Flying High: shaping the future of drones in UK cities
Executive summary We can take control of the future by solving the key technical and societal hurdles for drones •
Cities are enthusiastic about the potential for drones to deliver societal benefit
•
Public confidence, technical progress and space to experiment are all needed if we are to move forward
•
Challenge prizes could help unlock the opportunity
Through an engagement with five UK cities, national-level institutions and policy and technology experts, the Flying High project has explored the current state and future possibilities of the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones, in urban environments in the UK. The project has looked at drones from several contrasting and complementary perspectives - not just technology, but also policy, economics and societal impact. The project has included: •
City engagement with five partner cities.
•
Technical feasibility studies into five applications of drones.
•
Economic and social feasibility studies of these five applications.
•
Key stakeholder engagement with national bodies such as regulators.
•
Industry and research mapping to understand the opportunity for the UK.
•
Systems research to understand how drones could work at scale in cities.
•
Public impact analysis to assess the likelihood of future initiatives having the desired outcomes.
This is what we have found.
Drones bring benefits to UK cities: they are worth promoting Cities see an opportunity for drones to support public services Our work on the place-based aspects of drones has been driven through our engagement with cities, and in particular informed by the five cities (Bradford, London, Preston, Southampton and the West Midlands) with which we partnered. We find a considerable appetite for the use of drones in these cities, and for public service applications in particular. This is reflected in the five urban drone uses we explore in greater depth. In general there are commonalities in the cities’ visions for the future of drones, particularly in the applications seen as most beneficial, and in concerns around safety, security and privacy. However, we also find significant variation between cities in the particulars of how drones
6
