sensing management function sensing direction indication

Abstract

A user equipment (UE) and related techniques are disclosed. In one aspect, a UE provides an indication of a sensing direction for transmitting and receiving radar signals to sense an environment of a device to one or more wireless nodes of a radio access network (NG-RAN) associated with a core network or a second network entity of the core network different from a first entity. By utilizing previous sensing measurement reports collected by a sensing management function (SnMF), latency for tracking a target can be reduced by skipping an exhaustive scan or a complex full processing. In this way, interference can be reduced and less resource and power usage for a sensing function can be achieved. In one case, the sensing direction can be indicated in a GCS and converted at the NG-RAN or the UE to a beam direction of a corresponding sensor in a LCS for efficient beam management. In one case, the SnMF indicates to the NG-RAN or the UE a sensing direction in a LCS for sensing signal transmission and / or reception.

Description

Cross-references to related applications

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. nonprovisional patent application No. 18 / 464,054, filed September 8, 2023, entitled “SENSING MANAGEMENT FUNCTION SENSING DIRECTION INDICATION”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Background Technology Technical Field

[0002] This disclosure relates generally to wireless communication systems, and more specifically to architectural options for cooperative sensing and positioning.

[0003] introduction

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide a variety of telecommunications services, such as telephone, video, data, messaging, and broadcasting. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources. Examples of such multiple access technologies include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems, Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) systems, and Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA) systems.

[0005] These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunications standards to provide a common protocol that enables different wireless devices to communicate at the city, national, regional, and even global levels. An example telecommunications standard is 5G New Radio (NR). 5G NR is part of the Continuous Evolution of Mobile Broadband (CEM) program issued by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to meet new requirements associated with latency, reliability, security, scalability (e.g., with the Internet of Things (IoT),) and other requirements. 5G NR includes services associated with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine-type communications (mMTC), and ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC). Some aspects of 5G NR can be based on the 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard. Further improvements to 5G NR technology are needed. Furthermore, these improvements can also be applied to other multiple access technologies and telecommunications standards that adopt these technologies.

[0006] For example, some aspects of wireless communication include direct communication between devices, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), and so on. Additionally, it can involve a variety of different devices, such as user equipment (UE), gNodeB (gNB), or non-3GPP radar sensors. However, unlike the radio access network (RAN), the core network may not manage beams across different beam configurations to support sensing services. Therefore, further improvements in this beam management across different types of sensing devices are needed. Improvements related to direct communication between devices can also be applied to other multiple access technologies and telecommunications standards that employ these technologies. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The following is a simplified summary of one or more aspects to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary is not a broad overview of all anticipated aspects, nor is it intended to identify key or essential elements of all aspects, nor to describe the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that follows.

[0008] In one aspect of this disclosure, a method, computer-readable medium, and apparatus are provided. The apparatus may be a first user equipment (UE) configured to provide indication of sensing direction of the environment for transmitting and receiving radar signals to the device to one or more radio nodes of a radio access network (NG-RAN) associated with a core network or a second network entity of the core network that is different from the first entity.

[0009] In one aspect of this disclosure, a method, computer-readable medium, and apparatus are provided. The apparatus may be an NG-RAN configured to obtain from a network entity of a core network associated with the NG-RAN an indication of a sensing direction in a global coordinate system (GCS) for transmitting and receiving radar signals to sense the environment of the apparatus. The apparatus is further configured to determine a beam configuration in a local coordinate system (LCS) based on this indication of the sensing direction in the GCS.

[0010] In one aspect of this disclosure, a method, computer-readable medium, and apparatus are provided. The apparatus may be a second UE configured to obtain from a second network entity in a core network associated with NG-RAN an indication of a sensing direction in the GCS for transmitting and receiving radar signals to sense the environment of the apparatus. The apparatus may also be configured to locally determine a beam configuration based on the indication of the sensing direction for transmitting and receiving radar signals to sense the environment of the apparatus. The apparatus may be further configured to transmit the radar signals with this beam configuration.

[0011] To achieve the foregoing and related objectives, one or more aspects include the features fully described below and specifically pointed out in the claims. The following description and drawings illustrate some exemplary features of one or more aspects in detail. However, these features indicate only some of the various ways in which the principles of the various aspects may be employed, and this description is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. Attached Figure Description

[0012] Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system and an access network.

[0013] Figure 2A This is an illustration of an example of the first frame according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0014] Figure 2B This is a diagram illustrating examples of DL channels within a subframe according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0015] Figure 2C This is an illustration of an example of a second frame according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0016] Figure 2D This is a diagram illustrating examples of UL channels within a subframe according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0017] Figure 3 This is a diagram illustrating examples of base stations and user equipment (UEs) in an access network.

[0018] Figure 4 This is an example illustration of the overall layout of a UE in a communication system according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0019] Figure 5 This is an illustration of a passive positioning configuration.

[0020] Figure 6 This is a block diagram of an example application device.

[0021] Figure 7 This is a block diagram of an example sensing management function.

[0022] Figure 8 This is an illustration of an example of a wireless communication system that supports architectural options for cooperative sensing and positioning according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0023] Figure 9 This is an example of an overall diagram illustrating the positioning of a UE in a communication system according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0024] Figure 10 This is a diagram illustrating the call flow between the base station, AMF, SnMF, and UE.

[0025] Figure 12 This is a flowchart of a method for performing wireless communication at the first UE.

[0026] Figure 13 This is a flowchart of a method for performing wireless communication at the first UE.

[0027] Figure 14 This is a flowchart of a method for performing wireless communication at the first UE.

[0028] Figure 15 This is a flowchart of a method for wireless communication at NG-RAN.

[0029] Figure 16 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware implementation of the example device.

[0030] Figure 17 This is a diagram illustrating another example of the hardware implementation of the example device. Detailed Implementation

[0031] The detailed description below, illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings, is intended as a description of various configurations and not as representing the only configuration in which the concepts described herein can be practiced. To provide a thorough understanding of the various concepts, the detailed description includes specific details. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts can be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring such concepts.

[0032] In some aspects of wireless communication, radar-based sensing can provide information about obstacles and / or objects in the environment. For example, a base station may have a radar component that transmits radar signals and monitors reflections of these signals, which indicate the presence of physical objects or other information about the surrounding environment. The base station can use this information to adjust one or more parameters for wireless communication. In some aspects, radar measurements from at least one radar-capable device (e.g., a user equipment (UE), a base station, etc.) can provide information about a zone in the line-of-sight (LoS) associated with the radar-capable device. LoS can refer to the zone from which unobstructed signals are received from the radar device. In some aspects, knowing the environment outside the zone in the LoS associated with a specific radar-capable device (or network node) responsible for aggregating radar measurement information received from a set of additional radar devices (e.g., associated with a JCR system) can allow the specific radar-capable device (or network node) to find available beam directions that can reach vehicles or other UEs.

[0033] Joint Communications Radar (JCR) systems use shared hardware and signal processing modules to integrate radar and wireless communication functionality, and in some respects, share transmitted signals. A JCR system can provide radar measurement information received at a first radar device from a set of additional radar devices to improve environment mapping through cooperative radar measurement applications that combine radar information from different perspectives within the wireless communication system (e.g., from different devices within the wireless communication system).

[0034] Vehicle UEs may need to sense surrounding objects for automotive applications such as collision avoidance. To achieve JCR sensing on the UE side, UL resources can be used for sensing. UL resources can be shared between communication and radar modes. Alternatively, UL resources can be separate resources for communication or radar, such as using time division multiplexing (TDM) mode, or UL resources can be the same resources for communication and radar with jointly designed waveforms.

[0035] For sensing services, beam management across different sensing devices (e.g., UE, gNB, or non-3GPP radar sensors) is required to reduce interference, decrease latency for tracked targets, and achieve lower resource / power usage for sensing to reduce sensing congestion and increased communication bias (e.g., when using resource / power sharing between sensing and communication to implement JCR). However, unlike the RAN, the core network currently does not understand beam configuration. Therefore, current design principles do not allow the core network to manage beams in a manner necessary to support sensing services.

[0036] Therefore, the aspects presented in this paper provide improved wireless communication by utilizing the Sensing Management Function (SnMF) in the core network to directly indicate the sensing direction to different sensors via NG-RAN.

[0037] Various apparatuses and methods will now be used to present several aspects of a telecommunications system. These apparatuses and methods will be described in detail below and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, components, circuits, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively, “elements”). These elements can be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether these elements are implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the system as a whole.

[0038] As an example, an element, any part of an element, or any combination of elements may be implemented as a “processing system” including one or more processors. Examples of processors include microprocessors, microcontrollers, graphics processing units (GPUs), central processing units (CPUs), application processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, system-on-a-chip (SoCs), baseband processors, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gate logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform the various functionalities described throughout this disclosure. One or more processors in a processing system may execute software. Whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or other names, software should be broadly interpreted as meaning instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subroutines, software components, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc.

[0039] Therefore, in one or more example embodiments, the described functionality may be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functionality may be stored or encoded as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer storage media. Storage media can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), optical disc storage devices, magnetic disk storage devices, other magnetic storage devices, combinations of computer-readable media of the types described above, or any other medium capable of storing computer-executable code in the form of computer-accessible instructions or data structures.

[0040] Figure 1 This is an illustration of an example of a wireless communication system and access network 100 in which base station 102 or 180 can wirelessly communicate with user equipment (UE) 104. The wireless communication system (also referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) includes base station 102, user equipment (UE) 104, evolved packet core (EPC) 160, and another core network 190 (e.g., a 5G core (5GC)). Base station 102 may include macro cells (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cells (low-power cellular base stations). Macro cells include base stations. Small cells include femtocells, picocells, and microcells.

[0041] Some wireless devices can perform radar signal sensing. For example, a radar device on the UE can transmit a wireless signal and use information about that signal to image the environment, or determine information about target 107 based on distance, Doppler and / or angle information determined from the wireless signal.

[0042] Base station 102 configured for 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) (collectively referred to as Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)) can interface with EPC 160 via a first backhaul link 132 (e.g., S1 interface). Base station 102 configured for 5G New Radio (NR) (collectively referred to as Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN)) can interface with core network 190 via a second backhaul link 184. Among other functions, base station 102 can also perform one or more of the following functions: user data delivery, 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, radio access network (RAN) sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, location, and delivery of alarm messages. Base stations 102 can communicate directly or indirectly with each other via a third backhaul link 134 (e.g., an X2 interface) (e.g., via EPC 160 or core network 190). The first backhaul link 132, the second backhaul link 184, and the third backhaul link 134 can be wired or wireless.

