With the aim to provide a holistic home entertainment experience to all smart TV owners backed by uninterrupted and super-fast internet broadband speed, ACT Fibernet has launched the ‘smart tv ka smart choice’ plan. As part of this, customers purchasing any smart TV on Flipkart will be able to enjoy exciting offers and discounts on the company’s internet broadband plans.
ACT Fibernet will offer every eligible customer, upon purchase of a 6 months subscription, two months free internet subscription with an additional 1500 GB data and a free wireless router. Offer valid on all Smart TV purchases made on Flipkart beginning 3rd September 2018 to 30th November 2018 across all 15 cities where the company has presence.
How to avail the offer
Customer to provide proof of purchase – Flipkart Order ID, Flipkart Invoice date along with Name, Mobile, Email, Complete Address on ACT website
ACT Fibernet to verify the purchase with Flipkart and out-call the customer, confirm the offer, check for feasibility in customer location and proceed with installation.
ACT Fibernet to provide new connection within a period of 10 working days.
Existing customers of ACT Fibernet are also eligible for the upgrade sans the router
Offer to be redeemed before 31st December 2018.
Customer is also free to choose any other offer from ACT Fibernet that is currently available in their respective market.
The below table captures the plan details across cities
Blockchain technology is one of the most popular skills of the decade. To meet the demands of offering education to all, Unocoin has introduced Unoversity. Unoversity is a one-stop solution for procuring Blockchain skills and to be updated with latest trends in the industry. Unocoin is India’s leading Crypto-asset exchange and blockchain company, offering services to over 1.5 million customers.
Naveen C T, Global Business Head, Unoversity, said
Blockchain is the next massive revolution which is transforming the world at a rapid rate. With the rise of globalization, businesses today operate over the internet, leaving room for cyber threats. The rise of the blockchain tech promises to solve some of the key challenges gnawing at us in this age of digitization. It is no wonder then that countries & corporate organizations alike spend billions of dollars in Blockchain R&D.
With the coming of age of the fintech and the digital infrastructure, blockchain is going to offer jobs to many. We, as a forerunner in this industry, have taken the responsibility to educate people on Blockchain technology, development and its impact in the future.
As India continues to ride strong on the fintech wave, blockchain is inevitably the future we are headed towards. During his Union Budget 2018 address, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley disclosed the government’s plans of looking into blockchain technologies for ushering India into digital economy. With an increasing adoption of blockchain technology in various industries, including the banking and finance sector, blockchain talent is presented with glorious prospects. With the advent of Unoversity, blockchain aspirants will now have to a reliable source to hone their talent and achieve career progression.
Unoversity aims to offer Indian universities and colleges a platform to collaborate with them, aiding these educational institutions in introducing blockchain in their respective curriculum. It also offers to educate faculties in blockchain and set up a blockchain research centre in college campuses. Students and faculties will have an opportunity to involve themselves in the real world blockchain projects. The platform offers latest blockchain projects and analytics in the industry. Furthermore, Unoversity aims to collaborate with state and central governments for widening the prospect of its motive and creating more jobs and growth opportunities in this sector.
Unoversity is now open for registrations for the affiliated universities. Institutions interested in adding blockchain in their curriculum may get in touch with Unoversity here
About UNOVERSITY
Backed by Unocoin, UNOVERSITY is a knowledge-based education portal, bringing aspirants closer to all blockchain and crypto-assets courses. With the courses covering the fundamentals and in-depth knowledge of blockchain, crypto-assets, development, finance, security, technology, and more, UNOVERSITY promises to be world’s largest and go-to portal for education in blockchain and crypto-assets. In addition to Blockchain and Crypto courses, UNOVERSITY also covers Blockchain Assets, shares resources on POCs [software and networks], and Recent Trends in the field. The portal also supports aspirants by aggregating different job openings in the world of blockchain development and more. More details can be found here.
Influencer marketing is one of the best ways to acquire new customers quickly. It is especially beneficial for small and medium-sized businesses that have small marketing budgets. Social media influencers are people who are immensely popular on social media primarily due to their content. Their followers love their content and follow them for their ideas, opinions, and expertise in their niche. In fact, their followers are likely to act upon their recommendations and purchase products they endorse too.
According to a Twitter study, 40% of people have purchased products based on an influencer’s recommendation. This suggests that influencer marketing can help brands build credibility and grow pretty quickly.
