# Vehicle Routing with Drones

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1705.06431 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1705.06431/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 18 May 2017.

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [NU-AIR -- A Neuromorphic Urban Aerial Dataset for Detection and Localization of Pedestrians and Vehicles](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.09429/) (2023)
- [An Evolutionary Algorithm For the Vehicle Routing Problem with Drones with Interceptions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.14173/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We introduce a package service model where trucks as well as drones can deliver packages. Drones can travel on trucks or fly; but while flying, drones can only carry one package at a time and have to return to a truck to charge after each delivery. We present a heuristic algorithm to solve the problem of finding a good schedule for all drones and trucks. The algorithm is based on two nested local searches, thus the definition of suitable neighbourhoods of solutions is crucial for the algorithm. Empirical tests show that our algorithm performs significantly better than a natural Greedy algorithm. Moreover, the savings compared to solutions without drones turn out to be substantial, suggesting that delivery systems might considerably benefit from using drones in addition to trucks.