Apparatus and method for ai-based mimo operation

Abstract

The present disclosure provides apparatuses and methods for AI-based MIMO operation. An apparatus includes an RF interface; and a processor circuit coupled with the RF interface, wherein the processor circuit is to: decode a downlink RS received from an AN via the RF interface; determine a precoder, a rank, or a MCS based on the downlink RS without a need for a TPMI, an SRI, and a MCS being indicated in a DCI; and encode a PUSCH transmission for transmission to the AN based on the determined precoder, rank, or MCS. Other embodiments are also disclosed and claimed.

Description

[0001] Priority Statement

[0002] This application is based on and claims priority to international application PCT / CN2021 / 079957, filed on March 10, 2021. The entire contents of that application are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The embodiments of this disclosure generally relate to the field of wireless communication, and more specifically, to apparatus and methods for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) operation based on artificial intelligence (AI). Background Technology

[0004] Mobile communications have evolved from early voice systems to today's highly complex integrated communication platforms. Next-generation wireless communication systems (such as fifth-generation (5G) or new radio (NR)) will provide various terminals and applications with access to information and data sharing anytime, anywhere. Artificial intelligence (AI) has been developed in mobile communications, such as multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) operation, to provide smarter services and reduce overhead. Summary of the Invention

[0005] One aspect of this disclosure provides an apparatus comprising: an apparatus including: a radio frequency (RF) interface; and processor circuitry coupled to the RF interface, wherein the processor circuitry is configured to: decode a downlink reference signal (RS) received from an access node (AN) via the RF interface; determine a precoder, rank, or MCS based on the downlink RS without indicating a Transmit Precoding Matrix Index (TPMI), a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) Resource Indicator (SRI), and a Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) in the downlink control information (DCI); and encode a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission for transmission to the AN based on the determined precoder, rank, or MCS.

[0006] One aspect of this disclosure provides an apparatus comprising: a radio frequency (RF) interface; and processor circuitry coupled to the RF interface, wherein the processor circuitry is configured to: decode an uplink reference signal (RS) received from a user equipment (UE) via the RF interface; determine a precoder, rank, or modulation and coding scheme (MCS) for physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission based at least in part on the uplink RS; and encode the PDSCH transmission based on the precoder, the rank, or the MCS for transmission to the UE.

[0007] One aspect of this disclosure provides an apparatus comprising: a radio frequency (RF) interface; and a processor circuit coupled to the RF interface, wherein the processor circuit is configured to: decode a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) list received from an access node (AN) via the RF interface, the TCI list including TCI states and corresponding timestamps; and automatically select a TCI state corresponding to a timestamp based on the TCI list.

[0008] One aspect of this disclosure provides an apparatus comprising: a radio frequency (RF) interface; and processor circuitry coupled to the RF interface, wherein the processor circuitry is configured to: predict the movement speed of a user equipment (UE); and, based on the movement speed, encode a list of transmission configuration indicators (TCIs) for transmission to the UE via the RF interface, the TCI list including TCI states and corresponding timestamps.

[0009] One aspect of this disclosure provides an apparatus comprising: a radio frequency (RF) interface; and processor circuitry coupled to the RF interface, wherein the processor circuitry is configured to: determine a synchronization signal block (SSB) beamgroup for initial access and control channel transmission of a user equipment (UE) and a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) beamgroup for data transmission of the UE; perform initial access and control channel transmission for the UE using the SSB beamgroup; and perform data transmission for the UE using the CSI-RS beamgroup. Attached Figure Description

[0010] In the accompanying drawings, embodiments of the present disclosure will be illustrated by way of example rather than limitation, wherein like reference numerals refer to similar elements.

[0011] Figure 1 An example architecture of a system according to some embodiments of this disclosure is shown.

[0012] Figure 2 Examples of operation of codebook-based and non-codebook-based PUSCH transfers according to some embodiments of the present disclosure are shown.

[0013] Figure 3 Examples of machine learning (ML) based uplink MIMO transmissions according to some embodiments of this disclosure are shown.

[0014] Figure 4 Examples of ML-based uplink MIMO transmission without modulation and coding scheme (MCS) indication according to some embodiments of this disclosure are shown.

[0015] Figure 5Examples of AI-based PDSCH transmissions with associated Channel State Information Reference Signals (CSI-RS) and Sounding Reference Signals (SRS) according to some embodiments of this disclosure are shown.

[0016] Figure 6 Examples of ML-based beam indication with predictable mobility are shown according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0017] Figure 7 Examples of ML-based beam indication with predictable mobility are shown according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 8 Examples of ML-based UE-steering beam patterns according to some embodiments of the present disclosure are shown.

[0019] Figure 9 Examples of UE-specific SSB index configurations according to some embodiments of this disclosure are shown.

[0020] Figure 10 Examples of UE-specific SSB index configurations according to some embodiments of this disclosure are shown.

[0021] Figure 11 Examples of dynamic beam direction changes without beam indication are shown according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 12 Examples of beam fault recovery according to some embodiments of this disclosure are shown.

[0023] Figure 13 Examples of beam fault recovery operations based on dynamic beam patterns according to some embodiments of the present disclosure are shown.

[0024] Figure 14 Examples of corresponding beam fault recovery for control and data channels according to some embodiments of this disclosure are shown.

[0025] Figure 15 Examples of UE-side beamforming refinement according to some embodiments of this disclosure are shown.

[0026] Figure 16 A flowchart of a method for AI-based uplink transmission according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0027] Figure 17 A flowchart of a method for AI-based downlink transmission according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0028] Figure 18A flowchart is shown for a method of beam indication with predictable mobility according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 19 A flowchart is shown for a method of beam indication with predictable mobility according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0030] Figure 20 A flowchart of a method for dynamic hierarchical beam management according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0031] Figure 21 A flowchart of a method for UE Rx / Tx beam refinement according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0032] Figure 22 Wireless networks according to various embodiments of this disclosure are illustrated schematically.

[0033] Figure 23 Example components of a device according to some embodiments of this disclosure are shown.

[0034] Figure 24 Examples of infrastructure devices according to various embodiments are shown.

[0035] Figure 25 This is a block diagram illustrating a component capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium and performing any one or more methods discussed herein, according to some example embodiments.

[0036] Figure 26 Networks according to various embodiments of this disclosure are shown. Detailed Implementation

[0037] Various aspects of the illustrative embodiments will be described using terminology commonly employed by those skilled in the art to convey the essence of this disclosure to others skilled in the art. However, it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that many alternative embodiments can be practiced using portions of the described aspects. Specific figures, materials, and configurations are set forth for illustrative purposes to provide a thorough understanding of the illustrative embodiments. However, it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that alternative embodiments can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known features may be omitted or simplified to avoid obscuring the illustrative embodiments.

[0038] Furthermore, the various operations will be described as multiple discrete operations in a manner most conducive to understanding the illustrative embodiments; however, the order of description should not be construed as implying that these operations must depend on the order. In particular, these operations do not need to be performed in the order presented.

[0039] The phrases “in an embodiment,” “in one embodiment,” and “in some embodiments” are used repeatedly throughout this document. These phrases do not typically refer to the same embodiment; however, they may refer to the same embodiment. Unless the context otherwise specifies, the terms “comprising,” “having,” and “including” are synonyms. The phrases “A or B” and “A / B” mean “(A), (B), or (A and B).”

[0040] Figure 1 An example architecture of a system 100 according to some embodiments of this disclosure is shown. The following description is provided for an example system 100 operating in combination with the Long Term Evolution (LTE) system standard provided by the 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) and the 5G or New Radio (NR) system standard. However, the example embodiments are not limited in this respect, and the described embodiments can be applied to other networks that benefit from the principles described herein, such as future 3GPP systems (e.g., sixth generation (6G)) systems, IEEE 802.16 protocols (e.g., Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), Global Microwave Access Interoperability (WiMAX), etc.).

[0041] like Figure 1As shown, system 100 may include UE 101a and UE 101b (collectively referred to as "(one or more) UE 101"). As used herein, the term "user equipment" or "UE" may refer to a device with radio communication capabilities and may describe a remote user of network resources in a communication network. The term "user equipment" or "UE" may be considered synonymous and may refer to a client, mobile phone, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remote station, access agent, user agent, receiver, radio equipment, reconfigurable radio equipment, reconfigurable mobile device, etc. Furthermore, the term "user equipment" or "UE" may include any type of wireless / wired device or any computing device including a wireless communication interface. In this example, UE 101 is shown as a smartphone (e.g., a handheld touchscreen mobile computing device that can connect to one or more cellular networks), but may also include any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as consumer electronics, cellular phones, smartphones, feature phones, tablets, wearable computing devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), pagers, wireless handheld devices, desktop computers, laptops, in-vehicle infotainment systems (IVI), in-vehicle entertainment (ICE) devices, instrument clusters (ICs), head-up displays (HUDs), on-board diagnostics (OBD) devices, dashboard mobile devices (DMEs), mobile data terminals (MDTs), electronic engine management systems (EEMS), electronic / engine control units (ECUs), electronic / engine control modules (ECMs), embedded systems, microcontrollers, control modules, engine management systems (EMS), networked or “smart” devices, machine-type communication (MTC) devices, machine-to-machine (M2M) devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and / or the like.

[0042] In some embodiments, any of UEs 101 may include an IoT UE, which may include a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications utilizing short-lived UE connections. The IoT UE may utilize technologies such as M2M or MTC to exchange data with an MTC server or device via a PLMN, Proximity-Based Service (ProSe) or Device-to-Device (D2D) communication, sensor networks, or IoT networks. M2M or MTC data exchange may be machine-initiated. The IoT network describes interconnected IoT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure) with short-lived connections. The IoT UE may execute background applications (e.g., keeping messages active, state updates, etc.) to facilitate connectivity within the IoT network.

[0043] UE 101 can be configured to connect to (e.g., communicatively coupled to) RAN 110. In embodiments, RAN 110 can be a next-generation (NG) RAN or a 5G RAN, an evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN), or a legacy RAN, such as UTRAN (UMTS terrestrial radio access network) or GERAN (GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications or Groupe Spécial Mobile) EDGE (GSM evolution) radio access network). As used herein, the term "NGRAN," etc., can refer to RAN 110 operating in NR or 5G system 100, and the term "E-UTRAN," etc., can refer to RAN 110 operating in LTE or 4G system 100. UE 101 utilizes connections (or channels) 103 and 104, respectively, each connection including a physical communication interface or layer (discussed in further detail below). As used herein, the term "channel" can refer to any tangible or intangible transmission medium used to transmit data or data streams. The term "channel" may be synonymous and / or equivalent with "communication channel," "data communication channel," "transmission channel," "data transmission channel," "access channel," "data access channel," "link," "data link," "carrier," "radio frequency carrier," and / or any other similar term that indicates a path or medium through which data is transmitted. Additionally, the term "link" may refer to a connection between two devices for the purpose of sending and receiving information via radio access technology (RAT).

[0044] In this example, connections 103 and 104 are shown as air interfaces for communication coupling and can be consistent with cellular communication protocols such as the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocol, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network protocol, Push-to-Talk (PTT) protocol, Cellular PTT (POC) protocol, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) protocol, 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol, 5G protocol, New Radio (NR) protocol, and / or any other communication protocols discussed herein. In this embodiment, UE 101 can directly exchange communication data via ProSe interface 105. ProSe interface 105 can alternatively be referred to as sidelink (SL) interface 105 and may include one or more logical channels, including but not limited to the Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), Physical Sidelink Discovery Channel (PSDCH), and Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH).

[0045] UE 101b is shown configured to access access point (AP) 106 (also referred to as "WLAN node 106", "WLAN 106", "WLAN terminal 106", or "WT106", etc.) via connection 107. Connection 107 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, where AP 106 will include a Wi-Fi router. In this example, AP 106 is shown connected to the Internet but not to the core network of the wireless system (described in further detail below). In various embodiments, UE 101b, RAN 110, and AP 106 may be configured to utilize LTE-WLAN aggregation (LWA) operation and / or WLAN LTE / WLAN radio-grade integration (LWIP) operation with IPsec tunneling. LWA operation may involve UE 101b in RRC_CONNECTED being configured by RAN node 111 to utilize LTE and WLAN radio resources. LWIP operation may involve UE 101b using WLAN radio resources (e.g., connection 107) via an Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) protocol tunnel to authenticate and encrypt packets (e.g., Internet Protocol (IP) packets) sent through connection 107. The IPsec tunnel may include encapsulating the entire original IP packet and adding a new packet header, thereby protecting the original header of the IP packet.

[0046] RAN 110 may include one or more RAN nodes 111a and 111b (collectively referred to as "(one or more) RAN nodes 111") that enable connections to 103 and 104. As used herein, the terms "access node (AN)," "access point," "RAN node," etc., may describe equipment that provides radio baseband functionality for data and / or voice connections between the network and one or more users. These access nodes may be referred to as base stations (BS), next-generation node B (gNB), RAN nodes, evolved Node B (eNB), Node B, roadside unit (RSU), transmit receiver point (TRxP or TRP), etc., and may include ground stations (e.g., ground access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a geographic area (e.g., cell). As used herein, the terms "NGRAN node," etc., may refer to RAN node 111 (e.g., gNB) operating in NR or 5G system 100, and the terms "E-UTRAN node," etc., may refer to RAN node 111 (e.g., eNB) operating in LTE or 4G system 100. According to various embodiments, RAN node 111 may be implemented as one or more dedicated physical devices such as a macro cell base station and / or a low-power (LP) base station for providing smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to a macro cell.

[0047] In some embodiments, all or part of RAN node 111 can be implemented as one or more software entities running on a server computer as part of a virtual network, which may be referred to as Cloud Radio Access Network (CRAN) and / or Virtual Baseband Unit Pool (vBBUP). In these embodiments, CRAN or vBBUP can implement RAN function partitioning, such as: PDCP partitioning, where the RRC and PDCP layers are operated by CRAN / vBBUP, while other Layer 2 (L2) protocol entities are operated by individual RAN node 111; MAC / PHY partitioning, where the RRC, PDCP, RLC, and MAC layers are operated by CRAN / vBBUP, and the PHY layer is operated by individual RAN node 111; or "lower PHY" partitioning, where the upper part of the RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC, and PHY layers is operated by CRAN / vBBUP, and the lower part of the PHY layer is operated by individual RAN node 111. This virtualization framework allows the processor cores of RAN node 111 to be freed up for executing other virtualized applications. In some implementations, individual RAN node 111 may represent a virtualized application running via an individual F1 interface (…). Figure 1 (Not shown) Individual gNB-DUs connected to the gNB-CU. In these implementations, the gNB-DU may include one or more remote radio heads or radio front-end modules (RFEMs), and the gNB-CU may be operated by a server (not shown) located in RAN 110 or by a server pool in a manner similar to CRAN / vBBUP. Additionally or alternatively, one or more RAN nodes 111 may be next-generation eNBs (ng-eNBs), which are RAN nodes that provide E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol termination to UE 101, and are connected to 5GC via the ng interface.

