Multipath positioning signal determination

Abstract

A UE comprises: at least one sensor configured to provide at least one sensor measurement; and a processor configured to: determine first and second ranges between the UE and a positioning signal source based on first and second positioning signal measurements of first and second positioning signals from the positioning signal source corresponding to first and second times; determine whether a selected range from the first range or the second range is a multipath range based on the first range, the second range, and movement of the UE between the first time and the second time indicated by the at least one sensor measurement; and in response to the selected range being determined to be a multipath range, reduce use of the selected range in positioning techniques.

Description

[0001] Priority claim

[0002] This patent application claims priority to U.S. non-provisional application No. 16 / 841,726, filed on April 7, 2020, entitled “MULTI-PATH POSITIONING SIGNAL DETERMINATION,” which is assigned to the assignee of the present application and is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference.

[0003] background

[0004] Wireless communication systems have evolved over several generations, including first generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including transitional 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third generation (3G) high-speed data wireless service with Internet capabilities, and fourth generation (4G) services (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). There are many different types of wireless communication systems in use today, including cellular and Personal Communications Service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Access (GSM) TDMA variants, and the like.

[0005] The fifth generation (5G) mobile standard calls for higher data transmission speeds, a greater number of connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide data rates of tens of megabits per second to each of tens of thousands of users, and 1 gigabit per second to dozens of employees on an office floor. Hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections should be supported to support large sensor deployments. Therefore, the spectrum efficiency of 5G mobile communications should be significantly improved compared to the current 4G standard. In addition, signaling efficiency should be improved and latency should be significantly reduced compared to the current standard.

[0006] Obtaining the location or position of a mobile device accessing a wireless network can be useful for many applications, including, for example, emergency calling, personal navigation, asset tracking, locating friends or family members, etc. Existing positioning methods include those based on measuring radio signals transmitted from various devices, including satellite vehicles (SVs) and terrestrial radio sources in wireless networks, such as base stations and access points. It is expected that standardization for 5G wireless networks will include support for various positioning methods that can utilize reference signals transmitted by base stations for position determination in a manner similar to how LTE wireless networks currently utilize positioning reference signals (PRS) and / or cell-specific reference signals (CRS).

[0007] Urban areas experience higher position determination errors due to multipath travel of positioning signals from the positioning signal source to the receiver and / or blockage of the positioning signals. To mitigate the effects of multipath travel of positioning signals, different measurement techniques (e.g., longer measurement times) can be used to attempt to improve the signal quality of the positioning signal measurements used to determine position.

[0008] Overview

[0009] An example user equipment (UE) includes: a receiver configured to receive a positioning signal; at least one sensor configured to provide at least one sensor measurement independent of the positioning signal; a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the receiver, the memory, and the at least one sensor, the processor configured to: determine a first range between the UE and a positioning signal source based on a first positioning signal measurement of a first positioning signal from the positioning signal source corresponding to a first time; determine a second range between the UE and the positioning signal source based on a second positioning signal measurement of a second positioning signal from the positioning signal source corresponding to a second time; determine whether a selected range from the first range or the second range is a multipath range based on the first range, the second range, and movement of the UE between the first time and the second time indicated by the at least one sensor measurement; and in response to the selected range being determined to be a multipath range, reduce use of the selected range in positioning techniques to determine a position of the UE.

[0010] Implementations of such a UE may include one or more of the following features. To determine whether the selected range is a multipath range, the processor is configured to at least one of: determine whether an expected range based on the first range and a displacement of the UE between the first time and the second time differs from a second range by more than a first threshold amount, the expected range being based on the first range and a displacement of the UE between the first time and the second time, the displacement being based on the at least one sensor measurement; or determine whether a difference between the first range and the second range exceeds the displacement of the UE between the first time and the second time by more than a second threshold amount. To determine whether the selected range is a multipath range, the processor is configured to determine a magnitude of the displacement of the UE based on the at least one sensor measurement. To determine whether the selected range is a multipath range, the processor is configured to determine a direction of the displacement of the UE based on the at least one sensor measurement.

[0011] Additionally or alternatively, an implementation of such a UE may include one or more of the following features. The at least one sensor includes one or more inertial motion sensors. The at least one sensor includes at least one camera, and the at least one sensor measurement includes a plurality of images captured by the at least one camera; or the at least one sensor includes at least one magnetometer, and the at least one sensor measurement includes one or more magnetic field measurements; or a combination thereof. To reduce use of the selected range in the positioning technology, the processor is configured to at least one of: be configured to exclude use of the selected range in the positioning technology; or be configured to reduce weighting of the selected range in the positioning technology. The processor is configured to: determine a current determined position of the UE according to the positioning technology with the selected range reduced; and replace a previously determined position of the UE with the current determined position of the UE. The processor is further configured to, in response to the selected range being determined to be a multipath range, reduce use of a third positioning signal measurement of a third positioning signal from the positioning signal source to determine another position of the UE.

[0012] An example of a method for assisted positioning technology includes: measuring, at a user equipment (UE), a first positioning signal from a positioning signal source corresponding to a first time to generate a first positioning signal measurement; measuring, at the UE, a second positioning signal from the positioning signal source corresponding to a second time to generate a second positioning signal measurement; determining a first range between the UE and the positioning signal source based on the first positioning signal measurement; determining a second range between the UE and the positioning signal source based on the second positioning signal measurement; obtaining at least one sensor measurement from at least one sensor of the UE, the at least one sensor measurement indicating movement of the UE between the first time and the second time; determining, based on the first range, the second range, and the at least one sensor measurement, that a selected range from the first range or the second range is a multipath range; and in response to the selected range being determined to be a multipath range, reducing use of the selected range in the positioning technology to determine the position of the UE.

[0013] Implementations of such methods may include one or more of the following features. Determining the selected range to be a multipath range includes at least one of: determining that an expected range differs from a second range by more than a first threshold amount, the expected range based on the first range and a displacement of the UE between the first time and the second time, the displacement based on the at least one sensor measurement; or determining that a difference between the first range and the second range exceeds the displacement of the UE between the first time and the second time by more than a second threshold amount. Determining the selected range to be a multipath range includes determining a magnitude of the displacement of the UE based on the at least one sensor measurement. Determining the selected range to be a multipath range includes determining a direction of the displacement of the UE based on the at least one sensor measurement.

[0014] Additionally or alternatively, an implementation of such a method may include one or more of the following features. The at least one sensor measurement includes one or more inertial motion measurements. Obtaining the at least one sensor measurement includes: capturing multiple images by at least one camera of the UE; or performing one or more magnetic field measurements; or a combination thereof. Reducing the use of the selected range in the positioning technology includes at least one of: excluding the use of the selected range in the positioning technology; or reducing the weighting of the selected range in the positioning technology. The method includes: determining a current determined position of the UE according to the positioning technology with the selected range reduced; and replacing a previous determined position of the UE with the current determined position of the UE. The method includes: in response to the selected range being determined to be a multipath range, reducing the use of a third positioning signal measurement of a third positioning signal from the positioning signal source to determine another position of the UE.

[0015] Another example UE includes: a device for measuring a first positioning signal from a positioning signal source corresponding to a first time to produce a first positioning signal measurement; a device for measuring a second positioning signal from the positioning signal source corresponding to a second time to produce a second positioning signal measurement; a device for determining a first range between the UE and the positioning signal source based on the first positioning signal measurement; a device for determining a second range between the UE and the positioning signal source based on the second positioning signal measurement; a device for obtaining at least one sensor measurement from at least one sensor of the UE, the at least one sensor measurement indicating movement of the UE between the first time and the second time; a device for determining, based on the first range, the second range and the at least one sensor measurement, that a selected range in the first range or the second range is a multipath range; and a device for reducing use of the selected range in positioning technology to determine the position of the UE in response to the selected range being determined to be a multipath range.

[0016] Implementations of such a UE may include one or more of the following features. The means for determining whether the selected range is a multipath range includes at least one of: means for determining whether an expected range differs from a second range by more than a first threshold amount, the expected range being based on the first range and a displacement of the UE between the first time and the second time, the displacement being based on the at least one sensor measurement; or means for determining whether the difference between the first range and the second range exceeds the displacement of the UE between the first time and the second time by more than a second threshold amount. The means for determining whether the selected range is a multipath range includes: means for determining a magnitude of the displacement of the UE based on the at least one sensor measurement. The means for determining whether the selected range is a multipath range includes: means for determining a direction of the magnitude of the displacement of the UE based on the at least one sensor measurement.

[0017] Additionally or alternatively, an implementation of such a UE may include one or more of the following features. The means for obtaining the at least one sensor measurement includes one or more inertial motion measurements. The means for obtaining the at least one sensor measurement includes: at least one camera of the UE; or at least one magnetometer; or a combination thereof. The means for reducing the use of the selected range in the positioning technology includes at least one of: means for excluding the use of the selected range in the positioning technology; or means for reducing the weighting of the selected range in the positioning technology. The UE includes means for determining a current determined position of the UE according to the positioning technology with the selected range reduced; and means for replacing a previously determined position of the UE with the current determined position of the UE. The UE includes: means for reducing the use of a third positioning signal measurement of a third positioning signal from the positioning signal source to determine another position of the UE in response to the selected range being determined to be a multipath range.

[0018] An example of a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium includes instructions configured to cause one or more processors to: determine a first range between a user equipment (UE) and a positioning signal source based on a first positioning signal measurement of a first positioning signal from a positioning signal source corresponding to a first time at the UE; determine a second range between the UE and the positioning signal source based on a second positioning signal measurement of a second positioning signal from the positioning signal source corresponding to a second time at the UE; obtain at least one sensor measurement from at least one sensor of the UE, the at least one sensor measurement indicating movement of the UE between the first time and the second time; determine whether a selected range from the first range or the second range is a multipath range based on the first range, the second range, and the at least one sensor measurement; and in response to the selected range being determined to be a multipath range, reduce use of the selected range in positioning techniques to determine a position of the UE.

[0019] Implementations of such storage media may include one or more of the following features. The instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to determine whether the selected range is a multipath range include at least one of the following: instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to determine whether an expected range differs from a second range by more than a first threshold amount, the expected range being based on the first range and a displacement of the UE between a first time and a second time, the displacement being based on the at least one sensor measurement; or instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to determine whether a difference between the first range and the second range exceeds the displacement of the UE between the first time and the second time by more than a second threshold amount. The instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to determine whether the selected range is a multipath range include instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to determine a magnitude of the displacement of the UE based on the at least one sensor measurement. The instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to determine whether the selected range is a multipath range include instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to determine a direction of the displacement of the UE based on the at least one sensor measurement.

[0020] Additionally or alternatively, an implementation of such a storage medium may include one or more of the following features. The at least one sensor measurement includes one or more inertial motion measurements. The instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to reduce use of the selected range in the positioning technique include at least one of the following: instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to exclude use of the selected range in the positioning technique; or instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to reduce weighting of the selected range in the positioning technique. The instructions are configured to cause the one or more processors to: in response to the selected range being determined to be a multipath range, reduce use of a third positioning signal measurement of a third positioning signal from the positioning signal source to determine another position of the UE. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 is a simplified diagram of an example wireless communication system in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 004 is a block diagram of components of an example of user equipment shown in .

[0024] Figure 3 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a wireless communication node and configured to support communications in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 4A yes Figure 1 Simplified diagram of a satellite and a UE shown in , where the UE is at a first position.

[0026] Figure 4Byes Figure 1 Simplified diagram of satellites and UEs shown in FIG, where the UE has moved to Figure 4A The second position indicated in .

[0027] Figure 5A It is aimed at Figure 4A and 4B A table of measured ranges, displacement vectors, expected ranges, and differences between measured ranges and expected ranges for a UE moving from a first position to a second position is shown in .

[0028] Figure 5B It is aimed at Figure 4A and 4B A table showing the measured range, displacement amplitude, expected window, and the difference between the measured range and the expected range of a UE moving from a first position to a second position is shown in FIG.

[0029] Figure 6 It is a flowchart of the positioning method.

[0030] Figure 7 Is used to execute Figure 6 1 is a block diagram of an example user equipment that implements at least a portion of the method shown in FIG.

[0031] Figure 8 It is a flowchart of a method of assisted positioning technology.

