Method and apparatus for user equipment of mobile communication system

Abstract

Embodiments relate to vehicles, devices, methods and computer programs for user equipment of a mobile communication system. A method (10) for a user equipment UE (200; 300) of a mobile communication system (400) and for determining a communication group of a plurality of UEs (200; 300) comprises: receiving (12) information about radio access capabilities from candidate UEs (300) of the communication group; and determining (14) one or more radio access technologies to be used in the communication group based on the information about radio access capabilities from the candidate UEs (300). The method (10) further comprises: determining (16) participants of the communication group, the determination being based on their radio access technologies; and forming (18) the group based on communicating using one or more radio technologies.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to vehicles, devices, methods and computer programs for user equipment of a mobile communication system, and more particularly, but not exclusively, to concepts for determining communication groups of user equipment using multiple Radio Access Technologies (RATs). Background Art

[0002] Direct communication between mobile devices, also known as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) or car-to-car communication, has become a feature of the development of newer generation mobile communication systems. By enabling direct communication between devices, network coverage can be extended. Devices located within the coverage area of ​​a mobile communication system can relay signals to devices located outside the coverage area.

[0003] Document WO 2019 / 027233 A1 relates to a method for performing an operation involving changing a radio access technology (RAT) by a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) terminal in a wireless communication system. One or more RATs are mapped to each V2X service with respect to a geographical area.

[0004] In document US2015 / 0262481 A1, a method for determining the presence of a queue is disclosed. The method comprises providing several vehicle data sets associated with several vehicles, and comparing the vehicle data sets of the group of vehicles with at least one limit value of the vehicle data set. The method comprises identifying at least a vehicle selection from the group of vehicles based on the comparison result, and calculating the distance between the vehicles in the vehicle selection. The method comprises determining the relative position of the vehicles in the vehicle selection based at least on the calculated distance.

[0005] R. Jacob et al. described the use of multi-RAT in autonomous driving in "Hybrid V2X Communications: Multi-RAT as Enabler for Connected Autonomous Driving" (2018 IEEE 29th Annual International Symposium on Personal, Indoor and Mobile Radio Communications (PIMRC)). Developing the full potential of autonomous driving systems requires reliable wireless communications that enable network connectivity and collaboration between vehicles. Multiple V2X technologies are addressing the needs of connected autonomous driving applications.

[0006] Recent investigations have shown that no single technology is flexible and reliable enough to meet the various requirements in terms of latency, reliability and throughput in the various situations observed by vehicles. Hybrid V2X communication enables the coordination of multiple communication technologies to adapt effectively to time-varying channel and road traffic conditions. In addition, it allows increasing the reliability and throughput of transmissions by combining multiple RATs in parallel. This work outlines the potential, challenges and main design aspects of hybrid V2X communication.

[0007] Document WO 2018 / 182591 A1 relates to a concept for message splitting using multi-radio access technology (multi-RAT) transmission. This concept provides for generating a priority message including first data and a non-priority message including second data. In addition, D1 proposes selecting a priority RAT and a non-priority RAT, and transmitting a priority message using the priority RAT, and transmitting a non-priority message using the non-priority RAT. Summary of the invention

[0008] There is a need for an improved concept for network access in a communication group.

[0009] This demand is solved by the technical solution provided by the present invention.

[0010] Embodiments are based on the discovery that multiple RATs can be used to form a communication group between user equipments (UEs). In such a communication group, the radio links between the participants can use different RATs. Which combinations are possible depends on the capabilities of the UEs regarding communication in different RATs. It is found that if the UEs communicate their capabilities regarding RAT support, an inter-RAT communication group can be formed.

[0011] An embodiment provides a method for a user equipment UE of a mobile communication system and for determining a communication group of multiple UEs. The method includes receiving information about radio access capabilities from candidate UEs of the communication group, and determining one or more radio access technologies to be used in the communication group based on the information about radio access capabilities from the candidate UEs. The method further includes: determining participants of the communication group, the determination being based on their radio access technologies; and forming a group based on communicating using one or more radio technologies. The embodiment enables the formation of a communication group of UEs using different RATs. In particular, the communication group can be formed based on criteria such as spatial proximity or a common route of travel, rather than based on a common RAT.

