Effectiveness-based Voronoi partition: a new tool for solving a class of location optimization problems

Abstract

In this article we provide a framework for optimal placement or deployment of facilities in a region of interest. We present a generalization of Voronoi partition, where functions modeling the effectiveness of facilities are used in the place of the usual distance measure used in the standard Voronoi partition and its variations. We illustrate the usefulness of the generalization in designing strategies for optimal deployment of multiple vehicles equipped with sensors, optimal placement of base stations in a cellular network design problem, and locational optimization of power plants.