Application of the TOPSIS method for selecting an eVTOL aircraft

Abstract

In this research, we employed the multi-attribute method TOPSIS to evaluate and compare the parameters of 53 Vectored Thrust eVTOL aircraft. The analysis encompassed three separate TOPSIS computations, each of them utilizing distinct approach to evaluate the weight coefficients of the comparison criteria (criteria preference determined by one subjective and two objective methods). The three computations yield the results as a measure of the relative closeness to the positive ideal solutions for all alternatives, allowing for the ranking of the alternatives from the closest to the farthest. The final ranking was determined from the average values of the computation results. The analysis revealed that, across all computations, only five eVTOL aircraft achieved scores exceeding 0.5, while in the final ranking, seven eVTOLs had average scores greater than 0.5. Conversely, all remaining eVTOLs achieved scores closer to the negative ideal solution (lower than 0.5), with as many as 18 of them failing to attain an average result greater than 0.2. The results of the analysis offer a comprehensive overview of the observed eVTOL projects, indicating which ones stand out based on the specified criteria.

Keywords

• urban air mobility
• evtol
• vectored thrust
• topsis
• multi attribute decision making
• aircraf