Ue-based positioning using sidelink communications

Abstract

A method includes causing transmission, at a first user equipment (UE), of at least one positioning reference signal (PRS) to a second UE via sidelink (SL) communication based on first positioning assistance data. The transmission enables the second UE to determine a positioning measurement result from at least a portion of the at least one PRS.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of wireless communications, and more specifically, to sidelink positioning based on user equipment (UE). Background Technology

[0002] Wireless mobile communication technologies use various standards and protocols to transmit data between base stations and wireless mobile devices. Wireless communication system standards and protocols may include the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE); the 5th Generation (5G) 3GPP New Radio (NR) standard; the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 standard, commonly referred to by the industry organization as Global Microwave Access Interoperability (WiMAX); and the IEEE 802.11 standard for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), commonly referred to by the industry organization as Wi-Fi. In the 3GPP Radio Access Network (RAN) of an LTE system, a base station may include RAN nodes such as an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (also commonly referred to as an Evolved Node B, Enhanced Node B, eNodeB, or eNB) and / or a Radio Network Controller (RNC) in the E-UTRAN, which communicates with wireless communication equipment called User Equipment (UE). In a fifth-generation (5G) wireless RAN, RAN nodes may include 5G nodes, New Radio (NR) nodes, or g node B (gNB), which communicate with wireless communication equipment (also known as user equipment (UE)).

[0003] In a typical UE in a road environment, the UE can communicate with one or more of the following: Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellites, base stations, nearby mobile objects (e.g., peer UEs), or roadside units (RSUs). The UE can communicate with another UE via a sidelink interface and with a base station via a Uu interface. An RSU can be a sidelink-enabled UE or a base station. Summary of the Invention

[0004] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, a method is provided, comprising: transmitting at least one positioning reference signal (PRS) at a first user equipment (UE) to a second UE via side link (SL) communication based on first positioning assistance data, wherein the transmission enables the second UE to determine positioning measurements based on at least a portion of the at least one PRS.

[0005] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, a method is provided, comprising: obtaining at least one positioning reference signal (PRS) from a first UE at a second user equipment (UE) based on first positioning assistance data via sidelink communication; and determining a positioning measurement result at the second UE based on at least a portion of the at least one PRS.

[0006] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, an apparatus for a user equipment (UE) is provided. The apparatus includes one or more processors configured to perform any of the methods described above.

[0007] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, a computer-readable medium having a computer program stored thereon is provided. When executed by a device having one or more processors, the computer program causes the device to perform any of the methods described above.

[0008] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, a computer program product is provided. The computer program product includes a computer program that, when executed by a device having one or more processors, causes the device to perform any of the methods described above. Attached Figure Description

[0009] The features and advantages of this disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the features of this disclosure by way of example.

[0010] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating a wireless communication network in which the embodiments described herein can be implemented.

[0011] Figure 2 This is a signaling diagram illustrating an example of a method according to some implementation schemes.

[0012] Figure 3 This is a signaling diagram illustrating an example of a method according to some implementation schemes.

[0013] Figure 4 This illustrates the implementation scheme in some ways. Figure 3 A schematic diagram illustrating an example of beam scanning performed in the method.

[0014] Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating a method performed at a first UE according to some implementation schemes.

[0015] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating a method performed at a second UE according to some implementation schemes.

[0016] Figure 7 This is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary device for a first UE according to some embodiments.

[0017] Figure 8 This is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary device for a second UE according to some embodiments.

[0018] Figure 9 This is a block diagram illustrating a UE (first UE or second UE) according to some implementation schemes.

[0019] Figure 10 The following are illustrated according to some implementation schemes. Figure 7 An exemplary interface for the baseband circuitry in a UE.

[0020] Figure 11 The components are shown according to some implementation schemes. Detailed Implementation

[0021] In this disclosure, a “base station” may include RAN nodes such as an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) node B (also commonly referred to as an evolved node B, enhanced node B, eNodeB, or eNB) and / or a radio network controller (RNC) and / or a 5G node, a new radio interface (NR) node, or a g node B (gNB), which communicates with wireless communication equipment, also referred to as user equipment (UE).

[0022] As described herein, unless otherwise indicated, the terms “User Equipment” (UE) and “Base Station” are not specific to or otherwise limited to any particular Radio Access Technology (RAT). Generally, such a UE can be any wireless communication device used by a user (e.g., mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, tracking device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.). In this context, the term “wireless communication device” can also refer to a vehicle in the sense that vehicles are generally capable of wireless communication, especially in the era of autonomous driving. The term “vehicle” or other similar terms as used herein generally include motor vehicles, such as passenger vehicles including automobiles, SUVs, buses, large trucks, various commercial vehicles including various small boats, ships, vessels, aircraft, etc., and include hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles, and other alternative fuel vehicles (e.g., non-petroleum-derived fuels). A UE can be mobile or can (e.g., at certain times) be stationary and can communicate with a Radio Access Network (RAN).

[0023] As used herein, the terms “and / or” or “at least one of” include any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. The terms “position” and “location” are used interchangeably herein.

[0024] Device-to-device (D2D), also known as sidelink (SL), is an important branch of Internet of Things (IoT) technology. D2D technology mainly includes two functions. One is D2D discovery, which enables user equipment to discover each other in the near field. The other is D2D communication, which allows user equipment to directly transmit data without going through a base station. The base station can still be responsible for resource coordination and / or security management and control.

[0025] The inventors recognized that sidelink communication could be used to facilitate UE-based positioning, such as vehicle positioning in autonomous driving. Sidelink positioning can also be used in other environments, such as homes, retail stores, and disaster relief zones. For example, in a home environment, a UE can communicate with other UEs embedded in home electronic devices (TVs, microwave ovens, light switches, etc.) and determine the relative distance between devices, triggering corresponding "smart" actions based on the distance measurements.

[0026] Figure 1 A wireless communication network 100 according to some embodiments is illustrated. The wireless communication network 100 includes a first UE and a second UE that communicate with each other via sidelinks. In this example, the first UE has three instances 101a, 101b, and 101c (collectively referred to below as "first UE 101"), and the second UE also has three instances 102a, 102b, and 102c (collectively referred to below as "second UE 102"). The wireless communication network 100 may also include a base station 110, which in some cases may be responsible for resource coordination and / or security management and control.

[0027] exist Figure 1 In the example, the first UE 101a and the second UE 102a are outside the radio coverage area of ​​base station 110. The first UE 101b and the second UE 102b are within the radio coverage area of ​​base station 110. The first UE 101c is within the radio coverage area of ​​base station 110, while the second UE 102c is outside the radio coverage area of ​​base station 110. In either case, the method for UE-based sidelink localization described herein can be implemented.