[0043] Base station 102 can wirelessly communicate with UE 104. Each base station in base station 102 can provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic coverage area 110. Overlapping geographic coverage areas 110 may exist. For example, small cell 102' may have a coverage area 110' that overlaps with the coverage areas 110 of one or more macro base stations 102. A network that includes both small cells and macro cells can be referred to as a heterogeneous network. The heterogeneous network may also include evolved home node B (eNB) (HeNB), which can provide services to restricted groups referred to as closed subscriber groups (CSG). The communication link 120 between base station 102 and UE 104 may include uplink (UL) (also known as reverse link) transmission from UE 104 to base station 102 and / or downlink (DL) (also known as forward link) transmission from base station 102 to UE 104. The communication link 120 may use multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technologies, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link may use one or more carriers. For each carrier allocated in carrier aggregation with a total of up to Y x MHz (x component carriers) for transmission in each direction, base station 102 / UE 104 may use a spectrum with a bandwidth of up to Y MHz (e.g., 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz, 20 MHz, 100 MHz, 400 MHz, etc.). Carriers may be adjacent to each other or may not be adjacent to each other. Carrier allocation may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to DL compared to UL). Component carriers may include primary component carriers and one or more secondary component carriers. The primary component carrier may be referred to as the primary cell (PCell) and the secondary component carrier may be referred to as the secondary cell (SCell).

[0044] Some UEs 104 can communicate with each other using device-to-device (D2D) communication link 158. D2D communication link 158 can use DL / UL WWAN spectrum. D2D communication link 158 can use one or more sidelink channels, such as Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH), Physical Sidelink Discovery Channel (PSDCH), Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), and Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH). D2D communication can be achieved through a variety of wireless D2D communication systems, such as, for example, WiMedia, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi based on the IEEE 802.11 standard, LTE, or NR.

[0045] The wireless communication system may also include a Wi-Fi access point (AP) 150 that communicates with a Wi-Fi station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in, for example, unlicensed spectrum at 5 GHz. When communicating in unlicensed spectrum, the STA 152 / AP 150 may perform a free channel assessment (CCA) to determine whether the channel is available before communication.

[0046] Small cell 102' can operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in unlicensed spectrum, small cell 102' can employ NR and use the same unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz, etc.) as the Wi-Fi AP 150. Small cell 102' employing NR in unlicensed spectrum can improve the coverage of the access network and / or increase the capacity of the access network.

[0047] 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 designated as frequency ranges FR1 (410MHz-7.125GHz) and FR2 (24.25GHz-52.6GHz). The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as mid-band frequencies. Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6GHz, in various documents and articles, FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "sub-6GHz" band. Similar naming issues sometimes occur with FR2, which is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "millimeter wave" band in documents and articles, although this is different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30GHz-300GHz) designated as "millimeter wave" by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

[0048] In light of the above, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that, as used herein, the term "below 6 GHz" and the like can broadly refer to frequencies less than 6 GHz, within FR1, or including intermediate frequency band frequencies. Furthermore, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that, as used herein, the term "millimeter wave" and the like can broadly refer to frequencies that can include intermediate frequency band frequencies, within FR2, or within the EHF band.

[0049] Base station 102 (whether a small cell 102' or a large cell (e.g., a macro base station)) may include and / or be referred to as an eNB, gNodeB (gNB), or another type of base station. Some base stations (such as gNB 180) may operate in conventional sub-6 GHz spectrum, in millimeter wave frequencies, and / or near-millimeter wave frequencies to communicate with UE 104. When gNB 180 operates in millimeter wave or near-millimeter wave frequencies, gNB 180 may be referred to as a millimeter wave base station. Millimeter wave base station 180 may utilize beamforming 182 with UE 104 to compensate for path loss and short range. Base station 180 and UE 104 may each include multiple antennas (such as antenna elements, antenna panels, and / or antenna arrays) to facilitate beamforming.

[0050] Base station 180 may transmit beamformed signals to UE 104 in one or more transmit directions 182'. UE 104 may receive beamformed signals from base station 180 in one or more receive directions 182''. UE 104 may also transmit beamformed signals to base station 180 in one or more transmit directions. Base station 180 may receive beamformed signals from UE 104 in one or more receive directions. Base station 180 / UE 104 may perform beam training to determine the optimal receive and transmit directions for each of base station 180 / UE 104. The transmit and receive directions of base station 180 may be the same or different. The transmit and receive directions of UE 104 may be the same or different. Although the beamforming signal is illustrated as being between UE 104 and base station 102 / 180, UE 104 or RSU can similarly apply aspects of beamforming to communicate with another UE 104 or RSU, such as V2X, V2V, or D2D based communication.

[0051] EPC 160 may include Mobility Management Entity (MME) 162, other MMEs 164, Serving Gateway 166, MBMS Gateway 168, Broadcast Multicast Service Center (BM-SC) 170, and Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway 172. MME 162 can communicate with Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 174. MME 162 is the control node that handles signaling between UE 104 and EPC 160. Generally, MME 162 provides bearer and connection management. All user Internet Protocol (IP) packets are delivered through Serving Gateway 166, which is itself connected to PDN Gateway 172. PDN Gateway 172 provides UE IP address allocation and other functions. PDN Gateway 172 and BM-SC 170 are connected to IP Service 176. IP Service 176 may include the Internet, intranet, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), PS streaming service, and / or other IP services. BM-SC 170 provides functions for MBMS user service dispatch and delivery. The BM-SC 170 can serve as an entry point for content provider MBMS transmission, authorizing and initiating MBMS bearer services within a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), and scheduling MBMS transmissions. The MBMS gateway 168 can distribute MBMS services to base station 102 within a Multicast-Broadcast Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) area belonging to a broadcast-specific service, and is responsible for session management (start / stop) and collecting eMBMS-related billing information.

[0052] The core network 190 may include Access and Mobility Management Functions (AMF) 192, other AMFs 193, Session Management Functions (SMF) 194, and User Plane Functions (UPF) 195. AMF 192 can communicate with Unified Data Management (UDM) 196. AMF 192 is the control node that handles signaling between UE 104 and the core network 190. Generally, AMF 192 provides Quality of Service (QoS) streaming and session management. All user IP packets are delivered via UPF 195. UPF 195 provides UE IP address allocation and other functions. UPF 195 connects to IP services 197. IP services 197 may include the Internet, intranet, IMS, packet switching (PS) streaming services, and / or other IP services.

[0053] Base stations may include and / or be referred to as gNB, Node B, eNB, access point, base transceiver, radio base station, radio transceiver, transceiver function, Basic Service Set (BSS), Extended Service Set (ESS), Transmit-Receive Point (TRP), or some other suitable terminology. Base station 102 provides access to EPC 160 or core network 190 for UE 104. Examples of UE 104 include cellular phones, smartphones, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phones, laptops, personal digital assistants (PDAs), satellite radios, GPS devices, multimedia devices, video devices, digital audio players (e.g., MP3 players), cameras, game consoles, tablet devices, smart devices, wearable devices, vehicles, electricity meters, air pumps, large or small kitchen appliances, healthcare devices, implants, sensors / actuators, displays, or any other similarly functional devices. Some UEs in UE 104 may be referred to as IoT devices (e.g., parking timers, air pumps, toasters, vehicles, heart monitors, etc.). UE 104 may also be referred to as a station, mobile station, subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, mobile phone, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other suitable term.

[0054] Refer again Figure 1 In some respects, base station 180 may be configured to include a sensing management function (SnMF) component 199. SnMF component 199 may be configured to obtain an indication of the sensing direction in a global coordinate system (GCS) for transmitting and receiving radar signals to sense the environment of the device.

[0055] Some wireless communication networks may include vehicle-based communication devices that can communicate and / or communicate with other devices from vehicle to vehicle (V2V), vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) (e.g., from a vehicle-based communication device to a road infrastructure node, such as a roadside unit (RSU)), vehicle to network (V2N) (e.g., from a vehicle-based communication device to one or more network nodes, such as a base station), and / or combinations thereof. These communications can be collectively referred to as vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications. See again. Figure 1 In some respects, UE 104 (e.g., a transmitting VUE or other UE) can be configured to send messages directly to another UE 104. This communication can be based on V2V / V2X / V2I or other D2D communication, such as Proximity Service (ProSe). V2V, V2X, V2I and / or D2D communication can also be sent and received by other transmitting and receiving devices, such as Roadside Units (RSUs).

[0056] like Figure 1 As shown, vehicle 104 may also be referred to as vehicle user equipment or VUE 104. Similarly, pedestrians may carry mobile devices with capabilities described in this disclosure as pedestrian UE or PUE. (See again) Figure 1 In some respects, the truck shown as VUE (104) can be configured to include SnMF function component 198 (1), frame conversion component 198 (2), beam configuration component 198 (3), and measurement reporting component 198 (4). SnMF function component 198 (1) can be configured to provide an indication of the sensing direction of the environment used to transmit and receive radar signals to sense the device. SnMF function component 198 (1) can also be configured to obtain prior sensing information about the location of a target object in the sensing area. SnMF function component 198 (1) can be further configured to obtain information about possible RSS time-frequency configurations and beam information that the sensing Tx / Rx nodes can support, along with optional UE capability reports. Frame conversion component 198 (2) can be configured to obtain a GCS to LCS conversion frame and convert the sensing direction in the GCS to the LCS conversion frame. Beam configuration component 198 (3) can be configured to determine the beam configuration in the LCS based on the obtained prior sensing information. The Measurement Configuration 198(4) component can be configured to request sensing measurement reports for sensing data from network entities at certain locations in the core network. The Measurement Configuration 198(4) component can also be configured to generate updated sensing measurement reports.

[0057] Components 198(1)-(4) and 199 described above may be executed by one or more processors or by dedicated hardware such as digital signal processors, field-programmable gate arrays, integrated circuits using a collection of logic gates and other digital circuits. Although the following description may focus on V2X technology, the concepts described herein can be applied to other positioning technologies, including, for example, proximity-based systems, acoustic positioning systems, and infrared positioning systems. Furthermore, although the following disclosure may focus on V2X / D2D with 5G NR connectivity, the concepts and various aspects described herein can be applied to other similar fields such as LTE, LTE-A Advanced, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), or other wireless / radio access technologies.

