Outputs:
1. Desktop Research
a. Desktop research will be limited to existing and accessible research items relevant to APEC economies such as noise legislation, policies, procedures and regulations (product certification and airspace operations) that impact RPAs, case studies and existing trials, peer-reviewed academic papers and journals. Desktop research will also draw upon APEC expert group discussions, convened by the researcher, to identify common issues and programs already underway. These discussions will act as a knowledge sharing exercise to help better understand the existing RPA noise landscape. The research will not undertake first-hand studies or trials.
b. Desktop research will be conducted over a three month period by a suitably approved contractor (the researcher) in consultation with the co-sponsoring Economies, and will be used to inform the consultation and summary stage of the project.
c. The output of this phase is to identify common risks, issues and opportunities to inform potential measurement and best practice measures for RPA noise management and mitigation of community noise impacts. This phase will help develop and refine questions and topics for consultation within APEC, which may include issues such as acceptable volume, the impact of different altitudes of operation, or management of RPA noise and mitigation of community noise impact during different times of day.
2. Consultation and Summary
a. The researcher will first develop and conduct a survey that will be sent out to all APEC economies to ascertain the scope and efficacy of current noise management measures. Survey results will be used to support four to five online stakeholder meetings, with relevant APEC economies, including co-sponsors, and key industry stakeholders. These online stakeholder meetings will allow for targeted discussions on specific issues and measures. Additionally, a formal stakeholder workshop will be convened with all APEC economies to disseminate and discuss desktop research, consultation and survey findings. A post-workshop survey will be disseminated to gather feedback and data on assessed knowledge gain from participants. It is anticipated that consultation will occur over a four-month period.
b. Consultation will utilise both qualitative and quantitative analytical methodologies, through surveys, group interviews, and stakeholder meetings. The consultation phase will take into account individual states’ privacy and data collection limitations as required. This phase will also capture intelligence shared by APEC economies, and augment previous discussions by APEC working groups. It will provide an opportunity for APEC economies to share results of trials and studies already undertaken (such as the Federal Aviation Administration’s review of noise policy or Australia’s drone and emerging aviation technology noise regulation framework) as well as exploring whether RPAs pose trans-national challenges.
The output of this phase is to create a succinct and accurate summary report of common issues, challenges and opportunities identified during the consultation process. The report will include data gathered from consultation surveys and expert group discussions and be no more than 30 pages long. It will be structured to include: cover page, table of contents, introduction, Executive Summary, survey results, summaries of online stakeholder consultation meetings, discussion of key themes, conclusion. The summary report will be shared with APEC economies in a formal stakeholder workshop, with feedback captured to inform the interim and final reports.
Consultation Time: June 2022 to September 2022:-
Initial Survey
a. Survey of all APEC economies
b. Scoping current RPA noise measures and capabilities
Online Stakeholder Meetings:
a. Consultation with most relevant economies, key academics, technical experts and industry representatives
b. 4-5 online stakeholder meetings to be conducted
c. Focus on key issues, concerns and measures raised in surveys
All Economies Workshop:
a. All economies to provide feedback on findings so far
b. Opportunity to share knowledge collected to-date
3. Interim Report
a. The researcher will draft an interim report that communicates identified risks, issues and opportunities for regulators and industry. The interim report will also identify best practices for the consideration of APEC economies. The interim report will incorporate the consultation summary, and will be distributed to APEC economies for review.
b. Focus will be placed on harmonising fundamental expectations, definitions, challenges, and regulatory/policy parameters with stakeholders. The interim report will follow the same structure as the final report, detailed below.
