Google is currently working on a new project which promises to bring internet access to over 5 billion people that don't live in areas with infrastructure capable of granting it (i.e. remote places, rural areas). The project involves the use of high-altitude balloons sent to float in the stratosphere which would create a wireless network capable of providing internet access through LTE (most recent smartphones are compatible). The name comes from the mixture of words balloon and loony which perfectly describes the project. :)
In my opinion the idea is pretty good. However there are some drawbacks related to this concept, since the balloons are made of materials that aren't easily biodegradable and the project would involve many of such balloons, they might harm the ecosystem.
This video demonstrates what the project involves and presents the current preparations and experiments that Google conducts in order to achieve a full scale launch:
Article link:
http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/534986/project-loon/
Official page of the project:
http://www.google.com/loon/
And now for the weekly dose of questions, please answer the following:
1. Do you think that the Loon project is going to revolutionize internet accessibility?
2. Can you think of any alternatives?
3. Are you concerned with the possible repercussions that the failure of these balloons may bring to the environment? How could they be avoided?
4. Have you heard of any interesting technological breakthrough that is coming in the next 1-3 years?
To encourage discussion, I recommend you to watch this video
ReplyDeleteas well in which more details are revealed.
1. Do you think that the Loon project is going to revolutionize internet accessibility?
ReplyDeleteThe main Loon`s assumptions are really reasonable. Thousands of helium balloons at 20.000 meters, so twice as much the height of air planes, a radio link to a telecommunications network, the product of the project can give the Internet access to the 60% of population that is without one at present. All above indicate that the project could be successful. But there are some questions that come to my mind.
- what will be the cost of the access to the Net.
- what with the balloon that finished their mission, I means that helium has just run out. Are they going to fall down through the commercial air plane air corridor? If YES, it is very dangerous, isn`t it?
2. Can you think of any alternatives?
What with the satellite net?
Can we improve it to be less expensive?
3. Are you concerned with the possible repercussions that the failure of these balloons may bring to the environment? How could they be avoided?
It is connected partially with my answer to my fist question but I have no idea how it can be avoided.
4. Have you heard of any interesting technological breakthrough that is coming in the next 1-3 years?
For example:
1. The first involved with creating the tiny lattices with enormous potential by Caltech scientists. The Project called “Nano architecture”
http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/534976/nano-architecture/
2. The second connected with fast DNA-sequencing machines that can do a simple blood tests for cancer. The Project called “Liquid Biopsy” http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/534991/liquid-biopsy/
Thanks for the reply. You mentioned the cost which they state in the second video that I linked, it should be around 1-2% of those people's income (I guess they consider only the 60% of population that don't have internet access yet).
DeleteSatellites are a decent alternative however you need costly equipment (for data transmission) and the fees for using this service are expensive as well.
You raise a valid point which I didn't think about previously, those balloons can be dangerous not only to the environment but also could be a cause of airplane accidents. The article states that those balloons are trackable and controllable but what if the tracking or navigation equipment fails?
Regarding air traffic safety, It’s a very valid concern. Google is going to coordinate with local air-traffic control when balloons are launched and when they descend. As they will be flying much higher than any airplanes, even if something goes wrong and they start descending, there will be probably enough time to warn everyone. But I agree that it may create a lot of hazardous situations.
DeleteYou are right, cooperation with air-traffic control will be mandatory for ensuring airplane safety.
Delete1. Do you think that the Loon project is going to revolutionize internet accessibility?
ReplyDeleteYes, If this technology succeeds, it allows countries to exceed the cost of lay fiber cables, increasing the rate of Internet use in places such as Africa and South-East Asia significantly. Loon will be a big revolution,for this countries.
People were capable of laying cables between continents over oceans, like the transatlantic telegraph around 150 years ago. Cables belong to the past, the future is wireless. Maybe that's the beginning? ;)
Delete2. Can you think of any alternatives?
ReplyDeletethe only alternative, is to stay away from damaging the nature, and don't use the technology like argument to destroy our world.
