The IOS Coordination Forum ICF will
(a) collect and make available the current baseline of the Interoperability Specification IOS, together with information about the concrete specifications,
maturity level, status of formal standardization, current versions, etc., and update this information according to results from projects, standardization activities, etc.
(b) facilitate and give organizational support for stakeholders to coordinate their activities to extend and further develop the IOS – for example by incubating new R&D projects,
(c) facilitate and give organizational support for stakeholders to synchronize their activities for formal standardization of parts of the IOS, and
(d) support the building of an IOS community by collecting and proving all information related to IOS (from technical specifications and contacts to experts to workshop and event notifications) and organizing workshops, coordination meetings, etc.
ICF will not only be an ideal means for coordinating IOS related activities amongst the large and diverse group of stakeholders, but will also allow these stakeholders to
- find allies and cooperation partners, e.g. to extend and shape those parts of the IOS that are relevant to this particular group of stakeholders, including pushing of formal standardization
- find experts for IOS related matters
- be able to guarantee sustainability and accessibility for their IOS related project results
- use ICF as an independent, neutral forum, to meet other stakeholders at eye level
- easily exchange and gather IOS related information, e.g. the current baseline, new extensions under development, standardization activities, etc.
while at all times being able to focus on those parts of the IOS, that are actually of interest to them.
Thus, ICF and its activities will greatly contribute to extensions, standardization and uptake of IOS, which in turn will overcome the integration challenge in the development of Cyber-Physical Systems, thus greatly increasing (cost-)efficiency and competitiveness of European industry.