Project Loon

CONTENTS
Sr. No. Particulars
1 What is Project Loon ?
2 Pilot Test
3 The Technology
4 Stratosphere
5 How Loon Moves
6 How Loon is designed : Components
7 Envelopes
8 Solar Panels
9 Equipment's
10 How Loon connects ?
11 ISM Bands
12 Competing Ideas
13 Conclusion
 What is Project Loon?
Project Loon is a pilot project
developed by Google LLC.
It is aimed at providing the internet
by using balloons that would trace
the earth.
Project Loon was developed with the
aim of providing
economic internet access across the
world. It is a research and
development (RnD) project that is
developed by Google.
 Pilot Test
Project Loon starts in June 2013
with an experimental pilot in
New Zealand. A small group of
Project Loon pioneers will test
the technology in Christchurch
and Canterbury.
30 balloons, launched from New
Zealand’s South Island.
The experience of these pilot
testers will be to refine the
technology and shape the next
phase of Project Loon.
 The Technology

Project loon balloon floats in the

stratosphere, twice as high as
airplanes and the weather.
They are carried around the
Earth by winds and they can be
steered by rising or descending
to an altitude with winds moving
in the desired direction.
The signal bounces from balloon
to balloon, then to the global
 Stratosphere
Situated between 10 Km and 60
Km altitude on the edge of
space.
Air pressure is 1% of that at sea
level.
Thinner atmosphere offers less
protection from the UV radiation
and temperature caused by the
sun’s rays.
 How Loon Moves
Winds in the stratosphere are
generally steady and slow-moving at
between 5 and 20 mph, and each
layer of wind varies in direction.
Project Loon uses software
algorithms to determine where its
balloons need to go, then moves
each one into a layer of wind
blowing in the right direction.
By moving with the wind, the
balloons can be arranged to form
one larger communications network.
How loon is designed: Components

 Envelop

 Solar Panels

 Equipment
 Envelope
• Project loon’s balloon envelopes are made from sheets of
polyethylene plastic and stand fifteen meters wide by
twelve tall when fully inflated.
• A parachute attached to the top of the envelope allows for
a controlled descent and landing whenever a balloon is
ready to be taken out of service.
 Solar Panels
• Each unit’s electronics are powered by an array of solar
panels that sits between the envelopes and the hardware.
• In full sun, these panels produce 100 Watts of power –
enough to keep the unit running while also charging a
battery for use at night.
• By moving with the wind and charging in the sun, Project
Loon is able to power itself using only renewable energy
sources.
 Equipment
• A small box containing the balloon’s electronic equipment.
• The box contains circuit boards that control the system.
• Radio antennas to communicate with other balloons and
with Internet antennas on the ground.
• And batteries to store solar power so the balloons can
operate during the night.
 How Loon Connects
• Each balloon can provide connectivity to a
ground area about 40 km in diameter at speeds
comparable to 3G.
• Each balloon is equipped with a GPS for tracking
its location.
• Three radio transceivers
1. Balloon-to-balloon communications
2. Balloon-to-ground communication
3. Third for backup
• The balloons use antennas equipped with
specialized radio frequency technology.
• Project Loon currently uses ISM bands that are
available for anyone to use
 ISM BANDS
• The industrial, scientific, and medical
(ISM) radio bands

• Radio bands reserved internationally

for the use of radio frequency (RF)
energy for industrial, scientific, and
medical purposes other than
communications.

• Cordless telephones, wireless

computer networks, Bluetooth
devices.
 Competing Ideas
• Facebook’s Drones are the competing idea for google Loon. As
compared to balloons, drones provide more coverage area per
drone, more internet speed, and can stay up in the air for years ( 5
yrs. ).
• But it requires expensive equipment and could do a lot of damage
if it fails and fell out of the sky, and security and privacy have other
concerns accompanying the use of drones.
 Conclusion
Project loon is an ambitious project and the world will highly
benefit from it.
Project loon, an initiative to help fill in those internet gaps
through the use of networked balloons.
The goal is to provide broadband-like internet for the two-thirds
of the world that doesn’t have access to reliable internet
connectivity by balloons.
It is still in the experimental phase