[0058] Figure 2A Figure 200 illustrates an example of the first subframe within a 5G NR frame structure. Figure 2B Figure 230 illustrates an example of a DL channel within a 5G NR subframe. Figure 2C Figure 250 is an example of a second subframe within a 5G NR frame structure. Figure 2D Figure 280 illustrates an example of a UL channel within a 5G NR subframe. The 5G NR frame structure can be Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) (where subframes within a specific set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth) are dedicated to either DL or UL) or Time Division Duplex (TDD) (where subframes within a specific set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth) are dedicated to both DL and UL). In the process of... Figure 2A , Figure 2C In the provided example, the 5G NR frame structure is assumed to be TDD, where subframe 4 is configured with slot format 28 (mostly DL), where D is DL, U is UL, and F is flexible between DL / UL, and subframe 3 is configured with slot format 34 (mostly UL). Although subframes 3 and 4 are shown with slot formats 34 and 28 respectively, any particular subframe can be configured with any of the various available slot formats 0-61. Slot formats 0 and 1 are both DL and UL, respectively. Other slot formats 2-61 include a mixture of DL, UL, and flexible symbols. The slot format is configured for the UE via the received Slot Format Indicator (SFI) (dynamically configured via DL Control Information (DCI) or semi-statically / statically configured via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling). Note that the following description also applies to the 5G NR frame structure as TDD.

[0059] Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels. For example, a 10-millisecond (ms) frame may be divided into 10 equal-sized subframes (1ms). Each subframe may include one or more time slots. Subframes may also include micro-time slots, which may include, for example, 7, 4, or 2 symbols. Each time slot may include 7 or 14 symbols, depending on the time slot configuration. For time slot configuration 0, each time slot may include 14 symbols, and for time slot configuration 1, each time slot may include 7 symbols. Symbols on the DL may be Cyclic Prefix (CP) Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) (CP-OFDM) symbols. Symbols on the UL may be CP-OFDM symbols (for high-throughput scenarios) or Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) Extended OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbols (also known as Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) symbols) (for power-constrained scenarios; limited to single-stream transmission). The number of time slots within a subframe is based on the time slot configuration and parameter set (numerology). For slot configuration 0, different parameter sets µ 0 to 4 allow for 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 slots per subframe, respectively. For slot configuration 1, different parameter sets 0 to 2 allow for 2, 4, and 8 slots per subframe, respectively. Correspondingly, for slot configuration 0 and parameter set µ, there are 14 symbols per slot and 2 per subframe. µEach time slot. Subcarrier spacing and symbol length / duration are functions of the parameter set. Subcarrier spacing can be equal to... kilohertz (kHz), of which The parameter sets are 0 to 4. Therefore, the subcarrier spacing for parameter set µ=0 is 15kHz, and the subcarrier spacing for parameter set µ=4 is 240kHz. The symbol length / duration is negatively correlated with the subcarrier spacing. Figures 2A to 2D Examples are provided for slot configuration 0 with 14 symbols per slot and parameter set µ=2 with 4 slots per subframe. Slot duration is 0.25 ms, subcarrier spacing is 60 kHz, and symbol duration is approximately 16.67 μs. Within the frame set, there may be one or more distinct bandwidth portions (BWPs) of frequency division multiplexing (see [link to relevant documentation]). Figure 2B Each BWP can have a specific set of parameters.

[0060] A resource grid can be used to represent the frame structure. Each time slot consists of a resource block (RB) extending for 12 consecutive subcarriers (also known as a physical RB (PRB)). The resource grid is divided into multiple resource elements (REs). The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0061] like Figure 2A As illustrated, some REs carry reference (pilot) signals (RS) for the UE. RS may include demodulation RS (DM-RS) (indicated as Rx for a particular configuration, where 100x is the port number, but other DM-RS configurations are possible) and channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) for channel estimation at the UE. RS may also include beam measurement RS (BRS), beam refinement RS (BRRS), and phase tracking RS (PT-RS).

[0062] Figure 2BExamples of various DL channels within a subframe of a frame are illustrated. The Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) carries the DCI within one or more Control Channel Elements (CCEs), each CCE comprising nine RE Groups (REGs), each REG comprising four consecutive REs in an OFDM symbol. The PDCCH within a BWP can be referred to as a Control Resource Set (CORESET). Additional BWPs can be located at higher and / or lower frequencies in the channel bandwidth. The Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) can be located within symbol 2 of a specific subframe of the frame. The PSS is used by UE 104 to determine subframe / symbol timing and physical layer identification. The Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS) can be located within symbol 4 of a specific subframe of the frame. The SSS is used by the UE to determine the Physical Layer Cell Identifier Group Number and radio frame timing. Based on the Physical Layer Identifier and Physical Layer Cell Identifier Group Number, the UE can determine the Physical Cell Identifier (PCI). Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the location of the aforementioned DM-RS. The Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH), carrying the Master Information Block (MIB), can be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form a Synchronization Signal (SS) / PBCH block (also known as an SS block (SSB)). The MIB provides the number of Restricted Frames (RBs) and the System Frame Number (SFN) in the system bandwidth. The Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information not transmitted via the PBCH (such as System Information Blocks (SIBs)), and paging messages.

[0063] like Figure 2C As illustrated, some REs in the REs carry DM-RS (indicated as R for one particular configuration, but other DM-RS configurations are possible) for channel estimation at the base station. The UE can transmit DM-RS for the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) and DM-RS for the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). The PUSCH DM-RS can be transmitted in the first or first two symbols of the PUSCH. Depending on whether a short or long PUCCH is transmitted and depending on the specific PUCCH format used, different configurations can be used to transmit the PUCCH DM-RS. The UE can transmit a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS). The SRS can be transmitted in the last symbol of a subframe. The SRS can have a comb structure, and the UE can transmit the SRS on one of the comb teeth. The SRS can be used by the base station for channel quality estimation to enable frequency-dependent scheduling of the UL.

[0064] Figure 2DExamples of various UL channels within a subframe of a frame are illustrated. The PUCCH can be located as indicated in one configuration. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), such as scheduling requests, channel quality indicators (CQI), pre-decoding matrix indicators (PMI), rank indicators (RI), and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgment (ACK) / negative acknowledgment (NACK) feedback. The PUSCH carries data and may additionally be used to carry buffer status reports (BSR), power clearance reports (PHR), and / or UCI.

[0065] Figure 3 This is a block diagram illustrating communication between base station 310 and UE 350 in the access network. In the DL, IP packets from EPC 160 can be provided to controller / processor 375. Controller / processor 375 implements Layer 3 and Layer 2 functionality. Layer 3 includes the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, and Layer 2 includes the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and Media Access Control (MAC) layer. The controller / processor 375 provides RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting system information (e.g., MIB, SIB), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-Radio Access Technology (RAT) mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with the delivery of upper-layer packet data units (PDUs), error correction via 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, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel priority ordering.

[0066] Transmit (TX) processor 316 and receive (RX) processor 370 implement Layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1 (which includes the physical (PHY) layer) may include error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) decoding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. TX processor 316 processes the mapping to the signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-order phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-order quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The decoded and modulated symbols can then be divided into parallel streams. Each stream can then be mapped to OFDM subcarriers, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., a pilot) in the time and / or frequency domains, and then combined using inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a stream of time-domain OFDM symbols. The OFDM stream undergoes spatial pre-decoding to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from channel estimator 374 can be used to determine the decoding and modulation scheme, as well as for spatial processing. Channel estimates can be derived from reference signals transmitted by UE 350 and / or channel condition feedback. Each spatial stream can then be provided to a different antenna 320 via a separate transmitter 318TX. Each transmitter 318TX can modulate an RF carrier with the corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0067] At UE 350, each receiver 354RX receives signals via its corresponding antenna 352. Each receiver 354RX recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides that information to the receive (RX) processor 356. The TX processor 368 and RX processor 356 implement Layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The RX processor 356 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial stream destined for UE 350. If multiple spatial streams are destined for UE 350, the RX processor 356 can combine them into a single OFDM symbol stream. The RX processor 356 then uses a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to transform the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain. The frequency domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier, along with the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated by determining the signal constellation points most likely to be transmitted by base station 310. These soft decisions can be based on a channel estimate calculated by channel estimator 358. The soft decision is then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted by base station 310 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to controller / processor 359, which implements layer 3 and layer 2 functionality.

[0068] The controller / processor 359 may be associated with a memory 360 that stores program code and data. The memory 360 may be referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller / processor 359 provides demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing between the transport and logical channels to recover IP packets from the EPC 160. The controller / processor 359 is also responsible for error detection using ACK and / or NACK protocols to support HARQ operation.

[0069] Similar to the functionality described in conjunction with DL transmission performed by base station 310, controller / processor 359 provides RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connectivity, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with upper-layer PDU delivery, error correction via 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 TBs, demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel priority ordering.

[0070] The TX processor 368 can use the channel estimate derived from the reference signal or feedback transmitted by the channel estimator 358 from the base station 310 to select an appropriate decoding and modulation scheme and facilitate spatial processing. The spatial stream generated by the TX processor 368 can be provided to different antennas 352 via individual transmitters 354TX. Each transmitter 354TX can modulate an RF carrier with the corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0071] UL transmission is processed at base station 310 in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with the receiver function at UE 350. Each receiver 318RX receives signals via its corresponding antenna 320. Each receiver 318RX recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides that information to RX processor 370.

[0072] The controller / processor 375 may be associated with a memory 376 that stores program code and data. The memory 376 may be referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller / processor 375 provides demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing between transport and logical channels to recover IP packets from the UE 350. IP packets from the controller / processor 375 may be provided to the EPC 160. The controller / processor 375 is also responsible for error detection using ACK and / or NACK protocols to support HARQ operation.

[0073] At least one of the TX processor 368, RX processor 356, and controller / processor 359 can be configured to perform and Figure 1 The components 198(1)-(3) and 199 are combined in various aspects. Additionally, in some configurations, the UE can be a VUE comprising the SnMF function component 198(1), the frame conversion component 198(2), the beam configuration component 198(3), and the measurement reporting component 198(4). Figure 1 These components, which are partially described in the middle and discussed in detail below, can be found in Figure 3 It is implemented by the elements identified above, or wholly or partially by one or more dedicated or specialized processors, digital signal processors or dedicated logic circuits.

[0074] Figure 4 This is an example diagram illustrating the overall layout of a communication system for UE positioning according to various aspects of this disclosure. Specifically, Figure 4 It shows the applicable Figure 1 The positioning architecture diagram of the communication system 100 is shown. As illustrated, the LMF 420 can communicate with the Enhanced Serving Mobility Location Center (e-SMLFC) 427 (which may be part of a separate EPC) and the Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP) 429.

