Control device, control method, and recording medium

Abstract

[Problem] To suitably control communication performance between a base station and a plurality of communication terminals while increasing the likelihood of satisfying communication requirements of an application. [Solution] A control device according to the present invention uses radio wave quality information (first radio wave quality information) at the current point in time, past information including past radio wave quality information (second radio wave quality information), and communication requirement information to select, from among a plurality of communication terminals, one or more communication terminals to be used in communications, and uses the one or more communication terminals and the first radio wave quality information to select, from among a plurality of antennas, one or more antennas to be used when communicating with the one or more communication terminals.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a control device, a control method, and a recording medium. [Background technology]

[0002] To stabilize communication and improve communication quality, a method of simultaneously transmitting radio waves from multiple antennas (or antenna elements) is used. Examples of such a method include Massive MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) and beamforming.

[0003] MIMO is a method of simultaneously transmitting and receiving different signals using multiple antennas, and therefore, MIMO can improve throughput.

[0004] Beamforming is a technique for controlling the phase and amplitude of radio signals transmitted or received by multiple antenna elements to change the shape and direction (angle) of a beam. Therefore, beamforming can improve the radio wave strength at a communication terminal located in a specific direction or at a specific location.

[0005] As one of the technologies utilizing the above method, a distributed antenna system (DAS) is being studied. A distributed antenna system includes a control device (e.g., a base station) and multiple antennas physically separated from the control device. This system can further improve communication quality by avoiding shadowing and obtaining spatial diversity.

[0006] Non-Patent Document 1 discloses an antenna selection method in a distributed antenna system. Non-Patent Document 2 discloses a radio resource scheduling technique in a distributed antenna system. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-214896 [Patent Document 2] Special Publication No. 2006-520109 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-009964 [Non-patent literature]

[0008] [Non-Patent Document 1] Yu Xiaoming, "Antenna Selection Method Considering Downlink Transmission Capacity in Distributed Antenna Systems," NTT DoCoMo Technical Journal, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 55 [Non-patent document 2] Yuki Arikawa, "Basic Study on Cooperative Radio Resource Scheduler Configuration Technology for Ultra-Dense Distributed Antenna Systems," IEICE Technical Report, RCS2015-375 (2016) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] When a control device communicates with multiple communication terminals using multiple antennas, it is required to satisfy the communication requirements of applications running on each of the multiple communication terminals. However, the relationship between the multiple antennas and the multiple communication terminals (e.g., locational relationship or radio wave quality) can constantly change. The techniques in Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not take into account the communication requirements of the applications. Therefore, the techniques in Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2 may not be able to satisfy the communication requirements of the applications in situations where the relationship changes as described above.

[0010] The present disclosure provides a technique for appropriately controlling communication performance between a control device and multiple communication terminals while increasing the likelihood that the communication requirements of an application will be met. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] In one or more embodiments, a control device is provided, comprising: first information acquisition means for acquiring first radio wave quality information relating to current radio wave quality between a plurality of communication terminals and a plurality of antennas; second information acquisition means for acquiring communication requirement information relating to communication requirements required for each of the plurality of communication terminals; storage means for storing past information including at least second radio wave quality information relating to past radio wave quality between the plurality of communication terminals and the plurality of antennas; terminal selection means for selecting one or more communication terminals to be communication targets from the plurality of communication terminals using the past information, the first radio wave quality information, and the communication requirement information; and antenna selection means for selecting one or more antennas to be used when communicating with the one or more communication terminals from the plurality of antennas using the one or more communication terminals and the first radio wave quality information.

[0012] In one or more embodiments, a control method is provided, which includes: acquiring first radio wave quality information regarding current radio wave quality between a plurality of communication terminals and a plurality of antennas; acquiring communication requirement information regarding communication requirements required for each of the plurality of communication terminals; selecting one or more communication terminals to be communication targets from the plurality of communication terminals using past information including at least second radio wave quality information regarding past radio wave quality between the plurality of communication terminals and the plurality of antennas, the first radio wave quality information, and the communication requirement information; and selecting one or more antennas to be used when communicating with the one or more communication terminals from the plurality of antennas using the one or more communication terminals and the first radio wave quality information.

[0013] In one or more embodiments, a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium is provided, which stores a program that causes a processor to execute the following steps: acquire first radio wave quality information regarding current radio wave quality between a plurality of communication terminals and a plurality of antennas; acquire communication requirement information regarding communication requirements required for each of the plurality of communication terminals; select one or more communication terminals to be communication targets from the plurality of communication terminals using past information including at least second radio wave quality information regarding past radio wave quality between the plurality of communication terminals and the plurality of antennas, the first radio wave quality information, and the communication requirement information; and select one or more antennas to be used when communicating with the one or more communication terminals from the plurality of antennas using the one or more communication terminals and the first radio wave quality information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] According to the above configuration, it is possible to appropriately control the communication performance between the control device and the multiple communication terminals while increasing the possibility of satisfying the communication requirements. Other problems, configurations, and effects will become clear from the description of the following embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a control device. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an antenna configuration. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a communication terminal. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a storage unit and a processing unit in the control device. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram for conceptually explaining a channel propagation matrix, which is an example of radio wave quality information. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a data structure of communication requirement information. [Figure 8]FIG. 2 is a diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a data structure of past information. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing flow of a control device. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a storage unit and a processing unit in the control device. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of radio wave quality information. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of control information. [Figure 14] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a base station. [Figure 15] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a processing unit of a base station. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a processing flow of a control device and a base station. [Figure 17] 17 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing by the control device, which is executed in step 1603 of FIG. 16. [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a control device according to a third embodiment. [Figure 19] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing flow of a control device according to the third embodiment. [Figure 20] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a combination of software and hardware that realizes the functions of a control device according to a third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] One or more embodiments will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this specification and drawings, elements that can be similarly described will be designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

[0017] The explanation will be given in the following order: 1. Overview of the embodiment 2. First embodiment 2-1. Wireless communication system configuration 2-2.Control device configuration 2-3. Antenna configuration 2-4.Communication terminal configuration 2-5. Configuration of the processing unit and memory unit of the control device 2-6. Examples of the first and second selection processes 2-7.Processing flow 2-8.Effects 2-9. Variations 3. Second embodiment 3-1. Wireless communication system configuration 3-2.Control device configuration 3-3. Base station configuration 3-4. Processing flow Effects 3-6. Variations 4. Third embodiment 4-1.Control device configuration 4-2.Processing flow 5. Other Embodiments

[0018] <<1. Overview of the embodiment>> A summary of one or more embodiments is provided below.

[0019] In order to solve the above problem, in one or more embodiments, a control device is provided, which includes a first information acquisition unit, a second information acquisition unit, a storage unit, a terminal selection unit, and an antenna selection unit.

[0020] The first information acquisition unit acquires first radio wave quality information relating to current radio wave quality between the plurality of communication terminals and the plurality of antennas, and the second information acquisition unit acquires communication requirement information relating to communication requirements required for each of the plurality of communication terminals.

[0021] The storage unit stores past information including at least second radio wave quality information relating to past radio wave qualities between the plurality of communication terminals and the plurality of antennas.

[0022] The terminal selection unit uses the past information, the first radio wave quality information, and the communication requirement information to select one or more communication terminals to be communication targets from among the plurality of communication terminals.

[0023] The antenna selection unit uses the selected one or more communication terminals and first radio wave quality information to select one or more antennas from the plurality of antennas to be used when communicating with the selected one or more communication terminals.

[0024] According to the above configuration, the control device can appropriately control communication performance between the control device and multiple communication terminals while increasing the likelihood of satisfying communication requirements (e.g., communication requirements of an application). Note that the technical features of one or more embodiments described below are not limited to the technical features described above. Furthermore, one or more embodiments may provide other effects instead of or in addition to the effects described above.

[0025] <<2. First Embodiment>> Next, the first embodiment and its modified examples will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0026] <2-1. Wireless communication system configuration> 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a wireless communication system 1. For example, the wireless communication system 1 is a system that complies with the technical specifications of 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project). Specifically, the wireless communication system 1 may be a device that complies with the technical specifications of 5G (5th Generation). Naturally, the wireless communication system 1 is not limited to this example.

[0027] The wireless communication system 1 includes a control device 10, a plurality of antennas 20-1, ..., 20-n, and a plurality of communication terminals 30-1, ..., 30-k, where n is an integer equal to or greater than 2, and k is an integer equal to or greater than 2.

[0028] Hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between the multiple antennas 20-1, ..., 20-n, for simplicity of notation, the symbol "20" is assigned to one or more antennas. Furthermore, when there is no need to distinguish between the multiple communication terminals 30-1, ..., 30-k, the symbol "30" is assigned to one or more communication terminals.

[0029] An identifier is assigned in advance to each of the multiple antennas 20-1, ..., 20-n. Hereinafter, the identifier is referred to as an "antenna identifier." In this example, antenna identifiers 20-1, ..., 20-n are assigned to the antennas 20-1, ..., 20-n, respectively.

[0030] Furthermore, an identifier is assigned in advance to each of the multiple communication terminals 30-1, ..., 30-k. Hereinafter, this identifier will be referred to as a "terminal identifier." In this example, terminal identifiers 30-1, ..., 30-k are assigned to the communication terminals 30-1, ..., 30-k, respectively. Note that the terminal identifier may be other information as long as it is information that can uniquely identify each of the multiple communication terminals 30. The terminal identifier may be an identifier specified in 3GPP. For example, the terminal identifier may be an International Mobile Subscription Identity (IMSI) or a Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI). Use of such an identifier increases affinity with devices specified in 3GPP or the like. In another example, the terminal identifier may be an identifier such as a Media Access Control address (MAC address).