[0028] Figure 2 This is a signaling diagram illustrating an example of a method according to some implementation schemes. In this example, each of the first UE 101 and the second UE 102 includes a frequency range one (FR1) module (e.g., an FR1 transceiver) and a frequency range two (FR2) module (e.g., an FR2 transceiver). The frequency ranges FR1 and FR2 are defined in the 5G spectrum, where FR1 ranges from 450MHz to 6000MHz (commonly referred to as sub-6GHz), and FR2 ranges from 24250MHz to 52600MHz (commonly referred to as millimeter wave).

[0029] Although not shown, this method may include, in some embodiments, steps of a first UE 101 and a second UE 102 establishing SL communication with each other and exchanging their respective location-related measurement capabilities. Understanding each other's capabilities facilitates subsequent location operations.

[0030] At step 201, the first UE 101, acting as the transmitting UE, transmits first positioning assistance data to the second UE 102, acting as the receiving UE, via its FR1 module. The second UE 102 then receives the first positioning assistance data via its FR1 module. The first positioning assistance data is designed to advertise or transmit a configuration of a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), which is transmitted to the second UE 102 to enable positioning-related measurements in the second UE 102, as described later. In one example, the first UE 101 may use a Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol (e.g., PC5-RRC) to advertise or transmit its SL-PRS configuration. If PC5-RRC is used, the SL PRS configuration (and other assistance data) can be exchanged between UE 101 and UE 102 in a PC5 unicast connection. Furthermore, SL broadcasting in the PC5 control plane can be enhanced to support the broadcasting of positioning assistance data as part of PCR-RRC broadcast signaling. Multicast may also be used to advertise or transmit SL-PRS configuration and other ancillary data to a group of UEs (e.g., vehicles in a vehicle queue). In another example, a new upper-layer protocol could be designed for the first UE 101 to advertise or transmit its SL-PRS configuration.

[0031] In some implementations, the first positioning assistance data may include one or more parameters related to the availability of the SL-PRS. In one example, such parameters may include at least one of the following:

[0032] ·Start / End Time of SL-PRS Transmission

[0033] • SL-PRS on / off indicator (this indicator can be used, for example, for on-demand triggering of SL-PRS transmission).

[0034] In some implementations, the first positioning assistance data may include one or more parameters identifying the carrier frequency used for SL-PRS transmission. In one example, such parameters may include:

[0035] ·SL-PRS absolute frequency.

[0036] In some implementations, the first positioning assistance data may include one or more parameters identifying one or more resource pools used for SL-PRS transmission / reception. In one example, such parameters may include:

[0037] ·SL-PRS resource pool ID.

[0038] In some implementations, the first location assistance data may include one or more parameters describing how one or more resources are organized within one or more resource pools. In one example, such parameters may include at least one of the following:

[0039] ·SL-PRS Resource ID

[0040] ·SL-PRS Resource Set ID

[0041] • Number of SL-PRS resources in each SL-PRS resource set

[0042] These parameters can be independent (i.e., can be applied across all resource pools), or they can be applied on a per-pool basis.

[0043] In some implementations, the first positioning assistance data may include one or more parameters identifying each resource used for SL-PRS transmission / reception. In one example, such parameters may include at least one of the following:

[0044] ·SL-PRS starts PRB

[0045] ·SL-PRS resource bandwidth.

[0046] In some implementations, the first positioning assistance data may include one or more parameters that define how resources are used for each SL-PRS transfer. In one example, such parameters may include at least one of the following:

[0047] ·Number of SL-PRS frequency layers

[0048] ·SL-PRS frequency layer indicator

[0049] ·SL-SRS subcarrier spacing

[0050] ·SL-PRS comb size

[0051] ·SL-PRS Cyclic Prefix

[0052] • Number of SL-PRS resource symbols per SL-PRS resource

[0053] ·SL-PRS resource Tx power.

[0054] In some implementations, the first positioning assistance data may include one or more parameters relating to how the SL-PRS (resource) repeats in the time domain. In one example, such parameters may include at least one of the following:

[0055] • SL-PRS periodicity (for SP / P configuration)

[0056] ·SL-PRS ResourceSlotOffset or SL-PRS ResourceSetSlotOffset

[0057] The parameter "SL-PRS periodicity" can be used in either periodic or semi-persistent mode. These two modes will be described further later.

[0058] In some implementations, the first positioning assistance data may include one or more parameters identifying one or more transmitters of the SL-PRS. In one example, such parameters may include at least one of the following:

[0059] • TxRxPoint (TRP) ID (This TRP ID can be used if the UE has multiple antennas in space (e.g., a vehicle UE has Tx antennas in the front and rear bumpers). In this case, configuration for each TRP may be required.

[0060] This can also be used if multiple sidelink UEs are coordinated to transmit SL-PRS and the location assistance data of these UEs are combined.

[0061] In some implementations, the first positioning assistance data may include one or more parameters that identify the transmission mode used for SL-PRS transmission. In one example, there are three modes of SL-PRS transmission: periodic mode, single-trigger mode (also known as aperiodic mode), and semi-persistent mode.

[0062] In periodic mode, the transmitting UE periodically transmits the SL-PRS regardless of whether a receiving UE is present. In single-trigger mode, the transmitting UE specifies the time for SL-PRS transmission and transmits the SL-PRS in a single-trigger manner at the specified time, and the receiving UE receives the SL-PRS at the specified time. In semi-persistent mode, the transmitting UE notifies the receiving UE to activate and deactivate a predetermined configuration for receiving the SL-PRS. For example, in step 202, the first UE 101 notifies the second UE 102 to activate a previously announced or transmitted semi-persistent configuration. Then, after the first UE 101 transmits the SL-PRS and it is received by the second UE 102, the first UE 101 notifies the second UE 102 to deactivate the semi-persistent configuration. For simplicity, Figure 2The deactivation step is not shown. In one example, the first UE 101 may use a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE) to activate / deactivate the semi-persistent configuration in the second UE 102. It should be understood that step 202 is not required in periodic mode or single-trigger mode.

[0063] At step 203, the first UE 101 transmits the SL-PRS via its FR2 module, and the second UE 102 receives the SL-PRS via its FR2 module. In this example, the SL-PRS includes multiple directional beams. The multiple directional beams can be indexed individually using indices 1 to n and transmitted in burst mode, in which beams 1 to n can be considered to be transmitted at substantially the same time. In this case of beam scanning, the first positioning assistance data transmitted from the first UE 101 to the second UE 102 in step 201 may also include one or more beam-related parameters for transmitting / receiving the SL-PRS to allow the second UE 102 to perform beam-level measurements of the SL-PRS. In one example, such parameters may include at least one of the following:

[0064] Beam direction

[0065] • Angle-related parameters (angle measurement window (how wide the beam is), etc.).