Here are some of the best influencer marketing strategies to acquire customers
Branded Blog Posts
Branded blog posts from influencers can be very useful for brands. If you work with bloggers who have a high Domain Authority and who get a high amount of traffic to their sites, your brand will gain greater visibility.
This will also help you build greater brand awareness. Ask your influencers to review some of your products or services and share their honest opinions on their blogs. Such authentic reviews can help you win the trust of their audiences [who are essentially your target audience].
However, for this, you need to make sure that you collaborate only with relevant influencers in your niche. You can also give their followers a little nudge towards a purchase by sharing affiliate links or discount codes with your influencers. When someone makes a purchase using them, you might need to pay a certain percentage as commission to the influencer.
Brand Mentions
Mentions of your brand by influencers on social media can help to attract more eyeballs. This can increase your visibility, brand awareness, and boost credibility too. When popular influencers mention your brand in a positive light, it can help to increase your conversions too.
Electronic Arts collaborated with popular Instagram influencers like David Lopez and Koya Webb to promote their gaming app, Bejeweled. As a result of the campaign, the app rose 520 places, from #702 to #182, among the top grossing apps in the Apple App Store.
Guest Posts
Guest posting on an influencer’s blog or website is a great way to attract more traffic to your site. If their website or blog gets a large amount of traffic and is a high-authority site, it can help with SEO too. Any backlinks from their site to yours will be of high-quality which can help to boost your rankings as well as traffic.
In addition, you’ll also benefit from greater visibility and brand awareness.
Takeovers
A takeover is a very interesting influencer marketing strategy that’s used by many brands to generate content and gain more followers. It involves an influencer taking over your social media account for a certain amount of time.
During this time, they will be posting content on your account. When they cross-promote such takeovers on their own accounts, their followers are likely to check out your account. Not only does this give you a chance to woo your audience with some amazing content, but also grow your following.
To learn about some more influencer marketing strategies, check out the following gifographic
Internet of Things [IoT] has become one of the most popular terminologies, especially when the discussion is about creating an overall connected eco-system. As per a report by Gartner on IoT, there might be around 20 billion connected things by 2020 and it is already having a profound impact on every business segment, be it automotive, energy, transportation, etc.
IoT has been instrumental in the creation of new business models, transformation of businesses to the digital front and helped enterprises improve the overall operational efficiency. Though there has been a lot of discussion about the growing usage of IoT in the consumer devices, it is playing a very important role in the transformation of the Manufacturing industry, also called as Industrial IoT [IIoT].
Indian enterprise Sasken has deep-rooted expertise in industrial analytics, building scalable solutions in the wearable, AR/VR space, automotive solutions, etc. Today, we have a chat with Mihir Kumar, Global Head of the Industrials Segment , Sasken Technologies Limited about Industry 4.0, IIOT, trends & challenges in IIOT, future of IoT & IIoT, etc.
Can you comment on the ‘Industrial’s BU’ that you are heading, and what are some of the ways in which Sasken is helping its customers in this segment?
With the advent of Industry 4.0, the industrial’s space is transforming, with machines becoming intelligent and digitally managed, plants becoming dynamic and data-driven, and operations getting augmented by Analytics, AI and AR. We are leveraging our Chip to Cognition expertise to deploy Product Engineering and Digital Transformation solutions for customers in the Industrials, Heavy Machinery and Rugged Devices space. We are enabling their Connected Product strategy and helping them design next-gen products that are connectedand intelligent.
We are also helping our marquee customers with IoT enablement of their legacy installed base through sensor engineering, edge engineering, and industrial connectivity solutions. In addition, we are partnering with Industrial companies to build intelligence across machines, devices, and plants by leveraging data analytics and machine learning. We are also addressing the complex needs around deploying IIoT platform, cloud enablement and enterprise mobility to enable Smart Manufacturing, Remote Asset Monitoring, Condition-based Maintenance, and Connected Field Service.
Can you throw light on the future of industry wearable technologies like smart helmets, body cameras etc. that are worn by factory employees, and more on what Sasken is doing in this field?
