A Psychoacoustic Approach to Building Knowledge about Human Response to Noise of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Antonio J. Torija and Charlotte Clark
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Antonio J. Torija: Acoustics Research Centre, University of Salford, Manchester M5 4WT, UK
Charlotte Clark: Ove Arup & Partners, Acoustics, 13 Fitzroy Street, London W1T 6BQ, UK

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 2, 1-16

Abstract: We are on the cusp of a revolution in the aviation sector, driven by the significant progress in electric power and battery technologies, and autonomous systems. Several industry leaders and governmental agencies are currently investigating the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), or “drones” as commonly known, for an ever-growing number of applications—from blue light services to parcel delivery and urban mobility. Undoubtedly, the operation of UAVs will lead to noise exposure, which has the potential to become a significant public health issue. This paper first describes the main acoustic and operational characteristics of UAVs, as an unconventional noise source compared to conventional civil aircraft. Gaps in the literature and the regulations on the noise metrics and acceptable noise levels are identified and discussed. The state-of-the-art evidence on human response to aircraft and other environmental noise sources is reviewed and its application for UAVs discussed. A methodological framework is proposed for building psychoacoustic knowledge, to inform systems and operations development to limit the noise impact on communities.

Keywords: drone noise; community noise impact; health effects of noise (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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