3D Deployment Optimization of Wireless Sensor Networks for Heterogeneous Functional Nodes

The optimization of wireless sensor network (WSN) deployment is a current research hotspot, particularly significant in industrial applications. While some existing optimization methods focus more on balancing network coverage, connectivity, and deployment costs, aligning them with practical needs compared to single-performance optimization schemes, they still tend to be overly idealized. In practical applications, networks often face monitoring requirements for different data types, and some single-function sensors can be integrated into multifunctional sensors capable of monitoring multiple types of data. When encountering diverse data detection needs in a target area, this integration can be further considered to reduce deployment costs. Therefore, this paper designs a new multi-objective optimization problem aimed at optimizing heterogeneous-function wireless sensor networks, balancing coverage, connectivity, and cost, while introducing an additional cost dimension to meet the monitoring needs of different functional sensors in specific areas. This problem is a typical non-convex, multimodal, NP-hard problem. To address this, an improved Secretary Bird Optimization Algorithm (ISBOA) is proposed, incorporating Gaussian Cuckoo Mutation and a smooth exploitation mechanism. The algorithm is compared with the original SBOA, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA), and Northern Goshawk Optimization (NGO). Simulation results demonstrate that ISBOA exhibits a faster convergence speed and higher accuracy in both the 23 benchmark functions and the newly designed multi-objective optimization problem, significantly overcoming the shortcomings of the compared algorithms. Finally, for large-scale optimization problems, a minimum spanning tree domain reduction strategy is proposed, which significantly improves solving efficiency with a moderate sacrifice in accuracy.