Method and apparatus for reporting target device behavior associated with a geographic area

Abstract

The present application discloses a method for reporting the behavior of a target device associated with a geographic area. An example method may include: receiving a first request to report the behavior of a target device associated with a geographic area; determining whether the granularity of the geographic area is finer than the cell-level granularity based on at least one of the geographic area and the area of ​​interest associated with the geographic area; in the case where the granularity of the geographic area is finer than the cell-level granularity, transmitting a second request to a first entity to perform a positioning service with a location granularity finer than the cell-level granularity; receiving a notification about the behavior of a target device associated with the geographic area from the first entity, and reporting the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area based on the notification. Related devices and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various example embodiments of the present application are directed to methods and apparatus for reporting behavior of target devices associated with a geographic area. Background Art

[0002] In communication systems such as New Radio (NR or 5G) systems and Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, user equipment such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can be tracked based on the presence of the user equipment (UE) in an area with a cell level or higher granularity. Summary of the invention

[0003] In a first aspect, a method is disclosed. The method may include: receiving a first request to report a behavior of a target device associated with a geographic area; determining whether the granularity of the geographic area is finer than the cell-level granularity based on at least one of the geographic area and a region of interest (ROI) associated with the geographic area; in the case where the granularity of the geographic area is finer than the cell-level granularity, transmitting a second request to a first entity to perform a positioning service with a location granularity finer than the cell-level granularity; receiving a notification about the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area from the first entity; and reporting the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area based on the notification. For example, the method of this aspect may be performed or implemented in an entity such as a network exposure function (NEF) or a service capability exposure function (SCEF).

[0004] In some example embodiments, the first request may include at least one of an identifier of the target device, information about the geographic area, a periodic reporting interval, and a behavior to be monitored for the target device associated with the geographic area, etc. For example, the transmitter of the first request may include at least one of an unmanned aerial system (UAS) traffic management (UTM), a UAS service provider (USS), etc., and the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area may be reported to the transmitter of the first request. For example, the target device may be a UE, such as a UAV.

[0005] In some example embodiments, the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area may include at least one of moving into the geographic area, moving out of the geographic area, staying in the geographic area, and the like.

[0006] In some example embodiments, the ROI may be represented by at least one of one or more cell identifiers, one or more base station identifiers, one or more tracking area identifiers, and the like.

[0007] In some example embodiments, the granularity of the geographic area may be determined to be finer than the cell level granularity if a mapping ratio of at least a portion of the geographic area to at least a portion of the ROI associated with the portion of the geographic area is below a predetermined threshold.

[0008] In some example embodiments, the first entity may be an entity such as a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC), a Home GMLC (H-GMLC), or the like.

[0009] In some example embodiments, the second request may include at least one of an identifier of the target device, information about the geographic area, a periodic reporting interval, and a behavior to be monitored for the target device associated with the geographic area.

[0010] In some example embodiments, the method of the first aspect may further include transmitting a third request to the second entity in response to determining that the granularity of the geographic area is finer than the cell-level granularity to perform a positioning service with a location granularity coarser than or equal to the cell-level granularity. For example, the second request may be transmitted in response to information from the second entity indicating that the target device exists in the ROI.

[0011] In some example embodiments, the second entity may be an entity such as an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), a Mobility Management Entity (MME), or the like.

[0012] In some example embodiments, the third request may include at least one of an identifier of the target device, a periodic reporting interval, a behavior to be monitored for the target device associated with the geographic area, information about the ROI, and the like.

[0013] In some example embodiments, the method in the first aspect may further include transmitting a fourth request to a third entity to perform positioning service with a location granularity coarser than or equal to the cell level granularity if the granularity of the geographical area is coarser than or equal to the cell level granularity.

[0014] In some example embodiments, the third entity may be the same entity as the second entity described above, such as AMF, MME, etc.

[0015] In some example embodiments, the fourth request may include at least one of an identifier of the target device, a periodic reporting interval, a behavior to be monitored for the target device associated with the geographic area, information about the ROI, and the like.

[0016] In a second aspect, an apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus may include at least one processor and at least one memory. The at least one memory may include computer program code, and the at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to use the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to perform the method in the first aspect. In some example embodiments, the at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to: use the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to perform a first request to receive a report on the behavior of a target device associated with a geographic area; determine whether the granularity of the geographic area is finer than the cell-level granularity based on at least one of the geographic area and the ROI associated with the geographic area; in the case where the granularity of the geographic area is finer than the cell-level granularity, transmit a second request to a first entity to perform a positioning service with a location granularity finer than the cell-level granularity; receive a notification about the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area from the first entity, and report the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area based on the notification. For example, the apparatus in this aspect may be at least a part of an entity such as an NEF, a SCEF, etc.

[0017] In some example embodiments, the first request may include at least one of an identifier of the target device, information about the geographic area, a periodic reporting interval, and a behavior to be monitored for the target device associated with the geographic area, etc. For example, the transmitter of the first request may include at least one of a UTM, a USS, etc., and the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area may be reported to the transmitter of the first request. For example, the target device may be a UE, such as a UAV.

[0018] In some example embodiments, the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area may include at least one of moving into the geographic area, moving out of the geographic area, staying in the geographic area, and the like.

[0019] In some example embodiments, the ROI may be represented by at least one of one or more cell identifiers, one or more base station identifiers, one or more tracking area identifiers, and the like.

[0020] In some example embodiments, the granularity of the geographic area may be determined to be finer than a cell level granularity if a mapping ratio of at least a portion of the geographic area to at least a portion of a ROI associated with the portion of the geographic area is below a predetermined threshold.

[0021] In some example embodiments, the first entity may be an entity such as a GMLC, an H-GMLC, or the like.

[0022] In some example embodiments, the second request may include at least one of an identifier of the target device, information about the geographic area, a periodic reporting interval, and a behavior to be monitored for the target device associated with the geographic area.

[0023] In some example embodiments, at least one memory and computer program code may be configured to, with at least one processor, cause the apparatus to further perform transmitting a third request to a second entity to perform a positioning service having a location granularity coarser than or equal to the cell-level granularity in response to determining that the granularity of the geographic area is finer than the cell-level granularity. For example, the second request may be transmitted in response to information from the second entity indicating that the target device is present in the ROI.

[0024] In some example embodiments, the second entity may be an entity such as an AMF, MME, or the like.

[0025] In some example embodiments, the third request may include at least one of an identifier of the target device, a periodic reporting interval, a behavior to be monitored for the target device associated with the geographic area, ROI information, and the like.

[0026] In some example embodiments, at least one memory and computer program code may be configured to, when the granularity of the geographic area is coarser than or equal to the cell-level granularity, use at least one processor to cause the apparatus to further execute transmitting a fourth request to a third entity to perform positioning services having a location granularity coarser than or equal to the cell-level granularity.

[0027] In some example embodiments, the third entity may be the same entity as the second entity described above, such as AMF, MME, etc.

