NASA and Uber to develop flying taxis under Uber Elevate
If you have recently seen the sci-fi Blade Runner 2049 and was hoping it to be true someday, you need to read this. NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and taxi service provider Uber have signed an agreement to develop a future air transport system under the latter's Uber Elevate programme. The electric aircrafts that are essentially Vertical Take-Off and Landing vehicles will start its testing phase in 2020, believes Uber. Further, the company has plans of going full swing run of flying thousands of such flights transporting people by 2028.
The VTOL will be powered by an all-electric powertrain with tiltable rotors. It would look similar to some of the drones and will have complete autonomous capability. Even with all occupants on board, these VTOLs can reach a maximum speed of 322kmph claims the company. This basically means a journey that would usually take an hour and half to finish would be done in flat 15-minutes. This is not the first time that Uber has tied up to get its Uber Air program off to reality from planning stage wherein it was talking with authorities in Dallas-Fort Worth and Dubai to operate flying taxis in those regions.
Additionally, the ticket prices of the air services by Uber won't be too expensive either. According to Uber, an air taxi ride would cost similar to what an Uber X ride would cost for the same distance. The company has set its target of getting flying taxi service operational before the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. So the next time you are stuck in traffic, just pray that Uber's Elevate comes into reality quickly. Here is how life would look with Uber's air services.
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