Uber and Hyundai have announced a partnership to develop a series of Uber Air Taxis for a future aerial ride share network. The announcement, made at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2020 in Las Vegas, will see Hyundai produce and deploy the flying vehicles while Uber will provide airspace support services, connections to ground transportation, and customer interfaces through an aerial ride share network. Hyundai is the first automotive company to join the Uber Elevate initiative.
Hyundai has already developed a personal air vehicle (PAV) with Uber Elevate dubbed the S-A1 that uses innovative design processes to optimize electric vertical take-off and landing. The S-A1, currently on display at CES, is all-electric and has been designed for cruising speeds of up to 290 km/h with a cruising altitude of 300-600 meters and good for a range of up to 96 km.
The South Korean automaker says the S-A1 will initially be piloted by a human but overtime become completely autonomous. It has been designed to seat four passengers and features many small rotors in a bid to reduce noise compared to helicopters.
