Aquila (The Solar Powered Drone)

International Journal of Industrial Electronics and Electrical Engineering, ISSN: 2347-6982 Volume-4, Issue-10, Oct.
-2016
AQUILA (THE SOLAR POWERED DRONE)

1
ARYAN KUMAR, 2ASHA G H
1,2
ECE, BMSITM, Bangalore, India
E-mail: aryannwd005@gmail.com, 2asha.hagargund@gmail.com
1
Abstract— Today out of 7 billion people only 2.7 billion are accessing internet around the world. In order to survive, they
cannot think that there is no internet because it is inevitable part of their life, where everyone and everything is connected to
the internet. To achieve this goal, Communication is one of the main objectives. They have made continuous efforts
themselves, and now efforts have been made in heaven or address as the number of users accessing the internet continuously.
Internet is growing day by day, and at the same time the Facebook took an initiative called AQUILA as the solar powered
drones. This focuses on the mechanism that drone is to provide the amount of the previous internet services available. The
project is managed by Facebook and internet.org as Aquila (The Solar Powered Drone). The idea is to provide internet
service to areas of the world where people less or no access to the internet. This method of online services through an
extensive drone, which has a wingspan of a Boeing 737 wing with less weight than a car. This will operate at the height of
60,000 to 90,000 ft. in the air, and can run for three months with the internet speeds of 10 gigabits per second.
Keywords— Aquila, Boeing 737,carbon fibre, drone, Internet.org, by Facebook, laser technology, Solar powered drone
Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles (UAV).
to use to provide the internet access in rural areas in

