IALA plays a significant role in the development of the IHO S-100 standard by contributing to its refinement, testing, and implementation. IALA collaborates closely with IHO to ensure that the standard meets the needs of the maritime community, particularly regarding aids to navigation and related services.
IALA focuses on creating guidelines and recommendations for S-200 and services to promote technical interoperability, harmonization, and the secure, reliable, and efficient exchange of maritime information. Consequently, IALA participates in the development and testing of new proposals for S-200, addressing any issues or challenges that may arise. This collaborative effort between IALA and IHO ensures that the S-100 standard meets the evolving needs of the maritime community and supports the broader goals of e-Navigation.
This page has three sections;
- IHO S-100 GI Registry
- IALA S-200 PS and development status
- IALA S-200 PS management process
IALA S-200 testbed provides a venue to test and try national AtoN data with S-200 data format.
As the S-100 standard becomes increasingly crucial for exchanging maritime information, it is essential to ensure the secure, reliable, and efficient exchange of S-100 data. Standardizing a common Web Service interface (based on IP technology) for the exchange of S-100-based products will enable greater technical interoperability, allowing the same service interface to be used for information exchange, regardless of operational use, and making it common for various Maritime Services.
S-200 PS Test and validation tool
To ensure that the S-100 and S-200 product specifications are technically sound and operationally feasible, IALA conducts continuous test and validation activities through its S-200 Testbed and Validation Platform.
This environment allows Member States, industry stakeholders, and technical experts to:
- Import and visualize national AtoN datasets encoded in the S-200 format,
- Verify schema integrity, encoding correctness, and portrayal consistency,
- Test data exchange using S-100-based web services, and
- Evaluate interoperability between S-201, S-125, and other S-200 series product specifications.
The test and validation tool provides essential feedback to refine product specifications, improve data models, and ensure alignment with the IHO S-100 framework.
As a result, IALA is actively working on developing a guideline for S-100-based Web Services, known as G1157 Web Service-Based S-100 Data Exchange. The guideline offers a general introduction to the topic and an overview of existing standardization and guidance documents.