Dynamic Order Admission for Rechargeable Drone Delivery: The Value of Idling, a seminar by Xinrui Xu (University of Electronic Science and Technology of China)

Dynamic Order Admission for Rechargeable Drone Delivery: The Value of Idling

By Xinrui Xu from University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

Abstract

When a drone is idle at the depot, its battery recharges. Waiting can therefore increase its ability to serve future orders. This talk studies a dynamic order admission policy that decides, upon each order’s arrival, whether to dispatch a drone or keep it idle. Orders vary in delivery distance and parcel weight, and each accepted order uses both flight time and battery energy. Using an infinite-horizon semi-Markov decision model, I examine how the optimal policy balances an order’s immediate payoff against the future value of drone availability and battery charge. I will discuss the resulting admission regions and practical approximations to the optimal policy. I will also outline ongoing work on multiple drones, where admission decisions interact with drone assignment and charging.

About the speaker

Xinrui Xu is a visiting PhD student at Durham University and a PhD candidate in Management Science and Engineering at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. Their research interests include humanitarian operations, supply chain and logistics, with a focus on designing exact algorithms for mixed-integer optimization problems.