Uber inks deal with NASA for Flying Taxis by 2020

The prospect of hailing a flying ride-share in the not-too-distant future has moved a few steps closer after Uber signed a deal with the National Aeronautical and Space Agency (aka NASA) to provide the technology to make the cars city-friendly by 2020.

Flying ride shares seem to have been on the mind of every forward-thinker ever since the Jetsons in the 1950s, but until now the technology simply has not been available. This has not stopped the likes of Uber and Lyft from dreaming of catching a ride in the clouds.

Uber says that NASA will help with the development of both the aerial unmanned vehicles and the traffic systems that will be needed to control them, which we take to mean that the airborne taxis will be able to skim across urban roof tops and operate at relatively low altitudes.

Uber has already partnered with a manufacturer for the four-seater vertical take-off and landing vehicles, which it hopes to integrate into its user network around major cities. Capable of travelling at speeds of about 360 kph, the electric-powered vehicles will be driven by at least four small turbines aimed at providing almost silent operation.

UberAIR announced the service last year with the plan to initially trial it in Dubai and Dallas; however, we have learnt that there will also be a demonstration service in Los Angeles as well, where a sort of shuttle will run between the international airport and an area know as Staples Center. So for now, as long as you want to go between one of the “Skyports”, as Uber wants to call them, by 2020, you will be able to ride-share in the sky. And with all the money they are spending, you would have thought that they could have come up with something better than Skyports.

image credit: Uber