Uber shows prototypes of flying cars that look like huge drones - part 1

On May 8th, Uber demonstrated the concept prototype of the "flying car" at its second Elevate annual summit, which will be used as Uber's air taxi in the future.

Uber announced the prototype of its "flying car" at its second annual summit of the "Elevate Summit." The prototype of the "flying car" looks more like a large drone than a helicopter. It uses a four-rotor design and Uber executives call this design safer than a helicopter. Their flying height will be between 1000 feet (about 305 meters) and 2000 feet (about 610 meters). Uber said that the initial "air taxi" service price will be comparable to the current Uber Black high-end taxi service. However, as the popularity of services increases, the price of passengers will be reduced to that of Uber X services.

In 2016, Uber announced its "Uber Elevate" flying car project. The aircraft can take off and land vertically, flying at low altitudes in the city. Unlike helicopters, Uber's "flying cars" use multi-rotor and fixed-wing designs that are more efficient and quieter. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi stated in February this year that Uber’s “air taxi” service is expected to be commercialized within 5 to 10 years. Uber expects that these "air taxis" will eventually take off and land 200 times per hour. Initially, these flying cars will be equipped with pilots, but they will eventually achieve automatic driving.

Uber hopes to launch a flying taxi service for passengers in the next two to five years. Vertical take-off and landing can be achieved from ports, on the roof or on the ground. According to Uber executives, specialized landing and landing stations can handle 200 take-offs and landings per day while using only 24 seconds each time. Initially, the Uber flight taxi still needs guidance to get up and down smoothly. Uber's goal in the future is to allow it to achieve full automatic flight.