[0066] •SL-PRS Quasi-Cooperative Localization (QCL) information.

[0067] In another example, SL-PRS can be an omnidirectional beam. Omnidirectional beams can be used, for example, in many-to-one positioning scenarios where there are multiple (e.g., three) transmitting UEs and one receiving UE. For example, the receiving UE can measure the corresponding distances to the multiple transmitting UEs and derive its position relative to the multiple transmitting UEs from the distance measurement results.

[0068] At step 204, the second UE 102 performs location-related measurements based on the received SL-PRS, such as Time of Arrival (ToA) measurement, Angle of Arrival (AoA) measurement, and / or signal strength measurement. The ToA measurement determines the relative distance between the second UE 102 and the first UE 101. The AoA measurement determines the angular position of the second UE 102 relative to the first UE 101. In one example, the second UE 102 determines the AoA by finding the optimal receive beam index and then determines its angular position relative to the first UE 101. The signal strength measurement derives the relative distance between the second UE 102 and the first UE 101. The signal strength of the received SL-PRS can be converted back to path loss and ultimately back to the distance between the transmitting and receiving UEs.

[0069] At step 205, the second UE 102 calculates its relative position to the first UE 101 based on the measurement results determined at step 204. Using the determined relative distance and angular position, the relative position of the second UE 102 relative to the first UE 101 can be calculated.

[0070] At step 206, the first UE 101 transmits second positioning assistance data associated with the first UE 101 to the second UE 102 via its FR1 module, and the second UE 102 receives the second positioning assistance data via its FR1 module. The second positioning assistance data is designed to enable the transmitting UE to announce or transmit assistance information for its PRS transmission to help the receiving UE derive its absolute position or improve its relative positioning results. In one example, the second positioning assistance data associated with the first UE 101 may include the position and velocity of the first UE 101 during SL-PRS transmission. As previously mentioned, the PC5-RRC protocol can be used to transmit the second positioning assistance data, but this is not required.

[0071] At step 207, the second UE 102 performs relative positioning improvement or calculates absolute positioning based on the relative positioning obtained in step 205 and the second positioning assistance data received in step 206.

[0072] It should be understood that steps 205 to 207 may be optional in some implementations. It should also be understood that, although in Figure 2 The first and second positioning assistance data shown are transmitted to the receiving UE in separate messages (in steps 201 and 206, respectively), but this disclosure is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, such as in step 201, the first and second positioning assistance data may be transmitted in the same message.

[0073] Figure 3 This is a signaling diagram illustrating an example of a method according to some implementation schemes. This example is consistent with the above reference. Figure 2 The difference in the described example is that each of the first UE 101 and the second UE 102 now acts as both the transmitting UE and the receiving UE. Steps 301 to 304 can still be similar to steps 201 to 204.

[0074] At step 301, the first UE 101 transmits first positioning assistance data to the second UE 102 via its FR1 module, and then the second UE 102 receives the first positioning assistance data via its FR1 module.

[0075] In the semi-persistent mode, in step 302, the first UE 101 notifies the second UE 102 to activate the previously announced or transmitted semi-persistent configuration. Then, after the first UE 101 transmits the SL-PRS and it is received by the second UE 102, the first UE 101 notifies the second UE 102 to deactivate the semi-persistent configuration. For simplicity, Figure 3 The deactivation step is not shown in the diagram.

[0076] At step 303, the first UE 101 transmits the SL-PRS via its FR2 module, and the second UE 102 receives the SL-PRS via its FR2 module. In this example, the SL-PRS includes multiple directional beams indexed from 1 to n.

[0077] At step 304, the second UE 102 performs location-related measurements based on the received SL-PRS, such as time of arrival (ToA) measurement, angle of arrival (AoA) measurement, and / or signal strength measurement. In one example, the second UE 102 determines the AoA by finding the optimal receive beam index and then determines its angular position relative to the first UE 101. In another example, the second UE 102 may not determine the optimal receive beam index and instead send the raw AoA measurement result back to the first UE 101, and the first UE 101 will then determine the optimal beam based on the raw AoA measurement result obtained from the second UE 102.

[0078] Sending the location measurement results back to the first UE 101 may be useful in some situations, such as when the second UE 102 has limited computing capacity or when the second UE 102 does not need to know its position relative to the first UE 101. Figure 4 An example is shown where the first UE 101 is a vehicle and the second UE 102 is a mobile phone held by a pedestrian. In this case, it makes sense for the second UE 102 to send the location measurement results back to the first UE 101, so that the first UE 101 can perform absolute or relative location calculations for the second UE 102.

[0079] At step 305, the second UE 102, now acting as the transmitting UE, transmits positioning measurement results (e.g., ToA measurement results and / or AoA measurement results) and second auxiliary data (e.g., the position and velocity of the second UE when the positioning measurement results are determined) to the first UE 101 via its FR1 module. The first UE 101, now acting as the receiving UE, receives the positioning measurement results and second positioning auxiliary data from the second UE 102. Since each of the first UE 101 and the second UE 102 can act as both a transmitting UE and a receiving UE, in some embodiments, additional positioning methods can be alternatively or additionally used for the ToA method, AoA method, and signal strength method. For example, round-trip time (RTT) can be measured by combining the mutual measurements of the two UEs. The RTT method may be more robust because it is not skewed by timing drift between the UEs.

[0080] At step 306, the first UE 101 performs an absolute or relative positioning calculation on the second UE 102. For example, the first UE 101 may calculate its relative position to the second UE 102 based on positioning measurements obtained from the second UE 102. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the first UE 101 may calculate its absolute position based on the calculated relative position and second auxiliary data obtained from the second UE 102 (e.g., the position of the second UE 102). In some embodiments, the first UE 101 may calculate the absolute position of the second UE 102 based on knowledge of its own absolute position and the calculated relative position between the two UEs. However, it should be understood that steps 305 to 306 may be optional in some embodiments.

[0081] In combination with the above Figure 2 and Figure 3 In the described exemplary embodiment, frequency range FR1 is used to transmit positioning assistance data (including first positioning assistance data and second positioning assistance data), and frequency range FR2 is used to transmit PRS signals. This can be based on the following considerations:

[0082] On the one hand, FR2 has a large bandwidth, which can carry wideband signals and is beneficial for accurate ToA measurement results. Otherwise, using a large frequency block in FR1 to transmit PRS signals would consume bandwidth for transmitting user plane data. Furthermore, FR2 supports beam scanning, which helps detect the angle of arrival of the PRS signal, providing a new measurement dimension compared to broadcast signals (e.g., in the sub-6 GHz band). In addition, FR2 can provide a large subcarrier spacing (SCS) and a short symbol length to cover the transmission of PRS bursts in multiple directions over short time periods, resulting in improved measurement accuracy.

