Multi-hypothesis measurement reporting from user equipment (UE) to location server

Abstract

Techniques for wireless communication are disclosed. In an aspect, a user equipment (UE) receives, from a server, a request to obtain one or more positioning measurements in accordance with one or more hypotheses for measuring downlink signals transmitted by one or more transmit receive points (TRPs), wherein each of the one or more hypotheses indicates an integration type of the downlink signal, a time window during which integration of the downlink signal is performed, or both, and wherein the integration type of the downlink signal is one of: a coherent integration, an incoherent integration, or both a coherent integration and an incoherent integration of the downlink signal; and using the one or more hypotheses to obtain one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal for each of the one or more TRP.

Description

Background Art 1. Technical Field

[0001] Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communications.

[0002] 2. Description of Related Technologies

[0003] Wireless communication systems have evolved over many generations, including first-generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second-generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including transitional 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data, internet-capable wireless services, and fourth-generation (4G) services (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are in use, including cellular systems and Personal Communications Service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), and the like.

[0004] The fifth-generation (5G) wireless standard, known as New Radio (NR), enables higher data transfer speeds, a greater number of connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide higher data rates, more accurate positioning (e.g., based on reference signals for positioning (RS-P), such as downlink, uplink, or sidelink Positioning Reference Signals (PRS)), and other technical enhancements compared to previous standards. These enhancements, along with the use of higher frequency bands, advances in PRS procedures and technologies, and high-density deployments of 5G, enable highly accurate positioning based on 5G. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects disclosed herein. Therefore, the following summary should neither be considered an exhaustive overview of all contemplated aspects nor be considered to identify key or critical elements related to all contemplated aspects or to delineate the scope associated with any particular aspect. Therefore, the sole purpose of the following summary is to present certain concepts related to one or more aspects of the mechanisms disclosed herein in a simplified form prior to the detailed description presented below.

[0006] In one aspect, a method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE) includes: receiving from a server a request to obtain one or more positioning measurements based on one or more hypotheses for measuring a downlink signal sent by one or more transmit receive points (TRPs), wherein each of the one or more hypotheses indicates an integration type of the downlink signal, a time window during which integration of the downlink signal is performed, or both, and wherein the integration type of the downlink signal is one of: coherent integration, incoherent integration, or both coherent and incoherent integration of the downlink signal; and using the one or more hypotheses to obtain the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal for each of the one or more TRPs.

[0007] In one aspect, a method of communication performed by a server includes: receiving from a first user equipment (UE) an identifier of one or more transmit receive points (TRPs) observed by the first UE; and sending to the first UE a request to obtain one or more positioning measurements based on one or more hypotheses for measuring downlink signals sent by the one or more TRPs, wherein each of the one or more hypotheses indicates an integration type of the downlink signal, a time window during which integration of the downlink signal is performed, or both, and wherein the integration type of the downlink signal is one of: coherent integration, incoherent integration, or both coherent and incoherent integration of the downlink signal.

[0008] In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver, from a server a request to obtain one or more positioning measurements based on one or more hypotheses for measuring a downlink signal sent by one or more transmit receive points (TRPs), wherein each of the one or more hypotheses indicates an integration type of the downlink signal, a time window during which the integration of the downlink signal is performed, or both, and wherein the integration type of the downlink signal is one of: coherent integration, incoherent integration, or both coherent and incoherent integration of the downlink signal; and use the one or more hypotheses to obtain the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal for each of the one or more TRPs.

[0009] In one aspect, a server comprises: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: receive identifiers of one or more transmit receive points (TRPs) observed by a first user equipment (UE) from the first UE via the at least one transceiver; and send a request to the first UE via the at least one transceiver to obtain one or more positioning measurements based on one or more hypotheses for measuring downlink signals sent by the one or more TRPs, wherein each of the one or more hypotheses indicates an integration type of the downlink signal, a time window during which the integration of the downlink signal is performed, or both, and wherein the integration type of the downlink signal is one of: coherent integration, incoherent integration, or both coherent integration and incoherent integration of the downlink signal.

[0010] In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes: a component for receiving a request from a server to obtain one or more positioning measurements based on one or more hypotheses for measuring a downlink signal sent by one or more transmit receive points (TRPs), wherein each of the one or more hypotheses indicates an integration type of the downlink signal, a time window during which integration of the downlink signal is performed, or both, and wherein the integration type of the downlink signal is one of: coherent integration, incoherent integration, or both coherent and incoherent integration of the downlink signal; and a component for using the one or more hypotheses to obtain the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal for each of the one or more TRPs.

[0011] In one aspect, a server includes: a component for receiving, from a first user equipment (UE), identifiers of one or more transmit receive points (TRPs) observed by the first UE; and a component for sending to the first UE a request to obtain one or more positioning measurements based on one or more hypotheses for measuring downlink signals sent by the one or more TRPs, wherein each of the one or more hypotheses indicates an integration type of the downlink signal, a time window during which integration of the downlink signal is performed, or both, and wherein the integration type of the downlink signal is one of: coherent integration, incoherent integration, or both coherent and incoherent integration of the downlink signal.

[0012] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), causes the UE to: receive from a server a request to obtain one or more positioning measurements based on one or more hypotheses for measuring a downlink signal sent by one or more transmit receive points (TRPs), wherein each of the one or more hypotheses indicates an integration type for the downlink signal, a time window during which integration of the downlink signal is performed, or both, and wherein the integration type for the downlink signal is one of: coherent integration, incoherent integration, or both coherent and incoherent integration of the downlink signal; and use the one or more hypotheses to obtain the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal for each of the one or more TRPs.

[0013] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a server, causes the server to: receive from a first user equipment (UE) an identifier of one or more transmit receive points (TRPs) observed by the first UE; and send to the first UE a request to obtain one or more positioning measurements based on one or more hypotheses for measuring downlink signals sent by the one or more TRPs, wherein each of the one or more hypotheses indicates an integration type for the downlink signal, a time window during which integration of the downlink signal is performed, or both, and wherein the integration type for the downlink signal is one of: coherent integration, incoherent integration, or both coherent and incoherent integration of the downlink signal.

[0014] Other objects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in describing various aspects of the present disclosure and are provided solely for illustration and not limitation of the various aspects.

[0016] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0017] Figure 2A and Figure 2B Example wireless network structures according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0018] Figure 3A 、 Figure 3B and Figure 3C is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a user equipment (UE), a base station, and a network entity, respectively, and configured to support communications as taught herein.

[0019] Figure 4 A time difference of arrival (TDOA) based positioning process in an example wireless communication system according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0020] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an example frame structure according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an example tracking reference signal (TRS) configuration according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 7 is a graph of example channel energy response (CER) estimates according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 8 An example CIE-based positioning process using TRS according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0024] Figure 9 An example multi-UE joint position estimation process according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0025] Figure 10 and Figure 11 is a diagram illustrating an example assumption in which time of arrival (ToA) estimation is based on a sliding window of channel measurements in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0026] Figure 12 A method for calculating a positioning of a UE based on multiple hypotheses according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0027] Figure 13 An example multi-UE joint position estimation process using transmit reception point (TRP) specific assumptions according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0028] Figure 14 An example multi-UE joint position estimation process using network operator specific assumptions according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0029] Figure 15 An example multi-UE joint position estimation process using TRP-specific assumptions for UE-based positioning according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0030] Figure 16 is a graph of a cumulative distribution function (CDF) of absolute downlink time of arrival (DL-TOA) error for an example new radio (NR) link in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0031] Figure 17 and Figure 18Example methods of communication according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] Various aspects of the present disclosure are provided below in the description and related drawings of various examples provided for illustrative purposes. Alternative aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of the present disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted to avoid making the relevant details of the present disclosure difficult to understand.

[0033] Various aspects relate generally to over-the-top (OTT) positioning. Some aspects more specifically relate to using multiple hypotheses to obtain and report positioning measurements for OTT cellular signals (e.g., tracking reference signals (TRS)). In some examples, a UE may track multiple coherence hypotheses for positioning measurements (e.g., time of arrival (ToA)) based on various integration levels and report the multiple coherence hypotheses back to an OTT server (e.g., a connected intelligent edge (CIE) server). On the server side, the server may determine which hypothesis produces more outliers or better performance in terms of signal strength measurements. More specifically, the UE reports each hypothesis and the positioning measurements obtained using the hypothesis. For each hypothesis, the server performs pruning and outlier rejection using the measurements obtained using the hypothesis. The server may then determine which hypothesis is best for the UE (e.g., produces the highest signal strength, most accurate ToA estimate, etc.).

[0034] Certain aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to achieve one or more of the following potential advantages: In some examples, the described techniques can be used to improve OTT positioning performance of a UE by determining and using an optimal coherence hypothesis for measuring OTT signals.

[0035] The words "exemplary" and / or "example" are used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" and / or "example" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Likewise, the term "aspects of the disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage, or mode of operation.

[0036] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any of a variety of different techniques and methods may be used to represent the information and signals described below. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the following description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the specific application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, and so on.

[0037] In addition, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be appreciated that the various actions described herein may be performed by specific circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of the two. Additionally, the sequences of actions described herein may be viewed as being fully embodied within any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, will cause or command the associated processor of the device to perform the functionality described herein. Accordingly, various aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied in a variety of different forms, all of which are contemplated to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. In addition, for each of the various aspects described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspect may be described herein as, for example, "logic configured to perform the described actions."

[0038] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the terms "user equipment" (UE) and "base station" are not intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT). In general, a UE can be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network (e.g., a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a consumer asset location device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch, glasses, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), a vehicle (e.g., a car, a motorcycle, a bicycle, etc.), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.). A UE can be mobile or can be stationary (e.g., at certain times) and can communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term "UE" can be interchangeably referred to as an "access terminal" or "AT," "client device," "wireless device," "subscriber device," "subscriber terminal," "subscriber station," "user terminal" or "UT," "mobile device," "mobile terminal," "mobile station," or variations thereof. In general, a UE can communicate with a core network via the RAN, and through the core network, the UE can connect to external networks such as the Internet and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for the UE, such as through a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (e.g., based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 specification, etc.), etc.

[0039] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs to communicate with UEs, depending on the network in which it is deployed, and may alternatively be referred to as an access point (AP), network node, Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), next-generation eNB (ng-eNB), new radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as gNB or gNodeB), etc. A base station may primarily support wireless access for UEs, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the supported UEs. In some systems, a base station may only provide edge node signaling functions, while in other systems, a base station may provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link by which a UE can transmit signals to a base station is called an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). The communication link by which a base station can transmit signals to a UE is called a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term "traffic channel (TCH)" may refer to either an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0040] The term "base station" may refer to a single physical transmit receive point (TRP) or multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be co-located. For example, where the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be an antenna of the base station corresponding to the cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. Where the term "base station" refers to multiple co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRP may be an antenna array of the base station (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or where the base station employs beamforming). Where the term "base station" refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRP may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transmission medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non-co-located physical TRP may be a serving base station that receives measurement reports from a UE and a neighboring base station whose reference radio frequency (RF) signal the UE is measuring. Because, as used herein, a TRP is a point at which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, references to transmitting from a base station or receiving at a base station should be understood to refer to a specific TRP of a base station.

[0041] In some implementations of supporting UE positioning, a base station may not support wireless access by the UE (e.g., may not support data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the UE), but may instead transmit a reference signal to the UE to be measured by the UE and / or may receive and measure signals transmitted by the UE. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., when transmitting a signal to the UE) and / or as a position measurement unit (e.g., when receiving and measuring a signal from the UE).

[0042] An "RF signal" comprises an electromagnetic wave of a given frequency that transmits information through the space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels, a receiver may receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between a transmitter and a receiver may be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal. As used herein, an RF signal may also be referred to as a "wireless signal" or simply as a "signal" where the context clearly indicates that the term "signal" refers to either a wireless signal or an RF signal.

[0043] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system 100 according to various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. The wireless communication system 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 (labeled "BS") and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macrocell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one aspect, the macrocell base stations may include eNBs and / or ng-eNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network), or gNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network), or a combination of the two, and the small cell base stations may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0044] The base stations 102 may collectively form a RAN and interface with a core network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC)) via backhaul links 122. The base stations 102 may also interface with one or more location servers 172 (e.g., a location management function (LMF) or a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)) via the core network 170. The location servers 172 may be part of the core network 170 or external to the core network 170. The location servers 172 may be integrated with the base stations 102. The UE 104 may communicate with the location servers 172 directly or indirectly. For example, the UE 104 may communicate with the location server 172 via the base station 102 currently serving the UE 104. The UE 104 may also communicate with the location server 172 via another path, such as via an application server (not shown), via another network, such as via a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) (e.g., AP 150 described below), etc. For signaling purposes, communication between UE 104 and location server 172 may be represented as an indirect connection (e.g., through core network 170, etc.) or a direct connection (e.g., as shown via direct connection 128), with intermediate nodes (if any) omitted from the signaling diagram for clarity.

[0045] Among other functions, the base stations 102 may perform functions related to one or more of: transmitting user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN Information Management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through EPC / 5GC) over a backhaul link 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0046] Base stations 102 can communicate wirelessly with UEs 104. Each of base stations 102 can provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic coverage area 110. In one aspect, one or more cells can be supported by base stations 102 in each geographic coverage area 110. A "cell" is a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., over some time and / or frequency resources, referred to as carrier frequencies, component carriers, carriers, frequency bands, etc.) and can be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCI), an enhanced cell identifier (ECI), a virtual cell identifier (VCI), a cell global identifier (CGI), etc.) that distinguishes cells operating over the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells can be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or other protocol types) that can provide access to different types of UEs. Because a cell is supported by a specific base station, the term "cell" can refer to either or both the logical communication entity and the base station supporting the logical communication entity, depending on the context. Furthermore, since the TRP is typically the physical transmission point of a cell, the terms "cell" and "TRP" may be used interchangeably. In some cases, the term "cell" may also refer to a geographic coverage area (e.g., a sector) of a base station, as long as a carrier frequency can be detected and used for communications within a portion of the geographic coverage area 110.

[0047] Although the geographic coverage areas 110 of adjacent macrocell base stations 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in a handover area), some areas of the geographic coverage areas 110 may substantially overlap with the larger geographic coverage area 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' (labeled "SC" for "small cell") may have a geographic coverage area 110' that substantially overlaps with the geographic coverage areas 110 of one or more macrocell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell base stations and macrocell base stations may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a Home eNB (HeNB), which may provide service to a restricted group called a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG).

[0048] The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include uplink (also known as reverse link) transmissions from the UE 104 to the base station 102 and / or downlink (DL) (also known as forward link) transmissions from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 may utilize MIMO antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may be over one or more carrier frequencies. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric for the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to the downlink than to the uplink).

[0049] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150 that communicates with a wireless local area network (WLAN) station (STA) 152 in an unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz) via a communication link 154. When communicating in the unlicensed spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure prior to communicating to determine whether a channel is available.

