The European Location Framework (E.L.F.) How to Provide Geospatial Reference Data and Services for Europe based on INSPIREAntti Jakobsson

EuroGeographics Programmes Manager

David Overton EuroGeographics

Clemens Portele, Interactive Instruments Germany

Jörgen Hartnor Lantmäteriet Sweden

Olaf Ostensen Statens Kartverk Norway

Arnulf Christl Metaspatial Germany

Key messages

• The idea of the European Location Framework – INSPIREd by ESDIN

• Reference data from the Members States and Reference Data Services needed

• Co-ordination by European Organizations – Build on INSPIRE

Is there need to combine services for Europe?

ESDIN results – www.esdin.eu (and videos in Youtube)

• An understanding of user requirements• Harmonised specifications for data• Transformation rules and services• A comprehensive quality assurance approach, including automation of

quality evaluation services• Generalisation rules and services• A modular approach to pricing and licensing and a Geo Product Finder• A more efficient way of gaining access to the data – Federations

authenticated by Shibboleth• Tools for testing the infrastructure• Proposals and tools to manage maintenance and updates• A solution to technical architecture.

How to be INSPIREd by ESDIN?

Proposed concept for The European Location Framework

• Set of specifications for reference data and interoperability services•Interoperability across resolutions, themes and between countries for topographic, administrative and cadastral reference data.•Reference data services implemented by the Member States (NMCAs)•Interoperability services by actors•Co-ordination by European organizations (e.g. EuroGeographics)•Funded by Member States, Commission and users•Community of users and other data providers, developers, service intergrators

European Location Framework

GEOSS/

The European Location Framework GOALS from the EuroGeographics point of view

• The concept of reference data –concentrate on the main business of the public sector

• Work together with other players to create the infrastructure

• Concentrate on one reference data layer at regional level and derive small scale from it

• Large scale reference data based on NMCAs distributed services

• Create tools for NMCAs to provide the data; transformation; edge-matching; quality; generalization, security

• Build the reference data that others can rely on (UIDs, quality)

• Align other thematic data like ECRINS with it

• Make data policy and licensing work

• Build the community

Reference data

• Reference datasets are a series of datasets that everyone involved with geographic information uses to reference his/her own data as part of their work. They provide a common link between applications and thereby provide a mechanism for sharing knowledge and information amongst people (FGDC, 2005; Rase et al., 2002)

• It provides an unambiguous location for a user’s information; • It enables the merging (aggregating/fusing) of data from various sources;• It provides a geographic framework or context to allow others to better

understand the spatial information that is being presented;• It is subject to a regular data maintenance regime;• It is provided from an authoritative source with a mandate, or responsibility,

for it’s maintenance and availability.

Private Industry will do this, relax!

Reference data

Additional andThematic data

Meeting the user requirement

NMCAs Other governmental agencies

Private industryCartographic industryEO

ServiceIntegrat

ion

UserApplication

Reference data

services

Web companies GIS industry”the Cloud”

USERS

Reference data and services are part of the solution!

EG vision on reference data

MembersMasterSources

Admin Hydro Transport Other Topo Addresses Buildings DEM, Landcover, Geographical Names, Ortho, Cadastral Parcels

UrbanRuralRemoteTopo + Cadastre

E.L.F.Regionaldataset

Generalization processConformance testing

Quality Evaluation

E.L.FGlobal dataset

Edge-matching service (EuroXBoundary)

Generalization processConformance testing

EG+National mappingand CadastralAgencies

Reference data services (view,download)

EGN+Addressservice

Quality evaluation service Jo

int services

ECRINS

Urban Atlas

Corine Land Cover

GMESReferenceData Service

INSPIRECommissionService

EUGeoportal

GoogleMaps

Yahoo

Point of Interest

Navtech/Teleatlas

SEIS

Registryservices

EuroGeoInfo

CommercialServiceIntegrators

AnnexIII

Additional and Thematic data

Reference data

Reference dataServices

ApplicationsService Integration

Would it be nice if we would have standard specifications for reference data!

