Google hot air balloon network platform adopts dual solar panel design

Google’s Project Loon project is trying to provide global support for the Internet through hot air ballooning. At present, bold and innovative Googlers have already begun various attempts to do this. According to the latest report, the actual Loon Hot Air Balloon Ibis-167 has been able to “float” in the sky for 22 days during the testing process, completing the global travel. The hot air balloon also brought a series of new technological improvements such as dual solar panels.

In the early prototype of the Loon project, Google used a single solar panel to provide power output for the floating network platform, so that the solar panel was always in the direction of the sun. However, the team later found that using double panels to face other angles can absorb energy more efficiently at polar latitudes.

In addition to using dual solar panel technology, Google continues to reduce the weight of hot air balloons. These hot air balloons can block winds from 2 knots to 75 knots, and the total flight distance exceeds 500,000 kilometers (331,000 miles). At present, the project is still in the process of continuous testing.