[0083] On the other hand, some location assistance information (e.g., transmitting the UE's location and speed) is part of the Basic Safety Message (BSM), and it is assumed that the BSM message is broadcast in frequency range FR1 (e.g., band 47 of 5.9 GHz). Furthermore, repeating location assistance information in every additional directional beam is too expensive. Additionally, there are cases where some UEs (e.g., certain road user UEs) can support receive-only mode in FR2 to reduce complexity and cost; in these cases, transmitting assistance data in FR1 would be infeasible.

[0084] However, this disclosure is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, different SL carrier frequencies / bands than FR1 and FR2 can be used to transmit positioning assistance data and PRS signals separately. In some embodiments, the same SL carrier frequency / band can be used to transmit positioning assistance data and PRS signals.

[0085] Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating a method 500 performed at the first UE 101 according to some implementation schemes.

[0086] At step 510, the first UE 101 causes at least one SL-PRS (e.g., an omnidirectional beam or multiple directional beams) to be transmitted to the second UE 102 via SL communication based on the first positioning assistance data. As described above, the transmission of the SL-PRS enables the second UE 102 to determine positioning measurement results (e.g., ToA measurement results, AoA measurement results, signal strength measurement results, and / or RTT measurement results) based on at least a portion of the at least one PRS.

[0087] In some implementations, for example, in the first UE 101 (e.g., Figure 1 UE 101a) in the base station (e.g., Figure 1 When the first UE 101a is outside the radio coverage range of the base station 110, it can determine the first location assistance data itself and transmit it to the second UE 102a. In one example, the first location assistance data can be determined by the first UE 101a using or modifying location assistance information pre-configured in the first UE 101a, for example, by the network operator or UE manufacturer. In another example, the first UE 101a can determine the first location assistance data from scratch without using any pre-configured assistance information.

[0088] According to some implementation schemes, for example, in the first UE 101 (e.g., Figure 1 UE 101b in the base station (e.g., Figure 1Within the radio coverage area of ​​base station 110, some or all of the first positioning assistance data can be configured by base station 110 into the first UE 101b. Similarly, some or all of the first positioning assistance data can be configured by base station 110 into the second UE 102b. In one example, base station 110 (e.g., gNB) configures a UE-specific SL-PRS configuration. This can reduce collisions and interference by coordinating SL-PRS transmissions through the gNB. In another example, cell-specific configurations can be performed, which are common to all UEs in the cell.

[0089] According to some implementation schemes, for example, in the first UE 101 (e.g., Figure 1 UE 101c in the base station (e.g., Figure 1 The second UE 102 (e.g., base station 110) is within the radio coverage area of ​​the base station 110. Figure 1 If UE 102c is outside the radio coverage area of ​​base station 110, some or all of the first positioning assistance data can be configured by base station 110 into first UE 101c. Then, first UE 101c can transmit the first positioning assistance data obtained from base station 110 to second UE 102c.

[0090] In either case, the first UE 101 and the second UE 102 may be pre-configured with at least a portion of the first location assistance data by the network operator and / or the UE manufacturer. The pre-configured location assistance data may be location assistance information that tends to remain static over time.

[0091] At step 520, the first UE 101 causes the second positioning assistance data associated with the first UE 101 to be transmitted to the second UE 102 for use in the positioning of the second UE 102 (e.g., in...). Figure 2 In the case of... Alternatively or additionally, the first UE 101 obtains positioning measurement results and second positioning assistance data associated with the second UE 102 from the second UE 102 for use in the positioning of the first UE 101 (e.g., in...). Figure 3 (In some implementations, step 520 may be optional).

[0092] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating method 600 performed at the second UE 102 according to some implementation schemes.

[0093] At step 610, the second UE 102 obtains at least one SL-PRS (e.g., omnidirectional beam or multiple directional beams) from the first UE 101 via SL communication based on the first positioning assistance data.

[0094] At step 620, the second UE 102 determines the positioning measurement results (e.g., ToA measurement results, AoA measurement results, signal strength measurement results, and / or RTT measurement results) based on at least a portion of at least one PRS.

[0095] At step 630, the second UE 102 obtains second positioning assistance data associated with the first UE 101 from the first UE 101 for use in the positioning of the second UE 102 (e.g., in...). Figure 2 In the case of... Alternatively or additionally, the second UE 102 causes the location measurement results and second location assistance data associated with the second UE 102 to be transmitted to the first UE 101 for use in the positioning of the first UE 101 (e.g., in...). Figure 3 (In some implementations, step 630 may be optional).

[0096] According to some implementation schemes, the second UE 102 determines its position relative to the first UE 101 based on positioning measurement results.

[0097] According to some implementation schemes, the second UE 102 determines the improved relative or absolute position of the second UE 102 based on the determined position of the second UE 102 and the obtained second positioning assistance data associated with the first UE 101.

[0098] Figure 7 A block diagram of an exemplary device 700 for a first UE 101 according to some embodiments is shown. Figure 7 The device 700 shown can be used to achieve, for example, a combination Figure 5 Method 500 is shown.

[0099] The device 700 may include a first module 710 and a second module 720.

[0100] The first module 710 can be configured to transmit at least one PRS (Positioning Assistance Response) to the second UE 102 via SL communication based on first positioning assistance data at the first UE 101. The transmission enables the second UE 102 to determine positioning measurement results based on at least a portion of the at least one PRS.

[0101] The second module 720 may be configured at the first UE 101 to perform at least one of the following: transmitting second positioning assistance data associated with the first UE 101 to the second UE 102 for positioning of the second UE 102; and obtaining positioning measurement results and second positioning assistance data associated with the second UE 102 from the second UE 102 for positioning of the first UE 101. It should be understood that in some embodiments, the second module 720 may be optional.

[0102] Figure 8 A block diagram of an exemplary device 800 for a second UE 102 according to some embodiments is shown. Figure 8 The device 800 shown can be used to achieve, for example, a combination Figure 6 Method 600 is shown.

[0103] The device 800 may include a first module 810, a second module 820 and a third module 830.

[0104] The first module 810 can be configured to obtain at least one PRS from the first UE 101 via SL communication at the second UE 102 based on the first positioning assistance data.

[0105] The second module 820 can be configured to determine the positioning measurement result at the second UE 102 based on at least a portion of at least one PRS.

[0106] The third module 830 may be configured at the second UE 102 to perform at least one of the following: obtaining second positioning assistance data associated with the first UE 101 from the first UE 101 for positioning of the second UE 102; and causing the positioning measurement results and second positioning assistance data associated with the second UE 102 to be transmitted to the first UE 101 for positioning of the first UE 101. It should be understood that in some embodiments, the third module 830 may be optional.