[0031] The control device 10 is connected to a plurality of antennas 20-1, ..., 20-n via a plurality of transmission paths 40-1, ..., 40-n. One or more of the plurality of antennas 20-1, ..., 20-n are located at positions physically separated from the control device 10. Therefore, in this example, the wireless communication system 1 has a distributed antenna system (DAS) configuration.

[0032] Hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between the multiple transmission paths 40-1, . . . , 40-n, the symbol "40" is assigned to one or more transmission paths.

[0033] The multiple transmission paths 40 are media used for information transmission. The multiple transmission paths 40 may be optical fibers, coaxial cables, or wireless propagation paths. For example, RoF (Radio over Fiber) technology may be applied between the control device 10 and the multiple antennas 20. In another example, CPRI (Common Public Radio Interface) technology, eCPRI (evolved Common Public Radio Interface) technology, or the like may be applied between the control device 10 and the multiple antennas 20.

[0034] The control device 10 uses multiple antennas 20 to perform wireless communication with multiple communication terminals 30. The communication terminals 30 may be referred to as user equipment (UE) or mobile stations. For example, the communication terminals 30 may be mobile terminals such as smartphones, mobile phones, or tablets. The communication terminals 30 may also be relay devices having a relay function.

[0035] In the following, a link through which a signal is transmitted from the control device 10 to the communication terminal 30 is referred to as a "downlink." A signal transmitted on the downlink is referred to as a "downlink signal." Furthermore, a link through which a signal is transmitted from the communication terminal 30 to the control device 10 is referred to as an "uplink." A signal transmitted on the uplink is referred to as an "uplink signal."

[0036] <2-2. Control device configuration> 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the control device 10. The control device 10 may be a node of a radio access network (RAN). For example, the control device 10 may be a radio base station or an access point (AP). The control device 10 may be a CU (Central Unit or Centralized Unit), a DU (Distributed Unit), an RU (Radio Unit), or another device.

[0037] The control device 10 includes a transmission line interface (IF) 110, a storage unit 120, and a processing unit .

[0038] The transmission path IF 110 includes an interface for communicating with a plurality of antennas 20 via a plurality of transmission paths 40 .

[0039] The storage unit 120 includes a volatile memory and a non-volatile memory. The volatile memory may include, for example, a random access memory (RAM). The non-volatile memory may include, for example, one or more of a read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk drive (HDD), and a solid state drive (SSD). The non-volatile memory stores program code (instructions) for implementing various functions of the control device 10. Furthermore, the non-volatile memory stores information used in the operation of the control device 10 (past information, described later).

[0040] The processing unit 130 includes one or more processors. The one or more processors may include, for example, one or more of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), and a microcontroller. The processing unit 130 executes program code stored in the storage unit 120 to realize various functions (functional modules described below) of the control device 10.

[0041] <2-3. Antenna configuration> The multiple antennas 20-1, ..., 20-n have the same configuration. In the following, the configuration of the antenna 20-1 will be described, and descriptions of the other antennas 20-2, ..., 20-n will be omitted.

[0042] 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the antenna 20-1. The antenna 20-1 includes a transmission line interface (IF) 210, a storage unit 220, a processing unit 230, and a wireless communication unit 240.

[0043] The transmission line IF 210 is an interface for communicating with the control device 10 via the transmission line 40-1.

[0044] The storage unit 220 includes a volatile memory and a non-volatile memory. The volatile memory may include, for example, a RAM. The non-volatile memory may include, for example, one or more of a ROM, a HDD, and an SSD. The non-volatile memory stores program code (instructions) for implementing various functions of the antenna 20-1.

[0045] The processing unit 230 includes one or more processors. The one or more processors may include, for example, one or more of a CPU, an MPU, and a microcontroller. The processing unit 230 executes program codes stored in the storage unit 220 to realize various functions of the antenna 20-1.

[0046] For example, the processing unit 230 performs processing to convert a baseband signal into a radio frequency signal, and processing to convert a radio frequency signal into a baseband signal.

[0047] The wireless communication unit 240 is an element that performs wireless communication with multiple communication terminals 30. For example, the wireless communication unit 240 transmits a radio frequency signal to one or more communication terminals 30 and receives a radio frequency signal from one or more communication terminals 30. For example, the wireless communication unit 240 includes an antenna element 241.

[0048] <2-4. Configuration of communication terminal> The multiple communication terminals 30-1, . . . , 30-k have the same configuration. In the following, the configuration of communication terminal 30-1 will be described, and descriptions of the other communication terminals 30-2, . . . , 30-k will be omitted.

[0049] 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of communication terminal 30-1. Communication terminal 30-1 includes wireless communication section 310, storage section 320, and processing section 330.

[0050] The wireless communication unit 310 is an element that performs wireless communication with the plurality of antennas 20. For example, the wireless communication unit 310 includes an antenna element 311. The wireless communication unit 310 may include a plurality of antenna elements 311.

[0051] The storage unit 320 includes a volatile memory and a non-volatile memory. The volatile memory may include, for example, a RAM. The non-volatile memory may include, for example, one or more of a ROM, a HDD, and an SSD. The non-volatile memory stores program codes (instructions) for implementing various functions of the communication terminal 30-1.

[0052] The processing unit 330 includes one or more processors. The one or more processors may include, for example, one or more of a CPU, an MPU, and a microcontroller. The processing unit 330 executes program codes stored in the storage unit 320 to realize various functions of the communication terminal 30-1. Specifically, the processing unit 330 executes one or more applications that run on the communication terminal 30-1.

[0053] In this example, communication requirements are set for the above applications to operate normally (or with high quality). Details of the communication requirements will be described later.

[0054] <2-5. Configuration of the processing unit and storage unit of the control device> FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the storage unit 120 and the processing unit 130 in the control device 10. As shown in FIG.

[0055] The processing unit 130 includes, as functional modules, a first information acquisition unit 510, a second information acquisition unit 520, a terminal selection unit 530, an antenna selection unit 540, a transmission unit 550, and an update unit 560. The storage unit 120 includes a past information storage unit 570.

[0056] The first information acquisition unit 510 acquires information relating to radio wave quality between the plurality of communication terminals 30 and the plurality of antennas 20. Hereinafter, this information will be referred to as "radio wave quality information."

[0057] Specifically, the radio wave quality information is obtained by analyzing the radio wave quality of each of the antenna elements of the plurality of communication terminals 30. 311 and each antenna element 241 of the plurality of antennas 20. For example, the radio wave quality information may include one or more of radio wave strength, a packet loss rate, and a channel propagation matrix.

[0058] The radio wave strength is, for example, the strength of a radio wave measured at the communication terminal 30 when the communication terminal 30 receives a downlink signal. For example, the radio wave strength may be information indicating received power (for example, RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power)). The received power is measured using, for example, a synchronization signal or a reference signal. The synchronization signal may be, for example, an NR (New Radio) SSS (Secondary Synchronization Signal). The reference signal may be, for example, a CSI-RS (Channel State Information-Reference Signal) or an NR PBCH-DMRS (Physical Broadcast Channel-Demodulation Reference Signal).

[0059] The packet loss rate is the ratio of lost packets to transmitted packets.

[0060] The channel propagation matrix is ​​a matrix in which radio waves transmitted from each of the multiple antennas 20 propagate to the antenna elements of each of the multiple communication terminals 30. 311The radio wave quality information may be a PMI (Precoding Matrix Indicator) notified by each of the plurality of communication terminals 30. The PMI is a value defined by 3GPP, and is information in which the channel propagation matrix is ​​expressed in an index format.

[0061] In another example, the radio wave quality information may be information representing Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), Signal to Interference Ratio (SIR), or Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR).

[0062] The radio wave quality information may be information measured when the antenna 20 receives an uplink signal.

[0063] The radio wave quality information may include information other than information related to radio wave quality. For example, the radio wave quality information may include information related to the positions of the multiple communication terminals 30. The radio wave quality information may include information related to the characteristics of each of the multiple antennas 20. The radio wave quality information may include weight information when two or more of the multiple antennas 20 are used. With this configuration, the processing unit 130 can accurately calculate the communication performance and the spatial correlation between the multiple antennas 20.

[0064] In this example, the radio wave quality information is a channel propagation matrix. Fig. 6 is a diagram for conceptually explaining a channel propagation matrix 600, which is an example of radio wave quality information. Referring to Fig. 6, antenna identifiers are written in the first row of the channel propagation matrix 600. Furthermore, terminal identifiers are written in the first column of the channel propagation matrix 600.

[0065] 6 correspond to the values ​​(complex numbers) of the channel propagation matrix 600. In this example, each of the multiple communication terminals 30 has one antenna element 311, and therefore one antenna identifier is associated with one terminal identifier.

[0066] As described above, one communication terminal 30 may be equipped with two or more antenna elements. In this case, the channel propagation matrix holds a value for each antenna element.

[0067] The second information acquisition unit 520 acquires information related to communication requirements. Hereinafter, this information is referred to as "communication requirement information." The communication requirements are communication requirements required for each of the multiple communication terminals 30. Specifically, the communication requirements are wireless communication performance required for an application running on each of the multiple communication terminals 30.

[0068] The communication requirement information is not particularly limited as long as it is information about wireless communication performance required for an application. For example, the communication requirement information may include one or more of a throughput, a packet communication delay, a packet loss rate, an amount of wireless resources, and a combination of a data amount and a time limit for the data amount.

[0069] The amount of radio resources is the amount of radio resources required for an application running in each of the multiple communication terminals 30. Specifically, the amount of radio resources includes a frequency bandwidth, a time for occupying a specific frequency, and the like. The amount of radio resources may be a "Resource Element" or a TTI (Transmission Time Interval) defined by 3GPP. In another example, the amount of radio resources may be an RU (Resource Unit) in a wireless LAN.

[0070] In this example, the communication requirement is a combination of the amount of data and the time limit (deadline) for the amount of data. Specifically, the communication requirement is a combination of the remaining size of the amount of data that needs to be transmitted to each of the multiple communication terminals 30 and the remaining time until the deadline.

