Online Traffic Surveillance: Impact of Wireless Communication on Video Quality.

The current wireless technological advancements in video surveillance are bound to shape the future of online traffic monitoring applications for intelligent transportation systems. The authors present the effect of using 802.11 b/g wireless technology on real-time traffic surveillance systems. Although numerous studies have focused on studying the quality requirements for video streaming using a simulation environment, there is limited information on such performance in a real world environment. This study analyzed key video quality parameters, including packet jitter and packet rate, suggesting necessary guidelines for the transportation agency personnel to use when evaluating and selecting surveillance and communication tools. Study of the packet jitter showed that jitter and skipped video are strongly correlated with one another. Moreover, tolerated jitter ranges were identified that would ensure smooth traffic surveillance video. Findings indicated that to avoid jitter-related problems and to minimize the discontinuity of surveillance video, a 1-s play-out buffer size should be added to traffic surveillance communication systems. Analysis of packet rate suggested that an average value of 23 packets/s can ensure smooth video continuity for traffic surveillance applications. Further analysis of multiple surveillance videos streaming simultaneously revealed the importance of knowing the available bandwidth for video transmission. Multiple video streaming over a wireless network indicated that the available bandwidth plays an important role in deciding the perceptual quality of the video. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]