Sidelink positioning reference signal sequences

Abstract

The techniques used for wireless communication are disclosed. In one scenario, the PRS sequence is determined in part based on the sideline area where the transmitting UE is located. The receiving UE can perform a blind search based on the PRS sequences (multiple) associated with its own sideline area and / or adjacent sideline areas. In other scenarios, measurement reports can be transmitted to a location estimation entity, where location measurements are associated with the corresponding PRS sequence. Subsequently, the location measurements can be associated with the corresponding transmitting UE at the location estimation entity to facilitate location estimation of the target UE.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The overall nature of this case relates to wireless communication. Prior Technology

[0002] Wireless communication systems have evolved through different generations, including first-generation analog wireless telephony (1G), second-generation (2G) digital wireless telephony (including temporary 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data, wireless services supporting the Internet, and fourth-generation (4G) services (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE), WiMax). Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are in use, including cellular and Personal Communication Services (PCS) systems. Known examples of cellular systems include the Cellular Analog Advanced Mobile Telephone System (AMPS) and digital cellular systems based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM).

[0003] The fifth-generation (5G) wireless standard, known as New Radio (NR), demands higher data transmission speeds, greater connection capacity, and better coverage, among other improvements. The 5G standard, as defined by the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGC), aims to provide tens of megabits per second (Mbps) of data to each of tens of thousands of users and gigabits per second (Gbps) to dozens of employees in an office. To support large-scale sensor deployments, it should support hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections. Therefore, the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communications should be significantly improved compared to the current 4G standard. Furthermore, signal transmission efficiency should be improved, and latency should be significantly reduced compared to current standards.

[0004] Leveraging 5G's increased data rates and reduced latency, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication technology is being implemented to support autonomous driving applications, such as wireless communication between vehicles, between vehicles and roadside infrastructure, and between vehicles and pedestrians. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The following is a simplified summary relating to one or more states disclosed herein. Therefore, this summary should not be considered a broad overview relating to all expected states, nor should it be considered a key or essential element for identifying all expected states, or an illustration of categories relating to any particular state. Thus, the sole purpose of this summary is to present, in a simplified form, certain concepts relating to one or more states relating to the mechanisms disclosed herein before the detailed descriptions that follow.

[0006] In one embodiment, a method of operating a user equipment (UE) includes: determining a sidelink area identifier associated with a sidelink area where the UE is located, the sidelink area corresponding to one of a plurality of sidelink areas; identifying one of a plurality of location reference signal (PRS) sequences associated with the identified sidelink area; and transmitting a sidelink PRS according to the identified PRS sequence.

[0007] In some cases, side-link PRS is transmitted on the common side-link frequency layer.

[0008] In some cases, multiple reserved PRS resource pools are associated with a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure, which also includes: determining one of the one or more reserved PRS resource pools for transmitting sidelink PRS.

[0009] In some cases, the reserved PRS resource pool is determined by the network configuration, randomly selected by the UE, or selected based on the sidelink area identifier associated with the sidelink area where the UE is located.

[0010] In some cases, the identified PRS sequence is based on the sidelink area identifier, the UE's sidelink UE identifier, the slot number on which the sidelink PRS is transmitted, the symbol number on which the sidelink PRS is transmitted, or a combination thereof.

[0011] In some cases, the sidelink area identifier is determined based on: an initial PRS sequence identifier provided by the network component, or an initial location estimate provided by the network component, or one or more sidelink area identifiers associated with one or more other UEs, or one or more measurements performed by one or more sensors of the UE, or a combination thereof.

[0012] In some cases, identification includes: monitoring one or more sidelink PRSs associated with one or more PRS sequences from one or more other UEs, and selecting, based on the monitoring, a corresponding PRS sequence not used by one or more other UEs as the identified PRS sequence.

[0013] In some cases, the method includes detecting PRS sequence collisions associated with the transmitted sidelink PRS; and in response to the detected PRS sequence collisions, selecting a different PRS sequence for PRS retransmission.

[0014] In some cases, the identified PRS sequence is assigned to the UE by an external component.

[0015] In one embodiment, a method of operating a user equipment (UE) includes: determining a sidelink area identifier associated with a sidelink area where the UE is located, the sidelink area corresponding to one of a plurality of sidelink areas; identifying one or more location reference signal (PRS) sequences associated with a set of sidelink areas within a threshold distance to the sidelink area; and performing a blind search of the sidelink PRS based on the one or more identified PRS sequences.

[0016] In some cases, a blind search is performed on the common-side link frequency layer.

[0017] In some cases, a blind search is performed on multiple reserved PRS resource pools associated with the sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure.

[0018] In some cases, the sidelink area identifier is determined based on: an initial PRS sequence identifier provided by the network component, or an initial location estimate provided by the network component, or one or more sidelink area identifiers associated with one or more other UEs, or one or more measurements performed by one or more sensors of the UE, or a combination thereof.

[0019] In some cases, the sidelink area set includes the sidelink area where the UE is located and the adjacent nodes of the sidelink area where the UE is located.

[0020] In some cases, the method includes sending measurement reports based on one or more positioning measurements of one or more sidelink PRS performed via blind search.

[0021] In some cases, a blind search is performed on only one or more identified PRS sequences.

[0022] In some cases, a blind search is performed on one or more identified PRS sequences, and an additional search is performed on one or more network-configured PRS sequences.

[0023] In one embodiment, a method of operating a user equipment (UE) includes: performing one or more location measurements based on one or more sidelink location reference signals (PRS) from one or more other UEs, each of the one or more sidelink PRSs being associated with a corresponding PRS sequence; and sending a measurement report to a location estimation entity, the measurement report including the one or more location measurements and a first indication of a corresponding PRS sequence for each corresponding location measurement.

[0024] In some cases, one or more lateral link PRSs are associated with lateral link-assisted position estimation procedures.

[0025] In some cases, the method includes: transmitting a sidelink PRS as part of a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure; and transmitting a second indication to a location estimation entity of a PRS sequence associated with the transmitted sidelink PRS.

[0026] In some cases, the sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure is associated with a plurality of reserved PRS resource pools, and one or more sidelink PRSs are each received on one of the plurality of reserved PRS resource pools.

[0027] In some cases, one or more positioning measurements include two or more receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) measurements, one or more transmission times of one or more sidelink PRS, one or more receive times of at least one sidelink PRS, or a combination thereof.

[0028] In one instance, a method for operating a location estimation entity includes: receiving measurement reports including location measurements of a sidelink location reference signal (PRS) based on a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure, the measurement reports including a first indication of a corresponding PRS sequence of the location measurements; receiving a second indication of a PRS sequence used by a set of user equipment (UEs) for transmitting the sidelink PRS; associating the location measurements with the set of UEs by matching the first indication with the second indication; and determining a location estimate of a target UE based on the association.

[0029] In some cases, one or more positioning measurements include two or more receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) measurements, one or more transmission times of one or more sidelink PRS, one or more receive times of at least one sidelink PRS, or a combination thereof.

[0030] In some cases, the position estimate is determined by a round-trip time (RTT) position estimation scheme.

[0031] In one embodiment, a user equipment (UE) includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: determine a sidelink area identifier associated with a sidelink area where the UE is located, the sidelink area corresponding to one of a plurality of sidelink areas; identify one of a plurality of location reference signal (PRS) sequences associated with the identified sidelink area; and transmit the sidelink PRS via the at least one transceiver according to the identified PRS sequence.

[0032] In some cases, side-link PRS is transmitted on the common side-link frequency layer.

[0033] In some cases, multiple reserved PRS resource pools are associated with a sidelink-assisted location estimation program, and the at least one processor is also configured to determine one of the one or more reserved PRS resource pools for transmitting the sidelink PRS.

[0034] In some cases, the reserved PRS resource pool is determined by the network configuration, randomly selected by the UE, or selected based on the sidelink area identifier associated with the sidelink area where the UE is located.

[0035] In some cases, the identified PRS sequence is based on the sidelink area identifier, the UE's sidelink UE identifier, the slot number on which the sidelink PRS is transmitted, the symbol number on which the sidelink PRS is transmitted, or a combination thereof.

[0036] In some cases, the sidelink area identifier is determined based on: an initial PRS sequence identifier provided by the network component, or an initial location estimate provided by the network component, or one or more sidelink area identifiers associated with one or more other UEs, or one or more measurements performed by one or more sensors of the UE, or a combination thereof.

[0037] In some cases, identification includes: monitoring one or more sidelink PRSs associated with one or more PRS sequences from one or more other UEs, and selecting, based on the monitoring, a corresponding PRS sequence not used by one or more other UEs as the identified PRS sequence.

[0038] In some cases, the at least one processor is also configured to: detect PRS sequence collisions associated with the transmitted sidelink PRS; and in response to the detected PRS sequence collisions, select a different PRS sequence for PRS retransmission.

[0039] In some cases, the identified PRS sequence is assigned to the UE by an external component.

[0040] In one embodiment, a user equipment (UE) includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: determine a sidelink area identifier associated with a sidelink area where the UE is located, the sidelink area corresponding to one of a plurality of sidelink areas; identify one or more location reference signal (PRS) sequences associated with a set of sidelink areas within a threshold distance to the sidelink area; and perform a blind search of the sidelink PRS based on the one or more identified PRS sequences.

[0041] In some cases, a blind search is performed on the common-side link frequency layer.

[0042] In some cases, a blind search is performed on multiple reserved PRS resource pools associated with the sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure.

[0043] In some cases, the sidelink area identifier is determined based on: an initial PRS sequence identifier provided by the network component, or an initial location estimate provided by the network component, or one or more sidelink area identifiers associated with one or more other UEs, or one or more measurements performed by one or more sensors of the UE, or a combination thereof.

[0044] In some cases, the sidelink area set includes the sidelink area where the UE is located and the adjacent nodes of the sidelink area where the UE is located.

[0045] In some cases, at least one processor is also configured to transmit measurement reports via at least one transceiver, the measurement reports being based on one or more positioning measurements of one or more sidelink PRSs performed via blind search.

[0046] In some cases, a blind search is performed on only one or more identified PRS sequences.

[0047] In some cases, a blind search is performed on one or more identified PRS sequences, and an additional search is performed on one or more network-configured PRS sequences.

[0048] In one embodiment, a user equipment (UE) includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: perform one or more location measurements based on one or more sidelink location reference signals (PRS) from one or more other UEs, each of the one or more sidelink PRSs being associated with a corresponding PRS sequence; and transmit measurement reports to a location estimation entity via the at least one transceiver, the measurement reports including one or more location measurements and a first indication of a corresponding PRS sequence for each corresponding location measurement.

[0049] In some cases, one or more lateral link PRSs are associated with lateral link-assisted position estimation procedures.

[0050] In some cases, at least one processor is also configured to: transmit a sidelink PRS via at least one transceiver as part of a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure; and transmit a second indication of a PRS sequence associated with the transmitted sidelink PRS to the location estimation entity via at least one transceiver.

[0051] In some cases, the sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure is associated with a plurality of reserved PRS resource pools, and one or more sidelink PRSs are each received on one of the plurality of reserved PRS resource pools.

[0052] In some cases, one or more positioning measurements include two or more receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) measurements, one or more transmission times of one or more sidelink PRS, one or more receive times of at least one sidelink PRS, or a combination thereof.

[0053] In some embodiments, a location estimation entity includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: receive measurement reports via the at least one transceiver, the measurement reports including location measurements of a sidelink location reference signal (PRS) based on a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure, the measurement reports including a first indication of a corresponding PRS sequence of the location measurements; receive via the at least one transceiver a second indication of a PRS sequence used by a set of user equipment (UEs) for transmitting the sidelink PRS; correlate the location measurements with a set of UEs by matching the first indication with the second indication; and determine a location estimate of a target UE based on the correlation.

[0054] In some cases, one or more positioning measurements include two or more receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) measurements, one or more transmission times of one or more sidelink PRS, one or more receive times of at least one sidelink PRS, or a combination thereof.

[0055] In some cases, the position estimate is determined by a round-trip time (RTT) position estimation scheme.

[0056] In one embodiment, a user equipment (UE) includes: components for determining a sidelink area identifier associated with a sidelink area where the UE is located, the sidelink area corresponding to one of a plurality of sidelink areas; components for identifying one of a plurality of positioning reference signal (PRS) sequences associated with the identified sidelink area; and components for transmitting a sidelink PRS according to the identified PRS sequence.

[0057] In some cases, side-link PRS is transmitted on the common side-link frequency layer.

[0058] In some cases, multiple reserved PRS resource pools are associated with a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure, which also includes a component for determining one of the one or more reserved PRS resource pools for transmitting the sidelink PRS.

[0059] In some cases, the reserved PRS resource pool is determined by the network configuration, randomly selected by the UE, or selected based on a sidelink area identifier associated with the sidelink area where the UE is located.

[0060] In some cases, the identified PRS sequence is based on the sidelink area identifier, the UE's sidelink UE identifier, the slot number on which the sidelink PRS is transmitted, the symbol number on which the sidelink PRS is transmitted, or a combination thereof.

[0061] In some cases, the sidelink area identifier is determined based on: an initial PRS sequence identifier provided by the network component, or an initial location estimate provided by the network component, or one or more sidelink area identifiers associated with one or more other UEs, or one or more measurements performed by one or more sensors of the UE, or a combination thereof.

[0062] In some cases, the identification components include: components for monitoring one or more sidelink PRSs associated with one or more PRS sequences from one or more other UEs, and components for selecting, based on the monitoring, a corresponding PRS sequence not used by one or more other UEs as the identified PRS sequence.

[0063] In some cases, the method includes components for detecting PRS sequence collisions associated with the transmitted sidelink PRS; and components for selecting a different PRS sequence for PRS retransmission in response to the detected PRS sequence collision.

[0064] In some cases, the identified PRS sequence is assigned to the UE by an external component.

[0065] In one embodiment, a user equipment (UE) includes: components for determining a sidelink area identifier associated with a sidelink area where the UE is located, the sidelink area corresponding to one of a plurality of sidelink areas; components for identifying one or more location reference signal (PRS) sequences associated with a set of sidelink areas within a threshold distance to the sidelink area; and components for performing a blind search of the sidelink PRS based on the one or more identified PRS sequences.

[0066] In some cases, blind search is performed on the common-side link frequency layer.

[0067] In some cases, a blind search is performed on multiple reserved PRS resource pools associated with the lateral link-assisted location estimation procedure.

[0068] In some cases, the sidelink area identifier is determined based on: an initial PRS sequence identifier provided by the network component, or an initial location estimate provided by the network component, or one or more sidelink area identifiers associated with one or more other UEs, or one or more measurements performed by one or more sensors of the UE, or a combination thereof.

[0069] In some cases, the sidelink area set includes the sidelink area where the UE is located and the adjacent nodes of the sidelink area where the UE is located.

[0070] In some cases, the method includes components for sending measurement reports based on one or more positioning measurements of one or more sidelink PRS performed via blind search.

[0071] In some cases, a blind search is performed on only one or more identified PRS sequences.

[0072] In some cases, a blind search is performed on one or more identified PRS sequences, and an additional search is performed on one or more network-configured PRS sequences.

[0073] In one embodiment, a user equipment (UE) includes: components for performing one or more location measurements based on one or more sidelink location reference signals (PRS) from one or more other UEs, each of the one or more sidelink PRSs being associated with a corresponding PRS sequence; and components for sending a measurement report to a location estimation entity, the measurement report including one or more location measurements and a first indication of a corresponding PRS sequence for each corresponding location measurement.

[0074] In some cases, one or more lateral link PRSs are associated with lateral link-assisted position estimation procedures.

[0075] In some embodiments, the method includes components for transmitting a sidelink PRS as part of a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure; and components for transmitting a second indication of a PRS sequence associated with the transmitted sidelink PRS to a location estimation entity.

[0076] In some cases, the sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure is associated with a plurality of reserved PRS resource pools, and one or more sidelink PRSs are each received on one of the plurality of reserved PRS resource pools.

[0077] In some cases, one or more positioning measurements include two or more receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) measurements, one or more transmission times of one or more sidelink PRS, one or more receive times of at least one sidelink PRS, or a combination thereof.

[0078] In one embodiment, a location estimation entity includes: components for receiving measurement reports, the measurement reports including location measurements of a sidelink location reference signal (PRS) based on a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure, the measurement reports including a first indication of a corresponding PRS sequence of the location measurements; components for receiving a second indication of a PRS sequence used by a set of user equipment (UEs) for transmitting the sidelink PRS; components for associating the location measurements with a set of UEs by matching the first indication with the second indication; and components for determining a location estimate of a target UE based on the association.

[0079] In some cases, one or more positioning measurements include two or more receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) measurements, one or more transmission times of one or more sidelink PRS, one or more receive times of at least one sidelink PRS, or a combination thereof.

[0080] In some cases, the position estimate is determined by a round-trip time (RTT) position estimation scheme.

[0081] In one embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, when executed by a user equipment (UE), causes the UE to: determine a sidelink area identifier associated with a sidelink area where the UE is located, the sidelink area corresponding to one of a plurality of sidelink areas; identify one of a plurality of positioning reference signal (PRS) sequences associated with the identified sidelink area; and transmit a sidelink PRS according to the identified PRS sequence.

[0082] In some cases, side-link PRS is transmitted on the common side-link frequency layer.

[0083] In some cases, multiple reserved PRS resource pools are associated with a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure, and the instruction also causes the UE to determine one of the reserved PRS resource pools for transmitting sidelink PRS.

[0084] In some cases, the reserved PRS resource pool is determined by the network configuration, randomly selected by the UE, or selected based on the sidelink area identifier associated with the sidelink area where the UE is located.

[0085] In some cases, the identified PRS sequence is based on the sidelink area identifier, the UE's sidelink UE identifier, the slot number on which the sidelink PRS is transmitted, the symbol number on which the sidelink PRS is transmitted, or a combination thereof.

[0086] In some cases, the sidelink area identifier is determined based on: an initial PRS sequence identifier provided by the network component, or an initial location estimate provided by the network component, or one or more sidelink area identifiers associated with one or more other UEs, or one or more measurements performed by one or more sensors of the UE, or a combination thereof.

[0087] In some cases, identification includes: monitoring one or more sidelink PRSs associated with one or more PRS sequences from one or more other UEs, and selecting, based on the monitoring, a corresponding PRS sequence not used by one or more other UEs as the identified PRS sequence.

[0088] In some cases, the one or more instructions also cause the UE to: detect a PRS sequence conflict associated with the transmitted sidelink PRS; and in response to the detected PRS sequence conflict, select a different PRS sequence for PRS retransmission.

[0089] In some cases, the identified PRS sequence is assigned to the UE by an external component.

[0090] In one embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, when executed by a user equipment (UE), causes the UE to: determine a sidelink area identifier associated with a sidelink area where the UE is located, the sidelink area corresponding to one of a plurality of sidelink areas; identify one or more location reference signal (PRS) sequences associated with a set of sidelink areas within a threshold distance to the sidelink area; and perform a blind search of the sidelink PRS based on the one or more identified PRS sequences.

[0091] In some cases, a blind search is performed on the common-side link frequency layer.

[0092] In some cases, a blind search is performed on multiple reserved PRS resource pools associated with the sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure.

[0093] In some cases, the sidelink area identifier is determined based on: an initial PRS sequence identifier provided by the network component, or an initial location estimate provided by the network component, or one or more sidelink area identifiers associated with one or more other UEs, or one or more measurements performed by one or more sensors of the UE, or a combination thereof.

[0094] In some cases, the sidelink area set includes the sidelink area where the UE is located and the adjacent nodes of the sidelink area where the UE is located.

[0095] In some cases, the instruction also causes the UE to send a measurement report based on one or more positioning measurements from one or more sidelink PRSs performed via blind search.

[0096] In some cases, a blind search is performed on only one or more identified PRS sequences.

[0097] In some cases, a blind search is performed on one or more identified PRS sequences, and an additional search is performed on one or more network-configured PRS sequences.

[0098] In one embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, when executed by a UE, causes the UE to: perform one or more positioning measurements based on one or more sidelink positioning reference signals (PRS) from one or more other UEs, each of the one or more sidelink PRSs being associated with a corresponding PRS sequence; and send a measurement report to a location estimation entity, the measurement report including one or more positioning measurements and a first indication of a corresponding PRS sequence for each corresponding positioning measurement.

[0099] In some cases, one or more lateral link PRSs are associated with lateral link-assisted position estimation procedures.

[0100] In some cases, the one or more instructions also cause the UE to: transmit a sidelink PRS as part of a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure; and transmit a second indication to the location estimation entity of a PRS sequence associated with the transmitted sidelink PRS.

[0101] In some cases, the sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure is associated with a plurality of reserved PRS resource pools, and one or more sidelink PRSs are each received on one of the plurality of reserved PRS resource pools.

[0102] In some cases, one or more positioning measurements include two or more receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) measurements, one or more transmission times of one or more sidelink PRS, one or more receive times of at least one sidelink PRS, or a combination thereof.

[0103] In one embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, when executed by a location estimation entity, causes the location estimation entity to: receive measurement reports including location measurements of a sidelink location reference signal (PRS) based on a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure, the measurement reports including a first indication of a corresponding PRS sequence of the location measurements; receive a second indication of a PRS sequence used by a set of user equipment (UEs) for transmitting the sidelink PRS; correlate the location measurements with the set of UEs by matching the first indication with the second indication; and determine a location estimate of a target UE based on the correlation.

[0104] In some cases, one or more positioning measurements include two or more receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) measurements, one or more transmission times of one or more sidelink PRS, one or more receive times of at least one sidelink PRS, or a combination thereof.

[0105] In some cases, the position estimate is determined by a round-trip time (RTT) position estimation scheme.

[0106] Based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description, other objects and advantages associated with the morphologies disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains. Simple Explanation of the Diagram

[0107] The accompanying drawings are provided to help describe the various aspects of this case, and are provided solely for illustrative purposes and not for limiting the scope of these aspects.

[0108] Figure 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system based on the case.

[0109] Figures 2A and 2B illustrate example wireless network structures based on the case.

[0110] Figures 3A, 3B, and 3C are simplified block diagrams of several instance types of components that can be used in user equipment (UE), base stations, and network entities and configured to support communications as taught herein.

[0111] Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating the various components of an example user equipment (UE) according to the case.

[0112] Figure 5 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system that supports the establishment of a unicast side crosslink according to the case.

[0113] Figure 6A illustrates an example of a TDD-side crosslink (PC5) resource configuration according to a specific case.

[0114] Figure 6B illustrates a resource reservation scheme based on SCI according to one of the scenarios in this case.

[0115] Figure 7 illustrates examples of various positioning methods based on the various states of this case.

[0116] Figure 8 illustrates the side-link communication scheduling (or resource configuration) schemes for various states in this case.

[0117] Figure 9 illustrates an example wireless communication system according to the case, in which a vehicle user equipment (V-UE) is exchanging ranging signals with a roadside unit (RSU) and another V-UE.

[0118] Figure 10 illustrates other side link positioning schemes based on the various states of this case.

[0119] Figure 11 illustrates other UE distribution scenarios for side-link positioning according to various states in this case.

[0120] Figure 12 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication program according to various aspects of this case.

[0121] Figures 13-16 illustrate the side-link auxiliary position estimation schemes for various states in this case.

[0122] Figure 17 illustrates a region based on the World Geodetic System 84 (WSG84) model, using reference longitude and latitude coordinates (0,0) according to a pattern of this case.

[0123] Figure 18 illustrates a side link area topology according to a scenario in this case.

[0124] Figure 19 illustrates a SL anchor UE reconfiguration scheme based on a specific case.

[0125] Figure 20 illustrates the SL area configuration according to a certain state of this case.

[0126] Figure 21 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication program according to various aspects of this case.

[0127] Figure 22 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication program according to various aspects of this case.

[0128] Figure 23 illustrates the PRS resource pool configuration for each state in this case.

[0129] Figure 24 illustrates the SL area configuration according to the various states of this case.

[0130] Figure 25 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication program according to various aspects of this case.

[0131] Figure 26 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication program according to various aspects of this case.

[0132] Figure 27 illustrates a PRS resource pool configuration based on a specific scenario in this case. Implementation

[0133] The following description and accompanying drawings provide various embodiments of this invention, which are provided for illustrative purposes. Alternative embodiments can be designed without departing from the scope of this invention. Furthermore, well-known elements of this invention will not be described in detail or will be omitted to avoid obscuring relevant details.

[0134] The terms "exemplary" and / or "example" are used herein to mean "serving as an example, illustration, or explanation." Any variant described herein as "exemplary" and / or "example" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or superior to other variants. Similarly, the term "various variants of this case" does not require that all variants of this case include the features, advantages, or modes of operation discussed.

[0135] Those skilled in the art will understand that the information and signals described below can be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and skills. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description below can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, light fields or particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the specific application, in part on the required design, and in part on the corresponding technology, etc.

[0136] Furthermore, many states are described based on sequences of actions to be performed by elements of, for example, computing devices. It should be understood that the various actions described herein can be performed by specific circuitry (e.g., application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs)), program instructions executed by one or more processors, or a combination of both. Moreover, the sequences of actions described herein can be considered fully embodied in any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a corresponding set of computer instructions, which, upon execution, will cause or instruct the associated processor of the device to perform the functions described herein. Therefore, the various states of this application can be embodied in many different forms, all of which are contemplated within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Additionally, for each state described herein, any corresponding form of such state can be described herein as, for example, "logic configured to…" performing the described actions.

[0137] As used herein, unless otherwise stated, the terms “User Equipment” (UE), “Vehicle UE” (V-UE), “Pedestrian User Equipment (UE)” (P-UE), and “Base Station” are not intended to be specific to or otherwise limited to any particular Radio Access Technology (RAT). Generally, a UE can be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate on a wireless communication network (e.g., vehicle onboard computer, vehicle navigation device, mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop, asset location device, wearable device (e.g., smartwatch, glasses, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), vehicle (e.g., car, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.). A UE can be mobile or can (e.g., at certain times) be stationary and can communicate with a Radio Access Network (RAN). As used herein, the term "UE" may be used interchangeably as "mobile device," "access terminal," or "AT," "client device," "wireless device," "user equipment," "user terminal," "user station," "user terminal," or "UT," "mobile terminal," "mobile station," or variations thereof.

[0138] V-UE is a type of UE and can be any in-vehicle wireless communication device, such as navigation systems, warning systems, head-up displays (HUDs), in-vehicle computers, in-vehicle infotainment systems, automated driving systems (ADS), advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), etc. Alternatively, V-UE can be a portable wireless communication device carried by the vehicle driver or passengers (e.g., a cellular phone, tablet, etc.). Depending on the context, the term "V-UE" can refer to the in-vehicle wireless communication device or the vehicle itself. P-UE is a type of UE and can be a portable wireless communication device carried by a pedestrian (i.e., a user not driving or riding in the vehicle). Typically, a UE can communicate with the core network via the RAN, and via the core network, the UE can connect to external networks such as the Internet and other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting the UE to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible, such as via wired access networks, wireless local area network (WLAN) networks (e.g., based on IEEE 802.11, etc.), etc.

[0139] A base station can operate based on one of several RATs used to communicate with the UE, depending on the network in which it is deployed, and may be alternatively referred to as an Access Point (AP), Network Node, NodeB, Evolved NodeB (eNB), Next Generation eNB (ng-eNB), New Radio (NR) NodeB (also known as gNB or gNodeB), etc. The base station is primarily used to support the UE's radio access, including supporting the data, voice, and / or signal transmission connections of the supported UE. In some systems, the base station can provide purely edge node signal transmission functions, while in others, it can provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link through which the UE can send signals to the base station is called an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., reverse transport channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). The communication link through which the base station can transmit signals to the UE is called a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward transport channel, etc.). As used herein, the term Transport Channel (TCH) may refer to UL / Reverse or DL / Forward Transport Channel.

[0140] The term "base station" can refer to a single physical transmit-receive point (TRP) or multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be located in the same location. For example, when the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP can be the antenna of the base station corresponding to a cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. When the term "base station" refers to multiple physical TRPs located in the same location, the physical TRP can be the antenna array of the base station (e.g., in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or where beamforming is used at the base station). When the term "base station" refers to multiple physical TRPs not located in the same location, the physical TRPs can be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transmission medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, physical TRPs not located in the same location can be the serving base station receiving measurement reports from the UE and an adjacent base station where the UE is measuring its reference radio frequency (RF) signal. Since the TRP is the point at which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, as used herein, references to transmissions from or receptions at a base station should be understood to refer to the specific TRP of the base station.

[0141] In some implementations that support UE positioning, the base station may not support the UE's radio access (e.g., it may not support the UE's data, voice, and / or signal transmission connections), but may instead transmit a reference RF signal to the UE for measurement by the UE, and / or receive and measure signals transmitted by the UE. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., when transmitting an RF signal to the UE) and / or as a location measurement unit (e.g., when receiving and measuring an RF signal from the UE).

[0142] An "RF signal" comprises electromagnetic waves of a given frequency that transmit information across space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may send a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, due to the multipath propagation characteristics of RF signals, a receiver may receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between the transmitter and receiver may be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal. As used herein, an RF signal may also be referred to as a "wireless signal" or simply a "signal," where the term "signal" clearly refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal from the context.

[0143] Figure 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 100 according to various embodiments of this invention. The wireless communication system 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 (labeled "BS") and various UEs 104. Base stations 102 may include macrocell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one embodiment, the macrocell base station 102 may include an eNB and / or ng-eNB where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network, or a gNB where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network, or a combination of both, and the small cell base station may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0144] Base station 102 can collectively form a RAN and interface with core network 174 (e.g., Evolved Packet Core (EPC) or 5G Core (5GC)) via backhaul link 122, and with one or more location servers 172 (e.g., Location Management Function (LMF) or Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP)) via core network 174. Location server 172 can be part of core network 174 or external to core network 174. Among other functions, base station 102 can perform functions related to one or more of the following: transmitting user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual-linkage), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of Non-Access Layer (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS), user and device tracking, RAN Information Management (RIM), paging, location, and warning message delivery. Base stations 102 can communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via EPC / 5GC) via backhaul link 134, which can be wired or wireless.

[0145] Base station 102 can wirelessly communicate with UE 104. Each of base stations 102 can provide communication coverage for its respective geographic coverage area 110. In one scenario, one or more cells can be supported by base stations 102 in each geographic coverage area 110. A "cell" is a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., via certain frequency resources, referred to as carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, frequency band, etc.) and can be associated with an identifier used to distinguish cells operating via the same or different carrier frequencies (e.g., Physical Cell Identifier (PCI), Enhanced Cell Identifier (ECI), Virtual Cell Identifier (VCI), Cell Global Identifier (CGI), etc.). In some cases, different cells can be configured based on different protocol types that can provide access for different types of UEs (e.g., Machine Type Communication (MTC), Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), or others). Because cells are supported by specific base stations, the term "cell" can refer to the logical communication entity and one or both of the base stations supporting it, depending on the context. In some cases, the term "cell" may also refer to the geographic coverage area (e.g., sector) of a base station, provided that the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within certain parts of the geographic coverage area 110.

[0146] Although the geographic coverage areas 110 of adjacent macrocell base stations 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in a handover area), some of the geographic coverage areas 110 may substantially overlap with larger geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' (labeled "SC" for "small cell") may have a geographic coverage area 110' that substantially overlaps with the geographic coverage areas 110 of one or more macrocell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cells and macrocell base stations may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a home eNB (HeNB) that can provide service to a restricted group called a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG).

[0147] The communication link 120 between base station 102 and UE 104 may include uplink (also known as reverse link) transmission from UE 104 to base station 102 and / or downlink (DL) (also known as forward link) transmission from base station 102 to UE 104. The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna technologies, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may be transmitted via one or more carrier frequencies. Carrier allocation may be asymmetrical relative to the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to the downlink than to the uplink).

[0148] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150, which communicates with a WLAN station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in unlicensed spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or WLAN AP 150 may perform an idle channel assessment (CCA) or listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure before communication to determine whether the channel is available.

[0149] Small cell base station 102' can operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in unlicensed spectrum, small cell base station 102' can employ LTE or NR technology and use the same 5GHz unlicensed spectrum as WLAN AP 150. Employing LTE / 5G in unlicensed spectrum can enhance coverage and / or increase the capacity of the access network. NR in unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U. LTE in unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-U, Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0150] The wireless communication system 100 may also include an mmW base station 180, which can operate at millimeter-wave (mmW) frequencies and / or near-millimeter-wave frequencies when communicating with the UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that contains radio frequency (RF). EHF frequencies range from 30 GHz to 300 GHz, with wavelengths between 1 mm and 10 mm. Radio waves in this band are referred to as millimeter waves. Near-millimeter waves can extend down to frequencies of 3 GHz with wavelengths of 100 mm. The ultra-high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz and is also known as centimeter waves. Communication using millimeter-wave / near-millimeter-wave radio bands has high path loss and relatively short range. The millimeter-wave base station 180 and the UE 182 can utilize beamforming (transmitting and / or receiving) on ​​the millimeter-wave communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. Furthermore, it should be understood that in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also use millimeter-wave or near-millimeter-wave frequencies and beamforming for transmission. Therefore, it should be understood that the aforementioned illustrations are merely examples and should not be interpreted as limiting the various states disclosed in this article.

[0151] Transmit beamforming is a technique used to focus RF signals in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectional). Using transmit beamforming, the network node determines the location of a given target device (e.g., a UE) relative to the transmitting network node and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thus providing the receiving device with a faster (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal. To change the directivity of the RF signal during transmission, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of one or more transmitters broadcasting the RF signal. For example, the network node can use an antenna array (called a "phased array" or "antenna array") that generates a beam of RF waves that can be "guided" to point in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, RF current from the transmitter is fed to the individual antennas with the correct phase relationship, such that the radio waves from the individual antennas are added together to increase radiation in the desired direction while canceling out radiation in undesired directions.

[0152] Transmit beams can be quasi-co-located, meaning they appear to have the same parameters at the receiver (e.g., UE), regardless of whether the transmit antennas of the network nodes themselves are physically co-located. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-located (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters about the second reference RF signal on the second beam can be derived from information about the source reference RF signal on the source beam. Therefore, if the source reference RF signal is QCL type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial reception parameters of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0153] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses a receive beam to amplify the RF signal detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain setting and / or adjust the phase setting of the antenna array in a specific direction to amplify (e.g., increase the gain level of the RF signal) the RF signal received from that direction. Therefore, when it is said that a receiver beamforms in a certain direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is higher than the beam gain in other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain of all other receive beams available to the receiver in that direction. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal interference plus noise ratio (SINR), etc.) of the RF signal received from that direction.

[0154] Transmit and receive beams can be spatially correlated. Spatial correlation means that the parameters of the second beam (e.g., transmit or receive beam) of the second reference signal can be derived from information about the first beam (e.g., receive or transmit beam) of the first reference signal. For example, a UE can use a specific receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., a synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station. Subsequently, the UE can form a transmit beam for transmitting an uplink reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0155] Note that a "downlink" beam can be either a transmit or receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a base station is forming a downlink beam to send a reference signal to the UE, then the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if the UE is forming a downlink beam, then it is a receive beam to receive the downlink reference signal. Similarly, an "uplink" beam can be either a transmit or receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a base station is forming an uplink beam, then it is an uplink receive beam, and if the UE is forming an uplink beam, then it is an uplink transmit beam.

[0156] In 5G, the spectrum in which wireless nodes (e.g., base stations 102 / 180, UEs 104 / 182) operate is divided into multiple frequency ranges: FR1 (from 450 to 6000 MHz), FR2 (from 24250 to 52600 MHz), FR3 (above 52600 MHz), and FR4 (between FR1 and FR2). The mmW band typically includes the FR2, FR3, and FR4 frequency ranges. Therefore, the terms "mmW" and "FR2" or "FR3" or "FR4" are often used interchangeably.

[0157] In multi-carrier systems such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the "primary carrier," "anchor carrier," "primary serving cell," or "PCell," and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers," "secondary serving cells," or "SCell." In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) used by UE 104 / 182 and the cell in which UE 104 / 182 performs the initial Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates the RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels and can be a carrier in a licensed frequency (however, not always). The secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that can be configured once an RRC connection is established between UE 104 and the anchor carrier, and can be used to provide additional radio resources. In some cases, the secondary carrier can be a carrier in an unlicensed frequency. Secondary carriers may contain only the necessary signal transmission information and signals. For example, since the primary uplink and downlink carriers are typically UE-specific, UE-specific signal transmission information and signals may not exist in the secondary carrier. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 within a cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same applies to the uplink primary carrier. The network can change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. For example, this is done to balance the load on different carriers. Because a "serving cell" (whether PCell or SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier on which a base station is communicating, the terms "cell," "serving cell," "component carrier," and "carrier frequency" can be used interchangeably.

[0158] For example, still referring to Figure 1, one of the frequencies used by macrocell base station 102 can be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and the other frequencies used by macrocell base station 102 and / or millimeter-wave base station 180 can be secondary carriers ("SCell"). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception on multiple carriers allows UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rates. For example, compared to the rate achieved by a single 20MHz carrier, two aggregated 20MHz carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically result in a doubling of the data rate (i.e., 40MHz).

[0159] In the example of Figure 1, any of the UEs shown (represented as a single UE 104 in Figure 1 for simplicity) can receive signal 124 from one or more Earth-orbiting spacecraft (SV) 112 (e.g., satellites). In one instance, SV 112 may be part of a satellite positioning system, which UE 104 may use as an independent source of location information. A satellite positioning system typically includes a transmitter system (e.g., SV 112) positioned to enable receivers (e.g., UE 104) to determine their location on or above the Earth based at least in part on positioning signals (e.g., signal 124) received from the transmitter. Such transmitters typically transmit signals marked with a set number of repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) codes. Although transmitters are typically located in SV 112, they may sometimes be located at ground control stations, base stations 102, and / or other UEs 104. UE 104 may include one or more dedicated receivers specifically designed to receive signals 124 used to export geolocation information from SV 112.

[0160] In a satellite positioning system, the use of signal 124 can be enhanced via various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) that can be associated with or otherwise enabled to be used with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems. For example, SBAS may include augmentation systems that provide integrity information, differential correction, etc., such as Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), European Geosynchronous Navigation Coverage Service (EGNOS), Multifunctional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), GPS-assisted Geo-Augmented Navigation, or GPS and Geo-Augmented Navigation System (GAGAN). Therefore, as used herein, a satellite positioning system may include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellites associated with such one or more satellite positioning systems.

[0161] In one configuration, SV 112 may supplementally or alternatively be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). Within an NTN, SV 112 connects to an earth station (also referred to as a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway), which in turn connects to components in the 5G network, such as a modified base station 102 (without a ground antenna) or network nodes in a 5GC. This element, in turn, provides access to other elements within the 5G network and ultimately to entities outside the 5G network, such as internet web servers and other user equipment. In this way, UE 104 may receive communication signals from SV 112 (e.g., signal 124) in addition to not receiving communication signals from ground station 102.

[0162] Leveraging the increased data rates and reduced latency of NR (Radio Frequency I / O), Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication technology is being implemented to support Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) applications, such as wireless communication between vehicles (V2V), between vehicles and roadside infrastructure (V2I), and between vehicles and pedestrians (V2P). The goal is to enable vehicles to perceive their surroundings and communicate this information to other vehicles, infrastructure, and personal mobility devices. This vehicle communication will achieve advancements in safety, mobility, and environmental awareness that current technologies cannot provide. Once fully implemented, this technology is expected to reduce undamaged vehicle collisions by 80%.

[0163] Referring again to Figure 1, the wireless communication system 100 may include multiple V-UEs 160, which can communicate with the base station 102 via communication link 120 (e.g., using a Uu interface). V-UEs 160 can also communicate directly with each other via wireless sidelink 162, directly with a roadside access point 164 (also referred to as a "roadside unit") via wireless sidelink 166, or directly with UE 104 via wireless sidelink 168. The wireless sidelink (or simply "sidelink") is an adaptation of the core cellular (e.g., LTE, NR) standard, allowing direct communication between two or more UEs without the need for communication via a base station. Sidelink communication can be unicast or multicast and can be used for device-to-device (D2D) media sharing, V2V communication, V2X communication (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communication, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communication, emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more of the V-UEs 160 in a group using sidelink communication may be within the geographic coverage area 110 of base station 102. Other V-UEs 160 in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of base station 102 or may not be able to receive transmissions from base station 102. In some cases, the group of V-UEs 160 communicating via sidelink communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, in which each V-UE 160 sends to each of the other V-UEs 160 in the group. In some cases, base station 102 facilitates the scheduling of resources for sidelink communication. In other cases, sidelink communication is performed between V-UEs 160 without involving base station 102.

[0164] In one configuration, side links 162, 166, and 168 can operate on a wireless communication medium of interest, which can be shared with other wireless communications between other vehicles and / or infrastructure access points, as well as with other RATs. The "medium" can consist of one or more time, frequency, and / or spatial communication resources (e.g., covering one or more channels across one or more carriers) associated with wireless communications between one or more transmitter / receiver pairs.

[0165] In one instance, sidelinks 162, 166, and 168 could be cV2X links. First-generation cV2X has been standardized in LTE, and the next generation is expected to be defined in NR. cV2X is a cellular technology that also supports device-to-device communication. In the US and Europe, cV2X is expected to be implemented in licensed ITS bands below 6 GHz. Other bands may be allocated in other countries. Therefore, as a specific example, the media of interest used by sidelinks 162, 166, and 168 could correspond to at least a portion of the licensed ITS bands below 6 GHz. However, this application is not limited to this band or cellular technology.

[0166] In one configuration, side links 162, 166, and 168 can be Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) links. DSRC is a one-way or two-way short-to-medium-range wireless communication protocol that uses the WAVE (Wave Access in Vehicle Environment) protocol, also known as IEEE 802.11p, for V2V, V2I, and V2P communications. IEEE 802.11p is an approved revision of the IEEE 802.11 standard, implemented in the 5.9 GHz (5.85–5.925 GHz) ITS licensed band in the United States. In Europe, IEEE 802.11p operates in the ITS G5A band (5.875–5.905 MHz). Other bands may be allocated in other countries. The V2V communications briefly described above occur on a secret channel, which in the United States is typically a 10 MHz channel dedicated to security purposes. The remainder of the DSRC band (total bandwidth of 75 MHz) is intended for other services of interest to drivers, such as road rules, toll collection, and parking automation. Therefore, as a specific example, the media of interest used by sidelinks 162, 166, and 168 could correspond to at least a portion of the licensed ITS band at 5.9 GHz.

[0167] Alternatively, the media of interest may correspond to at least a portion of the unlicensed frequency bands shared among various RATs. While different licensed frequency bands have been reserved for certain communication systems (e.g., by government entities such as the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), these systems, particularly those employing small cell access points, have recently expanded their operations to unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) bands used by Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) technologies, most notably the IEEE 802.11x WLAN technology commonly referred to as "Wi-Fi." Examples of this type of system include various variants of CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), and Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems.

[0168] Communication between V-UE 160 is referred to as V2V communication; communication between V-UE 160 and one or more roadside access points 164 is referred to as V2I communication; and communication between V-UE 160 and one or more UEs 104 (where UE 104 is a P-UE) is referred to as V2P communication. V2V communication between V-UE 160 may include information such as the position, speed, acceleration, heading, and other vehicle data of V-UE 160. V2I information received at V-UE 160 from one or more roadside access points 164 may include, for example, road rules, parking automation information, etc. V2P communication between V-UE 160 and UE 104 may include information such as the position, speed, acceleration, and heading of V-UE 160, and the position, speed (e.g., when a user is riding a bicycle carrying UE 104), and heading of UE 104.

[0169] Note that although only two of the UEs shown in Figure 1 are designated as V-UEs (V-UE 160), any of the UEs shown (e.g., UEs 104, 152, 182, 190) could be V-UEs. Furthermore, although only V-UE 160 and a single UE 104 are shown as connected via a sidelink, any UE shown in Figure 1, whether V-UE, P-UE, etc., could be capable of sidelink communication. Additionally, although only UE 182 is described as capable of beamforming, any UE shown, including V-UE 160, could be beamformed. When V-UE 160 is capable of beamforming, it can beam towards each other (i.e., towards other V-UEs 160), towards roadside access point 164, towards other UEs (e.g., UEs 104, 152, 182, 190), etc. Therefore, in some cases, V-UE 160 can utilize beamforming on side links 162, 166 and 168.

[0170] The wireless communication system 100 may also include one or more UEs, such as UE 190, which are indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. In the example of Figure 1, UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192, through which one of UEs 104 is connected to one of base stations 102 (e.g., UE 190 can indirectly obtain cellular connectivity), and a D2D P2P link 194, through which a WLAN STA 152 is connected to a WLAN AP 150 (through which UE 190 can indirectly obtain WLAN-based internet connectivity). In one example, D2D P2P links 192 and 194 may be supported by any well-known D2D RAT (e.g., LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, etc.). As another example, D2D P2P links 192 and 194 can be sidelinks, as described above with reference to sidelinks 162, 166 and 168.

[0171] Figure 2A illustrates an example wireless network architecture 200. For example, the 5GC 210 (also known as the Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be functionally considered as a control plane (C-plane) function 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and a user plane (U-plane) function 212 (e.g., UE gateway function, data network access, IP routing, etc.), which work together to form the core network. The user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and the control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect the gNB 222 to the 5GC 210, specifically to the user plane function 212 and the control plane function 214, respectively. In an additional configuration, the ng-eNB 224 can also connect to the 5GC 210 via the NG-C 215 to the control plane function 214 and the NG-U 213 to the user plane function 212. Furthermore, the ng-eNB 224 can communicate directly with the gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the next-generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both ng-eNBs 224 and gNBs 222. The gNB 222 or ng-eNB 224 (or both) may communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any UE described herein).

[0172] Another alternative configuration may include a location server 230, which can communicate with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance to multiple UEs 204. The location server 230 may be implemented as a plurality of separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each server may correspond to a single server. The location server 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which may connect to the location server 230 via the core network, the 5GC 210, and / or via the Internet (not shown). Furthermore, the location server 230 may be integrated into a component of the core network, or optionally external to the core network (e.g., a cooperating server such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or a service server).

[0173] Figure 2B illustrates another example of a wireless network architecture 250. 5GC 260 (which may correspond to 5GC 210 in Figure 2A) can be functionally viewed as a control plane function provided by Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 264 and a user plane function provided by User Plane Function (UPF) 262, which work together to form the core network (i.e., 5GC 260). The functions of AMF 264 include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transmission of Period Management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any UE described herein) and Period Management Function (SMF) 266, transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transmission of SMS service messages between UE 204 and SMS Service Function (SMSF) (not shown), and Security Anchor Function (SEAF). The AMF 264 also interacts with the Authentication Server Function (AUSF) (not shown) and UE 204, and receives an intermediate key established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In the case of UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) User Identity Module (USIM)-based authentication, the AMF 264 retrieves security material from the AAUSF. The AMF 264 also includes Security Context Management (SCM). The SCM receives a key from the SEAF, which is used to export a network-specific key for access. The AMF 264 also includes location service management for regulatory services, transmission of location service messages between UE 204 and the Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (which acts as a location server 230), transmission of location service messages between NG-RAN 220 and LMF 270, allocation of Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer identifiers for interoperability with EPS, and UE 204 mobility event notification. Furthermore, the AMF 264 also supports non-3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) network access functions.

[0174] The functions of UPF 262 include: acting as an anchor for intra / inter-RAT mobility (where applicable); acting as an external Protocol Data Unit (PDU) communication endpoint for interconnection to a data network (not shown); providing packet routing and forwarding; packet inspection; user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., strobing, redirection, flow control); lawful interception (user plane collection); traffic usage reporting; user plane Quality of Service (QoS) processing (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflected QoS marking in downlink); uplink traffic verification (Service Data Stream (SDF) to QoS stream mapping); transport-level packet marking in uplink and downlink; downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering; and transmitting and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. UPF 262 can also support the transmission of location service messages on the user plane between UE 204 and a location server (e.g., SLP 272).

[0175] The functions of SMF 266 include communication period management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, configuration of flow control at UPF 262 to route traffic to appropriate destinations, partial policy enforcement and QoS control, and downlink information notification. The interface through which SMF 266 communicates with AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0176] Another alternative configuration may include an LMF 270, which can communicate with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The LMF 270 can be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each server may correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 can be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which can connect to the LMF 270 via the core network, the 5GC 260, and / or via the Internet (not shown). SLP 272 can support functions similar to LMF 270, but while LMF 270 can communicate with AMF 264, NG-RAN 220 and UE 204 on the control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols intended to transmit signals to deliver messages instead of voice or data), SLP 272 can communicate with UE 204 and external clients (not shown in Figure 2B) on the user plane (e.g., using protocols intended to carry voice and / or data, such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0177] User plane interface 263 and control plane interface 265 connect 5GC 260, specifically UPF 262 and AMF 264, to one or more gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 in NG-RAN 220, respectively. The interface between (one or more) gNB 222 and / or (one or more) ng-eNB 224 and AMF 264 is referred to as the "N2" interface, and the interface between (one or more) gNB 222 and / or (one or more) ng-eNB 224 and UPF 262 is referred to as the "N3" interface. The (one or more) gNB 222 and / or (one or more) ng-eNB 224 in NG-RAN 220 can communicate directly with each other via a backload connection 223 referred to as the "Xn-C" interface. One or more of the gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 can communicate with one or more UEs 204 via a wireless interface called the "Uu" interface.

[0178] The functionality of gNB 222 is divided between gNB Central Unit (gNB-CU) 226 and one or more gNB Distributed Units (gNB-DU) 228. The interface 232 between gNB-CU 226 and one or more gNB-DU 228 is referred to as the "F1" interface. gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that, in addition to the functions specifically allocated to gNB-DU(multiple) 228, includes base station functions such as transmitting user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, location, and communication period management. More specifically, gNB-CU 226 hosts the Radio Resource Control (RRC), Transport Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) protocols of gNB 222. gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that hosts the Radio Link Control (RLC), Media Access Control (MAC), and Physical (PHY) layers of gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 can support one or more cells, and a cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. Therefore, UE 204 communicates with gNB-CU 226 via RRC, SDAP and PDCP layers, and with gNB-DU 228 via RLC, MAC and PHY layers.

[0179] Figures 3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate several example components (represented by corresponding blocks) that can be incorporated into UE 302 (which may correspond to any UE described herein), base station 304 (which may correspond to any base station described herein), and network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any network function described herein, including location server 230, LMF 270, or optionally independent of the NG-RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260 infrastructure shown in Figures 2A and 2B, such as a private network) to support the file transfer operations taught herein. It should be understood that these components can be implemented in different types of devices in different ways (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system-on-a-chip (SoC), etc.). The components shown can also be incorporated into other devices in a communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to those described to provide similar functionality. Additionally, a given device may include one or more components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0180] UE 302 and base station 304 each include one or more Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, providing means (e.g., transmitting components, receiving components, measurement components, tuning components, transmission avoidance components, etc.) for communication via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown) (e.g., NR networks, LTE networks, GSM networks, etc.). WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356, respectively, for communication with other network nodes such as other UEs, access points, and base stations (e.g., eNB, gNB) via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) on a radio communication medium of interest (e.g., a certain set of time / frequency resources in a specific spectrum). WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 can be configured differently according to a specified RAT to transmit and encode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.), and conversely, to receive and decode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, boot signals, etc.). Specifically, WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 include one or more transmitters 314 and 354 for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, and one or more receivers 312 and 352 for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358, respectively.

[0181] UE 302 and base station 304 also include, at least in some cases, one or more short-range radio transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. The short-range radio transceivers 320 and 360 may be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and provide components (e.g., components for transmitting, components for receiving, components for measurement, components for tuning, components for avoiding transmission, etc.) for communicating over a radio communication medium of interest via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, Z-Wave®, PC5, Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC), Wireless Access in Vehicle Environments (WAVE), Near Field Communication (NFC), etc.) with other network nodes such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc. Short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be configured, depending on the specified RAT, to transmit and encode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.), and conversely, to receive and decode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, boot signals, etc.). Specifically, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 include one or more transmitters 324 and 364 for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368, and one or more receivers 322 and 362 for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368, respectively. As a specific example, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be WiFi transceivers, Bluetooth® transceivers, ZigBee® and / or Z-Wave® transceivers, NFC transceivers, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceivers.

[0182] UE 302 and base station 304 also include satellite signal receivers 330 and 370, at least in some cases. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, and may each provide components for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378. When satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are satellite positioning system receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 may be Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, BeiDou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. When satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 may be communication signals originating from a 5G network (e.g., carrying control and / or user data). Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may each include any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may request appropriate information and operations from other systems, and, at least in certain circumstances, perform calculations using measurements obtained via any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm to determine the positions of UE 302 and base station 304, respectively.

[0183] Base station 304 and network entity 306 each include one or more network transceivers 380 and 390, providing components (e.g., components for transmitting, components for receiving, etc.) for communicating with other network entities (e.g., other base stations 304, other network entities 306). For example, base station 304 may use one or more network transceivers 380 to communicate with other base stations 304 or network entities 306 over one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. As another example, network entity 306 may use one or more network transceivers 390 to communicate with one or more base stations 304 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, or to communicate with other network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0184] Transceivers can be configured to communicate via wired or wireless links. A transceiver (whether wired or wireless) includes transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) and receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362). In some embodiments, the transceiver may be an integrated device (e.g., embodying transmitter and receiver circuitry in a single device), in some embodiments it may include separate transmitter and receiver circuitry, or in other embodiments it may be embodied in a different manner. The transmitter and receiver circuitry of a wired transceiver (e.g., in some embodiments, network transceivers 380 and 390) may be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. Wireless transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) may include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, which allows corresponding devices (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform transmit beamforming as described herein. Similarly, wireless receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362) may include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, which allows corresponding devices (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform receive beamforming as described herein. In one instance, transmitter and receiver circuitry may share the same plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such that the corresponding devices can only receive or transmit at a given time, rather than simultaneously receiving or transmitting both. Wireless transceivers (e.g., WWAN transceivers 310 and 350, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360) may also include network listening modules (NLMs) for performing various measurements.

[0185] As used herein, various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360 in some embodiments, and network transceivers 380 and 390) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some embodiments) can generally be characterized as "transceiver," "at least one transceiver," or "one or more transceivers." Therefore, whether a particular transceiver is wired or wireless can be inferred from the type of communication performed. For example, backhaul communication between network devices or servers typically involves signal transmission via a wired transceiver, while wireless communication between a UE (e.g., UE 302) and a base station (e.g., base station 304) typically involves signal transmission via a wireless transceiver.

[0186] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that can be used in conjunction with the operations disclosed herein. UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 each include one or more processors 332, 384, and 394 for providing functions, such as those related to wireless communication, and for providing other processing functions. Processors 332, 384, and 394 can therefore provide components for processing, such as components for decision-making, components for calculation, components for receiving, components for transmitting, components for indicating, etc. In one embodiment, processors 332, 384, and 394 may include, for example, one or more general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuits, or various combinations thereof.

[0187] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 include memory circuitry that implements memories 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., each including a memory device) for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Therefore, memories 340, 386, and 396 can provide components for storage, retrieval, maintenance, etc. In some cases, UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may include PRS sequence components 342, 388, and 398, respectively. PRS sequence components 342, 388, and 398 may be part of or coupled to processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, and when executed, cause UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. In other configurations, PRS sequence components 342, 388, and 398 may be located external to processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, PRS sequence components 342, 388, and 398 may be memory modules stored in memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively, which, when executed by processors 332, 384, and 394 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), enable UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. Figure 3A illustrates the possible locations of PRS sequence component 342, which may be part of, for example, one or more WWAN transceivers 310, memory 340, one or more processors 332, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. Figure 3B illustrates the possible locations of PRS sequence component 388, which may be part of, for example, one or more WWAN transceivers 350, memory 386, one or more processors 384, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. Figure 3C illustrates the possible locations of PRS sequence component 398, which may be part of, for example, one or more network transceivers 390, memory 396, one or more processors 394, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component.

[0188] UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to one or more processors 332 to provide components for sensing or detecting motion and / or orientation information independent of motion data derived from signals received from one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and / or satellite signal receivers 330. As an example, the sensors (multiple) 344 may include accelerometers (e.g., microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices), gyroscopes, geomagnetic sensors (e.g., compasses), altimeters (e.g., barometric altimeters), and / or any other type of motion detection sensor. Furthermore, sensors 344 may include a plurality of devices of different types and combine their outputs to provide motion information. For example, sensors 344 may use a combination of multi-axis accelerometers and orientation sensors to provide the ability to calculate position in a two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system.

[0189] In addition, UE 302 includes a user interface 346, which provides components for providing instructions to the user (e.g., auditory and / or visual instructions) and / or for receiving user input (e.g., when the user actuates a sensing device such as a keyboard, touch screen, microphone, etc.). Although not illustrated, base station 304 and network entity 306 may also include user interfaces.

[0190] Referring more specifically to one or more processors 384, in the downlink, IP packets from network entity 306 can be provided to processor 384. One or more processors 384 can implement functions for the RRC layer, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and Media Access Control (MAC) layer. One or more processors 384 may provide RRC layer functions associated with broadcasting system information (e.g., Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions associated with header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functions associated with transmission of upper-layer PDUs, error correction via Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC Service Data Units (SDUs), resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority processing, and logical channel priority ordering.

[0191] Transmitter 354 and receiver 352 can implement Layer 1 (L1) functions associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, can include error correction on the transmission channel, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of the transmission channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. Transmitter 354 processes the mapping to the signal cluster based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), M-phase keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). Subsequently, the encoded and modulated symbols can be split into parallel streams. Each stream can then be mapped to an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., a pilot signal) in the time and / or frequency domains, and then combined using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time-domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially pre-coded and decoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from the channel estimator are used to determine the coding and modulation schemes, as well as for spatial processing. Channel estimates can be derived from the reference signal and / or channel condition feedback transmitted by UE 302. Subsequently, each spatial stream can be provided to one or more different antennas 356. Transmitter 354 can modulate an RF carrier with its respective spatial stream for transmission.

[0192] At UE 302, receiver 312 receives signals via its respective antenna(s) 316. Receiver 312 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides this information to one or more processors 332. Transmitter 314 and receiver 312 implement Layer 1 functions associated with various signal processing functions. Receiver 312 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial stream destined for UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for UE 302, they can be combined by receiver 312 into a single OFDM symbol stream. Receiver 312 then uses a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to convert the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain. The frequency domain signal consists of a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. Symbols and reference signals on each subcarrier are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal clustering point transmitted by base station 304. These soft decisions can be based on channel estimates calculated by a channel estimator. The soft decision is then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted by base station 304 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to one or more processors 332, which implement layer 3 (L3) and layer 2 (L2) functions.

[0193] In the uplink, one or more processors 332 provide demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing between the transport and logical channels to recover IP packets from the core network. One or more processors 332 are also responsible for error detection.

[0194] Similar to the functions described in conjunction with the downlink transmissions of base station 304, one or more processors 332 provide RRC layer functions associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connectivity, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functions associated with the transmission of upper-layer PDUs, error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs on transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ), priority processing, and logical channel priority.

[0195] The channel estimate derived by the channel estimator from the reference signal or feedback output from base station 304 can be used by transmitter 314 to select an appropriate encoding / decoding and modulation scheme and facilitate spatial processing. The spatial stream generated by transmitter 314 can be provided to different antennas (multiple) 316. Transmitter 314 can modulate an RF carrier with its respective spatial stream for transmission.

[0196] Uplink transmissions are handled at base station 304 in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with the receiver function at UE 302. Receiver 352 receives signals via its respective (one or more) antennas 356. Receiver 352 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides that information to one or more processors 384.

[0197] In the uplink, one or more processors 384 provide demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing between the transport and logical channels to recover IP packets from UE 302. IP packets from one or more processors 384 can be provided to the core network. One or more processors 384 are also responsible for error detection.

[0198] For convenience, in Figures 3A, 3B, and 3C, UE 302, base station 304, and / or network entity 306 are shown as including various components that can be configured according to the various instances described herein. However, it should be understood that the components shown may have different functions in different designs. Specifically, the various components in Figures 3A through 3C are optional in alternative configurations, and each configuration includes configurations that may vary due to design choices, cost, device usage, or other considerations. For example, in the case of Figure 3A, a particular implementation of UE 302 may omit (one or more) WWAN transceivers 310 (e.g., wearable devices, tablets, PCs, or laptops may have Wi-Fi and / or Bluetooth capabilities but not cellular capabilities), or may omit (one or more) short-range transceivers 320 (e.g., cellular capabilities only), or may omit satellite signal receiver 330, or may omit (one or more) sensors 344, etc. In another example, in the case of Figure 3B, a particular implementation of base station 304 may omit (one or more) WWAN transceivers 350 (e.g., Wi-Fi "hotspot" access points without cellular capability), or (one or more) short-range wireless transceivers 360 (e.g., cellular-only, etc.), or satellite receiver 370, etc. For the sake of simplicity, various alternative configurations are not described herein, but will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains.

[0199] Various components of UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 can be communicatively coupled to each other via data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392, respectively. In one configuration, data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 can form the communication interface or a part thereof for UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306, respectively. For example, when different logical entities are embodied in the same device (e.g., combining gNB and location server functions into the same base station 304), data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 can provide communication between them.

[0200] The components of Figures 3A, 3B, and 3C can be implemented in various ways. In some embodiments, the components of Figures 3A, 3B, and 3C can be implemented in one or more circuits (e.g., one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs, which may include one or more processors)). Here, each circuit may use and / or incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide that function. For example, some or all of the functions represented by blocks 310 to 346 can be implemented by the processor and memory component of UE 302 (e.g., via executing appropriate code and / or via appropriate configuration of the processor component). Similarly, some or all of the functions represented by blocks 350 to 388 can be implemented by the processor and memory component of base station 304 (e.g., via executing appropriate code and / or via appropriate configuration of the processor component). Furthermore, some or all of the functions represented by blocks 390 to 398 can be implemented by the processor and memory component of network entity 306 (e.g., via executing appropriate code and / or via appropriate configuration of the processor component). For simplicity, this document describes various operations, actions, and / or functions as being performed "by the UE," "by the base station," "by the network entity," etc. However, as will be understood, such operations, actions, and / or functions can actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of the UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc. (e.g., processors 332, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, memory 340, 386, and 396, PRS sequence components 342, 388, and 398, etc.).

[0201] In some designs, network entity 306 may be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, network entity 306 may be a different network service provider or operator from the cellular network infrastructure (e.g., NG RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260). For example, network entity 306 may be a component of a private network that can be configured to communicate with UE 302 via base station 304 or independently of base station 304 (e.g., via a non-cellular communication link, such as WiFi).

[0202] Note that UE 302 shown in Figure 3A can represent a "low-level" UE or a "high-level" UE. As further described below, although low-level and high-level UEs can have the same type of components (e.g., both can have a WWAN transceiver 310, processing system 332, memory components 340, etc.), the components can have different levels of functionality (e.g., increased or decreased performance, more or less capability, etc.) depending on whether UE 302 corresponds to a low-level UE or a high-level UE.

[0203] UEs can be classified into low-level UEs (e.g., wearable devices such as smartwatches, glasses, rings, etc.) and high-level UEs (e.g., smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc.). Low-level UEs can also be referred to as reduced-capability NR UEs, reduced-capability UEs, NR lightweight UEs, lightweight UEs, NR ultralight UEs, or ultralight UEs. High-level UEs can also be referred to as full-capability UEs or simply UEs. Lower-tier UEs typically have lower baseband processing capabilities, fewer antennas (e.g., one receiver antenna as the baseline in FR1 or FR2, optionally two receiver antennas), lower operating bandwidth capabilities (e.g., 20 MHz for FR1 with no supplemental uplink or carrier aggregation, or 50 or 100 MHz for FR2), only half-duplex frequency division duplex (HD-FDD) capability, smaller HARQ buffers, reduced physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring, restricted modulation (e.g., downlink 64 QAM and uplink 16 QAM), less stringent processing isochronous requirements, and / or lower uplink transmission power compared to higher-tier UEs. Different UE tiers can be distinguished by UE category and / or UE capabilities. For example, certain types of UEs can be assigned a "lower-tier" classification (e.g., by original equipment manufacturer (OEM), applicable radio communication standard, etc.), while other types of UEs can be assigned a "higher-tier" classification. UEs in certain tiers can also report their type (e.g., "lower-tier" or "higher-tier") to the network. In addition, certain resources and / or channels can be dedicated to certain types of UEs.

[0204] As will be understood, the accuracy of positioning for lower-layer UEs may be limited. For example, lower-layer UEs may operate on reduced bandwidth, such as 5 to 20 MHz for wearables and "relaxed" IoT devices (i.e., IoT devices with relaxed or lower capability parameters, such as lower throughput, relaxed latency requirements, lower power consumption, etc.), resulting in lower positioning accuracy. As another example, the receive processing capability of lower-layer UEs may be limited due to their lower-cost RF / baseband. Therefore, the reliability of measurement and positioning calculations will be reduced. Furthermore, such lower-layer UEs may not be able to receive multiple PRSs from multiple TRPs, which further reduces positioning accuracy. As yet another example, the transmit power of lower-layer UEs can be reduced, which means that there will be lower-quality uplink measurements for lower-layer UE positioning.

[0205] Advanced UEs typically have a larger form factor and are more expensive than lower-level UEs, but also offer more features and functionalities. For example, in positioning scenarios, an advanced UE can operate on a full PRS bandwidth, such as 100 MHz, and measures PRS from more TRPs than a lower-level UE, both of which contribute to higher positioning accuracy. As another example, an advanced UE may have higher receive processing capabilities (e.g., faster) due to its higher-capacity RF / baseband. Furthermore, an advanced UE may have higher transmit power than a lower-level UE. Therefore, the reliability of measurement and positioning calculations will be increased.

[0206] Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating various components of an example UE 400 according to various configurations of this invention. In one configuration, UE 400 may correspond to any UE described herein (e.g., an example implementation of UE 302, etc.). As a specific example, UE 400 may be a V-UE, such as V-UE 160 in Figure 1. For simplicity, the various features and functions shown in the block diagram of Figure 4 are connected together using a common data bus, which signifies that these various features and functions are operatively coupled together. Those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains will recognize that other connections, mechanisms, features, functions, etc., may be provided and adapted as needed to operatively couple and configure the actual UE. Furthermore, it should be recognized that one or more features or functions shown in the example of Figure 4 may be further subdivided, or two or more features or functions shown in Figure 4 may be combined.

[0207] UE 400 may include at least one transceiver 404 connected to one or more antennas 402 and providing components (e.g., components for transmitting, components for receiving, components for measurement, components for tuning, components for avoiding transmission, etc.) for communicating via at least one designated RAT to other network nodes such as V-UE (e.g., V-UE 160), infrastructure access points (e.g., roadside access point 164), P-UE (e.g., UE 104), base stations (e.g., base station 102), etc., on one or more communication links (e.g., communication link 120, sidelinks 162, 166, 168, mmW communication link 184). At least one transceiver 404 may be configured differently for transmitting and encoding signals (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to a designated RAT, and conversely for receiving and decoding signals (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilot signals, etc.) according to a designated RAT. In one configuration, at least one transceiver 404 and multiple antennas 402 can form a (wireless) communication interface for the UE 400.

[0208] As used herein, in some embodiments, a "transceiver" may include at least one transmitter and at least one receiver in an integrated device (e.g., embodied as transmitter and receiver circuitry of a single communication device), in some embodiments may include separate transmitter and separate receiver devices, or may be embodied in other ways in other embodiments. In one instance, the transmitter may include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., one or more antennas 402), such as an antenna array, which allows the UE 400 to perform transmit "beamforming" as described herein. Similarly, the receiver may include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., one or more antennas 402), such as an antenna array, which allows the UE 400 to perform receive beamforming as described herein. In one instance, one or more transmitters and one or more receivers may share the same plurality of antennas (e.g., one or more antennas 402), such that the UE 400 can only receive or transmit at a given time, rather than simultaneously receiving or transmitting both. In some cases, the transceiver may not be able to provide both transmit and receive functionality simultaneously. For example, when full communication is not required, low-functionality receiver circuitry can be used in some designs to reduce costs (e.g., the receiver chip or similar circuitry provides only low-level sniffing).

[0209] UE 400 may also include a Satellite Positioning System (SPS) receiver 406. SPS receiver 406 may be connected to one or more SPS antennas 403 and may provide components for receiving and / or measuring satellite signals. SPS receiver 406 may include any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing SPS signals (such as Global Positioning System (GPS) signals). SPS receiver 406 requests appropriate information and operations from other systems and performs calculations required to determine the location of UE 400 using measurements obtained via any suitable SPS algorithm.

[0210] One or more sensors 408 may be coupled to at least one processor 410 and may provide components for sensing or detecting information related to the state and / or environment of the UE 400 (e.g., speed, heading (e.g., compass heading), headlight status, fuel mileage, etc.). As an example, one or more sensors 408 may include speedometers, tachometers, accelerometers (e.g., microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices), gyroscopes, geomagnetic sensors (e.g., compasses), altimeters (e.g., barometric altimeters), etc.

[0211] At least one processor 410 may include one or more central processing units (CPUs), microprocessors, microcontrollers, ASICs, processing cores, digital signal processors (DSPs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), etc., that provide processing functions as well as other computing and control functions. Therefore, at least one processor 410 may provide components for processing, such as components for decision-making, components for calculation, components for receiving, components for transmitting, components for indicating, etc. At least one processor 410 may include any form of logic suitable for performing or causing components of UE 400 to perform at least the techniques described herein.

[0212] At least one processor 410 may also be coupled to memory 414, which provides components for storing data and software instructions (including components for retrieval, components for maintenance, etc.) for executing programming functions within UE 400. Memory 414 may be on at least one processor 410 (e.g., within the same integrated circuit (IC) package), and / or memory 414 may be external to at least one processor 410 and functionally coupled via a data bus.

[0213] UE 400 may include a user interface 450, which provides any suitable interface system, such as a microphone / speaker 452, a keyboard 454, and a display 456 that allow a user to interact with UE 400. The microphone / speaker 452 may provide voice communication services with UE 400. The keyboard 454 may include any suitable buttons for user input into UE 400. The display 456 may include any suitable display, such as a backlit liquid crystal display (LCD), and may also include a touchscreen display for additional user input modes. Therefore, the user interface 450 may be a component for providing instructions to the user (e.g., audible and / or visual instructions) and / or for receiving user input (e.g., via user actuation of sensing devices such as a keyboard, touchscreen, microphone, etc.).

[0214] In one embodiment, UE 400 may include a sidelink manager 470 coupled to at least one processor 410. The sidelink manager 470 may be a hardware, software, or firmware component that, when executed, causes UE 400 to perform the operations described herein. For example, the sidelink manager 470 may be a software module stored in memory 414 and executable by at least one processor 410. As another example, the sidelink manager 470 may be hardware circuitry within UE 400 (e.g., an ASIC, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), etc.).

[0215] Figure 5 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 500 supporting wireless unicast side link establishment according to various forms of this invention. In some instances, the wireless communication system 500 may implement various forms of wireless communication systems 100, 200, and 250. The wireless communication system 500 may include a first UE 502 and a second UE 504, which may be an instance of any UE described herein. As specific examples, UEs 502 and 504 may correspond to V-UE 160 in Figure 1, UEs 190 and 104 in Figure 1 connected via D2D P2P link 192, or UE 204 in Figures 2A and 2B.

[0216] In the example of Figure 5, UE 502 may attempt to establish a unicast connection via a sidelink with UE 504, which can be a V2X sidelink between UE 502 and UE 504. As a specific example, the established sidelink connection may correspond to sidelinks 162 and / or 168 in Figure 1. The sidelink connection can be established in an omnidirectional frequency range (e.g., FR1) and / or a mmW frequency range (e.g., FR2). In some cases, UE 502 may be referred to as the initiating UE initiating the sidelink connection procedure, and UE 504 may be referred to as the target UE being targeted by the initiating UE in the sidelink connection procedure.

[0217] To establish a unicast connection, Access Layer (AS) parameters (a functional layer in the UMTS and LTE protocol stack between the RAN and UE, responsible for transmitting data and managing radio resources via the radio link, and part of Layer 2) can be configured and negotiated between UE 502 and UE 504. For example, transmit and receive capability matching can be negotiated between UE 502 and UE 504. Each UE can have different capabilities (e.g., transmit and receive, 64 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM), transmit diversity, carrier aggregation (CA), supported communication bands (one or more), etc.). In some cases, different services can be supported at the upper layer of the corresponding protocol stack used for UE 502 and UE 504. Additionally, a security association can be established between UE 502 and UE 504 for the unicast connection. Unicast traffic can benefit from link-level security protection (e.g., integrity protection). Security requirements may differ for different radio communication systems. For example, V2X and Uu systems may have different security requirements (e.g., Uu security does not include confidentiality protection). In addition, IP configuration (e.g., IP version, address, etc.) can be negotiated for the unicast connection between UE 502 and UE 504.

[0218] In some cases, UE 504 may establish service announcements (e.g., service capability messages) to be sent over a cellular network (e.g., CV2X) to assist in establishing sidelink connections. Typically, UE 502 may identify and locate candidates for sidelink communication based on a Basic Service Message (BSM) broadcast unencrypted by a nearby UE (e.g., UE 504). The BSM may include the corresponding UE's location information, security and identity information, and vehicle information (e.g., speed, mobility, size, etc.). However, for different radio communication systems (e.g., D2D or V2X communication), the discovery channel may not be configured to enable UE 502 to detect multiple BSMs. Therefore, service announcements (e.g., discovery signals) sent by UE 504 and other nearby UEs may be upper-layer signals and broadcast (e.g., in NR sidelink broadcasts). In some cases, UE 504 may include one or more parameters for itself in the service announcement, including its connectivity parameters and / or capabilities. Subsequently, UE 502 can monitor and receive broadcast service announcements to identify potential UEs for corresponding sidelink connections. In some cases, UE 502 can identify potential UEs based on the capabilities indicated by each UE in its respective service announcement.

[0219] Service announcements may include information that UE 502 (e.g., or any initiating UE) identifies the UE sending the service announcement (UE 504 in the example of Figure 5). For example, a service announcement may include channel information on which direct communication requests can be sent. In some cases, the channel information may be RAT-specific (e.g., LTE or NR-specific) and may include the resource pool on which UE 502 sends communication requests. Additionally, if the destination address differs from the current address (e.g., the address of the streaming provider or UE sending the service announcement), the service announcement may include the UE-specific destination address (e.g., a Layer 2 destination address). Service announcements may also include the network or transport layer on which UE 502 sends communication requests. For example, the network layer (also referred to as "Layer 3" or "L3") or transport layer (also referred to as "Layer 4" or "L4") may indicate the port number of the application used by the UE sending the service announcement. In some cases, if the signal delivery (e.g., PC5 signal delivery) directly carries a protocol (e.g., Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP)) or provides a locally generated random protocol, IP addressing may not be required. Additionally, service announcements may include the protocol type used for certificate establishment and QoS-related parameters.

[0220] After identifying a potential sidelink connection target (UE 504 in the example of Figure 5), the initiating UE (UE 502 in the example of Figure 5) can send a connection request 515 to the identified target UE 504. In some cases, the connection request 515 may be a first RRC message (e.g., an "RRCDirectConnectionSetupRequest" message) sent by UE 502 to request a unicast connection with UE 504. For example, the unicast connection may utilize the PC5 interface for the sidelink, and the connection request 515 may be an RRC connection establishment request message. Alternatively, UE 502 may use the sidelink signal transmission radio bearer 505 to transmit the connection request 515.

[0221] Upon receiving connection request 515, UE 504 can decide whether to accept or reject connection request 515. UE 504 can make this decision based on transmission / reception capabilities, the ability to accommodate unicast connections on the sidelink, the specific service indicated for the unicast connection, the content to be sent on the unicast connection, or a combination thereof. For example, if UE 502 wishes to use the first RAT to send or receive data, but UE 504 does not support the first RAT, then UE 504 can reject connection request 515. Alternatively or supplementarily, UE 504 can reject connection request 515 based on the inability to accommodate a unicast connection on the sidelink due to limited radio resources, scheduling issues, etc. Therefore, UE 504 can send an indication in connection response 520 whether the request is accepted or rejected. Similar to UE 502 and connection request 515, UE 504 can use sidelink signaling radio bearer 510 to transmit connection response 520. In addition, the connection response 520 may be a second RRC message (e.g., "RRCDirectConnectionResponse" message) sent by the UE 504 in response to the connection request 515.

[0222] In some cases, sidelink signaling radio bearers 505 and 510 can be the same sidelink signaling radio bearer, or they can be separate sidelink signaling radio bearers. Therefore, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer Acknowledgment Mode (AM) can be used for sidelink signaling radio bearers 505 and 510. UEs supporting unicast connections can listen on the logical channel associated with the sidelink signaling radio bearer. In some cases, the AS layer (i.e., Layer 2) can transmit information directly via RRC signaling (e.g., the control plane) instead of the V2X layer (e.g., the data plane).

[0223] If Connection Response 520 indicates that UE 504 has accepted Connection Request 515, UE 502 may subsequently send Connection Establishment 525 on the sidelink signaling radio bearer 505 to indicate that the unicast connection establishment is complete. In some cases, Connection Establishment 525 may be a third RRC message (e.g., an "RRCDirectConnectionSetupComplete" message). Each of Connection Request 515, Connection Response 520, and Connection Establishment 525 may use basic capabilities when transmitted from one UE to another, enabling each UE to receive and decode the corresponding transmission (e.g., an RRC message).

[0224] Additionally, the identifier can be used in each of the connection request 515, connection response 520, and connection establishment 525. For example, the identifier can indicate which UE 502 / 504 is sending which message and / or which UE 502 / 504 the message is intended for. For physical (PHY) layer channels, the same identifier (e.g., Layer 2 ID) can be used for RRC signaling and any subsequent data transmissions. However, for logical channels, the identifier can be separate for RRC signaling and data transmissions. For example, on a logical channel, RRC signaling and data transmissions can be handled differently and have different acknowledgment (ACK) feedback messages. In some cases, for RRC message transmission, physical layer ACKs can be used to ensure that the corresponding messages are sent and received correctly.

[0225] One or more information elements may be included, respectively, in the connection request 515 and / or connection response 520 for UE 502 and / or UE 504, to enable negotiation of the corresponding AS layer parameters for the unicast connection. For example, UE 502 and / or UE 504 may include Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) parameters in the corresponding unicast connection establishment message to set the PDCP context for the unicast connection. In some cases, the PDCP context may indicate whether PDCP replication is used for the unicast connection. Furthermore, UE 502 and / or UE 504 may include RLC parameters when establishing a unicast connection to set the RLC context for the unicast connection. For example, the RLC context may indicate whether AM (e.g., using a reordering timer) or Unacknowledged Mode (UM) is used for the RLC layer of unicast communication.

[0226] Additionally, UE 502 and / or UE 504 may include Media Access Control (MAC) parameters to set the MAC context for unicast connections. In some cases, the MAC context may enable resource selection algorithms, hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback schemes (e.g., ACK or Negative ACK (NACK) feedback), HARQ feedback scheme parameters, carrier aggregation, or combinations thereof, for unicast connections. Furthermore, UE 502 and / or UE 504 may include PHY layer parameters when establishing a unicast connection to set the PHY layer context for unicast connections. For example, the PHY layer context may indicate the transmission format for unicast connections (unless a transmission profile is included for each UE 502 / 504) and radio resource configurations (e.g., bandwidth portion (BWP), parameter sets, etc.). These information elements may be supported for different frequency range configurations (e.g., FR1 and FR2).

[0227] In some cases, a security context can also be set for the unicast connection (e.g., after sending the connection establishment 525 message). Before establishing a security association (e.g., a security context) between UE 502 and UE 504, sidelink signaling radio bearers 505 and 510 may not be protected. After establishing the security association, sidelink signaling radio bearers 505 and 510 can be protected. Therefore, the security context allows secure data transmission over the unicast connection and sidelink signaling radio bearers 505 and 510. Additionally, IP layer parameters (e.g., link-local IPv4 or IPv6 addresses) can be negotiated. In some cases, IP layer parameters can be negotiated by upper-layer control protocols performed after RRC signaling establishment (e.g., unicast connection establishment). As mentioned above, UE 504 can decide whether to accept or reject the connection request 515 based on the specific service indicated for the unicast connection and / or the content to be sent via the unicast connection (e.g., upper-layer information). Specific services and / or content may also be indicated by a higher-level control protocol that is executed after the RRC signal transmission is established.

[0228] After establishing a unicast connection, UE 502 and UE 504 can communicate via sidelink 530 using the unicast connection, where sidelink data 535 is transmitted between the two UEs 502 and 504. Sidelink 530 may correspond to sidelinks 162 and / or 168 in Figure 1. In some cases, sidelink data 535 may include RRC messages transmitted between the two UEs 502 and 504. To maintain the unicast connection on sidelink 530, UE 502 and / or UE 504 may send keep-alive messages (e.g., "RRCDirectLinkAlive" messages, fourth RRC messages, etc.). In some cases, keep-alive messages may be triggered periodically or on demand (e.g., event-triggered). Therefore, the triggering and transmission of keep-alive messages can be invoked by UE 502 or by both UE 502 and UE 504. Alternatively or supplementally, a MAC control unit (CE) (e.g., defined on sidelink 530) may be used to monitor the status of the unicast connection on sidelink 530 and maintain the connection. When the unicast connection is no longer needed (e.g., UE 502 moves far enough away from UE 504), UE 502 and / or UE 504 may initiate a release procedure to disconnect the unicast connection on sidelink 530. Therefore, subsequent RRC messages may not be sent between UE 502 and UE 504 on the unicast connection.

[0229] Various physical-side traverse channels can be used for traverse communication and / or RF-EH, including the Physical-Side Traverse Control Channel (PSCCH), Physical-Side Traverse Shared Channel (PSSCH), Physical-Side Traverse Feedback Channel (PSFCH), and Physical-Side Traverse Broadcast Channel (PSBCH). Various traverse reference signals can be used for traverse communication and / or RF-EH, including the Demodulated RS (DMRS) for PSCCH, the Demodulated RS (DMRS) for PSSCH, the Demodulated RS (DMRS) for PSSCH, the Demodulated RS (DMRS) for PSBCH, the Channel Status Information RS (CSI-RS), the Primary Synchronization Signal (S-PSS), the Secondary Synchronization Signal (S-SSS), and the Phase Tracking RS (PTRS) for FR2 only.

[0230] In some designs, a time slot may include 14 OFDM symbols, which comprise resources arranged according to Time Division Duplex (TDD) resource configuration. In some designs, sidelinks can be configured (e.g., pre-configured or dynamically configured) to occupy fewer than 14 symbols in a time slot. In some designs, the first symbol repeats over the preceding symbol for Automatic Gain Control (AGC) establishment. In some designs, the subchannel size can be configured (e.g., pre-configured or dynamically configured) to {10, 15, 20, 25, 50, 75, 100} Entity Resource Blocks (PRBs). In some designs, the PSCH and PSSCH are always transmitted in the same time slot.

[0231] In some designs, to receive sidelink packets, the UE performs a blind search across all sidelink subchannels. The number of subchannels is typically small, such as 1-27, so blindly searching all subchannels is still feasible. In some designs, the PSSCH can occupy a maximum of [missing information - likely a specific resource or function]. There are several adjacent subchannels. In some designs, the PSCCH can occupy at most one subchannel with the lowest subchannel index. In some designs, the first-stage SCI is sent in the PSCCH, which contains information about the PSCCH bandwidth and resource reservations in future time slots. In some designs, the second-stage SCI can be found and decoded after the PSCCH is decoded, using the source ID and destination ID to distinguish whether the packet is for the UE and from which UE. In some designs, the subchannel size in V2X may be large, for example, a minimum of 10 RBs. In some designs, cellular (C-V2X) intends for the UE to decode all transmissions and requires blind search of all subchannels.

[0232] Figure 6A illustrates an example of a TDD-side crosslink (PC5) resource configuration 600 according to the various configurations of this case. The TDD-side crosslink (PC5) resource configuration 600 includes 14 OFDM symbols, represented as symbols 0 to 13. In the TDD-side crosslink (PC5) resource configuration 600 of Figure 6A, the PSCCH is assigned to symbols 0-3 (e.g., in the first bandwidth), the PSSCH is assigned to symbols 0-3 (e.g., in the second bandwidth) and symbols 4-9, a gap is defined in symbol 10, and the PSFCH is assigned to symbols 11-12 and a gap is defined in symbol 13. The TDD-side crosslink (PC5) resource configuration 600 is only one example resource configuration; other configurations are possible in other configurations.

[0233] Referring to Figure 6A, regarding SCI 1_0 in PSCCH, the Frequency Domain Resource Allocation (FDRA) can be configured as follows: The units digit is used for 2 reserved or One bit is used for 3 reservations, and the Time Domain Resource Allocation (TDRA) can be configured to use 5 bits for 2 reservations or 9 bits for 3 reservations.

[0234] Figure 6B illustrates the SCI-based resource reservation scheme 650 according to various forms in this case. In Figure 6B, a first reservation 652 is defined at time slot i, and a second reservation 654 is offset from time slot i by x time slots (time slot i+x), where... The third reserved 656 time slots are offset by y time slots (time slot i+y) from time slot I, where .

[0235] Referring to Figures 6A-6B, in some designs, the PSCCH is (pre-)configured to occupy {10, 12, 15, 20, 25} PRBs, limited to a single subchannel. In some designs, the PSCCH duration is (pre-configured) to 2 or 3 symbols. In some designs, a subchannel can occupy {10, 15, 20, 25, 50, 75, 100} PRBs. In some designs, the number of subchannels in the resource pool (RP) can be 1-27. In some designs, the PSCCH size is fixed for the resource pool (e.g., the PSCCH size can occupy 10% to 100% of a subchannel (the first 2 or 3 symbols), depending on the configuration). In some designs, the PSSCH occupies at least one subchannel and contains a second-stage SCI.

[0236] NR supports various cellular network-based positioning technologies, including downlink-based, uplink-based, and downlink-and-uplink-based positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, Downlink Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and Downlink Departure Angle (DL-AoD) in NR. Figure 7 illustrates examples of various positioning methods according to this case. In the OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure shown in scenario 710, the UE measures the difference between the time of arrival (ToA) of a received reference signal (e.g., a positioning reference signal (PRS)) from the base station, referred to as the Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) or Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) measurement, and reports them to the positioning entity. More specifically, the UE receives identifiers (IDs) of a reference base station (e.g., a serving base station) and multiple non-reference base stations in auxiliary data. Subsequently, the UE measures the RSTD between the reference base station and each non-reference base station. Based on the known locations of the base stations involved and RSTD measurements, the location entity can estimate the location of the UE.

[0237] For DL-AoD positioning, as shown in scenario 720, the positioning entity uses beam reports of received signal strength measurements from multiple downlink transmit beams of the UE to determine one or more angles between the UE and (one or more) transmitting base stations. Subsequently, the positioning entity can estimate the UE's location based on the determined angles and the known locations of (one or more) transmitting base stations.

[0238] Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) and uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA). UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA, but based on an uplink reference signal (e.g., sounding reference signal (SRS)) transmitted by the UE. For UL-AoA positioning, one or more base stations measure the received signal strength of one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) received from the UE on one or more uplink receive beams. The positioning entity uses the signal strength measurement and the angles of the receive beams to determine the angles between the UE and the base stations. Based on the determined angles and the known locations of the base stations, the positioning entity can then estimate the UE's location.

[0239] Downlink and uplink-based localization methods include Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID) localization and Multiple Round Trip Time (RTT) localization (also known as "Multi-Cell RTT"). In an RTT procedure, the initiator (base station or UE) sends an RTT measurement signal (e.g., PRS or SRS) to the responder (UE or base station), and the responder sends an RTT response signal (e.g., SRS or PRS) back to the initiator. The RTT response signal includes the difference between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal and the transmission time of the RTT response signal, called the receive-to-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference. The initiator calculates the difference between the transmission time of the RTT measurement signal and the ToA of the RTT response signal, called the send-to-receive (Tx-Rx) time difference. The propagation time (also known as "time of flight") between the initiator and the responder can be calculated from the Tx-Rx and Rx-Tx time differences. Based on the propagation time and the known speed of light, the distance between the initiator and the responder can be determined. For multi-RTT positioning, as shown in scenario 730, the UE performs RTT procedures with multiple base stations to enable it to determine its location based on the known locations of the base stations (e.g., using multi-point positioning). RTT and multi-RTT methods can be combined with other positioning technologies, such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD as shown in scenario 740, to improve location accuracy.

[0240] The E-CID positioning method is based on Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurements. In E-CID, the UE reports its serving cell ID, timing advance (TA), and identifiers, estimated timings, and signal strengths of detected neighboring base stations. The UE's location is then estimated based on this information and the known locations of one or more base stations.

[0241] To assist in positioning operations, a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) can provide auxiliary data to the UE. For example, auxiliary data may include identifiers of the base station (or a cell / TRP of the base station) from which it measures the reference signal, reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., number of consecutive positioning subframes, period of positioning subframes, silence sequence, frequency hopping sequence, reference signal identifier, reference signal bandwidth, etc.), and / or other parameters applicable to a particular positioning method. Alternatively, auxiliary data may come directly from the base station itself (e.g., in periodically broadcast management burden messages, etc.). In some cases, the UE may be able to detect neighboring network nodes themselves without using auxiliary data.

[0242] In the case of OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedures, auxiliary data may also include the expected RSTD value and the associated indeterminacy or search window around the expected RSTD. In some cases, the expected RSTD value may range from + / - 500 microseconds (μs). In some cases, when any resource used for positioning measurements is FR1, the indeterminacy value range of the expected RSTD may be + / - 32 μs. In other cases, when all resources used for (one or more) positioning measurements are in FR2, the indeterminacy value range of the expected RSTD may be + / - 8 µs.

[0243] Location estimation can be represented by other names, such as positional estimation, location, orientation, fixed location, etc. Location estimation can be geodetic and include coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possible altitude), or it can be civil and include street addresses, postal addresses, or other verbal descriptions of the location. Location estimation can also be defined relative to another known location or in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possible altitude). Location estimation may include anticipated errors or indeterminities (e.g., by including an area or volume within which the location is expected to be included in a specified or predetermined confidence level).

[0244] Figure 8 illustrates various sidelink communication scheduling (or resource allocation) schemes 800 according to this case. In some designs, resource allocation in V2X can be implemented via Mode 1, where the gNB allocates Tx resources for sidelink communication via DCI 3_0. In other designs, resource allocation in V2X can be implemented via Mode 2, where the sending UE autonomously determines the resources used for sidelink communication. In some designs, the receiving UE behavior is the same for both Mode 1 and Mode 2.

[0245] Referring to Figure 8, Mode 1 supports Dynamic Grant (DG), Configuration Grant (CG) Type 1, and CG Type 2. In some designs, CG Type 1 is initiated via an RRC signal from the gNB. DCI 3_0 is sent by the gNB to allocate time and frequency resources and indicate transmission timing. In some designs, the Modulation and Codec Scheme (MCS) is determined by the UE within the constraints set by the gNB. In Mode 2, the transmitting UE performs channel awareness by blindly decoding all PSCCH channels and checks reserved resources via other sidelink transmissions. The transmitting UE reports available resources to the upper layer, which then determines resource usage.

[0246] In some designs, within the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), sidelinks enable direct communication between programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and sensors / actuators (SAs). Wireless PLCs require flexible and simple deployment. In some designs, each PLC controls 20-50 SAs. In some designs, IIoT features low latency of 1-2 milliseconds and... High reliability requirements for error rates. In some designs, communication via gNB requires multiple OTAs, which impacts latency and reliability.

[0247] IIoT traffic is typically decisive and has small packet sizes of 32-256 bytes. Therefore, the required bandwidth is low; for example, two RBs may be sufficient in some cases. The SA (Service Controller) may impose constraints on UE capabilities in terms of bandwidth and processing power. For IIoT with dedicated and / or unlicensed bands, the total bandwidth can be large. In some designs, the SA does not need to detect / monitor all transmissions. In some designs, the PSCCH must meet stringent IIoT requirements. IIoT networks may also be associated with challenging RF environments due to congestion and interference.

[0248] As mentioned above, the first-stage SCI can be included in the PSCCH. The first-stage SCI can also be referred to as SCI 1-A. In some designs, SCI 1-A should be decoded by the intended RX and other side-link UEs (especially in mode 2) to allow channel sensing and avoid resource conflicts. In some designs, SCI 1-A can be configured as follows: Priority 3 bits [ ] Frequency resource allocation, the number of bits depends on the number of time slots reserved and the number of sub-channels. [ ] Time resource allocation, 5 bits or 9 bits are reserved for 2 or 3. [ ] Resource reservation period, number of bits depends on the number of allowed periods. [ ] DM-RS mode, the number of bits depends on the number of modes configured. [ ]SCI 2 format, 2 bits [ ]SCI 2 rate-matched Beta offset, 2 bits DM-RS port, 1 bit represents one or two data layers [ ]MCS, 5-bit [ ] Additional MCS table, 0-2 bits [ ]PSFCH management load indicator, 0 or 1 bit [ ] Reserved bits, the number of bits is determined by the upper layer.

[0249] As mentioned above, the second-stage SCI can be included in the PSSCH. The second-stage SCI can also be referred to as SCI 2. In some designs, SCI 2 is intended to assist the receiving UE in decoding the PSSCH. In some designs, SCI 2 can be configured as follows: HARQ ID, the number of bits depends on the number of HARQ programs. NDI, 1 bit RV-ID, 2 bits [ ] Source ID, 8-bit [ ]Dest. ID, 16-bit [ ] HARQ enabled / disabled, 1 bit [ ] SCI 2-A field only: Broadcast type, 2 bits, Broadcast, Multicast, Unicast; CSI request, 1 bit [ ] SCI 2-B field only (NACK multicast only): Region ID, 12 bits; Communication range, 4 bits

[0250] In addition to downlink-based, uplink-based, and downlink-and-uplink-based positioning methods, NR also supports various sidelink positioning techniques. For example, link-level ranging signals can be used to estimate the distance between V-UE pairs or between a V-UE and a roadside unit (RSU), similar to round-trip time (RTT) positioning procedures.

[0251] Figure 9 illustrates an example wireless communication system 900 according to various states of this invention, where V-UE 904 is exchanging ranging signals with RSU 910 and another V-UE 906. As shown in Figure 9, broadband (e.g., FR1) ranging signals (e.g., Zadoff Chu sequences) are transmitted from two endpoints (e.g., V-UE 904 and RSU 910, and V-UE 904 and V-UE 906). In one state, the ranging signal may be a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) transmitted by the involved V-UEs 904 and 906 on uplink resources. When a ranging signal is received from a transmitter (e.g., V-UE 904), a receiver (e.g., RSU 910 and / or V-UE 906) responds by transmitting a ranging signal that includes a measurement of the difference between the time of receiving the ranging signal and the time of transmitting the responding ranging signal, referred to as the receiver's receive-to-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement.

[0252] Upon receiving a response ranging signal, the transmitter (or other positioning entity) can calculate the RTT between the transmitter and receiver based on the receiver's Rx-Tx time difference measurement and a measurement of the difference between the transmission time of the first ranging signal and the reception time of the response ranging signal (referred to as the transmitter's transmit-to-receive (Tx-Rx) time difference measurement). The transmitter (or other positioning entity) uses the RTT and the speed of light to estimate the distance between the transmitter and receiver. If one or both of the transmitter and receiver are capable of beamforming, the angle between V-UE 904 and 906 can also be determined. Furthermore, if the receiver provides its Global Positioning System (GPS) position in the response ranging signal, the transmitter (or other positioning entity) can determine the transmitter's absolute position, rather than its relative position to the receiver.

[0253] As will be understood, ranging accuracy improves with the bandwidth of the ranging signal. Specifically, higher bandwidth allows for better separation of different multipath paths in the ranging signal.

[0254] Note that this positioning procedure assumes that the V-UEs involved are time-synchronized (i.e., their system frame time is the same as that of the other V-UEs(multiple), or has a known offset relative to the other V-UEs(multiple). Furthermore, although Figure 9 illustrates two V-UEs, as will be understood, they need not be V-UEs, but can be any other type of UE capable of lateral link communication.

[0255] Figure 10 illustrates other side-link positioning schemes 1000 according to various aspects of this case. In Figure 10, each positioning scheme involves a target UE (in this case, a VR headset), at least one gNB, and at least one reference UE (e.g., a UE with a known location from the most recently located fixed position, where such locations typically have a lower variance than the typical error estimate of the UE's location).

[0256] Referring to Figure 10, scenario 1010 illustrates how a UE with a known location improves Uu positioning by providing additional anchors (e.g., based on RTT or TDOA). Scenario 1020 illustrates the positioning of a lower-level UE (e.g., a VR headset) with assistance from a higher-level UE (i.e., positioning / ranging based solely on SL). Scenario 1030 illustrates how a relay or reference UE (with a known location) participates in the location estimation of a remote UE (e.g., a VR headset) without UL PRS transmission in Uu. Each of scenarios 1010-1030 can be broadly characterized as an SL-assisted positioning scheme.

[0257] The SL UE that is assisting the target UE in location estimation can affect various aspects associated with SL-assisted positioning, such as power consumption and / or location estimation accuracy.

[0258] Figure 11 illustrates various UE distribution scenarios 1100 for side-link positioning according to this case. In UE distribution scenario 1110, a large number of UEs participate in SL-assisted positioning, which is beneficial to location estimation accuracy but also significantly increases power consumption. In UE distribution scenario 1120, only two UEs participate in SL-assisted positioning, which is beneficial to power consumption but also reduces location estimation accuracy. In UE distribution scenario 1130, a reasonable number (i.e., 4) of UEs participate in SL-assisted positioning, so the power consumption is not too high, and the UEs are well spaced out in a sufficient number for good location estimation accuracy.

[0259] The various approaches in this case involve selecting UEs to participate in a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure for a target UE based at least in part on regional information associated with a group of candidate UEs. These approaches can provide various technical advantages, such as improved location estimation accuracy and / or lower power consumption (e.g., across various UEs participating in the sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure), by distributing participating UEs across regions.

[0260] Figure 12 illustrates an exemplary procedure 1200 for wireless communication according to various configurations of this invention. In one configuration, procedure 1200 may be executed by a target UE such as UE 302 (e.g., a UE for which location estimation is required).

[0261] Referring to Figure 12, at 1210, the target UE (e.g., receiver 312 or 322, etc.) receives area information associated with a plurality of areas. For each of the plurality of candidate UEs in the target UE's sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure, the area information indicates the area identifier of the area where the corresponding candidate UE is located. In some designs, some or all of the area information of the plurality of candidate UEs is broadcast by the respective candidate UE (e.g., in this case, the area information of a particular candidate UE is received directly from that particular candidate UE). In some designs, the broadcast area information is transmitted via the SCI of the PSCCH (e.g., a first-stage SCI, such as SCI 1-A). In other designs, some or all of the area information of the plurality of candidate UEs is received indirectly from different corresponding UEs (e.g., via a relay or forwarding scheme across a mesh network of UEs) or from a base station (e.g., a gNB that accumulates area information of various UEs and then broadcasts area information associated with nearby areas). The area information may include various types of information, which will be described in more detail below. In some designs, the components used to perform area information reception in 1210 may include receiver 312 or 322 of UE 302.

[0262] Referring to Figure 12, at 1220, the target UE (e.g., processors(multiple) 332, PRS sequence component 384, etc.) selects one or more candidate UEs for the side-link-assisted location estimation procedure, at least in part, based on region information. In some designs, the selection at 1220 may be based on one or more region-based rules, as will be described in more detail below. In some designs, the components used to perform the selection of (one or more) region-based candidate UEs at 1220 may include processors(multiple) 332 of UE 302, PRS sequence component 384, etc.

[0263] Referring to Figure 12, at 1230, the target UE (e.g., (one or more) processors 332, transmitters 314 or 314, receivers 312 or 322, etc.) performs a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure together with at least one or more selected candidate UEs. The sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure can be implemented in various ways (e.g., RTT, multi-RTT or differential RTT or dual-differential RTT, TDOA-based, etc.). In some designs, each reference node associated with the sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure corresponds to one or more selected candidate UEs (e.g., as an example, as in the SL-only RTT scheme 1030). In other designs, at least one reference node associated with the sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure corresponds to a base station (e.g., a hybrid sidelink / gNB positioning scheme, such as 1010 or 1020 in Figure 10, etc.). In some designs, the components used to perform the sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure on 1230 may include processors (multiples) 332 of UE 302, transmitters 314 or 314, receivers 312 or 322, etc., depending on whether the target UE is transmitting SRS and / or measurement PRS and / or outgoing Tx->Rx measurement, or whether the target UE is a location estimation entity (e.g., UE-based location estimation), or whether another UE or network component (e.g., LMF) is a location estimation entity.

[0264] Referring to Figure 12, in some designs, the area information also includes a precision indication indicated by at least one area identifier, and the selection at 1220 is also based on this precision indication. In some designs, the precision indication is implicitly indicated by the area identifier (e.g., the area ID associated with a known high-interference area may be associated with a low precision level under default conditions). In other designs, the precision indication is included in the SCI (e.g., SCI 1-A) or PSSCH (e.g., SCI 2) of the PSCCH. In this case, the precision indication can be based on dynamic conditions (e.g., if the candidate UE is very close to the boundary of another area and / or on a trajectory toward another area, the candidate UE can indicate a low precision to indicate an area more loosely associated with the indicated area, etc.).

[0265] Referring to Figure 12, in some designs, the mapping from area identifiers to areas, or instructions on how to export the mapping, are predefined and pre-configured (e.g., via RRC or SIB) or received at the target UE from an external entity (e.g., via gNB or another UE). In some designs, the area identifier and its associated area can be application-driven or based on Group Communication Services (GCS) or Location Services (LCS) protocols. For example, for an indoor factory, the area ID can be associated with a specific corridor, etc. In some designs, the calculation of the area identifier and associated area can be implemented at the application layer (e.g., exported independently at each UE, etc.).

[0266] Referring to Figure 12, in some designs, one or more region-based rules are selected. In some designs, the one or more region-based rules include: Exclude any candidate UE from the selection that is within a first threshold distance of the target UE, or [ ] Exclude any candidate UEs in the same area as the target UE from the selection, or Exclude any candidate UEs from the selection that are more than a second threshold distance from the target UE, or [ ] Exclude any candidate UE from the selection if it exceeds the third threshold distance to the corresponding region of the target UE in any region, or [ ] Limit the selection of candidate UEs in the same area to less than the first threshold number, or [ ] Limit the selection of candidate UEs in the region adjacent to the corresponding region of the target UE to less than the number of the second threshold, or [ ] Their combination.

[0267] In some designs, some or all of the above rules can be selectively implemented based on various criteria. For example, if the sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure is based on timing measurements, candidate UEs that are too close to the target UE (e.g., within the same area or within a first threshold distance) can be excluded. However, these nearby candidate UEs may be helpful for other types of location estimation that rely on angle-based measurements (e.g., AoD or AoA). In this case, proximity exclusion can be selectively implemented based on the type of positioning scheme (e.g., timing-based or angle-based).

[0268] Referring to Figure 12, in some designs, the target UE can also determine the RSRP of at least one signal from at least one of the plurality of candidate UEs, and the selection at 1220 is also based on that RSRP (e.g., thus considering area information, and also considering RSRP). Therefore, the selection at 1220 does not need to be based solely on area information.

[0269] Referring to Figure 12, in some designs, the target UE can also determine the line-of-sight (LOS) or non-LOS (NLOS) confidence level associated with at least one link to at least one of the candidate UEs, and the selection at 1220 is also based on this LOS or NLOS confidence level (e.g., thus considering both area information and LOS / NLOS conditions). For example, a candidate UE with a LOS link to the target UE may generally be more suitable for selection than a candidate UE with an NLOS link to the target UE. Therefore, the selection at 1220 does not need to be based solely on area information.

[0270] Referring to Figure 12, as mentioned above, the lateral link-assisted position estimation procedure may include timing measurement procedures (e.g., RTT or multiple RTT or differential RTT or dual differential RTT or TDOA, etc.), angle measurement procedures (e.g., AoA or AoD, etc.), or combinations thereof.

[0271] Figure 13 illustrates an example implementation 1300 of procedure 1200 of Figure 12 according to one aspect of this invention. In Figure 13, a grid is illustrated, where each square of the grid corresponds to a specific region associated with a corresponding region identifier. Circles are illustrated within the grid, marked to indicate the target UE, selected candidate UEs, and unselected candidate UEs. As shown in Figure 13, the selected candidate UEs are spaced apart by region and also by angle to obtain a reasonable spatial distribution of UEs for the side-link assisted location estimation procedure.

[0272] Figure 14 illustrates an example implementation 1400 of procedure 1200 of Figure 12 according to one aspect of this invention. Figure 14 is similar to Figure 13, except that at 1402, a cluster of candidate UEs with a large number of co-located UEs in nearby areas is illustrated. In some designs, auxiliary UEs in the same / similar locations (e.g., as in candidate UE cluster 1402) may provide limited gain (e.g., the principle of thus spacing the selected candidate UEs). In some designs, one or several auxiliary UEs from the same or adjacent areas may be sufficient for the sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure. In some designs, in scenarios where multiple candidate UEs are available, RSRP may be considered a secondary factor (as described above), for example, based on RSRP from SCI-1 / SCI-2 and PSSCH. In some designs, as described above, the target UE may consider the "PO-accuracy" information of the candidate UEs, including synchronization error information. In some designs, as mentioned above, the choice at 1220 can also be based on the expected (or confidence level) LOS / NLOS (e.g., from DMRS or other auxiliary information).

[0273] Figure 15 illustrates an example implementation 1500 of procedure 1200 of Figure 12 according to one aspect of this invention. Figure 15 is similar to Figure 13, except that a proximity-based exclusion region is illustrated at 1502. In some designs, the ToA of the PRS between nearby UEs may be less than 10 nanoseconds. In some designs, the PRS and hardware bandwidth may not be able to "resolve" a ToA below a threshold. For example, the resolvable time between samples may be 1 / SamplingFreq, or 3 meters for a 100 MHz sampling rate. In some designs, synchronization errors and other deviations may cause errors beyond the distance between UEs. In some designs, for timing-based positioning schemes, nearby UEs may only be useful if the nearby UEs have very good POS accuracy. In some designs, for nearby UEs, sharing POS-information via SL may be better than receiving the PRS (e.g., instead of measuring the PRS, it is only necessary to identify the location of nearby UEs to obtain knowledge that the target UE is very close to that location). As mentioned above, nearby UEs may be useful for other types of location estimation schemes, such as angle-based location estimation schemes.

[0274] Figure 16 illustrates an example implementation 1600 of procedure 1200 of Figure 12 according to one aspect of this case. Figure 16 is similar to Figure 13, except that a distance-based exclusion region with multiple "far" UEs is illustrated at 1602. In some designs, PRS from more distant UEs requires higher power consumption from Tx and Rx. Therefore, UEs within the distance-based exclusion region 1602 can be considered only in scenarios where closer candidate UEs are unavailable for selection.

[0275] As mentioned above, a geographic area can be divided into multiple zones (optionally referred to as sidelink zones or SL zones). In some designs, SL zones can be primarily designed for V2X implementations in outdoor spaces (e.g., zones may include roads, parking lots, areas where vehicles travel, etc.).

[0276] Figure 17 illustrates a region 1700 based on the World Geodetic System 84 (WSG84) model, using reference longitude and latitude coordinates (0,0), according to a sample of this case. Regarding Figure 19, in one example: (x,y) is the distance to (0,0) in meters. x1 = Floor (x / L) Pattern 64 y1 = Floor (y / L) Pattern 64 Zone_ID=y1*64+x1, L is the length of the zone defined in sl-ZoneConfig.

[0277] In this way, the area size can be indicated via a area identifier (or Zone_ID). UE 1702 is shown as being located inside area 1700.

[0278] In the current design, the SL region is defined with reference to global geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude). Specifically, the (0,0) coordinates are global geographic coordinates that are typically predefined in relevant standards (e.g., based on GNSS, etc.). In other designs, the reference geographic coordinates can be defined more flexibly (e.g., local reference geographic coordinates can be defined, or even global reference geographic coordinates that may differ from the predefined reference global geographic coordinates used in legacy systems).

[0279] The set of resource elements (REs) used for transmitting PRS is called a "PRS resource". The set of resource elements can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and N (e.g., one or more) consecutive symbols in a time slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol in the time domain, the PRS resource occupies a consecutive PRB in the frequency domain.

[0280] Within a given PRB, the transmission of PRS resources has a specific comb size (also known as "comb density"). The comb size 'N' represents the subcarrier spacing (or frequency / tone spacing) within each symbol of the PRS resource configuration. Specifically, for a comb size 'N', the PRS is transmitted in every N subcarriers of a symbol in the PRB. For example, for comb-4, for each symbol of the PRS resource configuration, the PRS of the PRS resource is transmitted using the RE corresponding to every fourth subcarrier (e.g., subcarriers 0, 4, 8). Currently, DL-PRS supports comb sizes of comb-2, comb-4, comb-6, and comb-12.

[0281] Currently, DL-PRS resources can span 2, 4, 6, or 12 consecutive symbols within time slots with a fully frequency-domain interleaved pattern. DL-PRS resources can be configured in flexible (FL) symbols of downlinks or time slots in any higher-level configuration. For a given DL-PRS resource, all REs can exist at a constant energy (EPRE) per resource element. Below are the inter-symbol frequency offsets for comb sizes 2, 4, 6, and 12 across 2, 4, 6, and 12 symbols. 2-symbol comb-2:{0,1}; 4-symbol comb-2:{0,1,0,1}; 6-symbol comb-2:{0,1,0,1,0,1}; 12-symbol comb-2:{0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1}; 4-symbol comb-4:{0,2,1,3} (as shown in the example in Figure 4); 12-symbol comb-4:{0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3}; 6-symbol comb-6:{0,3,1,4,2,5}; 12-symbol comb-6:{0,3,1,4,2,5,0,3,1,4,2,5}; and 12-symbol comb-12:{0,6,3,9,1,7,4,10,2,8,5,11}.

[0282] A "PRS resource set" is a collection of PRS resources used to transmit PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. Furthermore, PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and associated with a specific TRP (identified by a TRP ID). Additionally, PRS resources in a PRS resource set share the same period, a common silence mode configuration, and the same repetition factor (e.g., "PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor") across time slots. The period is the time from the first repetition of the first PRS resource in the first PRS instance to the same first repetition of the same first PRS resource in the next PRS instance. The period can have the length of 2^µ*{4,5,8,10,16,20,32,40,64,80,160,320,640,1280,2560,5120,10240} time slots, where μ = 0, 1, 2, 3. The repetition factor can have the length of a time slot selected from {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32}.

[0283] In a PRS resource set, a PRS resource ID is associated with a single beam (or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (where the TRP can transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource in a PRS resource set can be transmitted on a different beam; therefore, a "PRS resource," or simply a "resource," can also be referred to as a "beam." Note that this has no impact on whether the UE knows the TRP and the beam transmitting the PRS.

