Sustainability Aspects of Drone-Assisted Last-Mile Delivery Systems—A Discrete Event Simulation Approach
The goal of this article is to examine the advantages and disadvantages of the application of drones in last-mile delivery systems from a sustainability point of view regarding CO<sub>2</sub> emissions and energy consumption. As commercial drones are developing rapidly, the application o...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Energies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/12/4656 |
| _version_ | 1797595039577145344 |
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| author | Boglárka Eisinger Balassa Réka Koteczki Bence Lukács László Buics |
| author_facet | Boglárka Eisinger Balassa Réka Koteczki Bence Lukács László Buics |
| author_sort | Boglárka Eisinger Balassa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The goal of this article is to examine the advantages and disadvantages of the application of drones in last-mile delivery systems from a sustainability point of view regarding CO<sub>2</sub> emissions and energy consumption. As commercial drones are developing rapidly, the application of such tools in the field of last-mile delivery and transportation can offer many opportunities to increase service flexibility, reduce delivery time and decrease CO<sub>2</sub> emissions and energy consumption. In this article, a discrete event simulation is applied to examine how the assistance of drones in parcel delivery services can influence the sustainability aspects of such services regarding CO<sub>2</sub> emissions and energy consumption in an urban environment. Based on factory parameters, a vehicle-based delivery scenario is compared to a drone-assisted scenario under ideal conditions. According to the results, within the simulation parameters with the assistance of drones, a decrease in CO<sub>2</sub> emissions and energy consumption is possible in last-mile delivery services, but more environmental, technological and financial limitations should also be addressed and incorporated to determine whether such a development is worthwhile from a last-mile delivery company’s point of view. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:31:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-750a563d152346aa852f4c3b1fd933b8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:31:44Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-750a563d152346aa852f4c3b1fd933b82023-11-18T10:12:21ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732023-06-011612465610.3390/en16124656Sustainability Aspects of Drone-Assisted Last-Mile Delivery Systems—A Discrete Event Simulation ApproachBoglárka Eisinger Balassa0Réka Koteczki1Bence Lukács2László Buics3Department of Corporate Leadership and Marketing, Faculty of Economic Sciences, Széchenyi István University, Egyetem tér 1, 9026 Győr, HungaryVehicle Industry Research Center, Széchenyi István University, Egyetem tér 1, 9026 Győr, HungaryVehicle Industry Research Center, Széchenyi István University, Egyetem tér 1, 9026 Győr, HungaryDepartment of Corporate Leadership and Marketing, Faculty of Economic Sciences, Széchenyi István University, Egyetem tér 1, 9026 Győr, HungaryThe goal of this article is to examine the advantages and disadvantages of the application of drones in last-mile delivery systems from a sustainability point of view regarding CO<sub>2</sub> emissions and energy consumption. As commercial drones are developing rapidly, the application of such tools in the field of last-mile delivery and transportation can offer many opportunities to increase service flexibility, reduce delivery time and decrease CO<sub>2</sub> emissions and energy consumption. In this article, a discrete event simulation is applied to examine how the assistance of drones in parcel delivery services can influence the sustainability aspects of such services regarding CO<sub>2</sub> emissions and energy consumption in an urban environment. Based on factory parameters, a vehicle-based delivery scenario is compared to a drone-assisted scenario under ideal conditions. According to the results, within the simulation parameters with the assistance of drones, a decrease in CO<sub>2</sub> emissions and energy consumption is possible in last-mile delivery services, but more environmental, technological and financial limitations should also be addressed and incorporated to determine whether such a development is worthwhile from a last-mile delivery company’s point of view.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/12/4656renewable energy systemenvironmental assessmentdiscrete event simulation |
| spellingShingle | Boglárka Eisinger Balassa Réka Koteczki Bence Lukács László Buics Sustainability Aspects of Drone-Assisted Last-Mile Delivery Systems—A Discrete Event Simulation Approach Energies renewable energy system environmental assessment discrete event simulation |
| title | Sustainability Aspects of Drone-Assisted Last-Mile Delivery Systems—A Discrete Event Simulation Approach |
| title_full | Sustainability Aspects of Drone-Assisted Last-Mile Delivery Systems—A Discrete Event Simulation Approach |
| title_fullStr | Sustainability Aspects of Drone-Assisted Last-Mile Delivery Systems—A Discrete Event Simulation Approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sustainability Aspects of Drone-Assisted Last-Mile Delivery Systems—A Discrete Event Simulation Approach |
| title_short | Sustainability Aspects of Drone-Assisted Last-Mile Delivery Systems—A Discrete Event Simulation Approach |
| title_sort | sustainability aspects of drone assisted last mile delivery systems a discrete event simulation approach |
| topic | renewable energy system environmental assessment discrete event simulation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/12/4656 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT boglarkaeisingerbalassa sustainabilityaspectsofdroneassistedlastmiledeliverysystemsadiscreteeventsimulationapproach AT rekakoteczki sustainabilityaspectsofdroneassistedlastmiledeliverysystemsadiscreteeventsimulationapproach AT bencelukacs sustainabilityaspectsofdroneassistedlastmiledeliverysystemsadiscreteeventsimulationapproach AT laszlobuics sustainabilityaspectsofdroneassistedlastmiledeliverysystemsadiscreteeventsimulationapproach |