At the end of October 2025, the Future Needs team took the stage at EUROCONTROL Headquarters in Brussels during the SESAR Joint Undertaking event “Supporting Drone Strategy 2.0” to present our work on U-space public benefits.
Attracting over 250 participants, this two-day event marked the final dissemination of three SESAR Digital Sky Demonstrator projects: BURDI, U-ELCOME, and EALU-AER, each showcasing key lessons and results from Europe’s U-space implementations. Together, these projects has advanced the Drone Strategy 2.0 vision for a safer, more connected, and sustainable digital sky.
From Cost to Social Value
Representing BURDI, Future Needs presented its contribution as the project’s Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) partner, bringing a human and policy-oriented perspective to drone integration. Our work ensured that social acceptance, governance, and sustainability were analysed alongside standard performance and economic indicators, placing people and social value at the heart of U-space development.
Our analysis demonstrated that U-space shifts the conversation from cost to value, transforming isolated drone operations into a safer, more integrated, scalable, and socially beneficial mobility system.
Key insights shared during our presentation included:
- Safety remains the most decisive driver of public acceptance.
- Environmental sustainability, through reduced emissions, noise, and congestion, adds measurable social benefits.
- Governance and transparency are essential for building public trust and ensuring equitable access.
- While early cost–benefit analysis results reveal high deployment costs, the long-term societal gains justify investment, paving the way for a more inclusive U-space ecosystem.
A Shared Vision for Europe’s Digital Sky
The BURDI final event underscored the importance of collaboration between technical experts, policymakers, and social scientists in shaping Europe’s Digital Sky. By embedding social insights and sustainability criteria into the technical deployment of U-space, Future Needs helped demonstrate that public benefits are not just an outcome but a driver of innovation and legitimacy.
We’re proud to have contributed to this milestone in European drone research, helping ensure that the Digital Sky of tomorrow is not only connected and efficient, but also fair, trusted, and people-centred.
