Noise-aware UAS flight path planning based on virtual flight simulation

This paper proposes a noise-aware flight path planning method to reduce the noise pollution caused by low-altitude flights of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in urban areas. A noise assessment platform is used to obtain noise maps at discretized airspace blocks, considering sound reflection and absorption by obstacles, as well as diffraction and attenuation by the atmosphere. An improved cost-based A* algorithm is employed to search for the optimal path with the minimum sound exposure level. Virtual flight simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in reducing en-route noise exposure from flying drones. This cost-effective and efficient approach has the potential to benefit air traffic planning and management.