For some years now, Facebook has been developing the Aquila project, which is the construction of solar-powered drones with the purpose of providing internet to some parts of the world. However, Mark Zuckerberg's company decided to abandon part of this initiative.
According to Business Insider, Facebook engineering director Yael Maguire revealed that the company will focus on the "underlying technologies" behind the Aquila rather than designing its own aircraft. For that reason, the company ended up laying off 16 employees who were involved in the project.
How to Download Facebook Videos Without Programs [UPDATED 2018] In a post Maguire said the company has decided "that now is the right time to focus on the next set of engineering and regulatory challenges for HAPS connectivity".
"This means that we will no longer be designing and building our own aircraft, and as a result we have closed our Bridgewater facility."
Facebook must now continue with the Aquila project through partnerships with other companies, such as Airbus, but without having to get directly involved in the construction of the drones.
In the same post, Maguire also says that engineering initiatives will focus on improving connectivity equipment, which would be attached to the aircraft, as well as components such as "flight control computers and high-density batteries".
To top it off, the executive also said that he is dedicated to policy initiatives such as "a proposal for the 2019 World Radio Conference to get more spectrum for HAPS" and is seeking approval from regulators.
In any case, despite having faced a lot of instability, the Aquila project managed to set records for the use of millimeter grid technology and still carry out two successful large-scale test flights.
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