Google announced the acquisition of Titan Aerospace, a company based in New Mexico that produces drones. There are no information about the price paid by Google but a few weeks ago there were rumors that Facebook had offered $60 million for the company. It’s possible that Google has offered more but Facebook ended up buying another company in that sector, Ascenta, for $20 million so it’s difficult to say how much it actually cost to buy Titan Aerospace.

Due to the acquisition of robot maker Boston Dynamics by Google at the end of 2013, now someone might worry. Actually, Titan Aerospace doesn’t produce war drones but for civilian uses. In fact, they are solar-powered aircraft that can reach an altitude of 20,000 meters (almost 66,000 feet) and have an autonomy of 5 years that Google can use for some of its projects.

First of all, Google may use those drones for its Project Loon, which aims to send balloons into the atmosphere to bring a high-speed Internet connection in areas not covered. The idea is to provide a wireless connection up to 1 Gbps, meaning at very high speeds. Titan Aerospace’s drones, being airplanes, have fewer problems than balloons in case of bad weather and are solar-powered so they might represent a better solution.

Titan Aerospace’s drones can take photographs of the areas they fly over, useful to keep Google Maps and Google Earth updated. Using the drones instead of a satellite could be much cheaper, especially if it’s just one of their tasks.

Last year, Google bought Makani Power, a company that manufactures airborne wind turbines. The idea is to transmit the generated power to the ground via a cable connected to them. Titan Aerospace’s drones could also be used for this project, presumably flying at altitudes far lower than 20,000 meters.

We have just to see how Google will develop its various projects bringing together those of the various companies acquired in recent months. Considering Facebook and Amazon’s interest for drones, in the coming years we can expect a sky increasingly full.

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