[0032] Detailed description

[0033] This document discusses techniques for determining the location of a user equipment. For example, a user equipment (UE) may measure a first set of positioning signals from corresponding positioning signal sources (such as satellite vehicles (SVs) and / or base stations). The UE may move and measure a second set of positioning signals from the corresponding positioning signal sources. One or more positioning signal sources corresponding to the first and second sets of positioning signals are the same positioning signal source. The UE may capture information related to the UE's movement between measuring the first and second sets of positioning signals. For example, the UE may obtain inertial motion measurements, magnetic field measurements (e.g., of the Earth's magnetic field), and / or capture images using one or more cameras. The UE's displacement between measuring the first and second sets of positioning signals and one or more ranges to the one or more corresponding positioning signal sources may be used to determine whether at least one range is a multipath range corresponding to a multipath signal. For example, the UE may determine an expected range to the one or more positioning signal sources when measuring the second set of positioning signals. The expected range may be compared to the measured range of any one of the positioning signals from the second set of positioning signals. If the expected range differs from the measured range by more than a range threshold, the UE can determine that the current positioning signal or the previous positioning signal is a multipath signal, or that both positioning signals are multipath signals. For example, if the expected range exceeds the current measured range by more than a range threshold, the UE can determine that at least the previous positioning signal from the source is a multipath signal. If the expected range is shorter than the current measured range by more than a range threshold, the UE can determine that at least the current positioning signal is a multipath signal. As another example, the difference between the two ranges can be compared with the UE's displacement between the times corresponding to the ranges. If the range difference differs from the displacement by more than a threshold amount, at least one range can be determined to be a multipath range. Different thresholds can be used for displacement less than the range difference and displacement greater than the range difference. Similarly, different thresholds can be used for expected range less than the actual range (or actual range greater than expected range) and expected range greater than the actual range (or actual range less than expected range). The threshold can be relative (e.g., a percentage of the difference) or absolute (e.g., a distance, such as meters). Other examples can also be used.

[0034] The items and / or techniques described herein may provide one or more of the following capabilities, as well as other capabilities not mentioned. For example, positioning accuracy may be improved by reducing the effect of multipath signals on position determination. A previously determined position of a UE may be updated by reducing the effect of multipath signals that were originally used to determine the UE's position. Detection of multipath signals may be enabled and / or improved and appropriate action taken. Other capabilities may be provided, and not every implementation according to the present disclosure necessarily provides any of the capabilities discussed, let alone all of them. In addition, it may be possible to achieve the effects described above in ways other than those described, and the items / techniques described may not necessarily produce the effects described.

[0035] The description may recite a sequence of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. Each action described herein can be performed by a dedicated circuit (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of the two. The sequence of actions described herein may be implemented in a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, will cause an associated processor to perform the functionality described herein. Thus, the various aspects described herein may be implemented in a number of different forms, all of which fall within the scope of the present disclosure, including the claimed subject matter.

[0036] As used herein, the terms "user equipment" (UE) and "base station" are not specific to or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT), unless otherwise specified. In general, such a UE can be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, router, tablet, laptop, tracking device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate on a wireless communication network. A UE can be mobile or can be stationary (e.g., at certain times) and can communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term "UE" can be interchangeably referred to as an "access terminal" or "AT," "client device," "wireless device," "subscriber device," "subscriber terminal," "subscriber station," "user terminal" or UT, "mobile terminal," "mobile station," or variations thereof. In general, a UE can communicate with a core network via the RAN, and through the core network, the UE can connect to external networks (such as the Internet) and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for a UE, such as through a wired access network, a WiFi network (e.g., based on IEEE 802.11, etc.), etc.

[0037] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs when in communication with a UE, depending on the network in which the base station is deployed, and may be referred to alternatively as an access point (AP), a network node, a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNB), a generalized NodeB (gNodeB, gNB), etc. Additionally, in some systems, a base station may provide pure edge node signaling functionality, while in other systems, the base station may provide additional control and / or network management functionality.

[0038] The UE can be implemented by any of several types of devices, including but not limited to a printed circuit (PC) card, a compact flash device, an external or internal modem, a wireless or wired phone, a smartphone, a tablet, a tracking device, an asset tag, etc. The communication link by which the UE can send signals to the RAN is called an uplink channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). The communication link by which the RAN can send signals to the UE is called a downlink or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term traffic channel (TCH) can refer to either an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0039] As used herein, depending on the context, the term "cell" or "sector" may correspond to one of multiple cells of a base station or to the base station itself. The term "cell" may refer to a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., on a carrier) and may be associated with an identifier to distinguish between adjacent cells operating via the same or different carriers (e.g., physical cell identifier (PCID), virtual cell identifier (VCID)). In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types that may provide access to different types of devices (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or other protocol types). In some examples, the term "cell" may refer to a portion of a geographic coverage area (e.g., a sector) on which the logical entity operates.

[0040] Reference Figure 1, an example of a communication system 100 includes a UE 105, a radio access network (RAN) 135 (here, a fifth generation (5G) next generation (NG) RAN (NG-RAN)), and a 5G core network (5GC) 140. The UE 105 can be, for example, an IoT device, a location tracker device, a cellular phone, or other device. A 5G network may also be referred to as a new radio (NR) network; the NG-RAN 135 may be referred to as a 5G RAN or an NR RAN; and the 5GC 140 may be referred to as an NG core network (NGC). Standardization of the NG-RAN and the 5GC is underway in the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Accordingly, the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140 may comply with current or future standards from the 3GPP for 5G support. The RAN 135 may be another type of RAN, for example, a 3G RAN, a 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) RAN, or the like. The communication system 100 can utilize information from a constellation 185 of satellite vehicles (SVs) 190, 191, 192, 193 of a satellite positioning system (SPS), such as a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), the Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), Galileo, or BeiDou, or some other local or regional SPS, such as the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), or the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). Additional components of the communication system 100 are described below. The communication system 100 may include additional or alternative components.

[0041] like Figure 1 As shown in FIG, NG-RAN 135 includes NR Node Bs (gNBs) 110a and 110b and a next-generation evolved Node B (ng-eNB) 114, and 5GC 140 includes an access and mobility management function (AMF) 115, a session management function (SMF) 117, a location management function (LMF) 120, and a gateway mobile location center (GMLC) 125. gNBs 110a and 110b, and ng-eNB 114 are communicatively coupled to one another and are each configured for bidirectional wireless communication with UE 105. They are also communicatively coupled to AMF 115 and are configured for bidirectional communication with AMF 115. AMF 115, SMF 117, LMF 120, and GMLC 125 are communicatively coupled to one another, and the GMLC is communicatively coupled to external client 130. SMF 117 may serve as the initial point of contact for a service control function (SCF) (not shown) to create, control, and delete media sessions.

[0042] Figure 1A generalized description of the various components is provided, wherein any or all components may be utilized as appropriate, and each component may be repeated or omitted as needed. Specifically, although only one UE 105 is illustrated, many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may be utilized in the communication system 100. Similarly, the communication system 100 may include a greater (or smaller) number of SVs (i.e., more or less than the four SVs 190-193 shown), gNBs 110a, 110b, ng-eNBs 114, AMFs 115, external clients 130, and / or other components. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in the communication system 100 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Furthermore, various components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality.

[0043] Although Figure 1 A 5G-based network is illustrated, but similar network implementations and configurations may be used for other communication technologies, such as 3G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc. Implementations described herein (which may be for 5G technologies and / or for one or more other communication technologies and / or protocols) may be used to transmit (or broadcast) directional synchronization signals, receive and measure the directional signals at a UE (e.g., UE 105), and / or provide location assistance to the UE 105 (via the GMLC 125 or other location server), and / or calculate the position of the UE 105 at a location-capable device (such as the UE 105, gNB 110a, 110b, or LMF 120) based on measurements received at the UE 105 for such directionally transmitted signals. The Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 125, Location Management Function (LMF) 120, Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 115, SMF 117, ng-eNB (eNodeB) 114 and gNB (gNodeB) 110a, 110b are examples and may be replaced by or include various other location server functionalities and / or base station functionalities, respectively, in various embodiments.

[0044] UE 105 may include and / or may be referred to as a device, a mobile device, a wireless device, a mobile terminal, a terminal, a mobile station (MS), a secure user plane location (SUPL) enabled terminal (SET), or some other name. In addition, UE 105 may correspond to a cellular phone, a smart phone, a laptop, a tablet, a PDA, a tracking device, a navigation device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an asset tracker, a health monitor, a security system, a smart city sensor, a smart meter, a wearable tracker, or some other portable or movable device. Typically, although not necessarily, UE 105 may support the use of one or more radio access technologies (RATs) such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also known as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth (BT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), 5G New Radio (NR) (e.g., using NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140), etc.) for wireless communication. UE 105 may support wireless communication using a wireless local area network (WLAN), which may use, for example, a digital subscriber line (DSL) or packet cable to connect to other networks (e.g., the Internet). Using one or more of these RATs may allow UE 105 (e.g., via elements of 5GC 140 ( Figure 1 125), or possibly via the GMLC 125) and / or allow the external client 130 to receive location information about the UE 105 (eg, via the GMLC 125).

[0045] UE 105 may comprise a single entity or may comprise multiple entities, such as in a personal area network where a user may employ audio, video, and / or data I / O (input / output) devices, and / or body sensors and separate wired or wireless modems. The estimate of the location of UE 105 may be referred to as a location, location estimate, location fix, fix, position fix, position estimate, or position fix and may be geographic, providing location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) for UE 105, which may or may not include an altitude component (e.g., height above sea level; height above or depth below ground level, floor level, or basement level). Alternatively, the location of UE 105 may be expressed as a municipal location (e.g., as a postal address or as a designation of a point or smaller area in a building, such as a particular room or floor). The location of UE 105 may be expressed as an area or volume (geographically or municipally defined) within which UE 105 is expected to be located with a certain probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of the UE 105 can be expressed as a relative location, which includes, for example, a distance and direction from a known location. The relative location can be expressed as relative coordinates (e.g., X, Y (and Z) coordinates) defined relative to some origin at a known location, which can be, for example, defined geographically, in a municipal form, or with reference to a point, area, or volume indicated on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the description contained herein, the use of the term location may include any of these variations unless otherwise indicated. When calculating the location of the UE, local x, y, and possibly z coordinates are typically solved for, and then (if necessary) the local coordinates are converted to absolute coordinates (e.g., in terms of latitude, longitude, and altitude above or below mean sea level).

[0046] The UE 105 may be configured to communicate with other entities using one or more of a variety of technologies. The UE 105 may be configured to connect indirectly to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. The D2D P2P links may use any appropriate D2D radio access technology (RAT) such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth One or more UEs in a group of UEs utilizing D2D communication may be within the geographic coverage area of a transmit / receive point (TRP), such as one or more of gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. Other UEs in the group may be outside such geographic coverage area or otherwise unable to receive transmissions from the base station. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each UE may transmit to other UEs in the group. The TRP may facilitate the scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other scenarios, D2D communication may be performed between UEs without involving a TRP.

[0047] Figure 1 The base stations (BSs) in the NG-RAN 135 shown in FIG. 1 include NR B nodes (referred to as gNBs 110a and 110b). Each pair of gNBs 110a, 110b in the NG-RAN 135 may be connected to each other via one or more other gNBs. Access to the 5G network is provided to the UE 105 via wireless communications between the UE 105 and one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b. The gNBs 110a, 110b may provide wireless communications access to the 5GC 140 on behalf of the UE 105 using 5G. Figure 1 , it is assumed that the serving gNB for UE 105 is gNB 110a, but another gNB (e.g., gNB 110b) may serve as the serving gNB if UE 105 moves to another location, or may serve as a secondary gNB to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to UE 105.

[0048] Figure 1 The base stations (BSs) in the NG-RAN 135 shown in FIG may include an ng-eNB 114 (also referred to as a next generation evolved Node B). The ng-eNB 114 may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b in the NG-RAN 135 (possibly via one or more other gNBs and / or one or more other ng-eNBs). The ng-eNB 114 may provide LTE radio access and / or evolved LTE (eLTE) radio access to the UE 105. One or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 may be configured to function as a positioning-only beacon, which may transmit signals to assist in determining the positioning of the UE 105 but may not be able to receive signals from the UE 105 or other UEs.

[0049] BSs 110a, 110b, 114 may each include one or more TRPs. For example, each sector within a cell of the BS may include a TRP, but multiple TRPs may share one or more components (e.g., a shared processor but with separate antennas). The system 100 may include only macro TRPs, or the system 100 may have different types of TRPs, such as macro, pico, and / or femto TRPs. A macro TRP may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by terminals with service subscriptions. A pico TRP may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a pico cell) and may allow unrestricted access by terminals with service subscriptions. A femto or home TRP may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a femto cell) and may allow restricted access by terminals associated with the femto cell (e.g., terminals of users in a residence).

[0050] As mentioned, although Figure 1 Nodes configured to communicate according to a 5G communication protocol are depicted, but nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols, such as, for example, an LTE protocol or an IEEE 802.11x protocol, may also be used. For example, in an Evolved Packet System (EPS) that provides LTE radio access to a UE 105, the RAN may include an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), which may include base stations including evolved Node Bs (eNBs). The core network for the EPS may include an Evolved Packet Core (EPC). The EPS may include the E-UTRAN plus the EPC, where the E-UTRAN corresponds to Figure 1 NG-RAN 135 in and EPC corresponds to Figure 1 5GC 140 in.

