Google is preparing to conquer a new dimension: the stratosphere.
The Internet giant is releasing 30 high-tech balloons in a trial of technology
designed to bring the Internet to places where people are not yet connected.
The balloons are being sent up into the sky from New Zealand's
South Island this month in the first trial of a pioneering system dubbed
Project Loon.
According to Google, "Project Loon is a network of balloons
traveling on the edge of space, designed to connect people in rural and remote
areas, help fill coverage gaps, and bring people back online after
disasters."
Google estimates that two-thirds of the global population is
without fast, affordable Internet access. So while it sounds like something
from the realms of science fiction, if successful, the project could make a
difference to many people around the world.
The testers are from Christchurch and parts of Canterbury, New
Zealand, and the test balloons will fly around the 40th parallel south, Google
says.
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key was in Christchurch on
Saturday to help unveil the project, according to local media reports.
Residents have also been invited to a special event at the local air force
museum Sunday to find out more.
Images of a test balloon launch on Google+ show one floating,
eerie and translucent, above snow-capped mountains.
Once released, the balloons will float in the stratosphere above
60,000 feet (18,300 meters), twice as high as airplanes and the weather, Google
says. Their altitude will be controlled from "Loon Mission Control"
using special software to allow them to pick up layers of wind traveling in the
right direction and form a balloon network.
If all goes to plan, about 60 people who've had a special antenna
fixed on their homes for the trial should be able to connect to the balloon
network. The signal will bounce from balloon to balloon, then to the Internet
back on Earth. Hundreds of people will be able to connect to one balloon at a
time.
The superpressure balloon envelopes, made from sheets of
polyethylene plastic, stand nearly 40 feet tall when fully inflated. They are
designed to maintain a constant volume and be longer-lasting than weather balloons.
The balloons are equipped with antennas with specialized radio
frequency technology, Google says, and each one can provide connectivity to a
ground area about 25 miles (40 kilometers) in diameter at speeds comparable to
3G service.
They also carry instruments to monitor weather conditions and
allow them to be tracked by GPS, powered by solar panels that will store excess
energy for nighttime operation. Each has a parachute in case they need to be
brought down.
It will be very difficult to see the balloons with the naked eye,
except during launch, Google says.
In any case, it may be a while before would-be Internet users
elsewhere start connecting via balloon.
According to the Project Loon website, the technology is still
being tested to see if it's viable and what problems would have to be overcome
to make it more widely available.
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