Drone-Based Delivery Systems: A Survey on Route Planning

Abstract

The ever-increasing demand for urban delivery services significantly exacerbates the traffic conditions on our already overly congested urban streets. The problem is even worsened by the dearth of appropriate parking facilities available for efficient offloading operations. As a result, there has been a surge of interest in exploring eco-friendly alternatives to traditional truck-based logistics. Drone technology has significant potential to enable widespread home delivery services and reduce the reliance on trucks within urban areas. Both the academy and the industry have shown interest in developing swiftly deployable and cost-effective delivery systems that rely on drones. This work provides a comprehensive review of the current state of Drone-based Delivery Systems. It explores the latest advancements, methodologies, and employed techniques with a specific emphasis on optimizing task scheduling and designing efficient routes for drone deliveries. It critically analyzes the advantages and drawbacks of existing solutions, contributing a thorough classification based on crucial system features, such as fleet composition, degree of device cooperation, and underlying infrastructure.