[0071] 7 is a diagram conceptually showing an example of the data structure of communication requirement information 700. The format of communication requirement information 700 is not limited to a table format, and may be other formats.

[0072] The communication requirement information 700 includes, as configuration items, a terminal identifier 710, a remaining data volume 720, and a remaining time 730. These configuration items are associated with each other.

[0073] Terminal identifier 710 is the above-described terminal identifier 30-1, ..., 30-k. Remaining data amount 720 is the remaining size of the amount of data that needs to be transmitted to each of the multiple communication terminals 30. Remaining time 730 is the time remaining until the deadline.

[0074] In the example of FIG. 7, it is clear that in order to satisfy the communication requirements of the communication terminal 30 having the identifier 30-1, it is necessary to transmit 100 KB of data within 100 ms (milliseconds).

[0075] The second information acquisition unit 520 may acquire the communication requirement information 700 from an external node such as an application server, for example. The second information acquisition unit 520 may acquire the communication requirement information 700 by another method or using another node.

[0076] The second information acquisition unit 520 may estimate the communication requirements based on the data traffic patterns (patterns of transmitted data and patterns of received data) of each of the multiple communication terminals 30. The second information acquisition unit 520 may use the estimated communication requirements as the communication requirement information 700.

[0077] The past information storage unit 570 stores past information including at least radio wave quality information acquired in the past. In this example, the past information includes past radio wave quality information and communication performance information related to communication performance measured or calculated at the time when the past radio wave quality information was acquired. Furthermore, the past information includes terminal information related to one or more terminals selected at the time when the past radio wave quality information was acquired, and antenna information related to one or more antennas selected at the time when the past radio wave quality information was acquired.

[0078] The radio wave quality information stored as past information may include one or more of the radio wave intensity, the packet loss rate, and the channel propagation matrix, as described above. In this example, the radio wave quality information is the channel propagation matrix, as described above.

[0079] For example, the communication performance information stored as past information may include one or more of the following: throughput, communicable data volume, frame coding rate, modulation method, and frame error rate (Block Error Rate: BLER). In this example, the communication performance information is a data transmission speed (throughput) for each of the multiple communication terminals 30.

[0080] 8 is a diagram conceptually showing an example of the data structure of past information 800. The format of past information 800 is not limited to a table format, and may be other formats.

[0081] Past information 800 includes, as its constituent items, radio wave quality information 810, communication performance information 820, terminal information 830, and antenna information 840. These constituent items are stored in past information storage unit 570 in a state in which they are associated with each other.

[0082] The radio wave quality information 810 is a channel propagation matrix acquired in the past. The communication performance information 820 is communication performance information calculated or measured at the time when the radio wave quality information 810 was acquired. The terminal information 830 is terminal identifiers of one or more terminals selected by the terminal selection unit 530 at the time when the radio wave quality information 810 was acquired. The antenna information 840 is antenna identifiers of one or more antennas selected by the antenna selection unit 540 at the time when the radio wave quality information 810 was acquired.

[0083] The terminal selection unit 530 selects N1 communication terminals to be the targets of communication (data transmission or data reception) from among the multiple communication terminals 30 every time a predetermined time period elapses. N1 is an integer equal to or greater than 1, where 1≦N1≦k. Hereinafter, for simplicity of description, the N1 communication terminals to be the targets of data transmission or data reception will be referred to as "one or more communication terminals 30a." Furthermore, the process of selecting one or more communication terminals 30a will be referred to as "first selection process."

[0084] The antenna selection unit 540 selects N2 antennas from the multiple antennas 20 to be used when communicating with one or more communication terminals 30a. N2 is an integer equal to or greater than 1, where 1≦N2≦n. In this example, N1=N2. Note that N1 and N2 may be different. Hereinafter, for simplicity, the N2 antennas to be used when communicating with one or more communication terminals 30a will be referred to as "one or more antennas 20a." Furthermore, the process of selecting one or more antennas 20a will be referred to as "second selection process."

[0085] After performing the second selection process, the antenna selector 540 determines how to distribute signals to be transmitted to one or more communication terminals 30a to one or more antennas 20a. Furthermore, the antenna selector 540 determines how to mix signals to be transmitted to one or more communication terminals 30a.

[0086] For example, assume that one or more communication terminals 30a are communication terminals 30-1, 30-2, and 30-3, and one or more antennas 20a are antennas 20-1, 20-2, and 20-3. Three signals, for example, s1(t), s2(t), and s3(t), are transmitted to the three communication terminals 30-1, 30-2, and 30-3. The signals transmitted from the three antennas 20-1, 20-2, and 20-3 are expressed as y1(t), y2(t), and y3(t), respectively. In this case, the following relationship holds: (y1(t), y2(t), y3(t))=W(s1(t), s2(t), s3(t))

[0087] W is a 3×3 weight matrix. Antenna selection section 540 may determine such a weight matrix W. Note that each element of weight matrix W is a complex number.

[0088] Each of the one or more communication terminals 30a receives a signal obtained by combining y1(t), y2(t), and y3(t). The antenna selector 540 determines a weighting matrix W so that each of the one or more communication terminals 30a can extract a signal directed to itself from the combined signal. The antenna selector 540 may calculate the weighting matrix W using a technique such as the ZF (Zero Forcing) method.

[0089] The transmitter 550 transmits signals (baseband signals) to one or more communication terminals 30a to one or more antennas 20a. The one or more antennas 20a convert the baseband signals into radio frequency signals and transmit the radio frequency signals to one or more communication terminals 30a.

[0090] The update unit 560 updates the past information 800. The update unit 560 stores, as the past information 800, the radio wave quality information acquired by the first information acquisition unit 510, the calculated or measured communication performance information, one or more communication terminals 30a, and one or more antennas 20a.

[0091] <2-6. Examples of the first and second selection processes> Next, the first selection process and the second selection process will be described in detail. Below, the first selection process and the second selection process will be described in the case of transmitting signals to one or more communication terminals 30a. However, the first selection process and the second selection process described below can also be applied to the case of receiving signals from one or more communication terminals 30a.

[0092] Hereinafter, the current radio wave quality information (channel propagation matrix) acquired by the first information acquisition unit 510 is referred to as "first radio wave quality information." On the other hand, the past radio wave quality information 810 (channel propagation matrix) stored in the past information 800 is referred to as "second radio wave quality information."

[0093] (1) First selection process The terminal selection unit 530 uses the past information 800, the first radio wave quality information, and the communication requirement information 700 to select one or more communication terminals 30a.

[0094] Specifically, the first information acquisition unit 510 acquires first radio wave quality information (channel propagation matrix 600). The second information acquisition unit 520 acquires communication requirement information 700 from the application server.

[0095] The terminal selection unit 530 acquires communication requirement information 700 from the second information acquisition unit 520. The terminal selection unit 530 uses the communication requirement information 700 to select N1 communication terminals from the plurality of communication terminals 30. The communication terminals selected here are candidates for one or more communication terminals 30a, and will hereinafter be referred to as "one or more communication terminal candidates 30b."

[0096] Specifically, the terminal selection unit 530 selects, as one or more communication terminal candidates 30b, communication terminals that are highly necessary to transmit data in order to satisfy the communication requirements. For example, the terminal selection unit 530 may select one or more communication terminal candidates 30b in ascending order of remaining time 730.

[0097] In another example, the terminal selection unit 530 may calculate the throughput by dividing the remaining data amount 720 by the remaining time 730. The terminal selection unit 530 may select one or more candidate communication terminals 30b in descending order of the calculated throughput. In this way, the terminal selection unit 530 selects one or more candidate communication terminals 30b in consideration of the communication requirements required by the application. Therefore, it is possible to ensure the communication requirements required by the application.

[0098] Next, the terminal selection unit 530 estimates first communication performance that will be obtained when communicating with one or more communication terminal candidates 30b. Then, if the estimated first communication performance satisfies a predetermined first communication performance condition, the terminal selection unit 530 selects one or more communication terminal candidates 30b as one or more communication terminals 30a.

[0099] In this example, the first communication performance is the sum of data transmission speeds for one or more communication terminal candidates 30b (hereinafter referred to as "total throughput").

[0100] The first communication performance condition is a condition related to communication performance that must be satisfied when communicating with one or more communication terminals 30a. In this example, the first communication performance condition is a condition that the total throughput is equal to or greater than a predetermined first performance threshold TPth1.

[0101] Specifically, the terminal selection unit 530 acquires first radio wave quality information from the first information acquisition unit 510. The terminal selection unit 530 refers to the past information 800 and selects second radio wave quality information that has the highest similarity to the first radio wave quality information. To this end, the terminal selection unit 530 may calculate the similarity between the first radio wave quality information and each piece of second radio wave quality information in the past information 800 using a known method.

[0102] In this example, the terminal selecting unit 530 selects second radio wave quality information that completely matches the first radio wave quality information. For example, it is assumed that the second radio wave quality information that completely matches the first radio wave quality information is the channel propagation matrix 600-1 shown in Fig. 8. In this case, the terminal selecting unit 530 refers to the communication performance information 820 that corresponds to the channel propagation matrix 600-1.

[0103] Assume that the one or more communication terminal candidates 30b are communication terminals 30-1, 30-2, and 30-k. In this case, the terminal selection unit 530 refers to the communication performance information 820 corresponding to the channel propagation matrix 600-1 and calculates (TP1-1+TP1-2+TP1-k) as the total throughput. In this way, the terminal selection unit 530 estimates the first communication performance using the communication performance information 820 corresponding to the channel propagation matrix 600-1.

[0104] The terminal selection unit 530 determines whether the total throughput is equal to or greater than the first performance threshold TPth1. If the total throughput is equal to or greater than the first performance threshold TPth1, the first communication performance condition is satisfied. In this case, the terminal selection unit 530 finally selects one or more communication terminal candidates 30b as one or more communication terminals 30a.

[0105] On the other hand, if the first communication performance condition is not satisfied, the terminal selection unit 530 reselects one or more communication terminal candidates 30b. For example, the terminal selection unit 530 replaces one or more of the current one or more communication terminal candidates 30b with another communication terminal. In another example, the terminal selection unit 530 may refer to the communication requirement information 700 and select the next-best N1 communication terminals 30 as one or more communication terminal candidates 30b. This can improve the rate of achievement of the communication requirements. The terminal selection unit 530 repeats the reselection of one or more communication terminal candidates 30b until the first communication performance condition is satisfied.

[0106] According to the above configuration, the terminal selection unit 530 can select a past propagation environment (second radio wave quality information) similar to the current propagation environment (first radio wave quality information) by referring to the past information 800. The past information 800 includes communication performance information 820 calculated or measured at the time the second radio wave quality information was acquired. Therefore, the terminal selection unit 530 can estimate the first communication performance using the communication performance information 820. The terminal selection unit 530 selects one or more communication terminals 30a such that the estimated first communication performance satisfies the first communication performance condition.

[0107] In this way, the terminal selection unit 530 evaluates in advance the first communication performance expected for a combination of one or more candidate communication terminals 30b. The terminal selection unit 530 can exclude combinations of communication terminals 30 that are unlikely to provide good communication performance due to reasons such as high spatial correlation. As a result, it becomes possible to achieve the communication performance that should be met while satisfying the communication requirements of the application.

[0108] In the above example, the terminal selection unit 530 sequentially searches for one or more communication terminal candidates 30b using the communication requirement information 700 and ultimately selects one or more communication terminals 30a, but is not limited to this example.

[0109] The terminal selecting unit 530 may create in advance a terminal selection model for selecting one or more communication terminals 30a. The terminal selecting unit 530 may create the terminal selection model using machine learning. For example, the terminal selecting unit 530 may create the terminal selection model by learning past information 800 (specifically, radio wave quality information 810 and terminal information 830) and communication requirement information 700. The terminal selecting unit 530 may input parameters including the first radio wave quality information and the communication requirement information 700 to the terminal selection model to select one or more communication terminals 30a.

[0110] The terminal selection unit 530 may create a terminal selection model that maximizes the first communication performance. In this case, the terminal selection unit 530 may create the terminal selection model by learning past information 800 (specifically, radio wave quality information 810, communication performance information 820, and terminal information 830) and communication requirement information 700.

[0111] The method for estimating the first communication performance is not limited to the above example, and other methods may be used. The terminal selection unit 530 may calculate the difference between the first radio wave quality information (channel propagation matrix) and the second radio wave quality information (channel propagation matrix), and select the second radio wave quality information that minimizes the sum of the norms of the matrix elements. The terminal selection unit 530 may estimate the first communication performance using the selected second radio wave quality information.

[0112] The terminal selecting unit 530 may create in advance a first communication performance model for calculating the first communication performance. The terminal selecting unit 530 may create the first communication performance model using machine learning. For example, the terminal selecting unit 530 may create the first communication performance model by learning past information 800 (specifically, radio wave quality information 810, communication performance information 820, and terminal information 830). The terminal selecting unit 530 may input parameters including the first radio wave quality information and one or more communication terminal candidates 30b into the first communication performance model to estimate the first communication performance. With this configuration, the terminal selecting unit 530 can accurately estimate the first communication performance.

[0113] The first communication performance is not limited to the above example. The first communication performance may include one or more of the throughput, the amount of data that can be communicated, the frame coding rate, the modulation method, the frame error rate (BLER), the communication delay time, and the communication resources required to satisfy the communication requirements. The communication resources may be, for example, the amount of radio resources required to satisfy the communication requirements of the application. The amount of radio resources may be the amount of radio resources (number of TTIs) calculated by dividing the remaining data amount 720 of each of the multiple communication terminals 30 by the amount of data that can be transmitted.

[0114] The first communication performance condition may reflect the communication requirements. For example, the first communication performance condition may further include one or more of a condition in which a higher throughput threshold is set for a communication terminal 30 having a large remaining data amount 720, and a condition in which a higher throughput threshold is set for a communication terminal 30 having a short remaining time 730. This configuration can increase the possibility of satisfying the communication requirements.

[0115] (2) Second selection process After the terminal selection unit 530 executes the first selection process, the antenna selection unit 540 executes the second selection process. The antenna selection unit 540 selects one or more antennas 20a using one or more communication terminals 30a and the first radio wave quality information.

[0116] Specifically, the antenna selector 540 acquires first radio wave quality information from the first information acquirer 510. The antenna selector 540 uses one or more communication terminals 30a and the first radio wave quality information to select N2 antennas from the plurality of antennas 20. The antennas selected here are candidates for one or more antennas 20a, and will hereinafter be referred to as "one or more candidate antennas 20b."

[0117] Specifically, the antenna selector 540 calculates the average of the radio wave strength of one or more communication terminals 30a based on the first radio wave quality information, and selects one or more candidate antennas 20b in descending order of the average.

[0118] For example, assume that N1 = N2 = 4. The antenna selector 540 selects four antenna candidates 20b for the four communication terminals 30a in descending order of the average radio wave strength described above. The antenna selector 540 calculates the average radio wave strength of the four communication terminals 30a for antenna 20-1 as follows: The antenna selector 540 divides the sum of the norms of the values ​​corresponding to the four communication terminals 30a in the column of antenna 20-1 in the first radio wave quality information (channel propagation matrix 600) by the number of rows (i.e., 4). The antenna selector 540 selects four antenna candidates 20b in descending order of the average radio wave strength calculated in this way. With this configuration, the antenna selector 540 can efficiently search for one or more antenna candidates 20b.

[0119] The antenna selector 540 estimates second communication performance obtained when one or more candidate antennas 20b are used for communication with one or more communication terminals 30a. Then, if the estimated second communication performance satisfies a predetermined second communication performance condition, the antenna selector 540 selects one or more candidate antennas 20b as one or more antennas 20a.

[0120] In this example, the second communication performance is the total amount of data that can be transmitted to one or more communication terminals 30a (hereinafter referred to as "total data amount").

[0121] The second communication performance condition is a condition related to communication performance that must be satisfied when one or more antennas 20a are used for communication with one or more communication terminals 30a. The second communication performance condition is a condition that the total data volume is equal to or greater than a predetermined second performance threshold TPth2.

[0122] Specifically, the antenna selector 540 may calculate the total amount of data as follows: Specifically, the antenna selector 540 calculates a signal transmission method from each of one or more candidate antennas 20b using ZF (Zero Forcing), MMSE (Minimum Mean Square Error), or DPC (Dirty Pair Coding), and then calculates the amount of data that can be transmitted to each of one or more communication terminals 30a using Shannon's capacity theorem or the like.

[0123] The antenna selector 540 determines whether the total data volume is equal to or greater than the second performance threshold TPth2. If the total data volume is equal to or greater than the second performance threshold TPth2, the second communication performance condition is met. In this case, the antenna selector 540 finally selects one or more candidate antennas 20b as one or more antennas 20a.

[0124] On the other hand, if the second communication performance condition is not satisfied, the antenna selector 540 reselects one or more candidate antennas 20b. For example, the antenna selector 540 replaces one or more of the current one or more candidate antennas 20b with another antenna. In another example, the antenna selector 540 may select the next best N2 antennas as one or more candidate antennas 20b based on the average of the above-mentioned radio wave strength. The antenna selector 540 repeats the reselection of one or more candidate antennas 20b until the second communication performance condition is satisfied.

[0125] In yet another example, the antenna selector 540 may repeat the selection of one or more candidate antennas 20b two or more times to find one or more candidate antennas 20b that maximize the total amount of data. This configuration can improve communication performance.

[0126] After the antenna selector 540 executes the second selection process, the transmitter 550 transmits, to one or more antennas 20a, signals to be transmitted to one or more communication terminals 30a.

[0127] Thereafter, the update unit 560 updates the past information 800. Specifically, the update unit 560 associates the first radio wave quality information, information related to communication performance, one or more communication terminals 30a, and one or more antennas 20a with each other and stores them in the past information 800. That is, the update unit 560 stores the first radio wave quality information as radio wave quality information 810 (i.e., second radio wave quality information). The update unit 560 stores the information related to communication performance as communication performance information 820. The update unit 560 stores one or more communication terminals 30a as terminal information 830. The update unit 560 stores one or more antennas 20a as antenna information 840. With this configuration, the control device 10 can increase the amount of information in the past information 800 while executing the first selection process and the second selection process.

[0128] The information stored as communication performance information 820 may be the second communication performance calculated by antenna selection unit 540. In another example, updating unit 560 may actually measure the communication performance (e.g., data transmission rate) for each of multiple communication terminals 30, and store the measured data transmission rate as communication performance information 820. In yet another example, updating unit 560 may calculate communication performance using one or more communication terminals 30a and the above weight matrix. Updating unit 560 may store the communication performance calculated in this manner as communication performance information 820.

[0129] In the above example, the antenna selector 540 sequentially searches for one or more candidate antennas 20b and finally selects one or more antennas 20a. The method for selecting one or more antennas 20a is not limited to the above example, and other methods may be used.

[0130] The antenna selector 540 may select one or more antennas 20a based on the first radio wave quality information so that each of the one or more communication terminals 30a is assigned to the antenna with the strongest radio wave.

[0131] The antenna selector 540 may create in advance an antenna selection model for selecting one or more antennas 20a. The antenna selector 540 may create the antenna selection model using machine learning. For example, the antenna selector 540 may create the antenna selection model by learning past information 800 (specifically, radio wave quality information 810, terminal information 830, and antenna information 840). The antenna selector 540 may input parameters including the first radio wave quality information and one or more communication terminals 30a to the antenna selection model and select one or more antennas 20a. With this configuration, the antenna selector 540 can select one or more antennas 20a with a smaller amount of calculation.

[0132] The antenna selector 540 may create an antenna selection model that maximizes the second communication performance. In this case, the antenna selector 540 may create the antenna selection model by learning past information 800 (specifically, radio wave quality information 810, communication performance information 820, terminal information 830, and antenna information 840).

[0133] The method for estimating the second communication performance is not limited to the above example, and other methods may be used. The antenna selector 540 may create a second communication performance model in advance for calculating the second communication performance. The antenna selector 540 may create the second communication performance model using machine learning. For example, the antenna selector 540 may create the second communication performance model by learning past information 800 (specifically, radio wave quality information 810, communication performance information 820, terminal information 830, and antenna information 840). The antenna selector 540 may input parameters including the first radio wave quality information, one or more communication terminals 30a, and one or more antenna candidates 20b into the second communication performance model to estimate the second communication performance. With this configuration, the antenna selector 540 can accurately estimate the second communication performance.

[0134] The second communication performance is not limited to the above example. The second communication performance may include one or more of the following: throughput, communicable data volume, frame coding rate, modulation method, frame error rate (BLER), communication delay time, and communication resources required to satisfy communication requirements. The above communication resources may be, for example, the amount of radio resources required to satisfy the communication requirements of an application. The amount of radio resources may be the amount of radio resources (number of TTIs) calculated by dividing the remaining data volume 720 of each of the multiple communication terminals 30 by the amount of transmittable data.

[0135] The second communication performance condition may reflect the communication requirements. For example, the second communication performance condition may further include one or more of a condition in which a higher throughput threshold is set for a communication terminal 30 having a large remaining data amount 720 and a condition in which a higher throughput threshold is set for a communication terminal 30 having a short remaining time 730. This configuration can increase the possibility of satisfying the communication requirements.

[0136] <2-7. Processing flow> Next, the flow of processing in the control device 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 9. Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing in the control device 10.

[0137] The second information acquisition unit 520 acquires the communication requirement information 700 (901). The first information acquisition unit 510 acquires the first radio wave quality information (channel propagation matrix 600) (902).

[0138] Next, the terminal selection unit 530 executes a first selection process. Specifically, the terminal selection unit 530 selects one or more communication terminal candidates 30b as described above (903). The terminal selection unit 530 references the past information 800 and selects second radio wave quality information corresponding to the first radio wave quality information (904). The terminal selection unit 530 references the communication performance information 820 corresponding to the second radio wave quality information selected in step 904 and estimates the first communication performance (total throughput in this example). Then, the terminal selection unit 530 determines whether the first communication performance condition is satisfied (905).

[0139] If the first communication performance condition is met (905: Yes), the terminal selection unit 530 determines one or more communication terminal candidates 30b as one or more communication terminals 30a (906).

[0140] On the other hand, if the first communication performance condition is not satisfied (905: No), the control device 10 returns to step 903. The terminal selection unit 530 repeats the processes of steps 903 to 905 until the first communication performance condition is satisfied. Note that if the first communication performance condition is not satisfied, the control device 10 may return to step 902 and acquire the latest first radio wave quality information.

[0141] After one or more communication terminals 30a have been determined, the antenna selector 540 executes a second selection process. Specifically, the antenna selector 540 selects one or more candidate antennas 20b as described above (907). Next, the antenna selector 540 estimates the second communication performance (total data volume in this example) as described above. Then, the antenna selector 540 determines whether the second communication performance condition is satisfied (908).

[0142] If the second communication performance condition is met (908: Yes), the antenna selector 540 determines one or more candidate antennas 20b as one or more antennas 20a (909).

[0143] On the other hand, if the second communication performance condition is not satisfied (908: No), the control device 10 returns to step 907. The antenna selector 540 repeats the processing of steps 907 and 908 until the second communication performance condition is satisfied.

[0144] After one or more antennas 20a are determined, the transmitter 550 transmits a signal to be transmitted to one or more communication terminals 30a to one or more antennas 20a (910). Then, the updater 560 updates the past information 800 in the past information storage unit 570 as described above (911).

[0145] <2-8.Effects> The above configuration has the following effects. The control device 10 uses the past information 800, first radio wave quality information (e.g., the channel propagation matrix 600), and communication requirement information 700 to select one or more communication terminals 30a to be communication targets from among the multiple communication terminals 30. Specifically, the control device 10 uses the communication requirement information 700 to select one or more communication terminal candidate 30b from among the multiple communication terminals 30. The control device 10 refers to the past information 800 and selects a past propagation environment (second radio wave quality information) similar to the current propagation environment (first radio wave quality information). The past information 800 includes communication performance information 820 calculated or measured at the time the second radio wave quality information was acquired. Therefore, the control device 10 can use the communication performance information 820 to estimate the first communication performance that will be obtained when communicating with one or more communication terminal candidate 30b. Then, when the estimated first communication performance satisfies the first communication performance condition, the control device 10 selects one or more communication terminal candidates 30b as one or more communication terminals 30a.

[0146] Furthermore, the control device 10 selects one or more antennas 20a from the multiple antennas 20 using one or more communication terminals 30a and the first radio wave quality information. Specifically, the control device 10 selects one or more candidate antennas 20b from the multiple antennas 20 using one or more communication terminals 30a and the first radio wave quality information. The control device 10 estimates second communication performance that will be obtained when one or more candidate antennas 20b are used for communication with one or more communication terminals 30a. Then, if the estimated second communication performance satisfies a second communication performance condition, the control device 10 selects one or more candidate antennas 20b as one or more antennas 20a.

[0147] According to the above configuration, the control device 10 can accurately search for a combination of one or more communication terminals 30a and one or more antennas 20a that satisfies the communication requirements of the application. As a result, the control device 10 can appropriately control the communication performance between the control device 10 and the multiple communication terminals 30 while increasing the possibility of satisfying the communication requirements of the application.

[0148] As described above, the techniques of Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not take into account the communication requirements of an application. The techniques of Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2 have the problem of not being able to meet the communication requirements of an application and not being able to obtain sufficient communication performance. For example, the technique of Non-Patent Document 1 searches for antenna combinations after selecting communication terminals. However, the technique of Non-Patent Document 1 does not evaluate in advance the communication performance obtained by the searched combination. When spatial correlation is high (for example, when communication terminals are located close to each other), communication performance may deteriorate. Therefore, this is disadvantageous in terms of achieving the communication requirements of an application. In response to this, the control device 10 evaluates communication performance (first communication performance and second communication performance) in advance. The control device 10 can exclude combinations of communication terminals that are unlikely to obtain communication performance due to high spatial correlation or other reasons.

[0149] <2-9. Variations> The technology according to the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment. Two or more aspects arbitrarily selected from the above embodiment and the following modifications may be appropriately combined as long as they are not mutually contradictory.

[0150] (1) Variation 1 Past information 800 is not limited to the above example. Past information 800 may be information that includes at least radio wave quality information 810. For example, at least one of communication performance information 820, terminal information 830, and antenna information 840 may be omitted from past information 800. For example, if past information 800 does not include communication performance information 820, terminal selection unit 530 may calculate the first communication performance based on second radio wave quality information that corresponds to the first radio wave quality information.

[0151] (2) Variation 2 The terminal selection unit 530 may adjust the number of one or more communication terminals 30a (i.e., N1) according to the usage rate of the communication resources. The terminal selection unit 530 calculates the usage rate of the communication resources used in the immediately preceding communication. For example, if the usage rate of the communication resources is lower than a predetermined first usage rate threshold RUth1, the terminal selection unit 530 may increase N1. If the usage rate of the communication resources is higher than a predetermined second usage rate threshold RUth2 (>RUth1), the terminal selection unit 530 may decrease N1. With this configuration, the terminal selection unit 530 can communicate with one or more communication terminals 30a at an appropriate usage rate of the communication resources.

[0152] The terminal selection unit 530 may calculate the usage rate of communication resources by referring to the past information 800. For example, the terminal selection unit 530 may calculate the usage rate of communication resources by using second radio wave quality information corresponding to the first radio wave quality information.

[0153] (3) Variation 3 When the above-described terminal selection model is created using machine learning, the terminal selection unit 530 may further include the following configuration: The terminal selection unit 530 may further include a learning area determination unit that determines an area that has been learned in the terminal selection model.

[0154] The terminal selection model is trained using communication requirement information 700 and past information 800. Here, there are cases where the amount of training is large only in a specific region (range) of parameters, and the amount of training is small outside of that specific region. When the parameters input to the terminal selection model are included in or close to the specific region, the terminal selection model can accurately output one or more communication terminals 30a. On the other hand, when the parameters input to the terminal selection model are significantly away from the specific region, the terminal selection model may not be able to accurately output one or more communication terminals 30a.

[0155] Taking this into consideration, the learning area determination unit determines the area (range) in which learning is being performed in the terminal selection model. Then, the learning area determination unit adjusts the parameters (e.g., first radio wave quality information and communication requirement information 700, etc.) to be input to the terminal selection model based on the area in which learning is being performed. Specifically, the learning area determination unit adjusts the parameters to be input to the terminal selection model so that they are included in or approach the area.

[0156] In another example, it is assumed that the terminal selection model is sufficiently trained when N1 is in the range of 5 to 10. In this case, the learning range determination unit may adjust the parameters input to the terminal selection model so that the terminal selection model outputs communication terminals 30a within the range of 5 to 10.

[0157] Similarly, the learning area determination unit may determine the area in which learning is being performed in the antenna selection model, and adjust the parameters input to the antenna selection model based on the area in which learning is being performed.

[0158] (4) Variation 4 The antenna selector 540 may select one or more antennas 20a using antenna information 840 in the past information 800. For example, the antenna selector 540 refers to the past information 800 and selects radio wave quality information 810 (second radio wave quality information) corresponding to the first radio wave quality information. The antenna selector 540 may select antenna information 840 associated with the selected radio wave quality information 810 as one or more antennas 20a.

[0159] <<3. Second Embodiment>> Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 10 to 17. In the second embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description of these components will be omitted.

[0160] <3-1. Wireless communication system configuration> 10 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a wireless communication system 1000. For example, the wireless communication system 1000 is a system that complies with the technical specifications of 3GPP. For example, the wireless communication system 1000 may be a system that complies with the technical specifications of the O-RAN (Open RAN) Alliance as well as the technical specifications of 3GPP. Naturally, the wireless communication system 1000 is not limited to this example.

[0161] wireless communication system 1000 The system includes a control device 11, a base station 50, a plurality of antennas 20-1, . . . , 20-n, and a plurality of communication terminals 30-1, .

[0162] The control device 11 is connected to a base station 50 via a network 60. The base station 50 is connected to a plurality of antennas 20-1, ..., 20-n via a plurality of transmission paths 40-1, ..., 40-n. One or more of the plurality of antennas 20-1, ..., 20-n are arranged in positions physically separated from the base station 50. One or more of the plurality of antennas 20-1, ..., 20-n may be arranged in the same position as the base station 50. The control device 11 performs wireless communication with a plurality of communication terminals 30 using the base station 50.

[0163] In such a configuration, the control device 11 may be configured as a Near-RT RIC (Near-Real Time RAN Intelligent Controller) in the O-RAN Alliance technical specifications. The base station 50 may be configured as an O-DU (O-RAN Distributed Unit) in the O-RAN Alliance technical specifications. The multiple antennas 20-1, . . . , 20-n may be configured as O-RUs (O-RAN Radio Units) in the O-RAN Alliance technical specifications.

[0164] <3-2. Configuration of the control device> The control device 11 has the same hardware configuration (configuration in FIG. 2) as the control device 10 of the first embodiment. That is, the control device 11 has a transmission path IF 110, a storage unit 120, and a processing unit 130. The configuration of the control device 11 differs from that of the control device 10 in the following respects: The transmission path IF 110 is an interface that communicates with the base station 50 via the network 60.

[0165] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the storage unit 120 and the processing unit 130 in the control device 11.

[0166] The processing unit 130 includes a first information acquisition unit 510, a second information acquisition unit 520, a terminal selection unit 530, an antenna selection unit 540, an update unit 560, a control information generation unit 1110, and a control information transmission unit 1120. The storage unit 120 includes a past information storage unit 570.

[0167] In this example, as will be described later, the base station 50 generates current radio wave quality information (i.e., first radio wave quality information). The first information acquisition unit 510 acquires the first radio wave quality information from the base station 50 via the network 60.

[0168] 12 is a diagram showing an example of radio wave quality information 1200 acquired from the base station 50. The radio wave quality information 1200 is written in JSON (JavaScript (registered trademark) Object Notation) format. The radio wave quality information 1200 includes frequency information, a terminal identifier, an antenna identifier, and information related to a channel propagation matrix.

[0169] Note that the radio wave quality information 1200 is not limited to the above example. The radio wave quality information 1200 may include one or more of radio wave strength information such as RSRP, information on noise and interference sources such as SINR, and information reflecting the degree of congestion such as RSRQ. With this configuration, the terminal selector 530 can select one or more communication terminals 30a with high accuracy using the radio wave quality information 1200. Furthermore, the antenna selector 540 can select one or more antennas 20a with high accuracy using the radio wave quality information 1200.

[0170] In the example of Fig. 12, radio wave quality information 1200 is stored in association with a "radioInfos" key. Under the "radioInfos" key, a "nrArfcn" key and a "channels" key are stored. The "nrArfcn" key stores the value of NR-ARFCN (New Radio-Absolute Frequency Channel Number), which is 5G usage frequency band information. The "channels" key stores radio wave quality information for the frequency band.

[0171] The "ueAnt" key stores an identifier that uniquely identifies the communication terminal 30 (or the antenna element 311 of the communication terminal 30). In this example, the "ueAnt" key stores a terminal identifier 30-1.

[0172] "gnbAnt" stores an identifier that uniquely identifies the antenna 20. In this example, "gnbAnt" stores an antenna identifier 20-1.

[0173] The "real" key stores the real part, which is an element of the channel propagation matrix, and the "imaginary" key stores the imaginary part, which is an element of the channel propagation matrix. The radio wave quality information 1200 has an array structure. In FIG. 12, "..." indicates that there are other elements in the array, and that the contents are omitted.

[0174] The control information generator 1110 generates control information. The control information includes at least information related to one or more antennas 20a. The control information may include other information. The control information may further include information related to one or more communication terminals 30a. With this configuration, the control device 10 transmits information related to one or more antennas 20a and information related to one or more communication terminals 30a together as control information, and can control one or more antennas 20a in a cycle shorter than the communication cycle.

[0175] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of control information 1300. The control information 1300 is written in JSON format. The "antControls" key indicates that this information is control information. The "ues" key stores terminal identifiers of one or more communication terminals 30a. The "ant" key stores antenna identifiers of one or more antennas 20a. Note that the "antControls" key in the diagram has an array structure. According to this structure, the control information 1300 can store multiple combinations of one or more communication terminals 30a and one or more antennas 20a.

[0176] The control information transmitter 1120 transmits the control information 1300 to the base station 50 .

[0177] In this example, the radio wave quality information 1200 and the control information 1300 are written in JSON format, which is used on the Internet, but are not limited to this. For example, the radio wave quality information 1200 and the control information 1300 may be written in XML (eXtensible Markup Language) format. The radio wave quality information 1200 and the control information 1300 in XML format can be easily implemented using a library or the like. In another example, the radio wave quality information 1200 and the control information 1300 may be written in binary format. With this configuration, the control device 11 and the base station 50 can communicate regarding the radio wave quality information 1200 and the control information 1300 with a small amount of data.

[0178] <3-3. Base station configuration> 14 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the base station 50. The base station 50 includes a transmission path interface (IF) 1410, a storage unit 1420, and a processing unit 1430.

[0179] The transmission path IF 1410 includes an interface for communicating with a plurality of antennas 20 via a plurality of transmission paths 40 and an interface for communicating with the control device 11 via the network 60 .

[0180] The storage unit 1420 includes a volatile memory and a non-volatile memory. The volatile memory may include, for example, a RAM. The non-volatile memory may include, for example, one or more of a ROM, a HDD, and an SSD. The non-volatile memory stores program codes (instructions) for implementing various functions of the base station 50.

[0181] The processing unit 1430 includes one or more processors. The one or more processors may include, for example, one or more of a CPU, an MPU, and a microcontroller. The processing unit 1430 executes program codes stored in the storage unit 1420 to realize various functions (functional modules described below) of the base station 50.

[0182] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the processing unit 1430 of the base station 50.

[0183] The processing unit 1430 includes, as functional modules, a radio wave quality information generating unit 1510, a radio wave quality information transmitting unit 1520, a control information receiving unit 1530, and a radio wave transmitting unit 1540.

[0184] The radio wave quality information generating unit 1510 generates current radio wave quality information (first radio wave quality information).

[0185] The radio wave quality information transmission unit 1520 generates radio wave quality information 1200 in JSON format based on the radio wave quality information generated by the radio wave quality information generation unit 1510 , and transmits the radio wave quality information 1200 to the control device 11 .

[0186] The control information receiving unit 1530 receives the control information 1300 in JSON format from the control device 11. The control information receiving unit 1530 transmits the control information 1300 to the radio wave transmitting unit 1540.

[0187] Based on the control information 1300, the radio wave transmitting unit 1540 transmits signals to one or more communication terminals 30a via one or more antennas 20a.

[0188] <3-4. Processing flow> Next, the flow of processing by the control device 11 and the base station 50 will be described with reference to Fig. 16 and Fig. 17. Fig. 16 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of processing by the control device 11 and the base station 50.

[0189] The radio wave quality information generating unit 1510 generates current radio wave quality information (first radio wave quality information) (1601).

[0190] The radio wave quality information transmission unit 1520 transmits the radio wave quality information 1200 to the control device 11 (1602). The radio wave quality information transmission unit 1520 may actively transmit the radio wave quality information 1200 from the base station 50 to the control device 11 at any timing. A protocol such as MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) or WebSocket may be used as a method for actively transmitting the radio wave quality information 1200. The radio wave quality information transmission unit 1520 may transmit the radio wave quality information 1200 as a response in response to a request from the control device 11. A protocol such as HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) or HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) may be used as a method for transmitting the radio wave quality information 1200 as a response. The transmission method described here is merely an example, and the radio wave quality information transmission unit 1520 may transmit the radio wave quality information 1200 using another method.

[0191] The control device 11 executes the flow of Fig. 17 (1603). Fig. 17 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow of the control device 11. In the flow of Fig. 17, steps in which the same processing as in Fig. 9 is performed are assigned the same reference numerals as in Fig. 9, and detailed explanations of those steps will be omitted.

[0192] The control device 11 executes the processes of steps 901 to 909, as in the first embodiment. Thereafter, the control information generator 1110 generates control information 1300. Then, the control information transmitter 1120 transmits the control information 1300 to the base station 50 (912). Thereafter, the updater 560 updates the past information 800 in the past information storage unit 570 as described above (911).

[0193] As in step 1602, a protocol such as MQTT or WebSocket may be used as a method for transmitting the control information 1300. A protocol such as HTTP or HTTPS may be used as a method for transmitting the control information 1300. Other protocols may also be used as a method for transmitting the control information 1300.

