Facebook Connectivity, in cooperation with ULC Robotics, has developed a robot capable of winding optical fibers on medium voltage (MV) power lines that typically serve residential areas across much of world, costing three to five times cheaper than the traditional way of laying fiber.
Karthik Yogeeswaran, a wireless engineer at Facebook Connectivity, told a blog publishing that the idea for the project came after traveling to Africa and observing the ubiquitous power line infrastructure, which is much more widespread than the country's overall fiber optic footprint.
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The robot is made to be able to avoid and cross any obstacles it encounters on its way.
Keeping the robot's weight low makes it ideal for handling a line medium voltage something that was a basic challenge for manufacturers because it would limit the amount of fiber it could carry.
To be able to navigate obstacles, the robot can lift its middle section containing the fiber systems and rotate. Once the obstacle is passed, it lowers its middle part to continue wrapping. The robot has a vision system to detect obstacles and adjust its movements.
"By reducing the total cost of developing fiber over the air, we expect our system to have a significant impact on internet availability, especially in countries where workers earn less than $ 5,50 a day."
