A range-restricted recharging station coverage model for drone delivery service planning

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are attracting significant interest for delivery service of small packages in urban areas. The limited flight range of electric drones powered by batteries or fuel cells requires refueling or recharging stations for extending coverage to a wider area. To develop such service, optimization methods are needed for designing a network of station locations and delivery routes. Unlike ground-transportation modes, however, UAVs do not follow a fixed network but rather can fly directly through continuous space. But, paths must avoid barriers and other obstacles. In this paper, the authors propose a new location model to support spatially configuring a system of recharging stations for commercial drone delivery service, drawing on literature from planar-space routing, range-restricted flow-refueling location, and maximal coverage location. The authors present a mixed-integer programming formulation and an efficient heuristic algorithm, along with results for a large case study of Phoenix, AZ to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the model.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trc.2018.02.017
• Record URL:
  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0968090X18302304
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/0968090X
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Abstract reprinted with permission of Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Hong, Insu
  • Kuby, Michael
  • Murray, Alan T
• Publication Date: 2018-5

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 198-212
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies
  • Volume: 90
  • Issue Number: 0
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 0968-090X
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0968090X

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Case studies; Delivery service; Drones; Electric vehicle charging; Euclidean spaces; Location; Mixed integer programming; Shortest path algorithms; Vehicle range
• Uncontrolled Terms: Battery charging stations (Electric vehicles)
• Geographic Terms: Phoenix (Arizona)
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Freight Transportation; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; Terminals and Facilities; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01669145
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 17 2018 2:45PM