API for INSPIRE

Background and scope

This activity, also known as API4INSPIRE aims to investigate new developments in geospatial standards and technologies, foremost the new OGC API – Features and OGC SensorThings API, together with the outcomes INSPIRE MIG Action 2017.2 on alternative encodings for INSPIRE data.

An evaluation strategy is being developed to determine how these new standards can best be utilised to leverage existing investments by the EU Member States in INSPIRE implementation and support new developments in e-Government and the Digital Single Market.

The evaluation has a strong focus on various facets of usability, ranging from the configuration and deployment aspects of services to the ease of uptake of the API. A wide range of stakeholders is involved in the evaluation process.

This activity has a strong "hands-on" component. Standard-based APIs are deployed and analysed in partnership with volunteer European data providers.

The activity lead contractor is Fraunhofer IOSB (supported by GeoSolutions and Datacove.eu) with the participation of six data providers from Germany, France and Austria.

Outputs of the activity

During the project several use-cases have been investigated, including:

Airy Austria	Air quality and meteorological data, together with data on the air transport network.
Urban Data Platform Hamburg	Huge volume of sensor and geo data , smart city applications and standard-based APIs in between.
Franco-Germanic Flows	Cross-border Water data providing alternative perspectives on the Rhine.
COVID-19 ad-hoc	Based on current events, an interesting collection of air quality, COVID-19 cases and a background layer of demographic data is made available through standards-based APIs.

Different standard implementations are used in the project, most importantly the open-source ‘GeoServer’ and the Fraunhofer Open Source SensorThings Server (FROST). In addition, a specific implementation of the OGC API – Features has been developed under the API4INSPIRE project.