ISO 17572-2:2018

Overview

ISO 17572-2:2018 - Intelligent transport systems (ITS) - Location referencing for geographic databases - Part 2: Pre‑coded location references (pre‑coded profile) specifies how locations used in ITS are represented using pre‑coded identifiers. The standard defines the conceptual Location Referencing Method (LRM) for pre‑coded location references, the requirements for location databases (LDBs), and a set of logical and physical formats (via annexes) used in established ITS messaging systems such as VICS, TPEG/ALERT‑C (TMC), Extended TMC (ETL) and Korean node‑link IDs. It complements ISO 17572‑1 (general requirements and conceptual model) and is consistent with other ITS standards such as ISO 14825.

Key Topics and Requirements

• Pre‑coded profile concept: a shared Location DataBase (LDB) of IDs used identically by encoders (service providers) and decoders (clients) so compact IDs can reference precise map objects.
• Three LDB lifecycle steps:
  • LDB creation - defining agreed location IDs and their representation in the road network.
  • LDB provisioning - distributing the LDB to service providers and end‑user devices.
  • LDB usage - runtime referencing of locations by ID in messages.
• Conceptual data model: aligns with ISO 17572‑1; defines what constitutes a location reference and which components are mandatory or optional.
• Physical format requirements: the standard specifies requirements for physical formats but does not mandate a single physical implementation; annexes provide TPEG binary/XML representations and logical formats.
• Annexed formats:
  • Annex A: logical format for VICS link locations.
  • Annex B–D: ALERT‑C (TMC) TPEG structures and representations.
  • Annex E–G: Extended TMC Location references (ETL).
  • Annex H–J: Korean node‑link ID TPEG formats.
  • Annex K: logical format for Road Section Identification Data set (RSIDs).
• Normative vs informative content: core LRM requirements are normative; many format examples and implementation notes are informative or normative as indicated per annex.

Applications and Who Uses It

• Traffic message providers (TMC/ALERT‑C, TPEG) and broadcast services using pre‑coded location IDs.
• Map and geographic database vendors who create and maintain LDBs (VICS, RSIDs, node‑link datasets).
• Navigation and telematics OEMs integrating standardized location decoding in vehicles and devices.
• Traffic management centers and ITS integrators for exchanging unambiguous location‑based information across systems.
• Software developers building encoders/decoders and tools for provisioning LDBs.

Benefits include interoperability, compact on‑air messaging, and unambiguous cross‑vendor location referencing, enabling consistent traffic, travel and routing information across multiple systems and regions.

Related Standards

• ISO 17572‑1 - General requirements and conceptual model for location referencing.
• ISO 14825 - ITS message structure and related standards referenced for interoperability.