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If you were still trying to get your head around 3D Printed Homes, or the battery that can last 400 years be prepared for another tech advancement, because Uber is planning on rolling out ‘flying taxis’ in as little as five years and a handful of architects have designed futuristic ‘sky ports’ to support the project.
The ride-sharing service has unveiled the prototype for the ‘sky taxi’ which includes four stacked rotors and a fifth on its tail for forward propulsion, as the others lift the aircraft from the ground. The overall plan is to is to have thousands of these aircrafts transporting passengers from rooftop landing sites as inter-city travel, which will potentially handle up to 200 arrivals and departures an hour.
With the announcement of the prototype, Uber has revealed the first look at the ‘sky ports’ which will be built across hundreds of cities, providing a place for the taxis to be housed. A total of six architecture firms presented the designs for the uberAIR landing sites.
The designs were restricted with a clear brief – the structures would need to house and transport over 4,000 passengers per hour within a twelve km radius as well as contain recharging stations between trips without harming nearby neighbourhoods and maintain low noise level impacts amid other environmental concerns.
Stand out designs included company BOKA Powell which claims that its prototype can support up to 1,000 take-offs and landings per day as well as the capability to launch an uberAIR in less than three minutes. Another firm, Pickard Chilton’s, believes that its launch pad will support 180 landings and takeoffs per hour. Curious? Take a look at the designs below.
