Multi-layered network and routing optimization for unmanned aerial vehicle traffic

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As unmanned aerial vehicle (or drone) technology evolves, the ability to safely control drone flight along precise pathways opens the door to an alternative mode of transport. The unique characteristics of drones allow for greener alternatives to trucks for last mile delivery of consumer packages, rapid deployment of critical medical equipment, and the provision of critical infrastructure such as network signal or line of sight surveillance in emergency situations. As drone usage scales, infrastructure is required to enable the safe operation of many simultaneous flights. One required technology is a drone traffic management system to track ongoing drone flights and approve flight requests as they are made. This research aims to design the drone traffic networks and routing algorithms required by traffic management systems, in partnership with drone industry experts, and attentive to government regulations. The research will develop optimization models and solution methods to select the roads to be included in the network and to design their 3D projection into the skies, thus creating a network for routing drone traffic. The selected network should maximize potential traffic by providing short low-risk paths between anticipated drone origins and destinations, be robust to weather and other uncertainties, and be cost-effective to map and monitor. Given a mapped 3D network, the research will design routing tools to dictate how to handle flight requests as they are made in real-time. The rules should account for weather conditions, interference, delay, and congestion, and provide mechanisms for prioritizing emergency flights. The research results are crucial to develop network infrastructure and technology to plan and manage drone traffic at a large scale. The research will provide tools for regulatory bodies like Transport Canada to understand the challenges and limitation of the technology and inform their drone traffic regulations and drone technology adoption policies. Given the lack of research on the topic and the race of regulatory bodies to set the rules and safety protocols, the research outcomes will put Canada at the forefront of drone technology.