SIST ISO 19116:2004

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
SIST ISO 19116:2004
01-september-2004
Geografske informacije – Lokacijske storitve
Geographic information -- Positioning services
Information géographique -- Services de positionnement
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: ISO 19116:2004
ICS:
35.240.70 Uporabniške rešitve IT v IT applications in science
znanosti
SIST ISO 19116:2004 en
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

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SIST ISO 19116:2004

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SIST ISO 19116:2004


INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 19116
First edition
2004-07-01

Geographic information — Positioning
services
Information géographique — Services de positionnement




Reference number
ISO 19116:2004(E)
©
ISO 2004

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SIST ISO 19116:2004
ISO 19116:2004(E)
PDF disclaimer
This PDF file may contain embedded typefaces. In accordance with Adobe's licensing policy, this file may be printed or viewed but
shall not be edited unless the typefaces which are embedded are licensed to and installed on the computer performing the editing. In
downloading this file, parties accept therein the responsibility of not infringing Adobe's licensing policy. The ISO Central Secretariat
accepts no liability in this area.
Adobe is a trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated.
Details of the software products used to create this PDF file can be found in the General Info relative to the file; the PDF-creation
parameters were optimized for printing. Every care has been taken to ensure that the file is suitable for use by ISO member bodies. In
the unlikely event that a problem relating to it is found, please inform the Central Secretariat at the address given below.


©  ISO 2004
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from either ISO at the address below or
ISO's member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
Case postale 56 • CH-1211 Geneva 20
Tel. + 41 22 749 01 11
Fax + 41 22 749 09 47
E-mail copyright@iso.org
Web www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland

ii © ISO 2004 – All rights reserved

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SIST ISO 19116:2004
ISO 19116:2004(E)
Contents Page
Foreword. iv
Introduction . v
1 Scope. 1
2 Conformance . 1
3 Normative references . 1
4 Terms and definitions. 2
5 Symbols, abbreviations and UML notations . 6
5.1 Symbols and abbreviated terms. 6
5.2 UML Notations. 7
5.3 UML model stereotypes. 7
5.4 Package abbreviations . 8
6 Positioning services model . 8
6.1 Introduction . 8
6.2 Static data structures of positioning services classes. 9
6.3 Positioning services operations. 10
6.4 Basic and Extended Information . 13
7 Basic information definition and description. 14
7.1 Introduction . 14
7.2 System Information. 15
7.3 Session. 19
7.4 Mode of operation . 20
7.5 Quality information . 35
8 Technology-specific information . 38
8.1 Introduction . 38
8.2 GNSS Operating Conditions . 38
8.3 Raw measurement data. 43
Annex A (normative) Conformance . 44
Annex B (informative) Implementing accuracy reports for positioning services. 47
Bibliography . 51

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SIST ISO 19116:2004
ISO 19116:2004(E)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies
(ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO
technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been
established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and
non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.
International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The main task of technical committees is to prepare International Standards. Draft International Standards
adopted by the technical committees are circulated to the member bodies for voting. Publication as an
International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the member bodies casting a vote.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
ISO 19116 was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 211, Geographic information/Geomatics.
iv © ISO 2004 – All rights reserved

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SIST ISO 19116:2004
ISO 19116:2004(E)
Introduction
0.1 General
Positioning services are among the processing services identified in ISO 19119. Processing services include
services that are computationally oriented and operate upon the elements from the model domain, rather than
being directly integrated in the model domain itself. This International Standard defines and describes the
positioning service. Other services in this domain are coordinate transformation, metric translation, format
conversion, semantic translation, etc.
Positioning services employ a wide variety of technologies that provide position and related information to a
similarly wide variety of applications, as depicted in Figure 1. Although these technologies differ in many
respects, there are important items of information that are common among them and serve common needs of
these application areas, such as the position data, time of observation and its accuracy. Also, there are items
of information that apply only to specific technologies and are sometimes required in order to make correct
use of the positioning results, such as signal strength, geometry factors, and raw measurements. Therefore,
this International Standard includes both general data elements that are applicable to a wide variety of
positioning services and technology specific elements that are relevant to particular technologies.