[0028] In some example embodiments, the fourth request may include at least one of an identifier of the target device, a periodic reporting interval, a behavior to be monitored for the target device associated with the geographic area, information about the ROI, and the like.

[0029] In a third aspect, a device is disclosed. The device may include means for performing the method in the first aspect. In some example embodiments, the device may include: means for receiving a first request to report the behavior of a target device associated with a geographic area; means for determining whether the granularity of the geographic area is finer than the cell-level granularity based on at least one of the geographic area and an ROI associated with the geographic area; means for transmitting a second request to a first entity to perform a positioning service with a location granularity less than the cell-level granularity when the granularity of the geographic area is less than the cell-level granularity; means for receiving a notification from the first entity about the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area; and means for reporting the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area based on the notification. For example, the device in this aspect may be at least a part of an entity such as an NEF, a SCEF, etc.

[0030] In some example embodiments, the first request may include at least one of an identifier of the target device, information about the geographic area, a periodic reporting interval, and a behavior to be monitored for the target device associated with the geographic area, etc. For example, the transmitter of the first request may include at least one of a UTM, a USS, etc., and the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area may be reported to the transmitter of the first request. For example, the target device may be a UE, such as a UAV.

[0031] In some example embodiments, the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area may include at least one of moving into the geographic area, moving out of the geographic area, staying in the geographic area, and the like.

[0032] In some example embodiments, the ROI may be represented by at least one of one or more cell identifiers, one or more base station identifiers, one or more tracking area identifiers, and the like.

[0033] In some example embodiments, the granularity of the geographic area may be determined to be finer than the cell level granularity if a mapping ratio of at least a portion of the geographic area to at least a portion of the ROI associated with the portion of the geographic area is below a predetermined threshold.

[0034] In some example embodiments, the first entity may be an entity such as a GMLC.

[0035] In some example embodiments, the second request may include at least one of an identifier of the target device, information about the geographic area, a periodic reporting interval, and a behavior to be monitored for the target device associated with the geographic area.

[0036] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include means for transmitting a third request to the second entity to perform a positioning service in response to determining that the granularity of the geographic area is finer than the cell-level granularity, wherein the location granularity of the positioning service is coarser than or equal to the cell-level granularity. For example, the second request may be transmitted in response to information from the second entity indicating that the target device exists in the ROI.

[0037] In some example embodiments, the second entity may be an entity such as an AMF, MME, or the like.

[0038] In some example embodiments, the third request may include at least one of an identifier of the target device, a periodic reporting interval, a behavior to be monitored for the target device associated with the geographic area, information about the ROI, and the like.

[0039] In some example embodiments, where the granularity of the geographic area is coarser than or equal to the cell level granularity, the apparatus may further include means for transmitting a fourth request to a third entity to perform a positioning service having a location granularity coarser than or equal to the cell level granularity.

[0040] In some example embodiments, the third entity may be the same entity as the second entity described above, such as AMF, MME, etc.

[0041] In some example embodiments, the fourth request may include at least one of an identifier of the target device, a periodic reporting interval, a behavior to be monitored for the target device associated with the geographic area, information about ROI, and the like.

[0042] In a fourth aspect, a computer-readable medium is disclosed. The computer-readable medium may include program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform the method in the first aspect. For example, the apparatus may be at least a portion of the apparatus in the second aspect and / or the third aspect. In some embodiments, the program instructions may be used to: cause the apparatus to execute receiving a first request to report the behavior of a target device associated with a geographic area; determining whether the granularity of the geographic area is finer than the cell-level granularity based on at least one of the geographic area and the ROI associated with the geographic area; in the case where the granularity of the geographic area is finer than the cell-level granularity, transmitting a second request to a first entity to perform a positioning service with a location granularity finer than the cell-level granularity; receiving a notification from the first entity about the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area; and reporting the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area based on the notification.

[0043] In some example embodiments, the first request may include at least one of an identifier of the target device, information about the geographic area, a periodic reporting interval, and a behavior to be monitored for the target device associated with the geographic area, etc. For example, the transmitter of the first request may include at least one of a UTM, a USS, etc., and the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area may be reported to the transmitter of the first request. For example, the target device may be a UE, such as a UAV.

[0044] In some example embodiments, the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area may include at least one of moving into the geographic area, moving out of the geographic area, staying in the geographic area, and the like.

[0045] In some example embodiments, the ROI may be represented by at least one of one or more cell identifiers, one or more base station identifiers, one or more tracking area identifiers, and the like.

[0046] In some example embodiments, the granularity of the geographic area may be determined to be finer than the cell level granularity if a mapping ratio of at least a portion of the geographic area to at least a portion of the ROI associated with the portion of the geographic area is below a predetermined threshold.

[0047] In some example embodiments, the first entity may be an entity such as a GMLC, an H-GMLC, or the like.

[0048] In some example embodiments, the second request may include at least one of an identifier of the target device, information about the geographic area, a periodic reporting interval, and a behavior to be monitored for the target device associated with the geographic area.

[0049] In some example embodiments, the program instructions may be used to cause the apparatus to further perform, in response to determining that the granularity of the geographic area is finer than the cell-level granularity, transmitting a third request to the second entity to perform a positioning service having a location granularity coarser than or equal to the cell-level granularity. For example, the second request may be transmitted in response to information from the second entity indicating that the target device is present in the ROI.

[0050] In some example embodiments, the second entity may be an entity such as an AMF, MME, or the like.

[0051] In some example embodiments, the third request may include at least one of an identifier of the target device, a periodic reporting interval, a behavior to be monitored for the target device associated with the geographic area, information about the ROI, and the like.

[0052] In some example embodiments, where the granularity of the geographic area is coarser than or equal to the cell-level granularity, the program instructions may be used to cause the apparatus to further execute transmitting a fourth request to a third entity to perform positioning services with a location granularity coarser than or equal to the cell-level granularity.

[0053] In some example embodiments, the third entity may be the same entity as the second entity described above, such as AMF, MME, etc.

[0054] In some example embodiments, the fourth request may include at least one of an identifier of the target device, a periodic reporting interval, a behavior to be monitored for the target device associated with the geographic area, information about the ROI, and the like.

[0055] In a fifth aspect, a method is disclosed. The method may include: receiving a request to report a behavior of a target device associated with a geographic area finer than a cell-level granularity; performing a service in response to the request to obtain a geographic location of the target device; determining a behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area based on the geographic location of the target device and the geographic area; and reporting the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area. For example, the method of this aspect may be performed or implemented in an entity such as a GMLC. For example, the target device may be a UE, such as a UAV.

[0056] In some example embodiments, the request may include an identifier of the target device, information about the geographic area, a periodic reporting interval, and at least one of a behavior to be monitored for the target device associated with the geographic area. For example, the transmitter of the request may be NEF, SCEF, etc.

[0057] In some example embodiments, performing the service may include transmitting at least one of a periodic reporting interval and information about the ROI to the target device. For example, the target device may periodically trigger the delayed positioning service. For example, the ROI may be represented by at least one of one or more cell identifiers, one or more base station identifiers, and one or more tracking area identifiers.