4. Final Report
a. In this phase, the researcher will develop a noise management and community noise impact mitigation framework (in collaboration with Australia’s project team). The researcher will consider and incorporate stakeholder feedback (from APEC economies and industry stakeholders) as appropriate.
b. The output of this phase is a document that identifies RPA noise issues, risks and opportunities, and compares noise management and community noise impact mitigation frameworks. The final report will be approximately 60 to 100 pages and will be structured to include: cover page, table of contents, introduction, Executive Summary, summaries of survey and consultation findings, thematic discussion of desktop research analysis, noise management and community noise impact mitigation framework, recommendations, conclusions, references and acknowledgements.
c. The final report will identify best practices and innovative solutions for measuring and regulating RPA noise, and will be distributed to APEC economies for their consideration, and endorsement for public release by APEC.
Outcomes:
1. Identification of common impacts, challenges, risks and opportunities associated with RPA noise in APEC economies.
a. All APEC economies are experiencing increased RPA operations within airspace boundaries and cross-border, and the RPA industry is likely to develop into a robust and global economic force that could be inhibited by community noise impacts. This outcome provides the benefit of completed research (the final report and RPA noise management and community noise impact mitigation framework) to be considered by APEC economies in the development of their domestic policies, allowing challenging aspects of the RPA industry (such as noise interference) to be minimised while also maximising the potential for industry growth and beneficial outcomes.
b. This outcome is measurable by endorsement of the final report and framework, supporting the project objective to disseminate knowledge to APEC economies as well as enhancing their capabilities to manage and mitigate community impact of RPA noise.
2. Proposed best practices and solutions for measuring, modelling and regulating (product certification and airspace operations) RPA noise, through the proposed noise management and community noise impact mitigation framework, that can be easily adopted by APEC economies, if they so choose. Modelling may form the basis of future quantification of community level RPA noise exposure.
3. Transferability and harmonisation of knowledge regarding noise issues to APEC economies and key industry stakeholders. Feedback will be gathered through a post-event survey following the conclusion of the final stakeholder workshop and will inform the findings of the Completion Report (CR).
Beneficiaries:
Project participants will include APEC economies, industry representatives, and qualified or academic experts. APEC economies will include subject matter experts identified through the APEC Transportation Working Group’s (TPTWG) Aviation Expert Group (AEG), focusing on members with experience in managing or mitigating aircraft noise or RPA policy. Industry representatives will include representatives of key organisations or proponents of a commercial RPA industry, and academics will be selected by profile and number of relevant publications.
Project participants will be predominantly drawn from APEC economies. To reduce project cost, workshops and stakeholder consultation will be conducted virtually. The project will also seek to engage at least 50 per cent women for participation, including Non-member participants that contributed to the UAS Thematic Session.
Users of the outputs may include APEC economies’ relevant policy makers, regulators, air navigation service providers, and RPA industry stakeholders. The project will provide in-depth research and an RPA noise management and community noise impact mitigation framework, identifying best practice and solutions for measuring and regulating RPA noise for the consideration of APEC policy makers, regulators, and air navigation service providers. Users may gain value from the report by leveraging the outputs to develop policy and making informed decisions for their organisation. Where the user is an APEC economy authority, they may wish to consider leveraging this research in the development of local regulations, procedures or policy. This may assist in the development of a safe and sustainable RPA industry in their jurisdiction, and may eventuate in the development of harmonised standards, procedures, policies and regulations to facilitate increased economic development throughout APEC.
Where the user is an industry representative, they will benefit from the formal pathway to advocate on their business needs. They may also use the final report to inform their business strategies to develop their business in line with government’s regulatory intent. Industry can gain confidence in a robust regulatory regime and can save funds by innovating within a clear regulatory framework, and reduce the risk of expanding the business in a non-compliant way.
The intended primary audience of the final report are RPA policy makers from all APEC economies, civil aviation authorities, air navigation service providers, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the Joint Authority on Rulemaking for Unmanned Systems and other international standard setting and policy-making bodies for aviation and the private sector. The diversity of participants will lead to the development of comprehensive best practices that will ultimately benefit the fast-growing demand for clear and harmonised frameworks from the RPA industry. Drawing upon established frameworks will give more influence to the development of an internationally recognised RPA noise measurement and community noise impact mitigation framework, which in turn will encourage further work for broader RPA issues and harmonisation.