Google Project Loon

Google is famous to get high-speed Internet connectivity to the masses and for its high-tech endeavors on many projects

 

One such project Google is working on is Project Loon. It is appropriately named Loon because it involves balloons. Google has developed this innovative project to solve the global problem that the internet network is still out of reach for one-third of the population. The balloons are placed in the stratosphere cautiously by adjusting their altitude to around 20 km, twice as high as the weather changes, and the airplane flights create an aerial wireless network.

There are many places where Internet service is not in existence or the people living there can’t afford what is available. The Internet network has changed the mode we communicate, run businesses, learn, govern and exchange ideas.

Despite the increase in the number of people using the internet from 2.2 billion in 2011 to 3.2 billion in 2015, around 4 billion people do not have access to the Internet network.

According to Google, each balloon provides an internet connection that covers the balloon and an area of about 25 miles (40 km) in diameter simultaneously. Since the beginning of the project, the Loon team has also increased the data speed by ten times so that they expect the coverage to be comparable to the rate of a typical 4G LTE network. Mike Cassidy, the head of Project Loon, stated that his balloon network covers up to 5,000 square km (1,931 square miles) on the ground and provides services at 15 megabits per second on the phone.

 

Loon design

The three main components in Loon design are

 

1. Envelope: This is designed to be resistant to exposure to UV rays and is the inflatable part of the balloon It is capable of controlling extreme temperature swings as low as – 80⁰ C. The balloon is brought down safely with the help of the parachute attached to the top of the envelope.

 

2. Solar Panels: Are mounted at a steep angle that effectively captures sunlight that provides power to its own electronics. The solar panels produce maximum power in full sun and stores the remaining in a rechargeable battery.

 

3.     Electronics: A small electronics box is, placed below the inflated envelop. This box contains the following:

 

·       Circuit boards to control the systems

·       Radio antenna for communication

·       GPS for tracking location

·       Sensors to record weather conditions and monitor them

·       Lithium-ion batteries to store solar power

 

Launching the balloons that have never existed before created a problem for the team, but later they worked on it and made it possible. There are two chambers of the balloon, the inner one consists of air, and the outer one consists of helium. The balloon goes down if there is air in the inner balloon that increases the mass, and by releasing the air, it goes up. Previously many balloons burst or didn’t stay up very long. So, the google team designed and custom-built auto launchers like large cranes capable of filling the balloons every 30 minutes into the stratosphere. With these changes, the balloons withstand at least more than 100 days in the stratosphere.

 

Subscriber-to-ISP: 

 

·       First, a dedicated Internet antenna on the ground sends a signal to the balloon network, then sends the signal from the balloon to adjacent balloons.

 

·       The signal from the balloon arrives at a ground station connected to a local Internet provider or a pre-existing Internet infrastructure that provides services through the balloon network.

 

ISP-to-Subscriber: 

 

·       The pre-existing internet service provider or internet infrastructure sends the response back to the balloon, further transmitted over the balloon network.

 

·       In the end, the balloon closest to the subscriber receives the data and sends it back to the subscriber.

 

Google wants to build a network without borders. The biggest obstacle is not technology, but some countries are not permitting this project. In addition to the license, Google should also negotiate with those countries to purchase or borrow specific radio frequencies.

 

Pros:

• The most obvious benefit of this project is that Google will provide the Internet network for free. 
• It may increase global Internet usage
• The ground antenna is easy to use and install
• No additional underground infrastructure is needed. The equipment is relatively cheap. 

Cons:

• This project is labor-intensive and provides limited Internet speed 
• The balloon can only work for 100 days
• The main problem is that the hardware failure cannot reach the expected location
• If the Loon balloon fails, it may continue to float in mid-air or land in an unwanted area, such as the sea
• These scenarios are crucial for the stability and safety of the personnel 

Getting everyone on the planet online will also benefit Google, which relies heavily on revenue from online advertising and services. Similarly, the company will receive payment for access to the Loon network.

Competition: 

Facebook’s Drones is an idea that competes with Google Loon. Compared with balloons, each drone provides 4,444 larger coverage areas, higher Internet speed, and can stay in the air for several years (about five years). But it requires expensive equipment, so when it fails and falls from the sky, it may cause extreme damage. The main problems with the use of drones are data security and privacy.

Loon is handing over connectivity to groups where the communications infrastructure has been broken or wiped out. In 2017, Loon partnered with Telefonica to offer primary net connectivity to a broad spectrum of people throughout Peru.

The Loon crew additionally labored carefully with AT&T and T-Mobile to deliver the net to

more than 20,000 human beings in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria created natural calamities. In 2020, Loon started handing over the business carrier in Africa.

 

Conclusion

 

Ø  Project Loon helps and guides the farmers about important weather data whose harvests are affected by droughts. 

 

Ø  Floods, diseases, famine, illiteracy could be dealt with swiftly with this project.

 

Ø  The materials used in this project are affordable and are advantageous to connect with the world.

 

Ø  Google launches approximately 70,000 weather balloons every year.

 

Ø  Nearly more than 50% of the comments are in favor of this project. In the future, we hope that these balloons could become an option for connecting underserved, remote, and rural areas that help with communications after natural disasters.