[0075] The LMF 420 is centrally located in the 5G positioning architecture. The LMF 420 receives measurement and assistance information from NG-RAN 434 and UE 402 via the Access and Mobility Management (AMF) 415 to calculate the location of UE 402. Due to the new next-generation interface between NG-RAN 435 and the core network 440, a new NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa) is introduced to carry positioning information between NG-RAN 435 and LMF 420 via the Next-Generation Control Plane Interface (NG-C). These operate according to the framework providing positioning for 5G. The LMF 420 configures UE 402 using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) via AMF 415. NGRAN 435 configures UE 402 using the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol via LTE-Uu and NR-Uu. It should be noted that gNB 410 and ng-eNB 414 may not always be present in NG-RAN 435. Furthermore, when both gNB 410 and ng-eNB 114 are present, the NG-C interface with AMF 415 can exist for only one of them.

[0076] As illustrated, the gNB 410 may be allowed to control one or more transmitting points (TPs) 411, such as remote radio head ends or simply broadcast TPs, to enable improved support for DL ​​positioning methods such as OTDOA, AOD, RTT, or ECID. Additionally, the gNB 410 may be allowed to control one or more transmitting and receiving points (TRPs) 413, which perform the functions of both transmitting and receiving points.

[0077] TP 411 and / or TRP 413 may be part of or include a distributed unit (DU, also known as gNB-DU) in gNB 102, which manages the UL and / or DL ​​transmission and reception of one or more cells in accordance with 5G NR.

[0078] The gNB 410 and ng-eNB 414 can communicate with the AMF 415, which in turn communicates with the LMF 420 for positioning functionality. The AMF 415 can support the mobility of UE 104 (including cell changes and handover) and can participate in supporting signaling connections with UE 104, as well as (potentially) data and voice bearers for UE 104. The LMF 420 can support UE positioning when UE 104 accesses the NG-RAN 435 and can support positioning procedures / methods such as Auxiliary GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA), Real-Time Kinematics (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cell ID (ECID), Angle of Arrival (AOA), Angle of Departure (AOD), and / or other positioning procedures. The LMF 420 can also handle, for example, location service requests for UE 104 received from the AMF 415. The LMF 420 can connect to the AMF 415. The LMF 420 can be referred to by other names such as Location Manager (LM), Location Function (LF), Commercial LMF (CLMF), or Value-Added LMF (VLMF)

[0079] In some implementations, the node / system implementing LMF 420 may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as Enhanced Serving Mobility Location Center (E-SMLC) 427, Secure Location Platform (SLP) 429, or SnMF. It should be noted that in some implementations, at least a portion of the location functionality (including the derivation of the location of UE 104) can be performed at UE 104 (e.g., using signal measurements obtained by UE 104 against signals transmitted by radio nodes such as gNB 410 and ng-eNB114, and auxiliary data provided to UE 104, for example, by LMF 420). AMF 415 can serve as a control node for handling signaling between UE 104 and the 5G core 440, and can provide Quality of Service (QoS) streaming and session management. AMF 415 can support the mobility of UE 104 (including cell changes and handover) and can participate in supporting signaling connections with UE 104.

[0080] A server (not depicted) (e.g., a cloud server) can be configured to obtain the location estimate of UE 104 and provide it to external clients. For example, the server can (e.g., by sending a location request to it) pull the location estimate from one or more of UE 104, gNB 410 (e.g., via RU, DU, and CU) and / or ng-eNB 414 and / or LMF 420. As another example, one or more of UE 104, gNB 410 (e.g., via RU, DU, and CU) and / or LMF 420 can push the location estimate of UE 104 to the server.

[0081] TRP 413 can be configured to transmit a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS, or commonly referred to as PRS) according to a selected configuration. TRP 413 is also configured to perform uplink PRS (UL PRS, which may also be referred to as a sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning) signal measurements, such as RTOA, gNB Rx-Tx, or AOA. A PRS is a positioning reference signal that may be referred to as a PRS or PRS signal. PRS signals are typically transmitted using the same power, and PRS signals with the same signal characteristics (e.g., the same frequency shift) may interfere with each other, causing a PRS signal from a more distant TRP to be overwhelmed by a PRS signal from a closer TRP, making the signal from the more distant TRP undetectable. PRS silencing can be used to help reduce interference by silencing some PRS signals (reducing the power of the PRS signal, e.g., reducing it to zero and thus not transmitting the PRS signal). In this way, the UE can more easily detect (at the UE) a weaker PRS signal without interference from a stronger PRS signal. The term RS and its variants (e.g., PRS, SRS, Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS)) may refer to one or more reference signals. TRP 413 is further configured to report UL signal measurements (for a specific UE) to LMF 420.

[0082] LMF 420 is configured to manage the overall coordination and scheduling of resources required for the location of UEs registered with or accessing the 5GCN. LMF 420 can also be configured to calculate or verify the final location and any velocity estimates, and to estimate the accuracy of the implementation. LMF 420 is further configured to use the Nlmf interface to receive location requests for the target UE from the serving AMF 415. LMF 420 interacts with UE 104 to apply location information to UE-assisted and UE-based positioning methods, and interacts with NG-RAN, N3IWF, or TNAN to obtain location information. LPP terminates between the target device (UE in control plane case or SET in user plane case) and the positioning server (LMF in control plane case or SLP 429 in user plane case).

[0083] Using a UE-assisted positioning method, UE 402 can obtain location measurements and transmit these measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF420) for calculating the location estimate of UE 104. For example, location measurements may include one or more of the following: Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), Round-Trip Time (RTT), Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), and / or Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) of gNB 410, ng-eNB 414, and / or WLAN AP.

[0084] Using a UE-based positioning method, UE 402 can obtain a location measurement (e.g., which may be the same as or similar to the location measurement of a UE-assisted positioning method) and can calculate the location of UE 402 (e.g., by means of auxiliary data received from a location server (such as LMF 420) or broadcast by gNB 410, ng-eNB 414 or other base stations or APs).

[0085] Using a network-based positioning method, one or more base stations (e.g., gNB 410 and / or ng-eNB 414) or APs can obtain location measurements (e.g., measurements of RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, or Time of Arrival (ToA) of signals transmitted by UE 104) and / or can receive measurements obtained by UE 104. One or more base stations or APs can transmit these measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 420) for calculating a location estimate for UE 104.

[0086] For sensing services, beam management is required across different sensing devices (e.g., UE 104, gNB 410, or non-3GPP radar sensors). Furthermore, beam management can reduce interference, decrease latency for tracked targets, and achieve lower resource / power usage for sensing. For example, reducing latency for tracked targets by skipping exhaustive scans or complex full processing can be achieved by leveraging previous sensing measurement reports collected by SnMF. Additionally, reducing sensing congestion and improving communication performance (e.g., when using resource / power sharing between sensing and communication to implement JCR) can help achieve lower resource and power usage for sensing. However, unlike the RAN, the core network does not understand beam configuration. Therefore, the core network cannot manage beams in the way required to support sensing services.

[0087] RF sensing (passive positioning)

[0088] Figure 5 This is a diagram illustrating passive positioning configurations according to various aspects of this disclosure. (Refer to...) Figure 5 Passive localization configuration 500 includes a target object 510, a transceiver 521, transmitters 522 and 523, and receivers 524 and 525. While localization technologies such as RTT, OTDOA, UTDOA (UL OTDOA), and E-CID are active localization technologies (where the target device includes RF devices), passive localization technologies can be used to determine the location information of a target device that may or may not contain RF devices. Passive localization is referred to as RF sensing and has many applications, including health detection, context information acquisition, automotive radar, and more. Health detection applications detect one or more biological functions (e.g., measure one or more biometrics) and include, for example, heartbeat detection, heart rate detection, respiration detection, and respiratory rate detection. These biological functions can be monitored and detected over time. Context information acquisition applications include, for example, location detection, location tracking, orientation detection, and distance estimation. Automotive radar applications include, for example, intelligent cruise control (to maintain separation between a first vehicle and a second vehicle in the same lane ahead of the first vehicle (e.g., a driver-specified distance, a safe distance (e.g., a driver-specified or pre-programmed time interval))), collision avoidance, and more.

[0089] Configuration 500 is an example of a multistatic radar. A co-located transmitter and receiver (transceiver) is called a monostatic radar, while a transmitter not co-located with a receiver is called a bistatic radar. Multistatic radar comprises multiple monostatic and / or bistatic radars with shared coverage areas and spatial diversity. In this example, transceiver 521 provides a monostatic radar, where a transmitted signal 531 is reflected as a reflected signal 532 received by transceiver 521. Transmitters 522, 523 and receivers 524, 525 of transceiver 521 provide a bistatic radar, where a transmitted signal 533 from transmitter 522 is reflected as reflected signals 534, 535 received by receivers 524, 525, respectively, while a transmitted signal 536 from transmitter 523 is reflected as a reflected signal 537 received by receiver 525. Other signals may be transmitted and other reflections may be received (e.g., by the receiver of transceiver 521), but for simplicity of the figures, ... Figure 5 The signals are not shown in the figures. For example, transmitted signal 536 can be reflected and received by receiver 524, and / or signal 531 can be reflected and received by one or both of receivers 524 and 525, but for simplicity of the figures, these reflections are not shown. In addition to receiving reflected signals 534, 535, and 537, one or more of receivers 524 and 525 can directly receive transmitted signals 533 and 536 from transmitters 522 and 523, where transmitted signals 533 and 536 and reflected signals 534, 535, and 537 are used to determine RF sensing information (e.g., distance to an object, object presence, channel characteristics, etc.). Transmitted signal 531 can also be directly received by one or more of receivers 524 and 525, and reflections of transmitted signal 531 are received by one or more of receivers 524 and 525, but for simplicity of the figures, these signal paths are not shown. Figure 5 Not shown in the image.

[0090] Figure 6 These are illustrations of example application devices according to various aspects of this disclosure. Reference Figure 6 And further refer to Figures 1 to 5 Application device 600 includes a processor 610, an interface 620, and a memory 630, which are communicatively coupled to each other via a bus 640. Application device 600 may include... Figure 6 The components shown in the diagram may include one or more other components. For example, application device 600 may be a UE, or it may be a UE or VUE (e.g., Figure 1 The UE 104 shown and Figure 4 Part of UE 402 shown, TRP (e.g., Figure 4 It may be a part of the TRP 413 shown, or a part of the server, and therefore may include Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 or Figure 4 One or more components are shown. For example, processor 610 may include one or more components of a processor. Interface 620 may include a transceiver, or one or more components of a transceiver. For example, interface 620 may include a wireless transmitter 354TX and antennas 320, 352, or a wireless receiver 354RX and antennas 320, 352, or a wireless transmitter 354TX, a wireless receiver 354RX and antennas 320, 352. Alternatively or additionally, interface 620 may include a wired transmitter and / or a wired receiver. Memory 630 may be configured similarly to memory 360, 376, for example, including software having processor-readable instructions configured to cause processor 610 to perform functions.

