Build a Search-Based Delivery Router for a Madrid Grocery Startup
Overview
What this challenge is about.
Build a search-based delivery router for a Madrid grocery startup using A* and a baseline strategy. Compare results and earn a verifiable certificate.
The scenario
FreshDash operates four geographic delivery zones across Madrid with a fleet of bicycle and scooter couriers, promising grocery delivery within a fixed window after each order is placed. Route planning is currently done manually by shift dispatchers, so quality swings with whoever is on duty and cannot keep pace with rising order volume.
The Brief
What you'll do, and what you'll demonstrate.
Replace manual courier route planning with a classical AI search router that beats hand-planned routes on total distance and on-time-delivery rate while planning each route in under two seconds.
Earning criteria — what you'll demonstrate
- Model a real routing problem as a state-space search and implement A* with a defensible domain heuristic.
- Design and tune a heuristic, then quantify its impact against a contrasting baseline strategy.
- Evaluate algorithms rigorously on held-out data, reporting variance and tail latency rather than only averages.
- Translate benchmark results into a clear, trade-off-aware production recommendation for a non-technical stakeholder.
Program Fit
Where this fits in your program.
Sharpens the same skills your degree expects you to demonstrate.
Aligned coursework coming soon.
Skills
Skills you'll demonstrate.
Each one shows up on your verified credential.
- Search Algorithms
Apply search algorithms to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Intelligent Agents
Apply intelligent agents to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Python Programming
Apply python programming to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Algorithm Evaluation
Apply algorithm evaluation to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Heuristic Design
Apply heuristic design to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Performance Benchmarking
Apply performance benchmarking to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
Careers
Career paths this challenge builds toward
Completing this challenge demonstrates skills that transfer directly to these roles:
AI/Optimization Software Engineer
Building a working router that turns a messy real-world routing problem into a search problem mirrors production optimization work, where you implement informed search, design heuristics, and ship a service that meets a hard latency budget.
This challenge sharpens
- search-algorithms
- heuristic-design
- python-programming
Backend Engineer, Logistics Platforms
Delivering a tested /route service with a strict planning-time budget reflects how logistics backends are built: correct, observable, and benchmarked against a real baseline before any rollout decision is made.
This challenge sharpens
- python-programming
- intelligent-agents
- performance-benchmarking
Machine Learning / Decision Systems Engineer
Comparing strategies on held-out data and writing a trade-off-aware recommendation is the core loop of decision-systems work, where rigorous evaluation and clear communication decide what actually ships.
This challenge sharpens
- algorithm-evaluation
- performance-benchmarking
- intelligent-agents