Is anyone working on solving the noise problem with drones? Is it even really solvable in any realistic way? What would it take to have a "silent" drone?
Complex problem for sure.
See, drones traded moving parts for the annoying whiny motors(but fixed in a rigid frame). If we are going to use moving parts anyway, there's helicopters.
Perhaps the lead-lag hinges can be elastomeric and one could purchase props with different fixed hinge stiffnesses for different amounts of noise dampening or frequency spread but perhaps at the cost of prop-speed change response? There'd probably have to be some compensatory mechanism in the flight- or motor-control software that'd be set for a given prop's hinge elasticity.
Of course, I am just idly speculating here on whether there's any benefit at all to any of my blather.