Technologies for smart wearables, AR/VR are fast becoming the next computing platform by fundamentally shifting the way information is relayed to the user and offering immediate access to critical data. Industrial sector, with the high labor cost or high cost of mistakes, has the great potential to achieve a significant return on investment with the adoption these technologies in use cases such as quality inspection, diagnostics, remote asset monitoring, equipment installations, field service and maintenance, work instructions, workforce training, and worker safety.
Sasken is enabling customers to build smart wearable products with varying form factors equipped with cloud-based analytics and industry-best low power technologies such as sensors, connectivity, and tracking solutions. In addition, we are focusing on deploying the solutions using AR/VR and wearables to enable a multitude of use cases such as
Expediting the product design using AR/VR solutions
Use of AR and wearables to improve quality and first-time fix ratio
AR-based Field Force Productivity Solutions that are used for service equipment/installations and for diagnostics by delivering real-time information at the point of use resulting in greater end-user satisfaction and lower cost of service
Why do you feel traditional Industrial companies are moving into the software & services business? How does Sasken as a ‘solutions provider’ keep up with the rapid changes in technology?
The recent emergence and confluence of disruptive software and technologies in the Industrial Internet space is blurring the lines between physical and digital in the Industrials sector. It is creating profound opportunities for traditional industrial companies with the disinter-mediation of value chains, opening up entirely new horizons for efficiency and productivity gains, transforming products into services, and bringing consumers closer to the manufacturers. This transformation is enabling incrementally transformative value for Industrial companies by optimizing their operations for greater performance, increasing asset utilization, predicting failures before they occur to avoid unplanned downtime, and enabling them to offer new business models [e.g. Product As A Service].
Our differentiated Chip to Cognition solutions position us uniquely to help our customers with their digital industrial transformation. We are working proactively with our partner ecosystem of leading semiconductor companies as well as leading technology and Industrial IoT platform firms such as PTC, Microsoft, AWS, Google and GE Digital. This enables us to get early access to emerging technologies and platforms from leading software OEMs and chip makers. Also, we leverage our world class hardware and software R&D labs in Finland and India, as well as our IPs and solutions for rapid prototyping and experimentation in emerging solutions.
What are some of the sectors where you feel IIoT is observing a sharp increase? Also, can you throw light on the overall market size, growth and relevant use-cases?
The adoption of Industrial IoT is currently led by large product manufacturers and asset heavy companies in industries such as industrial products, automotive, transportation, utilities, and oil & gas. This is because they have complex manufacturing processes and operations along with high-capital equipment that can benefit greatly from IIoT solutions and data-driven insights that drive more predictable, sustainable, resilient, and efficient processes.
Based on the collective insight gathered from the analysis of estimates from various market reports, our own research and the insights gathered from our customers and partners, I believe, the estimated size of current IoT market is around $120-$150 billion [inclusive of hardware, connectivity, applications, analytics, and services revenue]. I also expect a sustained growth over the next several years and the market could reach over $250-$300 billion by 2021, with an estimated CAGR of around 25%.
As far as usage of Industrial IoT is concerned, they are split between use cases for improving efficiency in internal operations and creating differentiating products and services. The majority of early adopters are pursuing use cases aimed at improving manufacturing operations, field service and predictive maintenance, and product design innovation. As industries move toward service-oriented business models, industrial companies are looking to leverage the same capabilities to monitor and optimize connected devices with their customers the same way they do internally. Companies are recognizing that reducing downtime [with predictive maintenance, remote service, etc.] continues to be a top priority for their customers. As a result, they are looking to capitalize on the opportunity to extend their footprint within the customer’s operations and monetize this highly strategic outcome.
Mihir Kumar, Global Head – Industrials Segment – Sasken
Apart from US, which are some of the emerging markets where you feel IoT/IIoT is seeing a huge growth and what is your analysis on the core reasons for growth in those markets?
Currently, there are several regional initiatives that are underway, which are accelerating the adoption of Industrial IoT. For instance, in Germany, there is Industrie 4.0 which is focused around hardware and smart machines required to enable digital manufacturing. In the United States, there is the Manufacturing USA initiative, which employs a more balanced approach of creating public-private partnerships aimed at overcoming technical IoT challenges. Regardless of their different approaches, these initiatives represent a worldwide push for standards and a continued adoption of industrial IoT.
