Fiber-Spinning Robot

Facebook has developed a robot that’s designed to make expanding Internet access easier and cheaper. Called Bombyx (Latin for silkworm), the machine can crawl along medium-voltage power lines and weave fiber optic cable around them. The robots can access areas that humans can’t, such as remote areas and power lines that stretch high above a river, and there’s no need to cut power during installation. Even the cable itself is different, with a diameter of only 4 mm as compared to 7 to 13 mm for traditional fiber. Weight is also drastically reduced from 250 to only 28 pounds per kilometer.

The pandemic has exposed a digital divide that will require a both/and solution, but as carriers continue to roll out wireless networks, many users are still left without Internet because of the high cost. Fiber optic has much higher bandwidth, and by using existing power infrastructures, the cost of installation can be greatly reduced.

Facebook plans to license the technology next year when they will launch a program that uses partner companies to manufacture and sell the robots.