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Project Loon

google.com

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Re: Project Loon

#2

Post by caffeineninja »

This is an awesome idea.

However, in my mind, there is a potential issue that the article doesn't seem to mention.

How do they keep the balloons up for a long period of time, fighting all of the different variables of weather, gas leakage, temperature variances, material degradation due to being outdoors?

Fiber and copper stays in the ground undisturbed for decades, because it's cheap & low maintenance, barring from breaks.

While this seems cheap and easy to deploy, keeping it running is another thing entirely

Re: Project Loon

#5

Post by homosaur »

caffeineninja wrote: post #2

This is an awesome idea. However, in my mind, there is a potential issue that the article doesn't seem to mention. How do they keep the balloons up for a long period of time, fighting all of the different variables of weather, gas leakage, temperature variances, material degradation due to being outdoors? Fiber and copper stays in the ground undisturbed for decades, because it's cheap & low maintenance, barring from…

I'm assuming there's some sort of monitoring onboard system and when they need new parts, they'd just land at one of these predetermined stations and be refitted. There weren't a lot of details in that video but it seemed to me like they implied they were inexpensive and easy to swap parts from.

Re: Project Loon

#8

Post by ptc »

Can someone explain why this is more cost effective than other alternatives? The need for specialized antenna's on the ground seems to be a negative.

Also, does Google just subsidize the entire thing? How is this paid for long term? How is it so much cheaper than the alternatives that not only can they roll it out to 5-6 billion people, but also allow people living on cents a day to purchase the service?

Re: Project Loon

#9

Post by adamnemecek »

caffeineninja wrote: post #2

This is an awesome idea. However, in my mind, there is a potential issue that the article doesn't seem to mention. How do they keep the balloons up for a long period of time, fighting all of the different variables of weather, gas leakage, temperature variances, material degradation due to being outdoors? Fiber and copper stays in the ground undisturbed for decades, because it's cheap & low maintenance, barring from…

"Project Loon balloons float in the stratosphere, twice as high as airplanes and the weather."
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