[0048] In a V2X scenario, one or more RAN nodes 111 can be or act as RSUs. The terms "roadside unit" or "RSU" can refer to any transport infrastructure entity used for V2X communication. An RSU can be implemented in or by a suitable RAN node or a stationary (or relatively static) UE, where an RSU implemented in or by a UE can be referred to as a "UE-type RSU," an RSU implemented in or by an eNB can be referred to as an "eNB-type RSU," an RSU implemented in or by a gNB can be referred to as a "gNB-type RSU," and so on. In one example, an RSU is a computing device coupled to radio frequency circuitry located on the roadside, providing connectivity support for a passing vehicle UE 101 (vUE 101). An RSU may also include internal data storage circuitry for storing intersection map geometry, traffic statistics, media, and applications / software for sensing and controlling ongoing vehicle and pedestrian traffic. The RSU can operate on the 5.9 GHz Direct Short Range Communication (DSRC) band to provide very low-latency communication required for high-speed events, such as collision avoidance and traffic warnings. Alternatively or additionally, the RSU can operate on the cellular V2X band to provide the aforementioned low-latency communication as well as other cellular communication services. Alternatively or additionally, the RSU can operate as a WiFi hotspot (2.4 GHz band) and / or provide connectivity to one or more cellular networks to provide uplink and downlink communication. One or more computing devices and some or all of the RF circuitry of the RSU can be encapsulated in a weatherproof enclosure suitable for outdoor installation and may include a network interface controller to provide wired (e.g., Ethernet) connectivity to traffic signal controllers and / or backhaul networks.

[0049] Any RAN node 111 can terminate the air interface protocol and can be the first point of contact for UE 101. In some embodiments, any RAN node 111 can fulfill various logical functions of RAN 110, including but not limited to radio network controller (RNC) functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management.

[0050] In an embodiment, UE 101 may be configured to communicate with each other or with any RAN node 111 via a multi-carrier communication channel using various communication technologies, such as, but not limited to, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDM) communication technology (e.g., for downlink communication) or Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) communication technology (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communication), although the scope of the embodiment is not limited to this aspect. The OFDM signal may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0051] In some embodiments, the downlink resource grid can be used for downlink transmissions from any RAN node 111 to UE 101, while uplink transmissions can use a similar technique. The grid can be a time-frequency grid, referred to as a resource grid or time-frequency resource grid, which is the physical resource in the downlink for each time slot. This time-frequency plane representation is common practice in OFDM systems, making radio resource allocation intuitive. Each column and row of the resource grid corresponds to one OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to one time slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in the resource grid is represented as a resource element. Each resource grid comprises multiple resource blocks, which describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block comprises a set of resource elements; in the frequency domain, this can represent the minimum amount of resources that can currently be allocated. Several different physical downlink channels exist that are transmitted using such resource blocks.

[0052] According to various embodiments, UE 101 and RAN node 111 transmit (e.g., send and receive) data through licensed media (also referred to as “licensed spectrum” and / or “licensed band”) and unlicensed shared media (also referred to as “unlicensed spectrum” and / or “unlicensed band”). Licensed spectrum may include channels operating in a frequency range of approximately 400 MHz to approximately 3.8 GHz, while unlicensed spectrum may include a 5 GHz band.

[0053] To operate in unlicensed spectrum, UE 101 and RAN node 111 can use Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), Enhanced LAA (eLAA), and / or other eLAA (feLAA) mechanisms. In these implementations, UE 101 and RAN node 111 can perform one or more known media sensing and / or carrier sensing operations to determine whether one or more channels in the unlicensed spectrum are unavailable or otherwise occupied before transmitting in the unlicensed spectrum. Media / carrier sensing operations can be performed according to a Listen-After-Talk (LBT) protocol.

[0054] LBT is a mechanism in which a device (e.g., UE 101, RAN node 111, etc.) senses the medium (e.g., a channel or carrier frequency) and transmits data when the medium is sensed to be idle (or when a specific channel in the medium is sensed to be unoccupied). The medium sensing operation may include an idle channel assessment (CCA), which utilizes at least energy detection (ED) to determine whether other signals are present on the channel to determine whether the channel is occupied or idle. This LBT mechanism allows cellular / LAA networks to coexist with incumbent systems in unlicensed spectrum and with other LAA networks. ED may include sensing radio frequency (RF) energy in the intended transmission band for a period of time and comparing the sensed RF energy with a predetermined or configured threshold.

[0055] Typically, current systems in the 5GHz band are WLANs based on IEEE 802.11 technology. WLANs employ a contention-based channel access mechanism called Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA / CA). Here, when a WLAN node (e.g., a mobile station (MS) such as UE 101 or AP 106) intends to transmit, the WLAN node can first perform CCA before transmitting. Additionally, a backoff mechanism is used to avoid collisions when more than one WLAN node senses the channel as idle and transmits simultaneously. The backoff mechanism can be a counter randomly drawn within the contention window size (CWS), which increases exponentially upon collision and is reset to a minimum upon successful transmission. The LBT mechanism designed for LAA is somewhat similar to CSMA / CA for WLANs. In some implementations, the LBT process for DL ​​or UL transmission bursts that respectively include PDSCH or PUSCH transmissions can have an LAA contention window of variable length between X and Y extended CCA (ECCA) slots, where X and Y are the minimum and maximum values ​​of the CWS for LAA. In one example, the minimum CWS for LAA transmission can be 9 microseconds (μs); however, the size of the CWS and the maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT) (e.g., transmission burst) can be based on government regulatory requirements.

[0056] The LAA mechanism is based on the carrier aggregation (CA) technology of LTE-Advanced systems. In CA, each aggregated carrier is called a component carrier (CC). A CC can have a bandwidth of 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, or 20 MHz, and up to five CCs can be aggregated, thus the maximum aggregated bandwidth is 100 MHz. In Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems, the number of aggregated carriers can differ for DL ​​and UL, where the number of UL CCs is equal to or less than the number of DL component carriers. In some cases, an individual CC can have a different bandwidth than the other CCs. In Time Division Duplex (TDD) systems, the number of CCs and the bandwidth of each CC are typically the same for DL ​​and UL.

[0057] CA also includes separate serving cells to provide separate CCs. The coverage of serving cells may differ, for example, because CCs on different frequency bands will experience different path losses. The primary serving cell, or primary cell (PCell), can provide the primary CC (PCC) for both UL and DL, and can handle Radio Resource Control (RRC) and Non-Access Stratum (NAS) related activities. Other serving cells are called secondary cells (SCells), and each SCell can provide a separate secondary CC (SCC) for both UL and DL. SCCs can be added and removed as needed, and changing the PCC may require UE 101 to undergo a handover. In LAA, eLAA, and feLAA, some or all SCells can operate in unlicensed spectrum (referred to as "LAA SCells"), and LAA SCells are assisted by PCells operating in licensed spectrum. When a UE is configured with more than one LAA SCell, the UE can receive a UL grant on the configured LAASCell, which indicates the start position of different Physical Uplink Shared Channels (PUSCHs) within the same subframe.

[0058] The Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) carries user data and higher-layer signaling to UE 101. The Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) carries information such as the transmission format and resource allocation related to the PDSCH channel. It can also inform UE 101 of the transmission format, resource allocation, and H-ARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request) information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (allocating control and shared channel resource blocks to UE 101b within the cell) can be performed at any RAN node 111 based on channel quality information fed back from any UE 101. Downlink resource allocation information can be transmitted on the PDCCH used (e.g., allocated to) each UE 101.

[0059] PDCCH can use Control Channel Elements (CCEs) to convey control information. Before mapping to resource elements, PDCCH complex-valued symbols are first organized into quadruplets, which are then permuted using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching. Each PDCCH can be transmitted using one or more of these CCEs, where each CCE can correspond to nine groups of four physical resource elements called Resource Element Groups (REGs). Four Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) symbols can be mapped to each REG. The number of CCEs used to transmit PDCCH depends on the size of the Downlink Control Information (DCI) and channel conditions. In LTE, four or more different PDCCH formats (e.g., aggregation levels, L = 1, 2, 4, or 8) with different numbers of CCEs can be defined.

[0060] Some embodiments may use the concept of resource allocation for control channel information, which is an extension of the concepts described above. For example, some embodiments may use an Enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel (EPDCCH) that uses PDSCH resources for control information transmission. The EPDCCH may be transmitted using one or more Enhanced Control Channel Elements (ECCEs). Similar to the above, each ECCE may correspond to nine groups of four physical resource elements, referred to as Enhanced Resource Element Groups (EREGs). In some cases, there may be an additional number of EREGs for the ECCE.

[0061] RAN nodes 111 can be configured to communicate with each other via interface 112. In embodiments where system 100 is an LTE system, interface 112 can be an X2 interface 112. The X2 interface can be defined between two or more RAN nodes 111 connected to EPC 120 (e.g., two or more eNBs, etc.) and / or two eNBs connected to EPC 120. In some implementations, the X2 interface may include an X2 user plane interface (X2-U) and an X2 control plane interface (X2-C). X2-U can provide flow control mechanisms for user data packets transmitted via the X2 interface and can be used to transmit information about user data transfers between eNBs. For example, X2-U can provide specific sequence number information for user data transmitted from the primary eNB (MeNB) to the secondary eNB (SeNB); information about successful sequential transmission of PDCP PDUs from the SeNB to UE 101 for user data; information about PDCP PDUs not transmitted to UE 101; information about the current minimum required buffer size at the SeNB for sending user data to the UE; and so on. X2-C can provide LTE intra-eNB access mobility functions, including context transmission from the source eNB to the destination eNB, user plane transmission control, load management functions, and inter-cell interference coordination functions.

[0062] In embodiments where system 100 is a 5G or NR system, interface 112 may be an Xn interface 112. The Xn interface is defined between two or more RAN nodes 111 (e.g., two or more gNBs, etc.) connected to 5GC 120, between a RAN node 111 (e.g., a gNB) connected to 5GC 120 and an eNB, and / or between two eNBs connected to 5GC 120. In some implementations, the Xn interface may include an Xn user plane (Xn-U) interface and an Xn control plane (Xn-C) interface. Xn-U can provide unguaranteed delivery of user plane PDUs and supports / provides data forwarding and flow control functions. Xn-C can provide: management and error handling functions; functions for managing the Xn-C interface; and mobility support for UE 101 in connected modes (e.g., CM-CONNECTED), including functions for managing UE mobility in connected modes between one or more RAN nodes 111. Mobility support may include context delivery from the old (source) serving RAN node 111 to the new (destination) serving RAN node 111; and control of the user plane tunnel between the old (source) serving RAN node 111 and the new (destination) serving RAN node 111. The Xn-U protocol stack may include a transport network layer built on the Internet Protocol (IP) transport layer, and a GTP-U layer built on top of one or more UDP and / or IP layers for carrying user plane PDUs. The Xn-C protocol stack may include an application layer signaling protocol (referred to as the Xn Application Protocol (Xn-AP)) and a transport network layer built on SCTP. SCTP may reside above the IP layer and may provide guaranteed delivery of application layer messages. In the transport IP layer, point-to-point transmission is used to deliver signaling PDUs. In other implementations, the Xn-U protocol stack and / or the Xn-C protocol stack may be the same as or similar to one or more user plane and / or control plane protocol stacks shown and described herein.

[0063] RAN 110 is shown communicatively coupled to the core network—in this embodiment, the core network (CN) 120. CN 120 may include a plurality of network elements 122 configured to provide various data and telecommunications services to customers / subscribers (e.g., users of UE 101) connected to CN 120 via RAN 110. The term “network element” can describe a physical or virtualized device used to provide wired or wireless communication network services. The term “network element” can be considered synonymous with and / or referred to as: networked computer, network hardware, network device, router, switch, hub, bridge, radio network controller, radio access network device, gateway, server, virtualized network function (VNF), network function virtualization infrastructure (NFVI), and / or the like. Components of CN 120 may be implemented in a single physical node or separate physical nodes, including components that read and execute instructions from machine-readable or computer-readable media (e.g., non-transitory machine-readable storage media). In some embodiments, Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) can be used to virtualize any or all of the aforementioned network node functions (described in further detail below) via executable instructions stored in one or more computer-readable storage media. A logical instantiation of the CN120 may be referred to as a network slice, and a logical instantiation of a portion of the CN120 may be referred to as a network subslice. NFV architectures and infrastructures can be used to virtualize one or more network functions, or to execute them by dedicated hardware onto physical resources including a combination of industry-standard server hardware, storage hardware, or switches. In other words, an NFV system can be used to execute a virtual or reconfigurable implementation of one or more EPC components / functions.

[0064] Typically, application server 130 may be an element that provides applications that use IP bearer resources with the core network (e.g., UMTS Packet Service (PS) domain, LTE PS data service, etc.). Application server 130 may also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for UE 101 via EPC 120.

[0065] In this embodiment, CN 120 may be a 5GC (referred to as "5GC 120", etc.), and RAN 110 may be connected to CN 120 via NG interface 113. In this embodiment, NG interface 113 may be divided into two parts: NG User Plane (NG-U) interface 114, which carries service data between RAN node 111 and User Plane Function (UPF); and S1 Control Plane (NG-C) interface 115, which is the signaling interface between RAN node 111 and AMF.

[0066] In one embodiment, CN 120 may be a 5G CN (referred to as "5GC 120", etc.), while in other embodiments, CN 120 may be an evolved packet core (EPC). When CN 120 is an EPC (referred to as "EPC 120", etc.), RAN 110 may connect to CN 120 via S1 interface 113. In one embodiment, S1 interface 13 may be divided into two parts: an S1 user plane (S1-U) interface 114, which carries service data between RAN node 111 and the serving gateway (S-GW); and an S1 mobility management entity (MME) interface 115, which is the signaling interface between RAN node 111 and the MME.

[0067] In NR Rel-15 / Rel-16 / Rel-17, two schemes are defined for uplink PUSCH transmission: codebook-based transmission and non-codebook-based transmission.

[0068] For codebook-based transmissions, the UE can be configured with a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) resource set, which consists of one or more SRS resources. The "usage" of the SRS resource set is set to "codebook". The UE can send the SRS resources to the AN, such as the gNB, for link adaptation, and the SRS is not precoded. After the gNB measures the SRS resources, it can send a DCI including uplink grant to schedule PUSCH transmissions. The uplink grant includes a Transport Precoding Matrix Index (TPMI) and an SRS Resource Indicator (SRI). In the corresponding PUSCH transmission, the UE can apply the precoder indicated by the TPMI. The number of antenna ports used for PUSCH transmissions can be the same as the number of SRS resources indicated by the SRI. Within the frequency range (FR2), PUSCH transmissions can also use the same spatial relationships (same beam) as the SRS resources indicated by the SRI.

