Facebook has shared more details on the work its Connectivity Lab is doing in building drones, satellites and lasers to deliver the internet to everyone.
HumanIPO reported last month on the launch of the lab as part of the Internet.org initiative, and Facebook chief executive officer (CEO) Mark Zuckerberg said a team at Facebook had been working on new technologies to improve and extend internet access.
“Our goal with Internet.org is to make affordable access to basic internet services available to every person in the world,” said Zuckerburg on his Facebook page. “In our effort to connect the whole world with Internet.org, we’ve been working on ways to beam internet to people from the sky.”
The Connectivity Lab team has been working on developing new platforms for connectivity on the ground, in the air and in orbit.
Facebook said: “To make these platforms a reality we’ve recently added some of the world’s top experts on aerospace technology including the team from Ascenta, a UK-based company with a deep expertise in designing and building high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) aircraft. The five-member Ascenta team has combined more than 100 years of experience in the aerospace industry including leadership positions with QinetiQ, Boeing, Honeywell and the Harris Corporation.”
Other recent additions to the team have come from organisations including NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA’s Ames Research Center, and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory.
“For all of these systems, the team is looking at free-space optical communication, or FSO, is a way of using light to transmit data through space using invisible, infrared laser beams. FSO is a promising technology that potentially allows us to dramatically boost the speed of internet connections provided by satellites and drones,” Facebook said.
“We’re going to continue building these partnerships, but connecting the whole world will require inventing new technology too. That’s what our Connectivity Lab focuses on, and there’s a lot more exciting work to do here. Our team has many of the world’s leading experts in aerospace and communications technology, including from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab and Ames Research Center.”
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