Optimizing Heterogeneous Vehicle Routes for Urban Distribution Considering the Three-Dimensional Bin Packing Problem of Electric Meters

Abstract

With the establishment of smart grids, there is a growing demand for metering electric meters in urban areas. Given the diverse sizes and delicate nature of these meters, traditional scheduling solutions are unable to cater to the multifaceted requirements of urban environments, meters loading, and subsequent logistics scheduling. This study presents an intelligent scheduling model for electric meters in an urban context, taking into account various constraints such as urban traffic congestion, three-dimensional packing of metering devices, delivery time windows, and heterogeneous vehicles. To solve this, we design an improved whale optimization algorithm using a hybrid multi-phase heuristic approach (IWOA-HMOHA). Simulation results show that compared with the traditional meter logistics scheduling strategy, the IWOA-HMOHA algorithm reduces the objective function by 5.4%~ 26.1% compared with other similar algorithms. In addition, compared with the traditional first-in-last-out cargo packing method, the vehicle space utilization rate is improved by 12.62%. The proposed models and algorithms demonstrate excellent adaptability to a range of urban constraints, offering valuable insights and a robust framework essential for the development of logistics solutions in urban.INDEX TERMS logistics applications; the three-dimensional bin packing problem; hybrid multi-phase heuristic approach; evolutionary algorithms; difference strategy