Drones were the order of the day at this year’s CES 2015 and they’ve been the buzz on the web for the past several months. Amazon is planning on testing deliveries using drones and there are the countless people who fly drones as a hobby. So what could possibly trump the weekend drone flyer and Amazon’s delivery army? How about Facebook laser drones. Sounds a little ominous doesn’t it?
Facebook is planning on building solar powered drones that could stay in flight for up to three months. The drones would have a V shaped configuration with a crazy Boeing 747 sized wingspan yet weigh less than some small cars. The point of these laser drones is to connect remote areas of the world to the rest of the world. Facebook estimates there are 5 billion users that could be reached by launching up to 1000 of these drones that would use laser beams to transmit high speed data down to the surface.
“We want to serve every person in the world,” said Yael Maguire, head of Facebook’s Connectivity Lab. “Can we reach a point where everyone on the planet gets the same message at once? I’m looking forward to that day.”
Facebook is expecting to start testing the laser drones this summer. There are sure to be supporters of this Facebook initiative and also those who don’t think everyone in the world “wants” to be “connected.” This is where we like to hear from you. What do you think of Facebook’s plan to reach the unconnected world? Let us know in the comments below or on Google+, Facebook and Twitter.
As part of our Internet.org effort to connect the world, we’ve designed unmanned aircraft that can beam internet access…
Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday, March 26, 2015
Last Updated on November 27, 2018.
