MATLAB: Efficient sensor placement optimization

Question

Hello,

I have this pde model in which i want to put some temperature sensors in the superior face in order to know the temperature in a certain point (the red dot for example). The optimun solution will be covering all the face with sensors but this is non-viable.

So i want to know which coulb be the best algorithm in order to know which is the optimal number and position of the sensors for obtaining the temperature in a certain position.

Answer 1

This is a very relevant and interesting problem. Over the years, many research articles were published to find a solution for this problem. It is not a simple problem and hence requires some research. Here are some articles that you can leverage from:

• Sensor placement with multiple objectives for Structural Health Monitoring
• Optimal sensor placement
• Optimal sensor placement in structural health monitoring using discrete optimization
• Efficient Sensor Placement Optimization Using Gradient Descent and Probabilistic Coverage

First 3 used MATLAB to solve this. You can try to make it more manageable by fixing the number of sensors and use locations as design variables or vice versa. Hope this helps!