As part of contracted research services with Bell, we are developing passenger decision models in a city environment using both existing ground transportation and future vertical lift solutions.
Our smart mobility research team will model consumer decision-making in choosing travel options. This work will help US aerospace company Bell Textron Inc. with a clearer picture of how to incorporate its state-of-the-art transportation solutions into existing public transport infrastructure. Bell is a pioneer of vertical lift design solutions, and the company believes vertical lift air taxis have the potential to improve connections and productivity in cities around the world. Bell’s long-term presence in the Czech Republic led it to partner with the AI Center for a groundbreaking project exploring the future possibilities for air taxi solutions.
The team led by Jiří Vokřínek will model consumer decision-making regarding their choice of transportation, including personal auto, ride-share auto, rail, and bus transportation. The researchers will also model potential public preferences regarding future air taxi transportation and define processes for optimizing public transport network design to incorporate air taxis. Particularly, we will model transit selection scenarios for a major US city to simulate the decision-making processes and evaluate the effectiveness of vertiport facilities for air taxis based on their value for consumers and their potential for interface with other transit modes.
