Hostname: page-component-cb9f654ff-plnhv Total loading time: 0.001 Render date: 2025-08-28T10:39:16.199Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Low-Noise Path Planning for Urban Drone Missions: Acoustic Ray Tracing and DDPG Algorithm

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 August 2025

M. Rinaldi*
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (DIMEAS), Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
S. Primatesta
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (DIMEAS), Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
G. Guglieri
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (DIMEAS), Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
*
Corresponding author: M. Rinaldi; Email: marco_rinaldi@polito.it

Abstract

This paper presents a comprehensive approach for mitigating noise pollution from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in urban environment through path planning using reinforcement learning (RL). The study focuses on Turin, Italy, leveraging its diverse urban architecture to develop a comprehensive model. A detailed 3D occupancy grid map, based on OpenStreetMap data, was created to represent buildings’ locations and heights while a population density map was developed to account for demographic variances. The research develops a dynamic noise source model that adjusts noise emission levels based on UAV velocity, ensuring realistic noise impact predictions. Acoustic ray tracing techniques are utilised to simulate noise propagation, accounting for atmospheric absorption and reflections from urban structures, providing a detailed analysis of noise distribution. The core of this work is the application of the deep deterministic policy gradient (DDPG) algorithm within the RL framework. The algorithm is tailored to optimise flight paths by minimising noise impact while balancing other factors like path length and energy efficiency. The RL agent learns to navigate complex urban landscapes, integrating penalties for idling, excessive path length and abrupt manoeuvers to refine its path planning strategy. Simulation results with several maps unseen during training reveal that the RL-based approach effectively reduces noise impact in urban settings, making it a viable solution for better integrating UAVs into urban air mobility (UAM) systems. The methodology is scalable and adaptable, with potential applications in various urban environments globally. This research contributes to the development of sustainable drone operations in UAM context by addressing the critical issue of noise pollution, enhancing public acceptance and regulatory compliance.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Royal Aeronautical Society

