Google’s ambitious project; Artificial intelligence data centers are going into Earth orbit

It seems that Google, in an ambitious plan, plans to build its artificial intelligence data centers in space to benefit from solar energy.

According to The Verge, this American technology giant has started a project called Suncatcher to deal with the limited resources of artificial intelligence data centers that consume a lot of energy, which aims to send artificial intelligence chips into space on satellites that work with solar energy.

The next generation of Google’s artificial intelligence data centers will be built in space

If this project is successful, it will create the first data center based in space. Google hopes that with this work, it will be able to use solar energy 24 hours a day without stopping. The company’s dream is to tap into a nearly limitless supply of clean energy that could allow them to pursue their AI ambitions without the concerns that land-based data centers have raised about power plant emissions and rising electricity costs.

“In the future, space may be the best place to expand the processing power of artificial intelligence,” Google CEO Travis Biles wrote in a blog post. Google has also detailed its progress in this project in a paper that has not yet been subjected to scientific review.

Of course, many technical challenges must be overcome during the implementation of such a project. Google plans to deploy its artificial intelligence chips on satellites equipped with solar panels and placed in Earth orbit. According to Google, these solar panels can produce electricity almost continuously, making them up to 8 times more efficient than similar panels on Earth.

One of the main challenges is that the satellites can communicate well with each other. Google says that to compete with ground-based data centers, connections between satellites must have speeds of tens of terabits per second.

Google also needs to make sure that its chips can withstand higher levels of radiation in space. Google has tested its Trillium TPU chips for radiation resistance and says they can last up to 5 years without permanent damage.

Google has announced that it plans to carry out a joint mission with the Planet company and put some sample satellites in orbit to test its hardware by 2027.