introduction to spatial data infrastructures

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March 14, 2005 SDI Concepcion

Introduction toSpatial Data Infrastructures

Werner Kuhn

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Introductions

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Today

Motivation for the course topic through• an analogy• a case study

Sketch basic ideas of SDI Course plan

• Lectures• Readings• Practicals

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An analogy: Cooking

Discuss the infrastructure for preparing food• What do you need?• Where do you get it?• Where does it come from?• Who is involved in the „food chain“?• Can you cook at a friend‘s home?

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Elements of the cooking infrastructure

Food: contents Kitchen ware, stove etc.: technology Cooks, waiters, diners, farmers etc.: people

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Characteristics

Modularity: lots of components Flexibility: change ingredients, delivery

mode and time, etc. Openness: add elements (e.g., a

microwave), change food suppliers, etc. Standards: packaging, stores, stoves, etc.

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Compare with Maps

„cooking“ a map (old style)• What do you need?• Where do you get it?• Where does it come from?• Who is involved in the „food chain“?• Can you „cook“ at a friend‘s home or office?

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Maps for Users

GIS Specialists

Yesterday

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Services for systems and users, built by Geo- and GI-Scientists

Tomorrow

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Business Opportunities

1. More potato sales• customers: cooks (i.e., service providers)• small margins• improved content information (metadata)

2. More restaurants• customers: those who can afford it• big margins• some economies of scale• multiplier for potato sales

3. Develop mass products/services (chips)• customers: everybody• huge margins• huge economies of scale• life line for potato growers

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Business requirements

Sales result from uses Uses occur through services Services support decisions by content integration Content integration occurs in services

=> It is all about services, not about data!

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The wrong analogy ?

Multiple sales of products and servicesbut: multiple sales of data are rare

Complexity of our „potatoes“but: still need simple products and services

What has all this to do with SDI?• Market for Geographic Information (GI) requires infrastructures

• Mass use of GI products is likely

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Other useful analogies

Infrastructures for• Transportation• Telecommunication• Electricity• Education• ....

All of these have something to teach us

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So, what is an SDI ?

No official and general definition yet My own attempt:

An SDI is a coordinated series of agreements on technology standards, institutional arrangements, and policies that enable the discovery and use of geospatial information by users and for purposes other than those it was created for.

Identifying the stake-holders and the subjects of agreements is the key step

OGC has created the model for the necessary consensus process.

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Core ideas

Distribution Coordination Sharing Interoperability Interfaces Standards Architecture Metadata Policies

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Scopes of SDI

Local National Regional Global Sectoral

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GSDI = Global SDI

critical to substantial and sustainable development involvement and support of decision makers at the

highest levels of business, government and academia (G7 countries, UN Institutions, World Bank etc.)

requires education and research activities which transcend the purely technical treatment of spatial data

So far: conferences and other publications

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Why this change from GIS to SDI ?

Non-usability of GIS Market growth for GI(S) industry E-Government initiatives at all levels Economic pressure to recover investments

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Drivers

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) ISO TC 211 High-level government initiatives Regional initiatives (US NSDI, NRW, Emilia

Romagna, Galicia, ...) In Europe: INSPIRE

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What has changed from old-style GIS ?

Multi-vendor architectures Multi-source data Multi-user applications Multi-organization projects Diminished control over information use

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Geolibraries

One stop shops • http://nsdi.usgs.gov (includes international data)• http://www.geodata.gov • http://eu-geoportal.jrc.it/ (beta version)

Integration with GIS• access data and services from your GIS• based on OGC web service specifications• e.g., http://www.geographynetwork.com/

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Observations

Lots of data (somewhere)• rarely connected to infrastructure• spotty regional coverage• thematic variety, without ontology

Few services• single, isolated functionality• often tied to a database

Lack of business models• free vs paid• per use vs licensing• commercial uncertainty paralyzes markets

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Reference Data

Idea: spatial data provide a common reference frame for domain information • examples: administrative boundaries, roads

But: • which spatial entities should be used as reference?

no theorypractice: see INSPIRE catalog

• need to be well-defined and widely (maybe freely) available

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The Growing Role of Services

Bottled functionality (Mass) uses occur through services Services integrate content for decisions

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Background: Data Abstraction

Data with associated methods define modulesParnas, D. L. (1972). "On the Criteria to be used in Decomposing Systems into Modules." ACM Communications 15(12): 1053-1058.

