuing a Call for Sponsors for an Emergency Mapping Symbology 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 EMS Initiative will mature OGC’s specification framework for interoperable geographic symbolization while simultaneously testing emerging standard map symbol sets for emergency response and homeland security developed by national-level mapping organizations.

The development of standards for emergency mapping will strengthen coordination, communication and interoperability. These results enhance the ability of planners and emergency managers to better understand mapped information at a glance during crucial decision-making moments. From an operational perspective, standardized emergency mapping symbol sets implemented over standard-based web mapping architectures will support the quick and easy development of multi-source common operating pictures, giving users a vital shared view of the emergency at hand. Systems generating common operating pictures using standards-based software will access spatial and related content from many sources and symbolize them in a common consistent manner, independent of the underlying feature classification schemes, data structures or data models.

Through sponsorship of the EMS Initiative, organizations will be invited to contribute resources and help refine the architecture and testing requirements for the project. These requirements will be used to develop an OGC Request for Quotation/Call for Participation. As such, sponsors of this initiative will establish goals and objectives for the initiative and have significant input on specifying the requirements for the interoperable technology testing and development process. For more information, on the latest GPS News see gps maps.

Author Notes:

Garry Wilk contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.handheld-gps-reviews.com.  A wealth of information about Global Positioning Systems for commercial or personal use.