Google's Balloon-Powered Internet Project

Google is cooking up Project Loon, bringing internet access to rural areas using high-altitude balloons. And that altitude is super high -- the balloons float in the stratosphere, beaming a sort of cellular-style signal back to terrestrial antennas. Using solar power arrays, the balloons can drift up and down into existing air currents, allowing them to travel without side-to-side propulsion. Pretty neat!

The first large test of Project Loon happens this month in New Zealand. Let's see how it works in the video below. I, for one, welcome our stratospheric internet overlords.