Finding the Optimal Path in 3D Spaces Using EDAs - The Wireless Sensor Networks Scenario

Abstract. In wireless sensor networks where sensors are geographically deployed in 3D spaces, a mobile robot is required to travel to each sensor in order to download the data. The effective communication ranges of sensors are represented by spheres with varying diameters. The task of finding the shortest travelling path in this scenario can be regarded as an instance of a class of problems called Travelling Salesman Problem with Neighbourhoods (TSPN), which is known to be NP-hard. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to this problem using Estimation of Distribution Algorithms (EDAs), which can produce significantly improved results compared to an approximation algorithm.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2007
• Where: ICANNGA
• Authors: Bo Yuan, Maria E. Orlowska, Shazia Wasim Sadiq
• Keywords: ICANNGA 2007, Sensors, Travelling Salesman Problem, Wireless Sensor Networks