Optimum sensors allocation for a forest fires monitoring system

Abstract

Every year forest fires destroy millions of hectares of land worldwide. Detecting forest fire ignition in the early stages is fundamental to avoid forest fires catastrophes. In this approach, Wireless Sensor Network is explored to develop a monitoring system to send alert to authorities when a fire ignition is detected. The study of sensors allocation is essential in this type of monitoring system since its performance is directly related to the position of the sensors, which also defines the coverage region. In this paper, a mathematical model is proposed to solve the sensor allocation problem. This model considers the sensor coverage limitation, the distance, and the forest density interference in the sensor reach. A Genetic Algorithm is implemented to solve the optimisation model and minimise the forest fire hazard. The results obtained are promising since the algorithm could allocate the sensor avoiding overlaps and minimising the total fire hazard value for both regions considered.