Uber has launched a new ambitious and innovative project where flying cars will be the future for travel.
Eric Allison, the Head of Uber Elevate, presented Uber‘s vision of the future at the Uber Elevate Summit 2019. Battery-powered VTOL aircrafts will be the urban ridesharing vehicle, a new aviation model that will begin in Washington.
Uber is firmly committed to “urban air mobility”, which it believes will become a vital part of the transport business in the future. This, it believes is basically down to the growing traffic congestion in the different cities around the world where Uber offers its services.
“There’s a limit to what we can do on the ground”, said Allison. “We can take transport to the sky in a significant way.”
A video shown during the event shows VTOLs taking off and landing at urban Skyports. Those attending the summit could see clear examples of what Uber and its allied companies are creating. The presentation was focused on convincing and explaining the new business model to regulators who must approve the designs and new transport method.
This new idea envisaged by Uber consists of robotic flying vehicles created with new materials and designs, which make things more complicated as there are currently no standards in place for the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to grant its approval.
“Yes, there are still some questions we have to answer”, said Mike Romanowski, the FAA’s Director of Policy and Innovation.
For now, Uber is focused on its aviation plans and has made certain advances such as transporting people to John F. Kennedy International Airport in helicopters operated by an FAA-approved airline.
