These slides use concepts from my (Jeff Funk) course entitled analyzing hi-tech opportunities to analyze the increasing economic feasibility of high-altitude solar glider for Internet access. The falling cost of electronics and solar cells are making these glider economically feasible when compared to traditional satellites. They have lower manufacturing and launch costs than do traditional satellites and lower installation costs than do fiber optic cable. This enables them to provide cheaper Internet access in developing countries where Internet access is still limited to cities.

1. HAPS
High-Altitude “Pseudo-Satellite”
-Solar Cell Glider -
Picture taken from http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21614095-cheap-alternative-satellites-starting-take-west-wind-blows
Chan CheeHuei(Caleb) -A0110243
Jeremy Loke-A0098545
Chin Chee Fei -A0031131
Huang Junjie -A0133835

2. High-Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (HAPS)
•High-Altitude Platform (HAP)
–Balloons, Airships and UAS
–Located in Stratosphere
•Wireless communication alternative
•Combines benefits of terrestrial and satellite communication systems
•Easily deployable and easy to maintain
•Get more coverage in specific areas
•Low cost

3. http://www.slideshare.net/amirgilan/haps-by-amir-gilan

4. Google
http://www.the4cast.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/project-loon-in-pictures-12.jpg

5. http://i0.wp.com/www.defensemedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Titan-Solara-UAV1.jpg?fit=720%2C9999
http://elektronek.webnode.cz/news/making-of-solara-50/
http://elektronek.webnode.cz/news/making-of-solara-50/

6. http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/multimedia/imagegallery/Pathfinder-Plus/ED07-0015-2_prt.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Helios
http://www.3g.co.uk/PR/July2000/3781.htm

7. http://www.suasnews.com/2014/04/29601/airbus-defence-and-space-launches-high-altitude-pseudo-satellite-zephyr-8-programme/
http://theatlasgroup.biz/zephyr-7-high-altitude-pseudo-satellite/
http://www.defenseworld.net/news/10969/Airbus_Zephyr_7_UAV_Completes_11_Day_Non_Stop_Flight# .VDydtr6p3ww
http://www.gizmag.com/zephyr-uav-civil-test-flight/34010/

9. Source: http://www.solarimpulse.com/en/our-adventure/building-a-solar-airplane/
HAPS
•Indefiniteflight
–Toflynonstopandremainintheairforextendedperiodwithoutlanding
•Energyefficiencyiscritical
–Energyreservesmustincreaseduringflightinthedaywhensunisavailable
–Storageinthebatteries
•Bestcompromisebetweenlightness,flexibilityandefficiency
–Solarcellsaremountedonthewings,fuselageandhorizontaltailplane
•Carbonfibreandhoneycombsandwich
–Strongandflexiblematerialrequiredtoencapsulatethesolarcells

10. Source : https://www.etri.re.kr/etri_2012/eng/images/res/res03020502_img04.jpgaccessed 1-Nov-2014
Present –Convergence of terrestrial and satellite communication systems

11. Sat-HAPS link
Inter-HAPS link
Multimedia, Mobile broadband, Integrated, Telecommunication Services
http://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs-wm/9006.pdf
Future -Communication Scenarios
International Telecommunications Union (ITU) assigns
Broadband Fixed Wireless Access (BFWA) services for HAPs
•2 bands ofmm-wave frequencies
–47-48GHz (worldwide)
–28-31GHz (40 countries including Russia and most of Asia)
Source: http://www.port.ac.uk/research/telecoms/researchareas/satellitecommunications/highaltitudeplatformnetworks/

12. Communication Scenarios
•Terrestrial-HAPS-Satellite Scenario
Sat-HAPS link
Sat-HAPS link
HAPS-Ter link
Terrestrial suburban areas
Terrestrial urban areas
A. Mohammed [2010]
Inter-HAPS link
HAPS-Ter link
Terrestrial urban areas
Terrestrial suburban areas
A. Mohammed [2010]
Sat-HAPS link
Remote area
A. Mohammed [2010]
•A stand-alone HAPS Scenario
•Terrestrial-HAPS Scenario

13. Characteristics
http://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs-wm/9006.pdf

14. Project Loon-Equipment Used

15. Project Loon –How it works

16. Solara 50
Washington Post
http://visualoop.com/media/2014/03/The-Solara-50-750x1716.jpg
http://cdn4.thetechjournal.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/solar-powered-drone-solara-50.jpg

17. HAPS –Google Loon vsSolara 50
Source: Internet for All : Stratospheric solutions by Google Loon and FacebookDrone, Northwestern University
Solara 50
Glider

18. HAPS –Google Loon
•New Zealand Trial
–coverage area of 1250 km2
–Cost USD 1.8 million
Internet for All : Stratospheric solutions by Google Loon and Facebook Drone, Northwestern University
Google Map

19. HAPS –Solara 50
•Coverage area 28.9km radius (2625 km2)
•Costs USD 2 million
Google Map
http://cdn4.thetechjournal.net/ wp- content/uploads/2014/03/solar- powered-drone-solara-50.jpg

