Quantification of the Psychoacoustic Effect of Noise from Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

This paper presents the results of a study evaluating the human perception of the noise produced by four different small quadcopter unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This study utilised measurements and recordings of the noise produced by the quadcopter UAVs in hover and in constant-speed flight at a fixed altitude. Measurements made using a ½″ microphone were used to calculate a range of different noise metrics for each noise event. Noise recordings were also made using a spherical microphone array (an Eigenmike system). The recordings were reproduced using a 3D sound reproduction system installed in a large anechoic chamber located at The University of Auckland. Thirty-seven participants were subjected to the recordings and asked to rate their levels of annoyance in response to the noise, and asked to perform a simple cognitive task in order to assess the level of distraction caused by the noise. This study discusses the noise levels measured during the test and how the various noise metrics relate to the annoyance ratings. It was found that annoyance strongly correlates with the sound pressure level and loudness metrics, and that there is a very strong correlation between the annoyance caused by a UAV in hover and in flyby at the same height. While some significant differences between the distraction caused by the UAV noise for different cases were observed in the cognitive distraction test, the results were inconclusive. This was likely due to a ceiling effect observed in the participants’ test scores.