Internet2 Geospatial Working Group Charter
(Word and
PDF versions of Charter)
Objectives:
I. The Internet2 Geospatial Working Group (I2-GS) will identify
critical issues and formulate best practice techniques and recommendations
for dealing with issues associated with the use of advanced networking
technology to enable rapid and ubiquitous access to geospatial data.
II. I2-GS will provide consulting services and material support
for incorporating Geospatial technologies, including Geographic
Information Systems (GIS), Remote Sensing and Global Positioning
Systems (GPS) into the administrative and functional operations
of the Internet2 community’s experimental networks.
III. By involving a broad spectrum of academic disciplines, I2-GS
will promote increased involvement in Internet2 activities.
Objective I:
The importance of geospatial technology is increasing rapidly.
The geospatial data associated with this technology can be extremely
large and cumbersome and yet, there is a large community of users
who need access to these data. Access to geospatial data now encompasses
more than file transfer or download capability. New technologies
are emerging that make it possible to access complex datasets via
network links. These technologies rely more than ever on advanced,
high-speed networking.
As repositories of geospatial data proliferate, efficient Internet
access to these data becomes much more important. Recognizing that
distributed archives of geospatial data and network access to those
data are essential for maximizing the advantage of geospatial technology:
It is an objective of the Internet2 Geospatial Working
Group to develop recommendations for adapting Internet2 technology
to the specific needs of geospatial data delivery and applications.
The Geospatial Working Group will arrive at its recommendations
through a comprehensive consideration of geospatial issues from
the following perspectives:
What are the unique technological and services needs of geospatial
applications?
What technologies are geospatial vendors currently developing?
How can these technologies be integrated into the developing Internet2
capabilities (Quality of Service, Distributed Database, Large Format
Image Transfer)?
What is the role of the Open GIS Consortium in guiding Internet2
geospatial capabilities?
What research projects should be pursued to further investigate
these issues?
What are the “Best Practices” for distributing geospatial
data over Internet2?
What is the potential for funding Internet2 related projects?
How can we raise geospatial visibility within the Internet2 engineering
community?
Close cooperation between I2-GS and other active Internet2 Working
Groups, as well as other industry groups and consortia, is crucial
to meeting the above objective. Many of the efforts being made by
engineering groups will be directly applicable to the special challenges
proposed by geospatial technology. I2-GS will coordinate its activities
with other Internet2 working groups by assigning members to monitor
and/or participate in these other groups. Other issues may arise
requiring engineering-level attention. In the latter case, I2-GS
will make recommendations for further work, perhaps involving the
establishment of a new engineering-area working group.
Objective II:
One of the areas particularly suited for effective application
of geospatial technology is network engineering. With this in mind,
I2-GS will serve the Internet2 community as a source of information,
advice and assistance in applying this technology to further the
goals of Internet2.
It is an objective of I2-GS to provide consulting services
and material support for the integration of geospatial technology
into the administration and operation of the Internet2 community’s
experimental networks.
Objective III:
As the Internet2 project matures, emphasis must shift from engineering
to applications. A broad base of individuals actively involved in
developing and using Internet2 applications is essential. Geospatial
technology spans many traditional academic disciplines. As such,
I2-GS is uniquely poised to increase involvement in Internet2 activities
by encouraging new groups of applications developers and users.
It is an objective of I2-GS to encourage wider participation
in Internet2 activities by developing and demonstrating new applications
that involve discipline areas not previously connected with advanced
networking.
Responsibility:
The I2-GS working group is responsible for development of a high-level
approach to geospatial data access and applications within the Internet2
infrastructure. Geospatial data distribution mechanisms and applications
must interoperate across administrative domains and between hardware
and software provided by different vendors.
The I2-GS working group is responsible for providing professional
geospatial consulting and other services to the broader Internet2
community.
The I2-GS working group is responsible for promoting broader participation
in Internet2 activities by demonstrating applications appealing
to a broad audience.
Goals and Milestones:
- Establish a standard geospatial dataset for use in evaluating
and testing Internet2 geospatial applications - Target Date 1Year
- Demonstrate a functional, Internet 2-based geospatial data delivery
system compatible with existing geospatial applications - Target
Date 2 Years
- Establish recommendations for Internet 2 geospatial client/server
protocols - Target Date 2 Years
- Develop standards for Internet 2-based 3-D visualization server
- Target Date 3 Years
- Establish recommendations for QoS for geospatial services -
Target Date 1 Year
- Establish recommendations for raster data compression - Target
Date 2 Years
- Develop geodata server model for the Internet2 environment -
Target Date 2 Years
- Establish streaming data models for geospatial data - Target
Date 2 Years
- Establish protocols for selective extraction of geospatial data
based on geographic extents - Target Date 2 Years
- Establish recommendations for geodata warehousing replication,
and delivery standards - Target Date 2 Years
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