[0012] For example, the method may include broadcasting information about the radio capabilities of the UE to the candidate UE. Other UEs may then receive and consider these capabilities when forming a communication group. Embodiments may enable discovery of UEs using other RATs as group candidates. Using a broadcast mechanism may enable candidate detection in the vicinity of the UE.

[0013] Additionally, the method may further include determining a role of the UE in the group based on a predefined set of roles.In an embodiment, UEs of a communication group may assume different roles or functions, thereby enabling decentralized or centralized group organization over multiple RATs.

[0014] In some embodiments, the predefined role set includes relaying messages passed in the group from a first RAT to a second RAT. In an embodiment, some UEs may assume the role of relays between different RATs and UEs, thereby enabling an inter-RAT communication group. An embodiment may assign the role of relay to one or more UEs in a communication group, which allows subgroups of different RATs to be connected.

[0015] The determination of the participants of the communication group may include determining a connection graph of the communication group. The edges of the connection graph may indicate communication links between the participants of the communication group using one or more radio access technologies. Group formation and link evaluation / efficiency improvement may be achieved using a graphical representation.

[0016] For example, the method may include determining double edges in a connection graph during group communication and modifying the connection graph by reducing the number of double edges in the graph. By reducing the number of double edges, redundant communication links may be reduced.

[0017] The method may further include: initially communicating in the group using a plurality of communication links with different radio access technologies, determining redundant communication links, and refraining from communicating over the redundant communication links. Reducing the number of redundant communication links may improve overall communication efficiency in the communication group.

[0018] In some embodiments, the method may include: broadcasting information about redundant communication links to / receiving information about redundant communication links from communication group participants. By transmitting information about redundant links in the group, a centralized or decentralized method for reducing or optimizing the number of communication links can be implemented.

[0019] The UE may be a vehicle and the communication group may be a vehicle train. Embodiments may enable efficient inter-RAT queuing, thereby achieving larger trains and correspondingly higher traffic efficiency.

[0020] The determination of the radio access technology to be used between vehicles of the communication group may be based on the predicted quality of service of the RAT.By being able to select from multiple RATs, the quality of service may be improved.

[0021] The method may further include determining a RAT to use between vehicles of the communication group based on the distance between the vehicles.Embodiments may enable distance adaptive RAT selection, which may improve platooning efficiency.

[0022] In a further embodiment, the determination of the radio access technology to be used between vehicles of the communication group may be based on the overall fuel consumption of the queue. In an embodiment, the fuel consumption of the queue may be reduced by utilizing different RATs. A fuel efficient RAT selection may be used.

[0023] The embodiment also provides a device for a user equipment of a mobile communication system and for determining a communication group of multiple UEs. The device includes one or more interfaces configured to communicate in the mobile communication system. The device further includes a control module configured to control the one or more interfaces. The control module is further configured to perform one of the methods described herein.

[0024] A vehicle comprising the device is another embodiment.

[0025] An embodiment further provides a computer program having a program code for performing one or more of the above methods when the computer program is executed on a computer, a processor or a programmable hardware component. A further embodiment is a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by a computer, a processor or a programmable hardware component, cause the computer to implement one of the methods described herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Some other features or aspects will be described using the following non-limiting embodiments of an apparatus or method or computer program or computer program product, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0027] Figure 1 A block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a method for a UE;

[0028] Figure 2 A block diagram showing embodiments of an apparatus for a UE, a UE, and a system; and

[0029] Figure 3 Depicted is the use of a connection diagram in an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] Various example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some example embodiments are shown. In the accompanying drawings, the thickness of lines, layers or regions may be exaggerated for clarity. Broken lines, dotted lines or dash-dot lines may be used to illustrate optional components.

[0031] Accordingly, although the example embodiments are capable of various modifications and alternative forms, embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings and will be described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the example embodiments are not intended to be limited to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the example embodiments will cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the scope of the present invention. Throughout the description of the drawings, the same numbers refer to the same or similar elements.

[0032] As used herein, the term "or" refers to a non-exclusive or, unless otherwise indicated (e.g., "or otherwise" or "or alternatively"). In addition, as used herein, unless otherwise indicated, words used to describe the relationship between elements should be broadly considered to include a direct relationship or the presence of intermediate elements. For example, when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "coupled" to another element, the element may be directly connected or coupled to the other element, or there may be intermediate elements. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly coupled" to another element, no intermediate elements exist. Similarly, words such as "between," "adjacent," and the like should be interpreted in the same manner.

[0033] The terms used herein are used only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprise" or "include" when used herein specify the presence of the described features, integers, steps, operations, elements, or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or groups thereof.

[0034] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the example embodiments belong. It will also be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly defined as such herein.

[0035] Embodiments may relate to the formation of multiple RAT queues as an example of a communication group. An interesting application of cooperative driving is the coordinated longitudinal control of vehicles such as heavy trucks: platooning. The goal is to reduce fuel consumption and achieve road efficiency while ensuring safety, and this application is supported by the regular exchange of messages. Here and in the following, a vehicle queue is considered as an example of a communication group. In general, other communication groups are also conceivable, for example, UEs grouped for gaming, traveling, information broadcasting, etc.

[0036] The messages used to support queuing can be standardized messages for a specific technology, or proprietary messages for a wide variety of technologies. Modern vehicle systems are equipped with multiple communication systems, called multi-radio access technology (multi-RAT) systems. These multi-RAT (3rd Generation Partnership Interface PC5 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IEEE 802.11p) systems can help increase the reliability of message exchanges, or support a combination of different queuing systems supported by different messages potentially sent over different technologies.

[0037] Some embodiments may take into account information from several vehicles and about the relative distances between candidate vehicles. One aspect of the embodiments is that they also take into account the communication capabilities of the vehicles. Further information may be collected from the vehicle in question using wireless communications directly or via transportation infrastructure (e.g., roadside devices).

[0038] Figure 1 A block diagram of an embodiment of a method 10 for determining a communication group of a plurality of UEs for a mobile communication system is shown. The method 10 comprises receiving 12 information about radio access capabilities from candidate UEs of the communication group, and determining 14 one or more radio access technologies to be used in the communication group based on the information about radio access capabilities from the candidate UEs. The method 10 further comprises: determining 16 participants of the communication group, the determination being based on their radio access technologies; and forming 18 a group based on communicating using one or more radio technologies. An embodiment may check available communication devices and the compatibility of these devices. A communication group may then be formed using a variety of or even all available RATs, for example forming a connection diagram as will be described in detail below. Other criteria may also be considered, for example, when a communication link is interrupted, the vehicle needs to consume energy to re-form a queue. For example, a group of UEs in the vicinity of each other may be considered. Depending on their communication capabilities (RAT support), a group of mixed RATs may be formed.

[0039] Figure 2 A block diagram of an embodiment of an apparatus 20, 30 for a UE 200, 300, a UE 200, 300, and a system 400 is shown. Figure 2In the figure, two embodiments of devices 20, 30 are shown, which are configured according to Figure 1 The methods 10 described in the examples interact with each other. Figure 2 In the present invention, the device 20, 30 of the user equipment 200, 300 for the mobile communication system 400 is configured to determine a communication group of multiple UEs. The device 20, 30 includes one or more interfaces 22, 32, which are configured to communicate in the mobile communication system 400. The device 20, 30 further includes a control module 24, 34, which is coupled to the corresponding one or more interfaces 22, 32. The control module 24, 34 is further configured to control the one or more interfaces 22, 32 and perform one of the methods 10 described herein. The UE 200, 300 can be a vehicle, which includes an embodiment of the device 20, 30. Another embodiment is a system 400 including multiple UEs 200, 300 or a method for a system involving multiple UEs 200, 300.

[0040] like Figure 2 As shown, the device 20, the control module 24 therein implements the method 10, namely receiving 12 UE capabilities (e.g., from a plurality of candidate UEs), determining 14 the RAT for the group, determining 16 group participants, and forming 18 the group. These steps can also be implemented on the side of another UE 300. Figure 2 As further indicated in , the other UE 300 may be informed about the group formation, for example by means of a corresponding message. For example, candidate UEs may be nearby UEs, which broadcast their information, such as identification and RAT capabilities. UEs that are in the vicinity of each other (communication range) may make them potential group candidates. Such a group may include further UEs, such as UEs that are not close to each individual UE of the group but are close to any UE of the group. This will be further detailed below with the help of graphical considerations.