[0194] The control information receiving unit 1530 receives the control information 1300 from the control device 11 (1604).

[0195] The radio wave transmitting unit 1540 transmits signals to one or more communication terminals 30a to one or more antennas 20a based on the control information 1300 (1605).

[0196] <3-5. Effects> The above configuration has the following advantages. The control device 11 is located at a distance from the base station 50. The control device 11 receives radio wave quality information 1200 from the base station 50 and transmits control information 1300 to the base station 50. With this configuration, the control device 11 executes the first selection process and the second selection process, and the base station 50 executes the process of transmitting signals to one or more communication terminals 30a. In this way, it is possible to distribute the processing with a heavy load between two devices. In particular, the installation location and costs of the base station 50 are often limited. Since the control device 11 is located at a distance from the base station 50, it is possible to save on installation location and costs.

[0197] <3-6. Variations> Modifications 1 to 4 described in the first embodiment may be applied to the second embodiment.

[0198] As described above, the control device 11 and the base station 50 may be devices implemented in accordance with the technical specifications of the O-RAN Alliance. For example, the control device 11 may be a Near-RT RIC, and the base station 50 may be an O-DU. In this configuration, the control device 11 acquires radio wave quality information 1200 from the base station 50 via an E2 interface in the technical specifications of the O-RAN Alliance. Furthermore, the control device 11 transmits control information 1300 to the base station 50 via the E2 interface.

[0199] In another example, some of the functions of the control device 11 may be implemented as a Non-RT RIC (Non-Real Time RAN Intelligent Controller) in the O-RAN Alliance technical specifications. For example, at least one of a functional element that creates a terminal selection model in the terminal selection unit 530 and a functional element that creates a first communication performance model in the terminal selection unit 530 may be implemented as a Non-RT RIC. In this configuration, information used for machine learning (e.g., past information 800) may be stored in the Non-RT RIC. The Non-RT RIC creates at least one of the terminal selection model and the first communication performance model using machine learning. In this case, the Non-RT RIC may acquire radio wave quality information 1200 from the base station 50 via an O1 interface in the O-RAN Alliance technical specifications.

[0200] In another example, at least one of the functional element that creates the antenna selection model in the antenna selector 540 and the functional element that creates the second communication performance model in the antenna selector 540 may be implemented as a Non-RT RIC. In this configuration, information used for machine learning (e.g., past information 800) may be stored in the Non-RT RIC. The Non-RT RIC uses machine learning to create at least one of the antenna selection model and the second communication performance model. In this case, the Non-RT RIC may acquire radio wave quality information 1200 from the base station 50 via the above-mentioned O1 interface.

[0201] As described above, when the functions of the control device 11 are implemented using a Near-RT RIC and a Non-RT RIC, the Near-RT RIC and the Non-RT RIC may communicate via the A1 interface in the O-RAN Alliance technical specifications. For example, the Non-RT RIC may obtain information used for machine learning from the Near-RT RIC via the A1 interface. The Non-RT RIC may transmit at least one of the above-mentioned models to the Near-RT RIC via the A1 interface.

[0202] <<4. Third Embodiment>> Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 18 and 19. The first and second embodiments described above are specific embodiments, but the third embodiment is a more generalized embodiment.

[0203] <4-1. Control device configuration> 18 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the control device 1800. The control device 1800 includes, as functional modules, a first information acquisition unit 1810, a second information acquisition unit 1820, a storage unit 1830, a terminal selection unit 1840, and an antenna selection unit 1850.

[0204] The above-described functional modules 1810 to 1850 included in the control device 1800 may be implemented by at least one of one or more processors and a memory. The one or more processors may include, for example, one or more of a CPU, an MPU, and a microcontroller. The memory may include a volatile memory and a non-volatile memory. The memory may store program code (instructions). The one or more processors may implement the functional modules of the control device 1800 (e.g., the first information acquisition unit 1810, the second information acquisition unit 1820, the terminal selection unit 1840, and the antenna selection unit 1850) by executing the program code stored in the memory. Furthermore, a portion of the memory may implement the storage unit 1830.

[0205] The first information acquisition unit 1810 acquires first radio wave quality information relating to current radio wave quality between multiple communication terminals and multiple antennas. The second information acquisition unit 1820 acquires communication requirement information relating to communication requirements required for each of the multiple communication terminals. The storage unit 1830 stores past information 1831 including at least second radio wave quality information relating to past radio wave quality between the multiple communication terminals and the multiple antennas.

[0206] The terminal selection unit 1840 selects one or more communication terminals to be communication targets from among a plurality of communication terminals, using the past information 1831, the first radio wave quality information, and the communication requirement information. The antenna selection unit 1850 selects one or more antennas to be used when communicating with the one or more communication terminals, from among a plurality of antennas, using the one or more communication terminals and the first radio wave quality information.

[0207] First information acquisition unit 1810 may operate in the same manner as first information acquisition unit 510 described above. Second information acquisition unit 1820 may operate in the same manner as second information acquisition unit 520 described above. Storage unit 1830 may have the same configuration as past information storage unit 570 described above. Terminal selection unit 1840 may operate in the same manner as terminal selection unit 530 described above. Antenna selection unit 1850 may operate in the same manner as antenna selection unit 540 described above.

[0208] <4-2. Processing flow> FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the processing flow of the control device 1800.

[0209] The first information acquisition unit 1810 acquires first radio wave quality information (1901). The second information acquisition unit 1820 acquires communication requirement information (1902). The terminal selection unit 1840 selects one or more communication terminals to be communication targets from among a plurality of communication terminals using the past information 1831, the first radio wave quality information, and the communication requirement information (1903). The antenna selection unit 1850 selects one or more antennas to be used when communicating with the one or more communication terminals from among a plurality of antennas using the one or more communication terminals selected in step 1903 and the first radio wave quality information (1904).

[0210] According to the above configuration, the control device 1800 can appropriately control the communication performance between the control device 1800 and a plurality of communication terminals while increasing the possibility of satisfying the communication requirements.

[0211] <<5. Other Embodiments>> It should be noted that the above-described embodiment and modified examples are merely examples, and the scope of the technical idea of ​​the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described configurations. Other aspects conceivable within the scope of the technical idea of ​​the present disclosure are also included in the scope of the present disclosure.

[0212] The process steps shown in the flowcharts do not necessarily have to be performed in the order shown. The process steps may be performed in an order different from that shown, two or more process steps may be performed in parallel, some process steps may be omitted, and additional process steps may be added.

[0213] The functions of the devices described herein (e.g., the control devices 10, 11, and 1800) may be realized by software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. Program code (instructions) constituting the software may be stored, for example, in a computer-readable recording medium inside or outside each device, and may be loaded into memory and executed by a processor at runtime. Alternatively, a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having the program code recorded thereon may be provided.

[0214] For example, FIG. 20 shows an example of a combination of software and hardware that realizes the functions of the control device 1800. The information processing device 2000 includes a non-transitory recording medium 2010, a memory 2020, and a processor 2030. These components are connected to each other via an internal bus. A part of the non-transitory recording medium 2010 is configured as a storage unit 1830. The non-transitory recording medium 2010 stores program code that realizes the functional modules of the control device 1800 (first information acquisition unit 1810, second information acquisition unit 1820, terminal selection unit 1840, and antenna selection unit 1850). The program code is read into the memory 2020. The processor 2030 executes the program code read into the memory 2020 to perform the processing of the above-mentioned functional modules.

[0215] Some or all of the above-described embodiments and modified examples can be described as, but are not limited to, the following supplementary notes.

[0216] (Appendix 1) a first information acquisition means for acquiring first radio wave quality information relating to current radio wave quality between a plurality of communication terminals and a plurality of antennas; a second information acquisition means for acquiring communication requirement information relating to communication requirements required for each of the plurality of communication terminals; a storage means for storing past information including at least second radio wave quality information relating to past radio wave qualities between the plurality of communication terminals and the plurality of antennas; a terminal selection means for selecting one or more communication terminals to be communication targets from among the plurality of communication terminals using the past information, the first radio wave quality information, and the communication requirement information; an antenna selection means for selecting, from the plurality of antennas, one or more antennas to be used when communicating with the one or more communication terminals, using the one or more communication terminals and the first radio wave quality information; A control device comprising:

[0217] (Appendix 2) The terminal selection means selecting one or more candidate communication terminals from among the plurality of communication terminals using the communication requirement information; estimating a first communication performance obtained when communicating with the one or more candidate communication terminals; selecting the one or more communication terminal candidates as the one or more communication terminals if the first communication performance satisfies a predetermined first communication performance condition; 10. The control device of claim 1.

[0218] (Appendix 3) The terminal selection means selecting the second radio wave quality information corresponding to the first radio wave quality information by referring to the past information; estimating the first communication performance using the selected second radio wave quality information; 3. The control device according to claim 2.

[0219] (Appendix 4) The past information further includes communication performance information regarding communication performance measured or calculated at the time when the second radio wave quality information was acquired, the terminal selection means estimates the first communication performance using the communication performance information corresponding to the selected second radio wave quality information; 4. The control device according to claim 3.

[0220] (Appendix 5) the past information further includes terminal information regarding the one or more communication terminals selected at the time when the second radio wave quality information was acquired, and communication performance information regarding communication performance measured or calculated at the time when the second radio wave quality information was acquired; the terminal selection means estimates the first communication performance by inputting parameters including the first radio wave quality information and the one or more communication terminal candidates into a pre-created model; The model is a model created by learning the past information. 3. The control device according to claim 2.

[0221] (Appendix 6) the first communication performance includes one or more of a throughput, a communicable data amount, a frame coding rate, a modulation method, a frame error rate, a communication delay time, and communication resources required to satisfy the communication requirements; 6. The control device according to any one of Supplementary notes 2 to 5.

