Dotterel Drones want to take the drone out of drones. The majority of the buzzing sound that UAVs make is generated by the tips of the propellors moving into the turbulent air left by the prop in front. Dotterel have developed a carbon fibre shroud system that deals with the problem in two ways. Firstly the shroud directs the sound up, away from anyone listening. At the same time the reduced turbulence around the propellors also helps to improve lift.
Dotterel have tested a working prototype that reduces noise by 6dB, and in the next phase of testing they are hoping to make a drone flying at 20m sound like it’s flying at 40m. Seamus from Dotterel says the eventual aim is to make the drone so quiet you don’t even know it’s overhead.
The company is hoping to work with UAV manufacturers to get the shroud designs incorporated into their products later this year – we were certainly impressed at Newsshooter, so impressed in fact that we gave it our award for Most Innovative Product of NAB 2016.
