Multi-objective genetic algorithm for the automated planning of a wireless sensor network to monitor a critical facility
Damien B. Jourdan, Olivier L. De Weck · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 2004
This paper examines the optimal placement of nodes for a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) designed to monitor a critical facility in a hostile region. The sensors are dropped from an aircraft, and they must be connected (directly or via hops) to a High Energy Communication Node (HECN), which serves as a relay from the ground to a satellite or a high-altitude aircraft. The sensors are assumed to have fixed communication and sensing ranges. The facility is modeled as circular and served by two roads. This simple model is used to benchmark the performance of the optimizer (a Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm, or MOGA) in creating WSN designs that provide clear assessments of movements in and out of the facility, while minimizing both the likelihood of sensors being discovered and the number of sensors to be dropped. The algorithm is also tested on two other scenarios; in the first one the WSN must detect movements in and out of a circular area, and in the second one it must cover uniformly a square region. The MOGA is shown again to perform well on those scenarios, which shows its flexibility and possible application to more complex mission scenarios with multiple and diverse targets of observation.