[0051] The gNBs 110a, 110b, and ng-eNB 114 may communicate with the AMF 115; for positioning functionality, the AMF 115 communicates with the LMF 120. The AMF 115 may support mobility of the UE 105, including cell changes and handovers, and may participate in supporting signaling connections to the UE 105 and possibly data and voice bearers for the UE 105. The LMF 120 may communicate directly with the UE 105, for example, via wireless communications. The LMF 120 may support positioning of the UE 105 when the UE 105 accesses the NG-RAN 135 and may support various positioning procedures / methods, such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA), Real-Time Kinematics (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID), Angle of Arrival (AOA), Angle of Departure (AOD), and / or other positioning methods. The LMF 120 may process location service requests for the UE 105, for example, received from the AMF 115 or the GMLC 125. The LMF 120 may be connected to the AMF 115 and / or the GMLC 125. The LMF 120 may be referred to by other names, such as a location manager (LM), a location function (LF), a commercial LMF (CLMF), or a value-added LMF (VLMF). A node / system implementing the LMF 120 may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as an enhanced serving mobile location center (E-SMLC) or a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP). At least a portion of the positioning functionality (including the derivation of the location of the UE 105) may be performed at the UE 105 (e.g., using signal measurements obtained by the UE 105 of signals transmitted by wireless nodes (such as gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114), and / or assistance data provided to the UE 105, for example, by the LMF 120).

[0052] The GMLC 125 may support location requests for the UE 105 received from the external client 130 and may forward the location requests to the AMF 115 for forwarding by the AMF 115 to the LMF 120, or may forward the location requests directly to the LMF 120. A location response (e.g., containing a location estimate for the UE 105) from the LMF 120 may be returned to the GMLC 125 directly or via the AMF 115, and the GMLC 125 may then return the location response (e.g., containing the location estimate) to the external client 130. The GMLC 125 is shown as being connected to both the AMF 115 and the LMF 120, but in some implementations the 5GC 140 may support only one of these connections.

[0053] like Figure 1 As further explained in

[15] , LMF 120 may communicate with gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 using a new radio positioning protocol A (which may be referred to as NPPa or NRPPa), which may be defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.455. NRPPa may be the same as, similar to, or an extension of LTE Positioning Protocol A (LPPa) defined in 3GPP TS 36.455, wherein NRPPa messages are passed between gNB 110a (or gNB 110b) and LMF 120, and / or between ng-eNB 114 and LMF 120 via AMF 115. Figure 1 As further explained in 3GPP TS 36.355, the LMF 120 and the UE 105 may communicate using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP), which may be defined in 3GPP TS 36.355. The LMF 120 and the UE 105 may additionally or alternatively communicate using a new radio positioning protocol (which may be referred to as NPP or NRPP), which may be the same as, similar to, or an extension of the LPP. Here, LPP and / or NPP messages may be communicated between the UE 105 and the LMF 120 via the AMF 115 and the UE 105's serving gNB 110a, 110b or serving ng-eNB 114. For example, the LPP and / or NPP messages may be communicated between the LMF 120 and the AMF 115 using the 5G Location Services Application Protocol (LCS AP), and may be communicated between the AMF 115 and the UE 105 using the 5G Non-Access Stratum (NAS) protocol. The LPP and / or NPP protocols may be used to support positioning of the UE 105 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based positioning methods, such as A-GNSS, RTK, OTDOA, and / or E-CID. The NRPPa protocol may be used to support positioning of the UE 105 using network-based positioning methods, such as E-CID (e.g., in conjunction with measurements obtained by the gNB 110a, 110b, or ng-eNB 114) and / or may be used by the LMF 120 to obtain location-related information from the gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114, such as parameters defining directional SS transmissions from the gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114.

[0054] Using UE-assisted positioning methods, UE 105 may obtain location measurements and send these measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) for use in calculating a location estimate for UE 105. For example, the location measurements may include one or more of: received signal strength indication (RSSI), round-trip signal propagation time (RTT), reference signal time difference (RSTD), reference signal received power (RSRP), and / or reference signal received quality (RSRQ) of gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, and / or WLAN AP. The location measurements may additionally or alternatively include measurements of GNSS pseudoranges, code phases, and / or carrier phases of SVs 190-193.

[0055] Using the UE-based positioning method, the UE 105 can obtain position measurements (e.g., which can be the same or similar to position measurements for the UE-assisted positioning method) and can calculate the position of the UE 105 (e.g., with the help of assistance data received from a location server (such as LMF 120) or broadcast by the gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114 or other base station or AP).

[0056] Using network-based positioning methods, one or more base stations (e.g., gNBs 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114) or APs may obtain location measurements (e.g., measurements of RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, or time of arrival (TOA) of signals transmitted by UE 105) and / or may receive measurements obtained by UE 105. The one or more base stations or APs may send these measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) for use in computing a position estimate for UE 105.

[0057] The information provided by gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 to LMF 120 using NRPPa may include timing and configuration information for directional SS transmissions and location coordinates. LMF 120 may provide some or all of this information to UE 105 as assistance data in LPP and / or NPP messages via NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140.

[0058] The LPP or NPP message sent from LMF 120 to UE 105 may instruct UE 105 to do any of a variety of things, depending on the desired functionality. For example, the LPP or NPP message may include instructions for UE 105 to obtain measurements for GNSS (or A-GNSS), WLAN, E-CID, and / or OTDOA (or some other positioning method). In the case of E-CID, the LPP or NPP message may instruct UE 105 to obtain one or more measurement parameters (e.g., beam ID, beam width, average angle, RSRP, RSRQ measurements) of directional signals transmitted within a particular cell supported by one or more of gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 (or supported by some other type of base station, such as an eNB or WiFi AP). The UE 105 may send these measurement parameters back to the LMF 120 via the serving gNB 110a (or serving ng-eNB 114) and the AMF 115 in an LPP or NPP message (e.g., within a 5G NAS message).

[0059] As mentioned, although the communication system 100 is described with respect to 5G technology, the communication system 100 can be implemented to support other communication technologies (such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, etc.) used to support and interact with mobile devices (such as UE 105) (e.g., to implement voice, data, positioning, and other functionalities). In some such embodiments, the 5GC 140 can be configured to control different air interfaces. For example, the Non-3GPP Interworking Function (N3IWF) in the 5GC 150 can be used. Figure 1115). In these other embodiments, positioning of UE 105 using directional PRS may be supported in a manner similar to that described herein for 5G networks, with the difference that the functions and procedures described herein for gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, AMF 115, and LMF 120 may, in some cases, be applied alternatively to other network elements, such as eNBs, WiFi APs, MMEs, and E-SMLCs.

[0060] As mentioned, in some embodiments, positioning functionality may be implemented, at least in part, using directional SS beams transmitted by base stations (such as gNBs 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114) that are located at the UE (e.g., Figure 1 In some instances, a UE may use directional SS beams from multiple base stations (such as gNBs 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, etc.) to calculate the UE's positioning.

[0061] Also refer to Figure 2UE 200 is an example of UE 105 and includes a computing platform including a processor 210, a memory 211 including software (SW) 212, one or more sensors 213, a transceiver interface 214 for a transceiver 215, a user interface 216, a satellite positioning system (SPS) receiver 217, a camera 218, and a positioning (motion) device (PMD) 219. The processor 210, the memory 211, the sensor 213, the transceiver interface 214, the user interface 216, the SPS receiver 217, the camera 218, and the PMD 219 can be communicatively coupled to each other via a bus 220 (which can be configured, for example, for optical and / or electrical communication). One or more of the illustrated devices (e.g., camera 218, PMD 219, and / or one or more sensors 213, etc.) can be omitted from UE 200. The processor 210 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. Processor 210 may include multiple processors, including a general / application processor 230, a digital signal processor (DSP) 231, a modem processor 232, a video processor 233, and / or a sensor processor 234. One or more of processors 230-234 may include multiple devices (e.g., multiple processors). For example, sensor processor 234 may include a processor for radar, ultrasonic wave, and / or lidar, etc. Modem processor 232 may support dual SIM / dual connectivity (or even more SIMs). For example, one SIM (Subscriber Identity Module or Subscriber Identity Module) may be used by an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), and another SIM may be used by an end user of UE 200 to obtain connectivity. Memory 211 is a non-transitory storage medium that may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk storage, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. Memory 211 stores software 212, which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions that, when executed, are configured to cause processor 210 to perform the various functions described herein. Alternatively, the software 212 may not be directly executable by the processor 210, but may be configured (e.g., when compiled and executed) to cause the processor 210 to perform functions. The present description may refer only to the processor 210 performing functions, but this includes other implementations, such as implementations in which the processor 210 executes software and / or firmware. The present description may refer to the processor 210 performing functions as shorthand for one or more of the processors 230-234 performing the functions. The present description may refer to the UE 200 performing functions as shorthand for one or more appropriate components of the UE 200 performing the functions. The processor 210 may include a memory with stored instructions in addition to and / or in lieu of the memory 211. The functionality of the processor 210 is discussed more fully below.

[0062] Figure 2 The configuration of UE 200 shown in the figure is an example and not a limitation of the present invention (including the claims), and other configurations may be used. For example, an example configuration of the UE includes one or more of the processors 230-234 in the processor 210, the memory 211, and the wireless transceiver 240. Other example configurations include one or more of the processors 230-234 in the processor 210, the memory 211, the wireless transceiver 240, and one or more of the following: sensor 213, user interface 216, SPS receiver 217, camera 218, PMD 219, and / or wired transceiver 250.

[0063] The UE 200 may include a modem processor 232 that may be capable of performing baseband processing on signals received and downconverted by the transceiver 215 and / or the SPS receiver 217. The modem processor 232 may perform baseband processing on signals to be upconverted for transmission by the transceiver 215. Additionally or alternatively, the baseband processing may be performed by the processor 230 and / or the DSP 231. However, other configurations may be used to perform the baseband processing.

[0064] UE 200 may include sensors 213, which may include, for example, an inertial measurement unit (IMU) 270, one or more magnetometers 271, and / or one or more environmental sensors 272. IMU 270 may include one or more inertial sensors, such as one or more accelerometers 273 (e.g., collectively responsive to acceleration of UE 200 in three dimensions) and / or one or more gyroscopes 274. The magnetometer may provide measurements to determine orientation (e.g., relative to magnetic north and / or true north), which may be used for any of a variety of purposes (e.g., to support one or more compass applications). Environmental sensors 272 may include, for example, one or more temperature sensors, one or more barometric pressure sensors, one or more ambient light sensors, one or more camera imagers, and / or one or more microphones. Sensors 213 may generate analog and / or digital signals, indications of which may be stored in memory 211 and processed by DSP 231 and / or processor 230 to support one or more applications (such as, for example, applications involving positioning and / or navigation operations).

[0065] Sensors 213 can be used for relative position measurement, relative position determination, motion determination, and the like. Information detected by sensors 213 can be used for motion detection, relative displacement, dead reckoning, sensor-based position determination, and / or sensor-assisted position determination. Sensors 213 can be used to determine whether UE 200 is stationary (stationary) or mobile and / or whether to report certain useful information related to the mobility of UE 200 to server 120. For example, based on information obtained / measured by sensors 213, UE 200 can notify / report to server 120 that UE 200 has detected movement or that UE 200 has moved, and report relative displacement / distance (e.g., via dead reckoning implemented by sensors 213, or sensor-based position determination, or sensor-assisted position determination). In another example, for relative positioning information, sensors / IMUs can be used to determine the angle and / or orientation of another device relative to UE 200.

[0066] The IMU 270 may be configured to provide measurements of the direction and / or speed of motion of the UE 200, which may be used for relative position determination. For example, one or more accelerometers 273 and / or one or more gyroscopes 274 of the IMU 270 may detect the linear acceleration and rotational speed of the UE 200, respectively. The linear acceleration measurements and rotational speed measurements of the UE 200 may be integrated over time to determine the instantaneous direction of motion and displacement of the UE 200. The instantaneous direction of motion and displacement may be integrated to track the position of the UE 200. For example, a reference position of the UE 200 at a certain moment may be determined, for example, using the SPS receiver 217 (and / or by some other means), and measurements obtained from the accelerometers 273 and gyroscopes 274 after that moment may be used for dead reckoning to determine the current position of the UE 200 based on the movement (direction and distance) of the UE 200 relative to the reference position.

