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NASA to Help Uber Fly Its Taxis Safely Over Urban Areas

On Tuesday, Uber presented its idea of a flying taxi, a machine conceived together with Embraer and Pipistrel Aircraft. Called Uber Elevate, the machine equipped with high-mounted wings and a series of small helicopter-like rotors has a big chance of becoming one of the first flying taxi available.
Uber Elevate concept 20 photos
Photo: Uber
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One day after the transportation company presented the Elevate - video below -, NASA announced it had signed a space act agreement with Uber to create a safe and efficient system for future air transportation over populated areas.

The agreement between the two will see the space agency running airspace management computer modeling and simulation to assess the impacts of small aircraft in crowded areas. The simulations would take into account everything from delivery drones to passenger aircraft.

At first, NASA will use Uber’s plans for implementing an urban aviation rideshare network to simulate its impact over the streets of Dallas Fort Worth. As the test progresses, the agency will be able to make safety recommendations.

“NASA is excited to be partnering with Uber and others in the community to identify the key challenges facing the UAM market, and explore necessary research, development and testing requirements to address those challenges,” said associate administrator for NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate Jaiwon Shin.

“Urban air mobility could revolutionize the way people and cargo move in our cities and fundamentally change our lifestyle much like smart phones have.”

Aside from Uber, there are a few other companies trying to make this idea of flying cars stick. None of them got NASA’s attention mainly because the business models they run makes it highly unlikely their products will be a hit.

Uber will not try to sell its flying cars but rather used them as it does road-going vehicles. This means riders will not have to learn how to fly, obtain permits or pay a prohibitive sum of money for an Elevate.

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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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