Optimal sensor deployment in complex 3D terrain surface

Three-dimensional (3D) optimal sensor deployment is to plan the least sensors to cover the surface of the 3D terrain under the condition of reaching a certain coverage rate. Since the existing methods do not consider the terrain obscured effect, a 3D sensor deployment method based on viewshed and pattern search is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the problem is mathematically described by using the sensor detection model and terrain obscured effect. Secondly, the detailed implementation steps of the method are given. The viewshed algorithm is used to calculate the coverage rate of the sensors and establish the objective function. The pattern search algorithm is used to optimize the deployment location of sensors. Finally, the proposed method is verified by simulation. The simulation results show that the method can plan the least sensors on the surface of a given 3D complex terrain to reach a certain coverage rate, and avoid falling into the local optimization.