Model Driven Approach for Accessing Distributed Spatial Data Using Web Services - Demonstrated for Cross-Border GIS Applications

The paper addresses current research issues in the field of interoperability of heterogeneous GI systems. Special emphasis is placed on heterogeneity at the level of conceptual data models. This problem is discussed in the context of cross-border web-based GIS applications which involve the combination of spatial data on the same type of real world objects from different countries. Existing approaches for setting up such cross-border web-based GIS applications using both raster and vector data are discussed. A new concept of a Model Driven Approach for accessing distributed, heterogeneous spatial data using web services currently being developed in a joint research of the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich and the Technische Universität München is presented, based on the fundamentals of Service Oriented Architectures (SOA) and the Model Driven Approach (MDA). The Lake Constance region serves as cross-border test area for this project using topographic vector data from Germany and Switzerland.