A Real-Time System for Scheduling and Managing UAV Delivery in Urban Areas

TL;DR

This paper introduces a real-time UAV delivery management system for urban areas that integrates high-level scheduling with low-level execution, utilizing collaborative schemes with ground vehicles and staff to enhance efficiency.

Contribution

It presents a novel middleware system based on the 'Airport-Unloading Station' model that effectively bridges scheduling algorithms and real-world UAV delivery operations.

Findings

System demonstrates high feasibility in urban environments

Collaborative scheduling improves delivery efficiency

Experimental results validate system effectiveness

Abstract

As urban logistics demand continues to grow, UAV delivery has become a key solution to improve delivery efficiency, reduce traffic congestion, and lower logistics costs. However, to fully leverage the potential of UAV delivery networks, efficient swarm scheduling and management are crucial. In this paper, we propose a real-time scheduling and management system based on the ``Airport-Unloading Station" model, aiming to bridge the gap between high-level scheduling algorithms and low-level execution systems. This system, acting as middleware, accurately translates the requirements from the scheduling layer into specific execution instructions, ensuring that the scheduling algorithms perform effectively in real-world environments. Additionally, we implement three collaborative scheduling schemes involving autonomous ground vehicles (AGVs), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and ground staff to further optimize overall delivery efficiency. Through extensive experiments, this study demonstrates the rationality and feasibility of the proposed management system, providing practical solution for the commercial application of UAVs delivery in urban. Code: https://github.com/chengji253/UAVDeliverySystem