Tactical rescue wireless base station
Systems, devices, and techniques described herein are directed to a tactical wireless base station, and applications thereof. A tactical wireless base station may include a plurality of hardware or software radios configured to facilitate communication over any wireless protocol. The tactical wireless base station may be deployed on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to search for a wireless signal of a target user equipment (UE) corresponding to a lost hiker, for example, in an area out of range of traditional base stations, and/or to locate the target UE to convey the location to rescuers. In some instances, a tactical wireless base station can be deployed in a handheld device and may coordinate with other tactical wireless base stations in order to triangulate a location of user equipment. Further, the tactical wireless base stations may be deployed during network outages to provide indications of events, such as during emergencies.
1. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) comprising:
a propulsion mechanism;
one or more processors;
a radio interface configured to communicate via one or more wireless protocols; and
memory storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the UAV to perform operations comprising:
moving to a deployment area associated with an emergency;
establishing a connection with at least one device located in the deployment area via at least one of the one or more wireless protocols;
authenticating the connection with the at least one device to indicate that the UAV is authorized to communicate with the at least one device via an emergency alert system, wherein the authenticating is based on credentials including a code, a password, an identification number, a public encryption key, or a private encryption key; and
sending a message to the at least one device via the connection.
2. The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the message is an alert associated with the emergency.
3. The UAV of claim 2 , wherein the alert is an audio, video, text, or haptic indication of an event associated with the emergency.
4. The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the message is an instruction to the at least one device to perform an action in response to the emergency.
5. The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the at least one device is a mobile device configured to communicate with a telecommunication network using at least one of the one or more wireless protocols, such that the UAV communicates with the mobile device in place of the telecommunication network during the emergency.
6. The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the at least one device is an Internet of Things (IoT) device.
7. The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the emergency is a pending emergency and the at least one device is unable to reach a telecommunication network via the one or more wireless protocols within the deployment area.
8. The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the emergency has caused an outage of a telecommunication network that uses the one or more wireless protocols within the deployment area.
9. A method, comprising:
receiving an indication of an emergency event;
in response to the indication of the emergency event, deploying a tactical wireless base station on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to a deployment area associated with the emergency event, wherein the tactical wireless base station is configured to communicate via one or more wireless protocols;
establishing, by the tactical wireless base station, communications with a plurality of user devices via at least one of the one or more wireless protocols;
authenticating, by the tactical wireless base station, the communications with individual ones of the plurality of user devices to indicate that the UAV is authorized to communicate via an emergency alert system; and
sending, by the tactical wireless base station, the indication of the emergency event or an emergency alert to the plurality of user devices via at least one of the one or more wireless protocols.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the authenticating is based on credentials including a code, a password, an identification number, a public encryption key, or a private encryption key.
11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the indication of the emergency event includes at least one of waypoints, navigation instructions, or a route directing the UAV to the deployment area.
12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the indication of the emergency event or the emergency alert sent to the plurality of user devices is at least one of an audio indication, a video indication, a text indication, or a haptic indication.
13. A method, comprising:
receiving an indication of an emergency event;
in response to the indication of the emergency event, deploying a tactical wireless base station on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to a deployment area associated with the emergency event, wherein the tactical wireless base station is configured to communicate via one or more wireless protocols;
transmitting, by the tactical wireless base station, on a plurality of channels to discover a wirelessly enabled device via at least one of the one or more wireless protocols;
determining, by the tactical wireless base station, a type of the wirelessly enabled device and a capability of the wirelessly enabled device;
determining, by the tactical wireless base station, an instruction for the wirelessly enabled device based on the type of the wirelessly enabled device and the capability of the wirelessly enabled device, wherein the instruction indicates an action associated with the capability to be performed by the wirelessly enabled device; and
sending, by the tactical wireless base station, the instruction to the wirelessly enabled device.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the wirelessly enabled device is a specific target wirelessly enabled device, and discovering the wirelessly enabled device comprises transmitting signals on the plurality of channels to search for the specific target wirelessly enabled device.
15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the wirelessly enabled device is a wirelessly-actuated valve, and the instruction directs the wirelessly-actuated valve to open or close.
16. The method of claim 13 , wherein the wirelessly enabled device is an autonomous vehicle, and the instruction includes directions for the autonomous vehicle to drive to a particular location.
17. The method of claim 13 , wherein the wirelessly enabled device is a remotely-activated traffic signal, and the instruction is related to a specific traffic pattern.
18. The method of claim 13 , wherein the indication of the emergency event includes at least one of waypoints, navigation instructions, or a route directing the UAV to the deployment area.
19. The method of claim 13 , wherein the indication of the emergency event includes the instruction.
20. The method of claim 13 , wherein the wirelessly enabled device is an Internet of Things (IoT) device.