Canadian company demonstrates ultra-quiet drone propellers

On DroneXL you have recently heard and read more and more about a future in which drones transport goods and deliver parcels. But let's face it: nobody is waiting for the noise that the larger delivery drones make. The Canadian company Delson Aeronautics is working on a solution to this problem, in the form of ultra-quiet drone propellers.

Canadian company demonstrates ultra-quiet drone propellers

Acceptance

The sound a multirotor drone produces varies – depending on the type of drone and who you ask – from “howling” or “a swarm of angry bees” to “buzz” or “hum”. None of these descriptions are very positive in nature. The question is therefore whether there can be any question of social acceptance of drones above urban areas, as long as drones make (too) much annoying noise.

Fortunately, the necessary steps are now being taken in this area. For example, many consumer drones are already equipped with so-called low-noise props. But that concerns small drones, which are not really capable of transporting large payloads. Certainly, when it comes to larger drones for goods transport, the necessary steps still need to be taken to reduce noise production to acceptable levels.

Ultra-quiet drone propellers as quiet as birds

Canadian Michael Deloyer – founder of Delson Aeronautics – is happy to take up the challenge of making drones quieter. The ultimate goal is to make drones as quiet as birds. On the website, the company writes:

“We find it inconceivable that our current propellants are the best we will ever create. If we really want to realize the future we envision when it comes to air transport, a fundamental change is needed. Aircraft need to be so quiet that they appear to have been designed by nature, not humans. We believe that the closer our technology is to the characteristics of nature, the better our future will be. ”

Functional prototype of ultra-quiet drone propellers

To achieve the goal of silent drone propulsion, Delson Aeronautics built a “functional prototype” of a quadcopter capable of launching a payload of 3 kg into the air. Thanks to specially developed propellers – for which the company has applied for several patents – the drone is considerably quieter, as you can hear in the video below.

Next steps

The next step is to market the product. To this end, the company is looking for financiers and a manufacturer of electric motors to work with. When it comes to potential buyers of the technology, Delson Aeronautics mainly targets companies active in the field of drone delivery. The defense industry ranks second, the cinematographic sector third.

What do you think about the noise that drones make? Is it a limiting factor to make drone deliveries a routine activity? Do you think ultra-quiet drone propellers will help improve the acceptance of delivery drones? Let us know in the comments below.

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This article first appeared on dronewatch.nul and is written by Wiebe de Jager who is also a DroneXL contributor.