[0050] The small cell base station 102' can operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in the unlicensed spectrum, the small cell base station 102' can adopt LTE or NR technology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum used by the WLAN AP 150. The small cell base station 102' adopting LTE / 5G in the unlicensed spectrum can improve the coverage of the access network and / or increase the capacity of the access network. NR in the unlicensed spectrum can be referred to as NR-U. LTE in the unlicensed spectrum can be referred to as LTE-U, License Assisted Access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0051] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a millimeter wave (mmW) base station 180 that can operate at mmW frequencies and / or near-mmW frequencies to communicate with the UE 182. Extremely high frequencies (EHF) are part of the RF spectrum in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz, with wavelengths between 1 mm and 10 mm. Radio waves in this frequency band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near-mmW frequencies extend down to frequencies of 3 GHz, with wavelengths of 100 mm. Super high frequencies (SHF) frequency bands extend between 3 GHz and 30 GHz and are also referred to as centimeter waves. Communications using mmW / near-mmW radio frequency bands have high path loss and relatively short ranges. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmitting and / or receiving) on ​​the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. In addition, it should be understood that in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also transmit using mmW or near-mmW frequencies and beamforming. Therefore, it should be understood that the foregoing illustrations are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0052] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing an RF signal in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectionally). With transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thereby providing the receiving device with a faster and stronger RF signal (in terms of data rate). To change the directionality of an RF signal while transmitting, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of the one or more transmitters broadcasting the RF signal. For example, the network node can use an array of antennas (referred to as a "phased array" or "antenna array") that form RF beams that can be "steered" to point in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, the RF currents from the transmitters are fed to the individual antennas in the correct phase relationship so that the radio waves from the individual antennas add together in the desired direction to increase radiation, while canceling out in undesired directions to suppress radiation.

[0053] The transmit beams can be quasi-co-located, meaning that they appear to the receiver (e.g., UE) to have the same parameters, regardless of whether the network node's own transmit antennas are physically co-located. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-location (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters about the second reference RF signal on the second beam can be derived based on information about the source reference RF signal on the source beam. Thus, if the source reference RF signal is QCL type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of the second reference RF signal sent on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of the second reference RF signal sent on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of the second reference RF signal sent on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type D, the receiver may use the source reference RF signal to estimate spatial reception parameters of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0054] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses receive beams to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, a receiver may increase the gain setting of an antenna array in a particular direction and / or adjust the phase setting of an antenna array in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., increase the gain level of) RF signals received from that direction. Thus, when a receiver is said to be beamforming in a certain direction, this means that the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain along other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain in that direction of all other receive beams available to the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), etc.) for the RF signals received from that direction.

[0055] The transmit beam and receive beam can be spatially correlated. The spatial relationship means that the parameters of the second beam (e.g., transmit beam or receive beam) used for the second reference signal can be derived based on information about the first beam (e.g., receive beam or transmit beam) of the first reference signal. For example, the UE can use a specific receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., synchronization signal block (SSB)) from the base station. The UE can then form a transmit beam for transmitting an uplink reference signal (e.g., sounding reference signal (SRS)) to the base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0056] Note that depending on the entity forming the "downlink" beam, the beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming a downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to the UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if the UE is forming a downlink beam, the downlink beam is a receive beam for receiving downlink reference signals. Similarly, depending on the entity forming the "uplink" beam, the beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink receive beam, while if the UE is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink transmit beam.

[0057] The electromagnetic spectrum is typically subdivided into various categories, bands, channels, etc. based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz–7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz–52.6 GHz). It should be understood that although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the “sub-6 GHz” band in various documents and articles. A similar naming issue sometimes occurs with respect to FR2, which is often (interchangeably) referred to as the “millimeter wave” band in documents and articles, although it is different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz–300 GHz) identified as the “millimeter wave” band by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

[0058] Frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR research has identified the operating band for these mid-band frequencies as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125 GHz–24.25 GHz). The frequency bands falling within FR3 can inherit FR1 characteristics and / or FR2 characteristics, thus effectively extending the features of FR1 and / or FR2 to mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operation to more than 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz–71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz–114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz–300 GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

[0059] In view of the above aspects, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if the term "sub-6 GHz" or the like is used herein, it can be broadly referred to as frequencies that may be less than 6 GHz, may be within FR1, or may include mid-band frequencies. In addition, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if the term "millimeter wave" or the like is used herein, it can be broadly referred to as frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, may be within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1 and / or FR5, or may be within the EHF band.

[0060] In a multi-carrier system (such as 5G), one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier" or "primary serving cell" or "PCell", and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers" or "secondary serving cells" or "SCells". In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is a carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) used by the UE 104 / 182 and the cell in which the UE 104 / 182 performs an initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates an RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels and can be a carrier in a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case). A secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that can be configured and used to provide additional radio resources once an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier. In some cases, the secondary carrier can be a carrier in an unlicensed frequency. The secondary carrier may contain only necessary signaling information and signals. For example, since the primary uplink carrier and the primary downlink carrier are generally UE-specific, those UE-specific signaling information and signals may not be present in the secondary carrier. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in a cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same is true for the uplink primary carrier. The network can change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on different carriers. Since a "serving cell" (whether PCell or SCell) corresponds to a carrier frequency / component carrier through which a base station communicates, the terms "cell", "serving cell", "component carrier", "carrier frequency", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0061] For example, still referring to Figure 1In one embodiment, one of the frequencies used by macrocell base station 102 may be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and the other frequencies used by macrocell base station 102 and / or mmW base station 180 may be secondary carriers ("SCells"). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers enables UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rate. For example, two 20 MHz aggregated carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically result in a doubled data rate (i.e., 40 MHz) compared to the data rate achieved with a single 20 MHz carrier.

[0062] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a UE 164 that may communicate with the macrocell base station 102 via a communication link 120 and / or with the mmW base station 180 via a mmW communication link 184. For example, the macrocell base station 102 may support a PCell and one or more SCells for the UE 164, and the mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for the UE 164.

[0063] In some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 are capable of sidelink communication. Sidelink-capable UEs (SL-UEs) can communicate with base station 102 via communication link 120 using a Uu interface (i.e., the air interface between the UE and the base station). SL-UEs (e.g., UE 164, UE 182) can also communicate directly with each other via a wireless sidelink 160 using a PC5 interface (i.e., the air interface between sidelink-capable UEs). A wireless sidelink (or simply "sidelink") is an adaptation of a core cellular network (e.g., LTE, NR) standard that allows direct communication between two or more UEs without going through a base station. Sidelink communication can be unicast or multicast and can be used for device-to-device (D2D) media sharing, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communication, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communication, etc.), emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more SL-UEs in a group of SL-UEs utilizing sidelink communication may be located within the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 102. Other SL-UEs in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 102 or unable to receive transmissions from the base station 102 for other reasons. In some cases, each group of SL-UEs communicating via sidelink communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each SL-UE transmits to each other SL-UE in the group. In some cases, the base station 102 facilitates the scheduling of time / frequency resources for sidelink communication. In other cases, sidelink communication is performed between the SL-UEs without involving the base station 102.

[0064] In one aspect, the sidelink 160 may operate on a wireless communication medium of interest, which may be shared with other vehicles and / or infrastructure access points and other wireless communications between other RATs. A "medium" may include one or more time, frequency, and / or spatial communication resources associated with wireless communications between one or more transmitter / receiver pairs (e.g., encompassing one or more channels across one or more carriers). In one aspect, the medium of interest may correspond to at least a portion of an unlicensed frequency band shared between various RATs. While different licensed frequency bands have been reserved for certain communication systems (e.g., by government entities such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States), these systems (particularly those employing small cell access points) have recently expanded operations into unlicensed frequency bands such as the Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) band used by wireless local area network (WLAN) technologies (most notably the IEEE 802.11x WLAN technology commonly referred to as "Wi-Fi"). Example systems of this type include different variations of CDMA systems, TDMA systems, FDMA systems, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems, and the like.

[0065] Note that although Figure 1 Only two of these UEs are illustrated as SL-UEs (i.e., UE 164 and UE 182), but any of the illustrated UEs may be SL-UEs. Furthermore, while only UE 182 is described as capable of beamforming, any of the illustrated UEs (including UE 164) may be capable of beamforming. Where SL-UEs are capable of beamforming, they may beamform toward each other (i.e., toward other SL-UEs), toward other UEs (e.g., UE 104), toward a base station (e.g., base station 102, base station 180, small cell 102′, access point 150), and so forth. Thus, in some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 may utilize beamforming via sidelink 160.

[0066] exist Figure 1 In the example of FIG, the UE illustrated (for simplicity, Figure 1Any UE (shown as a single UE 104 in FIG. 1 ) can receive a signal 124 from one or more Earth-orbiting space vehicles (SVs) 112 (e.g., satellites). In one aspect, the SVs 112 can be part of a satellite positioning system that the UEs 104 can use as an independent source of location information. A satellite positioning system typically includes a system of transmitters (e.g., SVs 112) positioned to enable a receiver (e.g., a UE 104) to determine its position on or above the Earth based, at least in part, on positioning signals (e.g., signals 124) received from the transmitters. Such transmitters typically transmit a signal that is a repeating pseudorandom noise (PN) code marked with a set number of chips. While typically located in the SVs 112, the transmitters can sometimes be located on ground-based control stations, base stations 102, and / or other UEs 104. The UEs 104 can include one or more dedicated receivers specifically designed to receive the signal 124 in order to derive geographic location information from the SVs 112.

[0067] In a satellite positioning system, the use of signal 124 may be enhanced by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) that may be associated with or otherwise enabled for use with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems. For example, SBAS may include augmentation systems that provide integrity information, differential corrections, and the like, such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Multifunctional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), the Global Positioning System (GPS)-Assisted Geo-Augmented Navigation, or the GPS and Geo-Augmented Navigation System (GAGAN), among others. Thus, as used herein, a satellite positioning system may include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellites associated with such one or more satellite positioning systems.

[0068] In one aspect, SV 112 may additionally or alternatively be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). In an NTN, SV 112 connects to an earth station (also referred to as a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway), which in turn connects to elements in the 5G network, such as a modified base station 102 (without a ground antenna) or a network node in a 5GC. This element, in turn, provides access to other elements in the 5G network and ultimately provides access to entities outside the 5G network, such as Internet web servers and other user devices. Thus, instead of or in addition to communication signals from terrestrial base station 102, UE 104 can receive communication signals (e.g., signal 124) from SV 112.

[0069] The wireless communication system 100 may also include one or more UEs, such as UE 190, that are indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) or peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as “side links”). Figure 1 In the example of FIG1 , UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of UEs 104 connected to one of base stations 102 (e.g., UE 190 can indirectly obtain cellular connectivity through the D2D P2P link), and has a D2D P2P link 194 with WLAN STA 152 connected to WLAN AP 150 (UE 190 can indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity through the D2D P2P link). In one example, D2D P2P links 192 and 194 can be supported by any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), wait.

[0070] Figure 2A An example wireless network architecture 200 is illustrated. For example, 5GC 210 (also known as the Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be functionally considered to include control plane (C-plane) functions 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and user plane (U-plane) functions 212 (e.g., UE gateway functions, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.), which operate in conjunction to form the core network. A user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and a control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect gNBs 222 to 5GC 210, and specifically to user plane functions 212 and control plane functions 214, respectively. In additional configurations, ng-eNBs 224 can also connect to 5GC 210 via NG-C 215 to control plane functions 214 and NG-U 213 to user plane functions 212. Furthermore, ng-eNBs 224 can communicate directly with gNBs 222 via backhaul connections 223. In some configurations, the next generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of ng-eNBs 224 and gNBs 222. Either gNB 222 or ng-eNB 224 (or both) may communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0071] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230 that can communicate with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance for the UE 204. The location server 230 can be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively can each correspond to a single server. The location server 230 can be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204 that can be connected to the location server 230 via the core network, the 5GC 210, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). In addition, the location server 230 can be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively can be external to the core network (e.g., a third-party server, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or a service server).

[0072] Figure 2B Another example wireless network structure 240 is illustrated. 5GC 260 (which may correspond to Figure 2AThe 5GC 210 in the network can be functionally considered as a control plane function provided by the access and mobility management function (AMF) 264 and a user plane function provided by the user plane function (UPF) 262, which operate in conjunction to form the core network (i.e., the 5GC 260). The functions of the AMF 264 include: registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transmission of session management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) and a session management function (SMF) 266, a transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transmission of short message service (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and a short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchor functionality (SEAF). The AMF 264 also interacts with an authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204, and receives intermediate keys established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In case of UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) based authentication, the AMF 264 retrieves security material from the AUSF. The functionality of the AMF 264 also includes Security Context Management (SCM). The SCM receives keys from the SEAF, which the SCM uses to derive access network specific keys. The functionality of the AMF 264 also includes location service management for regulatory services, for transmission of location service messages between the UE 204 and the Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (which acts as the location server 230), for transmission of location service messages between the NG-RAN 220 and the LMF 270, for allocation of Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer identifiers for interoperation with EPS, and UE 204 mobility event notifications. In addition, the AMF 264 also supports functionality for non-3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

[0073] The functions of the UPF 262 include: acting as an anchor point for intra-RAT / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point for interconnection to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, user plane quality of service (QoS) handling (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in downlink), uplink traffic verification (service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and transmitting and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. The UPF 262 may also support the delivery of location service messages between the UE 204 and a location server (such as the SLP 272) on the user plane.

[0074] The functions of the SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, traffic steering configuration for routing traffic to the correct destination at the UPF 262, partial control of policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which the SMF 266 communicates with the AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0075] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270 that can communicate with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance for the UE 204. The LMF 270 can be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each can correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 can be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which can connect to the LMF 270 via the core network, the 5GC 260, and / or via the Internet (not shown). The SLP 272 may support similar functionality to the LMF 270, but whereas the LMF 270 may communicate with the AMF 264, the NG-RAN 220, and the UE 204 on a control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols intended to carry signaling messages rather than voice or data), the SLP 272 may communicate with the UE 204 and external clients (e.g., third-party servers 274) on a user plane (e.g., using protocols intended to carry voice and / or data, such as the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0076] Yet another optional aspect may include a third-party server 274 that can communicate with the LMF 270, SLP 272, 5GC 260 (e.g., via the AMF 264 and / or UPF 262), NG-RAN 220, and / or UE 204 to obtain location information (e.g., a location estimate) of the UE 204. Thus, in some cases, the third-party server 274 may be referred to as a location service (LCS) client or an external client. The third-party servers 274 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively may each correspond to a single server.

[0077] The user plane interface 263 and the control plane interface 265 connect the 5GC 260, and specifically the UPF 262 and AMF 264, respectively, to one or more gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 in the NG-RAN 220. The interface between the gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and the AMF 264 is referred to as the "N2" interface, while the interface between the gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and the UPF 262 is referred to as the "N3" interface. The gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 of the NG-RAN 220 can communicate directly with each other via a backhaul connection 223, referred to as an "Xn-C" interface. One or more of the gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 can communicate with one or more UEs 204 over a wireless interface, referred to as a "Uu" interface.

