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Google’s X labs are responsible for the more “out-there” ideas we’ve seen from the company like Google Glass and the self-driving cars. They’ve even considered researching on making teleportation a thing. Now, they’ve unveiled Project Loon — and it sounds just as crazy as everything else they’ve announced.
Project Loon is a network of balloons, floating at the edge of space, designed to bring the internet to people in remote and rural areas, and everyone else for that matter. The balloons will float 20 kilometers above the ground and will provide internet speeds comparable to today’s 3G speeds or in some cases, faster. Google says they’ll be able to control these balloons by shifting altitudes and riding the different wind currents up there — again, it sounds really crazy.
The project is still in its early stages, but the system has already been built. There’s currently a pilot test in New Zealand with 50 testers and Google has already launched 30 of these balloons. For a quick look at the tech that’s behind Project Loon, check out this video:
[via Google]