[0107] It should be understood that Figure 7 The module of the device 700 shown can correspond to the reference. Figure 5 The steps in method 500 are described, and Figure 8 The module of the device 800 shown can correspond to the reference. Figure 6 The steps in method 600 are described. Therefore, the operations, features, and advantages described above for methods 500 and 600 are applicable to apparatus 700 and apparatus 800, respectively. For the sake of brevity, some operations, features, and advantages will not be repeated here.

[0108] Although specific functions have been discussed above with reference to specific modules, it should be noted that the functionality of each module discussed herein can be divided into multiple modules, and / or at least some functions of multiple modules can be combined into a single module. The specific actions performed by the specific modules discussed herein include the specific module performing the action itself, or alternatively, the specific module calling or otherwise accessing another component or module that performs the action (or in conjunction with the specific module performing the action). Therefore, a specific module performing an action may include the specific module performing the action itself and / or another module called or accessed by the specific module to perform the action.

[0109] It should also be understood that this document can describe various technologies within the general context of software and hardware components or program modules. (See above references.) Figure 7 and Figure 8 The various modules described can be implemented in hardware or in hardware, a combination of software and / or firmware. For example, these modules can be implemented as computer program code / instructions configured to execute in one or more processors and stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Alternatively, these modules can be implemented as hardware logic / circuit.

[0110] It should be understood that although this paper describes the implementation scheme in the context of one-to-one positioning, it is applicable to many-to-one positioning scenarios. Many-to-one positioning can be used to improve positioning results because it can provide spatial diversity (multiple transmitters with SL-PRS at different locations) and temporal diversity (the same transmitter transmitting at different times (at the same or different locations)).

[0111] Figure 9 Example components of a device 900 according to some embodiments are shown. In some embodiments, device 900 may include at least application circuitry 902, baseband circuitry 904, radio frequency (RF) circuitry (shown as RF circuitry 920), front-end module (FEM) circuitry (shown as FEM circuitry 930), one or more antennas 932, and power management circuitry (PMC) (shown as PMC 934) coupled together as shown. Components of the illustrated device 900 may be included in a UE or RAN node. In some embodiments, device 900 may include fewer components (e.g., the RAN node may not utilize application circuitry 902, but instead include a processor / controller to process IP data received from the EPC). In some embodiments, device 900 may include additional components such as, for example, memory / storage devices, displays, cameras, sensors, or input / output (I / O) interfaces. In other embodiments, the components described below may be included in more than one device (e.g., the circuitry may be individually included in more than one device for a cloud-RAN (C-RAN) specific implementation).

[0112] Application circuitry 902 may include one or more application processors. For example, application circuitry 902 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor may include any combination of general-purpose processors and special-purpose processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processor may be coupled to or may include a memory / storage device and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage device to enable various applications or operating systems to run on device 900. In some embodiments, the processor of application circuitry 902 may process IP data packets received from the EPC.

[0113] Baseband circuitry 904 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. Baseband circuitry 904 may include one or more baseband processors or control logic components to process baseband signals received from the receive signal path of RF circuitry 920 and generate baseband signals for the transmit signal path of RF circuitry 920. Baseband circuitry 904 may interact with application circuitry 902 to generate and process baseband signals and control the operation of RF circuitry 920. For example, in some embodiments, baseband circuitry 904 may include a third-generation (3G) baseband processor (3G baseband processor 906), a fourth-generation (4G) baseband processor (4G baseband processor 908), a fifth-generation (5G) baseband processor (5G baseband processor 910), or other existing, under development, or future generations of baseband processors 912 (e.g., second-generation (2G), sixth-generation (6G), etc.). Baseband circuitry 904 (e.g., one or more baseband processors) can handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via RF circuitry 920. In other embodiments, some or all of the functions of the illustrated baseband processor may be included in modules stored in memory 918 and executed via a central processing unit ETnit (CPET 914). Radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, RF shifting, etc. In some embodiments, the modulation / demodulation circuitry of baseband circuitry 904 may include Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping / demapping functions. In some embodiments, the encoding / decoding circuitry of baseband circuitry 904 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or low-density parity-check (LDPC) encoder / decoder functions. Implementations of modulation / demodulation and encoder / decoder functions are not limited to these examples, and other suitable functions may be included in other embodiments.

[0114] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 904 may include a digital signal processor (DSP), such as one or more audio DSPs 916. The one or more audio DSPs 916 may include elements for compression / decompression and echo cancellation, and in other embodiments may include other suitable processing elements. In some embodiments, components of the baseband circuitry may be suitably combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on the same circuit board. In some embodiments, some or all of the components of the baseband circuitry 904 and the application circuitry 902 may be implemented together, for example, on a system-on-a-chip (SoC).

[0115] In some implementations, baseband circuit 904 can provide communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some implementations, baseband circuit 904 can support communication with the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN) or other Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks (WMAN), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), or Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN). Implementations in which baseband circuit 904 is configured to support radio communication with more than one radio protocol are referred to as multi-mode baseband circuits.

[0116] RF circuit 920 enables communication with a wireless network via a non-solid medium using modulated electromagnetic radiation. In various embodiments, RF circuit 920 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc., to facilitate communication with the wireless network. RF circuit 920 may include a receive signal path that includes circuitry for down-converting the RF signal received from FEM circuit 930 and providing a baseband signal to baseband circuit 904. RF circuit 920 may also include a transmit signal path that includes circuitry for up-converting the baseband signal provided by baseband circuit 904 and providing an RF output signal for transmission to FEM circuit 930.

[0117] In some embodiments, the receive signal path of RF circuit 920 may include mixer circuit 922, amplifier circuit 924, and filter circuit 926. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of RF circuit 920 may include filter circuit 926 and mixer circuit 922. RF circuit 920 may also include synthesizer circuit 928 for synthesizing frequencies used by mixer circuit 922 for both the receive and transmit signal paths. In some embodiments, mixer circuit 922 for the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert the RF signal received from FEM circuit 930 based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuit 928. Amplifier circuit 924 may be configured to amplify the down-converted signal, and filter circuit 926 may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal may be provided to baseband circuit 904 for further processing. In some embodiments, although not required, the output baseband signal may be a zero-frequency baseband signal. In some implementations, the mixer circuit 922 for receiving the signal path may include a passive mixer, but the scope of the implementation is not limited in this respect.

[0118] In some implementations, the mixer circuit 922 of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert the input baseband signal based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 928 to generate an RF output signal for the FEM circuit 930. The baseband signal may be provided by the baseband circuit 904 and may be filtered by the filter circuit 926.

[0119] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 922 for the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 922 for the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature downconversion and upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 922 for the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 922 for the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 922 for the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 922 may be arranged for direct downconversion and direct upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 922 for the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 922 for the transmit signal path may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

[0120] In some embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, the RF circuit 920 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry, and the baseband circuit 904 may include a digital baseband interface for communicating with the RF circuit 920.