[0078] The functionality of a gNB 222 can be divided between a gNB Central Unit (gNB-CU) 226, one or more gNB Distributed Units (gNB-DUs) 228, and one or more gNB Radio Units (gNB-RUs) 229. The gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes base station functions, including delivery of user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, session management, and more, in addition to those functions specifically assigned to the gNB-DU 228. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 typically hosts the Radio Resource Control (RRC), Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) protocols for the gNB 222. The gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that typically hosts the Radio Link Control (RLC) and Medium Access Control (MAC) layers for the gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 can support one or more cells, and one cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. The interface 232 between the gNB-CU 226 and one or more gNB-DUs 228 is referred to as the "F1" interface. The physical (PHY) layer functionality of the gNB 222 is typically hosted by one or more independent gNB-RUs 229, which perform functions such as power amplification and signal transmission / reception. The interface between the gNB-DU 228 and the gNB-RU 229 is referred to as the "Fx" interface. Thus, the UE 204 communicates with the gNB-CU 226 via the RRC, SDAP, and PDCP layers, with the gNB-DU 228 via the RLC and MAC layers, and with the gNB-RU 229 via the PHY layer.

[0079] Figure 3A 、 Figure 3B and Figure 3C Several example components (represented by corresponding blocks) are illustrated that may be incorporated into a UE 302 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein), a base station 304 (which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein), and a network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any of the network functions described herein, including the location server 230 and the LMF 270, or alternatively may be independent thereof). Figure 2A and Figure 2BThe depicted NG-RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260 infrastructure, such as a dedicated network, is implemented to support operations as described herein. It should be understood that these components can be implemented in different types of devices with different specific implementations (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system on a chip (SoC), etc.). The illustrated components can also be incorporated into other devices in a communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to those described as providing similar functionality. In addition, a given device may include one or more of these components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0080] UE 302 and base station 304 each include one or more wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, respectively, which provide means (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for preventing transmission, etc.) for communicating via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown), such as NR networks, LTE networks, GSM networks, etc. WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 can each be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356, respectively, for communicating with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc.) via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) over a wireless communication medium of interest (e.g., a certain set of time / frequency resources in a particular spectrum). The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 can be configured in different ways to transmit and encode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to a specified RAT, and conversely, receive and decode the signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.) according to a specified RAT. Specifically, the WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 include one or more transmitters 314 and 354 for transmitting and encoding the signals 318 and 358, and one or more receivers 312 and 352 for receiving and decoding the signals 318 and 358, respectively.

[0081] At least in some cases, the UE 302 and the base station 304 each further include one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and provide for communicating over a wireless communication medium of interest via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 are components (e.g., components for transmitting, components for receiving, components for measuring, components for tuning, components for preventing transmission, etc.) for communicating with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc.) using a PC5, dedicated short-range communication (DSRC), wireless access for vehicular environments (WAVE), near field communication (NFC), ultra-wideband (UWB), etc.). The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be configured in different ways to transmit and encode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to a specified RAT, and conversely, receive and decode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 include: one or more transmitters 324 and 364 for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368, respectively, and one or more receivers 322 and 362 for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368, respectively. As a specific example, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be WiFi transceivers, transceiver, and / or transceiver, NFC transceiver, UWB transceiver or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceiver.

[0082] At least in some cases, UE 302 and base station 304 also include satellite signal receivers 330 and 370. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 can be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, and can provide components for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. If satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are satellite positioning system receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 can be Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, BeiDou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. If satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 can be communication signals (e.g., carrying control and / or user data) originating from a 5G network. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 can include any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may request information and operations from other systems as appropriate and, at least in some cases, perform calculations using measurements obtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm to determine the positions of UE 302 and base station 304, respectively.

[0083] The base station 304 and the network entity 306 each include one or more network transceivers 380 and 390, respectively, which provide means (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, etc.) for communicating with other network entities (e.g., other base stations 304, other network entities 306). For example, the base station 304 may employ one or more network transceivers 380 to communicate with other base stations 304 or network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. For another example, the network entity 306 may employ one or more network transceivers 390 to communicate with one or more base stations 304 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, or to communicate with other network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0084] A transceiver can be configured to communicate over a wired or wireless link. A transceiver (whether a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver) includes transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) and receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362). In some implementations, a transceiver can be an integrated device (e.g., implementing transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry in a single device), in some implementations can include separate transmitter circuitry and separate receiver circuitry, or in other implementations can be implemented in other ways. The transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry of a wired transceiver (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) can be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. Wireless transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as antenna arrays, that allow a corresponding device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform transmit "beamforming," as described herein. Similarly, wireless receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as antenna arrays, that allow a corresponding device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform receive beamforming, as described herein. In one aspect, the transmitter circuitry and the receiver circuitry may share the same multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such that a corresponding device may only receive or only transmit at a given time, rather than both receive and transmit at the same time. The wireless transceivers (eg, WWAN transceivers 310 and 350, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360) may also include a network listening module (NLM) or the like for performing various measurements.

[0085] As used herein, various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360 in some implementations, and network transceivers 380 and 390) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) may be generally referred to as a "transceiver," "at least one transceiver," or "one or more transceivers." Thus, whether a particular transceiver is a wired or wireless transceiver may be inferred based on the type of communication being performed. For example, backhaul communications between network devices or servers typically involve signaling via a wired transceiver, while wireless communications between a UE (e.g., UE 302) and a base station (e.g., base station 304) typically involve signaling via a wireless transceiver.

[0086] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that can be used in conjunction with the operations disclosed herein. UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 each include one or more processors 332, 384, and 394 for providing functionality related to, for example, wireless communication, as well as for providing other processing functionality. Thus, processors 332, 384, and 394 can provide means for processing, such as means for determining, means for computing, means for receiving, means for transmitting, means for indicating, and the like. In one aspect, processors 332, 384, and 394 can include, for example, one or more general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuits, or various combinations thereof.

[0087] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306, respectively, include memory circuitry implementing memory 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., each including a memory device) for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Thus, memories 340, 386, and 396 can provide means for storing, means for retrieving, means for maintaining, etc. In some cases, UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 can include positioning components 342, 388, and 398, respectively. Positioning components 342, 388, and 398 can be hardware circuitry that is part of or coupled to processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, and that, when executed, causes UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. In other aspects, positioning components 342, 388, and 398 can be external to processors 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, the positioning components 342, 388, and 398 can be memory modules stored in memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively, which, when executed by the processors 332, 384, and 394 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), cause the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. Figure 3A Possible locations are illustrated for a location component 342, which can be, for example, part of one or more WWAN transceivers 310, memory 340, one or more processors 332, or any combination thereof, or can be a standalone component. Figure 3B Possible locations are illustrated for a location component 388, which can be, for example, part of one or more WWAN transceivers 350, memory 386, one or more processors 384, or any combination thereof, or can be a standalone component. Figure 3C Possible locations are illustrated for a location component 398, which can be, for example, part of one or more network transceivers 390, memory 396, one or more processors 394, or any combination thereof, or can be a standalone component.

[0088] The UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to one or more processors 332 to provide means for sensing or detecting movement and / or orientation information independent of motion data derived from signals received by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and / or satellite signal receiver 330. By way of example, the sensors 344 may include an accelerometer (e.g., a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), an altimeter (e.g., a barometric altimeter), and / or any other type of motion detection sensor. Furthermore, the sensors 344 may include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide motion information. For example, the sensors 344 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and an orientation sensor to provide the ability to calculate a position in a two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system.

[0089] In addition, the UE 302 includes a user interface 346 that provides means for providing indications to the user (e.g., audible and / or visual indications) and / or for receiving user input (e.g., when the user actuates a sensing device such as a keypad, touch screen, microphone, etc.). Although not shown, the base station 304 and the network entity 306 may also include a user interface.

[0090] Referring in more detail to the one or more processors 384, in the downlink, IP packets from the network entity 306 may be provided to the processor 384. The one or more processors 384 may implement functionality for the RRC layer, the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. One or more processors 384 may provide: RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting of system information (e.g., Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with delivery of upper layer PDUs, error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0091] Transmitter 354 and receiver 352 may implement Layer 1 (L1) functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on transport channels, forward error correction (FEC) coding / decoding of transport channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to physical channels, modulation / demodulation of physical channels, and MIMO antenna processing. Transmitter 354 handles mapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), and M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM). The coded and modulated symbols may then be separated into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarriers, multiplexed with reference signals (e.g., pilots) in the time and / or frequency domains, and then combined using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time-domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially pre-decoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator can be used to determine the coding and modulation schemes and for spatial processing. The channel estimates can be derived from a reference signal and / or channel condition feedback sent by the UE 302. Each spatial stream can then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. The transmitter 354 can modulate an RF carrier with the corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0092] At UE 302, receiver 312 receives the signal via its corresponding antenna 316. Receiver 312 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides this information to one or more processors 332. Transmitter 314 and receiver 312 implement Layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Receiver 312 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for UE 302. If there are multiple spatial streams destined for UE 302, they can be combined by receiver 312 into a single OFDM symbol stream. Receiver 312 then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain using a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier, as well as the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation point transmitted by base station 304. These soft decisions can be based on channel estimates calculated by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted by base station 304 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to one or more processors 332, which implement layer 3 (L3) and layer 2 (L2) functionality.

[0093] In the downlink, one or more processors 332 provide demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. One or more processors 332 are also responsible for error detection.

[0094] Similar to the functionality described in conjunction with downlink transmissions performed by the base station 304, the one or more processors 332 provide: RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with delivery of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0095] Channel estimates derived by a channel estimator from a reference signal or feedback sent by base station 304 may be used by transmitter 314 to select appropriate coding and modulation schemes and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by transmitter 314 may be provided to different antennas 316. Transmitter 314 may modulate an RF carrier with the corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0096] Uplink transmissions are processed at the base station 304 in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with the receiver functionality at the UE 302. The receiver 352 receives the signal through its respective antenna 356. The receiver 352 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to one or more processors 384.

[0097] In the uplink, one or more processors 384 provide demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from UE 302. The IP packets from one or more processors 384 may be provided to the core network. The one or more processors 384 are also responsible for error detection.

[0098] For convenience, UE 302, base station 304 and / or network entity 306 Figure 3A 、 Figure 3B and Figure 3C1 is shown as including various components that can be configured according to the various examples described herein. However, it should be understood that the illustrated components may have different functionality in different designs. In particular, Figures 3A to 3C Various components in are optional in alternative configurations, and various aspects include configurations that may vary due to design choice, cost, use of the device, or other considerations. For example, in Figure 3A In the case of , a specific implementation of UE 302 may omit WWAN transceiver 310 (e.g., a wearable device or tablet or PC or laptop may have Wi-Fi and / or Bluetooth capabilities but no cellular capabilities), or may omit short-range wireless transceiver 320 (e.g., only cellular, etc.), or may omit satellite signal receiver 330, or may omit sensor 344, etc. For another example, in Figure 3B In certain embodiments, a particular implementation of the base station 304 may omit the WWAN transceiver 350 (e.g., a Wi-Fi "hotspot" access point without cellular capabilities), or may omit the short-range wireless transceiver 360 (e.g., cellular only, etc.), or may omit the satellite signal receiver 370, etc. For the sake of brevity, illustrations of various alternative configurations are not provided herein, but will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0099] Various components of the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may be communicatively coupled to one another via data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392, respectively. In an aspect, the data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 may form or be part of communication interfaces for the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306, respectively. For example, where different logical entities are embodied in the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functionality incorporated into the same base station 304), the data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 may provide for communication between the different logical entities.

[0100] Figure 3A 、 Figure 3B and Figure 3C The components of can be implemented in various ways. In some specific implementations, Figure 3A 、 Figure 3B and Figure 3CThe components of the present invention may be implemented in one or more circuits, such as, for example, one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit may use and / or be combined with at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide the functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 310 to 346 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of UE 302 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 350 to 388 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of base station 304 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Moreover, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 390 to 398 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of network entity 306 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). For simplicity, various operations, actions, and / or functions are described herein as being performed "by a UE," "by a base station," "by a network entity," etc. However, as will be appreciated, such operations, actions and / or functions may actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of the UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc. (such as processors 332, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350 and 360, memories 340, 386 and 396, positioning components 342, 388 and 398, etc.).

[0101] In some designs, the network entity 306 may be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, the network entity 306 may operate independently of a network operator or cellular network infrastructure (e.g., NG RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260). For example, the network entity 306 may be a component of a dedicated network that may be configured to communicate with the UE 302 via the base station 304 or independently of the base station 304 (e.g., via a non-cellular communication link such as WiFi).

[0102] Figure 4 The present invention illustrates a positioning process based on time difference of arrival (TDOA) in an example wireless communication system 400 according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The positioning process based on TDOA can be an observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) positioning process in LTE or a downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning process in 5G NR. Figure 4In an example, a UE 404 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) is attempting to calculate an estimate of its position (referred to as "UE-based" positioning) or assist another entity (e.g., a base station or core network component, another UE, a location server, a third-party application, etc.) in calculating an estimate of its position (referred to as "UE-assisted" positioning). The UE 404 can communicate with (e.g., transmit information to and receive information from) one or more of a plurality of transmission points 402 (e.g., any combination of base stations, TRPs, SVs, etc. described herein), which are labeled "TP1" 402-1, "TP2" 402-2, and "TP3" 402-3.

[0103] To support position estimation, a transmission point 402 may be configured to broadcast positioning signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS), tracking reference signals (TRS), cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), demodulation reference signals (DMRS), etc.) to UEs 404 within its coverage area, enabling the UEs 404 to measure the characteristics of such reference signals. In a TDOA-based positioning process, the UE 404 measures the relative time difference (referred to as reference signal time difference (RSTD) or TDOA) between the reference transmission point 402 and each of two or more non-reference transmission points 402. The UE 404 may determine the relative time difference as the difference between the start position of a subframe (or time slot) from the non-reference transmission point 402 and the start position of a subframe (or time slot) from the reference transmission point 402 that is closest in time to the subframe received from the reference transmission point 402.

[0104] More specifically, the RSTD of the non-reference transmission point "j" relative to the reference transmission point "i" can be given as T_SubframeRx,j - T_SubframeRx,i, where T_SubframeRx,j is the time when the UE 404 receives the start position of a subframe from the transmission point j, and T_SubframeRx,i is the time when the UE 404 receives the start position of the subframe from the transmission point i that is closest in time to the subframe received from the transmission point j. Figure 4In the example of FIG, the measured RSTD between transmission point 402-1 (reference transmission point) and transmission points 402-2 and 402-3 can be expressed as T2-T1 and T3-T1, where T1, T2, and T3 respectively represent the time when UE 404 receives the starting position of one subframe from transmission points 402-1, 402-2, and 402-3. UE 404 can determine the starting position of a subframe (or time slot) based on the measurement value of one or more downlink reference signals (e.g., PRS, TRS, CRS, CSI-RS, etc.) transmitted by the corresponding transmission point 402.

