US engineers could help NASA detect if a drone’s motors or propellers are damaged using sound

Engineers in the United States are using sound to identify potential catastrophic failures of drones. The team from the University of Cincinnati are using sound to help NASA detect if a drone’s motors or propellers are damaged to prevent a crash.

Research partners recorded the various sounds that drones make when their propellers get chipped or cracked or their motor becomes damaged or begins to fail. They converted the recordings into valuable data that computers at a ground station can use to alert operators that a drone is not airworthy before it takes off.

Autonomous drone to use sound alone to detect damage

“The project started in 2024 with interest by NASA in detecting problems with motors before a drone took off,” said UC College of Engineering and Applied Science doctoral student Prissha Chawla. “More and more, drones are being used for public safety. You don’t want them to crash.”

Eventually, the students envision an autonomous drone that can use sound alone to detect damage to its own propellers and other mechanical systems in flight so it can return to base before sustaining a catastrophic failure, according to a press release.

Besides chips or cracks in propellers, Chawla said grit and other debris can get into motor bearings, causing it to seize.

Damage-detection system could be a feature

“We’re focusing on pre-flight tests that NASA already runs,” she said.

UC student Luke Busse said the damage-detection system could be a feature of fully autonomous “drone-in-a-box” systems. Drones deploy from a weatherproof docking station that handles launch, landing, charging, data upload and mission scheduling without an on-site operator.

“In that scenario, it would be great. You could have sensors in the box that provide preflight checks,” Busse said.

Drone motors and propellers generate characteristic sounds during operation. When a component becomes damaged or begins to fail, these sounds can change, potentially providing an early indication of a mechanical problem.

The approach is particularly valuable because not every mechanical problem can be easily identified through a visual inspection. While a crack in a propeller may be visible, contamination inside a motor bearing can be more difficult to detect. According to the researchers, grit and other debris can enter motor bearings and cause them to seize, potentially resulting in a loss of propulsion.

Acoustic monitoring could therefore provide an additional layer of protection by identifying unusual mechanical behaviour that might otherwise go unnoticed during routine inspections.

The technology could be particularly useful in situations where drones operate frequently or perform missions with limited time for detailed manual checks. Detecting a fault before launch could prevent equipment damage, reduce operational interruptions, and help protect people and property on the ground.