Camera deployment for video panorama generation in wireless visual sensor networks

In this paper, we tackle the problem of providing coverage for video panorama generation in Wireless Heterogeneous Visual Sensor Networks (VSNs) where cameras may have different price, resolution, Field-of-View (FoV) and Depth-of-Field (DoF). We utilize multi-perspective coverage (MPC) which refers to the coverage of a point from given disparate perspectives simultaneously. For a given minimum average resolution, area boundaries, and variety of camera sensors, we propose a deployment algorithm which minimizes the total cost while guaranteeing full MPC of the area (i.e., the coverage needed for video panorama generation) and the minimum required resolution. Specifically, the approach is based on a bi-level mixed integer program (MIP), which runs two models, namely master problem and sub-problem, iteratively. Master-problem provides coverage for initial set of identified points while meeting the minimum resolution requirement with minimum cost. Sub-problem which follows the master-problem finds an uncovered point and extends the set of points to be covered. It then sends this set back to the master-problem. Master-problem and sub-problem continue to run iteratively until sub-problem becomes infeasible, which means full MPC has been achieved with the resolution requirements. The numerical results show the superiority of our approach with respect to existing approaches.