VISVESVARAYA TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

"Jnana Sangama", Belgaum: 590018

Technical Seminar (18CSS84)

Report on

“PROJECT LOON: INNOVATING THE CONNECTIVITY

WORLDWIDE”
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the degree of
Bachelor of Engineering
In
Computer Science & Engineering
Submitted by
Srinivas G
(1AY20CS161)

Under the guidance of

Mrs. Supreetha H H
Assistant Professor
Dept. of CS&E,
Acharya Institute of Technology,
Bangalore

ACHARYA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
(Affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum,
Approved by AICTE, New Delhi and Accredited by NBA and NAAC)
Soladevanahalli, Bangalore – 560107
2023-2024
ACHARYA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
(Affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum,
Approved by AICTE, New Delhi and Accredited by NBA and NAAC)
Soladevanahalli, Bangalore – 560107

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE & ENGINEERING

Certificate

This is to certify that the seminar titled “PROJECT LOON: INNOVATING THE
CONNECTIVITY WORLDWIDE” is presented by Srinivas G in partial fulfillment of the
award of the degree of Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science and Engineering of
Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum during the year 2023-24. It is certified
that all corrections / suggestions indicated during seminar presentation have been incorporated
in the report. The seminar report (18CSS84) has been approved as it satisfies the academic
requirements in respect of seminar presentation prescribed for the Bachelor of Engineering
degree.

Technical Seminar Guide Technical Seminar Coordinator Head of the Department

Mrs. Supreetha H H Mrs. Deeksha/Mrs. Shruthi N G Dr. Ajith Padyana

Assistant Professor Assistant Professor Dept. of CS&E,
Dept. of CS&E, Dept. of CS&E, Acharya Institute of Technology,
Acharya Institute of Technology, Acharya Institute of Technology, Bangalore
Bangalore Bangalore
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I express my gratitude to our institution and management for providing me with good
infrastructure, laboratory facilities and inspiring staff, and whose gratitude was of immense help in
completion of “PROJECT LOON: INNOVATING THE CONNECTIVITY” WORLDWIDE
successfully.

I express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Rajath Hegde, Principal, Acharya Institute of Technology,
Bangalore and Mr. Marigowda C K, Vice Principal, Acharya Institute of Technology, Bangalore
for providing me the required environment in completion of this technical seminar.

My sincere thanks to Dr. Ajith Padyana, Head of the Department, Computer Science and
Engineering, Acharya Institute of Technology for his valuable support and also for rendering me
the resources for the technical seminar.

I heartily thank my guide, Prof Supreetha H H, Technical Seminar coordinators from Department
of Computer Science and Engineering, Acharya Institute of Technology who guided me with their
valuable suggestions at every stage for completing this technical seminar.

My gratitude is rendered to everyone who helped me in all possible ways.

Srinivas G
1AY20CS161

i
 ABSTRACT

Project Loon is an innovative initiative developed by Alphabet Inc. (formerly Google[x]) with the
ambitious goal of providing internet connectivity to remote and underserved areas worldwide. This
groundbreaking project utilizes high-altitude balloons equipped with communication technology to
create a network of floating cell towers in the stratosphere. These balloons, powered by solar energy
and controlled by sophisticated algorithms, navigate the stratospheric winds to deliver internet
access to areas lacking traditional infrastructure.

The need for global connectivity has become increasingly apparent, with millions of people still
lacking access to the internet, particularly in rural and remote regions. Project Loon aims to address
this digital divide by leveraging cutting-edge technology to extend the reach of the internet to the
farthest corners of the globe. By partnering with local telecommunication providers and
governments, Project Loon seeks to empower communities, facilitate economic development, and
improve access to essential services such as education and healthcare.

This abstract provides an overview of Project Loon, including its objectives, technology,
deployment process, benefits, challenges, and future outlook. By harnessing the power of
innovation and collaboration, Project Loon represents a significant step towards achieving universal
internet access and fostering greater connectivity and inclusion worldwide.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgement………………………………………………………………………………i
Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………....ii
Table of Contents………………………………………………………………………….......iii
List of figures…………………………………………………………………………………..iv

Chapter Chapter Name Page No.