[0041] In an embodiment, one or more interfaces 22, 32 may correspond to any component for obtaining, receiving, transmitting or providing analog or digital signals or information, such as any connector, contact, pin, register, input port, output port, conductor, channel, etc. that allows providing or obtaining signals or information. The interface may be wireless or wired, and it may be configured to communicate with other internal or external components (i.e., transmit or receive signals, information). One or more interfaces 22, 32 may include other components to implement corresponding communications in the mobile communication system 400, such components may include transceiver (transmitter and / or receiver) components, such as one or more low noise amplifiers (LNA), one or more power amplifiers (PA), one or more duplexers, one or more duplexers, one or more filters or filter circuits, one or more converters, one or more mixers, correspondingly adapted radio frequency components, etc. One or more interfaces 22, 32 may be coupled to one or more antennas, which may correspond to any transmitting and / or receiving antennas, such as horn antennas, dipole antennas, patch antennas, sector antennas, etc. The antennas may be arranged in defined geometric arrangements, such as uniform arrays, linear arrays, circular arrays, triangular arrays, uniform field antennas, field arrays, combinations thereof, etc. In some examples, one or more interfaces 22, 32 may serve the purpose of transmitting or receiving or both, i.e., transmitting and receiving information, such as information related to capabilities, control information, payload information, application requirements, trigger indications, requests, messages, data packets, acknowledgment packets / messages, etc.

[0042] like Figure 2 As shown, one or more interfaces 22, 32 are coupled to control modules 24, 34 at devices 20, 30. In an embodiment, control modules 24, 34 may be implemented using one or more processing units, one or more processing devices, any components for processing (such as processors, computers, or programmable hardware components that can be operated with corresponding adapted software). In other words, the described functions of control modules 24, 34 may also be implemented in software, which is then executed on one or more programmable hardware components. Such hardware components may include general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), microcontrollers, etc.

[0043] Figure 2Also shown is an embodiment of a system 400 including embodiments of UEs 200, 300. In an embodiment, communication (i.e., transmission, reception, or both) may occur directly between UEs 200, 300 and / or between a mobile transceiver / vehicle and a network component (infrastructure or mobile transceiver, such as a base station, network server, backend server, etc.). Such communication may utilize the mobile communication system 400. Such communication may be implemented directly, such as by means of device-to-device (D2D) communication, which in the case of vehicles 200, 300 may also include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) or car-to-car communication. Such communication may be implemented using the specifications of the mobile communication system 400.

[0044] In an embodiment, one or more interfaces 22, 32 may be configured to communicate wirelessly in the mobile communication system 400. To do so, radio resources are used, such as frequency, time, code and / or space resources, which can be used for wireless communication with the base transceiver station and for direct communication. The assignment of radio resources may be controlled by the base transceiver station, i.e., determining which resources are used for D2D and which are not used. Here and below, the radio resources of the respective components may correspond to any radio resources that can be thought of on a radio carrier, and they may use the same or different granularity on the respective carriers. The radio resources may correspond to a resource block (such as an RB in LTE / LTE-A / LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U)), one or more carriers, subcarriers, one or more radio frames, radio subframes, radio slots, one or more code sequences potentially with corresponding spreading factors, one or more spatial resources, such as spatial subchannels, spatial precoding vectors, any combination thereof, etc.

[0045] For example, in direct cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) (where V2X includes at least V2V, V2 infrastructure (V2I), etc.), the transmission onwards according to 3GPP Release 14 can be managed by the infrastructure (so-called Mode 3) or run in the UE (so-called Mode 4).

