9th International Conference on Computer and Knowledge Engineering (ICCKE 2019), October 24-25 2019, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
Designing of Communication Systems in Advanced
Metering Infrastructure (AMI) using Wi-Fi
Offloading Technology
Mohammad Shahraeini
Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Golestan University
Gorgan, Iran
m.shahr@gu.ac.ir
Abstract—Smart grid denotes creating a two-way
communication infrastructure connected to the electrical
infrastructure. One of the most important steps of establishing
smart grids in distribution level is the implementation of
Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). A variety of methods
have been proposed to create a suitable platform for AMI, one of
the most widely used of which is the use of data services of
cellular networks. On the other hand, data volume in cellular
networks has risen sharply and the need for data traffic
management is highly felt. The Wi-Fi Offloading technique is one
of the optimal methods for data traffic management in cellular
networks. This study is assigned to the design of a data offloading
platform for AMI. The proposed problem has been implemented
and solved in the form of an optimization problem with a genetic
algorithm. The simulation results indicate that data offloading
has the ability for 100% management of AMI traffic. The results
also show that increasing the coverage range of Wi-Fi antenna
has a better performance than increasing the number of Wi-Fi
access points.
Keywords—Smart Grids; Advanced Metering Infrastructure
(AMI); Wi-Fi Offloading; Genetic Algorithm (GA)
I. INTRODUCTION
The term “Smart Grid” is a new concept that has been
raised since the beginning of 21st century. A smart grid is a
network that provides the ability of monitoring, protection,
and remote control on the electrical infrastructure through
integrating a two-way communication infrastructure to an
electrical infrastructure [1]. In general, establishing of smart
grid can be performed at different levels in electrical grids i.e.
generation, transmission and distribution levels [2]. Such an
implementation is of great importance at the level of energy
distribution, because most of consumptions and losses are in
distribution level, and on the other hand, the distribution
network is made up of a large number of micro domestic,
commercial, industrial and agricultural customers. The items
listed above have made metering of customers’ accurate
consumption always one of the most important and
challenging issues in distribution networks. To solve the posed
challenge, the concept of Advanced Metering Infrastructure
(AMI hereafter) has been proposed.
978-1-7281-5075-8/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE
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Zeinab Farmani
Dept. of Computer Engineering
Islamic Azad University, Garmsar Branch
Garmsar, Iran
The AMI system offers an infrastructure in which the
possibility of reading and management of meters is provided
[3]. The main part of this infrastructure is the measuring
equipment inside the meters, which should be digitized and
smart. In recent years, many activities have been conducted
regarding the production, development and standardization of
smart meters [2, 3]. Another important part of the AMI
infrastructure is the two-way communication network, which
provides the two-way communication for smart meters. Due to
the high number of smart meters and their distribution in a
geographic area, the problem of designing the AMI
communication infrastructure has become one of the important
issues of smart distribution grids. Various methods have been
used for designing the communication infrastructure of the
AMI system, including RF radio, Wi-Fi and WiMax
technologies, mobile cellular networks-based design. Data
transmission on GSM platform and GPRS platform are among
these methods [2].
The use of cellular data networks for the AMI
communication infrastructure has its own specific advantages
and disadvantages; one of its advantages is the lack of need for
infrastructure spending. One of the major disadvantages of this
communication method is the failure to ensure connection and
bandwidth. This problem is more evident in the old
generations of cellular networks, because the main objective
of these networks was voice communications, not data
communications. The above problem has been solved to some
extent in the new generation cellular networks, but the type of
data service provided by these new generation networks is not
also suitable for the data of smart meters. The reason for it is
that these networks are generally designed for high-volume
Internet communications, and connectivity is of secondary
importance and the main attention is focused on bandwidth,
while the data from smart meters do not require much
bandwidth, but the ability of high connectivity is crucial.
Another problem with cellular networks is the increasing
volume of data in these networks. In previous research, Cisco
predicted that global mobile data traffic will increase by 18
times between the years 2011 and 2016, and the prediction
was met. In this study, it is estimated that about 71% of
mobile data will be related to downloading and sharing of
image data [4]. On the other hand, and despite the high and
growing volumes of data in the cellular network, establishing
priorities for specific data, such as smart meters is difficult.
In order to solve the problems described above, various
researches and attempts have been carried out in recent years.
Some results of these investigations have been to provide
methods such as increasing the number of radio base stations,
updating the technology of accessing radio cells, and mobile
data traffic offloading. Given the high costs of increasing the
number of base stations and updating cellular networks,
mobile data offloading has attracted more attention [5].
Mobile data offloading technology uses complementary
networks to deliver data in cellular networks. There are
several techniques to use the mobile data offloading
technology, one of the most important of which is femtocell
technology and Wi-Fi networks [6].
Femtocell technology operates in accordance with the laws
and rules existing in macro-cells of cellular networks. Due to
this, there is generally no need for separate hardware in order
to use Femtocell technology. Wi-Fi offloading technology can
be used when the cellular data network and Wi-Fi network
overlap. In this situation, data is offloaded via the Wi-Fi
network, which reduces data traffic in the cellular network. In
