Robust Placement of Mobile Wireless Sensors in an Uncertain Water Distribution System

The deployment of sensors in the water pipe network to detect water pollution events is one of the main measures for a pollution warning system that protects the safety of drinking water for the residents. In recent years, mobile sensor technology has made significant progress. Compared with fixed sensors, mobile sensors have the advantage of saving costs and diversifying the space. In this paper, in considering the uncertainty of pollution events occurrence (when and where) thoroughly, we use the mobile sensor technology and robust sensor placement model (RSPM) to design a robust sensor network that can detect pollution events in water supply systems to ensure that the optimal sensor deployment scenario performs well in all achievable pollution scenarios. Compared with the sensor placement model that uses the stochastic programming method, the RSPM is proved to be better when the number of pollution events is large and the number of mobile sensors is limited.