[0046] like Figure 2As shown in , the mobile communication system 400 may correspond, for example, to one of the third generation partnership project (3GPP) standardized mobile communication networks, wherein the terms mobile communication system and mobile communication network are used synonymously. The mobile or wireless communication system 400 may correspond to a fifth generation mobile communication system (5G or New Radio (NR)) and may use millimeter wave technology. The mobile communication system may correspond to or include, for example, Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) or UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), Evolved UTRAN (e-UTRAN), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) or Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) network, GSM / EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN), or a mobile communication network with a different standard, for example, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WIMAX) network IEEE 802.16 or Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) IEEE 802.11, typically an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) network, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) network, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network, a Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) network, a Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) network, a Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA) network, etc.

[0047] Service provisioning can be implemented by network components such as base transceivers, relay stations or UEs, such as coordinating service provisioning in a cluster or group of multiple UEs. The base transceiver can be operable or configured to communicate with one or more active mobile transceivers / vehicles 200, 300, and the base transceiver can be located within or adjacent to the coverage area of ​​another base transceiver (e.g., a macro cell base transceiver or a small cell base transceiver). Therefore, an embodiment can provide a mobile communication system 400, which includes two or more mobile transceivers / vehicles 200, 300 and one or more base transceivers, wherein the base transceiver can establish a macro cell or a small cell, such as a micro cell, a metropolitan area cell or a femto cell. A mobile transceiver or UE can correspond to a smart phone, a cellular phone, a laptop computer, a notebook, a personal computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a universal serial bus (USB) stick, a car, a vehicle, etc. According to 3GPP terminology, a mobile transceiver can also be referred to as a user equipment (UE) or a mobile device. The vehicle may correspond to any conceivable means for transport, such as a car, a bicycle, a motorcycle, a van, a truck, a bus, a ship, a boat, an airplane, a train, a tram, etc.

[0048] A base transceiver station may be located in a fixed or stationary part of a network or system. A base transceiver station may be or correspond to a remote radio head, a transmission point, an access point, a macro cell, a small cell, a micro cell, a femto cell, a metropolitan area cell, etc. A base transceiver station may be a wireless interface of a wired network that enables the transmission of radio signals to a UE or a mobile transceiver. Such radio signals may conform to radio signals standardized by 3GPP, for example, or generally conform to one or more of the systems listed above. Thus, a base transceiver station may correspond to a NodeB, an eNodeB, a base transceiver station (BTS), an access point, a remote radio head, a relay station, a transmission point, etc., which may be further subdivided into remote units and central units.

[0049] The mobile transceiver / vehicle 200, 300 may be associated with a network component, a base transceiver station or a cell. The term cell refers to the coverage area of ​​the radio service provided by a base transceiver station (e.g., NodeB (NB), eNodeB (eNB), remote radio head, transmission point, etc.). A base transceiver station may operate one or more cells on one or more frequency layers, and in some embodiments, a cell may correspond to a sector. For example, a sector may be implemented using a sector antenna, which provides the characteristic of covering an angular interval around a remote unit or base transceiver station. In some embodiments, a base transceiver station may, for example, operate three cells or six cells covering sectors of 120° (in the case of three cells), 60° (in the case of six cells), respectively. A base transceiver station may operate multiple sectorized antennas. In the following, a cell may represent a corresponding base transceiver station generating the cell, or similarly, a base transceiver station may represent a cell generated by a base transceiver station.

[0050] UE / vehicles 200, 300 can communicate directly with each other, i.e. without involving any base station transceiver, which is also called device-to-device (D2D) communication. An example of D2D is direct communication between vehicles, also known as vehicle-to-vehicle communication (V2V), car-to-car DSRC, etc. Technologies that implement such D2D communication include 802.11p, 3GPP systems (4G, 5G, NR and higher versions), etc. For example, Figure 3 The two UEs 100, 200 in are two vehicles that share a certain part of their route. Accordingly, they want to exchange certain messages, such as cooperative awareness messages (CAM) or decentralized environment notification messages (DENM), etc. For example, certain broadcast signals can be detected so that the vehicles 200, 300 can be aware of each other. At some point, they want to communicate directly with each other, for example to form a cluster or a platoon or any other purpose.

