India Needs No GoogleEarth, They Have Bhuvan

Posted by on 2009/03/12


by Irma Arkus

Reuters reports on India’s National Remote Sensing Center, meant to serve as a superior, national version of GoogleEarth.

The program called Bhuvan, is meant to do what GoogleEarth does, but better, with a greater specificity on local environment, including soil types and the location of ground water. The idea is to combine the available satellite imagery and geographic field information to improve upon city planning efforts.

The really intersting bit about Bhuvan is that it has a resolution of 2.5 meters, which is highly accurate and provides for a superior resolution to that of GoogleEarth.

This brings up some valid security concerns. In the mentioned Mumbai Attacks, the gunmen were prepared using GoogleMap technology. With Bhuvan, they get to inquire about mining right, do online tours, and only then turn to their terrorist attacks.

This also brings up another interesting point: publicly available satellite images with a 2.5 meter resolution? Yes, you have been watched. [Reuters]

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  • tovertrut

    are people always gone scream terrorists might use it when new technology comes out?
    its getting old…

  • superjaded

    they always mention the mumbai thing. and “security” is pushed around like a hot plate. I cannot wait till this stops. Oh wait – will it?

  • Anonymous

    well, yes and no. I mean, as silly as it may seem to be calling on “terrorism” unfortunately, such acts do happen in India. There are plenty of terrorist activities. So, calling on Mumbai bombings and such, is not necessarily a childish thing to do.