Make a request with load costs

Make a request with load costs to have the optimizer take into consideration the load your vehicles carry between visits. The incurred cost depends on both the amount of ShipmentRoute.VehicleLoad carried and the distance or duration of the transition (using cost_per_kilometer or cost_per_traveled_hour respectively).

A minimal example request with load costs

Here's a partial example of a request with a load cost. In this example, the single vehicle can carry no more than 1000 kg of total weightKg load, which incurs 1 cost unit per kilometer when the carried weightKg load exceeds 500 kg.

  {
    "model": {
      "vehicles": [{
        "loadLimits": {
          "weightKg": {
            "maxLoad": "1000",
            "costPerKilometer": {
              "loadThreshold": "500",
              "costPerUnitAboveThreshold": 1
            }
          }
        }
      }]
    }
  }
  

The load cost calculation for this example is as follows:

cost = max(carried load - load threshold, 0) * distance * cost per unit above threshold

So if the vehicle carries a weightKg load of 600 over 10 kilometers, the calculation would be:

(600 - 500) * 10 * 1 = 1000 cost units

Load costs can be used to model a variety of concepts, such as increased vehicle energy usage when transporting heavy loads or vehicle wear incurred by excessive vehicle loading.

Another example request with load costs

Here is another example of load costs that imposes a cost per traveled time both above and below a threshold:

  {
    "model": {
      "vehicles": [{
        "loadLimits": {
          "weightLbs": {
            "maxLoad": "1000",
            "costPerTraveledHour": {
              "loadThreshold": "900",
              "costPerUnitAboveThreshold": 10,
              "costPerUnitBelowThreshold": 1
            },
          },
        }
      }]
    }
  }
  

The load cost calculation for this example is as follows:

cost = max(carried load - load threshold, 0) * time * cost per unit above threshold
  + min(carried load, load threshold) * time * cost per unit below threshold

So if the vehicle carries a weightLbs load of 950 for 5 hours, the calculation would be:

max(950 - 900, 0) * 5 * 10 + min(950, 900) * 5 * 1 = 7000

In this example, the load_threshold for the weightLbs load cost is close to max_load. The cost_per_unit_above_threshold applies a high cost per traveled hour when the vehicle travels with an especially heavy load, penalizing routes that may increase wear on the vehicle or consume excess fuel. The cost_per_unit_below_threshold adds a cost per unit weight being carried by the vehicle up to the threshold, representing increased fuel consumption as the vehicle carries more load.

Frequently asked questions

Here are some frequently asked questions about load costs:

For a detailed explanation of load costs, see the reference documentation (REST, gRPC).

Example: Make an OptimizeTours Request

OptimizeTours requests can also be made using either REST or gRPC.

Before making a request, replace the following parameters with values appropriate for your environment:

• Ensure you have Application Default Credentials configured as described in Use OAuth.

• Set PROJECT_NUMBER_OR_ID to your Cloud project number or ID.

  The following command sends an OptimizeTours request to the Route Optimization API and receives a response synchronously.

  curl -X POST 'https://routeoptimization.googleapis.com/v1/projects/PROJECT_NUMBER_OR_ID:optimizeTours' \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth application-default print-access-token)" \
  --data @- << EOM
  {
    "model": {
      "shipments": [
        {
          "deliveries": [
            {
              "arrivalLocation": {
                "latitude": 37.789456,
                "longitude": -122.390192
              },
              "duration": "250s"
            }
          ],
          "penaltyCost": 100.0,
          "loadDemands": {
            "weightKg": {
              "amount": 50
            }
          }
        },
        {
          "deliveries": [
            {
              "arrivalLocation": {
                "latitude": 37.789116,
                "longitude": -122.395080
              },
              "duration": "250s"
            }
          ],
          "penaltyCost": 30.0,
          "loadDemands": {
            "weightKg": {
              "amount": 10
            }
          }
        },
        {
          "deliveries": [
            {
              "arrivalLocation": {
                "latitude": 37.795242,
                "longitude": -122.399347
              },
              "duration": "250s"
            }
          ],
          "penaltyCost": 50.0,
          "loadDemands": {
            "weightKg": {
              "amount": 80
            }
          }
        }
      ],
      "vehicles": [
        {
          "endLocation": {
            "latitude": 37.794465,
            "longitude": -122.394839
          },
          "startLocation": {
            "latitude": 37.794465,
            "longitude": -122.394839
          },
          "costPerHour": 40.0,
          "costPerKilometer": 10.0,
          "loadLimits": {
            "weightKg": {
              "maxLoad": "100",
              "costPerKilometer": {
                "loadThreshold": "15",
                "costPerUnitAboveThreshold": 1
              }
            }
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  }
  EOM

Once the request completes, you'll receive a response message.