[0058] In some example embodiments, performing the service may include periodically transmitting at least one further request to the entity to perform positioning. For example, the at least one further request may be periodically transmitted. In some example embodiments, the entity to which the further request is transmitted may be an entity such as an AMF, an MME, etc. In some example embodiments, the further request may include an identifier of the target device. For example, the entity may perform the instant positioning service, for example, by cooperating with an entity such as a location management function (LMF), an evolved serving mobile positioning center (E-SMLC), etc.

[0059] In some example embodiments, the method may further include receiving a service notification regarding the geographic location of the target device. For example, the notification may be received from an entity such as LMF, E-SMLC, etc.

[0060] In some example embodiments, the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area may include at least one of moving into the geographic area, moving out of the geographic area, staying in the geographic area, and the like.

[0061] In a sixth aspect, an apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus may include at least one processor and at least one memory. The at least one memory may include computer program code, and the at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to use at least one processor to cause the apparatus to perform the method in the fifth aspect. In some example embodiments, the at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to: use at least one processor to cause the apparatus to perform receiving a request to report the behavior of a target device associated with a geographic area finer than a cell-level granularity; in response to the request, perform a service to obtain a geographic location of the target device; determine the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area based on the geographic location of the target device and the geographic area; and report the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area. For example, the apparatus in this aspect may be at least a part of an entity such as a GMLC, an H-GMLC, etc. For example, the target device may be a UE, such as a UAV.

[0062] In some example embodiments, the request may include at least one of an identifier of the target device, information about the geographic area, a periodic reporting interval, and a behavior to be monitored for the target device associated with the geographic area. For example, the transmitter of the request may be NEF, SCEF, etc.

[0063] In some example embodiments, performing the service may include transmitting at least one of a periodic reporting interval and information about the ROI to the target device. For example, the target device may periodically trigger the delayed positioning service. For example, the ROI may be represented by at least one of one or more cell identifiers, one or more base station identifiers, and one or more tracking area identifiers.

[0064] In some example embodiments, performing the service may include periodically transmitting at least one further request to the entity to perform positioning. For example, at least one further request may be periodically transmitted. In some example embodiments, the entity to which the further request is transmitted may be an entity such as an AMF, an MME, etc. In some example embodiments, the further request may include an identifier of the target device. For example, the entity may perform the instant positioning service, for example, by cooperating with an entity such as an LMF, an E-SMLC, etc.

[0065] In some example embodiments, at least one memory and computer program code may be configured to, with at least one processor, cause the apparatus to further perform an operation of receiving a notification of a service regarding a geographic location of a target device. For example, the notification may be received from an entity such as an LMF, an E-SMLC, etc.

[0066] In some example embodiments, the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area may include at least one of moving into the geographic area, moving out of the geographic area, staying in the geographic area, and the like.

[0067] In a seventh aspect, a device is disclosed. The device may include means for performing the method in the fifth aspect. In some example embodiments, the device may include means for receiving a request to report the behavior of a target device associated with a geographic area finer than a cell-level granularity, means for performing a service in response to the request to obtain a geographic location of the target device, means for determining the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area based on the geographic location of the target device and the geographic area, and means for reporting the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area. For example, the device in this aspect may be at least a portion of an entity such as a GMLC. For example, the target device may be a UE, such as a UAV.

[0068] In some example embodiments, the request may include an identifier of the target device, information about the geographic area, a periodic reporting interval, and at least one of a behavior to be monitored for the target device associated with the geographic area. For example, the transmitter of the request may be NEF, SCEF, etc.

[0069] In some example embodiments, performing the service may include transmitting at least one of a periodic reporting interval and information about the ROI to the target device. For example, the target device may periodically trigger the delayed positioning service. For example, the ROI may be represented by at least one of one or more cell identifiers, one or more base station identifiers, and one or more tracking area identifiers.

[0070] In some example embodiments, performing the service may include periodically transmitting at least one further request to the entity to perform positioning. For example, at least one further request may be periodically transmitted. In some example embodiments, the entity to which the further request is transmitted may be an entity such as an AMF, an MME, etc. In some example embodiments, the further request may include an identifier of the target device. For example, the entity may perform the instant positioning service, such as by cooperating with an entity such as an LMF, an E-SMLC, etc.

[0071] In some example embodiments, the device may further comprise means for receiving a notification of a service regarding the geographic location of the target device. For example, the notification may be received from an entity such as LMF, E-SMLC, etc.

[0072] In some example embodiments, the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area may include at least one of moving into the geographic area, moving out of the geographic area, staying in the geographic area, and the like.

[0073] In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable medium is disclosed. The computer-readable medium may include program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform the method in the fifth aspect. For example, the apparatus may be at least a portion of the apparatus in the sixth aspect and / or the seventh aspect. In some embodiments, the program instructions may be used to: cause the apparatus to perform receiving a request to report the behavior of a target device associated with a geographic area finer than a cell-level granularity; perform a service in response to the request to obtain the geographic location of the target device; determine the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area based on the geographic location and geographic area of ​​the target device; and report the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area. For example, the target device may be a UE, such as a UAV.

[0074] In some example embodiments, the request may include at least one of an identifier of the target device, information about the geographic area, a periodic reporting interval, and a behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area to be monitored. For example, the transmitter of the request may be NEF, SCEF, etc.

[0075] In some example embodiments, the ROI may be represented by at least one of one or more cell identifiers, one or more base station identifiers, and one or more tracking area identifiers.

[0076] In some example embodiments, performing the service may include transmitting at least one of a periodic reporting interval and information about the ROI to the target device.For example, the target device may periodically trigger the delayed positioning service.

[0077] In some example embodiments, performing the service may include periodically transmitting at least one further request to the entity to perform positioning. For example, at least one further request may be periodically transmitted. In some example embodiments, the entity to which the further request is transmitted may be an entity such as an AMF, an MME, etc. In some example embodiments, the further request may include an identifier of the target device. For example, the entity may perform the instant positioning service, for example, by cooperating with an entity such as an LMF, an E-SMLC, etc.

[0078] In some example embodiments, the program instructions may be used to cause the apparatus to further perform receiving a notification of the service at the geographic location of the target device. For example, the notification may be received from an entity such as LMF, E-SMLC, etc.

[0079] In some example embodiments, the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area may include at least one of moving into the geographic area, moving out of the geographic area, staying in the geographic area, and the like. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0080] Figure 1 An example of the particle size in the embodiment is shown.

[0081] Figure 2 Examples of geographic regions and ROIs in an embodiment are shown.

[0082] Figure 3 Examples of geographic regions and ROIs in an embodiment are shown.

[0083] Figure 4 An example method in an embodiment is shown.

[0084] Figure 5 An example execution of an example method in an embodiment is shown.

[0085] Figure 6 An example execution of an example method in an embodiment is shown.

[0086] Figure 7 An example method in an embodiment is shown.

[0087] Figure 8 An example execution of an example method in an embodiment is shown.

