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High-altitude balloons to provide cell and internet coverage over Kenya
Loon, an Alphabet subsidiary that graduated from Google’s X factory, will soon provide cell phone coverage to rural Kenyans using high altitude balloons. Cellular coverage is lacking in areas outside the country’s main city hubs due to the need for telecommunications infrastructure, a problem which is also faced in underserved communities around the world. To tackle the challenge, Loon has developed a system of interconnected balloons carrying telecom equipment which travel along the edge of space, relaying communications data over areas needing coverage. This innovative system has the potential to provide cellular connectivity anywhere it’s needed, particularly in areas outside the reach of traditional systems or experiencing emergency conditions.
In order to provide a useful communications system with balloons, Loon’s team needed to overcome challenges involved with relaying data along moving targets rather than ground stations. The team’s engineers developed solutions, adding a triangular gondola containing specialized gimbals to orient the signals between nearby balloons, so that the telecom network could manage the constantly changing configuration and keep the cell data moving without interruption. It also enables the system to work with very little ground infrastructure. One ground station can relay data across the balloons for over 600 miles, as the company demonstrated in September of last year.
Besides the challenges with relaying data, Loon also had to develop an method for navigating the balloons in order to target coverage areas. For this, the balloons were built as two balloons in one – an outer balloon filled with helium, and an inner balloon filled with air. When the inner balloon expands, it compresses the helium in the outer balloon and thus increases density. The more dense the helium, the lower it flies, and vice versa. By combining this range of motion with surrounding air currents, Loon’s team is able to navigate the balloons as needed. They’ve mastered this task well enough that the balloons for Kenya will be launched from Puerto Rico, traveling across the Atlantic Ocean until they reach their destinations in Africa.
The primary purpose of Loon’s system is to provide a communications network where none exists; however, the technology is able to adapt to situations where existing networks have been significantly damaged, such as in extreme weather events. The company has already been successfully applied in emergency situations. When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in September 2017, the company partnered with AT&T and T-Mobile to provide emergency connectivity to over 200,000 residents while repairs to their cellular infrastructure were underway. Text messaging and Internet access via LTE-compatible phones were temporarily restored.
The company will spend the first half of 2019 testing and finalizing its Kenyan system before Telkom Kenya, the country’s primary cellular provider, begins using the network for rural customer coverage. Loon has already begun construction of the minimal ground infrastructure needed, the stations in Nairobi and Nakuru being complete as are regulatory approvals. Millions of Kenyans stand to benefit from Loon’s mission and technology, and if successful, it will add to the growing options for connectivity in underserved communities around the world.
For more on the way Loon’s system works, watch the video below:
https://youtu.be/MiEZfRh-h-s
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SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) got an absolutely crazy price target rating from Raymond James after the company experienced a tough first few weeks following its Initial Public Offering (IPO).
Despite the tumultuous start, SpaceX has plenty of believers, and the company’s massively successful Starship launch last Friday, its 13th test flight of the massive rocket, went so smoothly that Raymond James analysts pushed its price target on the company to roughly 7 times its current trading level.
SpaceX Starship just nailed something it’s never done before
The firm officially put a “Strong Buy” rating and an $800 price target on the stock. It currently trades at around $113. Its all-time high is $225.64, reaching this trading level shortly after shares first went public.
Raymond James’ price target is tied to the firm’s confidence after Starship’s 13th test flight. Analysts at the firm said it was an incremental step that reduces engineering risks, citing the widely successful heat shield test that CEO Elon Musk recently detailed, the smooth deployment of Starlink V3 satellites, and a successful in-space engine relight.
SpaceX also managed to see Starship splash down safely in the Indian Ocean, while the Super Heavy Booster fell down to the Gulf of America with no incidents.
It is interesting to see these launches have such a tremendous impact on the stock and what investors think of it. After SpaceX initially delayed the Starship launch last week, shares fell tremendously. Most probably did not realize that the stand-down is a standard practice, especially if everything is not perfect.
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The mission was initially aborted due to an issue with Raptor engines. This was resolved, and Starship launched last Friday after another delay on Thursday, which was caused by weather.
