Uber joins US Army to test technology for flying cars

The US Army is increasingly turning to partnerships with private companies for advanced technology research.

Uber said on Tuesday it would work with the United States Army to advance research on silent rotor technology that could be used in future flying cars or military aircraft.

The alliance highlights the intensified efforts of Uber and other companies to turn flying cars from a science fiction concept into reality for residents of big congested cities.

Uber and the US Army Research, Development and Engineering Command expect to invest USD 1 million to develop and test prototypes for a rotor system that would be used in a vertical takeoff and landing vehicle.

The system would have two rotors one over the other, rotating in the same direction under the command of sophisticated software. This approach, which Uber and the US Army said had not been deployed on a production aircraft so far, could lead to the quieter operation than conventional overlapping rotor systems.

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"Obtaining an ultra-low noise level is one of the critical hurdles" for the deployment of aerial taxis in urban areas, said Rob McDonald, director of vehicle engineering at Uber Elevate, the company's flying car business.

The US Army wants to develop a new generation of unmanned drones that do not need clues and are quieter than current drones, said Jaret Riddick, director of Vehicle Technology at the US Army Research Laboratory.

The US Army is increasingly turning to partnerships with private companies for advanced technology research, Riddick said.

Uber is planning more alliances with government agencies as it plans to launch prototype air taxis by 2020, said Mark Moore, director of engineering and aircraft systems at Uber and a former NASA researcher.

The application-based carrier already has a partnership with the US government space agency (NASA) to develop software to manage large numbers of aircraft in cities, Moore said.

Uber is promoting a major event in Los Angeles on flying vehicles. In the event, the Brazilian Embraer revealed for the first time its concept of urban air transport vehicle capable of taking off and landing vertically.

The Embraer concept resembles a helicopter, but instead uses fossil fuel uses electricity. In addition, instead of a single rotor at the top and a smaller one at the tail, the four-passenger aircraft and pilot has a set of eight small rotors above the cabin and a rotor mounted perpendicularly on the tail to propel horizontally.

(With inputs from Reuters)