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Flying taxis' by 2020? Uber strikes deal with Nasa to make it a reality

Author: Dimple Shah
by Dimple Shah
Posted: Nov 09, 2017

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Uber is a step closer in making its flying taxi plans a reality as it has signed a deal with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to develop an air traffic management system.

Uber said at the Web Summit tech conference in Lisbon that it signed a Space Act Agreement with NASA for the development of "unmanned traffic management."

Uber had previously unveiled its plans to introduce flying taxi fleets, known as uberAIR, reported CNN.

Uber is already testing another emerging technology, self-driving cars, in various cities around the country, according to the reports.

This is the start-up's first partnership with a U.S. federal government agency.

Uber's partnership is part of NASA's Space Act Agreement, a consortium of industry players working to ensure "safe and efficient operations" of its taxis and other small unmanned aerial systems flying at low altitudes.

Uber plans to trial the project in Los Angeles in 2020 along with the already announced cities Dallas and Dubai, the company said.

It is also hopeful of having commercial operations ready in time for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, the report added.

Uber has struck a deal with NASA to develop software for managing "flying taxi" routes in the air along the lines of ride-hailing services it has pioneered on the ground, the company said on Wednesday.

And in this case, it’s working hard to stay on regulators' good side. Uber said it was the first formal services contract by the US National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) covering low-altitude airspace rather than outer space. NASA has used such contracts to develop rockets since the late 1950s.

Chief Product Officer Jeff Holden also said Uber would begin testing four-passenger, 200-miles-per-hour (322-km-per-hour) flying taxi services across Los Angeles in 2020, its second test market after Dallas/Fort Worth.

Holden is set to reveal the company's latest air taxi plans at Web Summit, an annual internet conference taking place in Lisbon this week.

"There is a reality that Uber has grown up a lot as a company," Holden said in an interview ahead of his speech. "We are now a major company on the world stage and you can't do things the same way where you are a large-scale, global company that you can do when you are a small, scrappy startup." Uber has faced endless regulatory and legal battles around the world since it launched its ride-hailing services earlier this decade, including a recent showdown in London, where it is battling to retain its licence after having been stripped of it by city regulators over safety concerns.

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Author: Dimple Shah

Dimple Shah

Member since: May 08, 2017
Published articles: 447

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