Methods and apparatus for wireless device communication

1. A method, in a first unmanned vehicle, the method comprising:

transmitting or receiving using a wireless functionality associated with the first unmanned vehicle;

establishing a device-to-device, D2D, wireless connection to a second unmanned vehicle

responsive to a failure of the wireless functionality associated with the first unmanned vehicle, the failure of the wireless functionality comprising at least one of failure of a wireless data connection of the first unmanned vehicle and failure of a positioning system connection of the first unmanned vehicle; and

responsive to receiving an operation command over the D2D wireless connection, performing an operation,

wherein

the step of performing the operation comprises performing a re-establishment operation to re-establish the wireless functionality associated with the first unmanned vehicle.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the wireless functionality comprises a first data connection between the first unmanned vehicle and a wireless communications network.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2 wherein the step of performing a re-establishment operation to re-establish the wireless functionality associated with the first unmanned vehicle comprises establishing a new network connection between the first unmanned vehicle and the wireless communication network.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3 wherein the step of establishing the new network connection comprises utilizing a second data connection between the second unmanned vehicle and the wireless communications network to communicate with the wireless communications network via the D2D connection.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the wireless functionality comprises a positioning system functionality.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5 wherein the step of performing a re-establishment operation to re-establish the wireless functionality associated with the first unmanned vehicle comprises

receiving positioning information from the second unmanned vehicle, and utilizing the positioning information to determine a location of the first unmanned vehicle.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of performing a re-establishment operation to re-establish the wireless functionality associated with the first unmanned vehicle comprises rebooting, resetting or reconfiguring the first unmanned vehicle.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

responsive to establishing the D2D wireless connection:

exchanging diagnosis certificates with the second unmanned vehicle; and

transmitting information relating to the first unmanned vehicle to the second unmanned vehicle over the D2D wireless connection.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8 further comprising,

transmitting a command to the second unmanned vehicle to transmit the information to a rescue center for determining, based on the information, a root cause of the failure of the wireless functionality and/or a recommended re-establishment operation for re-establishing the wireless functionality.

10. A first unmanned vehicle, the first unmanned vehicle comprising:

an interface; and

a processor, wherein the processor is operable to:

transmit or receive using a wireless functionality associated with the first unmanned vehicle;

establish a device-to-device, D2D, wireless connection to a second unmanned vehicle

responsive to a failure of the wireless functionality associated with the first unmanned vehicle, the failure of the wireless functionality comprising at least one failure of a wireless data connection of the first unmanned vehicle and failure of a positioning system connection of the first unmanned vehicle; and

responsive to receiving an operation command over the D2D wireless connection, perform an operation,

wherein

the processor is configured to perform the operation by performing a re-establishment operation to re-establish the wireless functionality associated with the first unmanned vehicle.

11. The wireless device as claimed in claim 10 wherein the wireless functionality comprises a first data connection between the first unmanned vehicle and a wireless communications network.

12. The wireless device as claimed in claim 11 wherein the processor is configured to perform a re-establishment operation to re-establish the wireless functionality associated with the first unmanned vehicle by establishing a new network connection between the first unmanned and the wireless communication network.

13. The wireless device as claimed in claim 12 wherein the processor is configured to establish the new network connection by utilizing a second data connection between the second unmanned vehicle and the wireless communications network to communicate with the wireless communications network via the D2D connection.

14. The wireless device as claimed in claim 10 wherein the wireless functionality comprises a positioning system functionality.

15. The wireless device as claimed in claim 14 wherein the processor is configured to perform a re-establishment operation to re-establish the wireless functionality associated with the first unmanned vehicle by receiving positioning information from the second unmanned vehicle, and utilizing the positioning information to determine a location of the first unmanned vehicle.

16. The wireless device as claimed in claim 10 wherein the processor is configured to perform a re-establishment operation to re-establish the wireless functionality associated with the first unmanned vehicle by rebooting, resetting or reconfiguring the first unmanned vehicle.

17. The wireless device as claimed in claim 10 wherein the processor is further configured to, responsive to establishing the D2D wireless connection:

exchange diagnosis certificates with the second unmanned vehicle; and

transmit information relating to the first unmanned vehicle to the unmanned vehicle over the D2D wireless connection.

18. The wireless device as claimed in claim 17 wherein the processor is further configured to transmit a command to the second unmanned vehicle to transmit the information to a rescue center for determining, based on the information, a root cause of the failure of the wireless functionality and/or a recommended re-establishment operation for re-establishing the wireless functionality.

19. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores a program comprising instructions, which, when executed on at least one processor, controls a first unmanned vehicle by causing the at least one processor to:

transmit or receive using a wireless functionality associated with the first unmanned vehicle;

establish a device-to-device, D2D, wireless connection to a second unmanned vehicle;

responsive to a failure of the wireless functionality associated with the first unmanned vehicle, the failure of the wireless functionality comprising at least one of failure of a wireless data connection of the first unmanned vehicle and failure of a positioning system connection of the first unmanned vehicle; and

responsive to receiving an operation command over the D2D wireless connection, perform an operation;

establish the device-to-device connection to the unmanned vehicle responsive to a failure of a wireless functionality associated with the wireless device, wherein

the performing of the operation comprises performing a re-establishment operation to re-establish the wireless functionality associated with the first unmanned vehicle.