Uber signed a second Space Act Agreement with NASA to
develop models that will simulate urban air mobility service. It’s a
sign that Uber is interested in working closely with government
regulators as it seeks to get its ambitious flying taxi project off the
ground.
Under the agreement,
Uber will provide NASA with details and data on its plans for a flying
taxi service, which the agency will use to simulate flights over
Dallas-Fort Worth. This data will address scenarios involving air
traffic, collision mitigation, and air space management. It is NASA’s
first such agreement related to urban air mobility (UAM) specifically focused on modeling and simulation.
The announcement was made during Uber’s second annual Elevate conference,
which is being held in Los Angeles. LA and Dallas are the two cities
that have agreed to host early tests of Uber’s air taxi service.
Uber’s first Space Act Agreement with NASA, which was
signed last November, was a general statement of an intent to
collaborate. Today’s agreement is much more specific. NASA will use
Uber’s data to simulate a small passenger-carrying aircraft as it flies
through Dallas-Fort Worth airspace during peak scheduled air traffic.
The airspace above the city is incredibly crowded, so the simulations
will be key in helping Uber figure how its proposed service slots fit in
with the hundreds of aircraft flying above Dallas every day.
“NASA is excited to be partnering with Uber and others in
the community to identify the key challenges facing the UAM market, and
explore necessary research, development and testing requirements to
address those challenges,” said Jaiwon Shin, associate administrator for
NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. “Urban air mobility
could revolutionize the way people and cargo move in our cities and
fundamentally change our lifestyle much like smart phones have.”
Update May 8th, 10:38am PT:
Uber also signed an agreement with the US Army to develop and test
“flying taxi” aircraft for the company’s mobility service. The company
will jointly develop and fund research into rotor technology with the US
Army’s corporate research lab.
Under the agreement, Uber and the Army’s research lab
expect to spend a combined total of $1 million in funding for this
research; this funding will be divided equally between each party.
Comments
Post a Comment