Proposal for a National Spatial Data Infrastructure Standards Project
11 October 1996

PROJECT TITLE

Development of a Computer-Aided Design and Drafting (CADD) Profile for the Federal Information Processing Standard/Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SDTS)

SUBMITTING ORGANIZATION

Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Facilities Working Group (FWG)

OBJECTIVES

To develop a profile for the SDTS to support the exchange and transfer of CADD spatial data.

SCOPE

This activity included identifying the common CADD elements and there equivalent SDTS elements. This activity also include identifying unique CADD elements not currently support within SDTS (e.g., curves, cells, rays, 3D objects). This activity may required the development of additional SDTS modules or changes to existing modules.

JUSTIFICATION/BENEFITS

There are no non-proprietary standards that provide the capability to transfer and exchange spatial CADD data between dissimilar CADD systems and also with GIS. The SDTS currently does not support several of the common CADD spatial data elements (e.g., curves, cells, etc.) and common CADD data attributes (e.g., level, weight, color, style, etc.) .

There is considerable interest from CADD system users that build spatial databases to have a standard that supports the ability to exchange this data in a non-proprietary format with other CADD systems and also export this data into GIS.

This CADD profile will benefit users of CADD spatial databases and the SDTS.

APPROACH

An SDTS CADD Profile project team will be established to guide and provide other support for the research and develop of this profile. The USACE and Tri-Service CADD/GIS Technology Center has initiated several studies to analyze the translation of spatial data from common CADD formats into SDTS. This activity included identifying the common CADD elements and there equivalent SDTS elements. This activity also include identifying unique CADD elements not currently support within SDTS (e.g., curves, cells, rays, 3D objects that may required additional SDTS modules or changes to existing modules. The CADD profile team will review the results of these studies (reports due out by the end of FY 96) and also provided input to the Statement of Work a new task(s) to develop a CADD profile.

The project may require some technical support from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) SDTS Task Force. This project may use the services of several contractors to support this activity.

RELATED STANDARDS

The primary related standard is the SDTS and its Topological Vector Profile. The SDTS Points Profile being developed by the FGDC Geodetic Control Subcommittee may also be related to this CADD profile.

SCHEDULE

A CADD profile project team will be established and begin formal work on the development of this standard as soon as this project is approved by the FGDC Standards Working Group (SWG). The schedule to develop a working draft for a CADD profile will be completed once a formal task order is establish with a support contractor(s). The development this CADD profile should take between one year and eighteen months to complete .

RESOURCES

The FWG has adequate resources to perform the research on what it will take to develop a CADD profile. Additional resources may be necessary to actually develop this standard profile and Tri-Service Center contractors are an option for completing this work.

POTENTIAL PARTICIPANTS

The primary participants will be the members of the FWG which includes representatives from federal agencies, municipalities, and private industry. Support from the USGS SDTS Task Force may also be required to develop this profile.

TARGET AUTHORIZATION BODY

The FWG proposes pursuing the development of this CADD profile as an FGDC standard activity. The FWG and the FGDC may consider pursuing (at a later date) the development of this CADD profile to SDTS as an ANSI (American National Standards Institute) Profile. FGDC would serve as the Target Authorization Body until this CADD profile becomes an ANSI profile.