System and method of automatically maintaining a line-of-sight communication channel

A mobile system for automatically maintaining a line-of-sight communication channel, the system comprising:

• a transceiver to establish a line-of-sight communication link;
• a global positioning system (GPS) receiver;
• a data store to store topological information and information about communication resources that are accessible in a region through which the mobile system is moving;
• a programmable processor to execute software, wherein the programmable processor is coupled to the transceiver, the GPS receiver, and the data store;
• wherein the software, when executed by the programmable processor, is operable to cause the mobile system to:
• determine information about each communication resource that is accessible in a region through which a mobile system is moving, wherein the information about each communication resource includes a respective location for that respective communication resource;
• determine information about the mobile system, wherein the information about the mobile system includes a current location for the mobile system;
• perform a line-of-sight (LOS) analysis for each of the communication resources based at least in part on the respective location of the respective communication resource and a respective elevation for the respective communication resource and the current location of the mobile system and a current elevation for the mobile system, wherein the respective elevation for that respective communication resource is obtained from the topological information using the respective location for that respective communication resource and the current elevation for the mobile system is obtained from the topological data using the current location for the mobile system;
• and
• determine if a new communication link should be established with at least one of the communication resources based at least on the LOS analyses that were performed and establishing the new communication link if it is determined that the new communication link should be established.

A program product for automatically maintaining a line-of-sight communication channel using a transceiver included in a mobile system, the program-product comprising a processor-readable medium on which program instructions are embodied, wherein the program instructions are operable, when executed by at least one programmable processor included in the mobile system, to cause the mobile system to:

• determine information about each communication resource that is accessible in a region through which the mobile system is moving, wherein the information about each communication resource includes a respective location for that respective communication resource;
• determine information about the mobile system, wherein the information about the mobile system includes a current location for the mobile system;
• perform a line-of-sight (LOS) analysis for each of the communication resources based at least in part on the respective location of the respective communication resource and a respective elevation for the respective communication resource and the current location of the mobile system and a current elevation for the mobile system, wherein the respective elevation for that respective communication resource is obtained from topological information maintained at the mobile system using the respective location for that respective communication resource and the current elevation for the mobile system is obtained from the topological information using the current location for the mobile system;
• and
• determine if a new communication link should be established with at least one of the communication resources based at least on the LOS analyses that were performed and establishing the new communication link if it is determined that the new communication link should be established.