this method of offloading, the end-user device must support
Wi-Fi technology [6].
Many investigations have focused on the design of
offloading technology in cellular networks during recent
years. In 2011, Ristanovich et al. have introduced two
algorithms based on placement of access points (APs
hereafter) with names Hotzones and Mixzones to reduce
traffic in cellular networks. In addition to reducing network
traffic, the proposed method also saves energy of battery for
Smartphone of the users [10]. In 2012, Bulut and his colleague
have presented a new method for Wi-Fi AP deployment.
There, different weights are considered for different accesses
[5]. In 2013, Kim et al. initially defined the parameter
“average output per subscriber” as a benchmark when a Wi-Fi
network offloads a cellular network data. Then, the minimum
number of APs to design an offloading technology with
demonstrated efficiency has been achieved using this criterion
defined and using a mathematical method [11].
Since AMI systems were introduced, the use of various
wireless technologies for the creation of the communication of
AMI has been raised. An architecture for the AMI system to
use the GSM and GPRS technologies has been suggested in
[7]. A method for the implementation of communication
infrastructure using RF technology has been introduced in [8].
This system has been implemented in the city of Orumiyeh in
Iran. Wi-Fi and ZigBee technologies are also used in the AMI
system. In [9], these two technologies, i.e. WSN based on Wi-
Fi and Zigbee, have been compared with each other in terms
of efficiency. The study has shown that Wi-Fi technology has
better conditions than wireless technology in terms of price,
transmission rate and transmission capacity.
By reviewing previous researches raised, it is found that
less researches have been conducted on the design of
offloading technology for the AMI system.
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Taking into account the facts outlined above, it can be
concluded that wireless technologies (such as cellular
networks, ZigBee technology, and Wi-Fi networks), due to the
lack of need to invest on a wired platform, are suitable method
for implementing the communication infrastructure of AMI
system. On the other hand, the structure of cellular networks
and their increasing traffic has provided conditions that the
data services of such networks are not appropriate for smart
meters and the need to upgrade cellular networks is felt. For
this reason, the motivation for this research is the design of a
Wi-Fi offloading technology as communication infrastructure
of the AMI system and compares different scenarios in
designing approach. We will compare different approach in
our designing method; one approach is the variation of number
of the APs in the network, while another one is to consider
variant antenna range for APs.
A. Positioning of the Proposed Method
As previously discussed, many researchers have been done
in the fields of “advanced metering infrastructure” and
“automatic meter reading” [7]-[9],[12]-[15]. Some studies aim
to design communication infrastructure of AMI/AMR [7]-
[9],[13],[15]; while some studies focus on the software
development of the such systems [14]. In our recent work
[12], we have introduced using Wi-Fi offloading in the
communication of the smart grids. In a similar work [16], the
authors introduced a genetic algorithm method in order to
design communication infrastructure of metering devices.
There, the main concern was efficiency of the algorithm, while
in this study our main concern will be to find the effective
scenario in development of Wi-Fi offloading in smart grids
(i.e. placement variation vs. antenna range variation).
B. Paper Structure
This paper consists of the following sections. Section II of
the article is dedicated to the introduction of smart grids, the
communication infrastructure of these networks and the smart
metering system. Section III describes the data offloading in
cellular networks. Formulation of the problem using the
genetic algorithm (GA) is described in Section IV of this
article. The Section IV is devoted to the implementation of
problem using the algorithm of Section III. The simulation
results are presented and discussed in Section V of this article.
This article ends with the conclusion in Section VI.
II. SMART GRIDS DEFINITION AND STRUCTURE
Smart grid is a new concept, which has recently been
introduced to literature of power systems. This concept means
the creation of a telecommunication infrastructure with the
capability of two-way communication that is fully
interconnected with the electrical infrastructure and allows
monitoring, protection and real-time control over wide
geographical area [1]. As a result, the creation of a
telecommunication infrastructure capable of two-way
communication is the first step in establishing a smart grid.
Generally, smart grid concept may be implemented in
electrical networks in different levels; generation,
transmission, sub-transmission, and distribution. Normally, in
the distribution level, one of the most important applications
of smart grid is the establishment of AMI. Given the diversity
of consumption at the distribution level as well as the large
number of costumers in the distribution network, measurement
of consumption in distribution networks has been one of the
major challenges of such networks from the beginning.
A. Communication Infrastructure in Smart Grids
Various methods have been suggested for creating
communication infrastructure of smart grids. It has been
demonstrated that the characteristics of a communication
network highly affect the characteristics of their transmission
media [2]. For example, a network implemented with optical
fiber has inherently acceptable immunity against electrical
noises.
As discussed earlier, the creation of a communications
infrastructure capable of two-way communication is an
essential component to implementing a smart grid. Various
methods to implement this infrastructure have been proposed
so far. In [2], Shahraeini et al. examined and classified variety
of different techniques of communication infrastructure
implementation for smart grids.
One of the most commonly used methods in the
implementation of communication infrastructures for smart
grids at distribution level is the use of “Unguided Media” and
wireless communications. The types of wireless
communications, which can be used in smart grids are
investigated in [2], including GSM modem, GPRS, RF
transmission, and Wi-Fi/Wi-Max technologies.
B. Smart Metering System
