The social network's engineers claim to have built a giant drone with a 140-foot wingspan that weighs less than 1.000 pounds (about 453.6 kg). Designed to fly at high altitudes for up to three months, it will use the laser to send internet signals to ground stations. The engineers of the unit called Connectivity Lab are designing a laser communication system, believed to be sufficiently accurate and capable of hitting a target the size of a dime at a distance of 11 miles.
The project is part of a broader Facebook effort to cover Internet coverage for hundreds of millions of people living in remote regions of the planet using satellites and other high-tech equipment.
Other tech companies have launched similar initiatives. Google is experimenting with high-flying balloons, drones and satellites. Microsoft funded a project to broadcast Internet signals over unused television radio waves. Facebook is also working on another initiative using wireless carriers. The goal is to provide limited mobile Internet service at no cost in countries where residents are too poor to afford traditional wireless plans.
Facebook's drone was made of carbon fiber. It is capable of flying in freezing high altitude temperatures for an extended period of time. The drones will be lifted into the air by some balloons and released at 90.000 feet, thus well above commercial air routes and sheltered from storms. At night, the drone will descend to 60.000 feet to save battery.
Each drone will fly in a circle with a radius of about 3 km. In this way the engineers hope to guarantee Internet services in areas with a radius of around 50 kilometers. The drones will guarantee 10 gigabit connections per second.
Finally, Facebook is designing drones to bounce signals from one carrier to another. In this way the signal can reach larger areas on the ground.
Franco Iacch
