Why Google Just Bought a Drone Company
Published at | Updated at
Hemera/Thinkstock(SAN FRANCISCO) — Google acquired Titan Aerospace, a drone company, Monday, just one month after it was reportedly being eyed by Facebook.
“It’s still early days, but atmospheric satellites could help bring internet access to millions of people, and help solve other problems, including disaster relief and environmental damage like deforestation,” a Google spokesperson told ABC News in a statement confirming the deal.
“When manufactured, it would have 3,000 solar panels producing about 7 kW of electricity and would be above the clouds, so it would be exposed to sunlight constantly during daylight hours,” the company said in a news release. “One is scheduled for completion next year.”
The tech world has long been buzzing about drones and how they can put them to use.
Last month, Mark Zuckerberg announced that a team at Facebook was working with a group from U.K.-based drone company Ascenta to work on developing drones that could help improve and expand internet access around the world.
In 2013, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos also announced his vision for a drone delivery service.
Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio