Uber signs new pact with NASA on 'flying car'
Washington, May 9: In a bid to show its seriousness about taking its "flying car" concept off the ground, ride hailing company Uber has signed a second space act agreement with NASA.
The pact aims to further explore concepts and technologies related to urban air mobility (UAM) to ensure a safe and efficient system for future air transportation in populated areas.
Under this agreement, Uber will share its plans for implementing an urban aviation rideshare network, NASA said in a statement on Tuesday.
NASA will use the latest in airspace management computer modeling and simulation to assess the impacts of small aircraft - from delivery drones to passenger aircraft with vertical take-off and landing capability - in crowded environments.
This is NASA's first such agreement specifically focused on modeling and simulation for the UAM operations.
NASA's definition of "urban air mobility" is a safe and efficient system for vehicles, piloted or not, to move passengers and cargo within a city.
Uber's first Space Act Agreement with NASA, which was signed in November 2017, was a general statement of an intent to collaborate, The Verge reported.
"NASA is excited to be partnering with Uber and others in the community to identify the key challenges facing the UAM market, and explore necessary research, development and testing requirements to address those challenges," Jaiwon Shin, Associate Administrator for NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, said in a statement.
"Urban air mobility could revolutionise the way people and cargo move in our cities and fundamentally change our lifestyle much like smart phones have," Shin said.
At its research facility at the Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport, NASA will use the data supplied by Uber to simulate a small passenger-carrying aircraft as it flies through DFW airspace during peak scheduled air traffic.
Analysis of these simulations will identify safety issues as these new aircraft take to the air in an already crowded air traffic control system.
"The new space act agreement broadening Uber's partnership with NASA is exciting, because it allows us to combine Uber's massive-scale engineering expertise with NASA's decades of subject matter experience across multiple domains that are key to enabling urban air mobility, starting with airspace systems," said Jeff Holden, Uber's Chief Product Officer.
Uber believes that urban air transportation has the potential to alleviate transportation congestion on the ground and a network of small, electric aircraft that take off and land vertically (called VTOL aircraft for Vertical Take-off and Landing, and pronounced vee-tol), could enable rapid, reliable transportation between suburbs and cities and, ultimately, within cities.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
RSS man's defamation case against Rahul: Key witness unavailable, hearing adjourned to Dec 20
Thane (PTI): A court in Bhiwandi in Thane district on Saturday adjourned the hearing in the criminal defamation case filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker to December 20 due to non-availability of a crucial prosecution witness.
Advocate Narayan Iyer, counsel for Rahul Gandhi, confirmed the adjournment, stating that the witness, Ashok Saykar, currently Deputy Superintendent of Police in Barshi in Solapur, could not remain present due to personal reasons.
Saykar's evidence is now likely to be recorded on December 29.
His testimony is considered key because he, as police sub inspector in 2014, conducted the preliminary inquiry into the private defamation matter under Section 202 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
It was on the basis of Saykar's submitted report that the court subsequently issued process (summons) against Rahul Gandhi under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The criminal defamation case was filed by local RSS worker Rajesh Kunte following a speech given by Rahul Gandhi at an election rally near Bhiwandi on March 6, 2014.
The case stems from the Congress leader's alleged statement that "the RSS people killed (Mahatma) Gandhi."
The matter is being heard by Bhiwandi Joint Civil Judge, Junior Division, P M Kolse.
The hearing had previously been adjourned on November 15 after the complainant's counsel, Advocate Prabodh Jaywant, moved an application seeking permission to examine Saykar, who had submitted the probe report to the court.
The matter was originally scheduled for November 29 but was deferred to December 6 after Rahul Gandhi's legal team sought an adjournment citing their non-availability. The proceedings will now resume on December 20.
