Centre for Earth Observation (CEO) - Enabling Services

The European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Commission (EC) have agreed to combine their expertise with that of their Member States to establish a co-ordinated, decentralised European Earth Observation network called the European Earth Observation System (EEOS) to increase the use, accessibility and value of Earth Observation data. The EC contribution to EEOS is the Centre for Earth Observation (CEO).

The main objective of the CEO is to promote the application of Earth Observation in EU and the Member States by:

• encouraging better communication between individual users and between user communities;
• stimulating the creation of high-level products, where and when necessary;
• promoting improved data standardisation and quality assurance;
• co-ordinating the design and operation of existing and future decentralised data archives and data bases, and data delivery services, as needed;
• improving the accessibility and awareness of Earth observation data, services and expertise;
• improving the accessibility of ground data, auxiliary data and relevant services and expertise.

Figure 1: The overview of the CEO concept

The CEO Concept comprises four interrelated components, summarised as follows; User Support comprises the actions and measures to help the user to benefit from EO to meet his or her professional goal. Enabling Services initiates actions and measures and will provide software and systems to increase the exchange and accessibility of meta-data and information about Earth Observation. Application Support stimulates the production of information from Earth Observation data, in response to customers needs, and draws more customers into the system. Monitoring and Co-ordination Services manages, monitors and develops the CEO. These components are set out in Figure 1.

Making data and information available and accessible: 'Enabling Services'

In order to allow industry and researchers to find the data, information and services that they require, the CEO is constructing an electronic data and information system called the Enabling Services.

This is constructed of a distributed series of databases, with an interface that allows the user to find the data, information and services as if they were situated in one location. The system that the CEO constructs will allow searching for information as well as enabling European organisations to advertise their wares. In addition the system will provide access to data sets located world wide, so that European users have the widest possible selection available to them.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CEO
ENABLING SERVICES STARTED [1]

The Enabling Services (ES) of the CEO programme will be implemented by European industry. A tender procedure was initiated in June 1996 splitting the work into 6 main contracts to build the basic modules constituting the Middleware Node and the Monitoring and Co-ordination Facility.

 

In total, the proposals received in response to these ITTs weighed over 10 tons! The tender procedure has now been completed with the award of the following contracts:

 

Implementation of the search sub-system: consortium led by Logica UK Ltd., with participation of DLR, Joanneum Research, Crossnet. Support to this module is also given by the following catalogue of EO data providers: EUMETSAT, ISIS/DLR, EUROMAP.

 

Implementation of the announcement and advert sub-system: consortium led by EOS, with the participation of Soluciones Globales Internet.

 

Implementation of the reporting and monitoring sub-systems: consortium led by Kongsberg Spacetec, with the participation of Logica UK Ltd.

 

Implementation of the data dictionary and user profile sub-systems: consortium led by Computer Resources International , with the participation of Datamat.

 

Implementation of the on-line help, help desk and newsgroup sub-systems:

consortium led by Smith Systems Engineering, with the participation of Datamat.

 

Integration and testing: consortium led by Sema Group, with the participation of EOS and Goya .

 

Preparatory kick-off meetings were held with the consortia during the week of 16-20 December 1996. The implementation of the CEO Enabling Services will be monitored through a series of critical review stages by international experts nominated by the CEO. The implementation of the Enabling Services will follow a phased approach. The first release of the Enabling Services (Release A) will be constituted by one Middleware Node, one Monitoring and Coordination Facility and the User Support Facility. It will be on-line by the end of February 1998. Release B will support a configuration with multiple Middleware Nodes and is foreseen to be available by the end of 1998.

Footnotes

[1] CEO Newsletter, January 1997, Issue 4/97 (http://www.ceo.org/january97.html)