The automaker says the research will be used to improve its own Dynamic Shuttle project, a service that provides point-to-point rides to employees requesting rides using a mobile app on its Dearborn, Mich., campus. But Ford posits the research project at MIT could also enhance the concept of ride-hailing as a whole because it’s focused on developing predictive algorithms that will direct vehicles to where people are most likely to need them and, hopefully, reduce wait times. In other words, this research could eventually be used for a commercialized, on-demand shuttle service well beyond the borders of Ford’s company campus.