Public Comment Requested on Draft Charter for new OGC Analysis Ready Data Standards Working Group

30 November 2022: The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) seeks public comment on the draft charter for a new Analysis Ready Data Standard Working Group (ARD SWG). Comments are due by December 21, 2022. Born from work undertaken in the OGC Disaster Pilot 2021 and Testbed-16, the Analysis Ready Data (ARD) SWG will develop a multi-part Standard for geospatial Analysis Ready Data in partnership with ISO/TC 211.

The concept of ARD was initially developed by the Committee on Earth Observation Satellite (CEOS). CEOS defines ARD as “satellite data that have been processed to a minimum set of requirements and organized into a form that allows immediate analysis with a minimum of additional user effort and interoperability both through time and with other datasets.” Adopting the CEOS-ARD definition as a starting point, the OGC ARD SWG will extend the scope of ARD from satellite data to all geospatial data. 

A major strength of geospatial and location technologies is their ability to integrate and analyze data from diverse providers concerning many different phenomena so as to better understand or predict what is happening in a given area. However, this diversity of data means that preparing the acquired data for integration and analysis remains a time-consuming task. Furthermore, many geospatial data users lack the expertise, infrastructure, and internet bandwidth to efficiently and effectively access, preprocess, and utilize the growing volume of geospatial data available for local, regional, and national decision-making. 

The charter supporters recognize that formal Standardization of the concepts developed through CEOS-ARD is necessary to achieve broad uptake, particularly by the commercial sector. Defining ARD through international standard bodies, such as OGC and ISO, will also help promote the concept and help avoid the divergence that can be caused by various groups working towards different interpretations of the concept.

As such, the OGC ARD SWG will work jointly with the ISO/TC 211 ARD Standard project team to define a multi-part Standard that specifies a set of minimum requirements that a geospatial data product shall meet in order for the product to qualify as an ARD product.

The CEOS ARD concept and specifications were initially tested, evaluated, and assessed by OGC during Testbed-16, results of which were published in the ARD Engineering Report in 2020. Building on this, space agencies participating in the OGC Disaster Pilot 2021, introduced a number of CEOS-ARD products into the disaster decision-making process, greatly simplifying the use of satellite data in disaster-related decision making. 

The Disaster Pilot 2021 concluded with a need to broaden the ARD concepts to cover other types of geospatial data and to create international ARD standards through the formal standard setting processes of ISO and OGC. Therefore, the OGC Disaster Pilot 2022 set an action item to start an OGC ARD Standards Working Group to work jointly with the project team in ISO TC 211 to develop joint ISO-OGC standards on geospatial ARD.

The draft Analysis Ready Data Standards Working Group Charter is available for review and comment on the OGC Portal. Comments are due by December 21, 2022, and should be submitted via the method outlined on the ARD SWG Charter’s public comment request page.

About OGC

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is a collective problem-solving community of more than 550 experts representing industry, government, research and academia, collaborating to make geospatial (location) information and services FAIR - Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable.

The global OGC Community engages in a mix of activities related to location-based technologies: developing consensus-based open standards and best-practices; collaborating on problem solving in agile innovation initiatives; participating in member meetings, events, and workshops; and more.

OGC's unique standards development process moves at the pace of innovation, with constant input from technology forecasting, practical prototyping, real-world testing, and community engagement.

OGC bridges disparate sectors, domains, and technology trends, and encourages the cross-pollination of ideas between different communities of practice to improve decision-making at all levels. OGC is committed to creating an inclusive and sustainable future.

Visit ogc.org for more info on our work.