Whether from in-situ sensors (e.g., water monitoring) or remote sensors (e.g., satellite imaging), observations made from sensor systems contribute most of the geospatial data by volume used in geospatial systems today. The OGC® Sensor Observation Service Interface Standard (SOS) provides an open, well-defined API for managing measured data as well as metadata from deployed sensors. The SOS is one standard in the OGC Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) suite of standards.

 

SOS 2.0 includes a modular restructuring of the document, a new and easy to use key-value-pair binding, a new SOAP binding, a redesign of the observation offering concept, and it now relies on the common OGC Sensor Web Enablement Service Model. SOS 2.0 is highly modular and follows the OGC core/extension design pattern. The main SOS 2.0 document incorporates the core as well as the transactional extension, result handling extension, enhanced operations extension, binding extension, and a profile for spatial filtering of observations. Further extensions can be built upon this framework in the future.

 

The SOS 2.0 standard is available at:

 http://www.opengeospatial.org/standards/sos.

 

The OGC is an international consortium of more than 435 companies, government agencies, research organizations, and universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available geospatial standards. OGC Standards support interoperable solutions that "geo-enable" the Web, wireless and location-based services, and mainstream IT. OGC Standards empower technology developers to make geospatial information and services accessible and useful with any application that needs to be geospatially enabled. Visit the OGC website at http://www.opengeospatial.org.