[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 116 (Thursday, June 17, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32514-32517]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-15420]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Geological Survey


Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC); Public Comment on the 
Proposal To Develop a ``Standard for a Universal Grid Reference System 
for Spatial Addressing''

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The FGDC is soliciting public comments on the proposal to 
develop a ``Standard for a Universal Grid Reference System for Spatial 
Addressing.'' If the proposal is approved, the standard will be 
developed following the FGDC standards development and approval process 
and will be considered for adoption by the FGDC.
    In its assigned federal leadership role in the development of the 
National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI), the Committee recognizes 
that FGDC standards must also meet the needs and recognize the views of 
State and local governments, academia, industry, and the public. The 
purpose of this notice is

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to solicit such views. The FGDC invites the community to review the 
proposal and comment on the objectives, scope, approach, and usability 
of the standard; identify existing related standards; and indicate 
their interest in participating in the development of the standard.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 15, 1999.

CONTACT AND ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted via Internet or by 
submitting electronic copy on diskette. Send comments via Internet to: 
www.usgs.gov">gdc-ugrs@www.usgs.gov.
    A soft copy version on 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect, Microsoft 
Word, or Rich Text Format (preferred) format and one copy of a hardcopy 
version may be sent to the FGDC Secretariat (attn: Jennifer Fox) at 
U.S. Geological Survey, 590 National Center, 12201 Sunrise Valley 
Drive, Reston, Virginia 20192.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Following is the complete proposal for the 
``Standard for a Universal Grid Reference System for Spatial 
Addressing.''

Project Title

    Standard for a Universal Grid Reference System for Spatial 
Addressing.

Date of Proposal

    May 24, 1999.

Type of Standard

    A data presentation standard specifying the representation of two-
dimensional spatial addresses.

Submitting Organization

    The Public X-Y Mapping Project, 8013 Hatteras Lane, Grid: 
18SUH06949701 (NAD 83), Springfield, VA 22151.
    Point of Contact: N.G. ``Tom'' Terry, Jr., The Public X-Y Mapping 
Project, E-mail: [email protected], Pager: 703-457-0451.

Objectives

    The objectives of this standard are to provide the community with:
    1. A presentation format to enable the use of large-scale paper and 
digital maps with Global Positioning System (GPS). Persons using 
different commercial brands or types of maps will be able to 
communicate with each other because they will all use the same grid 
reference system.
    2. An unambiguous, geodetically referenced, and mathematically 
uniform system for a two-dimensional address to supplement conventional 
street addresses. It will also serve as a spatial address away from the 
road network.
    3. A single system which can be taught to all citizens in the 
school system, and which can be used in any community across the 
nation.
    4. A system that is seamless at political boundaries and can be 
uniformly truncated at various levels of precision.
    5. A basis for building a street and feature index database 
referenced to the UGRS which can be accessed and used by any member of 
the community.

Scope

    This standard will define a Universal Grid Reference System (UGRS) 
for use in spatial addressing type applications. It is intended to 
serve as a preferred system that is easier to use than latitude and 
longitude by the average citizen. It is intended for use in mapping at 
scales from approximately 1:5,000 to 1:1,000,000. Technically, it will 
be the same as the Military Grid Reference System (MGRS), taking 
advantage of that public domain system's use of the Universal 
Transverse Mercator (UTM) grid and truncation and variable precision 
features. The standard will address other issues pertinent to civil 
mapping, such as recommended grid spacing.
    This standard is not intended to change how coordinates are stored 
in computers. It is not intended to replace the use of latitude and 
longitude on nautical and aeronautical charts or on maps at scales 
smaller than approximately 1:1,000,000. It is not intended to replace 
the State Plane Coordinate System (SPCS). SPCS will continue to be used 
where jurisdictions prefer it for property descriptions, mapping at 
scales larger than 1:5,000, or other more technical uses such as manual 
surveying.

Justification/Benefits

    Today Americans have many sources of geographic information to 
support their day-to-day activities. Commercial street and highway maps 
are a major source of this information for the community. These 
commercial products typically carry a system of proprietary zone grids, 
unique to a particular map or map brand. Zone coordinates consist of an 
alphanumeric code that locates places within a cell of a given spatial 
extent.
    A Community may have a variety of large-scale maps available that 
use disparate coordinate systems. In a sample of the Washington, DC 
area conducted this year, four years after the Global Positioning 
System (GPS) reached full operational capability, 25 different large-
scale street maps were found to be commercially available, and on these 
maps, there existed 21 different coordinate systems. Of these grids, 
none worked with readily available, low-cost consumer GPS receivers. 
Some commercial mapmakers claim their maps (and zone grids) are the de 
facto standard in some communities, because in some cases, local 
governments have adopted one of these proprietary zone grids for use as 
a spatial address system.
    Often organizations with a local focus have not recognized problems 
inherent in the use of disparate grid systems or the need for preferred 
system that is national in scope. Consumers and businesses that must 
routinely cross interstate and local government boundaries require a 
solution national in scope. In an emergency scenario where time is 
precious and understanding communicated locations or positions in a 
non-conflicting manner is critical, it is operationally best for all to 
use a standard reference systems. When a local government accepts the 
use of a proprietary coordinate system as a ``de facto'' standard, it 
grants a monopolistic license to a specific commercial map vendor, 
thereby inhibiting competition in that community's marketplace. The 
UGRS will provide commercial map vendors who choose to adopt it a 
preferred coordinate system that enhances their products by enabling 
the exchange of spatial address information.

Addressing Schemes

    Americans have traditionally used postal or street addresses to 
locate a destination in their day-to-day activities. In 30 of the 50 
States, the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) is another system often 
used to describe a piece of property. Traditional addressing schemes 
have served well, and will continue to be used. Nonetheless, these 
systems are flawed by their lack of mathematical uniformity. 
Additionally, they often lack the ability to provide an address for any 
point in the nation.
    These different systems do not work with GPS, or are unreliable for 
work with GPS and digital maps. With the advent of GPS, the average 
citizen can purchase access to a $10 billion source of precise 
positioning information for the price of a good watch. In the near 
future, vehicles will routinely come equipped with GPS driven digital 
maps. Mobile wireless communications have become pervasive, allowing 
community members to cheaply communicate with one another from any 
point on he globe. When people communicate, one of the fundamental 
pieces of information they need to exchange is location. In view of 
these technological advances, there

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exists a need to support the community in its use and communications of 
geospatial information with a preferred spatial address system.

Computer Translation Versus a Preferred System

    Some have suggested that because high-speed digital computes can 
easily translate between mathematically uniform transformations, there 
is no need for a preferred system for spatial addressing. They contend 
that computer systems will simply translate a provide coordinate value 
from any one of an infinite number of coordinate systems used by the 
community into one the operator can understand or use. In the real 
world, this is a flawed concept. First, it will be some time before 
every citizen has a lap/palm top computer to use for routine 
navigation. Secondly, it will not be possible to keep every citizen's 
computer updated with the infinite number of coordinate systems that 
can be produced. It is analogous to cartographic anarchy, where there 
are no recognized conventions.
    Some say the day of the paper map is over, but we have not achieved 
the ``paperless environment.'' Paper will continue to be a critical 
medium for portraying and using geospatial information. While digital 
systems information such as GPS. the Internet, and print on demand 
paper maps will increase the ability of the community to use geospatial 
data, paper maps will continue in widespread use. Maps required a 
common coordinate system if people are to exchange useful positioning 
information. A preferred spatial addressing convention is required just 
as a preferred set of street names is used for street addresses. Street 
addresses simply would not be useable if there were multiple names for 
each street. Accordingly, a preferred convention is necessary if the 
community is to have a useable and workable spatial address system.

Truncation and Variable Precision

    The Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) system most closely meets 
URGR requirements and is:
     A plane coordinate system, which is far easier to use than 
latitude and longitude for large-scale work.
     A geodetically referenced, mathematically uniform system 
in the public domain.
     National and international in scope.
    However, UTM does not provide a convention for truncating 
coordinate values, nor does it allow for variations in precision of 
information. For example, although the UGRS will support 1-meter 
precision, many users do not need spatial resolutions finer than 10 
meters for location and navigation and do not require that coordinates 
be shown to all the decimal places to which they are stored in 
computers. In fact, users find it easier to remember fewer digits. This 
is analogous to memorizing and recalling telephone numbers.
    The Military Grid Reference System (MGRS) is a mature, widely used, 
off-the-shelf system based on the UTM that also provides a method to 
truncate coordinates and offers various levels of precision. It is 
proposed that the UGRS use this existing technical standard.

