This week on World Tech Update, Google confirmed its acquisition of drone maker Titan Aerospace, a move poised to advance delivery of the company’s data services and mapping applications.
Titan’s solar-powered aircraft can fly at 65,000 feet and act as “atmospheric satellites.” They are designed to stay in the air for years and can provide voice and data services, according to Titan. The drones can also take images of the Earth and carry atmospheric-based sensor systems.
Facebook was reportedly in talks to buy Titan Aerospace earlier this year, but the social network later said it was bringing on team members from U.K.-based Ascenta, which makes its own solar-powered, unmanned aircraft.
And forget 4K, Japanese broadcaster NHK is betting that the next big thing in television is 8K. That’s TV with a resolution of 16 times today’s best high-def picture.
Watch our show to get an idea of 8K in action.
Other stories we’re covering this week:
— Failing to hear any further pings from missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, searchers began using an unmanned, underwater, torpedo-shaped robot, the Bluefin-21.
— Sales of Sony’s PlayStation 4 surpassed 7 million units worldwide, but supply problems continue.
— We got an inside look at the Linac Coherent Light Source at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The powerful X-ray laser allows scientists to peer deep inside materials and see how they work on an atomic level.
— Fujitsu is experimenting with a gaze-tracking sensor to figure out what shoppers really want to buy. We caught a demo at Fujitsu Laboratories outside of Tokyo.