3 ms·

Great to see bureaucracy not getting in the way of something like this. Is there a link somewhere about Google’s tech and motivation?

maxerickson 9y ago
There's a brochure: https://x.company/loon/ https://x.company/loon/ They want to increase the availability of internet in remote areas.
- rasz 9y ago
  if only it was original Google idea, and not something stolen by X division like https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15422157 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15422157 https://www.wired.com/story/the-lawsuit-that-could-pop-alphabets-project-loon-balloons/ https://www.wired.com/story/the-lawsuit-that-could-pop-alpha...
  - maxerickson 9y ago
    Here's the Space Data patent: https://www.google.com/patents/US7801522?dq=7,801,522&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjFo7nitqrNAhVLJB4KHShFA5sQ6AEIHDAA https://www.google.com/patents/US7801522?dq=7,801,522&hl=en&... It sure is broad and not very specific. One of the claims seems to boil down to turning the radio off sometimes.
  - JPLeRouzic 9y ago
    Many people had this idea decades before Google. In the 60" the NASA tested the idea of "Satellite balloons" [0]. Following this experimentation, engineers in France planned to create (in the sixties) a national network of telecom (atmospheric, not satellite) balloons, but it turned out it was easier to build telecom towers. Myself I wrote a Web site in the late 90" explaining the technology (at that time) and economics of such networks. I think it was one of the earliest proposals where active platforms (Echo balloons were passive) and modern telecom (at that time) technology, where brought together. I cannot find it on the interweb anymore. Later in the 2000" but before Loons there were several research projects on such high altitude platforms. [1] I filled an unsuccessful proposal for such a project inside my company in 2008. [0] https://www.space.com/8973-1st-communication-satellite-giant-space-balloon-50-years.html https://www.space.com/8973-1st-communication-satellite-giant... [1] https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060717103934.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060717103934.h...

maxerickson 9y ago

There's a brochure: https://x.company/loon/ https://x.company/loon/ They want to increase the availability of internet in remote areas.

rasz 9y ago
if only it was original Google idea, and not something stolen by X division like https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15422157 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15422157 https://www.wired.com/story/the-lawsuit-that-could-pop-alphabets-project-loon-balloons/ https://www.wired.com/story/the-lawsuit-that-could-pop-alpha...
- maxerickson 9y ago
  Here's the Space Data patent: https://www.google.com/patents/US7801522?dq=7,801,522&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjFo7nitqrNAhVLJB4KHShFA5sQ6AEIHDAA https://www.google.com/patents/US7801522?dq=7,801,522&hl=en&... It sure is broad and not very specific. One of the claims seems to boil down to turning the radio off sometimes.
- JPLeRouzic 9y ago
  Many people had this idea decades before Google. In the 60" the NASA tested the idea of "Satellite balloons" [0]. Following this experimentation, engineers in France planned to create (in the sixties) a national network of telecom (atmospheric, not satellite) balloons, but it turned out it was easier to build telecom towers. Myself I wrote a Web site in the late 90" explaining the technology (at that time) and economics of such networks. I think it was one of the earliest proposals where active platforms (Echo balloons were passive) and modern telecom (at that time) technology, where brought together. I cannot find it on the interweb anymore. Later in the 2000" but before Loons there were several research projects on such high altitude platforms. [1] I filled an unsuccessful proposal for such a project inside my company in 2008. [0] https://www.space.com/8973-1st-communication-satellite-giant-space-balloon-50-years.html https://www.space.com/8973-1st-communication-satellite-giant... [1] https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060717103934.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060717103934.h...