Does the turtlebot need wifi access to build a map?

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Does the turtlebot actually need a wifi connection to operate? I want to build a map of a large area in my office building. The building has wifi coverage, but it is spotty and sometimes the connection gets dropped.

I would like to drive the turtlebot around with a wireless joystick, and build a map using the gmapping tutorial. My question is, if the turtlebot's netbook loses the wireless connection along the way, will this cause problems with the processes?

Basically, I want to: 1) bringup the turtlebot 2) start the gmapping app: roslaunch turtlebot_navigation gmapping_demo.launch 3) Check from the workstation that the dashboard is ok (and then close it). 4) Start the joystick telop and drive around and build the map.

I am worried that if the wireless connection is dropped while I am driving it around to build the map, that ROS_HOSTNAME and ROS_MASTER_URI will no longer resolve on the turtlebot and the map app will fail.

Please let me know if there are any tricks to building a map like this, or if I am going about it incorrectly. It tried a short mapping experiment using key teleoperation from the workstation, and that failed when the connection was dropped. So, I am trying to understand the requirements better.

Thanks!