Face element segmentation and node grouping for smart reflective devices

Abstract

This invention generally relates to a wireless communication system comprising one or more intelligent reflective devices. Multiple second nodes communicating with a first node can be grouped into node groups based on one or more communication parameters between the second nodes and the intelligent reflective devices. Furthermore, the first node can transmit signals to the multiple second nodes via the intelligent reflective devices according to a timing table based on node grouping. Additionally or alternatively, the intelligent reflective device may include facets divided into multiple facet regions. The first node can communicate independently with each facet region to serve the multiple second nodes.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present document generally relates to intelligent reflecting devices in wireless communications. BACKGROUND

[0002] Some of the biggest challenges in wireless communications with large increases in network capacity density include increases in complexity, hardware cost, and energy consumption. For example, increasing numbers of base stations in ultra-dense network environments can increase hardware and maintenance costs, and / or can encounter serious network interference problems. Additionally, spectrum expansion from sub-6G to millimeter wave (mmWave) and even terahertz wave requires more complex signal processing and higher cost energy-consuming hardware. Another or related challenge in wireless communications is the ability to simultaneously serve a large number of user devices, such as the expansion of massive machine type communications (mMTC), especially for 5G, 6G, and beyond. Future wireless communication environments can desire methods to overcome these challenges. SUMMARY

[0003] The present document relates to methods, systems, apparatus, and devices for using intelligent reflecting devices in wireless communications. In some embodiments, a method is disclosed. The method can include: assigning, by a node group, each of a plurality of second nodes to one of a plurality of node groups based on one or more communication parameters between the plurality of second nodes and the intelligent reflecting device; determining, by the first node, a plurality of signals to be transmitted to the plurality of second nodes, and a timing schedule according to which the plurality of second signals are to be transmitted, wherein the timing schedule: identifies a plurality of time slots, indicates that signals for reception by second nodes of a same node group are to be transmitted within a same time slot, and indicates that signals for reception by second nodes of different node groups are to be transmitted within different time slots; and transmitting, by the first node, the plurality of signals to the intelligent reflecting device according to the timing schedule.

[0004] In some other embodiments, a method is disclosed. The method can include: determining, by a region-determining node, a plurality of surface element regions of a plurality of surface elements of an intelligent reflecting device; independently setting, by at least one of the first node or the intelligent reflecting device, a communication parameter for a respective communication between the first node and each of the plurality of surface element regions; and transmitting, by the first node, a signal to a plurality of second nodes via the plurality of surface element regions according to the independent setting of the communication parameters.

[0005] In some other embodiments, a system is disclosed that includes one or more network devices. The one or more network devices can include one or more processors and one or more memories, where the one or more processors are configured to read computer code from the one or more memories to implement any of the above-described methods.

[0006] In yet some other embodiments, a computer program product is disclosed. The computer program product can include a non-transitory computer-readable program medium having computer code stored thereon, the computer code, when executed by one or more processors, causing the one or more processors to implement any of the above-described methods.

[0007] The above and other aspects and implementations are more fully described in the following detailed description in connection with the following drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0008] Figure 1 A block diagram of an example wireless communication system is shown.

[0009] Figure 2A A block diagram of an example intelligent reflecting device is shown.

[0010] Figure 2B A diagram showing a surface of an intelligent reflecting device reflecting an incident signal is shown.

[0011] Figure 2C A diagram showing a surface reflecting with multiple angles of reflection is shown.

[0012] Figure 3 A flow diagram of an example wireless communication method including node grouping is shown.

[0013] Figure 4 A timing diagram relating to a transmission scheme for intelligent reflecting devices, where downlink transmissions are performed on a node-group-by-node-group basis is shown.

[0014] Figure 5 A flow diagram of an example wireless communication method including bin area determination is shown.

[0015] Figure 6A A diagram showing a bin group distributed across a surface of an intelligent reflecting device is shown.

[0016] Figure 6B A diagram showing Figure 6A where a bin group is separated based on node grouping is shown.

[0017] Figure 6C A diagram showing Figure 6B where a bin group is included in a bin area is shown.

[0018] Figure 7A diagram showing wireless access nodes and user equipment involved in uplink communication via a smart reflective device is shown.

[0019] Figure 8A A diagram showing wireless access nodes and user equipment involved in downlink communication via a smart reflective device in near field conditions is shown.

[0020] Figure 8B A diagram showing wireless access nodes and user equipment involved in downlink communication via a smart reflective device in far field conditions is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] This specification describes various embodiments of systems, apparatuses, devices, and methods for wireless communication involving one or more smart reflective devices. In these embodiments, a first node can communicate with one or more second nodes via one or more smart reflective devices. For example, the first node can transmit a signal to the one or more smart reflective devices, and the one or more smart reflective devices reflect the signal toward the second nodes.

[0022] In various embodiments, the second nodes can be grouped into node groups based on one or more communication parameters between the second nodes and the smart reflective devices. The first node can transmit signals within a same time slot to the second nodes in a same node group via the smart reflective devices, and can transmit signals within a different time slot to the second nodes in a different node group via the smart reflective devices.

[0023] Further, in various embodiments, a cell area of a cell of the smart reflective device can be determined, and the first node can transmit signals to the second nodes via the smart reflective device according to the cell area. For example, the first node and / or the smart reflective device can independently set communication parameters for respective communications between the first node and the cell area.

[0024] Further, in various embodiments, the first node can communicate with the second nodes via multiple smart reflective devices. In such embodiments, for each second node, a target smart reflective device via which the first node is to communicate with the particular second node can be determined or selected. Then, for a subset of the second nodes associated with the same target smart reflective device, node grouping and / or cell area determination can be performed.

[0025] Further, in various embodiments, the first node can communicate with multiple second nodes via multiple smart reflecting devices or a chain of smart reflecting devices. For example, the first node can transmit a signal to a first smart reflecting device in the chain, the first smart reflecting device reflects the signal to a second smart reflecting device in the chain, and so on until the last smart reflecting device reflects the signal to a given second node. For such embodiments, channel state information can be obtained through channel estimation, beam training or sweeping, or a combination thereof, depending on whether and / or which smart reflecting devices in the chain are equipped with sensing capabilities. Additionally or alternatively, a relatively low complexity scheme can be implemented in which node grouping and / or face region determination is performed only for and / or based on the last smart reflecting device in the chain.

[0026] Various embodiments described herein provide improved and more efficient ways, including improved and more efficient allocation of resources (including time and spatial domain resources) for a first node to communicate with multiple second nodes in a wireless communication system via one or more smart reflecting devices, and / or can allow the first node to efficiently communicate with a large number of second nodes via one or more smart reflecting devices. Such improved and enhanced efficiency can be achieved through face grouping and / or region determination, node grouping, channel state information acquisition, exploitation of angular domain information, exploitation of channel reciprocity, exploitation of location information, exploitation of service (e.g., QoS) requirements, or any various combination thereof, as described in further detail below. Additionally, separating faces of a smart reflecting device into regions can improve spatial degrees of freedom. Further, for communication via multiple smart reflecting devices in parallel or in cascade (in series), a tradeoff between complexity and efficiency can be determined. Details of various embodiments are described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, which details are advantages, benefits, and improvements that can result from implementing various embodiments.

[0027] Figure 1 A diagram illustrating an example wireless communication system 100 is shown, which includes multiple communication nodes (or just nodes) configured to communicate wirelessly with each other. Generally, the communication nodes include at least one user equipment 102 and at least one radio access node 104. Figure 1The example wireless communication system 100 shown in FIG. 1 is shown to include two user devices 102 and two wireless access nodes 104. However, various other examples of the wireless communication system 100 include any of various combinations of user devices 102 and wireless access nodes 104, including: only one user device 102 and only one wireless access node 104, only one user device 102 and two or more wireless access nodes 104, two or more user devices 102 without any wireless access nodes 104, two or more user devices 102 and one or more wireless access nodes 104, or two or more wireless access nodes 104 without any user devices 102.

[0028] A user device 102 can include a single electronic device or apparatus or multiple (e.g., of a network) electronic devices or apparatuses capable of wireless communication over a network. A user device can include or otherwise be referred to as a user terminal or user equipment (UE). Additionally, a user device can be or include, without limitation, a mobile device such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, a tablet, or a laptop computer, as non-limiting examples, or a fixed or stationary device such as a desktop computer or other computing device that does not move for a significant period of time, such as an appliance, other relatively heavy device including Internet of Things (IoT), or computing device used in a commercial or industrial setting, as non-limiting examples. In various embodiments, a user device 102 can include a transceiver circuit 106 coupled to an antenna 108 to enable wireless communication with a wireless access node 104. The transceiver circuit 106 can also be coupled to a processor 110, which can also be coupled to a memory 112 or other storage device. The memory 112 can store instructions or code therein that, when read and executed by the processor 110, cause the processor 110 to implement one of the various methods described herein.

[0029] Similarly, the wireless access node 104 can also include a single electronic device or apparatus or multiple (e.g., of a network) electronic devices or apparatuses and can include one or more base stations or other wireless network access points capable of wirelessly communicating with one or more user devices and / or one or more other wireless access nodes 104 over a network. For example, in various embodiments, the wireless access node 104 can include a 4G LTE base station, a 5G NR base station, a 5G central unit base station, a 5G distributed unit base station, a next generation Node B (gNB), an enhanced Node B (eNB), or other similar or next generation (e.g., 6G) base station. The wireless access node 104 can include transceiver circuitry 114 coupled to an antenna 116, which can include various ways of antenna towers 118 to enable wireless communication with the user device 102 or another wireless access node 104. The transceiver circuitry 114 can also be coupled to one or more processors 120, which can also be coupled to a memory 122 or other storage device. The memory 122 can store therein instructions or code that, when read and executed by the processor 120, cause the processor 120 to implement one or more of the methods described herein.