Outside of US, currently Asia Pacific is rapidly adopting IIoT, owing to the rapid digitization and automation. Emerging economies such as China are investing massively in the R&D of industrial operations automation and has implemented IIoT in various industries. Japan is also a key contributor to the Asia Pacific market, led by the digital transformation in the manufacturing and automotive sectors.
How important is the role of security, power consumption, sensors, being hardware agnostic, etc. while developing IIoT solutions?
The architecture of an IIoT solution involves a large number of end-nodes [e.g., sensors] connected to aggregating devices [gateways], which in turn are connected to remote cloud platforms, applications and services. The functions of sensor nodes, their form factors, and target applications vary considerably and hence create the need for specific characteristics and requirements for the IIoT systems, such as
Energy Efficiency – Sensors nodes are characterized by low power draws and are often battery powered. Also, it is often difficult and costly to replace batteries. Hence IIoT solution needs to be highly energy efficient.
Hardware Agnostic solution – Owing to the diversity of hardware platforms available for various IIoT applications, it is important that the IIoT solutions support a variety of platforms to simplify inter-connectivity, drive standardization, and lower costs of ownership.
Network Connectivity & Protocol Support – Continuous connectivity to the network and to devices in immediate proximity is critical to IoT device operation. This requirement is achievable by providing support for a variety of connectivity protocols like Wi-Fi, Cellular, Bluetooth, etc.
Security – One of the biggest concerns in an IIoT solution is the cyber security and having everything linked to IoT is going to monumentally increase the vulnerabilities. It is imperative that the IIoT solution adhere to strict security expectations and meet stringent requirements imposed by deployments in sensitive and critical settings.
Small Memory Footprint – Sensor nodes are typically small and have limited memory available
Real-time Capabilities – Most of the IIoT applications are time critical and hence IIoT solutions need to perform similar to real-time operating systems that are deployed in industrial settings.
Where do you see the Industrial IoT sector heading in the future [in the next 3-5 years]?
The Industrial Internet of Things [IIoT] is set to become a multi-billion industry in the next three to five years. We are at an inflection point in terms of affordability and availability of IIoT, enabling the movement of IIoT from experimentation to business scale and making IIoT adoption and innovation more pervasive. With rapid advances in technologies, we are expected to see a few disruptive trends in the coming years such as:
Momentum for edge analytics and edge intelligence in the Industrial Internet of Things [IIoT] will accelerate. Edge computing will reduce security vulnerabilities for IIoT assets.
With the industrials space rapidly transforming and machines becoming more intelligent, operations will get augmented by AI, analytics and AR/VR.
Adoption of Advanced Analytics, Machine learning and Artificial Intelligence will fuel IIoT growth
Lower cost of technologies and IIoT will enable the acceleration in the adoption and growth of Digital Twin
Cloud adoption by factories and industrial facilities is expected to become imperative
With the increased deployment of IoT technologies, concerns around security, compliance, and privacy will become critical. As the IIoT environment explodes to create all of its anticipated benefits and competitive advantages, organizations will also need to adopt strategic approaches and innovative architectures that foster reliable, safe, secure work environments.
We thank Mihir Kumar for sharing his insights with our readers. If you have any questions for Mihir about Industry 4.0, IIoT, how your startup/enterprise can leverage capabilities of IIoT, etc. please email them here or share them via a comment to this article.
Depositing additional funds are always welcomed by any bank, but, you as a customer are always muddled whether to store it in a Savings Account or a Fixed Deposit [FD] account. A head-on comparison between the two will reveal that the interest rates are higher on the FD side, which successfully culminates into a good Return On Investment [ROI].
You may also opt for mutual funds or shares; however, these are risky. A safer option that provides decent returns includes fixed deposits [FDs].
Here are six reasons to open FDs
Safer financial products
Compared to shares or mutual fund schemes, FDs are safer. Furthermore, such deposits are rated by credit rating agencies like Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited [CRISIL]. Such ratings ensure your funds are safe and there is no risk of losing your capital.
Higher interest rate
Compared to a bank savings account, the FD interest rates are higher. In addition, financial institutions offer a greater rate for senior citizens when they open an FD. Therefore, you will be able to earn more on your capital.
Lower amount
You may invest as low as INR 5,000 while opening an FD. In addition, you may choose a cumulative or non-cumulative option. When you choose cumulative FD, the interest is paid on maturity. On the contrary, non-cumulative FDs provide regular interest payments and are beneficial to earn periodic income.