Figure 1 — Positioning services interface allows communication of position data for a wide variety of
positioning technologies and users
Modern electronic positioning technology can measure the coordinates of a location on or near the Earth with
great speed and accuracy, thereby allowing geographic information systems to be populated with any number
of objects. However, the technologies for position determination have had neither a common structure for
expression of position information, nor a common structure for expression of accuracy. The positioning-
services interface specified in this International Standard provides data structures and operations that allow
spatially oriented systems, such as GIS, to employ these technologies with greater efficiency by permitting
interoperability among various implementations and various technologies.
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SIST ISO 19116:2004
ISO 19116:2004(E)
This interface may be applied to communication among any of the components of systems that generate and
use position information. Such systems may incorporate an instrument providing position updates to one or
more position-using devices for data processing, storage, and display. For example, a navigation display
system may include recording functions that store the history of a vehicle’s movement, processing tools that
compute guidance updates along a planned course relying on stored waypoints, and a display device that
provides the navigator with current position, computed guidance information, and cartography from stored
coordinate information. This International Standard specifies an interface that carries position and related
information among any of these components, and should be sufficient for communication between the position
providing device and any connected position using devices. Additional interfaces may also exist in such a
system, for example providing for cartographic portrayal of stored coordinate information, which are outside
the scope of this International Standard.
Standard positioning services provide client systems with operations that access positioning results and
related information in a uniform manner, isolating the client from the multiplicity of protocols that may be
employed to communicate with the positioning instruments. For example, a realized-positioning service could
communicate with a GNSS receiver using the well-known NMEA 0183 protocol, translate the information, and
provide the positioning results to a geographic information display client through the ISO 19116 standard
interface specified in this document. Another realized-positioning service could communicate with a GNSS
receiver using a manufacturer's proprietary binary protocol. Through the use of standardized positioning
service interfaces, the hardware communication protocols become transparent to the client application.
Evolution of new communication protocols that closely follow the data structures described in this International
Standard is also anticipated. Such communication standards will facilitate efficient fulfilment of the information
requirements of the positioning services interface and facilitate modular interchangeability of the positioning
technology components.
0.2 Potential use of the service
The application of this International Standard is illustrated in Figure 2 by a simplified case for a user obtaining
coordinates from a GNSS receiver.


Figure 2 — Use case for getting coordinates from a positioning service
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SIST ISO 19116:2004
ISO 19116:2004(E)
First, the positioning service device transmits system-identification data so that the user can determine the
type of positioning system, in this case a GNSS receiver, and whether the system is operational.
Next, the user sets the GNSS receiver to provide coordinates in the desired Coordinate Reference System
(CRS) through the interface by performing setMode operations. For instance, the coordinate reference system
could be set to NAD27 Virginia State Plane, North Zone, US Survey feet. Note that by using well-recognized
CRS names in accordance with the ISO 19111 structure, the user avoids some of the complexity of the
definition of the coordinate reference system by using a named datum and mapping projection, and the
system interprets these and loads predefined set of parameters.
By performing technology-specific setOperatingConditions operations, the user also sets certain operating
conditions of the system so that the position determination will be performed in a desired manner. For
example, the user sets the satellite-elevation mask of the GNSS receiver so that satellites that are at low
angles in the sky, and consequently, more affected by signal passage through the atmosphere, are excluded
from the computation. Certain other operating conditions, such as the current actual positions of available
satellites, are not controllable by the user and are determined by the system.
The system then performs measurements according to the operating conditions of the signal from the GNSS
satellites and uses these measurements to compute a position cast in the specified Coordinate Reference
System.
Finally, the computed position is reported to the user through the PS_Observation data object.
The positioning system also reports on certain operating conditions to help the user decide whether to use the
position value. For example, one of the indicators of solution quality is the dilution of precision (DOP) value,
which is based on the geometry of the satellites observed to determine the position.
Communication of this information is performed through the standard data structures to the user’s display
device, which portrays it to the user.

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SIST ISO 19116:2004

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SIST ISO 19116:2004
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 19116:2004(E)

Geographic information — Positioning services
1 Scope
This International Standard specifies the data structure and content of an interface that permits
communication between position-providing device(s) and position-using device(s) so that the position-using
device(s) can obtain and unambiguously interpret position information and determine whether the results meet
the requirements of the use. A standardized interface of geographic information with position allows the
integration of positional information from a variety of positioning technologies into a variety of geographic
information applications, such as surveying, navigation and intelligent transportation systems. This
International Standard will benefit a wide range of applications for which positional information is important.
2 Conformance
This International Standard defines two levels of conformance: Basic (that all implementations shall meet) and
Extended (for technology-specific data related to a positioning system). Any positioning services
implementation or product claiming conformance with this part of the International Standard shall pass all the
requirements described in the corresponding abstract test suite set forth in Annex A.
3 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced
document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 1000:1992, SI units and recommendations for the use of their multiples and of certain other units
1)
ISO/TS 19103:— , Geographic information — Conceptual schema language
ISO 19108:2002, Geographic information — Temporal schema
ISO 19111:2003, Geographic information — Spatial referencing by coordinates
ISO 19113:2002, Geographic information — Quality principles
ISO 19114:2003, Geographic information — Quality evaluation procedures
ISO 19115:2003, Geographic information — Metadata

