10-02, 14:00–14:30 (Europe/London), Create 2
This presentation demonstrates how Cloud Optimised Geotiffs can improve access to LiDAR data, providing benefits for both the data provider and the end user, through a demonstration of better-open-data.com
Cloud-native geospatial formats are changing how spatial data is stored, accessed, and shared. These formats — specifically Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF (COG), SpatioTemporal Asset Catalog (STAC), and Cloud Optimized Point Clouds (COPC) — are designed to work efficiently with cloud infrastructure while maintaining compatibility with existing software.
Interoperability improves through adherence to Open Geospatial Standards, standardised metadata schemas, and access patterns that work across different cloud providers (e.g. AWS, Cloudflare, Azure) and software ecosystems. The open specifications behind these formats ensure that data remains accessible over time, reducing vendor lock-in while still benefiting from cloud scalability and performance.
This presentation will explore the benefits of cloud-native geospatial formats — specifically COG and STAC — on an open data platform underpinned by open geospatial and web technologies (Python, GDAL, Open Layers, and NGINX). The presentation will demonstrate how cloud-native geospatial data and practices improve data provision, access, and re-use, making the case that open, cloud-native formats should be the primary mechanism for data provision.
Alex Donald is a geospatial specialist at the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland. Better-open-data.com is a personal project that aims to improve access to LiDAR data in Northern Ireland.