Wireless communication systems and methods are ubiquitous. In an exemplary embodiment, wireless communications are used for mission critical public safety applications (e.g., first responders including police, fire, emergency medical personnel, etc.). Wireless communication systems have defined wireless coverage, and wireless devices outside of such wireless coverage cannot communicate. Lack of coverage is especially disadvantageous in mission critical applications such as public safety. If there are proximate wireless devices with coverage, it could be possible for collaboration with wireless devices out of coverage to enable such devices to communicate through wireless devices with coverage. For example, Digital Vehicular Repeater System (DVRS) (from Futurecom, Concord, ON, Canada) is a collaboration system using a high power Land Mobile Radio (LMR) device as a proxy for a low power LMR device that cannot access an LMR system directly. This is an example of homogeneous system collaboration, i.e., one LMR device collaborating with another LMR device. Heterogeneous systems include disparate devices, e.g., an LMR device and a broadband device (3G, 4G, LTE, WLAN, etc.) operating together is a heterogeneous system. Accordingly, there is a need for collaboration systems and methods across heterogeneous systems that are secure, rapid, etc. and that can beneficially be applied to mission critical applications such as public safety (LMR).
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein