Home » Samsung use Pigeon Power to give you Fli-Fy

Samsung use Pigeon Power to give you Fli-Fy

 

Samsung has announced today that they will be providing the people of London with their special pigeon powered internet. Pigeon movement will be harnessed to provide people with internet, and while the service will start in London, it will slowly spread to rest of the country…

We leave you with the press release:

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London, UK – April 1 2014 – Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has today announced the start of a pilot scheme in central London to improve internet access in public squares and parks.

In a revolutionary move, the company has harnessed the power of pigeons to create temporary, mobile Wi-Fi cover.  Dubbed ‘Fli-Fy’, the technology sees micro-router packs attached to London pigeons.  These packs are lightweight, water-resistant and do not impede the pigeon’s normal flying action.

In tests where more than 50 birds gather together, they can provide a signal strength exceeding even 4G.

Tim Verhoeven, Project Director, Samsung Innovation Labs explained: “This is about thinking laterally – using one nuisance, pigeons, to fix another, a lack of Wi-Fi.  It is a breakthrough of sorts but of course pigeons have always been at the forefront of mobile communications technology.  From the sixth century BC, pigeons have been used as the fastest and most reliable way to send messages over great distances. As you’re never far from a pigeon in London, we think this idea could really take off.”

The scheme will initially focus on the Piccadilly Circus area which, according to pigeon heat maps, will offer one of the best concentrations of birds and therefore strength of signal.  Samsung has contacted the Mayor of London’s Office to discuss the possibilities of temporarily standing down the Harris Hawk which patrols around Nelson’s Column, thereby opening up Trafalgar Square to Samsung Fli-Fy.

Ralf Lopio, Senior Pigeon Engineer at Samsung added further details on why pigeons were chosen: “Pigeons have a natural inbuilt GPS function called ‘homing’ and have hollow bones so they are natural conductors of electricity so can recharge the routers when they sit on telegraph wires. They are also non-migratory so we won’t lose signal in the winter.”

If this pilot scheme is successful, Samsung will roll out the network across the entire UK. This will also include the release of the free Samsung Fli-Fy app – available on Samsung Apps and Google Play – which will allows users to check the strength of their local network.

To find out more about Samsung Fli-Fy please visit samsung.com/uk/flify/

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