[0030] In various embodiments, two communication nodes in the wireless system 100, such as one user device 102 and one wireless access node 104, two user devices 102 without a wireless access node 104, or two wireless access nodes 104 without a user device 102, can be configured to wirelessly communicate with each other in and / or through a mobile network and / or wireless access network according to one or more standards and / or specifications. Generally, the standard and / or specification can define the rules or procedures by which the communication nodes are capable of wirelessly communicating, which in various embodiments can include those for communicating in the millimeter (mm) wave band and / or utilizing multiple antenna schemes and beamforming functionality. Additionally or alternatively, the standard and / or specification is one that defines a radio access technology and / or cellular technology, such as, by way of non-limiting examples, fourth generation (4G) long term evolution (LTE), fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR), or new radio unlicensed (NR-U).

[0031] In the wireless system 100, the communication nodes are configured to communicate signals wirelessly between each other. Generally, a communication in the wireless system 100 between two communication nodes can be or include a transmission or a reception, and generally both simultaneously, depending on the perspective of the particular node in that communication. For example, for a given communication between a first node and a second node, where the first node is transmitting signals to the second node and the second node is receiving signals from the first node, the first node can be referred to as a transmitting node or a transmitting device, the second node can be referred to as a receiving node or a receiving device, and the communication can be considered a transmission for the first node and a reception for the second node. Of course, because the communication nodes in the wireless system 100 can transmit and receive signals, a single communication node can be both a transmitting node and a receiving node simultaneously, or switch between being a transmitting node and a receiving node.

[0032] Additionally, a particular signal can be characterized or defined as an uplink (UL) signal, a downlink (DL) signal, or a sidelink (SL) signal. An uplink signal is a signal transmitted from a user equipment 102 to a wireless access node 104. A downlink signal is a signal transmitted from a wireless access node 104 to a mobile station 102. A sidelink signal is a signal transmitted from a first user equipment 102 to a second user equipment 102, or from a first wireless access node 104 to a second wireless access node 104.

[0033] Furthermore, the wireless communication system 100 can also include or be in communication with a network of one or more intelligent reflecting devices 124. As used herein, an intelligent reflecting device is a device whose surface can reflect signals and has one or more variable reflection angles. The intelligent reflecting device and / or the surface of the intelligent reflecting device can also or otherwise be referred to as an intelligent reflecting surface (IRS), a large intelligent surface (LIS), a large intelligent metasurface (LIM), a smart reflecting array, a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), a software-defined surface (SDS), a software-defined metasurface (SDM), a passive intelligent surface (PIS), or a passive intelligent mirror.

[0034] Generally, the surface of the intelligent reflecting device receives an incident signal and reflects the incident signal. The signal output by the surface in response to or as a result of the reflection is referred to as a reflected signal. In other words, the reflected signal is a reflected version of the incident signal reflected by the surface.

[0035] In addition, the surface of the smart reflective device can be configured to reflect the signal at one or more variable reflection angles. A reflection angle is an angle at which a surface outputs a reflected signal. The reflection angle can be determined or measured with respect to the surface of the smart reflective device or a normal to the surface. In addition, the reflection angle of a variable reflection angle has an amount or value that can change over time. Thus, at any time, the smart reflective device can change the size of the reflection angle or keep it the same.

[0036] In addition, in various embodiments, the smart reflective device can simultaneously reflect multiple signals, each at a respective one of the multiple variable reflection angles. As described in further detail below, in various embodiments, the surface of the smart reflective device can be partitioned or divided into multiple portions or regions. Each region can be configured to reflect an incident signal at an associated variable reflection angle. At any given time, different regions can reflect incident signals at associated variable reflection angles that are the same as or different from one another. The smart reflective device can be configured to independently control or set the variable reflection angles of different regions at different times.

[0037] In addition, for at least some embodiments, the surface of the smart reflective device can be configured to reflect an incident signal with a variable reflection amplitude. Generally, a reflection amplitude is or indicates an amount of power of an incident signal that a surface reflects. The reflection amplitude can be a value in units of power, such as watts, or can be expressed as a percentage or fraction of the power of the incident signal. The reflection amplitude can be inversely proportional to the size of the amount of signal energy that the surface absorbs when receiving and reflecting the signal. In addition, the reflection amplitude of a variable reflection amplitude has an amount or value that can change over time. Thus, at any time, the smart reflective device can change the size of the reflection amplitude or keep it the same.

[0038] In addition, in various embodiments, the smart reflective device can simultaneously reflect multiple signals, each with a respective one of the multiple reflection amplitudes. In particular, each region of multiple regions of the surface of the smart reflective device can reflect an incident signal at an associated variable reflection amplitude. At any given time, different regions can reflect incident signals at associated variable reflection amplitudes that are the same as or different from one another. The smart reflective device can be configured to independently control or set the variable reflection amplitudes of different regions at different times.

[0039] In more detail, Figure 2A A block diagram showing an example configuration of a smart reflective device 200, which is representative of an example configuration of the smart reflective device 124 in Figure 1 The smart reflective device 200 includes a surface 202 and a controller 204. The surface 202 includes multiple surface elements (SEs) (also referred to as surface units (SUs)) 206. For simplicity, Figure 2ATwelve facets 206 are shown. However, in any of the various embodiments, any number of facets 206 is possible, including hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, or even higher. Typically, the facets 206 of the surface 202 of the smart reflective device 200 are the smallest units or portions of a surface with associated variable reflection angles. Therefore, the smart reflective device 200 can be configured such that any two facets 206 can have their own variable reflection angles that are set or controlled independently of each other.

[0040] Additionally, each element 206 may have an associated variable phase shift for reflecting the incident signal. The amount of phase shift can then determine the magnitude of the reflection angle. Therefore, the smart reflection device 200 can set the associated phase shift of a given element 206 to a specific amount to achieve a specific amount of reflection angle associated with the given element 206. Furthermore, the smart reflection device 200 can change this phase shift from one amount to another to achieve a corresponding change in the reflection angle.

[0041] Furthermore, the face elements 206 of face element 202 can be divided, separated, or grouped together to form one or more face element regions (SER) 208. Typically, a face element region is a group or set of one or more face elements 206. For illustrative purposes, Figure 2A Four surface regions 208 are shown, although in any of the various embodiments, surface 202 may divide its surface elements 206 into any number of one or more surface regions 208. Additionally, for at least some embodiments, a surface element 208 may be located in only one surface region 208 at any given point in time.

[0042] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the surface region 208 is fixed, meaning that one or more surfaces forming the surface region 208 are constant or immutable. In other embodiments, the surface region 208 is variable or configurable. In other words, the combination of one or more surfaces 206 can change at different points in time. Consequently, the number, shape, and / or size of the surface regions 208 of the surface 202 can change at different points in time. For example, Figure 2A Four facet regions 208 are shown, including two facet regions 208 each having two facets 206 and two facet regions 208 each having four facets 206. At another point in time, as a non-limiting example, the smart reflective device 200 may divide the twelve facets 206 into two facet regions 208, each having six facets 206, or may divide the twelve facets 206 into two facet regions 208 but with unequal numbers of facets, or may combine all twelve facets 206 into one facet region 208. Furthermore, in various embodiments and / or at any different time, a given facet 206 may not be part of any facet region 208.

[0043] Additionally, facets 206 can be assigned to a given facet region 208 to configure the given facet region 208 with a specific shape, size, and / or to give the facet region 208 a specific position or to cover a certain area of ​​the surface 202. Any different shape that can be formed by one or more facets 206 of the surface 202 is possible, such as rectangular or polygonal, star-shaped, elliptical, amorphous, or any other type of shape. Furthermore, the size of a given facet region 208 can depend on or be equal to the number of facets 206 in the given facet region 208. Therefore, at any different time in which the facet region 206 is divided into multiple facet regions 208, any two facet regions 208 can have the same or different sizes and / or shapes from each other. Additionally, in various embodiments, a given facet region 208 can be continuous or non-contiguous (e.g., a given surface region 208 comprises two or more portions that are not connected to each other). In different embodiments and / or at any different time, the surface element regions 208 can be all continuous, all discontinuous, or a combination of continuous and discontinuous.

[0044] Typically, each surface region 208 may have an associated variable reflection angle, and the intelligent reflection device 200 may be configured to independently set, control, and / or change the variable reflection angle for each surface region 208. Therefore, the intelligent reflection device 200 can independently determine the reflection angle for different surface regions and sequentially set the phase shift of different surface elements 206 of different surface regions 208 so that different surface regions 208 are configured to reflect (including simultaneously reflect) their respective incident signals at their respective reflection angles.

[0045] As an example, Figure 2B A surface 202 is shown, whose elements are configured as a single element region 208, which reflects the incident signal s. i (t) at the reflection angle θ r Output reflected signal s r (t). The intelligent reflection device 200 can determine the reflection angle Θ. r The size of the area is determined, and the phase shift of the surface element 206, which is part of the individual surface element region 208, is set so that the individual surface element region 208 utilizes a reflection angle Θ of a certain amount. r Output reflected signal s r (t).

[0046] As another example, Figure 2C A surface 202 is shown whose surface elements are configured as two surface regions 208(1) and 208(2). The intelligent reflection device 200 can independently determine a first reflection angle Θ for the first surface region 208(1). r1The size and the second reflection angle Θ for the second surface region 208(2) r2 The size of the reflection device 200. Furthermore, the intelligent reflection device 200 can set a phase shift for the surface element 206 in the first and second surface element regions 208(1), 208(2), such that the first surface element region 208(1) reflects the first incident signal s. i1 (t) and with the first reflection angle Θ r1 Output the first reflected signal s r1 (t), and the second surface element region 208(2) reflects the second incident signal s. i2 (t) and with the second reflection angle Θ r2 Output the second reflected signal s r2 (t).