I agree with you, we should try to create solutions that don't harm the environment any more than current technologies do. We should preserve the gift that was given to us by our planet. ;)
Delete3. Are you concerned with the possible repercussions that the failure of these balloons may bring to the environment? How could they be avoided?
ReplyDeleteThe first technical difficulty encountered in the ball is to ensure that they did not leak and tighten the permeability of the balloon throughout the flight. It requires taking precautions, private and find materials and weather conditions of the bear assemblage value techniques during flight.
The second difficulty is also, in maintaining the lack of leakage between the two layers of helium and air.
How could they be avoided? leave this idea :)
I guess a simple solution would be to use biodegradable materials, however that would drastically decrease the lifetime of such a balloon and probably the cost too.
Delete4. Have you heard of any interesting technological breakthrough that is coming in the next 1-3 years?
ReplyDeleteSorry, No.
The article I linked is part of a "top 10 technological breakthroughs of the next few years", you can find similar projects in the panel to the right (on the page of the article).
Delete??????????
ReplyDelete- It is not logical that the Google company to pay large sums of money to finance a project for the poor because they are good people ???
- Internet access in poor countries that do not have computers already
I think Google is one of the few companies that invest a lot in projects that can revolutionize our lives instead of only watching their bank account rising. :)
Delete1. Do you think that the Loon project is going to revolutionize internet accessibility?
ReplyDeleteThis way of building connections is just on its beginning, but it might be future not only for poor or sparsely populated areas. If it finally succeeds in creation of network assembled from balloons that cannot be damaged by winds, storms or could clash with the airplane and won’t ever fall down uncontrolled, why we should lose space on ground or roofs for transceivers. This is very smart idea that might be taken from some SF book or movie we’ve seen in ours childhood.
2. Can you think of any alternatives?
Satellite network is the only competitive idea coming into my head. This is exactly the same construction of the solution, but located few layers above and its cost seems also to be few layers above Google’s solution. However technology becomes cheaper by the time being and ideas too expensive for our times might be economically justified within next decade or two.
3. Are you concerned with the possible repercussions that the failure of these balloons may bring to the environment? How could they be avoided?
I think it can be solved easily, as is easy is to track position of the transceiver (until it works). I also think there won’t be so many fall-down occurrences, as Google works on balloon’s lasting and amount of units necessary to establish the network. I don’t they will start real production without solving these problems. I also don’t think that few grams of plastic can damage environment in any perceptible way, but of course every solution should be ecologically oriented these days.
4. Have you heard of any interesting technological breakthrough that is coming in the next 1-3 years?
“The Brain Organoids” looks very interesting
http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/535006/brain-organoids/
Thank you for your input. In your answer to the third question you state that it would be easy to avoid pollution through the implementation of a transceiver that would signal the location the balloon landed at. This is basically what they have already implemented, however the problem becomes a tough one when we speak of malfunction of said transceiver or the cost of getting to sometimes very remote and hard accessed areas (jungles, deserts, oceans), the costs of such a "cleaning service" will be expensive. Its not only the plastic but also electronic waste materials we should consider.
Delete1. Do you think that the Loon project is going to revolutionize internet accessibility?
ReplyDeleteI have some doubts. Let talk a little while about controlling location of this balloons by only changing altitude and expose to different winds in stratosphere. Is attractive but in my opinion you can't control it position in all cases. It will still be difficult to place balloons to coverage every square inch on the world. Still is far more cheaper than Facebook initiative and it might very well coexist together.
2. Can you think of any alternatives?
The internet.org initiative by Facebook plan to use special planes to deliver similar internet access.
Look at this picture:
https://scontent-fra.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xta1/v/t1.0-9/1622765_10101993038596471_3488963240604746636_n.jpg?oh=ad2210d744f1df90e078575ba7dae6af&oe=55D47A63
3. Are you concerned with the possible repercussions that the failure of these balloons may bring to the environment? How could they be avoided?
If it would be thousands of balloons it wouldn't change environment significantly. But if try to cover all holes in the skies by sending millions of them it could be risky. I have no idea how much helium we got on earth and how much we can threw it into the air without the consequences.
