Drone noise in my backyard: the challenges for public acceptability

Abstract

The introduction of drones in urban areas for surveillance, parcel delivery services, air taxis, or other services have raised the issue of public acceptability. How can this concept known as Urban Air Mobility (UAM) be successfully introduced in an area without upsetting communities? And how can not yet known benefits of these services be compared to feared drawbacks? Noise impact is already considered to be one of the main concerns for successful introduction of UAM, but focusing on noise levels exclusively may not be enough. Based on recent research on noise annoyance and how it affects individuals and communities, a holistic approach, including noise impact, as well as non-acoustical factors, is presented to address the annoyance towards these disruptive air vehicles. Subjective measures should be considered including demographic factors, as well as perceptional factors, such as the visual environment where these vehicles operate, and emotional factors such as attitude towards drones and air taxis. Using this approach, studies on noise impact of UAM will be able to evaluate the use cases in their intended setting and with the appropriate target communities to assess the true impact and define the real challenges to overcome for noise research in the coming decade.