Uber isn’t just a company that created a platform to connect riders with drivers even though that happens to be its core business. The company is working on projects to fundamentally change how we go from one place to another. It has already shown off its self-driving car project and Uber has now revealed that it’s working on a flying car project. Sure, that does sound ambitious, but flying cars are almost always a staple in every other vision for the distant future.
Uber has published a detailed white paper that sheds light on its flying car project. It envisages a future full of lightweight, electric aircraft that are capable of taking off and landing vertically from rooftops of skyscrapers and existing urban heliports.
The aircraft would have fixed wings with tilt prop rotors. Uber says that these lightweight aircraft will be 15 decibels quieter than helicopters and that they will be able to fly up to 100 miles at up to 150 mph on a single charge.
Though pilots will be required initially, Uber says that the flying car network will eventually be able to operate autonomously. What this means is that you’ll step inside an aircraft that’s capable of flying you to your destination on its own. That’s the dream, isn’t it?
There are obviously significant technical challenges that need to be addressed before something like this can be achieved, nevermind the fact that there will be legal and regulatory hurdles along the way as well.
It’s an interesting idea to say the least, and we’ll certainly have to wait for many years to see it in the flesh.
