Emerging TechnologyNews

Hyundai, Uber To Develop Electric Air Taxis

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At a press conference ahead of CES 2020, South Korean automaker Hyundai announced its partnership with Uber to develop and potentially mass produce air taxis.

The vehicle will have a cruising speed up to 180 miles/hr, a cruising altitude of around 1,000-2,000 feet above ground, and will be able to fly trips up to 60 miles.

The duo also unveiled a new full-scale aircraft concept at the annual tech trade show in Las Vegas. Hyundai said it is the first automotive company to join the Uber Elevate initiative. The air vehicle concept Hyundai released was created in part through Uber’s open design process, a NASA-inspired approach that jump-starts innovation by publicly releasing vehicle design concepts so any company can use them to innovate their air taxi models and engineering technologies.

As part of the alliance, Hyundai will produce and deploy the air vehicles while Uber will provide airspace support services, connections to ground transportation, and customer interfaces through an aerial ride share network.

The two companies will work together on infrastructure concepts to support take-off and landing for this new class of vehicles.