[0121] In some dual-mode implementations, separate radio IC circuits can be provided to process signals for each spectrum, but the scope of the implementation is not limited in this respect.

[0122] In some implementations, synthesizer circuit 928 may be a fractional N synthesizer or a fractional N / N+1 synthesizer, but the scope of implementations is not limited in this respect, as other types of frequency synthesizers may also be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuit 928 may be a Δ-Σ synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0123] Synthesizer circuit 928 can be configured to synthesize an output frequency based on the frequency input and the divider control input for use by mixer circuit 922 of RF circuit 920. In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 928 may be a fractional N / N+1 synthesizer.

[0124] In some implementations, the frequency input may be provided by a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), although this is not mandatory. The divider control input may be provided by baseband circuitry 904 or application circuitry 902 (such as an application processor) according to the desired output frequency. In some implementations, the divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a lookup table based on the channel indicated by application circuitry 902.

[0125] The synthesizer circuit 928 of the RF circuit 920 may include a frequency divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the frequency divider may be a dual-mode divider (DMD), and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by N or N+1 (e.g., based on carry) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a cascaded, tunable delay element, a phase detector, a charge pump, and a set of D-type flip-flops. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to divide the VCO cycle into Nd equal phase groups, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. Thus, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

[0126] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 928 may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and may be used in conjunction with quadrature generator and frequency divider circuitry to generate multiple signals having multiple different phases relative to each other at that carrier frequency. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be the LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, RF circuitry 920 may include an IQ / polarity converter.

[0127] FEM circuit 930 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 932, amplify the received signals, and provide an amplified version of the received signals to RF circuit 920 for further processing. FEM circuit 930 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry configured to amplify transmit signals provided by RF circuit 920 for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas 932. In various embodiments, amplification via the transmit or receive signal path may be performed only in RF circuit 920, only in FEM circuit 930, or in both RF circuit 920 and FEM circuit 930.

[0128] In some embodiments, FEM circuit 930 may include a TX / RX switch to switch between transmit and receive mode operation. FEM circuit 930 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of FEM circuit 930 may include an LNA to amplify the received RF signal and provide the amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., to RF circuit 920). The transmit signal path of FEM circuit 930 may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify the input RF signal (e.g., provided by RF circuit 920), and one or more filters to generate an RF signal for subsequent transmission (e.g., through one or more antennas in one or more antennas 932).

[0129] In some implementations, the PMC 934 manages the power supplied to the baseband circuitry 904. Specifically, the PMC 934 can control power selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion. The PMC 934 is typically included when the device 900 is capable of being battery powered, for example, when the device 900 is included in an EGE. The PMC 934 can improve power conversion efficiency while providing the desired implementation size and thermal characteristics.

[0130] Figure 9The PMC 934 is shown coupled only to the baseband circuit 904. However, in other embodiments, the PMC 934 may additionally or alternatively be coupled to other components (such as, but not limited to, the application circuit 902, the RF circuit 920, or the FEM circuit 930) and perform similar power management operations for those components.

[0131] In some implementations, the PMC 934 can control or otherwise become part of various power-saving mechanisms of the device 900. For example, if the device 900 is in an RRC connected state, where it remains connected to the RAN node because it expects to receive communication soon, the device can enter a state called Discontinuous Receive Mode (DRX) after an inactive period. During this state, the device 900 can be powered down for short intervals, thereby saving power.

[0132] If there is no data service activity during the extended period, device 900 can transition to RRC Idle state. In RRC Idle state, the device is disconnected from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback or handover. Device 900 enters a very low power state and performs paging. In this very low power state, the device periodically wakes up again to listen to the network and then powers off again. Device 900 cannot receive data in this state, and in order to receive data, the device transitions back to RRC Connected state.

[0133] An additional power-saving mode allows the device to be unavailable from the network for periods exceeding the paging interval (ranging from seconds to hours). During this time, the device is completely unconnected to the network and can be completely powered off. Any data sent during this period will incur significant latency, which is assumed to be acceptable.

[0134] The processors of application circuitry 902 and baseband circuitry 904 are elements that can be used to execute one or more instances of the protocol stack. For example, the processor of baseband circuitry 904 can be used alone or in combination to execute layer 3, layer 2, or layer 1 functions, while the processor of application circuitry 902 can utilize data received from these layers (e.g., packet data) and further execute layer 4 functions (e.g., Transport Communication Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) layers). As mentioned herein, layer 3 may include the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, which will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 2 may include the Media Access Control (MAC) layer, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, which will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 1 may include the physical (PHY) layer of the UE / RAN node, which will be described in further detail below.

[0135] Figure 10An exemplary interface 1000 of a baseband circuit according to some embodiments is shown. As discussed above, Figure 9 The baseband circuitry 904 may include a 3G baseband processor 906, a 4G baseband processor 908, a 5G baseband processor 910, other baseband processors 912, a CPU 914, and a memory 918 utilized by the processors. As shown, each of these processors may include a corresponding memory interface 1002 to send data to / receive data from the memory 918.

[0136] The baseband circuit 904 may also include one or more interfaces for communicatively coupling to other circuits / devices, such as a memory interface 1004 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from a memory external to the baseband circuit 904) or an application circuit interface 1006 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from a memory external to the baseband circuit 904). Figure 9 Application circuit 902 (interface for sending / receiving data), RF circuit interface 1008 (e.g., for sending / receiving data to / from...). Figure 9 The RF circuit 920 is an interface for transmitting / receiving data, and the wireless hardware connection interface 1010 is used for transmitting / receiving data to / from near field communication (NFC) components. Components (e.g.) (low power consumption) Interfaces for sending / receiving data to / from components and other communication components) and power management interface 1012 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving power or control signals to / from PMC 934).

[0137] Figure 11 This is a block diagram illustrating a component 1100, according to some exemplary embodiments, capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and capable of executing any one or more of the methods discussed herein. Specifically, Figure 11 A schematic representation of hardware resources 1102 is shown, including one or more processors 1112 (or processor cores), one or more memory / storage devices 1118, and one or more communication resources 1120, each of which is communicatively coupled via bus 1122. For implementations utilizing node virtualization (e.g., NFV), an executable hypervisor 1104 provides an execution environment for one or more network slices / subslices to utilize hardware resources 1102.

[0138] Processor 1112 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP) (such as a baseband processor), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) may include, for example, processor 1114 and processor 1116.

[0139] The memory / storage device 1118 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory / storage device 1118 may include, but is not limited to, any type of volatile or non-volatile memory, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state storage devices, etc.

