Uber envisions a world of flying cars
SICK of spending hours stuck in traffic on your morning commute?
Uber has a solution – take to the skies.
The San Francisco-based ridehailing company recently published a 97-page document laying out its vision for a world in which the commute lane is over our heads – literally.
The so-called “flying cars” Uber envisions actually are vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, which are small, fixed-wing planes that hover like helicopters. A drawing published with Uber’s report shows one such plane with six propellers attached to the wings and tail of what appears to be a tiny, two-seater aircraft.
“Imagine travelling from San Francisco’s Marina to work in downtown San Jose – a drive that would normally occupy the better part of two hours – in only 15 minutes,” Jeff Holden, the company’s chief product officer, wrote.
The flying cars Uber imagines would be electric (so no harmful emissions), quiet (no noise pollution) and could take-off and land on top of parking garages or on unused land near highways. Uber envisions commuters summoning the aircraft through a ride-hailing network.
To be clear, Uber is not announcing that it will actually build these aircraft. Rather the company is trying to make a compelling case for the practicality and feasibility of the technology. Recode theorises that this is similar to Elon Musk’s Hyperloop concept.
He laid out the idea for the rapid transport system but didn’t start work on the project himself, which led to the creation of two separate companies – Hyperloop One and Hyperloop Technologies – that now are competing to make his concept a reality.
Already more than a dozen companies are working on flying cars, Uber says.
But don’t expect to go soaring over the highway tomorrow. There are still several hurdles to overcome before this technology can be adopted on a large scale, Uber pointed out.
The aircraft will need to go through the FAA’s certification process, the batteries that power the aircraft will need to be improved, some sort of air traffic control system will need to be implemented, the price of the aircraft will have to come down and pilots will have to be trained (though that need may be eliminated if the planes become autonomous).
And companies will have to convince passengers that flying to work is just as safe as taking an Uber. – The Mercury News/Tribune News Service