On the right path - finding the perfect route for each delivery

Written by Flytrex Product Manager Yael Wolman

One of the hardest parts about perfecting drone delivery is making it look easy – with buildings, powerlines, and other drones in the sky, finding the optimal route for each delivery is a challenging task. Fortunately, with our new automatic routing system, every flight will be as smooth and seamless as possible.

Considerations

There are a lot of things we have to keep in mind when designing software that accurately calculates and plots each flight route. For example, no-fly zones around our delivery sites that we have to make sure to avoid, like schools and stadiums. There are also areas we’re allowed to fly over but we would prefer to limit our presence, like highways. To add an extra layer of complexity, generated routes also have to account for differences in ground elevation –?the drone is flying in a 3D space after all, and must be prepared to avoid any potential obstacles.

To account for safety, we also define safe landing points across our operational area that the drone can retreat to for an emergency landing, in those rare cases where something goes wrong. With many safe landing zones allocated across our network, the automatic routing system can reroute any drone (or even all of them at once) to the nearest one at any given time.?

The Algorithm

Our automatic routing algorithm does all of this calculation automatically and designs the best flight route for each individual incoming order. It creates a unique flight route that connects our delivery center with the recipient’s selected delivery point (typically their backyard, or one of our public delivery points) that accounts for the specific conditions of the space and time of the order at any given moment.

Our algorithm brings a huge step forward in realizing the drone delivery dream, and gives users and the surrounding communities an unmatched experience. It also offers several key advantages for scaling our drone delivery operations. The topographical planning ensures maximum safety along all routes, and the routes are evenly distributed across the area to minimize disturbances to residents. Additionally, it is designed to handle fluctuating demand throughout the day, reducing delivery times during peak hours.?

Next time you look up and see one of our drones, you’ll know that it’s using top-notch technology to make that delivery as smooth as possible.