Inside Google's Secret Drone-Delivery Program. For two years, the company has been working to build flying robots that can deliver products across a city in a minute or two.
An Atlantic exclusive. A zipping comes across the sky. A man named Neil Parfitt is standing in a field on a cattle ranch outside Warwick, Australia. A white vehicle appears above the trees, a tiny plane a bit bigger than a seagull. It glides towards Parfitt, pitches upwards to a vertical position, and hovers near him, a couple hundred feet in the air. The Australian test flight and 30 others like it conducted in mid-August are the culmination of the first phase of Project Wing, a secret drone program that’s been running for two years at Google X, the company’s whoa-inducing, long-range research lab. Though a couple of rumors have escaped the Googleplex—because of course Google must have a drone-delivery program—Project Wing’s official existence and substance were revealed today. The parting between Roy and Google X seems amicable.
This may sound crazy. Solar Powered UAVs To Replace Satellites. Man’s ambition has always been to touch the sky and then to touch what’s beyond it.
We all are aware of this quest that began so many years ago, and over the years, scientists have been busy in refining their methods and techniques. Today’s article covers one such attempt where the scientists have presented a substitute for the regular satellite. Satellites are very costly; irrespective of their function. In order to keep in revolution, millions of dollars are needed just for one satellite from launch costs to repairs.
Nonetheless, Titan Aerospace has attempted to alter the rules of satellite game by presenting a new high altitude UAV in order to trade typical satellites. The solar powered UAV entitled Solera has an enormous wingspan of 50 meter (164 ft) and 15.5 meter (54 ft) body. It is the performance of UAV that specifies the craft although its physical features are quite amazing. Google's Acquisition Of Drone Maker Titan Is About Imagery And Internet. After drones, Google and Facebook eye satellites to expand internet access. Drone-Spotting: Google exposes secret US base in Nevada. Is This Flying Drone Google's Next Privacy Controversy? Update: Google Says No. Google buys flying drones - Google 24/7. Is this a toy for Andy Rubin or a replacement for Google's Streetview mapping fleet?
Update: Jeff Jarvis says on Twitter and the comments that it is indeed an executive buying stuff. News out of Germany over the weekend had Google (GOOG) buying at least one md4-1000 drone aircraft from Microdrones GmbH. The remote controlled aircraft can carry any payload weighting up to 1.2 kilograms and can fly as high as one kilometer. That's plenty of room for a camera, a GPS and a small computer which could supplant Google's fleet of Streetview cars. In fact, a 130 gram Nexus One with a 32GB SD card would seem to sufficient for the purposes of basic mapping. Microdrone CEO Sven Juerss, told Wirtschafts Woche (English translation) that his company hopes to deliver dozens more drones to Google soon. "The UAVs are well suited to provide timely recording of the map service Google Earth," says Juerss. I think it is way too early to speculate on Google's use for these vehicles. Google experimenting with spy drones, says German maker. High performance access to file storage Global small-ads colossus Google is trialling a small battery-powered camera drone of a type previously used by the UK police and special forces, according to reports.
It's thought that the flying spyeyes might add a new dimension to the company's controversial "Street View" picture database, compiled by fleets of camera cars driving along roads. The drone in question is made by German maker Microdrones GmbH, formerly in the news as supplier to the Merseyside police - and, it seems certain, previously to elements of the UK special forces. Microdrones chief exec Sven Juerss told German biz mag Wirtschaft Woche at the weekend that his firm has supplied one drone to Google already and that he has hopes of orders for "dozens" more in future.
A battery-powered md4-1000 quadcopter can stay up for over an hour, navigating autonomously the while, supplying pictures of a large area as it passes over.