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Zhou Buqi has never considered using drones as routers. It sounds like this is indeed a wonderful business story. But from a simple analysis, he knew that this was impossible and difficult to achieve.

"The cost problem cannot be solved!" Zhou Buqi felt that Ma Pingshan was deceived by Kurian, "Don't listen to people's lies, and don't make judgments about industries you don't understand."

Ma Pingshan quickly explained, "I didn't make any judgment. I told Kurian that I don't understand the field of broadband operations and I'm not involved in industrial drones. I didn't agree to anything."

Zhou Buqi nodded, "You are right, Bajixing is currently making consumer-grade drones, which means that the failure rate is relatively high. If such a drone is used as a transfer station for network signals, it will Dozens of engineers, technicians, and network personnel need to be deployed locally, and this long-term cost may be higher than fiber optics.”

Ma Pingshan coughed lightly, "Our technology can improve."

Zhou Buqi said: "Even if technology advances, there will definitely be a failure rate. Once a failure occurs, it may cause the network signal in a certain area to become unstable, which will cause dissatisfaction among users. If we take a step back, even if there is no one, The technology of the drone is very advanced, it does not malfunction, and there is a backup drone on hand at all times. How to calculate the battery life? How long can your drone fly in the sky? 1 hour? 2 hours? There are 24 hours in a day! "

"I have also considered this..."

"It's not over yet. What if we encounter bad weather? There is strong wind and the drone is blown away. What if it blows to the ground and hits people and causes an accident? Or it rains heavily and causes the drone's battery to short-circuit. If it falls and causes a fire, what should I do?"

"In a new industry, there will definitely be various possible problems, and we can always come up with solutions."

Ma Pingshan is aware of these hidden dangers, but he does not think it is a serious problem.

Just find the problem and solve it.

You can't just stop moving forward when you encounter a little difficulty, right?

That also lacks entrepreneurial spirit.

Zhou Buqi didn't expect that he was quite persistent, and said helplessly: "Even if you can solve the problem with the drone, can you solve the communication problem? What kind of communication should be used in windy and rainy weather?" How can technology ensure stable transmission even in such unstable signal transmission tools?”

This is the hardest part.

Communication technology is an industry with high R\u0026D intensity. There are many R\u0026D directions in it, and it is one of the industries with the largest R\u0026D investment in the world.

The technical difficulty is extremely high.

This kind of unstable signal transmission is largely used in military, aerospace and other fields. The level of confidentiality is extremely high and cannot be bought with money.

Last month, Kurian said that he was looking for ideas to develop broadband operation business, but Zhou Buqi did not agree. Later, he also learned about some situations in this regard.

Signal transmission around the world either uses cables or signal towers to receive radio waves, which are stable signal base stations.

A drone flying irregularly in the sky is in an unstable state. How difficult is this technically?

It's fine if it's a mobile phone.

Personal mobile phones will also move frequently, and they will even move at high speed while sitting in the car. Solving this problem is not difficult, it is nothing more than increasing the power. If you send a signal request 100 times, you will always be able to successfully connect once. Therefore, when the mobile phone is surfing the Internet, if the signal is poor or the mobile phone is moving at high speed, the mobile phone will heat up significantly because the mobile phone is working at high power.

The mobile phone is for a single person, but this drone router functions as a base station, which is intended for tens of thousands of people and hundreds of thousands of people in the area. How many signals does this have to send? How much power does this waste? It can fly for 2 hours during normal cruising, but may run out of battery after 20 minutes of work.

Zhou Buqi talked it through, and Ma Pingshan gradually realized the obstacles here. This kind of cross-industry breakthrough related to hard-core technology is really difficult.

No wonder everyone is innovating in the Internet industry, which has the lowest threshold.

Zhou Buqi said with a smile: "Actually, the concept of drone network is not impossible, but the model has to change."

"Oh, is it so?"

"The difficulties of drone routers are nothing more than a few points, operating costs, battery life, flight safety and unstable signal transmission."

"Um."

Ma Pingshan has been working as a drone in Pengcheng in the past few years, and has not had much contact or communication with Boss Zhou. He only gets together during holidays.

When I met Boss Zhou this time, I felt that his whole temperament was different.

Gentle and elegant, like a spring breeze!

So confident!

In the past, when talking about technology-related matters, he would always laugh at himself and say that he was a technical idiot and didn't understand anything. This time it was different, he dared to talk.

He really has the demeanor of a world-class entrepreneur.

Zhou Buqi asked his secretary to make tea and dismantled it bit by bit with him. "If you want to reduce operating costs, you can't set up too many local operating sites. It's best to release drones at the headquarters and then let them The plane flies to the work site by itself. If it encounters a malfunction, let them fly back by itself."

