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plausible. In Loons case, the premise is so crazy that it just might work. On a small scale, at least, recent tests in New Zealand have shown the idea, from Googles secretive X Labs, does work.
The materials are pretty inexpensive, says Project Loons Richard DeVaul. The plastic of the balloons is similar to that in shopping bags and the electronics arent that dierent from consumer electronics. This is a very cost-eective way to connect the world. Give a child a balloon and maybe theyll smile for a day. Give them one with Wi-Fi and the possibilities, Google hopes, are limitless.
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Naturally, the balloon itself is not just your average birthday party accoutrement. These massive structures are 15-meters wide and made a from polyethylene lm thats only three times thicker than a supermarket carrier bag, but still thick enough to withstand high altitude air pressures without exploding. However, the responsibility of the balloon, and its helium gas lling, is to get the real tech wizardry in the air and keep it there. Each unit carries a mini Linux-based computer, toting the all-important Wi-Fi radios, GPS and several sensors recording air temperature, altitude and speed of movement. All of this information is sent to Googles Command Centre on the ground below where the each balloon can be controlled to a certain degree. Once it has reached the altitude of 20km (65,000ft), its will end its ascent. Then, as Google explains: Signals are transmitted from the
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balloons to a specialized Internet antenna mounted to the side of a home or workplace that use radio frequency technology. The Internet antenna is connected to a consumer grade router. Web trac that travels through the balloon network is ultimately relayed to ground stations, where its connected to pre-existing Internet infrastructure, like ber cables and our local telecommunications partners. Once the trifecta of balloon, antenna and local ISP is complete, Each balloon is theoretically capable of bringing internet connectivity for everyone in a 12 mile radius. Get a few thousand of these up in the air, shove some antennas on a few houses and voila! Internet for all
Flocking together
However, wont any balloon lled with helium, however large and resistant to the elements, just oat away on the breeze once it takes to the skies? How can it bring consistent coverage to an area if we cant control where they are? Well Google says its Loon balloons are steerable from the ground. At stratospheric altitudes (twice as high as commercial aircraft y, so therell be no unfortunate accidents) wind currents tend to move in very specic directions. Googles Loon uses a custom-built, solar-powered pump to carefully inate or deate the balloon remotely from the ground. The idea is that each balloon rises and falls to the required height in order to move in the required direction at the required speed. From theyre, theyre like sailboats, which Google says will eventually be able to stay in the air for 100 days at a time. When they reach the end of
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their shift, they can be directed to a designated rescue centres around the world and replaced. As each balloon is able to communicate with its fellows, itll move accordingly to ensure that, while doing these laps around the world, the balloons remain a sucient distance from a colleague. The result? A balloon is always in range for the folks on the ground. Is it possible to have a nicely spaced out ock of balloons? The answer is yes. Once people could see this was possible, it became a feasible project, not some crazy science project, said Dan Piponi, a Rapid Evaluator for Project Loon. Thank you for visiting. Andrew Radics Article Source: http://www.techradar.com/news/worldof-tech/project-loon-explained-cangoogle-s-balloons-unite-the-worldonline1182663 Related articles
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