Facebook Connectivity, in partnership with ULC Robotics, has developed a robot capable of winding fiber optics into medium voltage (MV) power cables that typically serve residential areas around the world, three to five times cheaper than traditional way of laying fibers.
Karthik Yogeeswaran, a wireless engineer at Facebook Connectivity, told a blog publishing that the idea for the project came after taxiacross Africa and observing the ubiquitous power cable infrastructure, which is far more widespread than the country's total fiber 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 to handle a medium voltage line which was a key 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 overall cost of deploying aerial fiber, we expect our system to have a significant impact on internet availability, especially in countries where workers earn less than $5,50 a day."