1) To be published.
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SIST ISO 19116:2004
ISO 19116:2004(E)
4 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
4.1
accuracy
closeness of agreement between a test result and the accepted reference value
[ISO 3534-1]
NOTE For positioning services, the test result is a measured value or set of values.
4.2
attitude
orientation of a body, described by the angles between the axes of that body’s coordinate system (4.5) and
the axes of an external coordinate system (4.5)
NOTE In positioning services, this is usually the orientation of the user’s platform, such as an aircraft, boat, or
automobile.
4.3
coordinate
one of a sequence of n numbers designating the position of a point in n-dimensional space
[ISO 19111]
NOTE In a coordinate reference system, the numbers must be qualified by units.
4.4
coordinate reference system
coordinate system (4.5) that is related to the real world by a datum (4.6)
[ISO 19111]
NOTE For geodetic and vertical datums, it will be related to the Earth.
4.5
coordinate system
set of mathematical rules for specifying how coordinates (4.3) are to be assigned to points
[ISO 19111]
4.6
datum
parameter or set of parameters that serve as a reference or basis for the calculation of other parameters
[ISO 19111]
NOTE 1 A datum defines the position of the origin, the scale, and the orientation of the axes of a coordinate system.
NOTE 2 A datum may be a geodetic datum, a vertical datum or an engineering datum.
4.7
ellipsoidal height
geodetic height
h
distance of a point from the ellipsoid measured along the perpendicular from the ellipsoid to this point, positive
if upwards or outside of the ellipsoid
[ISO 19111]
NOTE Only used as part of a three-dimensional geodetic coordinate system and never on its own.
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SIST ISO 19116:2004
ISO 19116:2004(E)
4.8
geodetic datum
datum (4.6) describing the relationship of a coordinate system (4.5) to the Earth
[ISO 19111]
NOTE In most cases, the geodetic datum includes an ellipsoid definition.
4.9
gravity-related height
H
height (4.10) dependent on the Earth’s gravity field
[ISO 19111]
NOTE In particular, orthometric height or normal height, which are both approximations of the distance of a point
above the mean sea level.
4.10
height
altitude
h
H
distance of a point from a chosen reference surface along a line perpendicular to that surface
[ISO 19111]
NOTE 1 See ellipsoidal height and gravity-related height.
NOTE 2 Height of a point outside the surface treated as positive; negative height is designated as depth.
4.11
inertial positioning system
positioning system (4.21) employing accelerometers, gyroscopes, and computers as integral components to
determine coordinates (4.3) of points or objects relative to an initial known reference point
4.12
integrated positioning system
positioning system (4.21) incorporating two or more positioning technologies
NOTE The measurements produced by each positioning technology in an integrated system may be of any position,
motion, or attitude. There may be redundant measurements. When combined, a unified position, motion, or attitude is
determined.
4.13
linear positioning system
positioning system (4.21) that measures distance from a reference point along a route
EXAMPLE An odometer used in conjunction with predefined mile or kilometre origin points along a route and
provides a linear reference to a position.
4.14
linear reference system
reference system that identifies a location by reference to a segment of a linear geographic feature and
distance along that segment from a given point
NOTE Linear reference systems are widely used in transportation, for example highway names and mile or kilometre
markers.
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SIST ISO 19116:2004
ISO 19116:2004(E)
4.15
map projection
coordinate (4.3) conversion from a geodetic coordinate system (4.5) to a plane
[ISO 19111]
4.16
motion
change in the position of an object over time, represented by change of coordinate (4.3) values with respect
to a particular reference frame
EXAMPLE This may be motion of the position sensor mounted on a vehicle or other platform or motion of an object
being tracked by a positioning system.
4.17
operating conditions
parameters influencing the determination of coordinate (4.3) values by a positioning system (4.21)
NOTE Measurements acquired in the field are affected by many instrumental and environmental factors, including
meteorological conditions, computational methods and constraints, imperfect instrument construction, incomplete
instrument adjustment or calibration, and, in the case of optical measuring systems, the personal bias of the observer.
Solutions for positions may be affected by the geometric relationships of the observed data and/or mathematical model
employed in the processing software.
4.18
optical positioning system
positioning system (4.21) that determines the position of an object by means of the properties of light
EXAMPLE Total Station: Commonly used term for an integrated optical positioning system incorporating an
electronic theodolite and an electronic distance-measuring instrument into a single unit with an internal microprocessor for
automatic computations.
4.19
performance indicator
internal parameters of positioning systems (4.21) indicative of the level of performance achieved
NOTE Performance indicators can be used as quality-control evidence of the positioning system and/or positioning
solution. Internal quality control may include such factors as signal strength of received radio signals [signal-to-noise ratio
(SNR)], figures indicating the dilution of precision (DOP) due to geometric constraints in radiolocation systems, and
