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arXiv · 1106.0349

Characteristics of Optimal Solutions to the Sensor Location Problem

David R. Morrison·Susan E. Martonosi
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Abstract

In [Bianco, L., Giuseppe C., and P. Reverberi. 2001. "A network based model for traffic sensor location with implications on O/D matrix estimates". Transportation Science 35(1):50-60.], the authors present the Sensor Location Problem: that of locating the minimum number of traffic sensors at intersections of a road network such that the traffic flow on the entire network can be determined. They offer a necessary and sufficient condition on the set of monitored nodes in order for the flow everywhere to be determined. In this paper, we present a counterexample that demonstrates that the condition is not actually sufficient (though it is still necessary). We present a stronger necessary condition for flow calculability, and show that it is a sufficient condition in a large class of graphs in which a particular subgraph is a tree. Many typical road networks are included in this category, and we show how our condition can be used to inform traffic sensor placement.

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David R. Morrison, Susan E. Martonosi. 2011-06-02. Characteristics of Optimal Solutions to the Sensor Location Problem. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-014-1638-y

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