The result of damage detection from on-site measurements is commonly polluted by unavoidable measurement noises. It is widely recognized that this side influence could be reduced to some extent if the sensor placement was properly designed. Although many methods have been proposed to find the optimal number and location of mono-type sensors, the optimal layout of multi-type sensors need further investigation, because a network of heterogeneous sensors is commonly used in engineering. In this paper, a new criterion of the optimal placement for different types of sensors is proposed. A corresponding heuristic is developed to search for good results. In addition, Monte Carlo simulation is suggested to design a robust damage detection system which contains certain redundancies. The validity of these methods is illustrated by two bridge examples.