[0091] This description may refer to processor 610 performing functions, but this includes other specific implementations, such as specific implementations of software and / or firmware (stored in memory 630) executed by processor 610. The description herein may refer to application device 600 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more appropriate components of application device 600 (e.g., processor 610 and memory 630) performing that function. Processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630 and, where appropriate, with interface 620) includes an RF sensing unit 650 configured to request RF sensing for determining location information of a target object (e.g., one or more RF measurements, one or more distances, one or more location estimates, etc.) and for receiving RF sensing reports regarding the RF sensing results. RF sensing unit 650 will be discussed further below, and this description may generally refer to processor 610 or generally application device 600 as performing any function of RF sensing unit 650, and application device 600 is configured to perform the function of RF sensing unit 650. Application device 600 is an application layer entity that can be directly or indirectly (e.g., via AMF415) connected to SnMF to request RF sensing and receive RF sensing reports.

[0092] Figure 7 This is a diagram illustrating example sensing management functions according to various aspects of this disclosure. See also... Figure 7 The SnMF 700 includes a processor 710, an interface 720, and a memory 730, which are communicatively coupled to each other via a bus 740. The SnMF 700 may include... Figure 7 The components shown in the diagram may include one or more other components. For example, SnMF 700 may be part of a server and therefore may include... Figure 4One or more components are shown, or may be self-contained devices. For example, interface 720 may include one or more components of a transceiver (e.g., a wireless transmitter and antenna, and / or a wireless receiver and antenna, and / or a wired transmitter and / or a wired receiver). Memory 730 may be configured similarly to memory 360 and / or memory 376, for example, including software with processor-readable instructions configured to cause processor 710 to perform functions. SnMF 700 and server and / or TRP 413 may be integrated in a physical entity, wherein SnMF 700 and server and / or TRP 413 share one or more components.

[0093] This description may refer to the processor 710 performing functions, but this includes other specific implementations, such as the processor 710 executing software and / or firmware (stored in memory 730). This description may refer to the SnMF 700 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more appropriate components of the SnMF 700 (e.g., processor 710 and memory 730) performing those functions. The processor 710 (possibly in conjunction with memory 730 and, where appropriate, with interface 720) includes an RF sensing coordination unit 750. The RF sensing coordination unit 750 is configured to respond to RF sensing requests from application device 600 by scheduling RF sensing, collecting information from the RF sensing, and providing an RF sensing report with the results of the RF sensing (e.g., including location information of one or more target objects and / or one or more target environments). The RF sensing coordination unit 750 is further discussed below, and this description may generally refer to the processor 710 or SnMF 700 as performing any function of the RF sensing coordination unit 750, and SnMF 700 is configured to perform the function of the RF sensing coordination unit 750.

[0094] RF sensing can be requested by RF sensing unit 650 and coordinated by RF sensing coordination unit 750 for various purposes. For example, RF sensing unit 650 can request object presence detection to detect the presence of one or more target objects in a specified area. For object presence detection (or simply presence detection), RF sensing coordination unit 750 can select one or more relevant nodes for the area, such as one or more base stations (e.g., gNBs) and / or one or more UEs within or near the area (e.g., a room, an outdoor area, etc.), and determine whether the channel is time-varying (indicating the introduction, removal, and / or movement of one or more objects). As another example, RF sensing unit 650 can request health (e.g., biological function) detection (e.g., heart rate detection of a human or other biological entity) for one or more entities. For biological function detection, RF sensing coordination unit 750 can coordinate entity pairs (e.g., one or more base stations and / or one or more UEs) to obtain Doppler measurements of signals reflected from the target object. Doppler measurements can be analyzed to determine biological functions, such as heart rate, respiration, respiratory rate, etc. As another example, RF sensing unit 650 can request an environment map to measure one or more characteristics of the environment. For the environment map, RF sensing coordination unit 750 can coordinate measurements (e.g., scheduling signaling and requesting measurements) of one or more characteristics (e.g., path loss, fading, interference, Doppler shift, etc.) of one or more RF channels by one or more entities (e.g., one or more base stations and / or one or more UEs). SnMF 700 can be configured to provide SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) to determine an environment map and locate target objects within that map.

[0095] As will be described below, SnMF in the core network can also be used to indicate sensing direction directly to different sensors via NG-RAN. This is similar to LMF configured for positioning functions in the core network (e.g., Figure 4 Compared to the LMF 420 shown, SnMF is configured to sense orientation indication. In some examples, SnMF can replace LMF or an extension of LMF.

[0096] Figure 8This is a diagram illustrating examples of wireless communication systems supporting architectural options for cooperative sensing and positioning according to various aspects of this disclosure. In some examples, wireless communication system 800 may implement aspects of access network 100. Wireless communication system 800 may include, but is not limited to, a core network 805 including AMF 810 and SnMF 815, base station 820, UE-A 825, target object 1 830, UE-B 835, and target object 2 840, which may be examples of the corresponding devices described herein. In some aspects, base station 820, UE-A 825, and UE-B 835 may constitute at least a part of a RAN, such as LTE RAN, LTE-A RAN, NR RAN, NG RAN, 5G access network (5G-AN), etc. In some aspects, base station 820, UE-A 825, and UE-B 835 may also be collectively referred to as radio nodes of the RAN.

[0097] Figure 8 Several different use case scenarios are illustrated, showing how multiple target objects 840, 826 can be tracked using SnMF 815 by a combination of UE-A 825, UE-B 835, or NG-RAN 820. Generally, different types of radar exist, particularly monostatic and bistatic radars. Unlike monostatic sensing, which can be performed autonomously by a single node, bistatic sensing requires some coordination between two (or more) corresponding nodes. As a first example of monostatic sensing, UE-A can perform monostatic sensing (as indicated by the dashed line). As a second example of monostatic sensing, UE-B can perform monostatic sensing (as indicated by the dashed line). As a first example of bistatic sensing, considering target object 1 830 and target object 2 840, UE-B 835 is receiving bistatic sensing data transmitted from UE-A 825 (as indicated by the dashed line). As a second example of bistatic sensing, NG-RAN 820 can be performing bistatic sensing and UE-B 835 can be receiving this bistatic sensing data. Therefore, it is necessary to indicate different directions for sensing target objects (e.g., target object 1830 and / or target object 2 840) by UE-A 825, UE-B 835 or NG-RAN 820, so that sensing can be performed along those directions.

[0098] Therefore, the described aspects of the technology introduce various examples of architectures that can be implemented in a wireless communication system 800 that supports or otherwise implements RF sensing. For example, AMF 810 and SnMF 815 can typically be deployed within the core network 805 of the wireless communication system 800 to monitor, control, or otherwise manage various aspects of RF sensing. In some examples, this can include SnMF 815 processing RF signal metrics associated with one or more objects received from various wireless nodes of the RAN (e.g., such as base station 820 and any UE in the UE). SnMF 815 can identify or otherwise determine the attributes of the object based on the RF signal metrics. SnMF 815 can transmit or otherwise provide indications of the attributes of the object based on the RF signal metrics. SnMF 815 can transmit or otherwise provide indications of the object that use this information to identify or otherwise determine mapping information for the object, for example, which may be part of a larger mapping operation within the wireless communication system 200.

[0099] In some respects, SnMF 815 may be implemented in hardware and / or software within core network 805. SnMF 815 may be implemented as an autonomous / independent component / function within core network 805 and / or may be combined with one or more other components / functions (such as LMF) within core network 805. SnMF 815 may operate as a service-based component within core network 805, and the interaction between SnMF 815 and other core network functions may be based on service representations and / or reference point representations. For example, a service-based representation may include network functions within the control plane that enable other authorized network functions to access their services (e.g., SnMF 815, AMF 810) (which may include point-to-point reference points where necessary). A reference point representation may include interactions between network function services that exist within network functions and are described as point-to-point reference points between any two network functions (e.g., between AMF 810 and SnMF 815). Therefore, SnMF 815 can communicate via one or more interfaces within the core network 805 (e.g., service-based interfaces such as the Naf interface, Nsnmf interface, Namf interface, and / or reference point interface, etc.). In some respects, existing interfaces can be used for communication / coordination between SnMF 815 and other core network functions, and / or new interfaces (e.g., the Nsnmf interface) can be created for communication / coordination between SnMF 815 and other core network functions of the core network 805. Therefore, references to SnMF 815 and / or other network functions providing, obtaining, etc., can generally refer to information sent or otherwise conveyed via any interface between various network entities.

[0100] like Figure 8 As shown, SnMF 815 can be configured to indicate to NG-RAN 820 or UE 825, 835 the sensing direction or set of sensing directions in the GCS for sensing signal transmission and / or reception. If the sensing direction is indicated in the GCS, UE-A 825, UE-B 835, or gNB 820 can convert the sensing direction to the LCS. In some examples, if SnMF 815 is provided with a GCS-LCS conversion framework, the sensing direction can be indicated in the LCS.

[0101] In some examples, the sensing direction may be indicated using a direction codebook with certain quantization levels. In some examples, the sensing direction is indicated using a direction codebook with certain quantization levels. In some examples, the quantization level is selected by SnMF 815. In some examples, gNB 820 can request a quantization level for network-based sensing or UE-based / UE-assisted sensing in Mode 1. In some examples, the UE can directly request a quantization level for UE-based / UE-assisted sensing in Mode 2. For example, if four quantization levels exist, the codebook can indicate 0 for 0 to 90 degrees, 1 for 90 to 180 degrees, 2 for 180 to 270 degrees, and 3 for 270 to 360 degrees. As another example, the codebook can be used with even finer quantization and can be based on 30 degrees. Therefore, in this example, the codebook can indicate 0 for 0 to 30 degrees, 1 for 30 to 60 degrees, 2 for 60 to 90 degrees, 3 for 90 to 120 degrees, 4 for 120 to 150 degrees, 5 for 150 to 180 degrees, 6 for 180 to 210 degrees, 7 for 210 to 240 degrees, 8 for 240 to 270 degrees, 9 for 270 to 300 degrees, 10 for 300 to 330 degrees, and 11 for 330 to 360 degrees.

[0102] In some examples, the quantization level can be coarser than the beamwidth supported by the gNB 820 or UE 825, 835. In this case, the gNB 820 or UE 825, 835 can select their beams from the set of beam directions in the LCS after converting the sensing direction indicated by SnMF 815 in the GCS to the LCS.

[0103] In some examples, the direction codebook is notified to SnMF 815 by gNB 820 or UE 825, 835. In this case, UE 825, 835 or gNB 820 converts the set of beam directions of interest from LCS to GCS before transmitting the direction codebook notified to SnMF 815.

