In the last couple of years, there has been a lot of focus on autonomous vehicles from all sides of the auto industry. Car manufacturers and ride-hailing companies have worked together or worked apart to try and make self-driving vehicles the new norm. Uber, however, is already thinking beyond this fad and is working towards its flying car initiative.
By hiring Mark Moore, a 30 year veteran from NASA, as its director of engineering for aviation, Uber is one step closer to making flying cars a reality. The project, officially called Uber Elevate, is still years away from actually producing a flying car. At this point, however, ZDNet notes that the real goal is to enhance knowledge on the subject and advance its ecosystem.
In particular, Uber is working on vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) technology, which will theoretically be a new way to transport riders on short trips. VTOL currently allows aircraft to hover, take off and land with minimum noise and space. "It could change cities and how we work and live," the company's Chief Product Officer Jeff Holden previously said.
Meanwhile, Uber's head of product for advancement programs, Nikhil Goel, told the publication that the company has claimed responsibility in growing VTOL. "Uber continues to see its role as a catalyst to the growing [and] developing VTOL ecosystem." He then went on to say that by having Mark lead the program, the company will be in the best position to explore the technology.
Moore, on his part, is excited about the new partnership. "I can't think of another company in a stronger position to be the leader for this new ecosystem and make the urban electric VTOL market real," he told Bloomberg. As mentioned earlier, however, Uber Elevate is still in its infancy stages and the executives do not have their eyes on what is currently still impossible.
In a white paper that was published last October, Uber discussed its radical idea for an airborne means of transportation. The paper also outlined the possible technical challenges that VTOL would solve, such as vehicle efficiency and pollution. It was this paper that pushed Moore to retire from NASA a year away from retirement. He was able to see the potential impact that the technology could have on the market and the industry in general.
While Moore admits there will be problems and issues beyond the technical aspects of Uber Elevate, there are also facts that will help cushion the same. The future of flying cars will undoubtedly be an expensive and risky one, which might not work in favor of the company. To put prices down, flying car companies would have to negotiate with suppliers to get their own costs down first, as well as lobby regulators to certify aircraft and minimize air-traffic restrictions.
Moore then explained that Uber's 55 million active riders, which is an astonishing number that will continue to grow as the year progresses, will be a large factor in making this all work. With numbers behind them, it will be proven that there will a market to sell the technology to.