Flexible investment
When you open an FD, you must choose the duration of the deposit. At the end of this period, you will receive your capital along with the interest. Moreover, most financial institutions allow you to withdraw your funds prior to the end of the deposit period. However, according to the Reserve Bank of India [RBI] rules, you are not allowed to withdraw your money within three months of opening the FD. In the case of premature withdrawal, the effective fixed deposit rates may reduce because you do not hold the FD until maturity.
Option to avail of loan
You may avail of a loan facility against your FDs. Financial institutions offer up to 75% of the deposit amount as a loan after three months of opening the FD. The interest rate on such loans is affordable, thereby ensuring you do not face any difficulties in repaying the borrowed amount.
Tax savings
Some FDs provide tax benefits. Usually, when you opt for a tax saving deposit, you will have to hold the FD for at least five years. You are unable to withdraw the money before the end of this period. Furthermore, loans are also not available on tax saving deposits. When you opt for these deposits, the capital invested up to INR 1.5 lakh is exempt from income tax under Section 80C of the Income Tax [IT] Act, 1961.
Several banks and Non-Banking Financial Companies [NBFCs] offer such time deposits. It is advisable you check the interest rates offered by different financial institutions to maximize your returns. FDs have been popular among Indians who want to invest their money in a safe financial instrument. Such deposits are regulated by strict laws and offer assurance to investors like you. Investing in FDs is advisable if you want to increase your income through another source.
Insurance plans are important tools that are required for the financial security of your loved ones in case an unexpected incident were to happen, such as a fatal car accident. Traditional plans, like endowment policies, provide insurance benefits to your beneficiaries if you were to lose your life during the policy term.
You may have been warned against using insurance as an investment tool. However, there is no harm if your insurance policy is able to deliver returns along with life cover. This can prove highly beneficial. Such plans are widely available today.
What are Unit Linked Insurance Plans [ULIPs]?
You may have heard about such plans but often wonder what is ULIP exactly? ULIP is a unique insurance plan that offers the dual benefit of life coverage and returns. A certain amount of the premium you pay is used towards insurance coverage. The balance is invested in different financial products, such as debt or equity, to deliver returns on your investment.
Because most people do not clearly understand what is ULIP plan, there are several myths associated with this insurance product. Following are five such myths that need to be busted right away.
High-cost products
Do you, like most people, think that the costs associated with these insurance plans are too high? Well, this is a misconception. It may be overcome through an understanding of the structure of a ULIP plan. The premium that you pay for your policy is invested in your chosen financial products after the deduction of certain charges, such as fund management and life cover.
In September 1, 2010, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India [IRDAI] capped such charges to ensure the costs of procuring these plans are reduced. If you remain invested in a ULIP for at least ten years, the insurance company may levy a maximum charge if 2.25% during this period. Most insurance companies also offer excellent benefits and discounts if you choose to purchase the policy online.
Risk of returns
Because a portion of the insurance premium is invested in financial instruments, the returns are market-driven. This poses a certain risk. However, the truth is that the life cover you acquire remains constant during the entire policy period. Moreover, you may have the option of choosing from different types of funds to invest in. You may choose the financial product where your money will be invested at the time of purchasing the plan.
Based on your risk appetite, you may choose to invest in equities, debt, or balanced funds, which are a mixed of equity and debt. Additionally, you may switch between one instrument and the other based on your financial goals.
The life cover does not decrease in case the financial products do not perform well. In case of your death during the policy tenure, your beneficiaries are eligible to receive the policy benefits. The insurance company will either pay the fund value or the total life cover, whichever is higher.
Low returns
The return on your investment in a ULIP depends on the performance of the chosen financial instrument. However, when you choose the right funds and make logical and timely switches between products, you may be able to enjoy higher returns.
A ULIP delivers significantly higher returns when you stay invested for a longer period of time. Therefore, most experts recommend using these plans to achieve long-term financial objectives, such as purchasing a luxury vehicle or buying your dream home.
Insurance companies also offer loyalty additions when you stay invested long-term. This helps to increase your accumulated corpus. It also increases the effective return on your investment. Moreover, these insurance plans are eligible for tax benefits under the Income Tax Act, 1961. Only an amount of up to INR 1.5 lakh paid as the premium on a ULIP may be deducted from your taxable income under section 80C of the IT Act. Moreover, the maturity benefits are also tax-exempt under section 10 [10D].