Number

1-3
01 Introduction

4-6
02 Literature Review

7-8
03 Methodology

9-10
04 Applications

11
05 Conclusion

12
References

iii
 List of Figures

Figure No and Name Page No

Figure 1 PROJECT LOON 1

Figure 2 LOON 3
Figure 2 Loon Balloon design 4
Figure 3 Balloon Envelope 5
Figure 5 Loon solar panels 6
Figure 6 Loon equipment 6
Figure 7 Loon connection 7
Figure 8 Loon working 8

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Today only 2.7 billion people – a little more than one third of the world’s population—have Internet
access. This fact can be attributed to many reasons, but the most important factor is the scarcity
revolution in data services. Even though there are more than 1 billion smartphone subscribers in the
world, the majority of them still don’t have data access due to the costly data plan in many countries. On
the other hand, the vast majority of the prices people pay for data plans go directly towards covering the
tens of billions of dollars spent each year building the infrastructure to deliver the connections. Unless
the infrastructure expansion becomes more efficient, the industry cannot sustainably serve everyone.
Bring majority of the global population into Internet community is one of the greatest challenges of our
generation, and now we see hope from the Google Project Loon – a network of balloons travelling on the
edge of space, designed to provide ubiquitous Internet connectivity free of terrestrial constrains and with
an affordable rate worldwide. Now the time is 2015, and the Google Project Loon finally matured in
technology. The novel system is ready to enter the market to provide Broadband Internet connectivity.
However, this industry is highly competitive and prospers with various Broadband technologies of
intensive capital necessary for Internet infrastructure implementation in many developing areas.

Figure 4 PROJECT LOON

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1.2 HISTORY OF INTERNET:

The history of the Internet begins with the development of electronic computers in the 1950s. Initial concepts of
packet networking originated in several computer science laboratories in the United States, Great Britain, and
France. The US Department of Defense awarded contracts as early as the 1960s for packet network systems,
including the development of the ARPANET (which would become the first network to use the Internet Protocol.)
The first message was sent over the ARPANET from computer science Professor Leonard Kleinrock's laboratory
at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to the second network node at Stanford Research Institute (SRI).

Packet switching networks such as ARPANET, Mark I at NPL in the UK, CYCLADES, Merit Network, Tynette,
and Telnet, were developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s using a variety of communications protocols. The
ARPANET in particular led to the development of protocols for internetworking, in which multiple separate
networks could be joined into a network of networks.

Access to the ARPANET was expanded in 1981 when the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded the
Computer Science Network(CSNET). In 1982, the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) was introduced as the standard
networking protocol on the ARPANET. In the early 1980s the NSF funded the establishment for national
supercomputing centers at several universities, and provided interconnectivity in 1986 with the NSFNET project,
which also created network access to the supercomputer sites in the United States from research and education
organizations. Commercial Internet service providers (ISPs) began to emerge in the late 1980s. The ARPANET
was decommissioned in 1990. Private connections to the Internet by commercial entities became widespread
quickly, and the NSFNET was decommissioned in 1995, removing the last restrictions on the use of the Internet to
carry commercial traffic.

Since the mid-1990s, the Internet has had a revolutionary impact on culture and commerce, including the rise of
near-instant communication by electronic mail, instant messaging, voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone
calls, two-way interactive video calls, and the World Wide Web with its discussion forums, blogs, social
networking, and online shopping sites. The research and education community continues to develop and use
advanced networks such as NSF's very high speed Backbone Network Service(vBNS), Internet2, and National
Lambda Rail. Increasing amounts of data are transmitted at higher and higher speeds over fiber optic networks
operating at 1-Gbit/s, 10-Gbit/s, or more. The Internet's takeover of the global communication landscape was
almost instant in historical terms: it only communicated 1% of the information flowing through two-way
telecommunications networks in the year 1993, already 51% by 2000, and more than 97% of the
telecommunicated information by 2007.Today the Internet continues to grow, driven by ever greater amounts of

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online information, commerce, entertainment, and social networking.

1.3 ABOUT PROJECT LOON:
1.3.1. CONCEPT OF LOON:
Project loon is a research and development project being developed by Google. It is a network of balloons
travelling on the edge of space, designed to provide ubiquitous Internet connectivity. The balloons float in the
stratosphere, twice as high as airplanes and the weather. They are carried around the Earth by winds and they can
be steered by rising or descending to an altitude with winds moving in the desired direction. People connect to the
balloon network using a special Internet antenna attached to their building. The signal bounces from balloon to
balloon, then to the global Internet back on Earth.

1.3.2. LOON OVERVIEW:

Project Loon balloons travel around 20 km above the Earth’s surface in the stratosphere. Winds in the stratosphere
are generally steady and slow-moving at between 5 and 20 mph, and each layer of wind varies in direction and
magnitude. Project Loon uses software algorithms to determine where its balloons need to go, then moves each
one into a layer of wind blowing in the right direction. By moving with the wind, the balloons can be arranged to
form one large communications network situated between 10 km and 60 km altitude on the edge of space, the
stratosphere is named after the different strata, or layers, of wind within it. But the extreme altitude also presents
unique engineering challenges:
1. air pressure is 1% of that at sea level,
2. temperatures hover around -50°C, and
3. a thinner atmosphere offers less protection from the UV radiation and temperature swings caused by the
sun’s rays.