4. Have you heard of any interesting technological breakthrough that is coming in the next 1-3 years?
I'm focusing mainly on research connected to our brains and artificial intelligence. New medication in Alzheimer and Parkinson treatment are introduced each year. Also we got lot of brilliant discoveries in genetic treatment. However nothing right now comes to my mind.
I agree with you that the control of those balloons will be a difficult task. After looking at the picture linked, the first thought that came to my mind was a boomerang, because that's how this looks. How does that even fly? Also because I see that it will probably be powered by solar energy, people will be able to use internet only on sunny days? :)
DeleteNot really. Placed on those high there are no clouds so you coastally receive power on days and stores it in batteries to function at night.
Delete1. Do you think that the Loon project is going to revolutionize internet accessibility?
ReplyDeleteIt might, although it reminds me of the One Laptop Per Child project that also targeted remote areas. It may turn out that mobile network operators will build the necessary cell towers after all when they see the demand. But I would like it to succeed.
2. Can you think of any alternatives?
One alternative would be the electrical power grid. I don't know what's the coverage like in some parts of the world, but I'm sure it's much higher than existing internet coverage (which is quoted at 40% of the world's population in the article). It seems like a good idea, because electricity access is even more important than the internet and providing electricity is a high priority for governments. On the other hand, decentralized electricity generation, such as using solar panels, might make the interconnected power grid obsolete and therefore unable to provide internet access.
The other alternatives mentioned in the article: satellites and drones are a good choice too. Especially since they have strong backing from big companies as well.
3. Are you concerned with the possible repercussions that the failure of these balloons may bring to the environment? How could they be avoided?
I'm not really concerned about that, unless there would be millions of these balloons flying everywhere.
I was wondering what would happen if people started shooting them down for fun using powerful lasers? How would we stop them from doing that?
4. Have you heard of any interesting technological breakthrough that is coming in the next 1-3 years?
It's impossible to tell when it is coming (if ever), but I've recently heard about a microwave propulsion system, which apparently can create thrust by bouncing microwaves inside a container using just electricity with no need for a propellant or fuel of any kind.
http://io9.com/new-test-suggests-nasas-impossible-em-drive-will-work-1701188933
What's interesting is that the science behind this invention is unknown, but recent experiments seem to confirm that it works nonetheless, which only makes this prospect more exciting.
What happened to the One Laptop Per Child project, is it discontinued or still in realization? Raspberry PI is a cheap alternative to that. Cell towers are stationary and expensive in building and maintenance, the balloons which are mobile seem to be a better option for scarcely populated areas although they tend to be less reliable. People got stupid ideas sometimes like the one you mentioned about shooting balloons with lasers, however I wouldn't be concerned about it that much, because those balloons would visit places where people usually don't have such equipment. It's highly unlikely that people got a powerful laser but no internet access. ;)
DeleteThe OLPC project (also known as 100 dollar laptop project) has concluded in 2011 with almost 2 million laptops delivered to many countries. So it had some success, however the price didn't manage to go below $200 and today you can get cheap tablets, netbooks and laptops (especially used) because there is oversupply in electronics. There was only a short window of time when the OLPC project made economic sense. It may be a similar case with the Loon project. A network of solar powered cell towers seems like a simpler solution, but I don't know the costs.
Delete1. Do you think that the Loon project is going to revolutionize internet accessibility?
ReplyDeleteAs an idea that offers a solution to a global internet coverage problem the Loon project is based on simple yet powerful principles. Easily set to work, cheap technology, enabling mass production and usage, can be seen as a 1.0 version prototype of a revolutionary technology. However in my opinion the success of this idea is dependent on the appropriate project life cycle management - eco-friendly materials application and eco-friendly production, a recycling system in the remote areas and safety operating procedures, that would for example disable any possible plane accidents - are equally important to the project success.
2. Can you think of any alternatives?
I am not that acquainted with ICT technology to think of any competitive solutions, especially in the remote areas. I would agree with some previous commentators that the satellite system seems an alternative, however I have no imagination of the costs of this technology or technical feasibility and therefore I cannot really compare.
