According to Facebook's plan, the drones will generate energy from the sun, with the goal of flying for months. They will be large, about the size of a Boeing 747, but weigh much less.
In 2-5 years from now, Facebook and its founder Mark Zuckerberg's plan will be implemented so that the first swarms of unmanned aircraft will appear over remote parts of the planet, ensuring the provision of Internet from the stratosphere. This was revealed two weeks ago at the Social Good Summit conference in New York by Yael Maguire, technical director of the social network's Connectivity Lab. The Connectivity Lab was founded last March, with the aim of building aircraft that will fly without a pilot and provide entire areas with wireless internet access. According to Maguire, their development has progressed to such an extent that their pilot tests are expected to begin next year.
Facebook claims that robotic airplanes are the best solution to provide Internet access to residents of areas where there are no telecommunications networks, because it is economically unprofitable. Since the announcement of the creation of the laboratory, the social network had described in general terms how the aircraft should operate, which would move at high altitude, above the airspace used by airlines and above the height where clouds, rain and lightning form.
They will also need to generate electricity from the sun, with the goal of flying for months at a time. This explains why Facebook acquired and incorporated into the Connectivity Lab the British company Ascenta, which had previously participated in the development of a “solar” aerial vehicle that managed to stay in the air for 14 days straight.
At the same conference, however, Maguire gave more details about the specifications of the drones to meet the above requirements. Thus, in principle, they will have very large dimensions, "about the size of a Boeing 747", but they will weigh much less. Indicatively, the head of the laboratory said that they have developed a miniature with a length of 6 Toyota Prius, which weighs as much as all four... tires of a car.
At the same time, the design of the fuselage, which will be almost completely covered by photovoltaic panels, will take into account exactly how the sun's rays will fall on the drones, in the areas where they will be first used – and which belong to 21 countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. On the other hand, Maguire acknowledged that, even before the "dress rehearsal" of the aircraft, many technical obstacles will have to be solved. "We will have to take a step further in the technologies of solar panels, synthetic materials and batteries," he added.
According to the technical director, aviation regulations will also need to change, which currently do not cover the altitude of 60,000-90,000 feet at which drones will operate, since no airplane flies above 60,000 feet.
Source: kathimerini.gr
