Introduction
The project plans to build a ring that is composed of balloons in global flight to provide a 3G speed network to the ground. On June 15, 2013, 30 balloons of the Submetles Plan project were launched in South Island in New Zealand.
As of 2013, there are still two-thirds of the population around the world, and their lives do not have the Internet. In order to let more people can enjoy Internet services, Google X Lab has introduced a new project called "Project Loon).
The project plans to fly countless hot air ball in the atmospheric level layer, which make up a wireless network, providing more cheap Internet services for more unabled net or network conditions, and fills the blind zone of network services, or Help the disaster breakdown area to restore the network.
Structural principles
These hot air balloons will enter the atmospheric flow layer, approximately 20 kilometers from the ground, which is twice the height of the aircraft flight. The wind in the flat layer is usually stable, and the wind speed is between 5 and 20 miles per hour, and each height layer is different. The hot air balloon will float over the earth and determine the moving position through the software algorithm, and the rear rising dropped to a specific height, moving toward the wind, constitutes a huge communication network.
Volunteer's special receiving antenna
balloon material is a polyethylene foam used in ultra-pressure balloons, 12 meters high after full inflation 15 meters wide. This material is more durable than meteorological balloons and can withstand higher pressure. There is a parachute at the top of the balloon, which can control the balloon to drop and land for maintenance and replacement. The electronic device on the balloon is powered by the solar panel because there is no cloud obstruction of the sun. These panels are charged for 4 hours, generating 100 watts of electricity, enough to ensure the operation of the instrument, and can also be charged at night. When the panel is charged, the balloon can also operate the renewable energy.
There is also a small box for loading electronic devices, including circuit boards, batteries that control the entire system, and radio antenna for communications with other balloons and communications with ground network antenna. The antenna is equipped with a special radio radio frequency technique, which is used in 2.4 and 5.8GHz ISM band. Each balloon can provide a network connection for a 40-kilometer-diameter ground area, and the network speed can reach the current 3G level. Users under the balloon install a special network antenna on the house to access the web services provided by the balloon. The network signal will continue to reflect between balloons, and then access the global Internet service in the ground.
faced problems
Some experts warned that attempts to control thousands of high-air balls at the same time in the world's wind farm will be a very difficult task. Professor Alan Woodward, a passenger professor at the Computer Department of Sari University, said: "Let these balloons will float more efforts, and I think that the time I need may be longer than they expected."
First test
On June 15, 2013, 30 balloons of the Slimming Bird Plan project were launched in the South Island of New Zealand. These bulky balloons are the first batch of plans. They will fly from the west of New Zealand to the east, then continue through Chile, Argentina, Australia, and eventually pass through South Africa and Uruguay.