[0104] In some examples, the selection of beam direction from the set of possible directions in the LCS (after transition from GCS) by gNB 820 or UE 825, 835 can be based on additional scanning, random selection, or the use of some additional rules. These additional rules can be indicated by SnMF 815 to gNB 820, by gNB 820 to UE 825, 835, or by one UE to another.

[0105] Therefore, the NG-RAN 820 can be configured to obtain the Tx / Rx beam configuration in the local LCS based on the sensing direction indication in the GCS indicated by SnMF 815. This process can be implemented for network-based sensing when the NG-RAN 820 is involved in sensing, such as in bistatic mode where the gNB acts as Tx and the UE or another gNB acts as RX, in bistatic sensing mode where the gNB acts as Rx and the UE or another gNB acts as Tx, or in monostatic sensing where the gNB acts as both Tx and Rx. In some examples, this process can also be used for UE-based or UE-assisted sensing in Mode 1 (with Uu connectivity, as indicated by the dotted line) when the UE has already provided the GCS to LCS conversion framework to the NG-RAN 820.

[0106] In some examples, UE-A 825 and / or UE-B 835 will locally obtain the Tx / Rx beam configuration based on the SnMF sensing indication in the GCS. This procedure can be implemented for UE-based or UE-assisted sensing to indicate the probe reference signal (SRS) index when the UE is in a Tx mode for bistatic or monostatic sensing in mode 1 (with Uu connectivity) or mode 2 (without gNB connectivity) sensing. This procedure can also be used for UE-based or UE-assisted sensing to determine which Rx beam to use in bistatic mode during mode 1 or mode 2 sensing.

[0107] Figure 9 This is an example diagram illustrating the overall layout of a communication system for UE positioning according to various aspects of this disclosure. Specifically, Figure 9 Example 900 in the example shows the relationship with Figure 4 A similar positioning architecture diagram exists, except that the SnMF 920 replaces the LMF. Typically, the LMF is configured to control the coordination and scheduling of resources used for positioning purposes. In some cases, the LMF can be extended to include management functions contained within the SnMF 920. Unlike the LMF, the SnMF is configured to perform sensing and positioning. The SnMF 920 is configured to control sensing indication. Specifically, the SnMF 920 can be configured to receive previously sensed information about target objects at certain locations within a given sensing area.

[0108] Figure 10An example 1000 illustrates a call flow between gNB 1002 (e.g., base station 102 / 180, 820), AMF 1004 (e.g., AMF 415, 810), SnMF 1006 (e.g., SnMF 700, 815), a first UE (e.g., UE-A 825) 1008, and optionally a second UE (e.g., UE-B 835) 1010. Optional aspects are illustrated with dashed lines. At block 1012, SnMF 1006 is configured to receive information from the first UE 1008 regarding target objects at certain locations within a given sensing area (e.g., ...). Figure 8 Previous sensing information for target objects 1 (830) and 2 (840) shown. Optionally, at block 1014, SnMF 1006 is configured to receive previous sensing information about target objects at certain locations within a given sensing area. In some examples, sensing nodes (e.g., sensing UEs or processing sensing server nodes) may automatically transmit measurement reports or data to generate sensing measurements. In some examples, SnMF 1006 may request sensing measurement reports to determine configuration or configuration changes. In some examples, SnMF 1006 may request sensing measurement reports or sensing data from UEs at certain locations, such that the request can be transmitted to the selected sensing node or the UE / gNB connected to the sensing node after determining which sensing node to use and / or with what configuration to collect the measurement reports, as will be described in more detail below.

[0109] At block 1016, SnMF 1006 is configured to receive from the first UE 1008 information about possible RRS time-frequency configurations and beam information that the sensed Tx / Rx nodes can support, along with optional capability reports. Optionally, at block 1018, SnMF 1006 is configured to receive from the second UE 1010 information about possible RRS time-frequency configurations and beam information that the sensed Tx / Rx nodes can support, along with optional capability reports.

[0110] At box 1020, SnMF 1006 is configured to determine, based on boxes 1012 and 1016, the configuration or configuration changes of a set of UE / gNB / non-3GPP sensors with RRS time-frequency configurations, along with which Tx / RX sensing directions to use.

[0111] At box 1022, SnMF 1006 is configured to request a sensing measurement report from the first UE 1008 via LPP, or at box 1026 to request a sensing measurement report from gNB 1002 at box 1028 via NRPP(a) or using AMF 1004. Optionally, at box 1024, SnMF 1006 is configured to request a sensing measurement report from the second UE 1010 via LPP. In some examples, after determining which sensing node to use and / or with what configuration (e.g., which frequency bands, duration, etc.) to collect the data, the request for a sensing measurement report is transmitted to the selected sensing node or the UE connected to those sensing nodes.

[0112] At box 1030, gNB 1002 is configured to make recommendations to the first UE 1030. Optionally, at box 1032, gNB 1002 is configured to make recommendations to the second UE 1036.

[0113] At block 1034, gNB 1002 is configured to transmit sensing measurement results (e.g., measurement reports of partial processing results) for different beam combinations to SnMF 1004, such that these results can be indexed using the corresponding sensing direction used. At block 1036, first UE 1008 is configured to transmit sensing measurement results (e.g., measurement reports of partial processing results) for different beam combinations to SnMF 1004, such that these results can be indexed using the corresponding sensing direction used. Optionally, at block 1038, second UE 1010 is configured to transmit sensing measurement results (e.g., measurement reports of partial processing results) for different beam combinations to SnMF 1004, such that these results can be indexed using the corresponding sensing direction used. In some examples, SnMF 1006 may transmit requests for sensing measurement reports or sensing data from UEs at certain locations.

[0114] At box 1040, SnMF 1006 is configured to use the received measurement results to generate a better sensing measurement report for a given UE.

[0115] At block 1042, SnMF 1006 is configured to transmit the results of the improved sensing measurement report to the first UE 1008. At block 1044, SnMF 1006 is configured to transmit the results of the improved sensing measurement report to the second UE 1008. At block 1046, SnMF 1006 is configured to transmit the results of the improved sensing measurement report to gNB 1002. Here, the improved sensing measurement report can be used to implement steps 1012 and 1014.

[0116] Figure 11This is a flowchart of a method 1100 for wireless communication at a first network entity in the core network. This method can be performed by a first UE or VUE (e.g., UE-A 825). This method allows the first UE to indicate to the NG-RAN 820 or the UE a sensing direction or set of sensing directions for transmitting and / or receiving sensing signals.

[0117] At 1100, method 1100 includes: providing an indication of the sensing direction of the environment for transmitting and receiving radar signals to a first entity (e.g., UE-B 835) of the core network, which is different from the first entity (e.g., UE-A 825), to one or more radio nodes of the NG-RAN associated with the core network. In one example, re-referencing Figure 8 The UE-A 825 is configured to provide one or more radio nodes of the NG-RAN 820 associated with the core network 805 with indication of the sensing direction of the environment used to transmit and receive radar signals to sense the device. In another example, re-reference Figure 9 UE 902 is configured to provide one or more radio nodes of NG-RAN 835 associated with core network 840 with indication of sensing direction of the environment used to transmit and receive radar signals to sense the device.

[0118] In some examples, the sensing direction is indicated in the GCS. In some examples, the sensing direction is further indicated using a direction codebook with a specific quantization level. In some examples, the specific quantization level is determined by a first network entity of the core network. In some examples, the specific quantization level is coarser than the beamwidth supported by one or more radio nodes of the NG-RAN or a second entity of the core network that is provided with an indication of the sensing direction.

[0119] Figure 12 This is a flowchart of a method 1200 for wireless communication at a first network entity in the core network. This method can be performed by a first UE (e.g., UE-A 825). Optional aspects are illustrated by dashed lines. This method allows the first UE to indicate to the NG-RAN 820 or the UE a sensing direction or set of sensing directions for transmitting and / or receiving sensing signals.

[0120] At 1202, method 1200 includes: obtaining previously sensed information about the location of a target object in the sensing area. In some examples, the previously sensed information is obtained based on received measurement reports or data. In one example, re-referencing... Figure 8 The SnMF 815 can obtain previously sensed information from UE-A 825 or UE-B 835 based on received measurement reports or data. In another example, re-reference... Figure 9The SnMF 820 can obtain previously sensed information from the UE 902 based on received measurement reports or data. In yet another example, re-reference... Figure 10 SnMF 1006 can obtain previously sensed information 1012 from the first UE 1008 or the second UE 1010 based on received measurement reports or data.

[0121] Optionally, at 1204, method 1200 includes: obtaining information about possible RRS time-frequency configurations and sensing beam information that the Tx / Rx node can support, along with an optional UE capability report. In one example, re-referencing Figure 8 The SnMF 815 can obtain information about possible RRS time-frequency configurations and beam information that the sensing Tx / Rx nodes can support, along with optional UE capability reports. In another example, re-reference... Figure 9 The SnMF 820 can obtain information about possible RRS time-frequency configurations and beam information that the sensing Tx / Rx nodes can support, along with optional UE capability reports. In yet another example, re-referencing Figure 10 SnMF 1006 can also obtain information about possible RRS time-frequency configurations and beam information 1016, 1018 that the sensing Tx / Rx nodes can support, along with optional UE capability reports.

[0122] At 1206, method 1200 includes: determining the configuration or configuration change of a set of sensors with RRS time-frequency configurations in the LCS, along with sensing directions for transmitting and receiving radar signals, based on previous sensing information, possible RRS time-frequency configurations, and beam information. In one example, re-referencing Figure 8 The SnMF 815 can determine the configuration or configuration changes of sensors in an LCS. In another example, re-reference... Figure 10 SnMF 1006 can determine the configuration or configuration changes of the set of sensors with RRS time-frequency configuration in LCS 1020, along with the sensing direction for transmitting and receiving radar signals, based on previous sensing information 1012, 1014, possible RRS time-frequency configuration and beam information 1016, 1018.

[0123] Coarse area scanning can be used to accelerate sensing needs within an accelerated area to assist the initiating UE (or gNB or sensing client) in fulfilling its sensing needs, or to perform target tracking of some objects (e.g., target object 2 840) between different gNBs. As a first example of coarse area scanning, certain gNBs can trigger their sensing areas. Here, the gNB coverage area used for sensing can be assigned as the SnMF sensing area. As a second example of coarse scanning, AMF 1004 can assign its sensing area to SnMF 1006 based on requests from multiple UEs that need to perform sensing within an overlapping sensing area. In the case of target tracking, a target identifier can be assigned by AMF 1004 to the target object (e.g., ...). Figure 8 The target object shown may have or may not have a communication connection (target object 1 830 or target object 2 840). In some examples, the positioning criterion has an identifier that is only used by the UE. In some examples, the identifier may be based on a specific thermal image sensing signature in the range-angle-Doppler domain. In some examples, the identifier may be based on distance, direction, and gNB-assigned trajectory.

