Title: Genetic algorithm and pure random search for exosensor distribution optimisation

Authors: Michael P. Poland; Christopher D. Nugent; Hui Wang; Liming Chen

Addresses: Computer Science Research Institute and School of Computing and Mathematics, University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, BT37 0QB, UK ' Computer Science Research Institute and School of Computing and Mathematics, University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, BT37 0QB, UK ' Computer Science Research Institute and School of Computing and Mathematics, University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, BT37 0QB, UK ' Computer Science Research Institute and School of Computing and Mathematics, University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, BT37 0QB, UK

Abstract: The positioning, amount(s) and field of view(s) of exosensors are a fundamental characteristic of a smart home environment. Contemporary smart home sensor distribution is aligned to either: a) a total coverage approach; b) a human assessment approach. These methods for sensor arrangement are not data driven strategies, are unempirical, and frequently irrational. Little research has been conducted in relation to optimal resource allocation in smart homes environments. This study aimed to generate globally optimal sensor distributions for a smart home replica-kitchen using two distinct methodologies, namely a genetic algorithm (GA) and a pure random search algorithm (PRS), to ascertain which method is appropriate for this task. GA outperformed PRS consistently, with a coverage percentage that encapsulated an average of 43.6% more inhabitant spatial frequency data. The results of this study indicate that GA provides more optimal solutions than PRS for exosensor distributions in a smart home environment.

Keywords: smart homes; smart environments; genetic algorithms; pure random search; PRS; optimisation; exosensor distribution; exosensors; sensor distribution.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBIC.2012.051408

International Journal of Bio-Inspired Computation, 2012 Vol.4 No.6, pp.359 - 372

Received: 07 Jun 2012
Accepted: 24 Sep 2012
Published online: 22 Sep 2014 *

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