Google has been testing solar-powered drones to deliver data from drones – potentially 40 times faster than 4G.
According to The Guardian, Google is working on a secretive project codenamed SkyBender, in New Mexico to build and test solar-powered internet drones that can provide 5G internet.
The report added that Google is renting 15,000 square feet of hangar space at the privately owned Spaceport America. Project SkyBender appears to be based on the cutting-edge millimeter wave technology, which can transmit gigabits of data every second at speeds up to 40 times faster than modern 4G LTE.
Reportedly, the SkyBender system is being tested with an “optionally piloted” aircraft called Centaur as well as solar-powered drones made by Google Titan, a division formed when Google acquired New Mexico startup Titan Aerospace in 2014. Titan built high-altitude solar-powered drones with wingspans of up to 50 metres.
Project SkyBender is part of the little-known Google Access team, which also includes Project Loon, a plan to deliver wireless internet using unpowered balloons floating through the stratosphere.
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