IAM-CC Project

A Competence Centre to assess and advance societal readiness towards the adoption of Innovative Air Mobility solutions to increase social welfare

IAM-CC addresses the critical challenge of integrating Innovative Air Mobility (IAM), such as drones and eVTOLs, into our cities and rural areas in a way that truly benefits society. The project is driven by the core question: “How can IAM improve social welfare?”.

Moving beyond the traditional goal of passive “public acceptance,” IAM-CC adopts a participatory approach based on Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI). It empowers citizens, city authorities, and logistics operators to actively co-create the airspace, shaping decisions ranging from vertiport locations to noise thresholds and Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs).

The project aims to:

• Assess and advance the societal readiness for IAM adoption through real-world pilots.
• Quantify the impact of IAM on social welfare, equity, and the environment.
• Establish the IAM Competence Centre, a permanent hub providing open-access tools, training, and a community of practice to ensure long-term impact.

 

Future Needs’ Role in IAM-CC

Future Needs led the proposal development of IAM-CC and plays a central role in its implementation. We are establishing the IAM Competence Centre as a hub for tools, training, and knowledge exchange, while also leading the development of the societal readiness assessment and advancement methodology and tools that support the fair integration of Innovative Air Mobility into urban systems. In parallel, we lead dissemination and exploitation activities to ensure that project results are effectively communicated, adopted, and sustained beyond the project’s lifetime.

Project Ambition

IAM-CC seeks to future-proof urban mobility by providing the evidence and tools needed to deploy IAM fairly. The project focuses on:

• Enabling society to understand and reflect on the potential, benefits, and implications of IAM
• Anticipating ecosystem needs and planning while considering environmental and socio-economic impacts
• Designing IAM infrastructure for safe and sustainable operations using digital twins
• Future-proofing roadmaps and plans for large-scale IAM deployment
• Guiding implementation, monitoring, and evaluation

IAM-CC Living Labs

The work will be validated in three Living Labs, engaging over 800 participants in real-world demonstrations:

• Madrid (Spain): Focused on logistics and industrial leadership, this pilot tests hospital-to-hospital and interurban delivery routes. It uses a Drone Nuisance App and VR experiments to assess citizen perceptions of noise and visual impact.
• Milan (Italy): Led by a major hospital, this pilot focuses on healthcare logistics in a dense urban environment. It tests the transport of medical goods between hospitals, addressing safety, downwash effects, and metropolitan governance.
• Coimbra (Portugal): A citizen-driven pilot addressing equity in rural areas. It tests pharmacy-to-village drone deliveries to improve healthcare access for elderly and vulnerable populations in remote areas facing depopulation.