[0124] At 1208, method 1200 includes: requesting a sensing measurement report for sensing data from network entities at certain locations in the core network. In one example, re-referencing... Figure 8 SnMF 815 can request sensing measurement reports for sensing data from network entities 825, 835, and 820 at certain locations in the core network 805. In another example, re-referencing... Figure 10 SnMF 1006 can request sensing measurement reports for sensing data from gNB 1002, first UE 1008, and / or second UE 1010 at certain locations in the core network 805.

[0125] At 1210, method 1200 includes: generating an updated sensing measurement report for a given UE. In one example, re-referencing... Figure 8 The SnMF 815 can generate updated sensor measurement reports. In another example, re-referencing... Figure 10 The SnMF1006 can generate updated sensing measurement reports 1040.

[0126] In some examples, method 1200 may optionally include sending the results of the updated sensing measurement report back to the relevant UE or gNB.

[0127] Figure 13This is a flowchart of a method 1300 for wireless communication at a first network entity in the core network. This method can be performed by a first UE (e.g., UE-A 825). Optional aspects are illustrated by dashed lines. This method allows the first UE to indicate to the NG-RAN 820 or the UE a sensing direction or set of sensing directions for transmitting and / or receiving sensing signals.

[0128] At 1302, method 1300 includes: obtaining the global coordinate system (GCS) to LCS transformation frame. In one example, re-referencing... Figure 8 UE-A 825 and / or UE-B 835 can provide a GCS to LCS conversion framework to gNB 820.

[0129] Optionally, at 1304, method 1300 includes: converting the sensing orientation in the GCS to the LCS based on the GCS to LCS conversion framework, wherein the indication of the sensing orientation is indicated in the LCS.

[0130] At 1306, method 1300 includes: providing an indication of the sensing direction of the environment of a sensing device in the LCS used for transmitting and receiving radar signals to access the network via radio to one or more radio nodes of the NG-RAN associated with the core network or a second network entity of the core network that is different from the first entity.

[0131] In some examples, the indication of sensing direction is provided from the SnMF function of the radio access network. In some examples, the sensing management function of the radio access network operates independently of the location management function of the core network to determine one or more attributes of an object. In some examples, the sensing management function of the radio access network includes a combination of radio access network components in conjunction with the location management component of the radio access network.

[0132] Figure 14 This is a flowchart of a method 1400 for wireless communication at a component of a radio access network. Optional aspects are illustrated with dashed lines. This method can be performed by an NG-RAN 820. This method allows the NG-RAN to provide the UE with sensing directions or a set of sensing directions for sensing signal transmission and / or reception.

[0133] At 1402, method 1400 includes: obtaining from a network entity of the core network associated with the NR-RAN an indication of the sensing direction in the GCS for transmitting and receiving radar signals to sense the device. In some examples, the sensing direction is indicated using a direction codebook with a specific quantization level. In some examples, the direction codebook is notified from a network entity of the core network.

[0134] Optionally, at 1404, method 1400 includes requesting a specific quantization level for network-based sensing, UE-based sensing in Mode 1, or UE-assisted sensing. In some examples, the specific quantization level is coarser than the beamwidth supported by the device.

[0135] Optionally, at 1406, method 1400 includes: converting the sensing direction from LCS to GCS before sending the direction codebook to the network entity of the core network associated with NG-RAN. In some examples, the sensing direction is converted based on an additional scan. In some examples, the sensing direction is converted randomly.

[0136] At 1408, method 1400 includes: determining the beam configuration in the LCS based on an indication of the sensing direction in the GCS.

[0137] Optionally, at 1410, method 1400 includes: selecting a beam in the LCS from a set of beam directions after converting the indication of the sensing direction in the GCS to the LCS.

[0138] Figure 15 This is a flowchart of a method 1500 for wireless communication at a component of a radio access network. Optional aspects are illustrated by dashed lines. This method can be performed by a UE-B 835. This method allows a UE to provide multiple UEs with sensing directions or a set of sensing directions for transmitting and / or receiving sensing signals.

[0139] At 1502, method 1500 includes: obtaining from a second network entity of the core network associated with the NR-RAN an indication of the sensing direction in the GCS for transmitting and receiving radar signals to sense the device. In some examples, the sensing direction is indicated using a direction codebook with a specific quantization level.

[0140] Optionally, at 1504, method 1500 includes: requesting a specific quantization level for UE-based or UE-assisted sensing in mode 2.

[0141] Optionally, at 1506, method 1500 includes: converting the sensing direction from LCS to GCS before sending the direction codebook to the network entity of the core network associated with NG-RAN. In some examples, the sensing direction is converted based on an additional scan.

[0142] At 1508, method 1500 includes: locally determining a beam configuration based on an indication of the sensing direction of the environment of the device used to transmit and receive radar signals to sense the environment.

[0143] Optionally, at 1510, method 1500 includes: selecting a beam in the LCS from a set of beam directions after converting the indication of the sensing direction in the GCS to the LCS.

[0144] At 1512, method 1500 includes: transmitting radar signals in a beam configuration.

[0145] Figure 16 Figure 1600 illustrates an example of a hardware implementation for device 1602. Device 1602 is a UE (e.g., a Tx UE or Rx UE), such as a VUE, and includes a cellular baseband processor 1604 (also referred to as a modem) coupled to a cellular RF transceiver 1622 and one or more Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards 1620, an application processor 1606 coupled to a Secure Digital Card (SD) card 1608 and a screen 1610, a Bluetooth module 1612, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) module 1614, a Global Positioning System (GPS) module 1616, and a power source 1618. The cellular baseband processor 1604 communicates with a UE 104 via the cellular RF transceiver 1622, which may include one or more VUEs and / or PUEs 104, targets 107 and / or BSs 102 / 180. The cellular baseband processor 1604 may include computer-readable media / memory. This computer-readable media / memory may be non-transitory. Cellular baseband processor 1604 is responsible for general processing, including executing software stored on a computer-readable medium / memory. When executed by cellular baseband processor 1604, the software causes cellular baseband processor 1604 to perform the various functions described above. The computer-readable medium / memory can also be used to store data manipulated by cellular baseband processor 1604 during software execution. Cellular baseband processor 1604 also includes receiving component 1630, communication manager 1632, and transmitting component 1634. Communication manager 1632 includes one or more of the illustrated components. Components within communication manager 1632 can be stored in computer-readable medium / memory and / or configured as hardware within cellular baseband processor 1604. Cellular baseband processor 1604 can be a component of devices 310, 350 and may include memories 360, 376 and / or at least one of the following: TX processors 316, 368, RX processors 356, 370, and controllers / processors 359, 375. In one configuration, device 1602 may be a modem chip and include only baseband processor 1604, while in another configuration, device 1602 may be the entire device (e.g., see...). Figure 3 310, 350), and includes the aforementioned additional module of device 1602. UE 104 (e.g., VUE 104 ( Figure 1It can communicate with pedestrian UE (PUE) 104, another VUE 104, and base stations such as gNB (102, 180).

[0146] The communication manager 1632 includes a sensing management function (SnMF) component 1640, which is configured to provide indication of the sensing direction of the environment used to transmit and receive radar signals to sense the device, for example, as in combination with Figure 11 Step 1102 is described. The SnMF component 1640 is also configured to obtain prior sensing information about the location of a target object in the sensing area, such as, in conjunction with... Figure 12 Step 1202 is described. The communication manager 1632 also includes a frame conversion component 1642 configured to determine the beam configuration in the LCS, for example, as in conjunction with... Figure 15 Step 1508 as described. The framework conversion component 1642 is further configured to obtain a GCS to LCS conversion framework (e.g., as combined with...). Figure 13 Step 1302 as described, and based on the GCS to LCS conversion framework, the sensing orientation in the GCS is converted to the LCS (e.g., as combined with...). Figure 13 (as described in step 1304). The communication manager 1632 also includes a beam configuration component 1644 configured to determine the configuration or configuration changes of a set of sensors having RRS time-frequency configurations, for example, as in combination Figure 12 The step 1206 described herein. The communication manager 1632 also includes a measurement reporting component 1646 configured to request a sense measurement report (e.g., as in conjunction with...). Figure 12 (as described in step 1208), and generate an updated sensing measurement report (e.g., as combined with...). Figure 12 (as described in step 1210).

[0147] The device may include execution Figure 10 , Figures 11 to 13 and Figure 15 The additional components of each box in the algorithm's boxes in the aforementioned flowchart and sequence diagram. Therefore, Figure 10 , Figures 11 to 13 and Figure 15 Each block in the aforementioned flowchart and timing diagram can be executed by a component, and the apparatus can include one or more of those components. These components can be one or more hardware components specifically configured to execute the stated process / algorithm, implemented by a processor configured to execute the stated process / algorithm, stored in a computer-readable medium for implementation by a processor, or some combination thereof.

[0148] In one configuration, device 1602 (and specifically, cellular baseband processor 1604) includes components for providing indication of sensing direction for transmitting and receiving radar signals to one or more radio nodes of NG-RAN associated with the core network or a second network entity of the core network, distinct from the first entity, for sensing the environment of the device. The aforementioned components may be one or more of the aforementioned components of device 1602 configured to perform the functions described therein. As described above, device 1602 may include TX processor 368, RX processor 356, and controller / processor 359. Therefore, in one configuration, the aforementioned components may be TX processor 368, RX processor 356, and controller / processor 359 configured to perform the functions described therein. Alternatively, also as described above, device 1602 may include TX processor 316, RX processor 370, and controller / processor 375. Therefore, in one configuration, the aforementioned components may be TX processor 316, RX processor 370, and controller / processor 375 configured to perform the functions described therein.

[0149] Figure 17 Figure 1700 illustrates an example of a hardware implementation for device 1702. Device 1702 is a base station and includes a baseband unit 1704. Baseband unit 1704 can communicate with UE 104 via a cellular RF transceiver, the UE including one or more VUEs and / or PUEs. Baseband unit 1704 may include computer-readable medium / memory. Baseband unit 1704 is responsible for general processing, including executing software stored on the computer-readable medium / memory. The software, when executed by baseband unit 1704, causes baseband unit 1704 to perform the various functions described above. The computer-readable medium / memory can also be used to store data manipulated by baseband unit 1704 when executing the software. Baseband unit 1704 also includes a receiving component 1730, a communication manager 1732, and a transmitting component 1734. Communication manager 1732 includes one or more of the illustrated components. Components within communication manager 1732 may be stored in computer-readable medium / memory and / or configured as hardware within baseband unit 1704. The baseband unit may be a component of device 310 and may include memory 376 and / or at least one of the following: TX processor 316, RX processor 370 and controller / processor 375.