Figure 5 LOON

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CHAPTER-2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 LOON DESIGN:

The loon is comprised of three parts: an envelope, solar panels and equipment.

Figure 6 Loon Balloon design

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2.1.1 ENVELOPE:

Figure 7 Balloon Envelope

The balloon envelope is the name for the inflatable part of the balloon. Project Loon’s balloon envelopes
are made from sheets of polyethylene plastic and stand fifteen meters wide by twelve meters tall when
fully inflated. The balloon powers itself by two renewable energies, sunlight and wind. They are
specially constructed for use in Super pressure balloons, which are resistant to UV radiation, and is
capable to function at temperature as low as -58 °F, and at pressure as low as 1/100 atm. Its envelope is
made from sheets of Mylar which is a brand for a thin strong polyester film about 0.076 mm thick. Such
super pressure balloons require Mylar since it strongly keeps from stretching and popping at even high
altitude. It is built to resist higher pressures than a normal weather balloon which reaches usually at an
altitude of 40 km (25 mi). Inside envelope, there is another chamber, called bladder. To have the balloon
descended, a fan powered by the solar energy fills the bladder with air to make it heavier. Likewise, the
fan vents air in the bladder, which causes it to rise. The balloon can move up or down a 1.7 km (1 mi)
range through the bladder system. This system can help to choose suitable wind currents in stratosphere.
It also releases some air inside out of the envelope to relieve pressure. When being out of the service, it
releases gas from the envelope and descends slowly to the ground. It rarely happens, but when the
balloon drops quickly, it uses the parachute on the top of the envelope.

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 Project loon

2.1.2. SOLAR PANELS:

Figure 5 Loon solar panels

Each unit’s electronics are powered by an array of solar panels that sits between the envelope and the hardware. In
full sun, these panels produce 100 Watts of power - enough to keep the unit running while also charging a battery
for use at night. By moving with the wind and charging in the sun, Project Loon is able to power itself using only
renewable energy sources.
2.1.3. EQUIPMENT:

Figure 6 Loon equipment

A small box containing the balloon’s electronic equipment hangs underneath the inflated envelope, like the basket
that is carried by a hot air balloon. It contains circuit boards that control the system, radio antennas to
communicate with other balloons and with Internet antennas on the ground, batteries to store solar power so the
balloons can operate during the night, and weather instruments to monitor the weather and the conditions around
them.

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 Project loon

CHAPTER-3
METHODOLOGY

3.1. LOON CONNECTIONS:

Far below the loons, ground stations providing connectivity to backbone Internet can transmit signals to
the balloons up to 65 miles far. The signals would hop forward, from one balloon to the next, along a
chain of up to 5 balloons. Each balloon is networked to one another within 30 miles with a radio
transceiver as in a mesh, designed to ensure signal reliability. A second transceiver keeps the balloon in
contact hundreds of antennas on ground area about 25 miles in diameter at speeds comparable to 3G. The
specialized antennas can be placed on homes, much like a very small satellite TV receiver. Project Loon
currently uses ISM bands (specifically 2.4 and 5.8 GHz bands) that are available for anyone to use. There
is also a back-up transceiver and a GPS on each balloon, so Google can monitor each balloon's location.

Figure 7 Loon connection

3.1.1. RECEPTION (ANTENNA):

It can provide wireless Internet connectivity to ground areas at up to 10Mbps (3G speed). There are two kinds of
communications: balloon-to-balloon network and balloon-to-ground station or subscribers network. It has
specialized radio antennas to support two networks. It currently uses ISM bands specifically 2.4 and 5.8 GHz

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 Project loon

3.2. HOW LOON WORKS?

Figure 8 Loon working

A user with the specialized antenna sends signals via a radio frequency over ISM bands to a balloon
close to him/her. The balloon sends the signals to neighboring balloons. Eventually, the signals reach the
balloon which is connected to the local Internet. The wireless mesh network is constantly adjusting as
balloons move. Any balloon is able to connect the Internet to a base station which has Internet
connectivity and then receives Internet data and forwards them via balloons in the sky to the destination.
Finally, the balloon close to the request user broadcasts the data to the grounds via a radio frequency over
ISM bands. The special antenna installed the outside of home receives data and decrypt the data. The
wireless mesh network should be constantly adjusting as balloons move. It covers an area of an around
40 km (28 mi) diameter circle which is twice the area of New York City. Thousands of balloons can
cover the whole world. Currently, its lifetime is only a few weeks, but Google anticipates that they can

