A rendering of the Hawk30 solar-powered drone developed by a joint venture of SoftBank Corp. and AeroVironment Inc. to beam broadband internet to users.
Connecting remote users would enhance the market potential even more, said John Robbins, an associate professor of aeronautical science and coordinator of the unmanned aerial systems program at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Industry experts estimate only 10% to 20% of the Earth’s land area is covered by terrestrial cell towers. Mobile operators are interested in providing continuous service across the globe, particularly in light of the coverage needed for advanced, 5G applications. Drones could also be used in emergency situations in which cell towers have been destroyed or taken offline.
In the 1990s, NASA formed an alliance with firms such as AeroVironment, Aurora Flight Sciences , Mojave-based Scaled Composites and San Diego-based General Atomics to develop technology that could be used in drones that carried out science and environmental missions at high altitudes. More recently, high-profile drone efforts by tech giants Facebook and Google parent Alphabet fizzled out for similar reasons.Last year, after Facebook nixed its own internet-beaming drone design — a spokesperson declined to say how much the company spent on the initiative — itAfter Alphabet shut down its own solar broadband-drone project, it switched its focus to balloons. Its Loon subsidiary uses massive balloons floating 65,000 feet up to beam internet signals.
The Hawk30 will collect power from the sun during the day and draw off its batteries at night, a SoftBank executive said in a translated presentation late last month.
How much is that connection cost?
I dunno - remember a while back we were supposed it via satellites in space and that never panned out.
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