Exit is difficult
When you choose to purchase a ULIP, it is important to have a medium to long-term investment intention. ULIPs have a lock-in period of five years, which means you cannot exit your investment during this time. At the end of the lock-in period, you may surrender your policy. If you choose to exercise this option, there will be no exit load charges levied if you withdraw the entire amount before the maturity date.
However, it is not advisable to surrender your policy before it matures. To maximize the returns on your investment, it is important remain invested for the long-term. This is because the power of compounding may need to come into play. As a result, the returns earned during the investment term are also able to earn profits. This enables you to build a sizeable corpus.
Investing surplus funds is not possible
Another common misconception is that once you purchase a ULIP policy, you cannot increase your investment. However, in reality, you may easily top-up your existing ULIP premium amount in case you have an investible surplus. During the policy duration, you may top-up your investment without any limitations and as many times as you desire.
ULIPs are an excellent option that can help you invest in equities and reap the benefits of burgeoning equity markets. Recently, ULIPs have delivered excellent returns, which make these more attractive for investment purposes. Based on the type of fund you have invested in, it is possible that you may earn higher returns on your investments.
The flexibility of easily switching between equity and debt funds, and vice versa, makes a ULIP a smart investment decision. It allows you to meet your life goals while at the same time protect your loved ones in the case of an unfortunate event. If you haven’t already considered investing in a ULIP, this is the right time to do so. Browse the various options available without delay and procure one today.
Chai Kings,founded in 2016 is the largest Chai Retail Chain in Chennai operating with 8 stores. Chai Kings offers a sumptuous range of chai in exotic flavors, in the most hygienic ambience and at perfectly justifiable prices. Chai Kings also delivers Chai at your doorstep through in house delivery personnel as well as through the online food aggregators. Chai Kings deliver upto 4 kms radius from the outlets and uses food grade use-and-throw heat retaining chai flask for safe consumption also ensuring the Chai is piping hot for at least 50 minutes. With the vision to be the favourite chai place, Chai Kings is expanding rapidly in Chennai with the target of 100 stores in 5 years.
Piyush Bhandari who lead the investment from The Chennai Angels said
Sadique and Balaji have built a strong brand with Chai Kings, which has a great potential to scale given the vast consumption base in the country. We look forward to working with the Chai Kings team and helping them scale up their operations. We are excited to partner with Chai Kings and be a part of their growth journey.
We are super happy with our progress so far and to have created a niche and following for the brand. This investment coming at the right time will further propel us. This funding proceeds will be used towards adding retail stores and to strengthen our service operations.
We are excited to have The Chennai Angels part of our journey. We are planning to setup additional stores to cater to folks in IT Parks, Malls and few stores in High Streets, at a faster pace. There is going to be a sea of new product launches as well.
About The Chennai Angels
The Chennai Angels is one of India’s most active angel investing groups. Founded in the year 2007, it is comprised of successful entrepreneurs and business leaders with a track record of starting and scaling large enterprises. Additionally, several seed and venture capital firms hold institutional membership in the group. Though it is located in Chennai, TCA’s investing members and portfolio investments are not limited by geography. Unusually for an angel investing group, TCA has a diversified portfolio that goes well beyond a restrictive tech focus, reflecting the diversity of its members’ interests. TCA portfolio companies benefit from the collective expertise and rolodex of its members.
Uber Elevate announced five shortlisted finalist countries that could be home to the first international Uber Air City within the next five years. Additionally, Uber Elevate announced plans to experiment with drone delivery for Uber Eats, and demonstrated how potential Uber Air routes in Asia Pacific cities could benefit, and complement, local transportation systems.
We are proud to host the first ever Uber Elevate Asia Pacific Expo, showcasing the exciting future Uber Air can bring to the region and to the world. In pursuit of our first international launch market, where you will be able to push a button and get a flight, we are announcing a shortlist of five countries where Uber Air can immediately transform transportation and take our technology to new heights.
We want to thank the attendees of the Expo who got a first peek at Uber Eats delivered by drones, potential future routes where Uber Air will fly people across cities in the Asia Pacific region, and many other ways Uber is creating a new future of truly multi-modal transportation.