[0140] Communication resource 1120 may include interconnect or network interface components or other suitable devices for communicating with one or more peripheral devices 1106 or one or more databases 1108 via network 1110. For example, communication resource 1120 may include wired communication components (e.g., for coupling via Universal Serial Bus (USB), cellular communication components, NFC components, etc. Components (e.g.) (low power consumption) Components and other communication components.

[0141] Instructions 1124 may include software, programs, applications, applets, or other executable code for causing at least any of processors 1112 to perform one or more of the methods discussed herein. Instructions 1124 may reside wholly or partially within processor 1112 (e.g., within the processor's cache memory), memory / storage device 1118, or any suitable combination thereof. Furthermore, any portion of instructions 1124 may be transferred from any combination of peripheral device 1106 or database 1108 to hardware resource 1102. Therefore, the memory of processor 1112, memory / storage device 1118, peripheral device 1106, and database 1108 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0142] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components shown in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods as described in the Examples section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples below. As another example, circuitry associated with the UE, base station, network element, etc., described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples shown in the Examples section below.

[0143] Additional Examples

[0144] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components shown in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods as described in the Examples section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples below. As another example, circuitry associated with the UE, base station, network element, etc., described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples shown in the Examples section below.

[0145] The following examples relate to other implementation schemes.

[0146] Example 1. A method for a user equipment (UE) comprising: transmitting at least one positioning reference signal (PRS) at a first user equipment (UE) to a second UE via side link (SL) communication based on first positioning assistance data, wherein the transmission enables the second UE to determine positioning measurement results based on at least a portion of the at least one PRS.

[0147] Example 2. The method according to Example 1 further includes: determining at least a portion of the first positioning assistance data at the first UE; and causing the at least a portion of the first positioning assistance data to be transmitted from the first UE to the second UE.

[0148] Example 3. According to the method of Example 2, wherein at least one PRS and at least a portion of the first positioning assistance data are transmitted from the first UE to the second UE in the same SL carrier frequency band.

[0149] Example 4. According to the method of Example 2, wherein the at least one PRS is transmitted from the first UE to the second UE in a second SL carrier band different from the first SL carrier band for the transmission of the at least portion of the first positioning assistance data.

[0150] Example 5. According to the method described in Example 4, the first SL carrier frequency band includes frequency range one (FR1), and the second SL carrier frequency band includes frequency range two (FR2).

[0151] Example 6. According to the method of Example 1, wherein the first UE is within the radio coverage range of the base station, the method further includes: obtaining the first positioning assistance data from the base station at the first UE.

[0152] Example 7. According to the method of Example 6, wherein the second UE is outside the radio coverage of the base station, the method further includes: causing the first positioning assistance data to be transmitted from the first UE to the second UE.

[0153] Example 8. According to the method of Example 1, wherein the first UE is pre-configured with at least a portion of the first positioning assistance data by at least one of the network operator or manufacturer of the first UE.

[0154] Example 9. The method according to any one of Examples 1 to 8, wherein the first positioning assistance data includes at least one selected from the group consisting of: one or more parameters related to the availability of the at least one PRS; one or more parameters identifying the carrier frequency for the transmission of the at least one PRS; one or more parameters identifying one or more resource pools for the transmission / reception of the at least one PRS; one or more parameters describing how the one or more resources are organized in the one or more resource pools; one or more parameters identifying each resource for the transmission / reception of the at least one PRS; one or more parameters defining how each transmission of the at least one PRS uses the resources; one or more parameters related to how the at least one PRS is repeated in the time domain; one or more parameters identifying one or more transmitters of the at least one PRS; and one or more parameters identifying the transmission mode for the transmission of the at least one PRS.

[0155] Example 10. According to the method of Example 9, the transmission mode includes one of the following: a periodic mode in which the at least one PRS is transmitted periodically; a single-trigger mode in which the at least one PRS is transmitted in a single trigger at a specified time; and a semi-persistent mode in which the first UE notifies the second UE to activate and deactivate a predetermined configuration for receiving the at least one PRS.

[0156] Example 11. According to the method of Example 9, wherein the at least one PRS includes a plurality of directional beams, and wherein the first positioning assistance data further includes one or more beam-related parameters for transmitting / receiving the at least one PRS, so that the second UE can perform beam-level measurements on the at least one PRS.

[0157] Example 12. The method according to any one of Examples 1 to 11 further includes: performing at the first UE at at least one of the following: such that a second positioning assistance data associated with the first UE is transmitted to the second UE for positioning of the second UE; and obtaining from the second UE the positioning measurement result and the second positioning assistance data associated with the second UE for positioning of the first UE.

[0158] Example 13. The method according to Example 12, wherein the second positioning assistance data associated with the first UE is transmitted from the first UE to the second UE in the same SL carrier frequency band as the at least one PRS.

[0159] Example 14. The method according to Example 12, wherein the second positioning assistance data associated with the second UE is transmitted from the second UE to the first UE in the same SL carrier frequency band as the at least one PRS.

[0160] Example 15. The method according to Example 12, wherein the second positioning assistance data associated with the first UE is transmitted from the first UE to the second UE in the same SL carrier frequency band as the at least part of the first positioning assistance data.

[0161] Example 16. According to the method of Example 12, the second positioning assistance data associated with the second UE is transmitted from the second UE to the first UE as at least a part of the first positioning assistance data in the first SL carrier band.

[0162] Example 17. The method according to Example 12, wherein at least a portion of the first positioning assistance data and the second positioning assistance data associated with the first UE are transmitted from the first UE to the second UE in the same message.

[0163] Example 18. The method according to Example 12, wherein at least a portion of the first positioning assistance data and the second positioning assistance data associated with the first UE are transmitted from the first UE to the second UE in a separate message.

[0164] Example 19. The method according to Example 12, wherein the second positioning assistance data associated with the first UE includes the position and speed of the first UE when transmitting the at least one PRS.

[0165] Example 20. The method according to Example 12, wherein the second positioning assistance data associated with the second UE includes the position and velocity of the second UE when the positioning measurement result is determined.

[0166] Example 21. A method comprising: obtaining at least one positioning reference signal (PRS) from a first UE at a second user equipment (UE) based on first positioning assistance data via a side link communication; and determining a positioning measurement result at the second UE based on at least a portion of the at least one PRS.

[0167] Example 22. The method of claim 21, further comprising: performing at the second UE at at least one of the following: obtaining second positioning assistance data associated with the first UE from the first UE for positioning of the second UE; and causing the positioning measurement result and the second positioning assistance data associated with the second UE to be transmitted to the first UE for positioning of the first UE.

[0168] Example 23. The method according to Example 21 or 22 further includes: determining the position of the second UE relative to the first UE at the second UE based on the positioning measurement result.

[0169] Example 24. The method according to Example 22 further includes: determining the position of the second UE relative to the first UE at the second UE based on the positioning measurement result; and determining the improved relative or absolute position of the second UE at the second UE based on the determined position of the second UE and the obtained second positioning assistance data associated with the first UE.