[0067] The magnetometer 271 can determine the magnetic field strength in different directions, which can be used to determine the orientation of the UE 200. For example, the orientation can be used to provide a digital compass for the UE 200. The magnetometer 271 may include a two-dimensional magnetometer that is configured to detect and provide an indication of the magnetic field strength in two orthogonal dimensions. Additionally or alternatively, the magnetometer 271 may include a three-dimensional magnetometer that is configured to detect and provide an indication of the magnetic field strength in three orthogonal dimensions. The magnetometer 271 can provide a device for sensing a magnetic field and providing a magnetic field indication, for example, to the processor 210. Magnetometer measurements can be used for dead reckoning movement determination, for example, by allowing the processor 210 to combine orientation with movement to determine the direction of movement. Multiple measurements of movement and orientation can be combined to determine the total movement over time corresponding to the combined measurements, i.e., displacement.

[0068] Environmental sensors 272 (e.g., a barometer) can be used for dead reckoning movement (and possibly position) determination. For example, measurements from a barometer can be used to determine the vertical displacement of the UE 105, which can be combined with other indications of movement. However, one or more other sensor measurements can also provide information about vertical displacement. For example, inertial sensor measurements combined with the orientation of the UE 105 can be converted into vertical movement (whether or not combined with horizontal movement).

[0069] The transceiver 215 may include a wireless transceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250 configured to communicate with other devices via wireless and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 240 may include a transmitter 242 and a receiver 244 coupled to one or more antennas 246 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more uplink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more downlink channels) wireless signals 248. The transmitter 242 may include multiple transmitters, which may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the receiver 244 may include multiple receivers, which may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 240 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with the TRP and / or one or more other devices) according to various radio access technologies (RATs), such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth , Zigbee, etc. The new radio may utilize millimeter wave frequencies and / or sub-6 GHz frequencies. The wired transceiver 250 may include a transmitter 252 and a receiver 254 configured for wired communication (e.g., with the network 135), for example, to send communications to and receive communications from the gNB 110a. The transmitter 252 may include multiple transmitters, which may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the receiver 254 may include multiple receivers, which may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 250 may be configured, for example, for optical and / or electrical communication. The transceiver 215 may be communicatively coupled to the transceiver interface 214 (e.g., via an optical and / or electrical connection). The transceiver interface 214 may be at least partially integrated with the transceiver 215.

[0070] The user interface 216 may include one or more of a number of devices (such as, for example, a speaker, a microphone, a display device, a vibration device, a keyboard, a touch screen, etc.). The user interface 216 may include more than one of any of these devices. The user interface 216 may be configured to enable a user to interact with one or more applications hosted by the UE 200. For example, the user interface 216 may store indications of analog and / or digital signals in the memory 211 in response to actions from the user for processing by the DSP 231 and / or the general processor 230. Similarly, an application hosted on the UE 200 may store indications of analog and / or digital signals in the memory 211 to present output signals to the user. The user interface 216 may include an audio input / output (I / O) device, which may include, for example, a speaker, a microphone, digital-to-analog circuitry, analog-to-digital circuitry, an amplifier, and / or gain control circuitry (including more than one of these devices). Other configurations of audio I / O devices may be used. Additionally or alternatively, the user interface 216 may include one or more touch sensors that respond to touch and / or pressure on, for example, a keypad and / or a touch screen of the user interface 216 .

[0071] The SPS receiver 217 (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) receiver) may be capable of receiving and acquiring SPS signals 260 via an SPS antenna 262. Antenna 262 is configured to convert wireless signals 260 into wired signals (e.g., electrical signals or optical signals) and may be integrated with antenna 246. The SPS receiver 217 may be configured to process the acquired SPS signals 260 in whole or in part to estimate the position of the UE 200. For example, the SPS receiver 217 may be configured to determine the position of the UE 200 by performing trilateration using the SPS signals 260. The general-purpose processor 230, the memory 211, the DSP 231, and / or one or more dedicated processors (not shown) may be utilized in conjunction with the SPS receiver 217 to process the acquired SPS signals in whole or in part and / or calculate the estimated position of the UE 200. The memory 211 may store indications (e.g., measurements) of the SPS signal 260 and / or other signals (e.g., signals obtained from the wireless transceiver 240) for use in performing positioning operations. The general-purpose processor 230, the DSP 231, and / or one or more dedicated processors, and / or the memory 211 may provide or support a location engine for processing the measurements to estimate the location of the UE 200.

[0072] The UE 200 may include a camera 218 for capturing still or moving images. The camera 218 may include, for example, an imaging sensor (e.g., a charge-coupled device or CMOS imager), a lens, analog-to-digital circuitry, a frame buffer, etc. Additional processing, conditioning, encoding, and / or compression of signals representing the captured images may be performed by the general processor 230 and / or the DSP 231. Additionally or alternatively, a video processor 233 may perform conditioning, encoding, compression, and / or manipulation of signals representing the captured images. The video processor 233 may decode / decompress stored image data for presentation on a display device (not shown) (e.g., of the user interface 216).

[0073] Positioning (motion) device (PMD) 219 may be configured to determine the location and possible motion of UE 200. For example, PMD 219 may be in communication with and / or include some or all of SPS receiver 217. PMD 219 may additionally or alternatively be configured to use terrestrial-based signals (e.g., at least some of signals 248) for trilateration, aid in acquisition and use of SPS signals 260, or both to determine the location of UE 200. PMD 219 may be configured to determine the location of UE 200 using one or more other techniques (e.g., that rely on the UE's self-reported location (e.g., a portion of the UE's location beacon)), and may use a combination of techniques (e.g., SPS and terrestrial positioning signals) to determine the location of UE 200. The PMD 219 may include one or more sensors 213 (e.g., a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a magnetometer, etc.), which may sense the orientation and / or motion of the UE 200 and provide an indication of the orientation and / or motion, which the processor 210 (e.g., the processor 230 and / or the DSP 231) may be configured to use to determine the motion (e.g., a velocity vector and / or an acceleration vector) of the UE 200. The PMD 219 may be configured to provide an indication of uncertainty and / or error in the determined position and / or motion.

[0074] refer to Figure 3 , further reference Figure 1 and Figure 2, apparatus 302, apparatus 304, and apparatus 306 include the example components shown (represented by corresponding blocks). Apparatuses 302, 304, and 306 correspond to, for example, a UE, a base station (e.g., an eNB, a gNB), and a network entity or location server, respectively, to support the operations disclosed herein. By way of example, apparatus 302 may correspond to UE 200, apparatus 304 may correspond to gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or eNB 114, and apparatus 306 may correspond to location server 120 (e.g., a location management function (LMF), an enhanced serving mobile location center (eSMLC), a secure user plane (SUPL) location platform (SLP), etc.) or a gateway mobile location center (GMLC) 125. These components may be implemented in different types of apparatuses (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system on a chip (SoC), etc.) in different implementations. The illustrated components may be incorporated into other apparatuses in a communication system. For example, other apparatuses in the system may include components similar to those described to provide similar functionality. A given apparatus may include one or more of these components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0075] Device 302 may be Figure 2 For example, communication device 308 may include wireless transceiver 240, processing system 332 may include one or more components of processor 210, memory component 338 may include memory 211, positioning component 352 may include one or more components of processor 210 and memory 211 (and possibly PMD 219), and user interface 344 may include user interface 216.

[0076] Each of apparatus 302 and apparatus 304 may include at least one wireless communication device (represented by communication devices 308 and 314) for communicating with other nodes via at least one designated RAT (e.g., LTE, 5G NR (New Radio)). Communication device 308 may include at least one transmitter (represented by transmitter 310) for transmitting and encoding signals (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) and at least one receiver (represented by receiver 312) for receiving and decoding signals (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Communication device 308 may include Figure 2, wherein transmitter 310 includes transmitter 242 and receiver 312 includes receiver 244. Receiver 312 may also be configured to measure received signals (e.g., wireless signals) to determine signal measurements. The received signals may be positioning signals (e.g., PRS signals, SPS signals, etc.) or other types of signals, such as communication signals. For example, receiver 312 may be part of SPS receiver 217 configured to receive and process SPS signals. Transmitter 310 and receiver 312 may be collectively referred to as a transceiver. Communication device 314 may include at least one transmitter (represented by transmitter 316) for transmitting signals (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.) and at least one receiver (represented by receiver 318) for receiving signals (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.). Transmitter 316 and receiver 318 may be collectively referred to as a transceiver.

[0077] The transmitter and receiver may comprise integrated devices (e.g., transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry implemented as a single communication device), may comprise separate transmitter devices and separate receiver devices, or may be implemented in other ways. The transmitter may comprise multiple antennas, such as an antenna array, which permits the respective device to perform transmit "beamforming," as further described herein. Similarly, the receiver may comprise multiple antennas, such as an antenna array, which permits the respective device to perform receive beamforming, as further described herein. The transmitter and receiver may share the same multiple antennas and may only be receiving or transmitting at a given time, but not both simultaneously. The wireless communication device of apparatus 304 (e.g., one of the plurality of wireless communication devices) may include, for example, a network listening module (NLM) for performing various measurements.

[0078] Each of the apparatus 304 and the apparatus 306 may include at least one communication device (represented by the communication device 320 and the communication device 326) for communicating with other nodes. For example, the communication device 326 may include a network interface (e.g., one or more network access ports) configured to communicate with one or more network entities via a wired-based backhaul connection or a wireless backhaul connection. The communication device 326 may be implemented as a transceiver configured to support wired-based signal communication or wireless signal communication. The communication may involve, for example, sending and receiving messages, parameters, or other types of information. Figure 3In the example of FIG. 3 , communication device 326 includes a transmitter 328 and a receiver 330 (e.g., a network access port for transmitting and receiving). Transmitter 328 and receiver 330 may be collectively referred to as a transceiver. Communication device 320 may include a network interface configured to communicate with one or more network entities via a wired-based backhaul and / or a wireless backhaul. Like communication device 326, communication device 320 is shown as including a transmitter 322 and a receiver 324, which may be collectively referred to as a transceiver.

[0079] One or more of the devices 302, 304, and 306 may include one or more other components for use in conjunction with the operations disclosed herein. For example, the device 302 may include a processing system 332 for providing functionality related to RTT measurements in licensed or unlicensed frequency bands, such as disclosed herein, and / or for providing other processing functionality. The device 304 may include a processing system 334 for providing functionality related to RTT measurements in licensed or unlicensed frequency bands, such as disclosed herein, and / or for providing other processing functionality. The device 306 may include a processing system 336 for providing functionality related to RTT measurements in licensed or unlicensed frequency bands, such as disclosed herein, and / or for providing other processing functionality. Each of the processing systems 332, 334, and 336 may be referred to as a processor and may include, for example, one or more general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or one or more other programmable logic devices or processing circuitry.

[0080] The apparatuses 302, 304, and 306 may include memory components 338, 340, and 342 (e.g., each including a memory device) for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). The memories 338, 340, and 342 may include non-transitory processor-readable storage media storing processor-readable instructions that are configured to cause (e.g., be executable (after compilation, where appropriate) to cause) the processors 332, 334, and 336 to perform the functions discussed herein. The apparatuses 302, 304, and 306 may include user interface devices 344, 346, and 348, respectively, for providing indications to a user (e.g., audible and / or visual indications) and / or for receiving user input (e.g., upon user actuation of a sensing device (such as a keypad, touch screen, microphone, etc.).

[0081] For convenience, devices 302, 304 and / or 306 are Figure 3 1 and 2. The illustrated blocks are shown as including various components that may be configured according to the various examples described herein. However, the illustrated blocks may have different functionality in different designs.

[0082] Figure 3 The components of can be implemented in various ways. For example, Figure 3 The components may be implemented in one or more circuits, such as, for example, one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Each circuit may use and / or incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code (including instructions) used by the circuit to provide the desired functionality. For example, at least some of the functionality represented by blocks 308, 332, 338, and 344 or discussed with reference to these blocks may be implemented by the processor and / or memory components of device 302 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriately configuring the processor components). Similarly, at least some of the functionality represented by blocks 314, 320, 334, 340, and 346 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of device 304 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriately configuring the processor components). Similarly, at least some of the functionality represented by blocks 326, 336, 342, and 348 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of device 306 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriately configuring the processor components).

[0083] Device 304 may correspond to a "small cell" or home gNodeB. Device 302 may transmit and receive messages including information related to various types of communications (e.g., voice, data, multimedia services, associated control signaling, etc.) via a wireless link 360 with device 304. Wireless link 360 may be used over a communication medium of interest (e.g., a Figure 3 362), which may be shared with other communication links and other RATs. This type of medium may include one or more frequency, time, and / or spatial communication resources (e.g., encompassing one or more channels across one or more carriers) associated with communications between one or more transmitter / receiver pairs (such as device 304 and device 302 for medium 362).

