(ORDO NEWS) — A new study has shown that noise from aircraft causes stress, which will have an impact on human health even after noise levels are reduced. Are we canceling flying cars?
Are you worried about loud noise from an airplane, helicopter or drone? Would you like to “ride” in a flying car? Tell us in the comments!
The drone market is obviously booming in the 2020s, as several automotive companies and startups have already announced the development of personal aircraft. So, those same cars hovering in the air from the films may soon become commonplace.
However, few inventors or science fiction writers seriously consider how the noise from the roar and hum of engines affects the psychological state of people. Scientists have investigated this issue.
How many problems do flying cars have?
Professor Susumu Hara of the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the Nagoya University Graduate School of Engineering, Japan notes that during past industrial revolutions, people often prioritized technological progress and economic demands over social and environmental issues.
Into our daily lives, we cannot expect them to make our society a better place.” So, his team conducted an experiment to assess the level of stress of people if they lived next to flying cars.
In an experiment by Japanese scientists, volunteers watched short videos that simulated the impact of cars flying through a city.
The videos were made in such a way that the audience “felt” that a car was flying over them at a height of about 15 meters at a speed of 25 km per hour: the sounds of an industrial drone were used to simulate it. Participants watched the video 8 times: the sound volume changed with each viewing.
Participants’ stress was assessed using two different measures: first, while watching the video, a portable EEG device read and recorded their brain activity, and second, participants completed a questionnaire.
Impact of noise on people
The researchers found that as noise increased, people reported more stress; when noise levels were reduced, volunteers reported a reduction in stress.
However, data on brain activity showed otherwise. When the noise first increased, the EEG indicated increased stress, but the levels did not decrease even after the scientists reduced the noise exposure.
This indicates that a person cannot get used to the noise. The latter will influence people even if they don’t notice it right away.
Thus, to protect human health, it is important to consider the long-term effects of loud road noise in a potential world where flying cars constantly land, take off, and whistle overhead.
“I am confident that drones and flying cars will bring significant benefits to our society,” says Professor Hara.
“We believe that the development of guidelines and regulations for the use of flying cars is important to better adapt them to our lives. I hope our research provides clues on how to do this.”
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