[0088] Fig. 9 An example method in an embodiment is shown.

[0089] Fig.10An example execution of an example method in an embodiment is shown.

[0090] Fig.11 An example method in an embodiment is shown.

[0091] Fig.12 An example execution of an example method in an embodiment is shown.

[0092] Fig.13 An example execution of an example method in an embodiment is shown.

[0093] Fig.14 An example execution of an example method in an embodiment is shown.

[0094] Fig.15 An example execution of an example method in an embodiment is shown.

[0095] Fig.16 An example device in an embodiment is shown.

[0096] Fig.17 An example device in an embodiment is shown.

[0097] Fig.18 An example device in an embodiment is shown.

[0098] Fig.19 An example device in an embodiment is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0099] Some example embodiments will be described by way of non-limiting examples with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0100] The behavior of a target device (e.g., a UE such as a UAV) can be tracked at different levels of granularity, such as moving into a geographic area, moving out of a geographic area, staying in a geographic area, etc. For example, Figure 1 As shown in the figure, according to different application requirements, it can support cell-level granularity, base station (BS, such as eNB in ​​LTE system or gNB in ​​NR system) level granularity which is coarser than cell-level granularity, and tracking area (TA) level granularity which is coarser than BS-level granularity, etc.

[0101] When tracking the behavior of the target device for a geographic area, the geographic area may be mapped to an ROI, which may be represented by one or more cell identifiers, or one or more eNB identifiers, or one or more gNB identifiers, or one or more TA identifiers, or a combination of the above one or more identifiers, etc. For example, the geographic area may be divided into several parts by any suitable pattern such as squares and triangles. Then, one or more cells that contain each part and thus cover the geographic area may be determined, for example, based on the geographic location (e.g., longitude and latitude) and / or the area of ​​each part and each cell.

[0102] For example, Figure 2 As shown in , the geographic area 200 across cells 210, 220, and 230 may be mapped to an ROI including cells 210, 220, and 230, and the mapped ROI may be represented by a list of identifiers of cells 210, 220, and 230. In addition, for example, Figure 2 As shown in , if cells 210, 220, and 230 are included in TA 240, geographic area 200 may also be mapped to another ROI that may be represented by an identifier of TA 240. The ROI represented by the TA 240 identifier may have a coarser granularity than the ROI represented by the list of identifiers of cells 210, 220, and 230.

[0103] In some cases, such as geo-fencing, a finer granularity than the cell level may be required. Figure 3 As shown in , for a geographic area 300 whose granularity may be finer than the cell-level granularity (e.g., a building in a dense city, a workshop in a factory, or a police station) and a cell 310 containing the geographic area 300 (e.g., a coverage area with a radius of 50-100m), for example, when the geographic area 300 is mapped to the ROI represented by the identifier of the cell 310 and the cell-level granularity is used to track the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area 300, tracking failures or errors may be encountered. For example, moving into the ROI represented by the identifier of the cell 310 may not mean moving into the geographic area 300 as well. In addition, the geographic area may have an irregular shape and may have portions covered by one or more cells. For example, as in Figure 3 As shown in , a major portion of geographic area 320 is in cell 330, and a minor portion 340 of geographic area 320 is in cell 310. Therefore, for example, when mapping geographic area 320 onto an ROI represented by identifiers of cells 310 and 330 and using cell-level granularity, tracking accuracy may be reduced.

[0104] Figure 4An example method 400 for reporting behavior of target devices associated with a geographic area is shown.

[0105] like Figure 4 As shown in , the example method 400 may include: step 410, receiving a request to report the behavior of a target device associated with a geographic area; step 420, determining whether the granularity of the geographic area is finer than the cell level granularity based on the geographic area and at least one of the ROIs associated with the geographic area; step 430, in the case where the granularity of the geographic area is finer than the cell level granularity, transmitting a request to an entity to perform a positioning service, the granularity of the positioning service being finer than the cell level granularity; step 440, receiving a notification from the entity regarding the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area; and step 450, reporting the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area based on the notification.

[0106] In the example method 400, the granularity of the geographic area to be monitored may be checked to determine whether it is finer than a cell-level granularity, and, in the event that the granularity of the geographic area is determined to be finer than a cell-level granularity, a request may be transmitted to an entity to perform a location service with a location granularity finer than a cell-level granularity. Then, the behavior of a target device associated with the geographic area may be determined based on a notification from the entity to perform a location service with a location granularity finer than a cell-level granularity. Thus, for example, the behavior of a target device associated with a geographic area having a granularity finer than a cell-level granularity may be determined and reported.

[0107] Figure 5 An example sequence between the entities involved in the example method 400 is shown. Entity 510 may be an entity configured to perform the example method 400, for example, may be at least a part of NEF or SCEF, etc. Entity 520 may be an entity that requests reporting of target device behavior associated with a geographic area, for example, may be at least one of UTM, UAS, etc. Entity 530 may be an entity in the example method 400 for performing a positioning service with a location granularity finer than a cell-level granularity, for example, may be GMLC, H-GMLC, etc. In various embodiments, the target device may be any suitable UE, such as a UAV.

[0108] like Figure 5As shown in , entity 510 may receive request 540 in step 410 of example method 400, wherein request 540 may indicate that entity 510 reports the behavior of a target device associated with a geographic area. For example, if entity 510 is at least part of a NEF in a home public land mobile network (HPLMN), and entity 520 is outside the HPLMN including entity 510 and entity 530, request 540 may be a location service (LCS) request to the NEF in the HPLMN using a NEF application interface (API). If entity 510 is at least part of a NEF in the HPLMN, and entity 520 is also included in the HPLMN along with entity 510 and entity 530, then a Nnef_EventExposure_Subscribe service request may be transmitted as request 540.

[0109] For example, the request 540 may include at least one of an identifier of a target device, information about a geographic area, a periodic reporting interval, a behavior to be monitored for a target device associated with the geographic area, etc., so that, for example, one or more specified behaviors may be monitored and reported for a specified target device in a specified geographic area. For example, the information about the geographic area may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: longitude and / or latitude and / or altitude of one or more points in the geographic area, the area of ​​the geographic area, the position (e.g., direction, angle, etc.) of one or more points in the geographic area relative to a reference point, coordinates of a bounding box of the geographic area, etc. For example, the behavior to be monitored for a target device associated with the geographic area may include one or more of a target device moving into the geographic area, a target device moving out of the geographic area, a target device staying in the geographic area, etc.

[0110] The entity 510 may then perform step 420 of the example method 400 to determine whether the granularity of the geographic region is finer than the cell-level granularity based on at least one of the geographic region and the ROI associated with the geographic region. For example, in step 420, the entity 510 may map the geographic region to the ROI. Such an ROI may be represented by at least one of one or more cell identifiers, one or more BS identifiers, one or more TA identifiers, etc., and may also be referred to as an "ROI associated with the geographic region." For example, if the geographic region cannot be accurately mapped to the ROI represented by the one or more cell identifiers, for example, if the mapping ratio of at least a portion of the geographic region to at least a portion of the ROI associated with the portion of the geographic region is below a predetermined threshold, then the granularity of the geographic region is determined to be finer than the cell-level granularity.

