ISRO’s Bhuvan to beat Google Earth

ISRO is working on an ambitious project called Bhuvan (means Earth), a satellite mapping tool.

Bhuvan allows you to zoom far closer than the aerial view from a chopper. If Google Earth shows details upto 200 metres distance and Wikimapia upto 50 metres, Bhuvan will show images upto 10 metres, which means you can easily see details upto a three floor high building and also add information.

Bhuvan uses the data recorded by Indian satellites and the first prototype will be available by November.

Bhuvan’s edge over Google Earth

Google Earth’s Zoom levels up to 200 mt – ISRO’s Bhuvan Zoom levels up to 10 mt
Google Earth: Single layer information – ISRO’s Bhuvan: Multi-layer information
Google Earth: Images upgraded every 4 years – ISRO’s Bhuvan: Images upgraded every year
Google Earth: No alternate viewing options – ISRO’s Bhuvan: Options of viewing on different dates
Google Earth: Uses international satellites – ISRO’s Bhuvan: Uses Indian satellites

– source

This is surely a big deal for ISRO which just launched Chandrayaan.