Facebook Set to Buy Fleet of Drones
Facebook Set to Buy Fleet of Drones
You may have been very confused by
that title. Why on Earth would Facebook want a fleet of drones?
Facebook seems set to swallow
another company by acquiring drone manufacturer Titan Aerospace
for $60 million and will be looking to launch a fleet of drones to
provide internet access worldwide . Superpowers
like Google are also looking to provide internet from the sky with large
balloons in its Project
Loon and so it seems the race for new internet providing
methods is on. And with these large companies working towards those less
fortunate who do not have access to the internet, we may see quite a
philanthropic battle.
Facebook is more known for acquiring
consumer based technologies – everyone’s aware of the Instagram and recent
Whatsapp purchases. But Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has set a new target with
his Internet.org initiative that looks to provide internet to the least
connected corners of the globe. The goal is, as you may have guessed, to launch
a fleet of drones into the sky to provide a mobile internet service. The
Internet.org initiative is receiving support from many large companies
including Samsung, Ericsson, Nokia, Opera, Mediatek and Qualcomm
and aims to increase the global internet adoption rate which is currently
around 9% annual increase.
Titans drones can reportedly remain
in the sky for five years, powered by solar panels that cover their outer
shells. During periods of darkness an internal battery ensures the continual
operation of the drones and once the sun reappears, the batteries can be
recharged whilst also operating on solar power. The Solara 50 has a wingspan
of 50m and weighs just 160kg. The plan is to test the
project by starting in Africa, but I won’t be expecting any African tribe
‘selfies’ any time soon.
When the deal is finalised, it seems
that Titan’s entire current fleet will go toward the project and they will
begin by producing 11 000 of the Titan Solara 60 model which can offer a
parking load of 100 kg. Titan’s drones have been dubbed Atmosats
(Atmospheric Satellites) as they sit within the Earth’s atmosphere but fly
above the FAA regulated airspace which ends at 60 000 feet, hence satellite.
It’s not quite clear how beneficial
this will be to a company like Facebook. They seem to be fighting for every
potential customer and providing these areas of no connection may give more of
the World’s population a taste of what the internet can offer and thus, may
attract more lifetime customers.
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