India has accomplished another success by means of getting its first Integrated GIS and Image Processing Software (IGiS) developed by Scanpoint Geomatics. The feat is certainly crucial since India, in spite of launching number of satellites that transmit images from space, had no indigenous software to analyze these images. The software developed by Scanpoint Geomatics, software development firm in partnership with Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), would satisfy this long-standing aspiration.

Speaking on this Madhavan Nair, Chairman, ISRO and Secretary of Department of Space, said, “The development of this software can result in tremendous cost savings.” The software would help scientists and researchers who have been depending on software developed in other countries to interpret the images sent by the satellites, which is expensive. Ramesh Sojitra, Managing Director of Scanpoint said, “By using the IGiS, a cost saving of up to 40 percent can be achieved.” According to Sojitra, the price of the software would be Rs. 12 lakh.

As indicated by Nair, demand for data from satellites have increased manifold over the years. IGiS is a completely indigenous seamless geomatics application, which includes geographical information system (GIS), image processing and its integration with the real time information, using the global positioning system (GPS).

While speaking on the challenges faced during the development of the software, Nair said, “Developing a software is not an easy job especially for a niche segment like space.” The software is a result of more than seven years of extensive research and rigorous testing, by Scanpoint and ISRO. IGiS has been tested by scientists and experts at more than 12 centers of ISRO.

However there is something to be noted. Several sectors like defense, telecommunication, urban planning, disaster management, by means of using IGiS, can analyze images from both Indian satellites and foreign satellites. “Earth observation was never thought to become as popular as it is today,” Nair says, “This is a good segment for entrepreneurs to cash in on the potential.”