 

Ø  OUTERNET WILL SOON REPLACE THE INTERNET

Education After the Covid19 Pandemic

Education is a vital need through which human beings are taught simple academic skills, understanding, and cultural norms. Throughout the globe, some form of educational institution exists. India has always been home to people who keep taking innovation, creativity, and leadership skills to a new level. The appraisal of India's education system may be gauged from the fact that the MNCs keep picking up products of the Indian education system such as Satya Nadella (CEO of Microsoft, alumni of Manipal Academy of Higher Education), Sundar Pichai (CEO of Google Inc, alumni of Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur), Ajaypal Singh Banga (President and the CEO of MasterCard, alumni of St Stephen's College, Delhi University), Rajeev Suri (CEO of Nokia, alumni of  Manipal Academy of Higher Education) and Indira Nooyi (CEO of Pepsi Co, alumni of Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta).

Effects of Covid Pandemic

The complete scenario of the world changed in 2020 due to a pandemic that modified the whole world order and its dynamic. None of the countries predicted that a pandemic like Covid-19 would come and without differentiating, it will modify the way people lived their life. The effect of covid is visible in every societal gadget and institution. To reduce its impact the Government of India decided to put the country in a temporary lockdown which meant only the necessary government operational bodies that were needed in running the country would be open and every other body, whether it was public or private, was suspended. This resulted in the closure of schools and all other educational institutions. Due to country-wide lockdown, no one could go outside and hence they started using the internet as their virtual workspace.

Solutions to the problems due to covid

Technology gave us a new platform, helping the students and teachers to connect virtually through online classrooms. It brought a new ray of hope for the students. The time which was supposed to be lost due to the lockdown could be made up for through online classes. The fear of uncertainty by missing out on a year of education was removed.

How Students were affected by covid

But there were still a lot of students who suffered because they didn’t own the resources to attend the online classes and were struggling to obtain the gadgets required for online classes. Educated parents supported their children throughout the pandemic but the same could not be said for the illiterate parents and their feeling of helplessness to help their children in their education. Some students were going to a government school so that they can get meals to fill their stomachs. The “Midday Meal program” initiated by the Government of India has been helping lakhs of underprivileged students who don’t even get enough food at the home. Most of the government school-going children are involved in physical labor to support their families. There is a high probability that the education of female children and transgender children would have been affected as their parents could not see the benefits of the financial costs of doing so.

How Schools and Institutions were affected:

Teachers who are experts in Blackboard, Chalk, books, and classroom teaching became anew to digital teaching, but they are willing to learn the new methods to help their students. On the negative side, many teachers were looking for an alternative job to support their families. This pandemic has not only affected the students and teachers but also the low-budget institutions and schools, resulting in close-down the same. For the high-budget institutions, there were problems like internet availability, stability, and infrastructure which made the institutions delay or cancel exams which lead to confusion for many students.

Traditional Learning vs Online Learning:

Traditional and Online learning institutions have both their uses and drawbacks. One thing for sure right now is that the demand for online education is on the rise because its cheap, rigorous, and easy to access but on the other hand traditional classrooms provides positive social aspects that help in developing a person overall and students gets the practical experience that is lost in online virtual learning environments.

Let’s have an overview of the advantages & disadvantages of E-Learning & traditional learning.

Positive Aspects of E-Learning/Online Learning -:

1)      Time for classes can be selected as per the student’s convenience which gives students more time for other activities.

2)      Students can learn from any place on earth.

3)      They can remain in contact with their teachers and get benefits.

4)      Students can even study in bad weather or difficult terrains.

5)      It is much cheaper than Classroom learning means it is cost-effective for learning.

6)      Teachers get additional income from online remote teaching.

Negative Aspects of E-Learning/Online Learning:

1)      Expensive gadgets like pc, laptops, tab or smartphones are needed to attend these classes.

2)      Internet availability is also important and that makes these classes more expensive.

3)      Personal Development is hampered.

4)      No hands-on knowledge can be imparted to the students.

Positive Aspects of Traditional Learning:

1)      Students can remain in physical contact with their teachers and mentors so that they can ask questions directly to them and get satisfactory answers.

2)      Personality development by developing friendships and interacting with their classmates.

3)      Experience different school, college, and university activities.

4)      They have practical knowledge of various subjects in laboratories and fields. Therefore, they can have hands-on experience.

5)      Students get their degrees physically and have better career opportunities.

Negative Aspects of Traditional Learning:

1)      The traditional way of education is much expensive because teachers can teach a smaller number of students at a time. Students have to pay much remuneration to their teachers.

2)      Students have to travel to educational institutions so that they have to pay travel expenses and sometimes, they have accommodation charges when they stay in a hostel or as paying guests.

3)      They don’t get flexibility in time although they have to reach the destination on time. They must attend lectures taken by the teachers otherwise, they miss them.

Conclusion:

As we can see, both online and traditional educational institutions offer their unique advantages and problems. We are still recovering from the disastrous effect of covid and we need to be confined to our homes to stop the spread of the virus. Thus, the students should try to be confined at home and proceed with E-Learning. Once the whole world gets vaccinated and when we reach the post covid era, the students would need to look at both types of learning in terms of flexibility, accessibility, practicality, and discipline. After carefully planning and evaluating their options, they can decide for themselves as to which education system to enroll in. It all depends on the acquisition of practical skills in a given area of ​​career or experience. For some people, an online education system is best suited, while for others, traditional on-campus education is best suited for taking a college course.