Solving the cumulative capacitated vehicle routing problem with drones

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this paper, we consider the Cumulative Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CCVRP), which is used to model many real-world applications, especially in the area of supplying humanitarian aid after a natural disaster. Interestingly, in this study, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) so-called drones are used to assist the trucks in delivering parcels to customers. Each of them travels to different locations to perform specified tasks and meet periodically with the vehicle from which it takes off to swap its battery. In this paper, a mathematical model is formulated which is then tested with small-sized problems using CPLEX software. Due to the difficulty of solving large instances to optimality, we propose a heuristic algorithm based on a well-established type of cluster-first, route-second approach. Then, it is enhanced by some proposed properties. Hereafter, we develop a minimum spanning tree based-lower bound. Finally, extensive computational experiments are carried out by using instances from the literature. They show the good performance of the proposed heuristic algorithm to solve large instances in a very competitive running time.