vehicle-mounted wireless mobile video surveillance system

I. Composition and Working Principle of the Onboard System

The onboard system serves as the core component of the vehicle-mounted wireless mobile video surveillance system, functioning as the front-end monitoring unit of the entire setup. The composition and working principle of the onboard system are illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Block Diagram of the Onboard System's Composition and Working Principle

As shown in Figure 1, the onboard system primarily consists of 4 to 8 surveillance cameras, a wireless network DVR (Digital Video Recorder) or DVS (Digital Video Server), as well as a microcomputer or laptop with a monitor, and optionally mobile phones and walkie-talkies.

This onboard system can be installed on various types of mobile vehicles or vessels, including but not limited to:

lPublic safety emergency response vehicles(e.g., riot control, disaster monitoring)

lTraffic police mobile surveillance units  

lPolice patrol cars (e.g., 110 emergency response vehicles)  

lRed Cross ambulances  

lBank cash-in-transit vehicles  

lTelevision news vans  

lPublic buses, long-distance coaches, and taxis  

lFire trucks  

lShips and helicopters  

Its primary function is to enable real-time monitoring of remote incident scenes. The number of cameras selected depends on the vehicle's size and specific surveillance requirements. Additionally,crosshair cameras (typically 1–2 units)may be included to measure target distance and size and to provide pre-alarm or alert functions for unstable or collapsible objects at the scene.

As illustrated in Figure 1, the video signals captured by the cameras are fed into an embedded wireless network DVR, wireless network DVS, or a PC-based wireless network DVR equipped with audio/video compression cards. This system performs two key functions:

1. Video Display: It splits and displays the video feeds on monitors and computer screens.

2. Video Encoding & Transmission: The video signals are compressed using MPEG-4, H.264, or the latest H.265 encoding standards and transmitted as digital signals over standard wireless mobile communication protocols (e.g., 4G/5G) to the wireless mobile network. From there, the data can be accessed by mobile terminals or sent to a remote monitoring and management center for further processing.

Furthermore, the microcomputer allows control over various onboard camera functions, including:

lMotorized zoom lenses  

lPan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) mechanisms  

lWiper blades for outdoor camera housings  

lInfrared (IR) light switches 

Notably, the specialized wireless network DVR or DVS serves as the core front-end device of the surveillance system, integrating multiple critical functions:

lVideo capture  

lVideo splitting  

lVideo encoding & compression  

lNetwork transmission  

lAlarm triggering  

These devices periodically collect video data at predefined intervals, encode selected analog video signals into compressed digital video streams (in the desired format), and wirelessly transmit them via public mobile communication network modules.

For enhanced low-light or nighttime surveillance, the system may also employ 3-variable lens night-vision cameras equipped with infrared spotlights to improve visibility in adverse weather conditions (e.g., heavy fog, rainstorms).

The onboard system of the wireless mobile surveillance front-end is powered by the vehicle’s battery. Each surveillance front-end connects to the monitoring center’s server via wireless mobile communication network channels, where the video surveillance software provides centralized display and unified management of all feeds.

II. Composition and Working Principle of the Vehicle-Mounted Wireless Mobile Video Surveillance System  

The vehicle-mounted wireless mobile video surveillance system​adopts an advanced wireless transmission network solution based on the H.264 video compression algorithm and the latest H.265 streaming media video data compression technology , integrating the data communication and digital video encoding capabilities of public mobile communication networks.

In this system, the video signals captured by cameras are first compressed by a video compression and encoding module, then transmitted via an intelligent wireless communication terminal to the public mobile communication network. This enables key functions such as video data exchange, transmission/reception, encryption/decryption, encoding/decoding, and link control & maintenance.

Depending on the application, real-time dynamic video is delivered to the nearest available mobile communication network (e.g., China Unicom)and can be accessed remotely via the Internet by connecting to the system server, allowing users to obtain live video feeds.

By combining the strengths of public mobile communication networks and the Internet, this system achieves breakthrough advancements in spatial coverage and transmission distance.

The composition and working principle of the vehicle-mounted wireless mobile video surveillance system are illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Composition and Working Principle Block Diagram of the Vehicle-Mounted Wireless Mobile Video Surveillance System

As illustrated in Figure 2, the vehicle-mounted wireless mobile video surveillance system primarily consists of four key components:

1.Front-End Monitoring System (Onboard Unit)  

2.Mobile Terminal  

3.Transmission Network  

4.Remote Monitoring and Management Center  

1. Front-End Monitoring System (Onboard Unit)  

This refers to the onboard system previously described (see Section I), which serves as the core front-end device for real-time video capture and initial processing.

2. Mobile Terminal  

The mobile terminal includes:

lSmartphones operating on 4G/5G networks with BREW/WinCE/Linux platforms  

lStandard 4G/5G mobile phones  

lPDAs (Personal Digital Assistants)  

lLaptops equipped with LTE network cards  

  Key Requirements:  

lThese devices must have specialized video decoding software installed to enable mobile video surveillance functionality.

lCameras-enabled smartphones can also act as mobile acquisition units, transmitting captured images not only to other mobile terminals but also directly to the remote monitoring center.

3. Transmission Network  

The system utilizes public mobile communication networks (4G/5G) to achieve real-time audio/video transmission.

Network Priority & Coverage:  

5G is the preferred choice for most deployments due to its superior speed and reliability.

4G is used as a fallback in areas with poor 5G signal coverage.

With the widespread commercialization of 4G and 5G, 5G transmission is now the dominant method.

Remote Access:  

lThe remote monitoring center can access real-time video feeds by connecting to the system server via the Internet.

lBy integrating public mobile networks and Internet connectivity, the system achieves unprecedented spatial and distance scalability.

4. Remote Monitoring and Management Center  

In addition to video walls and audio-visual alarm devices, the remote monitoring center consists of a logical server cluster, including:

lDatabase Server(for storage and retrieval)

lManagement Server(for system control and configuration)

lStreaming Media Server (for video distribution)

lBackup Server (for redundancy and failover)

System Overview & Advantages  

The vehicle-mounted wireless mobile video surveillance system integrates:

✅   Wireless mobile communication technology  

✅   Digital video encoding/decoding technology  

Key Workflow:

1.Video Capture & Compression:  

Cameras capture images, which are compressed and transmitted via wireless mobile communication interfaces to the public mobile network .

2.Real-Time Transmission:

Depending on the application, live video can be sent to:

lMobile phones  

lPDAs  

lCarrier network gateways  

3.Remote Access:  

Real-time video can also be retrieved via the Internet from carrier gateways  .

Outstanding Features:  

✔   Cost-effective & Reliable  

✔   High Efficiency & Convenience  

✔   Enhanced Security  

✔   Flexible Deployment in Mobile Environments

Unique Capabilities:  

"Thousand-Mile Eyes, Far-Reaching Ears, Ubiquitous Connectivity" – The system extends human vision without spatial limitations, enabling real-time monitoring from virtually anywhere.

Ideal for mobile surveillance, with highly adaptable and widespread deployment capabilities.

Conclusion:  

This mobile video surveillance system represents a significant advancement in remote monitoring technology, offering unparalleled flexibility,reliability,and real-time responsiveness for a wide range of applications.