United States of America As Represented by the Secretary of the Air Force

Joseph Anderson

Nicholas Black

Michael Anderson

Michael L Anderson

Joseph A Puglisi

Mary E Hood

A portable communication system for use in hostile and unknown environments. The system has a base station for control by an operator. The base station dispatches one or more unmanned drones into the hostile environment, where a forward agent, such a robot or investigative person can approach a suspected threat. Each drone has a payload of repeaters to be delivered as necessary to maintain line of sight communication from the forward agent back to the base station. Once delivered, the repeaters are mobile and can autonomously reposition to maintain or optimize line of sight communication. Communications from the forward agent back to the base station are then interpreted and analyzed for further action.

Method of establishing a communication system and communication system therefor

A repeater for maintaining wireless line of sight communications. The repeater is autonomously repositional in both absolute location and azimuthal orientation. The repeater has at least two vibratory motors, or other vibration sources, which provide oscillations to depending legs against a support surface. By selectively operating one or more of the vibration sources together or independently, the repeater may be moved as helpful to maintain line of sight communication with another repeater or other operational hardware. A command signal from a remote base station controls the locomotion of the repeater to provide both a change in absolute position relative to the surroundings and a rotational change in azimuthal orientation as necessary to maintain communication under dynamic conditions.

Repeaters for use in a hostile environment

A drone for delivering plural repeaters in a hostile environment and method of delivering plural repeaters from the drone. The drone is controllable from a remote base station and carries a payload of repeaters on a round tray. The tray has a dispensing hole, complementary to the geometry of the repeater for dispensing the repeaters as needed. Repeaters are consecutively dispensed at stations as determined by an operator. A central radial arm sweeps each repeater around the tray, in turn, until the hole is encountered and the repeater gravity drops to a surface below. The drone may have two or more vertically stacked trays to increase payload without increasing footprint.

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Edwards, CA, United States of America

Joseph Anderson