[0150] The communication manager 1732 includes a sensing management function (SnMF) component 1740, which is configured to obtain from a network entity of the core network associated with the radio access network (NG-RAN) an indication of the sensing direction in the global coordinate system (GCS) for transmitting and receiving radar signals to sense the environment of the sensing device, for example, as in combination with Figure 14 Step 1402 is described. The communication manager 1732 also includes a beam configuration component 1742 configured to determine the beam configuration in the LCS based on an indication of the sensing direction in the GCS, for example, as in conjunction with... Figure 14 The step 1408 described herein. The communication manager 1732 also includes a quantization component 1744 configured to request a specific quantization level for network-based sensing, UE-based sensing in Mode 1, or UE-assisted sensing, for example, as in conjunction with... Figure 14 Step 1404 is described. The communication manager 1732 also includes a frame conversion component 1746 configured to convert the sensing direction from LCS to GCS before sending the direction codebook to the network entity of the core network associated with NG-RAN, for example, as in combination with... Figure 14 Step 1406 is described. The communication manager 1732 also includes a beam selection component 1748 configured to select a beam from a set of beam directions in the LCS after the indication of the sensing direction in the GCS has been converted to the LCS, for example, as in combination with... Figure 14 As described in step 1410.

[0151] The device may include execution Figure 10 and Figure 14 The additional components of each box in the algorithm's boxes in the aforementioned flowchart and sequence diagram. Therefore, Figure 10 and Figure 14 Each block in the aforementioned flowchart and timing diagram can be executed by a component, and the apparatus can include one or more of those components. These components can be one or more hardware components specifically configured to execute the stated process / algorithm, implemented by a processor configured to execute the stated process / algorithm, stored in a computer-readable medium for implementation by a processor, or some combination thereof.

[0152] In one configuration, device 1702 (and specifically, baseband unit 1704) includes: components for obtaining from a network entity of the core network associated with NG-RAN an indication of the sensing direction in the GCS for transmitting and receiving radar signals to sense the environment of the device; and components for determining the beam configuration in the LCS based on the indication of the sensing direction in the GCS. The aforementioned components may be one or more of the aforementioned components of device 1702 configured to perform the functions described by the aforementioned components. As described above, device 1702 may include TX processor 368, RX processor 356, and controller / processor 359. Therefore, in one configuration, the aforementioned components may be TX processor 368, RX processor 356, and controller / processor 359 configured to perform the functions described by the aforementioned components. Alternatively, also as described above, device 1702 may include TX processor 316, RX processor 370, and controller / processor 375. Therefore, in one configuration, the aforementioned components may be a TX processor 316, an RX processor 370, and a controller / processor 375 configured to perform the functions described by the aforementioned components.

[0153] The principles of this disclosure advantageously facilitate beam management across different types of sensing devices (UE, VUE, PUE, gNB, and / or non-3GPP radar sensors). Therefore, the principles of this paper largely provide key benefits by implementing key features of systems intended to increase visibility. Given that cellular networks and GPS receivers themselves are not reliable solutions for locating vehicles and pedestrians and thus improving safety and enabling autonomous driving at the appropriate time, the development of alternative solutions is considered crucial. These alternative solutions emerge in part in the general form of V2X, with specifications being published in existing cellular standards that are currently in use and likely to be widely implemented in the near future.

[0154] However, V2X is not without its limitations in practical implementation, and it faces challenges in managing how devices with different technical specifications can be merged to locate devices quickly and efficiently. Therefore, in one aspect of this disclosure, as provided herein, a key sensing direction indication can now be easily made known to different devices in an area through a Sensing Management Function (SnMF). Thus, the SnMF in the core network can use previous sensing measurement reports to indicate the sensing direction to different sensors via the NG-RAN. In this way, beam management across different sensing devices is provided throughout the various aspects described in this disclosure. In this way, beam management reduces interference, reduces latency for tracking targets, and achieves less resource and power usage for sensing.

[0155] It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of the boxes in the disclosed process / flowcharts is merely an example of the exemplary method. It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of the boxes in the process / flowcharts may be rearranged based on design preferences. Furthermore, some boxes may be combined or omitted. The appended method claims present the elements of various boxes in a sample order, but this does not imply limitation to the given specific order or hierarchy.

[0156] The foregoing description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Therefore, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but are to be consistent with the full scope of the language claims, wherein elements referred to in the singular are not intended to mean “one and only one”, but rather “one or more” unless specifically stated otherwise. Terms such as “if,” “when,” and “at the same time as” should be interpreted as “in the circumstances of,” rather than implying an immediate temporal relationship or reaction. That is, these phrases, such as “when,” do not imply an immediate action in response to the occurrence of an action or during the occurrence of an action, but simply suggest that an action will occur if the conditions are met, without requiring a specific or immediate time limit for the occurrence of the action. The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or superior to other aspects. Unless otherwise specifically stated, the term “some” refers to one or more. Combinations such as "at least one of A, B, or C", "one or more of A, B, or C", "at least one of A, B, and C", "one or more of A, B, and C", and "A, B, C, or any combination thereof" include any combination of A, B, and / or C, and may include multiple A's, multiple B's, or multiple C's. Specifically, combinations such as "at least one of A, B, or C", "one or more of A, B, or C", "at least one of A, B, and C", "one or more of A, B, and C", and "A, B, C, or any combination thereof" may be only A, only B, only C, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, wherein any such combination may include one or more members of A, B, or C. All structural and functional equivalents of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure, which are now or hereafter known to those skilled in the art, are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be covered by the claims. Furthermore, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be offered to the public, whether or not such disclosure is expressly stated in the claims. Terms such as “module,” “mechanism,” “element,” and “device” cannot replace the term “component.” Therefore, no claim element will be interpreted as a functional component unless the element is explicitly stated using the phrase “component for…”.

Claims

1. An apparatus for wireless communication at a first network entity in a core network, the apparatus comprising: One or more memory units; and One or more processors, said one or more processors being coupled to said one or more memories and configured individually or in combination to cause the device to: Provide indication of sensing direction for transmitting and receiving radar signals to one or more radio nodes of the radio access network (NG-RAN) associated with the core network or a second network entity of the core network that is different from the first entity.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensing direction is indicated in a global coordinate system (GCS).

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the sensing direction is further indicated using a direction codebook with a specific quantization level.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the specific quantization level is determined by the first network entity of the core network.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the specific quantization level is coarser than the beamwidth supported by the one or more radio nodes of the NG-RAN or the second entity of the core network provided with the indication of the sensing direction.

6. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to cause the apparatus to: Obtain prior sensing information about the target object in the sensing area; and The beam configuration in the local coordinate system (LCS) is determined based on the previously obtained sensing information.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to cause the apparatus to: Obtain information about possible RRS time-frequency configurations and beam information that the sensing Tx / Rx nodes can support, along with optional UE capability reports.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to cause the apparatus to: Based on the previously sensed information, the possible RRS time-frequency configuration, and the beam information, the configuration or configuration variation of the sensors having the set of RRS time-frequency configurations is determined, along with the sensing direction for transmitting and receiving the radar signals.

9. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the prior sensing information is obtained based on received measurement reports or data.

10. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to cause the apparatus to: Request sensing measurement reports of sensing data from network entities at certain locations in the core network; and Generate updated sensor measurement reports.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensing direction is provided in a local coordinate system (LCS), and wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to cause the apparatus to: Obtain the global coordinate system (GCS) to LCS transformation framework; and The sensing direction in the GCS is converted to the LCS based on the GCS to LCS conversion framework, wherein the indication of the sensing direction is indicated in the LCS.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first physical network includes the sensing management functionality of the core network, and wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination. The indication of the sensing direction is provided from the sensing management function of the radio access network.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the sensing management function of the radio access network operates independently of the location management function of the core network to determine one or more attributes of an object.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the sensing management function of the radio access network includes a radio access network component combined with a location management component of the radio access network.

15. An apparatus for wireless communication at a component of a radio access network, the apparatus comprising: One or more memory units; and One or more processors, said one or more processors being coupled to said one or more memories and configured individually or in combination to cause the device to: Obtain an indication of the sensing direction in the global coordinate system (GCS) for transmitting and receiving radar signals to sense the environment of the device from a network entity of the core network associated with the radio access network (NG-RAN); and The beam configuration in the local coordinate system (LCS) is determined based on the indication of the sensing direction in the GCS.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the sensing direction is indicated using a direction codebook with a specific quantization level.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to cause the apparatus to: The request specifies the quantization level for network-based sensing, UE-based sensing in Mode 1, or UE-assisted sensing.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the particular quantization level is coarser than the beamwidth supported by the apparatus.

19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to cause the apparatus to: After converting the indication of the sensing direction in the GCS to the LCS, a beam in the LCS is selected from the set of beam directions.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the direction codebook is notified from the network entity of the core network.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to cause the apparatus to: The sensing direction is switched from the LCS to the GCS before the direction codebook is sent to the network entity of the core network associated with the NG-RAN.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the sensing direction is converted based on an additional scan.

23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the sensing direction is randomly changed.

24. An apparatus for wireless communication at a first network entity in a core network, the apparatus comprising: One or more memory units; and One or more processors, said one or more processors being coupled to said one or more memories and configured individually or in combination to cause the device to: The sensing direction of the device in the GCS is obtained from a second network entity of the core network associated with the radio access network (NG-RAN); The beam configuration is locally determined based on the indication of the sensing direction used to transmit and receive radar signals to sense the environment of the device; and The radar signal is transmitted using the aforementioned beam configuration.

25. The apparatus for wireless communication according to claim 24, wherein the sensing direction is indicated using a direction codebook with a specific quantization level.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to cause the apparatus to: The request specifies the quantization level for UE-based / UE-assisted sensing in Mode 2.

27. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to cause the apparatus to: After converting the indication of the sensing direction in the GCS to the LCS, a beam in the LCS is selected from the set of beam directions.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to cause the apparatus to: The sensing direction is switched from the LCS to the GCS before the direction codebook is sent to the network entity of the core network associated with the NG-RAN.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the sensing direction is converted based on an additional scan.

30. A method for wireless communication at a first network entity in a core network, the method comprising: Provide an indication of sensing direction for transmitting and receiving radar signals to one or more radio nodes of the radio access network (NG-RAN) associated with the core network or a second network entity of the core network that is different from the first entity.

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