[0047] Return to reference Figure 2A Typically, controller 204 is configured to control surface 202 and surface element 206. As part of the controller's control functionality, controller 204 can be configured to perform any of a variety of functions and / or make any of a variety of determinations so that surface element 204 reflects at a certain reflection angle. As an example, controller 204 can determine surface element region 208, and determine which surface element region 208 each of surface elements 206 belongs to, and / or assign each surface element 206 to surface element region 208. Additionally or alternatively, controller 204 determines the reflection angle for each of surface element regions 208 and is configured to set the phase shift of surface element 206 such that surface element region 208 reflects according to the determined reflection angle. Furthermore, controller 204 can control surface 202 and / or surface element 206 to control the reflection amplitude based on which surface elements 206 reflect the incident signal. Additionally, in various embodiments, controller 204 may be configured to determine and / or set any of a variety of communication parameters associated with the received incident signal and / or the output reflected signal for communication between other nodes in the wireless communication system 100. As a non-limiting example, controller 204 may be configured to determine channel state information and / or received signal power associated with the incident signal received by smart reflector 200 and / or the reflected signal output by smart reflector 200. Additional functionalities associated with controller 204 will be described in further detail below.

[0048] Similar to Figure 1 In the communication node, controller 204 may include processor 208 and memory (or other storage device) 210. In various embodiments, memory 210 may store instructions or code therein that, when read and executed by processor 208, cause processor 208 to perform any of the various functions and / or methods described herein.

[0049] Additionally, for at least some example configurations, controller 204 includes transceiver circuitry 212 configured to communicate (including send and receive signals and / or information) with one or more other communication nodes in the wireless communication system 100. For some example embodiments, such as... Figure 2A As shown, the smart reflector 200 includes an antenna 214 coupled to a transceiver 212, through which the smart reflector 200 wirelessly communicates with other communication nodes. Alternatively or additionally, the smart reflector 200 can be configured via the transceiver 212 to communicate with one or more other communication nodes through one or more wired connections (such as wires or cables electrically connecting the smart reflector 200 to one or more other communication nodes). Therefore, in various embodiments, the smart reflector 200 can externally communicate with one or more communication nodes via wireless, wired connections, or a combination thereof.

[0050] Return to reference Figure 1 This specification describes a node grouping and area partitioning scheme or strategy for communication between a first node and multiple second nodes via a smart reflector 124. The node grouping and / or area partitioning scheme described below can allow a very large number of second nodes to receive signals from and / or be served by the first node with low time-frequency resource utilization, minimal time-frequency resource cost, high spectral efficiency, and / or high data transmission quality by using the smart reflector 124, making it an ideal solution for use when the smart reflector 124 is used for wireless communication between wireless access nodes.

[0051] For the first node and the plurality of second nodes, any different combination of one or more user equipment 102 and / or one or more radio access nodes 104 is possible. In a particular embodiment, the first node is radio access node 104, the plurality of second nodes are user equipment 102, and the communication between the first node and the plurality of second nodes is a downlink transmission, wherein radio access node 104 transmits downlink signals to the plurality of user equipment 102 via smart reflection device 124. However, in other embodiments, the first node may be user equipment 102, and the plurality of second nodes 104 may be radio access node 104, wherein user equipment 102 transmits uplink signals to radio access node 104 via smart reflection device 124. In other embodiments, the first node and the plurality of second nodes are both user equipment 102, or the first node and the plurality of second nodes are both radio access node 104, wherein the first user equipment 102 transmits sidelink signals to the plurality of second nodes via smart reflection device 124. In other embodiments, the first node is user equipment 102 or wireless access node 104, and the plurality of second nodes include a combination of one or more user equipment 102 and one or more wireless access nodes 104, such that communication between the first node and the plurality of second nodes includes a combination of one or more uplink transmissions and one or more sidelink transmissions, or a combination of one or more downlink transmissions and one or more sidelink transmissions.

[0052] Figure 3 An example method 300 for wireless communication including node groups is illustrated. Typically, when a first node intends to communicate with multiple second nodes, the first node can determine the multiple node groups to which each second node may belong and / or to which each second node may be assigned. A node group is a group or set of one or more second nodes to which the first node transmits signals within a single or common time slot or period. For a given set of second nodes in the same node group, the first node can determine which second nodes in the same node group to transmit signals to within the same time slot or period. Additionally, for a given set of nodes in different node groups, the first node can determine which nodes to transmit signals to within different time slots or periods.

[0053] Typically, a time slot is a time unit defined in the time domain for transmission. The parameters defining a time slot can be determined by the nodes in a wireless communication system according to the communication standards or specifications they use. In various embodiments, a time slot can be part of a subframe and can have a predetermined number of symbols, such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols. For example, in 5G NR, a subframe can be divided into time slots, where each time slot includes fourteen OFDM symbols. Various other ways of defining time slots are also possible.

[0054] After identifying multiple node groups, the first node can determine which node group each second node belongs to. Therefore, after identifying multiple node groups, the first node can determine which node group each second node belongs to. Furthermore, based on which node group each second node belongs to, the first node can determine in which time slot to transmit signals to each second node via the intelligent reflection device 124.

[0055] More specifically, at block 302, the node group allocation node can allocate each of the multiple second nodes to one of multiple node groups based on one or more communication parameters between the multiple second nodes and the smart reflective device. Typically, the node group allocation node can be any communication node responsible for allocating the second nodes to one or more node groups. The allocation node can be a first node to transmit signals to the second nodes, a second node to receive signals from the first node via the smart reflective device, the smart reflective device, another communication node that is otherwise not involved in communication between the first node and the multiple second nodes via the smart reflective device, or any combination thereof.

[0056] Additionally, as used herein, communication parameters are any information capable of characterizing or describing communication between two nodes. Non-limiting examples of communication parameters include: signal power (including received signal power and / or transmitted signal power); channel state information; node location information (including the location of one node relative to another node or the distance between one node and another); surface tuple information and associated overlap information (described in detail below); node type (e.g., the type of a second node); beams, including selected beams chosen from a plurality of beams (including transmit beams for transmitting signals and / or receive beams for receiving signals); or any other parameter among various parameters related to or capable of describing or characterizing communication between two nodes (including target parameters for communication between the two nodes based on their intention to communicate with each other, and / or actual or measured parameters determined from one or more communications between the two nodes). Non-limiting examples include: signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), data rate (or data transmission rate), capacity, signal gain, signal energy, or angle (or angle domain) information, or quality of service (QoS) parameters.

[0057] Furthermore, in at least some example embodiments, each second node may have an associated set of face elements 206. In the wireless system 100, one or more nodes designated as face element determining nodes may determine face elements for the second nodes. The face element determining node may be any of a variety of nodes in the wireless communication system, such as the smart reflective device 124, the first node, the second node, or a combination thereof.

[0058] In a particular embodiment, the face group determination node may determine the face group for the second node based on the received signal power of face 206 of the smart reflective device 124. In various embodiments, the received signal power of a given face 206 may be characterized or quantified in any of a variety of ways, including an absolute power value, a power ratio of the received signal power of the given face 206 to the received signal power of all face 206, a ratio of the received signal power of the given face 206 to the total signal power, or a comparison power ratio between the received signal power of the given face 206 and one or more received signal powers of one or more other face 206.

[0059] A face group determining node can determine a face group for a given second node by identifying a set of one or more face elements 206 of surface 202. The face group for a given second node may include those face elements 206 of surface 202 of the smart reflective device 124 whose received signal power is higher than a power threshold when communicating with the given second node. Therefore, to determine a face group for a given second node, if the face group determining node determines that the received signal power of a given face element 206 associated with the given second node is higher than a threshold power level, the face group determining node may determine that the given face element 206 is part of the face group for the given second node, or add face element 206 to the face group for the given second node. Alternatively, if the face group determining node determines that the received signal power of a given face element 206 associated with the given second node is not higher than a threshold power level, the face group determining node may determine not to add the given face element 206 to the face group for the given second node.

[0060] Furthermore, in various embodiments, the surface group determining node may use one or more other or additional criteria to determine the surface group for a given second node. One or more other or additional criteria may include a predetermined maximum number of surface cells and / or a predetermined minimum number of surface cells. For example, if the received signal power of a given surface cell 206 meets a power threshold, but the number of surface cells 206 added to the surface group for the given second node has reached the predetermined maximum number of surface cells, the surface group determining node may determine not to add the given surface cell 206 to the surface group so as not to exceed the predetermined maximum number. Additionally or alternatively, if the received signal power of a given surface cell 206 does not meet a power threshold, but the number of surface cells 206 added to the surface group for the given second node is less than the predetermined minimum number of surface cells, the surface group determining node may determine to add the given surface cell 206 to the surface cells so as to meet the predetermined minimum number.

[0061] In at least some embodiments, the array tuple determination node can determine the received signal power based on channel state information. In various embodiments, the smart reflector 124 (e.g., through the use of its controller 204) can possess sensing capabilities, allowing it to obtain channel state information using channel estimation algorithms such as least squares (LS) or minimum mean square error (MMSE) methods. The smart reflector 124 can determine channel state information for different second nodes by performing channel estimation within different time slots. Additionally, if the channel is sparse, the smart reflector 124 can use advanced signal processing techniques, such as compressed sensing, which is particularly advantageous in millimeter-wave (mmWave) and / or terahertz bands. In other embodiments, the smart reflector 124 may not possess sensing capabilities, and the array tuple determination node can use beam search and / or beam training techniques to perform channel estimation to determine channel state information. For example, for downlink transmission, the codebook for wireless access node 104 and smart reflector 124 can be fixed, and the beam training process can be repeated several times with different beam pairs to determine the desired or optimal beam pair, which in turn can provide channel state information that the facet group determining node can use to determine the facet group for a given second node.

[0062] In some embodiments, one or more communication parameters for assigning a second node to a node group include facet group information that identifies the facet group of the second node. In this embodiment, after the facet group determining node determines the facet group for the second node, the node group assignment model can assign the second node to the node group based on the facet group. Particularly in these embodiments, the node group assignment node can determine how to assign the second node to the node group based on at least one facet overlap criterion associated with the facet group.

