Examination of spectral content, peak frequency relationships, and annoyance for unmanned aerial vehicle operations

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can be used for many purposes, servicing delivery, recreational, utility inspection, and film industries, among others. For some applications, use of UAVs can expose communities to a type of noise not currently experienced, with current noise sources typically related to transportation operations (e.g., aircraft, rail, road noise sources) and home activities (e.g., air conditioning units, lawn care). As such, it is important to understand the type of noise communities will experience with UAV operations. For this paper, a UAV flyover event and hover event are examined in terms of spectral content and the relationship of peak frequencies. In addition, the peak frequencies and relationships are discussed in terms of those typically associated with annoyance.