[0170] Example 25. The method according to any one of Examples 21 to 24, wherein the positioning measurement result includes at least one selected from the group consisting of: the arrival time of at least a portion of the at least one PRS; and the signal strength of at least a portion of the at least one PRS.

[0171] Example 26. An apparatus for a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising: one or more processors configured to perform the steps of the method according to any one of Examples 1 to 25.

[0172] Example 27. A computer-readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by one or more processors, causes a device to perform the steps of the method according to any one of Examples 1 to 25.

[0173] Example 28. An apparatus for a communication device, comprising components for performing steps of the method according to any one of Examples 1 to 25.

[0174] Example 29. A computer program product including a computer program, which, when executed by one or more processors, causes a device to perform the steps of the method according to any one of Examples 1 to 25.

[0175] Unless otherwise expressly stated, any of the examples above may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples). The foregoing description of one or more specific embodiments provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. In light of the teachings above, modifications and variations are possible, or modifications and variations may be derived from practice of various embodiments.

[0176] It should be recognized that the systems described herein include descriptions of specific implementations. These implementations may be combined into a single system, partially integrated into other systems, divided into multiple systems, or otherwise partitioned or combined. Furthermore, it is conceivable to use parameters / attributes / aspects, etc., of one implementation in another implementation. For clarity, these parameters / attributes / aspects, etc., are described only in one or more implementations, and it should be recognized that unless specifically stated herein, these parameters / attributes / aspects, etc., may be combined with or replace parameters / attributes, etc., of another implementation.

[0177] As is widely recognized, the use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices that are generally accepted to meet or exceed industry or governmental requirements for protecting user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly explained to users.

[0178] Although the foregoing has been described in considerable detail for clarity, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications can be made without departing from the principles of the invention. It should be noted that many alternative ways exist to implement both the processes and apparatus described herein. Therefore, embodiments of the invention should be considered illustrative rather than restrictive, and this specification is not limited to the details given herein, but can be modified within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication, comprising: At the first user equipment (UE), at least one positioning reference signal (PRS) is transmitted to the second UE via sidelink SL communication, wherein transmitting the at least one PRS will enable the second UE to determine the positioning measurement result based on at least a portion of the at least one PRS. as well as First location assistance data is generated for transmission from the first UE to the second UE, the first location assistance data indicating the location of the first UE transmitting the at least one PRS. The first positioning assistance data will be transmitted on frequency range one, i.e., FR1, and the at least one PRS will be transmitted on frequency range two, i.e., FR2.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first UE is within the radio coverage range of the base station, and the second UE is outside the radio coverage range of the base station, the method further comprising: The first positioning assistance data is obtained from the base station; as well as This enables the first positioning assistance data to be transmitted to the second UE.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises transmitting the second positioning assistance data to the second UE.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first UE is pre-configured with at least a portion of the second positioning assistance data by the network operator or manufacturer of the first UE.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the second positioning assistance data includes one or more parameters, the one or more parameters being: related to the availability of the at least one PRS; identifying a carrier frequency for transmitting the at least one PRS; identifying one or more resource pools for transmitting the at least one PRS; and describing how one or more resources are organized in the one or more resource pools for transmitting the at least one PRS; Identify each resource used for transmitting the at least one PRS; define how each transmission of the at least one PRS uses the resources; and relate this to how the at least one PRS is repeated in the time domain. One or more transmitters that identify the at least one PRS; Alternatively, it may identify the transmission mode used to transmit the at least one PRS.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the second positioning assistance data includes one or more parameters for identifying a transmission mode for transmitting the at least one PRS, the transmission mode being: a periodic mode, wherein the at least one PRS is transmitted periodically; a single-trigger mode, wherein the at least one PRS is transmitted in a single trigger at a specified time; or a semi-persistent mode, wherein the first UE notifies the second UE to activate and deactivate a predetermined configuration for receiving the at least one PRS.

7. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The at least one PRS includes multiple directional beams; and The second positioning assistance data includes one or more beam-related parameters for transmitting or receiving the at least one PRS, enabling the second UE to perform beam-level measurements on the at least one PRS.

8. The method according to claim 3, The second positioning assistance data is transmitted in the following ways: a message identical to the first positioning assistance data; or a second message different from a first message that includes the first positioning assistance data.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first positioning assistance data associated with the first UE includes the speed of the first UE during the transmission of the at least one PRS.

10. The method of claim 3, wherein the method further comprises: The positioning measurement results and third positioning assistance data associated with the second UE are obtained from the second UE for use in the positioning of the first UE. The third positioning assistance data is transmitted in the following ways: the same SL carrier band as the at least one PRS; or the same SL carrier band as the at least part of the second positioning assistance data.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the third positioning assistance data includes the position and velocity of the second UE when determining the positioning measurement result.

12. One or more computer-readable media having instructions, when executed by one or more processors, to cause a second user-equipped UE to perform the following operations: At least one positioning reference signal (PRS) is obtained from the first UE via sidelink communication based on the second positioning assistance data; Receive first positioning assistance data from the first UE, the first positioning assistance data including the location of the first UE; The positioning measurement result is determined based on at least a portion of the at least one PRS; as well as Based on the positioning measurement results and the location of the first UE, the location of the second UE is determined. The first positioning assistance data is received in frequency range one, i.e., FR1, and the at least one PRS is received in frequency range two, i.e., FR2.

13. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 12, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the second UE to: This enables the location measurement results and the third location assistance data associated with the second UE to be transmitted to the first UE for the purpose of positioning the first UE.

14. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the positioning measurement result is based on the time of arrival, angle of arrival, or signal strength of at least a portion of the at least one PRS.

15. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 12 or 13, wherein determining the location of the second UE based on the positioning measurement result and the location of the first UE comprises: Based on the positioning measurement results, the first position of the second UE relative to the first UE is determined; as well as The improved relative or absolute position of the second UE is determined based on the first position of the second UE and the first positioning assistance data associated with the first UE.

16. An apparatus for execution in a first user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising: Processing circuit, the processing circuit being used for: A message is generated to include first positioning assistance data, the positioning assistance data indicating the location of the first UE; Output the message to transmit it to the second UE; and At least one Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) is output to be transmitted to the second UE via a side link (SL) communication, enabling the second UE to determine the positioning measurement result based on at least a portion of the at least one PRS. The first positioning assistance data will be transmitted on frequency range one, i.e., FR1, and the at least one PRS will be transmitted on frequency range two, i.e., FR2.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to output second positioning assistance data for transmission, the second positioning assistance data providing a UE-specific sidelink PRS configuration or a cell-specific sidelink PRS configuration.

Images