A Modified Differential Evolution for Source Localization Using RSS Measurements

In wireless sensor networks, evolutionary algorithms have emerged as pivotal tools for addressing complex localization challenges inherent in non-convex and nonlinear maximum likelihood estimation problems associated with received signal strength (RSS) measurements. While differential evolution (DE) has demonstrated notable efficacy in optimizing multimodal cost functions, conventional implementations often grapple with suboptimal convergence rates and susceptibility to local optima. To overcome these limitations, this paper proposes a novel enhancement of DE by integrating opposition-based learning (OBL) principles. The proposed method introduces an adaptive scaling factor that dynamically balances global exploration and local exploitation during the evolutionary process, coupled with a penalty-augmented cost function to effectively utilize boundary information while eliminating explicit constraint handling. Comparative evaluations against state-of-the-art techniques-including semidefinite programming, linear least squares, and simulated annealing-reveal significant improvements in both convergence speed and positioning precision. Experimental results under diverse noise conditions and network configurations further validate the robustness and superiority of the proposed approach, particularly in scenarios characterized by high environmental uncertainty or sparse anchor node deployments.