the different parts of the world. Facebook has given a
Code named “Aquila”, the solar powered drone
which will be able to fly in the sky without landing
for continuously three months at a time, it has
planned to use a laser which will beam data to a base
station on the ground. The private company which
plans to use a linked network of the drones which can
provide internet access to large rural region.
Partnering with the local ISPs to offer the services
through internet.org. Jay Parikh vice president of
Facebook, who said that their mission is to connect
everybody in the world. This is going to be a big
option for us to motivate the industry to run the
Figure 1 AQUILA- The Solar Powered Drone technologyfaster. They also said that it might test this
aircraft, which will contain the wingspan of Boeing
DEFINITION 737, in the US later this year. The company of
Facebook engineering director of connectivity ,
Aquila Drone with the technical name is Unmanned said that this plane will be operating between
Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) seem most leading 60,000ft and 90,000ft above the altitude of
equipment in aeronautics, electronics and robotics. commercialized airplanes so that it will not be
These aircraft have a vast variety of sizes, shapes and affected by weather. This will be able climb to its
functions, and are controlled from the ground control maximum height during the day, before flying slowly
system. Drone system consists of two parts, and the down to its lowest movement at night, it will
drone control system, including infrared cameras, conserve power when its solar panels will not be
global positioning system (GPS), GPS or laser guided receiving charge. In spite of Facebook does not
missiles, etc. In case the connection is lost, the drone immediately face policy or legal difficulty in testing
will automatically start flying around, or not to return its drone in the US, it was the first company to fly at
to the base, since it is programmed to do so until such altitudes and had a team working with every
reconnection links. [1] policymakers to help set all the guidelines. The
drone, which took 14 months to build, was able to
INTRODUCTION fly in the air for 90 days at a time. Absence of
This year Facebook has begun testing with its solar wheels, or even the ability to climb from ground level
powered drone to bring internet to areas without to its moderate altitude without aid, it will be
mobile coverage, but in reality it will not be launched in the sky with the help of helium gas using
commercial until a few years as it needs "much balloons, which will rise to its proposed height. The
regulatory work" before they can fly. balloons will be able to lift the plane, even when fully
Facebook has been doing such a tremendous project heavy loaded with communications gear, the weight
for which it has revealed its first drone, which it plans of drone would be 880lbs (400kg), which is less than
Aquila (The Solar Powered Drone)
36
International Journal of Industrial Electronics and Electrical Engineering, ISSN: 2347-6982 Volume-4, Issue-10, Oct.-2016
a fifth of the recognizable reaper drone which has rural communities. Finally, he says, Laser drones
been used by the US military, although the Aquila Interlink Networks will spread. [3]
solar powered drone has a wingspan of 42 m,
compared to the Reaper’s 15 m breadth. Because LITERATURE REVIEW
these planes must be constantly moved to stay Today, around 2.7 billion people can access the
skyward and it will encircle the 3 km radius. [11] The internet, which is only a one third of the total global
Aquila project which has been first tested in Britain population around the world. Expanding to the
in March 2015, is moved towards bringing internet internet and its access to the areas where there is no
access towards the 10% of the population who are not internet availability can drastically change the view
able to access it. It faces competition from a similar of the world. For example it could raise another 140
programme which has been developed by Google million new jobs, lift around 160 million people out
named google loon to bring wireless internet to of poverty and decrease the rate of child mortality.
remote communities using high-altitude helium For this reason Facebook with other private service
balloons. This programme, which involves fitting provider connected to an application "Internet.org"
transmitters to these balloons, which will fly has launched these technique of a Solar Powered
approximately at the same altitudes to Facebook’s DRONES which was named as AQUILA. [4]
drones. Unlike the drones, these balloons cannot be
directly manoeuvre, but Google claimed that, with a WHY THE NAME “AQUILA”?
precise wind speeds, location and directions, it AQUILA is a constellation in the northern sky. Its
definitely effects these balloons by lowering or name in Latin for ‘eagle’ and it refers to the bird who
raising its high altitude to shield they blow in the carried Zeus/Jupiter’s thunderbolts in Greco-Roman
crave direction. In 2013 firstly it was tested in New folklore.
Zealand. Individually, a year ago Facebook has Named after the eagle in Greek mythology who
launched to provide free internet through Internet.org, takes Jupiter's thunderbolts. [5]
a lead to provide access to the two-thirds of the world
without a dependable connection. This project who
partnered with local mobile services they offer free
internet surfing and browsing on all smartphones
across world. Internet.org has also been denounced
by these all the developed and developing world.
These customers will get access, free service if they
will be selected services such as Facebook, weather,
job listings, Wikipedia, and government info.
HISTORY
The aim of the Facebook is to connect the world by
means of communication, so that everybody on the
planet continues connecting to one another. Facebook
has begun testing new approaches to land-based
systems. And work continues on the communication
system based on unmanned aerial vehicles, Aquila.
The company's F8 developer conference in San
Francisco, Facebook vice president of Engineering,
Jay Parikh said a little more about the development of
Aquila, as well as laser links will be used to bring the
internet to rural areas in developing countries.
After Parikh said Facebook about Unmanned Aerial
Vehicle (UAV) platform as a giant boomerang. They
need to fly the drones for several months so they had Figure 2 a) Constellation in the northern sky b)Network of
to invent a new aircraft to accomplish this. Most of Aquila
the aircraft were not designed to fly for months and
beam lasers across the sky to bring internet to rural Different communities around the world require
communities. different technologies
Facebook engineers have been removed from the Facebook’s approach to developing new platforms
cockpit, he said, a complex flight control system to like Aquila drone is based on the principle that
replace it, and removed the fuel tanks, the UAV will different communities around the world need
be powered by solar panels that leaves the wings. different technical solutions.According to survey
They talked that they would use carbon fibre. Aquila approximately82%-90% of the population of the
will be connected with a laser to the internet access world lives today in areas where internet network
point in the city, and then feed this connection in already covered by 2G or 3G networks. These areas
37
are urban or semi-urban. Mobile operators provide A recent study by Deloitte showed that the internet is
the services using fibre infrastructure. [6] already an important engine of economic growth in
many developing countries. Open access to the
COVERAGE HEAT MAP internet can about 140 million new jobs, lifting 160
The content of the remaining 10 to 20% is applied to million people out of poverty, and create millions
the economic problem, but also to be described in of lives by reducing child mortality.
some cases, why this network infrastructure still to be Communication is not an end in itself, but is a
built out. Those who live in remote places on earth powerful tool for change. However, you can avoid
where 2G or 3G signal is not accessing. The same significant economic knowledge and the development
infrastructure in urban environment cannot be of the internet is very slow. Today, only about 2.7
achieved because it is economically impractical. billion people have internet access over a third of the
However, considering the population density and the world's population is more than just a little. This
other different regions, each user is not required to number is only about 9%, and is growing every
reach the infrastructure solution. The high population year. If they want to connect the world, they need to
density in urban areas must have high-capacity accelerate this growth. Facebook’s goal is
network. That is, to get a Wi-Fi network, we need to Internet.org. [6]
set up large or small cell tower to make it access
points. But few users are distributed in a wide range The different types of platforms that serve
of the region. Running other infrastructure solutions, different densities
the satellite will be more efficient and economical.
[6]
Figure 3 Coverage Heat Map
OBJECTIVES
Connecting the world with the entire population is
one of the greatest challenges. When people access
the internet, they can not only connect to family and
social sites or with their friends, but they can also use
it to find jobs or to start a business or health related
issues. They get to participate in the knowledge of
economy. This paper is explaining an effort made by
Facebook to provide a platform to access the internet
in the place where infrastructure is not available. Figure 5 Connectivity Density
The physics of aerial Connectivity

