Ride-hailing service provider Uber and automotive manufacturer Hyundai have partnered to develop a flying taxi, which they unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
At CES 2020, Uber and Hyundai unveiled a flying taxi model, a four-seat, electric flying vehicle that they said could be available via Uber's app someday. A Hyundai spokesperson said that an actual prototype will be available in 2023.
The South Korean automotive giant said the air taxi will be piloted by a human until both companies complete a software that will autonomously control it. In October, Jaiwon Shin, a longtime National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) administrator, was appointed by Hyundai to lead its new air taxi division.
Hyundai is the latest big firm to announce plans of developing a flying taxi for cities and suburbs. In 2019, Boeing conducted the first autonomous flight of its flying car prototype at a small airport outside Washington D.C.
Google co-founder Larry Page has jumped into the trend by investing in various smaller startups, including Kitty Hawk and Opener, which are also developing flying car technologies.
Uber stated that it expects to have an air taxi network in 2023, with the firm already having partnerships with the helicopter manufacturer Bell and the Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer.
However, experts do not expect Uber's projection to come into fruition. William Crossley, a Purdue University professor who researches aerospace design, said: "It's going to be a while. If things go well, it's certainly plausible in the next 10 years."
Various factors and challenges need to be considered, including the development of software to safely fly air taxis, increasing capacity of batteries powering air taxis, and proving that the air taxi model can be a viable business.
Sanjiv Singh, a Carnegie Mellon University professor and CEO of Near Earth Autonomy, argued that autonomous flying vehicles are easier to develop in some respects. He said: "When flying, just stay away from everything," Singh said. "You don't have to figure out if that's a tumbleweed or a suitcase in the street."
