Haps Mobile
HAPS Mobile is trying to do exactly what the Loon company is doing, but with a different method. We have covered about Loon company here. They are trying to create an infrastructure where people and things are connected around the world. This is done by using a self-driving aeroplane on solar power, carrying a mobile base station — Sunglider.
If you look at this aeroplane, it just seems something out of science fiction. It has almost 80 metres span of wings, covered with solar panels and 10 propellers driven by electricity. But what is the whole purpose of these aeroplanes and why does it matter?
We take signal connectivity for granted. However, there are still places on Earth that don’t have an internet connection. Around 59% of people on the planet are active internet users as of October 2020. That means around 4,66 billion people have access to one of the most important creations of humankind in history. Or better said, more than 3 billion people still aren’t active internet users. That’s a lot! There are also places on Earth which have only a few residents, however, researchers have assembled different devices for scientific purposes. Instead of going to these harsh environments just to collect data from their devices, they should get all the information via the internet. But usually, if there are no humans, there is no internet. This is where companies as HAPS Mobile come into the play.
HAPS stands for high altitude platform station and HAPS Mobile is not the only one of its kind. There are companies such as Facebook and Google, which are trying to connect the world to the internet by using aeroplanes or balloons. Not to mention all the satellites out there. But today we are going to focus on the HAPS Mobile.
The company was created in 2017 under SoftBank, a Japanese conglomerate company known for its investment in energy, technology, finance and e-commerce. As said before, the aeroplane’s wings span is around 80 metres and its upper part is covered with solar panels. It flies in the stratosphere, around 20 km above the Earth. Because it is so high up, it’s not impacted by natural disasters as other cell towers are. However, it has to fight against freezing temperatures — minus 70 degrees Celsius and wind currents. Its cruise speed is around 110 km/h. Another benefit of flying high above the Earth is that it can transmit a signal to a 200 km area in diameter underneath it. We need approximately 400 cell towers to cover the area with just one Sunglider. Not bad, not bad at all. What I also found interesting is that one Sunglider can provide its infrastructure for one or multiple telecommunications carriers.
On September 21, 2020, they had their fifth test. They have described this test flight as a milestone. It took in New Mexico and it lasted for 20 hours. Not only they have reached the stratosphere, but also, they have successfully made a video call between members of Loon (which technology they have borrowed), AeroVironment and other members in Japan.
At HAPS Mobile they are trying to use their technology for Smartphones especially for outdoor events in rural areas. The technology can be also used for connecting IoT sensors for collecting data from agriculture and dairy farming. Also, as the usage of drones is increasing, HAPS Mobile will try to create stable network connectivity for driving future drone businesses. As mentioned, the Sunglider isn’t affected by the storm on Earth, therefore it can save lives when we need the network the most — in natural disasters.
HAPS Mobile is an alliance with other companies such as AT&T, LOON, NOKIA, Airbus and many others. Their vision is to eliminate the digital divide and bring connectivity to more places, people and things worldwide.
Imagine just working on this project! You are building a self-driving aeroplane, which can help save lives. What more do you ask for? Keep up the good work.