Before discussing the relative costs, benefits and
capabilities of these platforms, it is important that the
basic restrictions should be considered in order to
understand when working on an antenna connection.
These are not just issues of cost, performance and
use, but also the basic laws of physics. The main
limitation is noteworthy that as altitude increases,
signal become weaker. In particular, the intensity of
Figure 4 Connecting World through Internet with the help of the radio signal will be weakened with the square of
Aquila (Drones) the distance.
38
networks, but they also consume much less power

than microwave systems. Because they make the
beam so much narrower, this allows them to all their
power to focus exactly where they want it.
FSO technology could boost the signals from Earth
which is sent into orbit. Potential between the orbital
satellite constellations, the same system has increased
rapidly in the ground to provide wireless internet
access via satellite. When a laser receiver is mounted
on a target, a laser equipped satellite can transmit data
to it. Using FSO which connects large part of the
population, which is largely due to the use of satellite
internet access connections to provide increased
ground.
At the same time FSO has some significant
shortcomings. The narrow optical beam is difficult to
Figure 6 Physics of electromagnetic propagation navigate properly and must be handled very carefully.
The two ends of the line system needs laser sight
Propagation of radio waves or light, everything laser link, which means they do not work through the
else is equal, 4x source, is 16 times fainter than the clouds, bad weather conditions are very fragile. As a
distance 1x signal. result, safety radio systems are required.
Given this situation, Facebook is working on a Despite these weaknesses, if we overcome these
number of technologies that offer various options for problems, FSO can offer ways to connect people
connecting people. which are much better and cheaper.
If a satellite can be used to beam internet throughout
the continent, large area can be reached, but the Aerial drones and high altitude remote system
signal is much weaker than almost all other calls of High-altitude drone, their focus is an important area
options. Increasing the signal to obtain a high yield is of development. To understand the reasons for this
very inconvenient. Radio signals received lose their situation few points to be considered. They are:
ability as they require large amounts of energy in  Fly as close to the ground as possible in order
order to strengthen it. Because the satellites are to maximize the signal strength.
generally based on solar energy as a power source to
 Create a sufficiently high level to maximize
generate a lot of energy (they must pay the difference
the power of the wind.
squared) will be the balance of large structures of
 Flight safety and airspace control rapid
unstable constructs that are not practical or nuclear
deployment outside.
propulsion satellites that are very expensive.
Therefore, physics creates many challenges for the  To be able to control the position of the plane
use of lifts for communication and manages various accurately, in contrast to the balloon.
costs and benefits for each platform. For a smaller  Establishment of structures as small as
population density, where people are spread over a possible, and therefore requires very little
large area, the higher you go, the cheaper it is the energy to stay in the air.
placement of reference stations and deliver internet.  A large enough structure can effectively
However, signal loss will be greater, so that access to harvest all the required energy from the sun.
satellite reality there is only one way to provide basic  Develop best structure that allows us to
internet experience for remote communities. profitable enough to cover many areas.
Similarly, in the case of a high population density,  Establish a reusable structure to make it more
only the lower level platform to be truly effective, profitable.
and the game speeds up faster and better experience
for many people. In response, Facebook is working Given these restrictions, drones at 65,000 feet ideal
on a number of technologies that offer different for use. At this altitude, unmanned drone is expected
possibilities of connecting people. to provide a strong signal within the coverage area of
the city of average population. It is also close to the
FREE SPACE OPTICS minimum altitude airspace irregular and has a very
Free Space Optics or FSO, is a way to transmit light stable climate and low wind speeds atmosphere. This
of the use of data by space. These are invisible laser means that people can easily cruise aircraft and
beams in the infrared part of the spectrum in energy stored during the day in batteries for night-
general.FSO is a promising technology that may time use of its energy through solar panels.
allow us the internet connection speed of one of the With the efficiency and durability Drone at high
mentioned platforms to provided increase its speed. altitude, it is even possible that the plane could
The laser used in FSO systems enable extremely high continue for months or years in the air. This means
bandwidth and capacity, on par with terrestrial fibre that the drones resistance is more than the balloon
39
while being able to have the precise and controlled geostationary satellite is 60-90 times further away.
location. Unlike satellites, Drone in the air when they Since attenuate signals as a square of the distance,
do not complete their mission combustion. Instead, this is orders of magnitude worse.
they can easily return to the Earth for repair and This FSO approach is much more difficult because of
redistribution. LEO satellite movement, but there are still major
technical challenges to be solved here.
Satellites and sparsely populated areas
Figure 7 Satellite Communication
Despite the obvious strengths of drone-based

