Uber joins Nasa to develop ‘flying taxis’

Uber has signed a contract with Nasa to develop “flying taxi” software, in a bid to make autonomous flying taxis a reality.

Jeff Holden, chief product officer at Uber, announced the new service contract at Web Summit in Lisbon.

He revealed that in 2020, it is to begin testing four-passenger, 200mph UberAir flying taxi services across Los Angeles.

Uber said its flying taxi service is going to be electric, and that an 80-minute car journey in rush-hour traffic could be reduced to four minutes.

Holden said to The Guardian: “Doing this safely and efficiently is going to require a foundational change in airspace management technologies.

“Combining Uber’s software engineering expertise with Nasa’s decades of airspace experience to tackle this is a crucial step forward.”

Uber hopes to have some form of its air service operational for the 2028 LA Olympics.

Written by Leah Alger

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