Influence of operational and contextual factors on the human response to drone sound

A pilot scale drone network for medical delivery is currently being developed for NHS Scotland as part of Project CAELUS. Noise is a key concern for the public acceptance of drone networks. There is a lack of empirical data on the human response to the sound of drones. This paper presents an online listening experiment designed to collect data on annoyance related to overflight (N = 425) and take-off (N = 278) operations of the proposed drone. The experiment follows a full factorial design, examining the effects of drone-listener distance, ambient soundscape type (remote rural, rural village, or urban), and context (medical delivery, no context). Repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant effects of drone listener distance (p < 0.01), ambient soundscape type (p < 0.01), and contextual information (p < 0.01) on annoyance during both overflight and take-off operations. The study highlights the importance of considering contextual factors in the planning and assessment of drone operations.