Uber lays out vision for self-driving flying cars

Theo Thimou | March 22nd, 2017

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Remember The Jetsons and the promise of George Jetson zipping to work in his flying car? That future could be sooner than you think!

Meet the car of the future

If you think a future with fleets of self-driving cars is weird, get a load of this: Uber has articulated its vision for a world of flying cars run by computers to shuttle people to and fro.

Just as you do with the terrestrial version of Uber, you would in theory be able to hail a flying car right from your smartphone. The crafts would move at a projected speed of up to 150 miles per hour, according to a report in the Wall Steet Journal.

Obviously, many issues including technology, regulation and logistics need to be ironed out. Yet Uber is saying in a 97-page white paper published Thursday that trials could begin with five years and an initial network could be in place by 2026.

Uber would have to team with flying-car manufacturers to bring this vision to fruition. Years ago, Clark talked about one such company called Terrafugia on his radio show.

The Terrafugia (pictured above) is a hybrid electric flying car with vertical takeoff and landing capabilities and computer-controlled flight.

Well, this much is for sure: The future is getting weirder by the minute!