Google's X, its ‘moonshot factory’, has presented this prototype photonic chip as part of its Taara project. — Google
For several years, Google has been offering Internet access in developing countries via simple light beams, without the need for fiber-optic cables. This project, known as Taara, has now taken a major step forward, with the arrival of a photonic chip that, in theory, makes this technology less complex, less costly and easier to deploy.
Taara is being developed by Google's X research and development laboratory. Its aim is to provide high-speed Internet access using very narrow, invisible light beams to transmit data over long distances, rather than fiber-optic cable infrastructure.
Since its launch in 2017 and its first pilot projects (named as FSOC, for Free Space Optical Communications), Taara has already been deployed in around 10 countries, including India and Kenya, in areas that are difficult to access or economically unviable, demonstrating firsthand the technology's potential for bridging the digital gap between different regions.
Now, Taara has reached a new milestone with the X team's introduction of a silicon photonic chip just over a centimeter long, capable of transmitting data at up to 10 Gbps over a distance of one kilometer, outdoors. This advance considerably reduces the size and complexity of the equipment needed for this technology to operate effectively. Ultimately, this could make it even easier to deploy.
A photonic chip is an integrated circuit that uses photons (the elementary particles of light) to transmit and process information.
Google estimates that nearly three billion people worldwide are not connected to the Internet, and many more live with connectivity that is too slow, unreliable or expensive. Deploying a vast fiber optic network in challenging terrain can be time-consuming and costly, hence the utility of this light-beam alternative. This technology is particularly well-suited to riverside areas, rugged terrain and national parks, for example. – AFP Relaxnews