[0051] As described above, in an embodiment, before forming a group / queue, information about communication capabilities can be exchanged between UE / vehicles. For example, such information can be broadcast by UE 200 to multiple candidate UEs 300, and vice versa. The coverage area of ​​UE 200 (for example, the area where it can receive messages from other UEs 300 and other UEs 300 can receive messages from UE 200) can determine the potential candidates of the communication group. More specifically, these UEs can be candidates (neighbors) for direct communication (one hop, one layer), which can be extended with neighbors of neighbors (two hops, second layer) and the like. This mechanism can be implemented using conventional messages or new messages. In some embodiments, such broadcasting can be performed before, during and / or after the formation of the queue. In addition, method 10 may further include determining the role of UE 200 in the group based on a predefined role set. Different UEs 200 in the group can assume different roles. For example, some UEs can be defined as clusters or group heads (for example, certain communication master roles), while other UEs can be configured as clusters or group members (for example, certain communication slave roles). In addition, the predefined role set may include relaying messages passed in the group from a first RAT to a second RAT, respectively, and vice versa. Some UEs in the group may be able to use multiple RATs. One or more of these UEs may be configured to relay signals from one RAT to another RAT (and vice versa), thereby allowing UEs that only support a single RAT to be in the same group.

[0052] The determination of the participants of the communication group may include determining a connection graph of the communication group, wherein the edges of the connection graph indicate communication links between the participants of the communication group using one or more radio access technologies. The connection graph is to be understood as representing UEs with its nodes and representing communication links with its edges.

[0053] Figure 3 Depicted is the use of a connection graph in one embodiment. Figure 3 Four UEs 200A, 200B, 300C, and 300D are shown, which form a communication group (e.g., vehicles forming a platoon). Radio links are depicted as edges of a connectivity graph. UE 200A and 200B communicate via an LTE-PC5 link, UE 200B and 300C communicate via an 802.11p link, and UE 300C and 300D communicate via a 5G-PC5 link. As indicated by the dotted 802.11p links, the graph becomes disconnected when the dashed edges are removed (radio link failure on 802.11p). Before forming a group, it can be verified that the set of candidate vehicles for the platoon is able to form a connectivity graph (e.g., Figure 3 ).

[0054] exist Figure 3, the graph is connected. Vehicles 200A and 200B are equipped with LTE-PC5, vehicles 200B and 300C are equipped with 802.11p, and vehicles 300C and 300D are equipped with 5G-PC5. Vehicle 200A is connected to 300D because 200B has both PC5 and 802.11p, and because 300C is equipped with 802.11p and 5G-PC5. In the example of a non-connected graph, vehicles 200A and 200B are equipped with LTE-PC5, vehicles 200B and 300C are equipped with 802.11p, and vehicle 300D is equipped with 5G-PC5. Vehicle 200A cannot communicate with 300D because there is no path to it.

[0055] In an embodiment, the connectivity map may not be determined visually, but it may be assessed which UEs can be included in a group using the available RAT so that the message can be propagated / relayed to all group members. Figure 3 As shown, the radio links shown by dashed lines are essential to enable / link all members of the group.

[0056] In an embodiment, centralized as well as distributed mechanisms can be envisioned to form a multi-RAT communication group or queue. In a centralized mechanism, one UE 200, 300 in the group can assume the role of queue leader, and can collect information from candidate UEs and queue members to evaluate graphs, assign roles (relay nodes), and organize queues. In a distributed approach, queues and graphs can be formed over time. For example, method 10 may then further include: determining bilaterals in a connection graph during group communication, and modifying the connection graph by reducing the number of bilaterals in the graph. The bilaterals may be determined by the UE 200, 300 themselves, for example, by determining whether they use multiple RATs to communicate with communication partners. For example, method 10 may include: performing initial communication in a group using multiple communication links with different radio access technologies, determining redundant communication links, and suppressing communication on redundant communication links. In addition, the UE may broadcast information about redundant communication links to / receive information about redundant communication links from communication group participants. Such information may enable further reduction of redundant communication links and improve the efficiency of group communication. For example, efficiency may be determined by the number of relay UEs required in the group. In both centralized and decentralized variations, the connectivity communication graph of the communication graph may be further improved by reducing the number of redundant links, for example by improving the position of relay UEs in the graph.

