Route Planning Using Multi-objective Dijkstra Algorithm for Logistics Drones

Recently, transportation of supplies using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) such as quadrotor drones has been attracting attention. However, due to limited battery capacity and payload, it is difficult to transport supplies over long distance in a single flight. Therefore, this paper proposes a route planning method in which the battery is recharged or replaced via charging stations along the way, depending on the transportation route. In addition, along with the distance between stations, factors such as the wind direction and the number of stops at the charging station are considered in the calculation of the cost of transportation. Multi-objective Dijkstra algorithm is proposed to select a route that minimizes transportation costs from the origin to the destination and back. The proposed method was applied to a transportation environment with wind and the results show that the algorithm was able to optimize the delivery route with criteria of distance, wind effect and the number of stops.