[0063] Generally, two facet groups overlap if they have at least one facet 206 that is identical or common to each other. The facet 206 common to two or more facet groups can be referred to as a common facet or overlapping facet. Facet states indicate or characterize the overlap between or among two or more facet groups. A “no overlap” facet state for two or more facet groups indicates that the two or more facet groups do not have any common facets. A “partial overlap” facet state for two or more facet groups indicates that the two or more facet groups have at least one common, but not all, facets. In various embodiments, a partially overlap facet state may also include or be accompanied by an amount of overlap between facet groups, which may be the total number of common facets or a percentage of the total number of facets in one or two facet groups. A “full overlap” facet state for two or more facet groups indicates that the two or more facet groups have all the facets they have in common.

[0064] A cell overlap criterion can be an overlap threshold corresponding to a threshold number of common cells. In various embodiments, for two or more cell groups, the overlap threshold can be the absolute number of common cells or a percentage of the total number of common cells in the two or more cell groups. For two cell groups of two given second nodes, a node group assignment node can determine the amount of cell overlap for the two cell groups. If the cell overlap is less than or does not exceed the overlap threshold, the node group assignment node can assign the two given second nodes to the same node group. Furthermore, if the cell overlap exceeds the overlap threshold, the node group assignment node can assign the two given second nodes to different node groups.

[0065] In various embodiments, the overlap criterion corresponds to the target cell overlap state, which in turn may correspond to an overlap threshold. For example, for an embodiment where the target cell state is "no overlap," the overlap threshold may be zero or zero percent. As another example, for an embodiment where the target cell state is "partial overlap," the overlap threshold may be the number of cells greater than zero or the percentage of cells.

[0066] Another cell overlap criterion can be a cell group boundary criterion. Typically, the boundary cells of a given cell group are the cells that form the boundary (or edge or perimeter) of the given cell group. Therefore, a cell group boundary criterion could be: if only the common cells in the cell groups of two second nodes are boundary cells, then the two second nodes can be assigned to the same node group. On the other hand, if at least one of the common cells is not a boundary cell of at least one of the two cell groups, then the two second nodes can be assigned to different node groups. Another cell group boundary criterion could be the number of common cells that serve as boundary cells; in various embodiments, this number could be the absolute number of cells or a percentage of the total number of cells in the two cell groups. If the number of common cells that serve as boundary cells is less than or does not exceed a threshold, the node group assignment node can assign the two second nodes to the same node group. Conversely, if the number of common cells that serve as boundary cells exceeds the threshold, the node group assignment node can assign the two second nodes to different node groups.

[0067] Additionally or alternatively, the communication parameters of the node group assigned to the second node may include channel state information. In various embodiments, the channel state information may include angle information (or angle domain information) and / or gain information (including channel gain information and / or path gain information) associated with the channel between the smart reflective device 124 and the second node. In such embodiments, the node group assigning node may determine the node group based on at least one of the angle information or gain information. Particularly in such embodiments, the node group assigning node determines the node group based on the angle spread of the second node and / or the central angle of the second node. For at least some of these embodiments, the node group assigning node determines the node group based on at least one angular overlap criterion associated with the angle spread and / or the central angle.

[0068] More specifically, the angle information associated with a given second node may include or indicate one or more angles of incidence or angles of arrival. One or more angles may include or be characterized as angular spread or angular domain. For a given transmission of a signal, in the case where the receiving node (given second node or smart reflector 124, depending on which node is transmitting and which node is receiving) receives a single version of the transmitted signal via a single path, the angular spread includes a single angle of arrival for the single signal. Furthermore, in the case where the receiving node receives multiple versions of the transmitted signal via multiple paths (i.e., the transmission is multipath transmission), the receiving node may receive multiple versions of the signal at multiple angles of arrival, in which case the angular spread includes multiple angles. In addition to having associated angles of arrival, each version of the signal received via an associated path may have associated signal energy and / or the associated path may have associated path gain. Additionally, for a given second node, the angle information and / or angular spread includes a central (or central) angle, which is one of multiple angles constituting the angular spread associated with the highest signal energy and / or path gain.

[0069] In various embodiments, node group assignment nodes may determine node groups based on the angular spread and / or central angle of the second nodes. In a particular embodiment, node group assignment nodes may determine node groups based on angular spread and / or central angle and one or more angular overlap criteria. In some embodiments, the angular overlap criteria may be based on the amount of overlap between the two angular spreads of two nodes, such as an overlap percentage. If the amount of overlap between the two angular spreads of two given second nodes is equal to or less than an angular spread overlap threshold, the node group assignment node may assign the given second nodes to the same node group. Alternatively, if the amount of overlap between the two angular spreads is greater than the angular spread overlap threshold, the node group assignment node may assign the given two second nodes to different node groups. In other embodiments, the angular overlap criteria may be based on the overlap between the central angles of two nodes. If the central angles of two given nodes are different, or their difference is greater than a difference threshold, the node group assignment node may assign the given two nodes to the same node group. Alternatively, if the central angles of two given nodes match, or their difference is equal to or less than a difference threshold, the node group assignment node may assign the given two nodes to different node groups.

[0070] Furthermore, in various embodiments, including those involving relatively high frequencies, node group assignment may ignore angular spread and use only the central angle to determine how to divide the second node into node groups.

[0071] Furthermore, for at least some embodiments, the node group allocation node determines, or uses to determine, the effective central angle and angular spread of the node group based on a power or energy threshold. Specifically, if the signal power or energy of a given received signal received through the associated path is higher than a power or energy threshold, and / or the associated path gain is higher than a path gain threshold, the node group allocation node may add the associated angle of arrival to the effective angular spread of the given second node. Alternatively, if the signal power or energy is lower than a power or energy threshold, and / or the associated path gain is lower than a path gain threshold, the node group allocation node may not add the associated angle of arrival to the effective angular spread of the given second node.

[0072] Additionally, in various embodiments, the node group allocation node can determine the node group based on the angle and gain information of the channel (wherein the channel is sparse) between the smart reflector 124 and the second node. Alternatively or additionally, the node group allocation node can determine the angle and / or gain information based on reciprocity. When the node group allocation node operates with full reciprocity, and if the node group allocation node determines ideal channel state information for the channel between the smart reflector 124 and the second node, the node group allocation node can identify the angle and gain information for transmission from the first node to the second node as the same as the angle and gain information for transmission from the second node to the first node. Furthermore, if the node group allocation node operates with full reciprocity and the determined channel state information is not ideal, the node group allocation node can identify the angle and gain information for transmission from the first node to the second node as the same as the angle and gain information for transmission from the second node to the first node plus some correction (e.g., in the case of unideal channel state information, a pilot signal can be conveyed to correct the channel state information obtained from channel reciprocity). Furthermore, when the node group allocation nodes operate with partial reciprocity, the first node can transmit signals (such as pilot signals) to the second node via the smart reflection device 124, or the second node can transmit signals to the first node via the smart reflection device 124, to obtain one or more channel state parameters that cannot be obtained otherwise due to the partial rather than complete reciprocity. Additionally, when the node group allocation nodes operate with non-reciprocity, the first node can transmit signals (such as pilot signals) to the second node via the smart reflection device 124, or the second node can transmit signals to the first node via the smart reflection device 124, to determine or recover angle and gain information. According to the partial or non-reciprocity, in the embodiment where the second node transmits signals to the first node, the first node can directly determine the angle and gain information in response. Alternatively, in the embodiment where the first node transmits signals to the second node, the second node can feed back the angle and gain information to the first node, and in response, the first node can determine the angle and gain information based on the feedback information from the second node. Additionally, in various embodiments, in conjunction with signal transmission (e.g., pilot signal transmission), the node group allocation node can employ any of a variety of channel state information methods or algorithms to determine angle and gain information, such as least squares (LS), minimum mean square error (MMSE), multiple signal classification (MUSIC), or estimation of signal parameters via rotation invariance (ESPRIT).

[0073] Additionally or alternatively, in various embodiments, communication parameters may include orthogonality between channels for the two second nodes. In other words, in various embodiments, the node group allocation node may determine the node group based on the orthogonality between the smart reflector 124 and the second nodes. In a particular embodiment, the node group allocation node uses orthogonality information to determine node groups in which the channels between the smart reflector 124 and the second nodes are not sparse. After determining the orthogonality between the two channels for a given two second nodes, the node group allocation node may compare the determined orthogonality with a predetermined orthogonality threshold. If the determined orthogonality is higher than the predetermined orthogonality threshold, the node group allocation node may determine to assign the given two second nodes to the same node group. Alternatively, if the determined orthogonality is lower than the predetermined orthogonality threshold, the node group allocation node may determine to assign the given two nodes to separate node groups.

[0074] Furthermore, in various embodiments, the node group allocation node can determine orthogonality based on complete channel information. For embodiments where the node group allocation node operates in full reciprocity, the node group allocation node can directly determine the channel state information for the channel from the first node to the second node based on the channel state information for the channel in the direction from the second node to the first node. For example, if the first node is radio access node 104 and the second node is user equipment 102, the node group allocation node can directly determine the channel state information for the downlink channel from radio access node 104 to user equipment 102 based on the channel state information for the uplink channel from user equipment 102 to radio access node 104. Furthermore, in the case where the node group operation node operates in non-reciprocity, the first node can transmit one or more signals (e.g., pilot signals) to the second node, or the second node can transmit one or more signals (e.g., pilot signals) to the first node to determine complete channel state information. In the case of partial reciprocity or non-reciprocity, for embodiments where the second node transmits signals to the first node, the first node can directly determine the complete channel state information in response. Furthermore, in embodiments where the first node transmits signals to the second node, the second node can feed back channel state information to the first node, and in response, the first node can determine the channel state information based on the feedback information from the second node. Additionally, in various embodiments, in conjunction with signal transmission (e.g., pilot signal transmission), the node group allocation node can employ any of various channel state information methods or algorithms to determine angle and gain information, such as, as non-limiting examples, least squares (LS) or least mean square error (MMSE).

