Speaker
Description
The increasing deployment of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) raises important questions regarding environmental noise impact and public acceptance. To support regulatory development, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has proposed guidelines for standardized drone noise measurements; however, practical experience with their implementation remains limited.Within the UAS-NoiseCheck project, comprehensive measurement campaigns were conducted on eight multicopter drones. The sensor setup combines acoustic, visual, GNSS, and meteorological components to enable multisensory data acquisition. Reference microphones in both ground-based and inverted configurations, together with a hemispherical 32-microphone array, enable the determination of standardized noise metrics as well as spatially resolved acoustic analysis. By assessing array localization performance and steered sound pressure levels practical aspects of drone noise certification and regulation are investigated. Improved RTK-based GNSS and electro-optical camera systems provide a precise reference for positioning and target detection.The results confirm the general applicability of the EASA methodology while revealing practical challenges related to environmental sensitivity, flight path repeatability, positioning accuracy, and complex directivity patterns. Based on these findings, recommendations are derived to improve measurement procedures, array integration, and data evaluation. The presented work supports the refinement of standardized drone noise assessment and provides experimentally grounded guidance for future regulatory frameworks.