The Drone as a Guide
Heilbronn, 03.11.2025 (PresseBox) - In recent years, drones have mainly made headlines as weapons of war. However, they can also be used for peaceful purposes and, in some circumstances, even save lives. Alena Otto, Professor of Operation & Technology at TUM Campus Heilbronn, and her research team have investigated the optimal use of drones in natural disasters. In such situations, a few minutes can mean the difference between life and death.
Long periods of drought are followed by heavy rainfall, and more and more storms sweep across the landscape, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Climate change is permanently altering nature and leading to extreme weather conditions that are difficult to cope with. As a result, roads and paths are partially blocked or impassable. Aid deliveries by truck reach their destination late or not at all. The correct use of drones can help remedy this situation.
The Travelling Salesman Problem
Alena Otto calculated three variants of the “Travelling Salesman Problem with Drone Integration” (TSP-DI) in a simulation. The Travelling Salesman Problem is a constellation from the research areas of operations and computer science. The goal is to visit each destination only once, making the journey effective, fast and inexpensive. In addition to the classic logistics sector, this method is also used in the design of microchips.
Otto and her team tackled this task as part of their work to optimize aid deliveries in crisis areas. In the first, most optimistic variant, trucks and drones are dispatched immediately in the hope that all routes will be clear. If the transports encounter an obstacle, a spontaneous decision is made on how to proceed – in other words, re-optimization takes place. In the second, conservative variant, all deliveries are made exclusively by drones, whose capacity is naturally limited. They reach their destination safely, but have limited capacity for food or medicine. In the third variant, the drone first acts as a scout to determine the ideal route before the truck starts its aid mission.
Reaching the Destination Faster Together
The result: the third variant achieved the best balance between speed and reliability. The initial additional time required is offset by the choice of the optimal route. The simulation shows that the preliminary work pays off in the end and provides important input for aid organizations operating in crisis regions. Hybrid strategies seem to be the best approach in this case.
In its September issue, the renowned IISE Journal (Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers) once again highlighted the research results. Alena Otto worked on the accompanying paper “On delivery policies for a truck-and-drone tandem in disaster relief” with her colleagues Bruce Golden, Catherine Lorenz, Yuchen Luo, Erwin Pesch, and Luis Aurelio Rocha.
