UM-Bot Posted June 16, 2019 #1 Share Posted June 16, 2019 The popular ride-hailing firm has revealed its ambitious vision of a future where road taxis are a thing of the past. https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/328552/uber-unveils-futuristic-flying-taxi-service 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Commander Travis Posted June 16, 2019 #2 Share Posted June 16, 2019 They're a minicab firm. That's all they are. They're a minicab firm, that pay their drivers notably badly, and are able to avoid the need to make sure that their drivers are properly qualified or have to have criminal records checks. That's all they are. They're a minicab firm. Why does everyone stand around in open-mouth awe at their "visions for the future" and all the rest of the cliched tripe? And really, flying taxis? That's the most visionary thing Uber can come up with? That's been the biggest utopian-futuristic-vision cliche ever since the 1960s. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Commander Travis Posted June 16, 2019 #3 Share Posted June 16, 2019 * rather amusingly, Google Chrome's spell checker doesn't recognise Uber. It suggests Tuber, Cuber or Umber. So take that, Uber! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllPossible Posted June 16, 2019 #4 Share Posted June 16, 2019 (edited) Imagine a robotic voice calmly saying "Mayday, Mayday, Approaching crash site" no thanks. Edited June 16, 2019 by AllPossible 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seti42 Posted June 16, 2019 #5 Share Posted June 16, 2019 I don't see this happening. The super-wealthy and large corporate HQ buildings already access to helicopters and private jets. The rest of us either can't afford it, or wouldn't use it. Maybe 100 years from now, when passenger 'drones' (AKA flying cars) are a thing... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zep73 Posted June 16, 2019 #6 Share Posted June 16, 2019 In Ghostbusters the tagline was: Who are you going to call? Flying Uber tagline: Where are we going to land?! Seriously! They will have to change the infrastructure of a whole city, just to get places to take off and to land. It's a science fiction fantasy at best. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+and-then Posted June 16, 2019 #7 Share Posted June 16, 2019 Imagine the ATC aspect of it. You just could not rely on VFR as we often do in airplane traffic. I guess chaos theory would get a real workout to make such a scenario real. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nuclear Wessel Posted June 17, 2019 #8 Share Posted June 17, 2019 (edited) 6 hours ago, Seti42 said: I don't see this happening. The super-wealthy and large corporate HQ buildings already access to helicopters and private jets. The rest of us either can't afford it, or wouldn't use it. Maybe 100 years from now, when passenger 'drones' (AKA flying cars) are a thing... That's incredibly pessimistic, honestly. I'd give it about 20, not 100. We are more than capable of putting something like this into place at this time. Edited June 17, 2019 by Nuclear Wessel 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psyche101 Posted June 17, 2019 #9 Share Posted June 17, 2019 I posted about this months ago. Deals are already done and some major cities in the US are already signed up. Here in oz, Sydney and Melbourne signing up too. Trials should be underway in 2020. Expensive at first, but withing 5 years UBER hopes to compete with ground based travel. Pilots to begin with, eventually moving to totally automated vehicles. Sounds great. https://www.google.com/amp/amp.abc.net.au/article/11199466 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the13bats Posted June 17, 2019 #10 Share Posted June 17, 2019 what dumbledore said and others too, geez uber who doesnt seem to care if their people are capable of driving cars and safe to the passengers now they are gonna send up aircraft? 2 mins after the first flying car was dreamed the flying taxi was dreamed, sure lots of cool sci fi flicks have flying "cars" some whipping all around no problems but sci fi has flaws and glittering omissions, ever see a toilet in any starwars flick? humans cant even drive earth bound cars without tons of problems that flying cars will face plus many more, no, if anything like this happens it will be flying limos for the rich and shameless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psyche101 Posted June 17, 2019 #11 Share Posted June 17, 2019 2 hours ago, the13bats said: what dumbledore said and others too, geez uber who doesnt seem to care if their people are capable of driving cars and safe to the passengers now they are gonna send up aircraft? 2 mins after the first flying car was dreamed the flying taxi was dreamed, sure lots of cool sci fi flicks have flying "cars" some whipping all around no problems but sci fi has flaws and glittering omissions, ever see a toilet in any starwars flick? humans cant even drive earth bound cars without tons of problems that flying cars will face plus many more, no, if anything like this happens it will be flying limos for the rich and shameless. They are intending to go to automated GPS systems to remove human error. The idea has been studied in depth and has support. It will be more a taxi service operating from hi rise roof tops, mainly cross town trips. They can cut a couple of hours in highway traffic down to 20 mins and feel they can be competitive pricewise. I find it intriguing. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the13bats Posted June 17, 2019 #12 Share Posted June 17, 2019 6 minutes ago, psyche101 said: They are intending to go to automated GPS systems to remove human error. The idea has been studied in depth and has support. It will be more a taxi service operating from hi rise roof tops, mainly cross town trips. They can cut a couple of hours in highway traffic down to 20 mins and feel they can be competitive pricewise. I find it intriguing. its intriguing but has a lot of hurdles, time will tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psyche101 Posted June 17, 2019 #13 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Just now, the13bats said: its intriguing but has a lot of hurdles, time will tell. Have you read the articles on it? They seem to be preempting as much as they can. I have to say, it looks not only viable, but several cities have lined up for the 2020 trials. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmer77 Posted June 17, 2019 #14 Share Posted June 17, 2019 3 minutes ago, psyche101 said: They are intending to go to automated GPS systems to remove human error. The idea has been studied in depth and has support. It will be more a taxi service operating from hi rise roof tops, mainly cross town trips. They can cut a couple of hours in highway traffic down to 20 mins and feel they can be competitive pricewise. I find it intriguing. and you can guarantee that Uber the company as it currently exists will have almost if not exactly nothing to do with the actual aircraft operations. Im positive smart, established , part 135 aircraft operators are lining up to break ground on this and be the vendor for Uber. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psyche101 Posted June 17, 2019 #15 Share Posted June 17, 2019 27 minutes ago, Farmer77 said: and you can guarantee that Uber the company as it currently exists will have almost if not exactly nothing to do with the actual aircraft operations. Im positive smart, established , part 135 aircraft operators are lining up to break ground on this and be the vendor for Uber. There's even already competition with at least 4 companies running with the same idea. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmer77 Posted June 17, 2019 #16 Share Posted June 17, 2019 3 minutes ago, psyche101 said: There's even already competition with at least 4 companies running with the same idea. Thats awesome. As im thinking about it the air ambulance possibilities with the infrastructure these companies develop are exciting as hell. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the13bats Posted June 17, 2019 #17 Share Posted June 17, 2019 3 hours ago, psyche101 said: Have you read the articles on it? They seem to be preempting as much as they can. I have to say, it looks not only viable, but several cities have lined up for the 2020 trials. sure, but its i guess a perception i have of some things, like tesla electric cars, sure they are running around, sold to the public ( who can afford them ) but at the moment i see electric cars as more a novelty at this time, cutting edge, my little 10 sq mile town has car charging stations, ive been here 4 years seen them used zero times. in the last 40 x years i saw gung ho ideas and plans for things like rocket trains and monorails all kinds of stuff come and go, there is a lot of technology yet to be perfected and liability with automated flying machines and a lot more so carring passengers for hire, sure, i can see a few in place by 2020 having them for flash and bragging rights more a novelty item for the "look at me" types than any practical replacement for automobile taxis, lots of things in use that arent practical yet. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psyche101 Posted June 17, 2019 #18 Share Posted June 17, 2019 2 hours ago, Farmer77 said: Thats awesome. As im thinking about it the air ambulance possibilities with the infrastructure these companies develop are exciting as hell. I agree, the time saving is great. I can't see the average household with a flying car in the garage, but from a commercial perspective its brilliant. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psyche101 Posted June 17, 2019 #19 Share Posted June 17, 2019 5 minutes ago, the13bats said: sure, but its i guess a perception i have of some things, like tesla electric cars, sure they are running around, sold to the public ( who can afford them ) but at the moment i see electric cars as more a novelty at this time, That's fair enough, but I just didn't see the potential like that for Tesla cars. The battery technology just isn't there. Its not a new idea, electric cars were all the rage early 1900s, in fact the first hybrid car was invented in the late 1800s. If it was going to work, the Prius would have heralded in a new era. 5 minutes ago, the13bats said: cutting edge, my little 10 sq mile town has car charging stations, ive been here 4 years seen them used zero times. Same here. I've seen the stations but not one in use. I design large electrical projects though, and there's plenty of them going in. Either we are missing something or the councils are setting up this infrastructure for a big change. Interestingly...... My flatmates brother in law was over last week, and he us importing all electric cars. Nissan I think. Cheap, about 10k brand new, and do 120 ks before needing a charge. So you would drive it around during the day and charge at night. I wouldn't own one as I do 100ks just to work and back each day, but I could see a big market there. 5 minutes ago, the13bats said: in the last 40 x years i saw gung ho ideas and plans for things like rocket trains and monorails all kinds of stuff come and go, there is a lot of technology yet to be perfected and liability with automated flying machines and a lot more so carring passengers for hire, sure, i can see a few in place by 2020 having them for flash and bragging rights more a novelty item for the "look at me" types than any practical replacement for automobile taxis, lots of things in use that arent practical yet. For me the university studies on feasibility coming back positively are a good reason to be optimistic on this. Its quite revolutionary but I don't think it will replace ground based taxis for some time. That's not the market they are looking at. As far as I know its more city/city and city/Airport journeys which will indeed save great amounts of time. The 'stations' are proposed to be integrated onto existing High Rise structures, no pick-up at the doorstep, you go to the station. It would create a lot of jobs, so I am quite keen and interested to see this succeed. I think another positive on this is that it's not one entrepreneur gambling, at least 4 big companies are heavily investing in this idea, which I think improves the chances of success. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the13bats Posted June 17, 2019 #20 Share Posted June 17, 2019 im just tosings a different view on it, that that uber air ad, the craft remind me of the ones from 6th day, cool sci fi. all painfree the lady shoots to the roof where several craft wait and whisk her over traffic, reminds me of flying car art from the 20s or 30s, my thoughts are cost of each unit, operating cost of unit, no pilot, we do not that i know of have driver free wheeled taxis yet do we? anyway how much would they have to charge for a 30 min jaunt to even break even? insurance isnt going to be cheap, lets hope one doesnt fall on anyone. will people under it all be cool with cutting edge unmanned craft flying passengers around town over their heads?, sure we have air rescue and even in some cases air is used for construction but i am still just not seeing that ad happening by 2020 for the average person to beat a little traffic. my electric car example was because i believe thats how this ideal will go for a while, some will only see the fact they only took 15mins in the air rather than an hour on the ground and how cool they looked doing it the costs and other hurdles will be ignored. so it brings me back to i believe it will be very limited for a long time and appeal to a certain clique, like hummer limos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XenoFish Posted June 17, 2019 #21 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Uber Air Taxi, ufo sightings up 100% 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TripGun Posted June 18, 2019 #22 Share Posted June 18, 2019 (edited) If it is a vertical drone then design it as one, the airplane hybrid will have a lot more issues fighting itself. Edited June 18, 2019 by TripGun 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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