Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), National Remote Sensing Center (NSRC) and Department of space, Govt of India has launched Bhuvan (means Earth in Sanskrit), a satellite mapping tool. It has been launched on 12th August, 2009; 90th birthday of Vikram Sarabhai, the father of Indian space program.
Bhuvan would be able to provide local information of towns, cities and villages of India. It uses the data recorded by Indian satellites.
Its very similar to Google Earth or Wikimapia, But has many advantages over them. The best feature is its powerful zoom. Google Earth shows details upto 200 meters distance and Wikimapia upto 50 meters, Bhuvan can show images upto 10 meters. Thats good enough for even 3 floor high buildings.
But Google Earth, Bhuvan application will not be downloadable and can only be accessed after logging into the website.
Features:
- Provides Measurement tools for Horizontal distance, aerial distance and vertical distance
- Provides Shadow Analysis; sets the sun position based on the given time creating shadows and effects the lighting on the terrain
- 2D and 3D image data of Indian Cities, Towns and Villages with information on Soil, wasteland and water resources.
- Bookmark places.
- Population and other factual data about places.
The link to the official website is : http://bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in/
Before using the tool, you have to Register Here.
After you register with a username, download browser plugin from links below:
System with Direct X 9.0 and .Net framework 2.0 : Click Here
System with Direct X 9.0 only : Click Here
After installing the plugin, Open Bhuvan website (in internet explorer only). Login with your username and start travelling The India.
I already have registered and tried to lookup my current city Gurgaon. Below is the screen shot:
Screen Shot from Bhuvan
Bhuvan is already at the center of controversy regarding its possible use by terrorists as Google Earth was known to be used in the Mumbai attacks last year. In Bhuvan, masking of important buildings will be considered later to avoid such cases.
From PankajBatra.com, post Bhuvan – India’s own Google Earth
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Its a nice attempt by ISRO! Liked your blog.
good post, but can u tell me from where i can download it for free. if u know..
@Abhinandan
Before using the tool, you have to Register Here : http://bhuvan2.nrsc.gov.in/Bhuvan/WebClient/PresentationLayer/WebClient/usr_reg.asp .
After you register with a username, download browser plugin from links below:
http://bhuvan2.nrsc.gov.in/Bhuvan/WebClient/PresentationLayer/WebClient/BhuvanSetup_1.0.exe
Nice information Pankaj!
I am sharing it on facebook as i feel this article truly needs attention!
Regards