[0105] For FR1, the reference point for RSTD measurements is the antenna connector of UE 404. For FR2, the reference point for RSTD measurements is the antenna of UE 404. For any single positioning use of TDOA, the reference transmission point 402 remains the same for all RSTDs measured by UE 404 and will typically correspond to the serving cell of UE 404 or another nearby cell with good signal strength at UE 404. In one aspect, a non-reference transmission point 402 is typically a cell supported by a different base station than the base station for the reference cell and may have good or poor signal strength at UE 404.

[0106] To assist in TDOA-based positioning operations, a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) may provide assistance data to UE 404 for reference transmission points 402 and non-reference transmission points 402 relative to transmission points 402. For example, the assistance data may include an identifier (e.g., PCI, VCI, CGI, etc.) for each transmission point 402 in a set of transmission points 402 that the UE 404 is expected to measure. The assistance data may also provide the center channel frequency of each transmission point 402, various reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., number of consecutive positioning slots, periodicity of positioning slots, quieting sequence, frequency hopping sequence, reference signal identifier, reference signal bandwidth), and / or other transmission point-related parameters applicable to the TDOA-based positioning process. The assistance data may also indicate the serving cell for the UE 404 as the reference transmission point 402.

[0107] In some cases, the assistance data may also include an "expected RSTD" parameter and the uncertainty of the expected RSTD parameter, which provides information to the UE 404 about the RSTD value that the expected UE 404 will measure at its current location between the reference transmission point 402 and each non-reference transmission point 402. The expected RSTD and the associated uncertainty may define a search window for the UE 404, within which the expected UE 404 will measure the RSTD value. In some cases, the value range of the expected RSTD may be + / - 500 microseconds (μs). That is, the full reporting range of the RSTD measurement is [-0.5ms, 0.5ms]. In some cases, when any of the resources used for positioning measurements are in FR1, the value range of the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may be + / - 32μs. In other cases, when all resources used for positioning measurements are in FR2, the value range of the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may be + / - 8μs.

[0108] In one aspect, while a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) can transmit assistance data to UE 404, alternatively, the assistance data can originate directly from the transmission point 402 itself (e.g., in a periodically broadcast overhead message, etc.). Alternatively, UE 404 can detect a non-reference transmission point (e.g., a neighboring cell) itself without using assistance data.

[0109] UE 404 may report RSTD measurements to a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272), or calculate the location estimate itself based on the RSTD measurements. The location of UE 404 may be determined (by UE 404 or location server) using (i) RSTD measurements, (ii) known absolute or relative transmit timing of each transmission point 402 (e.g., whether transmission points 402 are accurately synchronized or whether each transmission point 402 transmits at a known time offset relative to other transmission points 402), (iii) known locations of transmission points 402, and / or (iv) directional reference signal characteristics (such as transmit direction (if known)).

[0110] In one aspect, the position estimate may specify the position of the UE 404 in a two-dimensional (2D) coordinate system; however, the aspects disclosed herein are not limited in this regard and may also be adapted to determine a position estimate using a three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system where additional dimensions are desired. Figure 4 One UE 404 and three transmission points 402 are illustrated, but as will be understood, there may be more UEs 404 and more transmission points 402.

[0111] Still refer to Figure 4 When UE 404 uses RSTD to obtain a position estimate, the necessary additional data (e.g., the location and relative transmission timing of transmission point 402) can be provided to UE 404 by a location server. In some implementations, a position estimate for UE 404 can be obtained (e.g., by UE 404 itself or by a location server) from RSTD and from other measurements made by UE 404 (e.g., measurements of signal timing from Global Positioning System (GPS) or other Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellites). In these implementations (referred to as hybrid positioning), RSTD measurements can help obtain a position estimate for UE 404, but may not fully determine the position estimate.

[0112] The position estimate may be referred to by other names, such as a position estimate, position, position fix, position fix, fix, etc. The position estimate may be geodetic and include coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude), or may be municipal and include a street address, postal address, or some other verbal description of the location. The position estimate may be further defined relative to some other known location or defined in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude). The position estimate may include an expected error or uncertainty (e.g., by including an area or volume within which the location is expected to be included with some specified or default confidence level).

[0113] Various frame structures may be used to support downlink and uplink transmissions between network nodes (eg, base stations and UEs). Figure 5 FIG5 is a diagram illustrating an example frame structure according to aspects of the present disclosure. The frame structure may be a downlink or uplink frame structure. Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels.

[0114] LTE (and in some cases NR) utilizes orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) on the downlink and single carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. However, unlike LTE, NR also has the option of using OFDM on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM divide the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also often referred to as frequency tones, frequency bins, etc. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. Generally speaking, modulation symbols are transmitted in the frequency domain using OFDM and in the time domain using SC-FDM. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers can be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) can depend on the system bandwidth. For example, the subcarrier spacing can be 15 kilohertz (kHz), and the minimum resource allocation (resource block) can be 12 subcarriers (or 180 kHz). Thus, for a system bandwidth of 1.25 megahertz (MHz), 2.5 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, or 20 MHz, the nominal Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) size may be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048, respectively. The system bandwidth may also be divided into subbands. For example, a subband may cover 1.08 MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands for a system bandwidth of 1.25 MHz, 2.5 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, or 20 MHz, respectively.

[0115] LTE supports a single parameter set (subcarrier spacing (SCS), symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR may support multiple parameter sets (μ), for example, 15kHz (μ=0), 30kHz (μ=1), 60kHz (μ=2), 120kHz (μ=3), and 240kHz (μ=4) or larger subcarrier spacings may be available. In each subcarrier spacing, there are 14 symbols per slot. For a 15kHz SCS (μ=0), there is one slot per subframe, 10 slots per frame, a slot duration of 1 millisecond (ms), a symbol duration of 66.7 microseconds (μs), and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size of 50. For a 30kHz SCS (μ=1), there are two slots per subframe, 20 slots per frame, a slot duration of 0.5ms, a symbol duration of 33.3μs, and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size of 100. For 60kHz SCS (μ=2), there are four slots per subframe, 40 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.25ms, the symbol duration is 16.7μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 200. For 120kHz SCS (μ=3), there are eight slots per subframe, 80 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.125ms, the symbol duration is 8.33μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 400. For 240kHz SCS (μ=4), there are 16 slots per subframe, 160 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.0625ms, the symbol duration is 4.17μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 800.

[0116] exist Figure 5 In the example, a 15 kHz parameter set is used. Therefore, in the time domain, a 10 ms frame is divided into 10 equally sized subframes, each 1 ms, and each subframe includes one time slot. Figure 5 , time is represented horizontally (on the X-axis), where time increases from left to right, while frequency is represented vertically (on the Y-axis), where frequency increases (or decreases) from bottom to top.

[0117] A resource grid can be used to represent a time slot, each of which includes one or more time-concurrent resource blocks (RBs) (also called physical RBs (PRBs)) in the frequency domain. The resource grid is further divided into multiple resource elements (REs). An RE may correspond to one symbol length in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain. Figure 5In the parameter set for cyclic prefixes, for a normal cyclic prefix, an RB may contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and seven consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 84 REs. For an extended cyclic prefix, an RB may contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and six consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 72 REs. The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0118] Some REs may carry reference (pilot) signals (RS). These reference signals may include positioning reference signals (PRS), tracking reference signals (TRS), phase tracking reference signals (PTRS), cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), demodulation reference signals (DMRS), primary synchronization signals (PSS), secondary synchronization signals (SSS), synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), and sounding reference signals (SRS), depending on whether the illustrated frame structure is used for uplink or downlink communication. Figure 5 Example locations of REs carrying reference signals (labeled "R") are illustrated.

[0119] A new type of edge computing has been introduced, referred to as the "intelligent edge," "edge intelligence," or "connected intelligent edge" (CIE). The CIE is an expanding set of connected systems and devices that collect and process data closer to where it is captured in the network. In this way, users gain real-time insights and experiences delivered by highly responsive and context-aware applications.

[0120] A CIE server (a third-party server outside the operator's cellular network) can perform positioning operations with one or more UEs, much like a location server (e.g., LMF 270), but does not coordinate with the location server or any base station to configure specific reference signals to be sent for the UE to measure. Instead, the CIE server and UE utilize reference signals that have already been sent in the cellular network (e.g., 5G and / or LTE network). This type of positioning (not coordinated with a location server or base station, but rather utilizing reference signals that have been scheduled to be sent to and measured by connected UEs) is referred to as "OTT positioning." The reference signals measured by the UE are referred to as "OTT reference signals," "OTT signals," etc.

[0121] For example, TRS can be used for positioning purposes, such as CIE-based positioning. TRS are configured with their own time, frequency, and scrambling identifier in each cell. All UEs must support TRS reception, and all 5G networks are required to transmit TRS. However, the UE is only aware of the TRS configuration of its serving cell. In addition, TRS in one cell may conflict with data, TRS, or CSI-RS in neighboring cells.

[0122] Figure 6is a diagram 600 illustrating an example TRS configuration according to aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 6 In , time is represented horizontally (on the X-axis), where time increases from left to right, while frequency is represented vertically (on the Y-axis), where frequency increases (or decreases) from bottom to top. Figure 6 In the example of , two consecutive time slots are extended to show the resource elements of four resource blocks constituting the two time slots.

[0123] like Figure 6 As shown, TRS is sent with a periodicity of 10ms, 20ms, 40ms or 80ms in bursts of one or two time slots. Within a time slot, the positioning of the symbols carrying TRS is configurable if there is a four-symbol inter-symbol distance between TRS symbols. For FR1, the permitted symbol pair positionings are (4,8), (5,9) and (6,10). For FR2, all symbol pairs within a time slot are allowed to be positioned. In the frequency domain, there is a fixed subcarrier distance between the TRS subcarriers among the four subcarriers. There is also a configurable subcarrier offset within each resource block. The TRS bandwidth can be equal to the downlink bandwidth part (DL-BWP) of the device (i.e., as large as 272 PRBs) or 48 PRBs.

[0124] like Figure 6 As shown, the TRS is not fully interleaved in the frequency domain (TRS is transmitted in a comb-4 comb pattern), and therefore, four peaks are expected to be observed in the channel estimate (e.g., channel energy response (CER)) of the TRS. More specifically, because the TRS is transmitted on a given symbol with gaps in the frequency domain, the TRS causes aliasing of the channel estimate. Aliasing is the result of converting the frequency domain to the time domain when estimating the channel estimate, and appears as multiple peaks of equal size, such as Figure 7 shown. Specifically, Figure 7 is a graph 700 of CER estimates for a single symbol where the measured TRS is transmitted using a comb-4 pattern. Figure 7 As shown in FIG, since TRS is transmitted in a comb-4 pattern (i.e., on every fourth subcarrier), the CER has four significant peaks, but only one of these peaks is a "real" peak (i.e., representing the actual time of arrival (ToA) of the TRS in that symbol). However, because the TRS in a cell is quasi-co-located with the SSB in the cell, the SSB can also be measured to resolve the time domain aliasing problem of the TRS in that cell.

[0125] Figure 8An example CIE-based positioning process 800 using TRS according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. The CIE-based positioning process 800 can be performed between a client device 804 (e.g., a mobile device, an IoT device, etc.) and a CIE server 870 (e.g., a third-party server, an OTT server, etc.).

[0126] At stage 810, the CIE server 870 optionally transmits a request to the client device 804 to report TRS configuration parameters (e.g., symbol mode, symbol offset, frequency offset, number of slots per burst, burst periodicity, scrambling identifier, QCL relationship, PCI, etc.) for the serving cell of the device 804. The request may configure the device 804 to report the TRS configuration parameters periodically or upon determining any changes. The request may also configure the device 804 to report only the TRS configuration for a subset of TRSs detected by the device 804 based on certain criteria. For example, the request may configure the device 804 to report only the TRS configuration for TRSs having a signal strength above a threshold. The request may also configure the device 804 to report only the TRS configuration associated with a specific component carrier, frequency band, or frequency range (e.g., FR1 and / or FR2). In addition, the request may configure the device 804 to transition to an RRC connected state for the purpose of collecting TRS configuration parameters from the network.

[0127] At stage 820, device 804 reports the requested TRS configuration parameters to CIE server 870. Note that device 804 may automatically report the TRS parameters of its serving cell without receiving a request from CIE server 870 at stage 810, such as when changing serving cells or periodically.

[0128] At stage 830, device 804 reports the identifiers (e.g., PCIs) of any neighboring cells it has discovered, for example, through radio resource management (RRM) procedures. Device 804 may also transmit RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, and / or RSSI measurements associated with the PCI. The report may include component carriers, frequency bands, frequency ranges, time slot offsets, periodicity, subframe offsets, time windows, and / or preferred TRS configurations (if available) to be provided by CIE server 870. These parameters may be reported in order of priority.

[0129] Note that stages 820 and 830 may be a single transmission sequence or multiple transmission sequences. For example, device 804 may transmit both serving cell information (e.g., requested TRS configuration parameters) and neighboring cell information (e.g., identifiers of any neighboring cells) in the same data transmission (i.e., stages 820 and 830 are a single transmission sequence), and CIE server 870 receives both the serving cell information and the neighboring cell information, or device 804 may first transmit the serving cell information and then the neighboring cell information (i.e., stages 820 and 830 are separate transmissions), and CIE server 870 may first receive the serving cell information and then the neighboring cell information.

[0130] At stage 840, based on the neighboring cell identifier, the CIE server 870 provides the device 804 with a TRS configuration for the identified neighboring cell. The response may include one or more TRS configurations associated with a particular PCI and / or associated with SSBs from that PCI. The multiple TRS configurations may be "alternatives" for the device 804 to attempt to detect. The response may also include a timestamp indicating when the provided configuration is valid, a validity timer, an expiration timer, etc.

[0131] In one aspect, the CIE server 870 may have obtained TRS information for neighboring cells based on performing stages 810 and 820 with multiple other devices, thereby creating a crowdsourced database of TRS parameters for multiple cells. In some cases, if the CIE server 870 does not have the TRS information for the neighboring cell indicated at stage 840, the CIE server may transmit a request to another device 804, which is known to have the neighboring cell as its serving cell, as at stage 810. The CIE server 870 may thereby obtain the TRS configuration parameters for the cell from the other device 804, as at stage 820.

[0132] At stage 850, the device 804 reports location information to the CIE server 870. For UE-based positioning, the location information can be an estimated location of the device 804 determined based on measurements of TRSs transmitted by the serving cell and neighboring cells for which the device 804 received TRS configuration information. Alternatively or additionally, the location information can be raw measurements of the TRSs and timestamps of when those measurements were obtained (e.g., for UE-assisted positioning). The device 804 can also report which TRSs were successfully detected, or which TRSs were not detected. That is, the device 804 can report the identifiers of the neighboring cells in which it detected or failed to detect the indicated TRS.

[0133] As will be appreciated, while the foregoing has described positioning using TRS, the CIE-based positioning process 800 may alternatively be performed using CSI-RS or any other downlink reference signal specific to the serving cell.

