Future Without Noise Pollution, but How About Drones?

Topic from?Drive Sweden's Smart Mobility Newsletter,?May 6,?Subscribe here

In?February this year, municipal authorities in Paris installed for the first time a device known as a sound radar as part of a campaign to reduce noise levels by 37% by 2026.

“It’s hell over here,” are the words of long-time resident, Dominique Lechenet, 55, who lives in Rue d’Avron considered one of the noisiest roads in one of Europe’s loudest cities. To control the amount of noise pollution, which until 2019 was not even considered a form of “pollution” by France’s mobility orientation law, devices called “medusa” were developed by the non-profit?Bruitparif.?These devices are used to identify vehicles breaking the city’s noise regulations. In 2023 the city will begin fining owners 135 euros.

European Environment Agency research shows that 5.5 million people are exposed to road traffic noise at 55 decibels or higher – this is?a threshold?for cardiovascular disorders and high blood pressure set by the World Health Organization. For comparison, in Rome only 1.7 million people are exposed to such noise.?A 15-year analysis?in Switzerland published in January this year found that transport noise is a major contributor to cardiovascular deaths. Reducing noise pollution is not only beneficial for health but also a way of addressing some other aspects of inequality.?Analysis of U.S. data?has shown that noise exposure is greater in areas with higher proportions of non-white and low-income residents.?

To mitigate noise pollution the local government in Paris has initiated a second Noise Plan. The first Noise Plan, which ran from 2015 to 2020, included measurements such as installing sound barriers along half the length of the?périphérique, increasing roadside noise checks and testing?innovative low-noise asphalt.?Those changes and others have cut the city’s average noise level by two decibels and reduced the number of people living in a noisy environment.?The second Noise Plan?aims to turn down both environmental noise caused by transport and industry and neighbourhood noise related to social activities.?

Personal Comment:

Reducing noise pollution is a great initiative. It does raise a point of concern when it comes to drones, which have been proposed a solution for other ills such as congestion, last-mile, and more. Perhaps, though, drones are not as noisy as road junctions, metros, and cars. However,?the NASA study from 2017?showed that people in fact find drone’s buzzing more annoying than the rumble of cars and trucks. The authors propose several reasons for that, one being that people are used to the sounds of cars and motorcycles, even as noise pollution worsens. It might well be that Paris’ second Noise Plan will succeed in reducing noise levels from traffic, but that gain might be counteracted if drone buzzing replaces street noise. Can you imagine if two Paris Noise Plans will work out, what contrast there will be between drones buzzling and the sounds of cars in this case??Amazon,?UPS?and others might face oppositions their proposed drone delivery services.

Consider?this graph, which gives an interesting insight into how bearable the sounds of current drones (85dB, far above the allowed 55dB for cities) are in comparison to well-known household devices. If drones remain at this volume it would be equivalent of gas-powered lawn mowers zipping about the city. However, drones might become quieter. There are commercial drone manufacturers such as?ATLAS-T?that specialize in silent drone design by using specific motors, propellers, and aircraft body designs. Considering also that delivery drones will fly quite close to people, so they’ll need to be comfortable to interact with. As we develop new delivery and logistics technologies let’s be careful that we don’t jump from getting rid of one source of noise pollution only to add another source.?

Written by?Kateryna Melnyk, RISE Mobility & Systems