Wireless Sensor Network Coverage Optimization: Comparison of Local Search-Based Heuristics

Abstract

The Maximum Lifetime Coverage Problem (MLCP) requires heuristic optimization methods due to its complexity. A real-world problem model determines how a solution is represented and the operators applied in these heuristics. Our paper describes adapting a local search scheme and its operators to MLCP optimization. The operators originate from three local search algorithms we proposed earlier: LSHMA, LSCAIA, and LSRFTA. Two steps of the LS scheme’s main loop can be executed in three different ways each. Hence, nine versions of the LS approach can be obtained. In experimental research, we verified their effectiveness. Test cases come from three benchmarks: SCP1, proposed and used in our earlier research on the three LS algorithms mentioned above, and two others found in the literature. The results obtained with SCP1 showed that the algorithm based on the hypergraph model approach (HMA) is the most effective. The remaining results of the other algorithms divide them into two groups: effective ones and weak ones. However, other benchmarks showed that the more redundant the coverage of points of interest (POIs) by sensors, the more effective the perturbation method from the approach inspired by cellular automata (CAIA). The findings expose the strengths and weaknesses of the problem-specific steps applied in the LS algorithms.