RE: Information on the OGC Emergency Mapping Symbology Interoperability Initiative

Emergency 
            Mapping Symbology, Phase 1 (EMS 1)   
        

  

    
      
    

  

    
      
        
        

          
            
RFQ can be 
            found at http://portal.opengis.org/files/?artifact_id=3497

        

          
            
 

        

          
            
            The Emergency Mapping Symbology Interoperability Program Initiative 
            will be a testbed initiative focusing on maturing the Style 
            Management Service (SMS) and the Styled Layer Descriptor (SLD) with 
            application to Emergency Mapping Symbology. The project will test by 
            enabling the use of multiple symbol sets with one set of feature 
            data. The symbology used will likely come from the following: 

            

              
Emergency Response Map Symbology (ERMS) – a map symbology set 
              being defined by the FGDC’s Homeland Security Work Group. See: http://www.fgdc.gov/publications/homeland.html 
              

              
Geospatial Symbols (GeoSym) for Digital Displays. The map 
              symbology set defined by DOD to portray Vector Product Format 
              (VPF)data. Reference TBD. 

SMS is a service that 
            was first described and demonstrated in the Open Web Services Phase 
            1.2 (OWS-1.2) test bed initiative. While SMS can be thought of as a 
            type of service, it is in actuality a logical composition of 
            design-patterns, service interfaces and encodings. As such, SMS 
            defines architecture for enabling scalable and interoperable 
            management of symbols and styles in support of cartographic 
            portrayal processes.
          

        

          
            
            Emergency Mapping Symbology (EMS) 
            Request For Quotation and Call For Participation

This 
            call seeks interested technology providers to make proposals in 
            response to a defined set of requirements addressing 
            interoperability needs for the use of symbology in emergency 
            mapping. The EMS Initiative will mature OGC's specification 
            framework for interoperable geographic symbolization while 
            simultaneously testing emerging standard map symbol sets for 
            emergency response developed by national-level agencies. 
            
Participants will be addressing sponsor requirements including 
            the development of a client for publishing, managing, and previewing 
            particular symbolization configurations, testing the assignment of 
            symbols to particular feature types from a feature level data store, 
            testing and enhancement of the Style Layer Descriptor 
            (SLD)Implementation Specification and its use in Web Mapping Service 
            implementations to support the portrayal specified symbol sets, and 
            testing and enhancing the Style Management Services Specification 
            (SMS). 

            
EMS is an opportunity for vendors, users, and other interested 
            parties to mutually define services, interfaces and protocols in the 
            context of a hands-on engineering experience, resulting in 
            Interoperability Program Reports. This initiative is expected to 
            help shape the future of interoperable technology to meet Emergency 
            Management and Response requirements. Sponsors have provided 
            cost-sharing funds to partially offset development costs associated 
            with this initiative. 

            
Proposals are due by December 16, 2003.