[0057] For example, the UE is a vehicle and the communication group is a vehicle train. The method 10 may further include determining a radio access technology to be used between vehicles of the communication group based on a predicted quality of service pQoS of the radio access technology. The radio quality of the communication link between the members of the train may be a determining factor of the minimum inter-vehicle distance and also a determining factor of the overall fuel consumption. For example, the time delay on the communication link may determine the minimum inter-vehicle distance to achieve a safe emergency braking maneuver.

[0058] In an embodiment, the method 10 may include determining the radio access technology to be used between vehicles of the communication group based on the distance between the vehicles. Such distance may be related to the pQoS of the corresponding link. In an embodiment, the pQoS may be a criterion based on which the graph or communication in the group is improved. If the radio link quality is more robust or enhanced, it may be more acceptable to have an additional radio link in the queue. In such a scenario, a lower inter-vehicle distance may be allowed because the latency of the communication in the group is lower.

[0059] In some embodiments, method 10 may determine the radio access technology to be used between the vehicles of the communication group based on the overall fuel consumption of the queue. The overall fuel consumption may be based on the minimum inter-vehicle distance and its changes due to changes in the quality / delay of the communication link (the more frequent the changes, the more fuel consumption manipulations are required to adapt the inter-vehicle distance). An embodiment may apply multi-RAT service quality predictions to the future path of the vehicle. The distance condition may then be adapted taking into account the communication range of the communication technology (RAT) used. The fuel consumption calculation may be adapted to take into account possible additional fuel consumption caused by interruption of the communication link (channel overload or out of coverage area).

[0060] As already mentioned, in embodiments, the respective methods may be implemented as a computer program or code executable on respective hardware. Thus, another embodiment is a computer program having a program code for performing at least one of the above methods when the computer program is executed on a computer, a processor or a programmable hardware component. A further embodiment is a (non-transitory) computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by a computer, a processor or a programmable hardware component, cause the computer to perform one of the methods described herein.

[0061] Those skilled in the art will readily recognize that the steps of the various above-described methods can be performed by a programmed computer, for example, the position of a time slot can be determined or calculated. Herein, some embodiments are also intended to cover program storage devices, such as digital data storage media, which are machine or computer readable and encode machine executable or computer executable instruction programs, wherein the instructions perform some or all of the steps of the methods described herein. The program storage device can be, for example, a digital memory, a magnetic storage medium such as a disk and a tape, a hard drive, or an optically readable digital data storage medium. Embodiments are also intended to cover computers programmed to perform the steps of the methods described herein, or (field) programmable logic arrays ((F)PLA) or (field) programmable gate arrays ((F)PGA) programmed to perform the steps of the above-described methods.

[0062] The description and the accompanying drawings merely illustrate the principles of the present invention. It will therefore be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to design various arrangements which, although not explicitly described or illustrated herein, embody the principles of the present invention and are included within the scope thereof. In addition, all examples listed herein are primarily and explicitly intended to be used only for teaching purposes to help the reader understand the principles of the present invention and the concepts contributed by the inventors (one or more) to promote the art, and should be considered not to be limited to such specifically listed examples and conditions. In addition, all statements of the principles, aspects, and embodiments of the present invention and their specific examples herein are intended to include their equivalents.

[0063] When provided by a processor, the functions may be provided by a single dedicated processor, a single shared processor, or multiple separate processors, some of which may be shared. In addition, the explicit use of the term "processor" or "controller" should not be considered to refer exclusively to hardware capable of executing software, and may implicitly include, but is not limited to, digital signal processor (DSP) hardware, network processors, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), and non-volatile storage devices for storing software. Other hardware, conventional or customized, may also be included. Their functions may be implemented by the operation of program logic, by dedicated logic, by the interaction of program control and dedicated logic, or even manually, and specific techniques may be selected by the implementer, as more specifically understood according to the context.

[0064] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any block diagram herein represents a conceptual view of an illustrative circuit that embodies the principles of the present invention. Similarly, it will be appreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams, state transition diagrams, pseudo-codes, etc. represent various processes that can be substantially represented in a computer-readable medium and so executed by a computer or processor, whether or not such a computer or processor is explicitly shown.