system-specific figure of merit (FOM).
4.20
positional accuracy
closeness of coordinate (4.3) value to the true or accepted value in a specified reference system
NOTE The phrase “absolute accuracy” is sometimes used for this concept to distinguish it from relative positional
accuracy. Where the true coordinate value may not be perfectly known, accuracy is normally tested by comparison to
available values that can best be accepted as true.
4.21
positioning system
system of instrumental and computational components for determining position
NOTE Examples include inertial, integrated, linear, optical and satellite positioning systems.
4.22
precision
measure of the repeatability of a set of measurements
NOTE Precision is usually expressed as a statistical value based upon a set of repeated measurements, such as the
standard deviation from the sample mean.
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SIST ISO 19116:2004
ISO 19116:2004(E)
4.23
relative position
position of a point with respect to the positions of other points
NOTE The spatial relationship of one point relative to another may be one-, two- or three-dimensional.
4.24
relative positional accuracy
closeness of coordinate (4.3) difference value to the true or accepted value in a specified reference system
NOTE Closely related terms such as local accuracy are employed in various countries, agencies and application
groups. Where such terms are utilized, it is necessary to provide a description of the term.
4.25
satellite positioning system
positioning system (4.21) based upon receipt of signals broadcast from satellites
NOTE In this context, satellite positioning implies the use of radio signals transmitted from “active” artificial objects
orbiting the Earth and received by “passive” instruments on or near the Earth’s surface to determine position, velocity,
and/or attitude of an object. Examples are GPS and GLONASS.
4.26
uncertainty
parameter, associated with the result of measurement, that characterizes the dispersion of values that could
reasonably be attributed to the measurand
[GUM]
NOTE When the quality of accuracy or precision of measured values, such as coordinates, is to be characterized
quantitatively, the quality parameter is an estimate of the uncertainty of the measurement results. Because accuracy is a
qualitative concept, one should not use it quantitatively, that is associate numbers with it; numbers should be associated
with measures of uncertainty instead.
4.27
unit of measure
reference quantity chosen from a unit equivalence group
[adapted from ISO 31-0, 2.1]
NOTE In positioning services, the usual units of measurement are either angular units or linear units.
Implementations of positioning services must clearly distinguish between SI units and non-SI units. When non-SI units are
employed, it is required that their relation to SI units be specified.
4.28
vertical datum
datum (4.6) describing the relation of gravity-related heights (4.9) to the Earth
[ISO 19111]
NOTE In most cases, the vertical datum will be related to a defined mean sea level based on water level
observations over a long time period. Ellipsoidal heights are treated as related to a three-dimensional ellipsoidal
coordinate system referenced to a geodetic datum. Vertical datums include sounding datums (used for hydrographic
purposes), in which case the heights may be negative heights or depths.
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SIST ISO 19116:2004
ISO 19116:2004(E)
5 Symbols, abbreviations and UML notations
5.1 Symbols and abbreviated terms
C/A Coarse / Acquisition code transmissions of the GPS and GLONASS
CRS Coordinate Reference System
DOP Dilution of Precision
DGPS Differential GPS
FOM Figure of Merit
GDOP Geometric Dilution of Precision
GIS Geographic Information System
GLONASS GLObal NAvigation Satellite System (Russian Federation)
GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System (generic)
GPS Global Positioning System (USA)
HDOP Horizontal Dilution of Precision
ITRF International Terrestrial Reference Frame
Ln Signal transmission in a specified portion of the L band of the radio spectrum; suffix “n”
indicates portion of the band for a defined frequency such as GPS L1 or GLONASS L1
LORAN-C LOcation and RANging radiolocation system
NADyy North American Datum; suffix “” indicates last two digits of year
NMEA National Marine Electronics Association
PDOP Positional Dilution of Precision
PPS Precise Positioning Service of a Global Navigation Satellite System
RAIM Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring
RINEX Receiver INdependent EXchange Format
RMS Root Mean Square
RMSE Root Mean Square Error
SI System of Units
SNR Signal to Noise Ratio
SV Space Vehicle
TDOP Time Dilution of Precision
UML Unified Modeling Language
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SIST ISO 19116:2004
ISO 19116:2004(E)
UTM Universal Transverse Mercator
UTC Coordinated Universal Time
VDOP Vertical Dilution of Precision
WAAS Wide Area Augmentation System
5.2 UML Notations
The diagrams that appear in this International Standard are presented using the Unified Modeling Language
(UML). Some important elements of UML notation are shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3 — UML Notation
5.3 UML model stereotypes
A UML stereotype is an extension mechanism for existing UML concepts. It is a model element that is used to
classify (or mark) other UML elements so that they, in some respect, behave as if they were instances of new
virtual or pseudo metamodel classes whose form is based on existing base metamodel classes. Stereotypes
augment the classification mechanisms on the basis of the built-in UML
...

