Google has acquired Titan Aerospace, the drone startup that makes
high-flying robots which was previously scoped by Facebook as a
potential acquisition target the WSJ reports.
The details of the purchase weren’t disclosed, but the deal comes after
Facebook disclosed its own purchase of a Titan Aerospace competitor in
U.K.-based Ascenta for its globe-spanning Internet plans.
Both Ascenta and Titan Aerospace are in the business of high altitude
drones, which cruise nearer the edge of the earth’s atmosphere and
provide tech that could be integral to blanketing the globe in cheap,
omnipresent Internet connectivity to help bring remote areas online.
According to the WSJ, Google will be using Titan Aerospace’s expertise
and tech to contribute to Project Loon, the balloon-based remote
Internet delivery project it’s currently working on along these lines.
That’s not all the Titan drones can help Google with, however. The
company’s robots also take high-quality images in real-time that could
help with Maps initiatives, as well as contribute to things like
“disaster relief” and addressing “deforestation,” a Google spokesperson
tells WSJ. The main goal, however, is likely spreading the potential
reach of Google and its network, which is Facebook’s aim, too. When you
saturate your market and you’re among the world’s most wealthy
companies, you don’t go into maintenance mode; you build new ones.
As for why an exit to Google looked appealing to a company like Titan, Sarah Perez outlines how Titan had sparked early interest from VCs
thanks to its massive drones, which were capable of flying at a
reported altitude of 65,000 feet for up to three years, but how there
was also a lot of risk involved that would’ve made it difficult to find
sustained investment while remaining independent.
Google had just recently demonstrated how its Loon prototype balloons
could traverse the globe in a remarkably short period of time, but the
use of drones could conceivably make a network of Internet-providing
automotons even better at globe-trotting, with a higher degree of
control and ability to react to changing conditions. Some kind of hybrid
system might also be in the pipeline that marries both technologies.
Titan Aerospace also represents just the latest in a string of
robotics acquisitions Google has been making lately, which include
Boston Dynamics and seven other companies purchased to help fuel its
experimental robotics program under Andy Rubin. There’s no question
Google has bots on the brain, but thanks to Loon ambitions, the
reasoning behind the Titan buy might be the most transparent yet.
