Flying-Taxi
Hyundai and Uber showcase flying taxi concept at CES 2020
HYUNDAI HAS PARTNERED WITH Uber for an Urban shared air mobility solution in the form of a flying taxi. The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas has been a hotbed for all sorts of ride-sharing mobility concepts in the past few years. Hyundai has joined the rest of the automotive manufacturers to come out with their vision of the future of transport solutions in urban areas.
Hyundai has big plans to take on the urban mobility sector with Uber, who have been pioneers in this space. Both Hyundai and Uber showcased the Urban Air Taxi, which they hope will cut down commute times drastically, allowing people to make the best use of their time. This Hyundai S-A1 concept will only be ready by 2029-2030 and will be able to carry four passengers (besides the pilot). Hyundai showcased a full quad-rotor concept with a tilt-rotor function for vertical take offs and landings. The rotor design aims to reduce noise, and the aircraft is said to have a top cruising speed of 290kmph, with an altitude cap of around 2000 feet. Being electric, Hyundai hopes to reduce turnaround times, with predicted charging times of about five to seven minutes. Initially there will be a pilot to monitor the systems but down the line, Hyundai hopes to make it a completely autonomous system. Hyundai has also developed the Hub (or docking station) which will offer a host of features for commuters like a restaurant, coffee shop, hotel, even a clinic and pharmacy.
Hyundai stated it will be in charge of the vehicle development and Uber will take care of all the logistics required to get approval for running these operations in chosen cities. Uber hopes to match its Uber Black rates for this service when they launch so it can be a realistic alternative. Hyundai have also said they plan to position this as an alternative to a traditional helicopter without all the hassles (such as maintenance costs, noise regulations and aviation approvals), and they can be deployed on the airport shuttle routes. Over the past few years we have seen many concepts but with a major global manufacturer like Hyundai getting into this segment we will definitely be keeping an eye out for new autonomous technology being developed.