Uber Technologies has signed a new space act agreement with Nasa to further investigate concepts and technologies associated with urban air mobility (UAM).

Representing the second space act agreement between the companies, the deal aims to develop a safe and efficient system for future air transportation in crowded areas.

Uber will provide its plans for implementing an urban aviation rideshare network and Nasa will use the data to simulate a small passenger-carrying aircraft.

Nasa will use its research facility at the Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport in the US to simulate flight during peak scheduled air traffic hours.

“Nasa intends to help develop a system that allows small aircraft to safely operate at acceptable levels of noise without impacting the existing national air traffic control system.”

Advanced airspace computer modelling software will be used to evaluate the impacts of small aircraft such as delivery drones and passenger aircraft with vertical take-off and landing capability in populated areas.

Nasa Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate associate administrator Jaiwon Shin said: “Urban air mobility could revolutionise the way people and cargo move in our cities and fundamentally change our lifestyle much like smartphones have.”

With the latest deal, Nasa intends to help develop a system that allows small aircraft to safely operate at acceptable levels of noise without impacting the existing national air traffic control system.

In a separate development, Uber has released a prototype of its ‘flying car’ concept aircraft at its second annual Uber Elevate Summit, reported cnbc.com.

Built similarly to a drone, the prototype is equipped with four rotors on wings.

Expected to enter service in the next two to five years, Uber’s flying cars will be able to cruise 1,000ft to 2,000ft off the ground.