Remote metering as well as remote reading of distribution
network meters equipment has long been considered. Due to
the advancement of communication networks and reducing the
costs of such networks, the Automatic Meter Reading (AMR)
and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) has been
proposed in recent years. The main difference between AMR
and AMI is that AMR only has the ability of remote reading,
while AMI provides the remote control of the metering device,
in addition to reading. New metering devices (also referred to
as “smart meters” in general) consist of the following
modules: power modules, metering modules, and
communication modules. In addition to the above modules,
the meters also have a control module in AMI.
In AMI, the use of wireless communications is a common
and suitable method for establishing communication
infrastructure. The reason for this can be explained as follows:
Firstly, the number of distribution subscribers and
consequently the number of metering devices is very high,
which have been distributed in a wide geographical area. This
causes that the use of “Guided Media” such as twisted pair
wire, coaxial cable, and fiber optics to be very expensive.
Secondly, the structure of the AMI is constantly changing, and
the modification of the structure of guided communication
infrastructure such as fiber imposes a very high cost on the
system operator. The last, but not the least significant, reason
is that the volume of data of each metering device is low,
which can be simply supplied by wireless communications.
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All the cases discussed above illustrate the importance of
wireless infrastructure in AMI. For this reason, the motivation
for this study is to design a new method for implementing
such an infrastructure.
III. DATA OFFLOADING
With regard to the increasing development of devices such
as Smartphone and laptops, the use of mobile data services is
increasing rapidly. Among the activities that increase mobile
data are the use of social networks, web browsers,
downloading audio and video files, as well as sharing digital
images [6]. In an industrial research which has been done in
2012, Cisco predicted that global mobile data traffic will
increase by 18 times between the years 2011 and 2016, and
the prediction is met. There, it was estimated that about 71%
of mobile data will be related to downloading and sharing of
image data and this fact has been proved nowadays [4].
Despite such explosion in mobile data, cellular networks
seem to lose their effectiveness in the near future.
In order to solve the problems, various researches and
attempts have been conducted in recent years. The results of
these investigations are to provide methods such as increasing
the number of radio base stations, updating the technology of
accessing radio cells, and mobile data traffic offloading. Given
the high costs of increasing the number of base stations and
updating cellular networks, mobile data offloading has
attracted more attention [5].
Mobile data offloading technology uses complementary
networks to deliver data in cellular networks. There are
several techniques to use the mobile data offloading
technology, one of the most important of which is femtocell
technology and Wi-Fi networks [6].
Femtocell technology has been provided to improve the
quality of data services in cellular networks. Femtocell
technology operates in accordance with the rules existing in
macro-cells of cellular networks. It is essential to note that
mobile data offloading using femtocell technology is very
efficient strategy. The most important advantage of using
femtocell technology is that Smartphone of users do not need
any additional hardware. This is because femtocell technology
uses rules similar to those used in cellular networks. However,
the user may need to purchase and install additional hardware
in order to implement femtocell technology. This will increase
the cost of setting up mobile data offloading using femtocell
technology. Although the use of femtocell technology has a
high initial costs, but considering the quality of this
technology, users who can afford to pay for these costs can
use it.
Wi-Fi networks use unlicensed frequency bands. For this
reason, they have no interference with 3G cellular networks.
Another advantage of using Wi-Fi networks is that the
network has expanded extensively in urban spaces, thus it is
always possible to access it. As well as, due to the spread of
this technology, users are more familiar with it and its use is
possible for all users. With regard to the advantages
mentioned for mobile data offloading with Wi-Fi networks,
the main focus of this paper is on this type of data offloading.
 IV. PROBLEM FORMULATION 2) Fitness Function
In this research, the assumption is that communication The equations (1) and (2) calculate the coverage of a
module of smart meters has GSM and Wi-Fi modems to use particular access point (the jth one i.e. aj) for the meters and
one of these modems to send and receive data, based on LDCs, respectively.
cellular mobile network or Wi-Fi coverage. Smart meters can
be in turn divided into three household, commercial, and
industrial categories in an urban consumption environment. Ij
met
{
= i ∈ [1, n]; ri − a j ≤ R } for j ∈ [1, M ] (1)
Regardless of their type, all smart meters in the proposed
method have the same value and there is no difference
between them.
I j = {i ∈ [1, k ]; pi − a j } for j ∈ [1, M ]
ldc
≤R (2)
Local data concentrators (LDCs hereafter) have the task of
collecting and managing the data of their covered area meters.
LDCs in an electricity smart grid are the main interface where, n is the number of meters, and k stands for the number
between the central control center and the final users. Hence, of LDCs in the area j.
the role of these data collectors is very important. Given the met ldc
importance of LDCs in the distribution smart grid as well as Having the sets Ij and Ij , the total weights of the
important data that must be sent and received by these meters and LDCs covered by each access point can be
collectors, LDCs in the proposed method will enjoy more calculated. Equation (3) shows how to calculate the weight
importance than the consumers’ power meters. covered by an access point.
In this study, n numbers of smart meters and k LDCs have
been pre-allocated in a given urban space. According to those
=  t∈ wmet + t∈ , j ∈ [1, M ]
AP
mentioned above, the coverage value for LDCs is wldc higher
than the coverage value for smart meters (wmet). There are also
wj met
Ij Ij
cc wldc (3)

