Towards the environmental noise assessment of Unmanned Aircraft Systems operations

Abstract

The rapid expansion of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) sector poses a significant challenge for acoustic engineers working on the environmental noise impact assessment of these new aerial technologies. As widely recognised, the noise signatures and operational profiles of UAS differ significantly from conventional aircraft, and therefore, existing measurement procedures and assessment methods might not be able to provide an appropriate assessment of UAS noise. There are specific questions that should be addressed for a wider deployment of UAS operations without compromising communities’ health and well-being due to noise exposure: (i) how will communities respond to the unconventional noise signatures of UAS? and (ii) what measurement procedures and metric can ensure an accurate assessment of UAS noise impact? This publication describes the work carried out for the measurement and development of acoustic hemispheres for UAS operations containing sound level, frequency, and directivity information; and how this acoustic data can be used for noise mapping and auralization. Furthermore, a review of the state-of-the-art of noise metrics for UAS is presented, with a focus on existing gaps and further work required.