[0075] Additionally or alternatively, in various embodiments, the communication parameters include location information of the second nodes. In other words, in various embodiments, the node grouping node can determine the node group based on the location information of the second nodes. The location information may include the relative position of the second nodes in two-dimensional or three-dimensional space relative to the smart reflective device 124, and / or the relative distance of the second nodes from the smart reflective device. For a given two second nodes, the node grouping node can determine how to group the two second nodes based on the position difference between them, which the node grouping node can determine based on the location information of the two second nodes. If the position difference between the two nodes exceeds a position difference threshold, the node grouping node can determine to place the two nodes in the same node group. Alternatively, if the position difference between the two nodes does not exceed the position difference threshold, the node grouping node can determine to divide the two nodes into different node groups. Any of a variety of location parameters can be used to determine the position difference and position difference threshold between the two second nodes, including absolute distance difference or distance difference along a direction vector in two-dimensional or three-dimensional space, such as horizontal distance difference or vertical (or height) distance difference.

[0076] Additionally or alternatively, in various embodiments, the communication parameters include the device type of the second node. In such embodiments, the node group allocation node can determine whether to group or assign second nodes of the same device type into the same node group, and to assign second nodes of different device types into different node groups. Assuming that devices of the same type require the same service and / or communicate under similar communication parameters (such as transmission rate or latency), the node group allocation node can group second nodes into node groups based on device type. Example device types can include user equipment types, and non-limiting examples of user equipment types include enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC). Grouping based on device type can be particularly advantageous in mMTC scenarios involving a large number of user equipments communicating simultaneously with base stations.

[0077] Additionally or alternatively, in various embodiments, the communication parameters include one or more Quality of Service (QoS) parameters, non-limiting examples of which include minimum SINR, minimum data rate, minimum capacity, minimum number of facets that a facet group can have, secure communication rate, or minimum inter-user interference. In various embodiments, the node group allocation node may determine a QoS target based on one or more QoS parameters for each second node. Furthermore, for a given two second nodes, if the node group allocation node determines that the QoS targets of the two second nodes match or are sufficiently close to each other (e.g., such as by a difference between them being less than a QoS target threshold), the node group allocation node may determine to allocate the two second nodes to the same node group. Alternatively, if the node group allocation node determines that the QoS targets of the two second nodes are sufficiently far apart to each other (e.g., a difference between them being greater than a QoS target threshold), the node group allocation node may determine to allocate the two second nodes to different node groups.

[0078] Furthermore, in various embodiments, the node group allocation node can assign the second node to user groups based on node distribution criteria. Specifically, the node group allocation node can allocate the second node to node groups to achieve the most even distribution of the second node within the node groups. Therefore, after allocating the second node to node groups according to one or more of the above criteria, the node group allocation node can analyze these groups to determine whether the number of second nodes in the node groups is distributed as evenly as possible. If not, the node group allocation node can change the allocation of at least one second node from the original or current node group to a different node group to achieve a more even distribution of the number of second nodes in the node groups. The node group allocation node can perform multiple iterations of moving one or more second nodes to one or more different node groups until the optimal average distribution of the number of second nodes in the node groups is achieved.

[0079] Furthermore, in various embodiments, after the node group assigning node determines the node group for the second node, the node group notifying node (which may be the node group assigning node or another node) may notify the second node of the node group to which it belongs. In various embodiments, the node group notifying node may notify the second node by broadcasting node group information to the second node. In a particular embodiment, the node group notifying node may include node group information in the header of the broadcast signal. In response to the reception of the broadcast signal, the second node examines the header of the broadcast signal to identify the node group to which it belongs. In various embodiments, each node group may have an associated node group identifier (ID) that uniquely identifies the node group. For at least some of these embodiments, the node group notifying node may use the node group ID to notify the second node of the node group.

[0080] Furthermore, in various embodiments, a node group notification node may notify the second node before the first node transmits a signal to the second node. For example, the node group notification node may broadcast node group information to the first node before the first node transmits other signals to the second node via the smart reflection device 124. In other embodiments, the first node includes group node information in the signals it transmits to the second node. After the signal is reflected by the smart reflection device 124, the second node receives the reflected signal. A given second node that receives the reflected signal may examine a portion of the reflected signal (such as the header of the reflected signal) to identify the node group to which it belongs.

[0081] Additionally, in various embodiments where the node group allocation node is not the smart reflective device 124, the node group allocation node can also notify the smart reflective device 124 of node group information. The node group allocation node can notify the smart reflective device wirelessly or via a wired connection, depending on how communicatively it is connected to the smart reflective device 124.

[0082] At block 304, after the node group allocation node assigns each of the second nodes to one of the multiple node groups, the first node can determine multiple signals to be transmitted to the multiple second nodes via the smart reflection device 124. To enable the first node to transmit signals, the scheduling node can determine a timing table according to which the signals to be transmitted are based. The scheduling node can be either the first node or another node. The timing table can identify the time for transmitting each signal. Specifically, the timing table can identify one or more time slots and associate each of the one or more time slots with one of the signals the first node wants to transmit. A given time slot associated with a given signal in the timing table indicates that the first node will transmit the given signal within or during the given time slot. The scheduling node can generate the timing table based on the node groups determined at block 302. Specifically, the scheduling node can associate signals with time slots such that the timing table indicates the transmission of signals for reception by second nodes in the same node group within the same time slot and signals for reception by second nodes in different node groups within different time slots.

[0083] For example, suppose second node A and second node B are in the same node group, and suppose first node wants to send a first signal to second node A and a second signal to second node B. Because second node A and second node B are in the same node group, the scheduling node can generate a timing table to indicate that the first and second signals are transmitted in the same time slot. As another example, suppose second node A and second node C are in different node groups, and suppose first node wants to send a third signal to second node C. Because second node A and second node C are in different node groups, the scheduling node can generate a timing table to indicate that the first and third signals are transmitted in different time slots.

[0084] At box 306, the first node can transmit signals to the second node via the smart reflection device 126 according to a timing table. Thus, the first node transmits signals within the time slot associated with each signal. Furthermore, the signal is transmitted to the second node via the smart reflection device 124 such that, after a given signal to be received by the second node is transmitted by the first node, the given signal is reflected by the smart reflection device 124 before the given second node receives the given signal.

[0085] Figure 4 An example timing diagram is shown, illustrating an example timing scheme for performing downlink and uplink data transmission based on node groups. Such a timing diagram can be implemented when the first node is Radio Access Node 104 and the second node is User Equipment 102. Similar timing schemes can be implemented for other configurations where the first and second nodes are different from Radio Access Node 104 and User Equipment 102, respectively. Figure 4 As shown, a node can determine channel state information, which may include uplink channel estimation, followed by downlink channel estimation. After determining the channel state information, the node group allocation node can determine the node group for the second node (user equipment 102) based on one or more communication parameters as described above. After determining the node group, the radio access node 104 can transmit downlink signals to the user equipment 102 via the smart reflection device 124 through multiple time slots on a node group-by-node basis (e.g., according to a node group-based timing table), as described above. After transmitting downlink signals to the last node group of the user equipment 102, the user equipment 102 can transmit uplink signals to the radio access node 104.

[0086] In addition to or as a substitute for node grouping performed by the node group assigning node, a region determining node (which may be the same as or different from the node group assigning node, and / or may be the first node or another node in the wireless communication system 100) can determine multiple facets 206 for the smart reflective device 200 with multiple facet regions 208. The region determining node can determine multiple facet regions 208 by dividing, grouping, or separating the facets 206 into facet regions 208.

[0087] After defining multiple surface regions 208, the first node can independently set communication parameters for corresponding communication between the first node and the multiple surface regions 208. An example communication parameter is a beam, such as the transmission beam selected by the first node and used by the first node to transmit signals. For example, if the first node wants to transmit a first signal to a first surface region and a second signal to a second surface region, the first node can independently select a first beam to transmit the first signal to the first surface region and a second beam to transmit the second signal to the second surface region. The first and second beams can be the same or different from each other. Another example communication parameter is the reflection angle of the surface region with its reflected incident signal, or the reflection angle of the surface region with its output reflected signal. For example, the first node can independently control the first surface region to output a first reflected signal at a first reflection angle and control the second surface region to output a second reflected signal at a second reflection angle.

[0088] Figure 5 An example method 500 for wireless communication is illustrated, which includes surface region determination. At block 502, a region determination node can determine multiple surface regions 208 of multiple surface elements 206 on a surface 202 of a smart reflective device 200. The region determination node can form multiple surface regions 208 by dividing the multiple surface elements 206 into multiple surface regions 208. To divide the surface elements 206 into surface regions 208, the region determination node can assign or associate each surface element 206 to one of the multiple surface regions 208. Therefore, after dividing the surface elements 206 into surface regions 208, it is known which region 208 each surface element 206 belongs to. The region determination node can divide the surface elements 206 in any different way based on any different criteria, examples of which are described in further detail below.

[0089] In some embodiments, the region determination node can determine the number of surface regions 208 into which the surface element 206 is divided. For example, the region determination node can determine a plurality of surface regions 206, and then the region allocation node can allocate each surface element 206 to one or more of the plurality of surface regions 208. In at least some of these embodiments, the region determination node can determine the number of surface regions based on the number of second nodes. This number can also be based on a predetermined ratio of the number of surface regions 208 to the number of second nodes. In various embodiments, this ratio is less than 1, equal to 1, or greater than 1, meaning that, depending on the ratio, the number of surface regions 208 can be less than, equal to, or greater than the number of second nodes.

[0090] Alternatively or additionally, the number of surface regions 208 may be proportional to the number of second nodes. Therefore, as the number of second nodes increases, the number of surface regions 208 also increases, and as the number of second nodes decreases, the number of surface regions 208 also decreases.

[0091] Furthermore, in at least some embodiments, the region determination node can determine the shape for the face region 208. The region determination node may necessarily assign face 206 as boundary face 208 to form a shape. Any different shape that can be formed from one or more face 206 of surface 202 is possible, such as rectangles or polygons, stars, ellipses, amorphous shapes, or any other type of shape.