[0111] For example, Figure 6As shown in FIG. 1 , for geographic regions 300, 320 and cells 310, 330, the geographic region 300 may be mapped onto an ROI corresponding to the cell 310 and represented by an identifier of the cell 310. Figure 6 As shown in , the geographic area 30 and / or the cell 310 may be divided into a plurality of parts by small squares. Then, the ratio of the number of small squares occupied by the geographic area 300 to the number of small squares occupied by the cell 310 may be determined / calculated, which ratio is also referred to as a mapping ratio. If the ratio satisfies a predetermined condition, for example, if the ratio is less than a predetermined threshold value (e.g., 50%, 60%, etc.), the granularity of the geographic area 300 may be determined to be finer than the cell-level granularity. Similarly, for the geographic area 320, the ratio of the number of small squares occupied by the 340th part of the geographic area 320 to the number of small squares occupied by the cell 310, and / or the ratio of the number of small squares occupied by the geographic area 320 to the number of small squares occupied by the cell 310 and the cell 330 may be determined / calculated. If the ratio satisfies a predetermined condition, for example, if the ratio is less than a predetermined threshold value (e.g., 50%, 60%, etc.), the granularity of the geographic area 320 may be determined to be finer than the cell-level granularity.

[0112] It is worth noting that the manner of determining whether the granularity of the geographic area is finer than the cell-level granularity is not limited to the above examples. For example, if the geographic area cannot be accurately mapped to the ROI corresponding to one or more cells, the granularity of the geographic area may be determined to be finer than the cell-level granularity. For example, according to another parameter provided in request 540, the granularity of the geographic area may be determined to be finer than the cell-level granularity, or if it is determined that the geographic area has an irregular outline, the granularity of the geographic location may be determined to be finer than the cell-level granularity, and so on.

[0113] return Figure 5 If, in step 420, it is determined that the granularity of the geographic area is finer than the cell-level granularity, the entity 510 may further perform step 430 of the example method 400. Figure 5As shown in , entity 510 may also transmit request 550 to entity 530. Entity 530 may perform positioning services with finer location granularity than cell-level granularity, for example, for periodic, triggered, or UE-available positioning events, at least a portion of a C-MT-LR procedure or a 5GC-MT-LR procedure defined in 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) technical standard TS23.273. For example, entity 530 may be a GMLC, H-GMLC, etc., which may be in the same HPLMN as entity 510. For example, if entity 510 is an NEF and entity 530 is an H-GMLC, request 550 may be a Ngmlc_Location_ProvideLocation request. For example, request 550 may include at least one of an identifier of a target device, information about a geographic area, a periodic reporting interval, a behavior to be monitored for a target device associated with a geographic area, etc., so that, for example, entity 530 may notify entity 510 of the behavior of a target device about a specified geographic area, for example, through a specific periodic reporting interval.

[0114] Then, the entity 510 may wait for a notification from the entity 530. When the entity 510 receives a notification 560 about the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area from the entity 530 in step 440. For example, if the entity 510 is an NEF and the entity 530 is an H-GMLC, the notification 560 from the entity 530 may be Ngmlc_Location_EventNotify.

[0115] Then, the entity 510 may further report the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area based on the notification 560 in step 450 of the example method 400. For example, in step 450, the entity 510 may forward the notification 560 to the entity 520, or the entity 510 may generate a report 570 based on the notification 560 about the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area, and then transmit the report 570 to the entity 520, etc. For example, if the entity 520 is outside the HPLMN including the entity 510, the report 570 may be an LCS response transmitted by using the NEF API. If the entity 520 is also in the HPLMN including the entity 510, the report 570 may be an Nnef_EventExposure_Notify.

[0116] In some embodiments, Figure 7 As shown in , the example method 400 may also include step 710, which transmits a request to an entity to perform a positioning service with a location granularity coarser than or equal to the cell-level granularity in response to determining in step 420 that the granularity of the geographic area is finer than the cell-level granularity. Then, step 430 may be performed in response to the information from the entity indicating that the target device exists in the ROI in step 710.

[0117] For example, Figure 8 As shown in , before executing step 430, entity 510 may transmit request 820 to entity 810 in step 710. Entity 810 may be an entity such as AMF, MME, etc., which may perform positioning services with a location granularity coarser than or equal to the cell-level granularity, such as AMF positioning service, in a visited public land mobile network (VPLMN) (roaming) or HPLMN (non-roaming). For example, request 820 may include at least one of an identifier of a target device, a periodic reporting interval, a behavior to be monitored for a target device associated with a geographic area, information about a ROI (e.g., an identifier for representing the ROI), etc. For example, if entity 810 is an AMF and entity 510 is an NEF, request 820 may be a Namf_EventExposure_Subscribe request.

[0118] Then, entity 510 may receive information 830 from entity 810. For example, information 830 may indicate whether the target device is in the ROI. If information 830 indicates that the target device is in the ROI, entity 510 may transmit request 550 to entity 530 in step 420 to perform a positioning service with a location granularity finer than the cell-level granularity. For example, if entity 810 is an AMF, information 830 may be Namf_EventExposure_Notify.

[0119] Positioning services with finer location granularity than the cell-level granularity performed by entity 530 (e.g., C-MT-LR procedures or 5GC-MT-LR procedures for periodic, triggered, or UE-available positioning events) may involve a large amount of signaling. Through step 710, finer positioning services may be conditionally performed based on information returned by coarser positioning services, and thus the overall signaling may be reduced.

[0120] In some embodiments, Fig. 9As shown in , where optional step 710 is shown with a dotted line, the example method 400 may also include step 910, where, in the case where the granularity of the geographic area is coarser than or equal to the cell-level granularity, a request is transmitted to an entity to perform a positioning service with a location granularity coarser than or equal to the cell-level granularity (e.g., a process by which the AMF reports to the NEF the presence of a UE in an area of ​​interest as defined in 3GPPTS23.501). Therefore, according to the check result of step 420, if the granularity of the geographic area is finer than the cell-level granularity, steps 710 (optional), 430, 440, and 450 may be performed to report the behavior of the target device in the specified geographic area based on a finer positioning procedure. If the granularity of the geographic area is coarser than or equal to the cell-level granularity, steps 910, 410, and 450 may be performed to report the behavior of the target device in the ROI based on a coarser positioning procedure.

[0121] For example, Fig.10 As shown in , if the granularity of the geographic area is coarser than or equal to the cell-level granularity, the entity 510 may transmit a request 1010 to the entity 810. Similar to the request 820 transmitted to the entity 810 when the granularity of the geographic area is less than the cell-level granularity, the request 1010 may also include at least one of an identifier of a target device, a periodic reporting interval, a behavior to be monitored for the target device associated with the geographic area, information about the ROI, etc. For example, if the entity 810 is an AMF and the entity 510 is an NEF, the request 820 may be a Namf_EventExposure_Subscribe request.

