Uber is hiring a former NASA engineer to create a flying car to aid transportation. This car will be under the aviation part the company."Just as skyscrapers allowed cities to use limited land more efficiently, urban air transportation will use three-dimensional airspace to alleviate transportation congestion on the ground" (BBC.com). The aim of this flying car according to Uber, is for giving customers a whole new experience and aiding fast travel than usual, due to traffic and other obstructions on land.
Not only are they creating flying cars, but they are working in collaboration with Volvo and Daimler to create self moving cars. In the case of this self moving cars, it will be disadvantageous to those using uber as a means to make their ends meet and make little income on the side. It will take away these jobs uber created and make the glory of uber as being 'cheap' more expensive for consumers.
Uber is trying to keep up with innovation by creating new forms of services that are cutting-edge and trying to stay on top of the market in competition with other tech companies.
In relations to one of the readings this week, Thomas Frank talks on how innovation may not be entirely good and pure and it usually is the company driving its own self interest to make money.
"Innovation simply acts as instruments to get around our society's traditional middle-class economic arrangements" (Frank 209).
This may seem as something beneficial in the long run but do you see potential disadvantages of this flying car or even the self moving car?
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-38892390
This is definitely as new to me as it is to you. It is a very interesting idea that Uber has come up with, however there are a few questions I would like to ask about it: Would the cost be equivalent to that of a standard Uber car trip? Would the vehicle be able to accommodate as many people as a car? In terms of fuel, it seems certain that it would require more fuel to run a flying vehicle in comparison to a car, how would this impact the environment and the sustainability of this new vehicle? Despite my questions, I think this is quite the cool innovation on the standard taxi/Uber ride and would definitely give it a try if I had the chance.
ReplyDeleteHave to say that I was really hoping the first flying car would be a Delorean for some reason. But this is pretty edgy stuff and while this is new info, doesn't surprise me. I think technology waves can be revolutionary in some cases. We get new products and services out of nowhere it seems (e.g. mobile phones, Uber) and then stuff like this. The autonomous cars are I think going to provide major positive impact. It seems tech ecologies can form when there are good ideas, but also excitement generated around possibilities of what can be. Check out these covers/ideas..https://www.pinterest.com/pin/81487074484425734/
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion this is a really interesting post as just the other day I was reading an article based on this idea of ambulance drones with the capacity to carry one passenger and one medical technician, without the need for a pilot. This was published by the Daily Mail (London). To expand on your quote, yes innovation may be in best interest of company profits - but, these new technologies can help the development of other services and necessities such as this one.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4084008/Incredible-video-shows-flying-AMBULANCE-speed-emergency-support.html
While I definitely think that the idea of this innovation is enticing, I wonder how legitimate it is. I find that often, when we are informed of such radical innovations, such as the self-driving car, which are advertised as though they will enter the market quickly, the promises often fall flat. I wonder if this research and development would better be categorized under blue-sky thinking.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, the first thing I questioned after reading this, similar to Frankie, was the effect it would have on the environment - how sustainable is it? Would it potentially do more bad than it could good? And would the invention of such a vehicle mitigate the efforts that have been put into place to encourage environmentally friendly practices, such as carpooling?
The fact that you related this to Thomas Frank's article links it slightly to the post I made regarding autonomous war drones. Maybe all innovation isn't as good as it may seem. Another quote from the reading that I think relates to this topic reads as follows: "Favouring innovation has meant bulldozing the people in its path" (Frank, 2016). This innovation could only strengthen Uber's negative impact on all the taxi drivers who rely on their jobs to put food on the table. Just something to think about.
I think this is a really interesting topic and the discussion can go a lot of ways. I have always thought it's only a matter of time before we see flying cars, but I am surprised to hear that Uber is in the process of developing them. Similar to Frank and Reem, I also wonder how sustainable these flying cars would be, as well as the comparison of cost to a standard car. In a time where people are becoming more conscious about the environment and global warming, if these cars are going to cause further harm to the environment, then it may cause more problems than benefits.
ReplyDeleteI also think the point you raised about taking away jobs is interesting. Uber has created jobs for many people, and provided either a primary or secondary income to them. If the role of the driver was eventually eliminated, it could have potential negative impacts on these drivers and their families. However, these ideas Uber is working on are extremely innovative and would ultimately help their business to stay at the top of the competition.
I think that this will hit a lot of policy issues in terms of regulation and standards. Uber is already struggling in metropolitan cities like Toronto where their service is interrupting the service of other companies. If Uber introduced a service like this I am sure there would be issues in terms of airspace and the governments thoughts on it would be interesting.
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