[0092] Furthermore, in at least some embodiments, after determining the cell region 208, a region allocation node can assign or match each second node to one or more cell regions 208. This region allocation node can be the same node as the region determination node or a different node. Through assignment or matching, the region allocation node establishes an association between the cell region 208 and the second node. Subsequently, when a first node wants to transmit a signal to a given second node associated with one or more cell regions 208, the first node can transmit the signal to one or more associated cell regions 208, thereby reflecting the signal towards the given second node. Before reflection, the first node (or another node) can set one or more reflection angles of one or more cell regions 208 to optimal values ​​for reflecting the signal to the given second node.

[0093] In various embodiments, the region allocation node can allocate the second node to the cell region 208 based on any of a variety of communication parameters. In some embodiments, the region allocation node can allocate the second node to the cell region 208 based on channel state information of the channel between the cell 206 of the smart reflective device 124 and the second node. Based on the channel state information, the region allocation node can determine the received signal power or energy of each cell 206 of each second node. Furthermore, the region allocation node can allocate the second node to one or more cell regions 208 based on the received signal power or energy derived from the channel state information (such as the received signal amplitude of the channel state information). For example, the region allocation node can allocate a given second node to a given cell region 208 where the received signal power or energy of the cells 206 in the given cell region 208 exceeds a threshold, or is at the highest received signal power or energy for the given second node, or is within a predetermined number of the highest received signal power or energy levels. If the channel between the second node and the surface element 206 is sparse, the area allocation node can determine the received signal power or energy for each surface element 206 based on angle and gain information for each second node.

[0094] Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the region allocation node may allocate the second node to a face region 208 based on the face set of the second node. For a given face set of a given second node and a given face region 208, the region allocation node may allocate the given second node to the given face region if the number of faces 206 in the given face set that are also part of the given face region 208 reaches or exceeds a threshold. In various embodiments, the threshold may be a threshold number of faces, or a percentage of the total number of faces in the given face set. For example, if the threshold is five faces, the region allocation node may allocate the given second node to the given face region 208 if at least five faces in the face set associated with the given second node are in or part of the given face region. As another example, if the threshold is 50%, the region allocation node may allocate the given second node to the given face region if at least 50% of the faces in the face set associated with the given second node are in or part of the given face region.

[0095] Additionally, in some embodiments or cases, a given set of facet regions may overlap with two or more facet regions—that is, the facet set may include facets that are part of two or more facet regions. For at least some of these embodiments, the region allocation node may have a predetermined maximum number of facet regions to which a given second node is allocated. If the number of facet regions overlapping by the facet set exceeds the predetermined maximum number, the region allocation node may select the predetermined maximum number of facet regions from the overlapping facet regions that have the strongest signal power for the given second node or facet regions associated with the given second node, and allocate the selected facet regions to the given second node.

[0096] Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the region allocation node may allocate a second node to one or more islet regions 208 based on target communication parameters (such as target SINR, capacity, or data rate, as non-limiting examples). For at least some of these embodiments, the region allocation node may determine the number of islet regions 208 to be allocated to a given second node based on one or more target communication parameters. For example, the region allocation node may allocate only one or more (e.g., two or more) islet regions to a given second node based on one or more target communication parameters. Additionally or alternatively, the region allocation node may allocate more islet regions 208 to a first second node than to a second second node, wherein the first second node has one or more higher target communication parameters than the second second node. For illustration, if the first second node has higher target communication parameters than the second second node, the region allocation node may allocate the first second node to two islet regions 208, while allocating the second second node to only one islet region 208.

[0097] Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the region allocation node may allocate the second node to one or more surface regions 208 based on location information associated with the second node. For at least some of these embodiments, the region allocation node may allocate more surface regions 208 to the first second node than to the second second node, wherein the first second node is farther from the smart reflective device 124 than the second second node. Additionally or alternatively, the region allocation node may allocate the second node to surface regions 208 based on the relative distance from the surface regions 208. Specifically, the region allocation node may allocate a closer second node to a surface region than to a more distant second node. For example, if the first second node is closer to the first surface region than the second second node, and the second second node is closer to the second surface region than the first second node, then the region allocation node may allocate the first second node to the first surface region and the second second node to the second surface region.

[0098] The above-described cell region determination can be considered a fixed cell region determination, in that the determined cell regions 208 can be fixed in number, size, and shape before the second node is assigned to a cell region. In other embodiments, the region determination node can perform dynamic cell region determination. In the case of dynamic cell region determination, the region determination node determines the cell regions 208 "on the fly" or dynamically based on or depending on the cell sets of the second node. For example, even if the number of second nodes is known, the region determination node may not be able to determine the size, shape, relative position, or generally which cells 206 belong to which cell regions 208, until or unless the cell sets of the second node are known. In contrast, under the previously described fixed method, cell regions 208 are determined (i.e., which cells 206 are in which cell region 208), and then the second node is assigned or matched to one or more cell regions 208 based on one or more criteria, one of which can be the cell sets of the second node, as previously described.

[0099] In the dynamic face determination scheme, the region determination node can identify face region 208 as a region that includes a face group of a given second user. Face region 208 can be the face group itself, or it can be a face group that includes other face groups 206 surrounding the face group. In a particular embodiment, face region 208 includes all face groups 206, although in other embodiments, face region 208 may include fewer than all face groups 206. Additionally, in a particular embodiment, the region determination node can determine face region 208 based on a one-to-one correspondence between face region 208 and face groups (or second nodes) or a ratio between the two. That is, in this embodiment, face region 208 includes face groups 206 of only one face group, and / or the region allocation node assigns or matches only one second node to face region 208. In other embodiments, the region determination node can determine face region 208 that includes more than one face group, and / or the region allocation node can assign or match more than one second node to face region 208. In any case, when the region determination node determines that one or more facet groups are part of facet region 208, the region determination node can determine the boundary of facet region 208 that includes one or more facet groups, while excluding facets from other facet groups. In this way, the region dynamically determines facet region 208 based on facet groups, including their size, shape, and relative position on surface 202 (e.g., as the region determination node analyzes facet groups), rather than in a predetermined or fixed manner.

[0100] In at least some embodiments, given that two facet groups of two second nodes overlap and the region determining node determines to form two different facet regions 208 for the two facet groups, the region determining node may determine which of the two facet regions 208 to assign the overlapping facets 206 to based on one or more overlap criteria. One overlap criterion may be based on received signal strength. Specifically, the region determining node may determine to assign or match the overlapping facets to the facet region 208 of the second node with the greater received signal power. Another overlap criterion may be based on the number of facets. Specifically, the region determining node may determine to assign or match the overlapping facets to the facet region 208 with the fewer facets. In other embodiments, the region determining node may not select one facet region 208 and not the other. Instead, the region determining node may assign both overlapping facets 206 to the two facet regions 208. In other embodiments, the region determination node may determine not to assign the overlapping cell region 206 to either of the two cell regions 208, but instead leave cell 206 as an empty cell 206, which can be used as part of the other cell region 208.

[0101] Furthermore, in at least some embodiments of the dynamic region determination scheme, the region determination node can determine the size of the surface region 208 (the number of surface elements 206) based on the location information of the second node. For example, the region determination node can determine the size of the surface region 208 for a given second node based on, or depending on, the distance of the given second node from the smart reflective device 124. In a particular embodiment, the region determination node can allocate more surface elements 206 to the surface region 208 for second nodes that are farther away from the smart reflective device 124 compared to other second nodes that are closer to the smart reflective device 124.

[0102] Additionally or alternatively, for at least some embodiments implementing the dynamic region determination scheme, the region determination node may determine the size of the cell region 208 based on one or more target communication parameters (e.g., target SINR, target capacity, target data rate). In a particular embodiment, the region determination node may allocate more cells 206 to the cell region 208 for a second node having one or more higher target communication parameters compared to other second nodes having lower target communication parameters.

[0103] Additionally or alternatively, for at least some embodiments of the dynamic region determination scheme, the region determination node can determine the element region based on node groups. For example, as previously described, the node group allocation node can assign each second node to one of multiple node groups. Furthermore, as previously described, the scheduling node can determine a timing table indicating the transmission of signals for second nodes in the same node group to receive within the same time slot, and the transmission of signals for second nodes in different node groups to receive within different time slots. Based on the node groupings corresponding to the timing table, the region determination node can determine the element region on a per-node-group basis or on a per-time-slot basis. In particular, the region determination node can determine a set of element regions 208 for each node group. Because the first node transmits signals to different node groups in different time slots, the region determination node can use the same element 206 for element regions 208 in different groups.

[0104] Figures 6A-6C This illustrates an example of dynamic region determination based on a group of nodes defined from a set of face elements. In the example, the first node is to communicate with ten second nodes. Figure 6A Ten facet groups (SEGs) are shown distributed across surface 202 of the entire smart reflective device, with each SEG associated with one of ten second nodes. For example, the first facet group SEG1 is associated with a first second node, the second facet group SEG2 is associated with a second second node, and so on. (See reference...) Figure 6B Node group determination can group each of the ten second nodes into one of multiple node groups, such as based on one or more criteria previously described. Figure 6B In the example, the second node is divided into two node groups: a first node group (node ​​group 1) and a second node group (node ​​group 2). Specifically, the first, third, fifth, sixth, and tenth second nodes are grouped into node group 1, while the second, fourth, seventh, eighth, and ninth second nodes are grouped into node group 2. (See also...) Figure 6C The region determination node identifies multiple sets of facet regions, each set used in one of the node groups. For example, since the node group determination node identifies two node groups, the region determination node identifies two sets of facet regions, each set used in one of the two node groups. Figure 6CAs shown, each set comprises five face regions (SER), one face region for each of the five second nodes in that node group. For the first node group, the first face region (SER1) comprises the face group (SEG1) of the first second node; the second face region (SER2) comprises the face group (SEG10) of the tenth second node; and so on. Similarly, for the second node group, the first face region (SER1) comprises the face group (SEG2) of the second second node; the second face region (SER2) comprises the face group (SEG9) of the ninth second node; and so on.

