In its ongoing attempt to connect 5 billion people around the world without internet access, Mark Zuckerberg is now planning to use solar-powered drones to deliver internet access to rural areas across the globe, as a part of his Internet.org project.
The solar-powered drone has successfully completed its first test flight in the UK. The drone has the ability to beam internet down to people from 60,000-90,000 feet above the sky using lasers.
“The final design will have a wingspan greater than a Boeing 737 but will weigh less than a car. It will be powered by solar panels on its wings and it will be able to stay at altitudes of more than 60,000 feet for months at a time,” Zuckerberg wrote on a Facebook post.
Zuckerberg is confident that the “connectivity aircraft” can help to affordably bring internet access to the 10% of the world’s population that lives in remote areas. He has also put together an impressive team for the development of the aircraft, including experts from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, Ames Research Center and a key members from Ascenta, the founders of Zephyr the world’s longest flying solar-powered unmanned aircraft.
Read Also: Choose What Happens to Your Facebook Account After You Die
Connectivity aircraft will be Facebook’s answer to Google’s Project Loon, which uses weather balloons to deliver internet. It’s unclear which would be released first, but surely both systems will help connect the world with better internet.
[Source: Facebook – Mark Zuckerberg (1) (2) ]
(All images, trademarks shown on this post are the property of their respective owners)
Follow @nrjperera – Roshan Jerad Perera
