*Result*: Optimising vertical deliveries with integrated hybrid drone-truck systems.
*Further Information*
*Last-mile delivery (LMD) constitutes a significant portion of contemporary distribution networks, accounting for up to 75% of total supply chain costs. Drones offer numerous advantages over conventional delivery systems, including reduced energy consumption, enhanced flexibility, and lower carbon emissions. However, drone delivery faces limitations such as range, payload carrying capacity, battery life, and regulatory hurdles. This paper presents a novel optimisation model for a 3D multi-visit multi-launch integrated hybrid drone–truck delivery system capable of delivering to multiple customers at various altitudes. Drones can launch multiple times from a truck stop and rendezvous with the truck at a subsequent truck stop. A formulation is proposed that incorporates real-time payload, payload-carrying capacity, battery capacity, and energy consumption profiles to determine optimal truck and drone routes. Small-scale instances are solved to optimality using Gurobi, while large-scale instances are addressed through a solution approach integrating a Relax-&-Fix heuristic and column generation. Experiments are conducted to demonstrate the model's key features and emphasise the significance of incorporating multi-drone launches and their energy consumption function into the delivery decision process. Numerical results indicate trade-offs between drone and truck travel time, customer altitude, and drone energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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