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