connectivity solutions, there will still be places where Figure 8 FSO Technology
uneconomical or impractical to deploy drones or the
internet to continue to provide them. In these Satellites are expensive and slow to development
situations, satellites can prove a cheaper alternative to process
radiant internet access to communities. Eventually, space platforms much more difficult to
There are two main types of jobs that Facebook is develop and implement than other competing
considering to deploy satellites: low-earth orbit technologies. Even if they build satellites relatively
(LEO) and geostationary orbit (GEO). inexpensive, the transport to the space can sometimes
Low Earth Orbit: Low Earth orbit ranges anywhere cost millions or tens or hundreds of millions of
from 160 kilometres to 2,000 kilometres above the dollars.
Earth. As LEO satellite orbits the Earth rotates Navigating the regulations can be a slow and
underneath. LEO can reach the simplest and easiest expensive process. ITU licenses for controlled
job, and therefore most satellites are deployed here. microwave spectrum may take 5-7 years to reach,
Satellites in low-Earth orbit has some strengths and although FSO remains unregulated.Despite the
clear. Satellite in this orbit are close to the ground, so challenges satellites allow deliver connectivity
that it can be a useful signal with lower power solutions when all others fail. They are currently
consumption. This means LEO satellites can be exploring both LEO and geostationary approaches.
smaller and cheaper. There is also relatively lower [6]
signal latency in this job, so it's easier to use real-time
services such as internet or voice calling. AQUILATechnique
However, the signal is not strong, only a small part of Facebook verifies the potential of the two types of
the population - probably less than 100 people per crafts.
square kilometre. It also requires antennas to be Satellites, which can be used in remote rural areas.
installed on the ground stations in order to follow Drone , which is powered by solar panels, to remain
their movements. Because LEO satellites do not in the wings and in the position at an altitude of over
rotate at the same speed as the earth rotates, a whole 60,000 feet in a few months, it will fly over areas in
constellation of satellites must maintain constant the suburbs. Unmanned aircraft, code-named Aquila,
coverage. the gap is as large as a Boeing 737, yet it weighs
Geostationary orbit: Geostationary orbit is an orbit about the same as a small car.
around the Earth at the same speed as the planet turns The drones are invisible infrared laser beams that can
on. To keep a track on the distance of the planet, a carry large amounts of information at high speed
satellite maintains steady at 35,786 kilometres through space optical communication in space.
above sea level. A satellite in orbit, this can stay
indefinitely pointed in one region. This means that
the base stations and trunk stations can configure
simpler and less expensive because the beams do not
follow constant of the constellations of satellites.
As discussed previously, with FSO technology, it
becomes possible to achieve much faster data speeds.
In conventional microwave signals, it is much more
difficult to deliver high capacity signal as a Figure 9 Boing 737 and Aquila
40
This included Aquila with solar panels and batteries