Honorable Daisaku Hiraki, Parliamentary Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said
I am very pleased that Uber’s first-ever Elevate APAC Expo took place in Japan. We see much potential in flying cars, and we anticipate that flying cars can be used not only to help solve traffic congestion in urban areas, but it will also help with increase mobility between city centres and remote islands and mountainous areas, promote tourism in Japan as well as enhance disaster relief operations.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on 29 August that the Investments for the Future Strategy 2018 will consist of launching a Joint Public-Private Sector conference to revolutionize the aviation mobility industry. I believe public and private sectors, including companies outside of Japan, should work collaboratively to develop this new technology. I am confident that Japan has the potential to become a leader in aviation innovation.
Shortlist for First International Uber Air City
Uber’s Elevate program is creating urban aerial ride-sharing, globally. Starting in approximately five years, Uber customers in launch cities will be able to push a button and get a flight on demand. To enable this, Uber has assembled a network of partners that includes vehicle manufacturers, real estate developers, technology developers and more. Dallas and Los Angeles were previously announced as the first two U.S. launch cities, and at the second annual Uber Elevate Summit in May, Uber announced it was seeking an international city as a third partner.
After evaluating countries across the globe, Uber executives announced today at the Uber Elevate Asia Pacific Expo that the following five countries are on a shortlist
Japan – Home of one of the world’s most enviable public transit systems and a world leader in the technology and automotive industries, Uber is excited to invite mega-cities including Tokyo and Osaka to explore the future of transportation with us.
India – Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore are some of the most congested cities in the world, where traveling even a few kilometers can take over an hour. Uber Air offers tremendous potential to help create a transportation option that goes over congestion, instead of adding to it.
Australia – Uber Elevate has already had several positive conversations with local policymakers and the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority in the recent visit to Sydney and Melbourne. Australia has already taken significant steps to embrace the future of urban aviation.
Brazil – Rio de Janeiro and the state of São Paulo, home to Uber’s partner Embraer, are key ride-sharing markets globally, and they also happen to be some of today’s most active helicopter markets, indicating clear demand for urban aerial ride-sharing.
France – Uber is excited to announce the opening of it’s Advanced Technology Center in Paris, the city where Uber was first born, and it is looking forward to further discussions in a region with a rich aviation history.
The Uber Elevate team is now inviting conversations with stakeholders across major cities in these countries, and will announce the chosen Uber Air international city within the next six months.
Uber SkyPort
Uber Elevate has established a criteria framework to select this third city, anchored around three priority principles:
Sizable market – It is looking for large, polycentric markets with a strong and present need for innovative transportation solutions, and with a metropolitan population over one million people.
Local commitment – It will work with federal, state, and local governments from day one, in addition to members of the community it hopes to serve — real estate developers, zoning commissions, city councils, and neighborhoods. It will be looking for markets that are locally committed to bringing Uber Air there so that it can collaborate closely in the coming years.
Enabling conditions – Uber Air relies on multi-modal, efficient operations that are seamlessly integrated with a robust Uber ground network.
More details on the Uber Air international City Criteria can be found here
About Uber Elevate
Uber launched its Elevate program in October 2016 with the publication of the first White Paper on Urban Air Mobility. Since then it has entered into partnerships with experienced aircraft manufacturers who are developing electric VTOL vehicles, including Embraer, Bell, Aurora Flight Sciences [now a subsidiary of Boeing], Pipistrel Aircraft and Karem. Uber’s eVTOL requirements specify that this fully electric vehicle have a cruising speed between 150-200 mph, a cruising altitude of 1000-2000 feet and be able to do trips of up to 60 miles on a single charge.
Last year, Uber announced its intention to launch flight demonstrations of Uber Air in Dallas-Fort Worth/Frisco Texas and Los Angeles in 2020 and commercially available trips by 2023. To help create Skyports for the Uber Air network, Uber has also entered into real estate partnerships with Hillwood Properties and Sandstone Properties. Last fall, Uber released the first video of the Uber Air experience.
At the 2018 Elevate Summit, Uber announced an exclusive Space Act with NASA to focus on traffic management technologies and the impacts of urban air mobility [UAM]. The company is also collaborating with E-One Moli to produce lithium ion battery packs for vehicles and has signed a Joint Work Statement with the U.S. Army to research electric propulsion technology.
