Methods and apparatus for facilitating operation of remote agents in challenging environments

A method, comprising:

• sending, to a mechanical modulator co-located with a first compute device within an environment and from a transmitter of a second compute device, a first plurality of photons;
• receiving, at a receiver of the second compute device and from the mechanical modulator, a second plurality of photons based on a modulation of the first plurality of photons;
• identifying, using a processor of the second compute device, a first sequence of values specified by movements of the mechanical modulator, based on the second plurality of photons;
• comparing, using the processor, the first sequence of values to a second sequence of values stored in a memory of the second compute device to verify an identity of the second compute device, the second sequence of values previously defined as being associated with the identity of the first compute device;
• and
• sending, in response to verifying the identity of the first compute device and from the second compute device and to the first compute device, data.

An apparatus, comprising:

• a second compute device including:
• a transmitter,
• a receiver,
• a sensor,
• a processor,
• a memory that stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to:
• generate, based on sensor data from the sensor, a map of an environment;
• send, from the transmitter and to a mechanical modulator co-located with a first compute device, a first plurality of photons;
• receive, at the receiver and from the mechanical modulator, a second plurality of photons based on a modulation of the first plurality of photons;
• identify a first sequence of values specified by movements of the mechanical modulator based on the second plurality of photons;
• compare the first sequence of values to a second sequence of values to verify an identity of the first compute device, the second sequence of values previously defined as being associated with the identity of the first compute device;
• and
• send, in response to verifying the identity of the first compute device and to the first compute device, the map of the environment.