Sensor placement determination for range-difference positioning using evolutionary multi-objective optimization

Abstract

This paper focuses on the application of a decision support system based on evolutionary multi-objective optimization 
for deploying sensors in an indoor localization system. Our methods aim to provide the human expert who works as the 
sensor resource manager with a full set of Pareto efficient solutions of the sensor placement problem. In our analysis, 
we use five scalar performance measures as objective functions derived from the covariance matrix of the estimation, 
namely the trace, determinant, maximum eigenvalue, ratio of maximum and minimum eigenvalues, and the uncertainty in a 
given direction. We run the multi-objective genetic algorithm to optimize these objectives and obtain the Pareto fronts. 
The paper includes a detailed explanation of every aspect of the system and an application of the proposed decision support 
system to an indoor infrared positioning system. Final results show the different placement alternatives according to the 
objectives and the trade-off between different accuracy performance measures can be clearly seen. This approach contributes 
to the current state-of-the art in the fact that we point out the problems of optimizing a single accuracy measure and propose 
using a decision support system that provides the resource manager with a full overview of the set of Pareto efficient solutions 
considering several accuracy metrics. Since the manager will know all the Pareto optimal solutions before deciding the final 
sensor placement scheme, this method provides more information than dealing with a single function of the weighted objectives. 
Additionally, we are able to use this system to optimize objectives obtained from fairly complex functions. On the contrary, 
recent works that are referenced in this paper need to simplify the localization process to obtain tractable problem formulations.