"Well……"

Ma Pingshan twitched the corner of his mouth, and the difficulty level suddenly increased again.

Zhou Buqi continued: "As for the battery life, a normal high-density battery can fly for 24 hours, which is too short and far from enough. It is best to allow the drone to fly continuously for several months. , a few years, or even fly forever.”

"Ah?" Ma Pingshan was stunned, "A nuclear power battery? This is impossible!"

Zhou Buqi smiled and said: "It doesn't have to be a nuclear-powered battery. Solar panels can be painted on the outside of the aircraft, and then equipped with batteries and engines. The aircraft can generate its own electricity and work by itself, relying on solar energy during the day to provide energy."

"Well……"

Ma Pingshan didn't know what to say.

This is another huge challenge.

Zhou Buqi said: "Third, flight safety is particularly important. In developed countries in Europe and the United States, if you do this kind of thing and injure someone, the compensation may be hundreds of millions of dollars."

"Um."

Ma Pingshan looked serious.

Zhou Buqi said: "The solution is also simple. First, avoid the wind; second, avoid the rain; third, if there is an accident and it falls, it is best to allow the aircraft to automatically disintegrate in the air and become Countless small fragments, allowing the small fragments to slowly fall under the buoyancy of the air, becoming harmless."

Ma Pingshan opened his eyes wide, "How is that possible?"

Zhou Buqi said: "Why is it impossible? Put the drone into the stratosphere, put it at a high altitude. It is at low altitude even when it is windy or rainy. It does not affect high-altitude operations, and the flying height is higher than that of civil aviation aircraft."

Ma Pingshan trembled, "That's not a small plane that can run. It has to be a very large drone, at least the size of a Boeing 747."

In the airplane business, the smaller the aircraft, the easier it is, and the larger the aircraft, the more difficult it is. The larger it is, the longer the lever is and the harder it is to maintain stability. A little force may cause the wings to break or even the aircraft to disintegrate.

Boss Zhou was so whimsical that he completely stopped thinking about Bajixing. Not to mention the Bajixing, a drone of this level cannot be built with the entire country.

Zhou Buqi continued: "There is another safety issue. Once the drone malfunctions and falls, it cannot hit the civil aviation aircraft. This is too dangerous. I am afraid that the National Civil Aviation Industry Association will not be able to pass the test."

"yes!"

"If these problems are solved, it will be easier to handle, and the steady-state structure of signal transmission can also be organized. For example, 30,000 high-altitude drones will be deployed around the world to cruise and fly around the earth, covering the whole world. Keep it fixed distance and maintain uniform motion. This is also equivalent to a steady-state structure, and the difficulty of communication will be greatly reduced."

"Forget it, I give up." Ma Pingshan looked like he was surrendering, "Even if all of this is done, the cost will be astronomical. Just to develop this kind of drone that is suitable for ultra-high-altitude flight." , the set of solar power generation and energy supply equipment alone is an incredible investment, it is better to just lay optical fiber."

Zhou Buqi said: "So, this matter is not feasible, but this idea is correct."

"Idea?" Ma Pingshan shook his head, "It's too far away and unrealistic."

"That's not necessarily the case."

"Um?"

"You have said, find problems and solve them. You found that many remote areas and underdeveloped countries have a problem of lack of network facilities. This is a good problem. But the answer to the problem should not be drones."

"what is that?"

"satellite."

Ma Pingshan raised his eyebrows, "Satellite? Transmit network signals like mobile phone signal transmission?"

Zhou Buqi said: "Yes."

Ma Pingshan couldn't laugh or cry, "How many satellites will we have to launch? Isn't the cost higher?"

Zhou Buqi said: "Satellites can solve the hidden dangers of all drones. Even if the satellite fails, it can only be scattered in the universe and will not threaten the safety of the earth. This is the most important thing. There is also battery life, satellites It can revolve by relying on the gravity of the earth and consumes almost no energy. With tens of thousands of satellites orbiting the earth to form a fixed and stable structure, the signal transmission will be stable."

"What about the cost?"

"Yes, cost. As long as you find a way to solve the cost problem of satellites, you can put this model into operation. Next, you just need to find ways to reduce the cost of satellites."

"How to lower it?"

"I invested in a private aerospace company in the United States."

"Private..." Ma Pingshan started, and suddenly remembered that there are too few private aerospace companies in the world, "Elon Musk's SpaceX! It's the guy who makes Tesla cars. He makes A rocket recovery system has come out, which is said to save 80% of launch costs."

Zhou Buqi was leisurely sitting across from him drinking tea, "Yes, that's what it means. Just wait, maybe ten years, maybe twenty years, you can see the effect."

Ma Pingshan said with emotion, "Technology changes the world!"