Biography

Benjamin Braham is an undergraduate student studying a Bachelor of Advanced Computing and Science with majors in computer science and physics. He is supervised by Professor Athman Bouguettaya and his honours thesis focuses on drone-based infrastructure in urban environments. Ben has previously worked as a Research Assistant at Macquarie university studying quantum computing and has contributed to QuTiP, a python library for quantum simulation.

Project Title:

Efficient Drone Delivery Services in the Presence of Urban Wind Effects

Project Description:

Drones are being implemented in urban areas for the delivery of high-priority items such as medical equipment. In highly urban areas, drones can be preferable to ground-based transport, as they typically have access to more efficient paths than those defined by roads. Additionally, the reduced carbon footprint of drones compared to cars and trucks provides a much greener solution to urban delivery. To maximize the efficiency of these deliveries, consideration must be given to the delivery paths of the drones in such a system. One important factor in these paths is the placement of landing stations, which can serve as a delivery location, or extend the effective range of a drone service through recharging. An optimal placement of landing stations is one which simultaneously minimizes drone delivery time and the number of stations required while adhering to environmental and legal constraints. We study the placement of these landing stations in the presence of wind effects present in an urban environment to ensure safe and efficient drone paths are maintained in various wind conditions. The optimization of delivery paths is also considered, incorporating the impact of urban wind on a drone flight.