[0122] Then, the entity 510 may receive information 1020 from the entity 810. For example, similar to the information 830, the information 1020 may indicate whether the target device is in the ROI. For example, if the entity 810 is an AMF, the information 830 may be Namf_EventExposure_Notify.

[0123] The entity 510 may then further report the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area based on the information 1020. For example, in step 450, the entity 310 may forward the information 1020 to the entity 520, or the entity 510 may generate a report 1030 based on the information 1020 about the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area, and then transmit the report 1030 to the entity 520, etc. For example, similar to the transmission of the report 570, if the entity 520 is outside the HPLMN including the entity 510, the report 1030 may be an LCS response transmitted using the NEF API. If the entity 520 is also in the HPLMN including the entity 510, the report 1030 may be an Nnef_EventExposure_Notify.

[0124] It is worth noting that example method 400 may not be limited to the above example, and for clarity, one or more signaling between entities is omitted. For example, after transmitting request 550 to entity 530, entity 510 may receive a response from entity 530 to confirm the request.

[0125] Fig.11 An example method 1100 is shown as being performed in entity 530 in response to request 550 from entity 510 .

[0126] like Fig.11 As shown in , example method 1100 may include: step 1110, for receiving a request to report the behavior of a target device associated with a geographic area finer than a cell-level granularity; step 1120, for performing a service to obtain a geographic location of the target device; step 1130, for determining the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area based on the geographic location of the target device and the geographic area; and step 1140, for reporting the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area.

[0127] Step 1110 in example method 1100 may correspond to step 430 in example method 400, and step 1140 in example method 1100 may correspond to step 440 of example method 400. For example, the request received by entity 530 in step 1110 may be the request transmitted by entity 510 in step 430 of example method 400, and the notification 560 received by entity 510 in step 440 of example method 400 may be the notification reported by entity 530 in step 1140 of example method 1110. Therefore, the aspects and features described above with respect to example method 400 may also be applied to, implemented in, or combined with example method 1100. For example, the request received by entity 530 in step 1110 may be at least one of a periodic reporting interval and information about a geographic area, and the behavior of the target device to be reported in step 1140 may also include at least one of moving into a geographic area, moving out of a geographic area, staying in a geographic area, etc.

[0128] In step 1120 of the exemplary method 1100, in one embodiment, for example, Fig.12 As shown in , entity 530 may, for example, periodically transmit at least one request 1210 to entity 810. For example, request 1210 may include an identifier of a target device. Entity 810 may then trigger an instant location service 1220 to obtain a geographic location of the target device. For example, entity 810 may also trigger an instant C-MT-LR procedure involving entity 1230, such as an LMF or an E-SMLC. Then, as Fig.12 As shown in FIG. 1 , entity 530 may receive notification 1240 of service 1220 regarding a geographic location of a target device.

[0129] Then, in step 1130, entity 530 may determine the behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area, for example, by comparing the geographic location obtained in step 1120 with the edge of the geographic area and / or the ROI associated with the geographic area. Fig.13 As shown in , the geographic location 1310 of the target device is obtained at timing t1, the geographic location 1320 of the target device is obtained at timing t2 after t1, and the geographic location 1330 of the target device is obtained at timing t3 after t2. If the geographic location 1320 is closer to the edge of the geographic area 320 than the geographic location 1310, and the geographic location 1330 is closer to the boundary of the geographic area 320 than the geographic address 1320, the entity 530 may determine in step 1130 that the target device is moving out of the behavior of the geographic area 320.

[0130] In one embodiment, for example, Fig.14 As shown in FIG. 1 , in step 1120, the entity 530 may transmit a configuration 1420 including a periodic reporting interval to the target device 1410. Then, the target device 1410 may periodically trigger the delayed positioning service 1120, for example, according to the periodic reporting interval in the configuration 1420. For example, the target device 1410 may trigger a delayed C-MT-LR process to obtain the geographic location 1240 of the device 1410.

[0131] In another embodiment, the configuration 1420 may also include information about a ROI associated with a geographic area. Therefore, when the target device 1410 is located in the ROI, the target device 1411 may periodically trigger the delayed positioning service 1120 .

[0132] By providing a configuration including at least one of a periodic reporting interval and information about a ROI associated with a geographic area, signaling for positioning services may be reduced.

[0133] Fig.15 An example sequence in the context of an NR system when applying the above-mentioned example methods 400 and 1100 is shown, wherein the external USS / UTM and USS / UTM in the HPLMN can be examples of the above-mentioned entity 520, the NEF can be an example of the above-mentioned entity 510, the H-GMLC can be an example of the above-mentioned entity 530, the AMF can be an example of the above-mentioned subject 810, the LMF can be an example of an entity that cooperates with the entity 810 to perform positioning services with a location granularity finer than the cell-level granularity, the UE such as a UAV can be an example of the target device 1410, the GMLC positioning service can be an example of a positioning service with a location granularity finer than the cell-level granularity in the above-mentioned examples, and the AMF positioning service can be an example of a positioning service with a location granularity coarser than or equal to the cell-level granularity in the above-mentioned examples.

[0134] It is worth noting that the example methods 400 and 1100 are not limited to the above examples.

[0135] Fig.16 An example apparatus 1600 is shown for reporting behavior of a target device associated with a geographic area, which may be implemented in or at least as a part of an entity such as a NEF or a SCEF, for example.

[0136] like Fig.16 As shown in FIG. 1 , the example device 1600 may include at least one processor 1610 and at least one memory 1620 that may include computer program code 1630. The at least one memory 1620 and the computer program code 630 may be configured to, using the at least one processor 1610, cause the device 1600 to at least perform the above-described example method 400.

[0137] In various example embodiments, at least one processor 1610 in the example device 1600 may include, but is not limited to, at least one hardware processor, including at least one microprocessor such as a central processing unit (CPU), a portion of at least one hardware processor, and any other suitable dedicated processor such as one developed based on a field programmable gate array (FPGA) and an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). In addition, the at least one processor 1610 may also include Fig.16 At least one other circuit or element not shown.

[0138] In various example embodiments, at least one memory 1620 in the example device 1600 may include various forms of at least one storage medium, such as volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. Volatile memory may include, but is not limited to, for example, random access memory (RAM), cache, etc. Non-volatile memory may include, but is not limited to, for example, read-only memory (ROM), hard disk, flash memory, etc. In addition, at least memory 1620 may include, but is not limited to, electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, devices or apparatuses, or any combination of the foregoing.

[0139] Furthermore, in various example embodiments, the example device 1600 may further include at least one other circuit, element, and interface, such as at least one I / O interface, at least one antenna element, and the like.

[0140] In various example embodiments, the circuits, components, elements, and interfaces in the exemplary device 1600 including at least one processor 1610 and at least one memory 1620 may be coupled in any suitable manner, such as electrically, magnetically, optically, electromagnetically, etc., via any suitable connection, including but not limited to buses, crossbars, wiring, and / or wireless lines.