[0084] As a specific example, medium 362 may correspond to at least a portion of an unlicensed frequency band shared with another RAN and / or one or more APs and / or one or more UEs. Apparatus 302 and apparatus 304 may operate via wireless link 360 according to one or more radio access types (such as LTE, LTE-U, or 5G NR), depending on the network in which they are deployed. These networks may include, for example, different variants of CDMA networks (e.g., LTE networks, 5G NR networks, etc.), TDMA networks, FDMA networks, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, and the like. Although various licensed frequency bands have been reserved for wireless communications (e.g., by government entities such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States), certain communication networks (particularly those employing small cell base stations) have expanded operations into unlicensed frequency bands, such as the Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) bands used by WLAN technologies (most notably the IEEE 802.11x WLAN technology commonly referred to as "Wi-Fi"), and LTE in unlicensed spectrum technology commonly referred to as "LTE-U" or "MuLTEFire."

[0085] Apparatus 302 may include a positioning component 352 that may be configured to obtain location-related measurements (e.g., OTDOA, RTT, etc.) of signals transmitted by a base station or AP (e.g., gNB 110a, 110b, or ng-eNB 114) according to the techniques described herein. The location-related measurements may include measurements of signal propagation time or RTT between a UE (e.g., UE 105) and a base station or AP (e.g., gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, etc.). The apparatus may send the measurement information to apparatus 306, for example, directly or via apparatus 304.

[0086] Device 306 may store and / or process measurement information received from device 302 (and / or other devices 302). For example, device 306 may aggregate measurement information from one or more devices 302 and send some or all of the aggregated information to one or more devices 302 (even to devices 302 that did not provide measurement information). As another example, the device may send a subset of the aggregated measurement information, e.g., the portion of the aggregated measurement information that is most relevant to the receiving device 302 (e.g., based on the capabilities, location, time, etc. of device 302). As another example, device 306 may process the measurement information and / or the aggregated measurement information. For example, device 306 may process the (aggregated) measurement information to determine a machine learning classifier that enables device 306 to predict the contents of a feature vector, e.g., based on the capabilities, time, date, etc. of device 302. As another example, device 306 may process the (aggregated) measurement information to determine various mathematical results, such as a mean, standard deviation, etc. Device 306 may group the (aggregated) measurement information based on various criteria (eg, capabilities of device 302 , time, date, etc.) before processing.

[0087] The devices 304, 306 may include positioning components 354, 356, respectively, which may be used to determine a position estimate for the UE 105 (e.g., device 302) based on position-related measurements provided by the UE 105 and / or by a base station or AP (such as any of the base stations 110a, 110b, 114) in accordance with the techniques described herein. The position-related measurements obtained by the UE 105 may include measurements of signal propagation time, or RTT, between the UE 105 and the base station or AP (such as any of the base stations 110a, 110b, 114). The position-related measurements obtained by the base station or AP (such as any of the base stations 110a, 110b, 114) (e.g., device 304) may include measurements of signal propagation time, or RTT, between the UE 105 and the base station or AP.

[0088] A position estimate (e.g., for a UE 105) may be referred to by other names, such as a position estimate, a position, a fix, a position fix, a fix, etc. A position estimate may be geodetic and include coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude), or may be municipal and include a street address, a postal address, or some other description of a location. A position estimate may be defined relative to some other known location or in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude). A position estimate may include an expected error or uncertainty (e.g., by including an area or volume within which the location is expected to be contained with some specified or default confidence level).

[0089] For terrestrial positioning of UEs in cellular networks, techniques such as Advanced Forward Link Trilateration (AFLT) and Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) typically operate in a "UE-assisted" mode, where measurements of reference signals (e.g., PRS, CRS, etc.) transmitted by base stations are acquired by the UE and then provided to a location server. The location server then calculates the UE's position based on these measurements and the known positions of the base stations. Because these techniques use a location server (rather than the UE itself) to calculate the UE's position, these positioning techniques are not frequently used in applications such as car or cell phone navigation, which instead typically rely on satellite-based positioning.

[0090] UEs can use a satellite positioning system (SPS) (Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)) to perform high-precision positioning using Precise Point Positioning (PPP) or Real-Time Kinematics (RTK) techniques. These techniques use assistance data, such as measurements from ground-based stations. LTE Release 15 allows data to be encrypted so that only UEs that subscribe to the service can read the information. Such assistance data changes over time. As a result, a UE that subscribes to the service may not be able to easily "break the encryption" for other UEs by passing the data to other UEs that have not paid for the subscription. This transfer needs to be repeated every time the assistance data changes.

[0091] In UE-assisted positioning, the UE sends measurements (e.g., TDOA, Angle of Arrival (AoA), etc.) to a positioning server (e.g., LMF / eSMLC). The positioning server has a base station almanac (BSA), which contains multiple "entries" or "records," one per cell, where each record contains the geographic cell location but may also include other data. An identifier for a "record" among the multiple "records" in the BSA can be referenced. The BSA and the measurements from the UE can be used to calculate the UE's position.

[0092] In conventional UE-based positioning, the UE calculates its own position, avoiding sending measurements to the network (e.g., a location server), which in turn improves latency and scalability. The UE uses the associated BSA record information from the network (e.g., the location of the gNB (and more broadly, base stations)). The BSA information can be encrypted. However, because BSA information changes much less frequently than, for example, the PPP or RTK assistance data described above, it may be easier to make BSA information available to UEs that do not subscribe and pay for decryption keys (compared to PPP or RTK information). The gNB's transmission of reference signals makes BSA information potentially accessible to crowdsourcing or driving attacks, essentially enabling BSA information to be generated based on in-the-field and / or over-the-top observations.

[0093] One or more of many different techniques can be used to determine the location of an entity, such as UE 105. For example, known positioning determination techniques include RTT, multi-RTT, OTDOA (also known as TDOA, and including UL-TDOA and DL-TDOA), enhanced cell identification (E-CID), DL-AoD, UL-AoA, and the like. RTT uses the time it takes for a signal to travel from one entity to another and back to determine the range between the two entities. This range, combined with the known position of a first one of the entities and the angle (e.g., azimuth) between the two entities, can be used to determine the location of a second one of the entities. In multi-RTT, multiple ranges from one entity to other entities and the known positions of these other entities can be used to determine the location of the one entity. In TDOA techniques, the difference in travel time between one entity and other entities can be used to determine the relative ranges from these other entities, and those relative ranges, combined with the known positions of these other entities, can be used to determine the location of the one entity. Angle of arrival and / or angle of departure can be used to help determine the location of an entity. For example, the angle of arrival or departure of a signal, combined with the range between devices (range determined using the signal (e.g., signal travel time, signal received power, etc.)) and the known location of one of the devices, can be used to determine the location of the other device. The angle of arrival or departure can be an azimuth relative to a reference direction (such as true north). The angle of arrival or departure can be a zenith angle relative to directly upward from a physical location (i.e., radially outward from the center of the Earth). E-CID uses the identity of the serving cell, timing advance (i.e., the difference between the receive and transmit times at the UE), the estimated timing and power of the detected neighbor cell signals, and possible angles of arrival (e.g., the angle of arrival of the signal from the base station at the UE, or vice versa) to determine the location of the UE. In TDOA, the difference in the arrival times of signals from different sources at the receiving device, together with the known locations of the sources and the known offsets in the transmission times from the sources, are used to determine the location of the receiving device.

[0094] In network-centric RTT estimation, a serving base station (e.g., base station 110a) instructs a UE (e.g., UE 105) to scan / receive RTT measurement signals (e.g., PRS) on serving cells of two or more neighboring base stations (and typically also a serving base station, since at least three base stations are required). The one or more base stations transmit RTT measurement signals on low reuse resources (e.g., resources used by the base station to transmit system information) allocated by the network (e.g., a location server, such as location management function (LMF) 120). The UE records the arrival time (also known as reception time, received time, received time, or time of arrival (ToA)) of each RTT measurement signal relative to the current downlink timing of the UE (e.g., as derived by the UE from the DL signal received from its serving base station), and (e.g., when instructed by its serving base station) transmits a common or individual RTT response message (e.g., SRS (Sounding Reference Signal), UL-PRS) to the one or more base stations, and may calculate the time difference T between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal and the transmission time of the RTT response message. Rx->Tx (or UE T Rx-Tx ) is included in the payload of each RTT response message. The RTT response message will include a reference signal from which the base station can infer the ToA of the RTT response. By comparing the difference T between the transmission time of the RTT measurement signal from the base station and the ToA of the RTT response at the base station Tx->Rx Time difference T with UE report Rx->Tx , the base station can infer the propagation time between the base station and the UE. Based on the propagation time, the base station can determine the distance between the UE and the base station by assuming the speed of light during the propagation time.

[0095] UE-centric RTT estimation is similar to the network-based approach, except that the UE transmits uplink RTT measurement signals (e.g., when instructed by the serving base station), which are received by multiple base stations in the vicinity of the UE. Each involved base station responds with a downlink RTT response message, which may include in the RTT response message payload the time difference between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal at the base station and the transmission time of the RTT response message from the base station.

[0096] For both network-centric and UE-centric procedures, the side performing the RTT calculation (the network or the UE) typically (but not always) transmits a first message or signal (e.g., an RTT measurement signal), and the other side responds with one or more RTT response messages or signals, which may include the difference between the ToA of the first message or signal and the transmission time of the RTT response message or signal.

[0097] Multi-RTT technology can be used to determine positioning. For example, a first entity (e.g., a UE) can send one or more signals (e.g., unicast, multicast, or broadcast from a base station), and multiple second entities (e.g., other TSPs, such as base stations and / or UEs) can receive the signals from the first entity and respond to the received signals. The first entity receives responses from the multiple second entities. The first entity (or another entity, such as an LMF) can use the responses from the second entities to determine the range to the second entity, and can use the multiple ranges and the known positions of the second entities to determine the position of the first entity through trilateration.

[0098] In some instances, additional information may be obtained in the form of an angle of arrival (AoA) or angle of departure (AoD), which defines a linear direction (e.g., which may be in the horizontal plane or in three dimensions) or a range of possible directions (e.g., of the UE 105 as seen from the location of a base station). The intersection of the two directions at or near a point (x, y) may provide another estimate of the location of the UE 105.

[0099] Multipath determination of positioning signals

[0100] Also refer to Figure 4A , environment 400 includes UE 105, satellites 190-193, and buildings 410, 412. Although the discussion herein focuses on SVs 190-193 as positioning signal sources, other positioning signal sources (e.g., base stations, such as gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114, and / or other base stations) may be used. UE 105 is arranged to receive positioning signals 420, 421, 422, 423, and 424 from SVs 190-193, respectively. As shown, positioning signals 420-423 are received directly from SVs 190-193, while positioning signal 424 is a multipath signal. In this example, although UE 105 is in line of sight (LOS) with SV 193, signal 424 reflects from a surface (e.g., the ground) and is then received by UE 105. Signal 424 is an example of LOS multipath (ie, a multipath signal even though the transmitter (here SV 193) and receiver (here UE 105) are in LOS and thus are able to receive non-multipath signals, such as signal 423).

[0101] UE 105 is configured to measure positioning signals 420-424 and determine the measured ranges from UE 105 to SVs 190-193, respectively. Antenna 262 can receive signals 420-424, and SPS receiver 217 (possibly in conjunction with processor 210 and memory 211 (e.g., software 212)) can process signals 420-424 to determine positioning signal measurements (e.g., travel times from respective SVs 190-193 to UE 105). UE 105 can determine the measured ranges from UE 105 to SVs 190-193 based on the positioning signal measurements. Multipath signal 424 will cause the determined travel time to be longer than the travel time of signal 423, and thus the determined range to be longer than the actual range from the UE to SV 193. UE 105 (e.g., SPS receiver 217 (possibly in conjunction with processor 210 and memory 211 (e.g., software 212))) can combine measurements of signals 423, 424, e.g., average the signals, or average the determined ranges to determine a combined (e.g., average) range from UE 105 to SV 193.

[0102] UE 105 is configured to use the sets of measured ranges to determine the location of UE 105. UE 105 (e.g., SPS receiver 217 and / or processor 210 (possibly in conjunction with memory 211)) may use the determined ranges to SVs 190-193 to perform a trilateration process to determine the location of UE 105. Although UE 105 may be moving, and thus signals 420-424 may not be measured when UE 105 is in exactly the same location, the trilateration process may provide a single point as the location of UE 105. The trilateration process may provide an area (e.g., a point plus some uncertainty), and a point within the area (e.g., the center of the symmetrical area) may be selected as the location of UE 105. Here, it may be assumed that UE 105 is in Figure 4A Since UE 105 may be mobile, as indicated by displacement vector 440, UE 105 may move to a new location and determine the location of UE 105 based on positioning signal measurements of positioning signals received while at the new location.

