Uber Gives Flying Taxi Update And Launch Date [VIDEO]

Uber, known for their personal-driver and ridesharing services, are developing flying taxis, and they’re closer than we thought.

By nowproducerdave on May 10, 2018
(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

lol, “launch date.” I really hope I’m not just entertaining myself with these puns. Ahem. Uber just gave an update about their flying taxi service that they’re working on, and even released an estimated date they’ll be in the air.

We brought you the first of this story last year when the rumor officially started. Uber wanted to get into the flying taxi business, since they’re already all over the roadways. They’ve since updated their “prototype” model, and have some new inside news too. The car/plane things will be all electric, have stacked propellers, and actually be pretty quiet. As quiet as basically a helicopter could be.

Uber say they plan to have a bunch of these things out there flying around in just 5 more years (by 2023). The vehicles will carry 4 passengers, and Uber plan to have them in multiple cities. They will have actual pilots at first, but Uber wants to make them self-flying. Given the recent news of Uber self-driving cars, I’m not so sure that’s the best idea. But then again, regular aircraft have been using autopilots for years, so there’s a little more knowledge and experience in that industry. They’ll fly around 150-200 miles per hour, and somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 feet off the ground.

Uber is serious about all this too. They actually signed a “space act agreement” with NASA and are working with them on a few things. One of those things is a traffic management system for use in the air, like an airport’s air traffic control. Only this one will be unmanned and totally automatic. The idea is that the flying vehicles can actually land on the ground, like in parking lots or roads, without the need for specific “landing pads.” There are also other companies working on flying taxi services. Check out more info on everything here.

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