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 19116
First edition
2004-07-01

Geographic information — Positioning
services
Information géographique — Services de positionnement




Reference number
ISO 19116:2004(E)
©
ISO 2004

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ISO 19116:2004(E)
PDF disclaimer
This PDF file may contain embedded typefaces. In accordance with Adobe's licensing policy, this file may be printed or viewed but
shall not be edited unless the typefaces which are embedded are licensed to and installed on the computer performing the editing. In
downloading this file, parties accept therein the responsibility of not infringing Adobe's licensing policy. The ISO Central Secretariat
accepts no liability in this area.
Adobe is a trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated.
Details of the software products used to create this PDF file can be found in the General Info relative to the file; the PDF-creation
parameters were optimized for printing. Every care has been taken to ensure that the file is suitable for use by ISO member bodies. In
the unlikely event that a problem relating to it is found, please inform the Central Secretariat at the address given below.


©  ISO 2004
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from either ISO at the address below or
ISO's member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
Case postale 56 • CH-1211 Geneva 20
Tel. + 41 22 749 01 11
Fax + 41 22 749 09 47
E-mail copyright@iso.org
Web www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland

ii © ISO 2004 – All rights reserved

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ISO 19116:2004(E)
Contents Page
Foreword. iv
Introduction . v
1 Scope. 1
2 Conformance . 1
3 Normative references . 1
4 Terms and definitions. 2
5 Symbols, abbreviations and UML notations . 6
5.1 Symbols and abbreviated terms. 6
5.2 UML Notations. 7
5.3 UML model stereotypes. 7
5.4 Package abbreviations . 8
6 Positioning services model . 8
6.1 Introduction . 8
6.2 Static data structures of positioning services classes. 9
6.3 Positioning services operations. 10
6.4 Basic and Extended Information . 13
7 Basic information definition and description. 14
7.1 Introduction . 14
7.2 System Information. 15
7.3 Session. 19
7.4 Mode of operation . 20
7.5 Quality information . 35
8 Technology-specific information . 38
8.1 Introduction . 38
8.2 GNSS Operating Conditions . 38
8.3 Raw measurement data. 43
Annex A (normative) Conformance . 44
Annex B (informative) Implementing accuracy reports for positioning services. 47
Bibliography . 51

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ISO 19116:2004(E)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies
(ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO
technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been
established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and
non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.
International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The main task of technical committees is to prepare International Standards. Draft International Standards
adopted by the technical committees are circulated to the member bodies for voting. Publication as an
International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the member bodies casting a vote.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
ISO 19116 was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 211, Geographic information/Geomatics.
iv © ISO 2004 – All rights reserved

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ISO 19116:2004(E)
Introduction
0.1 General
Positioning services are among the processing services identified in ISO 19119. Processing services include
services that are computationally oriented and operate upon the elements from the model domain, rather than
being directly integrated in the model domain itself. This International Standard defines and describes the
positioning service. Other services in this domain are coordinate transformation, metric translation, format
conversion, semantic translation, etc.
Positioning services employ a wide variety of technologies that provide position and related information to a
similarly wide variety of applications, as depicted in Figure 1. Although these technologies differ in many
respects, there are important items of information that are common among them and serve common needs of
these application areas, such as the position data, time of observation and its accuracy. Also, there are items
of information that apply only to specific technologies and are sometimes required in order to make correct
use of the positioning results, such as signal strength, geometry factors, and raw measurements. Therefore,
this International Standard includes both general data elements that are applicable to a wide variety of
positioning services and technology specific elements that are relevant to particular technologies.

Figure 1 — Positioning services interface allows communication of position data for a wide variety of
positioning technologies and users
Modern electronic positioning technology can measure the coordinates of a location on or near the Earth with
great speed and accuracy, thereby allowing geographic information systems to be populated with any number
of objects. However, the technologies for position determination have had neither a common structure for
expression of position information, nor a common structure for expression of accuracy. The positioning-
services interface specified in this International Standard provides data structures and operations that allow
spatially oriented systems, such as GIS, to employ these technologies with greater efficiency by permitting
interoperability among various implementations and various technologies.
© ISO 2004 – All rights reserved v