[0069] For non-codebook-based transmissions, the UE can configure an SRS resource set consisting of one or more SRS resources. The "Purpose" of the SRS resource set is set to "Non-codebook". All SRS resources can be configured with only one antenna port. For non-codebook-based transmissions, the UE can configure Non-Zero Power (NZP) Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) resources associated with the SRS resource set. Based on measurements of the CSI-RS resources, the UE can calculate a precoder for SRS transmissions. For example, for non-codebook-based transmissions, SRS resource transmissions for link adaptation are precoded. After measuring the SRS, the gNB can indicate one or more SRIs for PUSCH transmissions. The UE can select a precoder for PUSCH transmissions based on the indicated SRIs. In FR2, the spatial relationships for PUSCH transmissions can be based on SRIs or on the results of CSI-RS measurements.

[0070] Figure 2 Examples of operation of codebook-based and non-codebook-based PUSCH transfers according to some embodiments of the present disclosure are shown. Figure 2 (a) shows an example of operation of codebook-based PUSCH transmission; Figure 2 (b) shows an operational example of PUSCH transmission based on a non-codebook.

[0071] like Figure 2 As shown in (a), at 210, unprecoded SRS can be sent from the UE to the gNB for link adaptation. At 220, the gNB can send a DCI indicating TPMI and SRI to the UE. At 230, the UE can use a precoder indicated by TPMI to send PUSCH transmissions.

[0072] like Figure 2 As shown in (b), at 240, a precoded SRS can be sent from the UE to the gNB for link adaptation. At 250, the gNB can send a DCI indicating one or more SRIs to the UE. At 260, the UE can use the precoder indicated by the SRI to send PUSCH transmissions.

[0073] With the help of artificial intelligence (AI), the same machine learning (ML) module can be implemented on both the gNB and UE sides. The ML module can be used to derive the precoder for uplink transmission. In this case, DCI overhead can be reduced, for example, SRI / TPMI is not required.

[0074] In NR Rel-15 / Rel-16 / Rel-17, SRS can be used for DL ​​CSI acquisition in Time Division Duplex (TDD) systems. For example, the gNB can trigger the UE to transmit SRS, and considering the symmetric channel characteristics in TDD, the gNB can determine the DL precoder based on the measurement results of the SRS.

[0075] Through machine learning, SRS for DL ​​CSI can be extended to frequency division duplex (FDD) systems. The gNB can trigger SRS transmission, and machine learning at the gNB can derive the DL precoder while taking into account the channel differences between DL and UL.

[0076] In NR Rel-15 / Rel-16 / Rel-17, downlink beam indication is based on the Transport Configuration Indicator (TCI) state. TCI state updates / indications can result in significant signaling overhead. Beam management can be further optimized through machine learning. Several AI-based transmission scenarios are described below. These scenarios are merely examples, and this disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0077] Scenario A: AI-based uplink transmission

[0078] In some embodiments, for uplink MIMO transmissions, the same ML module can be implemented at both the gNB and the UE to derive the precoder based on channel measurements. Considering the symmetric nature of the radio channel in a TDD system, the gNB and UE can derive the same precoder based on measurements of the same channel. In this case, it is no longer necessary to transmit SRI and TPMI in the DCI.

[0079] In some embodiments, the gNB can trigger associated DL Reference Signal (RS) and UL RS transmissions, such as CSI-RS and SRS, on the same bandwidth. CSI-RS and SRS can be transmitted on adjacent time slots / symbols to ensure that it can be assumed that the CSI-RS and SRS traverse the same radio channel. In one example, the associated CSI-RS and SRS can be triggered by the same DCI.

[0080] In some embodiments, for PUSCH transmissions, the UE may use the same number of ports as the SRS. The precoder and rank for PUSCH transmissions may be determined by the UE based on CSI-RS measurements.

[0081] Figure 3 Examples of machine learning (ML)-based uplink MIMO transmissions according to some embodiments of this disclosure are shown. After performing measurements on CSI-RS and SRS, the gNB can trigger a PUSCH transmission by sending a DCI without SRI / TPMI. Figure 3 In (a), the UE transmits SRS without precoding. Figure 3 In (b), SRS is precoded using a precoder derived from CSI-RS measurements.

[0082] exist Figure 3 In (a), at 312, the gNB can send CSI-RS to the UE. At 314, the UE's ML can derive the precoder and rank based on the CSI-RS. At 316, the UE can send a non-precoded SRS to the gNB. At 318, the gNB's ML can derive the corresponding precoder and rank. At 320, the gNB can send a DCI to the UE. The DCI can indicate resource allocation without SRI / TPMI. At 322, the UE can use the precoder and rank derived from the CSI-RS measurement to send PUSCH transmissions.

[0083] exist Figure 3 In (b), at 332, the gNB can send CSI-RS to the UE. At 334, the UE's ML can derive the precoder and rank based on the CSI-RS. At 336, the UE can send precoded SRS to the gNB. At 338, the gNB's ML can derive the corresponding precoder and rank. At 340, the gNB can send DCI to the UE. The DCI can indicate resource allocation without SRI / TPMI. At 342, the UE can use the precoder and rank derived from the CSI-RS measurement to send PUSCH transmissions.

[0084] In some embodiments, the MCS can also be determined based on measurements of the associated CSI-RS and SRS using the same ML module at both the gNB and UE. This eliminates the need to include the MCS field in the DCI when scheduling the PUSCH.

[0085] Figure 4 Examples of ML-based uplink MIMO transmission without MCS indication according to some embodiments of this disclosure are shown. Figure 3 Compared to the example, in Figure 4 In this process, after performing measurements on CSI-RS and SRS, the gNB can send a DCI that does not yet have an MCS to trigger a PUSCH transmission. Figure 4 In (a), the UE transmits SRS without precoding. Figure 4 In (b), SRS is precoded using a precoder derived from CSI-RS measurements.

[0086] exist Figure 4In (a), at 412, the gNB can send CSI-RS to the UE. At 414, the UE's ML can derive the precoder, rank, and MCS based on the CSI-RS. At 416, the UE can send a non-precoded SRS to the gNB. At 418, the gNB's ML can derive the corresponding precoder, rank, and MCS. At 420, the gNB can send a DCI to the UE. The DCI can indicate resource allocations without SRI / TPMI / MCS. At 422, the UE can use the precoder, rank, and MCS derived from the CSI-RS measurements to send PUSCH transmissions.

[0087] exist Figure 4 In (b), at 432, the gNB can send CSI-RS to the UE. At 434, the UE's ML can derive the precoder, rank, and MCS based on the CSI-RS. At 436, the UE can send precoded SRS to the gNB. At 438, the gNB's ML can derive the corresponding precoder, rank, and MCS. At 440, the gNB can send DCI to the UE. The DCI can indicate resource allocations without SRI / TPMI / MCS. At 442, the UE can use the precoder, rank, and MCS derived from the CSI-RS measurements to send PUSCH transmissions.

[0088] In some embodiments, the principles described for scenario A can be applied to TDD systems. In some embodiments, the principles described for scenario A can be applied to FDD systems. This disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0089] Scenario B: AI-based downlink transmission

[0090] In some embodiments, the gNB can trigger associated CSI-RS and SRS before PDSCH transmission. The UE can report the CSI-RS measurement results to the gNB to facilitate the ML module in deriving the DL precoder considering channel differences caused by different DL and UL frequencies. Based on the SRS measurement results and the reported CSI-RS measurement results, the DL precoder / rank / MCS can be determined. This can be used to train the ML module at the gNB. After the ML module is trained, it can derive the DL precoder / rank / MCS based solely on the SRS transmitted from the UE.

[0091] In some embodiments, the principles described for scenario B can be applied to FDD systems. In some embodiments, the principles described for scenario B can be applied to TDD systems. This disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0092] Figure 5Examples of AI-based PDSCH transmissions with associated CSI-RS and SRS according to some embodiments of this disclosure are shown. Figure 5 (a) shows that during the training of ML, the precoder / rank / MCS is derived based on the SRS and the measurement results of CSI-RS. Figure 5 (b) shows that when the ML is trained, the preencoder / rank / MCS is derived solely from the SRS.

[0093] exist Figure 5 In (a), at 512, the gNB can send CSI-RS to the UE. At 514, the UE can send SRS and the measurement results of CSI-RS to the gNB. At 516, the gNB's ML can be trained based on the SRS and the measurement results of CSI-RS to derive the precoder / rank / MCS for PDSCH. At 518, the gNB can perform PDSCH scheduling and transmission based on the derived precoder / rank / MCS.

[0094] exist Figure 5 In (b), at 522, the UE can send an SRS to the gNB. At 524, the gNB's ML can derive the precoder / rank / MCS for PDSCH based solely on the SRS. At 526, the gNB can perform PDSCH scheduling and transmission based on the derived precoder / rank / MCS.

[0095] Scenario C: Beam indication with predictable mobility

[0096] In some embodiments, if the UE's mobility is predictable, for example, if the UE is on a high-speed train, the gNB can utilize ML to detect the train entering its coverage area and predict its speed. Since the trajectory is known, the gNB can predict which beam will be used at a given time instance. In this case, the gNB can send a list of TCI states and their corresponding timestamps. The UE can automatically select the TCI state to use based on the corresponding timestamp. This eliminates the need for frequent beam indication via DCI, thereby reducing overhead.

[0097] Figure 6 Examples of ML-based beam indication with predictable mobility according to some embodiments of this disclosure are shown. Figure 6As shown, at point A (e.g., time instance, location, etc.), gNB#1 can detect the arrival of a train, predict its speed, and send a list of TCI statuses and corresponding timestamps; at point B, gNB#2 can detect the arrival of a train, predict its speed, and send a list of TCI statuses and corresponding timestamps; at point C, gNB#3 can detect the arrival of a train, predict its speed, and send a list of TCI statuses and corresponding timestamps; at point D, gNB#4 can detect the arrival of a train, predict its speed, and send a list of TCI statuses and corresponding timestamps; and so on.

[0098] In some embodiments, the network side can send a list of TCI statuses from multiple cells. This list includes multiple cell IDs, the TCI status of each cell, and a timestamp for each TCI status. The network and the UE can maintain a sliding window. As the train moves, TCI statuses with timestamps from one or more new cells can be added to the list. The network side can also send updates to the timestamps of the TCI statuses based on changes in train speed.

[0099] Figure 7 Examples of ML-based beam indication with predictable mobility according to some embodiments of this disclosure are shown. Figure 7 As shown, at point E, gNB#1 can detect the train's approach, predict its speed, and send a TCI list to the UE. For example, the TCI list can include the timestamped TCI statuses of gNB#1, gNB#2, and gNB#3. At point F, gNB#3 can add the timestamped TCI status of gNB#4 to the TCI list.

[0100] Scenario D: Dynamic Layered Beam Management

[0101] In some embodiments, the ML can be used for dynamic hierarchical beam management. On the gNB side, the Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) beam is relatively wide and can be used for initial access and control channels. The CSI-RS beam is narrower and can be used for data transmission. Regarding the SSB beam, predefined beam patterns can be applied to initial access. After the UE connects, the gNB's ML can track the UE's mobility and dynamically change the SSB beam pattern for the UE. The gNB Tx beam with the same SSB index can be dynamically changed to point in the direction of the UE. For example, UE-specific SSB indices / SSB beams can be configured.

[0102] Figure 8 Examples of ML-based UE guiding beam patterns according to some embodiments of this disclosure are shown. Figure 8As shown in (a), the predefined SSB beam pattern is applied during initial access. After the UE connects, a dedicated SSB index can be configured for the UE, such as SSB#X. Figure 8 As shown in (b), the beam direction of SSB#X can be dynamically changed to track UE mobility. Figure 8 As shown in (b), the beam direction of SSB#X can be dynamically changed as the UE moves from point A to point B.

[0103] In some embodiments, SSB indices can be grouped, for example, two groups. The first group of SSB indices is used for initial access. For example, the beam pattern is predefined, and there is a static mapping between the Tx beam and the SSB indices. For the second group, the Tx beam of the SSB indices can be dynamically changed. After the UE establishes a connection, one or more SSB indices from the second group can be configured for the UE. For example, the SSB indices in the second group can be UE-specific. The ML at the gNB can track the UE's location and change the beam direction.

[0104] Figure 9 Examples of UE-specific SSB index configurations according to some embodiments of this disclosure are shown. Figure 9 As shown, the SSB index with a predefined beam pattern and the SSB index with a UE-specific beam direction are time-division multiplexed (TDMed). Figure 9 (a) shows that only one UE-specific SSB index is configured for the UE; Figure 9 (b) shows the configuration of multiple (e.g., two) UE-specific SSB indices. UE-specific (one or more) SSB indices / SSB beams can be periodically sent to the UE.

[0105] Figure 10 Examples of UE-specific SSB index configurations according to some embodiments of this disclosure are shown. Figure 10 As shown, SSB indices with predefined beam patterns and SSB indices with UE-specific beam directions are frequency division multiplexed (FDMed).

[0106] In some embodiments, utilizing one or more UE-specific SSB indexes / SSB beams, the gNB can maintain only one active SSB index / SSB beam for control channel transmission, and the Tx beam can be dynamically pointed toward the UE according to the gNB's ML module. In this way, conventional signaling for beam indication, such as MAC-Control Element (MAC-CE) / DCI, is not required, which reduces overhead.

[0107] In some embodiments, if the UE is configured with only one UE-specific SSB index, the beam pattern can be changed dynamically. Figure 11 Examples of dynamic beam direction changes without beam indication according to some embodiments of this disclosure are shown. Figure 11 As shown, the UE can, for example, select SSB#2 during initial access. After connection, when the UE is at point A, the gNB can configure SSB#X for the UE, with the same beam pattern as SSB#2. While the UE moves from point A to point B, the gNB can dynamically change the beam pattern of SSB#X based on ML without beam indication.

[0108] In some embodiments, for robustness, multiple UE-specific SSB indices can be configured, for example, three SSB indices. One SSB index / SSB beam may be active for control channel transmission, while others may be candidate indices for beam failure recovery. One or more candidate beams may be adjacent beams of the active SSB index. If the UE detects a beam failure on the active SSB beam, the UE can identify a new beam from one or more candidate SSB indices / SSB beams. For example, the UE may send a PRACH to the newly identified beam. Upon receiving the PRACH, the gNB may switch the active SSB index to the newly identified index. Alternatively, the gNB may still use the previously active SSB index but adjust the beam pattern to the newly identified beam.

[0109] Figure 12 Examples of beam fault recovery according to some embodiments of this disclosure are shown. Figure 12 As shown, the UE can, for example, select SSB#2 during initial access. After connection, when the UE is at point A, the gNB can configure SSB#X as the active beam and SSB#Y as a candidate beam. During UE movement, for example, from point A to point B, the gNB can dynamically change the beam patterns of SSB#X and SSB#Y based on ML. The UE can perform beam detection on SSB#X, and if a beam failure occurs, select SSB#Y as the new active beam.

[0110] Figure 13 Examples of beam fault recovery operations based on dynamic beam patterns according to some embodiments of the present disclosure are shown.

