About Us
The Dublin Drone Innovation Partnership (DIP) is a two-year, multi-organization project aiming to prepare Dublin for the widespread use of drones across commercial, public service, and recreational sectors. This project is aligned with Dublin’s ambition to be a leader in urban drone integration.
DIP is a collaborative effort involving researchers from Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software, through Maynooth University’s National Centre for Geocomputation (NCG), as well as experts from the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) UAS Unit – Ireland’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) regulatory body – and Dublin City Council (DCC). As a pioneering local authority in public service drone applications, DCC’s Smart City Unit recently launched a five-year Drone and Urban Air Mobility Strategy in May 2024, which envisions the safe, effective integration of drones in Dublin’s urban landscape and includes a dedicated Drone Unit within the Survey & Mapping Division.
Stakeholder Engagement
A core focus of DIP is engaging diverse stakeholders as drone technology advances. We will work closely with:
- Government bodies and representatives: on policy-making, regulations, use cases, roles, and responsibilities
- Research and academia: to study infrastructure needs and impacts, such as UTM (Urban Traffic Management)
- Industry: manufacturers, service providers, and clients needs and operations
- Citizens: through education, awareness, and opportunities for upskilling and get their voices heard
- International: sharing best practices across cities globally