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ISO 19116:2004(E)
This interface may be applied to communication among any of the components of systems that generate and
use position information. Such systems may incorporate an instrument providing position updates to one or
more position-using devices for data processing, storage, and display. For example, a navigation display
system may include recording functions that store the history of a vehicle’s movement, processing tools that
compute guidance updates along a planned course relying on stored waypoints, and a display device that
provides the navigator with current position, computed guidance information, and cartography from stored
coordinate information. This International Standard specifies an interface that carries position and related
information among any of these components, and should be sufficient for communication between the position
providing device and any connected position using devices. Additional interfaces may also exist in such a
system, for example providing for cartographic portrayal of stored coordinate information, which are outside
the scope of this International Standard.
Standard positioning services provide client systems with operations that access positioning results and
related information in a uniform manner, isolating the client from the multiplicity of protocols that may be
employed to communicate with the positioning instruments. For example, a realized-positioning service could
communicate with a GNSS receiver using the well-known NMEA 0183 protocol, translate the information, and
provide the positioning results to a geographic information display client through the ISO 19116 standard
interface specified in this document. Another realized-positioning service could communicate with a GNSS
receiver using a manufacturer's proprietary binary protocol. Through the use of standardized positioning
service interfaces, the hardware communication protocols become transparent to the client application.
Evolution of new communication protocols that closely follow the data structures described in this International
Standard is also anticipated. Such communication standards will facilitate efficient fulfilment of the information
requirements of the positioning services interface and facilitate modular interchangeability of the positioning
technology components.
0.2 Potential use of the service
The application of this International Standard is illustrated in Figure 2 by a simplified case for a user obtaining
coordinates from a GNSS receiver.


Figure 2 — Use case for getting coordinates from a positioning service
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ISO 19116:2004(E)
First, the positioning service device transmits system-identification data so that the user can determine the
type of positioning system, in this case a GNSS receiver, and whether the system is operational.
Next, the user sets the GNSS receiver to provide coordinates in the desired Coordinate Reference System
(CRS) through the interface by performing setMode operations. For instance, the coordinate reference system
could be set to NAD27 Virginia State Plane, North Zone, US Survey feet. Note that by using well-recognized
CRS names in accordance with the ISO 19111 structure, the user avoids some of the complexity of the
definition of the coordinate reference system by using a named datum and mapping projection, and the
system interprets these and loads predefined set of parameters.
By performing technology-specific setOperatingConditions operations, the user also sets certain operating
conditions of the system so that the position determination will be performed in a desired manner. For
example, the user sets the satellite-elevation mask of the GNSS receiver so that satellites that are at low
angles in the sky, and consequently, more affected by signal passage through the atmosphere, are excluded
from the computation. Certain other operating conditions, such as the current actual positions of available
satellites, are not controllable by the user and are determined by the system.
The system then performs measurements according to the operating conditions of the signal from the GNSS
satellites and uses these measurements to compute a position cast in the specified Coordinate Reference
System.
Finally, the computed position is reported to the user through the PS_Observation data object.
The positioning system also reports on certain operating conditions to help the user decide whether to use the
position value. For example, one of the indicators of solution quality is the dilution of precision (DOP) value,
which is based on the geometry of the satellites observed to determine the position.
Communication of this information is performed through the standard data structures to the user’s display
device, which portrays it to the user.

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INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 19116:2004(E)

Geographic information — Positioning services
1 Scope
This International Standard specifies the data structure and content of an interface that permits
communication between position-providing device(s) and position-using device(s) so that the position-using
device(s) can obtain and unambiguously interpret position information and determine whether the results meet
the requirements of the use. A standardized interface of geographic information with position allows the
integration of positional information from a variety of positioning technologies into a variety of geographic
information applications, such as surveying, navigation and intelligent transportation systems. This
International Standard will benefit a wide range of applications for which positional information is important.
2 Conformance
This International Standard defines two levels of conformance: Basic (that all implementations shall meet) and
Extended (for technology-specific data related to a positioning system). Any positioning services
implementation or product claiming conformance with this part of the International Standard shall pass all the
requirements described in the corresponding abstract test suite set forth in Annex A.
3 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced
document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 1000:1992, SI units and recommendations for the use of their multiples and of certain other units
1)
ISO/TS 19103:— , Geographic information — Conceptual schema language
ISO 19108:2002, Geographic information — Temporal schema
ISO 19111:2003, Geographic information — Spatial referencing by coordinates
ISO 19113:2002, Geographic information — Quality principles
ISO 19114:2003, Geographic information — Quality evaluation procedures
ISO 19115:2003, Geographic information — Metadata

