Design and implementation of a low-cost and reliable wireless mesh network for first-response communications
Angelie A. dela Cruz, Miguel Luis A. Parabuac, Nestor Michael C. Tiglao · 2016
The Philippines' location makes it prone to disasters, especially typhoons. Despite preparations made, thousands of lives are still lost. In situations like these, fast and uninterrupted communication is a must. Proper first response communication is vital in saving more lives. Yet the first response communications in place today are still dependent on telecommunication infrastructures, which are prone to problems like snapped wires and overloaded networks. Telecommunication infrastructures were originally not designed to handle situations like these; they cannot differentiate the priority of disaster-related messages and normal messages. In line with this, we proposed a backup or alternative for first response communications: wireless mesh networks. This method of communication is preferred for disaster scenarios because it is not totally dependent on infrastructures has self-healing and self-configuring capabilities. The wireless mesh network needs a mesh router or wireless access point, where the mesh clients (Android devices) can connect and an interface/application where the client and router will interact. This project established the wireless mesh network points using available hardware and develop an accompanying application. Features such as message caching were added. The network has also been tested for reliability, especially the MQTT messaging.