[0284] A "PRS instance" or "PRS timing" is an instance of a periodically repeating time window (e.g., a group of one or more consecutive time slots) in which a PRS is expected to be sent. A PRS timing may also be referred to as a "PRS positioning timing," "PRS positioning instance," "positioning timing," "positioning instance," "positioning repetition," or simply as a "timing," "instance," or "repetition."

[0285] A "frequency layer" (also simply "frequency layer") is a collection of one or more PRS resource sets spanning one or more TRPs, where these resource sets share the same values ​​for certain parameters. Specifically, the collection of PRS resource sets has the same subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix (CP) type (meaning that all parameter sets supported by the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) are also supported by the PRS), the same point A, the same downlink PRS bandwidth value, the same starting PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb size. The point A parameter is taken from the value of the parameter "ARFCN-ValueNR" (where "ARFCN" represents the "absolute radio channel number"), and is the identifier / code specifying the physical radio channel pair used for transmission and reception. The downlink PRS bandwidth can have a granularity of four PRBs, with a minimum of 24 PRBs and a maximum of 272 PRBs. Currently, up to four frequency layers have been defined, and each frequency layer can be configured with up to two PRS resource sets per TRP.

[0286] The concept of a frequency layer is somewhat similar to that of component carriers and bandwidth portions (BWP), but the difference is that component carriers and BWPs are used by a single base station (or macrocell and smallcell base stations) to transmit data channels, while a frequency layer is used by several (usually three or more) base stations to transmit PRS. A UE can indicate the number of frequency layers it can support when transmitting its positioning capabilities to the network, such as during LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) communications. For example, a UE can indicate whether it can support one or four positioning frequency layers.

[0287] Note that the terms "location reference signal" and "PRS" generally refer to a specific reference signal used for positioning in NR and LTE systems. However, as used herein, the terms "location reference signal" and "PRS" can also refer to any type of reference signal that can be used for positioning, such as, but not limited to, the PRS defined in LTE and NR, TRS, PTRS, CRS, CSI-RS, DMRS, PSS, SSS, SSB, SRS, UL-PRS, etc. Furthermore, the terms "location reference signal" and "PRS" can refer to downlink or uplink positioning reference signals, unless the context otherwise indicates. If further differentiation of the PRS type is required, a downlink positioning reference signal may be referred to as "DL-PRS," and an uplink positioning reference signal (e.g., SRS, PTRS used for positioning) may be referred to as "UL-PRS." Additionally, for signals that can be transmitted in both uplink and downlink (e.g., DMRS, PTRS), "UL" or "DL" may be added before the signal to distinguish the direction. For example, "UL-DMRS" can be distinguished from "DL-DMRS".

[0288] In some designs, Uu PRS transmissions (e.g., DL PRS, UL SRS-P, etc.) are scheduled by the network using network-assigned PRS sequence IDs for PRS sequence generation. For example, DL PRS sequences are generated using network-assigned PRS sequence IDs, slot numbers, and symbols. The receiving UE is expected to receive and decode / descramble the PRS using the configured set of PRS sequence IDs. In other words, the receiving UE is not expected to perform a blind search for DL ​​PRS. In some designs, there may be as many as 4096 different PRS sequence IDs, making a blind search power-intensive and resource-intensive at the receiving UE. For this reason, various legacy designs rely on centralized scheduling and configuration of PRS.

[0289] However, in a sidelink environment, centralized scheduling and configuration of the PRS can suffer from high management burden due to dynamic topology. For example, the target UE and / or (one or more) anchor UEs can move rapidly, resulting in frequent SL PRS configuration changes. For the target UE, the SL PRS configuration should be updated when the SL anchor enters / exits its neighborhood. Figure 18 illustrates a typical sidelink area topology 1800 according to this case. As shown in Figure 18, the SL anchor UE can move into and / or out of the corresponding sidelink area where the target UE is located. Each change to the sidelink area topology 1800 due to changes in the SL anchor UE can trigger SL PRS reconfiguration, resulting in a high reconfiguration management burden.

[0290] For SL anchor UEs, the LMF may need to update their PRS configuration to avoid PRS conflicts, ensuring that the PRS sequence IDs and scheduling used by the SL anchor UEs do not cause local conflicts. Figure 19 illustrates a typical SL anchor UE reconfiguration scheme 1900 according to this case. Referring to Figure 19, assume UEs 1, 2, and 3 are SL anchor UEs, where UE 1 is moving, while UE 2 and UE 3 are stationary. At time t1, UE 1 is associated with the first SL PRS range 1902, while UE 2 and UE 3 are associated with SL PRS ranges 1904 and 1906, respectively. At time t2, UE 1 changes position and is associated with SL PRS range 1908, which partially overlaps with SL PRS range 1904. Therefore, at time t2, the LMF may need to update the SL PRS configuration of UE 1 and / or UE 2 to ensure that UE 1 and UE 2 do not use the same PRS sequence ID, resulting in a high reconfiguration management burden.

[0291] Figure 20 illustrates an SL area configuration 2000 according to this case. The target UE and the anchor UE can move between the various SL areas of the SL area configuration 2000. As mentioned above, if a centralized method is used to allocate SL PRS configurations (including PRS sequence IDs), this may result in a high SL PRS reconfiguration management burden.

[0292] Therefore, the various schemes in this case involve associating a set of PRS sequences with a specific SL region. In some designs, these schemes can allow the target UE to perform blind search (or blind decoding and / or blind descrambling) within a reduced PRS search space, thereby avoiding centralized SL PRS configuration schemes. These schemes can provide various technical advantages, such as facilitating SL-assisted location estimation schemes with less SL PRS reconfiguration management burden than various legacy systems.

[0293] Figure 21 illustrates an exemplary procedure 2100 for wireless communication according to various configurations of this invention. In one configuration, procedure 2100 may be executed by a UE such as UE 302. Specifically, the UE executing procedure 2100 of Figure 21 corresponds to a UE that transmits an SL PRS associated with an SL-assisted location estimation procedure.

[0294] Referring to Figure 21, at 2110, UE 302 (e.g., one or more processors 332, PRS sequence components 342, etc.) determines a sidelink area identifier associated with the sidelink area where the UE is located, which corresponds to one of a plurality of sidelink areas.

[0295] Referring to Figure 21, at 2120, UE 302 (e.g., (one or more) processors 332, PRS sequence components 342, etc.) identifies one of a plurality of Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) sequences associated with the identified side link area.

[0296] Referring to Figure 21, at 2130, UE 302 (e.g., transmitter 314 or 324, etc.) transmits sidelink PRS according to the identified PRS sequence.

[0297] Figure 22 illustrates an exemplary procedure 2200 for wireless communication according to various configurations of this invention. In one configuration, procedure 2200 may be executed by a UE such as UE 302. In particular, the UE executing procedure 2200 of Figure 22 corresponds to a UE that monitors (e.g., decodes and measures) and associates SL PRS with the SL-assisted location estimation procedure.

[0298] Referring to Figure 22, at 2210, UE 302 (e.g., one or more processors 332, PRS sequence components 342, etc.) determines a sidelink area identifier associated with the sidelink area where the UE is located, which corresponds to one of a plurality of sidelink areas.

[0299] Referring to Figure 22, at 2220, UE 302 (e.g., one or more processors 332, PRS sequence unit 342, etc.) identifies one or more Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) sequences associated with a set of sidelink regions within a threshold distance to the sidelink region.

[0300] Referring to Figure 22, at 2220, UE 302 (e.g., receiver 312 or 322, (one or more) processors 332, PRS sequence component 342, etc.) performs a blind search (e.g., blind decoding and / or blind descrambling) of the sidelink PRS based on one or more identified PRS sequences. In particular, the blind search can be performed on fewer than all possible PRS sequences in order to reduce power consumption and / or processing load at the UE.

[0301] Referring to Figures 21-22, in some designs, one or more side-link PRSs can be transmitted on the common-side link frequency layer (e.g., to reduce the need to reconfigure the frequency layer for the SL PRS over time).

[0302] Referring to Figures 21-22, in some designs, multiple reserved PRS resource pools can be associated with a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure. In this case, at 2130 in Figure 21, one or more reserved PRS resource pools can be used for the transmission of sidelink PRS, and at 2230, the UE in Figure 22 can perform a blind search for each of the various reserved PRS resource pools. At 2130 in Figure 21, the specific resource pool used for the transmission of SL PRS by the UE can be determined in various ways (e.g., network-configured, randomly selected by the UE, or selected based on a sidelink area identifier associated with the sidelink area where the UE is located).

[0303] Figure 23 illustrates a PRS resource pool configuration 2300 according to one configuration of this case. In Figure 23, the frequency ranges shown can correspond to the common-side walkway frequency layer as described above. In some designs, PRS resource pools 2302, 2304, 2306, and 2308 for a specific SL-assisted location estimation communication period can be interleaved with time intervals between them. In some designs, PRS resource pools 2302, 2304, 2306, and 2308 can be reserved by the location estimation entity. In some designs, PRS resource pools 2302, 2304, 2306, and 2308 can be coarsely synchronized based on previous SL-assisted location estimation communication periods, or it can be assumed that all UEs participating in the SL-assisted location estimation communication period are within coverage. In some designs, the allocation of UEs to PRS resource pools can be scheduled via broadcast (e.g., in each PRS pool, a subset of UEs will be transmitted on the same symbols, while their SL-PRS are scrambled with different sequences or code division multiplexing (CDM)).

[0304] Referring to Figure 21, in some designs, the identified PRS sequence is based on the sidelink area identifier, the UE's sidelink UE identifier, the slot number on which the sidelink PRS is transmitted, the symbol number on which the sidelink PRS is transmitted, or a combination thereof. For example, the SL PRS sequence can be based on one or more of the SL area ID, SL UE ID, slot number in the (SFN / DFN), symbol number in the slot, etc. In an instance where the SL PRS sequence is based on the SL area ID, the UE can select a PRS sequence ID (e.g., from a subset of PRS sequence IDs available for that particular SL area ID) and then generate the PRS sequence. In some designs, each SL area ID can be associated with a pool of PRS sequence IDs. In some designs, a portion of the SL area ID can be used directly for sequence generation (e.g., using the X least significant bits (LSBs) of x1 & y2 for a finer spatial partition, or using the X most significant bits (MSBs) of x1 & y2 for a coarser spatial partition). In some designs, there may be only one available PRS sequence ID for certain SL areas. In some designs, to avoid PRS sequence conflicts, the identified PRS sequence may be selected in part based on the SL UE ID (e.g., the SL UE ID used for PSSCH scheduling or the side link synchronization signal (SLSS)-ID).

[0305] Referring to Figure 21, in some designs, the side link area identifier where the UE itself is located (e.g., initial coarse location estimate) is determined based on an initial PRS sequence identifier provided from a network component, or an initial location estimate provided from a network component (e.g., E-CID), or one or more side link area identifiers associated with one or more other UEs (e.g., PSBCH such as SL MIB or SL discovery message such as SL SIB), or one or more measurements performed by one or more sensors of the UE (e.g., GNSS), or a combination thereof.

[0306] Referring to Figure 21, in some designs, PRS sequence identification may include monitoring one or more sidelink PRSs associated with one or more PRS sequences from one or more other UEs, and selecting corresponding PRS sequences not used by one or more other UEs as the identified PRS sequences based on this monitoring. For example, a UE may monitor the choices of its neighboring UEs to avoid PRS sequence conflicts. The target UE monitors PRS transmissions and identifies the PRS sequences used by neighboring UEs. The target UE may maintain a track of the sequences used and available in each area (e.g., in SL area 1, S1-S2 are used and S3 is available from PRS sequence pool 1, and in SL area 2, S4 is used and S5-S6 are available from PRS sequence pool 2, etc.). If the UE enters a new SL area, the UE may randomly select an available sequence in the SL area as its new PRS sequence for SL-PRS transmission. In a further design, the UE may detect PRS sequence conflicts associated with transmitted sidelink PRS, and subsequently select different PRS sequences for PRS retransmission in response to the detected PRS sequence conflicts. For example, if two UEs enter the same SL area and select the same sequence, after one PRS communication period, the corresponding UEs can identify the conflict and reselect their respective PRS sequences in the next PRS communication period.

[0307] Referring to Figure 21, in some designs, the identified PRS sequence is assigned to the UE by an external component (e.g., the local SL area manager). For example, the primary SL node (e.g., a fixed node like a Customer Premises Equipment (CPE)) manages the SL-PRS sequence pool in the SL area. When the location estimation entity transmits a location estimate to the target UE, it can also transmit auxiliary information about the primary node in the SL area. Subsequently, the target UE transmits a request for a new PRS sequence from the primary node.

[0308] Referring to Figure 22, similar to Figure 21, in some designs, the side link area identifier where the UE itself is located (e.g., initial coarse location estimate) is determined based on an initial PRS sequence identifier provided from a network component, or an initial location estimate provided from a network component (e.g., E-CID), or one or more side link area identifiers associated with one or more other UEs (e.g., PSBCH such as SL MIB or SL discovery message such as SL SIB), or one or more measurements performed by one or more sensors of the UE (e.g., GNSS), or a combination thereof.

[0309] Referring to Figure 22, in some designs, the sidelink area set includes the sidelink area where the UE is located and the neighboring nodes of that sidelink area. In some designs, blind search may be limited to PRS sequences associated with that particular sidelink area set (e.g., blind search is performed only on one or more identified PRS sequences). For example, given its own SL area and / or neighboring SL areas, the UE can infer a set S of potential PRS sequences that may be potentially used by other UEs, receive SL PRS during scheduled PRS times (e.g., on a reserved PRS resource pool, etc.), perform blind search on the SL PRS using set S (e.g., blind decoding and / or blind descrambling), and subsequently report any available SL PRS measurements to the location estimation entity. Thus, the UE can send measurement reports based on one or more location measurements of one or more sidelink PRS performed via blind search.

[0310] Referring to Figure 22, in other designs, decoding is not limited to a blind search of PRS sequences associated with the UE's sidelink area and neighboring nodes within that area. For example, as mentioned earlier, a blind search can be performed on one or more identified PRS sequences, and an additional (e.g., non-blind) search can be performed on one or more network-configured PRS sequences. For instance, some UEs may not support location-based (or SL area-based) PRS sequence selection, but instead, PRS sequences can be assigned by network components. In this case, the assigned PRS sequence can be communicated to other nearby UEs so that, in addition to the PRS sequences associated with the SL area, the network-configured PRS sequences can also be searched. For example, given its own SL area and / or neighboring SL areas, the UE can infer a set S of potential PRS sequences that may be potentially used by other UEs, and can also determine a set of N network-configured PRS sequences. It can receive SL PRS during scheduled PRS times (e.g., on a reserved PRS resource pool), and can perform blind search or blind descrambling on the SL PRS using set S and general (or non-blind) search or descrambling on set N. Subsequently, it can report any available SL PRS measurements to the location estimation entity. Therefore, the UE can send measurement reports based on one or more location measurements of one or more sidelink PRS performed via search.

[0311] Figure 24 illustrates the SL region configuration 2400 according to various configurations of this case. In Figure 24, UEs 1-10 are located in the first SL region, and UEs 11-15 are located in the second SL region. As mentioned above, in some designs, some or all of UEs 1-15 may participate in the SL-assisted location estimation procedure, whereby each corresponding UE sends an SL PRS and / or performs a blind search of the SL PRS based in part on the PRS sequence associated with the SL region. This can help limit the management burden of SL PRS reconfiguration and also limit the scope of the blind search.

[0312] In the current Uu design, each measurement report from the UE associated with a location estimation communication period includes a location measurement of the PRS tagged with a TRP ID to identify the transmitter from which the associated PRS was sent. In a further variant of this invention, the UE may alternatively tag the location measurement with a PRS sequence associated with a specific SL PRS (e.g., a corresponding descrambled PRS sequence ID). In this case, the location entity uses the descrambled PRS sequence ID to identify the sending UE (e.g., based on the association between the descrambled PRS sequence ID and a UE ID known to the location estimation entity but unknown to the reporting UE). For example, UEs sending SL PRS may report their respective PRS sequence IDs to the location estimation entity to facilitate the correlation between the PRS sequence and the UE ID (e.g., to indicate that the location estimation entity identifies the sending UE in other UE measurement reports). These variants can provide various technical advantages, such as simplifying the SL PRS measurement reporting procedure so that the UE measuring the SL PRS does not need to identify the UE from which it measures and reports the SL PRS (e.g., such identification may alternatively occur at the location estimation entity).

[0313] Figure 25 illustrates an exemplary procedure 2500 for wireless communication according to various configurations of this invention. In one configuration, procedure 2500 may be executed by a UE such as UE 302.

[0314] Referring to Figure 25, at 2510, UE 302 (e.g., receiver 312 or 322, PRS sequence component 342, (one or more) processors 332, etc.) performs one or more positioning measurements based on one or more sidelink positioning reference signals (PRS) from one or more other UEs, each of the one or more sidelink PRSs being associated with a corresponding PRS sequence (e.g., based on a restricted or targeted blind search procedure, etc., as described above).

[0315] Referring to Figure 25, at 2520, UE 302 (e.g., transmitter 314 or 324, etc.) sends a measurement report to the location estimation entity, which includes one or more location measurements and a first indication of the corresponding PRS sequence for each corresponding location measurement (e.g., instead of an explicit identifier of one or more UEs that sent (one or more) SL PRS).

[0316] Referring to Figure 25, in some designs, one or more sidelink PRSs are associated with a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure. In some designs, as part of the sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure, the UE may also transmit a sidelink PRS (e.g., for RTT measurements). In this case, the UE may also send a second indication to the location estimation entity of a PRS sequence associated with the transmitted sidelink PRS. In this way, another UE may report one or more measurements of its sidelink PRS to the location estimation entity, which can then use the second indication to associate these measurements with the UE.

[0317] Referring to Figure 25, in some designs, the sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure is associated with a plurality of reserved PRS resource pools, and one or more sidelink PRSs are each received on one of the plurality of reserved PRS resource pools. In some designs, one or more positioning measurements include two or more receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) measurements, one or more transmission times of one or more of the sidelink PRSs, one or more reception times of at least one of the sidelink PRSs, or a combination thereof.

[0318] Figure 26 illustrates an exemplary procedure 2600 for wireless communication according to various embodiments of this invention. In one embodiment, procedure 2600 may be executed by a location estimation entity, such as a UE (e.g., for UE-based location estimation) or a network component (e.g., a gNB, such as a BS 304 for RAN integrated LMF, or a core network integrated LMF or location server, such as network entity 306, etc.).

[0319] Referring to Figure 26, at 2610, the location estimation entity (e.g., receiver 312 or 322 or 352 or 362, network transceiver(s) 380 or 390, etc.) receives a measurement report, which includes location measurements based on a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure and includes a first indication of the corresponding PRS sequence of the location measurements.

[0320] Referring to Figure 26, at 2620, the location estimation entity (e.g., receiver 312 or 322 or 352 or 362, (one or more) network transceivers 380 or 390, etc.) receives a second indication of the PRS sequence used by the set of user equipment (UEs) for transmitting the side-link PRS. In some designs, at least some of the UEs providing the second indication at 2620 may also provide at least some of the measurement reports with the first indication at 2610. In other designs, some UEs may provide the second indication without the first indication (e.g., some UEs may send the SL PRS without measuring or reporting from other UEs).

[0321] Referring to Figure 26, at 2630, the location estimation entity (e.g., (one or more) processors 332 or 384 or 394, PRS sequence components 342 or 388 or 398, etc.) associates the location measurement with the UE set by matching the first indication with the second indication.

[0322] Referring to Figure 26, at 2640, the location estimation entity (e.g., (one or more) processors 332 or 384 or 394, PRS sequence components 342 or 388 or 398, etc.) determines the location estimation of the target UE based on relevant measurements from 2630.

[0323] Referring to Figure 26, in some designs, one or more positioning measurements include two or more receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) measurements, one or more transmission times in one or more sidelink PRSs, one or more receive times in at least one sidelink PRS, or a combination thereof. In some designs, the position estimate is determined via a round-trip time (RTT) position estimation scheme. In some designs, the position estimate can be sent by the position estimation entity to the LCS client (target UE) (e.g., directly or via the lead UE of a sidelink UE group).

[0324] Referring to Figure 26, in some designs, the location estimation entity can collect all measurements and ancillary data (e.g., scheduled transmission times and PRS sequences selected by neighboring UEs) to identify the transmitting UE, and then calculate the RTT time. In some designs, the SL range is limited (e.g., less than 100 meters or 300 nanoseconds of propagation time). With reasonable scheduling (e.g., the time interval between two consecutive time slots can be greater than 100 nanoseconds, such as 0.5 milliseconds), Rx-Tx is approximately equal to n * the time interval. Based on Rx-Tx and the transmission time slot of the target UE, the location estimation entity can find the transmission time slots of neighboring UEs. Combining this with the code ID, the location estimation entity can identify neighboring UEs. The location estimation entity can then find the RTT based on Rx-Tx. In some designs, if only one Rx-Tx is available, this RTT can be ignored. An illustrative example of this procedure is illustrated in Figure 27.

[0325] Figure 27 illustrates the PRS resource pool configuration 2700 according to various configurations of this case. In Figure 27, the frequency ranges shown can correspond to the common-side link frequency layer as described above. In some designs, PRS resource pools 2702, 2704, 2706, and 2708 for specific SL-assisted location estimation communication periods can be interleaved with time intervals between them. In some designs, PRS resource pools 2702, 2704, 2706, and 2708 can be reserved by the location estimation entity. In some designs, PRS resource pools 2702, 2704, 2706, and 2708 can be coarsely synchronized based on previous SL-assisted location estimation communication periods, or it can be assumed that all UEs participating in the SL-assisted location estimation communication period are within coverage. In some designs, the allocation of UEs to PRS resource pools can be scheduled via broadcast (e.g., in each PRS pool, a subset of UEs will be transmitted on the same symbols, while their SL-PRS are scrambled with different sequences or code division multiplexing (CDM)).

[0326] Referring to Figure 27, in some designs, it is assumed that UE 2 transmits SL PRS using PRS sequence 3 on PRS resource pool 2702, the target UE transmits SL PRS using PRS sequence 1 on PRS resource pool 2704, UE 1 transmits SL PRS using PRS sequence 4 on PRS resource pool 2706, and UE 3 transmits SL PRS using PRS sequence 5 on PRS resource pool 2708. In this example, the measurement report from the target UE may include two Rx-Tx measurements (RxTx1 with a first indication of PRS sequence 5 and RxTx2 with a first indication of PRS sequence 3) and a second indication of PRS sequence 1 (i.e., indicating the PRS sequence used by the target UE itself). Subsequently, it is assumed that UE 2 and UE 3 report their respective PRS sequences to the location estimation entity, which can associate the various PRS sequences with the corresponding UEs for location estimation.