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 Project loon

be in the sky hundreds of days in future

CHAPTER-4
APPLICATIONS

4.1 Applications of project loon:

Project Loon, with its innovative approach to delivering internet connectivity to remote and underserved
areas, has a wide range of applications and potential benefits. Here are some key applications of Project
Loon:

1. Connectivity in Remote Areas: One of the primary applications of Project Loon is to provide
internet access to remote and rural areas where traditional infrastructure is lacking. By deploying
high-altitude balloons equipped with communication technology, Project Loon can extend
connectivity to regions that are otherwise cut off from the internet.

2. Disaster Relief and Emergency Communication: Project Loon has proven to be invaluable in
providing emergency communication support during natural disasters and humanitarian crises. By
quickly deploying balloons to affected areas, Project Loon can establish temporary
communication networks, enabling affected communities to stay connected and access vital
information and assistance.

3. Support for Education and Healthcare: Project Loon can facilitate access to online educational
resources, e-learning platforms, and telemedicine services in remote areas where access to
traditional educational and healthcare facilities is limited. This can help bridge the gap in
educational and healthcare outcomes between urban and rural areas.

4. Agricultural Monitoring and Precision Farming: Project Loon can support agricultural
initiatives by providing internet connectivity for remote monitoring, data collection, and analysis.
Farmers in remote areas can access weather forecasts, market prices, and agricultural best
practices, enabling them to make informed decisions and improve crop yields through precision

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 Project loon

farming techniques.
5. Environmental Monitoring and Conservation: Project Loon can contribute to environmental
monitoring and conservation efforts by enabling connectivity for remote sensors and monitoring
devices. This can facilitate real-time data collection on climate change, wildlife tracking,
deforestation, and other environmental indicators, supporting conservation initiatives and
informed decision-making.

6. Connectivity for Transportation and Logistics: Project Loon can enhance connectivity along
transportation routes, such as highways, railways, and maritime routes, enabling real-time
tracking and communication for vehicles, vessels, and logistics operations in remote areas. This
can improve efficiency, safety, and coordination in transportation and logistics networks.

7. Support for Economic Development: By providing internet access to remote areas, Project
Loon can stimulate economic development and entrepreneurship opportunities. Access to online
marketplaces, e-commerce platforms, and digital payment systems can empower local businesses
and artisans to reach broader markets and customers, driving economic growth and livelihood
opportunities.

8. Scientific Research and Exploration: Project Loon can support scientific research and
exploration activities in remote and inaccessible regions, such as polar regions, deserts, and
rainforests. By enabling connectivity for research stations, expedition teams, and field
researchers, Project Loon can facilitate data exchange, collaboration, and communication in
remote scientific endeavors.

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CHAPTER-5
CONCLUSION

In conclusion, Project Loon stands as a pioneering endeavor with the noble aim of bridging the digital
divide and bringing internet connectivity to even the most remote and underserved areas of the world.
Through the deployment of high-altitude balloons equipped with communication technology, Project
Loon has demonstrated its potential to revolutionize connectivity and empower communities worldwide.

Throughout its journey, Project Loon has encountered numerous challenges, from technical hurdles to
regulatory complexities. However, the project has persevered, leveraging innovation, collaboration, and
resilience to overcome obstacles and achieve remarkable milestones.

The impact of Project Loon extends far beyond providing internet access. By enabling connectivity,
Project Loon opens doors to education, healthcare, economic opportunities, and communication,
transforming lives and communities in profound ways. From supporting disaster relief efforts to
facilitating economic development, Project Loon has proven to be a catalyst for positive change.

As we look to the future, the potential of Project Loon is boundless. With continued advancements in
technology, partnerships, and deployment strategies, Project Loon has the opportunity to reach even
greater heights and fulfill its vision of universal internet access.

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REFERENCE
1. L. Nagpal and K. Samdani, "Project Loon: Innovating the connectivity worldwide," 2017 2nd
IEEE International Conference on Recent Trends in Electronics, Information & Communication
Technology (RTEICT), Bangalore, India.
2. P. Serrano, M. Gramaglia, F. Mancini, L. Chiaraviglio and G. Bianchi, "Balloons in the Sky:
Unveiling the Characteristics and Trade-Offs of the Google Loon Service," in IEEE Transactions
on Mobile Computing.
3. Wikipedia
4. YouTube

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