The pilot program, Project Loon, took off this month from New Zealand’s South Island, using solar-powered, high-altitude balloons that ride the wind about 12.5 miles – twice as high as airplanes – above the ground, Googlesaid.
Like the Internet search engine for which Google is best known, Project Loon uses algorithms to determine where the balloons need to go, then moves them into winds blowing in the desired direction, the company said.
By moving with the wind, the balloons form a network of airborne hot spots that can deliver Internet access over a broad area at speeds comparable to 3G using open radio frequency bands, Google said.
To connect to the balloon network, a special Internet antenna is attached to buildings below.
The Mountain View, Calif-based company announced the project on its official blog here, and its website www.google.com/loon/.
The 30 balloons deployed in New Zealand this month will beam Internet to a small group of pilot testers and be used to refine the technology and shape the next phase of Project Loon, Google said.
Google did not say what it was spending on the pilot project or how much a global network of balloons might cost.
Google has also developed self-driving vehicles, which the company says could significantly increase driving safety.
Those vehicles are beginning to gain support from lawmakers in places like California, where a bill legalizing their operation on state roads was signed into law last by Governor Jerry Brown.
(Reporting by James B. Kelleher; editing by Gunna Dickson)
Project Loon is a research and development project being developed by Google X with the mission of providing Internet access to rural and remote areas using high-altitude balloons placed in thestratosphere at an altitude of about 20 km (12 mi) to create an aerial wireless network with up to 3G-like speeds.[1][2][3] Using wind data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA), the balloons are maneuvered by adjusting their altitude to float to a wind layer after identifying the wind layer with the desired speed and direction. People connect to the balloon network using a special Internet antenna attached to their building. The signal bounces from balloon to balloon, then to the global Internet on Earth. The balloon system is also expected to improve communication in affected regions during natural disasters.[4][5] Raven Aerostar[6] , a company that makes weather balloons for NASA, provides the high-altitude balloons used in the project. Key people involved in the project include Rich DeVaul, chief technical architect who is also an expert on wearable technology; and Mike Cassidy, a project leader.
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