From Uber developing flying cars to Hulu releasing VR rooms – get this week’s installment of Passport’s must-read tech articles.

Finding Rentals Near Public Transit Is Easy With New Tool

Trulia has expanded its search for “Rent Near Transit” to seven cities with the hope of allowing people to take advantage of mass transit. I have to image this feature will soon be coming to Airbnb and Hotel websites to help guests see a city why using one of the city’s best resources…

– Tom Wiese, Sales Associate

 

Former NASA Engineer Heads to Uber To Develop Flying Cars

 

Sound surreal? It just might, but flying cars are on the horizon thanks to Mark Moore, former director of engineering for aviation at NASA. Moore was recently hired by Uber to take the reigns on Uber Elevate, which “seeks to develop craft capable of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL)”. With Moore’s assistance, Uber has crafted a 99-page white paper that aims to challenge the traditional way of commuting.

– Rob Luke, Head of Design

 

Hulu VR Adds Oculus Rooms Support So You Can Watch TV With Your Virtual Friends

 

Virtual reality has hit the market and there’s no stopping the technology. Hulu, streaming service, has jumped on the VR bandwagon and has recently added Oculus Rooms to its app, which allow users to watch TV with virtual friends. With Gear VR “users will soon be able to check out the Oculus Avatar and Rooms features, allowing everyone to watch Hulu’s 360-degree content together while paid subscribers will also be able to hang out in a virtual room and watch 2D content on the big screen”. Pretty wild, right? Turns out VR friends are possible with Hulu.

– Kimberly Kufel, Content Marketing Specialist

 

Ford CEO Says Future of Cities Has Nothing To Do With Cars

 

Not many CEO’s are willing to admit that the future has nothing to do with what made their company so successful. Mark Fields, Ford CEO, believes the form of transportation that has worked for them in the past is not going to cut it in the future. With traffic congestion and ride-sharing apps gaining more popularity, especially in urban areas, cars just might not make the cut.

– Tom Wiese, Sales Associate

 

 

This Robot Will Carry Your Stuff and Follow You Around

I wish this technology was around back in 2005 when I had to lug massive textbooks around school all day long. This little blue robot, named Gita, uses video cameras to get around; there are a few on the body of the robot to avoid bumping into objects, people, or walls. But Gita also relies on footage gathered from a camera located the user’s belt to continue following the user’s physical path in cases where it lags behind. While the technology isn’t perfect and may lack the scope necessary to make any impact on people’s lives, this is an interesting step toward the combination of robotics, transportation, and consumerism.

– Sara Wasserboehr, Graphic Designer