Why must we Co-Create Future Flight Ecosystems and Enterprises?

Coprorates can capitalise on Future Flight’s tantalising opportunities by embracing the human activities that sustain communities.

Future flight will exceed $600 Billion and disrupt our established mobility and logistics concepts by 2050. From AI-driven flying taxis to delivery drones, these technologies will integrate into the fabric of society worldwide to reinvent capital, change our perception of geographic accessibility, and evolve how we travel. Businesses and aviation developers are currently pioneering the future scenarios governments must legislate against and society must exist within. Therefore, we must plan to advance future flight in the UK and encourage its spread while creating genuine social desirability.

Local communities are, however, rarely passive bystanders. Local communities desire to shape the Future Flight revolution instead of being forced to accept a ‘new normal’ as passive consumers. Without the direct involvement of technologists, businesses, policymakers, and the general public, we risk integrating future flight technologies that benefit corporations and an already hyper-mobile elite to the detriment of society. After all, the ‘social contract’ for automated road transport’s acceptable service niches is contingent on ‘righting’ the perceived injustices and inefficiencies of the existing transport system. The CoFFEE Project’s Study 2 aims to address this issue.

We propose co-creation (alternatively called co-design) to develop future scenarios within the future flight space. Co-creation of market value has been proven for four decades. While research demonstrates co-creation’s possibilities within drone engineering design, user-centred methodologies are unproven in developing complex systems such as Future Flight. Practitioners utilise traditional methods (e.g., interviews) and avoid alternative approaches that, while established within design (e.g., role-play), may yield new depths of understanding. Mitchell et al.’s research into transport innovation and Trischler et al.’s work on service development show that co-creation produces significantly more innovative concepts than traditional methods. Therefore, Study 2 will co-create multiple future scenarios of the UK’s Future Flight ecosystem through conventional and innovative co-design techniques.

By co-creating multiple future flight scenarios with technologists, businesses, policymakers, and the general public, CoFFEE will deliver a roadmap for Future Flight innovation to maximise mobility’s benefits, enhance community cohesion, and minimise environmental impact. Ultimately, we will contribute to the UK’s sustainable social future.