Uber enlists NASA veteran to realise flying car ambition
Not content with shaking up the worlds roads Uber is staking an early claim on the skies above after hiring veteran NASA aircraft engineer Mark Moore to head-up its fledgling flying car division.
The ride hailing startup’s interest was piqued by Moore’s vision for an electrically powered aircraft capable of vertical take-off and landing, though much smaller and quieter than its pre-existing brethren.
Since publishing a feasibility study into the idea in 2010 Moore has secured the financial backing of no less than Google co-founder Larry Page to realise his vision but will now jump ship to Uber Elevate, mindful of crossover with the technology startup.
Moore commented: “I can’t think of another company in a stronger position to be the leader for this new ecosystem and make the urban electric VTOL market real.”
In a statement Uber’s Nikhil Goel, Uber's head of product for advanced programs, added: “Uber continues to see its role as an accelerant-catalyst to the entire ecosystem, and we are excited to have Mark joining us to work with manufacturers and stakeholders as we continue to explore the use case described in our whitepaper.”
Sadly this doesn’t mean Uber is on the cusp of branching out into personalized air travel but rather it will identify the regulatory and technical challenges it will needto overcome before the Jetsons style dream can be made a reality.
This isn't the first time Uber has strayed onto Google's turf having previously hired former Google search chief Amit Singhal as senior vice president of engineering.