Determining the optimal parcel delivery method using one drone and one truck

Abstract

Delivering parcels using a combination of drones and trucks represents a promising new package delivery method. In previous studies, several truck/drone delivery planning problems and their solutions have been proposed. However, little research has been done to determine which delivery method is most appropriate. The reason for this is that it is difficult to obtain an exact solution for such problems, and thus the accuracy of the solutions is an issue. In this study, we propose an accurate solution procedure for the flying sidekick travelling salesman problem (FSTSP) and the parallel drone scheduling travelling salesman problem (PDSTSP), and establish which delivery method is most suitable based on the solutions obtained.