Today on May 8, Uber presented its first air taxi model that is expected to fly in 2020. It was also demonstrated today at the Uber Elevate Summit in Los Angeles.
It looks like a large-sized drone having multiple propellers and stacked rotors. The design is more inclined towards resembling a plane than a helicopter. It will run on electricity and hence will be quieter as compared to a copter. Furthermore, it will be more efficient as well as less expensive.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has shared his vision that customers will call an air taxi via the correspondent app. Then, they will need to go to the nearest rooftop sky ports for pickup. The taxi is fit to take up to four people.
Khosrowshahi said that they aim to build a network with regular people who will use these taxis for long distances while avoiding traffic at an affordable price.
Jeff Holden, Uber’s Chief Product Officer, stated that the project Uber Air aims to be community-friendly. He revealed that the model is still in designing mode, and the technology works similarly to a helicopter.
We think cities are going to go vertical in terms of transportation and we want to make that a reality. – Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO at Uber
The taxis will have pilots in the beginning, but the objective is to make them autonomous. This gives rise to questions regarding security, and the tech firm has expressed its wishes to be more innovative to make the program profitable.
How excited does it sound to go to a rooftop and catch a ride to your office every day? Can you wait for more to start experiencing this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. Stay updated with further of Uber’s tech innovations by following us.
