ISRO's Google Earth clone, Bhuvan has now added 3D support. While the site is painfully slow, it works to an extent and claims that the maps better support rural India than Google's service.
"The new 3D feature of the portal is ISRO's attempt to bring Bhuvan at par with Google Earth. The geoportal also includes Pocket Bhuvan. It is accessible on all smartphones and functions like Google Navigation," said Himanshu Pandya, a scientist at the Space Application Centre (SAC), an important city-based arm of ISRO that provides regular updates to the portal regarding natural disasters and water bodies.
The 3-D features will enhance the experience of portal users. Bhuvan, launched in 2009 to mark the 90th birth anniversary of Vikram Sarabhai, is maintained by the SAC and Hyderabad-based National Remote Sensing Centre. "The biggest advantage that Bhuvan has over Google Earth and Google Navigation is that it is enabled to map even the remotest corner or village of the Indian territory," said Pandya.
Indian Express has this report. On a side note, the first of India's GPS satellites is scheduled to be launched on June 12 as part of the IRNSS program.
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