[0103] Also refer to Figure 4B , UE 105 has moved to a new location 432, which is Figure 4A4 is different from the position 430 shown in FIG. UE 105 can measure positioning signals 450, 451, 452, and 453 from SVs 190-193, respectively, to determine the position of UE 105. In this example, position 432 causes UE 105 to no longer be in line of sight with SV 190, i.e., UE 105 is in non-line-of-sight (NLOS) with SV 190. As a result, the only positioning signal UE 105 receives from SV 190 is multipath positioning signal 450. It is undesirable to use multipath signals for position determination (position determination) because the path traveled by multipath signals is longer than the actual separation between the transmitter and receiver, and thus the determined range is longer than the actual range. If the determined range is assumed to be the actual range and used in the trilateration process, the determined position of UE 105 may be inaccurate, possibly unacceptably inaccurate (e.g., depending on the application / use of the determined position).

[0104] The UE 105 may determine the displacement of the UE 105 between the position 430 and the position 432. For example, the UE 105 may determine the displacement using dead reckoning by processing one or more sensor measurements provided by the one or more sensors 213 as discussed above and using known techniques. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 105 may determine the displacement using one or more other types of information using one or more other techniques. For example, the UE 105 may determine the displacement using images captured by the camera 218. The processor 210 may analyze the multiple images (possibly in combination with the orientation information of the UE 105) to determine the magnitude and / or direction of the movement of the UE 105. For example, the UE 105 may use the position of one or more objects in the multiple images and the size of the objects in the images to determine the movement of the UE 105 relative to the object(s).

[0105] UE 105 can determine whether the positioning signal is a multipath signal. For example, UE 105 can be configured to determine whether the positioning signal is a multipath signal based on a comparison of the range to the source of the positioning signal with an expected range to the source, the expected range being based on a previous range and the displacement of UE 105 since the measurement of the positioning signal that produced the previous range. UE 105 can determine the expected range (e.g., projected pseudorange) to the source of the positioning signal by adjusting the previously determined range (determined from the previously measured positioning signal) by the displacement of UE 105 since the measurement of the previously measured positioning signal. With or without knowledge of the direction between UE 105 and the source of the positioning signal, UE 105 can add the displacement vector to the previously determined range. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 105 may determine the expected range by adding a displacement vector for the UE 105 to a previously determined position of the UE 105 to determine the expected position, where the displacement vector is the net magnitude and direction of the UE 105 since the measurement of the positioning signal that resulted in determining the previously determined position (fix) of the UE 105. If the expected range to the positioning signal source differs from the measured (e.g., previously measured) range to the positioning signal source by more than a threshold amount, which may be referred to as a range threshold, the UE may determine that the currently determined range and / or the previously determined range corresponds to a multipath signal.

[0106] If the range corresponding to the currently measured positioning signal exceeds the expected range by more than a range threshold, the UE 105 (e.g., the processor 210, possibly in conjunction with the memory 211) can determine that at least the currently measured positioning signal is a multipath signal. If the previously measured positioning signal was received directly (e.g., signal 420 from SV 190), but the newly measured positioning signal from the same positioning signal source (e.g., signal 450 from SV 190) was received via multipath transmission, the expected range determined using the directly received (non-multipath) signal and the displacement of the UE 105 may be much shorter than the range corresponding to the multipath signal. In this case, the expected range may accurately reflect the actual separation of the UE 105 from the positioning signal source (e.g., SV 190), and thus the measured range may exceed the expected range by approximately the amount of the additional distance traveled by the multipath signal (e.g., signal 450) compared to the direct transmission. The difference (delta Δ) may differ from the additional distance, for example, if the expected range is determined using a previously determined position (which was determined using one or more multipath signals), due to errors in displacement calculations, and so on.

[0107] If the range corresponding to the currently measured positioning signal is less than the expected range by more than a range threshold (which may be different from the threshold used to determine that the currently measured positioning signal is a multipath signal), UE 105 (e.g., processor 210, possibly in conjunction with memory 211) may determine that at least the previously measured positioning signal is a multipath signal. If the previously measured positioning signal was received via multipath transmission (e.g., signal 422 from SV 193), but the newly measured positioning signal from the same positioning signal source (e.g., signal 453 from SV 190) is received directly, the expected range determined using the multipath signal (even in combination with a directly received signal from the same source, such as signal 423) and the displacement of UE 105 may be significantly longer than the range corresponding to the directly received signal. In this case, the expected range may accurately reflect a range that is longer than the actual separation of UE 105 from the positioning signal source (e.g., SV 193), and thus the measured range may be less than the expected range by approximately the amount of the additional distance traveled by the multipath signal (e.g., signal 424, or the average additional distance of the combined multipath signal 424 and the directly received signal 423) compared to the direct transmission. The difference (delta Δ) may differ from the additional distance, for example, if the expected range was determined using a previously determined position (the previously determined position was determined using one or more multipath signals), due to errors in the displacement calculation, etc.

[0108] If the corresponding positioning signal has been determined to be (e.g., identified as) a multipath signal, the UE 105 may be configured to reduce the measured range to the positioning signal source. The UE 105 may reduce (e.g., downgrade or reject) the range that violates expectations. For example, the UE 105 may reduce the weight of the range in a trilateration process that uses the ranges from the UE 105 to multiple positioning sources to determine the UE 105's position. As another example of reducing the measured range, for a measured range whose corresponding positioning signal is identified as a multipath signal, the UE 105 may not use the measured range at all in the trilateration process. That is, the UE 105 may omit (exclude) the measured range determined to be derived from the multipath signal from the trilateration process. The UE 105 may discard the measured range to prevent any (further) use of the measured range. Reducing the range determined using multipath signals can help improve position determination accuracy by reducing erroneous information and thereby increasing the percentage of accurate information used to determine position. The UE 105 may also be configured to clip future signals received from a signal source whose past signals were determined to be multipath signals. Thus, once a signal from a source (e.g., an SV) is determined to be multipath, future signals from that source may be clipped, at least for purposes of determining the location of the UE 105. Such future clipping may be limited based on one or more factors, such as time (e.g., suspending clipping in response to the passage of a threshold amount of time), location (e.g., suspending clipping in response to the UE 105 moving beyond a threshold distance), and / or signal reliability (e.g., if future signals from that source are determined to be line-of-sight signals).

[0109] Also refer to Figure 5A , table 500 includes values for the measured range, the displacement vector between the UE positions, the expected range, and the difference between the measured range and the expected range. Figure 5A , all values are given in meters and are example values for illustration only. The UE (e.g., the SPS receiver 217 and possibly the processor 210) can determine the measured range at the locations 430, 432 by measuring the positioning signals from the SVs 190-193 (and / or other SVs and / or other types of positioning signal sources). The UE 105 (e.g., the PMD 219 and / or the processor 210 in combination with one or more sensors 213 and / or cameras 218) can determine the displacement vector of the UE 105 since being at the location 430. For example, the measurements of the sensor 213 and / or camera 218 can be synchronized with the SPS receiver 217 so that the UE 105 can determine the displacement since measuring the positioning signals that resulted in the location determination (e.g., since measuring the SV signals from the SVs 190-193 that resulted in the determination of the location 430). Thus, Figure 5AThe displacement vector shown in is the latitude, longitude, and altitude displacement from a reference point (e.g., location 430 determined from SV signals). UE 105 can determine the expected range at location 432 by determining the range at location 430, determining the displacement vector from location 430 to location 432, and calculating the net effect of the displacement vector on the measured range from location 430 (taking into account the magnitude and direction of the movement of UE 105, the movement of the corresponding SVs 190-193, and the direction from location 430 to the corresponding SVs 190-193). UE 105 can measure the positioning signals while at location 432 (recognizing that there may be some movement of UE 105 between measurements, and that the calculated location 432 can be a single point or a range of points (e.g., a three-dimensional volume)). For simplicity and illustration, a single calculated location 432 is assumed. In this example, UE 105 determines that the delta (difference) between the expected range and the measured range for SVs 191 and 192 is zero, the delta for SV 190 is 43 meters, and the delta for SV 193 is -13 meters. For a range threshold of 10 meters, UE 105 can conclude that positioning signal 450 received from SV 190 is a multipath signal because the measured range exceeds the expected range by more than the range threshold. Similarly, UE 105 can conclude that positioning signal 424 (or a combination of signals 423 and 424) received from SV 193 is a multipath signal because the measured range is less than the expected range by more than the range threshold.

[0110] Also refer to Figure 5B , table 510 includes values for the measured range, the magnitude of the displacement between the UE locations, the expected range, and the difference between the measured range and the expected range. In this example, using the determined magnitude of the displacement rather than the displacement vector, the expected range is a range window corresponding to the measured range of location 430 plus or minus the distance magnitude. UE 105 can determine whether the measured range of location 432 is within the expected range window, and if not, whether the measured range exceeds or is less than the expected range window. If the delta is outside the expected range window, UE 105 can conclude that the signal is multipath. In this example, UE 105 determines that the measured range for each of SVs 190-193 is within the expected range window, and therefore may not conclude that any positioning signal is multipath.

[0111] Reference Figure 6 And further refer to Figure 1-5B and Figure 7 , the method 600 of determining the position of the user equipment includes the stages shown. However, the method 600 is only an example and is not limiting. Figure 6The order of the stages shown in the method 600 is not a required order for performing the stages. The method 600 may be modified, for example, by adding, removing, rearranging, combining, performing concurrently, and / or splitting a single stage into multiple stages. Further other modifications to the method 600 shown and described are possible. The method may be at least partially comprised of Figure 7 The UE 700 is a user equipment 700. Figure 2 The example of UE 200 shown is Figure 1 7. An example of a UE 700 is shown. UE 700 includes a processor 710, a memory 720, a receiver 730, and one or more sensors 740. Processor 710 may include, for example, a general / application processor 230 and / or a DSP 231 and / or one or more other components. Receiver 730 may include an SPS receiver 217 (and possibly an antenna 262) and / or a wireless receiver 244 (and possibly an antenna 246) and / or a wired receiver 254. For example, receiver 730 may include components for receiving signals and generating signal measurements, such as an antenna and an analog-to-digital converter, a comparator, and a processor (and appropriate memory). Sensor 740 may include one or more sensors 213 and / or a camera 218 (which may include multiple cameras) and / or one or more other sensors. Processor 710 is communicatively coupled to memory 720, receiver 730, and sensor 740.

[0112] At stage 610, method 600 includes measuring first and second positioning signals from first and second positioning signal sources to generate first and second positioning signal measurements, respectively. For example, receiver 730 or processor 710 (and possibly memory 720) or a combination thereof may measure a first positioning signal for UE 700 at first location 430 and a second positioning signal for UE 700 at second location 432. Receiver 730 may receive one or more positioning signals from one or more SVs and / or one or more ground base stations and / or one or more other positioning signal sources. Receiver 730 and / or processor 710 (and possibly memory 720) may include means for measuring the first positioning signal and means for measuring the second positioning signal to generate the first and second positioning signal measurements.

[0113] At stage 620, method 600 includes determining first and second ranges based on the first and second positioning signal measurements, respectively. For example, processor 710 (possibly in conjunction with memory 720) may determine the range based on a determined time of flight of a positioning signal from a positioning signal source (e.g., one or more SVs 190-193 and / or one or more base stations and / or one or more other positioning signal sources) to UE 700. Processor 710 (possibly in conjunction with memory 720) may include means for determining a first range based on the first positioning signal measurement and means for determining a second range based on the second positioning signal measurement. Figure 4A 、 4B In the example shown, the range determined based on signal 424 or the combination of signals 423 , 424 , and the range determined based on signal 450 will be erroneously longer due to the multipath routes traversed by signals 424 , 450 .

[0114] At stage 630, method 600 includes measuring at least one sensor measurement via at least one sensor of the user equipment independently of the positioning signal. For example, one or more sensors 740 and / or one or more other sensors (possibly in conjunction with processor 710 (and possibly memory 720)) may be used to measure information that can be used to determine the motion of UE 700. The at least one sensor measurement may include one or more inertial measurements and / or one or more images and / or one or more magnetic field measurements, among others. UE 700 may obtain positioning signal information to determine the motion of UE 700 and measure at least one sensor measurement independently of the positioning signal information. UE 700 may obtain at least some sensor information without using positioning signals. UE 700 may determine a displacement magnitude or displacement vector (magnitude and direction), which may be in the form of determining movement coordinates, such as north, east, and upward movement, without calculating the magnitude and angle of movement. One or more sensors 740 and / or one or more other sensors (possibly in conjunction with processor 710 (and possibly memory 720)) may include means for measuring at least one sensor measurement independently of the positioning signal.

