Drone-Assisted Long-Distance Delivery of Medical Supplies with Recharging Stations in Rural Communities

In the past few years, drones have been adopted as a novel delivery tool towards medical supplies, improving delivery service efficiency due to fast speed and neglection of geographical limitations. However, the flight endurance of a battery-operated drone is limited for long-distance medical supplies delivery operations. Recharging stations, as a kind of drone facility, allow multiple stops for drones to supplement the power to overcome the flight-range limitations. This paper studies drone-assisted long-distance medical supplies delivery with recharging stations in rural communities by a mixed integer linear programming model. To illustrate the applicability of this model and explore the key factors influencing delivery efficiency of medical supplies, a case study from China is conducted. The results indicate that enhancements on the speed of a truck or a drone can yield considerable delivery cost reduction. In addition, drone-recharging technology advances can improve delivery efficiency of medical supplies in rural communities.