3. Are you concerned with the possible repercussions that the failure of these balloons may bring to the environment? How could they be avoided?
I am definitely concerned about the possible environmental repercussions and externalities caused by such project. It is important to think holistically and take into consideration different scenarios on this very early, testing stage. In my opinion it is important to invite to the research and the prototyping stage experts from many fields, such as material science, environmental science, manufacturing, governance etc, so that the product is not only technology-driven but is sustainable in the broad sense.
4. Have you heard of any interesting technological breakthrough that is coming in the next 1-3 years?
I have heard about a very interesting NASA project which aims to develop a massive solar power plant installed in space, acting as a one huge micro wave transmitter and a single energy source for the whole planet. I am not sure when this idea will be launched but I was overwhelmed by its scale and possibilities. Regardless of how much I admire small revolutionary project such as Loon, making feasible such a technology as the NASA microwave beam would mean we wouldn't be dependent on fossil fuels any more and could make a huge development leap.
The full article can be found at: http://inhabitat.com/nasa-wants-to-beam-microwave-energy-to-earth-with-a-solar-power-plant-in-space/
Thank you for your reply. I agree with you that experts from many fields (not only telecommunication) are required to participate in this project. However Google is a smart company and I believe they already cooperate with some.
DeleteThis NASA project you mentioned seems really interesting. Let's just hope it won't end like that. :)
This is an interesting project but for a while I would froze it. There is too much asteroids in space that could damage such installation and until we establish a system that avoids destruction of our infrastructure in space sadly we can’t afford to build such things. Despite we still got lot of space on deserts for placing solar plants there.
Delete1. Do you think that the Loon project is going to revolutionize internet accessibility?
ReplyDeleteI think it’s really hard to say at this point. If it’s going to be free or extremely cheap for those remaining 4 billion people, then probably yes - assuming they have or can afford computers, which probably is a separate issue.
I don’t know why, but I’m a bit skeptical when I’m reading about this. I just have this impression that Google isn’t very good with hardware. I do want them to succeed, but I still see them as a software company, which is buying all those startups and trying new things, but the most successful ones are software-related.
2. Can you think of any alternatives?
The article and a google search suggests drones and satellites. But I think that the goal of project Loon is to speed up a process which is already in motion, so even if they fail, probably most of those remaining 4 billion people will get their internet access eventually, hopefully for free.
3. Are you concerned with the possible repercussions that the failure of these balloons may bring to the environment? How could they be avoided?
Google is planning to reuse and recycle those balloons, so the components probably won’t harm the environment. If a balloon gets damaged and misses a collection point, a recovery team will be sent to pick it up. As their goal is to create balloons which would last for at least 100 days in the air, probably a lot of people will be involved in their collection and maintenance.
4. Have you heard of any interesting technological breakthrough that is coming in the next 1-3 years?
We’re living in very exciting times, although I’m very disappointed that Mecha and flying cars are not on the list. Also it seems that we won’t be seeing mammoths anytime soon. I heard that the new iPhone is going to have 2gb of ram…
I really enjoyed reading this article, but now I can’t stop humming Peppa Pig’s ballon song…
♫ Big balloon, big balloon, bigger than the sun and moon, flying high in the sky, fly and fly and fly and fly…♫
1. Do you think that the Loon project is going to revolutionize internet accessibility?
ReplyDelete> I've never been in a situation that I need such an access to internet. I would rather call it a minor evolution instead of a revolution
2. Can you think of any alternatives?
> I don't have much experience etc. regarding to matter.
3. Are you concerned with the possible repercussions that the failure of these balloons may bring to the environment? How could they be avoided?
> Check [if you are about to fail, make sure the GPS etc. point is not a public place. run as fast as you can]. Perhaps this would require some emergency power, system ..
4. Have you heard of any interesting technological breakthrough that is coming in the next 1-3 years?
> So many developments around and it's hard to say exactly which of them will be happening after 12 months. How about Hololens ? (https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-hololens/en-us/developers) or bladeless wind turbines (http://www.theverge.com/2015/5/16/8615089/vortex-bladeless-wind-turbines-shake-to-generate-electricity)