Social Media

Google's Androids Invade Outer Space [VIDEO]


Apparently the Internet, our phones and the world's roads aren't enough for Google. Now, the tech giant has sent its Android-powered army to conquer space.

Okay, so maybe Google wasn't interested in seizing the final frontier (not yet, at least), but it did use the Android OS to send seven payloads of Android figurines and Nexus S devices more than 100,000 feet above the Earth's surface. It was part of a project to collect data at the outermost edge of our atmosphere.

Each rig involved placing a Nexus S into a foam cooler loaded with Google Maps for Mobile 5.0, Google Sky Map, Latitude and a custom sensor-logging app. Each payload included an APRS transmitter attached to a high-altitude GPS device, a battery for power, a radar reflector, a parachute and a weather balloon. Also, each payload carried different video and digital cameras and Android "astronauts."

Google got great data out of the project, learning that the Nexus S functions just fine at around 60,000 feet and was able to withstand temperatures of -50 degrees Celsius. Google even figured out that the jet stream moves at about 130 miles per hour at around 35,000 feet.

We still don't completely trust those Android astronauts, though. They're up to something. We're not being paranoid at all.

Load Comments

What's New

What's Rising

What's Hot