27-09-2016, 12:37 PM
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What is project loon?
Many of us think of the internet as a global community .But two-thirds of the world’s population does not yet have internet access. Project loon is a network of balloons travelling on the edge of space, designed to connect people in rural and remote areas, help fill coverage gaps and bring people back online after disasters.
The Technology
Stratosphere: It presents unique engineering challenges:
• Air pressure is 1% that at sea level.
• Less protection from UV radiation and dramatic temperature swings.
• This can reach as low as -80°C.
Envelope : It is about 15m in diameter when fully inflated.
Solar panels: It uses high efficiency monocrystalline solar cells.
Electronics: A small box containing the balloon’s electronics hangs underneath the inflated envelope, like the basket carried by a hot air balloon.
How Loon connects?
Project loons’ balloons float in stratosphere, twice the height of airplanes and weather. In the stratosphere there are many layers of wind, each layer having different speed and direction loon balloons go where they are needed by raising or decreasing into a layer of wind blowing in the desired direction of travel by partnering with telecommunications companies to share cellular spectrum they have enabled people to connect to the balloon network directly to their phones and other LTE enabled devices. The signal is then passed across the balloon network and back down the global internet on to the earth.
I. INTRODUCTION
Project Loon is a research and development project being developed by Google X 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 18 km (11 mi) to create an aerial wireless network with up to 4G-LTE speeds. It was named Project Loon, since Google itself found the very idea of providing internet access to the remaining 5 billion population unprecedented and crazy.
The balloons are maneuvered by adjusting their altitude in the stratosphere 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 ground-based 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. Key people involved in the project include Rich DeVaul, chief technical architect, who is also an expert on wearable technology; Mike Cassidy, a project leader; and Cyrus Behroozi, a networking and telecommunication lead.
Loons shall use patch antennas which are directional antennas to transmit signals to ground stations or LTE users. Some smart phones with Google SIM cards can use Google internet services. The whole infrastructure is based on LTE in which encode is carried in the balloon which will travel across the globe and connect to users and EPC network.
II. HISTORY
In 2008, Google considered contracting with or acquiring Space Data Corp., a company that sends balloons carrying small base stations about 20 miles (32 km) up in the air for providing connectivity to truckers and oil companies in the southern United States, but didn't do so.
Unofficial development on the project began in 2011 under incubation in Google X with a series of trial runs in California's Central Valley. The project was officially announced as a Google project on 14 June 2013.
On 16 June 2013, Google began a pilot experiment in New Zealand where about 30 balloons were launched in coordination with the Civil Aviation Authority from the Tekapo area in the South Island. About 50 local users in and around Christchurch and the Canterbury Region tested connections to the aerial network using special antennas. After this initial trial, Google plans on sending up 300 balloons around the world at the 40th parallel south that would provide coverage to New Zealand, Australia, Chile, and Argentina. Google hopes to eventually have thousands of balloons flying in the stratosphere.
In May 2014, Google X laboratories director, Astro Teller, announced that, rather than negotiate a section of bandwidth that was free for them worldwide, they would instead become a temporary base station that could be leased by the mobile operators of the country it was crossing over.
In May–June 2014 Google tested its balloon-powered internet access venture in Piauí, Brazil, marking its first LTE experiments and launches near the equator.
In 2014 Google partnered with France's Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES) on the project.
In Feb, 2014, the record streak for a balloon lasting in the stratosphere was 50 days. In Nov 2014, the record was 130 days, and in March 2, 2015, the record for a continuous balloon flight is 187 days (over 6 months).
On 28 July 2015, Google signed an agreement with officials of Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) - Sri Lanka, to launch the technology on a mass scale. As a result, by March 2016, Sri Lanka will be the second country in the world to get full coverage of internet using LTE, after Vatican City.
On 29 October 2015, Google agreed to partner with Indonesia's XL Axiata, Indosat and Telkomsel to bring the technology to the country. To connect the rest of the nation's 17,000 islands, Google is making its largest ambition for Loon.
Project Loon is Google's pursuit to deploy a high-altitude balloon network operating in the stratosphere, at altitudes between 18 km and 25 km. Google asserts that this particular layer of the stratosphere is advantageous because of its relatively low wind speeds (e.g., wind speeds between 5 and 20 mph / 10 to 30 kmph) and minimal turbulence. Moreover, Google claims that it can model, with reasonable accuracy, the seasonal, longitudinal, and latitudinal variations in wind speeds within the 18–25 km stratospheric layer.
