Drones do come in handy these days, and their specifications as well as capabilities have certainly improved by leaps and bounds. Having said that, a Portuguese firm known as Quarkson intends to utilize drones so that these airborne machines are able to deliver internet access to offline as well as remote areas around the world. Needless to say, such an endeavor would require testing – and we are pleased to bring you word that the first test flight has been completed.
Quarkson has plans to make use of the solar-powered SkyOrbiter drones which have the ability to remain airborne for weeks, months or even years on end, as it takes to the skies at altitudes of up to 22,000 m (72,000 ft). It would be interesting to know how the drones can maintain their altitude, and also move out of the way of flight paths worldwide – surely this is far from being an easy task.
Mass production of the SkyOrbiter drones has already begun, and they are more than capable of transmitting data via LTE or W-iFi. In the test fight that happened on April 2 at an undisclosed location, the drone happened to come equipped with Wi-Fi-transmitting equipment which will be able to deliver Internet connectivity to those who are on the ground through a patch antenna which in turn picks up the signal.