01738475

Component

https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198120915891

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are being increasingly implemented in a range of applications. Their low payload capacity and ability to overcome congested road networks enables them to provide fast delivery services for urgent high-value low-volume cargo. This work investigates the economic viability of integrating UAVs into urban hospital supply chains. In doing so, a strategic model that determines the optimal configuration of supporting infrastructure for urgent UAV delivery between hospitals is proposed. The model incorporates a tailored facility location algorithm that selects an optimal number of hubs given a set of candidates and determines the number of UAVs required to fulfill total demand. The objective is to minimize the total cost of implementation, computed as the sum of generalized, battery, vehicle, and hub establishment costs. The model is applied to a case study based on the establishment of a UAV delivery network for deliveries between National Health Service (NHS) hospitals in London. A baseline scenario is also developed using current NHS vehicles for delivery. Results demonstrate that UAV-based delivery provides significant reductions in operational costs compared with the baseline. Furthermore, the analysis indicates the location of hubs is more significant to the solution optimality than any increase in range or payload.

© National Academy of Sciences: Transportation Research Board 2020.

English

pp 405-418

2020-5

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

Web

References (70)

Case studies; Delivery service; Delivery vehicles; Drones; Hospitals; Hubs; Location; Networks; Optimization; Urban areas

National Health Service (United Kingdom)

London (England)

Aviation; Freight Transportation; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Safety and Human Factors

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Apr 24 2020 3:05PM