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Motion Imagery Standards Board (MISB)

CHARTER:
 
The Motion Imagery Standards Board (MISB) executes as the designated authority for the GEOINT Functional Manager for Motion Imagery under the auspices of the National Center for Geospatial Intelligence Standards (NCGIS) Geospatial-Intelligence Standards Working Group (GWG) of the Joint Enterprise Standards Committee (JESC) to formulate, review and recommend standards for Motion Imagery, associated metadata, audio and other related systems for use within the Department of Defense / Intelligence Community / National System for Geospatial-Intelligence (DoD/IC/NSG) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
 
MISSION:
To ensure the development, implementation and application of GEOINT Motion Imagery standards that maintain interoperability, integrity and quality of Motion Imagery data and systems for the DoD/IC/NSG and NATO.
 
As the leading advocate for Motion Imagery interoperability, the MISB:
  • Performs technology assessments of sensors, compression technologies, encodings and transmission protocols along with development of extensive metadata models
    • Develops Motion Imagery prototypes to evaluate applicability to the DoD/IC/NSG and NATO
    • Supports NGA / Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence & Security / U.S. Services / NATO assessments & exercises
  • Engages with Community partners to facilitate standards interpretation, system design, standards implementation and identification of new standards
  • Leads development, approval and maintenance of all GEOINT Motion Imagery standards for DoD/IC/NSG and NATO
  • Leads Motion Imagery conformance program through development and maintenance of test tools and overseeing test activities
Through continued outreach to Community stakeholders, the MISB strives to establish universal standards for the DoD/IC/NSG and NATO that best meet the needs of the user base.
 

CONTACT:

misb@nga.mil

 

PROCEDURES

Nominal Meeting Schedule

The MISB nominally holds three Forums per calendar year scheduled to coincide with the DISR baseline release plan and NATO STANAG CST bi-annual meetings per the schedule below. Typically held in February, June and October of each calendar year, the MISB Forums span 1-to-3 days depending upon ongoing activities.
Review Cycles

MISB Focus Areas

The MISB focuses on topic areas regarding Advanced Sensors, Advanced Compression, Metadata, Transport, File Containers, Interpretability-Quality Metrics and Conformance Assessment. The Forum culminates in a consensus-based Plenary voting session where nominated draft standards move forward for a community-wide 45-day Review & Approval period.

MISB Document Development Process Overview:

MISB Document Author Kit

The MISB Document Development Process defines the steps for creating a MISB document (e.g., ST / RP / TRM). The intent is to:
  • Define the process which begins with a recognized need for such a document through final document publication
  • Provide a submission form to nominate a new document as a precursor to document development
  • Streamline the development and delivery of documentation to the community
  • Provide sufficient expertise and review of produced documents to ensure the final product is accurate and consistent with existing MISB guidelines
  • Describe the management lifecycle to add, update or retire requirements contained within MISB documents
 
The MISB Document Author Kit document template defines the style guide for developing a MISB document (e.g., ST / RP / TRM). The intent is to:
  • Create a common look and feel across all MISB standards documents
  • Provide proper formats for ingestion into MISB automated document maintenance tools
 

Overview

MISB manages two conformance documents, the NGA Conformance Program Plan for Motion Imagery and the NGA Conformance Test Plan for Motion Imagery, which describe the intended conformance process for Motion Imagery systems.

NGA Conformance Program Plan for Motion Imagery

Defines the roles and responsibilities of a Test Customer, a Test Service Provider (TSP), the MISB and the GEOINT Functional Manager Standards Assessment (GFMSA) program, all of which participate in the Conformance Assessment process.

NGA Conformance Test Plan for Motion Imagery

Outlines the process for the Conformance Assessment of Class 0 Motion Imagery, Class 1 Motion Imagery and Class 2 Motion Imagery as defined by the MISP. The MISP documents requirements specific to each class, as well as requirements common across the classes. In addition, depending on the capabilities of the Implementation under test, supporting MISB Standards and Recommend Practices may contain additional requirements. Periodic MISP updates typically introduce new requirements; thus, Conformance Assessment is with respect to a specific version of the MISP.

Community Motion Imagery Test Tool (CMITT)

Performs conformance assessment of MPEG-2 Transport Stream files with KLV metadata. Used in conjunction with designated commercial Video Elementary Stream analyzers identified in the NGA Conformance Test Plan for Motion Imagery to form a complete standards conformance assessment tool suite.

Documents and Tool Access

All conformance documents and tools are hosted on the MISB APAN SharePoint Site.