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Straubinger, A., Rothfeld, R., Shamiyeh, M., Büchter, K.D., Kaiser, J. and Plötner, K.O. An overview of current research and developments in urban air mobility–setting the scene for UAM introduction, J. Air Transport Manag., 2020, 87, p 101852.10.1016/j.jairtraman.2020.101852CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rinaldi, M., Wang, S., Geronel, R.S. and Primatesta, S. Application of task allocation algorithms in multi-UAV intelligent transportation systems: a critical review, Big Data Cognit. Comput., 2024, 8, (12), p 177.10.3390/bdcc8120177CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rinaldi, M. and Primatesta, S. Comprehensive task optimization architecture for urban UAV-based intelligent transportation system, Drones, 2024, 8, (9), p 473.10.3390/drones8090473CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rinaldi, M., Primatesta, S., Bugaj, M., Rostáš, J. and Guglieri, G. Urban air logistics with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs): double-chromosome genetic task scheduling with safe route planning, Smart Cities, 2024, 7, (5), pp 28422860.10.3390/smartcities7050110CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rinaldi, M., Primatesta, S., Bugaj, M., Rostáš, J. and Guglieri, G. Development of heuristic approaches for last-mile delivery TSP with a truck and multiple drones, Drones, 2023, 7, (7), p 407.10.3390/drones7070407CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geronel, R.S., Rinaldi, M., da Silva, M.M. and Primatesta, S. Quadrotor UAV elastically attached to uncertain payload: trajectory control and vibrations suppression, Unmanned Syst., 2025. doi: 10.1142/s2301385026500408 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, S., Liu, H., Rinaldi, M. and Tsang, Y.P. Evaluating the impact of air corridors on the environment and public interests, Transport. Res. Part D: Transport Environ., 2025, 143, p 104732.10.1016/j.trd.2025.104732CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eißfeldt, H. and Biella, M. The public acceptance of drones–challenges for advanced aerial mobility (AAM), Transport. Res. Proc., 2022, 66, pp 8088.10.1016/j.trpro.2022.12.009CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schäffer, B., Pieren, R., Heutschi, K., Wunderli, J.M. and Becker, S. Drone noise emission characteristics and noise effects on humans—a systematic review, Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 2021, 18, (11), p 5940.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Çetin, E., Cano, A., Deransy, R., Tres, S. and Barrado, C. Implementing mitigations for improving societal acceptance of urban air mobility, Drones, 2022, 6, (2), p 28.10.3390/drones6020028CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Adlakha, R., Liu, W., Chowdhury, S., Zheng, M. and Nouh, M. Integration of acoustic compliance and noise mitigation in path planning for drones in human–robot collaborative environments, J. Vib. Control, 2023, 29, pp 47574771.10.1177/10775463221124049CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sarhan, S., Rinaldi, M., Primatesta, S. and Guglieri, G. Noise-aware UAV path planning in urban environment with reinforcement learning. Eng. Proc., 2025, 90, (1), p 3.Google Scholar
Varotsos, C.A. and Cracknell, A.P. Remote sensing letters contribution to the success of the sustainable development goals – UN 2030 agenda, Remote Sens. Lett., 2020, 11, pp 715719.10.1080/2150704X.2020.1753338CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kapoor, R., Kloet, N., Gardi, A., Mohamed, A. and Sabatini, R. Sound propagation modelling for manned and unmanned aircraft noise assessment and mitigation: a review, Atmosphere (Basel), 2021, 12, p 1424.10.3390/atmos12111424CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennedy, J., Garruccio, S. and Cussen, K. Modelling and mitigation of drone noise, Vibroeng. Proc., 2021, 37. doi: 10.21595/vp.2021.21988 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Šiljak, H., Einicke, K., Kennedy, J. and Byrne, S. Noise mitigation of UAV operations through a complex networks approach, INTER-NOISE and NOISE-CON Congress and Conference Proceedings, InterNoise22, Glasgow, Scotland, Pages 2000–2998, 2022, pp 22082214. doi: 10.3397/IN_2022_0316 Google Scholar
Tan, Q. et al. Enhancing sustainable urban air transportation: low-noise UAS flight planning using noise assessment simulator, Aerosp. Sci. Technol., 2024, 147, p 109071.10.1016/j.ast.2024.109071CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nguyen, C., Shihua, J.M., and Liem, R.P. Fuel- and noise-minimal departure trajectory using deep reinforcement learning with aircraft dynamics and topography constraintsCommun. Transp. Res., December 2025, 5, p 100165. doi: 10.1016/j.commtr.2025.100165 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tan, Q. et al. Low-noise flight path planning of drones based on a virtual flight noise simulator: a vehicle routing problem, IEEE Intell. Transport. Syst. Mag., 2024, pp 217.Google Scholar
Tan, Q. et al. Noise assessment and low-noise flight path planning platform for urban air mobility, J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 2023, 154, p A293.10.1121/10.0023570CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scozzaro, G., Delahaye, D. and Ernesto Vela, A. Noise abatement trajectories for a UAV delivery fleet, 9th SESAR Innovat. Days, December 2019, Athenes, Greece. hal-02388280v3.Google Scholar
Scott, D., Manyam, S.G., Casbeer, D.W., Kumar, M., Rothenberger, M.J. and Weintraub, I.E. Power management for noise aware path planning of hybrid UAVs, 2022 American Control Conference (ACC), Atlanta, GA, USA, 2022, pp 42804285, doi: 10.23919/ACC53348.2022.9867385 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pang, B., Hu, X., Dai, W. and Low, K.H. UAV path optimization with an integrated cost assessment model considering third-party risks in metropolitan environments, Reliab. Eng. Syst. Saf., 2022, 222, p 108399.10.1016/j.ress.2022.108399CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hohmann, N., Bujny, M., Adamy, J. and Olhofer, M. Multi-objective 3D path planning for UAVs in large-scale urban scenarios, 2022 IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation (CEC), Padua, Italy, 2022, pp 18. doi: 10.1109/CEC55065.2022.9870265 Google Scholar
Tan, Q., Li, Y., Bao, H., Zhou, P., Lo, H.K., Zhong, S. and Zhang, X. Low-noise multi-agent intelligent navigation for unmanned aircraft systems, in 30th AIAA/CEAS Aeroacoustics Conference (2024), 2024. doi: 10.2514/6.2024-3234 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bian, H., Tan, Q., Zhong, S. and Zhang, X. Reprint of: assessment of UAM and drone noise impact on the environment based on virtual flights, Aerosp. Sci. Technol., 2022, 125, p 107547.10.1016/j.ast.2022.107547CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Škultéty, F., Bujna, E., Janovec, M. and Kandera, B Noise impact assessment of UAS operation in urbanised areas: field measurements and a simulation, Drones, 2023, 7, p 314.10.3390/drones7050314CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kawai, C., Jäggi, J., Georgiou, F., Meister, J., Pieren, R. and Schäffer, B How annoying are drones? A laboratory study with different drone sizes, maneuvers, and speeds, in Proceedings of the 2024 Quiet Drones Conference, Manchester, UK, 8–11 September 2024, 2024.Google Scholar
ISO 9613-2:2024; Acoustics—attenuation of sound during propagation outdoors—Part 2: engineering method for the prediction of sound pressure levels outdoors. International Standards Organisation: Geneva, Switzerland, 2024.Google Scholar
Silver, D., Lever, G., Heess, N.M., Degris, T., Wierstra, D. and Riedmiller, M.A Deterministic policy gradient algorithms, in Proceedings of the 31st International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML 2014), Beijing, China, 21–26 June 2014, 2014.Google Scholar