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Pink Poppy Flowers

#UnderstandingIAM: What could drones mean for our communities?

Writer: Egle [Future Needs]
Egle [Future Needs]
Sep 29
2 min read

Noise, privacy, healthcare access, affordability, emergency services - what could Innovative Air Mobility (IAM) mean for people and their communities?


These are some of the topics being explored through #UnderstandingIAM, a public awareness campaign developed and managed by Future Needs, Communication and Dissemination Leader of the IAM-CC project.


The campaign features IAM-CC researchers and experts addressing questions and concerns directly related to the topics they are exploring through the project.


In less than two months, #UnderstandingIAM videos have already generated more than 2,500 video views, bringing research on drones and their potential societal impacts closer to wider audiences.



Starting with the questions people may have


Innovative Air Mobility is often discussed through technical concepts: aircraft, vertiports, airspace, infrastructure and regulation. With #UnderstandingIAM, we start somewhere different: what might people actually want to understand?


Could drones create additional noise in residential areas? Could healthcare drone services be affordable and accessible? Can remote communities benefit? Could drones interfere with emergency services?


Each short video explores one such topic with an IAM-CC expert working in that area, turning complex research into short, accessible explanations that connect it with questions people may encounter in everyday life.



Communication as part of societal readiness


For Future Needs, developing #UnderstandingIAM meant finding a simple way to bring these research topics outside academic and technical circles.


“We didn't want to create another campaign that simply tells people what IAM is. We wanted to start with the things people may actually wonder or worry about and connect those questions with the research happening within IAM-CC.” - Eglė Joneliūnaitė, IAM-CC Communication & Dissemination Manager, Future Needs

This reflects the wider approach of IAM-CC. The project aims to bridge technology with societal needs, moving beyond passive public acceptance towards active participation and co-creation. Citizens should have opportunities to understand potential benefits and socio-environmental impacts, experience possible applications and contribute their perspectives on how these technologies could affect their communities.


#UnderstandingIAM is one way of bringing research and society closer together. By making complex topics easier to understand, the campaign helps create a foundation for more informed conversations about drones, their potential uses, and their wider impacts on society.




The #UnderstandingIAM video series is available on LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube Shorts, with new videos exploring different questions around drones and their role in our communities. Search #UnderstandingIAM to watch the series and follow the campaign.

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