Interfaces in object-orientation SCOTS in OGC

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SDI, a misnomer

The goal is not „data exchange“, but sharing of information

Sometimes SDI are also called Geospatial Information Infrastructures (GII)

But SDI has stuck (NSDI, GSDI etc.)

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An SDI Case Study

German state of North-Rhine Westphalia 18 Mio inhabitants Highly industrial Several small IT companies in the GI area Very heterogeneous GI production

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Success factors

Politicians wanted a show-off project in the media business

State funding 1999 to 2002 Very active PPP Life-critical co-opetition between small IT

companies

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GDI Reference model

User model

Process model

Implementation model

Bu

siness m

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el

Arch

itecture

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User model

Requirements for GI from user perspective Specification based on market study Results: Priorities for action

• B2B• focus on

TelecommunicationTrade, banks, insurances

• Involve more stake holders (e.g. Municipalities)

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Business model

Specification of value chains Specification of GI products and services Neutral coordinating organisation

• Coordinates implementation projects• Maintains local standards• marketing of infrastructure

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Process model

Describes technical processes Links other models Focus on

• Publishing GI services• Discover GI products and services• Purchase• Assemble GI products on the fly

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Architecture model

Specification of a Service Architecture In close cooperation with Special Interest Groups (SIGs) Based on Web Services:

• Mapping Service• Catalog Service• Data Access Services• e-Commerce Services

Results• proof-of-concept through GDI Testbeds

(see separate slides)

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Goals of this SDI Course

1. Familiarize yourself with the basic ideas and terminology around SDI

2. Awareness of some SDI initiatives and of some key literature

3. Develop skills for project planning and proposal writing

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Course idea

Three topical blocks• Technology• Semantics• People (institutions, policies)

Each introduced by a lecture Followed by individual readings

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Course Program

Monday, March 14• Introduction• Goals and Schedule• Collect materials• Organize groups• Skim Cookbook and read Chapters 1-2

Tuesday, March 15• Lecture on Technology• Read Cookbook Chapters 5-7• Brainstorm in groups on possible project goals

Wednesday, March 16• Technology discussion (based on readings so far)• Read Cookbook Chapters 3-4• Write „one pager“ on proposal: problem-approach-results

Thursday, March 17• Lecture on Semantics• Read Geospatial Semantics paper (first part)• Write abstract and state of the art for proposal

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Course Program (cont‘d)

Friday, March 18• Semantics discussion (based on reading)• Read Geospatial Semantics paper (rest)• Draft work plan for proposal

Monday, March 21• Lecture on institutional and policy arrangements• Read Onsrud et al. chapter• Finish work plan for proposal (with deliverables)

Tuesday, March 22• Discussion of Onsrud et al. chapter• Write time schedule and budget for proposal• Prepare proposal presentation

Wednesday, March 23• Review of SDI topic• Present proposal

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Practicals

SDI need to be implemented to really understand the problems

Time needed: approximately 3-5 years for around 30-50 technical experts...

for a short course like this: • there are no „toy SDI“• lab exercises with web servers often fail• Alternative: identify research needs and work program• Combine with soft skills of proposal writing and presenting

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Your task in this course

write a proposal sketch for research or development project on a local or regional SDI in groups of 4 participants

• Manager: organizes, presents, writes abstract• Engineer: architecture, technical specifications• Scientist: research questions, literature• „Moneyman“: budget, funding sources

today: form groups and assign roles

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Materials

To read and discuss during the course:• Nebert (Ed.): The GSDI Cookbook www.gsdi.org(excerpts – today: skim and read Chapters 1-2)

• Kuhn: Geospatial Semantics – why, of what, how?• Onsrud et al.: The Future of the Spatial Information Infrastructure.

Additional resources throughout the course