discovering innovation

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But first, a few words about why we chose an apparently retro medium – the hot air balloon – for our journey to discover innovation.

The hot air balloon is considered to be the oldest manned flight technology that has been successful. The first balloon flight was made by the Montgolfier brothers, Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Etienne, in France in 1783 and it was a real innovation: an idea born, as often happens, from an intuition, in this case by observing the fireplace crackle and sparks soar to the top.
Before the hot air balloon, the only way for humans to fly was to jump from a high place using wings or other devices, which was dangerous and not often successful.
The use of hot air to lift the balloon was a revolutionary idea and marked the beginning of the era of manned flight.
The first manned free flight was performed by Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier and Francois Laurent d’Arlandes on November 21, 1783, also in France. The invention of the hot air balloon sparked further innovations in aviation, leading to the development of gas balloons and eventually powered flight.
Hot air balloon technology has also had other implications in science, such as the study of meteorology and atmospheric physics, as it has allowed scientists to observe and collect data from great heights.
And as always when innovations create such radical changes, the invention of the Montgolfiers also had cultural and social implications, as ballooning was (and still is) a popular spectacle that attracted huge crowds and inspired poets in the late 18th century and artists.
And then, what better means for our journey to discover innovation!
Thanks to the hot air balloon we will have a privileged point of view, we will be able to calmly observe, get closer and explore what is happening inside our Technological Pole, at the Incubator, in our companies, to then leave again and go towards new routes and new destinations.

Ready to leave?