44 pre-installed tower with a specified location, which allows

the installation of AP on it. The coverage radius of the APs is
intended to be equal to the value of R. Figure 2 shows an M
wj
AP
urban space sample. w= (4)
j =1

A. Proposed Genetic Algorithm

While introducing the genetic algorithm, we describe the
details of the proposed algorithm in this section. The Genetic
Algorithm (GA) was presented by John Holland in 1962, and
developed in the 1960s and 1970s with his efforts, colleagues
and students at the University of Michigan in America.
Holland’s book entitled “Adaptation in Natural and Artificial
Systems” was published in 1975 [12]. Since then, a lot of
research has been done on the basic and applied fields of the
algorithm. The results presented from the research conducted
reflect the ability of the algorithm to solve various problems.
In order to clarify the proposed method in this section,
beside introducing genetic algorithm, we also describe how to
implement it in this study as well. The parameters of the
genetic algorithm used are set as follows.
1) Coding
One-dimensional chromosomes are used in the proposed
method. Considering that the number of candidates where
access points can be placed in them is equal to N, the
chromosome designed will be a N-dimensional vector. Each
chromosome is made up of the N gene. Each gene in the
chromosome is assumed to be bit value i.e. can be zero or one.
The value of zero in a gene indicates that the access point is
not in the position of the gene, and the value of one represents
the placement of an access point in that position. As the
number of access points is equal to M in the problem, so there
will be a value of 1 in each chromosome to the number of M.
where, wmet and wldc are respectively, the weights of meters
and LDCs, and w stands for the total coverage of all APs
presented by a chromosome.
3) Initial Population
The values of genes in the produced chromosomes will be
randomly generated. A remarkable thing in the production of
the initial population is that all chromosomes must have a
certain number of the value one in their genes (i.e. M).
4) Selection
To select the best chromosomes in each population, the
Roulette Wheel selection operator is used in the proposed
method. The chromosomes selected by this operator can
produce the next generation of chromosomes. As it is clear,
we need to calculate the probability of choosing each
chromosome for using Roulette Wheel to select the
chromosomes. Equation (5) shows the probability of selecting
chromosomes in Roulette Wheel based on the presented
problem.
wi
PSelectioni = (5)
 j =1 w j
M
5) Crossover
In order to produce better offspring and closer optimal
solution, a two-point crossover operator is used in the
proposed method. Initially, two chromosomes of the
population generated in the Roulette Wheel operator are

