Facebook Aquila (Photo : YouTube)
Facebook has unveiled its ambitious project with its first comprehensive solar powered drone. With the help of its first drone code named Aquila, the social networking giant aims to provide internet connection to 4 billion users across the secluded parts of the globe.
Facebook declared on July 30 that Aquila is ready for testing at the end of this year courtesy Internet.org. The V-shaped massive drone which was designed and built in a span of just 14 months is capable of flying uninterruptedly for three months, CBS News reported.
During the day, the drone will circle at an altitude of 60,000 feet to 90,000 feet while it receives the solar energy from the sun. At night, the drone will fly on the conserved energy, but at a lower height to save power. With this the Facebook drone surpasses the efficiency of even a commercial airline or a weather satellite.
Facebook Vice President of Global Engineering and Infrastructure Jay Parikh said in his blog post that Facebook aims to bring a dynamic change to the financial aspect of setting up the internet support by speeding up the advancement of a fresh set of technologies. He further added, "We are exploring a number of different approaches to this challenge, including aircraft, satellites and terrestrial solutions."
According to The Wall Street Journal, Facebook is evaluating its laser system in California presently. The drone precursor can transport 10 GB data per second which is relatively faster than the other modern commercial drones in the market. Also in an interview with the journal, Yael Maguire head of Connectivity Lab at Facebook said that "Aquila" is being targeted for the rural regions due to the sudden increase in demand for network strength and positioning.
Google announced a project on the same lines off-late which aims to provide internet access to users in remote areas of the world, though via a different technology. However, the broadcast of Facebook's internet drone comes immediately after Amazon ventures into commercial drones. This only proves how the drone technology is rapidly being adopted by the eminent tech companies moving beyond science and beginner fascination.
