Bell is a pioneer of vertical take-off design solutions and believes that vertical take-off air taxis have the potential to improve connectivity and productivity in cities around the world. The company's long-standing presence in the Czech Republic has led it to collaborate with the Centre for Artificial Intelligence on a pioneering project exploring the future of air taxi solutions.
"We are very pleased to have been able to engage CTU's Intelligent Mobility team in the further development of advanced traffic simulations," said Jason Hurst, Bell's vice president of innovation. "As part of the contract research services, CTU will develop models of passenger decision-making in multimodal urban environments using existing ground transportation and future vertical takeoff solutions. The goal is that, based on this research, Bell will strengthen its position as an innovation leader in both vertical takeoff vehicles and in terms of operational systems integration."
The CTU team, led by Associate Professor Jiří Vokřínek, will model consumer decision-making regarding the choice of means of transport, including passenger car transport, carpooling, rail and bus transport. Researchers will also map potential public preferences for future air taxi transportation and define processes for optimizing the design of the public transportation network to include air taxis.
CTU will create transportation choice scenarios for a large American city in order to simulate various decision-making processes. Meanwhile, the Intelligent Mobility Team will evaluate the effectiveness of vertiport facilities for air taxis based on their benefits to consumers and the ability to connect them with other modes of transport.
"This is a fascinating project in which we are proud to be involved," says Jiří Vokřínek of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence. "Bell has an admirable history of promoting cooperation and knowledge sharing between the US and the Czech Republic. By exploring transportation scenarios for the US, our team will also contribute to the development of transportation in the world. We look forward to beginning the research we intend to support Bell's pioneering technical developments."
The agreement between Bell and FEL CTU is the latest chapter in the story of Bell's long-term cooperation with the Czech Republic.