This
past September, an Uber executive revealed that the company was
entertaining the idea of launching some type of flying vehicle that
could enable it to transport customers in the sky rather than on the
road
|
Uber will start testing flying cars in the next 3 years
17
The move is an ambitious one for the troubled company, which has also been dedicating ample resources towards the development of its own self-driving car fleet. While cars on the road won’t be going anywhere any time soon, cities have a growing problem with congested roads and long commute times, something that causes, among other things, environmental harm as masses of cars idle on the road.
Uber has long positioned its service as a way to help address these issues — rather than someone taking their own vehicle out, they can utilize the service of an Uber car which can transport many people to their destinations in a single day. The benefits, in this regard, improve with things like Uber’s carpooling feature, allowing multiple customers to share the same vehicle.
Still, growing cities will need to develop new ways to handle the number of drivers that need to get around, and that may be achieved by taking to the skies, instead. Previously, Uber indicated that its VTOL flying vehicles may be able to travel at more than 100MPH, operate quietly due to electric motors, and travel more than 200 passenger-miles on what works out to the equivalent of a single gallon of fuel. Whether battery technology will be sufficiently developed within three years to sustain these vehicles is yet to be seen.
SOURCE: Bloomberg
ANYBODY TO THE MALL IN A FLYING CAR?
LOOKS LIKE LIMITED SUCCESS FOR THIS
| Zee News | - |
More Science stories
Scientists create artificial photosynthesis to turn carbon dioxide into clean air and fuel
Researchers have found a way to trigger
a chemical reaction in a synthetic material called metal-organic
frameworks (MOF) that breaks down carbon dioxide into harmless organic
materials.
Image for representational purpose only
New
York: Scientists have created a new way to trigger a process of
photosynthesis in a synthetic material, turning greenhouse gases into
clean air and producing energy, all at the same time.
The process has great potential for creating a technology that could significantly reduce carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas linked to climate change, while also creating a clean way to produce energy.
Fernando Uribe-Romo, Assistant Professor at University of Central Florida in the US and one of the researcher said,"This work is a breakthrough".
Uribe-Romo said, "We are contributing to the development of a technology that can help reduce greenhouse gases."
The researchers found a way to trigger a chemical reaction in a synthetic material called metal-organic frameworks (MOF) that breaks down carbon dioxide into harmless organic materials.
Think of it as an artificial photosynthesis process similar to the way plants convert carbon dioxide (CO2) and sunlight into food.
But instead of producing food, Uribe-Romo's method produces solar fuel.
The chemical reaction -- detailed in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A -- transformed the CO2 into two reduced forms of carbon, formate and formamides (two kinds of solar fuel) and in the process cleaning the air.
Uribe-Romo said, "The goal is to continue to fine-tune the approach so we can create greater amounts of reduced carbon so it is more efficient."
He said, "The idea would be to set up stations that capture large amounts of CO2, like next to a power plant. The gas would be sucked into the station, go through the process and recycle the greenhouse gases while producing energy that would be put back into the power plant."
Perhaps someday homeowners could purchase rooftop shingles made of the material, which would clean the air in their neighbourhood while producing energy that could be used to power their homes.
Uribe-Romo said, "That would take new technology and infrastructure to happen,"
He added, "But it may be possible."
(With IANS inputs)
The process has great potential for creating a technology that could significantly reduce carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas linked to climate change, while also creating a clean way to produce energy.
Fernando Uribe-Romo, Assistant Professor at University of Central Florida in the US and one of the researcher said,"This work is a breakthrough".
Uribe-Romo said, "We are contributing to the development of a technology that can help reduce greenhouse gases."
The researchers found a way to trigger a chemical reaction in a synthetic material called metal-organic frameworks (MOF) that breaks down carbon dioxide into harmless organic materials.
Think of it as an artificial photosynthesis process similar to the way plants convert carbon dioxide (CO2) and sunlight into food.
But instead of producing food, Uribe-Romo's method produces solar fuel.
The chemical reaction -- detailed in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A -- transformed the CO2 into two reduced forms of carbon, formate and formamides (two kinds of solar fuel) and in the process cleaning the air.
Uribe-Romo said, "The goal is to continue to fine-tune the approach so we can create greater amounts of reduced carbon so it is more efficient."
He said, "The idea would be to set up stations that capture large amounts of CO2, like next to a power plant. The gas would be sucked into the station, go through the process and recycle the greenhouse gases while producing energy that would be put back into the power plant."
Perhaps someday homeowners could purchase rooftop shingles made of the material, which would clean the air in their neighbourhood while producing energy that could be used to power their homes.
Uribe-Romo said, "That would take new technology and infrastructure to happen,"
He added, "But it may be possible."
(With IANS inputs)
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