Thaliand to release own satellite imagery library

Sunday, January 01, 2006 (12:32 UTC)

The Nation, "Bangkok's independent newspaper", reports that Thailand will offer satellite imagery of Thailand starting in February, both via CDs and via the web. The project is called Digital Thailand, the paper reports.

As for the rest of the article... Can you spot the bloopers? I can see at least three different ones.

He said the Web-based version, which is for organizations use, will have more details as it will allow users to zoom in to about one metre above the object. The CD-ROM-version, which will be distributed free to the people, will allow users to zoom in to about 15 metres above objects.

Phaisal said Digital Thailand would be similar to Google Earth service but it will be free of charge.

The service has been developed using Nasa's Whirlwind engine, he said.

While the initiative sounds commendable, there are a few things I don't understand: Is everybody getting a CD-ROM in the mail? wouldn't it be easier and cheaper and more up-to-date to just deliver this via the web, even if it's via a Maps-like application? And why are "the people" stuck with 15-meter resolution imagery? Is it really just a cost issue? A cursory check of Google Earth's offerings in Thailand suggests that in many places it has better than 1-meter resolution. At least Google Earth will be around to keep the Digital Thailand project honest should authorities decide to censor.

Final thought: Wouldn't it be easier and cheaper and more democratic just to donate the 1-meter resolution imagery to Google (and NASA World Wind and WW2D) so that everyone can view it?

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