Google Inc. has bought Titan Aerospace, a solar-powered drone-maker, as the web search engine moves to provide wireless Internet access in remote locations around the world.
Titan Aerospace has a 20-person staff and is based in New Mexico, according to CNET. The deal took place after a large number reports claimed that Facebook Inc. was interested in buying the company.
Vern Raburn, chief executive of the drone-maker and former CEO of Symantec, will remain in charge of Titan Aerospace.
All of Titan's employees will join Google to help the company in its efforts to bring Internet access to remote areas of the world. The search engine's efforts can be found in its release last year of Project Loon, a tiny network of balloons created to deliver Internet access over the Southern Hemisphere, Reuters reported.
"Atmospheric satellites could help bring internet access to millions of people, and help solve other problems, including disaster relief and environmental damage like deforestation," Google said in an email confirming its deal with the drone maker.
Titan is working on two insect-like drones that feature wing-mounted solar panels that power the aircraft's batteries to keep it flying at night. The aircraft can fly as high as 12 miles and can stay in the sky for as long as five years. The smaller of the two drones has a wingspan slightly larger than a Boeing 767, CNET reported.
The aircraft will be aimed at helping send Internet to place with no current connection as fast as 1 gigabit per second, which matches the speeds of fiber-delivered Internet and outranks many developed nations. The drones will also feature imaging technology that could support other Google initiatives, such as Maps. The technology includes high-resolution imaging of Earth, atmospheric sensors and other cellular abilities provided by satellites, such as voice call and data collection.
Raburn did not provide any information on the price of the deal, Reuters reported. Initial commercial operations for Titan are set to begin in 2015.
