Feasibility of OFDM and FHSS in a Single Home Automation and Security Network

In this paper we propose a method of communication for a wireless network used in home automation and security. The communication is a combination of OFDM for wireless cameras and GMSK FHSS for low power sensors. This would allow cheap and simple sensors to utilize advanced transceivers in cameras to add frequency hopping without increasing the current consumption compared to a single frequency network. The high data-rate video feed could run together with reliable low data-rate communication. We have used baseband simulations to show that this kind of communication is possible and pointed to possible problems which need to be overcome. This article can therefore be taken as an evaluation whether it is worth the time to start working on a prototype using software defined radio.