Mark Zuckerberg
The technology behind Aquila
JULY 21 · PUBLIC
On June 28th, we completed the first successful flight of Aquila -- our solar-powered plane that will beam internet to remote parts of the world and eventually break the record for longest unmanned aircraft flight.
The flight took place before dawn in Yuma, Arizona. Our original mission was to fly Aquila for 30 minutes, but things went so well that we decided to keep the plane up for 96 minutes. We gathered lots of data about our models and the aircraft structure -- and after two years of development, it was emotional to see Aquila actually get off the ground.
But as big as this milestone is, we still have a lot of work to do. Eventually, our goal is to have a fleet of Aquilas flying together at 60,000 feet, communicating with each other with lasers and staying aloft for months at a time -- something that's never been done before.
To get there, we need to solve some difficult engineering challenges. Here are a few that we're working on.
Weight -- Aquila has a wingspan wider than a Boeing 737, but has to weigh as little as possible to stay up for as long as possible. That's why the body of the plane is made of a carbon fiber composite so the whole thing weighs less than 1,000 pounds -- or about the same as a grand piano. We need to continue to make it lighter.
Power -- The amount of energy Aquila collects from the sun during the day has to be enough to keep its propellers, communications payload, avionics, heaters and light systems running when it's dark. That means using about 5,000W of power at cruising altitude, or about as much as three hairdryers. We’re always looking for ways to trim this down and make our systems more efficient.
Control -- Aquila is mostly self-sufficient, but it still relies on a ground crew of about a dozen engineers, pilots and technicians who direct, maintain and monitor the aircraft. They control the aircraft through software which allows them to determine heading, altitude and airspeed -- or send Aquila on a GPS-based route. Takeoff and landing are automatic, since no human pilot can land in a precise location as well as software can.
Speed -- When you see Aquila fly, one of the most surprising things is how slow it goes. That's on purpose. In order to use the least amount of energy, Aquila needs to go as slow as possible. At higher altitudes, where the air is thinner, we'll be able to go a bit faster -- about 80 mph.
Altitude -- In order to take off, fly and land, Aquila's wings and propellers have to be able to operate both in high, cold altitudes and lower, warmer altitudes where the air can be 10 times denser. We're working to figure out how much power that takes -- and what impact it will have on solar panel performance, battery size, latitude range and seasonal performance.
Load -- Almost half the mass of Aquila will come from high-energy batteries. That's a lot of weight to put on large, flexible wings, which is why we have computer models to predict how Aquila's shape deforms under load. A few more flights will help us better understand the actual in-flight dynamics.
Communications -- Aquila will carry a communications payload that will use lasers to transfer data more than 10 times faster than existing systems. It will be able to aim its beams precisely enough to hit a dime more than 11 miles away while in motion.

Over the next year we're going to keep testing Aquila -- flying higher and longer, and adding more planes and payloads. It's all part of our mission to help the world and more of the 4 billion people who don't have access online or the opportunities of the internet.
As we make progress we will continue sharing what we learn. To learn more check this note from our engineers.
Credits : Mark Zuckerberg facebook page

abbey621:
Do you know how many people are in Nigeria with talents like Zuckerberg's? The only difference is that they chose monetary value over passion. Case in point: Founder of Nairaland. In case you people hardly noticed, Nairaland has been stagnant for the past 3 years in terms of unique visitors and content with the main reason being the lack of passion. Instead what we have now is unregulated content on the homepage(Anybody can get published on the homepage by shouting out to moderators). what we have is a banning system which cripples creativity or heated discussions. I'm looking forward to the day when people can come on Nairaland and chat via video messaging or play games. A day when you can run monetary transactions through Nairaland and build a true social media ecosystem. The potential for success is there, if only the owner can rediscover his initial passion!

Exactly. Nairaland has the capability to do exactly what you've said. But the thing is the mods or whosoever is in charge of nairaland are/is comfortable with this little achievement

That's nice. As he has arrived now I want him to explicitly talk about the reason he came. I also hope he talks to our government (lagos state government government in particular)to begin to think like a startup. The University of Lagos should also be a checkpoint. He should talk to students in the University who are talented and have great ideas on how to solve global future problems.

He should also establish research centres and support startups that research on IoT, nanotechnology, cloud computing, robotics in Nigeria. This would affirm Nigeria's position as the leader in IT in Africa.