[0134] Figure 9 An example multi-UE joint position estimation process 900 according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In the multi-UE joint position estimation process 900, at a high level, a set of UEs with unknown positions perform positioning measurements on the same set of TRPs on the same frequency and at the same (or nearly the same) time. The positioning measurements can be RSTD measurements (for DL-TDOA), UE Rx-Tx time difference measurements (for RTT), and / or path RSRP (for DL-AoD). The measurements are provided to a CIE server, where "differential" versions of legacy techniques (e.g., DL-TDoA, RTT, etc.) are employed to make the measurements more robust to network synchronization and group delay uncertainties when jointly estimating the UE positions. The multi-UE joint position estimation thereby improves the robustness to network uncertainties (e.g., network synchronization and group delay uncertainties).

[0135] refer to Figure 9 , a first UE 904-1 (labeled as "UE1") needs to perform cellular positioning (e.g., has received a request for its position) involving at least a first TRP 902-1 and a second TRP 902-2 (collectively referred to as TRP 902). Therefore, at stage 1, UE 904-1 notifies a server 970 (e.g., a CIE server) of the need to perform cellular positioning and any measurements that have been performed or are planned to be performed in the future. UE 904-1 should notify the server 970 of the type of positioning procedure (e.g., DL-TDOA, RTT, etc.), the configuration of the reference signals measured or to be measured (e.g., PRS, TRS, CSI-RS, etc.), and the TRP 902 measured or to be measured.

[0136] At stage 2, the server 970 instructs one or more other devices (illustrated as a second UE 904-2 and labeled "UE2"), optionally with unknown locations, to obtain specific measurements and report them back to the server 970. These measurements should be of the same type as the measurements already performed or planned to be performed by UE 904-1. These measurements should also be performed on the same reference signal resources transmitted by the same TRP 902. Thus, the instructions from the server 970 to the other devices may include the configuration of the reference signal resources measured or to be measured by the first UE 904-1. Alternatively, the instructions may be to obtain reference signal configuration information for the identified TRP 902 from the location server of the other devices. After performing / obtaining the requested measurements, the other devices report the measurements to the server 970.

[0137] At stage 3, server 970 performs joint positioning of first UE 904-1 and second UE 904-2 and transmits the position estimate determined for UE 904-1 to UE 904-1. Server 970 may also transmit the position estimate for UE 904-2 to UE 904-2.

[0138] To perform joint positioning, the server 970 may require a large number of devices that are relatively close to each other to measure the same reference signal resources from the same TRP. For example, the devices may be IoT devices that are "clustered together" (e.g., in the same room or factory) because they are measuring the same TRP.

[0139] When using OTT signals (e.g., TRS) for positioning, due to the interference caused by multiple TRPs being transmitted on the same time and frequency resources, the UE will need to integrate or aggregate multiple measurements of the OTT signals to achieve acceptable performance (e.g., ToA accuracy). More specifically, when a reference signal is transmitted periodically (e.g., in Figure 6 In the example of ), the UE may aggregate or combine repetitions of the reference signals in the time domain to improve the signal strength (gain) of the measured reference signals.

[0140] There are two types of integration, namely, coherent integration and incoherent integration. Coherent integration (or coherent combining) is the combination of reference signal measurements in both the phase domain and the amplitude domain. For example, assume that a first reference signal measurement (denoted as "RS1") is associated with a first reference signal repetition (denoted as "Repetition 1"), and a second reference signal measurement (denoted as "RS2") is associated with a second reference signal repetition (denoted as "Repetition 2"). Both reference signal measurements RS1 and RS2 are in the complex domain. Adding RS1 and RS2 together in the complex domain is coherent combining, while adding the absolute value of RS1 and the absolute value of RS2 is incoherent combining. Note that phase coherence of the reference signal measurements across the repetitions is necessary for coherent combining.

[0141] For coherent integration, symbols within the same time slot (or possibly multiple time slots in the same reference signal burst) can be coherently integrated because the phase does not change significantly over that duration. For non-coherent integration, across a burst (e.g., a TRS burst is 20 time slots), the channel / device phase may have changed enough to invalidate coherent integration. In this case, the UE can combine multiple measurements non-coherently.

[0142] The present disclosure provides techniques for improving the performance of positioning estimation using 5G OTT signals by utilizing a multi-hypothesis framework for any measurement reported by the UE to the CIE server. More specifically, the UE can track multiple hypotheses for positioning measurements (e.g., ToA) based on various integration levels and report them back to the CIE server.

[0143] Figure 10 is a diagram 1000 illustrating an example assumption in which ToA estimation is based on a sliding window of channel measurements in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 10 In the example of , two-slot bursts of TRS (labeled "Burst 1," "Burst 2," etc.) are sent periodically (eg, every 20 slots). Figure 10 The assumption in the example of is that the ToA of TRS is determined by coherently integrating the TRS within each burst (i.e., within two time slots of each burst) and non-coherently integrating the TRS across two consecutive bursts. This assumption is illustrated by the sliding window being sized to include two consecutive bursts. Thus, in Figure 10 In the example shown in Figure 2, the UE determines the ToA of the TRS by integrating the measurements of burst 1 and burst 2 in the first sliding window, then integrating the measurements of burst 2 and burst 3 in the next sliding window, etc. By discarding the last channel measurement and adding the latest channel measurement, a two-burst sliding window can be implemented efficiently.

[0144] Figure 11 is a diagram 1100 illustrating another example assumption in which ToA estimation is based on a sliding window of channel measurements in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 11 In the example of , two-slot bursts of TRS (labeled "Burst 1," "Burst 2," etc.) are sent periodically (eg, every 20 slots). Figure 11 The assumption in the example of is that the ToA of TRS is determined by coherently integrating the TRS within each burst (i.e., within two time slots of each burst) and non-coherently integrating the TRS across four consecutive bursts. This assumption is illustrated by the sliding window being sized to include four consecutive bursts. Thus, in Figure 11 In the example of , the UE determines the ToA of the TRS by integrating the measurements of burst 1 to burst 4 in the first sliding window, then integrating the measurements of burst 2 to burst 5 in the next sliding window, and so on.

[0145] As will be understood, although Figure 10 and Figure 11Sliding windows of two and four bursts are illustrated, respectively, but the hypothesis / sliding window can be configured to include any number of bursts. In addition, in the case of a low TRS periodicity (e.g., 10 time slots), the UE can test the hypothesis in which the TRS is coherently integrated across two or more consecutive bursts rather than just across the time slots of one burst.

[0146] On the server side, the server can determine which hypotheses produce more outliers or better performance in terms of SINR and / or other signal strength measurements. More specifically, the UE reports each hypothesis and the positioning measurement (e.g., ToA) obtained using the hypothesis. For each hypothesis, the server uses the measurement obtained using the hypothesis to perform pruning and outlier rejection. The server can use, for example, a random sampling consensus (RANSAC) method. The server can then determine which hypothesis is best for the UE (e.g., producing the highest SINR, the most accurate ToA estimate, etc.).

[0147] The UE can determine the hypotheses to be tested by itself and report them to the server, or the server can command the UE which hypotheses to test. The length of the hypothesis (ie, the number of bursts to be combined per measurement) can be based on the UE's mobility, channel conditions, etc.

[0148] Different hypotheses may be preferred in different scenarios. That is, a hypothesis that works well in one scenario may not be the best hypothesis in a different scenario. For example, in a high mobility scenario, the best hypothesis will likely have a short integration duration (e.g., one or two bursts). Consequently, a high mobility hypothesis with a long integration duration will likely suffer performance degradation due to the reduced channel coherence time. However, in low mobility and / or high interference scenarios, the best hypothesis will likely have a longer integration duration, even if this requires the use of non-coherent integration.

[0149] Figure 12 A method 1200 is illustrated for calculating the position of a UE 904 based on multiple hypotheses according to aspects of the present disclosure. The method 1200 may be a positioning process (such as Figure 4 Part of the TDOA-based positioning process illustrated in .

[0150] At stage 1210, the UE 904 reports information about any observable (i.e., measurable) cells to the server 970. This information may include the TRS configuration and / or cell identifier (e.g., PCI, NR CGI) of the observed cell and a timestamp (of observation / measurement). The UE 904 may only be able to obtain the TRS configuration of its serving cell, or may be able to obtain / determine the TRS configuration for any neighboring cell.

[0151] At stage 1220, the server 970 transmits a measurement configuration for coherent and / or non-coherent integration using one or more hypotheses to the UE 904. For example, the server 970 may configure the UE 904 with per-TRP associations with one or more sliding windows; whether to perform coherent integration, non-coherent integration, or both; the length of the windows, etc. For example, the UE 904 may be configured with Figure 10 The two burst assumptions and Figure 11 The four-burst hypothesis illustrated in .

[0152] At stage 1230, the UE 904 performs / obtains multiple positioning measurements (e.g., ToA) using different coherent and / or non-coherent assumptions according to the configuration received at stage 1220. For example, if the UE 904 is configured with Figure 10 The two burst assumptions and Figure 11 , the UE 904 will perform / obtain one or more positioning measurements using the two-burst assumption and one or more positioning measurements using the four-burst assumption.

[0153] At stage 1240, if the positioning process is UE-based, the UE 904 calculates an estimate of its position. For example, for a TDOA-based positioning process, the position estimate is based on the RSTD of the TRS received from the TRP pair (specifically, a reference TRP paired with multiple non-reference TRPs) and the position of the TRP, as described above with reference to Figure 4 As discussed. The server 970 can indicate which TRP to use as the reference TRP, or the UE 904 can select a reference TRP and report it to the server 970, or the UE 904 can use its serving cell as the reference TRP. The server 970 can also provide the location of the measured TRP.

[0154] As part of calculating the position estimate, the UE 904 also calculates a quality metric for each hypothesis with which the UE 904 is configured at stage 1220. The quality metric indicates the quality of the positioning measurements obtained using the hypothesis. The quality metric may be, for example, a function of the number of outliers (measurements that are inconsistent with other measurements and / or other known information) and / or inliers (measurements that are consistent with other measurements and / or other known information). The quality metric may be per TRP (i.e., may indicate how the hypothesis performs per TRP) or for all measured TRPs.

[0155] At stage 1250, the UE 904 reports the hypothesis quality metrics to the server 970 and, optionally, the position estimate calculated at stage 1240. The UE 904 may report the quality metrics for only the best hypothesis or for all hypotheses with which the UE 904 is configured at stage 1220. The report may include any thresholds used for outlier and / or inlier determination, the number of outliers and / or inliers, etc. The report may also indicate whether the quality metric is per TRP or for all TRPs.

[0156] At stage 1260, if the positioning process is UE-assisted, the UE 904 reports positioning measurements (e.g., ToA) obtained using different coherent and / or non-coherent assumptions according to the configuration received at stage 1220. For example, if the UE 904 is configured with Figure 10 The two burst assumptions and Figure 11 , the UE 904 will report one or more positioning measurements obtained using the two-burst assumption and one or more positioning measurements obtained using the four-burst assumption. The report should identify, for each measurement, which TRP was measured (measuring a TRS or other downlink channel from a TRP is referred to as a "measured TRP") and the assumption used to determine the measurement.

[0157] At stage 1270, the server 970 computes an estimate of the position of the UE 904 based on the measurements reported at stage 1260 and the known positions of the measured TRPs. For example, for a TDOA-based positioning process, the position estimate is based on the RSTD of the TRS received from a TRP pair (specifically, a reference TRP paired with multiple non-reference TRPs) and the positions of the TRPs, as described above with reference to Figure 4 As discussed. Server 970

[0158] As part of calculating the position estimate for the UE 904, the server 970 may also calculate a quality metric for each hypothesis that the UE 904 used to obtain the measurements reported at stage 1260. The quality metric may be the same quality metric that the UE 904 determined for UE-based positioning. The server 970 may crowdsource the best one or more hypotheses for each TRP so that the server can provide better recommendations to other UEs.

[0159] Figure 13 An example multi-UE joint position estimation process 1300 using TRP-specific assumptions according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. Figure 13In the example, two UEs 1304-1 and 1304-2 (labeled as "UE1" and "UE2", respectively, and collectively referred to as UE 1304) can observe two TRPs 1302-1 and 1302-2 (labeled as "TRP1" and "TRP2", respectively, and collectively referred to as TRP 1302) (i.e., measure at least the TRS from these two TRPs).

[0160] At stage 1, UE 1304-1 determines that it needs to perform cellular positioning. For example, UE 1304-1 may have received a request for its location from an application running on UE 1304-1, or may need to report its location as part of an emergency call. UE 1304-1 indicates the need for cellular positioning to server 1370 (e.g., a CIE server), as in Figure 9 At stage 1 of , any observed cell (here TRP 1302) can be reported, as in Figure 12 at stage 1210.

[0161] At stage 2, the server 1370 configures the UE 1304-1 with two hypotheses (denoted as "H1" and "H2") to be used to obtain positioning measurements from each TRP 1302. This stage may correspond to Figure 12 In stage 1220. Figure 13 In the example of , it is assumed that H1 can be a burst of two time slots performing coherent processing (such as Figure 10 ), and the assumption H2 may be that non-coherent processing is performed across the time slots of the burst. UE 1304-1 uses the configured assumptions to obtain positioning measurements, as in Figure 12 At stage 1230 of , and reports measurements for both hypotheses to server 1370, as in Figure 12 at stage 1260.

[0162] At stage 3, Figure 13 In the example of FIG, server 1370 determines that for TRP 1302-1, hypothesis H1 produces better performance (e.g., fewer outliers), while for TRP 1302-2, hypothesis H2 produces better performance. This determination can be based on a quality metric determined for each hypothesis, as described above with reference to FIG. Figure 12 described.

[0163] At stage 4, server 1370 instructs UE 1304-2 to use only hypothesis H1 for TRP 1302-1 and only hypothesis H2 for TRP 1302-2. This may be Figure 91304-2 reports the measurements of TRP 1302 obtained using the corresponding assumptions to the server 1370. The server 1370 then performs joint positioning of UE 1304, as in Figure 9 At stage 3.

[0164] Figure 14 An example multi-UE joint position estimation process 1400 using network operator specific assumptions according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. Figure 14 In the example, two UEs 1404-1 and 1404-2 (labeled as "UE1" and "UE2", respectively, and collectively referred to as UE 1404) can observe sets of TRPs 1402-1 and 1402-2 (labeled as "TRP Op1" and "TRP Op2", respectively, and collectively referred to as sets of TRPs 1402) of different network operators (i.e., measure at least TRSs from these sets).

[0165] At stage 1, UE 1404-1 determines that it needs to perform cellular positioning, as in Figure 13 UE 1404-1 indicates the need for cellular positioning to server 1470 (e.g., CIE server), as in Figure 9 1402, and any observed cells (here the set of TRPs 1402) may be reported, as in Figure 12 at stage 1210.

[0166] At stage 2, server 1470 configures UE 1404-1 with two hypotheses (denoted as "H1" and "H2") to be used to obtain positioning measurements from each network operator's TRP (here, the set of TRPs 1402). This stage may correspond to Figure 12 In stage 1220. Figure 14 In the example of , it is assumed that H1 can be a burst of two time slots performing coherent processing (such as Figure 10 ), and the assumption H2 may be that non-coherent processing is performed across the time slots of the burst. UE 1404-1 uses the configured assumptions to obtain positioning measurements, as in Figure 12 At stage 1230 of , and reports measurements for both hypotheses to the server 1470, as in Figure 12 at stage 1260.

