Noise measurements from drones to estimate future noise exposures

Abstract

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) are used for a variety of purposes. Especially the industrial or professional use of UAS will lead to an increasing number of possible applications. The steadily increasing number of drones raises the question of noise impact from these unmanned aircraft. Therefore, the German Environment Agency has started with acoustic investigations of drones. Various small UAS models (i.e. multicopter) were used in a measurements campaign. For example, overflights at different altitudes and speeds were measured. In addition, binaural measurements were performed to provide psychoacoustic findings. In this paper the measurements and results are presented. Overflight levels are compared with psychoa-coustic quantities such as loudness or sharpness. Likewise, conclusions are drawn for the evaluation of drone noise, which can be used for future regulations or standardization. © International Institute of Acoustics and Vibration (IIAV), 2023