[0327] As can be seen from the detailed description above, different features are grouped together in the examples. This manner of disclosure should not be construed as an intention for the example clauses to have more features than are expressly mentioned in each clause. Rather, the various forms in this document may include fewer features than those of the individual example clauses disclosed. Therefore, the following clauses should be considered as included in the specification, where each clause can be considered a separate example on its own. Although each dependent clause may refer in the clause to a specific combination with one of the other clauses, the form of that dependent clause is not limited to that specific combination. It should be understood that other example clauses may also include combinations of the form of a dependent clause with the subject matter of any other dependent or independent clause, or any feature combined with other dependent and independent clauses. The various forms disclosed herein expressly include these combinations unless it is expressly stated or can be readily inferred that a particular combination is not intended (e.g., contradictory forms, such as defining a component as both an insulator and a conductor). Furthermore, it is also intended that the various forms of a clause be included in any other independent clause, even if that clause does not directly depend on the independent clause.

[0328] Examples of implementation methods are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0329] Clause 1. A method of operating a user equipment (UE), comprising: determining a sidelink area identifier associated with a sidelink area in which the UE is located, the sidelink area corresponding to one of a plurality of sidelink areas; identifying one of a plurality of positioning reference signal (PRS) sequences associated with the identified sidelink area; and transmitting a sidelink PRS according to the identified PRS sequence.

[0330] Clause 2. The method according to Clause 1, wherein the side-link PRS is transmitted on the common-side link frequency layer.

[0331] Article 3. The method according to any one of Articles 1 to 2, wherein the plurality of reserved PRS resource pools are associated with the sidelink auxiliary location estimation procedure, also includes: determining one of the one or more reserved PRS resource pools for transmitting the sidelink PRS.

[0332] Article 4. According to the method of Article 3, the reserved PRS resource pool determined therein is network-configured, randomly selected by the UE, or selected based on a sidelink area identifier associated with the sidelink area where the UE is located.

[0333] Article 5. The method of any one of Articles 1 to 4, wherein the identified PRS sequence is identified based on the sidelink area identifier, the UE's sidelink UE identifier, the slot number on which the sidelink PRS is transmitted, the symbol number on which the sidelink PRS is transmitted, or a combination thereof.

[0334] Article 6. The method of any of Articles 1 to 5, wherein the sidelink area identifier is determined based on: an initial PRS sequence identifier provided by the network component, or an initial location estimate provided by the network component, or one or more sidelink area identifiers associated with one or more other UEs, or one or more measurements performed by one or more sensors of the UE, or a combination thereof.

[0335] Article 7. The method of any of Articles 1 to 6, wherein identification includes: monitoring one or more sidelink PRSs associated with one or more PRS sequences from one or more other UEs, and selecting, based on the monitoring, a corresponding PRS sequence not used by one or more other UEs as the identified PRS sequence.

[0336] Article 8. The method pursuant to any of Articles 1 to 7 also includes: detecting a PRS sequence collision associated with the transmitted sidelink PRS; and in response to the detected PRS sequence collision, selecting a different PRS sequence for PRS retransmission.

[0337] Article 9. The method of any of Articles 1 to 8, wherein the identified PRS sequence is assigned to the UE by an external component.

[0338] Article 10. A method of operating a user equipment (UE), comprising: determining a sidelink area identifier associated with a sidelink area where the UE is located, the sidelink area corresponding to one of a plurality of sidelink areas; identifying one or more location reference signal (PRS) sequences associated with a set of sidelink areas within a threshold distance to the sidelink area; and performing a blind search of the sidelink PRS based on the one or more identified PRS sequences.

[0339] Article 11. The method according to Article 10, wherein a blind search is performed on the common-side transit link frequency layer.

[0340] Article 12. The method of any of Articles 10 to 11, wherein a blind search is performed on a plurality of reserved PRS resource pools associated with the side link-assisted location estimation procedure.

[0341] Article 13. The method of any of Articles 10 to 12, wherein the sidelink area identifier is determined based on: an initial PRS sequence identifier provided by the network component, or an initial location estimate provided by the network component, or one or more sidelink area identifiers associated with one or more other UEs, or one or more measurements performed by one or more sensors of the UE, or a combination thereof.

[0342] Article 14. The method of any of Articles 10 to 13, wherein the set of sidelink areas includes the sidelink area where the UE is located and the adjacent nodes of the sidelink area where the UE is located.

[0343] Article 15. The method pursuant to any of Articles 10 to 14 also includes: sending a measurement report based on one or more positioning measurements of one or more sidelink PRS performed via blind search.

[0344] Article 16. The method of any of Articles 10 to 15, wherein a blind search is performed only on one or more identified PRS sequences.

[0345] Article 17. The method of any of Articles 10 to 16, wherein a blind search is performed on one or more identified PRS sequences and an additional search is performed on one or more network-configured PRS sequences.

[0346] Clause 18. A method of operating a user equipment (UE) includes: performing one or more location measurements based on one or more sidelink location reference signals (PRS) from one or more other UEs, each of the one or more sidelink PRSs being associated with a corresponding PRS sequence; and sending a measurement report to a location estimation entity, the measurement report including the one or more location measurements and a first indication of a corresponding PRS sequence for each corresponding location measurement.

[0347] Clause 19. According to the method of Clause 18, one or more lateral link PRSs are associated with a lateral link-assisted location estimation procedure.

[0348] Article 20. The method according to Article 19 also includes: as part of the sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure, transmitting the sidelink PRS; and transmitting to the location estimation entity a second indication of the PRS sequence associated with the transmitted sidelink PRS.

[0349] Article 21. The method according to any one of Articles 19 to 20, wherein the sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure is associated with a plurality of reserved PRS resource pools, and one or more of the sidelink PRSs are each received on one of the plurality of reserved PRS resource pools.

[0350] Article 22. The method of any of Articles 18 to 21, wherein one or more positioning measurements include two or more receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) measurements, one or more transmission times of one or more sidelink PRSs, one or more receive times of at least one sidelink PRS, or a combination thereof.

[0351] Clause 23. A method for operating a location estimation entity, comprising: receiving measurement reports including location measurements of a sidelink location reference signal (PRS) based on a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure, the measurement reports including a first indication of a corresponding PRS sequence of the location measurements; receiving a second indication of a PRS sequence used by a set of user equipment (UEs) for transmitting the sidelink PRS; associating the location measurements with the set of UEs by matching the first indication with the second indication; and determining a location estimate of a target UE based on the association.

[0352] Article 24. The method according to Article 23, wherein one or more positioning measurements include two or more receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) measurements, one or more transmission times of one or more sidelink PRSs, one or more receive times of at least one sidelink PRS, or a combination thereof.

[0353] Article 25. The method of any of Articles 23 to 24, wherein the location estimate is determined via a round-trip time (RTT) location estimation scheme.

[0354] Clause 26. A user equipment (UE) includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: determine a sidelink area identifier associated with a sidelink area in which the UE is located, the sidelink area corresponding to one of a plurality of sidelink areas; identify one of a plurality of location reference signal (PRS) sequences associated with the identified sidelink area; and transmit the sidelink PRS via the at least one transceiver according to the identified PRS sequence.

[0355] Clause 27. UE under Clause 26, wherein a side-link PRS is transmitted on the common-side link frequency layer.

[0356] Clause 28. A UE pursuant to any of Clauses 26 to 27, wherein a plurality of reserved PRS resource pools are associated with a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure, and wherein the at least one processor is also configured to determine one of the one or more reserved PRS resource pools for transmitting the sidelink PRS.

[0357] Clause 29. For UEs pursuant to Clause 28, the reserved PRS resource pool determined therein is network-configured, randomly selected by the UE, or selected based on a sidelink area identifier associated with the sidelink area where the UE is located.

[0358] Clause 30. A UE pursuant to any of Clauses 26 to 29, wherein the identified PRS sequence is identified based on the sidelink area identifier, the UE's sidelink UE identifier, the slot number on which the sidelink PRS is transmitted, the symbol number on which the sidelink PRS is transmitted, or a combination thereof.

[0359] Clause 31. A UE pursuant to any of Clauses 26 to 30, wherein the sidelink area identifier is determined based on: an initial PRS sequence identifier provided by a network component, or an initial location estimate provided by a network component, or one or more sidelink area identifiers associated with one or more other UEs, or one or more measurements performed by one or more sensors of the UE, or a combination thereof.

[0360] Clause 32. A UE pursuant to any of Clauses 26 to 31, wherein identification includes: monitoring one or more sidelink PRSs associated with one or more PRS sequences from one or more other UEs, and selecting, based on the monitoring, a corresponding PRS sequence not used by one or more other UEs as the identified PRS sequence.

[0361] Clause 33. A UE pursuant to any of Clauses 26 to 32, wherein the at least one processor is also configured to: detect a PRS sequence conflict associated with a transmitted sidelink PRS; and in response to the detected PRS sequence conflict, select a different PRS sequence for PRS retransmission.

[0362] Clause 34. For a UE pursuant to any of Clauses 26 to 33, wherein the identified PRS sequence is assigned to the UE by an external component.

[0363] Clause 35. A user equipment (UE) includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: determine a sidelink area identifier associated with a sidelink area where the UE is located, the sidelink area corresponding to one of a plurality of sidelink areas; identify one or more location reference signal (PRS) sequences associated with a set of sidelink areas within a threshold distance to the sidelink area; and perform a blind search of the sidelink PRS based on the one or more identified PRS sequences.

[0364] Clause 36. UEs under Clause 35, where blind search is performed on the common-side traveling link frequency layer.

[0365] Clause 37. For a UE pursuant to any of Clauses 35 to 36, a blind search is performed on a plurality of reserved PRS resource pools associated with the side-link assisted location estimation procedure.

[0366] Clause 38. A UE pursuant to any of Clauses 35 to 37, wherein the sidelink area identifier is determined based on: an initial PRS sequence identifier provided by a network component, or an initial location estimate provided by a network component, or one or more sidelink area identifiers associated with one or more other UEs, or one or more measurements performed by one or more sensors of the UE, or a combination thereof.

[0367] Clause 39. A UE pursuant to any of Clauses 35 to 38, wherein the set of sidelink areas includes the sidelink area where the UE is located and the adjacent nodes of the sidelink area where the UE is located.

[0368] Clause 40. For a UE pursuant to any of Clauses 35 to 39, at least one processor is also configured to transmit measurement reports via at least one transceiver, such measurement reports being based on one or more positioning measurements of one or more sidelink PRS performed via blind search.

[0369] Clause 41. A UE pursuant to any of Clauses 35 to 40, wherein a blind search is performed only on one or more identified PRS sequences.

[0370] Clause 42. A UE pursuant to any of Clauses 35 to 41, wherein a blind search is performed on one or more identified PRS sequences, and an additional search is performed on one or more network-configured PRS sequences.

[0371] Clause 43. A user equipment (UE) includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: perform one or more positioning measurements based on one or more sidelink positioning reference signals (PRS) from one or more other UEs, each of the one or more sidelink PRSs being associated with a corresponding PRS sequence; and transmit a measurement report to a location estimation entity via the at least one transceiver, the measurement report including one or more positioning measurements and a first indication of a corresponding PRS sequence for each corresponding positioning measurement.

[0372] Clause 44. Under Clause 43, one or more sidelink PRS are associated with a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure.

[0373] Clause 45. According to Clause 44, at least one processor is also configured to: transmit a sidelink PRS via at least one transceiver as part of a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure; and transmit a second indication of a PRS sequence associated with the transmitted sidelink PRS to a location estimation entity via at least one transceiver.

[0374] Clause 46. A UE pursuant to any of Clauses 44 to 45, wherein the sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure is associated with a plurality of reserved PRS resource pools, and one or more of the sidelink PRSs are each received on one of the plurality of reserved PRS resource pools.

[0375] Clause 47. For a UE pursuant to any of Clauses 43 to 46, one or more positioning measurements include two or more receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) measurements, one or more transmission times of one or more sidelink PRSs, one or more receive times of at least one sidelink PRS, or a combination thereof.

[0376] Clause 48. A location estimation entity, comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: receive measurement reports via the at least one transceiver, the measurement reports including location measurements of a sidelink location reference signal (PRS) based on a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure, the measurement reports including a first indication of a corresponding PRS sequence of the location measurements; receive via the at least one transceiver a second indication of a PRS sequence used by a set of user equipment (UEs) for transmitting the sidelink PRS; correlate the location measurements with the set of UEs by matching the first indication with the second indication; and determine a location estimate of a target UE based on the correlation.

[0377] Clause 49. Location estimation entity pursuant to Clause 48, wherein one or more location measurements include two or more receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) measurements, one or more transmission times of one or more sidelink PRSs, one or more receive times of at least one sidelink PRS, or a combination thereof.

[0378] Article 50. Location estimation entity pursuant to any of Articles 48 to 49, wherein the location estimation is determined via a round-trip time (RTT) location estimation scheme.

[0379] Clause 51. A user equipment (UE) includes: means for determining a sidelink area identifier associated with a sidelink area where the UE is located, the sidelink area corresponding to one of a plurality of sidelink areas; means for identifying one of a plurality of positioning reference signal (PRS) sequences associated with the identified sidelink area; and means for transmitting a sidelink PRS according to the identified PRS sequence.

[0380] Clause 52. According to Clause 51, the UE transmits a side-link PRS on the common-side link frequency layer.

[0381] Clause 53. For a UE pursuant to any of Clauses 51 to 52, wherein a plurality of reserved PRS resource pools are associated with a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure, the procedure also includes: determining one of the one or more reserved PRS resource pools for transmitting the sidelink PRS.

[0382] Clause 54. For UEs pursuant to Clause 53, the reserved PRS resource pool determined therein is network-configured, randomly selected by the UE, or selected based on a sidelink area identifier associated with the sidelink area where the UE is located.

[0383] Clause 55. A UE pursuant to any of Clauses 51 to 54, wherein the identified PRS sequence is identified based on the sidelink area identifier, the UE's sidelink UE identifier, the slot number on which the sidelink PRS is transmitted, the symbol number on which the sidelink PRS is transmitted, or a combination thereof.

[0384] Clause 56. A UE pursuant to any of Clauses 51 to 55, wherein the sidelink area identifier is determined based on: an initial PRS sequence identifier provided by a network component, or an initial location estimate provided by a network component, or one or more sidelink area identifiers associated with one or more other UEs, or one or more measurements performed by one or more sensors of the UE, or a combination thereof.

[0385] Clause 57. A UE pursuant to any of Clauses 51 to 56, wherein the components for identification include: components for monitoring one or more sidelink PRSs associated with one or more PRS sequences from one or more other UEs, and components for selecting, based on the monitoring, a corresponding PRS sequence not used by one or more other UEs as the identified PRS sequence.

[0386] Clause 58. A UE pursuant to any of Clauses 51 to 57 also includes: a component for detecting a PRS sequence conflict associated with a transmitted sidelink PRS; and a component for selecting a different PRS sequence for PRS retransmission in response to a detected PRS sequence conflict.

[0387] Clause 59. For a UE pursuant to any of Clauses 51 to 58, wherein the identified PRS sequence is assigned to the UE by an external component.

[0388] Article 60. A user equipment (UE) includes: means for determining a sidelink area identifier associated with a sidelink area where the UE is located, the sidelink area corresponding to one of a plurality of sidelink areas; means for identifying one or more location reference signal (PRS) sequences associated with a set of sidelink areas within a threshold distance to the sidelink area; and means for performing a blind search of the sidelink PRS based on the one or more identified PRS sequences.

[0389] Clause 61. UEs under Clause 60, where blind search is performed on the common-side traveling link frequency layer.

[0390] Clause 62. For a UE pursuant to any of Clauses 60 to 61, a blind search is performed on a plurality of reserved PRS resource pools associated with the sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure.

[0391] Clause 63. A UE pursuant to any of Clauses 60 to 62, wherein the sidelink area identifier is determined based on: an initial PRS sequence identifier provided by a network component, or an initial location estimate provided by a network component, or one or more sidelink area identifiers associated with one or more other UEs, or one or more measurements performed by one or more sensors of the UE, or a combination thereof.

[0392] Clause 64. A UE pursuant to any of Clauses 60 to 63, wherein the set of sidelink areas includes the sidelink area where the UE is located and the adjacent nodes of the sidelink area where the UE is located.

[0393] Clause 65. A UE pursuant to any of Clauses 60 to 64 also includes: a component for transmitting measurement reports based on one or more positioning measurements performed via one or more sidelink PRSs.

[0394] Clause 66. A UE pursuant to any of Clauses 60 to 65, wherein a blind search is performed only on one or more identified PRS sequences.

[0395] Clause 67. A UE pursuant to any of Clauses 60 to 66, wherein a blind search is performed on one or more identified PRS sequences, and an additional search is performed on one or more network-configured PRS sequences.

[0396] Clause 68. A user equipment (UE) includes: means for performing one or more positioning measurements based on one or more sidelink positioning reference signals (PRS) from one or more other UEs, each of the one or more sidelink PRSs being associated with a corresponding PRS sequence; and means for sending a measurement report to a location estimation entity, the measurement report including one or more positioning measurements and a first indication of a corresponding PRS sequence for each corresponding positioning measurement.

[0397] Clause 69. Under Clause 68, one or more sidelink PRSs are associated with a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure.

[0398] Clause 70. The UE pursuant to Clause 69 also includes: a component for transmitting a sidelink PRS as part of a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure; and a component for transmitting a second indication to the location estimation entity of a PRS sequence associated with the transmitted sidelink PRS.

[0399] Clause 71. A UE pursuant to any of Clauses 69 to 70, wherein the sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure is associated with a plurality of reserved PRS resource pools, and one or more of the sidelink PRSs are each received on one of the plurality of reserved PRS resource pools.

[0400] Clause 72. For a UE pursuant to any of Clauses 68 to 71, one or more positioning measurements include two or more receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) measurements, one or more transmission times of one or more sidelink PRSs, one or more receive times of at least one sidelink PRS, or a combination thereof.

[0401] Clause 73. A location estimation entity, comprising: means for receiving measurement reports, the measurement reports including location measurements of a sidelink location reference signal (PRS) based on a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure, the measurement reports including a first indication of a corresponding PRS sequence of the location measurements; means for receiving a second indication of a PRS sequence used by a set of user equipment (UEs) for transmitting the sidelink PRS; means for associating the location measurements with a set of UEs by matching the first indication with the second indication; and means for determining a location estimate of a target UE based on the association.

[0402] Clause 74. Location estimation entity pursuant to Clause 73, wherein one or more location measurements include two or more receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) measurements, one or more transmission times of one or more sidelink PRSs, one or more receive times of at least one sidelink PRS, or a combination thereof.

[0403] Clause 75. Location estimation entity pursuant to any of Clauses 73 to 74, wherein the location estimation is determined via a round-trip time (RTT) location estimation scheme.

[0404] Article 76. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: determine a sidelink area identifier associated with a sidelink area in which the UE is located, the sidelink area corresponding to one of a plurality of sidelink areas; identify one of a plurality of positioning reference signal (PRS) sequences associated with the identified sidelink area; and transmit a sidelink PRS according to the identified PRS sequence.

[0405] Clause 77. Non-transitory computer-readable media pursuant to Clause 76, wherein a sidelink PRS is transmitted on the common sidelink frequency layer.

[0406] Clause 78. Non-transitory computer-readable media pursuant to any of Clauses 76 to 77, wherein a plurality of reserved PRS resource pools are associated with a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure, and wherein the instruction also causes the UE to determine one of the one or more reserved PRS resource pools for transmitting the sidelink PRS.

[0407] Clause 79. Non-transitory computer-readable media under Clause 78, wherein the reserved PRS resource pool is determined by network configuration, randomly selected by the UE, or selected based on a sidelink area identifier associated with the sidelink area where the UE is located.

[0408] Article 80. Non-transitory computer-readable media pursuant to any of Articles 76 to 79, wherein the identified PRS sequence is identified based on a sidelink area identifier, a sidelink UE identifier, a slot number on which the sidelink PRS is transmitted, a symbol number on which the sidelink PRS is transmitted, or a combination thereof.

[0409] Clause 81. Non-transitory computer-readable media pursuant to any of Clauses 76 to 80, wherein the sidelink area identifier is determined based on: an initial PRS sequence identifier provided by a network component, or an initial location estimate provided by a network component, or one or more sidelink area identifiers associated with one or more other UEs, or one or more measurements performed by one or more sensors of the UE, or a combination thereof.

[0410] Clause 82. Non-transitory computer-readable media pursuant to any of Clauses 76 to 81, wherein identification includes: monitoring one or more sidelink PRSs associated with one or more PRS sequences from one or more other UEs, and selecting, based on the monitoring, a corresponding PRS sequence not used by one or more other UEs as the identified PRS sequence.

[0411] Clause 83. Non-transitory computer-readable media pursuant to any of Clauses 76 to 82, wherein the one or more instructions also cause the UE to: detect a PRS sequence collision associated with a transmitted sidelink PRS; and in response to the detected PRS sequence collision, select a different PRS sequence for PRS retransmission.

[0412] Clause 84. Non-transitory computer-readable media pursuant to any of Clauses 76 to 83, wherein the identified PRS sequence is assigned to the UE by an external component.

[0413] Clause 85. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: determine a sidelink area identifier associated with a sidelink area where the UE is located, the sidelink area corresponding to one of a plurality of sidelink areas; identify one or more location reference signal (PRS) sequences associated with a set of sidelink areas within a threshold distance to the sidelink area; and perform a blind search of the sidelink PRS based on the one or more identified PRS sequences.

[0414] Clause 86. Non-transitory computer-readable media under Clause 85, wherein a blind search is performed on the public-side crosslink frequency layer.

[0415] Clause 87. Non-transitory computer-readable media pursuant to any of Clauses 85 to 86, wherein a blind search is performed on a plurality of reserved PRS resource pools associated with a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure.

[0416] Clause 88. Non-transitory computer-readable media pursuant to any of Clauses 85 to 87, wherein the sidelink area identifier is determined based on: an initial PRS sequence identifier provided by a network component, or an initial location estimate provided by a network component, or one or more sidelink area identifiers associated with one or more other UEs, or one or more measurements performed by one or more sensors of the UE, or a combination thereof.

