Drone Network Design for Environmental Emergency Response in the Brazilian Amazon

We introduce a facility-location allocation model to design a drone-based environmental response network, where are used to verify complaints and to gather information to support emergency response missions. Assuming a centralized network operated out-of-sight, we propose a discrete facility location-allocation model with mobile servers that seeks to find the minimal cost configuration that meets response time targets. A case study is conducted for the municipality of Ji-Parana, in the Brazilian Amazon, using spatiotemporal data from satellite imagery and mobile data. Sensitivity analysis is conducted to understand how the model performs under various demand scenarios and capacity restrictions.