If I say truly, I always wished to have technology like this one because in India where getting an internet connection is just like fighting with aliens.
Because you can’t really do anything when dealing with these governmental ISPs BSNL and MTNL. You will have to do whatever they say, submit ID proof, Address Proof and then wait for one or two weeks for address verification then you will get a telephone connection and after 3-4 days you will finally get the Internet connectivity.
But when you will finally experience the speed of the connection you will be surprised that you got only 30% speed of what the plan was claiming.
And the biggest problem with these ISPs are that they not even provide service in small rural areas, and if the governmental ISPs are not serving in those places then there is no chance that private ISPs like Aitel, Sify, Hathway etc. will serve up there.
So that’s why I always dreamed to have a technology which can directly connect me to the internet despite of caring where I am, so let’s get into details of what the heck is Google doing ?
What is Project Loon & How it Will Work ?
As Wikipedia Says:
Because of the project’s somewhat outlandish mission goals, Google dubbed it “Project Loon”.
Project Loon is a most audacious project by our favorite Google Inc., The main goal behind this project behind this project is to provide internet connectivity to rural and remote location where existing provisions of connectivity doesn’t work.
The basic Ideas behind this project was that they will fly up multiple High-altitude balloons, that will go above the clouds without human, that is around 20 kilometers above the ground level.
So the connection will be like this,
1. Our Home Computer is connected to our modem
2. The modem is connected to a network equipment (antenna) specially built by Google or maybe ISPs
3. Antenna connects to the balloon.
4. Balloon transfers data to another balloon, after balloon to balloon jumping
5. It will finally reach to the ground-based station connected to an Internet service provider (ISP), then onto the global Internet.
Although, this seems to be a very long and time taking process it will actually take just few microseconds.
While my previous article about Google’s product, 10 Reasons Why Google Nexus 7 is a Fail was a negative review, I always believed that Google is the best.
So, Why This Project is Actually Needed ?
There are multiple reasons to create a technology like this on some of which I already explained and some are;
1. It will be fast, efficient and more reliable than wired broadband connection
2. It will be available at all places, even in Sahara desert
3. It will be cheap, I think so because all other services and products from Google till date are worth their price.
4. Google also feels this will greatly increase Internet usage in developing countries in regions such as Africa and Southeast Asia that can’t afford to lay underground fiber cable for providing internet connectivity.
5. The most special reason is, it can improve communication during any disasters to affected regions.
The article doesn’t end here but If you liked the above details please share it will your friends so they can also know about this great tech, and continue below.
Now Getting Into Technical Details
How the balloons will be built ?
The inflatable part of the balloon measures 15 meter wide and 12 meters tall when fully inflated with helium or hydrogen, these special balloons are built from sheets of polyethylene plastic best for use in high pressure from the air outside and inside too when the balloon reaches the float altitude.
As informed by Google, the balloon will also have a parachute attached to its top which will help in controlled and smooth landing whenever a balloon needs any change or repair.
Power Source & Equipments ?
Every science student can guess about its power source, yes that is solar energy. All the equipments are powered by a group of solar panels. In full sun, these panels produce 100 Watts of power Google claims that the panels can store as much electricity in four hours as needed to power the transmitter for a day and beam down the Internet signal to ground stations.
Let’s take a look at the energy efficient equipments of the loon project, the hardware box that contains circuit boards that control the whole system, radio antennas to communicate with other balloons and with ground stations, and powerful batteries to store power so the balloons can operate during the night for uninterrupted connectivity.
How Balloon will move from place to place ?
The balloons will be placed in stratosphere 20 km above the ground. Winds in the stratosphere are generally steady and move slowly at a speed around 5 to 20 mph, and each layer of wind varies in direction and magnitude. Project Loon uses software algorithms to determine where its balloons need to go it uses the wind data from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to check for the desired speed and direction of the wind, then moves each balloon into a layer of wind blowing in the right direction automatically.
Most Important Q. What will be the speed and area in which Loon will work ?
Each balloon will provide connectivity to a ground area about 40 km in diameter and you can expect the speed of around 2MBPS to 7 MBPS.
Wait wait.. These are just papered details does anything happened in reality also?
OH! Yes, They have already started the testing phase. Thirty balloons are launched from New Zealand’s South Island, they will beam Internet to a small group of pilot testers. The experience of these pilot testers will be used to refine the technology and shape the next phase of Project Loon.
If you are also in New Zealand, then you can also become a pilot tested apply here.
This is the most details article about Project Moon, but I also used some sources to gather information, which are:
Project Loon Official Site by Google Inc.
Wikipedia Page of Project Loon, get there for lot more details.
I would like give special thanks to Arun Prabhudesai, a great blogger from India because of his article about Project Loon I got to know about this special project of Google.
And if you really like what Google is doing then don’t forget to share this with your friends.