[0105] After determining the set of surface region elements, the first node and / or the intelligent reflective device 124 can independently set one or more communication parameters to communicate with different surface region elements within the same set of surface region elements, and can also independently set one or more communication parameters to communicate with different surface region elements within different sets of surface region elements. For example, relative to Figure 6C The first node can determine to transmit a first set of signals to the first node group via the intelligent reflection device 124 in a first time slot. To this end, the first node can independently select a transmission beam for transmitting signals to each of the five surface regions of the first surface region set, and / or the intelligent reflection device 124 can independently set a reflection angle for each of the five surface regions of the first surface region set. With the transmission beam and / or reflection angle independently set, the first node can transmit the first set of signals to the second node in the first node group via the intelligent reflection device in the first time slot. Additionally, the first node can determine to transmit a second set of signals to the second node group via the intelligent reflection device 124 in a second time slot. To this end, the first node can independently select a transmission beam for transmitting signals to each of the five surface regions of the second surface region set, and / or the intelligent reflection device 124 can independently set a reflection angle for each of the five surface regions of the second surface region set. With the transmission beam and / or reflection angle independently set, the first node can transmit the second set of signals to the second node in the second node group via the intelligent reflection device in the second time slot.

[0106] In the dynamic region determination scheme, the region determination node determines or forms a surface region 208 for a specific second node. Therefore, assigning the second node to the surface region 208 is inherently completed when determining the surface region 208. Thus, unlike the fixed region determination scheme, the dynamic region scheme does not necessarily require a region allocation node to specifically assign the second node to the surface region 208.

[0107] Furthermore, in various embodiments for fixed or dynamic region determination schemes, the region determination node and / or region allocation node can notify the smart reflective device 124 of the determined surface region 208, and, at least in some embodiments, which second node each determined surface region 208 is assigned to or matched to. Depending on how communicatively connected the region determination node and / or region allocation node is to the smart reflective device 124, the region determination node and / or region allocation node can notify the smart reflective device 124 wirelessly or via a wired connection.

[0108] When the second node is sufficiently far from the smart reflective device 124, the facets of the second node will likely be relatively small compared to the overall size of surface 202. As a result, the second node, or at least most of the second nodes, can have non-overlapping facets, thereby allowing communication between the first and second nodes via the smart reflective device 124 with minimal transmission loss. Dynamic region determination is feasible even for relatively large facets.

[0109] Figure 7 A schematic diagram is shown illustrating communication between a radio access node 104 and multiple user equipment (UD) 102 via a smart reflector 124 during the uplink communication phase. In Figure 6, two user equipments 102(1) and 102(2) can transmit uplink signals simultaneously. The first user equipment 102(1) can transmit the uplink signal to the radio access node 104 via a first facet region SER1 of the smart reflector, and the second user equipment 102(2) can transmit the uplink signal to the radio access node 104 via a second facet region SER2 of the smart reflector. The first facet region SER1 may include facets of the first user equipment 102(1), and the second facet region SER2 may include facets of the second user equipment 102(2). The spatial spacing between the first and second facet regions SER1 and SER2 may be relatively insignificant during the uplink phase, or at least less significant than during the downlink phase, because the facet regions SER of the smart reflector 124 form a beam that is all directed toward the same entity (i.e., the radio access node 104).

[0110] Return to reference Figure 5In this method, after the region determination node determines the element regions, at block 504, the first node and / or smart reflector 104 can independently set communication parameters for the corresponding communication between the first node and the element regions. In various embodiments, the communication parameters include at least one of the first node's transmission beam or the reflection angle associated with the element region. For example, the smart reflector 124 can independently set the reflection angle for various element regions, such as by setting the phase shift of various elements 206 so that the element regions optimally reflect their respective incident signals toward the second node associated with or matched to them. As another example, the first node can independently select a transmission beam to transmit signals to different element regions. For example, since different element regions are spatially separated, it may be desirable for the first node to use different transmission beams when transmitting to different element regions. Therefore, the first node can independently select an optimal transmission beam to transmit signals to the corresponding different element regions. Other communication parameters that the first node and / or smart reflector 124 can independently set are also possible.

[0111] Figure 8A and 8B A diagram illustrates the transmission from the first device to multiple second nodes via the intelligent reflection device 124. Figure 8A and 8B In the specific scenario shown, the first node is a wireless access node 104, and the multiple second nodes are user equipment 102, while wireless access node 104 and user equipment 102 are operating in the downlink transmission phase (i.e., wireless access node 104 is transmitting to user equipment 102). Figure 8A and 8B As shown, the surface element 206 of the intelligent reflective device 124 is divided into three surface areas SER1, SER2, and SER3. Each of the three surface areas SER1, SER2, and SER3 is associated with a corresponding one of the three user devices 102(1), 102(2), and 102(3) and is configured to reflect signals to the corresponding one of the three user devices 102(1), 102(2), and 102(3).

[0112] Figure 8A This illustrates a scenario where the distance between the wireless access node 104 and the smart reflector 124 is relatively small to meet near-field conditions. Under such near-field conditions, all surface regions (SER) can receive similar signals, such as... Figure 8A As shown.

[0113] Figure 8BThis describes a scenario where the distance between the wireless access node 104 and the smart reflector 124 is relatively large to meet far-field conditions. For such far-field conditions, the first node (e.g., wireless access node 104) can independently or simultaneously use multiple beams or different beams to transmit signals to different area regions SER. Furthermore, the smart reflector 124 can independently set the reflection angle of each area region to optimally reflect the incident signals toward their associated second nodes (e.g., user equipment 102) to minimize interference across the entire channel, including the paths from the first node (e.g., wireless access node 104) to the area region SER and from the area region SER to the second node (e.g., user equipment 102).

[0114] Return to reference Figure 5 At box 506, after independently setting the communication parameters for the corresponding communication, the first node can transmit signals to the second node via multiple facet regions of the smart reflective device. As previously described, if the region-determining node determines facet regions 208 on a per-node-group basis, the first node and / or the smart reflective device can independently set communication parameters for different or multiple sets of facet regions, and transmit signals to different node groups after independently setting the communication parameters for their different sets.

[0115] Return to reference Figure 1As shown in the figure, the wireless communication system 100 may include a plurality of smart reflective devices 124. In this embodiment, for a first node to communicate with a second node via the plurality of smart reflective devices 124, a smart reflective device selection node (which may be the first node, a smart reflective device, one or more second nodes, any other node in the communication system 100, or various combinations thereof) may first select or determine one or more target (or serving) smart reflective devices from the plurality of smart reflective devices for each of the second nodes. In various embodiments, the smart reflective device selection node may independently select smart reflective devices 124 for different second nodes, such that each second node is associated with a corresponding one or more target smart reflective devices, and such that for any two given second nodes, the one or more target smart reflective devices may be the same as or different from each other. For example, after selecting target smart reflective devices for a second node, the smart reflective device selection node may determine for the first node to communicate with a first second node via a first set of one or more target smart reflective devices, and determine for the first node to communicate with a second second node via a second set of one or more target smart reflective devices, wherein the first set of one or more target smart reflective devices and the second set of one or more target smart reflective devices may be the same as or different from each other. If all target smart reflective devices in their respective sets are identical, then the two sets of one or more target smart reflective devices will be identical to each other. Conversely, if at least one smart reflective device in one set is not part of the other set of smart reflective devices, then the two sets of one or more target smart reflective devices will be different from each other.

[0116] Furthermore, in embodiments where the node group allocation node determines the node group for the second node, the node group allocation node can determine the node group for the second node based on a set of smart reflective devices (e.g., based on individual smart reflective devices). For example, suppose the first node needs to communicate with the second node group via multiple smart reflective devices 124. Furthermore, suppose the smart reflective device selection node determines that the first node needs to communicate only with a subset of the second node group via a first target smart reflective device. Then, the node group allocation node can determine the node group of this subset of second nodes, excluding second nodes that are not part of that subset when the second nodes in that subset are divided into multiple node groups. Furthermore, the scheduling node can determine a timing table based on the node group of this subset, and the first node can transmit signals to the subset of second nodes via the first target smart reflective device according to the timing table. Similar node grouping, timing scheduling, and transmission operations can be performed for other subsets of second nodes corresponding to other target smart reflective devices.

[0117] Furthermore, in embodiments where the region determining node determines a group of facets for the smart reflective device 124, the region determining node can determine the facet region based on a set of smart reflective devices, such as on a per-smart-device basis. For example, suppose a first node needs to communicate with a second node group via multiple smart reflective devices 124. Furthermore, suppose a smart reflective device selection node determines that the first node needs to communicate only with a subset of the second node group via a first target smart reflective device. Therefore, the region determining node can determine the facet region of the first target smart reflective device based on communication parameters and / or facet groups associated only with that subset of the second node, without needing to consider second nodes in groups not part of that subset.

[0118] Furthermore, in various embodiments of these embodiments for determining the target smart reflective device, the smart reflective device selection node may select a target smart reflective device for a given second node based on the signal power arriving at the smart reflective device 124. To this end, the first node may transmit one or more signals to a plurality of smart reflective devices 124 for the given second node. In response to receiving such a signal, each of the plurality of smart reflective devices 124 may feed back the received or arrived signal power to the first node. In some embodiments, for transmissions to a given smart reflective device for a given second node, if the received signal power received from the given smart reflective device is higher than a predetermined threshold (e.g., 20%), the smart reflective device selection node may identify the given smart reflective device as the target smart reflective device through which the first node will communicate to transmit signals to the given second node. In other example embodiments, the smart reflective device selection node may select the target smart reflective device for a given second node as the smart reflective device with the highest received signal power or a predetermined number of the highest received signal power among the plurality of smart reflective devices.

[0119] In other example embodiments, the first node may communicate with multiple second nodes via multiple smart reflective devices. In such an embodiment, the multiple smart reflective devices may be chained smart reflective devices, wherein the first smart reflective device in the chain is a first smart reflective device for reflecting a set of signals from the first node, and the last smart reflective device in the chain is the last smart reflective device in the chain for reflecting the set of signals before it is received by the second node. Furthermore, the channel from the first node to the second node via the multiple smart reflective devices may include multiple channel segments, wherein each channel segment is between two nodes, including a channel segment between the first node and the first smart reflective device in the chain, a channel segment between the last smart reflective device in the chain and the second node, and one or more channel segments, wherein each channel segment is between corresponding two of the multiple smart reflective devices in the chain.

