Mark Zuckerberg, designed Aquila program back in 2014 whose goal was to “connect the whole world.” The plan was to build drones that could fly above remote areas and provide internet to the people down there so that everyone could be connected.
This dream project of Zuckerberg was completed with a drone in 2015 and conducted full-scale test flights with mixed results. The drone failed to achieve long flight time and was discovered broken when it landed on the ground. But late Tuesday, FB said that it is now leaving the design and construction of such aircraft in the aerospace industry. The company is announced that it would partner with firms such as Airbus to continue its effort to connect the world.
“Given these developments, we’ve decided not to design or build our aircraft any longer,” Facebook engineering director Yael Maguire wrote in the blog post. The FB will be leaving the aircraft making to the experts for now. As we know, even currently billion of people lack the internet connection. These gadgets to them could be a life-changing one without any doubt. Many big companies are planning to provide internet to remote areas from the air.
Companies like Google, SpaceX and also Facebook are trying to build up a device to overcome the problem of rural places. Google’s parent company, Alphabet (GOOG), has Project Loon, which uses high-altitude balloons to provide internet to remote areas. Similarly, SpaceX wants to put thousands of tiny satellites into space to provide high-speed broadband.
Facebook is also experimenting for its Aquila project. Last year, it showcased a program involving small helicopters connected to the internet cables. All the companies are dreaming big for every rural area, but FB officially shuts down the Aquila project by themselves and will be working with other aerospace industry.
