Dynamic extension of a communications network

A system comprising:

• a memory having computer readable instructions;
• and
• one or more processors for executing the computer readable instructions, the computer readable instructions controlling the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
• monitoring, by an unmanned vehicle, a quality of a connection to a communications network while the unmanned vehicle is traveling along a path;
• deploying, by the unmanned vehicle while traveling along the path, an edge communications device each time the quality of the connection is below a threshold value, wherein the deployed edge communications devices create a secure peer-to-peer network that facilitates communication between the unmanned vehicle and the communications network;
• collecting, by the deployed edge communications devices, one or more sets of data;
• measuring, by the unmanned vehicle, environmental data along the path;
• and
• collecting, by the unmanned vehicle, the deployed edge communications devices as the unmanned vehicle retraces the path,
• wherein only subsets of the environmental data and the one or more sets of data are transmitted via the communications network, and wherein, once the unmanned vehicle and the deployed edge communications devices have been collected and returned, a remainder of the environmental data and the one or more sets of data is downloaded from the unmanned vehicle and the deployed edge communications devices.

A computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a processor to cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

• monitoring, by an unmanned vehicle, a quality of a connection to a communications network while the unmanned vehicle is traveling along a path;
• deploying, by the unmanned vehicle while traveling along the path, an edge communications device each time the quality of the connection is below a threshold value, wherein the deployed edge communications devices create a secure peer-to-peer network that facilitates communication between the unmanned vehicle and the communications network;
• collecting, by the deployed edge communications devices, one or more sets of data;
• measuring, by the unmanned vehicle, environmental data along the path;
• and
• collecting, by the unmanned vehicle, the deployed edge communications devices as the unmanned vehicle retraces the path,
• wherein only subsets of the environmental data and the one or more sets of data are transmitted via the communications network, and wherein, once the unmanned vehicle and the deployed edge communications devices have been collected and returned, a remainder of the environmental data and the one or more sets of data is downloaded from the unmanned vehicle and the deployed edge communications devices.