Development Approach

    This standards development effort will make use of existing 
standards and specifications to the greatest possible extent. The MGRS 
meets the basic requirements for a UGRS. The Public 
X-Y Mapping Project has nearly completed a draft of the proposed UGRS 
that will be presented to the FGDC as a starting point for development 
of this standard. It is proposed that the FGDC form an ad hoc working 
group or subgroup of the Standards Working Group to review The Public 
X-Y Mapping Project Draft and prepare it for public review. The need 
for a more permanent group will be reevaluated based on initial public 
comment.
    Implementation and acceptance of a preferred spatial addressing 
standard will require demonstration of the usefulness of the standard. 
Therefore, there is a need to plan and carry out demonstration projects 
once the technical specification has stabilized.

Development and Completion Schedule

    Completion of initial draft: August 1999.
    Public Review: September-November 1999.
    Final Draft: TBD--dependent on public comment--December 1999.
    Demonstration Projects: 2000-2003.

Resources Required

    A working draft of the UGRS will be provided by The Public X-Y 
Mapping Project. No new resources are needed to prepare the working 
draft. An ad hoc working group of the Standards Working Group will be 
needed to assist The Public X-Y Mapping Project in preparing the draft 
for public review according to FGDC directives. The Public X-Y Mapping 
Project expects this group to assist in the adjudication and resolution 
of comments received during the public review.
    Administrative and financial resources will be required from FGDC 
members and outside organizations to carry out the demonstration 
projects.

Potential Participants

     Major Federal land map producers.
     Commercial map producers.
     The GPS industry.
     Representatives of map users such as E-911 service 
providers (see examples).

Related Standards

     This proposal relates to ANSI X3.61-1986, Representation 
of Geographic Point Locations for Information Interchange, which 
standardizes representation of UTM coordinates for computer 
representation, since the proposed UGRS is based upon the UTM.
     ISO 15046-16, Positioning Services, provides an interface 
for real-time GPS receiver output (and output from other positioning 
technologies). The UGRS standards project should follow the progress of 
ISO/TC 211 Work Item 16 and harmonize with the requirements of ISO 
15046-16.
     ISO 15046-11, Spatial Referencing by Coordinates, provides 
a conceptual schema for the description of coordinate reference 
systems. The UGRS standards project should follow the progress of ISO/
TC 211 Work Item 11 and harmonize with the requirements of ISO 15046-
11.
     It is not clear how this proposal relates to the linear 
referencing standard being proposed by the Intelligent Transportation 
community in the U.S. and the U.S. representatives to ISO/TC 204, the 
international road informatics standards committee. This will be 
investigated during the preparation of the public review draft.
     This proposal may be related to the NSDI Framework 
Transportation Identification Standard being developed by the FGDC 
Ground Transportation Subcommittee. Overlaps will be investigated 
during the preparation of the public review draft.
     The UGRS standard will drawn NIMA Technical Manual (TM) 
8358.1, Datums, Ellipsoids, Grids, and Grid Reference Systems, which 
describes the basic principles of the Military Grid Reference System

Other Targeted Authorization Bodies

    If it is determined that this standard could benefit from or would 
require changes to ANSI X3.61, then NCITS L1 (custodian of ANSI X3.61) 
would be another target organization.
    Although initially targeted for adoption in this country, the UGRS 
could be applied worldwide. If this is determined to be desirable, ISO/
TC 211

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would the appropriate standards body to consider it.

Addendum--Example Applications of the UGRS

    UGRS is intended to be preferred method for designating point 
positions for numerous activities, particularly vehicle/land 
navigation. It will supplement conventional street addresses in the 
community and will provide a virtual address for any point away from 
the road network.

1  Enhanced 9-1-1

    The spatial address (in the form of UGRS coordinates) will appear 
along with the caller's street address on the screen of 9-1-1 system 
operators in Public Safety Access Points (PSAP). The UGRS address can 
be used by officers on the street, who may be equipped with either 
paper or digital maps.

2  Disaster Relief Operations

    In the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew, the devastation was so great, 
that street signs were blown away, making it difficult for outside 
agencies to navigate to places in need of assistance. UGRS will provide 
a nationally uniform method for describing a position that will allow 
outside assistance providers to ``hit the ground running'' with GPS 
equipment and to make use of commercial street maps that may be readily 
available.

