A Survey of Truck–Drone Routing Problem: Literature Review and Research Prospects

The vehicle routing problem (VRP) has been an important research topic in operations research for decades. The major applications of the VRP arise in transportation, especially the last-mile delivery. In recent years, a growing number of logistic companies introduce drones or unmanned aerial vehicles in the delivery operations. Therefore, the truck–drone routing problem (TDRP), where trucks and drones are scheduled and coordinated to serve customers, vitalizes a new research stream in the literature. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive review on the TDRP. First, two basic models for the traveling salesman problem with drones and vehicle routing problem with drones are presented. Second, researches devoted to the TDRP are classified according to their addressed constraints and features. Third, prevalent algorithms that have been widely used in the existing literature are reviewed and described. Last, potential research opportunities are identified for future study.