3. Point Profile, SDTS Part 6

Intended Use --

The Point Profile is designed to transfer and archive digital geospatial point data that can have very precise locations. Points are the primary components. Chains, areas, grid cells, and topological relationships are not supported in this profile. High precision National Geodetic Survey (NGS) geodetic network control point data and Bureau of Land Management ( BLM) survey point data can use this profile.

Primary Sponsors, Interested Groups, and Contacts --

The FGDC Federal Geodetic Control Subcommittee (FGCS), National Oceanic and Atomospheric Administration (NOAA) National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC), and NOAA NGS are the primary sponsors and coordinators for this profile. NGS plans to distribute data for more than one-million control points using the SDTS Point Profile.

Additional interest in the point profile has come from BLM, the Software Information Systems Council of Ag Electronics Association (AEA) (precision agriculture), and from the Survey Data Management System (SDMS) task force of the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO).

Information about the Point Profile is abailable at the FGCS home page

http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/FGCS/fgcs.html

and click on "FGCS Technical Publications."

Documents --

NOAA and USGS have worked to develop a draft document for the Point Profile that uses the TVP document as a guide. The December 1996 draft version of the Point Profile ( SDTS Part 6) is available at

http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/FGCS/sdtsp.html

or

http://www.fgdc.gov/pub/standards/SDTS_pt_profile/

The Point Profile has passed 11 of the 12 steps for formal FGDC approval. All that remains is final endorsement by the FGDC Steering Committee, which should occur in the second half of 1997. Information on the status the Point Profile is available from the FGDC Standards Working Group site at

http://www.fgdc.gov/SWG/swgstat.html

Software --

Software that supports the Point Profile will be part of the Common Software Platform (CSP) and the SDTS++ toolkit for access and interface to SDTS. Contact the SDTS task force (sdts@usgs.gov) for details. NOAA-NGDC is also building Point Profile encoders and decoders using their "FreeForm" software.

Translators --

NOAA NGDC has been in contact with GIS vendors relative to Point Profile translators. A Point Profile translator may be available in version 8.x of Arc/INFO.

Data --

NOAA NGS plans to distribute data for more than one-million control points using the SDTS Point Profile.

Conformance Testing --

Conformance testing may be arranged after FGDC approval.

Future Plans --

ANSI approval may be sought after FGDC approval. The use of the Point Profile for PLSS corners and for bathymetric soundings may be considered. The relationship of SDTS and the Point Profile to other point, geodetic, and surveying formats should also be investigated. These formats include: SDMS from AASHTO, IDEX from Lieca, the GPS format from the National Marine electronics Association (NMEA), the Receiver Independent Exchange (RINEX- 2) format from NOAA-NGS, the Open Navigation Format, the WM102 format, the commercial .SSF format, and the WISCON coordinate format from Wisconsin DOT.