Performance analysis and application development of hybrid WiMAX-WiFi IP video surveillance systems

Traditional Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) analogue cameras installed in buildings and other areas of security interest necessitates the use of cable lines. However, analogue systems are limited by distance; and storing analogue data requires huge space or bandwidth. Wired systems are also prone to vandalism, they cannot be installed in a hostile terrain and in heritage sites, where cabling would distort original design. Currently, there is a paradigm shift towards wireless solutions (WiMAX, Wi-Fi, 3G, 4G) to complement and in some cases replace the wired system. A wireless solution of the Fourth-Generation Surveillance System (4GSS) has been proposed in this thesis. It is a hybrid WiMAX-WiFi video surveillance system. The performance analysis of the hybrid WiMAX-WiFi is compared with the conventional WiMAX surveillance models. The video surveillance models and the algorithm that exploit the advantages of both WiMAX and Wi-Fi for scenarios of fixed and mobile wireless cameras have been proposed, simulated and compared with the mathematical/analytical models. The hybrid WiMAX-WiFi video surveillance model has been extended to include a Wireless Mesh configuration on the Wi-Fi part, to improve the scalability and reliability. A performance analysis for hybrid WiMAX-WiFi system with an appropriate Mobility model has been considered for the case of mobile cameras. A security software application for mobile smartphones that sends surveillance images to either local or remote servers has been developed. The developed software has been tested, evaluated and deployed in low bandwidth Wi-Fi wireless network environments. WiMAX is a wireless metropolitan access network technology that provides broadband services to the connected customers. Major modules and units of WiMAX include the Customer Provided Equipment (CPE), the Access Service Network (ASN) which consist one or more Base Stations (BS) and the Connectivity Service Network (CSN). Various interfaces exist between each unit and module. WiMAX is based on the IEEE 802.16 family of standards. Wi-Fi, on the other hand, is a wireless access network operating in the local area network; and it is based on the IEEE 802.11 standards