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Ordnance Survey Future Data Project
The aim of this research programme is to identify the likely challenges that future technological
and market developments will have on Ordnance Survey products and to provide insight into the nature
of future data models that will maximise Ordnance Survey's ability to meet these challenges.Identifying the Future of Geospatial Markets
The research is funded by the Ordnance Survey of Great Britain and look into the potential market developments arising from new technology and global economic trends. This will include:
1. An analysis of near and mid-term market and technology developments that contribute to the collection of spatial data or which need map data, or contribute to stimulating services that need map data. Initiate research into the following areas of technology and related services and understand how they may impact on demands for Ordnance Survey's data services and operations.
- Positioning and Tracking developments – ubiquitous positioning
- Sensor-web developments
- Location-based games
- Virtual world developments
- Pervasive computing and the ubiquitous city/ambient society
- Crime and security as a driver of demand for map data and Geoinformation sources
- Disaster management needs in the UK e.g. for Foot & Mouth, Blue Tongue. Avian Flu etc.
- Mobile Location-based services
- Intelligent transport and integrated services
- Social networking technologies
2. Research into the implications of the potential demands in terms of the data needs. This will include an analysis of the necessary and surveyable atomic units of capture from which an agreed economic sub-set of subsequent higher level demands may be met on a consistent basis. The analysis will consider the atomic units of capture in terms of land use/land cover, currency demands, necessary positional accuracy and topological structure and associated metadata.
3. A study into what research needs to be undertaken in parallel with the identified technology developments and in anticipation of new user services. For example, whether current methods of metadata capture will prove adequate or will need to be complemented by automated means of gleaning metadata from unstructured web-based data.
4. An analysis of the flexibility of the current data model used by the Ordnance Survey to hold and manage the identified spatio-temporal primitives.
5. Research into the means by which the Ordnance Survey could provide the potential range of services, for example, whether required changes would impact on the ability to deliver the current MasterMap product and the implications of delivering multiple “MasterMap” type products from a single data model.
6. Conclusions on how the Ordnance Survey can respond to the findings of the research with the technical
pros and cons of the various options. This project is led by Dr. Suchith Anand.
Research Areas:
• Geoinformatics & Data Modelling
• Geospatial Intelligence
• Interoperability & Standards
• Location Based Services
• Semantics & Reasoning
CGS Initiatives:
• The Persistent Test Bed
• Geospatial Learning Initiative
• Reality Markup Project
Funded Projects:
• GIS4EU
• D-scent
• Map Schematization
• OS "Future Data"
• Disaster Management
• GIGAS Interoperability
• The e-soter Platform
• SWIMA
• Eye Tracking