[0111] At 1310, the UE can perform initial access. At 1320, the gNB can configure a UE-specific SSB index. One SSB index can be selected as the active beam, while others can be identified as candidate beams. At 1330, the gNB's ML can dynamically change the UE-specific SSB beam pattern without beam indication. At 1340, the UE can perform beam failure detection on the active SSB beam. If a beam failure occurs, the UE can identify a new beam from the candidate beams as the new active beam. At 1350, the UE can send a beam failure recovery request to the newly identified beam via PRACH. At 1360, the gNB can send a response via the new beam. The active SSB index can be updated. Alternatively, the active SSB index remains unchanged, but the beam is updated to a new beam.

[0112] In some embodiments, a narrow CSI-RS beam can be applied to the data channel. The UE can be configured with one or more CSI-RS beams, and the beam direction can be dynamically changed by the ML module to point towards the UE. In one option, only one active CSI-RS beam can be configured for the UE for data transmission, and beam indication is not required. In another option, multiple CSI-RS beams can be configured for the UE, and one of them can be selected for data transmission. The active CSI-RS beam can be indicated to the UE via signaling such as DCI.

[0113] In some embodiments, for robustness, the UE may be configured with multiple additional CSI-RS beams as candidate beams. The UE may also perform beam failure detection on one or more CSI-RS beams used for data transmission. If a beam failure occurs, the UE can identify a new CSI-RS beam from the candidate beams.

[0114] In some embodiments, separate beam fault recovery operations may be introduced for the control channel and the data channel, respectively.

[0115] Figure 14 Examples of corresponding beam fault recovery for control and data channels according to some embodiments of this disclosure are shown.

[0116] At 1410, the UE can perform beam fault detection on both the SSB beam used for the control channel and the CSI-RS beam used for the data channel. At 1420, the UE can determine whether a beam fault has occurred on the control channel (SSB beam). If a beam fault has occurred on the control channel, at 1430, the UE can initiate a PRACH to send a beam fault recovery request for the control channel. New SSB beam information can be implicitly carried on the PRACH. If the control channel beam is still valid, at 1440, the UE can determine whether a beam fault has occurred on the data channel (CSI-RS beam). If a beam fault has occurred on the data channel, at 1450, the UE can send a PUCCH, such as a SR-type PUCCH, to indicate that a beam fault has occurred on the data channel. New CSI-RS beam information can also be sent via PUCCH, or it can also be sent to the gNB via MAC-CE.

[0117] Scenario E: UE Rx / Tx Beam Refinement

[0118] In some embodiments, the ML in the UE can determine whether UE rotation has occurred. If rotation has occurred, the ML can dynamically change the UE Rx / Tx beam without triggering the beam management process.

[0119] In some embodiments, if the ML module in the UE detects UE movement, the UE can initiate a request for beam management procedures to refine the UE Rx / Tx beams.

[0120] Figure 15 Examples of UE-side beamforming refinement according to some embodiments of this disclosure are illustrated. As shown, when UE rotation is detected, the ML can dynamically change the UE beam direction without a beam management process. When UE movement occurs, the UE can request a beam management process to refine the UE beam.

[0121] In some embodiments, the ML module can also dynamically change the UE beam direction for UE movement without a beam management process.

[0122] Figure 16 A flowchart of a method 1600 for AI-based uplink transmission according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. In some embodiments, method 1600 may be performed by a UE.

[0123] In 1610, downlink RS received from AN (e.g., gNB) can be decoded.

[0124] In 1620, based on the downlink RS, the precoder, rank, or MCS can be determined in the DCI without indicating TPMI, SRI, and MCS.

[0125] In 1630, PUSCH transmissions could be encoded for transmission to AN based on a determined precoder, rank, or MCS.

[0126] In some embodiments, method 1600 may include more or fewer or different steps, which are not limited herein.

[0127] Method 1600 can be understood in conjunction with scenario A above, and will not be elaborated further here.

[0128] Figure 17 A flowchart of a method 1700 for AI-based downlink transmission according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. In some embodiments, method 1700 may be performed by a gNB.

[0129] In 1710, the uplink RS received from the UE can be decoded.

[0130] In 1720, the precoder, rank, or MCS used for PDSCH transmission can be determined, at least in part based on the uplink RS.

[0131] In 1730, PDSCH transmissions can be encoded based on the precoder, rank, or MCS for transmission to the UE.

[0132] In some embodiments, method 1700 may include more or fewer or different steps, which are not limited herein.

[0133] Method 1700 can be understood in conjunction with scenario B above, and will not be elaborated further here.

[0134] Figure 18 A flowchart of a method 1800 for beam indication with predictable mobility according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. In some embodiments, method 1800 may be performed by a UE.

[0135] In 1810, the TCI list received from the gNB can be decoded. The TCI list can include the TCI status and the corresponding timestamp.

[0136] In 1820, based on the TCI list, the TCI state corresponding to the timestamp can be automatically selected.

[0137] In some embodiments, method 1800 may include more or fewer or different steps, which are not limited herein.

[0138] Figure 19 A flowchart of a method 1900 for beam indication with predictable mobility according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. In some embodiments, method 1900 may be performed by a gNB.

[0139] In 1910, predict the UE's moving speed.

[0140] In 1920, based on mobile speed, the TCI list could be encoded for transmission to the UE. The TCI list could include the TCI status and the corresponding timestamp.

[0141] Methods 1800 and 1900 can be understood by referring to scenario C above, and will not be elaborated further here.

[0142] Figure 20 A flowchart of a method 2000 for dynamic hierarchical beam management according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. In some embodiments, method 2000 may be performed by a gNB.

[0143] In 2010, the SSB beamgroup for initial access and control channel transmission of the UE and the CSI-RS beamgroup for data transmission of the UE were determined.

[0144] In 2020, SSB beamgroups can be used to perform initial access and control channel transmission for UEs.

[0145] In 2030, CSI-RS beamgroups can be used to perform UE data transmission.

[0146] In some embodiments, method 2000 may include more or fewer or different steps, which are not limited herein.

[0147] Method 2000 can be understood in conjunction with the above scenario D, and will not be elaborated further here.

[0148] Figure 21 A flowchart of a method 2100 for UE Rx / Tx beam refinement according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. In some embodiments, method 2100 may be performed by the UE.

[0149] At 2110, it was determined that the UE had rotated or moved.

[0150] In the 2120, the Tx / Rx beam can be dynamically changed without triggering the beam management process.

[0151] In some embodiments, method 2100 may include more or fewer or different steps, which are not limited herein.

[0152] Method 2100 can be understood in conjunction with the above scenario E, and will not be elaborated further here.

[0153] The technical solutions and principles disclosed herein enable more intelligent uplink and downlink MIMO operations, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0154] Figure 22A wireless network 2200 according to various embodiments is schematically illustrated. The wireless network 2200 may include a UE 2202 that wirelessly communicates with an AN 2204. The UE 2202 and the AN 2204 may be similar to and substantially interchangeable with equivalent components described elsewhere herein.

[0155] UE 2202 can be communicatively coupled to AN 2204 via connection 2206. Connection 2206 is shown as an air interface to enable communication coupling and can be consistent with cellular communication protocols operating at millimeter wave (mmWave) or sub-6 GHz frequencies, such as LTE or 5G NR protocols.

[0156] UE 2202 may include a host platform 2208 coupled to modem platform 2210. Host platform 2208 may include application processing circuitry 2212, which may be coupled to protocol processing circuitry 2214 of modem platform 2210. Application processing circuitry 2212 may run various applications for UE 2202 to process source / receive application data. Application processing circuitry 2212 may also implement one or more layer operations to send / receive application data to / from a data network. These layer operations may include transport (e.g., UDP) and Internet (e.g., IP) operations.

[0157] Protocol processing circuitry 2214 can implement one or more layer operations to facilitate the transmission or reception of data via connection 2206. Layer operations implemented by protocol processing circuitry 2214 may include, for example, MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC, and NAS operations.

[0158] The modem platform 2210 may further include digital baseband circuitry 2216, which can implement one or more layer operations of "below" layer operations performed by protocol processing circuitry 2214 in the network protocol stack. These operations may include, for example, one or more of the following PHY operations: HARQ-ACK function, scrambling / descrambling, encoding / decoding, layer mapping / demapping, modulation symbol mapping, received symbol / bit metric determination, and multi-antenna port precoding / decoding. These functions may include one or more of the following: space-time, space-frequency, or spatial coding; reference signal generation / detection; preamble sequence generation and / or decoding; synchronization sequence generation / detection; blind decoding of control channel signals; and other related functions.

[0159] The modem platform 2210 may further include transmitting circuitry 2218, receiving circuitry 2220, RF circuitry 2222, and RF front-end (RFFE) circuitry 2224, which may include or be connected to one or more antenna panels 2226. In short, transmitting circuitry 2218 may include a digital-to-analog converter, mixer, intermediate frequency (IF) component, etc.; receiving circuitry 2220 may include an analog-to-digital converter, mixer, IF component, etc.; RF circuitry 2222 may include a low-noise amplifier, power amplifier, power tracking component, etc.; RFFE circuitry 2224 may include filters (e.g., surface / bulk acoustic wave filters), switches, antenna tuners, beamforming components (e.g., phased array antenna components), etc. The selection and arrangement of components of transmitting circuitry 2218, receiving circuitry 2220, RF circuitry 2222, RFFE circuitry 2224, and antenna panels 2226 (collectively, the "transmit / receive components") may be specific to the details of a particular implementation, such as whether the communication is TDM or FDM, at mmWave or sub-6 GHz frequencies, etc. In some embodiments, the transmitting / receiving components may be arranged in multiple parallel transmitting / receiving chains, and may be arranged in the same or different chips / modules, etc.

[0160] In some embodiments, the protocol processing circuitry 2214 may include one or more instances of control circuitry (not shown) to provide control functions for the transmitting / receiving components.

[0161] UE reception can be established via and through antenna panel 2226, RFFE circuit 2224, RF circuit 2222, receiving circuit 2220, digital baseband circuit 2216, and protocol processing circuit 2214. In some embodiments, antenna panel 2226 can receive transmissions from AN 2204 by receiving beamforming signals received by a plurality of antennas / antenna elements of one or more antenna panels 2226.

[0162] UE transmission can be established via and through protocol processing circuitry 2214, digital baseband circuitry 2216, transmission circuitry 2218, RF circuitry 2222, RFFE circuitry 2224, and antenna panel 2226. In some embodiments, the transmission components of UE 2202 can apply a spatial filter to the data to be transmitted to form a transmission beam emitted by the antenna elements of antenna panel 2226.

[0163] Similar to UE 2202, AN 2204 may include a host platform 2228 coupled to modem platform 2230. Host platform 2228 may include application processing circuitry 2232 coupled to protocol processing circuitry 2234 of modem platform 2230. Modem platform may also include digital baseband circuitry 2236, transmitting circuitry 2238, receiving circuitry 2240, RF circuitry 2242, RFFE circuitry 2244, and antenna panel 2246. Components of AN 2204 may be similar to their namesake components in UE 2202 and are substantially interchangeable with those in UE 2202. In addition to performing data transmission / reception as described above, components of AN 2204 may perform various logical functions, including, for example, RNC functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management, and data packet scheduling.

[0164] Figure 23 Example components of a device 2300 according to some embodiments are shown. In some embodiments, device 2300 may include at least application circuitry 2302, baseband circuitry 2304, radio frequency (RF) circuitry 2306, front-end module (FEM) circuitry 2308, one or more antennas 2310, and power management circuitry (PMC) 2312 coupled together as shown. Components of the illustrated device 2300 may be included in a UE or AN. In some embodiments, device 2300 may include fewer components (e.g., the AN may not use application circuitry 2302, but instead include a processor / controller to process IP data received from the EPC). In some embodiments, device 2300 may include additional components such as memory / storage devices, displays, cameras, sensors, or input / output (I / O) interfaces. In other embodiments, the components described below may be included in more than one device (e.g., for a Cloud-RAN (C-RAN) implementation, the circuitry may be separately included in more than one device).

[0165] Application circuitry 2302 may include one or more application processors. For example, application circuitry 2302 may include circuitry, such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor(s) may include any combination of general-purpose processors and special-purpose processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processor may be coupled to or may include a memory / storage device and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage device to enable various applications and / or operating systems to run on device 2300. In some embodiments, the processor of application circuitry 2302 may process IP packets received from the EPC.

[0166] Baseband circuit 2304 may include circuitry, such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. Baseband circuit 2304 may include one or more baseband processors or control logic to process baseband signals received from the receive signal path of RF circuit 2306 and generate baseband signals for the transmit signal path of RF circuit 2306. Baseband processing circuitry 2304 may interface with application circuitry 2302 to generate and process baseband signals and control the operation of RF circuit 2306. For example, in some embodiments, baseband circuitry 2304 may include a third-generation (3G) baseband processor 2304A, a fourth-generation (4G) baseband processor 2304B, a fifth-generation (5G) baseband processor 2304C, or one or more other baseband processors 2304D for other existing generations, generations under development, or future generations (e.g., sixth generation (6G), etc.). The baseband circuitry 2304 (e.g., one or more of the baseband processors 2304A-D) can handle various radio control functions that support communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry 2306. In other embodiments, some or all of the functions of the baseband processors 2304A-D may be included in modules stored in the memory 2304G and these functions may be executed via the central processing unit (CPU) 2304E. Radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, the modulation / demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 2304 may include Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, and / or constellation mapping / demapping functions. In some embodiments, the encoding / decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 2304 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, and / or low-density parity-check (LDPC) encoder / decoder functions. Embodiments of the modulation / demodulation and encoder / decoder functions are not limited to these examples, and other suitable functions may be included in other embodiments.

[0167] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 2304 may include one or more audio digital signal processors (DSPs) 2304F. The audio DSP(s) 2304F may include elements for compression / decompression and echo cancellation, and in other embodiments may include other suitable processing elements. In some embodiments, components of the baseband circuitry may be suitably combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or arranged on the same circuit board. In some embodiments, some or all of the components of the baseband circuitry 2304 and the application circuitry 2302 may be implemented together, for example, on a system-on-a-chip (SoC).

[0168] In some embodiments, baseband circuitry 2304 can provide communications compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, baseband circuitry 2304 can support communications with the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN) or other Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks (WMAN), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), or Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN). Embodiments in which baseband circuitry 2304 is configured to support radio communications with more than one radio protocol may be referred to as multimode baseband circuitry.

[0169] RF circuit 2306 supports communication with wireless networks using modulated electromagnetic radiation via non-solid-state media. In various embodiments, RF circuit 2306 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc., to facilitate communication with the wireless network. RF circuit 2306 may include a receive signal path that includes circuitry for down-converting the RF signal received from FEM circuit 2308 and providing a baseband signal to baseband circuit 2304. RF circuit 2306 may also include a transmit signal path that includes circuitry for up-converting the baseband signal provided by baseband circuit 2304 and providing an RF output signal to FEM circuit 2308 for transmission.