MISB APAN SharePoint Site Overview

The MISB APAN SharePoint Site is the access controlled site to facilitate distribution of content to our community. Items contained on the site include:
  • MISB Items for Review - documents out for community review
  • MISB Forum Presentations - documents from meetings
  • MISB Conformance  Plans - NGA Conformance Program & Test Plans for Motion Imagery
  • MISB Standard Report Tools - MISB developed tools to aid users tracking of changes, requirements, etc. across documents
  • MISB Reference Software - MISB developed software illustrating Motion Imagery capabilities
  • MISB MIMD & MIML - Motion Imagery Metadata (MIMD) and Motion Imagery Modeling Language (MIML) files
  • MISB Exemplar Files - First Level Integration (FLI) files and other representative files
  • Links - access to Community Motion Imagery Test Tool (CMITT), MISB Stream Monitor (MSM), MISB Adaptive Bitrate (ABR) Common Media Application Format (CMAF) Viewer, etc.

MISB APAN SharePoint Site Access

Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) All Partners Access Network (APAN) is the host platform for the MISB APAN SharePoint Site. An account on APAN is required. To request an account, please visit APAN.org .
 
For users that have an APAN account and access to the MISB APAN SharePoint Site, the direct link is MISB APAN SharePoint Site  .
 

DOCUMENTATION

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Motion Imagery is a sequence of Images, that when viewed (e.g., with a media player) must have the potential for providing informational or intelligence value. This implies the Images composing the Motion Imagery are: (1) generated from sensed data, and (2) related to each other both in time and in space. Some sensed data, such as Visible Light and Infrared, directly produce Images, while others, such as SAR and LIDAR, require a conversion to a viewable Image. To satisfy the time and space relationship the capture time of each successive Image must be sequentially in order and the space relationship between each successive Image must have some recognizable visual overlap with the previous Image.

The Motion Imagery Standards Profile (MISP) provides requirements and general guidance of Motion Imagery Standards for the ISR community to achieve interoperability in both the communication and functional use of Motion Imagery Data. The term “shall” specifies conformance requirements of this document. References cited are to specific versions documented within a given version of the MISP. The MISP states technical requirements common to the United States (U.S.) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) coalition partners.
 
The MISP documents the Structure for data, which includes formats, encodings and containers, and the Content of data, which includes common and application-specific information that populates these structures. The Structure is based on commercial standards from Standards Development Organizations (SDO), such as ITU, ISO, SMPTE, etc., and non-commercial standards developed to support governing organizations specific activities. The Content is principally based on non-commercial standards that support capability-based needs. Together the Structure and Content constitute Motion Imagery Data that meets conformance to the MISP.

Any Motion Imagery (MI) System governed by the DoD IT Standards Registry (DISR), IC Standards Registry (ICSR) or used within the DoD/IC enterprise is subject to MISB standards and requirements.

The purpose of the Motion Imagery Handbook is to provide:

  • A definition of Motion Imagery
  • Common terminology for all MISB documentation
    • There is no single authoritative source for technical definitions of terms within the community; therefore, the Motion Imagery Handbook serves as the authoritative source of definitions for the MISB community of practice
  • Additional detail for topics identified in the Motion Imagery Standards Profile
    • The MISP succinctly states requirements, while the Motion Imagery Handbook discusses principles underlying requirements more thoroughly
Many definitions and terms are used throughout the various commercial groups and vendors however many of these terms are either overloaded with conflicting meanings or there is disagreement about what a term means. The purpose of the Motion Imagery Handbook is to provide the MISB view of these definitions when these term definitions arise. The MISB has a “reference, clarify or define” philosophy when using term and definitions:
  • When a term is well defined and accepted then the MISB defers the definition to a formal external reference
  • When a term is not well defined due to overloaded use or disagreement then the Motion Imagery Handbook will clarify how the MISB will use the term within all MISB documents
When a term is non-existent the Motion Imagery Handbook will provide the definition as a proper noun. The term definition will appear in a formal definition block. Although intended to be educational and informative the Motion Imagery Handbook is not a substitute for available material that addresses the theory of imaging, video/compression fundamentals, and transmission principles.

A ST must meet at least one of the following criteria:

  • Facilitates interoperability and consistency
  • Defines metadata items

A ST mandates binding technical implementation policy, and as such, assists government procurement actions for acceptance of vendor offerings.

A RP:

  • Provides guidance to facilitate the implementation of a ST
  • States requirements for its usage
Government procurement actions may include RPs as a mandatory conformance item for acceptance of vendor offerings.

A MISB conformant Motion Imagery System must:

  • Adhere to MISP-approved compression, container and metadata standards
  • Comply with requirements defined in the MISP and supporting MISB standards
The Motion Imagery Standards Profile (MISP) codifies all MISB requirements, Standards and Recommended Practices.

The NGA Conformance Program Plan for Motion Imagery prescribes test policies, defines the roles and responsibilities of participating organizations, outlines test processes, and identifies artifact repositories for test reports and certificates of conformance. A companion document, the NGA Conformance Test Plan for Motion Imagery, defines the baseline suite of tests, test procedures, test equipment and test report templates to document results of conformance testing. See the MISB site for both the program and test plans.