The taxi service Uber has teamed up with NASA to autonomously launch flying electric taxis called UberAIR. They have stated the new rides will be up in the sky by the year 2020.
At the annual Elevate Summit in Los Angeles, Uber announced their new plan called UberAIR. NASA released a statement to inform this was the first agreement with Uber for urban air mobility services.
Associate Administrator for NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, Jaiwon Shin said, “Urban air mobility could revolutionize the way people and cargo move in our cities and fundamentally change our lifestyle much like smartphones have.”
How will the way you move around your city change in the next decade? With UberAIR, your futuristic fantasy might be a reality…and a breath of fresh air for urban mobility issues. Tune in to #Elevate18: https://t.co/D9GzazYhLl pic.twitter.com/nGDXUCHmyp
— Uber (@Uber) 9 May 2018
The taxi service released an advertisement for their flying taxi that shows the advantages of UberAIR. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said, “We think cities are going to go vertical in terms of transportation. We want to make that a reality.”
The advertisement features the prototype as it is still in the design phase. The final product might look a little different but the basic plan remains the same.
Your ride in the sky could be arriving as soon as 2020—see what it’ll be like to rise above it all with UberAIR.
Learn more from the #Elevate18 Summit live stream: https://t.co/8OGpAeGXS1 pic.twitter.com/DyweAvmkdA
— Uber (@Uber) 8 May 2018
Our Head of Elevate, Eric Allison, is taking the #Elevate18 stage with @NASA‘s Associate Administrator, Dr. Jaiwon Shin, to discuss what’s next for UberAIR. Tune in: https://t.co/8OGpAeGXS1 pic.twitter.com/jSnh3QIJyd
— Uber (@Uber) 9 May 2018
We’re working with @Uber to further explore the safety and efficiency of the skies over cities in the future. We’ll use airspace management computer modeling and simulations to assess the impacts of small aircraft in these crowded environments. Details: https://t.co/NscauPbtMi pic.twitter.com/bfafkiRQmH
— NASA (@NASA) 8 May 2018
Uber has unveiled its “flying car” concept aircraft at its second annual Uber Elevate Summit. https://t.co/CItaUMF48D pic.twitter.com/x36iDNiFMy
— CNBC (@CNBC) 8 May 2018