Project Loon from Google

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Project Loon from Google

Postby Overlandman » Tue 29 Jul, 2014 10:28 pm

Last month I was looking at flight radar 24 & noticed 20 + balloons flying over New Zealand, On one of the Aviation forums I look at, Project Loon was mentioned.
If this project gets the nod , it may change the way we communicate, with full internet coverage for Tasmania.
We will probably have to have a special internet antenna attached to our backpack.

From Wikipedia

Project Loon is a research and development project being developed by Google with the mission of providing Internet access to rural and remote areas. The project uses high-altitude balloons placed in the stratosphere at an altitude of about 20 mi (32 km) to create an aerial wireless network with up to 3G-like speeds.Because of the project's seemingly outlandish mission goals, Google dubbed it "Project Loon".

The balloons are maneuvered by adjusting their altitude to float to a wind layer after identifying the wind layer with the desired speed and direction using wind data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Users of the service connect to the balloon network using a special Internet antenna attached to their building. The signal travels through the balloon network from balloon to balloon, then to a ground-based station connected to an Internet service provider (ISP), then onto the global Internet. The system aims to bring Internet access to remote and rural areas poorly served by existing provisions, and to improve communication during natural disasters to affected regions. Key people involved in the project include Rich DeVaul, chief technical architect, who is also an expert on wearable technology; Mike Cassidy, a project leader; and Cyrus Behroozi, a networking and telecommunication lead.

In 2008, Google had considered contracting with or acquiring Space Data Corp., a company that sends balloons carrying small base stations about 20 miles (32 km) up in the air for providing connectivity to truckers and oil companies in the southern United States, but didn't do so.

Unofficial development on the project began in 2011 under incubation in Google X with a series of trial runs in California's Central Valley. The project was officially announced as a Google project on 14 June 2013

On 16 June 2013, Google began a pilot experiment in New Zealand where about 30 balloons were launched in coordination with the Civil Aviation Authority from the Tekapo area in the South Island. About 50 local users in and around Christchurch and the Canterbury Region tested connections to the aerial network using special antennas. After this initial trial, Google plans on sending up 300 balloons around the world at the 40th parallel south that would provide coverage to New Zealand, Australia, Chile, and Argentina. Google hopes to eventually have thousands of balloons flying in the stratosphere

More information on the link below, regards Overlandman

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Loon
Whatever, Wherever, Whenever
Overlandman
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Re: Project Loon from Google

Postby Overlandman » Sat 03 Jun, 2017 12:40 pm

ABC update on Project Loon

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-03/b ... an/8584738

The state-of-the-art devices, which can inflate to the size of tennis courts, are part of a radical plan to expand internet services around the world.

"You can think about Loon balloons like a floating mobile phone tower," said Libby Leahy, an Australian who works for Project Loon in California.
Whatever, Wherever, Whenever
Overlandman
Athrotaxis selaginoides
Athrotaxis selaginoides
 
Posts: 1566
Joined: Sun 13 Nov, 2011 5:22 pm
Location: Tasmania
Region: Tasmania
Gender: Male


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