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Enlarge / United has chosen its hometown of Chicago for the country's first commercial eVTOL route. (credit: Archer Aviation)
In 2025, United Airlines will fly an air taxi service between the downtown Vertiport Chicago and O'Hare International Airport, using electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft it is purchasing from Archer Aviation. The Archer Midnight eVTOL aircraft will complete the route in about 10 minutes; according to local resident and Ars Managing Editor Eric Bangeman, that journey by car can take over an hour due to road construction.
"Both Archer and United are committed to decarbonizing air travel and leveraging innovative technologies to deliver on the promise of the electrification of the aviation industry," said Michael Leskinen, president of United Airlines Ventures. "Once operational, we're excited to offer our customers a more sustainable, convenient, and cost-effective mode of transportation during their commutes to the airport."
United placed an order for 200 eVTOL aircraft from Archer back in 2021 at a cost of $1 billion. The startup has also raised money from the automaker Stellantis, which has been helping the company with making carbon fiber composites.
Archer Aviation and United Airlines announced a partnership today to launch a commercial air taxi route in Chicago. The companies plan to open the flight path between downtown and O’Hare International Airport in 2025.
Besides being United’s headquarters and largest hub, Chicago's airport commute makes it an ideal testbed for flying taxis. For example, the drive to or from O’Hare, in the western suburb of Rosemont, can take anywhere from 35 minutes to over an hour, depending on traffic; even in one of the city’s elevated trains, it can take around 45 minutes. But Archer estimates a flight in one of its air taxis will only take 10 minutes to travel from O’Hare to its destination at a downtown helipad. The program will initially be limited to the mainline O’Hare / downtown route, but the companies eventually plan to add smaller paths to surrounding communities.
Archer describes the upcoming route as “cost competitive” for passengers without going into specifics. But even if it’s initially limited to deep-pocketed business travelers, the program should be good for the environment. Archer’s air taxis use electric motors and batteries and don’t produce emissions. “This exciting new technology will further decarbonize our means of transportation, taking us another step forward in our fight against climate change,” said Mayor Lori Lightfoot. “I’m pleased that Chicago residents will be among the first in the nation to experience this innovative, convenient form of travel.”
The partnership is the latest in United’s aggressive investments in flying taxis. Last year, the airline ordered at least 200 electric flying taxis from Eve Air Mobility; that followed a $10 million deposit it placed with Archer the month prior.
In addition to Chicago’s (ground-based) taxis and ride shares, the city has a robust public transportation system built around elevated trains and buses, the latter of which the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has committed to converting to electric by 2040. (The CTA already deploys 23 electric buses.) If all goes according to plan, the flight path will help decrease emissions and traffic congestion, something most Chi-town residents can get behind.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/united-and-archer-will-open-an-air-taxi-route-to-chicagos-ohare-airport-in-2025-191352804.html?src=rss
Archer Aviation air taxi
Rendering of a fleet of Archer Aviation Air Taxis (with United branding) taking off from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. We see one taxi taking off in the foreground with several others grounded behind it.
The latest display of good air-travel behavior occurred on a Southwest Airlines flight in Dallas on Monday before the plane even took off. A gentleman felt slighted when a fellow gent allegedly bumped into his wife, so naturally he held the rude passenger in a headlock and repeatedly punched him inside the cabin until other passengers and flight crew members intervened. — Read the rest
Even as it has radically expanded the hands-free driver assist capabilities of its current generation Super Cruise ADAS, General Motors has been hard at work on the system's successor, Ultra Cruise, since 2021. On Tuesday, GM finally revealed which model will be first to receive the upgraded features of Ultra Cruise and that vehicle is the Cadillac Celestiq.
"We're trying to expand our hands-free driving experience that we have with Super Cruise to most paved and public roads," Jason Dittman, General Motors' Chief Engineer, said during a press call Monday. "It will be a 'destination to destination' experience."
"You get in your car, use the internal nav navigation system, put a destination in it, and the car would essentially do the driving — roughly on 95 percent of the driving maneuvers on a typical drive, you'll be able to do hands-free," he added.
We already had a solid understanding of what Ultra Cruise would be capable of as GM went into detail when it first announced development of the system in 2021. Super Cruise currently works on around 400,000 miles of US and Canadian highways, allowing drivers to take their hands off the wheel when driving on a compatible highway or state route. It uses a mix of LiDAR, radar, GPS and cameras to know where the vehicle is on the road.
Ultra Cruise, builds off this with a new computing system, that will fuse the incoming data streams into a unified 360-degree view around the vehicle. "They're not redundant, they're fused together to give us the most accurate picture of the vehicle surroundings," Dittman said. Ultra Cruise equipped vehicles will also use an interior-facing infrared driver attention monitor that will track the, "driver’s head position and/or eyes in relation to the road," according to Tuesday's announcement.
Ultra Cruise will work on more than 2 million miles of highway at launch. Over time, the company plans to further expand the number of roadways covered by the Ultra Cruise network to include 3.4 million miles of roadway encompassing, "nearly every paved road, city street, suburban street, subdivision, and rural road in addition to the highways that today on the super cruise operates on," Dittman added.
Note that despite the larger number of roads the new system will work on, it still offers the same Level 2 driver assist capabilities as the rest of the auto industry, save Mercedes. That means, you will have to keep paying attention to the road you just won't have to keep your hands strictly on the wheel.