[0167] At stage 3, Figure 14In the example of , server 1470 determines that for the set of TRPs 1402-1, hypothesis H1 produces better performance (e.g., fewer outliers), while for the set of TRPs 1402-2, hypothesis H2 produces better performance. This determination can be based on a quality metric determined for each hypothesis, as described above with reference to Figure 12 described.

[0168] At stage 4, the server 1470 instructs the UE 1404-2 to use only hypothesis H1 for the set of TRPs 1402-1 and only hypothesis H2 for the set of TRPs 1402-2. This may be Figure 9 1404-2 reports the measurements of TRP 1402 obtained using the corresponding assumptions to the server 1470. The server 1470 then performs joint positioning of UE 1404, as in Figure 9 At stage 3.

[0169] Figure 15 An example multi-UE joint position estimation process 1500 using TRP-specific assumptions for UE-based positioning is illustrated in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 15 In the example, two UEs 1504-1 and 1504-2 (labeled as "UE1" and "UE2", respectively, and collectively referred to as UE 1504) can observe two TRPs 1502-1 and 1502-2 (labeled as "TRP1" and "TRP2", respectively, and collectively referred to as TRP 1502) (i.e., measure at least the TRS from these two TRPs).

[0170] At stage 1, UE 1504-1 determines that it needs to perform cellular positioning, as in Figure 13 UE 1504-1 indicates the need for cellular positioning to server 1570 (e.g., CIE server), as in Figure 9 1502) and can report any observed cells (here TRP 1502), as in Figure 12 at stage 1210.

[0171] At stage 2, the server 1570 configures the UE 1504-1 with two hypotheses (denoted as "H1" and "H2") to be used to obtain positioning measurements from each TRP 1502. This stage may correspond to Figure 12 In stage 1220. Figure 15 In the example of , it is assumed that H1 can be a burst of two time slots performing coherent processing (such as Figure 10 ), and the assumption H2 may be that non-coherent processing is performed across the time slots of the burst. UE 1504-1 uses the configured assumptions to obtain positioning measurements, as in Figure 12 At stage 1230, an estimate of its position is calculated, as in Figure 12 and reports to the server 1570 which hypothesis produces better performance, as in Figure 12 At stage 1250 of the present invention, the report on which hypothesis produced better performance may include or may be a quality metric for that hypothesis. That is, the UE 1504 may simply identify the hypothesis that produced the best performance, or may provide a quality metric for that hypothesis to indicate that the hypothesis produced the best performance. The UE 1504 may also report its position estimate to the server 1570.

[0172] At stage 3, the server 1570 stores an indication (e.g., a flag) that the reported hypothesis produced the best positioning / measurement performance. More specifically, the server 1570 may maintain a database in which it stores information about the TRSs sent by different TRPs (including TRP 1502), such as the TRS configuration, the hypotheses tested (e.g., H1, H2), and a flag indicating which hypothesis provided the best performance. The server 1570 may also store any available (e.g., reported by UE 1504-1 or calculated by the server 1570) quality metrics associated with the tested hypotheses.

[0173] At stage 4, the server 1570 transmits the TRS database including a flag indicating the best hypothesis to UE 1504-2. UE 1504-2 can then select the TRS to measure and the hypothesis to use for the measurement, and report the results back to the server 1570. The server 1570 then performs joint positioning of UE 1504, as in Figure 9 Alternatively, UE 1504-2 may perform UE-based positioning based on information received from server 1570.

[0174] Figure 16 is a graph 1600 of a cumulative distribution function (CDF) of absolute downlink time of arrival (DL-TOA) error for an example new radio (NR) link in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 16 There are four assumptions in the example of In each assumption, the UE performs coherent processing across the time slots of one burst and then performs non-coherent processing across a certain number of bursts (specifically, 1, 2, 8, and 20 bursts).

[0175] Figure 17 An example method 1700 of wireless communication in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In an aspect, the method 1700 may be performed by a UE (eg, any of the UEs described herein).

[0176] At 1710, the UE receives a request from a server (eg, Figures 8 to 15 any of the servers described herein) receives a request to obtain one or more positioning measurements based on one or more hypotheses for measuring downlink signals sent by one or more TRPs, as in Figure 12 Stage 1220 and Figures 13 to 15 At stage 2 of , wherein each of the one or more hypotheses indicates a type of integration of the downlink signal, a time window during which the integration of the downlink signal is performed, or both, and wherein the type of integration of the downlink signal is one of: coherent integration, non-coherent integration, or both coherent integration and non-coherent integration of the downlink signal. In an aspect, operation 1710 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered means for performing the operation.

[0177] At 1720, the UE uses one or more hypotheses to obtain one or more positioning measurements of downlink signals for each of one or more TRPs, as in Figure 12 At stage 1230. In one aspect, operation 1720 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered means for performing the operation.

[0178] Figure 18 An example method 1800 of communicating according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In one aspect, the method 1800 may be performed by a server (e.g., Figures 8 to 15 any of the servers described).

[0179] At 1810, the server receives from a first UE (eg, any of the UEs described herein) identifiers of one or more TRPs observed by the first UE, as in Figure 12 1210. In one aspect, operation 1810 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be considered means for performing the operation.

[0180] At 1820, the server sends a request to the first UE to obtain one or more positioning measurements based on one or more hypotheses for measuring downlink signals sent by one or more TRPs, as in Figure 12 Stage 1220 and Figures 13 to 15At stage 2 of , wherein each of the one or more hypotheses indicates a type of integration of the downlink signal, a time window during which the integration of the downlink signal is performed, or both, and wherein the type of integration of the downlink signal is one of: coherent integration, non-coherent integration, or both coherent integration and non-coherent integration of a downlink reference signal. In an aspect, operation 1820 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be considered means for performing the operation.

[0181] As will be appreciated, a technical advantage of methods 1700 and 1800 is that OTT positioning performance is improved by determining and using an optimal coherence hypothesis for measuring downlink signals from one or more TRPs.

[0182] In the above detailed description, it can be seen that different features are grouped together in each example. This disclosure should not be understood as an intention that the example clauses have more features than those explicitly mentioned in each clause. On the contrary, the various aspects of the present disclosure may include less than all the features of the disclosed individual example clauses. Therefore, the following clauses should be considered to be incorporated into the description accordingly, where each clause itself can be used as a separate example. Although each dependent clause may refer to a specific combination of a clause with one of the other clauses in a clause, the aspects of the dependent clause are not limited to specific combinations. It should be understood that other example clauses may also include combinations of dependent clause aspects with the subject matter of any other dependent clause or independent clause or combinations of any features with other dependent clauses and independent clauses. The various aspects disclosed herein explicitly include these combinations, unless it is expressly expressed or can be easily inferred that a specific combination is not intended to be used (for example, contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as both an electrical insulator and an electrical conductor). In addition, it is also expected that various aspects of a clause may be included in any other independent clause, even if the clause is not directly dependent on the independent clause.

[0183] Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0184] Clause 1. A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving from a server a request to obtain one or more positioning measurements based on one or more hypotheses for measuring a downlink signal sent by one or more transmit receive points (TRPs), wherein each of the one or more hypotheses indicates an integration type of the downlink signal, a time window during which the integration of the downlink signal is performed, or both, and wherein the integration type of the downlink signal is one of: coherent integration, incoherent integration, or both coherent integration and incoherent integration of the downlink signal; and using the one or more hypotheses to obtain the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal for each of the one or more TRPs.

[0185] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, further comprising: reporting identifiers of the one or more TRPs to the server, wherein the one or more hypotheses are received in response to reporting the identifiers of the one or more TRPs.

[0186] Clause 3. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 2, further comprising: reporting to the server the time and frequency resource configuration of the downlink signal for at least the service TRP among the one or more TRPs.

[0187] Clause 4. The method of any of clauses 1 to 3, further comprising reporting the one or more positioning measurements to the server to enable the server to compute a positioning estimate for the UE.

[0188] Clause 5. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 4, further comprising: for each of the one or more TRPs, calculating a hypothesis quality metric for the one or more hypotheses based on the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the TRP.

[0189] Clause 6. The method according to Clause 5 further includes: reporting to the server the hypothetical quality metric for each of the one or more TRPs; or reporting to the server, for each of the one or more TRPs, an indication of which of the one or more hypotheses provides better measurement performance for the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the TRP based on the hypothetical quality metric compared to the remaining hypotheses in the one or more hypotheses.

[0190] Clause 7. A method according to any one of clauses 5 to 6, wherein each hypothesis quality metric is based on the number of outlier measurements, the number of inlier measurements, or the number of both outlier and inlier measurements produced by a corresponding hypothesis of the one or more hypotheses.

[0191] Clause 8. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 7, further comprising: calculating a positioning estimate for the UE based on the one or more positioning measurements and the positions of the one or more TRPs.

[0192] Clause 9. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 8, wherein obtaining the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal comprises: for each of the one or more TRPs, applying all of the one or more hypotheses to the downlink signal sent by the TRP; or for each of the one or more TRPs, applying one of the one or more hypotheses to the downlink signal sent by the TRP.

[0193] Clause 10. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 9, wherein the time window comprises one or more bursts of one or more time slots of the downlink signal.

[0194] Clause 11. The method of any of clauses 1 to 10, wherein the downlink signal comprises a tracking reference signal (TRS), a positioning reference signal (PRS), or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0195] Clause 12. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 11, wherein the one or more positioning measurements include: one or more downlink time of arrival (DL-TOA) measurements, one or more reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements, one or more reference signal received power (RSRP) measurements, one or more path RSRP measurements, one or more received to transmitted (Rx-Tx) time difference measurements, one or more Doppler measurements, or any combination thereof.

[0196] Clause 13. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 12, wherein the server comprises a Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server or an Over-the-Top (OTT) server.

[0197] Clause 14. A method of communication performed by a server, the method comprising: receiving from a first user equipment (UE) an identifier of one or more transmit receive points (TRPs) observed by the first UE; and sending to the first UE a request to obtain one or more positioning measurements based on one or more hypotheses for measuring downlink signals sent by the one or more TRPs, wherein each of the one or more hypotheses indicates an integration type of the downlink signal, a time window during which the integration of the downlink signal is performed, or both, and wherein the integration type of the downlink signal is one of: coherent integration, incoherent integration, or both coherent integration and incoherent integration of the downlink signal.

[0198] Clause 15. The method according to Clause 14 further includes: receiving from the first UE the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal for each of the one or more TRPs, the one or more positioning measurements being obtained using the one or more assumptions; and determining, for each of the one or more TRPs, which of the one or more assumptions provides better measurement performance for the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the TRP compared to the remaining assumptions of the one or more assumptions.

[0199] Clause 16. The method according to Clause 15 further includes: for each TRP in the one or more TRPs, sending an indication to the second UE of obtaining a positioning measurement of the downlink signal sent by the TRP using the hypothesis in the one or more hypotheses that provides the better measurement performance for the TRP compared to the remaining hypotheses in the one or more hypotheses.

[0200] Clause 17. A method according to any one of clauses 15 to 16, wherein: the one or more TRPs include a first set of TRPs of a first network operator and a second set of TRPs of a second network operator, a first hypothesis of the one or more hypotheses is determined to provide better measurement performance for the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signals sent by the first set of TRPs than the remaining hypotheses of the one or more hypotheses, and a second hypothesis of the one or more hypotheses is determined to provide better measurement performance for the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signals sent by the second set of TRPs than the remaining hypotheses of the one or more hypotheses.

[0201] Clause 18. The method according to Clause 17 further includes: sending a first indication to a second UE to obtain positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the first set of TRPs using the first assumption; and sending a second indication to the second UE to obtain positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the second set of TRPs using the second assumption.

[0202] Clause 19. A method according to any one of clauses 14 to 18, the method further comprising: for each of the one or more TRPs, receiving a hypothesis quality metric for the one or more hypotheses from the first UE based on the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the TRP.

[0203] Clause 20. The method according to Clause 19 further comprises: for each of the one or more TRPs, sending an indication to a second UE based on the assumed quality metric for the TRP of obtaining a positioning measurement of the downlink signal sent by the TRP using an assumption among the one or more assumptions that provides better measurement performance for the TRP compared to the remaining assumptions among the one or more assumptions.

[0204] Clause 21. A method according to any one of clauses 19 to 20, wherein each hypothesis quality metric is based on the number of outlier measurements, the number of inlier measurements, or the number of both outlier and inlier measurements produced by a corresponding hypothesis of the one or more hypotheses.

[0205] Clause 22. A method according to any one of clauses 14 to 21, the method further comprising: receiving, for each of the one or more TRPs, an indication from the first UE of which hypothesis of the one or more hypotheses provides better measurement performance for the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the TRP compared to the remaining hypotheses of the one or more hypotheses.

[0206] Clause 23. The method according to Clause 22 further includes: for each of the one or more TRPs, sending an indication to a second UE of obtaining a positioning measurement of the downlink signal sent by the TRP using the hypothesis among the one or more hypotheses that provides the better measurement performance for the TRP compared to the remaining hypotheses among the one or more hypotheses.

[0207] Clause 24. The method according to any one of clauses 14 to 23 further includes: receiving from the first UE a time and frequency resource configuration of the downlink signal for at least the service TRP among the one or more TRPs; and sending to the second UE the time and frequency resource configuration of the downlink signal for at least the service TRP.

[0208] Clause 25. The method of any one of clauses 14 to 24, wherein the time window comprises one or more bursts of one or more time slots of the downlink signal.

[0209] Clause 26. The method of any of clauses 14 to 25, wherein the downlink signal comprises a tracking reference signal (TRS), a positioning reference signal (PRS), or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0210] Clause 27. A method according to any one of clauses 14 to 26, wherein the one or more positioning measurements include: one or more downlink time of arrival (DL-TOA) measurements, one or more reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements, one or more reference signal received power (RSRP) measurements, one or more path RSRP measurements, one or more received to transmitted (Rx-Tx) time difference measurements, one or more Doppler measurements, or any combination thereof.

[0211] Clause 28. The method of any one of clauses 14 to 27, wherein the server comprises a Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server or an Over-the-Top (OTT) server.

[0212] Clause 29. A user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: receive from a server via the at least one transceiver a request to obtain one or more positioning measurements based on one or more hypotheses for measuring downlink signals sent by one or more transmit receive points (TRPs), wherein each of the one or more hypotheses indicates an integration type of the downlink signal, a time window during which the integration of the downlink signal is performed, or both, and wherein the integration type of the downlink signal is one of: coherent integration, incoherent integration, or both coherent integration and incoherent integration of the downlink signal; and use the one or more hypotheses to obtain the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal for each of the one or more TRPs.

[0213] Clause 30. A UE according to clause 29, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: report identifiers of the one or more TRPs to the server via the at least one transceiver, wherein the one or more hypotheses are received in response to reporting the identifiers of the one or more TRPs.

