Drone technology: Start-ups look for ways to make quieter drones

Schmidt is one of a growing number of people living with the noise of drones dispatched by companies including Amazon and Walmart as they seek to speed up home deliveries.

Delivery drone services, not long ago a novelty, are becoming part of everyday life for many people in the US.

Among them, Amazon Prime Air is in the process of expanding deliveries to nearly 500 cities and towns, delivering items that fit into a space the size of a shoe box. It has also launched to customers in and around Darlington in the north of England.

Smaller drone delivery services are popping up too: in some US cities, customers can order flying treats from their local pizza joint or ice cream parlour.

Even in cities where noise is already a steady part of life, the sound of drones seems to irk in a particular way.

While the steady passing of traffic might blend into the background, the sudden whine of a drone’s rotors can pierce the everyday hum.

The sound tends to be “particularly noticeable, even when overall sound levels are relatively low,” says Antonio Torija Martinez, professor in acoustic engineering and psychoacoustics at the University of Salford.

Unlike planes, drones operate at low altitudes and may fly directly over residential areas.

“They can expose communities that have not previously experienced significant aircraft noise, and who may therefore be more sensitive to changes in their local soundscape,” says Torija Martinez.

He points to research showing that people respond strongly to a noise when they consider the source to be “novel, intrusive or frequent”. People who benefit from a drone delivery service, for example, may be less bothered by the noise.

However, complaints about the sound of drones are likely to grow, he warns: “At the moment we are seeing some of these problems localised in some areas, but… as the drone sector expands, more and more of these complaints will happen.”

In the US, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulates commercial drones, but it has come under fire for allowing noisy drone delivery operations. The FAA says operators and local community leaders have primary responsibility for addressing any community concerns.