oriol
Well-Known Member
From what I understand FB is developing unmanned solar airplanes, with incredible wingspans (bigger than the Mc Cready/NASA´s Helios), that will be able to stay in the air for very long periods (even months) without the need to refuel.
The idea is to use those airplanes to bring internet to unconnected remote areas. The airplanes are supposed to fly long patterns covering big distances reducing and improving drastically the cost of today equivalent satelite internet connections.
Although there seem to have other alternative approaches upon the table (balloons and microsatelites) it is clear that the technology of building such airplanes is mature enought to make the idea viable.
It is worth to say, apart form celebrating the entrepreneur iniciative to making internet available, even free, to people from third world countries; that the use and development of this technology might represent the birth of a new category of airplanes: apart from military, airliners and sport aviation.
I think that it is possible to say that there is enough potential to change the world of today "modern" aviation with autonomous/solarpowered airplanes somehow in the near future. Let´s hope that those changes might make aviation more affordable widespread and hopefully better.
Facebook Looks to Drones for More Internet Access - The Wire
Zuckerberg: Carriers will connect the world, not sci-fi - CNET
Oriol
The idea is to use those airplanes to bring internet to unconnected remote areas. The airplanes are supposed to fly long patterns covering big distances reducing and improving drastically the cost of today equivalent satelite internet connections.
Although there seem to have other alternative approaches upon the table (balloons and microsatelites) it is clear that the technology of building such airplanes is mature enought to make the idea viable.
It is worth to say, apart form celebrating the entrepreneur iniciative to making internet available, even free, to people from third world countries; that the use and development of this technology might represent the birth of a new category of airplanes: apart from military, airliners and sport aviation.
I think that it is possible to say that there is enough potential to change the world of today "modern" aviation with autonomous/solarpowered airplanes somehow in the near future. Let´s hope that those changes might make aviation more affordable widespread and hopefully better.
Facebook Looks to Drones for More Internet Access - The Wire
Zuckerberg: Carriers will connect the world, not sci-fi - CNET
Oriol
