Wireless Mesh Network Performance for Urban Search and Rescue Missions

TL;DR

This study evaluates the performance of wireless mesh networks in transmitting real-time canine pose estimation data during urban search and rescue missions, highlighting the impact of network size and environment on data accuracy and timeliness.

Contribution

It introduces propagation delay and packet delivery algorithms to assess WMN performance for time-critical rescue data in realistic building environments.

Findings

Real-time pose data can be reliably transmitted over WMN in rescue scenarios.

Network size and environment significantly affect data accuracy and delay.

Wireless mesh networks are viable for urgent data delivery in US&R missions.

Abstract

In this paper we demonstrate that the Canine Pose Estimation (CPE) system can provide a reliable estimate for some poses and when coupled with effective wireless transmission over a mesh network. Pose estimates are time sensitive, thus it is important that pose data arrives at its destination quickly. Propagation delay and packet delivery ratio measuring algorithms were developed and used to appraise Wireless Mesh Network (WMN) performance as a means of carriage for this time-critical data. The experiments were conducted in the rooms of a building where the radio characteristics closely resembled those of a partially collapsed building-a typical US&R environment. This paper presents the results of the experiments, which demonstrate that it is possible to receive the canine pose estimation data in realtime although accuracy of the results depend on the network size and the deployment environment.