[0141] It should be noted that the structure of a device on the entity side such as NEF or SCEF is not limited to the above-described example device 1600 .

[0142] Fig.17 Another example apparatus 1700 is shown for reporting behavior of a target device associated with a geographic area, which may be implemented in or at least as a part of an entity such as a NEF or a SCEF, for example.

[0143] like Fig.17 As shown in , the example device 1700 may include means 1710 for performing step 410 of the example method 400, means 1720 for performing step 420 of the example method 400, means 1730 for performing step 430 of the example method 400, means 1740 for performing step 440 of the example method 400, and means 1750 for performing step 450 of the example method 400. In one or more other example embodiments, the example device 1700 may also include at least one I / O interface, at least one antenna element, etc. For example, in another embodiment, the example device 1700 may also include means for transmitting a request to an entity to perform a positioning service in response to determining that the granularity of the geographic area is finer than the cell-level granularity, wherein the location granularity of the positioning service is coarser than or equal to the cell-level granularity, and / or means for transmitting a request to an entity to perform a positioning service in the case where the granularity of the geographic area is coarser than or equal to the cell-level granularity, wherein the location granularity of the positioning service is coarser than or equal to the cell-level granularity.

[0144] In some example embodiments, the examples of means in example device 1700 may include circuitry. For example, the examples of means 1710 may include circuitry configured to perform step 410 of example method 400, and the examples of means 1720 may include circuitry configured to perform step 420 of example method 400, etc. In some example embodiments, the examples of means may also include software modules and any other suitable functional entities.

[0145] The term "circuitry" in this application may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware circuit implementations only (such as implementations in analog and / or digital circuits only); (b) combinations of hardware circuitry and software, such as (as applicable) (i) combinations of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry and software / firmware, and (ii) hardware processors and software (including digital signal processors), software, and any portion of memory, which work together to enable a device such as a mobile phone or server to perform various functions); and (c) hardware circuitry and / or processors, such as microprocessors or portions of microprocessors, whose operation requires software (e.g., firmware), but where software is not required for operation, the software may not be present. The definition of circuitry applies to one or all uses of the term in this application, including in any claim. As a further example, as used in the present invention, the term circuitry also encompasses implementations of hardware circuitry or a processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuitry or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. For example and if applicable to the elements of the claims, the term circuitry also encompasses baseband integrated circuits or processor integrated circuits for mobile devices or similar integrated circuits in servers, cellular network devices, or other computing or network devices.

[0146] Fig.18 An example apparatus 1800 is shown, which may cooperate with the above-described example apparatus 1600 and / or example apparatus 1700. For example, the example apparatus 1800 may be implemented in or at least as a part of an entity such as a GMLC, H-GMLC, or the like.

[0147] like Fig.18 As shown in FIG. 1 , the example apparatus 1800 may include at least one processor 1810 and at least one memory 1820 that may include computer program code 1830. The at least one memory 1820 and the computer program code 1830 may be configured to, using the at least one processor 1810, cause the apparatus 1800 to at least perform the example method 1100 described above.

[0148] In various example embodiments, at least one processor 1810 in the example device 1800 may include, but is not limited to: at least one hardware processor, including at least one microprocessor, such as a CPU; a portion of at least one hard processor; and any other suitable dedicated processor, such as those developed based on, for example, FPGAs and ASICs. In addition, at least one processor 1810 may also include Fig.18 At least one other circuit or element not shown.

[0149] In various example embodiments, at least one memory 1820 in the example apparatus 1800 may include at least one storage medium in various forms, such as volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. Volatile memory may include, but is not limited to, for example, RAM, cache, etc. Non-volatile memory may include, but is not limited to, for example, ROM, hard disk, flash memory, etc. In addition, at least the memory 1820 may include, but is not limited to, electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor systems, devices, or apparatuses or any combination of the above.

[0150] Furthermore, in various example embodiments, the example apparatus 1800 may further include at least one other circuit, element, and interface, such as at least one I / O interface, at least one antenna element, and the like.

[0151] In various example embodiments, the circuits, components, elements, and interfaces in the example device 1800 including at least one processor 1810 and at least one memory 1820 may be coupled together via any suitable connection in any suitable manner, such as electrically, magnetically, optically, electromagnetically, etc., including but not limited to buses, cross-connections, wiring, and / or wireless lines.

[0152] Fig.19 Another example device 1900 is shown that can cooperate with the above-described example device 1600 and / or example device 1700. For example, example device 1900 can be implemented in or at least as a part of an entity such as a GMLC, H-GMLC, or the like.

[0153] like Fig.19 As shown in the example device 1900, the example device 1900 may include means 1910 for performing step 1110 of the example method 1100, means 1920 for performing step 1120 of the example method 1100, means 1930 for performing step 1130 of the example method 1100, and means 1940 for performing step 1140 of the example method 1100. In one or more other example embodiments, the example device 1900 may further include at least one I / O interface, at least one antenna element, and the like.

[0154] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory comprising computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to cause the performance of the device 1900 using the at least one processor.

[0155] In some example embodiments, the examples of means in the example device 1900 may include circuitry. For example, the examples of means 1910 may include circuitry configured to perform step 1110 of the example method 1100, the examples of means 1920 may include circuitry configured to perform step 1120 of the example method 1100, and so on. In some example embodiments, the examples of means may also include software modules and any other suitable functional entities.

[0156] It is worth noting that the present application is not limited to the above-described exemplary embodiments.

[0157] Another example embodiment may be related to a computer readable medium having such computer program code or instructions stored thereon. In various example embodiments, such a computer readable medium may include at least one different form of storage medium, such as volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. Volatile memory may include, but is not limited to, for example, RAM, cache, etc. Non-volatile memory may include, but is not limited to, ROM, hard disk, flash memory, etc. Non-volatile memory may also include, but is not limited to, electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor systems, devices, or any device or combination of the above.

[0158] Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the specification and claims, the words "comprise", "including", etc. should be understood in an inclusive sense, rather than in an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is, in the sense of "including but not limited to". As generally used herein, the word "coupled" refers to two or more elements that can be directly connected or connected through one or more intermediate elements. Similarly, as generally used herein, the word "connected" refers to two or more elements that can be directly connected and can also be connected through one or more intermediate elements. In addition, when used in this application, the words "herein", "above", "below" and words of similar meanings should refer to the entire application, rather than to any particular part of the application. If the context permits, words used in the singular or plural in the description may also include the plural or singular, respectively. The word "or" refers to a list of two or more items, and the word covers all the following interpretations of the word: any item in the list, all items in the list, and any combination of items in the list.

[0159] Furthermore, unless expressly stated otherwise or understood otherwise in the context in which it is used, conditional language used herein, such as "may," "could," or "might," "likely," "for example," "for example," "such as," and the like, is generally intended to convey that some embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements, and / or states. Thus, such conditional language is generally not intended to imply that features, elements, and / or states are in any way required by one or more embodiments, or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without author input or prompting, whether such features, elements, or states are included or will be performed in any particular embodiment.