[0115] At stage 640, method 600 includes determining a first expected range based on the first range to the particular positioning signal source and at least one sensor measurement. For example, processor 710 (possibly in conjunction with memory 720) calculates the expected range by determining the net effect of UE 700's movement on the range to the particular positioning signal source, e.g., using knowledge of the first range (magnitude) and the direction of separation between UE 700 and the positioning signal source and the motion of UE 700 determined from the at least one sensor measurement. UE 700 may also use knowledge of the movement of the positioning signal source (if any), e.g., ephemeris data from a particular one of SVs 190-193. Processor 710 (possibly in conjunction with memory 720) may include means for determining the first expected range.

[0116] At stage 650, method 600 includes determining the location of the user equipment by performing a trilateration process using at least some of the second ranges while pruning a particular second range in response to the particular second range exceeding the first expected range by more than a range threshold. For example, processor 710 (possibly in conjunction with memory 720) may reduce the weight of the particular second range for the trilateration process (and thereby reduce its influence or effect) or omit the particular second range from the trilateration process to determine the location of UE 700 using the second ranges. Thus, for any positioning signal source for which multiple ranges are determined, if a later determined range exceeds the expected range (based on the first determined range and / or the position and movement of UE 700 determined from measurements independent of the positioning signal) by more than a threshold amount, the later determined range may be pruned because the positioning signal(s) upon which the later determined range is based are determined to be or include multipath signals. Processor 710 (possibly in conjunction with memory 720) may include means for determining the location of the UE.

[0117] The method 600 may include one or more other features. For example, the method 600 may include determining the position of the user equipment using a trilateration process using at least some of the first ranges while simultaneously subtracting a selected first range of one of the positioning signal sources (in response to a second range corresponding to the positioning signal source of the selected first range being less than an expected range for the positioning signal source by more than a range threshold). The method 600 may include replacing a previously determined position of the user equipment determined using the unsubtracted selected first range (without subtraction) with a new determined position determined while subtracting the selected first range. In this manner, previously determined positions may be iterated to improve the accuracy of the determined positions, which may be used for various purposes (e.g., device tracking, determining a current position based on a previous position and dead reckoning, etc.). The processor 710 (possibly in conjunction with the memory 720) may include means for determining the position of the UE using the first range and / or means for replacing the previously determined position of the UE.

[0118] Reference Figure 8 And further refer to Figure 1-7 The method 800 of the assisted positioning technology includes the stages shown. However, the method 800 is only an example and is not limiting. Figure 8 The order of the stages shown in the method 800 is not a required order for performing the stages. The method 800 may be modified, for example, by adding, removing, rearranging, combining, performing concurrently, and / or splitting a single stage into multiple stages. Further other modifications to the method 800 shown and described are possible. The method may be at least partially comprised of Figure 7 The method is implemented by the UE 700 shown in FIG.

[0119] At stage 810, method 800 includes measuring, at a user equipment (UE), a first positioning signal from a positioning signal source corresponding to a first time to generate a first positioning signal measurement. For example, receiver 730 or processor 710 (and possibly memory 720), or a combination thereof, may measure the first positioning signal of UE 700 at a first location 430 at a first time. Receiver 730 may receive one or more positioning signals from one or more SVs and / or one or more ground base stations and / or one or more other positioning signal sources. Receiver 730 and / or processor 710 (and possibly memory 720) may include means for measuring the first positioning signal to generate the first positioning signal measurement.

[0120] At stage 820, method 800 includes measuring, at the UE, a second positioning signal from the positioning signal source corresponding to a second time to produce a second positioning signal measurement. For example, the receiver 730 or the processor 710 (and possibly the memory 720), or a combination thereof, may measure the second positioning signal of the UE 700 at the second location 432 at the second time. The second positioning signal may be the same signal as the first positioning signal, but sent at a different time (before or after) than the first positioning signal. For example, the first positioning signal may be signal 424, and the second positioning signal may be signal 45. As another example, the first positioning signal may be signal 420, and the second positioning signal may be signal 450. The receiver 730 and / or the processor 710 (and possibly the memory 720) may include means for measuring the second positioning signal to produce the second positioning signal measurement.

[0121] At stage 830, method 800 includes determining a first range between the UE and a source of the positioning signal based on the first positioning signal measurement. For example, processor 710 (possibly in conjunction with memory 720) uses the first positioning signal measurement to calculate a range to a signal source (e.g., one of SVs 190-193). Processor 710 may determine a pseudorange based on a time of flight of a signal (e.g., signal 420 or signal 424). Processor 710 (possibly in conjunction with memory 720) may include means for determining the first range.

[0122] At stage 840, method 800 includes determining a second range between the UE and the positioning signal source based on the second positioning signal measurement. For example, processor 710 (possibly in conjunction with memory 720) uses the second positioning signal measurement to calculate the range to the signal source (e.g., one of SVs 190-193). Processor 710 may determine the pseudorange based on the time of flight of the signal (e.g., signal 450 or signal 453). Processor 710 (possibly in conjunction with memory 720) may include means for determining the first range.

[0123] At stage 850, method 800 includes obtaining at least one sensor measurement from at least one sensor of the UE, indicating movement of the UE between a first time and a second time. For example, one or more sensors 740 and / or one or more other sensors (possibly in conjunction with processor 710 (and possibly memory 720)) may be used to measure information that can be used to determine movement of UE 700. The at least one sensor measurement may be information that can be used to determine displacement, or may be (an indication of) displacement itself. The at least one sensor measurement may include one or more inertial measurements and / or one or more images and / or one or more magnetic field measurements, among others. UE 700 may obtain positioning signal information to determine the movement of UE 700, and measure at least the sensor measurement independently of the positioning signal information. UE 700 may obtain at least some of the sensor information without using positioning signals. UE 700 may determine a displacement magnitude or a displacement vector (magnitude and direction), which may be in the form of determining movement coordinates, such as north, east, and up, without calculating the magnitude and angle of movement. One or more sensors 740 and / or one or more other sensors (possibly in conjunction with processor 710 (and possibly memory 720)) may include means for obtaining the at least one sensor measurement.

[0124] At stage 860, method 800 includes determining, based on the first range, the second range, and at least one sensor measurement, that a selected range from the first range or the second range is a multipath range. For example, processor 710 (possibly in conjunction with memory 720) may calculate the expected range by determining the net effect of UE 700's movement on the range to a particular positioning signal source, e.g., using knowledge of the first range (magnitude) and the displacement of UE 700 between the first time and the second time. UE 700 may also use knowledge of the movement of the positioning signal source (if any), e.g., ephemeris data from a particular one of SVs 190-193 between the first time and the second time. Processor 710 may determine whether the expected range differs sufficiently from the second range to indicate that at least one of the first range or the second range is a multipath range, i.e., corresponds to a multipath signal. For example, if the expected range exceeds the second range by more than a range threshold, UE 700 may determine that at least a previous positioning signal from that source was a multipath signal. If the expected range (e.g., based on signal 420 and displacement vector 440 (or its magnitude)) is shorter than the currently measured range (e.g., based on signal 450) by more than a range threshold, the UE may determine that at least the current positioning signal is a multipath signal. If the expected range (e.g., based on signal 424 and displacement vector 440 (or its magnitude)) is longer than the currently measured range by more than a range threshold, the UE may determine that at least the previous positioning signal is a multipath signal. As another example, processor 710 may compare the difference between the first range and the second range with the displacement of UE 700 between the first time and the current time. If the range difference and the displacement differ by more than a threshold amount, processor 710 may conclude that at least one range is a multipath range. Processor 710 may be configured to use different thresholds for a displacement less than the range difference and for a displacement greater than the range difference. Similarly, processor 710 may be configured to use different thresholds for an expected range less than the second range (or for the second range greater than the expected range) and for an expected range greater than the second range (or for the second range less than the expected range). The threshold value may be relative (e.g., a percentage difference between the first range and the second range or the expected range and the second range) or absolute (e.g., a distance, such as meters). Processor 710 (possibly in conjunction with memory 720) may include means for determining whether a selected range from the first range or the second range is a multipath range.

[0125] At stage 870, method 800 includes, in response to determining that the selected range is a multipath range, reducing use of the selected range in positioning techniques to determine the location of the user equipment. For example, processor 710 (possibly in conjunction with memory 720) may reduce the weight of the selected range for a trilateration process (and thereby reduce its influence or effect) or omit (exclude) the selected range from the trilateration process to determine the location of UE 700 (e.g., for UE-based positioning). As another example, processor 710 may exclude use of the selected range by another entity (e.g., device 306, such as a location server) (e.g., for UE-assisted positioning) by not sending the selected range (or information that may be used to determine the range) to the other entity. As another example, processor 710 may reduce use of the selected range by the other entity by sending a de-weighting indication (e.g., a weighting factor having a value less than 1) along with the selected range (or information that may be used to determine the range) to the other entity. Processor 710 may de-weight the first range and the second range (possibly resulting in a re-determination of the location of UE 700). Processor 710 (possibly in conjunction with memory 720) may include means for determining the location of a UE.

[0126] Method 800 may include one or more other features. For example, determining that the selected range is a multipath range includes: determining that an expected range differs from a second range by more than a first threshold amount, the expected range being based on the first range and a displacement of the UE between a first time and a second time, the displacement being based on at least one sensor measurement; and / or determining that a difference between the first range and the second range exceeds the displacement of the UE between the first time and the second time by more than a second threshold. For example, processor 710 may determine that the range is a multipath range by determining and comparing the expected range with the second range and / or comparing the determined range difference with movement of UE 700. Processor 710 may determine a magnitude, or both magnitude and direction, of the movement to determine whether the selected range is a multipath range. As another example, method 800 may include determining a current determined position of the UE according to a positioning technique when the selected range is reduced, and replacing a previously determined position of the UE with the current determined position of the UE. For example, processor 710 may be configured such that if processor 710 determines and stores the location of UE 700 based on a range that is later determined to be a multipath range, processor 710 may redetermine the location with the multipath range being reduced (e.g., downgraded or excluded) and replace the previously determined location (based on the unclipped multipath range) with the redetermined location. Processor 710 (possibly in conjunction with memory 720) may include means for determining the previously determined location of the UE and means for replacing the previously determined location of the UE with the currently determined location. Method 800 may include, in response to determining that the selected range is a multipath range, reducing use of a third positioning signal measurement of a third positioning signal from the positioning signal source to determine another location of the UE. For example, processor 710 may, in response to determining that signal 450 from SV 190 is a multipath signal, reduce use of at least one signal subsequently received from SV 190 to determine the location of UE 700. Processor 710 may stop clipping or reduce clipping, for example, in response to a threshold amount of time lapse, in response to UE 700 moving beyond a threshold distance, in response to determining that a signal subsequently received from SV 190 is a line-of-sight signal, or in response to another condition, or in response to a combination of two or more of these conditions. Processor 710 (possibly in conjunction with memory 720) may include means for clipping the use of the third positioning signal measurement.

[0127] Other considerations

[0128] Several example configurations have been described, and other examples or implementations including various modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents may be used without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. For example, due to the nature of software and computers, the functions described above may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, hard wiring, or any combination thereof executed by a processor. The features implementing the functions may also be physically located in various locations, including being distributed so that the various parts of the functions are implemented at different physical locations. The elements discussed may be components of a larger system, in which other rules may take precedence over the application of the present invention or otherwise modify the application of the present invention. In addition, several operations may be taken before, during, or after considering the elements or operations discussed above. Accordingly, the above description does not limit the scope of the claims.

[0129] As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" also include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, the terms "comprises," "has," "includes," and / or "contains" specify the presence of recited features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0130] As used herein, “or” used in a list of items followed by “at least one of” or followed by “one or more of” indicates a disjunctive list, so that, for example, the list “at least one of A, B, or C” or the list “one or more of A, B, or C” or “A, B, or C, or a combination thereof” means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C), or a combination having more than one feature (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC, etc.).

[0131] As used herein, unless otherwise stated, a recitation of a function or operation "based on" an item or condition means that the function or operation is based on the recited item or condition, and may be based on one or more items and / or conditions other than the recited item or condition.

[0132] Furthermore, an indication that information is sent or transmitted "to" an entity, or a statement that information is sent or transmitted "to" an entity, is not required to complete the communication. Such an indication or statement includes situations where information passes from a sending entity but does not reach the intended recipient of the information. An intended recipient may still be referred to as a receiving entity, e.g., a receiving execution environment, even if it does not actually receive the information. Furthermore, an entity configured to send or transmit information "to" an intended recipient is not required to be configured to complete the delivery of the information to the intended recipient. For example, the entity may provide information with an indication of the intended recipient to another entity that can forward the information and the indication of the intended recipient.