[0214] Clause 31. A UE according to any one of clauses 29 to 30, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: report the time and frequency resource configuration of the downlink signal for at least the service TRP among the one or more TRPs to the server via the at least one transceiver.

[0215] Clause 32. A UE as described in any of clauses 29 to 31, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: report the one or more positioning measurements to the server via the at least one transceiver to enable the server to calculate a positioning estimate for the UE.

[0216] Clause 33. A UE according to any one of clauses 29 to 32, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: for each of the one or more TRPs, calculate a hypothesis quality metric for the one or more hypotheses based on the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the TRP.

[0217] Clause 34. A UE according to clause 33, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: report the assumed quality metric for each of the one or more TRPs to the server via the at least one transceiver; or report to the server via the at least one transceiver, for each of the one or more TRPs, an indication of which of the one or more hypotheses provides better measurement performance for the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the TRP compared to the remaining hypotheses of the one or more hypotheses based on the assumed quality metric.

[0218] Clause 35. A UE according to any of clauses 33 to 34, wherein each hypothesis quality metric is based on a number of outlier measurements, a number of inlier measurements, or a number of both outlier and inlier measurements produced by a corresponding hypothesis of the one or more hypotheses.

[0219] Clause 36. A UE according to any of clauses 29 to 35, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: calculate a positioning estimate for the UE based on the one or more positioning measurements and the positions of the one or more TRPs.

[0220] Clause 37. A UE according to any one of clauses 29 to 36, wherein the at least one processor is configured to obtain the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal, including the at least one processor being configured to: for each of the one or more TRPs, apply all of the one or more hypotheses to the downlink signal sent by the TRP; or for each of the one or more TRPs, apply one of the one or more hypotheses to the downlink signal sent by the TRP.

[0221] Clause 38. A UE as set forth in any of clauses 29 to 37, wherein the time window comprises one or more bursts of one or more time slots of the downlink signal.

[0222] Clause 39. A UE as described in any of clauses 29 to 38, wherein the downlink signal comprises a tracking reference signal (TRS), a positioning reference signal (PRS), or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0223] Clause 40. A UE according to any one of clauses 29 to 39, wherein the one or more positioning measurements include: one or more downlink time of arrival (DL-TOA) measurements, one or more reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements, one or more reference signal received power (RSRP) measurements, one or more path RSRP measurements, one or more received to transmitted (Rx-Tx) time difference measurements, one or more Doppler measurements, or any combination thereof.

[0224] Clause 41. A UE as described in any of clauses 29 to 40, wherein the server comprises a Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server or an Over-the-Top (OTT) server.

[0225] Clause 42. A server comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: receive identifiers of one or more transmit receive points (TRPs) observed by a first user equipment (UE) from the at least one transceiver; and send a request to the first UE via the at least one transceiver to obtain one or more positioning measurements based on one or more hypotheses for measuring downlink signals sent by the one or more TRPs, wherein each of the one or more hypotheses indicates an integration type of the downlink signal, a time window during which the integration of the downlink signal is performed, or both, and wherein the integration type of the downlink signal is one of: coherent integration, incoherent integration, or both coherent integration and incoherent integration of the downlink signal.

[0226] Clause 43. A server according to clause 42, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal for each of the one or more TRPs from the first UE via the at least one transceiver, the one or more positioning measurements being obtained using the one or more assumptions; and determine, for each of the one or more TRPs, which of the one or more assumptions provides better measurement performance for the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the TRP compared to the remaining assumptions of the one or more assumptions.

[0227] Clause 44. A server according to clause 43, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: for each of the one or more TRPs, send to the second UE via the at least one transceiver an indication of obtaining a positioning measurement of the downlink signal sent by the TRP using the hypothesis among the one or more hypotheses that provides the better measurement performance for the TRP compared to the remaining hypotheses among the one or more hypotheses.

[0228] Clause 45. A server according to any one of clauses 43 to 44, wherein: the one or more TRPs include a first set of TRPs of a first network operator and a second set of TRPs of a second network operator, a first hypothesis of the one or more hypotheses is determined to provide better measurement performance for the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signals sent by the first set of TRPs than the remaining hypotheses of the one or more hypotheses, and a second hypothesis of the one or more hypotheses is determined to provide better measurement performance for the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signals sent by the second set of TRPs than the remaining hypotheses of the one or more hypotheses.

[0229] Clause 46. A server according to clause 45, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: send a first indication to a second UE via the at least one transceiver to obtain a positioning measurement of the downlink signal sent by the first set of TRPs using the first assumption; and send a second indication to the second UE via the at least one transceiver to obtain a positioning measurement of the downlink signal sent by the second set of TRPs using the second assumption.

[0230] Clause 47. A server according to any one of clauses 42 to 46, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: for each of the one or more TRPs, receive a hypothesis quality metric for the one or more hypotheses from the first UE via the at least one transceiver based on the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the TRP.

[0231] Clause 48. A server according to clause 47, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: for each of the one or more TRPs, send to a second UE via the at least one transceiver an indication of a positioning measurement of the downlink signal sent by the TRP based on the assumed quality metric for the TRP using an assumption among the one or more assumptions that provides better measurement performance for the TRP than the remaining assumptions among the one or more assumptions.

[0232] Clause 49. A server according to any one of clauses 47 to 48, wherein each hypothesis quality metric is based on a number of outlier measurements, a number of inlier measurements, or a number of both outlier and inlier measurements produced by a corresponding hypothesis of the one or more hypotheses.

[0233] Clause 50. A server according to any one of clauses 42 to 49, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: for each of the one or more TRPs, receive from the first UE via the at least one transceiver an indication of which of the one or more hypotheses provides better measurement performance for the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the TRP compared to the remaining hypotheses of the one or more hypotheses.

[0234] Clause 51. A server according to clause 50, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: for each TRP of the one or more TRPs, send to the second UE via the at least one transceiver an indication of obtaining a positioning measurement of the downlink signal sent by the TRP using the hypothesis of the one or more hypotheses that provides the better measurement performance for the TRP compared to the remaining hypotheses of the one or more hypotheses.

[0235] Clause 52. A server according to any one of clauses 42 to 51, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive a time and frequency resource configuration for the downlink signal for at least the service TRP among the one or more TRPs from the first UE via the at least one transceiver; and send the time and frequency resource configuration for the downlink signal for at least the service TRP to a second UE via the at least one transceiver.

[0236] Clause 53. The server of any one of clauses 42 to 52, wherein the time window comprises one or more bursts of one or more time slots of the downlink signal.

[0237] Clause 54. The server of any of clauses 42 to 53, wherein the downlink signal comprises a tracking reference signal (TRS), a positioning reference signal (PRS), or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0238] Clause 55. A server according to any one of clauses 42 to 54, wherein the one or more positioning measurements include: one or more downlink time of arrival (DL-TOA) measurements, one or more reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements, one or more reference signal received power (RSRP) measurements, one or more path RSRP measurements, one or more received to transmitted (Rx-Tx) time difference measurements, one or more Doppler measurements, or any combination thereof.

[0239] Clause 56. The server of any one of clauses 42 to 55, wherein the server comprises a Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server or an Over-the-Top (OTT) server.

[0240] Clause 57. A user equipment (UE), comprising: a component for receiving from a server a request for obtaining one or more positioning measurements based on one or more hypotheses for measuring downlink signals sent by one or more transmit receive points (TRPs), wherein each of the one or more hypotheses indicates an integration type of the downlink signal, a time window during which the integration of the downlink signal is performed, or both, and wherein the integration type of the downlink signal is one of: coherent integration, incoherent integration, or both coherent integration and incoherent integration of the downlink signal; and a component for obtaining the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal for each of the one or more TRPs using the one or more hypotheses.

[0241] Clause 58. The UE of clause 57, further comprising means for reporting identifiers of the one or more TRPs to the server, wherein the one or more hypotheses are received in response to reporting the identifiers of the one or more TRPs.

[0242] Clause 59. A UE according to any one of clauses 57 to 58, the UE further comprising: a component for reporting to the server the time and frequency resource configuration of the downlink signal for at least the serving TRP in the one or more TRPs.

[0243] Clause 60. A UE as set forth in any of clauses 57 to 59, the UE further comprising means for reporting the one or more positioning measurements to the server to enable the server to compute a positioning estimate for the UE.

[0244] Clause 61. A UE according to any one of clauses 57 to 60, the UE further comprising: a component for calculating, for each of the one or more TRPs, a hypothesis quality metric for the one or more hypotheses based on the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the TRP.

[0245] Clause 62. The UE according to clause 61 further comprises: a component for reporting the hypothetical quality metric for each of the one or more TRPs to the server; or a component for reporting, for each of the one or more TRPs, an indication of which of the one or more hypotheses provides better measurement performance for the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the TRP based on the hypothetical quality metric.

[0246] Clause 63. A UE according to any of clauses 61 to 62, wherein each hypothesis quality metric is based on a number of outlier measurements, a number of inlier measurements, or a number of both outlier and inlier measurements produced by a corresponding hypothesis of the one or more hypotheses.

[0247] Clause 64. A UE as described in any of clauses 57 to 63, the UE further comprising: means for calculating a positioning estimate for the UE based on the one or more positioning measurements and the positions of the one or more TRPs.

[0248] Clause 65. A UE according to any one of clauses 57 to 64, wherein the component for obtaining the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal includes: a component for applying, for each of the one or more TRPs, all of the one or more hypotheses to the downlink signal sent by the TRP; or a component for applying, for each of the one or more TRPs, one of the one or more hypotheses to the downlink signal sent by the TRP.

[0249] Clause 66. A UE as set forth in any of clauses 57 to 65, wherein the time window comprises one or more bursts of one or more time slots of the downlink signal.

[0250] Clause 67. A UE as set forth in any of clauses 57 to 66, wherein the downlink signal comprises a tracking reference signal (TRS), a positioning reference signal (PRS), or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0251] Clause 68. A UE according to any one of clauses 57 to 67, wherein the one or more positioning measurements include: one or more downlink time of arrival (DL-TOA) measurements, one or more reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements, one or more reference signal received power (RSRP) measurements, one or more path RSRP measurements, one or more received to transmitted (Rx-Tx) time difference measurements, one or more Doppler measurements, or any combination thereof.

[0252] Clause 69. The UE of any of clauses 57 to 68, wherein the server comprises a Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server or an Over-the-Top (OTT) server.

[0253] Clause 70. A server comprising: a component for receiving, from a first user equipment (UE), identifiers of one or more transmit receive points (TRPs) observed by the first UE; and a component for sending to the first UE a request to obtain one or more positioning measurements based on one or more hypotheses for measuring downlink signals sent by the one or more TRPs, wherein each of the one or more hypotheses indicates an integration type of the downlink signal, a time window during which the integration of the downlink signal is performed, or both, and wherein the integration type of the downlink signal is one of: coherent integration, incoherent integration, or both coherent and incoherent integration of the downlink signal.

[0254] Clause 71. A server according to clause 70, wherein the server further includes: a component for receiving the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal for each of the one or more TRPs from the first UE, the one or more positioning measurements being obtained using the one or more assumptions; and a component for determining, for each of the one or more TRPs, which of the one or more assumptions provides better measurement performance for the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the TRP compared to the remaining assumptions of the one or more assumptions.

[0255] Clause 72. A server according to clause 71, wherein the server further comprises: a component for sending, for each of the one or more TRPs, to a second UE an indication of a positioning measurement of the downlink signal sent by the TRP using the hypothesis among the one or more hypotheses that provides the better measurement performance for the TRP compared to the remaining hypotheses among the one or more hypotheses.

[0256] Clause 73. A server according to any one of clauses 71 to 72, wherein: the one or more TRPs include a first set of TRPs of a first network operator and a second set of TRPs of a second network operator, a first hypothesis of the one or more hypotheses is determined to provide better measurement performance for the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signals sent by the first set of TRPs than the remaining hypotheses of the one or more hypotheses, and a second hypothesis of the one or more hypotheses is determined to provide better measurement performance for the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signals sent by the second set of TRPs than the remaining hypotheses of the one or more hypotheses.

[0257] Clause 74. A server according to clause 73, wherein the server further comprises: a component for sending a first indication to a second UE of a positioning measurement of the downlink signal sent by the first set of TRPs using the first assumption; and a component for sending a second indication to the second UE of a positioning measurement of the downlink signal sent by the second set of TRPs using the second assumption.

[0258] Clause 75. A server according to any one of clauses 70 to 74, the server further comprising: a component for receiving, for each of the one or more TRPs, a hypothesis quality metric for the one or more hypotheses from the first UE based on the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the TRP.

[0259] Clause 76. A server according to clause 75, wherein the server further comprises: a component for sending, for each of the one or more TRPs, an indication of a positioning measurement of the downlink signal sent by the TRP based on the assumed quality metric for the TRP, using an assumption among the one or more assumptions that provides better measurement performance for the TRP than the remaining assumptions among the one or more assumptions to obtain the positioning measurement of the downlink signal sent by the TRP.

[0260] Clause 77. A server according to any one of clauses 75 to 76, wherein each hypothesis quality metric is based on a number of outlier measurements, a number of inlier measurements, or a number of both outlier and inlier measurements produced by a corresponding hypothesis of the one or more hypotheses.

[0261] Clause 78. A server according to any one of clauses 70 to 77, the server further comprising: a component for receiving, for each of the one or more TRPs, from the first UE an indication of which of the one or more hypotheses provides better measurement performance for the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the TRP compared to the remaining hypotheses of the one or more hypotheses.

[0262] Clause 79. A server according to clause 78, wherein the server further comprises: a component for sending, for each of the one or more TRPs, to a second UE an indication of a positioning measurement of the downlink signal sent by the TRP using the hypothesis among the one or more hypotheses that provides the better measurement performance for the TRP compared to the remaining hypotheses among the one or more hypotheses.

[0263] Clause 80. A server according to any one of clauses 70 to 79, the server further comprising: a component for receiving a time and frequency resource configuration for the downlink signal for at least the service TRP among the one or more TRPs from the first UE; and a component for sending the time and frequency resource configuration for the downlink signal for at least the service TRP to a second UE.

[0264] Clause 81. The server of any one of clauses 70 to 80, wherein the time window comprises one or more bursts of one or more time slots of the downlink signal.

[0265] Clause 82. The server of any one of clauses 70 to 81, wherein the downlink signal comprises a tracking reference signal (TRS), a positioning reference signal (PRS), or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0266] Clause 83. A server according to any one of clauses 70 to 82, wherein the one or more positioning measurements include: one or more downlink time of arrival (DL-TOA) measurements, one or more reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements, one or more reference signal received power (RSRP) measurements, one or more path RSRP measurements, one or more received to transmitted (Rx-Tx) time difference measurements, one or more Doppler measurements, or any combination thereof.

[0267] Clause 84. The server of any one of clauses 70 to 83, wherein the server comprises a Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server or an Over-the-Top (OTT) server.

[0268] Clause 85. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: receive from a server a request to obtain one or more positioning measurements based on one or more hypotheses for measuring downlink signals sent by one or more transmit receive points (TRPs), wherein each of the one or more hypotheses indicates an integration type for the downlink signal, a time window during which the integration of the downlink signal is performed, or both, and wherein the integration type for the downlink signal is one of: coherent integration, incoherent integration, or both coherent and incoherent integration of the downlink signal; and use the one or more hypotheses to obtain the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal for each of the one or more TRPs.