Now that analysts have seen what SpaceX launches are capable of and how impressive the feat is, firms are adjusting their price targets accordingly, making it known that they have high expectations for the space exploration company.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has responded to reports that Volvo is officially discontinuing the LiDAR sensor on two of its cars.
Volvo announced that it would officially scrap LiDAR systems on its EX90 and ES90 vehicles in various markets. In Norway, owners will get a €1,800 compensation for features that will never arrive due to this decision. There will be no option to remove the unit from vehicles, either.
The issue stems from Volvo’s supplier, Luminar, and its bankruptcy filing. Luminar will no longer be able to supply LiDAR units to Volvo for the EX90 and ES90, effectively axing any use the unit has on vehicles. Volvo will phase out the data collection processes via the LiDAR system, and it will not be utilized whatsoever.
Musk saw the story on X and responded, stating:
“I did try to warn them. Humans drive using neural nets and optical sensors. Same is true for robot cars.”
I did try to warn them.
Humans drive using neural nets and optical sensors. Same is true for robot cars.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2026
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Musk has been publicly vocal about his disdain for LiDAR systems, once calling them “a fool’s errand,” as he has consistently kept the outlook that they are not needed for effective self-driving.
The typical example used as evidence for this by Musk is humans themselves: made with only eyes and memories, humans are capable of navigating a car by using what they can see and what they’ve personally experienced on the road.
Elon Musk argues lidar and radar make self driving cars more dangerous
“Same is true for robot cars,” Musk says, as Teslas have eight exterior cameras that help see everything surrounding the vehicle, and a neural network that analyzes behavior and tendencies with every mile driven.
Tesla is a vision-only self-driving company that ditched sensors and radar several years ago in favor of cameras. Behind this effort, the company has established a reputation for having one of the most robust self-driving platforms in the world.
Musk’s big bet with Tesla on its self-driving program’s strategy has widely paid off. Other companies continue to utilize things like LiDAR, radar, and sensors for effective self-driving, but Tesla has shown that there is more than one way to give consumers a strong and accurate driver assistance suite.
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The real question is: who will be the first company to take Musk’s advice and attempt a self-driving platform based on cameras only, or even license FSD for themselves?
Tesla has started to deploy the 2026 Summer Update to owners across its fleet, and among the biggest changes are improvements to Navigation, a new startup animation for the Model 3 and Model Y, Caraoke scoring, and new capabilities for Grok.
As the update has started making its way to some cars, we can now see a few of the features operating in real-time. We will show you what some of the new features look like in this article, along with some additional details on what changed.
Not all of the new features in the 2026 Summer Update have quite made an appearance, but some of them have, so we’ll show those here:
New Animation Screen for 3/Y
Tesla is rolling out a new startup animation for Tesla Model 3 and Model Y owners. This is present in Launch Edition and Performance Model 3 and Model Y, but other trim levels do not have anything like this.
The new animation screen on Model 3/Y with the 2026 Summer Update
Apparently color will also be customizable: pic.twitter.com/wSdwggtG3S
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 27, 2026
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Owners can adjust the color associated with the startup animation to suit their preferences. It is a surprise that more automakers do not focus on this animation for their vehicles; it can be a great first impression piece and make the car immediately feel more luxurious.
Tesla has included this on more premium trims, but it is nice to see it on the Model 3 and Model Y.
Grok Improvements
Grok can now adjust more things in the car outside of the Navigation system. Now, drivers can adjust anything from climate to driving settings by simply speaking to the AI assistant in the car:
@Tesla‘s AI assistant (Grok) with its new vehicle commands in action.
Set the climate, your destination and vehicle settings all in one go! pic.twitter.com/0bBTqaAk6G
— Not a Tesla App (@NotATeslaApp) July 28, 2026
You don’t even have to push a button, either. Instead, you can just say “Hey, Grok,” if you have it enabled. That feature rolled out with the 2026 Spring Update just a few months back.
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This is a great feature, especially pertinent for the Robotaxi platform, as there will be no buttons inside the Cybercab when it eventually starts giving rides to the public. It also broadens Grok’s capabilities, which were relatively limited in terms of vehicle setting adjustments beforehand.
SpaceX gets an absolutely crazy price target after rough IPO
Elon Musk responds to Volvo’s latest LiDAR decision
