Published

OGC Engineering Report

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OGC Testbed-21 Training for the GIMI Executable Test Suite
Samantha Lavender Editor
Submission Date: 2026-05-09 Approval Date: 2026-06-04 Publication Date: 2026-09-09 External identifier of this OGC® document: http://www.opengis.net/doc/PER/T21-CTTG-D303 Internal identifier of this OGC® document: 26-016
OGC Engineering Report

Published

Notice

This document is not an OGC Standard. This document is an OGC Public Engineering Report created as a deliverable in an OGC Interoperability Initiative and is not an official position of the OGC membership. It is distributed for review and comment. It is subject to change without notice and may not be referred to as an OGC Standard.

Further, any OGC Engineering Report should not be referenced as required or mandatory technology in procurements. However, the discussions in this document could very well lead to the definition of an OGC Standard.

Document number:26-016
Document type:OGC Engineering Report
Document subtype:
Document stage:Published
Document language:English

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I.  Overview

Conformance testing is a key enabler of the adoption of any standard. Standards that enjoy high adoption rates are those that make it as easy as possible for implementers to successfully implement those standards. Therefore, the development of an ETS and the provision of training on the use of the ETS are necessary for the continued adoption of the GIMI standard.


II.  Executive summary

This report describes a training course on use of an Executable Test Suite (ETS) for the GEOINT Imagery Media for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (GIMI). Developed as part of the Testbed-21 initiative, the training course is presented as a series of presentation slides and accompanying training materials.

GIMI is a family of standards that integrate advanced media standards such as the ISO Base Media File Format (ISOBMFF) and the High Efficiency Image File Format (HEIF). GIMI has been designed to support still images, motion imagery, tiled imagery, audio, security marking, timing information, and content identification (id) information.

To facilitate the development of applications that can produce GIMI-conformant files, the Testbed-21 initiative included a task to implement an ETS for GIMI. Along with the ETS, the Testbed was tasked with developing and delivering training on the use of the ETS.

This report presents the training course, which is available as a Markdown file that can be converted to slides using Marp.

III.  Keywords

The following are keywords to be used by search engines and document catalogues.

gimi, testbed, training, team engine

IV.  Submitting Organizations

The following organizations submitted this Document to the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC):

  • Pixalytics
  • Heazel Technologies
  • Geomatys

V.  Contributors

All questions regarding this document should be directed to the editor or the contributors:

NameOrganizationRole
Samantha LavenderPixalyticsEditor
Charles HeazelHeazel TechnologiesContributor
Martin DesruisseauxGeomatysContributor
Gobe HobonaOGCContributor

VI.  Future Outlook

The training presented in this report is focused on the ETS for version 1.0.0 of GIMI. There are associated specifications that are emerging around GIMI, for example NGA’s Imagery Domain Ontology and OGC’s GeoHEIF, that will likely require conformance testing tools of their own. Therefore, executable test suites for those associated specifications will also require training courses to help with their adoption.

There is also an growing trend on use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create interactive and adaptive training courses. This could be an avenue for a future testbed to explore, for example, how a training course on a specific ETS could adapt to the user’s situation with the help of AI.

VII.  Value Proposition

The training course will lead to:

  • quicker understanding of how to use the ETS

  • fewer mistakes in interpreting test results

  • faster deployment of the ETS through greater profeciency

1.  Introduction

Conformance testing is a critical enabler for the adoption of technical standards, as high adoption depends on making implementation as straightforward as possible for developers. To support adoption of the GEOINT Imagery Media for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (GIMI) standard, the Testbed-21 initiative developed an Executable Test Suite (ETS) along with dedicated training on its use. GIMI integrates advanced media standards such as ISO Base Media File Format and High Efficiency Image File Format to support still and motion imagery, tiled imagery, audio, security markings, timing information, and content identification.

The training course, delivered through presentation slides and supporting materials, is designed to help implementers correctly apply the ETS when producing GIMI-conformant files. The training described focuses on the ETS for GIMI version 1.0.0 and aims to accelerate understanding, reduce errors in interpreting test results, and enable faster and more effective deployment of the ETS.

2.  Topics

Figure 1 is a cover slide that introduces those involved in developing the training material.

Figure 1 — Slide 1

Figure 2 introduces the concept of conformance, and the relevance of an Abstract Test Suite (ATS) and Executable Test Suite (ETS) to conformance testing. There are several additional concepts underneath those aforementioned. Therefore, the trainees are referred to relevant resources such as The ModSpec Model: A Standard for Designing and Writing Modular Standards (ModSpec).

Figure 2 — Slide 2

Figure 3 introduces the GIMI standard and the base standards that GIMI extends, namely ISOBMFF and HEIF. The slide also explains the ownership of GIMI, that is the role of the GEOINT Media Standards Board (GMSB).

Figure 3 — Slide 3

Figure 4 explains the structure of the GIMI format, introducing the concept of boxes — which is inherited from ISOBMFF.

Figure 4 — Slide 4

Figure 5 introduces the NGA’s Imagery Domain Ontology (IDO). As the IDO is still in development, the introduction is intentionally meant to be brief.

Figure 5 — Slide 5

Figure 6 offers an outline of the architecture of the ETS.

Figure 6 — Slide 6