provide car and an electric motor, so that the Drone
remains in the air three months. During this time, the
beam internet drone down, without interruption or the
need to refuel.
While in the air, Aquila for delivering the internet to
the people responsible on the ground within a radius
of 50 kilometres. Small cell tower serves to signals
received from the Drone and convert these signals on
the Wi-Fi or LTE network can connect people with
their cell phones and smartphones. Figure 12 Carbon Fibre used to make wings
It is also a breakthrough to get traffic data and
information can be transferred through drone. When Aquila draft, Facebook has focused on three
IfFacebook can fly several Drone that can cover a elements: solar energy, pitch and duration. Network
much larger area of land. such as unmanned self-powered for several months at
a time and in a position on the elements and the
commercial airspace of time to fly to minimize
complications. And when the time comes, the Aquila
country, if a glider on the ground, coasting safe
designated area on the floor. [12]
Laser Technology
Since the 80s, an industry material processing high
power laser has full effect was due to its ability for
cutting, welding, drilling, marking and coated metal.
Laser can now be found in almost any business to
perform this type of surgery. A laser is a device that
through a process of light emitting optical
amplification based on stimulated emission of
Figure 10 AQUILQ electronics Lab photons.
The term "laser" which is an acronym:
The use of laser communication technology, to L - Light
transfer data between Drone at a rate of 10 gigabits A - Amplification by
per second and can be as fast as fibre service to S - Stimulates
ensure the people of the United States, such as those E - Edition
made in Minneapolis to life . R – Radiation
Spatial coherence is usually narrow beam is reflected
in the end, the diffraction of the beam or direct. The
carrier can use the lens in very small areas, achieving
a very high insolation (energy per unit area) is
oriented, or can be run at very low beam divergence
(widening) to focus their performance at a great
distance (i.e., the moon or the Sears Tower) . [8]
Figure 11 Solar Powered, Altitude, and Duration
Advances in laser communications is thrown in their

data centre, the result of the network from software-
based book transactions. Communication signals
Figure 13 a) Circuit used b) Laser
through the air are so accurate they can apparently hit
a dime of 11 miles away. Temporal (or longitudinal) coherence comprises a
Aquila wings of such a material called carbon fibres. polarized wave with a frequency of which the phase
When the carbon fibre material is known that the within a relatively wide correlated (the coherence
nature of the heating process subject as a curing length) along the distance beam. A beam generated
agent, it can be stronger than steel of the same weight from the heat source or other incoherent light having
of material. This material also explains why Drone is an instantaneous amplitude and the phase varies
not so simple. randomly with time and position. [11]
41
Goes through few months, several educational

bulletins will take the technology as it relates to the
work set out in the company's way and laser systems.
[2]
Figure 14 Laser Technology
Lasers are used for unmanned aerial vehicles to

communicate with each other while interacting with
ground station using radio signals. “A ground station
transmits a radio signal from the internet on the
Drone, which is then included in the constellation
using laser technology “, for other Drone sends signal Figure 15 Performance and Working of Laser Technology by
to radio internet users on Earth. [7] Drones
Proposed Work From the base station, radio signals are sent to the
AQUILA is a technique with determining the mission master Drone. Master drone communicates with other
of high-speed internet access for people in the areas two slave drones, which happens through laser
where there is no internet connection. As the core of technology. The communication to the end user
the object used in this project are the drones, situated happens through laser technology. [8]
at altitude of 90,000 feet above the ground. These This internet radio signals for speed 10Gbps over
UAVs are powered by solar energy and the beam can from ISP, these small masts and dishes are used
be an internet connection from heaven to 10 Giga bits installed to reach ground services to receive signals
per second free space optical communication drones.
technology using lasers. This speed is 10 times faster
than other systems. First boomerang drone can fly on
Facebook named Aquila at an altitude of 60,000
feet. (18 km) and 90,000 feet. (27km), where the
winds are at their lowest levels and to the heights of
commercial aircraft and weather. Aquila weight is
880 pounds. (400 kg) of carbon fibre wing Boeing
737 wingspan and can fly three months without
landing in the air. [9]
How AQUILA Works?