Given a reasonably accurate model of wind speeds within the 18–25 km band, Google claims that it can control the latitudinal and longitudinal position of high-altitude balloons by adjusting only the balloon's altitude. By adjusting the volume and density of the gas (e.g., helium, hydrogen, or another lighter-than-air compound) in the balloon, the balloon's variable buoyancy system is able to control the balloon's altitude. Google has additionally indicated that balloons may be constructed from various materials (e.g., metalized Mylar or BoPet) or a highly-flexible latex or rubber material (e.g., chloroprene).
Initially, the balloons communicated 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, but they then switched to LTE with cellular spectrum by cooperating with local telecommunication operators. 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.
The first person to connect to the "Google Balloon Internet" after the initial test balloons were launched into the stratosphere was a farmer in the town of Leeston, New Zealand, who was one of 50 people in the area around Christchurch who agreed to be a pilot tester for Project Loon. The New Zealand farmer lived in a rural location that couldn't get broadband access to the Internet, and had used a satellite Internet service in 2009, but found that he sometimes had to pay over $1000 per month for the service. The locals knew nothing about the secret project other than its ability to deliver Internet connectivity; but allowed project workers to attach a basketball-sized receiver resembling a giant bright-red party balloon to an outside wall of their property in order to connect to the network.
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.
IV. EQUIPMENT
The balloon envelopes used in the project are made by Raven Aero star, and are composed of polyethylene plastic about 0.076 mm (0.0030 in) thick. The balloons are super pressure balloons filled with helium, standing 15 m (49 ft) across and 12 m (39 ft) tall when fully inflated. They 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 antennas and a Ubiquity Networks 'Rocket M2' to communicate with other balloons and with Internet antennas 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, the parachute deploys automatically. When taken out of service, the balloon is guided to an easily reached location, and the helium is vented into the atmosphere. The balloons typically have a maximum life of about 100 days, although Google claims that its tweaked design can enable them to stay aloft for closer to 200 days.
The prototype ground stations use a Ubiquity Networks 'Rocket M5' radio and a custom patch antenna to connect to the balloons at a height of 20 km (12 mi). Some reports have called Google's project the Google Balloon Internet.
What is project loon?
Many of us think of the internet as a global community .But two-thirds of the world’s population does not yet have internet access. Project loon is a network of balloons travelling on the edge of space, designed to connect people in rural and remote areas, help fill coverage gaps and bring people back online after disasters.
The Technology
Stratosphere: It presents unique engineering challenges:
• Air pressure is 1% that at sea level.
• Less protection from UV radiation and dramatic temperature swings.
• This can reach as low as -80°C.
Envelope : It is about 15m in diameter when fully inflated.
Solar panels: It uses high efficiency monocrystalline solar cells.
Electronics: A small box containing the balloon’s electronics hangs underneath the inflated envelope, like the basket carried by a hot air balloon.
How Loon connects?
Project loons’ balloons float in stratosphere, twice the height of airplanes and weather. In the stratosphere there are many layers of wind, each layer having different speed and direction loon balloons go where they are needed by raising or decreasing into a layer of wind blowing in the desired direction of travel by partnering with telecommunications companies to share cellular spectrum they have enabled people to connect to the balloon network directly to their phones and other LTE enabled devices. The signal is then passed across the balloon network and back down the global internet on to the earth.
I. INTRODUCTION
Project Loon is a research and development project being developed by Google X 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 18 km (11 mi) to create an aerial wireless network with up to 4G-LTE speeds. It was named Project Loon, since Google itself found the very idea of providing internet access to the remaining 5 billion population unprecedented and crazy.
The balloons are maneuvered by adjusting their altitude in the stratosphere 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 ground-based 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. Key people involved in the project include Rich DeVaul, chief technical architect, who is also an expert on wearable technology; Mike Cassidy, a project leader; and Cyrus Behroozi, a networking and telecommunication lead.
Loons shall use patch antennas which are directional antennas to transmit signals to ground stations or LTE users. Some smart phones with Google SIM cards can use Google internet services. The whole infrastructure is based on LTE in which encode is carried in the balloon which will travel across the globe and connect to users and EPC network.
II. HISTORY
In 2008, Google considered contracting with or acquiring Space Data Corp., a company that sends balloons carrying small base stations about 20 miles (32 km) up in the air for providing connectivity to truckers and oil companies in the southern United States, but didn't do so.