Unfortunately, current Super Cruise subscribers will not be able to upgrade to the new system once it arrives later this year. Ultra Cruise requires additional sensors and hardware to operate and GM doesn't currently have plans to offer a retrofit kit. You'll have to pony up the $300k Caddy is asking for the Celestiq if you want to be among the first to try it.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gms-ultra-cruise-system-will-debut-on-the-cadillac-celestiq-later-this-year-140011591.html?src=rss
US-AUTO-CADILLAC CELISTIQ
The Cadillac Celestiq electric-sedan is unveiled in Los Angeles, California on October 17, 2022. - The ultra-luxury low-volume Celestiq features a host of 3D-printed parts for extensive customization and is the second EV in Cadillac's lineup. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
Hailing a ride from the airport is often a headache — ask anyone who's navigated a maze-like terminal just to get to the pickup area. The journey may soon be less daunting, however. Uber is introducing a few updates that can streamline trips to and from airports. Most notably, you'll get walking directions for the pickup location, and ETAs for baggage claim. You can hustle if you need a ride quickly, or take your time collecting your bags.
Uber Reserve will also be more useful for scheduling your ground travel. The company now allows booking rides up to 90 days in advance instead of 30, making it easier to plan every step of your vacation. Reserve will also be available in many more North American cities (over 7,300), and New York City customers can book UberX, XL and Comfort rides in addition to Black and Black SUV. A Business Comfort tier, meanwhile, will provide a "unique" experience for work travellers.
The pickup directions are available at just over 30 airports around the world, including the NYC area's big three (JFK, LaGuardia and Newark) as well as hubs like Chicago O'Hare and Atlanta. More are due in the months ahead, Uber says. Walking ETAs will "soon" be available in over 400 airports. The Business Comfort option will be available sometime in the near future.
The motivation behind the upgrades is clear. Airport rides play a major role in Uber's business, and it's competing with Lyft, taxis and even car rental agencies. You may be more likely to use Uber if it can guide you every step of the way.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/uber-wants-to-make-navigating-the-airport-less-of-a-nightmare-120040525.html?src=rss
Uber airport reservation and walking directions
Uber airport reservation and walking directions
Stormy weather in Tennessee last night caused such severe turbulence on a Lufthansa flight, seven passengers were sent to the hospital.
The flight, headed to Frankfurt from Austin, Texas, was at an altitude of 37,000ft when it was hit with what the flight crew described as "significant turbulence," according to The Guardian. — Read the rest
Winter storms across the United States have affected more than 2,200 flights so far today, with at least 1,109 delayed and 1,116 canceled as of 11am ET, according to CBS. Airlines most affected are SkyWest, Delta and Southwest, while Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, Denver International Airport, Detroit Metro Airport saw the most cancelations and delays. — Read the rest
What better a place than Amsterdam, a city where magic mushrooms are legal, to host a museum of fluorescent art? Electric Ladyland is a trippy art museum featuring all kinds of fluorescent wonders from art to rocks and minerals
— Read the rest"Owned and operated by pony-tailed artist Nick Padalino, Electric Ladyland can be found underneath the similarly-named street-level art gallery, Electric Lady.
As the Super Bowl approaches, Airbnb rival Vrbo announced its use of “unauthorized event prevention technology,” algorithms that try to avoid house parties at rental properties. Similar to a credit system, the tech generates a risk score for each booking, giving hosts a chance to call it off.
The Expedia-owned company will score renters based on their length of stay, lead time, number of guests and other factors. Vrbo is careful to add that it doesn’t use demographical information (race, sex, gender, age and so on) to evaluate risk. If a renter triggers a warning, Vrbo sends the host an email alert, giving them the option to cancel without a penalty; guests also receive a message reminding them of the policy.
Although Vrbo is rolling out the new system nationally, it recently conducted a yearlong pilot test in the Phoenix area, where Super Bowl LVII takes place on February 12th. The trial allegedly prevented over 500 unauthorized bookings in the US, saving hosts $2.5 million in cleanup and repairs. Vrbo will also restrict same-day bookings, team up with noise-monitoring and neighborhood watch services and share data with Airbnb about troublesome renters.
The new system will automatically apply to all US bookings. Vrbo says fewer than 0.25 percent of all weekend bookings in the US have led to party-related complaints.
FOOTBALL-NFL/
Dec 30, 2022; Glendale AZ, USA; Workers place Vrbo signage on the exterior of State Farm Stadium, the site of the 2022 CFP Semifinal between the TCU Horned Frogs and the Michigan Wolverines and Super Bowl 57 (LVII). Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Enlarge / A bathroom on an Airbus A321neo. (credit: Getty | Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto)
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering blending sewage sampling from airplanes into its wastewater surveillance system, which has proven useful for monitoring the spread and prevalence of a variety of pathogens, particularly SARS-CoV-2.
Amid the pandemic, the CDC launched wastewater testing programs across the nation, trying to get ahead of SARS-CoV-2 surges. Viral particles are often shed in fecal matter and can be an early indication of an infection. The fecal focus has proven useful for sniffing out community-wide transmission trends and disease spread for not only COVID-19 but also other recent outbreaks as well, namely polio and mpox (formerly monkeypox). Adding surveillance from airplanes and airports could flush out yet more information about infectious disease spread, such as global travel patterns and the debut of novel viral variants.
A study published last week in PLOS Global Public Health found such sewage surveillance in UK airport terminals and airplanes was effective at tracking SARS-CoV-2 among international travelers. Overall, the surveillance data suggested that it is a "useful tool for monitoring the global transfer rate of human pathogens and other disease-causing agents across international borders and should form part of wider international efforts to monitor and contain the spread of future disease outbreaks," the authors, led by Kata Farkas of Bangor University, concluded.
Well here's something I didn't know I needed in my life that I now need in my life. A new series is coming to Apple TV+ where the infamously indoorsy Eugene Levy is sent on wild adventures around the world. This is a guy who hates to even get his hair wet. — Read the rest
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