Package Delivery Using Autonomous Drones in Skyways

TL;DR

This paper introduces a multi-stop drone delivery system utilizing a skyway network with regulations, employing heuristic algorithms for path optimization, and demonstrating deployment in a simulated urban environment.

Contribution

It presents a novel skyway network model and a heuristic-based path planning approach for drone delivery within regulated urban areas.

Findings

Successful implementation in a 3D indoor testbed.

Effective path optimization considering constraints.

Real-time monitoring interface developed.

Abstract

Current drone delivery systems mostly focus on point-to-point package delivery. We present a multi-stop drone service system to deliver packages anywhere anytime within a specified geographic area. We define a skyway network which takes into account flying regulations, including restricted areas and no-fly zones. The skyway nodes typically represent building rooftops which may act as both recharging stations and delivery destinations. A heuristic-based A* algorithm is used to compute an optimal path from source to destination taking into account a number of constraints, including delivery time, availability of recharging stations, etc. We deploy our drone delivery system in an indoor testbed environment using a 3D model of Sydney CBD. We describe a graphical user interface to monitor the real-time package delivery in the skyway network.