1) To be published.
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ISO 19116:2004(E)
4 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
4.1
accuracy
closeness of agreement between a test result and the accepted reference value
[ISO 3534-1]
NOTE For positioning services, the test result is a measured value or set of values.
4.2
attitude
orientation of a body, described by the angles between the axes of that body’s coordinate system (4.5) and
the axes of an external coordinate system (4.5)
NOTE In positioning services, this is usually the orientation of the user’s platform, such as an aircraft, boat, or
automobile.
4.3
coordinate
one of a sequence of n numbers designating the position of a point in n-dimensional space
[ISO 19111]
NOTE In a coordinate reference system, the numbers must be qualified by units.
4.4
coordinate reference system
coordinate system (4.5) that is related to the real world by a datum (4.6)
[ISO 19111]
NOTE For geodetic and vertical datums, it will be related to the Earth.
4.5
coordinate system
set of mathematical rules for specifying how coordinates (4.3) are to be assigned to points
[ISO 19111]
4.6
datum
parameter or set of parameters that serve as a reference or basis for the calculation of other parameters
[ISO 19111]
NOTE 1 A datum defines the position of the origin, the scale, and the orientation of the axes of a coordinate system.
NOTE 2 A datum may be a geodetic datum, a vertical datum or an engineering datum.
4.7
ellipsoidal height
geodetic height
h
distance of a point from the ellipsoid measured along the perpendicular from the ellipsoid to this point, positive
if upwards or outside of the ellipsoid
[ISO 19111]
NOTE Only used as part of a three-dimensional geodetic coordinate system and never on its own.
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ISO 19116:2004(E)
4.8
geodetic datum
datum (4.6) describing the relationship of a coordinate system (4.5) to the Earth
[ISO 19111]
NOTE In most cases, the geodetic datum includes an ellipsoid definition.
4.9
gravity-related height
H
height (4.10) dependent on the Earth’s gravity field
[ISO 19111]
NOTE In particular, orthometric height or normal height, which are both approximations of the distance of a point
above the mean sea level.
4.10
height
altitude
h
H
distance of a point from a chosen reference surface along a line perpendicular to that surface
[ISO 19111]
NOTE 1 See ellipsoidal height and gravity-related height.
NOTE 2 Height of a point outside the surface treated as positive; negative height is designated as depth.
4.11
inertial positioning system
positioning system (4.21) employing accelerometers, gyroscopes, and computers as integral components to
determine coordinates (4.3) of points or objects relative to an initial known reference point
4.12
integrated positioning system
positioning system (4.21) incorporating two or more positioning technologies
NOTE The measurements produced by each positioning technology in an integrated system may be of any position,
motion, or attitude. There may be redundant measurements. When combined, a unified position, motion, or attitude is
determined.
4.13
linear positioning system
positioning system (4.21) that measures distance from a reference point along a route
EXAMPLE An odometer used in conjunction with predefined mile or kilometre origin points along a route and
provides a linear reference to a position.
4.14
linear reference system
reference system that identifies a location by reference to a segment of a linear geographic feature and
distance along that segment from a given point
NOTE Linear reference systems are widely used in transportation, for example highway names and mile or kilometre
markers.
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ISO 19116:2004(E)
4.15
map projection
coordinate (4.3) conversion from a geodetic coordinate system (4.5) to a plane
[ISO 19111]
4.16
motion
change in the position of an object over time, represented by change of coordinate (4.3) values with respect
to a particular reference frame
EXAMPLE This may be motion of the position sensor mounted on a vehicle or other platform or motion of an object
being tracked by a positioning system.
4.17
operating conditions
parameters influencing the determination of coordinate (4.3) values by a positioning system (4.21)
NOTE Measurements acquired in the field are affected by many instrumental and environmental factors, including
meteorological conditions, computational methods and constraints, imperfect instrument construction, incomplete
instrument adjustment or calibration, and, in the case of optical measuring systems, the personal bias of the observer.
Solutions for positions may be affected by the geometric relationships of the observed data and/or mathematical model
employed in the processing software.
4.18
optical positioning system
positioning system (4.21) that determines the position of an object by means of the properties of light
EXAMPLE Total Station: Commonly used term for an integrated optical positioning system incorporating an
electronic theodolite and an electronic distance-measuring instrument into a single unit with an internal microprocessor for
automatic computations.
4.19
performance indicator
internal parameters of positioning systems (4.21) indicative of the level of performance achieved
NOTE Performance indicators can be used as quality-control evidence of the positioning system and/or positioning
solution. Internal quality control may include such factors as signal strength of received radio signals [signal-to-noise ratio
(SNR)], figures indicating the dilution of precision (DOP) due to geometric constraints in radiolocation systems, and
system-specific figure of merit (FOM).
4.20
positional accuracy
closeness of coordinate (4.3) value to the true or accepted value in a specified reference system
NOTE The phrase “absolute accuracy” is sometimes used for this concept to distinguish it from relative positional
accuracy. Where the true coordinate value may not be perfectly known, accuracy is normally tested by comparison to