20. Cost Analysis
•Making a LEO satellite that can track and monitor hurricanes cost $290 mil
•Single satellite launch can range in cost from $50 mill to $400 mil.
•An rough estimate of USD 500mil to make and put satellite to use
•HAPS -> USD 2 mil (250 times cheaper!)
•Exclude many other cost such as training and maintenance, etcas well as risk factors
http://www.globalcomsatphone.com/hughesnet/satellite/costs.html

21. Cost Analysis
•Coverage equivalent
–1 Sat : 100 HAPS
•Cost ratio
–200 Sat : 2 HAPS in mils
•HAPS requiring lower tech manufacturing equipment than Satellite (e.g. NAND->LED)
•Facilities, Maintenance, Mission, Risk, Operation

22. •Characteristics
–Law enforcement surveillance
–Unmanned (8 men crew) and operated at BS
–Up to 600m altitude (up to 4.6km)
–200m coverage (up to 400m)
–24hr operations
–Typical cost USD 0.5mil depending on system equipped
–SGD 30 mil ops saving per year! (USD 23.5 mil)
Similar Platform –Tethered Aerostat Radar System
http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/more-singapore-stories/story/lift-balloon-radar-watch- over-singapore-20141028
Source: Cost: ftp://dns.soest.hawaii.edu/bhowe/outgoing/20120216_CIMES_Alameda/SERMA-1.pdf

23. Coverage
http://www.whoishostingthis.com/blog/2013/12/06/internet-infographic/
http://www.whoishostingthis.com/blog/2013/12/06/internet-infographic/
http://www.fastcolabs.com/3027663/all-about-google-loons-low-cost-space-based- competitor-outernet

24. Application (I) -Pseudo Satellite
•Providealternativecoveragewithhighspeedbroad-bandaccesseveninremoteareas(e.g.Brazil,India)andenhancequalityofwirelesscommunicationsindenselyinfrastructurecitiesfromcommunicationbarriers.
•ProvidesupplementarycoverageduringtimesofreducedGPSavailability
•Providebetterpositionaccuracy

25. Application (II) –Real Time Imagery
•Providing real time imaging during natural disaster and provide emergency respond when lives are at stake.
•Real time imagery could also allow a more accurate weather forecast such as forecasting the arrival of hurricane.
•Provide backup communications relayif terrestrial communications assets such as cell towers, microwave relays and satellite downlinks are damaged.
•Incident awareness and assessment
Picture Source: http://eiast.ae/en/page/satellite-pictures

26. Application (III) –Security
•Border/Marinetime
-Provideintelligence,surveillanceandreconnaissanceincoastaloroceanregionsagainstsuspiciousactivityandidentifythreatstoenableeffectivecountermeasures.
-Identifytransportofillegalgoodsinmassivecoastline
-DedicatedcommunicationssupporttootherUAVsGlobalpositioningsystems(GPS)services
•Military
-Providesurveillanceagainstterrorists’threatstothecountry
-Onoffensiveside,enemyintelligence,precisiontargeting,counter-IED, etc.
-Provideintra-unitcommunicationsandlocationsinfo
E.g.TheU.S.Army’scombatoperationsinAfghanistanandIraqin2001and2003,respectively, showedthattheforceslackedadequateintra-unitcommunications,particularlyatlowerechelons,andthattheuseofsatellitecommunicationsresourcesofferedafuturesolution.ThepromiseofsatelliteswasborneoutbythesuccessofBlueForceTracker,acommunicationssystemusedtotrackthelocationsofunitsandvehiclesconnectedtolow-orbitcommunicationssatellites.LewisJ.[2005]

27. Application (IV) –Others
•Supportothertechnologyandapplications
-Largescaleautonomousvehicles
-Effectiveair/landshippingtracker
-Research
•TeleandBroadbandCommunications
-BetterInternetandmobilenetworkqualityandcoverage(4G,5G, LTEetc)
-Wirelessbroadbandforcommercialflights
-Personalizedcoverageinadesignatedarea
-TheNASAPathfinder/Pluscanprovide1000xthefixedbroadbandcommunicationcapacityusingthesamefrequencybands
-Satellitetelevisionprograms
•ComplementarytooltoSatellites
-Inter-workingscenariotoprovidehighqualityMultimediaBroadcastandMulticastService(MBMS)onanoverlappedterrestrial-HAP-satellitecoverage
-BeyondLineofSight(BLOS)communicationrelay

28. Economic Opportunity (I)
http://www.unisdr.org/we/inform/disaster-statistics
http://www.unisdr.org/we/inform/disaster-statistics
•The opportunity is measured by the count of disasters, not including man-made disaster (e.g. border conflicts, terrorist)
•The motivation from the loss of livesthat could be salvage with better communication and tracking devices

29. Economic Opportunity (II)
•Mobile internet, IoT, Cloud storage, autonomous vehicle -GPS
•Suggest that communication speed, availability and quality are vital to meet the various forecasted demand

31. Economic Opportunity (III)
•Take O & G for example. Due to the constraintsof laying lines across ocean to remote oil rig, O&G entities depends heavily on satellites. Cheaper pseudo-satellite that can be deployed easily is definitely a bargain to help oil rigs at remote areasgain access to communication and improve safety respond network.