[0222] (Appendix 7) the terminal selection means adjusts the number of the one or more communication terminals according to a usage rate of communication resources; 7. The control device according to any one of Supplementary notes 2 to 6.

[0223] (Appendix 8) the past information further includes terminal information regarding the one or more communication terminals selected at the time the second radio wave quality information was acquired; the terminal selection means selects the one or more communication terminals by inputting parameters including the first radio wave quality information and the communication requirement information into a pre-created model; the model is a model created by learning the past information and the communication requirement information. 10. The control device of claim 1.

[0224] (Appendix 9) The model further includes a learning area determining means for determining an area in which learning is being performed in the model and adjusting the parameters to be input to the model based on the area. 9. The control device according to claim 8.

[0225] (Appendix 10) The antenna selection means selecting one or more candidate antennas from the plurality of antennas using the one or more communication terminals and the first radio wave quality information; estimating second communication performance obtained when the one or more candidate antennas are used for communication with the one or more communication terminals; selecting the one or more antenna candidates as the one or more antennas if the second communication performance satisfies a predetermined second communication performance condition; 10. The control device according to any one of appendices 1 to 9.

[0226] (Appendix 11) the past information further includes communication performance information relating to communication performance measured or calculated at the time when the second radio wave quality information was acquired, terminal information relating to the one or more communication terminals selected at the time when the second radio wave quality information was acquired, and antenna information relating to the one or more antennas selected at the time when the second radio wave quality information was acquired; The antenna selection means estimating the second communication performance by inputting parameters including the first radio wave quality information, the one or more communication terminals, and the one or more antenna candidates into a pre-created model; The model is a model created by learning the past information. 11. The control device of claim 10.

[0227] (Appendix 12) the second communication performance includes one or more of a throughput, a communicable data amount, a frame coding rate, a modulation method, a frame error rate, a communication delay time, and communication resources required to satisfy the communication requirements; 12. The control device according to claim 10 or 11.

[0228] (Appendix 13) the past information further includes terminal information regarding the one or more communication terminals selected at the time when the second radio wave quality information was acquired, and antenna information regarding the one or more antennas selected at the time when the second radio wave quality information was acquired; the antenna selection means selects the one or more antennas by inputting parameters including the one or more communication terminals and the first radio wave quality information into a pre-created model; The model is a model created by learning the past information. 10. The control device according to any one of appendices 1 to 9.

[0229] (Appendix 14) The present invention further includes a learning area determination means for determining an area that has been learned in the model and adjusting the parameters to be input to the model based on the area that has been learned. 14. The control device of claim 13.

[0230] (Appendix 15) the past information further includes antenna information regarding one or more antennas selected at the time the second radio wave quality information was acquired; The antenna selection means selecting the second radio wave quality information corresponding to the first radio wave quality information by referring to the past information; selecting the one or more antennas using the antenna information corresponding to the selected second radio wave quality information; 10. The control device according to any one of appendices 1 to 9.

[0231] (Appendix 16) further comprising an update means for storing at least the first radio wave quality information as the second radio wave quality information in the past information; 16. A control device according to any one of appendices 1 to 15.

[0232] (Appendix 17) the control device is connected to a base station that is connected to the plurality of antennas; the first information acquisition means acquires the first radio wave quality information from the base station; 17. A control device according to any one of appendices 1 to 16.

[0233] (Appendix 18) a transmitting means for transmitting control information to the base station, the control information including information about the one or more communication terminals and information about the one or more antennas; 18. The control device of claim 17.

[0234] (Appendix 19) The first radio wave quality information and the control information are written in a JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) format, an XML (eXtensible Markup Language) format, or a binary format. 19. The control device of claim 18.

[0235] (Appendix 20) The control device is configured as a Near-RT RIC (Near-Real Time RAN Intelligent Controller) in the technical specifications of the O-RAN (Open RAN) Alliance. 20. The control device according to any one of appendices 17 to 19.

[0236] (Appendix 21) The communication requirements include one or more of a throughput, a packet communication delay, a packet loss rate, an amount of radio resources, and a combination of a data amount and a time limit for the data amount. 21. The control device according to any one of Supplementary notes 1 to 20.

[0237] (Appendix 22) The first radio wave quality information and the second radio wave quality information include one or more of radio wave strength, a packet loss rate, and a channel propagation matrix; 22. A control device according to any one of Supplementary notes 1 to 21.

[0238] (Appendix 23) Obtaining first radio wave quality information relating to current radio wave quality between a plurality of communication terminals and a plurality of antennas; acquiring communication requirement information relating to communication requirements required for each of the plurality of communication terminals; selecting one or more communication terminals to be communication targets from among the plurality of communication terminals using past information including at least second radio wave quality information relating to past radio wave qualities between the plurality of communication terminals and the plurality of antennas, the first radio wave quality information, and the communication requirement information; selecting, from the plurality of antennas, one or more antennas to be used when communicating with the one or more communication terminals, using the one or more communication terminals and the first radio wave quality information; A control method comprising:

[0239] (Appendix 24) Obtaining first radio wave quality information relating to current radio wave quality between a plurality of communication terminals and a plurality of antennas; acquiring communication requirement information relating to communication requirements required for each of the plurality of communication terminals; selecting one or more communication terminals to be communication targets from among the plurality of communication terminals using past information including at least second radio wave quality information relating to past radio wave qualities between the plurality of communication terminals and the plurality of antennas, the first radio wave quality information, and the communication requirement information; selecting, from the plurality of antennas, one or more antennas to be used when communicating with the one or more communication terminals, using the one or more communication terminals and the first radio wave quality information; A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium that records a program that causes a processor to execute the above.

[0240] The processes described in Supplementary Notes 1 to 24 above may be realized by one or more processors executing program codes (instructions) stored in a memory. [Industrial Applicability]

[0241] The control device of the present disclosure can be applied to a base station device or an access point connected to multiple antennas. The control device of the present disclosure can also be applied to a device physically separated from a base station device or an access point connected to multiple antennas. The control device of the present disclosure can also be applied to a cloud-based wireless system in which at least a portion of the processing parts are located in the cloud. [Explanation of symbols]

[0242] 1: Wireless communication system 10: Control device 20: Antenna 30: Communication terminal 510: First information acquisition unit 520: Second information acquisition unit 530: Terminal selection unit 540: Antenna selection unit 550: Transmitter 560: Update section 570:Past information storage unit

Claims

1. a first information acquisition means for acquiring first radio wave quality information relating to current radio wave quality between a plurality of communication terminals and a plurality of antennas; a second information acquisition means for acquiring communication requirement information relating to communication requirements required for each of the plurality of communication terminals; a storage means for storing past information including at least second radio wave quality information relating to past radio wave qualities between the plurality of communication terminals and the plurality of antennas; a terminal selection means for calculating a similarity between the second radio wave quality information and the first radio wave quality information in the past information, selecting the past information including at least the second radio wave quality information based on the similarity, and selecting one or more communication terminals to be communication targets from among the plurality of communication terminals using the selected past information and the communication requirement information; an antenna selection means for selecting, from the plurality of antennas, one or more antennas to be used when communicating with the one or more communication terminals, using the one or more communication terminals and the first radio wave quality information; A control device comprising:

2. The terminal selection means selecting one or more candidate communication terminals from among the plurality of communication terminals using the communication requirement information; estimating a first communication performance to be obtained when communicating with the one or more candidate communication terminals; selecting the one or more communication terminal candidates as the one or more communication terminals when the first communication performance satisfies a predetermined first communication performance condition; The control device according to claim 1 .

3. The terminal selection means selecting the second radio wave quality information corresponding to the first radio wave quality information using the similarity; estimating the first communication performance using the selected second radio wave quality information; The control device according to claim 2 .

4. the past information further includes communication performance information regarding communication performance measured or calculated at the time when the second radio wave quality information was acquired; the terminal selection means estimates the first communication performance using the communication performance information corresponding to the selected second radio wave quality information; The control device according to claim 3 .

5. the past information further includes terminal information regarding the one or more communication terminals selected at the time when the second radio wave quality information was acquired, and communication performance information regarding communication performance measured or calculated at the time when the second radio wave quality information was acquired; the terminal selection means estimates the first communication performance by inputting parameters including the first radio wave quality information and the one or more communication terminal candidates into a pre-created model; The model is a model created by learning the past information. The control device according to claim 2 .

6. the first communication performance includes one or more of a throughput, a communicable data amount, a frame coding rate, a modulation method, a frame error rate, a communication delay time, and communication resources required to satisfy the communication requirements; The control device according to any one of claims 2 to 5.

7. the terminal selection means adjusts the number of the one or more communication terminals according to a usage rate of communication resources; The control device according to any one of claims 2 to 6.

8. the past information further includes terminal information regarding the one or more communication terminals selected at the time the second radio wave quality information was acquired; the terminal selection means selects the one or more communication terminals by inputting parameters including the first radio wave quality information and the communication requirement information into a model created in advance; the model is a model created by learning the past information and the communication requirement information. The control device according to claim 1 .

9. The model further includes a learning area determining means for determining an area in which learning is being performed in the model and adjusting the parameters to be input to the model based on the area. The control device according to claim 8.

10. Obtaining first radio wave quality information relating to current radio wave quality between a plurality of communication terminals and a plurality of antennas; acquiring communication requirement information relating to communication requirements required for each of the plurality of communication terminals; calculating a similarity between past information including at least second radio wave quality information relating to past radio wave quality between the plurality of communication terminals and the plurality of antennas and each of the first radio wave quality information, selecting the past information including at least the second radio wave quality information based on the similarity, and selecting one or more communication terminals to be communication targets from the plurality of communication terminals using the selected past information and the communication requirement information; selecting, from the plurality of antennas, one or more antennas to be used when communicating with the one or more communication terminals, using the one or more communication terminals and the first radio wave quality information; A program that causes a processor to execute the following.

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