63
randomly selected and then, considering the probability of Also, authorized locations considered in the studied area are
crossover of Pc determined, the two-point crossover operator marked with a cross sign.
is applied on the parents.
As previously mentioned, the cost of access points
Due to the design problem chromosomes, two random placement in authorized locations is intended to be fixed. In
numbers within the range [1,N] are initially selected in the the study, this cost is considered to be $ 2000. In addition to
two-point crossover operator. The numbers selected in this the cost of access point placement at an authorized location,
range will be the crossover points. After selecting the the antenna used for mobile data transmission also has a
crossover points in the two parent chromosomes, the existing different expense. The cost of the antenna is determined
genes between these points are swapped in the chromosomes according to the antenna coverage range. The costs intended
and produce two new offspring. Finally, the number of bits for antennas with a range of 100, 150, 200 and 250 meters that
equal to 1 should be M, as described before. can be placed on access points are $ 500, $ 750, $ 1000, and $
1250, respectively.
6) Mutation
In order to apply the mutation operator, initially a As previously mentioned, the length (XL) and width (YL) of
chromosome is randomly selected from the current population studied area are assumed to be 1000m. The number of meters,
and, given the probability of Pm mutation; the mutation the authorized locations and the LDCs are assumed to be 500,
operator is applied on the chromosome. The Swap Mutation 44, and 16, respectively.
Voucher has been used in the designed genetic algorithm. In
this operator, two genes from one chromosome are selected TABLE I. PARAMETERS OF PROPOSED GENETIC ALGORITHM
randomly, and then these two genes are swapped together and
produce a new response. The total number of 1 bits in the Parameter Value Parameter Value
chromosome is checked. # of genes 44 # of population 100
Weight of LDC wldc=0.9 Weight of metering wmet=0.4
7) Stop Condition # of Roulette Wheel 100 # of Generation 300
There are different criteria for stopping the genetic Mutation Probability Pm=0.1 Crossover probability Pc=0.7
algorithm. In the designed genetic algorithm, the criterion
number of generations has been used. In fact, the genetic
The parameters used in the genetic algorithm along with
algorithm will end after a specified iteration. The final answer
their values are shown in Table I.
from the implementation of the genetic algorithm will be the
best chromosome in the last generation.

V. IMPLEMENTATION OF PROPOSED ALGORITHM

In this section, we will solve a sample problem to prove
the effectiveness of the proposed method. The intended work
environment in this study is defined as a two-dimensional one,
which represents the hypothetical map of the communications
in a smart grid. The dimensions intended for the work
environment are shown with the variables XL and YL. The
value set for this dimension is equal to 1000 meters.
The number of n electricity meters and k LDCs are Fig. 1. Classification of senarios for AP placement
randomly and manually distributed in the studied area. The
number of 500 electricity meters and the number of 16 LDCs To evaluate the designed genetic algorithm and its
have been considered for the hypothetical working performance, this algorithm has been implemented and
environment. performed on different scenarios. In general, two categories of
scenarios are considered. In the first category scenarios, the
The authorized scenarios selected in this study are
number of APs is intended to be fixed, and by changing the
designed according to the studied area, and the placement of
range of APs’ antenna, the cost and coverage area achieved
the meters and LDCs that have been manually placed in the
will be evaluated and compared. Unlike first category
environment. The main objective in this research is to
scenarios, the antenna range used in the second category
determine the best locations for the placement of APs, so that
scenario is considered to be fixed, and the number of APs
they can create the maximum coverage area with the lowest
varies. In the second category scenarios, the purpose is to
cost. Authorized locations intended for the placement of APs
evaluate and compare the cost and coverage area as well.
as well as the studied area designed are considered to be fixed
Figure 1 shows the classification of scenarios.
in different scenarios. Because the designed studied area is
hypothetical, so the cost of AP’s placement in each of the As mentioned above, eight different scenarios were
authorized locations is considered to be the same. Figure 2 examined in order to evaluate the proposed genetic algorithm
shows the distribution of electricity meters and LDCs in the for better data offloading in AMI. In all scenarios, the
studied area. It should be noted that the electricity meters are designed work environment was the same as well as, all
represented by solid diamonds and LDCs with a plus sign. general and genetic parameters were considered to be fixed.
Only the parameters of the number of available APs and the

64
antenna range were considered as a variable parameter for
each scenario.

