Current Events > Uber promises flying cars by 2020

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.wired.com/2017/04/uber-really-seriously-promises-flying-cars-2020/

UBER IS MORE than fly-curious about taking ridesharing to the air. The company announced Tuesday that it plans to roll out a network of flying cars in Dallas-Fort Worth and, of course, Dubai by 2020.

If that sounds ambitious, you possess a basic understanding of the challenges involved here. The kind of aircraft Uber envisions shuttling customers through the air—electric, with vertical takeoff and landing capability, and capable of flying 100 miles in just 40 minutes—don’t exist yet. Nor does the infrastructure to support them. The FAA, an agency not known for speed, must ensure these aircraft meet all federal safety regulations and figure out where and how they fit into a complex air traffic control system.

Instead of cracking those problems on its own, Uber plans to punt. It hopes to play the role of a catalyst, spurring manufacturers to build the aircraft, the FAA to figure out the regulations, and cities to wave them in. Company CEO Travis Kalanick apparently wants to play the role of Elon Musk, who came up with the idea for hyperloop and is letting everyone else figure out how to make it work. The reward for playing Kalanick’s game? Accessing Uber’s 55 million monthly active riders in nearly 600 cities worldwide.

And here’s the crazy part: Uber could make it happen. “I think 2020 is realistic for a vehicle that is not replacing an airplane but replacing a car,” says Richard Pat Anderson, director of the Flight Research Center at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. A purely electric aircraft might remain elusive, but a serial hybrid setup—where the aircraft carries a fuel-burning turbine to keep the juice flowing, much like the Chevrolet Volt—could work.

At its “Uber Elevate” summit Tuesday, the company announced a series of partnerships to start figuring this out. It has joined real estate companies Hillwood Properties in Texas and Dubai Holding in the UAE to identify locations for “vertiports” and get them built. Chargepoint, which operates 34,000 electric vehicle charging spots in North America and Australia, will design, develop, and deploy the infrastructure needed to keep the aircraft going. In a white paper Uber published in October, the company estimated it would need 1,000 aircraft and 83 vertiports, with 12 charging spots apiece, to serve three or four cities.
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flying car blueprints?

they don't even know how it will work and they're gonna build it in 3 years?

No thanks
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japan already has 2 seater drones that can carry people, can fly to a location you tap into a tablet, etc. they existed like 2 or 3 years ago. uber is a bit late to the party on this one.

the problem will always be legislation
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People can barely drive, I sure as fuck don't want them flying.
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I dont want a drunkin guy flying and crash into my house :<
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This sounds like a terrible idea, but it's also coming from the company that shouldn't really be able to operate with their current model
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Rika_Furude posted...

japan already has 2 seater drones that can carry people, can fly to a location you tap into a tablet, etc. they existed like 2 or 3 years ago. uber is a bit late to the party on this one.

the problem will always be legislation

Here's the concept, for the curious, basically a pre-cursor to a cliche UFO -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzgIEYxiKjY

Please note the "battery life of 70 minutes"
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Imagine if certain people had access to flying cars...
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Well, 2020 certainly sounds like the year for THE FUTURE
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That model doesn't look like it should be over $2,000 bucks, but the avaricious bastards will probably have a set starting price of $90,000-$180,000+ for that over-glorified modified-merry-go-round cart.
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