Geo Visualization

Term paper
6/3/2011 IIT Guwahati B V S K Chaithanya kaki

Introduction:

Geovisualization, short for Geographic Visualization, refers to a set of tools and techniques supporting geospatial data analysis through the use of interactive visualization. Like the related fields of scientific visualization[1] and information visualization [2] geovisualization emphasizes knowledge construction over knowledge storage or information transmission.[1] To do this, geovisualization communicates geospatial information in ways that, when combined with human understanding, allow for data exploration and decision-making processes.[1][3][4] Traditional, static maps have a limited exploratory capability; the graphical representations are inextricably linked to the geographical information beneath. GIS and geovisualization allow for more interactive maps; including the ability to explore different layers of the map, to zoom in or out, and to change the visual appearance of the map, usually on a computer display.[5] Geovisualization represents a set of cartographic technologies and practices that take advantage of the ability of modern microprocessors to render changes to a map in real time, allowing users to adjust the mapped data on the fly. [1] The term visualization is first mentioned in the cartographic literature at least as early as 1953, in an article by University of Chicago geographer Allen K. Philbrick. New developments in the field of computer science prompted the National Science Foundation to redefine the term in a 1987 report which placed visualization at the convergence of computer graphics, image processing, computer vision, computer-aided design, signal processing, and user interface studies [6] and emphasized both the knowledge creation and hypothesis generation aspects of scientific visualization.[1] Geovisualization developed as a field of research in the early 1980s, based largely on the work of French graphic theorist Jacques Bertin.[4] Bertins work on cartographic design and information visualization share with the National Science Foundation report a focus on the potential for the use of dynamic visual displays as prompts for scientific insight and on the methods through which dynamic visual displays might leverage perceptual cognitive processes to facilitate scientific thinking.[4] Geovisualization has continued to grow as a subject of practice and research. The International Cartographic Association (ICA) established a Commission on Visualization & Virtual Environments in 1995.

Geovisualization is closely related to other visualization fields, such as scientific visualization[1] and information visualization.[2] Owing to its roots in cartography, geovisualization contributes to these other fields by way of the map metaphor, which has been widely used to visualize non-geographic information in the domains of information visualization and domain knowledge visualization.[3] It is also related to urban simulation.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) unveiled beta version of Bhuvan, a web-based mapping tool like Google Earth. Bhuvan means Earth in Sanskrit. The application can be downloaded from http://bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in/ (The website is almost inaccessible at the time of writing this article.) Bhuvan promises to give better 3D satellite imagery of India than is currently being offered by Google Earth. Bhuvan has a many India-specific features like weather information, administrative boundaries of all states and districts, etc.. Bhuvan has best resolutions over the Indian sub-continent. It allows users to fly from space to street level, grab, spin and zoom down to any place. Viewers can zoom into Bhuvan maps up to 10 metres compared to Google Earths 200 metres and Wikemapias 50 metres. But I am not at all happy with this message on the website Best viewed in IE 6.0 or higher. It also provides tools for measuring, drawing, saving, printing and visualizing thematic information. The resolutions currently on offer are good enough to view a vehicle moving on a road quite clearly. The launch ceremony was organized by Astronautical Society of India in New Delhi. Hyderabad-based National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), a part of ISRO, had a lead role in designing and developing Bhuvan. The day marks the 90th birth anniversary of the father of Indian space programme Vikram Sarabhai. NRSA scientists developed the content using data provided by Indian satellites like Resourcesat1. Bhuvan also focus on rural and thematic applications like wasteland mapping and terrain profile. It contains weather details like humidity levels. The data shown on the portal has been approved by the government of India. Sensitive information has been kept out of the public domain.

Bhuvan: The meaning Bhuvan(meaning earth in Sanskrit) a web tool just like Goggle Earth promises to give a gateway to explore and discover virtual earth in 3D space with specific emphasis on Indian region. Bhuvan:The significance Bhuvan gives an easy way to experience, explore and visualize IRS images over Indian region. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has unveiled its beta version of

Bhuvan .In simple words, Bhuvan is a Geoportal developed to showcase Indian Imaging Capabilities in Multi-sensor, Multi-platform and Multi-temporal domain. Bhuvan: The comparision Bhuvan promises to show better 3-D satellite imagery of India in comparison to the USbased software giant plus a host of India-specific features like weather information and even administrative boundaries of all states and districts. It also provides tools for measuring, drawing, saving, printing and visualizing thematic information. The resolutions currently on offer are good enough to view a vehicle moving on a road quite clearly. Bhuvan:The Promises Bhuvan currently only offers images taken between one and three years ago even over India. It combines satellite imagery from various sensors onboard IRS (Indian Remote Sensing) satellites and transposes them on a 3-D globe. As it keeps updating its database with more recent and higher resolution images, Bhuvan eventually promises to offer real-time data and images. Bhuvan :The Best Features

Visualisation of AWS (Automatic Weather Stations) data/information in a graphic view and use tabular weather data of user choice Superpose administrative boundaries of choice on images as required. Visualise multi-resolution, multi-sensor, multi-temporal image data Visualise multi-resolution, multi-sensor, multi-temporal image data Visualisation of AWS (Automatic Weather Stations) data/information in a graphic view and use tabular weather data of user choice Fly to locations ( Flies from the current location directly to the selected location)

Bhuvan is design and developed in India. It is a satellite mapping tool developed by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).Bhuvan is a satellite mapping tool developed by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). This Geo-portal is assumed to be the Indian response of Google Earth.Through Bhuvan, the satellite pictures of entire Indian area can be viewed in 3D space. Bhuvan is an application based on Tera Explorer Software System.

