Multiobjective formulation for last-mile optimization in wireless networks

Abstract

Internet of Things (IoT) is a technology that serves as the basis for smart environments. The ever-expanding set of applications that provide intelligence in different scenarios is continually growing and expanding. From precision agriculture to the development of sustainable smart cities, the need to have a communications infrastructure that allows the connectivity of sensors, actuators, and users becomes essential. In what is known as the “last mile,” wireless networks are the fastest growing group. For these to be operational, it is necessary to connect them to the Internet through gateways. These gateways handle different communication technologies and are therefore expensive nodes to install and maintain. Defining their location and their ability to “route” messages involves a combinatorial optimization problem. In this work in progress, a multiobjective integer linear programming model (minimizing number of gateways, used energy, and transmission time) is presented. To the best of our knowledge, previous literature does not include any optimization framework encompassing all these three objectives together.