Optimization of A Modular Drone Delivery System: Jaihyun Lee
Optimization of A Modular Drone Delivery System: Jaihyun Lee
Optimization of A Modular Drone Delivery System: Jaihyun Lee
Jaihyun Lee
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI, United States
[email protected]
Abstract— Drones have recently become a promising solution avoid obstacles play significant role in the stability and the
for rapid parcel delivery due to advances in battery technology robustness of a drone system [9, 10].
and navigation systems. Drones have inherited limitations in
battery capacity and payload, which make their efficient operation There are few studies related to increasing the operational
and management a critical problem for a successful delivery efficiency of a drone delivery system. Drones have limitations
system. Adopting modularity in the drone design can provide in the delivery range and payload, which makes the efficient
operational benefits to increase overall fleet readiness and reduce operation and management more critical compared to ground
overall fleet size. This paper discusses the potential value of delivery systems. Previously, Traveling Salesman Problem
introducing modular design to a drone delivery system. We (TSP) is suggested to optimize the routes of the drones that show
propose an optimization method for the operation management of substantial savings when drones and trucks are operated together
a fleet of modular delivery drones. This paper presents simulation [11]. The suggested TSP lacks a fleet perspective by focusing on
results that compare the proposed method with existing operation a single drone operation. In another study, a TSP problem is
management methods. The results show that a simple operation formulated for combined truck-drone delivery network systems
management strategy can make a drone delivery system unstable to optimize truck routes, and a clustering method is proposed to
with increasing demand on certain types of modules in the fleet. determine the optimal number of drone launch sites and
The results comparing modular and non-modular drone operation locations [12]. Another study proposes a mixed-integer linear
also prove that the proposed operation management method with programming formulation for a drone delivery fleet to minimize
modular drones can save delivery time and energy consumption
operation costs by optimizing the delivery routes [13]. The focus
during a delivery operation over non-modular drones.
in these studies is on routing rather than a complete management
Keywords—drone delivery system; modularity; optimization; of the entire fleet including scheduling, inventory management,
parcel delivery; dynamic programming; operations management; maintenance and repair.
Introducing modular architectures to the drone design
provides several operational advantages in a drone delivery
I. INTRODUCTION system [14]. A major drawback in the operation of drones is the
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, have been limited battery capacity. With lithium-ion batteries used in most
successfully applied to disaster management [1], 3D mapping [2] commercial drones, flight time is approximately 30 minutes, and
and precision agriculture [3]. Recently, drones are considered as non-modular drone is unavailable for delivery for more than one
a promising solution to rapid parcel delivery. Parcel delivery hour when recharging the battery [15]. A modular design with
using drones has many advantages over existing ground vehicle swappable batteries is expected to perform better than drones
delivery using trucks. Delivery time can be reduced since drones with integrated batteries in terms of readiness. Furthermore,
are not interrupted by the established infrastructure such as since a set of drone types with distinct capabilities is necessary
traffic lights, and the volume of traffic. It is also possible to to accomplish various types of delivery tasks, modularity can
reduce the cost of maintenance in a drone delivery system since reduce the overall fleet size thanks to module sharing.
drones are less expensive than ground vehicles and easier to In this paper, we propose an operation management strategy
repair. Various major companies expressed their interest in based on the optimization of modular drone delivery systems.
drone delivery including Amazon with their service “Prime Air” For a given set of modular designs, this strategy determines the
[4], DHL with “Parcelcopter” [5] and Google with “Project schedule and the assignment of modular combinations to meet
Wing” [6]. the delivery demand. One study introduces fuzzy controller [16,
Several research studies on drones have contributed to 17] and develop a reinforcement fuzzy learning scheme for
making a drone delivery system feasible by increasing flight robots playing a differential game operation [18]. Another study
time and improving navigation capabilities. Studies on lithium- is stochastic neighborhood approach is used to optimize shift
ion batteries with high energy density have shown schedule management for tank trucks [19]. We suggest an
improvements on flight time compared to nickel-cadmium and optimization algorithm with a forward-looking approach and
nickel-metal hydride batteries [7]. In addition, a wide range of compare with existing methods such as dynamic programming
different augmentation systems to assist GPS by providing [20] under a randomly generated delivery scenario.
accuracy and integrity have improved the positioning and We apply the proposed operation management strategy to a
navigation of drones [8]. Moreover, technologies to detect and modular and a non-modular drone system to identify potential
Fig. 3. Battery modules in the inventory with Algorithm 1. Fig. 4. Battery modules in the inventory with Algorithm 2.
Fig. 6. Initial orders for each day after modular drone fleet operation.
Fig. 7. Initial orders for each day after non-modular drone fleet operation with
nine types of drones.