Tech Xplore: Engineers design a quieter future for drones
UC aerospace engineering students work to dampen noise from drones and flying cars
Tech Xplore highlighted research by aerospace engineering students at the University of Cincinnati to reduce the noise of drones and flying cars.
UC College of Engineering and Applied Science assistant professor Daniel Cuppoletti and his students are examining how propellers in different sizes, configurations, number and rotation can affect noise.
Students presented their research at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics' Science and Technology Forum and Exposition in January.
"I'm looking at noise from a societal impact," Cuppoletti said. "These vehicles have to be imperceptible in the environment they fly in or someone will have to take the brunt of that impact."
Cuppoletti and his students study propeller noise in an anechoic chamber lined with sound-dampening tiles.
Featured image at top: UC aerospace engineering researchers study propeller noise by using laser light to examine air vortices. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Creative + Brand
UC College of Engineering and Applied Science assistant professor Daniel Cuppoletti studies propeller noise in an anechoic chamber in an aerospace engineering lab. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Creative + Brand
Related Stories
UC doctoral student shares his journey with Spectrum News
July 27, 2026
UC doctoral student Amota Ataneka spoke with Spectrum News about his educational journey. Ataneka, a native of the Pacific island nation of Kiribati, is one of 35 emerging scholars across the United States to win the National Academy of Education/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship.
How scammers can persuade you with AI
July 27, 2026
Spectrum News recently dove into how cloning voices with artificial intelligence is making it easier to scam people over the phone. The news outlet spoke with Kimberly Hyun, assistant professor of marketing at UC’s Lindner College of Business, to examine why AI is making it so much easier to trick people.
The subtle changes in hearing you should never ignore
July 24, 2026
It’s easy to dismiss changes in hearing as minor. But as The Washington Post recently reported, these symptoms could also signal a medical emergency that many people don’t recognize — known as sudden sensorineural hearing loss, a rapid decline in hearing that occurs suddenly or over a few days.