[0170] In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuit 2306 may include a mixer circuit 2306a, an amplifier circuit 2306b, and a filter circuit 2306c. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of the RF circuit 2306 may include a filter circuit 2306c and a mixer circuit 2306a. The RF circuit 2306 may also include a synthesizer circuit 2306d for synthesizing frequencies for use by the mixer circuit 2306a in both the receive and transmit signal paths. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 2306a in the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert the RF signal received from the FEM circuit 2308 based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 2306d. The amplifier circuit 2306b may be configured to amplify the down-converted signal, and the filter circuit 2306c may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or a band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal can be provided to the baseband circuit 2304 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signal may be a zero-frequency baseband signal, but this is not required. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 2306a receiving the signal path may include a passive mixer, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0171] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 2306a of the transmit signal path can be configured to up-convert the input baseband signal based on the synthesis frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 2306d to generate an RF output signal for the FEM circuit 2308. The baseband signal can be provided by the baseband circuit 2304 and can be filtered by the filter circuit 2306c.

[0172] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 2306a for the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 2306a for the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature downconversion and / or upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 2306a for the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 2306a for the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image suppression (e.g., Hartley image suppression). In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 2306a for the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 2306a for the transmit signal path may be arranged for direct downconversion and / or direct upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 2306a for the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 2306a for the transmit signal path may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

[0173] In some embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be analog baseband signals, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, the RF circuit 2306 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry, and the baseband circuit 2304 may include a digital baseband interface for communicating with the RF circuit 2306.

[0174] In some dual-mode embodiments, separate radio IC circuitry may be provided to process signals for each spectrum, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0175] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 2306d may be a fractional N-type synthesizer or a fractional N / N+1-type synthesizer, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect, as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuit 2306d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0176] The synthesizer circuit 2306d can be configured to synthesize an output frequency for use by the mixer circuit 2306a of the RF circuit 2306 based on the frequency input and the divider control input. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 2306d can be a fractional N / N+1 type synthesizer.

[0177] In some embodiments, the frequency input may be provided by a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), but this is not required. The divider control input may be provided by the baseband circuit 2304 or the application processor 2302 according to the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, the divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a lookup table based on the channel indicated by the application processor 2302.

[0178] The synthesizer circuit 2306d of the RF circuit 2306 may include a frequency divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the frequency divider may be a dual-mode divider (DMD), and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by N or N+1 (e.g., based on carry output) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a set of cascaded tunable delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump, and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to decompose the VCO cycle into at most Nd equal phase groups, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

[0179] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 2306d may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as an output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and frequency divider circuitry to generate multiple signals having multiple phases of each other at the carrier frequency. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be the LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, RF circuitry 2306 may include an IQ / polarity converter.

[0180] FEM circuit 2308 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry configured to operate RF signals received from one or more antennas 2310, amplify the received signals, and provide an amplified version of the received signals to RF circuit 2306 for further processing. FEM circuit 2308 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry configured to amplify signals provided by RF circuit 2306 for transmission by one or more antennas of the one or more antennas 2310. In various embodiments, amplification via the transmit or receive signal path may be performed only in RF circuit 2306, only in FEM 2308, or in both RF circuit 2306 and FEM 2308.

[0181] In some embodiments, FEM circuit 2308 may include a TX / RX switch to switch between transmit and receive mode operation. The FEM circuit may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuit may include a low-noise amplifier (LNA) to amplify the received RF signal and provide the amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., to RF circuit 2306). The transmit signal path of FEM circuit 2308 may include a power amplifier (PA) for amplifying (e.g., provided by RF circuit 2306) the input RF signal and one or more filters for generating RF signals for subsequent transmission (e.g., via one or more antennas in one or more antennas 2310).

[0182] In some embodiments, the PMC 2312 can manage the power supplied to the baseband circuitry 2304. Specifically, the PMC 2312 can control power selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion. The PMC 2312 is typically included when the device 2300 can be powered by a battery, for example, when the device is included in a UE. The PMC 2312 can improve power conversion efficiency while providing the desired implementation size and thermal characteristics.

[0183] Although Figure 23 The diagram shows that the PMC 2312 is coupled only to the baseband circuit 2304. However, in other embodiments, the PMC 2312 may additionally or alternatively be coupled to other components and perform similar power management operations on other components, such as, but not limited to, the application circuit 2302, the RF circuit 2306, or the FEM 2308.

[0184] In some embodiments, the PMC 2312 can control various power-saving mechanisms of the device 2300, or otherwise become part of various power-saving mechanisms of the device 2300. For example, if the device 2300 is in the RRC_Connected state, in which it remains connected to the RAN node when it anticipates receiving traffic soon, it may then enter a state known as Discontinuous Receive Mode (DRX) after a period of inactivity. During this state, the device 2300 can power down for short intervals to save power.

[0185] If there is no data service activity during the extended period, device 2300 can transition to the RRC_Idle state. In this state, device 2300 disconnects from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback or handover. Device 2300 enters a very low-power state and performs paging, during which it periodically wakes up again to listen to the network and then powers off again. Device 2300 can not receive data in this state; to receive data, it can transition back to the RRC_Connected state.

[0186] An additional power-saving mode allows the device to be unavailable to the network for periods longer than the paging interval (ranging from seconds to hours). During this time, the device has no network access whatsoever and may lose power completely. Any data sent during this period will incur significant latency, assuming the latency is acceptable.

[0187] The processors of application circuit 2302 and baseband circuit 2304 can be used to execute elements of one or more instances of the protocol stack. For example, the processor of baseband circuit 2304 (alone or in combination) can be used to execute layer 3, layer 2, or layer 1 functions, while the processor of application circuit 2304 can utilize data received from these layers (e.g., packet data) and further execute layer 4 functions (e.g., Transport Communication Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) layers). As mentioned herein, layer 3 may include the RRC layer. As mentioned herein, layer 2 may include the Media Access Control (MAC) layer, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer. As mentioned herein, layer 1 may include the physical (PHY) layer of the UE / RAN node.

[0188] Figure 24Examples of infrastructure device 2400 according to various embodiments are shown. Infrastructure device 2400 (or “system 2400”) may be implemented as any entity or non-entity (e.g., service or function) described herein. In other examples, system 2400 may be implemented in or by a client, one or more application servers 130 and / or any other element / device discussed herein. System 2400 may include one or more of the following: application circuitry 2405, baseband circuitry 2410, one or more radio front-end modules 2415, memory 2420, power management integrated circuitry (PMIC) 2425, power tee circuitry 2430, network controller 2435, network interface connector 2440, satellite positioning circuitry 2445, and user interface 2450. In some embodiments, device 2400 may include additional elements such as memory / storage devices, displays, cameras, sensors, or input / output (I / O) interface elements. In other embodiments, the components described below may be included in more than one device (e.g., in some implementations, the circuitry may be separately included in more than one device).

[0189] For the purposes of this document, the term "circuit" can refer to, be part of, or include hardware components configured to provide the described functions, such as: electronic circuitry, logic circuitry, processors (shared, dedicated, or grouped) and / or memories (shared, dedicated, or grouped), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable devices (FPDs) (e.g., field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), complex PLDs (CPLDs), high-capacity PLDs (HCPLDs), structured ASICs, or system-on-chips (SoCs)), digital signal processors (DSPs), and the like. In some embodiments, the circuit may execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the described functions. Furthermore, the term "circuit" can also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements (or circuitry used in an electrical or electronic system) and program code for performing the functions of that program code. In these embodiments, the combination of hardware components and program code can be referred to as a specific type of circuit.

[0190] The terms “application circuit” and / or “baseband circuit” may be considered synonymous with “processor circuit” and may be referred to as “processor circuit”. For the purposes of this document, the term “processor circuit” may refer to, be part of, or include circuits capable of sequentially and automatically performing a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations; and recording, storing, and / or transmitting digital data. The term “processor circuit” may refer to one or more application processors, one or more baseband processors, a physical central processing unit (CPU), a single-core processor, a dual-core processor, a triple-core processor, a quad-core processor, and / or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions such as program code, software modules, and / or functional processes.

[0191] Application circuitry 2405 may include one or more central processing unit (CPU) cores and one or more of the following: cache memory, low dropout (LDO) regulator, interrupt controller, serial interface such as SPI, I2C, or a universal programmable serial interface module, real time clock (RTC), timer-counter including interval and watchdog timers, general purpose input / output (I / O), memory card controller such as Secure Digital (SD) / MultiMediaCard (MMC), Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) interface, and Joint Test Access Group (JTAG) test access port. As an example, application circuitry 2405 may include one or more Intel... or Processor; Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Processor, Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) or Processor; etc. In some embodiments, system 2400 may not utilize application circuitry 2405, but may instead include, for example, a dedicated processor / controller to process IP data received from EPC or 5GC.

[0192] Additionally or alternatively, application circuitry 2405 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, the following: one or more field-programmable devices (FPDs), such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs); programmable logic devices (PLDs), such as complex PLDs (CPLDs), high-capacity PLDs (HCPLDs); ASICs, such as structured ASICs; programmable SoCs (PSoCs); and so on. In this embodiment, the circuitry of application circuitry 2405 may include logic blocks or logic architectures, including other interconnected resources, which may be programmed to perform various functions, such as the processes, methods, functions, etc., of the various embodiments discussed herein. In this embodiment, the circuitry of application circuitry 2405 may include storage units (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, static memory (e.g., static random access memory (SRAM), antifuse, etc.) for storing logic blocks, logic architectures, data, etc. in a lookup table (LUT), etc.), etc.

[0193] The baseband circuit 2410 may be implemented, for example, as a soldered substrate including one or more integrated circuits, a single-package integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board, or a multi-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits. Although not shown, the baseband circuit 2410 may include one or more digital baseband systems that may be coupled to a CPU subsystem, an audio subsystem, and an interface subsystem via interconnect subsystems. The digital baseband subsystems may also be coupled to a digital baseband interface and a mixed-signal baseband subsystem via additional interconnect subsystems. Each interconnect subsystem may include a bus system, a point-to-point connection, a network-on-chip (NOC) architecture, and / or some other suitable bus or interconnect technology, such as those discussed herein. The audio subsystem may include digital signal processing circuitry, buffer memory, program memory, voice processing accelerator circuitry, data converter circuitry such as analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converter circuitry, analog circuitry including one or more amplifiers and filters, and / or other similar components. In one aspect of this disclosure, the baseband circuit 2410 may include protocol processing circuitry having one or more instances of control circuitry (not shown) to provide control functions for the digital baseband circuitry and / or radio frequency circuitry (e.g., radio front-end module 2415).

[0194] User interface circuitry 2450 may include one or more user interfaces designed to enable user interaction with system 2400 or peripheral component interfaces designed to enable interaction with peripheral components of system 2400. User interfaces may include, but are not limited to, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), one or more indicators (e.g., light-emitting diodes, LEDs), a physical keyboard or keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touchscreen, a speaker or other audio emitting device, a microphone, a printer, a scanner, headphones, a display screen or display device, etc. Peripheral component interfaces may include, but are not limited to, non-volatile memory ports, universal serial bus (USB) ports, audio jacks, power supply interfaces, etc.

[0195] The radio front-end module (RFEM) 2415 may include a millimeter-wave RFEM and one or more submillimeter-wave radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). In some implementations, the one or more submillimeter-wave RFICs may be physically separated from the millimeter-wave RFEM. The RFIC may include connections to one or more antennas or antenna arrays, and the RFEM may be connected to multiple antennas. In alternative implementations, both millimeter-wave and submillimeter-wave radio functions may be implemented in the same physical radio front-end module 2415. The RFEM 2415 may contain both millimeter-wave and submillimeter-wave antennas.

[0196] The memory circuitry 2420 may include one or more of the following: volatile memory, including dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and / or synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM); and nonvolatile memory (NVM), including high-speed electrically erasable memory (commonly referred to as flash memory), phase-change random access memory (PRAM), magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), etc., and may contain information from… and A three-dimensional (3D) XPOINT memory. The memory circuit 2420 can be implemented as one or more of a solder-in packaged integrated circuit, a socket-type memory module, and an insertable memory card.

[0197] The PMIC 2425 may include a voltage regulator, surge protector, power alarm detection circuitry, and one or more backup power sources such as batteries or capacitors. The power alarm detection circuitry can detect one or more of a power outage (undervoltage) and a power surge (overvoltage) condition. The power tee circuit 2430 can provide power drawn from the network cable to supply both power and data connectivity to the infrastructure equipment 2400 via a single cable.

[0198] Network controller circuitry 2435 may provide connectivity to a network using standard network interface protocols such as Ethernet, GRE-tunneled Ethernet, Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) based Ethernet, or some other suitable protocol. Network connectivity to / from infrastructure device 2400 may be provided via a physical connection through network interface connector 2440, which may be electrical (typically referred to as a "copper interconnect"), optical, or wireless. Network controller circuitry 2435 may include one or more dedicated processors and / or FPGAs to communicate using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, network controller circuitry 2435 may include multiple controllers to provide connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0199] Positioning circuit 2445 may include circuitry for receiving and decoding signals transmitted by one or more navigation satellite constellations of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS). Examples of navigation satellite constellations (or GNSS) may include the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), Russia's Global Navigation System (GLONASS), the European Union's Galileo system, China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, regional navigation systems, or GNSS augmentation systems (e.g., Navigation with Indian Constellation (NAVIC), Japan's Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), France's Doppler Orbitography and Radio-positioning Integrated by Satellite (DORIS), etc.). Positioning circuit 2445 may include various hardware components (e.g., hardware devices such as switches, filters, amplifiers, antenna elements, etc., to facilitate communication over-the-air (OTA) communication) to communicate with components of the positioning network (e.g., navigation satellite constellation nodes).

[0200] A node or satellite of one or more navigation satellite constellations (“GNSS nodes”) can provide positioning services by continuously transmitting or broadcasting GNSS signals along the line of sight. These GNSS signals can be used by a GNSS receiver (e.g., positioning circuitry 2445 and / or positioning circuitry implemented by a client, etc.) to determine its GNSS position. The GNSS signals may include pseudo-random codes (e.g., a sequence of ones and zeros) known to the GNSS receiver and a message including the time of transmission (ToT) of the code epoch (e.g., a defined point in the pseudo-random code sequence) and the GNSS node position at the ToT. The GNSS receiver can monitor / measure GNSS signals transmitted / broadcast by multiple GNSS nodes (e.g., four or more satellites) and solve various equations to determine the corresponding GNSS position (e.g., spatial coordinates). The GNSS receiver also implements a clock that is typically not as stable and accurate as the atomic clocks of the GNSS nodes, and the GNSS receiver can use the measured GNSS signals to determine the deviation of the GNSS receiver from real time (e.g., the deviation of the GNSS receiver clock from the GNSS node time). In some embodiments, the positioning circuit 2445 may include a micro-technology for positioning, navigation, and timing (Micro-PNT) IC that uses a master timing clock to perform position tracking / estimation without GNSS assistance.

[0201] A GNSS receiver measures the time of arrival (ToA) of GNSS signals from multiple GNSS nodes based on its own clock. The GNSS receiver determines the time of flight (ToF) value for each received GNSS signal based on the ToA and ToT, and then determines the three-dimensional (3D) position and clock offset based on the ToF. The 3D position can then be converted into latitude, longitude, and altitude. Positioning circuitry 2445 provides data to application circuitry 2405, which may include one or more of position data or time data. Application circuitry 2405 can use the time data to synchronize its operation with other devices.