Main Characteristics:
This is application is very useful for everyone. Students can make a better use of it. Through this software satellite statistics which are very useful for research, planning and management can be obtained. Through this medium you can obtain information regarding soil, west-land, water sources, census, Eco-system, natural resources, mapping navigation, national park, historical places, etc. Bhuvan gives you the option of interactive video tutorial which can be proved as a better educational resource.

Bhuvan is an initiative to showcase this distinctiveness of Indian imaging capabilities including the thematic information derived from such imagery which could be of vital importance to common man with a focus on Indian region. Bhuvan, an ambitious project of ISRO to take Indian images and thematic information in multiple spatial resolutions to people through a web portal through easy access to information on basic natural resources in the geospatial domain. Bhuvan showcases Indian images by the superimposition of these IRS satellite imageries on 3D globe. It displays satellite images of varying resolution of Indias surface, allowing users to visually see things like cities and important places of interest looking perpendicularly down or at an oblique angle, with different perspectives and can navigate through 3D viewing environment. The degree of resolution showcased is based on the points of interest and popularity, but most of the Indian terrain is covered upto at least 5.8 meters of resolution with the least spatial resolution being 55 meters from AWifs Sensor. With such rich content, Bhuvan opens the door to graphic visualisation of digital geospatial India allowing individuals to experience the fully interactive terrain viewing capabilities. Features: * Access, explore and visualise 2D and 3D image data along with rich thematic information on Soil, wasteland, water resources etc. * Visualise multi-resolution, multi-sensor, multi-temporal image data * Superpose administrative boundaries of choice on images as required * Visualisation of AWS ( Automatic Weather Stations) data/information in a graphic view and use tabular weather data of user choice

* Fly to locations ( Flies from the current location directly to the selected location) * Heads-Up Display ( HUD) naviation controls ( Tilt slider, north indicator, opacity, compass ring, zoom slider) * Navigation using the 3D view Pop-up menu (Fly-in, Fly out, jump in, jump around, view point) * 3D Fly through (3D view to fly to locations, objects in the terrain, and navigate freely using the mouse or keyboard) * Drawing 2D objects (Text labels, polylines, polygons, rectangles, 2D arrows, circles, ellipse) * Drawing 3D Objects (placing of expressive 3D models, 3D polygons, boxes) * Snapshot creation (copies the 3D view to a floating window and allows to save to a external file) * Measurement tools (Horizontal distance, aerial distance, vertical distance, measure area) * Shadow Analysis (it sets the sun position based on the given time creating shadows and effects the lighting on the terrain) * Urban Design Tools (to build roads, junctions and traffic lights in an urban setting) * Contour map ( Displays a colorized terrain map and contour lines) * Draw tools (Creates simples markers, free hand lines, urban designs)

Bhuvan vs Google Earth

While Google Earth functions on a downloadable customer, Bhuvan functions within the internet browser (just supports Windows as well as For example 6 and above). The actual ISRO Bhuvan presently has severe overall performance issues. The site presently really unstable. This provides upward or hangs the browser every once in a while. Whenever a coating (condition, area, taluk, and so on.) is actually turned on, it makes unevenly and occasionally does not render at all. The actual routing solar panel didnt fill routinely and it experienced like a rare sighting when we might really make use of the solar panel. The actual guarantee of high resolution images is not kept. As the support promises move as much as Ten metres from the walk out as towards Two hundred metres for Search engines Earth,

all of us didnt experience a single image along with nearly just as much detailing. In fact, comparative results for the area such as New Delhis Connaught Place or even Red Fort make its obvious regarding the inferior performance associated with ISRO Earth as of this moment. The actual navigation resources are similar to Search engines Earth (General electric). The research doesnt function if your query returns multiple outcomes. A pop up eye-port should really provide the multiple outcomes that the consumer is supposed to be able to choose. Throughout two days associated with infrequent screening, we discovered the result only once. All of those other period, the window would pop up, however nothing would be displayed. Once the research is actually accurate, the program flies in towards the exact place, exactly the same way because General electric. Users need to produce a merchant account and download the plug-in. Bhuvan packs lots of data on weather, water bodies as well as population details of various admin models. I was unable to entry weather information. Clicking on icons associated with administrative units show basic info like the population. For professional customers, Bhuvan might maintain some attraction. For instance, theres a drought map that cab be employed to evaluate drought scenario across many there is a flood chart that exhibits Bihar throughout the Kosi basin and after. With Isro support, Bhuvan could supply this kind of relevant data every once in awhile, however the application requirements major improvements in terms of functionality prior to it will be of great interest towards the ordinary person. Users may also not modify any kind of information or even tag locations. We hope Bhuvan has the capacity to repair the insects soon. However actually after that, to be a reputable alternative to existing applying services, as well as to get brand new users to try this, it a lot provide higher resolution images. User curiosity is going to be spurred only if they are able to observe their house or even school or even nearby street in high resolution. With Isro data, this really is easily possible.

