Google has acquired Titan Aerospace, the drone startup that makes high-flying robots which was previously scoped by Facebook as a potential acquisition target (as first reported by TechCrunch), the WSJ reports. The details of the purchase weren’t disclosed, but the deal comes after Facebook disclosed its own purchase of a Titan Aerospace competitor in U.K.-based Ascenta for its globe-spanning Internet plans. Both Ascenta and Titan Aerospace are in the business of high altitude drones, which cruise nearer the edge of the earth’s atmosphere and provide tech that could be integral to blanketing the globe in cheap, omnipresent Internet connectivity to help bring remote areas online. According to the WSJ, Google will be using Titan Aerospace’s expertise and tech to contribute to Project Loon, the balloon-based remote Internet delivery project it’s currently working on along these lines. That’s not all the Titan drones can help Google with, however. The company’s robots also take high-quality images in real-time that could help with Maps initiatives, as well as contribute to things like “disaster relief” and addressing “deforestation,” a Google spokesperson tells WSJ.

The main goal, however, is likely spreading the potential reach of Google and its network, which is Facebook’s aim, too. ar drone 2 camera qualityWhen you saturate your market and you’re among the world’s most wealthy companies, you don’t go into maintenance mode; ar drone 2 rc kityou build new ones.where to buy the ar drone in australia As for why an exit to Google looked appealing to a company like Titan, Sarah Perez outlines how Titan had sparked early interest from VCs thanks to its massive drones, which were capable of flying at a reported altitude of 65,000 feet for up to three years, but how there was also a lot of risk involved that would’ve made it difficult to find sustained investment while remaining independent.ar drone 2 controls reversed

Google had just recently demonstrated how its Loon prototype balloons could traverse the globe in a remarkably short period of time, but the use of drones could conceivably make a network of Internet-providing automotons even better at globe-trotting, with a higher degree of control and ability to react to changing conditions. ar drone 2 foroSome kind of hybrid system might also be in the pipeline that marries both technologies.ar drone 2 fehler ultraschall Titan Aerospace also represents just the latest in a string of robotics acquisitions Google has been making lately, which include Boston Dynamics and seven other companies purchased to help fuel its experimental robotics program under Andy Rubin. There’s no question Google has bots on the brain, but thanks to Loon ambitions, the reasoning behind the Titan buy might be the most transparent yet.

Google has seen off interest from Facebook to buy a company that manufactures high-altitude drones, part of the technology giant's efforts to bring internet access to far-flung corners of the world. The acquisition of New Mexico's Titan Aerospace for an undisclosed fee was announced on Monday night, just weeks after Facebook was reported to be interested in the company. Titan Aerospace, which has around 20 employees, develops solar-powered unmanned aircraft that can fly non-stop for years hundreds of metres above the ground, beaming wireless signals to the ground. "Titan Aerospace and Google share a profound optimism about the potential for technology to improve the world," a Google spokesman said. "It’s still early days, but atmospheric satellites could help bring internet access to millions of people, and help solve other problems, including disaster relief and environmental damage like deforestation. It’s why we’re so excited to welcome Titan Aerospace to the Google family." Both Facebook and Google are racing to develop ways of connecting up the billions of potential users in developing economies.

Last year, Google launched "Project Loon", a scheme to build balloons that send signals to the ground, while Facebook recently bought the UK-based aerospace company Ascenta. Using high-altitude aircraft is seen as cheaper and quicker than installing wired telecoms networks in countries with little infrastructure and sparse populations. Titan Aerospace's drones can also take pictures of the earth's surface, potentially making Google's mapping software more accurate. "At Titan Aerospace, we’re passionate believers in the potential for technology (and in particular, atmospheric satellites) to improve people’s lives," a statement on Titan Aerospace's website said. "It’s still early days for the technology we’re developing, and there are a lot of ways that we think we could help people, whether it’s providing internet connections in remote areas or helping monitor environmental damage like oil spills and deforestation. That’s why we couldn’t be more excited to learn from and work with our new colleagues as we continue our research, testing and design work as part of the Google family."

Google's game of dronesTechnology companies are expanding beyond the Net and taking to the skies -- literally, with solar-powered drones that will beam broadband Internet access to the developing world, which houses growing numbers of newly minted Web users these companies want desperately to get their hands on.Facebook recently purchased Ascenta, a UK-based startup that makes solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) -- or simply called drones -- for $20 million. Now, Google has entered the fray, purchasing drone maker Titan Aerospace for an undisclosed sum, according to a posting on Titan's now barebones Web site: "We're thrilled to announce that Titan Aerospace is joining Google." In fact, Google scooped up the roughly 20-person startup, based in New Mexico and headed up by former Symantec CEO Vern Raburn, after it was widely reported that Facebook was interested in buying it. Raburn will stay in charge of Titan Aerospace, Google told The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the acquisition.

His team will work closely with Google's Project Loon, the outlandish initiative -- born out of Google's in-house "moon shot" facility Google X that brought us Glass and the self-driving car -- to deliver Internet via air balloon. The drone company says it expects "initial commercial operations" to start in 2015. Titan Aerospace, similar to Facebook-owned competitor Ascenta, is developing two insect-like drones -- the smaller of the two with a wingspan a tad larger than a Boeing 767 -- with wing-mounted solar panels that will power the aircraft's batteries to keep it afloat at night. The aircraft, which will fly as high as 12 miles in the sky, are expected to have a long-term aerial lifespan of five years. The drones' primary function will be to help send Internet to places without a current connection at speeds as high as 1 gigabit per second, which -- matching the speeds of fiber-delivered Internet -- outranks many developed countries. The US averages only 7.2 megabits per second as of 2014, according to the most recent Akamai "State of the Internet" report.

Titan Aerospace also will be outfitting its drones with imaging technology that could bolster the efforts of other Google initiatives like Maps. This includes high-resolution imaging of the Earth, alongside atmospheric sensors and other satellite-provided cellular functions like data and voice call connection."It's still early days for the technology we're developing," in particular "atmospheric satellites," Titan said on its Web site. "There are a lot of ways that we think we could help people, whether it's providing Internet connections in remote areas or helping monitor environmental damage like oil spills and deforestation."Beyond the seemingly humanitarian-geared goals of creating a satellite network of drones lies the next big technology arms race: turning the citizens of developing countries all over the world into not only active Web users, but consumers of products from the very same companies bringing them online. Google has Android and its slew of low-cost handsets that run on it to help in that effort, while Facebook has been working to make its social network function in areas of limited data connectivity by creating a text-only version.