FutureFlight On The Radar
Drone Noise Causes Increased Stress, Study Finds
Drones and air taxis may be quieter than helicopters, but the noise they produce can still increase stress levels among people living in communities that adopt urban air mobility.

While proponents of urban air mobility (UAM) see electrically-powered air taxis and delivery drones as innovative solutions to problems many urbanites face, not much research has been done to address the negative impacts that a UAM ecosystem may present to communities, particularly when it comes to noise pollution. 

To find out how noise from drones and air taxis might affect the stress levels of people living in areas that adopt UAM, a team of researchers at Nagoya University and Keio University in Japan conducted a study using video and audio recordings simulating a drone flying overhead. As expected, the louder the noise pollution, the more stress the participants experienced. However, while the self-reported stress was reduced along with the noise levels, the researchers found that unconscious stress levels were maintained even after the noise was reduced.