[0133] Substantial variations can be made depending on specific requirements. For example, customized hardware can be used, and / or specific elements can be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software, such as applets), or both. Further, connections to other computing devices (such as network input / output devices) can be employed.

[0134] As used herein, the terms "processor-readable medium," "machine-readable medium," and "computer-readable medium" refer to any medium that participates in providing data that causes a machine to operate in a particular manner. Using a computer system, various computer-readable media may be involved in providing instructions / code for execution to a processor, and / or may be used to store and / or carry such instructions / code (e.g., as signals). In many implementations, computer-readable media are physical and / or tangible storage media. Such media can take many forms, including but not limited to non-volatile media and volatile media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical disks and / or magnetic disks. Volatile media include, but are not limited to, dynamic memory.

[0135] Common forms of physical and / or tangible computer readable media include, for example: a hard disk, a magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, any other optical medium, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or memory cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer can read instructions and / or code.

[0136] The methods, systems, and devices discussed above are examples. Various configurations may appropriately omit, replace, or add various procedures or components. For example, in alternative configurations, these methods may be performed in an order different from the order described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. In addition, the features described with respect to certain configurations may be combined in various other configurations. Different aspects and elements of the configurations may be combined in a similar manner. Furthermore, technology will evolve, and thus, many elements are examples and do not limit the scope of this disclosure or the claims.

[0137] Specific details are given in this description to provide a thorough understanding of example configurations (including implementations). However, these configurations can be put into practice without these specific details. For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques have been shown without unnecessary details to avoid confusing these configurations. This description only provides example configurations and does not limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the claims. On the contrary, the previous description of the configuration provides a description for implementing the technology. Various changes can be made to the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure.

[0138] Each configuration may also be described as a process depicted as a flowchart or block diagram. Although each flowchart or block diagram can describe the operation as a sequential process, some operations can be performed in parallel or simultaneously. In addition, the order of the operations can be rearranged. The process may have additional stages and functions that are not included in the accompanying drawings. In addition, examples of these methods can be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middleware, or microcode, the program code or code segment for performing the task can be stored in a non-transient computer-readable medium (such as a storage medium). The processor can perform one or more of the described tasks.

[0139] Unless otherwise indicated, components shown in the figures and / or discussed herein as connected or communicating with each other (functionally or otherwise) are communicatively coupled. That is, they can be connected directly or indirectly to enable communication between them.

[0140] A statement that a value exceeds (or is greater than or higher than) a threshold value (e.g., a first threshold value) is equivalent to a statement that the value meets or exceeds another threshold value (e.g., a second threshold value) that is slightly greater than the first threshold value, for example, the second threshold value is one value higher than the first threshold value at the resolution of the computing system. A statement that a value is less than (or within or below) a threshold value (e.g., the first threshold value) is equivalent to a statement that the value is less than or equal to another threshold value (e.g., the second threshold value) that is slightly lower than the first threshold value, for example, the second threshold value is one value lower than the first threshold value at the resolution of the computing system.

Claims

1. A user equipment (UE), comprising: a receiver configured to receive a positioning signal; at least one sensor configured to provide at least one sensor measurement independent of the positioning signal; Memory; as well as a processor communicatively coupled to the receiver, the memory, and the at least one sensor, the processor configured to: determining a first range between the UE and the positioning signal source based on a first positioning signal measurement of a first positioning signal from a positioning signal source corresponding to a first time; determining a second range between the UE and the positioning signal source based on a second positioning signal measurement of a second positioning signal from the positioning signal source corresponding to a second time; determining whether a selected range from the first range or the second range is a multipath range based on the first range, the second range, and movement of the UE between the first time and the second time indicated by the at least one sensor measurement; In response to the selected range being determined to be a multipath range, reducing use of the selected range in positioning techniques to determine a position of the UE; as well as In response to the selected range being determined to be a multipath range, using future positioning signals from the positioning signal source to determine a position of the UE is curtailed based on one or more factors, wherein the one or more factors include: the passage of a threshold amount of time; The movement of the UE exceeds a threshold distance; the reliability of the positioning signal; or any combination thereof.

2. The UE according to claim 1, wherein: To determine whether the selected range is a multipath range, the processor is configured to at least one of: configured to determine whether an expected range differs from the second range by more than a first threshold amount, the expected range being based on the first range and a displacement of the UE between the first time and the second time, the displacement being based on the at least one sensor measurement; or The method is configured to determine whether a difference between the first range and the second range exceeds a displacement of the UE between the first time and the second time by more than a second threshold amount.

3. The UE according to claim 2, wherein: To determine whether the selected range is a multipath range, the processor is configured to determine a magnitude of the displacement of the UE based on the at least one sensor measurement.

4. The UE according to claim 3, wherein: To determine whether the selected range is a multipath range, the processor is configured to determine a direction of the displacement of the UE based on the at least one sensor measurement.

5. The UE according to claim 1, wherein: The at least one sensor includes one or more inertial motion sensors.

6. The UE according to claim 1, wherein: The at least one sensor comprises at least one camera, and the at least one sensor measurement comprises a plurality of images captured by the at least one camera; or The at least one sensor comprises at least one magnetometer, and the at least one sensor measurement comprises one or more magnetic field measurements; or Its combination.

7. The UE according to claim 1, wherein: To reduce use of the selected range in the positioning technique, the processor is configured to at least one of: is configured to exclude selected ranges from use in said positioning technique; or Configured to reduce the weighting of the selected range in the positioning technique.

8. The UE of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to: determining a current determined position of the UE according to the positioning technique with the selected range curtailed; and A previously determined location of the UE is replaced with the current determined location of the UE.

9. The UE of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to, in response to the selected range being determined to be a multipath range, reduce use of a third positioning signal measurement of a third positioning signal from the positioning signal source to determine another position of the UE.

10. A method for assisting positioning technology, the method comprising: measuring, at a user equipment (UE), a first positioning signal from a positioning signal source corresponding to a first time to generate a first positioning signal measurement; measuring, at the UE, a second positioning signal from the positioning signal source corresponding to a second time to generate a second positioning signal measurement; determining a first range between the UE and the positioning signal source based on the first positioning signal measurement; determining a second range between the UE and the positioning signal source based on the second positioning signal measurement; obtaining at least one sensor measurement from at least one sensor of the UE, the at least one sensor measurement indicating movement of the UE between the first time and the second time; determining, based on the first range, the second range, and the at least one sensor measurement, that a selected range from the first range or the second range is a multipath range; In response to the selected range being determined to be a multipath range, reducing use of the selected range in the positioning technique to determine the position of the UE; as well as In response to the selected range being determined to be a multipath range, using future positioning signals from the positioning signal source to determine a position of the UE is curtailed based on one or more factors, wherein the one or more factors include: the passage of a threshold amount of time; The movement of the UE exceeds a threshold distance; the reliability of the positioning signal; or any combination thereof.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: Determining that the selected range is a multipath range includes at least one of the following: determining that an expected range differs from the second range by more than a first threshold amount, the expected range being based on the first range and a displacement of the UE between the first time and the second time, the displacement being based on the at least one sensor measurement; or It is determined that a difference between the first range and the second range exceeds a displacement of the UE between the first time and the second time by more than a second threshold amount.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein: Determining the selected range as a multipath range includes determining a magnitude of the displacement of the UE based on the at least one sensor measurement.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein: Determining the selected range as a multipath range includes determining a direction of the displacement of the UE based on the at least one sensor measurement.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein: Reducing the use of the selected range in the positioning technology includes at least one of the following: Exclude the selected range from use in the positioning technique; or Reduce the weighting of the selected range in the positioning technique.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising: determining a current determined location of the UE according to the positioning technique with the selected range curtailed; as well as A previously determined location of the UE is replaced with the current determined location of the UE.

16. A user equipment (UE), comprising: means for measuring a first positioning signal from a positioning signal source corresponding to a first time to produce a first positioning signal measurement; means for measuring a second positioning signal from said positioning signal source corresponding to a second time to produce a second positioning signal measurement; means for determining a first range between the UE and the positioning signal source based on the first positioning signal measurement; means for determining a second range between the UE and the positioning signal source based on the second positioning signal measurement; means for obtaining at least one sensor measurement from at least one sensor of the UE, the at least one sensor measurement indicative of movement of the UE between the first time and the second time; means for determining whether a selected range of the first range or the second range is a multipath range based on the first range, the second range, and the at least one sensor measurement; means for, in response to the selected range being determined to be a multipath range, reducing use of the selected range in positioning techniques to determine a position of the UE; as well as means for, in response to the selected range being determined to be a multipath range, curtailing use of future positioning signals from the positioning signal source to determine a position of the UE based on one or more factors, wherein the one or more factors comprise: the passage of a threshold amount of time; The movement of the UE exceeds a threshold distance; the reliability of the positioning signal; or any combination thereof.

17. The UE according to claim 16, wherein: The means for determining whether the selected range is a multipath range comprises at least one of: means for determining whether an expected range differs from the second range by more than a first threshold amount, the expected range being based on the first range and a displacement of the UE between the first time and the second time, the displacement being based on the at least one sensor measurement; or Means for determining whether a difference between the first range and the second range exceeds a displacement of the UE between the first time and the second time by more than a second threshold amount.

18. The UE according to claim 17, wherein: The means for determining whether the selected range is a multipath range includes means for determining a magnitude of the displacement of the UE based on the at least one sensor measurement.

19. The UE according to claim 18, wherein: The means for determining whether the selected range is a multipath range includes means for determining a direction of the displacement of the UE based on the at least one sensor measurement.

20. The UE according to claim 16, wherein: The means for obtaining the at least one sensor measurement comprises one or more inertial motion measurements.

21. The UE according to claim 16, wherein: The means for obtaining the at least one sensor measurement comprises: at least one camera of the UE; or at least one magnetometer; or Its combination.

22. The UE according to claim 16, wherein: The means for curtailing use of the selected range in the positioning technique comprises at least one of: means for excluding the selected range from use in said positioning technique; or Means for reducing the weighting of selected ranges in said positioning technique.

23. The UE of claim 16, further comprising: means for determining a current determined position of the UE according to the positioning technique if the selected range is curtailed; as well as Means for replacing a previously determined location of the UE with a current determined location of the UE.

24. The UE of claim 16, further comprising: means for, in response to the selected range being determined to be the multipath range, dropping use of a third positioning signal measurement of a third positioning signal from the positioning signal source to determine another position of the UE.

25. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising instructions configured to cause one or more processors to: determining a first range between a user equipment (UE) and a positioning signal source based on a first positioning signal measurement of a first positioning signal from a positioning signal source corresponding to a first time at the UE; determining a second range between the UE and the positioning signal source based on a second positioning signal measurement of a second positioning signal from the positioning signal source corresponding to a second time at the UE; obtaining at least one sensor measurement from at least one sensor of the UE, the at least one sensor measurement indicating movement of the UE between the first time and the second time; determining whether a selected range from the first range or the second range is a multipath range based on the first range, the second range, and the at least one sensor measurement; In response to the selected range being determined to be a multipath range, reducing use of the selected range in positioning techniques to determine a position of the UE; as well as In response to the selected range being determined to be a multipath range, using future positioning signals from the positioning signal source to determine a position of the UE is curtailed based on one or more factors, wherein the one or more factors include: the passage of a threshold amount of time; The movement of the UE exceeds a threshold distance; the reliability of the positioning signal; or any combination thereof.

26. The storage medium of claim 25, wherein the instructions are configured to cause the one or more processors to determine whether the selected range is a multipath range comprises at least one of: instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to determine whether an expected range differs from the second range by more than a first threshold amount, the expected range being based on the first range and a displacement of the UE between the first time and the second time, the displacement being based on the at least one sensor measurement; or Instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to determine whether a difference between the first range and the second range exceeds a displacement of the UE between the first time and the second time by more than a second threshold amount.

27. The storage medium according to claim 26, wherein The instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to determine whether the selected range is a multipath range include instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to determine a magnitude of the displacement of the UE based on the at least one sensor measurement.

28. The storage medium of claim 27, wherein: The instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to determine whether the selected range is a multipath range include instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to determine a direction of the displacement of the UE based on the at least one sensor measurement.

29. The storage medium of claim 25, wherein the instructions are configured to cause the one or more processors to reduce use of the selected range in the positioning technique to include at least one of: instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to exclude use of the selected range in the positioning technique; or Instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to reduce weighting of a selected range in the positioning technique.

30. The storage medium of claim 25, wherein the instructions are configured to cause the one or more processors to, in response to the selected range being determined to be a multipath range, reduce use of a third positioning signal measurement of a third positioning signal from the positioning signal source to determine another location of the UE.

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