The helium balloons is released that the drone will be
able to increase the maximum height of 90,000 feet,
flying at this point in a circle all day and at night the
height will reduce to 60,000 feet, where it can use
battery power. Each drone is with a radius of 3 km
through a circle and able to provide internet services
to an area with a radius of 50 km from flies. Each
drone connected to another drone to enhance the Figure 16 Internet providing by Drones
skills.
In addition, these signals which are converted into a
Wi-Fi or LTE network.After this conversion, users
access the internet from drones. When laser link
drone of the plant, it may be, if it is raining or cloudy
experienced a slower connection is required.Large
drones capable of a strong signal will be issued,
which would cover a large city with an average
population density. Darren used harder and longer
than the balloon, fly, but also precise control of
position.
42
APPLICATIONS
1. No interference as drones will fly on
commercial aircraft in the range 60,000-90,000
feet in the air.
2. AQUILA is an attempt to provide a reliable
high-speed connectivity and high current for
without internet infrastructure areas or are too
expensive.
3. The Drone is using the free-space optical Figure 18 Aquila Drone is being used in UK
communication technique, so that it is immune
to radio interference or saturation. CONCLUSION
4. This technique of renewable source of energy
provided by the sun is used. For the purposes of affordable internet access to each
and every person in the world, regardless of their
Advantages region Facebookis ableto make it possible with the
1. All people, especially the people of the help of advanced technology, through which the
villages and remote areas without internet world can be connected together using Drone,
connectivity to get the benefit of high-speed satellites, cellular networks, radio and free space
internet services. optics and revolutionary changes can bring about the
2. That would improve connectivity between internet easily accessible to everyone, especially in
people. the rural areas to make.
3. They also become familiar with so many
facilities that were previously limited to only REFERENCES
the developed areas.
4. These remote areas would have the [1] V.Shalem Pravas, "Aerial Assassins: Drones", reaad and
digest, 2013.
opportunity to develop their own. [2] Alex Hern and agencies” Facebook launches Aquila solar-
powered drone for internet access”,The guardian, 31 july
2015.
[3] Tekla S. Perry, "Facebook’s Aquila Drone Creates a
Laser-net In the Sky", spectrum ieee organization, 13 April
2016.
[4] Mark Zuckerberg, "Mark Zuckerberg on a Future Where
the Internet Is Available to All", The Wall Street Journal
(WSJ), 7 July 2014.
[5] Lisa, "Aquila", ascension glossary, 2 April 2015.
[6] Facebook Team, "Connecting the World from the
Sky",fbcdn-dragon-a.akamaihd, 2015
[7] Jon Brodkin, “Facebook: Our drones will use lasers to
deliver 10 Gbps Internet access”, Art technical, August
20715.
Figure 17 Structure of Aquila [8] "Introduction to Laser Technology", laser blanking syste.
[9] AnkitaJiyani "Review Paper on Facebook Drones
Technique" International Journal of Modern Computer
Current status of AQUILA Science (IJMCS) ISSN: 2320-7868 (Online) Volume 3,
1. Facebook has successfully tested its glittering Issue 3, October, 2015.
web of Drone in the UK,March 2016. [10] Jonathan Vanian, "Behind the scenes with Facebook's new
2. It was noted that it is still in development, is solar-powered Internet drone and laser technology ",
Fortune, 30 July 2015.
ready aircraft has a wingspan larger than a [11] Jessi Hempel,"Inside Facebook's Ambitious Plan To
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[10]
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International Journal of Industrial Electronics and Electrical Engineering, ISSN: 2347-6982 Volume-4, Issue-10, Oct.