TABLE II. RESULTS FOR FIRST CATEGORY SCENARIOS

Antenna
Scenario No. Covered Area Cost (dollars)
Range
Scenario 1 100 m 55.758 50000
Scenario 2 150 m 88.26 55000
Scenario 3 200 m 99.347 60000
Scenario 4 250 m 100 65000
Number of Positions 44 - Number of APs 20
Table II shows the results obtained from the
implementation of the genetic algorithm on scenarios in the
first category. Table III also shows the results obtained from
the implementation of the genetic algorithm on the second
category scenarios.

TABLE III. PARAMETERS OF PROPOSED GENETIC ALGORITHM Fig. 2. Proposed placement for 28 access points (end position of the second
scenario).
Scenario No. Number of APs Covered Area Cost (dollars)
Scenario 5 M = 20 88.26 55000 The placement performed for the last row of Table III (i.e.
Scenario 6 M = 23 93.77 63250 28 access points) is shown in Figure 2. It can be explained that
Scenario 7 M = 25 95.218 68750 locations deployed are marked with circles. The evaluation of
Scenario 8 M = 28 96.572 77000
the generation of this scenario (i.e. 28 access points) is shown
Number of Positions 44 - Range of APs 150 m
in Figure 3.

Considering the results obtained from the implementation

of eight different scenarios, it can be stated that the use of first
category scenarios has a more efficiency than second one. In
fact, a greater percentage of the working environment will be
covered in the first category scenarios by increasing the
antenna range, while the estimated cost is much lower than the
second category scenarios. In other words, the scenarios in the
first category have a better performance than the scenarios in
the second category in terms of coverage/cost criterion. For
example, scenario 3, with respect to coverage of more than
99% of the area, costs only $ 60000, while scenarios 6, 7, 8 in
the second category with lower coverage rates have higher
costs. The advantages of our proposed method over method
presented in [16] are as follows: firstly; our goal is to find
cost/performance effective scenarios for designing of
offloading, while there, the main concern was the performance
of the proposed GA. Secondly; we use a unique type of the AP
in each scenario that benefits the “easy-maintenance” Fig. 3. The evaluation of generations for fixed number of APs (no. of APs is
communication network, conversely in [16] they used three equal to 28).
different APs that causes higher expense in installation and
maintenance.
VI. CONCLUTION
Among the four scenarios in the first category, scenario 4,
at a cost equivalent to $ 650000, has been able to cover the The aim of this study is the placement of APs to build the
entire work environment. In fact, all data in the smart grid can Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) communication
be exchanged for offloading by the coverage of the entire infrastructure in such a way as to create the maximum
working environment. As a result, it can be stated that this coverage area. Because there are two elements of the metering
scenario has the highest efficiency, although determining of and data concentrator in the smart grid used in this research,
the scenario in question should be set considering the amount the more coverage area is the coverage of a greater number of
of cost and coverage required in different working meters and LDCs.
environments. The problem of AP placement in the smart grid
environment can be considered as an optimization problem.
Considering the dimensions intended for the smart grid
environment, as well as the number of meters and LDCs

65
available, the problem can be considered as a large-scale
optimization problem. In order to solve such problems, the
nature-inspired algorithms like genetic algorithms can be used.
In this study, the genetic algorithm has been used to solve the
problem of deploying access points.
The results obtained from the implementation of the
genetic algorithm on the defined scenarios demonstrate that
the change in the antenna range parameter is much more
important than the number of access points that are placed in
the designed work environment.
Escaping from local-minimums is one of the important
weaknesses of the genetic algorithm. In order to solve this
problem of the genetic algorithm, a better genetic algorithm
can be designed by designing a hybrid genetic algorithm as
well as designing selection, crossover and improved mutation
operators. In addition to the genetic algorithm, other nature-
inspired algorithms such as the ant colony algorithm,
gravitational search algorithm, or neural network can be used.
New hybrid scenarios can be presented in order to find
solutions with high coverage and low cost.
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