To ensure reliable Internet of Things (IoT) applications, this study provides a new intelligent deployment technique for sensor nodes. The proposed intelligent deployment technique places sensor nodes in appropriate locations to achieve high levels of connectivity and, as a result, boost the WSN's overall reliability. To generate optimal sensor node coordinate positions, a modified version of the Expectation–Maximization method is utilized as a machine learning technique. Following that, each node's neighbours are determined, and links between them are built using the K-Nearest neighbour algorithm. Then, to assess the reliability of WSN, a novel algorithm is proposed. The proposed algorithms are all well-illustrated with appropriate examples. When the algorithms provided in this research are compared to certain existing methods in terms of node positioning accuracy (10%), network connectivity (10%), and estimated dependability values (5%), it is clear that the suggested strategy outperforms them in every way. [Display omitted] • Using Modified EM algorithm to generate optimal positions of sensors of WSNs. • A new algorithm based on node disjoint minimal path to evaluate reliability of WSNs. • Positioning accuracy, connectivity, and reliability were increased significantly. • Assess the impact of transmission range and time on values of reliability of WSNs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]