Research of models and methods for routing and practical implementation of autonomous movement by unmanned transport systems for cargo delivery

Modern challenges in the field of transport logistics associated with the need to increase the speed of cargo transportation and reduce the cost of transportation require the development of solutions that will allow the introduction of unmanned vehicles to solve logistics problems. Within the framework of this paper, a new problem of routing an unmanned transport system through delivery points using annealing simulation methods and an ant colony algorithm is considered. These methods are chosen taking into account the real situation of complication of the conditions of possible delivery, the emergence of closed areas for delivery, obtaining a large number of points for delivery, or the emergence of other features. The selected algorithms are relatively simple to implement and, at the same time, form acceptable routes of movement, taking into account the initial data. These algorithms are studied in the software simulation environment Gazebo for the possibility of their application in unmanned transport systems and their effectiveness in constructing alternative traffic routes. In the software simulation, a program code for the autonomous movement of an unmanned vehicle is developed and a simulation environment is formed taking into account the test data. In the test environment, the results of the ant colony algorithm are checked against the test data, and special attention is paid to the study of the speed and accuracy of the selected algorithms. It is worth noting that the annealing simulation algorithm allows you to quickly optimize a given route, however, to obtain more accurate results, you should additionally use other optimization methods, such as the ant colony algorithm. As a result of the proposed methods application, it is concluded that it is possible to form the optimal route of movement relative to the initial data within the length of the path and the speed of the generated route. 

1. Kostin, A. S., N. N. Maiorov, and T. Yu. Karpova. Ekspluatatsiya bespilotnykh aviatsionnykh sistem. SPb.: GUAP, 2021.

2. Kostin, A. S. “Models and methods for implementing the automous performance of transportation tasks using a drone.” 2021 Wave Electronics and its Application in Information and Telecommunication Systems (WECONF). IEEE, 2021. DOI: 10.1109/WECONF51603.2021.9470584.

3. Kostin, Anton Sergeevich, and Nikita Vladimirovich Bogatov. “Questions of modern development of the drons aircraft market.” Sistemnyi analiz i logistika 4(22) (2019): 65–72.

4. Prokushev, L. A. Diskretnaya matematika. SPb.: GUAP, 2000.

5. Gonzalez-R, Pedro L., David Canca, Jose L. Andrade-Pineda, Marcos Calle, and Jose M. Leon-Blanco. “Truck-drone team logistics: A heuristic approach to multi-drop route planning.” Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies 114 (2020): 657–680. DOI: 10.1016/j.trc.2020.02.030.

6. Kostin, Anton Sergeyevich, and Nikolai Nikolaevich Maiorov. “Development of automated solutions for the research of delivery route options in the joint use of a vehicle and an unmanned aerial system within the boundaries of the city.” Izvestiya Tula State University 7 (2022): 348–356. DOI: 10.24412/2071-6168-2022-7-348-357.

7. Maĭorov, N. N., A. S. Kostin, and E. A. Voznesenskii. RU 2022615497. Programma avtonomnogo poleta bespilotnoi aviatsionnoi sistemy dlya realizatsii mnogoadresnoi dostavki gruzov. Russian Federation, assignee. Publ. 31 March 2022.

8. Maĭorov, N.N., A. S. Kostin, and D. V. Kuchko. RU 2023612873. Programma formirovaniya dopustimogo marshruta peremeshcheniya zadachi kommivoyazhera na osnove murav’inogo algoritma. Russian Federation, assignee. Publ. 8 Feb. 2023.

9. Engel, Jakob, Jurgen Sturm, and Daniel Cremers. “Accurate Figure Flying with a Quadrocopter Using Onboard Visual and Inertial Sensing.” Proc. of the Workshop on Visual Control of Mobile Robots (ViCoMoR) at the IEEE/ RJS Intern. Conference on Intelligent Robot Systems (IROS). 2012. 43–48.

10. Drexl, Michael. “Synchronization in vehicle routing — a survey of VRPs with multiple synchronization constraints.” Transportation Science 46.3 (2012): 297–316. DOI: 10.1287/trsc.1110.0400.

11. Kim, Jinhyun, Min-Sung Kang, and Sangdeok Park. “Accurate modeling and robust hovering control for a quad-rotor VTOL aircraft.” Selected papers from the 2nd International Symposium on UAVs, Reno, Nevada, USA June 8–10, 2009. Springer Netherlands, 2010. DOI: 10.1007/978-90-481-8764-5_2.

12. Outay, Fatma, Hanan Abdullah Mengash, and Muhammad Adnan. “Applications of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in road safety, traffic and highway infrastructure management: Recent advances and challenges.” Transportation research part A: policy and practice 141 (2020): 116–129. DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2020.09.018.