available values that can best be accepted as true.
4.21
positioning system
system of instrumental and computational components for determining position
NOTE Examples include inertial, integrated, linear, optical and satellite positioning systems.
4.22
precision
measure of the repeatability of a set of measurements
NOTE Precision is usually expressed as a statistical value based upon a set of repeated measurements, such as the
standard deviation from the sample mean.
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ISO 19116:2004(E)
4.23
relative position
position of a point with respect to the positions of other points
NOTE The spatial relationship of one point relative to another may be one-, two- or three-dimensional.
4.24
relative positional accuracy
closeness of coordinate (4.3) difference value to the true or accepted value in a specified reference system
NOTE Closely related terms such as local accuracy are employed in various countries, agencies and application
groups. Where such terms are utilized, it is necessary to provide a description of the term.
4.25
satellite positioning system
positioning system (4.21) based upon receipt of signals broadcast from satellites
NOTE In this context, satellite positioning implies the use of radio signals transmitted from “active” artificial objects
orbiting the Earth and received by “passive” instruments on or near the Earth’s surface to determine position, velocity,
and/or attitude of an object. Examples are GPS and GLONASS.
4.26
uncertainty
parameter, associated with the result of measurement, that characterizes the dispersion of values that could
reasonably be attributed to the measurand
[GUM]
NOTE When the quality of accuracy or precision of measured values, such as coordinates, is to be characterized
quantitatively, the quality parameter is an estimate of the uncertainty of the measurement results. Because accuracy is a
qualitative concept, one should not use it quantitatively, that is associate numbers with it; numbers should be associated
with measures of uncertainty instead.
4.27
unit of measure
reference quantity chosen from a unit equivalence group
[adapted from ISO 31-0, 2.1]
NOTE In positioning services, the usual units of measurement are either angular units or linear units.
Implementations of positioning services must clearly distinguish between SI units and non-SI units. When non-SI units are
employed, it is required that their relation to SI units be specified.
4.28
vertical datum
datum (4.6) describing the relation of gravity-related heights (4.9) to the Earth
[ISO 19111]
NOTE In most cases, the vertical datum will be related to a defined mean sea level based on water level
observations over a long time period. Ellipsoidal heights are treated as related to a three-dimensional ellipsoidal
coordinate system referenced to a geodetic datum. Vertical datums include sounding datums (used for hydrographic
purposes), in which case the heights may be negative heights or depths.
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ISO 19116:2004(E)
5 Symbols, abbreviations and UML notations
5.1 Symbols and abbreviated terms
C/A Coarse / Acquisition code transmissions of the GPS and GLONASS
CRS Coordinate Reference System
DOP Dilution of Precision
DGPS Differential GPS
FOM Figure of Merit
GDOP Geometric Dilution of Precision
GIS Geographic Information System
GLONASS GLObal NAvigation Satellite System (Russian Federation)
GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System (generic)
GPS Global Positioning System (USA)
HDOP Horizontal Dilution of Precision
ITRF International Terrestrial Reference Frame
Ln Signal transmission in a specified portion of the L band of the radio spectrum; suffix “n”
indicates portion of the band for a defined frequency such as GPS L1 or GLONASS L1
LORAN-C LOcation and RANging radiolocation system
NADyy North American Datum; suffix “” indicates last two digits of year
NMEA National Marine Electronics Association
PDOP Positional Dilution of Precision
PPS Precise Positioning Service of a Global Navigation Satellite System
RAIM Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring
RINEX Receiver INdependent EXchange Format
RMS Root Mean Square
RMSE Root Mean Square Error
SI System of Units
SNR Signal to Noise Ratio
SV Space Vehicle
TDOP Time Dilution of Precision
UML Unified Modeling Language
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ISO 19116:2004(E)
UTM Universal Transverse Mercator
UTC Coordinated Universal Time
VDOP Vertical Dilution of Precision
WAAS Wide Area Augmentation System
5.2 UML Notations
The diagrams that appear in this International Standard are presented using the Unified Modeling Language
(UML). Some important elements of UML notation are shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3 — UML Notation
5.3 UML model stereotypes
A UML stereotype is an extension mechanism for existing UML concepts. It is a model element that is used to
classify (or mark) other UML elements so that they, in some respect, behave as if they were instances of new
virtual or pseudo metamodel classes whose form is based on existing base metamodel classes. Stereotypes
augment the classification mechanisms on the basis of the built-in UML metamodel class hierarchy. Below are
brief descriptions of the stereotypes used in this International Standard. For more detailed descriptions,
consult ISO/TS 19103.
In this International Standard the following stereotypes are used.
a) <> descriptor of a set of values that lack identity (independent existence and the possibility
of side effects). Data types include primitive predefined types and user-definable types.
A DataType is thus a class with few or no operations, whose primary purpose is to hold
the abstract state of another class.
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ISO 19116:2004(E)
b) <> used to describe an open list. <> is a flexible enumeration. Code lists are
useful for expressing a long list of potential values. If the elements of the list are
completely known, an enumeration should be used; if the only likely values of the
elements are known
...