Uber is joining forces with the Army to work on developing quieter aircraft rotors for commercial and military use.
The project will cost $1 million and will center on developing and testing prototypes of two-rotor systems that involve stacking the individual rotors on top of each other. The system would be used for vertical take off and landing aircraft.
The goal is to develop a new type of stacked rotor system that is quieter than what is being used now.
Uber is interested in the technology for a future fleet of flying taxis, while the Army wants the quieter rotors for use in unmanned aerial vehicles.
"When UAVs are doing an [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] mission, they're out there collecting or observing to collect intelligence or to do surveillance," Jaret Riddick of the Army Research Laboratory told the Army Times.
Enemy forces "know a certain noise in the distance means a certain type of operation is underway. When you can do that with the advantage of not being detected . . . it changes how you execute a mission."
Several companies are leading projects to develop flying cars, including Uber, Boeing, and Airbus.
Uber is holding a conference on flying vehicles this week in Los Angeles.
Information from Reuters was used in this report.
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