Facebook has abandoned a key percentage of its Aquila projection , an crusade to build solar - powered , passenger jet - sized drones that would wirelessly connect parts of the developing world to the internet , Business Insider reportedon Tuesday .
According to Business Insider , Facebook ’s Director of EngineeringYael Maguire wrotethat the ship’s company will centre on the “ underlying technologies ” behind Aquila or else of design its own aircraft for economic consumption in the initiative , and has laid off at least 16 staff require :
Those laggard were being built by Facebook ’s Aquila project , a extremely - bare part of its ongoing global connectivity efforts . Now , rather than work up so - call HAPS ( High Altitude Platform Stations ) , like the Aquila drone pipe in - planetary house , Facebook will sharpen on developing the underlying technologies .
“ We ’ve decided now is the correct moment to focus on the next set of engineering and regulative challenge for HAPS connectivity , ” Facebook ’s Yael Maguire compose in a blog Wiley Post . “ This means we will no longer plan and construct our own aircraft , and , as a outcome , we ’ve closed our quickness in Bridgewater . ”
Zuckerberg ’s dream : Facebook ’s solar - powered drone The Aquila completes test flighthttps://t.co/GSb0MZeiGipic.twitter.com/Ygep8ynXaX
— The Times and The Sunday Times ( @thetimes)June 30 , 2017
Aquila was previouslyreported by Business Insiderto have been experience substantial interior turmoil include the departure of key engineer Andrew Cox , the apparent abandonment of plans to use anext - generation landing place systeminvolving kevlar landing pads alternatively of traditional runway , and a scrapped theme to build a drone alkali at a New Mexico spaceport . ( The first of two publically known tests of the advanced landing place system of rules end insevere damageto the aircraft , while the 2d wasmore successfulbut still resulted in terms , accord to Business Insider . )
As remark by the Verge , Facebook plan on continuing with Aquila by partnering with other company like Airbus , just not ramp up its own drone for use in the project . In the blog post , Maguire drop a line that its engineering initiatives will instead focus on meliorate the connectivity gear that could eventually be loaded onto the aircraft involved as well as components like “ escape control condition computers and eminent - denseness batteries . ” Maguire bestow that it would also be pursuing insurance initiatives such “ a marriage proposal for 2019 World Radio Conference to get more spectrum for HAPS ” and approval from regulators .
PerTechCrunch , critic have question whether the Aquila task was thought up in an era where Facebook ’s ascendancy had not yet attain significant roadblocks and whether less grandiose architectural plan like “ pose fibre or establishing introductory infrastructure ” were more realistic and could reach more client .
Aquila was also created aspart of Facebook ’s Internet.org enterprise , which originally this year Facebook say had connect some 100 million multitude to the net — or rather , aheavily restricted , walled - garden versionof the net controlled by Facebook . Internet.org hubs allow users to connect to the internet via the Free Basics app , which theGuardian reportedmostly limits exploiter to Western internet destinations without superfluous charges .
While Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has argue some internet access isbetter than none , the Guardian wrote , without paying extra fees through Free Basics “ There are no other societal networking sites asunder from Facebook and no electronic mail provider . ”
As Business Insider note , with the death of its programme to ramp up its own aircraft , the company ’s partnership with aerospace companies like Airbus “ will be critically significant . ”
[ Business Insider ]
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