Important Innovations Collection

Big Expansion of EVs and Hybrid Vehicles For 0 To Low Emissions                                        Source:  Uber Electric Vehicles More Than 1400 Cities in North America Involved Ride sharing company Uber is expanding its electric car and hybrid vehicle ride service.  It will be offered in more than 1400 cities in North America.  The cities include Miami, New York City, Washington, DC, Houston, Tucson, Calgary and Winnipeg.  The company says drivers can rent zero emissions vehicles through their partner Avis.  The service is available in Los Angeles but it is being rolled out nationally this year. Green Goals By 2040, Uber wants all of its vehicles in its global ride sharing service to be electric.  It is also contributing through 2025 $800 million as incentives to help drivers switch to electric vehicles.  This Green Trips program inc...

Reopens to the Public in Phoenix After COVID                                                       Source:  Waymo Robo Taxis Hitting the Road Waymo's autonomous, robo taxi ride hailing service is open to the public in Phoenix.  The company has put years of autonomous driving research on the line to operate Waymo as a revenue producing business.  Waymo has a serious tech pedigree.  It is a business unit of Google's parent company Alphabet. Driving Plans With No Human Attendants Today, Waymo driverless minivans with no human attendants on board resumed operations for members of Waymo One service in Phoenix. In the spring, operations were suspended because of the COVID pandemic.  Now, within a few weeks, there will be open access for anyone who downloads the smartphone app and wants to hail a Waymo ride with...

Flying Cars by 2023 Source:  Embraer DreamMaker Future of Aerial Ride Sharing Despite the global pandemic, Brazil based aircraft manufacturer Embraer and Uber Elevate are moving forward with speed to deploy fleets of "urban air mobility" vehicles in the skies near you.  By 2023, they say they will offer travelers the option of an affordable shared flight.  They hope to get vehicle testing underway by the end of this year.  Uber, the ride sharing service and Embraer, the aircraft maker are partnering in the effort. eVTOLs The flying cars that will serve as flying, shared ride taxis, are eVTOLs - electric, vertical takeoff and landing vehicles.  Uber Elevate and Embraer have just launched an eVTOL simulator to ensure that the vehicles meet necessary requirements, including noise levels.  Between now and the target deployment date of 2023, eVTOLs need to be finalized and tested. And advanced urban air traffic management systems must be put in place.  Embr...

Hyundai's S-A1 Air Taxi: Uber-Hyundai Partnership Source:  Hyundai at CES 2020 Your Next Taxi Ride South Korean automaker Hyundai has created a full-scale prototype air-taxi, the S-A1.  It's a VTOL 4 seater.  And in a gamechanging innovation move, they're teaming-up with the ride sharing service Uber to take this air taxi into the skies during the 2020's.  It will be part of Uber's aerial rideshare service, Uber Air.  The target date for Hyundai to start production on the flying taxi is 2028. The S-A1 was unveiled this week at the CES 2020 in Las Vegas and was cited as one of the biggest innovations of the year. Uber Air Taxi Service With the Hyundai S-A1, Uber Air will work like Uber cars with the added value of an air taxi over traffic. With a push of a button on your phone, a car will pick you up.  It will take you to a skyport where a vertical air mobile vehicle will fly you to your next destination.  You'll then hop i...

Segway-Ninebot New Scooter Innovation Source:  Segway-Ninebot's New Scooter in Beijing Boon for the Scooter-Sharing Market China's Segway-Ninebot, an electric scooter manufacturer, just unveiled a new piece of innovation.  A scooter that can drive itself back to its charging station with no human onboard. This could prove to be a boon for the growing scooter-sharing industry, which is booming in big city, heavy traffic areas globally.  Ride sharing companies like Uber and Lyft have expanded their business into the lucrative scooter-sharing market. Self-Returning Scooters Segway-Ninebot's new scooter is semi-autonomous, has three wheels, electric power and is able to drive itself back to its base charging station when someone's ride time has expired.  This self-return feature could save companies like Lyft and Uber a lot of time and money.  Up until now, the scooter ride sharing companies have generally dispatched paid employees to fetch the scooters ...

First International Flight Test & Collaboration with AT&T on Connectivity Announced Source:  Uber Test Flights in Three Global Cities 2020 Uber is on a roll. It just announced a collaboration with AT&T to enhance connectivity on its air taxi and cargo drone vehicles.  And it's selected Australia's second largest city, Melbourne, as the first international test site for its air taxi service.  The test flights will start in 2020 in Melbourne, along with test flights in previously announced Dallas and Los Angeles.  The test flight service will link central city locations with nearby airports. Commercial Launch 2023 The Uber air taxi fleet is electric powered and can be ordered on demand by customers through smartphone apps.  The fleet will have vertical takeoff, vertical landing and rapid horizontal flight.  The electric powered vehicles are part helicopter, part drone and part fixed wing aircraft with multiple small rotors....

Bell Nexus:  In a Flying Class of Its Own Source:  Bell Helicopter New Meaning to Hailing a Flying Taxi Bell has unveiled an air taxi of the not so distant future - the extraordinary Bell Nexus. Bell has teamed with Uber as a partner on this innovation.  It's a fully complete model of a functional air taxi VTOL with vertical takeoff and landing capability.  Uber will deploy it as part of its ride sharing operations. Technology and Rollout The Bell Nexus is powered by a hybrid-electric propulsion system and uses 6 tilting fans to takeoff.  They plan for demonstration flights in 2020 and commercial aerial ridesharing for short, local trips in 2023.  Reports indicate the VTOL can carry 4 passengers and provide capabilities for conference calls, news broadcasting and document sharing support.  Sounds like the taxi ride of a lifetime! For more news stories on innovation, go to  amazon.com/author/ekane