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Abstract: Project Loon is a research and development project being developed by Google with the mission of
providing Internet access to rural and remote areas. The project uses high-altitude balloons placed in
the stratosphere at an altitude of about 20 mi (32 km) to create an aerial wireless networkwith up to 3G-like speeds.
This paper includes Technology, Working of this project, Reviews, Conclusion, and Reference. The loons provides
internet connection in rural and remote areas. It can play a big role after disaster because after disaster all type of
network like internet, electricity healthcare etc. then this type of services can be use for making connection with the
remote and Rural Areas. and disaster affected peoples.
Objective: This paper is used to discrived a new technology which is developed by a very known developing
company “GOOGLE”. By which it can provide internet in whole over the world by balloons. It can very helpful in
rural and remot areas. Also this technology will be very helpful in the area of Education, Medical and many more..
1 Introduction
Project Loon is a research and development project being developed by Google with the mission of
providing Internet access to rural and remote areas. The project uses high-altitude balloons placed in
the stratosphere at an altitude of about 20 mi (32 km) to create an aerial wireless network with up to 3G-like
speeds. Because of the project's seemingly outlandish mission goals, Google dubbed it "Project Loon".
The balloons are maneuvered by adjusting their altitude to float to a wind layer after identifying the wind layer with
the desired speed and direction using wind data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA). Users of the service connect to the balloon network using a special Internet antenna
attached to their building. The signal travels through the balloon network from balloon to balloon, then to a groundbased
station connected to an Internet service provider (ISP), then onto the global Internet. The system aims to bring
Internet access to remote and rural areas poorly served by existing provisions, and to improve communication
during natural disasters to affected regions.[5] Key people involved in the project include Rich Devalue, chief
technical architect, who is also an expert on wearable technology; Mike Cassidy, a project leader; and Cyrus
Behroozi, a networking and telecommunication lead.
The Internet is one of the most transformative technologies of our lifetimes. But for 2 out of every 3 people on earth,
a fast, affordable Internet connection is still out of reach. And this is far from being a solved problem.
There are many terrestrial challenges to Internet connectivity—jungles, archipelagos, mountains. There are also
major cost challenges. Right now, for example, in most of the countries in the southern hemisphere, the cost of an
Internet connection is more than a month’s income. Solving these problems isn’t simply a question of time: it
requires looking at the problem of access from new angles. So today we’re unveiling our latest moonshot from
Google[x]: balloon-powered Internet access.
3 Technology
The technology designed in the project could allow countries to avoid using expensive fiber cable that would have to
be installed underground to allow users to connect to the Internet. Google 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.
The high-altitude polyethylene balloons fly around the world on the prevailing winds (mostly in a direction parallel
with lines of latitude, i.e. east or west). Solar panels about the size of a card table that are just below the free-flying
balloons generate enough electricity in four hours to power the transmitter for a day and beam down the Internet
signal to ground stations. These ground stations are spaced about 100 km (62 mi) apart, or two balloon hops, and
bounce the signal to other relay balloons that send the signal back down. This makes Internet access available to
anyone in the world who has a receiver and is within range of a balloon. Currently, the balloons communicate using
unlicensed 2.4 and 5.8 GHz ISM bands, and Google claims that the setup allows it to deliver "speeds comparable
to 3G" to users. It is unclear how technologies that rely on short communications times (low latency pings), such
as VoIP, might need to be modified to work in an environment similar to mobile phones where the signal may have
to relay through multiple balloons before reaching the wider Internet.
Situated between 10 km and 60 km altitude on the edge of space, the stratosphere is named after the different strata,
or layers, of wind within it. But the extreme altitude also presents unique engineering challenges: air pressure is 1%
of that at sea level, temperatures hover around -50°C, and a thinner atmosphere offers less protection from the UV
radiation and temperature swings caused by the sun’s rays. By carefully designing the balloon envelope to withstand
these conditions, Project Loon is able to take advantage of the steady stratospheric winds, and remain well above
weather events, wildlife and airplanes.
. EQUIPMENT
The balloon envelopes used in the project are made by Raven Aerostar, and are composed of polyethylene plastic
about 3 mil or 0.076 mm (0.0030 in) thick. The balloons are super pressure balloons filled with helium, stand 15 m
(49 ft) across and 12 m (39 ft) tall when fully inflated, and carry a custom air pump system dubbed the "Croce" that
pumps in or releases air to ballast the balloon and control its elevation. A small box weighing 10 kg (22 lb)
containing each balloon's electronic equipment hangs underneath the inflated envelope. This box contains circuit
boards that control the system, radio antennae and a Ubiquiti Networks Rocket M2 to communicate with other
balloons and with Internet antennae on the ground, and batteries to store solar power so the balloons can operate
during the night. Each balloon’s electronics are powered by an array of solar panels that sit between the envelope
and the hardware. In full sun, the panels produce 100 watts of power, which is sufficient to keep the unit running
while also charging a battery for use at night. A parachute attached to the top of the envelope allows for a controlled
descent and landing when a balloon is ready to be taken out of service. In the case of an unexpected failure,
5 How Loon Connects
Each balloon can provide connectivity to a ground area about 40 km in diameter at speeds comparable to 3G. For
balloon-to-balloon and balloon-to-ground communications, the balloons use antennas equipped with specialized
radio frequency technology. Project Loon currently uses ISM bands (specifically 2.4 and 5.8 GHz bands) that are
available for anyone to use.
6 Where Loon Going
The Project Loon pilot test began in June 2013 on the 40th parallel south. Thirty balloons, launched from New
Zealand’s South Island, beamed Internet to a small group of pilot testers. The experience of these pilot testers is now
being used to refine the technology and shape the next phase of Project Loon.
7 Reception and Reviews
Project Loon has generally been well received, although concerns about signal interference were raised by Square
Kilometer Array (SKA) project developers and astronomers who worry that the lower end of the two ISM bands that
Loon uses (2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz) will interfere with the mid-band frequency range (0.5 GHz-3 GHz) used in the
SKA project.
Bill Gates-Gates said that loons can play a big role in rural and remote areas of Africa because Peoples are
suffering from Disease like Malaria so they can get help and Discuss with Doctor by Internet.
Comment
Glitch:- 20 kilometers up? Wow, they must have one hell of a coverage footprint! Clearly this solution isn't actually
intended for high-density populations...
Pushka Gib’an:- I think it’s a wonderful idea ~ the internet its such an amazing commodity – knowledge is power.
TulsaDavid:- Nice thing is Google has just as much or more money to do good, than those do who would thwart
good…
Zakharov:- What about pollution? I assume not everybody wants baloons on their skyline all the time? Dangers to
civil aviation?
8 Conclusion:
There is near about 75% comment is in the favor of project loons. so far as I think it would be great Success of this
Project in Future. And we hope balloons could become an option for connecting rural, remote, and underserved
areas, and for helping with communications after natural disasters.
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It may be very helpful in the Areas of….
Information would never have been available at this ease in the history of this planet, everything just a couple of
clicks away, from any corner of the world you are in.
Education: There are millions of poor children all over the world who haven’t even heard the word ‘school.’ Loon
has the potential to become a school on the air for the under privileged.
Medicine: Health and hygiene information can be made easily available to the people who haven’t even heard of the
word doctor
Collaboration: Connecting with the remote countries and inaccessible terrains will no longer be impossible. It’ll
eliminate the need to lay down cables in those areas, and live weather forecast reports in such areas would be of a
great help to the locals there.