DRONE-ASSISTED DELIVERY SYSTEM APPLICATION IN LAST-MILE DELIVERY

Abstract

The continuous development of e-commerce and ongoing pandemic in recent years leads to a large increase in the demand for last-mile delivery with higher standards for service quality. The usage of unmanned aerial vehicles, also known as drones, is an ideal solution for such complex delivery problems. Compared to traditional last-mile delivery, which is conducted by trucks, delivery conducted by drones is faster and more cost-efficient. Despite all the remarkable advantages of the participation of drones in last-mile delivery, more challenges are introduced. The special features of drones are studied in both academia and industry. These features and challenges inspire the motivations of this thesis. To be specific, three practical optimization problems are introduced in this thesis, and customized algorithms together with optimization frameworks are established duly.