[0202] Figure 24The components shown can communicate with each other using interface circuitry. For the purposes of this document, the term "interface circuitry" can refer to, be part of, or include circuitry that enables the exchange of information between two or more components or devices. The term "interface circuitry" can refer to one or more hardware interfaces, such as a bus, input / output (I / O) interface, peripheral component interface, network interface card, etc. Any suitable bus technology can be used in various implementations, including any number of technologies such as industry standard architecture (ISA), extended ISA (EISA), peripheral component interconnect (PCI), peripheral component interconnect extended (PCIx), PCI express (PCIe), or any number of other technologies. The bus can be, for example, a proprietary bus used in a SoC-based system. Other bus systems can be included, such as I2C interfaces, SPI interfaces, point-to-point interfaces, and power buses, etc.

[0203] Figure 25 This is a block diagram illustrating components capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and performing any one or more methods discussed herein, according to some example embodiments. Specifically, Figure 25 A schematic representation of hardware resource 2500 is shown, comprising one or more processors (or processor cores) 2510, one or more memory / storage devices 2520, and one or more communication resources 2530, each of which may be communicatively coupled via bus 2540. Hardware resource 2500 may be part of any entity or non-entity (e.g., service or function) described herein. For embodiments utilizing node virtualization (e.g., NFV), a hypervisor 2502 may be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices / subslices to utilize hardware resource 2500.

[0204] Processor 2510 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP) such as a baseband processor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) may include, for example, processor 2512 and processor 2514.

[0205] The memory / storage device 2520 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory / storage device 2520 may include, but is not limited to, any type of volatile or non-volatile memory, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state storage devices, etc.

[0206] Communication resource 2530 may include interconnect or network interface components or other suitable devices for communicating with one or more peripheral devices 2504 or one or more databases 2506 via network 2508. For example, communication resource 2530 may include wired communication components (e.g., for coupling via Universal Serial Bus (USB)), cellular communication components, NFC components, Bluetooth components (e.g., Bluetooth Low Energy), Wi-Fi components, and other communication components.

[0207] Instructions 2550 may include software, programs, applications, applets, or other executable code for causing at least any processor 2510 to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein. Instructions 2550 may reside wholly or partially within processor 2510 (e.g., within the processor's buffer memory), memory / storage device 2520, or any suitable combination thereof. Furthermore, any portion of instructions 2550 may be transferred to hardware resource 2500 from any combination of peripheral device 2504 or database 2506. Therefore, the memory of processor 2510, memory / storage device 2520, peripheral device 2504, and database 2506 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0208] Figure 26 Illustrations of a network 2600 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure are shown. The network 2600 can operate in a manner consistent with the 3GPP technical specifications of LTE or 5G / NR systems. However, the exemplary embodiments are not limited in this respect, and the described embodiments can be applied to other networks that benefit from the principles described herein, such as future 3GPP systems, etc.

[0209] Network 2600 may include UE 2602, which may include any mobile or non-mobile computing device designed to communicate with RAN 2604 via an over-the-air connection. UE 2602 may be, but is not limited to, smartphones, tablets, wearable computing devices, desktop computers, laptops, in-vehicle infotainment devices, in-vehicle entertainment devices, instrument clusters, head-up displays, in-vehicle diagnostic devices, dashboard mobile devices, mobile data terminals, electronic engine management systems, electronic / engine control units, electronic / engine control modules, embedded systems, sensors, microcontrollers, control modules, engine management systems, networked appliances, machine-type communication devices, M2M or D2D devices, Internet of Things devices, etc.

[0210] In some embodiments, network 2600 may include multiple UEs that are directly coupled to each other via sidelink interfaces. The UEs may be M2M / D2D devices that communicate using physical sidelink channels (e.g., but not limited to, physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), physical sidelink basic channel (PSFCH), etc.).

[0211] In some embodiments, UE 2602 can also communicate with AP 2606 via an over-the-air connection. AP 2606 manages WLAN connections and can be used to offload some / all network traffic from RAN 2604. The connection between UE 2602 and AP 2606 can be consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, wherein AP 2606 can be Wireless Fibre. Router. In some embodiments, UE2602, RAN 2604, and AP 2606 may utilize cellular WLAN aggregation (e.g., LTE-WLAN aggregation (LWA) / Lightweight IP (LWIP)). Cellular WLAN aggregation may involve UE 2602, configured by RAN 2604, utilizing both cellular radio resources and WLAN resources.

[0212] RAN 2604 may include one or more access nodes, such as AN 2608. AN 2608 can terminate the air interface protocol of UE 2602 by providing access layer protocols including RRC, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Radio Link Control (RLC), Media Access Control (MAC), and L1 protocol. In this way, AN 2608 enables data / voice connectivity between CN 2620 and UE 2602. In some embodiments, AN 2608 may be implemented in a discrete device or as one or more software entities running on a server computer as part of, for example, a virtual network, which may be referred to as CRAN or a virtual baseband unit pool. AN 2608 may be referred to as a base station (BS), gNB, RAN node, evolved Node B (eNB), next-generation eNB (ng-eNB), Node B (NodeB), roadside unit (RSU), TRxP, TRP, etc. AN 2608 can be a macro cell base station or a low-power base station, used to provide micro cells, pico cells, or other similar cells with smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to macro cells.

[0213] In embodiments where RAN 2604 includes multiple ANs, they can be coupled to each other via an X2 interface (in the case of RAN 2604 being an LTE RAN) or an Xn interface (in the case of RAN 2604 being a 5G RAN). In some embodiments, the X2 / Xn interfaces, which can be separated into a control plane interface and a user plane interface, can allow ANs to transmit and handover, data / context transfer, mobility, payload management, interference coordination, and other related information.

[0214] The AN of RAN 2604 can manage one or more cells, cell groups, component carriers, etc., to provide an air interface for network access to UE 2602. UE 2602 can simultaneously connect to multiple cells provided by the same or different ANs of RAN 2604. For example, UE 2602 and RAN 2604 can use carrier aggregation to allow UE 2602 to connect to multiple component carriers, each component carrier corresponding to a primary cell (Pcell) or a secondary cell (Scell). In a dual connectivity scenario, the first AN can be the primary node providing the primary cell group (MCG), and the second AN can be the secondary node providing the secondary cell group (SCG). The first / second AN can be any combination of eNB, gNB, ng-eNB, etc.

[0215] RAN 2604 can provide an air interface on either licensed or unlicensed spectrum. For operation in unlicensed spectrum, nodes can use Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), Enhanced LAA (eLAA), and / or further enhanced LAA (feLAA) mechanisms based on carrier aggregation (CA) technology with PCell / Scell. Before accessing unlicensed spectrum, nodes can perform medium / carrier sensing operations based on, for example, a Listen-Before-Speak (LBT) protocol.

[0216] In a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) scenario, UE 2602 or AN 2608 can be or act as a roadside unit (RSU), which can refer to any transportation infrastructure entity used for V2X communication. An RSU can be implemented in or by a suitable AN or a stationary (or relatively stationary) UE. An RSU implemented in or by a UE can be referred to as a "UE-type RSU"; an RSU implemented in or by an eNB can be referred to as an "eNB-type RSU"; an RSU implemented in or by a next-generation NodeB (gNB) can be referred to as a "gNB-type RSU"; and so on. In one example, the RSU is a computing device coupled to radio frequency circuitry located on the roadside, providing connectivity support to passing vehicle UEs. The RSU may also include internal data storage circuitry for storing intersection map geometry, traffic statistics, media, and applications / software for sensing and controlling ongoing vehicle and pedestrian traffic. The RSU can provide very low-latency communication required for high-speed events, such as collision avoidance, traffic warnings, etc. Alternatively or concurrently, the RSU can provide other cellular / WLAN communication services. RSU components can be enclosed in a weatherproof enclosure suitable for outdoor installation and may include a network interface controller to provide wired connectivity (e.g., Ethernet) to traffic signal controllers or backhaul networks.

[0217] In some embodiments, RAN 2604 may be LTE RAN 2610, which includes an evolved Node B (eNB), such as eNB 2612. LTE RAN 2610 can provide an LTE air interface with the following characteristics: 15kHz SCS; CP-OFDM waveforms for DL ​​and SC-FDMA waveforms for UL; turbo codes for data and TBCC for control, etc. The LTE air interface may rely on CSI-RS for CSI acquisition and beam management; rely on PDSCH / PDCCH demodulation reference signals (DMRS) for PDSCH / PDCCH demodulation; and rely on CRS for cell search and initial acquisition, channel quality measurement, and channel estimation for coherent demodulation / detection at the UE. The LTE air interface can operate in the sub-6GHz band.

[0218] In some embodiments, RAN 2604 may be a next-generation (NG)-RAN 2614 with a gNB (e.g., gNB 2616) or a gn-eNB (e.g., ng-eNB 2618). gNB 2616 can connect to a 5G-enabled UE using a 5G NR interface. gNB 2616 can connect to the 5G core via an NG interface, which may include an N2 interface or an N3 interface. Ng-eNB 2618 can also connect to the 5G core via an NG interface, but can connect to the UE via an LTE air interface. gNB 2616 and ng-eNB 2618 can connect to each other via an Xn interface.

[0219] In some embodiments, the NG interface can be divided into two parts: the NG user plane (NG-U) interface and the NG control plane (NG-C) interface. The former carries traffic data between the nodes of NG-RAN 2614 and UPF 2648, while the latter is the signaling interface (e.g., the N2 interface) between NG-RAN 2614 and the nodes of Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 2644.

[0220] NG-RAN 2614 can provide a 5G-NR air interface with the following characteristics: variable SCS; CP-OFDM for DL, CP-OFDM and DFT-s-OFDM for UL; polarity, repetition, simplex, and Reed-Muller codes for control, and LDPC for data. The 5G-NR air interface can rely on CSI-RS, PDSCH / PDCCH DMRS similar to those of the LTE air interface. The 5G-NR air interface may not use CRS, but can use PBCH DMRS for PBCH demodulation; PTRS for PDSCH phase tracking; and a tracking reference signal for time tracking. The 5G-NR air interface can operate on the FR1 band, including the sub-6GHz band, or the FR2 band, including the 24.25GHz to 52.6GHz band. The 5G-NR air interface may include an SSB, which is an area of ​​the downlink resource grid including PSS / SSS / PBCH.

[0221] In some embodiments, the 5G-NR air interface can use BWPs for various purposes. For example, BWPs can be used for dynamic adaptation of SCS. For instance, UE 2602 can be configured with multiple BWPs, each configured with a different SCS. When a BWP is indicated to UE 2602 for a change, the transmitted SCS also changes. Another use case for BWPs relates to power saving. Specifically, multiple BWPs with different numbers of frequency resources (e.g., PRBs) can be configured for UE 2602 to support data transmission under different traffic load scenarios. A BWP containing fewer PRBs can be used for data transmission with lower traffic loads, while allowing power saving at UE 2602 and, in some cases, at gNB 2616. A BWP containing more PRBs can be used for scenarios with higher traffic loads.

[0222] RAN 2604 is communicatively coupled to CN 2620, which includes network elements, to provide various functions supporting data and telecommunications services to customers / subscribers (e.g., users of UE 2602). Components of CN 2620 may be implemented in a single physical node or in different physical nodes. In some embodiments, NFV may be used to virtualize any or all of the functionality provided by the network elements of CN 2620 onto physical compute / storage resources such as servers, switches, etc. A logical instance of CN 2620 may be referred to as a network slice, and a logical instantiation of a portion of CN 2620 may be referred to as a network subslice.

[0223] In some embodiments, CN 2620 may be LTE CN 2622, which may also be referred to as the Evolved Packet Core (EPC). LTE CN 2622 may include a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 2624, a Serving Gateway (SGW) 2626, a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) 2628, a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 2630, a Proxy Gateway (PGW) 2632, and a Policy Control and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) 2634, as shown in the figure. These components are coupled to each other through interfaces (or "reference points"). The functions of the components of LTE CN 2622 can be briefly described below.

[0224] The MME 2624 can implement mobility management functions to track the current location of the UE 2602, thereby facilitating patrol, bearer activation / deactivation, handover, gateway selection, authentication, etc.

[0225] The SGW 2626 can terminate the S1 interface toward the RAN and route data packets between the RAN and the LTE CN 2622. The SGW 2626 can serve as a local mobility anchor for handover between RAN nodes and can also provide anchoring for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawful interception, charging, and some policy enforcement.

[0226] SGSN 2628 can track the location of UE 2602 and perform security functions and access control. Additionally, SGSN 2628 can perform EPC inter-node signaling for mobility between different RAT networks; PDN and S-GW selection specified by MME 2624; MME selection for handover, etc. The S3 reference point between MME 2624 and SGSN 2628 enables the exchange of user and bearer information for 3GPP indirect access network mobility in idle / active states.

[0227] The HSS 2630 may include a database for network users, containing subscription-related information that supports network entities in handling communication sessions. The HSS 2630 can provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, naming / addressing resolution, location dependencies, etc. An S6a reference point between the HSS 2630 and the MME 2624 enables the transmission of subscription and authentication data to authenticate / authorize user access to the LTE CN 2620.

[0228] The PGW 2632 can terminate the SGi interface toward the data network (DN) 2636, which may include an application / content server 2638. The PGW 2632 can route data packets between the LTE CN 2622 and the data network 2636. The PGW 2632 can be coupled to the SGW 2626 via an S5 reference point to facilitate user plane tunneling and tunnel management. The PGW 2632 may also include nodes for policy enforcement and charging data collection (e.g., PCEF). Additionally, the SGi reference point between the PGW 2632 and the data network 2636 can be, for example, an external public or private PDN or an internal packet data network for providing IMS services. The PGW 2632 can be coupled to the PCRF 2634 via a Gx reference point.

[0229] PCRF 2634 is the policy and charging control element of LTE CN 2622. PCRF 2634 can be communicatively coupled to application / content server 2638 to determine appropriate QoS and charging parameters for service flows. PCRF 2632 can provide the associated rules to PCEF (via Gx reference point) with appropriate TFT and QCI.

[0230] In some embodiments, CN 2620 may be a 5G core network (5GC) 2640. 5GC 2640 may include Authentication Server Function (AUSF) 2642, Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 2644, Session Management Function (SMF) 2646, User Plane Function (UPF) 2648, Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF) 2650, Network Open Function (NEF) 2652, NF Storage Function (NRF) 2654, Policy Control Function (PCF) 2656, Unified Data Management (UDM) 2658, and Application Function (AF) 2660, as shown in the figure. These functions are coupled to each other through interfaces (or "reference points"). The functions of the components of 5GC 2640 can be briefly described below.

[0231] The AUSF 2642 can store data for UE 2602 authentication and handle authentication-related functions. The AUSF 2642 facilitates a common authentication framework for various access types. In addition to communicating with other components of the 5GC 2640 via a reference point, as shown in the figure, the AUSF 2642 can also demonstrate an interface based on Nausf services.

