Microsoft has put a data centre in the sea in an experimental effort to see if it can provide internet services faster to coastal cities using renewable energy.
As part of its bigger Project Natick "moonshot," Microsoft has put the data centre on the seafloor close to Scotland's Orkney Islands.
The data centre is submerged 117 feet under the sea and is powered by a submarine cable running from Orkney. Microsoft picked the islands because it wants its data centres to run on renewable power, and Orkney is a major hub for renewable energy.
Scroll on to see to see photos of how the project unfolded.
A Microsoft employee first came up with the idea of an underwater data centre in a whitepaper, and the company's artificial intelligence and research division took on the project in 2014. Data centres are the internet's backbone, storing huge amounts of information.
MicrosoftThe wider goal with Project Natick is to deploy data centres at scale anywhere in the world within 90 days.
Microsoft/Red Box Pictures
Most data centres can take anywhere from one to two years to deploy — but as more of the world comes online, it would be handy to speed this process up.
The company initially built a proof-of-concept vessel last year in the calm waters of California, which operated for 105 days. It was called Leona Philpot, after the character in Microsoft Xbox game "Halo."
Microsoft ResearchSee the rest of the story at Business Insider
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SEE ALSO: This is Microsoft's plan to power the internet from under the sea
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