How do flight operations and ambient acoustic environments influence noticeability and noise annoyance associated with unmanned aircraft systems?

Lotinga, Michael; Green, Marc; Jose Torija Martinez, Antonio

Abstract

In advance of anticipated wider deployments of advanced air mobility technology, the potential effects of introducing new sound sources such as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS, aka ‘drones’) on communities are largely unknown. To support the development of evidence-based strategies for incorporating these novel aircraft into the airspace, experimental efforts to increase understanding of subjective perception and response to UAS sound immissions are valuable. The aims of this study included investigating how varying UAS flight operations, vehicle types and event quantities could affect noticeability and noise annoyance judgements in a controlled experiment incorporating 3D spatially-rendered acoustic environments. A range of UAS vehicle designs and sizes were used to auralise flight events employing a hybrid approach that combined simulation and sound recordings. Two contrasting ambient acoustic environments were incorporated into the auralisations using ambisonic soundscape recordings for a calm urban park and a busy city street. Flight operations included takeoff, flyby and landings at varying distances and altitudes. A second part to the study investigated the effect of the number of flyby events in one stimulus, enabling consideration of the frequency of flight events on responses. The results of the experiment provide insights into how perception and reactions to UAS sound could be influenced by vehicle characteristics and airspace design strategies, which may be useful for informing the optimisation of flightpath routing for advanced air mobility operators and planners

Citation

Lotinga, M., Green, M., & Jose Torija Martinez, A. (2024). How do flight operations and ambient acoustic environments influence noticeability and noise annoyance associated with unmanned aircraft systems?.

• Conference Name: Quiet Drones 2024
• Start Date: Sep 8, 2024
• End Date: Sep 11, 2024
• Acceptance Date: Sep 8, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Nov 26, 2024
• Publication Date: Nov 26, 2024
• Deposit Date: Nov 26, 2024
• Publisher URL: https://salford.figshare.com/articles/conference_contribution/How_do_flight_operations_and_ambient_acoustic_environments_influence_noticeability_and_noise_annoyance_associated_with_unmanned_aircraft_systems_/27900525?file=50780703