[0269] Clause 86. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 85, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: report identifiers of the one or more TRPs to the server, wherein the one or more hypotheses are received in response to reporting the identifiers of the one or more TRPs.

[0270] Clause 87. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 85 to 86, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: report to the server the time and frequency resource configuration of the downlink signal for at least the service TRP among the one or more TRPs.

[0271] Clause 88. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 85 to 87, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: report the one or more positioning measurements to the server to enable the server to calculate a positioning estimate for the UE.

[0272] Clause 89. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 85 to 88, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: for each of the one or more TRPs, calculate a hypothesis quality metric for the one or more hypotheses based on the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the TRP.

[0273] Clause 90. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 89, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: report to the server the hypothetical quality metric for each of the one or more TRPs; or report to the server, for each of the one or more TRPs, an indication of which of the one or more hypotheses provides better measurement performance for the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the TRP based on the hypothetical quality metric compared to the remaining hypotheses in the one or more hypotheses.

[0274] Clause 91. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in any of clauses 89 to 90, wherein each hypothesis quality metric is based on the number of outlier measurements, the number of inlier measurements, or the number of both outlier measurements and inlier measurements produced by a corresponding hypothesis of the one or more hypotheses.

[0275] Clause 92. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 85 to 91, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: calculate a positioning estimate for the UE based on the one or more positioning measurements and the location of the one or more TRPs.

[0276] Clause 93. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 85 to 92, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to obtain the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to perform the following operations: for each of the one or more TRPs, apply all of the one or more assumptions to the downlink signal sent by the TRP; or for each of the one or more TRPs, apply one of the one or more assumptions to the downlink signal sent by the TRP.

[0277] Clause 94. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 85 to 93, wherein the time window comprises one or more bursts of one or more time slots of the downlink signal.

[0278] Clause 95. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in any of clauses 85 to 94, wherein the downlink signal comprises a tracking reference signal (TRS), a positioning reference signal (PRS), or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0279] Clause 96. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 85 to 95, wherein the one or more positioning measurements include: one or more downlink time of arrival (DL-TOA) measurements, one or more reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements, one or more reference signal received power (RSRP) measurements, one or more path RSRP measurements, one or more received to transmitted (Rx-Tx) time difference measurements, one or more Doppler measurements, or any combination thereof.

[0280] Clause 97. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 85 to 96, wherein the server comprises a Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server or an Over-the-Top (OTT) server.

[0281] Clause 98. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a server, cause the server to: receive from a first user equipment (UE) an identifier of one or more transmit receive points (TRPs) observed by the first UE; and send to the first UE a request to obtain one or more positioning measurements based on one or more hypotheses for measuring downlink signals sent by the one or more TRPs, wherein each of the one or more hypotheses indicates an integration type for the downlink signal, a time window during which integration of the downlink signal is performed, or both, and wherein the integration type for the downlink signal is one of: coherent integration, incoherent integration, or both coherent and incoherent integration of the downlink signal.

[0282] Clause 99. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 98, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the server, cause the server to: receive from the first UE the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal for each of the one or more TRPs, the one or more positioning measurements being obtained using the one or more assumptions; and determine, for each of the one or more TRPs, which of the one or more assumptions provides better measurement performance for the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the TRP compared to the remaining assumptions of the one or more assumptions.

[0283] Clause 100. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 99, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the server, cause the server to: for each of the one or more TRPs, send to the second UE an indication of obtaining a positioning measurement of the downlink signal sent by the TRP using the hypothesis of the one or more hypotheses that provides the better measurement performance for the TRP compared to the remaining hypotheses of the one or more hypotheses.

[0284] Clause 101. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 99 to 100, wherein: the one or more TRPs include a first set of TRPs of a first network operator and a second set of TRPs of a second network operator, a first hypothesis of the one or more hypotheses is determined to provide better measurement performance for the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signals sent by the first set of TRPs than the remaining hypotheses of the one or more hypotheses, and a second hypothesis of the one or more hypotheses is determined to provide better measurement performance for the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signals sent by the second set of TRPs than the remaining hypotheses of the one or more hypotheses.

[0285] Clause 102. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 101, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the server, cause the server to: send a first indication to a second UE to obtain positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the first set of TRPs using the first assumption; and send a second indication to the second UE to obtain positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the second set of TRPs using the second assumption.

[0286] Clause 103. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 98 to 102, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the server, cause the server to: for each of the one or more TRPs, receive from the first UE a hypothesis quality metric for the one or more hypotheses based on the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the TRP.

[0287] Clause 104. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 103, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the server, cause the server to: for each of the one or more TRPs, send to the second UE an indication of a positioning measurement of the downlink signal sent by the TRP based on the assumed quality metric for the TRP using an assumption among the one or more assumptions that provides better measurement performance for the TRP than the remaining assumptions among the one or more assumptions.

[0288] Clause 105. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in any of clauses 103 to 104, wherein each hypothesis quality metric is based on a number of outlier measurements, a number of inlier measurements, or a number of both outlier measurements and inlier measurements produced by a corresponding hypothesis of the one or more hypotheses.

[0289] Clause 106. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 98 to 105, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the server, cause the server to: for each of the one or more TRPs, receive from the first UE an indication of which of the one or more hypotheses provides better measurement performance for the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the TRP compared to the remaining hypotheses of the one or more hypotheses.

[0290] Clause 107. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 106, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the server, cause the server to: for each of the one or more TRPs, send to the second UE an indication of obtaining a positioning measurement of the downlink signal sent by the TRP using the hypothesis of the one or more hypotheses that provides the better measurement performance for the TRP compared to the remaining hypotheses of the one or more hypotheses.

[0291] Clause 108. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 98 to 107, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the server, cause the server to: receive from the first UE a time and frequency resource configuration for the downlink signal for at least the service TRP among the one or more TRPs; and send to a second UE the time and frequency resource configuration for the downlink signal for at least the service TRP.

[0292] Clause 109. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 98 to 108, wherein the time window comprises one or more bursts of one or more time slots of the downlink signal.

[0293] Clause 110. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 98 to 109, wherein the downlink signal comprises a tracking reference signal (TRS), a positioning reference signal (PRS), or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0294] Clause 111. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in any of clauses 98 to 110, wherein the one or more positioning measurements include: one or more downlink time of arrival (DL-TOA) measurements, one or more reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements, one or more reference signal received power (RSRP) measurements, one or more path RSRP measurements, one or more received to transmitted (Rx-Tx) time difference measurements, one or more Doppler measurements, or any combination thereof.

[0295] Clause 112. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 98 to 111, wherein the server comprises a Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server or an Over-the-Top (OTT) server.

[0296] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and methods. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, light fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0297] In addition, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithmic steps described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination thereof. In order to clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various exemplary components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been generally described above in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints proposed for the entire system. Those skilled in the art can implement the described functions in different ways for each specific application, but such specific implementation decisions should not be interpreted as resulting in departure from the scope of this disclosure.

[0298] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, a combination of one or more microprocessors and a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0299] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software module may reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An example storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. In an alternative embodiment, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., a UE). In an alternative embodiment, the processor and the storage medium may reside in the user terminal as discrete components.

[0300] In one or more example aspects, the described functions may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium or sent via a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media, which include any media that facilitate the transfer of a computer program from one place to another. The storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, or other optical disk storage, disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of an instruction or data structure and that can be accessed by a computer. In addition, any connection is appropriately referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is sent from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwaves, the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwaves are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc. Disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0301] Although the foregoing disclosure illustrates exemplary aspects of the present disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. In addition, the functions, steps, and / or actions of the method claims according to the various aspects of the present disclosure described herein do not need to be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, although elements of the present disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, plural forms are also contemplated unless expressly stated to be limited to the singular.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving, from a server, a request to obtain one or more positioning measurements based on one or more hypotheses for measuring downlink signals transmitted by one or more transmit-receive points (TRPs), wherein each of the one or more hypotheses indicates a type of integration of the downlink signal, a time window during which integration of the downlink signal is performed, or both, and wherein the type of integration of the downlink signal is one of: coherent integration, incoherent integration, or both coherent and incoherent integration of the downlink signal; and The one or more hypotheses are used to obtain the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal for each of the one or more TRPs.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Identifiers of the one or more TRPs are reported to the server, wherein the one or more hypotheses are received in response to reporting the identifiers of the one or more TRPs.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Report the time and frequency resource configuration of the downlink signal for at least the serving TRP among the one or more TRPs to the server.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The one or more positioning measurements are reported to the server to enable the server to compute a positioning estimate for the UE.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: For each of the one or more TRPs, a hypothesis quality metric for the one or more hypotheses is calculated based on the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the TRP.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising: reporting the hypothesized quality metric for each of the one or more TRPs to the server; or For each of the one or more TRPs, an indication is reported to the server based on the hypothesis quality metric as to which of the one or more hypotheses provides better measurement performance for the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the TRP compared to the remaining hypotheses of the one or more hypotheses.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein each hypothesis quality metric is based on a number of outlier measurements, a number of inlier measurements, or a number of both outlier and inlier measurements produced by a corresponding hypothesis of the one or more hypotheses.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: A positioning estimate for the UE is calculated based on the one or more positioning measurements and the locations of the one or more TRPs.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal comprises: applying, for each of the one or more TRPs, all of the one or more hypotheses to the downlink signal sent by the TRP; or For each of the one or more TRPs, one of the one or more hypotheses is applied to the downlink signal sent by the TRP.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the time window comprises one or more bursts of one or more time slots of the downlink signal.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the downlink signal comprises a tracking reference signal (TRS), a positioning reference signal (PRS), or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more positioning measurements comprise: one or more downlink time of arrival (DL-TOA) measurements, One or more Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) measurements, one or more Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurements, One or more path RSRP measurements, One or more receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurements, One or more Doppler measurements, or Any combination of them.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the server comprises a Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server or an Over-the-Top (OTT) server.

14. A method of communication performed by a server, the method comprising: receiving, from a first user equipment (UE), identifiers of one or more transmit reception points (TRPs) observed by the first UE; as well as Sending a request to the first UE to obtain one or more positioning measurements based on one or more hypotheses for measuring downlink signals sent by the one or more TRPs, wherein each of the one or more hypotheses indicates an integration type of the downlink signal, a time window during which the integration of the downlink signal is performed, or both, and wherein the integration type of the downlink signal is one of: coherent integration, incoherent integration, or both coherent integration and incoherent integration of the downlink signal.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising: receiving, from the first UE, the one or more positioning measurements for the downlink signal of each of the one or more TRPs, the one or more positioning measurements being obtained using the one or more hypotheses; as well as For each of the one or more TRPs, determine which of the one or more hypotheses provides better measurement performance for the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the TRP compared to the remaining hypotheses of the one or more hypotheses.

16. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: For each of the one or more TRPs, an indication is sent to the second UE to obtain a positioning measurement of the downlink signal sent by the TRP using the one or more assumptions that provides the better measurement performance for the TRP compared to the remaining assumptions in the one or more assumptions.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein: The one or more TRPs include a first set of TRPs of a first network operator and a second set of TRPs of a second network operator, A first hypothesis of the one or more hypotheses is determined to provide better measurement performance for the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the first set of TRPs than the remaining hypotheses of the one or more hypotheses, and A second hypothesis of the one or more hypotheses is determined to provide better measurement performance for the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the second set of TRPs compared to the remaining hypotheses of the one or more hypotheses.

18. The method according to claim 17, further comprising: sending a first indication to a second UE to obtain positioning measurements for the downlink signal sent by the first set of TRPs using the first hypothesis; as well as Send a second indication to the second UE to use the second assumption to obtain the positioning measurement of the downlink signal sent by the second set of TRPs.

19. The method according to claim 14, further comprising: For each of the one or more TRPs, a hypothesis quality metric for the one or more hypotheses is received from the first UE based on the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the TRP.

20. The method according to claim 19, further comprising: For each of the one or more TRPs, an indication is sent to a second UE based on the assumed quality metric for the TRP to obtain a positioning measurement of the downlink signal sent by the TRP using an assumption among the one or more assumptions that provides better measurement performance for the TRP compared to the remaining assumptions among the one or more assumptions.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein each hypothesis quality metric is based on a number of outlier measurements, a number of inlier measurements, or a number of both outlier and inlier measurements produced by a corresponding hypothesis of the one or more hypotheses.

22. The method according to claim 14, further comprising: For each of the one or more TRPs, an indication is received from the first UE as to which of the one or more hypotheses provides better measurement performance for the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal sent by the TRP compared to the remaining hypotheses of the one or more hypotheses.

23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising: For each of the one or more TRPs, an indication is sent to the second UE to obtain a positioning measurement of the downlink signal sent by the TRP using the hypothesis among the one or more hypotheses that provides the better measurement performance for the TRP compared to the remaining hypotheses among the one or more hypotheses.

24. The method according to claim 14, further comprising: receiving, from the first UE, a time and frequency resource configuration for the downlink signal for at least a serving TRP among the one or more TRPs; as well as Send the time and frequency resource configuration of the downlink signal for at least the service TRP to the second UE.

25. The method of claim 14, wherein the time window comprises one or more bursts of one or more time slots of the downlink signal.

26. The method of claim 14, wherein the downlink signal comprises a tracking reference signal (TRS), a positioning reference signal (PRS), or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

27. The method of claim 14, wherein the one or more positioning measurements comprise: one or more downlink time of arrival (DL-TOA) measurements, One or more Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) measurements, one or more Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurements, One or more path RSRP measurements, One or more receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurements, One or more Doppler measurements, or Any combination of them.

28. The method of claim 14, wherein the server comprises a Connected Intelligent Edge (CIE) server or an Over-the-Top (OTT) server.

29. A user equipment (UE), comprising: Memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: receiving, from a server via the at least one transceiver, a request to obtain one or more positioning measurements based on one or more hypotheses for measuring downlink signals transmitted by one or more transmit receive points (TRPs), wherein each of the one or more hypotheses indicates a type of integration of the downlink signal, a time window during which integration of the downlink signal is performed, or both, and wherein the type of integration of the downlink signal is one of: coherent integration, incoherent integration, or both coherent and incoherent integration of the downlink signal; and The one or more hypotheses are used to obtain the one or more positioning measurements of the downlink signal for each of the one or more TRPs.

30. A server, comprising: Memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: receiving, from a first user equipment (UE) via the at least one transceiver, identifiers of one or more transmit reception points (TRPs) observed by the first UE; as well as sending, via the at least one transceiver, to the first UE a request to obtain one or more positioning measurements based on one or more hypotheses for measuring downlink signals sent by the one or more TRPs, wherein each of the one or more hypotheses indicates an integration type of the downlink signal, a time window during which the integration of the downlink signal is performed, or both, and wherein the integration type of the downlink signal is one of: coherent integration, incoherent integration, or both coherent integration and incoherent integration of the downlink signal.

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