Bhuvan

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This article is about the software. For the Indian film character, see Lagaan.
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Bhuvan
Developer(s) ISRO
Initial release August 12, 2009
Stable release Beta / August 12, 2011 (2011-08-12)
Operating system Windows 2000, XP & Vista
Available in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu
Type Virtual globe
Licence Freeware
Website http://bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in/

Bhuvan, (lit: Earth), is a software application which allows users to explore a 3D representation of the surface of the Earth. The browser is specifically tailored to view India, offering the highest resolution in this region provided with local four languages.[1][2] A beta version[3] was launched on 12 August 2009.[4]

Overview

ISRO launched the beta version of its web-based 3D satellite imagery tool, Bhuvan, on August 12, 2009. Bhuvan is supposed to offer more detailed imagery of Indian locations compared to other Virtual Globe software, with spatial resolutions ranging from 5 to 100 metres. Locations will be viewable from different perspectives, and the software will also provide functionality for the measurement of distances. The Bhuvan portal is designed to run on slow Internet connections. The images available do not include any military installations in India, due to security concerns.[5]

Bhuvan has a number of other features, which include weather information and administrative boundaries of all states and districts in India. Bhuvan provides images of the entire globe, but resolution is currently best in India. On the Indian subcontinent, Bhuvan will be able to display pictures from a perceived altitude of 10 metres, at which height a commuter moving on a road can easily be spotted.[6]

The National Remote Sensing Agency played an important role in the development of this product. ISRO has used data provided by satellites including Resourcesat-1, Cartosat-1 and Cartosat-2 to get the best possible imagery of India. ISRO claims that the application can provide imagery from a perceived altitude of as little as 10 metres for major Indian cities, compared to the 200 metres provided by Google Earth.[7]

Bhuvan-3D is based on TerraExplorer software, a product of Skyline Software Systems, thru the local Indian distributor RSI SOFTECH INDIA PVT LTD.[8] Bhuvan-2D is developed using open-source software Geospatial solutions (UMN Mapserver, Geoserver, 52 North, OpenLayers).[9] 2D images are available on all mobile browsers, including Apple's iOS.

Features

Bhuvan allows users to view 2D and 3D images, along with information on soil, wasteland and water resources on the Indian subcontinent. Users can superimpose administrative boundaries of their choice, from a selection of boundaries available, on images as required. Bhuvan also allows visualization of AWS (Automatic Weather Station) data in the graphic view, as well as in tabular form. Users can "fly" from one location to another, and also navigate using the 3D view pop-up menu (with fly-in, fly out, jump in, jump around and view point controls). The software features Heads-Up Display (HUD) navigation controls (tilt slider, opacity control, compass ring and zoom slider). There is also a drawing function, which allows users to draw certain objects in both 2D (text labels, polylines, polygons, rectangles, 2D arrows, circles and ellipses) and 3D (placing of expressive 3D models, 3D polygons and boxes). Users can create snapshots (copies the 3D view to a floating window and allows to save to an external file) to record images and use measurement tools (horizontal distance, aerial distance, vertical distance, measure area) to record distances. Shadow analysis also allows a user to view terrain as it would appear at a specified time of day, by setting the sun position appropriately for the given time, thus creating accurate shadows and lighting.

ISRO plans to allow the end-user to participate in the development of features for the product in the future.

Some of the functionality planned for future versions includes:

  • Online shapefile creation
  • Urban Design Tools (to build roads, junctions and traffic lights in an urban setting)
  • Contour maps (displays a colourized terrain, maps and contour lines)
  • Terrain profile (displays the terrain elevation profile along a path)
  • Draw tools (creates simple markers, free hand lines and urban designs)
  • Navigation map (to jump to and view locations in 3D)

Plugin download

The Bhuvan plug-in is required only for accessing 3D images. The plugin can be downloaded from the Bhuvan website and can be installed without the need for any administrative privileges.

Technical requirements

Bhuvan 2D is compatible with all browsers and operating systems and does not require any plug-in installation. Bhuvan 2D is based on the open source application Geo-spatial solutions. Bhuvan 2D can also be accessed through mobile phones also without any plugin installation.

The Beta version of Bhuvan 3D can run only on the Windows operating system and is optimized for Internet Explorer 6 and higher, with Protected Mode turned off. Bhuvan uses a TerraExplorer plugin from Skyline Inc., which is around 11 MB in size, and has to be installed prior to Bhuvan. The plugin is only supported on Internet Explorer for Microsoft Windows. Google Chrome, Firefox and other platforms are not yet supported.

Criticism

Since the launch of Bhuvan, users have experienced various difficulties. One problem is that the Bhuvan site has, at various times, been either inaccessible or very slow (due to less band width and servers). Users are required to register before they can use the product, and downloads of plug-ins up to 11 MB in size are needed for the application to work. Furthermore, the plugin only works on Windows, and only Internet Explorer is supported. It renders layers unevenly and sometimes images are completely blocked. Bhuvan promises images from a perceived altitude of 10 metres, but technical analysts dispute the results. If many locations of same name exist, Bhuvan is supposed to give multiple results so that users can choose the intended location, but Bhuvan sometimes fails to return multiple results.

Another reason for the bhuvan is the height lock at 200 meters due to low res images being used, Images are also blurred.[10][11][12]

Since the initial, buggy beta release, a more stable version has been released, with which users have reported fewer problems. A discussion forum has also been started for users experiencing difficulties.[13]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Welcome to Bhuvan | ISRO's Geoportal | Gateway to Indian Earth Observation". Bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in. 2013-04-25. Retrieved 2013-05-20. 
  2. ↑ "India to launch Bhuvan in March 2009". Silicon India. 2008-11-23. Archived from the original on 25 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-23. 
  3. ↑ "Bhuvan, Indian Earth Observation Visualisation". ISRO. 2009-08-12. Retrieved 2009-08-12. 
  4. ↑ "Bhuvan: India’s answer to Google Earth". Jai Bihar. 2009-08-12. Retrieved 2009-08-12. 
  5. ↑ "ISRO's Bhuvan stands up to Google Earth". Merinews.com. 2009-08-13. Retrieved 2013-05-20. 
  6. ↑ "ISRO's Bhuvan Earth to take on Google Earth". Devicemag.com. 2009-08-13. Retrieved 2013-05-20. 
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ "Welcome to Bhuvan | ISRO's Geoportal | Gateway to Indian Earth Observation". Bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in. 2013-04-25. Retrieved 2013-05-20. 
  9. ↑ "Welcome to Bhuvan | ISRO's Geoportal | Gateway to Indian Earth Observation". Bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in. 2013-04-25. Retrieved 2013-05-20. 
  10. ↑ Reuters http://in.reuters.com/article/paidmediaAtoms/idIN52347752420090817 |url= missing title (help). 
  11. ↑ The Times Of India http://infotech.indiatimes.com/quickiearticleshow/4914543.cms |url= missing title (help). 
  12. ↑ "Breaking news, views, current affairs & Infotainment". Khabrein.info. 2009-05-20. Retrieved 2013-05-20. 
  13. ↑ "Bhuvan Discussion Forum • Index page". Bhuvan-forum.nrsc.gov.in. Retrieved 2013-05-20. 

External links

Earth-related topics
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and geology
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and society
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Other
  • Earth sciences portal
  • Solar System portal
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