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Drone flight in urban space – a population study with the help of simulations

In the future, unmanned aerial systems (UAS), also known as drones, will be increasingly used to transport goods in urban areas. So far, little attention has been paid to technological development or social acceptance of drones in urban areas. In addition to security and data protection aspects, drones create visual and acoustic disturbance which have impacts on the population.

Together with the Institute of Flight Guidance and the Institute of Transportation Systems the acceptance of the population concerning the use of unmanned aerial systems in the city was investigated. Using augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) visualization, simulated drones were shown to the test persons in order to examine individual stress related to flying drones.

Simulated drone flight in the Virtual Reality Lab

The Institute of Transportation Systems provided the technical environment for a study in the Virtual Reality Laboratory. The department of Software for Space Systems and Interactive Visualization at the Institute for Software Technology visualized the Brunswick main railway station in a 360° VR lab, whereas the virtual drones were displayed for the test persons through HoloLens glasses.

Study in the VR lab: Simulated drones are displayed to the test person in a virtual environment via HoloLens glasses. Image: DLR CC-BY 3.0

The simulated drones were programmed to fly in varying heights and numbers in the depicted urban space above the test person.

The results of this first study indicate that especially the number of passing drones can have a strong influence on the population. However, the flight altitude seems to be decisive for how observed the participants of the study felt. In addition to general education about drones, minimizing aircraft noise was cited as a major contribution to greater acceptance.

Tasks of the Institute for Software Technology

• Development of a simulation of virtual, dynamic drones in an augmented reality environment
• Implementation of 3D drone positions based on their given flight trajectories and speeds: Varying flight altitudes, flight velocities, number of drones and the distance between the drones.
• Determination of the participant position and all virtual objects in relation to the geocoordinates
• Development of a network-based collaboration and control between mixed reality glasses and the PC in real time

Project partners

• DLR Institute of Flight Guidance
• DLR Institute of Transportation Systems
• DLR Institute for Software Technology

Project Runtime

• 09/2019 – 09/2020