[0160] As used herein, the term "communication system" refers to a system that complies with any suitable communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-a), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. In addition, the communication between the terminal device and the network device in the communication system can be performed according to any suitable generation of communication protocols, including but not limited to the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, future fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, and / or any other protocol currently known or to be developed in the future. The various embodiments of the present invention can be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communication, there will certainly be future types of communication technologies and systems that can be used to embody the present application. The scope of the present application should not be limited to the above-mentioned systems.

[0161] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. A network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a NodeB (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a NR NB (also referred to as a gNB) and a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head, a relay, an integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or a non-terrestrial network device such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geosynchronous orbit (GEO) satellite, an aircraft network device, etc., depending on the terminology and technology of the application.

[0162] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), user station (SS), portable user station, mobile station (MS) or access terminal (AT). Terminal devices may include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smart phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablet computers, wearable terminal devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, game terminal devices, music storage and playback devices, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop vehicle-mounted devices (LMEs), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPEs), Internet of Things (loT) devices, watches or other wearable devices, head-mounted displays (HMDs), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in the context of industrial and / or automated processing chains), consumer electronic devices, devices operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" are used interchangeably.

[0163] Although some embodiments have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application. In fact, the devices, methods, and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; in addition, various omissions, substitutions, and changes may be made in the form of the methods and systems described herein without departing from the spirit of the present application. For example, although the boxes are presented in a given arrangement, alternative embodiments may perform similar functions using different components and / or circuit topologies, and may delete, move, add, subdivide, combine, and / or modify some boxes. At least one of these boxes may be implemented in a variety of different ways. The order of these boxes may also be changed. Any appropriate combination of the elements and actions of some of the above-described embodiments may be combined to provide further embodiments. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover forms or modifications that will fall within the scope and spirit of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for communication, comprising: receiving a first request to report behavior of a target device associated with a geographic area; determining, based on at least one of the geographic area and a region of interest (ROI) associated with the geographic area, whether the granularity of the geographic area is finer than a cell-level granularity; In a case where the granularity of the geographic area is finer than the cell-level granularity, transmitting a second request to the first entity to perform a location service having a location granularity finer than the cell-level granularity; receiving a notification from the first entity regarding behavior of a target device associated with the geographic area; and Behavior of target devices associated with the geographic area is reported based on the notification.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein: The first request includes at least one of an identifier of the target device, information about the geographic area, a periodic reporting interval, and a behavior to be monitored for the target device associated with the geographic area.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area includes at least one of moving into the geographic area, moving out of the geographic area, and staying in the geographic area.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The ROI is represented by at least one of one or more cell identifiers, one or more base station identifiers, and one or more tracking area identifiers.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The granularity of the geographic area is determined to be finer than the cell-level granularity in case a mapping ratio of at least a portion of the geographic area to at least a portion of the ROI associated with the portion of the geographic area is below a predetermined threshold.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: The second request includes at least one of an identifier of the target device, information about the geographic area, a periodic reporting interval, and a behavior to be monitored for the target device associated with the geographic area.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising: In response to determining that the granularity of the geographic area is finer than the cell-level granularity, a third request is transmitted to the second entity to perform location services with a location granularity coarser than or equal to the cell-level granularity.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein: In response to information from a second entity indicating that the target device is present in the ROI, a second request is transmitted.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein: The third request includes at least one of an identifier of the target device, a periodic reporting interval, a behavior to be monitored for the target device associated with the geographic area, and information about the ROI.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising: In case the granularity of the geographical area is coarser than or equal to the cell-level granularity, a fourth request is transmitted to the third entity to perform a positioning service with a location granularity coarser than or equal to the cell-level granularity.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein: The fourth request includes at least one of an identifier of the target device, a periodic reporting interval, a behavior to be monitored for the target device associated with the geographic area, and information about the ROI.

12. A method for communication, comprising: receiving a first request to report behavior of a target device associated with a geographic area at finer than cell-level granularity, wherein the geographic area is determined to be finer than cell-level granularity based on at least one of the geographic area and a region of interest (ROI) associated with the geographic area; In response to the first request, executing a service to obtain a geographic location of the target device; Based on the geographic location of the target device and the geographic region, determining a behavior of the target device associated with the geographic region; and Behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area is reported.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein: The first request includes at least one of an identifier of the target device, information about the geographic area, a periodic reporting interval, and a behavior to be monitored for the target device associated with the geographic area.

14. The method of claim 12 or 13, wherein the service comprises: At least one of a periodic reporting interval and information about a region of interest (ROI) is transmitted to the target device.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein: The ROI is represented by at least one of one or more cell identifiers, one or more base station identifiers, and one or more tracking area identifiers.

16. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein: The performing of the service comprises: At least one second request is periodically transmitted to the entity to perform positioning.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein: The second request includes an identifier of the target device.

18. The method of any one of claims 12 to 17, further comprising: A notification of a service related to the geographic location of the target device is received.

19. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 18, wherein: The behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area includes at least one of moving into the geographic area, moving out of the geographic area, and staying in the geographic area.

20. An apparatus for communication, comprising: at least one processor; as well as At least one memory comprising computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 11.

21. An apparatus for communication, comprising: at least one processor; as well as At least one memory comprising computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, with at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform a method as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 19.

22. A computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 11.

23. A computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 12 to 19.

24. A device for communication, comprising: means for receiving a first request to report behavior of a target device associated with a geographic area; means for determining whether the granularity of the geographic area is finer than a cell-level granularity based on at least one of the geographic area and a region of interest (ROI) associated with the geographic area; means for transmitting, if the granularity of the geographic area is finer than the cell-level granularity, to the first entity a second request to perform a location service having a location granularity finer than the litigation cell-level granularity; means for receiving a notification from a first entity regarding behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area; as well as Means for reporting behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area based on the notification.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, further comprising: A device for transmitting a third request to a second entity to perform positioning services with a location granularity coarser than or equal to the cell-level granularity in response to determining that the granularity of the geographic area is finer than the cell-level granularity, the second request being transmitted in response to information from the second entity indicating that the target device exists in the ROI.

26. The apparatus of claim 24 or 25, further comprising: Means for transmitting, if the granularity of the geographic area is coarser than or equal to the cell-level granularity, to a third entity a fourth request to perform a positioning service with a location granularity coarser than or equal to the cell-level granularity.

27. A device for communication, comprising: means for receiving a first request to report behavior of a target device associated with a geographic area of ​​finer granularity than a cell level, wherein the geographic area is determined to be finer than a cell level granularity based on at least one of the geographic area and a region of interest (ROI) associated with the geographic area; means for performing a service in response to a first request to obtain a geographic location of the target device; means for determining a behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area based on the geographic location of the target device and a region of interest (ROI) associated with the geographic area; and Means for reporting behavior of the target device associated with the geographic area.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising: Means for receiving notification of a service related to the geographic location of the target device.

Images