When Tech and Aviation Huddle, Creative Sparks Fly

What is the biggest challenge in aviation?

If you asked 100 people in the industry that question, you’d get 100 answers—and none of them would be wrong. But ask them how to solve those challenges and, well, the answers probably won’t come as quickly.

Enter the first-ever Aviation & Robotics Summit, a three-day, invitation-only event held in Pittsburgh for international aviation officials and local tech entrepreneurs that focuses entirely on finding those solutions.

“We don’t have to solve all of the problems,” said Mike Formica, managing director of Hardware for Innovation Works, an organizer of the Summit. “We just have to solve some of the problems.”

At the center of the event was a workshop, organized into clusters of experts from aviation and robotics to collaborate on those problems. The sessions were closed to the public to promote trust and confidence among the attendees.

Using a human-centered design approach, the groups went through a process that gradually narrows down and clarifies specific issues to address, then encourages creative ideation to identify the seeds of possible resolutions.

The approach has been used by Pittsburgh International Airport—another co-host of the Summit—for years, said Samantha Stedford, Director, Customer Experience.

“We use a human-centered design methodology to develop a deep understanding of our customers’ unmet needs and then come up with creative solutions to meet those needs,” she said, noting that the airport’s industry-leading sensory space, Presley’s Place, was one result of that methodology.

Down to business

After Tuesday night’s opening reception, attendees gathered Wednesday afternoon at the Cadence+ at the Strip meeting space in the Strip District’s Robotics Row to begin the workshop sessions. Facilitators Aaron Morris and Anne Lopez, both experienced tech entrepreneurs, sat them at 10 tables, each divided equally between aviation and robotics experts.

With help from Ryan Ghee, chief operating officer of Future Travel Experience, another event organizer, guests from the tech sector were given a broad overview of commercial air operations before the groups began collaborating.

Wednesday was dedicated to discussing areas of the aviation industry that robotics and automation could improve, relying on aviation attendees to share their experiences and insights.

“The interactive workshops