Facebook Uses Solar Drone to Shower Earth in Internet
If you have an inconsistent (or no) internet connection, relief might come in the form of a drone. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Thursday (July 21) that it had successfully tested a solar-powered drone during a 96 minutes flight in Yuma, Arizona on June 28. The drone's goal is to send laser beams to the surface that deliver internet access to those below.
The drone, which Reuters reports flew at "a few thousand feet," is named Aqulia. It's a huge device; Zuckerberg says it has a wingspan wider than a Boeing 737, but weighs under 1,000 pounds thanks to a carbon fiber body. He hopes to have an entire fleet of these drones flying at 60,000 feet for months before coming down.
MORE: The Best Drones and Quadcopters on Any Budget
Facebook has been on a tear this week in terms of internet access experiments. Earlier this week, the company's researchers released a paper detailing other experiments with lasers to deliver 2.1Gbps of internet access wirelessly. The company focused on lasers because they don't have the same spectrum restrictions as technologies such as radio waves.
It's a great cause, but not entirely philanthropic. It's very much in Facebook's interest to get as many people as possible online so that more users sign up for the social network. Google is similarly self interested, and has a similar program in place called Project Loon. The search giant hopes to use hot air balloons to provide access to the internet in areas cables currently don't reach.
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