Estonia is a very good country in terms of startup. They have free 4g internet covering the whole country. Good and favorable government to policies. But they havnt gotten hubs that are up to the level with the countries above. May 6 years from now Estonia might get to that point and prove to us that they are capable of creating the next Silicon Valley. They've also got competitors like South Korea @drizzit

First of all we have to have a basic understanding of the word start up

Any business which doesn't employ technology, IT is not recognised as a startup e.g. restaurant, coffee shop, boutique. Companies like snapchat, jobberman, iroko TV, uber etc are considered as startups.


Startups, they’re full of dreams and full of risk, but without them, the business economy would dry up. After all, today’s startup is tomorrow’s mega-corporation, providing that it succeeds. For every Uber (the app-based taxi service) which is valued at $51 billion, there are many new businesses that fail after the first round of funding. It takes planning, innovation and luck, and it also helps if you’re in a country that embraces new ventures to begin with.

According to data compiled by Coupofy in a new infographic, the countries with the highest number of startups are the United States (4.8 million), India (2 million), the UK (845,000), Indonesia (771,000), and Brazil (584,000).

Although they all have thriving startup communities, the way in which these have emerged and are operated can be quite different.

United States

It should come as no surprise that the poster child for capitalism is still dominating the startup world. While the cost of living in tech Mecca Silicon Valley is higher than any other hub in any other country, entrepreneurs have access to the most investors, highest amounts of capital, and can hire the best minds to work on the venture. This helps to produce not only the highest number of startups but the highest valued as well. Of the top 10 most valuable private startups backed by venture capital, the US accounts for 7 of the spots and its closest rival India only has one.

India

Despite its historically poor economic standing, India has been able to embrace the internet age to create its own mini Silicon Valley-style hub in Bengaluru. Its entrepreneurs are on average younger than anywhere else in the world and more than half of new businesses are based on eCommerce and online services. One of its current major success stories is FlipKart, an Amazon-style web store that’s valued at $15 billion. The country’s lax regulations, low cost of living and tech-savvy citizens also make it attractive to foreigners looking to launch businesses overseas.

UK

One of the oldest economic powerhouses in the world, the UK like the US is not short on capital or talent, and despite London being one of the most pricey cities in Europe, it still manages to cost less to live than Silicon Valley. They offer entrepreneur visas to those who wish to launch their startup abroad and give investors a 50 percent tax break on investments up to £100,000.

Indonesia

While it’s often overlooked Indonesia has one of the fastest growing economies in the world and a bustling startup scene in capital city Jakarta, which operates as a hub for most of South-East Asia. It has embraced the co-working concept and is swiftly overcoming hurdles such as education and a cultural belief that the average person should be working for established companies not founding their own.

Brazil

Brazil’s startup hub is based out of Sao Paulo and is one of the cheapest places to live out of the bunch. While investment is low, its status as an emerging economy in the BRICS nations means foreigners are attracted due to promises of growth. It has embraced the “clone” concept (replicating apps and online services found in the US for its own population), but also has a thriving “mom and pop” local trade community as well, which is anything but high-tech. Their only drawback is high tax rates.

www.rabidofficemonkey.com

Hello fellow NL'ers.
Please I want to know how to create a blog on blogger without having . together with my domain name.

Please mods you can kindly move this to FP.

bakynes:

Something is wrong with this report, a yoruba person can never call himself an Oba outside of yoruba land.
This is a huge propaganda against the yoruba people. Vangard goofed on this report, Oba is a traditional and spiritual head of his ancestral land. Any normal Yoruba person will never call himself Oba in a foreign land.

An Oba is expected to do some Oro traditional rites and that is not possible in a foreign land where you restrict people from coming out at Night.

Is eithet this report is a lie or those Yorubas are simply mad.

I see you are crazy.
The witches in your village are responsible for your irrational thinking

herzern:
In a normal Yoruba setting..... When men talk......women keep quiet.............

They talk when they become oppressed by tyrants ike Melayo

SeverusSnape:
Fayose sef, Whether you read the bible or not, It doesn't change anything, You still remain a fearless and charismatic leader.

May your days be long like the river Nile.

May it also be stinky as the river Cross

seunmsg:
So, where are the critics who told us that the $38 crude oil benchmark for the 2016 budget is unrealistic?

Who E epp