PR - Snowflake
Software will be reporting on an innovative pilot project the company has been
implementing with the UK Met Office. The pilot project was a response to the
needs of the UK’s highways’ authorities to respond to continuously changing
weather conditions on the roads.
This is particularly important during the
winter months, when awareness of possible adverse conditions is of utmost
importance: not only to ensure the dispatch of gritting trucks and snow ploughs
as needed; but also to ensure that they are not needlessly (and expensively)
deployed if not required.
The pilot
concept was underpinned by OGC compliant Web Feature Servers and Web Map
Servers. Snowflake Software’s Web Feature Server – GO Publisher - serves highly
detailed forecast data which is being updated every six hours. The forecast
data predicts a range of road conditions including hazards at high spatial and
temporal resolution. Because the client application is able to query the forecast
data dynamically through the WFS interface, it is able to fetch information as
and when it is needed; thus providing a responsive and interactive interface
for the user whilst simultaneously allowing them access to the relevant
information from within millions of forecast values. Users can view data as
graphs as well as maps: with map views of the forecast being created by
combining the WFS data with topographic and weather maps served via a Web Map
Server.
The
service was also enhanced via the delivery through a web based interface
developed using Flex. The application provides a highly interactive resource
via the user’s browser, eliminating the need to install and maintain an
application on the user’s desktop.
Jeremy
Tandy, Chief IT Architect for the Met Office says: “Our business is built on
the exchange of information about weather, ocean and climate; all of which are
geographic. OGC Web Services and GML provide a mechanism for us to expose our
information so that it can plug right into 3rd party products and services. The
success of this pilot has confirmed that the OGC Web Services and GML will be a
central part of our future IT strategy.”
“This
pilot provided a true test of the capabilities of utilizing Web Feature Servers
in a real-life situation,” explained Eddie Curtis, CTO Snowflake Software. “To
date WFS has shown great promise but, by meeting customer demand for richer and
more interactive weather forecasts, this project shows that WFS can really
deliver for industrial strength applications.”
Curtis
will be presenting the concept and its results at GeoWeb in Vancouver later
this month. If you are unable to attend but would like further information on
this application, please contact
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