Vehicle routing problem with drones considering time windows

•Vehicle routing problem with drones and time window constraints is discussed.•A mixed-integer programming formulation is presented.•The model is solved with a metaheuristic based on variable neighborhood search.•Comparison analysis to the benchmark algorithm is performed.•Managerial insights are de...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Expert systems with applications 2022-04, Vol.191, p.116264, Article 116264
Main Authors: Kuo, R.J., Lu, Shih-Hao, Lai, Pei-Yu, Mara, Setyo Tri Windras
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cooperation
Customer services
Customers
Drone aircraft
Drone vehicles
Integer programming
Launching pads
Linear programming
Logistics
Mixed integer
Route planning
Time windows
Trucks
Unmanned aerial vehicles
Variable neighborhood search
Vehicle routing
Vehicle routing problem with drones
Windows (intervals)
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Summary:•Vehicle routing problem with drones and time window constraints is discussed.•A mixed-integer programming formulation is presented.•The model is solved with a metaheuristic based on variable neighborhood search.•Comparison analysis to the benchmark algorithm is performed.•Managerial insights are derived based on the results. The cooperation of trucks and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) has become a new delivery method in the area of logistics and transportation. In this form of cooperation, the trucks are not only able to provide services to the customers, but also serve as a ‘launch pad’ for the drones, in which the drones can be launched to service a customer and then recovered at the rendezvous node. This study intends to explore this cooperation by developing a model for the vehicle routing problem with drones that considers the presence of customer time windows (VRPTWD). A mixed-integer programming (MIP) model is presented to minimize the total travelling costs. Then, a simple yet effective variable neighborhood search (VNS) procedure with a novel solution representation is proposed as a solver. The numerical results indicate the ability of the proposed VNS to solve the VRPTWD, as well as the improvement of delivery performance using drones.
ISSN:0957-4174
1873-6793
DOI:10.1016/j.eswa.2021.116264