Public Acceptance of AI Technology in Self-Flying Aircraft

The research article includes a literature dissection on the topics of public acceptance of automated vehicles, including self-driving cars and unmanned aerial vehicles. Information reviewed will be applied to the potential future application of self-flying aircraft. The use of the Technology Acceptance Model is reviewed for application of public acceptance studies. Contributing factors commonly observed include perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived risk and environmental benefits. Additionally, trust in automated technology for decision-making is reviewed. Research is based on existing studies of public acceptance in similar technologies and is applied to the likely public acceptance of self-flying aircraft

Choosing Suitable Indicators for the Assessment of Urban Air Mobility: A Case Study of Upper Bavaria, Germany

Technological advances are disrupting mobility patterns and transport technologies, both on the ground and in the air. The latter has been recently observed in the research community of urban air mobility (UAM). Research in this area has studied several areas of its implementation, such as vehicle concepts, infrastructure, transport modeling, or operational constraints. Few studies however have focused on evaluating this service as an alternative among existing transportation systems. This research presents an approach for the selection of indicators for a multi-criteria analysis for the assessment of UAM, in a case study of Upper Bavaria, Germany. A 5-stage approach is showcased including an expert assessment for the relevance and feasibility of indicators, based on two rating scales. A threshold for selection is presented, applied and validated for both scales. The results included a list of indicators for assessing the potentials of UAM integration to existing public transportation systems; the chosen indicators were then compared against existing ones for sustainable urban mobility. A high match between resulting indicators and previous ones further validate the results, and suggest that there is a need for an iterative approach in the assessment of disruptive transport technologies

Context-specific challenges, opportunities, and ethics of drones for healthcare delivery in the eyes of program managers and field staff: a multi-site qualitative study

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) also known as drones have significant potential in the healthcare field. Ethical and practical concerns, challenges, and complexities of using drones for specific and diverse healthcare purposes have been minimally explored to date. This thesis aims to document, and advance awareness of diverse context-specific concerns, challenges, and complexities encountered by individuals working on the front lines of drones for health projects. It draws on original qualitative research and data from semi-structured interviews (N = 16) with drones for health program managers and field staff in nine countries. Directed thematic analysis was used to analyze interviews and identify key ethical and practical concerns, challenges, and complexities experienced by participants in their work with drones for health projects. This thesis shows how the key ethical and practical concerns, challenges, and complexities are interrelated. Concerns and challenges can be mitigated through the development of appropriate guidelines and regulations and community engagement initiatives