[0120] In some embodiments, the facet group determining node can determine a facet group for each of one or more second nodes for each smart reflective device in the chain. In other embodiments, the facet group determining node can determine a facet group for each of one or more second nodes only for the last smart reflective device in the chain. Furthermore, in embodiments where each smart reflective device has sensing capabilities, the facet group node can determine channel state information for each channel segment based on a channel estimation algorithm (such as LS or MMSE), as described above. In at least some embodiments, the facet group determining node can also use compressed sensing. Furthermore, in at least some embodiments, the facet group determining node can perform channel estimation in different time slots to determine the channel state information of smart reflective devices in the chain other than the first smart reflective device.

[0121] Furthermore, in embodiments where the last smart reflector has sensing capabilities while the first smart reflector does not, channel state information of the channel segment between the last smart reflector and the second node can be obtained through channel estimation (e.g., by using LS or MMSE and / or compressed sensing). For other channel segments, channel state information of other channel segments can be obtained through processes such as repeated beam training or beam scanning as previously described.

[0122] Furthermore, in embodiments where the first smart reflector has sensing capabilities but the last smart reflector does not, channel state information for channel segments other than the channel segment between the first node and the first smart reflector can be determined through repeated beam training or beam scanning. For example, the codebook for the first node and one or more smart reflectors can be fixed, and the repetition process using different beam pairs can be utilized to determine the desired beam pair from which channel state information can be obtained.

[0123] In various embodiments where the first smart reflector communicates with multiple second nodes via a chain of smart reflectors, a node group allocation node may determine a node group based on one or more communication parameters between the multiple second nodes and the last smart reflector in the chain. For example, the node group allocation node may prevent the formation of a node group based on communication parameters associated with any other smart reflector besides the last smart reflector in the chain. Additionally or alternatively, a region determination node may determine a facet region only for the last smart reflector in the chain. For example, for each of the other smart reflectors besides the last one, the facet of that other smart reflector may be configured as a single, integral region reflecting according to a reflection angle to collectively serve multiple second nodes. In contrast, the last smart reflector may divide its facet into different facet regions, each facet region being independently controlled and set with an associated reflection angle to independently reflect signals to the corresponding second node associated with each facet region, as previously described.

[0124] Therefore, in this embodiment, each smart reflective device in the chain can have a related phase shift matrix that determines the phase shift of the surface elements. Except for the last smart reflective device, each of the other smart reflective devices can have a related phase shift matrix that configures the phase shift of all surface elements on the surface, such that the surface elements operate as individual units and reflect collectively according to a single reflection angle. On the other hand, the last smart reflective device can have a related phase shift matrix that corresponds to multiple surface element regions on the surface of the last smart reflective device, and sets the phase shift of the surface elements in different surface element regions such that different surface element regions reflect at multiple independently set reflection angles according to the phase shift determined by the phase shift matrix.

[0125] By performing node grouping, element region determination, and / or independent control of the configuration of reflection angles / phase shifts for different element regions only for the last smart reflective device in the chain, the overall complexity of communication between the first node and multiple nodes can be reduced, thereby making the use of smart reflective device chains more practical and / or easier to implement.

[0126] The description and accompanying drawings above provide specific example embodiments and implementations. However, the described subject matter can be embodied in a variety of different forms, and therefore, the covered or claimed subject matter is intended to be construed as not being limited to any of the example embodiments set forth herein. A reasonably broad scope is intended for the claimed or covered subject matter. Among other aspects, for example, the subject matter can be embodied as a method, apparatus, component, system, or non-transitory computer-readable medium for storing computer code. Therefore, embodiments can take the form, for example, hardware, software, firmware, storage media, or any combination thereof. For example, the method embodiments described above can be implemented by a component, apparatus, or system including memory and a processor by executing computer code stored in memory.

[0127] Throughout this specification and claims, terms may have subtle meanings implied or suggested by the context, in addition to their expressly stated meanings. Similarly, the phrase "in one embodiment / implementation" as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, and the phrase "in another embodiment / implementation" as used herein does not necessarily refer to a different embodiment. For example, the subject matter intended for the claims may include all or part of the exemplary embodiments.

[0128] Generally, terms can be understood, at least in part, from their usage in context. For example, terms such as “and,” “or,” and “and / or,” as used herein, can include a variety of meanings that can depend, at least in part, on the context in which they are used. Typically, if “or” is used to relate a list such as A, B, or C, it is intended to mean A, B, and C as used herein in an inclusive sense, and A, B, or C as used herein in an exclusive sense. Additionally, the term “one or more,” as used herein, depends, at least in part on the context, and can be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in a singular sense, or can be used to describe a combination of features, structures, or characteristics in a plural sense. Similarly, terms such as “a,” “an,” or “the” can be understood to convey a singular usage or a plural usage, at least in part on the context. Furthermore, the term “based on” can be understood to not necessarily convey an exclusive set of factors, but can similarly depend, at least in part on the context, to allow for the existence of additional factors that are not necessarily explicitly described.

[0129] Throughout this specification, references to features, advantages, or similar language do not imply that all features and advantages achievable using this solution should be or are included in any single implementation thereof. Rather, language relating to features and advantages is to be understood as meaning that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of this solution. Therefore, throughout this specification, the discussion of features and advantages, and similar language, may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiments.

[0130] Furthermore, the features, advantages, and characteristics described in this solution can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Those skilled in the art will recognize that, based on the description herein, this solution can be practiced without one or more specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other cases, additional features and advantages may be recognized in some embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of this solution.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication, the method comprising: The first node determines multiple facet groups for multiple second nodes based on the received signal power of the incident signal received by the smart reflective device, wherein each facet group includes at least one facet of the surface of the smart reflective device, and each facet group is associated with a corresponding one of the multiple second nodes. The first node assigns each of the multiple second nodes to one of multiple node groups based on one or more communication parameters between the multiple second nodes and the intelligent reflection device, wherein the one or more communication parameters include: face group information that identifies the multiple face groups for the multiple second nodes; The first node determines multiple signals to be transmitted to the plurality of second nodes via the intelligent reflection device, and a timing table according to which the multiple second signals are to be transmitted, wherein the timing table: identifies multiple time slots, indicates signals to be transmitted in the same time slot for reception by second nodes of the same node group, and indicates signals to be transmitted in different time slots for reception by second nodes of different node groups; and The first node transmits multiple signals to the intelligent reflection device according to the timing table, wherein the multiple signals are sent based on one or more facet groups of the intelligent reflection device, and the one or more facet groups reflect the multiple signals to the multiple second nodes, and wherein the one or more facet groups are determined one by one according to the timing table by node group.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The one or more communication parameters also include: the received signal power of the incident signal received by the intelligent reflection device.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, Determining multiple facet groups for the plurality of second nodes includes: The first node determines a relevant face element group for one of the plurality of second nodes by adding the given face element to the relevant face element group based on the received signal power associated with the given face element exceeding a power threshold.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein, Determining the relevant face group for one of the plurality of second nodes further includes: adding the given face to the relevant face group based on a predetermined maximum number of face elements.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein, Assigning each of the plurality of second nodes to one of the plurality of node groups is based on at least one overlap criterion associated with the plurality of face groups.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein, The at least one overlap criterion includes: an overlap threshold corresponding to the number of common facets.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein, The at least one overlap criterion includes: one or more facet group boundary criteria.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The first node determines the received signal power based on channel state information.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein, Determining the channel state information includes: the intelligent reflection device estimating the channel state information using a channel estimation algorithm.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising: The first node is used to perform beam scanning or beam training to determine the channel state information.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The one or more communication parameters include: angle information associated with the channel between the smart reflective device and the plurality of second nodes.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein, Assigning each of the plurality of second nodes to one of the plurality of node groups is based on at least one angular overlap criterion associated with at least one of the angular spread or central angle of the angular information.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The one or more communication parameters include orthogonality between channels, and assigning each of the plurality of second nodes to one of the plurality of node groups includes: in response to the orthogonality between two channels used for the second node exceeding an orthogonality threshold, assigning two of the plurality of second nodes to the same node group.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The one or more communication parameters include the location information of the second node, and wherein assigning each of the plurality of second nodes to one of the plurality of node groups includes: In response to location information including a distance difference between the two nodes exceeding a location difference threshold, two of the plurality of second nodes are assigned to the same node group.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The one or more communication parameters include a device type, and assigning each of the plurality of second nodes to one of the plurality of node groups includes: In response to the two nodes having the same node type, two of the plurality of second nodes are assigned to the same node group.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The one or more communication parameters include one or more quality of service parameters, and wherein assigning each of the plurality of second nodes to one of the plurality of node groups includes: In response to two nodes among the plurality of second nodes having the same quality of service objective corresponding to the one or more quality of service parameters, the two nodes among the plurality of second nodes are assigned to the same node group.

17. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Based on the uniform distribution criterion, the first node moves at least one of the second nodes to a different node group.

18. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The first node broadcasts information to multiple second nodes in the multiple node group.

19. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The plurality of second nodes includes a subset of the second node group, the intelligent reflective device includes a target intelligent reflective device among the plurality of intelligent reflective devices, and the method further includes: The first node determines the target intelligent reflective device for the subset from among multiple target intelligent reflective devices. The process of assigning each of the plurality of second nodes to one of the plurality of node groups includes: assigning each of the plurality of second nodes in a subset of the second node groups to one of the plurality of node groups.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein, The determination of the target smart reflective device for the subset from the plurality of target smart reflective devices is based on the arrival signal power at the target smart reflective device.

21. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The intelligent reflective device includes the last intelligent reflective device in a chain of multiple intelligent reflective devices, which communicates with the multiple second nodes via its first node.

22. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein, The processor is configured to read code from the memory and implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 21.

23. A computer program product storing computer instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 21.

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