August 27, 2015 at 11:27The new map service of the search engine "Sputnik" will gain an advantage over Google Maps
Rostelecom and Russian Space Systems ( RCC ) entered into a cooperation agreement. The companies will jointly develop geoinformation and analytical products for corporate, public and private users. The developments will be integrated into the state search engine Sputnik .
RKS is the operator of Russian systems of remote sensing of the Earth (ERS). The RCC includes the Scientific Center for Operational Monitoring of the Earth ( SC OMZ ). This is the only organization in the country that has the right to use images from Russian state satellites.
Until recently, CSWs were not allowed to monetize their advantage. Last year, the government decided to lift this ban, but only for images with a resolution of up to 1 meter. RCS experts estimate the cost of the remote sensing database at € 500 million.
The choice of Rostelecom is due to the fact that the state operator has an "extensive network of users", as well as the state Internet search engine "Sputnik", explains Andrey Tyulin, Director General of the RCC. Within the framework of the cooperation, the state operator will provide the services of its cloud platform: satellite images will be processed at its capacities - in essence, data will be decrypted and analyzed to create a commercial product, the president of Rostelecom Sergey Kalugin told Kommersant.
The project has a lot in common with Google Mapsand Google Earth . However, according to Tyulin, he will have one important advantage: "Our images will be tied to GLONASS, your coordinate point will not float anywhere." True, the project is still “raw” and it is premature to predict its competitiveness, representatives of the RCC and Rostelecom believe.
Rostelecom launched the national search engine Sputnik in May 2014. According to the company, the site’s audience in June exceeded one million unique users, in July it reached 1.5 million people. Sputnik already has a mapping service using free Natural Earth data. The search engine also uses the directory of 2GIS companies.
“It's good when users have a lot of choices, so we welcome competition in this regard,” commented Google spokeswoman Alla Zabrovskaya.
RKS is the operator of Russian systems of remote sensing of the Earth (ERS). The RCC includes the Scientific Center for Operational Monitoring of the Earth ( SC OMZ ). This is the only organization in the country that has the right to use images from Russian state satellites.
Until recently, CSWs were not allowed to monetize their advantage. Last year, the government decided to lift this ban, but only for images with a resolution of up to 1 meter. RCS experts estimate the cost of the remote sensing database at € 500 million.
The choice of Rostelecom is due to the fact that the state operator has an "extensive network of users", as well as the state Internet search engine "Sputnik", explains Andrey Tyulin, Director General of the RCC. Within the framework of the cooperation, the state operator will provide the services of its cloud platform: satellite images will be processed at its capacities - in essence, data will be decrypted and analyzed to create a commercial product, the president of Rostelecom Sergey Kalugin told Kommersant.
The project has a lot in common with Google Mapsand Google Earth . However, according to Tyulin, he will have one important advantage: "Our images will be tied to GLONASS, your coordinate point will not float anywhere." True, the project is still “raw” and it is premature to predict its competitiveness, representatives of the RCC and Rostelecom believe.
Rostelecom launched the national search engine Sputnik in May 2014. According to the company, the site’s audience in June exceeded one million unique users, in July it reached 1.5 million people. Sputnik already has a mapping service using free Natural Earth data. The search engine also uses the directory of 2GIS companies.
“It's good when users have a lot of choices, so we welcome competition in this regard,” commented Google spokeswoman Alla Zabrovskaya.