The W3C and the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) announced a new collaboration to improve interoperability and integration of spatial data on the Web.
For this collaboration, W3C and OGC have each launched a Spatial data on the Web Working Group. The groups, both chaired by Ed Parsons, Geospatial Technologist at Google and Kerry Taylor, Principal Research Scientist at Australia’s CSIRO will coordinate closely and publish deliverables jointly.
"Location, as well as providing context to much of today's online information, is vital to the emerging field of connected devices," said Ed Parsons, Geospatial Technologist at Google. “Through this collaboration we hope to make the understanding of geospatial knowledge a fundamental component of the Web."
Spatial data is integral to many of our human endeavors and so there is a high value in making it easier to integrate that data into Web based datasets and services. For example, one can use a GIS system to find "the nearest restaurant" but today it is difficult to associate that restaurant with reviewer comments available on the Web in a scalable way. Likewise, concepts used widely on the Web such as "the United Kingdom" do not match the geographic concepts defined in a GIS system, meaning Web developers are missing out on valuable information available in GIS systems. Bridging GIS systems and the Web will create a network effect that enriches both worlds.
Source: OGC