[0417] Clause 89. Non-transitory computer-readable media pursuant to any of Clauses 85 to 88, wherein the set of sidelink areas includes the sidelink area where the UE is located and the adjacent nodes of the sidelink area where the UE is located.

[0418] Clause 90. Non-transitory computer-readable media pursuant to any of Clauses 85 to 89, wherein the instructions also cause the UE to send a measurement report based on one or more positioning measurements of one or more sidelink PRS performed via blind search.

[0419] Article 91. Non-transitory computer-readable media pursuant to any of Articles 85 to 90, wherein a blind search is performed only on one or more identified PRS sequences.

[0420] Clause 92. Non-transitory computer-readable media pursuant to any of Clauses 85 to 91, wherein a blind search is performed on one or more identified PRS sequences and an additional search is performed on one or more network-configured PRS sequences.

[0421] Clause 93. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a UE, cause the UE to: perform one or more positioning measurements based on one or more sidelink positioning reference signals (PRS) from one or more other UEs, each of the one or more sidelink PRSs being associated with a corresponding PRS sequence; and send a measurement report to a location estimation entity, the measurement report including one or more positioning measurements and a first indication of a corresponding PRS sequence for each corresponding positioning measurement.

[0422] Clause 94. Non-transitory computer-readable media pursuant to Clause 93, wherein one or more lateral link PRSs are associated with a lateral link-assisted position estimation procedure.

[0423] Clause 95. Non-transitory computer-readable media pursuant to Clause 94, wherein the one or more instructions also cause the UE to: transmit a sidelink PRS as part of a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure; and transmit a second instruction to the location estimation entity a PRS sequence associated with the transmitted sidelink PRS.

[0424] Clause 96. Non-transitory computer-readable media pursuant to any of Clauses 94 to 95, wherein a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure is associated with a plurality of reserved PRS resource pools, and one or more of the sidelink PRSs are each received on one of the plurality of reserved PRS resource pools.

[0425] Clause 97. Non-transitory computer-readable media pursuant to any of Clauses 93 to 96, wherein one or more positioning measurements comprise two or more receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) measurements, one or more transmission times of one or more sidelink PRSs, one or more reception times of at least one sidelink PRS, or a combination thereof.

[0426] Clause 98. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a location estimation entity, cause the location estimation entity to: receive measurement reports including location measurements of a sidelink location reference signal (PRS) based on a sidelink-assisted location estimation procedure, the measurement reports including a first indication of a corresponding PRS sequence of the location measurements; receive a second indication of a PRS sequence used by a set of user equipment (UEs) for transmitting the sidelink PRS; correlate the location measurements with the set of UEs by matching the first indication with the second indication; and determine a location estimation of a target UE based on the correlation.

[0427] Clause 99. Non-transitory computer-readable media pursuant to Clause 98, wherein one or more positioning measurements include two or more receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) measurements, one or more transmission times of one or more sidelink PRSs, one or more reception times of at least one sidelink PRS, or a combination thereof.

[0428] Article 100. Non-transitory computer-readable media pursuant to any of Articles 98 to 99, wherein the location estimate is determined via a round-trip time (RTT) location estimation scheme.

[0429] Those skilled in the art will understand that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and skills. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, light fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0430] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in conjunction with the various forms disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability between hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above in general terms of their functionality. Whether these functions are implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art can implement the described functions in different ways for each specific application; however, such implementation decisions should not be construed as departing from the scope of this invention.

[0431] The various illustrative logic blocks, modules, and circuits described herein can be implemented or executed using general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), ASICs, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices, individual gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any general-purpose processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, a combination of one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0432] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described herein can be directly embodied in hardware, a software module executed by a processor, or a combination of both. The software module can reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electronically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disks, removable disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage media known in the art. The storage media is coupled to the processor, allowing the processor to read information from and write information to the storage media. Alternatively, the storage media can be integrated into the processor. The processor and storage media can reside in an ASIC. The ASIC can reside in a user terminal (e.g., a UE). Alternatively, the processor and storage media can reside as separate components in the user terminal.

[0433] In one or more instances, the described functionality may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, these functions may be stored as one or more instructions or code on or transmitted over a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media, with communication media including any media that facilitates the transfer of computer programs from one place to another. Storage media may be any available media that a computer can access. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disc storage, magnetic disc storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other media that can be used to carry or store the required program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Furthermore, any connection is appropriately referred to as computer-readable media. For example, if software is reflected from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technology (such as infrared, radio, and microwave), then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technology (such as infrared, radio, and microwave) are included in the definition of media. The magnetic disks and optical disks used herein include CDs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs, where magnetic disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while optical discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0434] Although the foregoing disclosure illustrates the illustrative form of this case, it should be noted that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps, and / or actions of the method claims based on the disclosed form described herein do not need to be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, although elements of this case may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural form may be considered unless explicitly stated otherwise.

[0435] 100: Wireless Communication System 102:Base station 102': Small cell base 104:UE 110: Geographical coverage area 110': Geographical coverage area 112: Earth Orbiting Spacecraft (SV) 120: Communication Link 122: Backload Link 124: Signal 134: Backload Link 150: Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Access Point (AP) 152: WLAN Station (STA) 154: Communication Link 160:V-UE 162: Wireless sidelink 164: Roadside access point 166: Wireless sidelink 168: Wireless sidelink 172: Location Server 174: Core Network 180: Millimeter wave base station 182:UE 184: Millimeter-wave communication link 190:UE 192: D2D P2P Link 194: D2D P2P Link 200: Wireless Network Architecture 204:UE 210:5GC 212: User plane function 213:NG-U 214: Control Plane Functions 215:NG-C 220: Next-Generation RAN (NG-RAN) 222:gNB 223: Reload Link 224:ng-eNB 226:gNB-CU 228:gNB-DU 230: Location Server 232: Interface 250: Wireless Communication System 260:5GC 262:UPF 263: User Interface 264:AMF 265: Control Plane Interface 266: Communication Management Function (SMF) 270:LMF 272:SLP 302:UE 304:Base station 306: Network Entity 310: Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) Transceiver 312: Receiver 314: Transmitter 316: Antenna 318: Signal 320: Short-range wireless transceiver 322: Receiver 324: Transmitter 326: Antenna 328: Signal 330: Satellite signal receiver 332: Processor 334: Data Bus 336: Antenna 338: Satellite positioning / communication signal 340: Memory 342: PRS sequence component 344: Sensor 346: User Interface 350: Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) Transceiver 352: Receiver 354: Transmitter 356: Antenna 358: Signal 360: Short-Range Wireless Transceiver 362: Receiver 364: Transmitter 366: Antenna 368: Signal 370: Satellite signal receiver 376: Antenna 378: Satellite positioning / communication signal 380: Network transceiver 382: Data Bus 384: Processor 386: Memory 388:PRS sequence component 390: Network transceiver 392: Data Bus 394: Processor 396: Memory 398: PRS sequence component 400:UE 402: Antenna 403: SPS Antenna 404: Transceiver 406: SPS Receiver 408: Sensor 410: Processor 450: User Interface 452: Microphone / Speaker 454: Keyboard 456: Monitor 470: Side Link Manager 500: Wireless Communication System 502: First UE 504: Second UE 505: Radio Bearer 510: Radio Bearer 515: Connection Request 520: Connection Response 525: Connection Established 530: Side Link 535: Side Link Data 600: TDD Side Link (PC5) Resource Configuration 650: Resource Reservation Plan 652: First Reserved 654: Second Reserved 656: Third Reserve 710: Scene 720: Scene 730: Scene 740: Scene 800: Sidelink communication scheduling (or resource configuration) scheme 900: Wireless Communication System 904:V-UE 906:V-UE 910:RSU 1000: Side-link positioning scheme 1010: Scene 1020: Scene 1030: Scene 1100: UE Distribution Scenarios 1110: UE Distribution Scenarios 1120: UE Distribution Scenarios 1130: UE Distribution Scenario 1200: Program 1210: Square 1220: Square 1230: Square 1300: Implementation Method 1400: Implementation Method 1402: Candidate UE Cluster 1500: Implementation Method 1600: Implementation Method 1700: Area 1702:UE 1800: Side Link Area Topology 1900:SL Anchor UE Reconfiguration Solution 1902: First SL PRS Range 1904:SL PRS range 1906:SL PRS range 1908:SL PRS range 2000:SL Regional Configuration 2100: Program 2110: Square 2120: Square 2130: Square 2200: Program 2210: Square 2220: Square 2230: Square 2300: PRS Resource Pool Configuration 2302: PRS Resource Pool 2304: PRS Resource Pool 2306: PRS Resource Pool 2308: PRS Resource Pool 2400:SL Region Configuration 2500: Program 2510: Square 2520: Square 2600: Program 2610: Square 2620: Square 2630: Square 2640: Square 2700: PRS Resource Pool Configuration 2702: PRS Resource Pool 2704: PRS Resource Pool 2706: PRS Resource Pool 2708: PRS Resource Pool AoA1: Angle of Arrival AoA2: Angle of Arrival AoD1: Leave the corner AoD2: Departure Angle DL-PRS: Downlink Positioning Reference Signal F1: Interface L: Layer N2: Interface N3: Interface PC5: Interface PSCCH: Physical side link control channel PSFCH: Physical Side Link Feedback Channel RTT1: Multiple Round Trip Times RTT2: More round trip times RTT3: More round trip times RTT4: Multiple Round Trip Times RTTN: Multiple Round Trip Xn-C: Interface

[0436] Domestic storage information (please note in order of storage institution, date, and number) none Overseas storage information (please note in the order of storage country, institution, date, and number) none

Claims

1. A method of operating a user equipment (UE), comprising the steps of: determining a sideline cross-link area identifier associated with a sideline cross-link area where the UE is located, the sideline cross-link area corresponding to one of a plurality of sideline cross-link areas; monitoring one or more sideline cross-link PRSs associated with one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) sequences from one or more other UEs; based on the monitoring, selecting one of the plurality of PRS sequences not used by the one or more other UEs from the plurality of PRS sequences associated with the identified sideline cross-link area; and transmitting the sideline cross-link PRS according to the selected PRS sequence.

2. According to the method of request item 1, wherein the side-side crosslink PRS is transmitted on a common-side crosslink frequency layer.

3. The method according to request item 1, wherein a plurality of reserved PRS resource pools are associated with a side link auxiliary location estimation procedure, also includes the following steps: determining one of the one or more reserved PRS resource pools for transmitting the side link PRS.

4. According to the method of request item 3, wherein the reserved PRS resource pool is determined by network configuration, randomly selected by the UE, or selected based on the side-link area identifier associated with the side-link area where the UE is located.

5. According to the method of request item 1, wherein the selected PRS sequence is selected based on the side-link area identifier, the side-link UE identifier of the UE, a time slot number on which the side-link PRS is transmitted, a symbol number on which the side-link PRS is transmitted, or a combination thereof.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the sidelink area identifier is determined based on: an initial PRS sequence identifier provided by a network component, or an initial location estimate provided by the network component, or one or more sidelink area identifiers associated with one or more other UEs, or one or more measurements performed by one or more sensors of the UE, or a combination thereof.

7. The method according to request item 1 also includes the following steps: detecting a PRS sequence collision associated with the transmitted sidelink PRS; and in response to the detected PRS sequence collision, selecting a different PRS sequence for PRS retransmission.

8. A method of operating a user equipment (UE) comprising the steps of: determining a sideline cross-link area identifier associated with a sideline cross-link area where the UE is located, the sideline cross-link area corresponding to one of a plurality of sideline cross-link areas; identifying a plurality of location reference signal (PRS) sequences associated with a set of sideline cross-link areas within a threshold distance to the sideline cross-link area, the set of sideline cross-link areas being a subset of the plurality of sideline cross-link areas; and performing a blind search of the sideline cross-link PRS, the blind search being limited to the plurality of identified PRS sequences.

9. The method of request item 8, wherein the blind search is performed on a common-side link frequency layer.

10. The method according to request item 8, wherein the blind search is performed on a plurality of reserved PRS resource pools associated with a side link-assisted location estimation procedure.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the sidelink area identifier is determined based on: an initial PRS sequence identifier provided by a network component, or an initial location estimate provided by the network component, or one or more sidelink area identifiers associated with one or more other UEs, or one or more measurements performed by one or more sensors of the UE, or a combination thereof.

12. According to the method of request item 8, wherein the set of side traversal areas includes the side traversal area where the UE is located and the adjacent nodes of the side traversal area where the UE is located.

13. The method according to claim 8 also includes: Send a measurement report based on one or more positioning measurements of the one or more sidelink PRS performed via the blind search.

14. The method of request item 8, wherein a blind search is performed on the one or more identified PRS sequences, and an additional search is performed on the one or more network-configured PRS sequences.

15. A user equipment (UE), comprising: One memory; At least one transceiver; The system includes at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: determine a side-link area identifier associated with a side-link area where the UE is located, the side-link area corresponding to one of a plurality of side-link areas; monitor one or more side-link PRSs associated with one or more Position Reference Signal (PRS) sequences from one or more other UEs; based on the monitoring, select one of the plurality of PRS sequences associated with the identified side-link area that is not used by the one or more other UEs; and transmit the side-link PRS via the at least one transceiver according to the selected PRS sequence.

16. The UE according to request item 15, wherein the side-side crosslink PRS is transmitted on a common side crosslink frequency layer.

17. The UE according to request item 15, wherein a plurality of reserved PRS resource pools are associated with a side-link auxiliary location estimation procedure, and wherein the at least one processor is also configured to determine one of the one or more reserved PRS resource pools for transmitting the side-link PRS.

18. The UE according to request item 17, wherein the determined reserved PRS resource pool is network configured, randomly selected by the UE, or selected based on the side traversal area identifier associated with the side traversal area where the UE is located.

19. The UE according to request item 15, wherein the selected PRS sequence is selected based on the side-link area identifier, the side-link UE identifier, a time slot number on which the side-link PRS is transmitted, a symbol number on which the side-link PRS is transmitted, or a combination thereof.

20. The UE according to request item 15, wherein the sidelink area identifier is determined based on: an initial PRS sequence identifier provided by a network component, or an initial location estimate provided by the network component, or one or more sidelink area identifiers associated with one or more other UEs, or one or more measurements performed by one or more sensors of the UE, or a combination thereof.

21. The UE according to request item 15, wherein the at least one processor is also configured to: detect a PRS sequence collision associated with a transmitted side link PRS; and in response to the detected PRS sequence collision, select a different PRS sequence for PRS retransmission.

22. A user equipment (UE), comprising: One memory; At least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: determine a sideline cross-link area identifier associated with a sideline cross-link area where the UE is located, the sideline cross-link area corresponding to one of a plurality of sideline cross-link areas; identify a plurality of location reference signal (PRS) sequences associated with a set of sideline cross-link areas within a threshold distance to the sideline cross-link area, the set of sideline cross-link areas being a subset of the plurality of sideline cross-link areas; and perform a blind search of the sideline cross-link PRS, the blind search being limited to the plurality of identified PRS sequences.

23. The UE according to request item 22, wherein the blind search is performed on a common-side mobile link frequency layer.

24. The UE according to request item 22, wherein the blind search is performed on a plurality of reserved PRS resource pools associated with the one-sided line-assisted location estimation procedure.

25. The UE according to request item 22, wherein the sidelink area identifier is determined based on: an initial PRS sequence identifier provided by a network component, or an initial location estimate provided by the network component, or one or more sidelink area identifiers associated with one or more other UEs, or one or more measurements performed by one or more sensors of the UE, or a combination thereof.

26. The UE according to request item 22, wherein the set of side traversal areas includes the side traversal area where the UE is located and the adjacent nodes of the side traversal area where the UE is located.

27. The UE according to request item 22, wherein the at least one processor is also configured to transmit a measurement report via the at least one transceiver, the measurement report being based on one or more positioning measurements of the one or more sidelink PRS performed via the blind search.

28. The UE according to request item 22, wherein a blind search is performed on the one or more identified PRS sequences, and an additional search is performed on the one or more network-configured PRS sequences.

29. A user equipment (UE), comprising: The components include: a component for determining a side traversal area identifier associated with the side traversal area where the UE is located, the side traversal area corresponding to one of a plurality of side traversal areas; a component for monitoring one or more side traversal PRSs associated with one or more Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) sequences from one or more other UEs; a component for selecting, based on the monitoring, one of the plurality of PRS sequences not used by the one or more other UEs from the plurality of Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) sequences associated with the identified side traversal area; and a component for transmitting the side traversal PRS according to the selected PRS sequence.

30. The UE according to request item 29, wherein the side-side crosslink PRS is transmitted on a common side crosslink frequency layer.

31. According to request item 29, the UE, wherein the plurality of reserved PRS resource pools are associated with a one-sided walkway-assisted location estimation procedure, also includes: A component used to determine which of the one or more reserved PRS resource pools is used to transmit the side link PRS.

32. The UE according to request item 31, wherein the determined reserved PRS resource pool is network configured, randomly selected by the UE, or selected based on the side traversal area identifier associated with the side traversal area where the UE is located.

33. The UE according to request item 29, wherein the selected PRS sequence is selected based on the side-link area identifier, the side-link UE identifier, a time slot number on which the side-link PRS is transmitted, a symbol number on which the side-link PRS is transmitted, or a combination thereof.

34. The UE according to request item 29, wherein the sidelink area identifier is determined based on: an initial PRS sequence identifier provided by a network component, or an initial location estimate provided by the network component, or one or more sidelink area identifiers associated with one or more other UEs, or one or more measurements performed by one or more sensors of the UE, or a combination thereof.

35. The UE according to request item 29 also includes: A component for detecting a PRS sequence collision associated with the transmitted sidelink PRS; and a component for selecting a different PRS sequence for PRS retransmission in response to a detected PRS sequence collision.

36. A user equipment (UE), comprising: The components include: a component for determining a side traversal area identifier associated with a side traversal area where the UE is located, the side traversal area corresponding to one of a plurality of side traversal areas; a component for identifying a plurality of positioning reference signal (PRS) sequences associated with a set of side traversal areas within a threshold distance to the side traversal area, the set of side traversal areas being a subset of the plurality of side traversal areas; and a component for performing a blind search of the side traversal PRS, the blind search being limited to the plurality of identified PRS sequences.

37. The UE according to request item 36, wherein the blind search is performed on a common-side mobile link frequency layer.

38. The UE according to request item 36, wherein the blind search is performed on a plurality of reserved PRS resource pools associated with a side-link auxiliary location estimation procedure.

39. The UE according to request item 36, wherein the sidelink area identifier is determined based on: an initial PRS sequence identifier provided by a network component, or an initial location estimate provided by the network component, or one or more sidelink area identifiers associated with one or more other UEs, or one or more measurements performed by one or more sensors of the UE, or a combination thereof.

40. The UE according to request item 36, wherein the set of side traversal areas includes the side traversal area where the UE is located and the adjacent nodes of the side traversal area where the UE is located.

41. The UE according to request item 36 also includes: A component for sending a measurement report based on one or more positioning measurements of the one or more sidelink PRS performed via the blind search.

42. The UE according to request item 36, wherein a blind search is performed on the one or more identified PRS sequences, and an additional search is performed on the one or more network-configured PRS sequences.

43. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: determine a sideline crosslink area identifier associated with a sideline crosslink area where the UE is located, the sideline crosslink area corresponding to one of a plurality of sideline crosslink areas; monitor one or more sideline crosslink PRSs associated with one or more Position Reference Signal (PRS) sequences from one or more other UEs; based on the monitoring, select one of the plurality of PRS sequences not used by the one or more other UEs from the plurality of Position Reference Signal (PRS) sequences associated with the identified sideline crosslink area; and transmit the sideline crosslink PRS according to the selected PRS sequence.

44. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to request item 43, wherein the side-link PRS is transmitted on a common side-link frequency layer.

45. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to request item 43, wherein a plurality of reserved PRS resource pools are associated with a side-link auxiliary location estimation procedure, and wherein such instructions also cause the UE to determine one of the one or more reserved PRS resource pools for transmitting the side-link PRS.

46. ​​The non-transitory computer-readable media according to request item 45, wherein the reserved PRS resource pool determined therein is network configured, randomly selected by the UE, or selected based on the side link area identifier associated with the side link area where the UE is located.

47. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to request item 43, wherein the selected PRS sequence is selected based on the side-link area identifier, the side-link UE identifier of the UE, a time slot number on which the side-link PRS is transmitted, a symbol number on which the side-link PRS is transmitted, or a combination thereof.

48. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 43, wherein the sidelink area identifier is determined based on: an initial PRS sequence identifier provided by a network component, or an initial location estimate provided by the network component, or one or more sidelink area identifiers associated with one or more other UEs, or one or more measurements performed by one or more sensors of the UE, or a combination thereof.

49. The non-transitory computer-readable medium pursuant to request item 43, wherein the one or more instructions also cause the UE to: detect a PRS sequence collision associated with the transmitted sidelink PRS; and in response to the detected PRS sequence collision, select a different PRS sequence for PRS retransmission.

50. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: determine a sideline traverse area identifier associated with a sideline traverse area where the UE is located, the sideline traverse area corresponding to one of a plurality of sideline traverse areas; identify a plurality of location reference signal (PRS) sequences associated with a set of sideline traverse areas within a threshold distance to the sideline traverse area, the set of sideline traverse areas being a subset of the plurality of sideline traverse areas; and perform a blind search of the sideline traverse PRS, the blind search being limited to the plurality of identified PRS sequences.

51. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to request item 50, wherein the blind search is performed on a common-side crosslink frequency layer.

52. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to request item 50, wherein the blind search is performed on a plurality of reserved PRS resource pools associated with a side link-assisted position estimation program.

53. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to request item 50, wherein the sidelink area identifier is determined based on: an initial PRS sequence identifier provided by a network component, or an initial position estimate provided by the network component, or one or more sidelink area identifiers associated with one or more other UEs, or one or more measurements performed by one or more sensors of the UE, or a combination thereof.

54. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to request item 50, wherein the set of side traversal regions includes the side traversal region where the UE is located and the adjacent nodes of the side traversal region where the UE is located.

55. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to request item 50, wherein such instructions also cause the UE to send a measurement report based on one or more positioning measurements of the one or more sidelink PRS performed via the blind search.

56. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to request item 50, wherein a blind search is performed on the one or more identified PRS sequences, and an additional search is performed on the one or more network-configured PRS sequences.

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