2004 International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Vol XXXV, Part B6. Istanbul 2004 
  
  
ccess 4. RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES implementations of GML, with position 
ders. statements from experts and several vendors. 
1ared 4.1 EuroSDR Track Record o A key outcome was a better understanding of the 
'd on role of GML as a GI communication language, 
EuroSDR has a comprehensive track record over its 50 years of 
operation. This has included some very significant projects such increasing adoption. 
as the aerial triangulation testbed, though such projects have © A report of the workshop will be found in official 
tended been the exception rather than the rule. In recent years publication No: 42 
workshops have become a more popular way of addressing 
issues. The benefit of focussing on a current issue has been 
helpful in sharing knowledge from several organisations over 
an intensive 2-3 days and in: 
i.e. not specifically as a transfer format, and its 
Next Generation Spatial Data Bases 
o Held in Southampton in Spring 2002 and inspired 
by a glimpse of the possible future underpinned 
by 'grid' technology this workshop brought 
together database experts and industry to share 
plans in managing the migration from digital 
mapping to geographic information over the next 
3-5 years. 
© A common strategy is to move to a database 
centric approach (rather than flat files) while 
separating the master maintenance database from 
the publishing database servers. 
o The outcome is reported in the official 
publication No: 45 
* Better understanding the topic 
* . Quickly gaining a European perspective 
*  Analysing alternative approaches — and determining 
o what works 
o what has not worked 
e Raising awareness 
e Sharing knowledge 
* Influencing strategy 
* Convergence towards a common vision 
* Building a network of GI experts across Europe 
  
The workshops are normally written up and published along 
' the with the presentations and distributed to the attendees within a Spatial Data Quality Management 
the few weeks. This material is then reformatted and published in à 
the next available official EuroSDR publication. o This workshop, held in Istanbul in spring 2002, 
heard how NMCAs are managing data quality, 
ions 42 Recent Workshops the use of standards and in particular the interface 
has d eu with contractors now supporting NMCAs in 
nain Recent workshops, which are of relevance to EuroSpec over the severabamas of data collectica and maintenance. 
kist four yearsyincfude: o The meeting reinforced the view that in a 
database centric world the issue of data quality is 
NMA and the Internet of increasing importance and requires more 
: ; attention. 
v Workshop Re n ue SNS © A compendium of the papers is included in the 
2000, reviewed the state of the art in the use of official publication No: 45 
the Internet by NMCAs with presentations from a 
global perspective, European NMCAs and Visualisation and Rendering 
industry-GI vendors. > 
o The workshop was successful in influencing the o The workshop held in Enschede, in early 2003 
future direction of many of the organisations heard from industry and users who are starting to 
led : exploit all kinds of new technologies in 
nse O [The | eucome 16 reported athée" official innovating the use of GI often through virtual 
less publication No: 38. reality and 3D. 
ds ; ; o Like the 2D to 3D workshop it was felt that 
ent From 2D to 3D - Establishment and maintenance of "mainstream users" and decision makers are still 
tive National Core Geospatial Databases adjusting to GIS and do not yet readily use 3D 
dou : : hi capabilities. More work is required to make data 
ose o Held in Hannover in autumn 2001, participants and information easier To usd: 
ga heard how new technologies are changing the o The workshop will be reported in official 
ven way society interacts. The world is a 3D place publication No. 47. 
lata and GI methods and practices are developing to 
support and manage real world events. EuroSpec Workshops 1 &2 
o While capability is improving and there are 
several areas of innovation, the adoption of 3D or o Both held in Marne la Vallee, near Paris in spring 
even 2.5D in GI remains limited. and summer 2003. Led by EuroGeographics and 
Jor o The workshop is reported in the official co-sponsored by EuroSDR (and the Joint 
Ec publication No: 42. Research Centre of the European Commission in 
T : the case of workshop 2) these workshops set out 
ind XML/GML [Geography mark-Up Language] to better understand and define EuroSpec. The 
| participants heard from several experts across the 
o The workshop held in Marne la Vallee, near Paris NMCAs, the European Commission, ISOTC211 
in late 2001 included tutorials, reviews and and other collaboration projects such as EULIS.