Resolution and Level of Details

Target level of detail

Scale

1:2,500,000

1:1,000,000

1,500,000

1,250,000

1,100,000

1,50,000

1:25,000

1:10,000

1:5,000

1:2,500

Global

Target level of detail

Regional

Master

Urban

Rural

Level of details

Mountainous

Target level of detail

The planned E.L.F coverage at regional and global level

Not availableAvailable 2011-2014Admin available 2011-2014Admin, EGM available 2011-2014Availability to be agreed

Malta

Note: Administrative theme covers the whole territory of France (including overseas areas), Denmark (including Greenland and Faroe Islands)

And do you think this will work for me?

Benefits to the users

Consistency between themes, so that themes can be used together in various resolutions;

Better up-to-dateness and consistency between resolutions. For example feature that is present in master level will be present also in medium/small scales if it should be present according to selection criteria; 

Quality conformance levels and metadata enables users to ensure that their requirements are met;

Maintenance of reference information in user databases. Unique identifiers enable change only updates.

Reference data provision for European users including European Commission, Eurostat, GMES, EEA, Frontex;

Minimum INSPIRE implementation is enough! Why should we care?

Benefits for the producers

• Cost savings in the national production and maintenance processes of European data;

• Common feature type dictionary between resolutions enables use of generalization process in maintenance processes of medium/small scale resolutions which means better up-to-dateness and consistency between resolutions

• Help implementing the INSPIRE directive• Implementation of interoperability processes including edge-

matching between countries to achieve cross-border consistency, quality evaluation and conformance testing, generalization and transformation services

• Increase usage of national data in services, European and global use.

2011 EuroGeographics Actions

• Discussion paper targeted to NMCAs/EuroGeographics role for panEuropean/cross-border SDI in INSPIRE

• Launch of INSPIRE/ELF demonstration service under EuroGeoForum site (during 2011)• Launch of EuroGeographics WMS under EuroGeoInfo site (demonstrating the

EGM,ERM,EBM and EuroGeoNames) -> INSPIRE conference• Setting up EuroGeographics project for E.L.F-> E.L.F task force (currently participating

(BKG Germany,KMS Denmark,IGN France,Slovenia,Interactive Instruments,OGC,EDINA UK,Metaspatial Germany,Kadastre Netherlands,FOMI Hungary,Romania,Croatia,ADV Germany)

• Prepared a proposal for ICT/PSP – EuroGeoCloud (26 partners)• Presentations on ESDIN results and E.L.F. at conferences and internal communication

between members (GA, regional meetings)

• Starting implementation of ESDIN results • Generalization EGM from ERM, ERM admin from EBM and EGM admin from EBM• ERM based on ELF specs in 2013• EuroGeoNames based on new architecture and lauch in 2012

Production DataProduction Data

Publication Data

Publication Data

Download Service

Download Service

View Service

View Service

Production DataProduction Data

Publication Data

Publication Data

Download Service

Download Service

View Service

View Service

Production DataProduction Data

Publication Data

Publication Data

Download Service

Download Service

View Service

View Service

Transformation Service

Transformation Service

Transformation Service

Transformation Service

Publication Data

Publication Data

Download Service

Download Service

View Service

View Service

Meta-data

Meta-data

Replication Service

Replication Service

Tile Map Service

Tile Map Service

JavaScript API

JavaScript APINNNN

Open Data Source

DataData

NNNN

Internet (TCPIP)

Geo Product FinderGeo Product Finder

Open Data Source

DataData

NNNN

Internet (TCPIP, TLS), HTTP, HTTPS, SAML2

Internet (TCPIP, TLS), HTTP, HTTPS, SAML2

CatalogueCatalogue

Industrial Risk

Management Service

Industrial Risk

Management Service

Public Map Shop

Public Map Shop

Other Application or Service

Other Application or Service

CrisisManagement

Support

CrisisManagement

Support

Insurance Risk

Assessment Service

Insurance Risk

Assessment Service

Ok this is useful stuff, who will decide?

You will decide! (Member States and European Commission)

• No There is no need private industry will build the infrastructure

-> use of MS data at pan-European/cross border case will be difficult or nearly impossible

-> costs to MS will increase

•No co-ordinationEuroGeographics continues on pan-European/cross-boder

INSPIRE with member states

-> slow process

-> no benefits to the MS nationally

-> users have data but is it quality data?

E.L.F./INSPIRE Agreement to co-ordinate

pan-European/cross border activities for INSPIRE

-> Faster process, use of MS data will increase

-> Cost savings to the Member States both nationally and for the European use

->Users have quality data

www.eurogeoinfo.eu