This thesis proposes a new set of techniques to enhance the coverage and organization of wireless mobile networks in the Public Safety context. Public Safety Networks (PSNs) are networks established by the authorities to either warn the population about an imminent catastrophe or coordinate teams during the crisis and normalization phases. A catastrophe can be defined as an extreme event causing a profound damage or loss as perceived by the afflicted people. PSNs have the fundamental role of providing communication and coordination for emergency operations.
The thesis contribution concentrates mainly in the alert and in the crisis handling disaster management phases. The solution proposed in the thesis to help in the alert phase is based on opportunistic networks and uses the communication equipment available with people, and that will be soon available also in cars, to overcome the lack of coverage problem. This technique, which we call Virtual Access Points (VAPs), creates a distributed and cooperative cache among the mobile nodes in the affected area aiding the spreading of warning messages. The problem we address for the crisis handling phase is topology management and network admission control. We provide solutions for building stable and reliable network structures, which are crucial in the coordination of rescue teams during the most difficult and adverse situations.