32. Components of Solar cell glider
•Indefinite availability and power source
–Solar cell
–Weather proof
•Electric drive train and communications
–Electric power storage
–Integrated Chips
•Construction material
–Lightweight
–Strong
http://www.freesunpower.com/overview.php
Solar panel
Charger controller
Battery
Power inverter

33. •Thebestmodernproductionsiliconcellefficiencyis24%atthecelllevelasreportedbySunPowerinMarchof,2012
•Therestofthesun’senergyarelostasheatandotherenergies
•Crystallinesilicondominatesthesolarmarketin2013
•Thinfilmischeaperbutlesseffective.Toachievethesametotalpoweroutputascrystallinesilicon,itrequires35%morespace
Source: http://solarcellcentral.com/limits_page.html
Silicon Solar Cells

34. Cost of Silicon Solar Electricity
•The2013averagepricewas$0.74
•Thecostofsiliconsolarelectricitydecreasesrapidlyovertheyearsdueto:
1.Increaseinsupply
2.Increasingefficiencyofsolarcells
3.Improvementsinmanufacturingtechnology
4.Economiesofscale
5.Intensecompetitionformajorcontracts
Source: http://solarcellcentral.com/cost_page.html

35. Replacing Silicon with Graphene
•Grapheneisthestrongestmaterialeverdiscoveredandextremelylight(0.77mg/m2)
•TransparentandGoodopticalpropertywithwideabsorptionspectrum
•Goodelectricalconductivity
•Solarcellsefficiencyincreasedfrom8.6%in2012to15.6%in2014,andpotentiallycanincreasefurtherinthenextfewyears
•Potentiallycheapercostthansiliconinthenextfewyearsonwards. (Graph)
Sources: http://www.gizmag.com/graphene-solar-cell-record-efficiency/30466/ http://www.graphenea.com/pages/graphene-price#.VDQb8hapT8t

36. •About 70 percent of the world’s lithium comes from brine (salt lakes); the remainder is derived from hard rock
•The supply is ample and concerns of global shortages are speculative
Abundance of Lithium batteries
•The increase in lithium usage for battery application over the years provide cheap cost of material the choice of lithium polymer
http://retirefunds.blogspot.sg/2010_10_01_archive.html

37. Reduced cell cost suggests the upcoming era of large capacity cells
•As thin digital devices continue to lead the trend, cylindrical and polymer cells may bring the once promising large-capacity cells back into the market. It is expected that starting from 2013, the average size of cell modules will be significantly reduced;
•Due to its large capacity, polymer cell price has dropped rapidly. Small-capacity cells are therefore being less applied in the market, and polymer cells have acquired a larger market share than cylindrical cells.
•Large-capacity cell price continues to fall due to increased production
•As for Large-capacity cells, most of the production line has amortized, so the average price is very competitive; it is expected that the use of large-capacity cells (such as 2.8Ah and 3.0Ah) will continue to increase and accelerate the price decline of large-capacity cells.
Source:http://www.energytrend.com/price/20130506-5180.html

38. Wireless Network (III)

39. Source: “Opportunities for Next Generation Aircraft Enabled by Revolutionary Materials”,CharlieHarris, the director of the Research and Technology Directorate at NASA's Langley Research Center, slide 16
Material -Composite

40. Conclusion
•HAPS or Solar cell gliders offer a wide range of entrepreneur applications
•There are several ‘push’ factors to deploy solar cell gliders based on the potential applications
•The rate of improvement of the components discussed could increase the market share of solar cell gliders in future at lower cost
•It is not a disruptive but merely a complimentary technology to existing communication network

41. References
•A. Mohammed and Z. Yang,“Wireless Communications from High Altitude Platforms: Applications, Deployment and Development” in Communication Technology (ICCT), 12th IEEE International Conference, 2010, p1476 –1479.
•McKinsey Global Institute, “Disruptive technologies: Advances that will transform life, business, and the global economy”, May 2013, p12.
•Lewis J., Geoffrey S. S., Isaac R.P. III, “High-altitude airships for the future force army”, RAND, 2005, p1.
•ThanhT. N. D., “Improving performance of wireless communication systems using adaptive space-time scheme”, International Symposium on Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Oct 2007
•Tom Mendina, Johannes J. Britz, Information Ethics in the Electronic Age, Current Issues in Africa and the World , 2004, p 26.
•http://www.gizmag.com/zephyr-uav-civil-test-flight/34010/, assessed on 21 Oct 2014
•http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21614095-cheap-alternative-satellites-starting-take-west-wind-blows, assessed on 21 Oct 2014

42. Q&A