Facebook a prezentat Aquila, drona solara cu care va furniza conexiuni la internet locuitorilor din zone izolate. Drona poate zbura trei luni fara oprire, va atinge altitudini cuprinse intre 18 si 27 km, iar anvergura aripilor este de 42 de metri, scrie The Guardian. Compania va testa dronele in SUA si ar trebui sa lanseze proiectul in cateva luni.
Dronele vor comunica intre ele prin unde laser, iar cu statiile de baza de la sol vor comunica prin semnale radio. “Statiile de la sol vor transmite semnale radio internet catre o <aeronava mama> care va transmite mai departe catre celelalte drone din constelatie, prin tehnologie laser”, spun cei de la Facebook care adauga ca dronele vor transmite apoi semnale radio catre userii de la sol.
Cu echipamentele telecom instalate, aceste aeronave vor cantari 400 kg, iar anvergura aripilor este de 42 metri, precum la un Boeing 737. Vor putea zbura timp de trei luni fara oprire, ziua vor urca la altitudini de maxim 27 km, iar noaptea vor cobori spre 18 km, pentru ca bateriile solare sa se consume cat mai putin.
Facebook va semna acorduri cu furnizori locali de internet pentru aceste servicii, iar compania spune ca o retea de drone care comunica va putea aduce internetul in zone rurale izolate unde ISP-istii clasici nu au motive sa investeasca.
La primele prototipuri s-a lucrat timp de 14 luni, iar dronele au stat in aer 96 de zile. Pentru ca nu au cum sa ajunga singure la altitudinele desemnate, ele vor fi lansate din baloane de heliu care vor urca la respectivele altitudini.
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I’m excited to announce we’ve completed construction of our first full scale aircraft, Aquila, as part of our Internet.org effort. Aquila is a solar powered unmanned plane that beams down internet connectivity from the sky. It has the wingspan of a Boeing 737, but weighs less than a car and can stay in the air for months at a time. We’ve also made a breakthrough in laser communications technology. We’ve successfully tested a new laser that can transmit data at 10 gigabits per second. That’s ten times faster than any previous system, and it can accurately connect with a point the size of a dime from more than 10 miles away.This effort is important because 10% of the world’s population lives in areas without existing internet infrastructure. To affordably connect everyone, we need to build completely new technologies. Using aircraft to connect communities using lasers might seem like science fiction. But science fiction is often just science before its time. Over the coming months, we will test these systems in the real world and continue refining them so we can turn their promise into reality. Here’s a video showing the building of Aquila.
Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday, 30 July 2015
