Evaluation of Developed Structures for Drone Audition-Purposed Measurement Equipment in Actual Flight Conditions

Auditory scene analysis using drones, a technology known as ”drone audition”, is a promising method for locating survivors in disaster areas. This technology requires a structure to mount measurement equipment onto the drone. A previous study proposed a versatile structure designed to be attached to the drone’s landing gear and evaluated its applicability based on four criteria: mass limitation, load capacity, vibra- tion characteristics, and ease of adjustment. As for vibration characteristics, it was confined to the theoretical evaluation and was required to be evaluated under actual flight conditions. In this research, we evaluate the vibration characteristics of the structure during flight by comparing acceleration responses at several points on the conventional and proposed structures. The results confirmed that the proposed structure’s vibration characteristics are superior to the conventional one’s for mini- mizing the impact on the measurement equipment during flight. Furthermore, it was found that the proposed structure exhibits larger vibrations than the conventional one upon landing. This is acceptable, since acoustic measurements are not performed during landing. Therefore, it became clear that the proposed structure must have sufficient strength to withstand the impact force during landing.