3  Search and Rescue (SAR)

    The advent of technologies such as medical evacuation helicopters 
and wireless communications (i.e. radios, cellular phones) has 
increased the need to precisely and unambiguously identify places away 
from the road network. For example, medical evacuation helicopter crews 
have cited difficulties (while often flying in dangerous environments, 
i.e. mountainous terrain at night) in understanding SAR team 
descriptions of where they are supposed to fly. A preferred spatial 
address system would eliminate this communication interoperability 
problem.

4  Digital Maps

    Digital maps from sources such as CD ROMs for use on deskp/lap top 
computers and Internet information vendors are coming into widespread 
use. The UGRS has greater suitability for these digital mapping systems 
than conventional street addresses because it affords greater accuracy 
and ensures confidence that the point indicated is the correct 
location. Today, it is possible to quickly access a source of maps on 
the Internet. With a UGRS spatial address, the user precisely 
designates the point of interest by entering the address as if it were 
a phone number (This has important implications for future cellular 
phone operations and GPS/car navigation systems). The information 
provider can quickly respond with a map of that location. The UGRS also 
provides a coordinate system that can be portrayed on these maps when 
they are printed (``print on demand''), thereby ensuring a geodetic 
reference for later use of the map with GPS when driving to the 
location.

5  Locating Small Business Features

    Quite often, it is necessary to locate a small feature such as an 
Automated Teller Machine (ATM), the drop off box for a package delivery 
service such as FedEx or United Parcel Service (UPS), or post office 
box. Today, automated sources of information provided by the Internet 
or by telephone indicate the location of the closest ATM or drop-off 
box, but finding these small features can prove to be a difficult task. 
UGRS spatial addressing will greatly ease a customer's task by 
unambiguously communicating a point position of higher resolution than 
possible with conventional street addresses and will maximize current 
and future capabilities of GPS.

6  Locating a Street Address Number

    Locating a street address number of buildings or homes can be a 
difficult task that greatly adds to the workload of a vehicle deliver. 
This is especially true at night during heavy traffic. Many times a 
driver is confounded that street address numbers are small, poorly 
placed, or missing altogether. A virtual address defined by UGRS 
enables the use of GPS or a map with a UGRS grid and greatly eases the 
workload of a driver trying to located a specific and precise location.

7  Identifying Multiple Businesses Locations

    A business with multiple locations in a community can add the 
spatial address for its establishments in telephone or Internet 
directories (or other sources of information). This information, 
coupled with commercial street maps that portray the UGRS grid, will 
allow potential customers to quickly determine which establishment is 
closet to them. Customers will easily see the relative location of each 
store.

8  Outdoors Recreation

    A great deal of outdoors recreation, such as backpacking, kayaking, 
hunting, fishing rock climbing, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, 
mountain-biking, and horseback riding, takes place away from the road 
network and the conventional street address system. The widespread 
availability of low cost wireless communications (i.e. cellular 
telephones, Family Radio Service [FRS] transceivers, etc.) has 
increased the need for a spatial address system that people can use to 
identify their location in a simple, uniform manner without ambiguity 
during these activities. For example, in the event of an accident 
requiring medical assistance, UGRS will provide a standard method for 
communicating unambiguous location of the accident to responding 
organizations. Likewise, backpackers and others can report their UGRS 
spatial address for a pickup point after a long hike, adding 
flexibility to their plans. The UGRS will provide a universal means for 
identifying the location of shelters, cabins, trail heads, springs, 
camping areas, parking areas, and other features in journal entries, 
magazine articles, guide books, and other source of recreational 
information. A UGRS will provide a universal coordinate system and grid 
for outdoor recreation maps which ensures the exchange and 
compatibility of spatial address information across many different 
sources to include the use of GPS.

9  Agriculture

    There is a need in agriculture to uniformly identify particular 
parcels of land for various work tasks. For example, a farmer 
communicating with a mechanic by celluar phone may need to clearly 
identify in which field a tractor has broken down. Another example is 
where the farmer has to instruct a deliverer of some commodity about 
where to stage the material.

10  Tourism

    The tourist is one who is new to an area and unfamiliar with its 
features, but is looking for specific places of interest. A preferred 
spatial address for a place of interest will be found on brochures and 
in other others of tourism information to enable tourists to quickly 
and unambiguously locate a place of interest.

    Dated: June 4, 1999.
Richard E. Witmer,
Chief, National Mapping Division.
[FR Doc. 99-15420 Filed 6-16-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-Y7-M