Close encounters of a 3d kind

India is all set to go 3-dimensional on the Internet, and a Bangalore-based company leads the way

Close encounters of a 3d kind

India is all set to go 3-dimensional on the Internet, and a Bangalore-based company leads the way

Google Earth aims to create 3D models of all tourism spots, heritage places and landmarks under its Model My India initiative, to be launched this month. UV Animation, a Bangalore-based company which specialises in designing 'geo reference models', claims to be the only Indian service provider among the 79 selected for the project.

The world in pixels: A 3-dimensional aerial view of the proposed Dr Rajkumar memorial at Kanteerava Studios

The company has already designed virtual models of select landmarks including Gateway of India, India Gate, Bombay Stock Exchange, Taj Mahal, Goa's St Xavier's church, Bangalore's Glass-house and Chinnaswamy stadium on Google Earth. During the first year of the project, the company will design over hundred such models which will look exactly like the original ones in shape and scale.

The 3D walk-through model of the memorial has been designed based on the project's architectural plan, and will go online before the actual structure is built

3D India

"Model My India is a first of its kind initiative to be powered by Google," said Guru Prasad T N, CEO, UV Animation. "The initiative aims at heralding a 'model revolution' by putting a virtual India on Google Earth, and educating tourists and urban planners."

Besides interior and exterior views of buildings and locations, the service also offers GPS-enabled navigation to help guide travellers en rouAcase, but there are others who disagree.

'No threat'

Former DG and IG of Karnataka R Shrikumar said, "It's an educational project. Photographing the interiors of certain structures like Vidhan Soudha and Raj Bhavan is prohibited presently and this will continue in the future as well. This means that structures prone to terror attacks will continue to be safe and secure even if 3D models of their exteriors are done. So, I don't feel it's a threat to internal security."

Adventures of the armchair tourist
The Taj Mahal is one of the many historical landmarks whose geo reference models have already been designed for Google Earth. The 3-dimensional model offers a 360-degree, zoom-able,walk-through view that matches the orginal structure in scale.