[0232] The AMF 2644 allows the 5GC 2640 to communicate with UE 2602 and RAN 2604, and subscribe to notifications regarding mobility events for UE 2602. The AMF 2644 can handle registration management (e.g., registering UE 2602), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception of AMF-related events, and access authentication and authorization. The AMF 2644 can provide the transmission of Session Management (SM) messages between UE 2602 and SMF 2646, and acts as a transparent broker for routing SM messages. The AMF 2644 can also provide the transmission of SMS messages between UE 2602 and the SMSF. The AMF 2644 can interact with AMF 2642 and UE 2602 to perform various security anchoring and context management functions. Furthermore, the AMF 2644 can be the termination point of the RANCP interface, which may include or be the N2 reference point between RAN 2604 and AMF 2644; the AMF 2644 can serve as the termination point for NAS (N1) signaling and perform NAS encryption and integrity protection. The AMF 2644 can also support NAS signaling with UE 2602 via the N3 IWF interface.

[0233] SMF 2646 can be responsible for SM (e.g., session establishment, tunnel management between UPF 2648 and AN 2608); UE IP address allocation and management (including optional licensing); selection and control of UP functions; configuring flow control at UPF 2648 to route traffic to appropriate destinations; termination of interfaces to policy control functions; control of policy enforcement, charging, and QoS as part of the process; lawful interception (for SM events and interfaces to the LI system); termination of the SM portion of NAS messages; downlink data notification; initiating AN-specific SM messages (sent to AN 2608 on N2 via AMF 2644); and determining the SSC mode of the session. SM can refer to the management of PDU sessions, and a PDU session or “session” can refer to the PDU connectivity service that provides or enables PDU exchange between UE 2602 and data network 2636.

[0234] The UPF 2648 can be used as an anchor point for mobility within and between RATs, an external PDU session point for interconnection with the data network 2636, and a branch point supporting multi-homed PDU sessions. The UPF 2648 can also perform packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane portion of policy rules, lawful packet interception (UP collection), traffic usage reporting, QoS processing for the user plane (e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL / DL rate enforcement), uplink traffic authentication (e.g., SDF-to-QoS flow mapping), transport-level packet marking in uplink and downlink, and downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering. The UPF 2648 may include an uplink classifier to support traffic flow routing to the data network.

[0235] The NSSF 2650 can select a set of network slice instances to serve UE 2602. If needed, the NSSF 2650 can also determine the allowed network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI) and the mapping to the subscribed individual NSSAI (S-NSSAI). The NSSF 2650 can also determine the set of AMFs to be used to serve UE 2602 based on appropriate configuration and possibly by querying the NRF 2654, or determine a list of candidate AMFs. The selection of a set of network slice instances for UE 2602 can be triggered by the AMF 2644 (which UE 2602 registers with through interaction with the NSSF 2650), resulting in a change of AMF. The NSSF 2650 can interact with the AMF 2644 via the N22 reference point; and can communicate with another NSSF in the visited network via the N31 reference point (not shown). Furthermore, the NSSF 2650 can expose an interface based on NNSSF services.

[0236] The NEF 2652 can securely disclose services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions for third parties, internal disclosure / redisclosure, AFs (e.g., AF 2660), edge computing, or fog computing systems. In these embodiments, the NEF 2652 can authenticate, license, or suppress AFs. The NEF 2652 can also translate information exchanged with AF 2660 and information exchanged with internal network functions. For example, the NEF 2652 can translate between AF service identifiers and internal 5GC information. The NEF 2652 can also receive information from other NFs based on their public capabilities. This information can be stored as structured data at the NEF 2652 or stored at a data storage NF using a standardized interface. The NEF 2652 can then redistribute the stored information to other NFs and AFs, or use it for other purposes such as analytics. Additionally, the NEF 2652 can expose interfaces based on Nnef services.

[0237] NRF 2654 supports service discovery, receiving NF discovery requests from NF instances and providing information about discovered NF instances to those instances. NRF 2654 also maintains information about available NF instances and the services they support. As used herein, the terms "instantiation," "instance," etc., can refer to the creation of an instance, and an "instance" can refer to the concrete occurrence of an object, such as during program code execution. Furthermore, NRF 2654 can demonstrate interfaces based on NRF services.

[0238] PCF 2656 can provide policy rules to control plane functions to enforce them, and can also support a unified policy framework to manage network behavior. PCF 2656 can also implement a frontend to access subscription information related to policy decisions in the UDR of UDM 2658. In addition to communicating with functions via reference points as shown in the figure, PCF 2656 also demonstrates an interface based on Npcf services.

[0239] UDM 2658 can process subscription-related information to support network entities in handling communication sessions and can store subscription data for UE 2602. For example, subscription data can be transmitted via the N8 reference point between UDM 2658 and AMF 2644. UDM 2658 can include two parts: an application front-end and a UDR. The UDR can store policy data and subscription data for UDM 2658 and PCF 2656, and / or structured data and application data for disclosure (including PFD for application detection and application request information for multiple UEs 2602) for NEF 2652. UDR 221 can expose a Nudr service-based interface to allow UDM 2658, PCF 2656, and NEF 2652 to access specific sets of stored data, as well as to read, update (e.g., add, modify), delete, and receive notifications of relevant data changes in the subscription UDR. UDM may include UDM-FE, which is responsible for handling credentials, location management, subscription management, etc. Several different front-ends can provide services to the same user in different transactions. The UDM-FE accesses subscription information stored in the UDR and performs authentication credential processing, user identification processing, access authorization, registration / mobility management, and subscription management. In addition to communicating with other NFs via reference points as shown in the figure, the UDM 2658 can also demonstrate interfaces based on Nudm services.

[0240] The AF 2660 can provide application impact on traffic routing, provide access to NEF, and interact with the policy framework for policy control.

[0241] In some embodiments, the 5GC 2640 can enable edge computing by selecting an operator / third-party service that is geographically close to the point to which the UE 2602 attaches to the network. This can reduce latency and load on the network. To provide edge computing implementation, the 5GC 2640 can select a UPF 2648 close to the UE 2602 and perform traffic routing from the UPF 2648 to the data network 2636 via the N6 interface. This can be based on UE subscription data, UE location, and information provided by the AF 2660. In this way, the AF 2660 can influence UPF (re)selection and traffic routing. Based on operator deployment, when the AF 2660 is considered a trusted entity, the network operator can allow the AF 2660 to interact directly with the relevant NF. Additionally, the AF 2660 can expose an interface based on Naf services.

[0242] Data network 2636 can represent various network operator services, Internet access, or third-party services that can be provided by one or more servers (including, for example, application / content server 2638).

[0243] The following paragraphs describe examples of various embodiments.

[0244] Example 1 includes an apparatus comprising: a radio frequency (RF) interface; and processor circuitry coupled to the RF interface, wherein the processor circuitry is configured to: decode a downlink reference signal (RS) received from an access node (AN) via the RF interface; determine a precoder, rank, or MCS based on the downlink RS without indicating a Transmit Precoding Matrix Index (TPMI), a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) Resource Indicator (SRI), and a Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) in the downlink control information (DCI); and encode a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission for transmission to the AN based on the determined precoder, rank, or MCS.

[0245] Example 2 includes the apparatus described in Example 1, wherein the downlink RS includes a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0246] Example 3 includes the apparatus described in Example 1 or 2, wherein the processor circuitry is further configured to: encode the uplink RS for transmission to the AN, wherein the downlink RS and the uplink RS are on the same frequency band.

[0247] Example 4 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 1 to 3, wherein the uplink RS includes an SRS.

[0248] Example 5 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 1 to 4, wherein the downlink RS is received on a first time slot or symbol, and the uplink RS is transmitted on a second time slot or symbol, wherein the first time slot or symbol is adjacent to the second time slot or symbol.

[0249] Example 6 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 1 to 5, wherein the uplink RS is precoded or non-precoded.

[0250] Example 7 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 1 to 6, wherein the AN includes a next-generation node B (gNB).

[0251] Example 8 includes an apparatus comprising: a radio frequency (RF) interface; and processor circuitry coupled to the RF interface, wherein the processor circuitry is configured to: decode an uplink reference signal (RS) received from a user equipment (UE) via the RF interface; determine a precoder, rank, or modulation and coding scheme (MCS) for physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission based at least in part on the uplink RS; and encode the PDSCH transmission based on the precoder, the rank, or the MCS for transmission to the UE.

[0252] Example 9 includes the apparatus described in Example 8, wherein the UE is configured to operate in Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) mode.

[0253] Example 10 includes the apparatus described in Example 8 or 9, wherein the uplink RS includes an SRS.

[0254] Example 11 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 8 to 10, wherein the processor circuitry is further configured to: encode a downlink RS for transmission to the UE via the RF interface; decode a measurement result of the downlink RS received from the UE via the RF interface; and further determine a precoder, rank, or MCS for the PDSCH transmission based on the measurement result of the downlink RS.

[0255] Example 12 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 8 to 11, wherein the downlink RS includes a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0256] Example 13 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 8 to 12, wherein the processor circuitry is further configured to: train a machine learning module based on the uplink RS and measurements of the downlink RS to determine the precoder, the rank, or the MCS based solely on the uplink RS.

[0257] Example 14 includes an apparatus comprising: a radio frequency (RF) interface; and processor circuitry coupled to the RF interface, wherein the processor circuitry is configured to: decode a list of Transmission Configuration Indicators (TCIs) received from an access node (AN) via the RF interface, the TCI list including TCI states and corresponding timestamps; and automatically select a TCI state corresponding to a timestamp based on the TCI list.

[0258] Example 15 includes the apparatus described in Example 14, wherein the TCI list further includes multiple cell IDs, each cell ID being associated with a corresponding TCI status and timestamp.

[0259] Example 16 includes the apparatus described in Example 14 or 15, wherein the TCI list is updated based on the user equipment (UE) mobility speed.

[0260] Example 17 includes an apparatus comprising: a radio frequency (RF) interface; and processor circuitry coupled to the RF interface, wherein the processor circuitry is configured to: predict the movement speed of a user equipment (UE); and, based on the movement speed, encode a list of transmission configuration indicators (TCIs) for transmission to the UE via the RF interface, the TCI list including TCI states and corresponding timestamps.

[0261] Example 18 includes the apparatus described in Example 17, wherein the TCI list further includes multiple cell IDs, each cell ID being associated with a corresponding TCI status and timestamp.

[0262] Example 19 includes the apparatus described in Example 17 or 18, wherein the processor circuitry is further configured to: update the TCI list based on the movement speed.

[0263] Example 20 includes an apparatus comprising: a radio frequency (RF) interface; and processor circuitry coupled to the RF interface, wherein the processor circuitry is configured to: determine a synchronization signal block (SSB) beamgroup for initial access and control channel transmission of a user equipment (UE) and a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) beamgroup for data transmission of the UE; perform initial access and control channel transmission for the UE using the SSB beamgroup; and perform data transmission for the UE using the CSI-RS beamgroup.

[0264] Example 21 includes the apparatus described in Example 20, wherein the processor circuitry is further configured to: perform initial access by applying a predefined beam pattern of the SSB beams in the SSB beam group; and, after the UE connects, dynamically change the SSB beams to a UE-specific SSB beam pattern based on the mobility of the UE.

[0265] Example 22 includes the apparatus described in Example 20 or 21, wherein the processor circuitry is further configured to: divide the SSB beam group into a first subgroup of SSB beams for initial access of the UE and a second subgroup of SSB beams for control channel transmission of the UE, wherein the beam pattern of the SSB beams in the first subgroup of SSB beams is predefined, and the beam pattern of the SSB beams in the second subgroup of SSB beams is UE-specific.

[0266] Example 23 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 20 to 22, wherein the first subgroup SSB beam and the second subgroup SSB beam are time-division multiplexed (TDMed).

[0267] Example 24 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 20 to 23, wherein the first subgroup SSB beam and the second subgroup SSB beam are frequency division multiplexed (FDMed).

[0268] Example 25 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 20 to 24, wherein the processor circuitry is further configured to: dynamically change the beam pattern of the SSB beam in the second subgroup SSB beam to point toward the direction of the UE based on the orientation of the UE.

[0269] Example 26 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 20 to 25, wherein the second subgroup SSB beams include a plurality of SSB beams, and wherein the processor circuitry is further configured to: activate a first SSB beam among the plurality of SSB beams for control channel transmission; and the remaining SSB beams among the plurality of SSB beams as candidate beams for beam fault recovery.

[0270] Example 27 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 20 to 26, wherein the processor circuitry is further configured to: activate one of the remaining SSB beams for control channel transmission when the first SSB beam fails, or change the beam pattern of the first SSB beam.

[0271] Example 28 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 20 to 27, wherein the processor circuitry is further configured to: perform beam fault recovery operations for the control channel transmission and the data transmission, respectively.

[0272] Example 29 includes an apparatus comprising: a radio frequency (RF) interface; and processor circuitry coupled to the RF interface, wherein the processor circuitry is configured to: determine that a user equipment (UE) has rotated or moved; and dynamically change the transmit (Tx) / receive (Rx) beam without triggering a beam management process.

[0273] Example 30 includes the apparatus described in Example 29, wherein the apparatus is part of a machine learning module for the UE.

[0274] Example 31 includes a method comprising: decoding a downlink reference signal (RS) received from an access node (AN); determining a precoder, rank, or MCS based on the downlink RS without indicating a Transmit Precoding Matrix Index (TPMI), a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) Resource Indicator (SRI), and a Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) in the downlink control information (DCI); and encoding a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission for transmission to the AN based on the determined precoder, rank, or MCS.

[0275] Example 32 includes the method described in Example 31, wherein the downlink RS includes a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0276] Example 33 includes the method described in Example 31 or 32, further comprising: encoding the uplink RS for transmission to the AN, wherein the downlink RS and the uplink RS are on the same frequency band.

[0277] Example 34 includes the method of any one of Examples 31 to 33, wherein the uplink RS includes the SRS.

[0278] Example 35 includes the method of any one of Examples 31 to 34, wherein the downlink RS is received on a first time slot or symbol, and the uplink RS is transmitted on a second time slot or symbol, wherein the first time slot or symbol is adjacent to the second time slot or symbol.

[0279] Example 36 includes the method of any one of Examples 31 to 35, wherein the uplink RS is precoded or non-precoded.

[0280] Example 37 includes the method of any one of Examples 31 to 36, wherein the AN includes a next-generation node B (gNB).

[0281] Example 38 includes a method comprising: decoding an uplink reference signal (RS) received from a user equipment (UE); determining a precoder, rank, or modulation and coding scheme (MCS) for physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission based at least in part on the uplink RS; and encoding the PDSCH transmission based on the precoder, the rank, or the MCS for transmission to the UE.

[0282] Example 39 includes the method described in Example 38, wherein the UE is configured to operate in Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) mode.

[0283] Example 40 includes the method described in Example 38 or 39, wherein the uplink RS includes the SRS.

