{"id":138432,"date":"2020-12-21T18:17:01","date_gmt":"2020-12-21T15:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/make-drones-sound-less-annoying-by-factoring-in-humans-at-the-design-stage\/"},"modified":"2020-12-21T18:17:01","modified_gmt":"2020-12-21T15:17:01","slug":"make-drones-sound-less-annoying-by-factoring-in-humans-at-the-design-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/make-drones-sound-less-annoying-by-factoring-in-humans-at-the-design-stage\/","title":{"rendered":"#Make drones sound less annoying by factoring in humans at the design stage"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Make drones sound less annoying by factoring in humans at the design stage<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Make
\n Credit: Shutterstock\/DmitryKalinovsky
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

These days, almost everyone has either flown a drone or listened to the nasty whining sound they produce. Although small drones (up to 20kg) are about 40 decibels quieter<\/a> than conventional civil aircraft, they produce a high pitched noise\u2014which people tend to find very annoying.<\/p>\n

One Nasa study<\/a> found that drone sounds were more annoying than those made by road vehicles. And my own research<\/a> has found that the noise of drones is less preferable than that of civil aircraft\u2014even at the same volume.<\/p>\n

Part of the problem is that drones often fly at relatively low altitudes over populated areas that are not normally exposed to aircraft noise. This is likely to lead to tensions within the exposed communities<\/a>. Unquestionably, if the noise issues are not tackled app<\/a>ropriately, they could derail the wider adoption and commercialisation of drones and put at risk the significant societal benefits that they could bring.<\/p>\n

For example, small to medium size drones are already used for multiple applications such as medical deliveries<\/a> and the search for missing persons<\/a>. Another innovation in commercial aviation is the development of electrical vertical takeoff and landing (and possibly autonomous) vehicles to transport people in cities<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Several “urban air mobility” vehicles, or “flying taxis” are currently being developed by different aircraft manufacturers<\/a>. Both drones and flying taxis will produce sounds significantly different from conventional civil aircraft and will share similar issues regarding noise annoyance.<\/p>\n

In 2019, I started a line of research which aimed to answer two big questions: how will communities react to these new vehicles with unconventional noise signatures when they begin to operate at scale? And how can the design of these new vehicles be improved to protect the health and the quality of life of the people living in those communities?<\/p>\n


\n