SBIR Phase I: Adaptive Aircraft Scheduling for the Emerging Air Taxi Industry

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目将研究新兴空中出租车行业的有效调度方法。与传统航空公司不同，空中出租车将按需运送乘客从一个机场到另一个机场，而不是按公布的时间表。物流需求超出了技术文献中现有的范例，例如叫车或旅行推销员。空中出租车公司必须能够将不可预测的、非结构化的、随机到达的需求汇总到一组飞机行程中，以便分配飞行员驾驶。研究目标是调查采用线性规划机队分配方法（通常用于航空公司）为空中出租车行业生产持续更新的高效时间表的可行性。在第一阶段项目的过程中，将研究和完善的调度方法对空中出租车行业的成功至关重要：如果没有一个有效的自动化调度系统，空中出租车运营商将无法管理超过10-15架飞机的复杂物流。JIT SlipStream的长期计划是开发一个全行业的互联网预订引擎（可能包括传统航空公司的航班作为替代方案）。这样的系统将为消费者（他们将看到满足他们旅行需求的多种选择）和运营商（他们将获得有效的航班路线，为他们的运营定制）提供价值。如果空中出租车行业取得成功，其他宏观经济效益将会累积。改善通往小社区的交通将提高它们的总体经济前景。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will investigate efficient scheduling methods for the emerging air taxi industry. Unlike conventional airlines, air taxis will carry customers from one airport to another on demand, not on a published timetable. The logistics requirements go beyond existing paradigms in the technical literature, such as dial-a-ride or traveling salesman. Air taxi companies must be able to aggregate unpredictable, unstructured, randomly arriving demand into a set of aircraft itineraries that they can assign pilots to fly. The research objective is to investigate the feasibility of adapting a linear programming fleet assignment methodology (typically used at airlines) to produce continuously updating, efficient schedules for the air taxi industry. The scheduling methodologies that will be investigated and refined in the course of this Phase I project are mission-critical to the success of the air taxi industry: without an efficient automated scheduling system, air taxi operators will be unable to manage the complex logistics beyond 10-15 aircraft. JIT SlipStream's long-term plans are to develop an industry-wide internet booking engine (which might possibly include conventional airline flights as an alternative). Such a system would provide value to both consumers (who would see multiple options for fulfilling their travel needs) and operators (who would get efficient aircraft routings, customized for their operation). Other macroeconomic benefits will be accrued if the air taxi industry is successful. Improved transportation to small communities will enhance their general economic prospects.