[0065] In addition, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, wherein each claim may stand alone as a separate embodiment. Although each claim may stand alone as a separate embodiment, it is noted that although a dependent claim may refer to a specific combination with one or more other claims in the claims, other embodiments may also include a combination of the subject matter of the dependent claim with each other dependent claim. Such combinations are proposed herein unless a statement is not intended to have a specific combination. In addition, it is intended to include features of a claim to any other independent claim, even if the claim is not directly subordinate to the independent claim.

[0066] It is further noted that the methods disclosed in the specification or claims may be implemented by a device having means for performing each of the respective steps of these methods.

[0067] Reference numerals list

[0068] 10 Method for first user equipment

[0069] 12 Receive information about radio access capabilities from candidate UEs of the communication group

[0070] 14 Determine one or more radio access technologies to be used in the communication group based on information about radio access capabilities from the candidate UEs

[0071] 16 Determine the participants of the communication group, the determination being based on their radio access technology

[0072] 18 Forming a group based on communicating using one or more radio technologies

[0073] 20 devices for user equipment

[0074] 22One or more interfaces

[0075] 24 control modules

[0076] 30 devices for user equipment

[0077] 32One or more interfaces

[0078] 34 Control Module

[0079] 200 user devices

[0080] 200A User Equipment

[0081] 200B User Equipment

[0082] 300 user devices

[0083] 300C User Equipment

[0084] 300D User Equipment

[0085] 400 mobile communication system.

Claims

1. A method (10) for being carried out by a user equipment (200; 300) of a mobile communication system (400) and for determining a communication group of a plurality of user equipments (200; 300), the method (10) comprising: receiving (12) information about radio access capabilities from candidate user equipment (300) of the communication group; determining (14) one or more radio access technologies to be used in the communication group based on the information about the radio access capabilities from the candidate user equipment (300); determining (16) participants of the communication group, the determination being based on their radio access technologies; determining a role of the user equipment (200; 300) in the group based on a predefined set of roles, wherein the predefined set of roles includes relaying messages communicated in the group from a first radio access technology to a second radio access technology; and forming (18) the group based on communicating using the one or more radio technologies, wherein the user equipment (200; 300) is a vehicle, and wherein the communication group is a vehicle queue, The method (10) further comprises: The radio access technology to be used between the vehicles of the communication group is determined based on an overall fuel consumption of the queue, the overall fuel consumption being based on a minimum inter-vehicle distance and its variation due to quality / delay variations of a communication link.

2. The method (10) according to claim 1, further comprising: Information about the radio capability of the user equipment (200; 300) is broadcasted to the candidate user equipment (200; 300).

3. The method (10) according to claim 1, wherein: The determination of the participants of the communication group comprises determining a connection graph of the communication group, wherein edges of the connection graph indicate communication links between the participants of the communication group using the one or more radio access technologies.

4. The method (10) according to claim 3, further comprising: Two sides in the connection graph are determined during group communication, and the connection graph is modified by reducing the number of two sides in the graph.

5. The method (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: Initial communications are conducted in the group using a plurality of communications links using different radio access technologies, redundant communications links are determined, and communications are refrained from being conducted over the redundant communications links.

6. The method (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: Information about redundant communication links is broadcasted to / received from the communication group participants.

7. The method (10) of claim 1, further comprising: A radio access technology to be used between vehicles of the communication group is determined based on the predicted quality of service of the radio access technology.

8. The method (10) according to claim 1 or 7, further comprising: The radio access technology to be used between the vehicles of the communication group is determined based on a distance between the vehicles.

9. A device (20; 30) for a user equipment (200; 300) of a mobile communication system (400) and for determining a communication group of a plurality of user equipments (200; 300), the device (20; 30) comprising: one or more interfaces (22; 32) configured to communicate in the mobile communication system (400); as well as A control module (24; 34) configured to control the one or more interfaces (22; 32), wherein the control module (24; 34) is further configured to perform the method (10) according to one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A vehicle comprising a device (20) according to claim 9.

11. A computer program product having a computer program, the computer program having a program code for carrying out the method (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 8 when the computer program is executed on a computer, a processor or a programmable hardware component.

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