The Truth Behind Google's Army of Space Androids
The Truth Behind Google's Army of Space Androids
Posted 12/22/2010 at 3:34pm
| by Ryan Whitwam
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Leave it to the uber-nerds at Google to get their science on with the new Nexus S. With the clever cover of "testing the Nexus S sensors", Googlers recently had the opportunity to send seven Nexus S phones up on weather balloons to the very edge of space. The phones were running GPS apps like Google Maps, and Google Sky Map. The verdict is that the sensors worked well, and space looks really cool.
The phones were kept safe in Styrofoam coolers attached to the balloon with nylon rope. A parachute was added to the rig to guide the phones gently back to Earth. When they landed, engineers used Google Latitude to find their brave space faring phones. The data collected from the phones' sensors was also of interest.
According to Google's data. The GPS chip works up to altitudes of 60,000 feet. The phone itself withstood low temperatures of -50 degrees C. The payloads reached an altitude of 107,375 ft (over 20 miles) before the balloons popped. Check the video below for the full rundown.
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Keith E. Whisman
December 23, 2010 at 6:09pm
I was a meteorologist in the Army and that is what I always dreamed of doing. That is an awesome video. I found another video that shows the android getting hit by the string and knocked off. I didn't realize how high the weather balloons got because when I recorded altitude information it was always labeled as millibars.
DDTechGuy
December 22, 2010 at 4:23pm
Ok...I've seen at least the 2nd chapter of this video series elsewhere...MaxPC, ya gotta gett'em all! :)
On a more techie/serious note, any idea if these G-engineers had to get 'flight clearence' prior to sending up the phones?
Not to be all morbid and all, but it would kinda cool to see a "WTF?!?" look on a 747 Pilots face as an Android manned balloon shot by his/her cockpit window! LOL
DDTG
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