Unofficial development on the project began in 2011 under incubation in Google X with a series of trial runs in California's Central Valley. The project was officially announced as a Google project on 14 June 2013.
On 16 June 2013, Google began a pilot experiment in New Zealand where about 30 balloons were launched in coordination with the Civil Aviation Authority from the Tekapo area in the South Island. About 50 local users in and around Christchurch and the Canterbury Region tested connections to the aerial network using special antennas. After this initial trial, Google plans on sending up 300 balloons around the world at the 40th parallel south that would provide coverage to New Zealand, Australia, Chile, and Argentina. Google hopes to eventually have thousands of balloons flying in the stratosphere.
In May 2014, Google X laboratories director, Astro Teller, announced that, rather than negotiate a section of bandwidth that was free for them worldwide, they would instead become a temporary base station that could be leased by the mobile operators of the country it was crossing over.
In May–June 2014 Google tested its balloon-powered internet access venture in Piauí, Brazil, marking its first LTE experiments and launches near the equator.
In 2014 Google partnered with France's Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES) on the project.
In Feb, 2014, the record streak for a balloon lasting in the stratosphere was 50 days. In Nov 2014, the record was 130 days, and in March 2, 2015, the record for a continuous balloon flight is 187 days (over 6 months).
On 28 July 2015, Google signed an agreement with officials of Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) - Sri Lanka, to launch the technology on a mass scale. As a result, by March 2016, Sri Lanka will be the second country in the world to get full coverage of internet using LTE, after Vatican City.
On 29 October 2015, Google agreed to partner with Indonesia's XL Axiata, Indosat and Telkomsel to bring the technology to the country. To connect the rest of the nation's 17,000 islands, Google is making its largest ambition for Loon.
Project Loon is Google's pursuit to deploy a high-altitude balloon network operating in the stratosphere, at altitudes between 18 km and 25 km. Google asserts that this particular layer of the stratosphere is advantageous because of its relatively low wind speeds (e.g., wind speeds between 5 and 20 mph / 10 to 30 kmph) and minimal turbulence. Moreover, Google claims that it can model, with reasonable accuracy, the seasonal, longitudinal, and latitudinal variations in wind speeds within the 18–25 km stratospheric layer.
Given a reasonably accurate model of wind speeds within the 18–25 km band, Google claims that it can control the latitudinal and longitudinal position of high-altitude balloons by adjusting only the balloon's altitude. By adjusting the volume and density of the gas (e.g., helium, hydrogen, or another lighter-than-air compound) in the balloon, the balloon's variable buoyancy system is able to control the balloon's altitude. Google has additionally indicated that balloons may be constructed from various materials (e.g., metalized Mylar or BoPet) or a highly-flexible latex or rubber material (e.g., chloroprene).
Initially, the balloons communicated 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, but they then switched to LTE with cellular spectrum by cooperating with local telecommunication operators. 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.
The first person to connect to the "Google Balloon Internet" after the initial test balloons were launched into the stratosphere was a farmer in the town of Leeston, New Zealand, who was one of 50 people in the area around Christchurch who agreed to be a pilot tester for Project Loon. The New Zealand farmer lived in a rural location that couldn't get broadband access to the Internet, and had used a satellite Internet service in 2009, but found that he sometimes had to pay over $1000 per month for the service. The locals knew nothing about the secret project other than its ability to deliver Internet connectivity; but allowed project workers to attach a basketball-sized receiver resembling a giant bright-red party balloon to an outside wall of their property in order to connect to the network.
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.
IV. EQUIPMENT
The balloon envelopes used in the project are made by Raven Aero star, and are composed of polyethylene plastic about 0.076 mm (0.0030 in) thick. The balloons are super pressure balloons filled with helium, standing 15 m (49 ft) across and 12 m (39 ft) tall when fully inflated. They 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 antennas and a Ubiquity Networks 'Rocket M2' to communicate with other balloons and with Internet antennas 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, the parachute deploys automatically. When taken out of service, the balloon is guided to an easily reached location, and the helium is vented into the atmosphere. The balloons typically have a maximum life of about 100 days, although Google claims that its tweaked design can enable them to stay aloft for closer to 200 days.
The prototype ground stations use a Ubiquity Networks 'Rocket M5' radio and a custom patch antenna to connect to the balloons at a height of 20 km (12 mi). Some reports have called Google's project the Google Balloon Internet.