Imagine a world where you can order a taxi from your mobile that allows you to leap frog over your city's worst traffic congestion at a cruising altitude of 1,000 to 2,000 feet. What would you think if I then told you that such a world is not far off?
Attendees of this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas are in store for the exciting reveal of a full-scale mock-up of S-A1, Uber's line of flying taxis. Uber Elevate, alongside South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motors, has created an electrically powered PAV (personal air vehicle) that has the capacity to carry up to four passengers on trips of up to 90 km at 290 kph.
"Hyundai is our first vehicle partner with experience of manufacturing passenger cars on a global scale," Eric Allison, head of Uber Elevate, said in a statement. "We believe Hyundai has the potential to build Uber Air vehicles at rates unseen in the current aerospace industry, producing high quality, reliable aircraft at high volumes to drive down passenger costs per trip."
Initially unveiled in 2016, Uber Elevate aims to provide faster commute times between urban centers and their suburbs, while expanding the ride-hailing giant's service reach into our airspace. Uber Elevate has also signed up more traditional aerospace partners such as Embraer, Bell and Boeing subsidiary Aurora, however further knowledge on what role they will play and to what extent still remains unknown. Yet, for Hyundai, the decision to develop the S-A1 is said to be part of their broader goal of becoming a "smart mobility solution provider."
"Our vision of Urban Air Mobility will transform the concept of urban transportation," said Jaiwon Shin, Executive Vice President and Head of Hyundai's Urban Air Mobility Division, or UAM. "We expect UAM to vitalize urban communities and provide more quality time to people. We are confident that Uber Elevate is the right partner to make this innovative product readily available to as many customers as possible."
Uber Elevates anticipates their new line of flying taxis' will cut down travel time between Marina district (near Uber headquarters in San Francisco) to downtown San Jose (roughly 80km away) in the heart of Silicon Valley from 2 hours to 15 minutes. Unfortunately, no commercial services launches have been announced for Canada and there is no word on when Uber Elevate is planning to begin demonstration flights, but the ride-sharing giant has shared hopes to launch commercial service in 2023, with operations initially set to debut in Dallas, Los Angeles and Melbourne, Australia.
Along with the full-size S-A1 mock-up, Consumer Electronics Show attendees will also have a chance to see several other concepts that Hyundai is debuting including a "hub," the downsized equivalent of a flying taxi air terminal, as well as the PBV, or "purpose built vehicle" that could serve as an autonomous shuttle to carry passengers to and from Uber's Elevate bases.
Today, helicopter services operations are available out of many major metropolitan cities but those craft use complex systems that are extremely expensive to own and operate, limiting their application. Uber Elevate aims to use electric propulsion that mimics the design of today's unmanned drones, which are expected to be far less expensive to purchase and operate. Although the S-A1 can't travel at the same distance capacity as a traditional helicopter they will be able to take off and land vertically just like one, which still gives it the ability to operate in tight urban spaces.
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