OPTIMIZING UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE BASED FOOD DELIVERY THROUGH VEHICLE ROUTING PROBLEM: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THREE DELIVERY SYSTEMS.

In recent times, there has been a notable increase in interest surrounding the integration of Un-manned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology and vehicle routing problems (VRP) for package delivery purposes. While existing studies have explored various types of package deliveries utilizing VRP, limited attention has been given to on-demand food delivery. This study aims to develop a VRP model that incorporates practical constraints such as payload capacity and maximum flying range, with the primary objective of minimizing travel distance in food delivery operations. A comparative analysis is conducted among three delivery methods, including UAV delivery, to determine the most effective approach and assess the feasibility of each method. Through a case study analysis focused on a pizza delivery service in Sri Lanka, it was observed that implementing VRP in a motorbike delivery system resulted in reduced travel distance, time, cost, and CO2 emissions compared to the existing delivery system. Furthermore, the utilization of UAVs in conjunction with VRP yielded even greater improvements across all parameters. Based on a comprehensive cost analysis considering long-term operations, the UAV-based delivery system was identified as the most cost-effective method, followed by the VRP-incorporated motorbike delivery method. Although the VRP-incorporated motorbike delivery system exhibited a slightly higher average time per route compared to the existing method, the total travel time required to complete all routes remained lower. Consequently, the study concludes that the VRP-incorporated motorbike delivery system outperforms the existing delivery method for food delivery, with the use of UAVs incorporating VRP identified as the optimal delivery method among the three alternatives. The findings contribute valuable insights to the optimization of food delivery logistics, emphasizing the potential of VRP and exploring the feasibility of UAVs for sustainable and efficient long-term delivery solutions.