WifiGO: Assessment of PUV Viability for Opportunistic Coverage Mapping of WiFi Networks

Current methods in mapping the availability of WiFi networks, such as crowdsourcing platforms (e.g. Project BASS and CoverageMap) and dedicated wardriving, face limitations in terms of data recency, volume, and cost-effectiveness. Due to the downsides of both these methods, opportunistic wardriving is proposed which utilizes public utility vehicles (PUVs). This study investigates the feasibility of PUVs as potential wardriving vehicles for opportunistic coverage mapping. This method is cost-efficient and removes the problem of data recency because of its continuous daily trips. The findings suggest that opportunistic wardriving with PUVs is viable for wardriving with its capability to detect a high volume of access points (APs). Multiple runs within the University of the Philippines Diliman campus showed the PUVs’ effectiveness in detecting a significant number of APs, with higher success rates at closer distances. Comparatively, warwalking detected fewer APs, but there was a significant overlap between the methods. The study also highlighted significant differences in detected AP types, with wardriving finding more mobile hotspots and miscellaneous devices than warwalking. Overall, the results underline the effectiveness of PUVs in providing extensive WiFi coverage data and further enhancements to the detection system could optimize the approach.