[0284] Example 41 includes the method of any one of Examples 38 to 40, further comprising: encoding the downlink RS for transmission to the UE; decoding measurement results of the downlink RS received from the UE; and further determining a precoder, rank, or MCS for the PDSCH transmission based on the measurement results of the downlink RS.

[0285] Example 42 includes the method of any one of Examples 38 to 41, wherein the downlink RS includes a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0286] Example 43 includes the method of any one of Examples 38 to 42, further comprising: training a machine learning module based on the uplink RS and measurements of the downlink RS to determine the precoder, the rank, or the MCS based solely on the uplink RS.

[0287] Example 44 includes a method comprising: decoding a list of Transport Configuration Indicators (TCIs) received from an access node (AN), the list of TCIs including TCI states and corresponding timestamps; and automatically selecting a TCI state corresponding to a timestamp based on the list of TCIs.

[0288] Example 45 includes the method described in Example 44, wherein the TCI list further includes multiple cell IDs, each cell ID being associated with a corresponding TCI status and timestamp.

[0289] Example 46 includes the method described in Example 44 or 45, wherein the TCI list is updated based on the user equipment (UE) mobility speed.

[0290] Example 47 includes a method comprising: predicting the mobility speed of a user equipment (UE); and encoding a list of transmission configuration indicators (TCIs) for transmission to the UE based on the mobility speed, the list of TCIs including TCI states and corresponding timestamps.

[0291] Example 48 includes the method described in Example 47, wherein the TCI list further includes multiple cell IDs, each cell ID being associated with a corresponding TCI status and timestamp.

[0292] Example 49 includes the method described in Example 47 or 48, and further includes updating the TCI list based on the movement speed.

[0293] Example 50 includes a method comprising: determining a synchronization signal block (SSB) beamgroup for initial access and control channel transmission of a user equipment (UE) and a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) beamgroup for data transmission of the UE; performing initial access and control channel transmission for the UE using the SSB beamgroup; and performing data transmission for the UE using the CSI-RS beamgroup.

[0294] Example 51 includes the method of Example 50, further comprising: applying a predefined beam pattern of the SSB beams in the SSB beam group for initial access; and after the UE connects, dynamically changing the SSB beams to a UE-specific SSB beam pattern based on the mobility of the UE.

[0295] Example 52 includes the method of Example 50 or 51, further comprising: dividing the SSB beam group into a first subgroup of SSB beams for initial access of the UE and a second subgroup of SSB beams for control channel transmission of the UE, wherein the beam pattern of the SSB beams in the first subgroup of SSB beams is predefined, and the beam pattern of the SSB beams in the second subgroup of SSB beams is UE-specific.

[0296] Example 53 includes the method of any one of Examples 50 to 52, wherein the first subgroup SSB beam and the second subgroup SSB beam are time-division multiplexed (TDMed).

[0297] Example 54 includes the method of any one of Examples 50 to 53, wherein the first subgroup SSB beam and the second subgroup SSB beam are frequency division multiplexed (FDMed).

[0298] Example 55 includes the method of any one of Examples 50 to 54, and further includes: dynamically changing the beam pattern of the SSB beam in the second subgroup SSB beam to point in the direction of the UE based on the orientation of the UE.

[0299] Example 56 includes the method of any one of Examples 50 to 55, wherein the second subgroup SSB beams include a plurality of SSB beams, and wherein the method further includes: activating a first SSB beam among the plurality of SSB beams for control channel transmission; and using the remaining SSB beams among the plurality of SSB beams as candidate beams for beam fault recovery.

[0300] Example 57 includes the method of any one of Examples 50 to 56, further comprising: when the first SSB beam fails, activating one of the remaining SSB beams for control channel transmission, or changing the beam pattern of the first SSB beam.

[0301] Example 58 includes the method of any one of Examples 50 to 57, further comprising: performing beam fault recovery operations for the control channel transmission and the data transmission, respectively.

[0302] Example 59 includes a method comprising: determining that a user equipment (UE) has rotated or moved; and dynamically changing the transmit (Tx) / receive (Rx) beam without triggering a beam management process.

[0303] Example 60 includes the method described in Example 59, wherein the method is performed by the machine learning module of the UE.

[0304] Example 61 includes an apparatus comprising: means for decoding a downlink reference signal (RS) received from an access node (AN); means for determining a precoder, rank, or MCS based on the downlink RS without indicating a Transmit Precoding Matrix Index (TPMI), a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) Resource Indicator (SRI), and a Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) in the downlink control information (DCI); and means for encoding a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission for transmission to the AN based on the determined precoder, rank, or MCS.

[0305] Example 62 includes the device described in Example 61, wherein the downlink RS includes a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0306] Example 63 includes the device described in Example 61 or 62, and further includes means for encoding the uplink RS for transmission to the AN, wherein the downlink RS and the uplink RS are on the same frequency band.

[0307] Example 64 includes the device of any one of Examples 61 to 63, wherein the uplink RS includes an SRS.

[0308] Example 65 includes the device of any one of Examples 61 to 64, wherein the downlink RS is received on a first timeslot or symbol and the uplink RS is transmitted on a second timeslot or symbol, wherein the first timeslot or symbol is adjacent to the second timeslot or symbol.

[0309] Example 66 includes the device of any one of Examples 61 to 65, wherein the uplink RS is precoded or non-precoded.

[0310] Example 67 includes the device of any one of Examples 61 to 66, wherein the AN includes a next-generation node B (gNB).

[0311] Example 68 includes an apparatus comprising: means for decoding an uplink reference signal (RS) received from a user equipment (UE); means for determining a precoder, rank, or modulation and coding scheme (MCS) for physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission based at least in part on the uplink RS; and means for encoding the PDSCH transmission based on the precoder, the rank, or the MCS for transmission to the UE.

[0312] Example 69 includes the device described in Example 68, wherein the UE is configured to operate in Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) mode.

[0313] Example 70 includes the device described in Example 68 or 69, wherein the uplink RS includes an SRS.

[0314] Example 71 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 68 to 70, further comprising: means for encoding a downlink RS for transmission to the UE; means for decoding a measurement result of the downlink RS received from the UE; and means for further determining a precoder, rank, or MCS for the PDSCH transmission based on the measurement result of the downlink RS.

[0315] Example 72 includes the device of any one of Examples 68 to 71, wherein the downlink RS includes a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0316] Example 73 includes the device of any one of Examples 68 to 72, and further includes means for training a machine learning module based on the uplink RS and measurements of the downlink RS to determine the precoder, the rank, or the MCS based solely on the uplink RS.

[0317] Example 74 includes an apparatus comprising: means for decoding a list of Transport Configuration Indicators (TCIs) received from an access node (AN), the TCI list including TCI states and corresponding timestamps; and means for automatically selecting a TCI state corresponding to a timestamp based on the TCI list.

[0318] Example 75 includes the device described in Example 74, wherein the TCI list further includes multiple cell IDs, each cell ID being associated with a corresponding TCI status and timestamp.

[0319] Example 76 includes the device described in Example 74 or 75, wherein the TCI list is updated based on the user equipment (UE) mobility speed.

[0320] Example 77 includes an apparatus comprising: means for predicting the movement speed of a user equipment (UE); and means for encoding a list of transmission configuration indicators (TCIs) for transmission to the UE based on the movement speed, the TCI list including TCI states and corresponding timestamps.

[0321] Example 78 includes the device described in Example 77, wherein the TCI list further includes multiple cell IDs, each cell ID being associated with a corresponding TCI status and timestamp.

[0322] Example 79 includes the device described in Example 77 or 78, and further includes means for updating the TCI list based on the movement speed.

[0323] Example 80 includes an apparatus comprising: means for determining a synchronization signal block (SSB) beamgroup for initial access and control channel transmission of a user equipment (UE) and a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) beamgroup for data transmission of the UE; means for performing initial access and control channel transmission for the UE using the SSB beamgroup; and means for performing data transmission for the UE using the CSI-RS beamgroup.

[0324] Example 81 includes the device described in Example 80, and further includes: means for initial access using a predefined beam pattern of the SSB beams in the SSB beam group; and means for dynamically changing the SSB beams to a UE-specific SSB beam pattern based on the mobility of the UE after the UE is connected.

[0325] Example 82 includes the device described in Example 80 or 81, and further includes: means for dividing the SSB beam group into a first subgroup of SSB beams for initial access of the UE and a second subgroup of SSB beams for control channel transmission of the UE, wherein the beam pattern of the SSB beams in the first subgroup of SSB beams is predefined, and the beam pattern of the SSB beams in the second subgroup of SSB beams is UE-specific.

[0326] Example 83 includes the device of any one of Examples 80 to 82, wherein the first subgroup SSB beam and the second subgroup SSB beam are time-division multiplexed (TDMed).

[0327] Example 84 includes the device of any one of Examples 80 to 83, wherein the first subgroup SSB beam and the second subgroup SSB beam are frequency division multiplexed (FDMed).

[0328] Example 85 includes the device of any one of Examples 80 to 84, and further includes means for dynamically changing the beam pattern of the SSB beam in the second subgroup SSB beam to point in the direction of the UE based on the direction of the UE.

[0329] Example 86 includes the device of any one of Examples 80 to 85, wherein the second subgroup SSB beams include a plurality of SSB beams, and wherein the device further includes: means for activating a first SSB beam among the plurality of SSB beams for control channel transmission; and means for selecting the remaining SSB beams among the plurality of SSB beams as candidate beams for beam fault recovery.

[0330] Example 87 includes the device of any one of Examples 80 to 86, and further includes means for activating one of the remaining SSB beams for control channel transmission or changing the beam pattern of the first SSB beam when the first SSB beam fails.

[0331] Example 88 includes the device of any one of Examples 80 to 87, and further includes means for performing beam fault recovery operations for the control channel transmission and the data transmission, respectively.

[0332] Example 89 includes an apparatus comprising: means for determining that a user equipment (UE) has rotated or moved; and means for dynamically changing the transmit (Tx) / receive (Rx) beam without triggering a beam management process.

[0333] Example 90 includes the device described in Example 89, wherein the device is part of a machine learning module for the UE.

[0334] Example 91 includes a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by processor circuitry, cause the processor circuitry to perform the method described in any one of Examples 31 to 37.

[0335] Example 92 includes a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by processor circuitry, cause the processor circuitry to perform the method described in any one of Examples 38 to 43.

[0336] Example 93 includes a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by processor circuitry, cause the processor circuitry to perform the method described in any one of Examples 44 to 46.

[0337] Example 94 includes a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by processor circuitry, cause the processor circuitry to perform the method described in any one of Examples 47 to 49.

[0338] Example 95 includes a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by processor circuitry, cause the processor circuitry to perform the method described in any one of Examples 50 to 58.

[0339] Example 96 includes a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by processor circuitry, cause the processor circuitry to perform the method described in any one of Examples 59 to 60.

[0340] Example 97 includes an access node (AN) as shown and described in the specification.

[0341] Example 98 includes methods performed at the access node (AN) as shown and described in the specification.

[0342] Example 99 includes user equipment (UE) as shown and described in the specification.

[0343] Example 100 includes a method performed at a user equipment (UE) as shown and described in the specification.

[0344] While certain embodiments have been illustrated and described herein for purposes of description, various alternative and / or equivalent embodiments or implementations devised to achieve the same purpose may replace the illustrated and described embodiments without departing from the scope of this disclosure. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the embodiments discussed herein. Therefore, it is readily understood that the embodiments described herein are limited only by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A device for communication, comprising: Radio frequency (RF) interface; and The processor circuit is coupled to the RF interface. The processor circuit is used for: Determine the synchronization signal block (SSB) beam group for initial access and control channel transmission of the user equipment (UE) and the channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) beam group for data transmission of the UE; Initial access and control channel transmissions are performed for the UE using the SSB beam group; and Data transmission is performed on the UE using the CSI-RS beamgroup. The processor circuit is further used for: The SSB beam group is divided into a first subgroup of SSB beams for initial access of the UE and a second subgroup of SSB beams for control channel transmission of the UE, wherein the beam pattern of the SSB beams in the first subgroup of SSB beams is predefined, and the beam pattern of the SSB beams in the second subgroup of SSB beams is UE-specific.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The processor circuit is also used for: Initial access is performed using the predefined beam pattern of the SSB beams in the SSB beam group; as well as After the UE is connected, the SSB beam is dynamically changed to a UE-specific SSB beam pattern based on the UE's mobility.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first subgroup SSB beam and the second subgroup SSB beam are time-division multiplexed (TDMed).

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first subgroup SSB beam and the second subgroup SSB beam are frequency division multiplexed (FDMed).

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The processor circuit is also used for: Based on the orientation of the UE, the beam pattern of the SSB beam in the second subgroup SSB beam is dynamically changed to point in the orientation of the UE.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The second subgroup of SSB beams includes multiple SSB beams, and the processor circuitry is further configured to: Activating the first SSB beam among the plurality of SSB beams for control channel transmission; and The remaining SSB beams among the multiple SSB beams are used as candidate beams for beam fault recovery.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein, The processor circuit is also used for: When the first SSB beam fails, one of the remaining SSB beams is activated to control channel transmission, or Change the beam pattern of the first SSB beam.

8. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1-7, wherein, The processor circuit is also used for: Beam fault recovery operations are performed for the control channel transmission and the data transmission, respectively.

9. A method for communication, comprising: Determine the synchronization signal block (SSB) beam group for initial access and control channel transmission of the user equipment (UE) and the channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) beam group for data transmission of the UE; The SSB beam group is used to perform initial access and control channel transmissions for the UE; as well as Data transmission is performed on the UE using the CSI-RS beamgroup. The method further includes: The SSB beam group is divided into a first subgroup of SSB beams for the initial access of the UE and a second subgroup of SSB beams for the control channel transmission of the UE. The beam pattern of the SSB beam in the first subgroup of SSB beams is predefined, while the beam pattern of the SSB beam in the second subgroup of SSB beams is UE-specific.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising: Initial access is performed using the predefined beam pattern of the SSB beams in the SSB beam group; as well as After the UE is connected, the SSB beam is dynamically changed to a UE-specific SSB beam pattern based on the UE's mobility.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein, The first subgroup SSB beam and the second subgroup SSB beam are time-division multiplexed (TDMed).

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein, The first subgroup SSB beam and the second subgroup SSB beam are frequency division multiplexed (FDMed).

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising: Based on the orientation of the UE, the beam pattern of the SSB beam in the second subgroup SSB beam is dynamically changed to point in the orientation of the UE.

14. The method according to claim 9, wherein, The second subgroup of SSB beams includes multiple SSB beams, and the method further includes: Activating the first SSB beam among the plurality of SSB beams for control channel transmission; and The remaining SSB beams among the plurality of SSB beams are selected as candidate beams for beam fault recovery.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising: When the first SSB beam fails, one of the remaining SSB beams is activated to control channel transmission, or Change the beam pattern of the first SSB beam.

16. The method according to any one of claims 9-15, further comprising: Beam fault recovery operations are performed for the control channel transmission and the data transmission, respectively.

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