According to this article for the New York Times online, the future of flying cars is much closer than we think. Many tech companies are starting to break into the engineering of getting “flying taxis” in the air – and as if that’s not futuristic enough, they hope to incorporate artificial intelligence programs for the taxis to fly themselves. The tech behind these flaying taxis is actually so promising that companies are receiving millions of dollars in investments.
The CEO of Uber, Dara Khosrowshahi, is also involved in this latest development in transportation. Working with Aurora Flight Sciences, a product of Boenig, Khosrowshahi says that he hopes to have a new flight option dubbed “Uber Air” available for the company in 5 to 10 years.
While we might have expected this latest innovation in transportation to look a lot more like a car with wings, the companies involved in these new vehicles warn not to view the taxis as “flying cars” exactly. These companies are envisioning more of a human sized “hobbyist’s drone”; like a helicopter, but a lot more quiet and affordable. These taxis would also be much more eco-friendly as they would run on battery power. Airbus helicopters hopes to release a “CityAirbus” aircraft as soon as 2023.
In my opinion, I think with all the technological advancements still to come aside, this is an insanely cool idea. I’m not sure how this could ever be worked out on a really wide scale anytime super soon, but I definitely think that this could work one day. One of the greatest parts of this flying car idea is just how environmentally friendly it really is, as it’s not using up any natural gasses but running on battery life instead. In regards to Uber’s involvement in some flying taxis, all I have to say is that I’m ALL for it. I’m sure that the prices will be jacked a lot more than they would be leaving a party at 2 a.m. in a Toyota Camry – but taking a drone home after a night out? Priceless.
(link attached to photo)
I saw something about this the other day, I believe on Facebook, that was about Elon Musk potentially producing a flying car. With some of the things he has been doing recently, like launching a car into space, it wouldn’t surprise me if he did produce a flying car (or a car that can fly for short hops, as he put it).
Although flying cars would be cool, I think that technology would present a lot of problems. If we have flying cars, do we need a pilot’s license or a driver’s license? How would they co-exist with other aircraft (or other flying cars)? Will these cars operate on regular road ways and follow regular traffic laws?
If making a flying car is achieved, it won’t be cheap…or anywhere near consumer-friendly. If Uber and Airbus make flying vehicles that are meant to function like normal cars, I have to wonder if the general public would use it. Fares would likely be higher than taking a normal Uber ride or bus, but I also think the ride would become an experience. People wouldn’t take this transportation home from the train station because they need a ride, I think people would use this service for the experience of being able to ride in a flying car.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2017/11/19/tesla-flying-car-elon-musk-teases-special-upgrade-roadster-supercar/879024001/
This innovation is great and what people had dreamed about many years ago, and now it’s finally make it possible.
There is a Chinese company has been working on this project. Maybe in the future, flying car can solve the problem of traffic jams in big city all over the world, such as Beijing, Shanghai, New York, Los Angeles. This is very useful alternative to release the burden of traffic, may could improving the efficiency of traveling from New York to Boston, such short trip.
https://www.caixinglobal.com/2018-02-28/geely-takes-another-small-step-toward-flying-cars-101215137.html
The idea of flying cars and Ubers would be INSANE. Uber’s head of product Jeff Holden announced that the company is adding a third city, Los Angeles, to its list of places where it hopes to pilot its aerial taxi service by 2020. Uber has signed a Space Act Agreement with NASA to create a brand-new air traffic control system to manage these low-flying, possibly autonomous aircraft. A user would easily be able to books the flight through their Uber app, and then ascends to a “skyport” on the roof of a nearby building. I think this would be awesome and such a success. Uber has made such progress in partnering with a handful of aircraft manufacturers, real estate firms, and regulators to better its chances of developing a on-demand flying taxi service. No one enjoys sitting in traffic, whether it be on their way home from work or going somewhere with their friends. My only issue with Uber’s flying cars would be how high the fares would be.But, Uber predicts that fares will be so low and will actually be cheaper to fly with Uber than own your own car. This is because it’s long been the company’s mission to bring about the end of personal car ownership.
https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/8/16613228/uber-flying-car-la-nasa-space-act
Okay… this is awesome. Although there are obviously a lot of problems that would need to be worked out including the certification process, battery technology and air traffic control, this is a pretty interesting idea. According to an article on Uber’s website, “Every day, millions of hours are wasted on the road worldwide. Last year, the average San Francisco resident spent 230 hours commuting between work and home—that’s half a million hours of productivity lost every single day.” Clearly, there is a potential for hundreds of hours that could be saved on travel to and from work. This could also be an interesting alternative for traveling on vacation because you can get places so much faster. I would be interested to see how this is going to develop in the years to come. I don’t think we will see flying cars in the air anytime soon, but it is interesting that this idea is finally starting to come alive.
https://www.uber.com/info/elevate/