Below is brief comparison of Bhuvan and Google Google Earth Single layer information Zoom levels up to 200 meter Only latest images available Images upgraded every 2-4 years ISRO Bhuvan Multi-layer information Zoom levels up to 10 meter Option to view previous dates Images upgraded every year

Uses images from international satellites Premium Priority Support Automatic data reporting

Uses Indian satellites launched by ISRO No Support Only Manual data reporting.

Whats New in Bhuvan

5.8 m resolution seamless data for entire Indian region. Global coverage of 56m resolution data from IRS-P6 (Australia, New Zealand, Madagascar, Africa, South America, North America, Europe). Near Real time weather parameters for India from ISROs AWS stations. Wide variety of Thematic and Disaster Specific Information towards societal good.

Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D, and was created by Keyhole, Inc, a company acquired by Google in

2004. It maps the Earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite imagery, aerial photography and GIS 3D globe. It was available under three different licenses, 2 currently: Google Earth, a free version with limited functionality; Google Earth Plus (discontinued), [1][2] which included additional features; and Google Earth Pro ($399 per year), which is intended for commercial use.[3] The product, re-released as Google Earth in 2005, is currently available for use on personal computers running Windows 2000 and above, Mac OS X 10.3.9 and above, Linux kernel: 2.6 or later (released on June 12, 2006), and FreeBSD. Google Earth is also available as a browser plugin which was released on May 28, 2008.[4] It was also made available for mobile viewers on the iPhone OS on October 28, 2008, as a free download from the App Store, and is available to Android users as a free app on the Android Market. In addition to releasing an updated Keyhole based client, Google also added the imagery from the Earth database to their web-based mapping software, Google Maps. The release of Google Earth in June 2005 to the public caused a more than tenfold increase in media coverage on virtual globes between 2004 and 2005,[5] driving public interest in geospatial technologies and applications. Google Earth allows you to travel the world through a virtual globe and view satellite imagery, maps, terrain, 3D buildings, and much more. With Google Earth's rich, geographical content, you are able to experience a more realistic view of the world. You can fly to to your favorite place, search for businesses and even navigate through directions. It's all up to you! Although the options within Google Earth are endless, here are a few things you can do: Discover the Earth: Fly to any location in the world, learn about a city and it's geographic features, find local businesses, and create tours.

Explore the Sky: Enjoy the wonders of the heavens and learn about our solar system.

Dive in the Ocean: Go beneath the surface and visit the depths of the ocean and explore the planet's deepest underwater canyons. Learn about ocean observations, climate change, and endangered species. You can even discover new places to surf, dive and fish.

Walk on the Moon: Take tours of landing sites narrated by Apollo astronauts and view 3D models of landed spacecraft.

Visit Mars: Travel the Red Planet and explore NASA's latest imagery of our galactic neighbor.

Google Earth Pro provides a suite of advanced features geared specifically toward the business professional. The built-in Movie Maker tool allows Energy & Utilities companies to present location information to potential clients, high-resolution Image Overlays simplify site plans for Engineering and Planning firms, while Demographic Data Layers allow Real Estate agencies to identify their next target market

The following chart outlines the differences between Google Earth Pro and Google Earth (free): Features Performance Print images Regionate large datasets Insert GIS data Performance Import GIS images Import large image files Access demographic, parcel & traffic data layers Create premium movies for export Measure area with a polygon or circle Perform batch geocoding Email support Email support Ads Use cases Personal use Manually Geolocate Up to max texture size 1000 pixels Google Earth Google Earth Pro Fastest 4800 pixels Fastest Automatically Geo-located Super Image Overlays Optional Consultants and businesses of all sizes, including site-wide installations

Google Earth is useful for many day-to-day and other purposes.

Google Earth can be used to view areas subjected to widespread disasters if Google supplies upto-date images. For example after the January 12 2010 Haiti earthquake images of Haiti were made available on January 17. With Google's push for the inclusion of Google Earth in the Classroom,[13] teachers are adopting Google Earth in the classroom for lesson planning, such as teaching students geographical themes (location, culture, characteristics, human interaction, and movement) [14] to creating mashups with other web applications such as Wikipedia.[13][14] One can explore and place location bookmarks on the Moon, and Mars. One can also get directions using Google Earth, using variables such as street names, cities, and establishments. Google Earth can also function as a "hub" of knowledge, pertaining to your location. By enabling certain options, one can see the location of gas stations, restaurants, museums, and other public establishments in their area. Google Earth can also dot the map with links to images, YouTube videos, and Wikipedia articles relevant to the area being viewed.

Google Earth screenshot of the Isles of Scilly, showing very low resolution of some islands. The island group (green area) is about 10 km east to west.

http://earth.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=189 188

http://www.infocera.com/BHUVAN__from_ISRO:_A_tough_competit or_of_Google_earth._5326.htm